Subject: I'd like to try MSTing, but...
Author:
Posted on: 2016-02-27 18:55:00 UTC
...I don't know how to find MSTs that aren't already MSTing themselves, as one person put it.
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Seeking advice by
on 2016-02-25 19:12:00 UTC
Reply
So I’ve been trying to write MSTs. I’m encountering some problems, though.
First: I don’t have enough agents who’d work for it.
Valon and Kala are the only agents I can really see as being good for MST. Chakkik’s too serious, Stephanie’s supply of jokes is limited, Adéle would have traumatic flashbacks in some fics, and the rest of my characters (Gabby, Zeke, Publica) aren’t developed enough.
Second: I don’t have enough time for cowrites.
For those not in the know, I have only two hours of access time a day when I’m at home. With other people dealing with time zones, work, school, and just plain having other things to do, cowrites are hard now. Just ask Silenthunder; we’ve been trying to cowrite a mission, but I never have enough time to write when she gets out of school. There’s a library in walking distance, but then I have to worry about their operating hours.
Third: I don’t know how to keep canons in-character.
This is the only thing I feel that anyone can help with. I know that some MSTers drag canon characters along for the ride (Laburnum, Sergio Turbo, PoorCynic), but when I try to write them… I dunno, they don’t feel right to me. This is actually the main reason I don’t write fanfic at all: I can’t trust myself to not let my personality infect canonical characters. I’m not sure if I just don’t know the characters well enough, or if I have a different problem.
Does anyone have any advice? -
I don't really have advices... by
on 2016-02-27 19:05:00 UTC
Reply
But I can always point you out to Das Sporking. I especially recommend you the Fifty and Twilight sporkings, since they also include canon characters being... drafted for the sporking. It should give you a pretty good idea of how this is done.
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I'd like to try MSTing, but... by
on 2016-02-27 18:55:00 UTC
Reply
...I don't know how to find MSTs that aren't already MSTing themselves, as one person put it.
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The nice thing about MSTs (point 2)... by
on 2016-02-26 13:08:00 UTC
Reply
... is that they're really easy to cowrite.
They consist of every line of a story, split up for comments where the writers want to split them. So open up a Google Doc, copy the text of the story in, and then... start commenting on any lines that you think deserve a comment.
You don't need to be on at the same time. If you want to reply to something your coauthor said - reply to it! And then reply to their other comment three paragraphs down, and then make several of your own on uncommented lines, and then go back and add another reply somewhere earlier.
MST writing is - or can be - amazingly non-linear. It is tailor-made for timezone difficulties.
hS -
Maybe this will help by
on 2016-02-26 05:45:00 UTC
Reply
1: Make some new characters. An MST is not exactly a PPC exclusive thing, so you have some additional choice here, too.
2: Get someone to write sections of it without you, and leave notes for them at the end. Repeat for you. If you have phone access, you could send them Skype messages or something as well. Don't really know your timezone, so I'm not sure if the last one could work.
3: Yeah, that's a more common problem than some people think. I never stop tweaking any canons I write, since they never seem quite right. Fortunately, having a bunch of collaborative editors around can help you here. I find that canons end up feeling a lot more well done once you have other people tweak them. It gives you free advertising, as well, since the people you have editing will likely spread word of the MST, getting you more readers quickly.
Hope this helps. -
Some answers? by
on 2016-02-25 19:36:00 UTC
Reply
1) You don't necessarily have to MST with PPC-related characters. If you want to, you can always use it as a method to develop your less-developed ones. If not, well, you can do anything from just snarking at the fic like Astral Void did when she sporked 50 Shades of Grey (sporking of NSFW squicky material) to writing completely new characters for the task.
2) Well, what seemed to work for me and SeaTurtle for "Grey Area" was that I'd write a line (paragraph, whatnot), say "tag" in a comment or whatever, then he'd do the same. Rinse, repeat.
3) Can't help you there; I don't think I ever wrote a canon character (in an RP — didn't make any attempt at a fic) in a way that felt OK to me.