This will sound completely self-congratulary...

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gkscotty
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This will sound completely self-congratulary...

Post by gkscotty » Wed May 04, 2005 10:07 pm

... but I don't mean it to, honest.

I just finished rereading the original Simpson Moon and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it, considering it was a script I wrote myself. Practically everything came out just as I wanted it and while it's not dated too well, I actually enjoyed reading my own writing, and I think I consider it to be my defining moment in fanfic.

But at the same time, I think I can see how this fic proved to be my downfall. Writing it changed my outlook on the show and the characters - I now find it difficult to think of a new Lisa plotline without adding Jessica and Allison into the mix, because those three formed such an unlikely but close trio in Simpmoon. Many of my new ideas are just rehashes on the magical girl/general anime theme. These days Simpmoon seems like the death knell for my Simpsons fanfic "career" - the only other fic I have had success with is Simpmoon's sequel (and that has now died a death after I bit off wayyyy more than I could chew with ep 3.) My only other really successful script since has been my Azumanga Daioh fusions one - another fic that followed Simpmoon's pattern of overextended parody.

In a way, it seems like Simpmoon has drastically limited my options for fic. (Unsung Heroes is an attempt to break out of this - prose, action/drama, huge ensemble cast...)


Despite appearances, this thread isn't about me, really. That's just the introduction to the question - I wanted to ask what you might consider your defining moments (so far) in writing fanfic/original stories to be, and how do you think they affected your later stories and scripts? Have they limited you or freed you?
Last edited by gkscotty on Wed May 04, 2005 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: This will sound completely self-congratulary...

Post by SirMustapha » Wed May 04, 2005 10:19 pm

In my case, well, I think my defining moment is "A Summer's Tale" - the version I'm currently writing. It's not done yet, but it's my most grandiose effort ever in OFF, and possibly the largest story I've done so far. While I haven't finished it yet, I'm pretty sure it will limitate me. It's taking me away from comedy completely, it's detaching me from the original characters, and it's probably gonna be my last OFF fic for a long time, at least. Still, I'm really attached to this story now, I won't let go.
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Re: This will sound completely self-congratulary...

Post by c_nordlander » Wed May 04, 2005 11:41 pm

Hmmm... I know quite well what you mean, Steve. (Or so I hope.) I tend to read through my old stuff and feel quite proud as well. And, well, success can feel crippling at times, but you know, you won't always have it hanging around your neck like an albatross. "Unsung Heroes" looks very promising. Anyway. I think I know.

As for me? Well, I've had a few defining moments, but I reckon my most recent one in the fanfiction business was when I started "Son of the Ashes" a couple of years ago. Within hindsight, I see most of the problems with it, but it was... well, my first substantial prose fic (and almost my first prose fic, period), and it taught me a lot about writing novels, now I already had the characters and settings and could focus on plotting. Not to mention that the Futurama fandom could accommodate for all the whacky space-opera stuff I thought I'd left behind me. In short, it gave me freedom.

As for original fiction, when I started "The Book of Beasts"... oh, I don't know. I've been writing original fiction for even longer than I've been writing fanfic, and yet, in a way that felt like my first novel. It was completely different from all my other stuff.

And that's all I can say at this juncture.
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Re: This will sound completely self-congratulary...

Post by TheLeader » Wed May 04, 2005 11:57 pm

I like going through my old material, just to track my progress. Some of my early writing really blew, so it's nice to see I'm getting better at this.

My current Simpsons project, "In Flanders-field", is easily my best. However, since I'm planning to use it in the future as an actual spec script, I don't think I'll post it here.
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Re: This will sound completely self-congratulary...

Post by Tony_Baritone » Thu May 05, 2005 12:02 am

I'd have to say that for all its flaws, "Tutor Tango" is the only thing I've written, complete or incomplete, that I'm truly proud of.  Still in seemingly endless rewrite...
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Re: This will sound completely self-congratulary...

Post by Bothead » Thu May 05, 2005 7:59 pm

The Sword of Heroic Heroicness is my best piece of work. Comparing it to my two Lord of the Rings parodies shows that I have improved a lot since I started writing. Probably one of the reasons I am so proud of it is the amount of fight scenes in it. After seeing several movies and going through ideas, I wanted to have a story based on war or some sort of fighting. Luckily, getting Soul Calibur 2 proved to be great inspiration for me.
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