New Fan Fiction Forum

I know there are many among you are not only fans of the Warcraft story but also creators of your own stories. Please feel free to continue discussing your insights and musings about the World of Warcraft universe here with each other and please feel free to start sharing your fictional Warcraft (story) creations in the new Seat of Knowledge: Fan Fiction forum - http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/12557468/

01/23/2014 01:42 PMPosted by Marriama

Oh god.

EDIT: In all seriousness, though, it's certainly going to be interesting to see the sorts of stories the community will weave. Just hoping it doesn't end up as a hugbox of NO CRITICISM, EVER, like certain other fanfiction-related forums I've visited.

I generally think it's a good idea for people to state ahead of time if they are open to feedback/criticism when they post their stories. That way, people don't feel the need to just be polite but can help provide good feedback.

I also agree that correcting people's fiction for "accuracy based on the lore" is touchy as well. For some people, they are trying to stretch the boundaries on purpose, for others they may just not know and want that sort of correction. Again, it probably wouldn't hurt if writers made it clear what they expected of their readers.

The World's End Tavern is more for RP. People share tips, do RP threads with each other, etc. While there have been some stories shared there, it's a slightly different thing. Also, not all writers RP and vice versa. This gives a single location just for sharing stories that may not even have anything to do with your character, it just happens to take place in the Warcraft universe.

01/23/2014 02:11 PMPosted by Threeslotbag

I really do hope this cuts down on the amount of "story" threads that are started here. A guy can hope, anyway.

If Nethaera is still reading this thread, the "Story Forum" really needs to be renamed the "Lore Forum".

Confused people are constantly posting their fan fiction here and then getting flamed for being in the wrong place.

We'll see about finding a way to adjust. We moved away from calling it a Lore forum due to semantics since in some cases the story may not be lore and vice versa. Game mechanics and needs sometimes muddy the waters. That said, maybe we can find a way to differentiate it more.

01/23/2014 05:17 PMPosted by Dallanna

Ya know, as someone who has been writing fanfiction for more than half his life, I can guarantee that the fanfiction forum should be called, "The Repository of Waste".

99 percent of all fanfiction is trash. Written by cretins who want empty praise, believing their 'writing' is worth the time spent upon it and should you DARE give criticism when they ask for it, they act like defensive children who don't understand that you need to create trash before you can create art.

.5 percent is vile, putrid pus that not even the likes of Reddit or 4chan will touch and will give them nightmares. The remaining .5 percent is actually decent and worth your time. So, be prepared to sift through garbage the likes of which you have never seen before!

You are a ray of sunshine aren't you? ;) Everyone hast to start somewhere and hopefully, it could be a learning process for even those who are trying to learn.

Also worth noting our Creative Development folk have run writing contests before and ended up using contest winners to write for us. I'm not saying that that is going to happen with this new fiction forum, but they are, in fact, very interested in reading great stories from the community and will be watching-- as will I. (dun dun dun!) Many writers in the community have also been asking for just such a location to share their creative works.

01/24/2014 08:53 AMPosted by Dallanna

01/24/2014 08:07 AMPosted by Nethaera

You are a ray of sunshine aren't you? ;)

I speak from experience, Neth. Both as a writer and as a reviewer. I get it.

You make something that you pour yourself into. Your ideas, your hopes that people will like it, and indirectly, your opinions of the state of things.

You feel the gut punch when people give it to you straight that what you've put out isn't good because of reasons that didn't occur to you when you first wrote it. I get it.

And I'm not at all disparaging newer writers, they just have to understand that if they want to get better, they need to understand that no one starts out writing great and that have to steel themselves for the fact that what they've written is going to be scrutinized in ways that will make them feel like their work is not all it's cracked up to be.

I've learned how to write by reading and writing fanfiction that I would not dare touch now, because in retrospect, it wasn't good. It was good at the time, but the more I wrote, the more I read, the more I realized that I needed to do better.

How many fanfiction writers have that kind of awareness? Yes, it is a hobby, yes, it's done for fun, however, considering the benefits of being able to write better, wouldn't you jump at the chance for constructive criticism that, if taken to heart, will only make your ability to disseminate your ideas for the general populace easier, clearer, and more profound?

P.S. Roth, just pretend I slam a Banana Cream Pie in your face and let's move on.

I agree with you. Great writers are those that take a few hits, learn from them, and steel themselves to just get better at the craft of writing. However, not everyone is looking to become great. They just want to share a story with others who may just like it the way it is. I think constructive criticism is great, but not everyone knows how to take it. Even when I first started working with editors, I'd bristle a bit. I still do now and then if I feel really strongly about something, but I also recognize that I've grown because of those editors calling me out for ill formed sentence structures or incomplete thoughts. I think it helps to be reminded that what you write is all that people have to go by. They can't see what you really mean by looking in your head. ;)

I just also don't like seeing people be discouraged at all that they will be judged and judged harshly for sharing their tales, especially since we have community members of all different ages and abilities joining in hopefully.