[ SECRET POST #4952 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4952 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 39 secrets from Secret Submission Post #709.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I hate it when people pretend this isn't an issue in original fiction, and when you point it out, they will pretzel themselves backward over a table trying to find crumbs that show YES! XYZ was the plan all along! I'll admit it might be a difference in storytelling styles, but some things don't really work if you insist it must be deeper than that. (Of course, the other issue was the lack of crumbs in general.)

[(Anonymous)]

Frankly, I'm more amused by the people in this thread who are acting like fanfic doesn't need structure.

[(Anonymous)]

Damn, I guess my multiple decades of writing very successfully received fanfic is all in my imagination seeing as how I don't prioritize the structure of my fics.

[(Anonymous)]

The comment this thread deserves, thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

You're welcome! ;P

[(Anonymous)]

What's that got to do with anything? Success and popularity are great. They're only one measure of quality. If you've managed to write plotty fics by not actually utilizing any sort of structure, then kudos to you!

And of course, there are all the incredibly popular, successfully received fanfics that aren't plotty, so structure isn't important. Were you talking about those types of fics? Because the secret isn't about those fics.

[(Anonymous)]

Previous anon is amused by the idea that fic doesn't NEED structure (not even just "quality" ones, apoarently). I'm saying many fandom writers and readers don't always share that view.

[(Anonymous)]

Your successfully received fics have nothing to do with your talents (or lack thereof) as a fic writer and everything to do with the fact that you're writing whatever Thing the fandom wants to read. Luckily for you, the bar for what people in fandom want to read isn't set that high.

[(Anonymous)]

Uh...my point exactly?

[(Anonymous)]

Just because you are not prioritizing it doesn't mean you aren't doing it, and that is part of the reason for your success. Plenty of writers can write things without consciously knowing why it works, just that it does.

[(Anonymous)]

No, I reject this argument on principle. You're still suggesting that a fanfic needs to follow a "proper" structure to be good or enjoyed or to "work" or even to exist, whether it's done intentionally or not. I am saying there is no "right" way to write a fanfic. Do some or all of my fics have structure, even though I don't consciously plan out each scene? Absolutely. Do they NEED it? Absolutely not.

[(Anonymous)]

Every story needs some kind of structure. It doesn't need to be the SAME structure (there are entire books written on the subject) but they need structure to be satisfying and objectively decent ... ie, coherent.

The fact that fanfic uses existing worlds and characters means you need less structure to be coherent because you're not coping with dropping entire characters and a world all at the same time as having a hurt/comfort fic, but you still need structure of some sort.

It's like people saying art can be anything. I reject the notion that a canvas planted a flat blue color to represent depression is 'art', because it's incoherent. I would never know what the hell it meant without someone telling me.

[(Anonymous)]

So much shifting of goalposts going on in this thread. Is it that a fic has to meet the criteria of "proper" structures as suggested by the secret? Is that it has to have a beginning, middle and end? Is it that it needs to have some kind of structure? People need to make up their minds.

[(Anonymous)]

It's really not.

Say you have a story idea. You think, "All right, I want the characters to do A. But wait, I have to explain how they got to A. Then when they get to A, I need to have consequences, so B happens. But I want the story to be exciting, and wait, this is a really cool idea I can stick here, but it needs to build on what I have or readers will be confused ... so then C happens." And BAM, suddenly you've got RISING ACTION, or structure. "I want the ending to be satisfying and explain what happened to the characters. Because if I just end it at C, people are going to be SO confused about how it all ended up and ask me questions!" And BAM, you have denouement.

[(Anonymous)]

Or you write it however you want and end it however you want because it's a fucking fanfic and the only person you have to please is yourself?

[tabaqui]

+1000

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I mean... yeah, it would be great if a plotty fic did have structure, especially if you're the type to submit to contests and such, or practice for writing original fiction one day.

On the other hand, fanfic is also for fun, so... I see both sides of it.

[tree_and_leaf]

Fanfic does need structure. That doesn't mean it needs to have exactly this one, which can get very boring and formulaic. I've read published stories that followed the outlined structures so exactly you just knew when the twists were going to come, and it didn't improve them.