Hi, I just have a question as a fan artist. Where do you start with when posting about/sharing an AU? I wanna share an IZ AU I've been workshopping, but I'm so unsure where to even begin (especially since I'm adding an oc into it). I mostly want to post it cause i have so many ideas that i want out of my brain and I haven't been good about keeping cohesive notes, as well as I want to make sure I'm characterizing the characters right too. I've talked about it a bit with my partner, and they seem to think that I might end up mischaracterizing a bit, which is a worry of mine.
It's just all very overwhelming, cause I have a lotta lore for my character that I can incorporate and I don't know where to start lol
Any tips for note keeping, story building, where to start, that sort of thing? (Btw i love your art and would love to commission you someday)
The best thing I can say to u is to remind ourselfs that the main reason why we make AUs is for fun
I'm a perfectionist, so I get your worries with the mischaracterizing the cast and the overall presentation of the AU. I wrote a lot under this, if you want to read my main points, they are highlighted in bold
I'm very worried of mischaracterizing Zim due to how little time I have spent into developing his character beyond what the series and comics offer of him, unlike Dib since as you may have noticed, I'm a Dib kin. Zim it's actually what has stressed me out the most, but a good friend of mine helped me remind me that this AU is still being made for fun and I'm not gonna get killed because of writring him slightly ooc; the magic of expanding a piece of media through fanfiction/AUs is that we can give our own twist to the main characters. There's SOOO much blank space with the cast that gives us the opportunity to write them in many ways, to see how their personalities can develop in the given environment. In any case, we can always return to the source material and take notes of the personality pattern that they showcase so we can have a reference, talk with people that may be very fixated with the character (I can assure you they will be so glad to yap about it, and what a better way by posting your ideas and engage with people interested in them!!); being perfectionistic enough to care about the characters is not bad, but remember, fandom is not about following the source material in a very straight line where they forbid any form of creative freedom, in fact, that KILLS fandoms
Some like to express Dib with a more soft heart like the one presented in ETF, others prefer the more sharp and insensitive Dib from the series; one way or another is fine, they often follow the same base/characteristics that the character holds in the main premise (an interest for the paranormal, a social outcast, a kid that wants to be recognized, someone that rejects to change to what others perceive as "normal"; specially at the eyes of his father) while giving him their own flavor, and so on with the rest of the characters.
When I really got into the idea of Perfect Nothing and the want to share it with everyone, I decided to start posting with the main premise in a small summary like it's the description of a book so people can give it a peek and know what is it about, and figure the rest of the story as I continue posting/drawing every idea that comes to me about it, because otherwise I would have stayed locked with my perfectionism that refuses to post because "it's not good enough to share yet." The thing that I needed the most was to yap about it and share it with someone, and as time goes on, you'll start finding your way into giving the story a shape!
As of right now, I have just been posting concepts of the AU through sketches, talk about them in long posts, and so on, being things that could still change. If I ever reach a point where I want to showcase my AU in a more tidy and clean form, with finished art and more thoughtful writings worthy of a novel, I can always make a blog dedicated to the AU or make a tag where the finished version of the AU can be seen. For now I'm just having fun talking out my ideas and concepts, engaging with those who ask about them, and u can do the same! Just share what is in your mind, let people see it, you can start with sharing the main premise like it's the summary of a book, let people see what ur AU is about and be intrigued by it, show concept art, character interactions, how they look, how they behave, etc! You can go through the details later, indulge in showing the surface of the story as you go down to its core.
Sharing the creative process of the AU is as interesting as the AU itself, letting all of yours ideas out through writing, drawing (or any of ur creative preference) is very good for us artists: first make it exist, we can make it better later! You don't have to post it all of it of course, but point is: let it out! It's part of the creative process is to let out all of our ideas, take the ones that work, change others, until we reach a point that is satisfying for us.
What has been so magical about posting my AU it has been seeing others express their own takes of what I'm showing; they express ideas, possibilities, fascination and curiosity with the concept, and engaging with them has been so fun and helpful too.
If u want tips for story building, I often follow the ones that I learned in my screenwriting and writing class, the main ones being:
Write character sheets: those help you to have a reference to come back to when you find yourself in a situation where you forget/don't know how a character would act
Define the main theme of the story: for example, Perfect Nothing's main theme revolves around the change in favor of pleasing those around you (based in my personal experience as a people pleaser and the fear of being alone). Secondary themes include psychological/medical horror, romance, drama, violence, social status, etc. Keep it limited, so you don't go off track of the main theme.
The smaller the environment the story revolves in, the better: If you create a very complex and big environment for the story, you will start stressing out about the details and keeping consistensy. The more limited it is, the better. Example: Perfect Nothing's environment is limited to earth, specifically in the country of the United States, so the main scenario is the city.
If you want to know more in a more technical level, I REALLY recommend reading STORY: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, since it explains really well the ways a story works and how to write our own. Take it easy tho!!
If u get to post your AU I would love to take a look at it, I'll like to reblog it so I can help people discover it<3 have fun!! I hope my experience helped u (โ ยดโ โฉโ ๏ฝกโ โขโ ย โ แตโ ย โ โขโ ๏ฝกโ โฉโ `โ )
