This isn't something new, nor is it likely to take people by surprise or anything, but there seem to be two main traps that people writing AUs tend to fall into.
1: Ignoring cause and effect, resulting in events that are far too similar to the events in the series. Ranma appears at the Tendos, Ranma fights Kuno, Kuno falls for Ranma's girl side, Ryoga shows up, Kodachi, etc etc. Over and over again, the same beats are beat out.
2: Not having an endpoint in sight. There comes a time when eventually, a story simply has to end. Most AUs that start off with interesting ideas simply don't seem to have an endgame in mind. They keep on going, going on through the events of the series. Has any single AU ever gotten through the entire manga, and still been interesting to read? I don't even think that second qualifier is necessary.
Both problems are linked to what AU writers seem to forget. That they are writing a story. Too often, they get trapped in the wrong kind of thinking, that they're writing the manga or anime with that slight difference being the only thing there to truly differentiate from the canon material. Or worse yet, they get caught up in shipping and spend half their time preaching their opinions of the characters.
To that end, I would have to say that instead of just coming up with an interesting AU idea and just writing it, think through the effects it would have on the characters first. Think about how it changes things, things that really wouldn't be affected, then think about the endpoint. Think about a natural climax to this story, and construct the story to build up to that climax, so that you can naturally finish it there.
What do other people think about this?
1: Ignoring cause and effect, resulting in events that are far too similar to the events in the series. Ranma appears at the Tendos, Ranma fights Kuno, Kuno falls for Ranma's girl side, Ryoga shows up, Kodachi, etc etc. Over and over again, the same beats are beat out.
2: Not having an endpoint in sight. There comes a time when eventually, a story simply has to end. Most AUs that start off with interesting ideas simply don't seem to have an endgame in mind. They keep on going, going on through the events of the series. Has any single AU ever gotten through the entire manga, and still been interesting to read? I don't even think that second qualifier is necessary.
Both problems are linked to what AU writers seem to forget. That they are writing a story. Too often, they get trapped in the wrong kind of thinking, that they're writing the manga or anime with that slight difference being the only thing there to truly differentiate from the canon material. Or worse yet, they get caught up in shipping and spend half their time preaching their opinions of the characters.
To that end, I would have to say that instead of just coming up with an interesting AU idea and just writing it, think through the effects it would have on the characters first. Think about how it changes things, things that really wouldn't be affected, then think about the endpoint. Think about a natural climax to this story, and construct the story to build up to that climax, so that you can naturally finish it there.
What do other people think about this?