[WZA]

Not all good stories have to be (entirely) original. Sometimes authors like myself have an inclination to write on “established” media (when permissible of course), if only for simple fun as well as to refine our writing and creative skills that much more. So, who here at Geeks + Gamers writes fanfiction? You can find my own work here:

Fanfiction.net
Archive of Our Own

[MaverickEndeavor]

I’ve been doing fanfiction for many years, since 2005. I’ve written several one-shots, a crossover and some full length stories. Getting started wasn’t exactly easy; the first few attempts weren’t very good. Those were for Teen Titans and Metroid. I was able to get something going with a trilogy of wrestling stories, and then I upped my game with a continuation of the Sam Raimi universe of Spider-Man. I also done a Legend of Zelda as I love the series, an Avengers/Justice League crossover. But my best work, at least in my humble opinion, is with The Transformers. All of those stories are set primarily in the Generation One universe but also borrow elements from various other properties. My current story is nearing its conclusion and from there, I’m going to focus on a new original story inspired by the late 1999-2000 anime Blue Gender. Yes, that’s the actual name of the anime and it’s one of my favorites. Feel free to check my work over on FanFiction.net, under KiloWhiskeyOscar.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by MaverickEndeavor.

[StephenDutton]

I’ve written a lot of fan fiction (well over 200 stories of various lengths) that I post on my own website:

http://www.thehazugfiles.uk/Index.htm

I’ve written stories set in the following:

– Warhammer 40k

– Star Wars. Various sets set in the Classic era, Tales of the Jedi era and more recently some set about 250 years before the Battle of Yavin (note that this is totally unrelated to Disney’s High Republic, I started mine about 4 years ago and had been planning it before then).

– Star Trek, currently following on from the TNG era but I will also be adding some in the movie era eventually.

– Aliens, following on from Alien 3.

– Space:1999. This is a reimagining of the old TV series and is called Space:2299.

Except for the last of these that adapts characters from the original Space:1999 I use original characters that I can have total control over without violating the official canon. Although Yoda is in some parts of my Star Wars 250BBY fiction he does not play an active role in events.

I’ve also written some stories based on the Cthulhu Mythos as well as some totally original writing that is also on my website.

Lengthwise the stories vary. Most of the Star Wars ones are about 12,000 words each. There are also a few short Warhammer 40k ones but largely the others are either about 30,000 words long or 60,000 words and over for what I term ‘full length’. They are presented in a mix of online html and downloadable pdfs. I’m trying to switch over entirely to pdfs  but that might take a while.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by StephenDutton.

[Roas]

While I personally don’t read or write fanfiction anymore, I fully support its creation and efforts. Fanfiction is the perfect tool for any writer to work out technique kinks and get practice so that when they produce their own IPs, those IPs come out more defined and refined.

I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t spent the 2000’s writing Lunar and Tenchi fanfiction, and no, they will not see the light of day ever again, because I’m repurposing the core concepts of those stories for original IP use, since aside from borrowing characters the plot ideas were wholly original.

I hope everyone either finds a series that helps spark their creative energies, or simply find a series they can escape into for the pure joy of reading.

 

[Tielner]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I come from a country where fanfiction wasn’t a big thing back in the 80s. It was considered as plagiarism and ripping off. But the urge to write was always there. And writing quests for RPGs taught me a lot. (Is writing a quest for an already existing RPG not also a kind of fanfiction?)</p>
Seven years ago I started my career as a full time author and I never regreted it. And yeah – English is not my native language – so don’t worry, I am not writing in English ;D .

I have written all kind of stuff. my first horror novel was this:

Comercially not my most successful work but quite okay.

If you have any questions or contact to the film industry let me know :) .

[Byronofsidius]

Greetings and salutations, all.

I’ve delved into creating a few fanfiction projects as a means of practicing my craft on a few occasions,  mostly on Fanfiction.net under the username Byronofsidius. With 26 commercial novels under my belt, three freebies done as audiobook presentations on my Bitchute, I have no shame in admitting to also doing fanfic! Below are a few I’ve loved doing, all on Fanfiction.net:

 

‘Heavy is the Crown’- a novel giving Bowser (of Mario) an origin and rise to power story.

‘Early Days’- a novel giving Samus Aran a different kind of upbringing.

‘Steel Nightmare’- a combat-centered Megaman X novel with a slight philosophical bent.

[Legatus_Legionis]

@StephenDutton I read your first installment of Space:2299

 

I like how you spent only a minimal time on details/descriptions (settings, outfits, personality, etc) and used the space for dialogue to move the story forward.

I do not know if this was because it was expected people already know those details, but it also leaves room to expand on in future chapters.

 

This first installment also had set up plenty of future store lines/plots.  Multiple moon bases, a civilian/tourist population on the moon, civilian spaceships, alien tech and the alien threat as well as the separatists cells, etc.

 

Eventually, I will read the other chapters.

[StephenDutton]

Thanks for your positive comments. I try to avoid excessive detail to keep things moving, although the longer the story the more opportunity I have for such details. Also when I am writing a series of stories then I know that as soon as something is written down it becomes fixed, so if I wait until I absolutely have to include a detail then I can change it if I need to.

For the Space:2299 stories I have actually changed quite a lot from the original Space:1999 TV show, especially by making the moon’s population far larger. I did find it odd that the base was called Moonbase Alpha yet there didn’t seem to be any more of them so that was something I deliberately changed. As you say by adding those extra bases I also give myself more options for the future.

[Legatus_Legionis]

As it is fanfiction, I can easily see why we did not need to get details that are known to the fans Space:1999.

Eventually, as we move away from the more familiar to the unfamiliar, more details will be given to the unfamiliar.

I had to keep reminding myself of the new ranks, as I am so used to it being Commander John Koenig rather than his new rank.

Can’t wait till I read the next chapter… hopefully soon as I am busy at the moment.

 

[Legatus_Legionis]

Ok, I made the time to read

02: The Empath

I am surprised you took Maya from season two and put her into episode two.

But having the opportunity to see how she and professor Bergman interact (after all, she replaced his character in season two of the original series), but Maya does not come across as being a scientist… just a commodity that can manipulate one individual with extreme effort as her special powers.

I understand why Tony was introduced in episode 1, and thought there could have been lots of stories told before Maya was included.

Lots more action in this one.  It feels like almost a 180 from the first episode.

 

As I predicted, the new is detailed.  Those that are important are described (the Dorcons and their ships), while those others in the dungeon where “creatures from other species” they (humans) knew not of. LOL

 

Leaving the door open that future episodes we might meet more “other species”, while leaving yourself open to how you want them to look/behave.  That is smart writing, IMO.

 

And if we keep up with your use of names, then Maya is her last name, but the interaction with her and her grandfather suggests that it is her first name.  Unless they only have one name.  We do not know enough right now to determine it or not.

 

While we did learn those that had attacked Earth were also enemies of the Dorcons, after this first encounter with Moonbase Alpha it looks like; “The enemy of my enemy is not my friend”.

 

If/when the Dorcons and the Humans become allies, might make for an interesting story later fighting a common enemy, if they don’t destroy each other first.

 

The only thing I would say is that more dealing with punctuations.  Missing Quotations marks, and some commas, etc.  This happened in episode 1, and again in episode 2.  As it is fanfiction, it can easily be ignored.  But if you plan on doing more with it, having someone proofread might be something to look at in the future.

[StephenDutton]

Thanks.

I knew I wanted to use Maya (I writing that as her only name, I don’t recall any other being used in the TV show) and decided to bring her in early. I wasn’t happy about a shape shifter though and didn’t want to duplicate Professor Bergman’s role so I altered her more than any other character I think. Her role will change slightly later on as she looks to become more involved with life on the moon but the way I have changed her will allow the inhabitants of the moon to communicate with other aliens they encounter more believably than if they all happened to speak English.

The Dorcons are very loosely based on the TV show where they appeared in one episode. In that they were enemies of the Psychons but in keeping with most of the aliens in TV shows at the time they looked human and that was something I wanted to change. The appearance of the Dorcons and their ships was something I considered that needed to be described.

I do plan on using other species later on, some hostile, some not.

I do get the stories proof read, obviously this isn’t perfect but it’s much better than my drafts. Right now I’m sitting on a huge mound of material I don’t want to post because I haven’t been able to get it checked.

[Legatus_Legionis]

The problem of how to communicate with other species, especially in science fiction is tough.

Star Trek used the Universal Translator.

Star Wars, being a galaxy-wide civilization, used “common” and translator droids.

D&D also uses “common”.

The Hitchhiker’s Guild To The Galaxy used the Babel Fish for this.

I have read stories of where a mis-interpreting of words leads to conflicts.

So in your episode, the use of the “outsider’s language” could be both a mis-interpreting of words (as Alpha was unsure of their translations), but also to the language itself – the language of their enemy.

 

It is something we tend to ignore in most stories, for the sake of plot, etc.

It also lets for some interesting plot choices in the future.

 

Can’t wait till I got the time to read some more, to see how incorporate it into your narrative.

[Legatus_Legionis]

03 – The Deal on Offer

Nice touch of humour.  I was not expected it when I did.  Nicely done.

 

Another connection:  Just like how everyone in the original Battlestar Galactica knew and hated Baltar, Keynes now fits that role.  The distrust and open hostility was well written.

But I understanding the need to bring in new characters (your own).

And just like Maya, I would have held back on her interaction for a later episode, and her helping with her skills.  Getting us to know the main/other characters better.  Showing how badly they needed her skillset on the moon more, before they got to this point in time.

 

We got to learn more about the Dorcons.  Thinking the worst always.  Everyone is against them.  Only advancements is by …. sorry no spoilers.  LOL

 

So I don’t know yet if this is a natural characteristics of the Dorcons, or as a result of their interaction with the Outsiders.  Once again, this not being revealed leaves the reader(s) wanting to know more.  Giving us new information and just enough to keep the readers hooked is great.  Nice job there.

 

The one thing here is that, unlike the previous chapters, the moon does not leave this solar system… yet.

Is there a part two to this story/setting?  Was that section/line missing?

Each so far has ended with the moon entering a new jump/wormhole, so the next one will be in a new location, new story, etc.

Like Sliders or Lost In Space, we ended the episode with them leaving the old.  New episodes the moon traveling/arriving to a new place, new story, etc.

 

Without jumping ahead, it does leave one wondering.  Was there more?  Is this more?

 

So far, I have seen that all your Space:2299 stories are about the same length (page wise).  Is that by choice, or a co-incidence?  Or a rule that fan-fiction cannot exceed x-page count?

Also, by including that cover page (the same for the first three episodes so far), are we to infer those images are the main cast/whom you pictured them to be?

[StephenDutton]

My original reply hasn’t appeared, I suspect because I put several images in, so here we go again.

Not every story will end with the moon leaving the system, it will depend on whether the departure is important to what is going on. So if leaving gets the moon away from a threat or if some action needs to be carried out before departure I will include it but not in all.

Lengthwise I do aim for what I call my ‘mid-length’ stories to be about 30,000 words. This is a self imposed guideline rather than an externally imposed condition I’m trying to meet.

Regarding the picture on the cover page, you are correct. I like to assign a picture of an actor to characters to help me picture them as I write. It also lets me create cover simple cover art. This is where I think my last attempt to reply failed so I’ll just offer one more example from my Warhammer 40k writing:

[Legatus_Legionis]

We had already made it clear to the fans/those reading the Space:2299 that:

We need a Lagrange point to form a wormhole and they only come about when
there’s something big enough to create one around. Two somethings in fact.

And so far, the effects between wormholes we had a max at seventy-two hours (approx three days).

 

So with this latest chapter, we get no sure wormholes, just as you said in your post, but not to the readers.

04: Manhunt

IIRC, to get a court martial trial would take one week, so this episode the time between wormholes must be larger than that, in order to get those involved time.  Right after a jump, all personnel are more concerned about where they are, what they might face, what time do they have before the next jump, etc.  that time for a trial is out of the question.

 

So if we are currently in a dual star system, or a star and a gas giant, etc. where we have enough time for a trial is never explained.  And yes, you did explain this in a reply, but not to the readers.

 

This is something for continuity should be included/addressed to the readers, IMO.

 

And this episode felt more like a James Bond story (espionage) than sci-fi.  And other than episode one, we have been spending alot of time with Tony, and not John.  So expecting more military action off the moonbase (the Dorcon and Outsiders) and on the moon (Red Mars) was expected.

And Maya feels more like Deanna Troi (ST:TNG) in this episode than ever.  A non-human empath who can detect the feels of another, and to a limited extent communicate mentally at another (implant strong suggestions).  I do hope that the more we get to learn of Maya, that feeling that she is a unique character/qualities grows.  But this episode, to me, did not do that for me.

 

But one of the things this episode did show, and show strongly, is how interconnected all the bases and persons on the moon are.

From travel tubes, to communication nodes, to parcel transfers, to food productions, etc.

 

So it is a race to see if the humans will be destroyed from within or without first.

Or if they can unify before that against a common enemy.  Just like how the Dorcons and humans to unity against the Outsiders, but that is for another time.

 

And with the expanded number of people stuck on the moon, the loss of life can more easily happen/be explained away.  So I hope we will get some episodes where we are death-free.  But even so, with limited resources, John had to use Keynes, and in time maybe the need to use those incarcerated as well., be they the humans and/or Dorcons.  Only time will tell.

[Author]

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