Me, I write because I like to play God :D

But what about you guys?

1) I write Batman and Nightwing fanfic. I started because I'd read the comics and think "now how would this work if my own OC's were there?" Yes. Cringe. I've just described the textbook Mary Sue setup. In my defense, I started writing fanfic about 20 years after I'd created the characters, written school compositions about them, inserted them into every book, movie, and cartoon I laid eyes on--mentally. I also tried an original novel built around them. It's... somewhere. In the interim, I took creative writing classes, read how-to books on writing, and majored in English lit which forced me to analyse why certain 'things' work better than others. By the time I put my characters into the Bat-verse... well, when I take the Mary Sue litmuses, they're borderline, but they've got real flaws and personalities. A couple of people who've analysed them tell me I've got 3-D non-Sue types. Phew. That's why, and how I started.

2) I read an issue of Nightwing, and got inspired. It was as though I could see clearly what the next scene COULD be, and knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that 1) not only would we not get that scene in cannon, but 2) based on the writer's style to date, we wouldn't get anything remotely as good or better. So... 3) I tried writing it myself. And I posted it. And the reviews (all 5 of them) were better than gentle. And the general theme was "I wish we saw something like this in cannon." Hmmmm...

A lot of my fics are like that. I read an issue, or find a rumor on a comic site, and it jump-starts my imagination.

3) I got... headhunted by a fanfic comic site. Basically, what this site does is post serial stories about DC comics heroes. So, there is one writer for Superman, one for Batman, etcetera. If someone wants to write a Batman story for the site, they need to wait for the current writer to finish his/her run. They invited me to write the monthly Nightwing title. So now, I'm spending a lot of time doing that. Why? Because it's fun. Because having a deadline is actually helping me beat writers block. Because up to now, coming up with original ideas that haven't spun out from a recent cannon issue has been one of my weakest points, and the practice is helping.

I apologize if any of this sounded arrogant. Honestly, I write because I like telling stories. And this way, I don't stutter and talk too fast.

So that's why I write.

Chloe

My reason for writing is that I get stories in my head that won't leave me alone until I write them down. After that they are quickly replaced by new stories. It's quite tiering and for the past month on occasion I have been looking forward to anything remotely like a writer's block.

Hehe that, too. I've got more story ideas than I know what to do with sometimes (quite literally). The problems is there's so many I never seem to develop any of them into a completed form before I have to work out a new idea.

... should add that it's fun to come up with the story and talk about it with the co-author (makes for an easy topic of conversation). However, actually writing it down, sentence by sentence, is a bit of a chore.

And, one more reason I write is to GROW as an author; I constantly experiment with style, metre, rhyme, levels of description, manners of narration, etc. and study different techniques and apply them. Fanfiction is a free target audience.

Because once you hit puberty you can't play with action figures without making a fool of yourself.

But you're can write as much as you like, well into adulthood (at least until you hit old age... then you're not allowed to do much of anything because your kids have already put you into a nursing home).

When you write, and more importantly, when you publish you also stand a good chance of making a fool of yourself.

You can write from a nursing home, too. Now, once you are entirely senile, there isn't much hope... and even imagination can dry up if you aren't careful. But I'm sure our generation of senile old adults will have internet access.

Okay, I’ll tell you a story, since you didn’t ask me to and because I’m sure all y’all couldn’t care less.

In my respective fandoms, videogames, you don’t see much in the way of readable, much less involving, fan fiction. Oh sure, you’ll see some notable accomplishments for the uber popular fandoms such as Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and Mega Man—and one or two others. However, even these huge institutions have few enough stories that wouldn’t peel the outer layer off your eyeballs. When I first discovered video game fan fiction I was ecstatic: Holy curd! People have written long stories about the games I love! Surely, these tales will develop the rich mythology of classic worlds, finally new depth can be revealed in our cherished characters.

Grant me this: I was young at the time.

I picked my first story, from the Resident Evil section I think, and began reading. The writing was readable enough, only a few minor mistakes, but the premise was interesting and the characters I liked were gathered for their crusade. They had conversations, but the dialogue wasn’t nearly as interesting or as cool as I’d hope such a meeting of the heroes would produce. The pacing crept by, but in the end, it was the overwhelming feeling of disassociation from the mood, setting, and character portrayals found in the source material that made me put it aside and try another. Something didn’t feel right.

So I tried another story in another fandom. And another. And another. Original characters I didn’t care to read about hogged the spotlight and showed up the canon heroes. Stunted prose rambled on that resembled obscure Windows 95 errors. Most stories never went anywhere. And worst of all, none of them smacked of the source material they were supposed to be based off of. I grew jaded of fan fiction in a hurry, and left such sad country, never to look back.

Fast forward several years later.

Gamefaqs was having their second most popular character ever contest. I was hanging out in the contest forum, because I had nothing better to do and because I wanted to win a prize, so I was reading the predictions and odds when I stumbled across a fan fiction topic. A new writer had just posted the first chapter of a story that would chronicle the events of the contest.

He wasn’t very good at writing yet. There were mistakes, syntax and stylistic, everywhere, but the premise and the character interaction grabbed me right away. Characters from the same game or similar genres clustered together into insecure cliques, distrustful and afraid (though they were loath to show it) of those different from them. And they would have to fight each other. Good became evil and evil good. Matches were made in hell, and new love was found. Characters weren’t always in character, but the other writers soon joined to help out with that.

He had the right idea. As more writers hopped aboard the project, the story gathered fans, some of whom ended up posting detail reviews and thoughtful analysis. Something about the project hit a chord with many posters there. Something that resonated deep inside and cast a spell over us. We became hardcore fans. In that storm of idiocy we had scooped out our own little alcove of class, and at last, I had seen that video game fanfiction was not only possible, it could be so good. I had to get in on it.

And so I write fan fiction because I think video games deserve better, because I see a huge gap to fill, and because I love creating the kind of stories I like to read. Plus, it’s great mental exercise.

Seriously, though, I write stories in a futile attempt to counterbalance all the fluff overabundant in my fandom. :-P Seriously, Evangelion is one of the darkest mangas I've ever read, so what's up with all the stupid romances? Yes, we get the fact the main characters are teenagers (one male two females) who are soldiers in an interdimensional war who could die any day, but for god's sake, that doesn't make love the focal point of their existance!

DEATH TO ROMANCE. And they can also get rid of that so-called 'darkfic' that is just romance with a thin veil of angst. I want real darkfic, damnit, so I write real darkfic!

In a sentence, I write what I want to read.

Examples?

It annoyed me that all the loose ends of Final Fantasy VII were left so untied. So I tied them together using fanfiction.

It annoyed me not to know anything about Bankotsu (in Inuyasha), never mind him getting killed off too...so I "fixed" it in fanfiction. It annoyed me to see practically NO Bankotsu/Girl fanfiction, so I'm fixing that right now by writing.

See? It's all self defense. X) And if someone else gets a kick out of what I write, that's great!! :)

Edit: We're not talking about "kick" and "self-defence" are we? Because that certainly is groan worthy.

I like to write because I get to put life experiences into my stories, I get to put a little piece of myself into it. I like to write because I want to teach a lesson through the chracters in the books, mostly because I would hope that while reading my story someone somewhere is paying close attention to the morals of the story, and is actually getting something or learning something from what they read.

I'm doing fanfiction to perfect my writing skills so that I can start on my own books and start writing those, and then one day I hope to turn those books into movies.

I aspire to be a great director and writer like Hiyao Miyazaki.

Chloe

I also happen to be something of a slash/yaoi fiend. Fanfiction is a good outlet for my frustrations with the fandom itself.

I'm serious here. I'll get an idea, and it just doesn't go AWAY, which completely drives me nuts. Writing it out gives a more concrete form to an abstract story concept-- it'll more clearly define the events that I imagined so that they aren't just vague implications of what could be. After that happens, my subconscious will get sick of mulling over the what-ifs and possibilities that are associated with the event because I've written out exactly what I thought could happen and how it would occur.

Oh, yes, and I love doing the whole writing part as well. ^^

Chloe

I also do it because I love it. I'm in control of everything that happens (sort of playing God, but not that much... I swear that sometimes my characters have mind of their own and write themselves). It gives my soul a sense of tranquility nothing else did before. It makes me feel good and it makes me feel that I can give something back to the world in general.

I write fanfiction mostly to help my own writing skills to get better so that I can write my own books later on. This is sort of a pre-writer sort of stage for me.

Also I'm a huge yaoi fan and mostly my original stories are about gay people. Editors would never take it in Mexico (not so open minded yet as a country) so writing fanfiction helps me get that frustration out. Yaoi is highly accepted in fanfics ^^.

Signed.

I don't know why but I find it very enjoyable to put my favourite characters in uncomfortable situations and make them deal with it.

Also I enjoy writing for others. When someone actually enjoys my story I'm so happy. It makes me want to write more. I like to entertain people with my writing.

Most importantly writing is plain and simple fun. I love it! I always did ever since I was a little kid ^_^

BTW If anyone knows WHAT this "story" I wrote IS -- please tell me.

Kara-El :)

PS I'm new to this -- hope the links work

-- I subscribed to this topic, but can't find this info anywhere in my account

-- for some reason neither my penname or story show up on the search -- it's like I don't exist in the search engine -- anyone know if this is normal

-- is there any way to contact the site manager

-- is there a forum for these kinds of questions? It's weird that there's no contact webmaster or FAQ for this site.

Thanks for your patience and if there's somewhere esle I should post this rather than here, please advise me.

Kara-El:)

second thing is that not everyone will appear in the search engine. it's a problem I deal with too.

the third thing would be to check the general forums. There are tons of forums that can answer almost any question.

There are FAQs. On the top right of your screen there is a drop-down menu (with the words menu). Click the arrow next to it and you'll get an entry FAQ/Help. Then you're taken to the support site (where you have to log in) and can ask your questions. It's ill advised holding your breath while waiting for an answer. You have a better chance of getting an answer on any of the forums here.

PS. there was no link in your post.

i can play with their love lives, get them int embarassing situations, and make 'real' all the fantasies i had which NEVER happend in canon.

and because i need to practice my english. i'm not a native speaker, but in my school, proficiency in english is a requirement. (if i want to get into upper-level high school and cllege, that is)

One, obviously, because I enjoy it. It's a great way to relax and pass the time, especially being in such a small town like mine, there's really not all that much to do.

Two, I write for my readers, both those that are fans of my work and those that are critical. Especially those that are critical; that's one of the main reasons that I get better.

That leads to the third reason why I write, which is to become a more effective communicator. I think it's fair to say that those who can write well can communicate their points much more effectively. I also think it's fair to say that one who writes well is also intelligent, and by doing more writing, I hope to learn more and become smarter than I am now. (Apologies if this sounds in any way arrogant.)

Fourth and finally, and this is my main reason, I write in order to sort through and express my thoughts and perspectives on life and the world around me. There are those who keep journals and diaries. I tried that, long ago and far away, but it never really helped me. Fanfiction is just my own way of exploring and sorting through my thoughts on any number of things-- politics, religion, war, psychology, relationships, sex, human behavior, culture, morality, life, death, coincidence, and any number of other things that I may have forgotten.

I really don't have any desire to become a published author; fanfiction is satisfying enough for me.

1. Too much free time.

2. I'm one of those "What if..." people.

3. After reading several great stories, I feel its my duty to write something myself.

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