Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted October 24, 2006 Report Posted October 24, 2006 Holy crap, I just found the first ever fanfic I ever posted on the internet (however, not the first one I wrote... -shudders-). It is so, incredibly, BAD. I can't believe I actually WROTE that! The first chapter is two pages, the two OC's are and OBVIOUS Mary Sue/Gary Stu Duo, (the woman's name is Padraign ) and the writing itself is awkward and just plain old BAD. Homently, it was just an excuse for Yaoi. I don't even remember what the pairing was gonna be anymore... oish... At the same time, however, it was kinda nice running into it again. After my old comp died I lost a lot of my old files stories and all the old chapters for that story I had with it. Now, I'm actually considering saving and using the characters in their own story and remaking them into well rounded characters. On top of that, it made me realize just how much better I've gotten. That story is from August 2003. Three whole fucking years and I've written over 30 drabbles, one shots, and first chapters and my style is far more refined then my early years. Not to mention now understand my limits and strengths. So, how about it? Anyone else have experiences like this where you found yourself saying "Holy shit, I wrote that?"
Iggy_lovechild Posted October 24, 2006 Report Posted October 24, 2006 Oh yeah...It wasn't my first fanfiction attempts (all of those have been lost to time ), but oh lordy, was it bad. I used to post Velvet Goldmine fanfiction on a site called Pretty Boys. Back then I was just getting into my boysmut addiction and...Well, a lot of it was pretty bad. Okay, all of it. At the time, I was 18 and hormonal and still hadn't learned the difference between good erotica and porn. I must admit I could see the beginning of my own style beginning to form. I've always been good at writing dialogue and even if some of the lines were regrettable looking back, there were a few diamonds in the rough....
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted October 24, 2006 Report Posted October 24, 2006 Not fan fics, but I came across some of the stuff that I wrote when I was in my early twenties, and it was just terrible. Trite, badly written, and awkward. But practice, while it doesn't make perfect, per se, does make one more skillful over time. Unless you're Barbara Cartland or something. I'm ashamed to admit that I read her awful books even when I was twelve or so. Thery are a good laugh, however. Ann Rice actually seemed to degrade with time. Her first three books in the Vampire Chronicles were great, and then after that it went downhill. Her sister is a FAR better writter
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted October 24, 2006 Report Posted October 24, 2006 Any chance of a link Pix? ...Oh god WHY? Here---> http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1498673/1/ Feast your eyes on the evil that was my writing not but 3 summers ago![/melodrama]
Iggy_lovechild Posted October 25, 2006 Report Posted October 25, 2006 ...Oh god WHY? Here---> http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1498673/1/ Feast your eyes on the evil that was my writing not but 3 summers ago![/melodrama] Oh! You have that going for you too? I mean, seeing changes in writing in a fairly short amount of time? Most of my older InuYasha fics, which really are only about a year and half ago, are perfectly terrible, imo. Too much pressure to please everyone, I think.
NightScribe Posted October 25, 2006 Report Posted October 25, 2006 I definitely know that cringe inducing moment you're talking about. I remember how AWFUL the short story was I wrote when I was 16, that made me want to become a writer. My teacher read it to the class; yeah, it was good for a 16 year old, but I'd wince every time I came across it later. Any copies of it have long since disappeared, it was so lame and embarassing to me, I couldn't keep it around, but oh, do I remember it. We had to write a "pact with the devil" story. So Satan shows up at this chick's apartment and she thinks he's just a wack job who broke in while she was sleeping. He's trying to convince her to sell him her soul (he's looking for *ahem* a "companion"-see, underlying smut even then!) and she says: "Yeah, you say you're Satan? Then prove it." The doorbell then rings and she answers. A girl scout is standing there in full uniform. "Hi, I'm Suzie and I'm from troop 666! Wanna buy some cookies?" "At 11:00 at night? No, damn you!" Girl scout vanishes in flash of light, only the lingering smell of brimstone left behind. I still shudder over that crap.
StoryJunkie Posted October 25, 2006 Report Posted October 25, 2006 My grade 3 teacher read my short story out loud to the class and I got redder, and sunk lower into the chair as soon as I realized what the heck she was reading! I've never forgotten it. I must have gained 6 new friends. (the story was about a horse that was about to get shot and it's young mistress saying good bye. You don't realize what's happening until the end) I slayed myself, and never recovered. There was no way I'd ever be able to top that evocative reaction, so I can't say that anything I've ever written has been better than that, I've always been good. Now, to work on that ego of mine... (permission to slap or spank me, granted!)
foeofthelance Posted October 25, 2006 Report Posted October 25, 2006 I think what makes it worse for me, is my first story ended up ebing some 60-70 chapters. I not only got to see myself get better from the beginning to end (I still won't reread chapters 1-15 or so) but I can see it die around chapter 58. Which is sad, and good at the same time. Means I can point at it an go, "See Foe, this is what you did right. This is what you did wrong. Do not repeat these mistakes again, or we will bash you in the head with a frying pan. And if you doubt us, remember: WE CONTROL THE ARMS!" Yes, it is sad my own mental problems threaten me.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted October 25, 2006 Report Posted October 25, 2006 Yes, it is sad my own mental problems threaten me. Hey, at least their productive threats. My mental problems have an "Ooo! SHINEY!" complex, which causes me to COMPLETLY space the fuck out while counting money at work.
foeofthelance Posted October 25, 2006 Report Posted October 25, 2006 Hahaha could be worse. I was at lunch with my friends when one of them was being really stupid. So one of the others pointed behind him and said "Look! Shiny!" The other guy turned around and went "Oooh, shiny!" Sure enough, the school's bell tower, with its bright copper dome, was right behind him.
AlphaFusion Posted October 26, 2006 Report Posted October 26, 2006 Sure. I have many experiences of that. But this is a good thing to have, because you'd know that you've improved in your writing. I've actually read through one of my original fictions that I've written years ago. It was so nasty that I deleted the whole thing afterward.
Iggy_lovechild Posted October 27, 2006 Report Posted October 27, 2006 I've actually read through one of my original fictions that I've written years ago. It was so nasty that I deleted the whole thing afterward. God, I wish I could get rid of a certain story but sadly it was co-written with another author that I've since lost contact with and anyway I'd have to contact the site's admin.... Too much work. Then again, it's kind of nice to see the evolution of my writing, even if it makes me want to hang myself.
redsliver Posted October 27, 2006 Report Posted October 27, 2006 I read my first piece of Fanfiction after reading this forum, and I have to say I'm rather proud of it, I went back even further and read some of the creative writing I did in first year, I'm really fucking proud of that. And then I picked up a shortstory I did in high school and my eyes nearly bled.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted October 27, 2006 Report Posted October 27, 2006 I read my first piece of Fanfiction after reading this forum, and I have to say I'm rather proud of it, I went back even further and read some of the creative writing I did in first year, I'm really fucking proud of that. And then I picked up a shortstory I did in high school and my eyes nearly bled.
Guest Pink Lace Posted November 9, 2006 Report Posted November 9, 2006 This inspired me to go back and read my first fic from way back in 2004 and discovered that I still like it. My earlier fiction from high school was really something terrible though.
Guest arora Posted November 24, 2006 Report Posted November 24, 2006 i can't stand to read the first 5 chapters of my first story. i even went back through and re-did it once before and it still hurts me to read it. thats what i get for sleeping through english class then trying to write something later in life.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted November 24, 2006 Report Posted November 24, 2006 i can't stand to read the first 5 chapters of my first story. i even went back through and re-did it once before and it still hurts me to read it. thats what i get for sleeping through english class then trying to write something later in life.
EveKnight75 Posted November 24, 2006 Report Posted November 24, 2006 I actually appreciate my earlier work for what it is, even if there are some parts that make me cringe. I once wrote this short novel for school (15 pages including crappy illustrations) about two teenage girls who bought hair products that turned their hair green, orange, or purple. Thing is, it wasn't supposed to do that. The girls tried to contact the company but the contact numbers were defunct. So the girls got together a huge group of teen victims to track the company down and bring it to justice, as well as wrangling free antidotes out of them. It's a good storyline, but the girls' dialogue was completely valley-esque and they both had a habit obsessing over clothes and talking on the phone too much. Then again, it was pretty good, considering I was 8 years old when I wrote it and had no idea what the average teenager was truly like. I also remember a short story I did in the 9th grade. I wrote the thing in 15 minutes, and felt it was vague and urply. There's no actual names for the characters, and a lot of the grammatical structures could be considered old English. The entire English department begged to differ. With my permission, it was passed around for opinions. The majority thought it was done by a professional gothic short story writer. Later, it was published in one of those school board creative writing contest anthologies - the ones that the students don't get paid for and no one ever reads. All right now. I'm going to try really hard to remember something crappy that I've written. I've got it! It wasn't written, but I made it up and shared it by mouth. When I was 6, I made up a story about a princess who didn't ever want to get married to a dumb old prince who was overly persistent and being forced upon her by her parents, so she ate tons of beans and kept farting to drive him away, because he was a strong believer in "going to the bathroom is a sin", and he hated Mexicans with a passion. It was supposed to be funny, but it was just plain gross, even for a 6-year-old. I hate that story, but that's a part of me that I'm trying to channel right now. I've always had trouble doing plain old humor (I can be sarcastic or witty, but that's just about it). I know it was gross, but the part of my brain that came up with that is the same part that may be able to write slapstick or something that's just funny without having to use some kind of "intelligent" reference. Apparently, I've been telling stories since way back when I was 3, but my memories before I was 4 years old are extremely fuzzy. I'm told that I was always good for my age. Still, I think it's best to leave your older stuff lying around, even if it is online. It's a testament to how far you've come since then, and how you've developed. And no matter what, no story of yours is 100% crappy, age consideration or not. The "princess who farts after eating beans" story I'd consider 88% crappy. It can't be 100% because I actually used an excellent voice and tone plus good spelling and grammar.
NefertariAran Posted November 25, 2006 Report Posted November 25, 2006 I actually wish I could find my first story I started writing when I was...13 I think. It was my first attempt at science fiction (invading alien races, star ships, etc). Too bad I spent more time trying to hook all the characters up rather than dealing with the intergalactic war that was apparently going on. I'd thought about going back and redoing it, but it and the red binder that I stored it in have been lost I found 2 of my short stories from high school recently, and I'm not exactly sure what I was smoking when I wrote them. One was written while I was bored in religion class staring two characters I made up while doodling on my notebook (Psycho the Evil Tiki Master and Goji the Skeleton Ninja ). The other was an English assignment where we had to write an ending to a short story we'd read half of, about a guy who was about to be hanged. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Sesshomaru, and Alucard all made cameos. yeah...random.
SisterWicked Posted November 26, 2006 Report Posted November 26, 2006 well, i thnk i still have my first fic lying around somewhere, written years ago, but i don't think it't too bad... lol, i'll have to transfer it from paper to hd and upload it, then i'll link it here so you guys can judge for yourselves, old fic verses my newer stuff, hee
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