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[Flying Dice]

Yeah, Spacebattles is a go-to for advice. Which is really part of the number one rule: GET A PROOFREADER. More than one if you can manage it. Also make sure to read over everything yourself for mechanical errors and awkward phrasing. Make sure to optimize your text for the format FF.net uses, particularly in regards to paragraph size; I tend to use the 1/2 width setting while reading, and on that your ideal is around 3-6 line paragraphs. Consistently being shorter or longer than that is irritating to read.

That's purely technical stuff, in terms of the content the best thing you can do is research tons. Have a wiki open and the canon work beside you. Double-check your facts and reread passages to make sure that you're getting the characterization close to what it actually is, rather than the amalgam of fanon personalities floating inside your head. Don't use fanon as a crutch (unless you're taking a somewhat meta approach, as in the various good crack/parody fics out there).

Just having a checklist like that to work from will bump your writing up several notches; it doesn't matter how great your ideas are if they're poorly expressed and painful to read.

[Neonivek]

Ok... I don't know if this was said...

But for Harry Potter

Start with My Immortal (preferably a reading) which is either So bad its good or just plain bad. Though it succeeds on being pretty good metafiction.

Then watch My Immortal the Webseries. In that order.

The webseries (I hope that is the name) takes the original writing and by changing the context makes it good writing. It is quite the sight to behold as it takes Enoby Darkness Dementia Raven Tara Way into a well rounded character O_O

[Gamerlord]

Thanks, I'll do that.

[Albert the Absentminded]

An American Geek in Halkeginia. Another one of those "Why is this so well done!?" things. Leans towards sorta-maybe-squick considering there's attraction from the familiar towards Louise, despite a notable age difference and the familiar not wanting it to happen, but, it's, like. Just. It's better than it has any right to be. Hasn't been updated in a while, though.

Thank you for the recommend.

I'll note that while Jason's aware that his feelings may be/probably/are magically induced, he doesn't mind all that much. Romantic love not being particularly rational to begin with. His biggest issue is that her family makes her a very dangerous individual to be intimate with, given the circumstances.

[Darvi]

I mentioned Harry Potter and the Eagle of Truthiness on IRC a week ago or so. Might as well share it here.

[Neonivek]

I am curious what Gamerlord thinks of my suggestion when he gets around to it.

If you need a good reading I know a few.

[Frumple]

... well, if they haven't been suggested already, do recommend them. S'what the thread's for.

E: Speaking of which, I just remembered this. First fic in a fairly decent X-men/G.I. Joe crossover trilogy. Or what I remember being a fairly decent one, anyway. It's been a while since I last read it. Like. Several years. Anyway.

[Gamerlord]

*finds topic in the bowels of the Updated Topics page*
I could not stand My Immortal. I... I just couldn't.

Also: Asking the Sufficient Velocity forums for advice was a bust, bunch of people saying 'you suck for writing/liking this' though one of the guys who was kinda flaming/criticising me later apologised over the fanfiction.net PM system, saying he went a little too far as well as giving me some decent advice along with the sorta apology, which was kinda nice. Never actually had someone say sorry over an internet argument before. I can't check out Spacebattles since the site doesn't like my email address. Eh, at least I still have the Sufficient Velocity Quest subboard.

In other news I posted up my fic and there are actually people who seem to like it. I'll be posting up some more of my personal recommendations later; I have a large backlog of fics to work through reading right now.

[Xantalos]

I might as well; reading through 10 kung fu panda fanfics and 2 asoiaf ones is a fun experience.

[Neonivek]

Sorry Gamerlord.

You can still watch the webseries I guess... but the point is lost since a big part of the enjoyment of watching it is how they actually spin the original fanfic into something... GOOD.

Ohh well...

[Frumple]

Lost sleep reading this last night. I am a terrible sucker for Supcom/TA crossovers.

[Xantalos]

...
That's a Worm/Supcom crossover. How does Total Annihilation enter in?

[Frumple]

Supcom and TA just kinda' blend together to me, really. Hence it's a Supcom/TA xover (with worm) -- I consider them largely the same thing. Maybe better written as (Supcom/TA) or somethin', I'unno. They're both largely defined by bullshit space magic of the most wonderfully snowbally kind, and I love them for it.

[Gamerlord]

What the hell is Worm anyways?

[Frumple]

A fairly decent, fairly gritty, definitely lengthy (Well over a million words) superhero web serial. You can find it here. It's been latched on to by SB/SV and probably a few other places for the last while, so it's producing some pretty decent fanfiction.