Ranma ½ The AU Trap, and how to avoid it.

[Ezit Meti]

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?

 

[Satori]

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?

I almost never plan endings for my fanfics. Then again, I subscribe to the SHnY school of story writing, where things like linear order, beginnings, and ends are loose guidelines we ignore when we feel like it.

Heck, the sole Ranma fic I am still actually trying to write has nothing more than a basic outline of events occurring before Ranma even hits the scene. The rest is meant to be extrapolated from the context of the worldbuilding i've done.

Making it up as you go along can work for fics... it really depends on what you;re trying to accomplish.

 

[goldenarms]

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?

I almost never plan endings for my fanfics. Then again, I subscribe to the SHnY school of story writing, where things like linear order, beginnings, and ends are loose guidelines we ignore when we feel like it.

Heck, the sole Ranma fic I am still actually trying to write has nothing more than a basic outline of events occurring before Ranma even hits the scene. The rest is meant to be extrapolated from the context of the worldbuilding i've done.

Making it up as you go along can work for fics... it really depends on what you;re trying to accomplish.

I wouldn't say that's a good thing, given that SHnY can get away with that sort of thing, seeing that one of the main characters unconsciously rewrites reality as she sees fit and everyone else is trapped as her puppets to keep her amused in fear of the universe going kaput of she ever got bored.

I would say you definitely need to know how your story ends before you begin writing it. What's your destination?

Writing a story is like planning a road trip -- you would like to know where you're going so you'll have an idea of how much gas, supplies and clothing you would need, as well as plan out the places you'll want to stop to eat/rest/fuel up/sightsee along the way. That last thing anyone wants is to end up in the middle of Death Valley at midday with a flat tire, no gas, no water to drink and no cell phone coverage so you can get help with the nearest town being fifty miles away, give or take.

 

[chronodekar]

I'm a HUGE fan of planning, but I want to put in one thing. There is this Ranma fic that I first thought our in my mind way back in 1998. It's 2011 now and I STILL haven't actually posted it anywhere. Why? For one thing, I keep getting distracted and for another, well, I just keep getting distracted.

That, and no matter how I write it, I just can't seem to make it funny enough to post. -sigh-

It's a continuation fic, if anyone was curious.

-chronodekar