The character voices have to be right, or it's difficult for me to enjoy a story.

This makes a lot of sense.

In between, there is most everything else.

Do you think (and I hate to make a generalization, so that's SO not what I'm trying to do here) one of the draws to fan fiction is that there is a structure to follow? Or am I talking out of my ass here, not being a fan fiction writer and all?

burnt toast

I think that filk is very close to what you're looking for, vw. Because if you don't get the rhythm and style of the original poem/song/story correct, the filk doesn't make sense.

Good point. Oh, and Elena, do you know where any of those challenges or that website is? I'd love to take a look at them.

I know that, in addition to JW, Tom Fontana, and David Simon, my current WIP owes a lot to Philip Roth too...I think writing fic can be like doing impressions.

Go to the filk site and look at the Literary category.

[link]

You can also find pastiches in fanfic, where, say, someone writes a Smallville story in the style of a noir detective story.

I don't know. I don't write in the style of the show very much at all, really, though I try to match dialogue patterns and canon information. But the stuff I tend towards ends up being kind of froufy and amorphous (I think) and largely character-driven, internal dialogue stuff that doesn't mimic the plot-based stories of the shows I write about.

Do you think (and I hate to make a generalization, so that's SO not what I'm trying to do here) one of the draws to fan fiction is that there is a structure to follow? Or am I talking out of my ass here, not being a fan fiction writer and all?

Again, it depends on the reader.

One of the big draws for the reader/writers I know is that you have this narrow framework, with established characters, and yet you're still trying to tell a story that feels fresh and emotionally true.

In some regards, high-end fic reminds me of the French Court tradition of telling fairy tales.

For some people, it's just enough that their woobie get unslighted and get the goil.

I'm not sure, cause I mix stuff together so much.

In some regards, high-end fic reminds me of the French Court tradition of telling fairy tales.

Ooh! Nice analogy!

One of the big draws for the reader/writers I know is that you have this narrow framework, with established characters, and yet you're still trying to tell a story that feels fresh and emotionally true.

Though at the same time, in my particular fandom, AU's are a big and massive thing that makes up a fair percentage of the fanfiction produced. And oftentimes it takes the characters wildly out of their preexisting conditions, times, positions, relationships, etc, although they're good because usually they stick to the general characterization of that character--exploring how they would deal with a particular wild and crazy situation. So in that case, you get a story that's fresh and emotionally true, but it's achieved in what I would consider a very different way from canonized stories.

I don't know anything about this...must work out of procedural ghetto. Enlighten me.The fairy tale thing, I mean. Interesting definition of successful AU, SA. Although I tried to change as little about "Homicide" as possible to get the Buffy cast in. This Angel one is much more "alternate"