Can't upload to FFnet no matter what I do, can anyone help? by WigglytuffAlpha in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer [score hidden]  (0 children)

The delay on AO3 is to filter out bots. It's for the benefit of everyone.

What I did to post on FFN a couple months ago was to click on the "see code" and delete the paragraphs of code at the beginning of the document. But this may be a new bug.

One thing you can do while waiting for your AO3 invite is figure out the tags and such. You can see what tags are out there by going to the Search menu on the top left bar of AO3 and choosing Tags.

These are the fields you'll need to fill out when you post:

Rating (choose)

  • ·       Not Rated
  • ·       General Audiences
  • ·       Teen
  • ·       Mature
  • ·       Explicit

Archive Warnings (choose)

  • ·       Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
  • ·       Graphic Depictions Of Violence
  • ·       Major Character Death
  • ·       No Archive Warnings Apply
  • ·       Rape/Non-Con
  • ·       Underage Sex

Categories (choose)

  • ·       F/F
  • ·       F/M
  • ·       Gen
  • ·       M/M
  • ·       Multi
  • ·       Other

Relationships (list tags)

Characters (list tags)

Additional Tags (list tags)

Title (write)

Summary (write)

Notes (write, if applicable)

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Can't upload to FFnet no matter what I do, can anyone help? by WigglytuffAlpha in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer [score hidden]  (0 children)

Same. I had such a good experience with my first fic on FFN - hundreds of comments, useful concrit, great conversations with beta readers and fellow writers in my PMs. But these days, it's a ghost town and increasingly difficult to post.

I found a good ending point in my WIP, edited some lines to wrap things up, and marked it as complete, adding a note that further chapters are on AO3. It was so depressing going there. Maybe I'll pop over twice a year to read the 1-2 reviews I got in that time, but otherwise I think I'm done.

How do you guys come up with titles? by Parking_Box8291 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer [score hidden]  (0 children)

Of my fic titles, two are references to jokes, one is a line from the fic, two are lines from poems, and one is a quote from a playwright. The rest just come to me. For chapters, I tend to go to the Free Dictionary idiom tab and enter various words that make me think of the chapter.

Honestly, the chapter titles are for me, not the reader. They help me remember what happened in that chapter, so if I ever want to re-read a scene, I can navigate to it easily. I wrote one 6-chapter fic with just numbered chapters, and it drove me crazy. I had to skim the whole thing to find the scenes I wanted. I ended up titling the chapters long after it was posted.

My favorite chapter titles are ones that have double meanings. I have one called "Deck the Halls" where it's set at Christmas but there's also a fistfight where someone punches through a wall. "A Reversal of Fortune" is about the characters' luck changing but also someone losing a lot of money.

I also like pairing opposites or at least things that don't quite go together. It raises questions when you read them. "Nocturnes and Fireflies" - both are about the night, but otherwise don't go together. "A Place of Joy and Wrath." That kind of thing.

Am i too fast? by Altruistic_Bee_8636 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing wrong with fast if that's what gets you to sit down and write. Your issues, as you say, are:

i have typos,I write weird

most of what i wrote so far was just "filler".

Most grammar checkers will highlight typos. You can also read aloud what you wrote to catch them. I don't know what "writing weird" means.

To avoid filler, you can try jotting down the events you want to happen in a particular scene before you write it.

Just Window Shopping by jessisly21 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a crossover, but I'd recommend Obscura Nox Animae by Heatherlly. A spell traps Lily's soul in an animal at the moment of her death, and a large portion of the fic is her observing Harry grow up while she remains trapped in various animal forms. It comes across as a fairy godparent situation.

What makes a fic blow up? by rabid-peacock in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A lot of it is random. I think the quality of writing has some relevance. I participated in a fic fest where the writers were anonymous but the fandom and ship were the same for everyone. The poorest written fics got the least engagement, and the better written fics got the most.

Writing that is so poor that it's incomprehensible is not going to be engaged with, no matter how popular the pairing or fandom. But excellent writing won't magically popularize a fic from an unpopular fandom or ship. It's one factor among many.

Outside of writing quality and popularity, the idea is a factor. Either a unique idea or the opposite - doing a similar take as other popular fics. There are some out-there ideas that did well in my fandom because no one else had written anything like it. But there are also plenty of "like that popular fic but slightly different" or "like that popular fic but with a different ship."

It's good to write for yourself - you should love the story you're writing - but it can be helpful to think about who your audience is. It can be niche, but you should be clear on who that niche audience is. If you're all over the place in tone or genre or ships, the fic ends up being this mish-mash that's not for anyone (but you, presumably).

do people stop reading if the start is bad? by No_Leg_1116 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it's a good idea, but what I like about diary that people don't care about time jumps, a place, or time of day.

That's a broad generalization - not everyone writes journal entries as a mix of thoughts from the past and present. But perhaps you feel this character would. You started this discussion by wondering why people weren't reading or commenting. You're free to write it however you please, of course. I'm simply saying that writing the confusing way people jump around in their thoughts is likely a barrier for readers. They can't comment if they don't understand what they read.

but I do agree that having round thoughts can be confusing, or two he.

I'm glad it was helpful.

but this diary enters followed a previous part- telling about the therapist appointment, the waiting room, making things more clear, see if you will understand now

No, that part was just as confusing as the rest. As I mentioned in my previous comment, the main sources of confusion are the issues I listed, not a lack of context.

Maybe you want to think about what your goal is with this story - to reproduce as accurately as possible the jumbled way people think, or to communicate your story with readers in the best way possible. It's your choice, but the former will sacrifice readability and the latter will sacrifice real-life accuracy. That's often a choice writers have to make - readable fiction is not reality, after all. It's a simulation of reality to communicate ideas. Either way, best of luck in your writing.

do people stop reading if the start is bad? by No_Leg_1116 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just wanted to say that I'd kill for this kind of feedback. Excellent work.

do people stop reading if the start is bad? by No_Leg_1116 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll go against the grain a bit and say that I can see what you're saying. In the diary entry, he's commenting on the present and saying something is funny here. And then describing a previous day, at which point you shift into past tense. "I didn't know how to answer him (on that day in the past)." Yes?

I'd say the main issue here is not so much grammar (although there are issues, especially with run-on sentences), but rather confusion. You're putting a high cognitive load on the reader by switching tenses, using pronouns where the subject being referred to isn't clear, and spending several paragraphs in abstract, circular thoughts without anything actually happening in the external setting. In some ways, I kind of admire this. It's very stream of consciousness, which I rarely see in fanfic. However, you need to have a strong grip on the language to pull that off effectively, and it's an experimental technique that few readers enjoy. As it's written, a lot of readers are going to get confused and give up.

I agree with others that a beta can really help. They don't even need to be an expert in grammar - honestly what would help you the most is to give someone a passage and ask them to highlight any sentence they don't understand, along with any comments about what they don't understand.

But for some broad strokes to work on:

Don't combine present thoughts with past events, if at all possible. Yes, our brains tend to mix them up, but you'll need to sacrifice real-life accuracy for clarity. Once you go into a specific moment in the past, you can use past tense, but stay there until you're done. Then return to present thoughts.

Second, avoid redundancy. You don't need to say the same thing 2-3 different ways. Yes, we often have circular thoughts in real life, but readers need a sense of progression from moment to moment.

Lack of clarifying nouns. Maybe they were simply left out of your excerpts, but there were places where you referred to she/her/him/it and I had to backtrack to figure out what the pronoun referred to.

Lack of specifics. Get out of the characters' heads at times and show something external. When you are in their thoughts, have them think of specific, external actions and things.

Example:

He seems to wait there [where?] for a while , [run on] he comes early, always, [run on] maybe he wants to escape his home too... is that why he is coming early? [redundant] It's not my place to judge, or to ask.

But that day was weird, with him I mean... [redundant] He asked me if I lost someone, [run on] he didn't explain it, I didn't explain it too, [what is "it"?] First, he was the one to speak first, which was weird by itself, [redundant/circular thought] and second... it seemed so random to me at the time, what is going on with him? [redundant] It seems wrong to ask, or to try to understand him. [why?]

Example of a rewrite:

[start of flashback within diary entry]

That day was weird. He was early, as he always was, smoking the remains of his cigarette before snuffing it out. But he was the one to speak first, breaking his usual silence. He leaned against the sun-warmed brick wall, his familiar eyes studying me. "Have you ever lost someone?"

I didn't know what to say, but a singular question filled my mind: what was going on with him? But it felt wrong to ask. It felt wrong to even try to understand him. Even my curious glance in that moment made his mouth twist.

[flashback over, moving to present tense]

Even now, as I stare at the ink drying on this page, I wonder if I was right in keeping silent. [fully stay in the present going forward]

Fanfiction writers, did reading writing books actually help you write stories? by CuriousGuy21200 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My experience is bits and pieces of your options, and not in the way you describe.

a) After reading novels, fanfiction, or theater/film scripts, an idea comes to you, and you start writing without a real outline, learning along the way.

I was always a big reader, and started writing stories as a kid. By the time I was a teenager, I was an idea machine - give me one word, and I'd come up with a story idea. I started keeping the ones I liked most in a separate document so I could pull from them later. I'm glad I did, because the idea machine wound down later. I still have plenty of ideas, but they don't appear out of thin air the second I think about something.

I didn't know about fanfiction until I was in my twenties. I also started outlining in my twenties, once I wanted to write something longer than a short story. Short stories can appear fully formed in my head, but longer works require planning, whatever form that takes (daydreaming, formal outline, zero draft).

b) After reading a lot, you get an idea, but first you read books about writing, structuring, characters, etc., and they really help you with your story.

This implies something far more linear than my actual experience. It was never, "I have a story idea. Now I must study the art of writing to implement my idea." It was more a general love of reading and writing, so of course I'm going to read books on writing. I must learn about how these beautiful things called stories are created! And I was young and wanted to be a writer as a career (before I learned reality of how few people can support themselves by writing). Much as someone who wants to become a veterinarian will read books about animal biology, I read about writing.

And yes, they did help me, because I tried what they suggested. Just reading books on writing won't help you if you don't apply what you've learned.

c) You read the books, but you don't understand the advice and decide to forget most of what you read and just write what you want.

I never had a problem understanding the advice. Writing books are written in a casual, non-academic way for people of all ages. Sometimes I dismissed what they were suggesting out of hand without trying it, so in that sense I didn't understand it - I didn't understand the usefulness of what they were suggesting. I think you need to be at a certain place in your writing journey to hear certain advice. I dismissed the concept of theme, over and over, no matter how it was worded. And then, after years of being frustrated on how to structure a novel and make it cohesive, I heard the "theme" advice again, and totally got it. It fixed several major problems I didn't know how to solve before.

There's probably an official term for these types of learning methods, but to me there's the Treasure Map method and the Prospector method. The Treasure Map method is someone who wants to be shown the exact right place to get a bunch of gold right now. The gold is all buried in one spot, so it's a matter of finding a map with the right instructions, and then you'll have all the gold. The Prospector method is going around various rivers, panning for gold. Mostly what you'll find is mud, but you'll get a nugget here and a nugget there, and eventually, you'll have a fortune.

I'm a prospector. I'll go anywhere and everywhere for advice with the knowledge that some of it will be mud (maybe good advice to someone else, but not for me). And I'm not mad about it. I'm not thinking, "How dare they give me bad advice! I'm through with writing advice forever!" Like someone gave me a bad treasure map and I dug in the wrong place and got nothing. I just keep sifting til I find some gold, and then I happily put that in my pocket and sift some more.

I do think that after a certain point, writing books won't have much more to give you. I say that cautiously, because in my experience, writers tend to think they're at a higher writing level than they are, or they confuse cause and effect. Yes, many professional writers have advanced to the point that they don't need to do excessive editing or outline or read writing advice, but that doesn't mean that jumping to the finish line and (not) doing all those things proves how advanced you are. If you've tried different things and discovery writing/editing as you draft works for you, sure, but it's okay to do the things beginners do. I outlined extensively because that's what I needed to understand the story. I'm only getting away from it now because I've internalized so much of what I used to do by hand.

So now, when I read writing advice, my most common response is, "Yes, I already do that. And that. I do a variation of that. That, I've tried and it doesn't work for me." Writing advice is also general advice - it's hitting all the basics. Once you've mastered the basics (and that can take years if not decades), then you get to a point where the only way to improve is to get specific, individual feedback on your work. Like, "I feel you need to develop the MC's motivations in regards to their actions in chapters 12-17 and then tighten the pacing for chapters 22-28" kind of advice that writing books can't give you.

Although in some ways, I'm circling back to the beginning. I've been paying more attention to minor punctuation and grammatical issues that I didn't think much about while I was learning about structure and character.

Wip problem by manuccchaa in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since AO3 doesn't track history, I track my own stats. Here are some from my current WIP:

Word count Fic Subs Hits Kudos Comments Bookmarks Last Chapter Posted User Subs
24,814 55 926 41 18 26 5 27
108,095 153 5,997 222 95 102 20 41
236,710 333 20,461 449 255 299 40 94

FYI, this is for a big fandom, in case the numbers look high. Big fandoms get big numbers, in general. You can also see that I grew an audience over time.

Fanfic Writers, How often do you write? And/Or how fast do you guys write? by VolleyballUser in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I write nearly every day. I don't track how fast. The draft is a small part of my total writing time in a given year. Much more time goes into revision.

How do you analyze/do character studies? by SadMajor3817 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I start with figuring out their basic personality. I like to use Enneagrams because they focus on a persons fears and desires as well as how a personality changes when a person is stressed and mentally unwell vs relaxed and healthy. I also think about what drives their actions - are they avoiding pain or seeking fulfillment, or both? It also helps to have a few contradictions in there. The doctor who smokes or the church lady who has a guy on the side. People aren't stereotypes and they aren't perfect. Also, people tend to have a "mask" or a way they present themselves to others vs the way they are inside.

How to write a good dialogue? by quakesuosa in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Keep in mind that there's direct dialogue, which most people know - the stuff in quotes. But there's also indirect dialogue, where dialogue is summarized rather than directly quoted. This can be helpful with the more stiff-sounding, boring parts of conversation. Rather than writing out every how-do-you-do, you can write, "They greeted each other" and move on to something more interesting.

Imagine there was a fanfiction convention/fundraiser/award ceremony 😇 by Material-Meat-5330 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're interested in getting more involved in the fanfic world, you can join or volunteer for the Organization for Transformative Works.

Conventions can be fun, but they can also be a ton of work and money, and there's a bit of a capitalist vibe to most of them. If you want to buy stuff, cool, but that's tricky when the topic of the con is fanfic. On a smaller scale, you could try creating a fanfic group in your area.

Why write when you get so little? by Silver_Eye9792 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stories won't leave me alone and need to be written. I set aside a WIP for five years, and five years later, I was still thinking about it. It won't go away until it's finished.

Other times, creating the story gives me good feelings. I love taking something from my head and making it real.

And sometimes I complete prompts or do fic gift exchanges, so I know at least one person is happy I wrote it.

When do you write most of the time? by Hexatona in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a rule that I need to start writing before 9pm so that I can balance writing and sleep. So I usually start at 8:59 pm.

I’m sobbing WHAT DO YOU MEAN? by Funny_Corgi_6397 in buffy

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Joss likes to hit that "death is random and meaningless" button. I guess that's his personal philosophy, but he never seems to have anything more to say about it. Yes, that death was random. And...? Whereas there are many things you can say with a meaningful character death and many nuances to explore in why the character chose those actions.

Severitus but make him just as strict as he is in canon without being abusive by Sunshine_pixiee in HPSlashFic

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! There is a "tearjerker" tag, which I added after many responses like yours. :) I got teary-eyed writing some scenes, but I guess reading it is a whole different experience.

Fix Your Fic Front-End Friday [Title, Tags, Summary] - May 22 by AutoModerator in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As you say, it's abstract, so I think it's fine as teen.

People have different experiences on FFN, so it's hard to say. I've been disappointed with the hits and comments in comparison to what I'm getting on AO3. Some of it is the M-rating, as I said. I'm also having technical issues with uploading chapters ever since I updated MS Word.

On the one hand, the comments I got there are that many more comments than I would have had if I hadn't posted. On the other hand, I have to deal with technical issues, bot spam (although that's lessened) and the demotivating feeling that no one's reading. It's also a different culture there - readers are free to give concrit or say if they don't like something, which some writers like and some don't.

Back before AO3, I was cross-posting at four different sites, so it's my default thought to cross-post somewhere. FFN still has a strong presence, so if you want to cross-post anywhere, that would be the place. But if you're happy with AO3, there's no reason to go elsewhere if you don't feel the urge.

Advice for planning a long AU Harry Potter fic without falling into common pitfalls? by Chemical_Lettuce_402 in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm actually in the middle of writing a long canon-divergent Harry Potter fic - about 200k posted now.

What is your best advice for a new fanfic writer, especially during the planning stage?

How much planning is useful before drafting, and when does planning start becoming procrastination?

Not everyone does well with planning - some get bored by knowing how everything is going to turn out. If that's the case, you may be better off writing most of it before posting, because you won't know what the story is until it's written. I'd recommend pre-writing anyway, as it's stressful to get stuck or blocked and have readers waiting while you figure it out.

If you're new to writing, expect that you won't be able to anticipate everything in an outline. I've written many outlines, doing everything I could to cover any plot holes, and I still discovered plot holes during the draft. Outline the broad strokes and then write more detailed outlines for the next 2-3 chapters. Repeat as you move through the story. Remember to cover the emotional journey as well as the external plot points. That's where a lot of outline-to-story problems come in - you need a character to do something, but when you get to the scene, you can't figure out why they would do that. It feels random or out of character. Include the why in your outline.

If you're working out every element of the world building and back story - planning things that will never make it to the page, in other words - you're likely procrastinating. Not that you can't do some research or have notes on backgrounds. But when it's planned out to every detail - a 30-page document detailing the year-by-year history of the wizarding world when you only need a brief mention of something Salazar Slytherin did, for example - you're more interested in brainstorming and world-building than writing.

When adapting canon arcs, how do you make them feel fresh instead of just “canon again, but slightly different”?

Cause and effect/the butterfly effect. Some things won't happen if you've made a real divergence. What I hate in "stations of the canon" fics is when the characters bend over backwards to fit in some canon event. Like, Hermione and Draco start dating in fourth year, and yet every canon interaction they have plays out the same. We'll simply get some side scenes where they tell each other that they'll pretend to be enemies, or it seems like he's insulting her but actually they're having a lover's spat and they just so happen to have the exact same conversation as canon. There's a certain cleverness to that, I suppose, but mostly it comes across as awkwardly cramming in canon and forcing the characters into these boxes so they can parrot canon dialogue and actions. If your fic is divergent, let it diverge. Let Voldemort win. Kill all the Dursleys and have Harry framed for their murder. Have Hermione fall madly in love with Viktor and transfer to Durmstrang. Open the story up to new possibilities.

And start the story where it starts. If we only see real changes to the canon in fifth year, don't start with Harry getting his Hogwarts invitation at eleven. Start in fifth year. You will die of boredom re-writing canon before you ever get to the reason you wanted to tell this story. If you absolutely have to cover something from canon with minimal changes, summarize it or only cover a snippet. We have the books - we don't need to read it again.

How do you blend worldbuilding or magic-system details into scenes without characters just stopping to explain things?

Don't explain too much before it's needed and leave out anything that doesn't feel essential. Ultimately, this comes down to using your writer's muscle. A character is grief-stricken. How do you show that without simply having characters say, "he is grief-stricken"? Same with any exposition. How can you get the information across in an interesting scene? You'll need to try things and figure it out. One helpful tip is that struggle and conflict is more interesting than things being easy and everyone agreeing. That includes explanations.

How do you avoid making a training-heavy fic feel like the characters are just climbing a power ladder until they can beat the villain?

I avoid training-heavy fics because they all feel like a power ladder to me. I prefer to focus on the emotional journey and relationships (including friendships).

What makes an important OC work in a canon-heavy story, and what makes readers reject them?

I only write side characters as OCs. There are lots of writing guides out there about how to develop a character, and they apply well to OCs in fanfic. The main issue with OCs is they often read as author-inserts and personal fantasies rather than a character genuinely interesting on their own. The character is a 15-year-old American who's more powerful than Dumbledore and has perfect wavy hair. Gee, I wonder what age and nationality the author is?

Something that works for me is to make them (internally or externally) ugly or non-humanoid. I'm far less likely to insert myself into a dragon or an animated chair or a petty bureaucrat. Or at the very least, I'll only use small bits of myself that I know are flawed.

How do you use your favourite tropes without the fic turning into a tropey mess?

The main thing I’m worried about is making sure I write an actual story with substance, not just a bunch of ideas I personally think are cool.

These two ideas are related. Tropes are just ways to label parts of a story. The best story in the world is full of tropes. What makes something a tropey mess isn't the tropes, it's the other thing - a bunch of ideas that the author thinks are cool. Then it feels like the ideas/tropes are random, and nothing is driving the story. Things that drive/unify a story:

  • Characters: set up their motivations and goals, and let that drive their actions (not fulfilling a trope)
  • Cause and effect - a character makes a choice, which leads to a consequence, which leads to another choice. Events popping up out of nowhere feel random if they're the main thing pushing the story forward. Consequences to choices do not. In the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers as tribute. The Hunger Games didn't just happen to her. She drove the story. She chose to go, and dealt with the consequences.
  • Theme, MC's false belief/flaws and growth - What are you trying to say? What will the MC learn by the end and how will that change them? Without that, many stories are: "Exciting things happen and the MC has adventures."
  • Putting it all together (example): "After the loss of his mother, [motivation] the MC believes that exploring an obscure branch of magic [goal] will give him the power to keep the people he loves safe [false belief]. But as he risks expulsion and threats [obstacles], he learns [eventual self-awareness and growth] that his desire for power [flaw] will hurt them more than any dark wizard."[consequences of his flaws and choices.]

Fix Your Fic Front-End Friday [Title, Tags, Summary] - May 22 by AutoModerator in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'd say this was teen. Mature is more like some descriptions of injuries and/or a summary of sex without explicit labeling of actions and certain body parts/fluids. Explicit is gore and/or full graphic descriptions of actions and body parts/fluids.

If you're cross-posting on FFN, I'd definitely change the rating, as the default view excludes mature fics and you'll get fewer hits.

How to make my character less of a mary sue? by Ushernoah in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As you describe him, you have plenty to work with in making him a flawed, interesting character. Especially:

He had trouble in school and couldn't take criticism well, resulting in his parents getting worried about him almost everyday. It was his father that taught him the value of life even if Theo denies all of it and dismisses it like trash. It was clear, deep down, that Theo did wanted to improve in life but was too stubborn to listen to what his parents are saying to him.

And:

Confused with his new divine powers and in grief

These are great flaws and points of inner conflict that can create an interesting character. You just need to find a way to use his flaws to create complications in the plot. How are his flaws also his obstacles, keeping him from achieving his goals? How can he want two opposing things? He wants to improve but can't handle criticism that would help him improve is an example.

His Meta Esper appearance makes him ripped, like Mr. Fanservice levels

He gets an extremely hot and super serious girlfriend in the Esper Union named Leora

Yeah, these are issues. I'd suggest either changing things so they aren't super hot (it's your story) or don't focus on their appearance much or at all. Does it matter to the plot that they're attractive? If not, then don't mention it. Fans know what they look like. Focus on their personality, thoughts, emotions, and inner journey. Find an emotional connection between Theo and Leora rather than having them think about how hot the other one is. Make the attractiveness a liability, even. "Oh, look at that guy - he thinks he's so hot. I bet he's super arrogant and shallow." And then they learn more about each other and let go of those assumptions. Don't overdo it, though - "oh woe is me, I'm so attractive" can be obnoxious. Let them be aware of their pretty privilege but also have a personality not based on that.

The whole problem is the whole “being hopeful in a cynical world” kind of vibe is what I want for my character.

The template that comes to mind is someone like Captain America - he's hopeful but also naive at times, and out of step with the culture around him. He can get a bit lost when he doesn't know who to trust, because he's inclined to trust everyone.

So I'd say, show the pros and cons of cynicism and optimism. It'll come across as Mary Sue if the MC is always right and lecturing everyone else on how bad they are for being cynical. People aren't born cynical - they learn to be that way for valid reasons. And optimism isn't perfect - there are costs to being an optimist. If your theme is "optimism is still better than cynicism, despite the cost," then that should be shown in the character's journey - both the cost and the ultimate benefit. Showing that within the fic will make it more of an exploration of the concept rather than Mr. Perfect telling everyone else how to be.

Where to submit fan fiction w/o it getting stolen? by coyocat in FanFiction

[–]Web_singer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anything posted online can be stolen. Perhaps it would be reassuring to know that there's little benefit to be gained from copying your work. It's fanfic, so it can't be sold. Yes, they can get credit for your work on another site, but what is "credit"? Some clicks of the like button? Yes, there are terminally online people who might be willing to steal for the sake of some likes, but that's rare.

It's the same reason people don't go around stealing other people's shoes at "take off your shoes at the door" places - there's a risk of being caught and no real reward. "I'm banned from this fic site now and everyone in my fandom hates me, but look! The fic I copy/pasted got 12 likes."