Hardest aspects of writing fan fiction

For you personally as a writer, what are some of the most challenging things you come across when writing fan fiction? Is it creating realistic and interesting characters, or perhaps deciding on an ending? Perhaps the hardest things you find is writing a great beginning among many other things?

Realistic dialogue that suits a character's personality.

Too often writing becomes so contrived, you sit back and think, "No way in hell anyone would actually say this" or at the very least, "This character wouldn't say this."

Compare the two lines:

1. "I just love music and dancing! It's my life's joy!"

2. "I just love music and dancing! It makes me feel alive, you know what I'm sayin'?"

For the Pokemon visual novel I'm working on, the first line was the original and later changed to the second. Tierno (from Pokemon XY) is the one speaking and it's decided that since he listens to so much music, he'd be more apt to use incomplete words/phrases, sticking mostly to slang.

This practice gets really rough when there are so many characters in play and each one has his/her own personality and habits.

Like VisualJae, getting character dialogue right if using one that's not original. Many times I would wonder if that character will say that line or not. Besides that one review pointed out how I tend to lack body language in some parts of my writing, so I want to improve on that.

I struggle a bit with world building, I think. The environment can be a bit samey, so I consciously try to mix it up a bit. It's something I'm working on, and I feel I'm getting there with it.

Also, dialogue if writing a canon character. I love writing dialogue and banter, but it's hard to keep canon characters in character if you don't know them inside out.

Avoiding cliches, but I believe that's a very common problem, so I'll just say plot consistency.

Pacing and action. I'm a very visual thinker meaning I imagine all my writing as animated clips, and I usually have very specific editing and pacing in there, and I want to feel that same rhythm when I read my writing, but it's hard sometimes, especially considering writing can't establish atmosphere in a single sentence the way movies can in a single frame.

Knowing when to end a story. I do have clear-cut endings in mind when I begin stories, but then I start thinking of sequels that pick up right when the first story ends. It's just that I really want to continue writing the characters that I don't want to see their stories ever end.

That and sometimes making sure that canon characters actually stick to character. There are times when the plot starts calling for the character to do something that I know they shouldn't do, so I have to rethink scenes to keep everyone acting the proper way.

Ice said:

Pacing and action. I'm a very visual thinker meaning I imagine all my writing as animated clips, and I usually have very specific editing and pacing in there, and I want to feel that same rhythm when I read my writing, but it's hard sometimes, especially considering writing can't establish atmosphere in a single sentence the way movies can in a single frame.

Click to expand...

Yeah, basically this exactly. I find that I sometimes pack my stories with too much action and too little reflection.

Also to portray established characters well! While it can be a fun challenge, it can also be what makes or breaks your fanfic - some other fans could disgree with your portrayal of their beloved characters.

I haven't written fan fiction in so long. (Partly because of school.) I usually have trouble with writing characters (canon and originals.) For canon characters, they usually become out of character. I also have trouble with character creation too. It's hard for me to come up with characters that are different from each other and interesting in their own right. (Some characters may just be very similar ect.)

Finishing a fan fiction is also something I have trouble with. When I do get an outline finished, trying to actually write the fan fiction all the way through is tough. I am very insecure to begin with, and when I write, my insecurities take over. I end up scrapping what I have written and the outline because I feel like the story I have created is just complete trash. These days, I stick with one shots.

Plotting is my biggest weakness, and it's the reason I only write short stories. I tend to keep plots simple and small-scale, as anything else tends to be a struggle for me. I also find that creating a satisfying ending can be tough, but I've gotten better at finding ways to tie everything together at the end.

I don't really have a problem with characters for the most part, however in my latest fic I did struggle trying to get the voice of Aarune, the secret base expert, right. I had written the whole fic already when I realized I had to go back and try to make Aarune's dialogue sound a bit less generic, but pinning down his voice was a bit tricky, just because he has such a distinct, colourful way of speaking in ORAS. I read his dialogue on Bulbapedia and think I did a decent job in the end, though!

~Psychic