WIP Challenge: Day 18, Sunday

[enemytosleep]

This week, Nyanko-sensei will be helping me provide encouragement. :D



How many new words did you write today? Did you reach your goal? Were you editing instead? Researching? Or was today a day of rest?

...and today's discussion topic:

Let's talk about your protagonists. What fandom are they from? Are they an original character? What qualities of theirs do you enjoy writing the most? What qualities do you find most challenging to capture? Are they popular in fandom, or less so? Tell us anything you'd like to!

Comments

[enemytosleep]

Yuujinchou Exchange Bonus Treat #3 (due Mar 24): No new words. Spent yesterday doing a lot of other things, many of them good and useful, so I'm not too upset with my lack of progress here (and, uh, I've already posted 4 prompt fills? XD). Current word count: 654

Yuujinchou Exchange Bonus Treat #5 (due Mar 24): No new words. I have an idea for a little drabble that may or may not happen depending on available writing time this week. Current word count: 0

Help_Japan (due 18 years ago - 750 word min): No new words. I promise to give this love after the Yuujinchou exchange stops eating my brain. O.o Current word count: 3,666

My current WIP is a Fullmetal Alchemist fic, and it features the cast of what I lovingly call The Camping Trip of Doom (Edward Elric, Ling Yao/Greed, Darius, and Heinkel). Ed is the Fullmetal Alchemist, and he is definitely a well-loved character in fandom. FMA is a funny series in that they had two animes: one highly divergent of the manga, and one highly faithful. Ling is a manga character that was omitted from the first anime, so his popularity is split. First anime fans don't seem fond of him overall, while most manga/second series fans seem to like him quite a lot. Darius and Heinkel are not as popular in fandom (and similar to Ling, they are not part of the first anime series at all).

I enjoy writing these characters together for a few reasons. One of the biggest is that I really love the interaction/bromance/romance between Ling and Ed. The added snark and sarcasm from Darius and Heinkel is also really fun for me to write. Another reason I enjoy this group is because FMA is a series that is so well-structered, it's very difficult to write in-series fic without changing canon events. The section of the manga timeline I tend to focus on is an off-page period where this group is on the run together from the military. This off-page arc, The Camping Trip of Doom, is one of very few that exist within the main timeline after Ling is introduced to the story.

[littlebutfierce]

AHAHAHA NYANKO-SENSEI MACROS!!! \o/

I posted another treat for the Book of Friends exchange this morning. My goal is to spend most of the day working on other ones -- we will see how focused I manage to be. ^^;;;

Waaaaah almost everything I write lately is for Natsume Yuujinchou (cue surprise, I know). Though most of the characters I write, across all my fandoms, have some similarities: I go for the squishiness, for the ones who are finding their chosen families & who are learning that even though the world has crapped on them before, there's still some light & brightness & also that sometimes finding your people is just a matter of time.

Or -- alternatively -- I write side characters that don't get much attention in canon, but that I wish would (chosen family angst is a bonus): like Shinooka & Momokan from Ookiku Furikabutte. Or -- again from Oofuri -- I write the ones I can identify w/, ahahaha. ie. Tajima: not because I am an awesome baseball player, but because I'm, er, little but fierce (cough) & can be really loud & ditzy (I only hope I have moments of cutting insight despite this, like Tajima does).

[enemytosleep]

Nyanko-sensei will hopefully inspire lots of writing? XD

I only know Tajima by reputation (he is the chronic masturbator?) because Todd Haberkorn voices him in the dub and I am FB friends with Todd (and people post random shit all the time on his wall that I should learn how to avoid seeing in my newsfeed if I ever used FB regularly). However! I think it's awesome that you can connect with your characters so well. I find that really helps me when I'm writing (if I can relate to the character in some way). D

[linaewen]

I'm not too familiar with Nyanko-sensei, but I certainly do feel motivated to work hard after seeing this encouragement! :-D

I haven't written any new words yet, but I'm settling down to do so. It feels like it's going to be a good writing day, so I want to take advantage of that feeling!

I essentially have two protagonists at the moment. My main one for most of my writing is Boromir from Lord of the Rings. I've always been his fan since I first read the books way back when I was in junior high, and the fact that he dies fairly early on in the books (hope that's not a spoiler for anyone!) has motivated me to do something about that via AU. ;-) He's not that popular, I would say, but I like him because he's an honorable guy who has personality flaws, so he's interesting to write. The fun but challenging thing I'm trying to accomplish with him as my main character is putting him back alive into a canon that has him dead and making it work. There's lots of room for original writing that way!

My first ever non-LotR protagonist is from Major (anime and manga). My favorite character from that series is Shigeno Goro, but oddly enough, he's not my protagonist -- his childhood friend Sato Toshiya is the main fellow in my Major tale. I have to do a lot of research (ie watch the anime and look at manga pictures!) to get a feel for his character, but I'm enjoying getting to know him and understanding how he relates to Goro. He sometimes seems to be a bit stereotyped in the series as the best friend who is always supportive but often in the shadows, so I'm trying to get him to stand out a bit and see how that works. I would say both Toshi and Goro are popular among Major fans, but unfortunately, there just isn't enough fanfiction in the Major fandom! :-(

[enemytosleep]

Hee! I couldn't think of anything more universal than people's love of fat cats. ♥ Hope you've gotten some good writing done today!

I'm a LotR movie fan, so it's hard to say how much of my love for Boromir is for him and not Sean Bean. XD But the idea of bringing him back into the main story for a longer time is interesting, for sure! I can see how it would be challenging, though.

[linaewen]

I have to say, I was pretty happy with movie Boromir (not to mention Sean Bean!). I was seriously biting my nails throughout the first part of the movie in fear of what they were going to do with him. But it all turned out well.

I wrote 875 more words today, and I think I finished my chapter! I've sent it off to a beta so other eyes can have a look at it before I post it.

[enemytosleep]

Yay more words! \o/

Hee, my sister read all the books and has pointed out countless times all the things that they changed over the course of the movies, though from her comments it seems the movies were pretty true overall (I totally have done the same to her re: Harry Potter, so I think in the end we are even, haha). And Sean Bean!

[crowdog66]

I wrote 2070 new words today, in two stand-alone stories: "Ironwood" and "Impulse", both Garak/Bashir.

My protagonists these days are Elim Garak and Julian Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I love the way Garak plays with the truth, and how he lives so very much in the subtext: with Garak, what's not said, or what's refracted through a clever lie, is often more important than what actually IS said. And Bashir... Bashir's brilliant and vain and messed up and gorgeous and adorable. The challenge with Garak is striking the balance between light and darkness, and with Bashir it lies in not making him a total Mary Sue.

Garak/Bashir is one of the most popular pairings (if not THE most popular pairing) in ST:DS9 fandom, and has the advantage of having both actors fully behind it (their first scene together, for example, was deliberately played as a seduction, but Viacom had screaming fits so the actors had to tone it down in later episodes). So it's one great big happy playground for everyone involved. :)

[enemytosleep]

Awesome word count! \o/

And OH MY *__* That scene was dripping with UST. I've got Voyager and Deep Space Nine on my queue already (a client of mine if a HUGE Voyager fan and then you've been posting all those lovely DS:9 snippets). I grew up with TNG and recently started Enterprise -which other than T'pol constantly being in the decon chamber, I'm not sure I'm into it so much. But TNG is always ♥

[roane]

Whoa. That is some serious UST.

[samecgh]

Now I will. I have someone that's willing to beta. I haven't written much yet, but I've been bouncing online. Hopefully, I can finish this chapter/part I'm on and then I'm going to be offline tomorrow, but I'll still be trying to write.

I think my main character at this point is Bryce from Chuck, not an accountant OC. The guy is self-sacrificing, including his own life, to make sure his best friend (or unrequited crush, if you believe several people) stays safe from the spy life. Challenging is trying to write Klingon that makes sense, I have no clue what's challenging. I haven't written very long things for him, just short ones and that I can figure out somewhat quickly.

Fandom is split. If people are rabid Chuck/Sarah lovers, they hate him because he gets in the middle of that. There are others that don't hate him, but don't like him either. Then there are people that actually do like him and they will keep him as friends with Chuck or they might pair him up with Chuck. He has no past (leading up to Stanford) except a birth place and that's just a state, so giving him a background is fun. And bringing him back from the dead, which is quite easy.

However, the main story I'm working on has several protagonists, so I can't really pick one. I picked on him because it was easy to think of.

[enemytosleep]

Good luck with your writing! \o/

I have not heard of Chuck (though it's been a few years since we've had cable or a tv antenna), but I just looked it up and it seems interesting! And it's always hard when fandom is firm on its pairings. ♥ So long as you enjoy them and enjoy writing, though.

[samecgh]

Thanks.

I'm glad that I'm in a few other fandoms that aren't so strict.

[dhae_knight_1]

FINALLY wrote something. Think getting back to writing something on my thesis helped, too. Writer's block on your thesis is *not* a good thing. :-/

I write in Criminal Minds at the moment, primarily Hotch and Reid. They're both popular (Reid more so, at least on Tumblr). They provide a nice spread, and so many ways of interpreting them, which I like. I'd get bored writing characters the same way forever. I like to play with them; to challenge them and myself to go out of their comfort zone.

[enemytosleep]

Woohoo! \o/ Definitely not good to be blocked on something like a thesis. ^^;

Dynamic characters are fun. :D

[roane]

Good lord. I don't know what I wrote today versus yesterday, but I've written around 4000 words since yesterday morning on "Denial" (and posted chapter 1!). I want so badly to keep writing, but my hands are sore and my brain is FRIED.

I started out this crazy ride writing Sherlock/Doctor Who crossovers, but a couple of weeks ago I discovered writing slash and now it's all Sherlock all the time. My protagonists all along have been Sherlock and John, of course. Sherlock/John is easily THE most popular pairing in the fandom (and if you've ever watched the show, you know why: subtext? WHAT SUBTEXT?).

I've written from both their points of view, and both have their merits. John is definitely my preferred character though. For one, Sherlock is VERY difficult to write well, since he's a genius and has a very skewed way of seeing things. Also, John is just... I dunno. He's an ordinary guy who really isn't that ordinary at all. There's just something very compelling about him. He's got this astonishingly BAMF-y past (army doctor in Afghanistan), but he comes home kind of broken, but still kind-hearted and funny and.. my crush is showing. :)

[enemytosleep]

Woah, that's some word count! \o/

I didn't know Sherlock had a tv series (but, uh, I haven't had tv in forever so this is not surprising XD). There was a movie or two recently, though? With Robert Downy and Jude Law? One of my buddies raved about it, but I am so far behind on my "things to watch" list it hasn't even come close to the top of the queue yet. T_T However, your passion for John is a bit infectious. Perhaps I need to bump things up a bit. ;)

[fear_the_squee]

OMG *fangirl flailing* The BBC has done two seasons of an absolutely BRILLIANT modern-day adaptation, led by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (both have worked on Doctor Who). If you have Netflix, the first season is on instant. Each season is only 3 90-minutes episodes long, so it's easy to catch up, and so worth it. If you need more incentive:

[fear_the_squee]

Whoops. Was so flaily I forgot I was logged in as my fan-journal. This is roane, in case you missed it. :)

[enemytosleep]

Haha, I wondered whether it was you or another adoring fan!

[enemytosleep]

Ooo, Netflix instant is great. :D This may have to happen sooner than I was originally planning!

[roane]

It's good timing! I don't know if you're in the states, but the second season is set to air on PBS in May. (It aired on the BBC in January.)

[dhae_knight_1]

You need to watch this, like, now. It is brilliant, visually surprising, the characters are amazing (I love the mains, but oh, man, do I like Mycroft, too), and it's really one of the most fantastic things I've seen in forever.

So far? I have only met people who love it and people who haven't seen it, yet. There seems to be no one who dislikes it.

[enemytosleep]

Do you mean the movie or the BBC series roane mentioned? Or both? :D

[dhae_knight_1]

The series. The movie has it's upsides, but, for better and worse, it's very much American action. :-)

[enemytosleep]

Hm, I like action, so I guess I'll have to watch both, then, when I can. :D

[bay_alexison]

Haha yesterday I managed to write out a little over 200 words of my god_tier fic. I'm thinking over how I'll approach the last bit, but I think I should be able to write some more tonight.

Like enemytosleep a couple of my WIPs are also Fullmetal Alchemist, one has Ed as the protagonist while the other has two different characters as the main leads, Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. They're a very popular pairing as they knew one another for quite some time and loyal to one another (both are in the military with Roy as her superior officer and Riza his bodyguard and personal assistant) while at the same time still define themselves as individuals. I write several fics of those two, including the Big Bang fic I mentioned yesterday, as I love their interactions very much. I tend to have a tough time making characters be themselves while they're in a romantic relationship as romance isn't my strong point, so that's the most challenging for those two especially when you know a few certain fans of that pairing going to call out on you even if you made a tiny mistake @_@. Thank goodness for my betas. XD

Besides that, the other protagonist another fic is Roxy from Homestuck, a very popular webcomic. She's a character that is revealed much later in the series but has appeared very early actually under a different name (will make sense if you have been following the series). This is my first time writing her so I don't have many thoughts on her yet over what's challenging about her, but she's fun to write so far.

[enemytosleep]

Words are words. :D And soon you'll be done with the FMA monster you've been working on, so hopefully that will help you work out the plot for your Homestuck story.

Writing Riza in a romantic way is pretty difficult given how guarded she is (Roy too), so I think that is a challenge for every Royai author on some level.

[insignia]

I've had to reconsider a lot of the world-building, backstory and general plot structure for "Pieces", and I'm still not sure where I'm going with that. I'm kind of running in circles right now. I did write a few hundred words of the draft yesterday, though! Unusable words, since it's for a part I'm most likely scrapping, but they still count >_>

My works in progress have several different protagonists, so let's talk about the Princess Tutu fic, "The Lohengrin Revolver". The main characters there (and in most of my fic ideas for that fandom) are Duck and Fakir. They're not only my favourite characters in the show, but the most popular ones too--and by far the most popular pairing! You can't go near the fandom without getting covered in Duck/Fakir fics, haha.

I love Duck *points to icon* because she's an amazingly adorable person, whose main motive throughout the series is to make someone else happy ♥ She's clumsy, insecure, confused, and easily frightened, but just keeps going anyway, and changing people's lives for the better without drawing much attention to herself. She deserves all the hugs (and stories) ever. As for Fakir, I worry about spoiling the show if I describe the appeal :D But he's a complex character, who goes through some rather dramatic development. Together they have a very engaging (and somewhat volatile) chemistry that's fun to play with :)

(This show is the reason I really got into fanfiction, and everybody should watch it immediately.)

[enemytosleep]

Words are words - and often times I find unusable words at least help me figure out where I'd like to go instead. I hope you can get a handle on this plot soon!

Sometimes a character/pairing is so right that everyone falls in love with them like that. :D

I have to say a lot of you are making some convincing arguments for your fandoms here!