Creative writing – Mythic Scribes Test Site

Fan Fiction: An Epiphany

This article is by A.L.S. Vossler.

Fan fiction is the lowest life form of the writing universe.

If you had asked me what I thought about fan fiction about a year ago, that is what I would have said.

I had not always looked down so fiercely on fan fiction. I was never a huge proponent of it, but I did not always thumb my nose at it, either.

In college, however, I took a creative writing class. We talked about “developmental” stages of writing, and the most infantile of those stages was the “writer’s personal fantasy.” The idea behind this stage was that the writer was living vicariously through the characters and only producing, more or less, self-indulgent tripe.

Profitable Games with Point of View (PoV)

by Featured Author

This article is by Dr John Yeoman.

I knew I had to kill the wizard that night. Sure, I felt bad about it. Hadn’t he always been my buddy? But he shouldn’t have fooled around with my wife.

Every new story writer knows the difference between first and third person narration. Don’t we?

The first person voice ‘I’ has power and immediacy. The narrator can convey his or her innermost feelings and intentions directly to the reader. Try changing the voice in the passage above to the third person: ‘He knew he had to kill the wizard, etc’. It loses its power. It’s awkward.

The third person voice is the newbie’s choice. It’s far easier to use than the first person. There’s no constraint on the Point of View (PoV). The narrator can be privy to every secret (although omniscience is optional).

Know the Rules. Understand the Rules. Break the Rules.

by Tristan Gregory

When it comes to writing, I like to say that there are no rules. However, that is not entirely accurate. There is one rule:

Use What Works
Weren’t you listening? One rule! That’s it!

This is a pretty obvious rule, assuming your goal is to write something that other people want to read.

If that isn’t your goal, then you would want to use what didn’t work… which, remembering your goal, would work. Which means you’re still the following the rule. Hrm.

My head hurts.

In the context of creative writing, rules are – as a certain pirate captain might say – really more like guidelines. Use them when they work and ignore them when you have enough reason.