Folks, pay special attention to wot Gary says. He's the Patron Saint of
C&C on this list, contributing story comments multiple times a day. Dunno
how the man does it.

One main reason I'm reading Ranma fics in the first place is that I like
the Ranma characters; I want to see writers do right by them. That
doesn't mean not to make them suffer; it *does* mean that the story
should bring out the best in the characters -- and the worst. People who
write their favorite character as a saint and her rival as a violent
maniac are doing a disservice to *both* characters, IMO.

Yar, this is a major pet peeve of mine. The Saint Ukyou/Demon Akane one is
the most obvious, but others abound as well...

Now, I've no complaint with an author portraying a character negatively,
or raising another up. But it should be done for as reason, not just
because you dislike them. I'm going to pick on Susan Doenime for two
examples.

I was very impressed by Poison. Not only was it a good story in itself,
but Susan _likes_ Akane. As in one-or-two-favorite-characters likes. And
she comes off slightly less nice that the Akane in Bitter End, which
was a true credit to Suse.

Conversely, I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that Susan is
incapable of writing a sympathetic Kasumi, which is to her detriment. I'm
gonna try shock therapy.

Writers, I'd like to see you look at the less savory sides of your
favorites. Adrian Wong, do a story in which Shampoo is the villain. Zen,
let's see a anti-Ukyou tale. I think that after you finish, your
understanding - and hence enjoyment - of the character will increase.

** On OOC: In debate on the list, I think people have been confusing the
meaning of this term. OOC is not 'characters acting different than they do
in the manga'.

OOC is 'characters acting different than they do in the manga without good
reason'.

Note that 'good reason' means good reason. If you say, "Ryouga is a lot
calmer and rational in this fic because that's how he is in my universe,"
sorry, no, you've lost my interest. Because you aren't building a
plausible chain of events. If he were calm and rational, he wouldn't have
come after Ranma, gotten cursed, etc, and so he shouldn't even be in
Nerima.

Now, if you start with Ryouga as his usual rash and tempermental self and
then slowly maneuver events to have him grow up a bit, eventually becoming
relatively calm and rational - that I can accept. If you show the reader
how, you can have any character behave any way you like, just about. I've
turned Kasumi into a homicidal assassin while still keeping her IC. :)

I'll forgive OOC a lot more easily in a slapstick comedy than in a
character-based drama.

This ties in with character discrimination: when updating violence from
cartoon to serious fic, do so equally. Arguing that Ukyou's bombs were
harmless cartoonish things but Akane's mallet blows are abuse, for
instance, is slanted thinking. So is the argument that Ukyou's bombs could
have killed Akane; the cast catches Happodaikarins and other blasts all
the time.

** Spelling and formatting. Gary is a wonderful fellow in that he reads to
help improve writing. I am a selfish bastard who reads to be entertained.

If you can't spell, and your name isn't Matthew Trotter, I delete the fic.

If the formatting is too long, or odd, or hard to read, and you aren't a
name I know and drool over - I delete the fic.

If it's in an attachment that Pine can't read, I delete it.

If it doesn't have me interested or curious or enjoying in by the first
few scenes - delete. Note that beginning with Ranma and Genma fighting in
the garden is a great way to kill my interest. (Ranma falls in pond. Akane
shows up and hits him. Nabiki shows up and gouges money. Insert stock
Ranma situation here.)

If you're a lousy writer but happen to be funny, I might keep going. If
you're a lousy writer going a serious fic, delete.

If the new character shows up and everyone is impressed and curious about
him, delete.

If it's an SI by someone I don't have personal stock in, delete.


Harsh? Mebbe. I've been reading fics for three-odd years, and by now I
only read very good fics by top-flight authors. That doesn't mean famous,
it means people who's works can either move me, make me laugh, or just
make me enjoy reading their story.

Of all of them, Matthew Trotter is the only one who stubbornly refuses to
learn spelling and overcome Hemingway Syndrome. But he's too damn funny
not to read. :)

That take that as a lesson. If you want to have wide readership, learn
your craft. Don't complain that you have no readers if you can't handle
spelling or sentence structure; that's the most basic part of writing.
It's a cruel, hard trade with very few rewards, and many of you will and
should give it up. Gary and a lot of others will help you to improve, but
the sad fact is that writing is judged solely on ability, not effort. If
you want accolades, you're going to have to sweat for them, and even then
you probably won't get them.

- Mike Loader
===/\=====+==================================================================
  /  \    l  "For, look you, there is humour in all things, and the truest
 / () \   l   philosophy is that which teaches us to find it and make the
/      \  l   most of it." - Jack Point, _The Yeomen of the Guard_
--------  l                    mike@thekeep.org
==========+==================================================================
Fnord.