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Alyssa's Unofficial Guidelines For Writing FAKE Fic That Doesn't Suck
- Tokyopop is translating FAKE, you know. You have no excuse for being ignorant of canon. Yes, I know it's not all out yet. Volume 7 is coming out in May. Patience is a virtue. And if you really can't wait that long to write your fic, then at least spoil yourself. Canon isn't there to be ignored.
- DEE AND RYOU DO GET TOGETHER IN THE END. That said, if I see one more Dee-and-Ryou-getting-together fic, I will kill it. Sanami Matou did a marvelous job of getting them together herself, you know.
- For the love of all that is holy, CHARACTERIZATION IS NOT OPTIONAL. Ryou is not a fragile uke, Dee is not an evil seme, Berkeley is not a rapist, and JJ is not an idiot, a plot device, or a weepy melodramatic angstball. Be aware of the characters' personalities. They do have them, you know.
- Please, at least look over your fic once or twice. Correct any spelling and grammar errors. A good word processor can help you with this.
- Common sense. Use it. If you're going to write about police work, then be aware of how that works. Watch a cop show or two, at the very least.
- No, really, I mean it about canon and characterization. Berkeley does give up pursuing Ryou during the course of the series, you know.
- The only character who should speak a word of Japanese is JJ, and that word should be 'senpai'. Ryou should not call Dee a 'baka', or 'koibito', or say 'gomen' or 'sumimasen' or anything else in casual conversation. He speaks English. Because he, y'know, lives in New York, and nobody he knows actually speaks Japanese. I am well aware that FAKE is a Japanese manga, but it's set in America and you should write accordingly. JJ's 'senpai' is a special case.
- Just heading this off at the pass - take Tokyopop's translation with a grain of salt. JJ does not call Dee idiotic pet names.
- Yes. I know Ryou is very difficult to understand and write. I know that very well. But you have to try for me.
- There is not enough Drake x JJ fanfic. I'm starting to see more, and that's a good thing. I would like to encourage that. But it means you'll have to try extra hard with the characterization because they're both minor characters; Drake especially. And please, pretty please find a scanslation of Like, Like, Love before you attempt this. Otherwise, at least be creative. I don't want to see Drake pining after JJ and sighing melodramatically about how JJ Will Never Understand His WUV. Drake is not a drama queen, and he thinks he's straight. The pairing can and does work, but it takes some effort to get it started. Really, just hunt down Like, Like, Love and go from there.
- Incidentally, if you want to defy a fandom stereotype of a character, that's fantastic. But turning that character into the opposite of the stereotype is not the way to do it.
- Did I mention that characterization is not optional?
- Tokyopop is translating FAKE, you know. You have no excuse for being ignorant of canon. Yes, I know it's not all out yet. Volume 7 is coming out in May. Patience is a virtue. And if you really can't wait that long to write your fic, then at least spoil yourself. Canon isn't there to be ignored.
- DEE AND RYOU DO GET TOGETHER IN THE END. That said, if I see one more Dee-and-Ryou-getting-together fic, I will kill it. Sanami Matou did a marvelous job of getting them together herself, you know.
- For the love of all that is holy, CHARACTERIZATION IS NOT OPTIONAL. Ryou is not a fragile uke, Dee is not an evil seme, Berkeley is not a rapist, and JJ is not an idiot, a plot device, or a weepy melodramatic angstball. Be aware of the characters' personalities. They do have them, you know.
- Please, at least look over your fic once or twice. Correct any spelling and grammar errors. A good word processor can help you with this.
- Common sense. Use it. If you're going to write about police work, then be aware of how that works. Watch a cop show or two, at the very least.
- No, really, I mean it about canon and characterization. Berkeley does give up pursuing Ryou during the course of the series, you know.
- The only character who should speak a word of Japanese is JJ, and that word should be 'senpai'. Ryou should not call Dee a 'baka', or 'koibito', or say 'gomen' or 'sumimasen' or anything else in casual conversation. He speaks English. Because he, y'know, lives in New York, and nobody he knows actually speaks Japanese. I am well aware that FAKE is a Japanese manga, but it's set in America and you should write accordingly. JJ's 'senpai' is a special case.
- Just heading this off at the pass - take Tokyopop's translation with a grain of salt. JJ does not call Dee idiotic pet names.
- Yes. I know Ryou is very difficult to understand and write. I know that very well. But you have to try for me.
- There is not enough Drake x JJ fanfic. I'm starting to see more, and that's a good thing. I would like to encourage that. But it means you'll have to try extra hard with the characterization because they're both minor characters; Drake especially. And please, pretty please find a scanslation of Like, Like, Love before you attempt this. Otherwise, at least be creative. I don't want to see Drake pining after JJ and sighing melodramatically about how JJ Will Never Understand His WUV. Drake is not a drama queen, and he thinks he's straight. The pairing can and does work, but it takes some effort to get it started. Really, just hunt down Like, Like, Love and go from there.
- Incidentally, if you want to defy a fandom stereotype of a character, that's fantastic. But turning that character into the opposite of the stereotype is not the way to do it.
- Did I mention that characterization is not optional?
