Tuesday, January 9, 2018

From the archives: Writing Your First Fanfic

This post originally appeared HERE on November 3, 2011.
2018 Note: I thought it might be good to get back to some of what we had originally wanted the blog to be about in the first place. 

 I'd like to thank amara z for the suggestion on writing this as a post. And it will get us back to posting more "topical" posts as according to the poll that seems to be what you all want more of!

So, you want to write a fanfic, but you aren't sure where to get started, huh? Well, there are probably at least a hundred different things you could do to start, but here I'll just give you some suggestions.

First, obviously, you need an idea. There are no set rules as to what this idea needs to entail other than it should probably have something to do with Star Wars and Han and Leia. I could tell you that you should start simple or with a short story, but there have been plenty of writers (*cough* Push *cough*) that have started right out of the gate with pretty epic story lines, so there's no reason your first story can only be five hundred words. But if you only want it to be that long, then that's okay, too.

Don't judge your ideas. Any idea is valid. Even if it's an idea that has been done before, I still believe that every author can bring their own unique perspective to it. Sure, there are dozens of trip to Bespin stories. And some are similar, but no two are exactly alike. If you think you have something to say on a subject that has been done before, write it.

So, you've got your idea. Now what? First, even if you don't have time to start writing the story, at least write down the idea somewhere so you don't forget it. You'd be amazed how quickly things can fly right out of your brain, never to be heard from again. Don't judge your idea. Don't analyze whether it's worth pursuing or not. If I only wrote things I thought would be the most amazing stories ever... well, I never would've written anything.

Find some quiet time and sit down and start typing. For those adults with children among us, this time is precious, so hopefully you can find some of it when there aren't a dozen other things weighing on your mind. Or hopefully you can at least tune out all of the other stresses in your life. It is preferable if it is either quiet or maybe some music in the background. I sometimes find that listening to the movie soundtracks provides inspiration. Although sometimes that can also be distracting because I'll recognize certain music cues and be like, "Oh, this was when they were in the garbage masher!"

And lastly, start typing. Don't have any rules to start with. Just write what you want to write. If the dialogue is what is clearest in your mind and you don't feel like filling in all of the other details in between, then just go with that. There is no reason you can't go back and add later. I know in the past I've always been sort of rigid in my writing, basically telling myself I couldn't move on until I completely finished a certain scene or whatever, but I don't do that anymore. I find it's best to write what I'm inspired to write at the time and to get typed up the things most clear in my head. It can be demoralizing when you're forcing yourself to write something you're not into at the moment just to get to the stuff you are. So just keep typing and blanks can be filled in later.

At any time during this process you can send it to a trusted friend to read. It is up to you at what point this should happen and I know for me it depends on the story. Sometimes I want Push to read it right away and sometimes I don't send it to her until it's halfway or even almost done. Sometimes I send it when it is more complete and sometimes I send it when I know there are some details missing but I want her to look at it anyway. You'll know when it's time. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. And by help I mean really almost anything you might need for the story. Whether it be spelling, grammar, even helping move the plot along if there are some details you just can't seem to get worked out. It can be tough at first, especially since sometimes it feels like giving up control or getting help in certain things means the story isn't entirely yours anymore. As long as you don't hand it to someone and say, "Here, you write this whole thing," then it's still yours.

You can work alone as long as you want, though. Eventually it helps to share it. But at first, write as though you are the only one who is going to see it. You can delete anything you later deem too embarrassing to share with another human being. I promise, the more you do this, the lower your standards become for that sort of thing. You need a combination of uninhibited writing that is just for you and then later it helps to have the motivation of someone reading it and telling you what they like about it. It is always more inspiring when someone tells you that what you're writing is worthwhile. Often it can be tough to push through to publishing without that sort of encouragement along the way. That's not to say it's impossible, because I think a lot of us (myself included) did it on our own to start with, but once you get to sharing it, it's tough to go back the other way.

All right, you've decided to share it with someone and they've read it. This can provide motivation and/or editing help. I don't care if you got straight A's in English. Everyone needs someone to read their stuff. I've not noticed in my own stories some of the sort of mistakes I correct for other people all the time. Sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes looking at it. It doesn't mean you're stupid or that under most circumstances you do, in fact, know that you were supposed to use their instead of there.

At this point, it is really up to you how much back in forth is involved here. It can be a one and done thing or you can ask over and over again. And this is another thing that often depends on the story. Sometimes I send Push something once, and sometimes I'll bother her with it four or five times, it just depends on the scene. This is where you would go back and fill in those details you'd been avoiding, or whatever scenes you'd been putting off. Trust me, a lot of times they're easier to deal with when the rest of the story is almost done and it's the only thing holding you back. It's tougher to push through them when there's not much story there yet and you can just as easily give up on it.

So you've had your quiet writing time. You've shared with a friend for motivation and for editing. You've got what you think is a complete story, so what next? Time to publish! Most of us here are probably going through fanfiction.net as I do. It's easy enough to set up an account over there and post. The only problem is that I find one of the hardest things to deal with are titles and summaries. I've literally had people tell me they avoided reading something of mine due to one or both of those. Fortunately, a friend had told them to read anyway and they were pleasantly surprised, so you can certainly do it wrong.

My advice here, although I'm not sure I'm qualified, is to keep it simple. I struggle sometimes with what might be too much plot to give away in the summary but you just do what you feel is right. And please, don't put "I suck at summaries" in your summary. Yes, maybe you do suck at summaries. But writing that within the summary doesn't really entice me to read it. Even a sucky summary without the commentary on its suckiness is going to make me want to read the story more than telling me you suck at summaries.

Once it's published, there's not much left to do but sit and wait for reviews. Wait, reviews? Where are my reviews? Perhaps the hardest thing about all of this is sometimes you're just not going to get many of them. Why? Because there are more readers than writers and I think the people who just read have no idea how much a simple acknowledgment that they read and enjoyed your story can mean to someone. I also think that the reviews tend to increase the more you write. This doesn't even have to do with you getting better (although you probably will) but I think seeing your name more often up there just gives you a better chance of people reading and reviewing your things.

It's definitely tough to sit back and wonder why you don't have more reviews and you have to try not to let that get to you. Don't let it stop you from writing. If you get ten reviews for a one-shot you are probably way ahead of the game. Another suggestion on the review front? Thank the reviewers! On ff.net it is very easy to send a little message back and tell someone you appreciated them taking the time to review. It takes thirty seconds. And I think that it is nice to let someone know that their efforts were appreciated and my instincts tell me that it makes them more likely to review later. And please, review other people's stuff, too. Remember the golden rule? You want reviews, you review other people's stuff. It gives the whole thing much more sense of community. Push and I never would've started talking if I didn't start reviewing her first story. You never know where friends might come from.

After that, just keep writing! Don't try and force stuff, but do write when you want to write. If you're having trouble coming up with any ideas, I'd suggest going over to Nerfherder's Playground and looking at some of the old challenges there. Maybe nothing will come of it, but it's good to keep writing anyway.

And I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't delete anything you write! I think all of us probably at some point write something that the next day we feel embarrassed about for whatever reason. Whether the idea was too silly or you decide the reactions are too melodramatic or maybe you experimented with writing sex for the first time and you're afraid that someone you know might find it and you'd simply die if someone knew you wrote that. First of all, when you are on your friends' computers, do you snoop around their files? I know I don't, and I'd hope they wouldn't do that to me, either. That's not to say that you shouldn't at least close any documents you've left open with fanfic on them ;) You never know when you want to go back to something you wrote before for any number of reasons. Using it for a different story or even just laughing at yourself and seeing how far you've come. You don't have to publish everything.

All right, I think that's a good starting point but let me know if you want any other ideas on anything. Or if you want to disagree with anything I've written. Discussions make the blog more fun!

2018 note: A lot of this advice still stands. But I'd like to add a few things. One of the big ones is don't be intimidated. We have ALL been the new kid, showing up in what looks like this totally established fandom and wondering why anyone would ever read what we have to write when there are already so many Han and Leia writers, with such great stories, and everyone already "knows" everyone. Seriously, this fandom is old enough that NONE of us were around when it started, so we've all been the new kid at one time or another. We've all felt the same thing. There are readers for almost every story. And some of the newest contributors to the fandom quickly became quite popular, so there is no reason that your stories can't gain some traction and get read. 

Another big thing I'm surprised I didn't mention, don't judge yourself! Just write! You can scrutinize it more later, but to start, just get words out and write whatever comes to you, and do not spend any time thinking that what you're writing is dumb or not good or nobody will want to read it anyway. Generally we are all our own harshest critics, and that harsh critic prevents way too many of us from ever really doing what we want to do and sharing our writing with others. What's the worst that could happen? 

Getting readers certainly gains some patience. But it can be worth it. It's funny to me even looking back at this original blog post it only had 3 comments and 2 of them were me. So if we let number of comments determine whether or not we'd keep posting, the blog would've ended a LONG time ago. 

I hope this encourages some people to get writing! 

25 comments:

  1. I was chatting with Sue Zahn about me and JustineGraham someday writing our own version of the trip to Bespin. I told her that sometimes it seemed like there was no point, as it had already been done so many times and by so many talented people; what could we possibly add? She pointed out that she had faced exactly the same thoughts when she was mulling over writing "Into the Fire"; she was hugely intimidated to write a trip to Bespin story because it had already been done before (and to lots of acclaim), notably by Leela Starsky, and she wasn't sure she had anything new or different to add. She pushed through those feelings and wrote "Into the Fire", though, and I am so glad she did! It's one of my favourites. And JG and I are still mulling over our own ideas about the Bespin trip.

    Likewise with stories set between ANH and ESB... we tell ourselves that we can't possibly add anything worthwhile to the collection. But then when we take the plunge and write, we really ENJOY writing it and we're pleased with it and (bonus) when we publish we get some lovely feedback. So, I think sometimes the fear of a topic grows bigger the longer you put it off. Just dive in there!

    I've found it useful to write tricky things on the assumption that I will not allow another living soul to read it. Certainly, I did that with the first bit of smut I ever wrote. I don't think I could have written a single word if I thought about publishing it, or imagined someone else reading, augh!!! Just focusing on the writing itself (and telling myself no one would ever read it) helped me make progress and get it done.


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    1. Thanks for sharing that about Sue and publishing her story. Definitely helps prove the point that even if something has been done many times, you can still offer a unique perspective and give us a story we will love to read. I mean come on, who among us doesn't get kind of excited when seeing another trip to Bespin story? There are endless possibilities.

      And absolutely yes to writing with the intention that no other human will ever read it. The more you do that, the easier it gets to shut down the internal filter. And then you can maybe finally muster up the courage to give it to someone else to read.

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    2. Ditto, thanks for sharing the story about Sue! And so true: it's always exciting to see a new story that covers already-familiar ground.

      The point about writing as if no one else will read it, especially with regards to smut, is really good. I'm going to have to really mull over that one. I'm so self-conscious about writing smut that it's hard to even put the most generic ideas into writing; I mean, what if historians a century from now find my old laptop and retrieve whatever drafts I dare to write!? :D But seriously, this point makes so much sense.

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  2. I like the idea of writing for myself first, and then going back and adapting for an audience of... more than me, hopefully! This post came at an opportune time for me, as I hope to bite the bullet and write my first story this winter. I've never written fiction, so it will be a learning opportunity, and an intimidating one at that. However, I think it will be a fun challenge, as long as I can make the time for it.

    Erin, I hope that you and JG write your version of the long crawl to Bespin! I know it will be wonderful.

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    1. Hey, glad it could help some! Honestly, I think the best thing is to write what YOU want to write first. Because the thing is, if it is something you'd want to see, there is a very good chance that it is also something other people will want to see.

      Try not to think of it as intimidating. Learning opportunity is a great way to look at it, though. I think all of us who have written have learned a lot throughout the process. Can't wait to see what you write!

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  3. A trip to Bespin written by you two? That would be amazing.

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  4. "Don't judge." I find this one incredibly useful, especially as someone who is far too self-critical.

    I saw a quote awhile ago along the lines of "The first draft is always perfect, because all it has to do is just exist." This was eye-opening to me in the judgement department. I've taken it to mean that whatever ideas are kicking around, when they're ready, just get them out into a first draft. And there you have *it*. Subsequent drafts are just about refining the expression of the ideas, bringing greater clarity to the *it*. Judging whether or not the ideas or the expression are any "good" is irrelevant; the ideas are already perfect. The only "judging" that is helpful is considering whether what you've written conveys what you want to say, or if there are other ways of saying it.

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    1. We're all very self critical. I try to hammer this particular point home, because I think it helps newer writers to hear that EVERYONE feels that way. That feeling is not unique. The idea isn't so much to stop you from being self critical, because I'm not sure that's possible. But more just to show you that everyone feels that way, and they still write and publish anyway. Just like Carrie said once, "Be afraid, but do it anyway." I don't think there is any way to not be afraid. But you can do it anyway, and then usually you can find out that there wasn't really anything to be afraid of.

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  5. I agree with you, Erma...not judging yourself too harshly is key, and it's a trap easily fallen into. Other people see your work through an entirely different lens...and a less critical one, for sure. And don’t let it stop you if you don’t get a million reviews or end up on rec lists right off the bat. I maintain that each and every person who writes fic and puts it out into the public forum for the rest of us to enjoy (for free, no less) is deserving of buckets full of praise for their efforts, and I know it can be disheartening to go through all that work and not get that payback! Just breathe, step back and give yourself a big pat on the back for having the courage to take the plunge in the first place. If you’re on FFN, check your stats...even in the absence of reviews, just seeing that traffic can give you a little shot in the arm. And if that first story doesn't garner much attention, write another, and then another. Do it because you love it, and because you love Han and Leia and want to keep the vision, as you see it, alive and well.

    I agree with pouring everything out into a first draft, as well. A very wise woman (looking at you, Erin) told me that it's always best to get everything down on the page, no matter what...it can be trimmed, scaled back and modified to suit. You might think it's laughable as you write it (and lord knows, we've laughed at ourselves big time) but sometimes the best ideas come from that stream of consciousness. And keep a doc handy on your mobile for those times when an idea hits you in the middle of the grocery store...as Zyra said, you'll never remember it later, and you'll regret not jotting even a couple of words down to jog your memory.

    Mara...you definitely need to bite that bullet! I'd eat up a fic written by you. Do eet! :D

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    1. All good points here, too! I think that is the bottom line, you have to do it because you love it. Don't do it for the praise or the reviews. That may or may not come. We used to joke on here about how really, the more you love something you wrote and expect it to get tons of comments, the less people seem to review or comment on it. I have no idea why that seems to be true, but it is. I've so many times posted a new chapter and thought, yeah, this is the chapter that will get everyone telling me how much they love it. And then... crickets. Nothing. Or maybe something like, "Great chapter!" And that's it. And then maybe you throw something out there thinking it won't get much attention, but then it gets lots of comments. Who knows why it works out that way? And it doesn't always work that way, but it definitely does sometimes. And it's worth mentioning again just because you shouldn't measure your "worth" or anything on reviews.

      And yes, write down those ideas!

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  6. Good points. I'd like to echo doing something to get your creative juices flowing. Music to set the tone, but also something, like a walk in nature, to just let your mind roam freely. Several times I've been stuck on how to deal with a section of a story, but when I go for my run, the solution comes!

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    1. I second this point, Knitzkampf. I seem to do my best "writing" when I'm out walking. Even the short jaunt to the train station in the morning is enough to get me thinking (then I have to rush to type it out on my phone before I forget it).

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  7. I want to make another comment about reviews here, and another reason why I think they are so important, but at the same time why you shouldn't judge yourself based on them. The whole nature of the internet just keeps changing to where they have made it require less and less effort to interact. Who needs to review anything or comment when you can just click a like button or a favorite button? That's just as good, right? Well, not really. But it's kind of the road we've wandered down over the years. Years ago, long, thought out reviews were a lot more common. People liked to point out specific things they liked in a chapter. Any one of those reviews could totally make your day. They pretty rarely happen anymore. Again, I swear it's just the general nature of how people use the internet these days. Our attention spans have disappeared and writing a few words is seen as just as good as writing a lot.

    Don't get me wrong, really EVERYTHING is appreciated. And I don't think people should feel like if they can't write a dissertation on your lovely one-shot, they shouldn't say anything at all even though one little sentence saying you liked something can be good enough and is certainly better than nothing.

    Just another reminder that sometimes your story not getting reviews or not getting good enough reviews has nothing to do with how good your story is, or how good of a writer you are.

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  8. Here's another method that has worked for me recently.

    JustineGraham and Corellian-Angel and I have been working on a long multi-chapter story for well over a year (with long breaks for other things). From time to time we would get stuck, wander off, and then go back to it. But we got to a point where we felt REALLY bogged down on it and couldn't seem to make any progress for ages.

    Finally, in exasperation, we tried writing the most BASIC outline in super-simplistic sentences ("Han left the ship in a hurry. Leia was waiting for him."), and very spare dialogue; no description, just to get us to the end of a chapter.

    And it worked a treat in terms of getting us unstuck. Once that framework was in place, it was much easier to go back over it and add the details ("Han slapped the controls that lowered the boarding ramp and braced his hands on the bulkhead, every muscle tense with impatience as he waited on its slow descent. One of these days he was going to have to upgrade the hydraulics on the damn thing.")

    etc.

    Another trick is not writing in linear fashion, but jumping around to write those key scenes that you already have in your head (often the ideas that inspired you to start the story in the first place). Then you can bolt those scenes together like Lego blocks. Sometimes trying to write "from the top down" just paralyzes me.

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  9. Excellent notes from everyone! I write either in parts, inspired by one scene, or sometimes the story comes pretty much whole (sorter things like the Not So Great Escape which started as a lark in Tumblr).

    I echo carrying something around to make notes at all times. I have a notebook in my car. I started Fix You in emails to myself - I had the original lines for the first scene I wrote on a Saturday morning early, emailed them to myself, then while I was out shopping, kept stopping and emailing myself bits as I thought of them. I love Office 365 - it's the best thing Microsoft has ever made.

    I also have a big long document of just bits I never used in a particular story that might be good somewhere else.

    I love kudos. I dearly love reviews because readers will seize on something you just tossed in or forgot you even wrote! And yes, we need every version of the scenes you're sure everyone's written a billion times - chances are they haven't and it's certain that you will have a new spin on it. Bring me all the "Han isn't dead" stories and "Luke tells them what happened on the Death Star" and "happy endings after Jedi" and "what happened between SW and ESB."

    We need writers - we especially need OT character writers because all the oxygen is being sucked out of the room by certain characters!

    And if you only write for yourself, that's great too!

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  10. Well, Zyra, this post, along with everyone’s encouraging comments, inspired me to write a thing. Two little drabbles, actually, which I never would have done if I hadn’t read what you’ve all included here.

    I do a fair amount of writing for work. (I’ve had the thought before that the easiest type of HanxLeia writing for me would be an evaluation of their performances during a gun-battle or something lol!) But I haven’t written a whiff of fiction since I entered a fantasy story of mine in a writing contest in the fourth grade.

    Anyway... I’ve been doing some beta-work recently, and have found that I *can* come up with phrases that seem to fit the characters. Plus, since I started reading fanfic two years ago, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve requested follow-up scenes or just plain *more* from writers. Everyone’s advice here (plus, Mara, you jumping into the fray fearlessly), pushed me into just writing a couple of those scenes myself!

    I’m still mortified at the thought that anyone else would ever read what I’ve written, but it was fun putting the words down on paper (ahem, tapping them into my phone). Just jotting the ideas down before I forgot them seemed to be a big step. So, thanks, everyone!

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    1. Jenny...I am over the moon happy to hear this!! I would really love to read them. Please? Pretty please? :D

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    2. Yay! I'm so happy to hear this! Encouragement is a huge part of this whole process, so I'm so glad that this helped you with that. And I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I can't wait to read what you wrote!

      Letting other people read it gets easier every time. You just have to post it and then run away for a few hours ;)

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    3. I am commenting from the afterlife, because this news just slayed me dead. Wow. YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! How exciting!

      I would also LOVE to read what you've written, but if you're not ready to share yet, no worries. If you ever need a beta reader, though, I know you've got my number! lolol

      Seriously, this is awesome news.

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  11. Hurrah!! This is what I love to read - this is terrific news ::g:: Yay for writing!!

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  12. So, nearly a week in, and I’m still having a blast writing little drabbles (if drabbles can, indeed, be considered fanfiction?)! I even survived publishing my first drabble on tumblr. I will say that, for me, getting the initial draft down is the most fun; editing and getting the final wording just right has been more of a challenge.

    However, I feel like much of what I’m writing isn’t really original at all. I.E. I’m taking a certain characterization that I’ve read somewhere and liked, and going with it. My question is, what is general fanon protocol when it comes to using inspiration from other writers? Do I always need to reach out and say, “Hey, I like this ___ of yours. May I write about it too?” TBH, I’m not even sure where (or from whom) I’ve adopted all of my own headcanons.

    Any and all advice appreciated! :)

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    1. Hey, awesome! Glad you're getting out there and getting some writing done. Ok, this is another thing I think pretty much all of us have gone through, because this fandom has a very, VERY long history. So yes, it's hard not to feel like you're doing something that has been done before or not being original. As for ideas from other people, I'd say it kind of depends. There are things that have been accepted as "truth" for so long, I'm not sure that any of us could specifically pinpoint where something originally came from. Like, say, Leia taking down her hair being like, intimate. That originated in fanfic, I've seen it used in plenty of fanfic, but I don't think anyone at this point knows where it truly originated from. I think it's hard sometimes to know if you are maybe taking something from a specific author or if you are just taking something that is generally accepted in the fandom and is more like, "public domain" for lack of a better term.

      So, again, what kind of inspiration? If you feel like you are taking something directly that was an idea from an author, just drop them a line and be like, hey, do you mind if I use this? I think most people are going to be fine with it and say yes. I'd personally find it flattering. And remember that a lot of headcanons are fairly universal, and might not be specific to just one person.

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    2. I forgot to add, even if you feel like you're writing something that has been seen before, I think everyone can still offer their own unique take on it. There are certain scenarios or even what would be considered "tropes" that I still get excited about when I see them and want to read. And I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. No two writers are ever going to make it the same. Try not to let it hold you back that you may have seen something before, or parts of it. This fandom is 40 years old, almost everything has been done before, but there is still room for new versions of old ideas!

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    3. I'd say that if you know exactly where you picked up an idea that you liked well enough to use, then the courteous thing to do would be to contact the writer and just say so ("I really liked the way you wrote X. Would you mind if I borrow that idea for my story?") I've done that and have always, in every single case, had very positive responses. I have also tried to make sure I acknowledge such sources in my A/N, just to be clear.

      However, in some cases the origins of an idea are lost in the mists of time. If you had all the time in the world, you could perhaps backtrack to the originator c. 1999 or 2001 or something, but if it's a notion that has been around for that long, chances are it has already gained traction with other writers and it's "in the wild", as it were, and in that case I think you just use it and make it your own.

      Speaking of making it your own, I think that just because you take another writer's characterisation as your starting point doesn't mean you are straight-up duplicating what they've done. You're always going to put your own spin on it and make it slightly (or wildly) different. So, in that sense, it's completely unique.

      On the other hand, as Zyra said, it's a 40-year-old fandom. It's very difficult to come up with ideas that haven't been done a million times. The really unique ideas get a lot of attention, as a consequence.

      But it seems we all still treasure those old, familiar scenarios, too, and will happily read new versions by new writers. I still get very excited whenever there's a new take on the Bespin trip, or some new Hoth-era ficlet taking wing. Give me all the mission-gone-wrong and accidental-wedding tropes you got! I just can't get enough.

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