fic styles

[ckosacranoid]

i am writing a fukufic right now and its dealing with one of the cast of ranma other then ranma in a fuku for once. I am wondering what everyones thoughts are on the syle of fic where its letters to someone else?
thoughts, comments, other insane ramblings.
the idea come to me the other day and I started wrriting it and i am still working out a few weird ideas to add to it. but i hope to have the first 2 or 3 letters done and posted in the next 2 weeks for comments. I just wanted ideas from other on that style of writing.
thanks.

[PCHeintz72]

I am wondering what everyones thoughts are on the syle of fic where its letters to someone else?

It can be done well... generally I think it does not really work well though. Normally I prefer it being told as it goes by the people involved in the events.

I'd consider doing it perhaps as a supplement, rather than as the main focus.

For example a older Ranma fic, not a crossover, called 'Tattered Mist' was in the form of a double story. The main story was a normal view, with some letters, the other story 'called Tattered Mist Letters' was some of the letters.

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

i am writing a fukufic right now and its dealing with one of the cast of ranma other then ranma in a fuku for once. I am wondering what everyones thoughts are on the syle of fic where its letters to someone else?
thoughts, comments, other insane ramblings.
the idea come to me the other day and I started wrriting it and i am still working out a few weird ideas to add to it. but i hope to have the first 2 or 3 letters done and posted in the next 2 weeks for comments. I just wanted ideas from other on that style of writing.
thanks.

The letter seem to be best used as an introduction to the events, which also tells the tone and attitude of the narrator, by how they describe the event to themselves, and how they describe events to a known audience. If Ranma gets the crap beaten out of him by Ryoga and Mousse, while Akane is trying to shove burnt to a cinder cookies down his throat, and Kasumi writes her friend that Ranma brought over some friends for some roughhousing and Akane provided snacks, that sends one message.

If she writes (of the same even), My poor, brave Ranma got beaten up by those villians and poisoned by my idiot sister, but then I got to nurse him back to health. Oh why can't I clasp him to my bosom and claim him for my own? that sends another. I'll leave the Munchhausen By Proxy letter to someone else.

There's also the Rashamon style, where the event occurs, and the main characters all write letters about it, and the events don't exactly resemble each other.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

Telling a story in letters is called the "epistolary style". It can be done, but it's treacherous. Rashomon, now, you can do that in any style. It can make for a more complex book, or a more simplistic one. I handle that by carefully choosing whose thoughts are followed.

I'd be less likely to follow an epistolary story, just as I'd rather not follow a songfic. But if it's a story with letters, or songs, that's another matter entirely.

[ckosacranoid]

right now its an effort to get my muse off her lazy butt and help me get some writing down though. and it was something that come to me that would short and something funny i think. The idea was this way i can make meniton of other fan fics out there in passing that i like and keep some humor in sailor pluto talking about home much trouble the job is in thier world campared to other worlds.
thanks for the comments

[Anchoku]

Writing a fanfic "letter" discussing other author's fanfics is asking for trouble.

Writing a letter, as Ellen says, is almost as problematic. One reason is because, as a letter, it must be written like a letter. Most people, including myslef, have problems writing as if addressing a single person about events of a very personal nature. In other words, write it like you would write your parents or a best friend. Maintaining that style is terribly difficult because people tend to go into narratives, which are neither direct, nor personal.

"I don't like Johnny because he pulled my hair during recess." - this is what one might find in a letter.

"It was warm out today and we all went to recess. Johnny was, as usual, picking on everyone so I yelled at him but my friends wouldn't back me up and he attacked me and pulled my hair. I kicked him back and launched a Kamehameha at his @$$ and knocked him across the playground but he ate a juju bean and became super-strong and jumped back into the fight.

The teacher didn't see us and ignored the fight. I didn't know if he was a good teacher because he was always so boring in class.

I ate a juju bean, too, and had good and plenty of fighting spirit...." - It may sound like a letter but it's far too descriptive and borders on a narrative. Once it gets to that point, you may as well just write it as a story. Watch out for when your writing style shifts away from direct summaries to a specific person.

[ckosacranoid]

well, i am still getting my scout team lined up anyway and i am trying to some up with a couple of more weridness magnets for them, but i am getting there. the only thing i can say is that biles and davies fic where lina inverse goes on a mad rampage accross muliti fics trying to be come a god and the folllow up fix with geffory where the manga scouts go over and beat up the anime ones is where the ideas stated though. this was lostly going to be one shot thing meybe anyway. i had only a about 3 letters in the works anyway, meybe 4 depeneding on how i how i can get down for some other weird things to go with it. besides the other idea that come up was getting ranma in a miniskirt anyay at some point to have it count as a fukufic.....then again it was only going to count is if ranma is in the fuku and it did not matter if the rest of the cast was in fuku's of not.
there is some type of really bad visions of soun in a fuku and his power of crying comes to mind....and no he not a women....