tamlin_kitsune: (Default)
[personal profile] tamlin_kitsune
first off - thank you so much to everyone that has been so informative in response to my avatar out of character question.  It helped me hugely - and the fact that everyone gave reasons was a God-send.  Thank you so, so much.

You see, I've got this fear with my writing.  I've possibly always had it - but it's come into focus since the last Twilight book was published and it's regularly in the back of my mind when I write.

For clarification, I've never read the Twilight books so I can't say they're good or bad.  I find myself indifferent to the story idea and seem to have an inbuilt prejudice against things that are flamingly popular anyway.  That said, several of the communities I hang out in or visit do have Twilighters and the anticipation when the last book was coming out was... vast.  Then the last book came out.

The wailing was able to be heard even in the non-Twilight forums.

Not having read the books I can only speak from what I heard but according to a vocal number of fans, the characters in the last book were out of character noticeably and the ending was disappointing - a let down when they'd had their hopes so high.  Granted, there's no way any author can live up to every fan's desires and hopes (and with Twilight I'm sure the hopes were sky high).  And granted, there are always going to be readers that think you're not writing your characters properly *cough*.  But the amount of negative response to the last book seemed excessive to me to simply be a few fans who were disappointed their 'team' didn't end up with Bella.  It seemed, to me, reading what I did, that the author had lost her thread and simply written a book because a book needed to be written.  When original characters you've created aren't acting in-character anymore - that's a sure sign something went wrong.

As a writer, I take very seriously the trust my readers give me when they start one of my stories.  I do this because I've been on the reader side of the fence often enough to know how it feels.  As a reader you invest yourself both time-wise and emotionally in someone else's world and you hope - God, you hope - that it pays off in the end.  Writing, I admit, I have to follow my story where it goes and there's not much choice for me on that path (hell, half the time I'm not even consulted!).  That doesn't mean that, as I get close to the end I don't start obsessively checking for loose ends and gnawing away at whether the ending is going to be satisfactory or not.  It was the major concern of mine when I wrote Tales Within Tales for instance.  I needed so badly for that last chapter(s) to leave the readers with the sense of satisfaction and completion and healing that they'd invested all that energy of theirs into reaching.  I asked two other author's I respect and trust to read those last chapters before I posted just to make sure it ended right.  Not necessarily the way someone wanted it to end but in a way that was right and felt as right to the readers as it did to me.  Granted, I may not have accomplished that for everyone (I've had at least one wistful notice that I didn't include a sex scene - lol) but it seems I managed for the majority.  Commandment One of writing is:  Thou shall NOT bore thy readers.  Somewhere shortly after that should come 'thou shall not betray their trust'.  Which isn't the same as running them through the emotional wringer - heck, what kind of author doesn't enjoy doing that?  It's just that everything has to be worthwhile at the end. 

Following closely behind that for me is that the characters have to be believable.  What author doesn't worry about one of their main characters being an unnoticed Mary Sue?  But I also worry, I think we all do, about keeping our characters consistent.  Perhaps even more so when we're borrowing a character we love from a fandom.  We can play with them and twist them through new hoops but we love the characters we love for a reason and that's the core of them that we try never to change.  Sometimes, experimenting too far with how much I can twist them, I worry about losing them.  My readers trust me to love and respect the characters as much as they do (and more than some writers *cough*ffnet*cough* seem to).  so yeah, I worry when someone tells me I'm abusing Cloud and he's drastically out of character.  I worry because I'm well aware that I could easily be so close to the situation that I can't actually see what's really going on anymore.  I worry that I might have lost him and not even realize it.  And so I need eyes other than mine from writers and readers that I know know what they're talking about to tell me 'yes, no, stop, go'.  It means the world to me when those people come up along side me and bring in clarity with them. 

on that note, I've started chapter 4 of avatar ;)  Since I can't glomp everyone, that's going to be my 'thank you'.  You guys were all just exactly what I needed. 

I love the internet.

Date: 2010-02-12 01:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angel90-1.livejournal.com
Don't worry, knowing your readers, if something happens, we will let you know about it. With lots and lots of reviews. But yeah, your Cloud writing seems to be consistent, and again, it is an AU. Plus, the majority seems to love it and think Cloud is, as always, made of awesome, so that minority can just miss out on the awesome :P

And a new chapter? Wow, you spoil us :D

Date: 2010-02-12 01:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitsune13-tam.livejournal.com
well, avatar!Cloud wanted to go straight to the ShinRa prison scene where's he's bunked up with Tifa - but I told him that there was that little thing called Plot Continuation and a Plate being dropped on Sector Seven that we had to deal with first. He'd grudgingly agreed to go along with it but only after I told him he could throw a monkey wrench into certain situations if he wanted to. ;)

and - you're animeAngel90 over on ffnet - aren't you? If so, I can't tell you how much your reviews for TWT have been making me grin (like the village idiot in fact).

Date: 2010-02-12 01:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angel90-1.livejournal.com
See, I've never played the games, but I do know about plot parts like that just from fics by you and sekiharatae, lol. And yeah, that pesky Cloud. He's just not happy with beating Sephiroth, he needs to destroy Plot Continuation as well, silly boy. Just tell him you'll write Leon kissing Tifa again somewhere if he doesn't behave ;)

*takes a bow* why yes, I am she :P And I'm glad I made you smile - only fair i return the favour for how much squeeing you made me do over the course of your story, lol. It was just so awesome...I kept having to leave and jump around squeeing before i went to the next chapter (i.e. after Tifa/Leon kiss, and the part way back at the beginning when they were posing together and Cloud showed up, Cloud/Tifa kiss, when the kids were alive....basically every few chapters :P)

Date: 2010-02-12 04:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] parapluies.livejournal.com
Twilight.... *shudders* I both fear and detest that fandom. Granted I used to be part of the fandom. I read all four books, like them enough, but there was always something bugging me about Bella and Edward and I didn't know what. Until I read someone's article about why Twilight was horrible and why Bella is just the worst and so is Edward, and I was so enlightened... And then I noticed how the fangirls reacted to Edward and that freaked me out. I left the fandom shortly after and only look back with relief that I wasn't sapped into the mayhem. OH GOD. IT'S JUST... HORRIBLE.

But don't worry about your writing. I always thought your fics were consistent. You've always made Cloud amazing and yet soe completely human and flawed. So nothing to worry about. Whereas with Stephenie Meyer... YOU DON'T SEE ANY FLAW WITH THE CHARACTERS CUZ SHE TRIES TO MAKE THEM SO DAMN PERFECT >:[

Okay I'm done ranting lol.

Date: 2010-02-16 11:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] momcalling.livejournal.com
I like Twilight. I was without a computer for a week and picked up the first because it was at the checkout and because I thought I'd take a stab at whatever everyone else was reading...and because it's about a part of the country that I know something about...in fact I was visiting relatives quite close by. Relatives that are kinda hard to be with--and it was cold and rainy and we were stuck indoors. Together, without much to say. Anyway, despite it's flaws, I had a good time with it. And I fell in love with Edward, got irritated with Bella, and read all 4 books as fast as I could and then read them some more. I've read them a coupla x's since, and then went on to more sexy vampires stories. It's kinda wierd. After years of not reading fiction, just heavy, heavy tomes of great and worthwhile wisdom and worth, I spent a lot of last year deep into the ff7 fan fiction world. Totally immersed. And loving it. Really feeling alive. Now I've opened up to the world of real books, sexy vampires wearing shitkickers and attitudes. So's all good. Cloud and his gang, then Twilight, then the Black Dagger Boys---and voila! A revivified me. Known in the virtual fan world as mom calling. Life's good! mc

Date: 2010-02-22 02:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] iskra-revoir.livejournal.com
I tried, I really tried, but it got out of control (you know very well how is that, don´t you?).
It ended up being so much of a behemot that I had to dedicate a whole LJ entry to the comment. So, go to read it.
And about 'The Twist'? I know perfectly well how you feel. There´s nothing quite like comming with a good, perfectly subtle ironic comeback and nobody understanding that you won! Nobody to laugh evily with you! Well, from now on, we shall share an evil smile whit every update till the truth comes out and I´m finally able to get my plushie. Me and the whole plushie army are looking forward to it ;)

Date: 2010-02-23 05:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laura-josephsen.livejournal.com
I hope you'll excuse me poking into your journal--I followed the link from [livejournal.com profile] nekohooch's LJ. Your name is really familiar--are you kitsune13 on ff.n? I'm over there (not under this name) and I see you around all the time.

Anyway, I read through this entry and just wanted to say THANK YOU. It was very insightful and so true. More writers should pay attention to this sort of thing. This bit in particular: Writing, I admit, I have to follow my story where it goes and there's not much choice for me on that path (hell, half the time I'm not even consulted!). UGHHH yes. Isn't that just how characters work?

Anyway, thanks for sharing, and I'll skedaddle out of your LJ now. ;)

Date: 2010-02-24 09:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitsune13-tam.livejournal.com
heh - actually it's nice to see a new name/face so you don't have to leave. Really *said with big blinky eyes* lol Yeah, you caught me. I'm kitsune13 over on ffnet. Most of stuff gets put up over here first and posted to the Pit later. But now I'm stymied. Which writer over there are you?

Date: 2010-02-24 10:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laura-josephsen.livejournal.com
LOL, okay then. :D I just didn't want to intrude.

I'm Qwi-Xux on ff.net. I'm also [livejournal.com profile] qwi_xux here--it used to be my everyday journal, but because my co-author and I are getting ready to have our first book published, I figured it would be good to establish an LJ under my published writing name. So now my [livejournal.com profile] qwi_xux journal just gets used for posting the fanfic that I post over at the Pit and this journal gets used for my blog.

Date: 2010-02-26 03:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitsune13-tam.livejournal.com
really? That's awesome! I love your stuff over on ffnet! Hope you don't mind but I snuffled through your 'writing name' journal. Sounds amazing and very interesting as well as intensive. I tried publishing the traditional route but my agent - wonderful though Ethan was - couldn't manage to find anyone. I'm thinking I may try the less traditional internet route eventually myself. After I get something I'm ready to go forward with again... >.

Date: 2010-02-26 05:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laura-josephsen.livejournal.com
Aw, thanks! ^_^

Publishing is such a tricky business; you sound like you've had quite a journey so far, too. What sort of books do you write?

Date: 2010-03-02 12:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitsune13-tam.livejournal.com
it's been an interesting ride. Writing the story turns out to be the easy part - lol. I kind of stumbled my way through finding an agent, learning as I went. Writing a query letter was a whole 'nother animal for instance - lol. finally I got so desperate that I just sent off queries to any agent I could find - which ended me up with Ethan Ellenberg, the agent of one of my favorite authors. thought I was on top of the world when I signed my contract with him but my timing was lousy and the publishing industry was just starting to feel the economy. He shopped me around but the only people interested were Mira (which is a branch of Harlequin - lol). They ended up turning me down - much to my surprised relief - and even though it could have been that the story wasn't that interesting, I like to tell myself it was because I wouldn't add sex scenes ;) By the time I had my next book ready for a try, all the major book stores had already been reporting losses for a while. bleh.

In the meantime though, I've ended up with another book idea I'm enjoying playing with and the concept that internet publishing might just be the next logical step in book sales. The idea of print on demand like what you're working with makes a heck of a lot of sense for instance. I'm still in the exploring stages I'll admit and I'd like to get my next story finished before I get too carried away. Each time I finish a book I feel as if it's better than my last so I'm never quite satisfied with what I've already finished (if that makes any sense).

Uh, first book was a historic romance. Second book was set in a nearby distopian future. Third book will be - heh, I guess I'll know when I've finished it ;)

I'll admit, going through your posts has given me both hope and a lot of new ideas. I'm glad you're doing that. Let's me not feel so much like the lone ranger with my dreams.

Date: 2010-03-02 03:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laura-josephsen.livejournal.com
That is quite an adventure. I'm in the process of agent-hunting right now--kind of waiting to hear back from one who has my partial manuscript before I decide whether I want to keep agent-hunting or submit the book to my current print-on-demand publishers. *shrugs* The book I wrote last year was outside my realm of comfort and familiarity--I'm usually the fantasy/sci-fi, epic quest sort of writer, and the book I'm shopping around right now was just a normal story about a normal girl with a big family. The book I just started working on, however, is back to Epic Quest.

I completely know what you mean about how each time you finish a book, you feel as if it's better than your last. I think that's just a part of writing. I'm the same way, whether it's with a novel or a fanfic.

I'm glad that going through some of my posts has been at all helpful to you. I'm not sure which ones you saw...I'd have to go see which entries I left unlocked. 98% of my LJ entries are friends-locked, but I try to remember to leave some of the writing/publishing posts public. Speaking of which, would you mind terribly if I friended you? I have a tendency to do a lot of headache-inducing rambling talking, but I'm harmless. ;)

I think it's great that you're continuing to write. You may find in your publishing quest that it's one of your earlier books comes back around and smacks you upside the head. Maybe it will be a brand new book. You just have to find one person who thinks it's publishable--and you might have to go through a LOT before you get to that one person. I just remind myself it's a business, and maybe some authors will write things specifically because it's marketable. I don't know about you, but I can't write that way. I have to write whatever characters and story are demanding to be told, and if it turns out that no one wants to publish it, then that's okay. And if it turns out they do want it, then brilliant. Either way, I'll still be over here plugging away on the stories that are demanding my attention.

But as you said--there are a lot of options for publication, and while the traditional route is lovely, there are other options that still get your book into readers' hands. I'd love to hear more about your process as you continue down your writing road.

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TamLin

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