I also donāt understand that last anon either. I think part of the fun and challenge of writing fic is understanding what the author originally intended ā but discarding it at will, bending and tweaking certain things so that interesting new plots can happen while still keeping the characters from feeling OOC. āKnowing what canon is before you intentionally break itā, I guess. Anyway ā¤ļøā¤ļø Thank you for all your amazing writing!
Yes!! Thatās a great way to put it! Like weāre all here because something was incredibly compelling about the canon story, but that doesnāt mean we are blind to its flaws or canāt be critical about it (or the author). Appreciating canon also doesnāt mean you hold it 100% sacred when making fan content (the anon seemed particularly confused about that??). Fanfic, art, headcanons build on or change canon at will and that SHOULD happen, or weād just be reading the manga again. But you still need an understanding of canon to be able to make your own work compelling, too, since readers expect at least some reflection of the characters or dynamics they originally fell in love with. Doesnāt mean you have to respect all of it, but if you donāt respect any of it, what are you here for? XD Thanks for being reasonable <3
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What bother me with fanfiction - even if I love it - is the authors seems forget about people who are homophobic. Japan isn't the best country for being gay, and ship as Raito x L where nobody have negative reaction about two boys being in relationship kindaā¦ bother me. I'm not against gay people - it's all opposed, actually - and it's why I don't like that when coming out is not look realistic.
As Yagami-san seems amazing and good person, I think he'll be homophobic.
If I understand you correctly, I think youāre saying that because of less-progressive attitudes in Japan about gay people, itās likely that Soichiro could be homophobic if he found out his son was gay or in a relationship with L. And that Japan as a society is less accepting of gay people.
As a fanfic writer myself, this is something I struggled over in Dial K for Kira, which in a later chapter Soichiro does find out and in a very blunt way (L delivers the news, big surprise itās lacking tact). I thought about what you mention and came to the conclusion that he would be shocked at first but primarily worried about societyās perception of Light and how that might impact his sonās life, prospects, career, etc. This is a valid worry in a society that isnāt very accepting, no matter how accepting you yourself are. In the end, Soichiro loves his family more than any prejudice he might have. Thatās the most important thing to him. He wants Light to be happy and succeed, and has an open enough mind to interrogate his beliefs for faulty thinking if someone he loved and respected as much as Light questioned it. If he was homophobic, heād make the effort to truly change and see things differently. Thatās how I wrote it anyway.
Also, Iād say thatās itās not really easy to be gay (or even just different from the majority) in most places but perceptions and laws are changing. There is a recent push for more LGBT protections and recognition of same sex marriage in Japan, which is slow but positive. For L and Light specifically, L never cares about how others perceive him and that would be true about any identity he had. The reactions of others wouldnāt bother him. Light does care what people think and itās possible heād be more closeted or that L would be the one to make him feel more comfortable being ārealā in public with L (like PDA or something).
Finally please keep in mind that fanfic writers often write the world the want to see and that the writer themselves may be LGBT+. Itās not exactly a comforting thing to write outright homophobia if itās something they deal with or see irl (or it may be cathartic, depends on the writer). Fanfic writing is a labor of love, a hobby done for free, so if something bothers you about a story, you can move on to the next.
This is a bit tricky to answer since everyoneās idea of what makes a good story differs. The main thing is to write something YOU like and want to do for fun. But I can give you my process at least.
- Ideas. The idea has to 100% grab me by the neck and shake me. If I canāt get it out of my head, then I know Iāll have the stamina and creative juice to actually write it to completion. If the idea fizzles out after a few days then I doubt Iād be able to make other people interested in it either.
- Characters. Readers like to be able to recognize their favorite characters, so while author interpretation is good and needed, we still want to feel their essence from canon. Closely reading the source material or good meta helps with understanding who they really are/what motivates them. Putting them in new situations but still keeping their personalities, quirks, values, etc. is a good combo. For the same reason, stories centered on OCs will have a harder time attracting readers because the author has to get you to be interested in them. Canon characters have that interest built-in.
- Plots. Have the loose story ending in mind but donāt be afraid to change things up as you write. Twists and turns are fun but when they come out of the blue, not so much. Subtle foreshadowing is your friend! Writing satisfactory character arcs takes some time to build up (multi-chapter), but you donāt need to worry about that in a short one-shot since thatās more like a snap shot in time. Outlining can help you think about the major plot points and it doesnāt have to be detailed. I leave the fleshing out for the writing.
- Vetting. Bounce your ideas off people you trust to tell you something sucks or not. Iām serious, this is solid gold. BUT that shouldnāt stop you if you have an idea you really have to get out of your system. No one can see your vision as well as you can but if youāre writing to appeal to others too, other opinions are worth listening to. Grow some thick skin if you want to grow as a writer because youāll only receive really helpful feedback if you can listen to it without hurt feelings.
- Proofing. Format it nicely and proofread. Nobody really cares about the odd typo here and there but when there are a lot, it can hurt the enjoyment of the story. Get Grammerly, use spellcheck, grab a beta reader, etc. Break up your paragraphs. When writing dialogue, use line breaks when a new person speaks. Break up long chunks of exposition with dialogue and vice versa. Check a page of a published book to see how professional typographers do itā there tends to be a lot of empty space and line breaks because that is easier for people to read.
- Kill your darlings. No, not your characters, I mean be prepared and willing to cut out writing that doesnāt work. If you donāt get overly attached to any one thing in your writing, you have ultimate freedom to look at it objectively for what works. Your story will be better for that.
- Do something different. The easiest way to carve your niche is to write something unique that isnāt like everything else out there. Maybe you have a unique style? Unique character interpretation? Like to focus on a genre that isnāt very prominent in fanfic?
- Donāt become obsessed with stats, popularity, or comments. It really sucks to write a story that you loved but nobody else seems to. All that hard work! But thatās the game and no one is obligated to read it, like it, or comment on it. If they do, awesome! They have great taste lol! But if not, do not take it to heart, and keep doing what makes you happy. Fanfic is a hobby we do for free and for fun, thatās it. Its popularity will not validate you or invalidate you because itās not like weāre making money or getting anything else out of playing in the canon authorās sandbox. What I hope you get out of fanfic is from the writing part (the act of creation), not the number of kudos etc.
- DN specifically. This is a complex universe with lots of Death Note rules, shinigami lore, unique personalities, dark themes juxtaposed with humor, moral dilemmas, and complicated mind games. These are the aspects that make canon Death Note an incredible, compelling story. Fans of the series enjoyed it in the main story and will enjoy it in yours, too.
- Have Fun. This is the most important thing. Nothing else really matters because this is where the authorās passion comes from. That means donāt be afraid to break hearts or be fluffy or dark or silly or serious or however it is fun for you to be. If you disregard everything else, just do this.
This is probably obvious but whoās youāre favorite dn character to write abt
Itās Light (haha SURPRISE) but a close second is Ryuk and L (tie). I feel itās hardest for me to write L and get into his head but I also enjoy the challenge of that. I feel like my portrayal of L changes as I understand him better. Writing Ryuk is just a hell of a lot of fun. Honorable mention goes to Beyond because I always enjoy writing his antics too, I just have less occasion for it lately.
Not the same anon, but I agree about how all the unknown lore makes writing fics so fun. I always see a lot of people also wanting to know the Wammy Boys backstories, but I actually like that it's a mystery and up for interpretation. Death Note is such a sandbox and I love it lol
Agree again. We really know so little about the prior life of any of the characters before we see them in the storyā L, Watari, the Wammyās kids, Aiber and Wedy, Misa, Kiyomi, etc etc. I think thatās what makes Mikami a bit unique since we got a more detailed view of the events and forces that shaped his life and morality in the manga. Heās the only one where we get an expansion past Ryukās point of view (someone who just dropped in and only knows as much as he sees and hears himself). Even for Light, the protagonist!, the details of his life before that fateful day where he finds the notebook are scarce. Ohba and Obata did give us a little insight into Lās life in the One Day and Wammyās House one shots but...gah they feel unreliable. Even if you take them as canon, Lās backstory is still Swiss cheese. Fine by me! Free real estate!
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Hey ZJ! Since you've written for several fandoms, what was it about Death Note that got in your head & you said to yourself "That's it. I have to write for this."
Hi Rae! Hmm, can anyone really explain obsession? Can that lightning in a bottle be put into words?Ā I think what hooked me into writing for this fandom is different than whatās kept me here. What got me interested was the mix of fascinating characters, the dilemma/magic of the Death Note, and the rich lore surrounding the shinigami realm. DNās fictional world is a writerās paradise sandbox because thereās so, so many places where a single action could have changed the entire direction of the plot and charactersā lives. I love anti-heros and Light Yagami checked all my boxes regarding what I find interesting about a character. With other fandoms I can usually just write one or two stories and get it out of my system. That obviously didnāt happen with DN lol.
Whatās KEPT me here writing for Death Note is my lovely readersā support and all yāall here on tumblr that keep giving me new and interesting things to think about for these imaginary bastards. Without those interactions/friends and metas/artists/writers I probably would have floated on. This fandom also seems pretty mature and dedicated/settled (although I donāt have any basis for comparison since this is the only fandom Iāve ever been in) and I just like the people here in general. Doesnāt hurt that Ohba & Obata drop new content on us from time to time which brings in new blood and keeps things fresh.
Do you love writing about charactets learning something which can make them grow and develop into something different from their canon characterisation? i.e. Mikami meeting geniunely reformed criminal or L realising even he can mistakenly accuse an innocent
I guess the answer is, sometimes? I think my favorite thing is to expand their canon characterization but not completely change it, because these characters are striking in their intractability. I fell in love with them for that, the strength and depth of their convictions whether right or wrong or misguided or not. I enjoy how deeply felt their passions are. Light is Kira and would never give that up. L is morally grey and occasionally ruthless. Misa loves Light and nothing changes that. Mikamiās belief system is deeply entrenched due to multiple factors in his life. Ryuk is bent on having chaotic fun. Mello wants to beat Near and be number one, screw everything else. Etc etc... There are some things about them that feel like their canon essence and changing that often feels like writing a new character.
Thatās not to say that it canāt be done well and in an interesting way, or that I would automatically dislike stories where that happened. But in practice, and it is rare I write or like them written diverting from their ābackbones.ā (Probably the only trope I auto-wonāt read is Light giving up the Death Note or ārepentingā being Kira; the others Iād give a chance). What I do enjoy is expansion vs subversion of those backbonesā more backstory, new or interesting motivations, any and all shinigami lore, fleshing out Wammyās house, new situations and intrigue, understanding their inner lives and emotions, compromises and alliances. I enjoy making the characters grow without denying what made them canonically fascinating to me in the first place, and some of that is their stubborn behavior and ridiculous mindsets. When I imagine Mikami meeting a reformed criminal, I see him having cognitive dissonance and denial vs a revelation (surely he met them as a prosecutor); when I imagine L realizing he may have accused someone innocent, I see him shrugging and moving on (like with the planting of drugs on Misaās manager). Their canon mindsets plague me I guess lol. But this is a place where your mileage will varyā other people value different backbones or enjoy breaking them completely to build something new. My own sin here is enjoying exploring charactersā emotional states and perhaps giving them more introspection and empathy than they showed in canon. We all change our favs to some degree, to be more like how we want them to be.
As one of my favorite content creators, I feel like youāre the best one to ask about this. Iāve loved to write for a while, and Iāve been really invested in it recently and have started a multi-chaptered fanfic. I love it, and I love writing it, but Iām terrified of posting it anywhere. I feel like it would encourage me to write more and it would be fun, but Iām so easily embarrassed and I know anything negative would kill me. I just donāt have confidence. Advice? Have you ever felt this way?
Hi anon <3 thank you for your sweet words and Iām glad you feel like you can ask me this. Iām happy to share my point of view! First off, good for you for writing your multi-chap story because I know that can be a challenge. Motivation, time, creative energy, real lifeā thereās a lot of factors to battle with to see a story through to the end. That takes perseverance and focus and hard work! So š š and please keep going as long as you still love to do it.
As for sharing your writing in wider fandom spaces, if you are nervous about that, a great treasure can be a beta reader or a friend who will give you feedback and encourage you in the process. I wonāt lie and say that it isnāt sometimes nerve-wracking to put your ideas and words out there for anyone at all to come across; it is for me, too. Not everyone is going to vibe with what you have to offer and thatās ok, because plenty of people will. I think that ~99.9999% of readers are thankful and thrilled to have the (free) content and you donāt need to worry too much about negativity. Why not post the first chapter and see how you feel? You can always put a little authorās note at the end that asks for kindness since it is your first time posting. People respect that on AO3, in my experience. You can also post the work anonymously or use a new account if you feel nervous to post on main.
If I could give you and any other new fanwriters another piece of advice it would be to not live or die by your feedback. Do not value it more than the actual exercise of writing and the satisfaction you get from creating. In the same way that Iād encourage you to have some armor against the rare negative comment, I would also say to protect yourself from using othersā positive feedback as self-validation. Itās wonderful to get great feedback from nice folks!! It encourages a writer, naturally. But write to please yourself, and if other people donāt like it, screw āem. Itās not for them. If they DO like it, then yay, youāve found kindred spirits with great taste lol. But one personās opinion or even twenty does not reflect on your writing ability and shouldnāt discourage you from continuing to create. Your story is for you. Good luck <3
