The 30 Day Fanfiction Writing Meme :: Day Five.

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?

When I first got the plot bunny for Acceptable Losses, it was just about Spike, Angel, Connor, and the group of young Slayers. However, Buffy kept pushing her way into the plot when I was trying to turn it into a longer fic. Even though I don't really like writing Buffy (I often feel like I'm going to piss people off by how I view her because my POV of her is usually very different from the general consensus), I decided to let the idea play out as I wrote the outline. I don't think that it necessarily hurt what I was originally intending to do, and it probably made certain aspects of the plot (that I won't spoil since I'm still posting the bloody thing XD ) stronger and will hopefully make the message of the fic clearer by the end. However, it did take the fic in a completely different direction with the focus of the main plot. When I was editing, it made me realize that some stuff was going to have to be rewritten and taken out. One of the biggest reasons it's taken so long for me to finish posting the fic is because of Buffy's presence therein and the consequences of her being there, even for a short time. I guess that's a large part of her being the formerly title character- her presence is felt even when she's not there whether I want her to be a part of the plot or not.

I will also say that in my other current WIP Versailles Undone that a character I didn't expect somehow weaseled his way into the story that I wasn't exactly prepared for when the outline was being created, but there he was and he wouldn't go away... so he gets to stay. I won't say who he is for spoiler reasons, but I hope that he won't be too out-of-place.

I guess Spike could also be a constant answer to this question as well, but more precisely William. I really enjoy writing stories in which Spike can flashback to his past, and I can share glimpses into his childhood. Since we learn nothing in canon about his father, I got to completely create Phineas Pratt as a character, and I do like getting to include Victorian family interludes if I can. Plus, Phineas/Anne has become one of my OTPs. Their love is so adorkably literary and tragically filled with tuberculosis!

Overall, I suppose my first instinct to a character I didn't originally intend to include in a fic wanting to "join in" on a plot is to just let it happen. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I can go back to the outline and rework what was happening or maybe tweak things to see if I can make it work after all.

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-4 and the other 25 questions for the upcoming days... )

The 30 Day Fanfiction Writing Meme :: Day Five.

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?

When I first got the plot bunny for Acceptable Losses, it was just about Spike, Angel, Connor, and the group of young Slayers. However, Buffy kept pushing her way into the plot when I was trying to turn it into a longer fic. Even though I don't really like writing Buffy (I often feel like I'm going to piss people off by how I view her because my POV of her is usually very different from the general consensus), I decided to let the idea play out as I wrote the outline. I don't think that it necessarily hurt what I was originally intending to do, and it probably made certain aspects of the plot (that I won't spoil since I'm still posting the bloody thing XD ) stronger and will hopefully make the message of the fic clearer by the end. However, it did take the fic in a completely different direction with the focus of the main plot. When I was editing, it made me realize that some stuff was going to have to be rewritten and taken out. One of the biggest reasons it's taken so long for me to finish posting the fic is because of Buffy's presence therein and the consequences of her being there, even for a short time. I guess that's a large part of her being the formerly title character- her presence is felt even when she's not there whether I want her to be a part of the plot or not.

I will also say that in my other current WIP Versailles Undone that a character I didn't expect somehow weaseled his way into the story that I wasn't exactly prepared for when the outline was being created, but there he was and he wouldn't go away... so he gets to stay. I won't say who he is for spoiler reasons, but I hope that he won't be too out-of-place.

I guess Spike could also be a constant answer to this question as well, but more precisely William. I really enjoy writing stories in which Spike can flashback to his past, and I can share glimpses into his childhood. Since we learn nothing in canon about his father, I got to completely create Phineas Pratt as a character, and I do like getting to include Victorian family interludes if I can. Plus, Phineas/Anne has become one of my OTPs. Their love is so adorkably literary and tragically filled with tuberculosis!

Overall, I suppose my first instinct to a character I didn't originally intend to include in a fic wanting to "join in" on a plot is to just let it happen. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I can go back to the outline and rework what was happening or maybe tweak things to see if I can make it work after all.

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-4 and the other 25 questions for the upcoming days... )