From Fanfic to Fanfiction

A place to celebrate the publication of our own roswellianprincess16, AKA Isabelle Santiago!

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roswellianprincess16
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From Fanfic to Fanfiction

Post by roswellianprincess16 »

What makes for a good jump from fanfiction to original fiction?

That's a question I asked myself for a long time. Then Deidre Knight released her Parallel Series/Midnight Warriors Series and I knew. The step necessary to become an original author have to do mostly with passion.

Deidre began her original fiction career with a book based on an old fanfic. A wonderful one at that. (Shout out to her, because her writing has ALWAYS impressed me). If you've read it, you've seen the similarities that still remain. But you've also seen the growth, the experience, and the strength of imagination. She took something that was good and made it INCREDIBLE. She's taken it so much further than her fanfics could have. It's a completely different world now.

Keep in mind, not every fanfic lends itself to such a conversion. Some are just too immersed in the Roswell canon to leave that world. But some ideas, though applied to the Roswell world out of habit, can very well be part of our own world, if we let them.

Try to think outside the box. Try to envision this problem set elsewhere, in another time or place, with characters maybe similar, but different from the ones you had in mind.

You'll see just how far your imagination can take you! I know I sound like an elementary school English teacher, but believe me. The boundaries are endless.

So what do I suggest to get those creative juices flowing?

READ! That's right, read. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on. Read in your fave genre, read out of it. Read epics, read short stories. Read authors you love and authors you've never heard of. Compare. What is it about each that makes them unique? What is it that attracts your attention?

Most likely you'll learn it's their voice. Every author has their own voice. It's shaped by their individual thoughts, experiences, pains and sorrows. This voice will tell the same story as the person beside them in a completely different way.

Embrace your voice. Try things you never would have. Prompts are great fun. They help stretch your writing legs. One book I've gotten a kick out of is The Writer's Book of Matches- 1,001 Prompts. That thing can keep me busy for hours.

And do your research! Read books on the genre you love. Check out publisher's websites and guidelines until your eyes cross. I can't stress enough the importance of really doing research on publishers, particularly e-publishers. It's a growing endeavor. E-pubs open and close everyday. But some have amazing staying power (both in the way they're run and in the authors they contract) and I truly see them as the future of publishing in general. So spend some time learning the business. In the end, you'll be glad you did.

Consider this a mini-tutorial. ;)

Now get to writing!
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-Isabelle Santiago, Author of Scifi/Fantasy Romance
Not Every Girl Dreams of Prince Charming...
http://twistedfairytale.net
http://twistedfairytale.net/blog/
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