What do you struggle in Fan Fics?

[Princess Raspberyl]

1. I never have the motivation to write.
2. I have almost every plot point planned out to the microlevel. All that stuff that happens between those plot points? Not so much. I can't get my characters from Plot S to Plot T.
3. I have no experience with action/fight scenes. So I decided to write a Pokemon fanfic. Smart. So smart. As it turns out, I hate writing them.

...OH MY GOD ARE YOU ME EXCEPT PROBABLY OLDER AND A DUDE? This is exactly what I hate too ;~; I'm worse, I'm working on a Soul Eater story and my fight scenes are crap Also, I cannot write a good villian to save my life. I also worry about if I've given a character enough depth/a likable personality and I worry if I make too much happen in their backstory that it's unbelieve/too angsty. ;~;

[Quilava42]

It's about time I start saying my own situation, which most of you know.

Well, it hard for me to convey words. It's been like this foe a year as I realized to put imagery. So I tried doing prose, but it ruins it. So even if I try to write simple, it still doesn't look good. It ruins my motiv a lot when doing this, especially with people constantly blurting it out.

>I'm bad at spelling and grammar. I don't know when to use ' where and when to use comas and what fragments are and what run-ons are and uhg, it gives me a headache.

>I take my writing far to seriously sometimes and I get hurt when someone says its bad even when I know it is and I don't know why i'm getting upset over someone telling me the truth. I don't usually speak out against them, I mean it is the truth and they took the time out of their day to tell me I suck, but it hurts a little on the inside. Same goes for all my art though.

At least someone is like me. :<

[Lugion]

I have a hell of a time sticking with my stories, regardless of whether they're fan fiction or not.

[Ememew]

I think my main issues in writing are finding the motivation to write (and the nerve to actually *gulp* post) and what I call the "Five Chapter Curse."

The Five Chapter Curse is a pattern I've noticed in my writing. Usually when I get about 4-5 chapters into a story, that's when my mind starts throwing other plot bunnies together begging to be written about instead. I lose the motivation to write about the current story and start writing about the new idea, leaving me with a bunch of unfinished stories. I don't know why, but this usually happens four or five chapters in (more often five than four).

That's part of why I've only posted one-shots so far. I want to have a longer story going for significantly more than 5 chapters before I post it to try to make sure I won't just lose the motivation for it in favor of something else. I figure if I can get past the first five without another idea usurping it, I might have the motivation to stick with it. That, or I need to start having ideas that I can wrap up in five chapters.

Another problem is a pattern I've noticed in my characters. The people I intend to be my main characters don't tend to do much. They end up observing the other events and get dragged from scene to scene to watch my supporting cast move the plot along. I guess the idea is that they're supposed to be like Bilbo at the start of The Hobbit, where he (book! Bilbo) was basically just an observer during the encounter with the trolls and such until he was separated and forced to be more active, but I can't seem to pinpoint where they should start transitioning into more active characters (and I worry that they'll just come off as boring before that transition happens).

Other than that, I guess just trying to come up with villains and their motivations that don't make me cringe at how cliché they seem when I look over the idea later. I tend to try to over-complicate things because I'm worried that the villains' plots and motivations seem too simple, only to realize that the over-complicated version doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[The Teller]

...OH MY GOD ARE YOU ME EXCEPT PROBABLY OLDER AND A DUDE? This is exactly what I hate too ;~; I'm worse, I'm working on a Soul Eater story and my fight scenes are crap Also, I cannot write a good villian to save my life. I also worry about if I've given a character enough depth/a likable personality and I worry if I make too much happen in their backstory that it's unbelieve/too angsty. ;~;

OMG I THINK I AM! I'm weird in that I've never written a true villain before. My antagonists are usually either my protagonists or "society" (ENGAGING HIPSTER MODE). This story will actually have a true villain. We'll see how that goes.

[marioluigifan05]

#1: Establishing
#2: Descriptions are too short
#3: Self-created continuity
#4: Characterization
#5: Intriguing

[SeekerofLight]

I have a hell of a time sticking with my stories, regardless of whether they're fan fiction or not.

Oh dear, I know the feeling.

With me, I'm a young lad, preparing for exams and whatnot, so writing never takes priority.

However, It's not the stories themselves that i can't stick to, it's the ideas. With me, i plan out everything I want to have in my story, but when i get round to writing it, I suddenly think of an alternative that ends up taking over the enitre story which requires me to stop, go back, and think through what effect thsi event will have on later ones.

Also, I have fallen into the trap of Imagination. So far, I have my fan fic 'The Seekers of Light' and this other epic project of mine that i'm writing, but with that I have about three other story ideas, plus a fan fic idea!

Oh well, at least you have something to look forward to once 'Seekers' is finished in 2014... And you think I'm joking

[Dormant]

I have some problems like

-Too many ideas

-Making battle scenes

-Making my story more descriptive

-Time to make chapters

-Try to not get my fic locked or get banned from the Moderators.

So yeah! Oh, and also trying to make the story funny. (I think I'm getting better)

So Dormant signing off..

[lollygag]

Writer's block is the biggest problem. I keep getting it, which hinders my writing.

[Shadow Jirachi]

1. I never have the motivation to write.
2. I have almost every plot point planned out to the microlevel. All that stuff that happens between those plot points? Not so much. I can't get my characters from Plot S to Plot T.
3. I have no experience with action/fight scenes. So I decided to write a Pokemon fanfic. Smart. So smart. As it turns out, I hate writing them.

Literally all my writing problems in a nutshell. I also have a problem with having too many characters and two or three characters who have their personalities being too similar to each other. Also, I dream up the whole story in my mind and by the time I put up the prologue/first chapter I have gotten bored with the story and want to move onto something else. I really love writing and stories, but I can't motivate myself to write. And when I get a burst of motivation, it's probably 1 a.m. and I can't get to sleep.

[The Teller]

Literally all my writing problems in a nutshell. I also have a problem with having too many characters and two or three characters who have their personalities being too similar to each other. Also, I dream up the whole story in my mind and by the time I put up the prologue/first chapter I have gotten bored with the story and want to move onto something else. I really love writing and stories, but I can't motivate myself to write. And when I get a burst of motivation, it's probably 1 a.m. and I can't get to sleep.

I've found that supplementary materials to go with the main plot come to me exclusively when I'm in the shower. By the time I have access to my computer, all knowledge of this new material has been permanently deleted from my brain.

I have a new problem. My main character was supposed to be mature and quick-witted and have a mild sense of humor. Very quickly, he turned into a ditz, a more light-hearted and fun-loving foil to the second main character, who is basically what the main character was SUPPOSED to be. This doesn't make my main character weak or stupid, but it does take away the sense of professionalism and experience he supposedly has. On the other hand, it also makes him more human and relatable, so maybe perhaps this is a good thing?

[Dark Amethyst]

1. Procastination= I have enherited the family legacy of massive procastination xD. As I have major problem focusing myself to write on my stories.
2. Too much of a workload= I basically have quite a few on my plate, which includes writing multiple stories at the same time.
3. Too much ideas going around in my head= I tend to come up with a lot of ideas for different stuff at the same time that makes it harder for me to focus on doing just one.

[Gothic-Gothorita]

I don't really recall any of my "struggles" in Fan Fiction besides one - CONVERSATIONS! D= Right now, I'm just novice at them, some of them are good, but I just sometimes lack description and may not be able to find words to replace "Said".

[SuperDaikenki]

I struggle with writers block. Its really annoying, I've written five fics so far, and I used to post at least a chapter a day, but since I've been busy and stuff lately, I hadn't been doing much as I should. I also get distracted easily as of late which cause me to write a chapter almost two weeks late (that's along with writers block) thana promised.

[DarkerShining]

Well, there's RL stuff occasionally getting in the way. I also find it difficult sometimes to write out the beginning and ending scenes of a chapter, although how difficult usually depends on the chapter. And of course, there's having to keep track of everything so I don't do something that contradicts something from earlier in the story, and so far I've been doing pretty well with covering everything I can think of.

The thing I find the most difficult is probably battle scenes, though. I find them difficult to write, as battle scenes are in most cases supposed to be exciting, and I'm unsure if I'm able to pull that off. Another thing I find difficult with battle scenes is figuring out how long they should be. There's also a lot to keep track of in battles, such as which attacks and such are used, although I recently realized that figuring out a character's personality can be useful, as that may influence how they would fight.

[Kiyuni]

I have problems with writing too much dialogue. Many things I write are dominated by a simple back-and-forth between two characters. It's made me better at character interaction, but at the cost of everything else.

[Greatemboar]

Right now I'm struggling with the cursed writers block 3rd chapter in my fic and writers block kicks in.

[Shiny Venusaur]

My main problem is getting started, or finding the motivation to start writing. Once I get going, I have absolutely no problem writing. It's just setting aside the time to do it.

[EmphaticPikachu]

I mostly struggle with writing style and making the story flow. .-... Its sometimes hard to explain, but when I'm writing, my logic comes out fine, but the actual rhetoric words behind anything that is said tends to fall flat on its face. I'd guess I'd chalk it up to my lack of knowledge on useful words in the English dictionary, but ergh. lol

My stories (or ideas for stories) only tend to feel fluent when there's talking going on it. The dialogue is where it really shines (or at least for Reverse Reverse), because that's the only time that information ends up flowing for me.

In accordance with my inability to type rhetoric words well, I tend to make it seem almost like a commentary by the main character. He'll express his thoughts on the subject/conversation at hand, usually in a simple, yet logical way, and then it'll transition to the next quote. I wouldn't say it's bad, but I have a tough time explaining things in an interesting way that aren't spoken.

I also have trouble starting to type/write, but that's something we all tend experience. XD

[NightmareHybrid]

I haven't posted my fanfic yet, because of what annoys me the most at this point in time: NAMES. I can think of names for the Pokemon, but the human names are too difficult to think up. I have a story planned through, I began writing it, than I'm stuck. I don't know what to name the main character. I'm considering making my story Pokemon only, but that would mean making an entirely new story. I have an entire story planned out, but no freaking names. It's annoying.

Oh, and confidence. I have absolutely NO confidence with anything, everything I think comes out decent is always criticized by someone.

[Scaldaver]

I get bored with filler - maybe that's why my story has so many twists and turns!

[Dormant]

Thinking up funny stuff. Making a story that gives you Lols.

[OceanicLanturn]

I'm now starting to have the problem of too much dialogue... Something is wrong about a 7-page chapter that included a capture and a battle ._.

[Azran Flame]

1. Beginnings: I have this fanfic that I've got the whole main plot worked out for, but I just can't find a good way to kick it off, for some reason.
2. Introducing Characters: See above. Finding a good way to introduce one of my charcters isn't working out for me.
3. Character Development: More specifically, showing how the bonds between the characters develop. It's like the characters suddenly jump from "acquaintance" to "best friends" status.
4. Sub-Plots: I know just having one main plot is probably boring. Thing is, I don't know how to implement those sub-plots that will give the story and my characters more depth.
5. Humour: As English isn't my first language, I always struggle finding good ways to be funny. OTL

[Keldminrachi91]

In general: Names. I can never think of a good name, so when I'm just doing a plan, I have a bunch of ____'s or "TBA"s. I've tried the Internet, but none of the names on there really fit, but names from so many already made things (Iris, May, etc) work so well, but I don't like to use them.

In my Pokémon/Hunger Games Crossover: I have the first couple of chapters written, but I really feel like it's not straying away from THG enough. All I really did was replace a couple of things with Pokémon things (ie- Cities in Unova instead of Districts; hybrid Pokémon instead of animals), and the rest of the writing is practically HG.

In my "Into the Darkness" Fic: Plot Development/Writer's Block. I have about 75% or Chap 2 written, but I'm really out of ideas. All I have is that some little girl gets possessed by this evil spirit and takes her to another world with other evil spirits. It's really weird and kind-of takes a lot of explanation.

In my Pokémon Journey Fic: Length and Descriptions. It just seems hard for me to describe the weird things in the new region, because all the people have weird powers like talking to Pokémon, transforming into Pokémon, etc

In my to-be-written PMD Fic: Making it different than all the other ones. I want to stay away from the "Person--> Pokémon via weird accident", but I'm not entirely sure how to do that. I'm thinking I could possibly either make it 2 non-human originality Pokémon, or make people turn to Pokémon on purpose, as opposed to by accident. Or maybe a certain Pokemon could be out to get a certain person, so they change them into a Pokémon so they would be easier to get, possibly losing all memories of previously being a human. (Really just typing the ideas as they come into my head; they pop in at night, and it's always right before I go to bed.)