Writing Meme Day 4 and story idea
Sunday, 10 July 2011 16:30![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkyourownwayDay 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Well, I guess that would depend on the fandom. But to be honest, I don't think I have a muse. I mean, yes, there are characters that I tend to focus on and write more about than other characters within fandoms. But I wouldn't really call them muses. They usually just tend to be my favorite characters, so I happen to like writing about them. I do my best to focus on other characters though...which does or does not always work, heheh...
Day 1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
Day 2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Day 3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Day 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Day 5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Day 8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
Day 9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Day 10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Day 11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
Day 12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Day 13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
Day 14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
Day 15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Day 17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Day 18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
Day 19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
Day 20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Day 21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Day 22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Day 23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
Day 24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
Day 25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
Day 26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Day 27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Day 28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Day 29 – What is your current project or projects?
Day 30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
But speaking of favorite characters, I somehow got another story idea about Crane from Kung Fu Panda. Actually, it was originally going to be a story about all the Furious Five, and how they all came to the Jade Palace and started training together. And it's still going to touch on all of them really, but I wasn't sure how well I could write Mantis in that kind of situation. So somehow, the story started leaning more towards Crane.
Part of the reason I thought about doing it this way was because I somehow got the impression that Crane might be the least experienced when it comes to practicing Kung Fu. I mean, even though he knew a little bit while working as a janitor, he didn't officially start learning until he was already an adult, whereas it was implied that Monkey and Mantis already knew Kung Fu as adults. So I was wondering how being the least experienced might have affected Crane's earlier interactions with the Furious Five.
The story would start out at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, a few weeks or months after Crane was accepted on as a student. At that time, Master Shifu and Master Oogway were traveling through China and looking for students to bring back to the Jade Palace with them in order to train, and the academy was one of the stops where they were looking for. Though many of the students were suspecting Mei Ling would be the one, it somehow ends up being Crane who was chosen to go with them to the Jade Palace. He's hesitant at first, but with gentle encouragement from Mei Ling, he decides to accept and go.
He arrives at the Jade Palace around the same time that Viper, Mantis, and Monkey arrive, all of them having been invited to train there by Shifu and Oogway. They also meet Tigress there, and as they all get to know each other, Crane kind of feels a little out of place among them. The others have had more experience training and fighting against adversaries (which comes up at one point later), and he's only been a student at the academy for a short time. But even so, he starts connecting with each of the others, as they're all learning about each other and how to get along.
My main worry is that I might make it kind of like when Po first arrived at the Jade Palace, and his awkwardness when interacting with the Furious Five. But I'm trying to make it different because there's isn't much resentment between the five as there was some between them and Po (and it wasn't even really much resentment towards Po, that was mostly just from Tigress I think). I mean, there's bound to be some arguments between the five as they're just starting to get to know each other and there will be times they don't get along. But in this case, I don't see Tigress being nearly as cold to the other four as she was to Po in the beginning, and she even kind of tries to help them out while they're learning to train under Shifu. So even though Crane does have a bit of difficulty, it isn't because of how he interacts with the others but more of his own self-confidence because he's worried that he doesn't fit in as well as the others do.
But still, I'm worried about how well that story will go. Hmm...maybe I do have muses after all...heh.
Well, I guess that would depend on the fandom. But to be honest, I don't think I have a muse. I mean, yes, there are characters that I tend to focus on and write more about than other characters within fandoms. But I wouldn't really call them muses. They usually just tend to be my favorite characters, so I happen to like writing about them. I do my best to focus on other characters though...which does or does not always work, heheh...
Day 5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Day 8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
Day 9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Day 10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Day 11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
Day 12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Day 13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
Day 14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
Day 15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Day 17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Day 18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
Day 19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
Day 20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Day 21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Day 22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Day 23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
Day 24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
Day 25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
Day 26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Day 27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Day 28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Day 29 – What is your current project or projects?
Day 30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
But speaking of favorite characters, I somehow got another story idea about Crane from Kung Fu Panda. Actually, it was originally going to be a story about all the Furious Five, and how they all came to the Jade Palace and started training together. And it's still going to touch on all of them really, but I wasn't sure how well I could write Mantis in that kind of situation. So somehow, the story started leaning more towards Crane.
Part of the reason I thought about doing it this way was because I somehow got the impression that Crane might be the least experienced when it comes to practicing Kung Fu. I mean, even though he knew a little bit while working as a janitor, he didn't officially start learning until he was already an adult, whereas it was implied that Monkey and Mantis already knew Kung Fu as adults. So I was wondering how being the least experienced might have affected Crane's earlier interactions with the Furious Five.
The story would start out at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, a few weeks or months after Crane was accepted on as a student. At that time, Master Shifu and Master Oogway were traveling through China and looking for students to bring back to the Jade Palace with them in order to train, and the academy was one of the stops where they were looking for. Though many of the students were suspecting Mei Ling would be the one, it somehow ends up being Crane who was chosen to go with them to the Jade Palace. He's hesitant at first, but with gentle encouragement from Mei Ling, he decides to accept and go.
He arrives at the Jade Palace around the same time that Viper, Mantis, and Monkey arrive, all of them having been invited to train there by Shifu and Oogway. They also meet Tigress there, and as they all get to know each other, Crane kind of feels a little out of place among them. The others have had more experience training and fighting against adversaries (which comes up at one point later), and he's only been a student at the academy for a short time. But even so, he starts connecting with each of the others, as they're all learning about each other and how to get along.
My main worry is that I might make it kind of like when Po first arrived at the Jade Palace, and his awkwardness when interacting with the Furious Five. But I'm trying to make it different because there's isn't much resentment between the five as there was some between them and Po (and it wasn't even really much resentment towards Po, that was mostly just from Tigress I think). I mean, there's bound to be some arguments between the five as they're just starting to get to know each other and there will be times they don't get along. But in this case, I don't see Tigress being nearly as cold to the other four as she was to Po in the beginning, and she even kind of tries to help them out while they're learning to train under Shifu. So even though Crane does have a bit of difficulty, it isn't because of how he interacts with the others but more of his own self-confidence because he's worried that he doesn't fit in as well as the others do.
But still, I'm worried about how well that story will go. Hmm...maybe I do have muses after all...heh.
