Writing Discussion

[moonshayde]

Wow, is everything down this morning?

Blantantly stolen from meg_tdj:

Question for fanfic writers: In your chosen fandom(s), which characters do you find the hardest and the easiest to write?

So I give you: Supernatural, SG-1, Smallville, and Dark Angel.

SPN

I find writing for this fandom to be HARD. It doesn't stop me, but sometimes I get emo and think I should. I think Dean is probably my strongest character. Most of the time I believe I get his dialogue and attitude right, and since I heavily idenitfy with his good AND bad qualities, I think I get into his head pretty well. But I can be hit and miss with him, too.

I default to Sam a lot because I find him more focused and serious than Dean. Plus, I like to write reactions to Dean which is easier from another point of view. Plus, I enjoy it. I have had trouble writing him in S4 because of the direction the show took, but once we got in his head the second half of the season it was a little easier. However, I honestly don't think I write him correctly half the time and it annoys me to no end. I have his research side down, but I seem to fail at his subtle digs and word plays. I get so angry about it sometimes I just want to be super emo and quit, LOL. I wish I could write him better.

Bobby and John have been hit or miss for me, though I've never written Bobby's pov (yet, though I have some planned) and I think I wrote John's pov once. But I have had them in stories, as I have Jo, Bela, Castiel, and Ruby. I think I do okay with them, but I haven't written them enough or long enough to really have an idea how well I write them.

SG-1

Daniel is usually my default, but that doesn't mean he's the easiest to write for me. He's in my field so I get that aspect of him and he's sympathetic in many ways, but I'm not the strongest with his snark. I really have to work for it. Sam is similar. I'm a lot like Sam, and I can do her technobabble just fine, but I have a harder time writing her because the show often made her an emotional mess. I liked her better when she was fresh and green and excited in the early seasons. I found her easier to write.

My easiest to write? The two that are NOT like me. At least not that I can see. I find Jack the easiest and I adore writing him. And I've had so much fun writing Teal'c that it isn't funny. Those two brought me a lot of fannish joy.

Smallville

I haven't written much SV fic, but I always write Clark. So far, anyway. I find he is a nice stable character and I can relate to his morals and good-nature. Plus, I'm an idealist. I especially like writing banter between him and Lois. Lois is a blast to write, but I've never done her pov. I seem more comfortable with being on Clark's side.

Dark Angel

I've only written a few, but it's no surprise that I adore Alec. Yet, I also find him hard to write. I find Max the hardest, and I haven't even attempted the other characters like Original Cindy, Logan, and Sketchy. The easiest? I was surprised that it was Joshua. I feel like I write Joshua best. But maybe that's just in my head. I've had a lot of positive feedback on the few stories I've written in this fandom, including requests for novels and long-fic. Maybe that's what happens when I fandom gets old. I know that from a writer's standpoint, this fandom could easily suck me in because there is so much to explore. I fight it everyday.

So that's that. I've written for some other shows, but these are the top ones. I find it interesting that sometimes the character least like me I wrote the best, but sometimes the characters most like me I wrote the best. So there isn't an answer that covers everything. It's all about context, the characters themselves, and the atmopshere of the show.

What about you?

Comments

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

In SG1, Jack is the easiest for me to write for. I hadn't realized that I was writing a Daniel-centered story from Jack's point of view until a reader pointed it out to me.

Daniel's easy for me to write as well. I love the way his mind works, and it's a challenge I don't think I'll ever meet but that doesn't stop me from trying. :)

Teal'c is fairly easy. He's there, he's supportive, he has the one-liners from not understanding human cliches and he knows all that goa'uldy stuff.

Sam is the technobabble queen. I can't really delve into the character because she wasn't anywhere as 3-dimensional as the guys were.

Jonas. Well, he was the hardest of all. I tried and failed miserably to write him in a few stories (which never saw the light of day). He had no character. He was as bland as soggy bread.

Hammond, Janet, Landry -- all fairly easy to write because they were straightforward characters.

Vala and Mitchell -- Mitchell was fairly easy to write for because he was Jack Jr., sort of. Only he tried too hard. I can understand the viewpoint he was coming from. Vala, I haven't tried writing. I honestly don't think I could capture the brilliance Claudia Black portrayed her with.

I'm trying to dabble a bit in others, trying to get the mojo working again, and it's not really gelling for me yet. :(

[madpsychogirl.livejournal.com]

I love writing Supernatural, although like you, I find it hard sometimes. I try as hard as I can to keep it light and humourous as possible because of how dark the most recent season can be. Considering the one I'm working on at the moment is Dean/Jamie, it means that I can focus on the lighter side of the fandom as it is before things start getting really serious. I've never tried writing Sam before, but I can see why he'd be such a great character to use. Generally, I end up defaulting to Dean, simply because I think there's more depth to the way that he reacts to different situations etc. Supernatural is also one of my favourite fandom to read fiction for. *giggles*

[kj-svala.livejournal.com]

it is intersting to read this from a writers POV. I`m not a writer, obviously. So to read how you see things, this is more than interesting.
I see, or try too see, the characters from a vidding POV. Not sure if I have them correct each time, but in Dark Angel, I LOVE to vid Alec. I can, kind of, wrap my mind around the way he works. Same goes with Dean and John in SPN. Sam, and everyone else in SPN, gives me a hell of a time.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

Well, I've only written SG-1... I find Daniel the easiest to write. I'm naturally sarcastic, so the trick there is keeping it Daniel-sarcastic, not me-sarcastic. I tend to get carried away with the Daniel-research-infodumps, too, because I find it all so interesting. ;)

I do pretty well with Jack, although I have to remember not to make him talk too much, especially about, you know, stuff... The general humor and snark, though... I can do that.

I find Teal'c somewhat difficult, no because I don't understand him, but because when someone speaks rarely, it should be meaningful when they do. I tend to have some trouble finding meaningful things for him to do on a consistant basis.

Sam is pretty hard in some ways, at least partly because my science background is so weak. I also find her broader objectives more difficult to pinpoint than those of Jack, Daniel, or Teal'c. On the other hand, conversation between her and Daniel or Teal'c is pretty easy. Well, as much as any writing is easy. :) Conversation between her and Jack is a little more complicated, bcause I write gen. There has to be the division of rank, a more formal sort of respect, even if she isn't feeling respectful.

I find Janet very difficult to write. I just can't seem to find the character things that delineate her clearly.

At first Jonas was quite hard, but I think I've gotten better--thanks to Random's advice. On the other hand, maybe I better finish the story before I go saying that! The cheerful enthusiasm, combined with a fairly driving need to prove himself, make for quite a unique character. He's surprisingly different from Daniel, even though they share much the same skillset.

Cam... Sometimes I lose the accent, but after Daniel, I probably understand and relate to him the best in many ways, so I don't really find him difficult. Actually, he kind of reminds me of my brother--just more impulsive.

Vala, on the other hand, I find very difficult. This is partly because I find her problematic as a member of SG-1. In order to make it work for me, I have to tone down the amoral thief and flirt as much as is possible within canon (which isn't really all that much). I also tend to focus on Vala in serious moments, or humor-as-a-cover. I must admit, sometimes I just have her being away spying on the Lucian Alliance. I'm planning on writing her more, but I do have difficulties finding legitimate things for her to do. Really, in my writing, SG-1 just doesn't do the kind of things that really make use of her skills. Maybe I'll have her remember cool stuff to find... Still, one of my better stories os one about her and Daniel after 'Origin'.

Jacob is pretty much impossible, both as a hard ass military guy, and a Tok'ra. All the Tok'ra are hard. I just don't chanel them at all! ;) I have to admit, the whole thing creeps me out a little. Worked out well for Jacob, though.

I haven't really done much with Hammond or Landry. Not enough to really say either way.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

OY...So difficlt to write any of them now - but from SG1, Jack is my fav AND the easiest to write - as for SPN, Dean - but he's kinda hit and miss for me as well...

*hugs*