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Ireth_Telrunya
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Post Girl-falls-into-Arda stories: Are they irredeemable?
on: August 15, 2014 09:56
I ask mainly because I'm in the process of writing one, and I'm curious as to whether anyone will actually take the time to read it.

There seems to be a certain stigma against the genre, due to the high amount of "Mary Sue" characters who always get the hot guy of their choice and always save the world. But would people give a chance to a story that didn't do that? What if the self-insert/MC was both asexual and aromantic, had absolutely no special powers or abilities (and some significant disabilities), and her fate wasn't inextricably tied in with those of the canon characters we all know and love?

My goal is to write the "girl falls into fantasy world" story as realistically as possible. I'll deal with language barriers, lack of many modern conveniences that otherwise I'd take for granted, and a slew of other very real problems, some of which I struggle with every day, and that a trip to Middle-earth will not magically cure. (And of course the more fantastic problems, like orcs and stuff.)

But, if I write all that and post it somewhere, will people read it? Is the mantra "if you post it, they will come" worth anything? Should I just stop asking questions and just write the darn thing, and post it anyway?
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
~nólemë~
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on: August 16, 2014 07:44
In my experience, GFIM stories have almost as many followers as stories that feature only canon characters. You can compare the review and fave counts if you select 'OC' in the search form on ff.net. The 'Don't Panic' classic has devoted fans eventhough it was published years ago, and it is still quoted as an exmaple of a believably written GFIM story.

As for giving such a story a chance: I personally have no problems reading a GFIM story if I stumble upon one and the summary sounds interesting (language, spelling, a note that the story aims to be realistic). But as with all stories, to keep following the story I need to see canon faithfulness, all characters being in-character, and general realism. Having an ordinary Girl character, not special in any way, helps a lot to achieve the realistic feel.
---------- Image "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
Ireth_Telrunya
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on: August 16, 2014 09:09
Much appreciated, ~nólemë~.

As far as my story goes, it's set in a time period of Arda that isn't very much expanded upon in the text (very early First Age), so I'll be dealing mainly with OCs as well as my self-insert. I can count the canon characters I currently plan to include on one hand, but they will have important roles. I do plan on keeping them in-character, and I'm not sure if the plot will intersect with anything explicitly detailed in canon, like the major battles of that Age. I wasn't even sure about the antagonist until someone sort of sprang up yesterday and seemed eager for the role. I'll keep writing and planning, and I guess we'll see what happens.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
~nólemë~
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on: August 16, 2014 10:20
"until someone sort of sprang up yesterday and seemed eager for the role"

I'm not sure now if yours is a fanfic or a RPG. I have no idea how much following RPG stories get (same for roundrobins), or how well stories with multiple self-inserts fare.
---------- Image "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
Ireth_Telrunya
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on: August 16, 2014 10:36
It's a fanfic, not an RPG. What I meant by that is that while I was writing, an OC displayed somewhat unexpected antagonistic tendencies within paragraphs of me first adding him to the story. Not that I'm having another real-life person RP the role of villain.

I tend to treat all my characters as people with minds of their own, and they can and do act accordingly, doing things I may or may not expect. I feel like I'm just the recorder of their stories sometimes, not the author.

[Edited on 08/16/2014 by Ireth_Telrunya]
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
findemaxam48
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on: September 01, 2014 01:26
I find that I agree with noleme.
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
autistic cupcake
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on: February 19, 2015 01:11
I love those. But I like the ones that stick as close to canon as they can
What herb heals all wounds? Thyme! Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes! Sprinkles are for winners
Elfeawen Lomiondil
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on: May 04, 2015 05:06
Do boys never fall into Arda?
"There shall be war between the Children of Iluvatar and the Ainu Melko. What if we perish in our quest? The dark halls of Vê be little worse than this bright prison" ~ Fëanor
Gandolorin
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on: May 06, 2015 05:28
Elfeawen Lomiondil said:Do boys never fall into Arda?

When you look at diverse statistics as to what percentage of boys READ, I am in no way surprised that few (and I'm betting it is far fewer than even those that read) boys try to write. I'm guessing they need to get bored with Playstation and Co. before writing can become interesting ... Image
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~nólemë~
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on: May 06, 2015 06:17
I am pretty sure I've stumbled upon a few fics where a guy, or a few guys, end up in Arda. It was on ff.net. I don't recall the titles. But except for the absence of a love plot, I didn't find them any more canon-compliant than girls in M-e.
---------- Image "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
Gandolorin
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on: May 07, 2015 04:38
~nólemë~ said:... But except for the absence of a love plot, ...

Giveaways don't get any deader than that!
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Hanasian
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on: May 07, 2015 08:22
Elfeawen Lomiondil said:Do boys never fall into Arda?
I read one FF on Henneth Annun where a boy fell into Arda and Eowyn fell in love with him and had an affair while Faramir was off east subduing a rebellion. Yeah. Cheese.
Eighth King of Arthedain - It was in battle that I come into this Kingship, and it will be in Battle when I leave it. There is no peace for the Realm of Arnor. Read the last stand of Arthedain in the Darkest of Days.
findemaxam48
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on: May 08, 2015 10:07
Wow. Poor Faramir.

For me, I will read the GFIM fics. Do I enjoy all of them? Not necessarily. But I still read them to find out whats popular in the fanfiction world.
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Elfeawen Lomiondil
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on: May 08, 2015 04:57
Ickk. Poor Faramir indeed. And there's one reason why I haven't really gotten into reading fanfic.

It never occured to me to plop a person from our world into ME. But if you write one I will now have to read it out of total curiousity!
"There shall be war between the Children of Iluvatar and the Ainu Melko. What if we perish in our quest? The dark halls of Vê be little worse than this bright prison" ~ Fëanor
Ireth_Telrunya
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on: May 09, 2015 02:29
Thanks, Elfeawen! I probably won't post it here, since the rules prohibit posting fics involving real people (including self-inserts), but I can certainly provide a link to FF.net for those who are interested. ^^ I'm going to wait until it's complete before starting to post it, though.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
autistic cupcake
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on: May 18, 2015 12:34
I'm so excited for it.
What herb heals all wounds? Thyme! Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes! Sprinkles are for winners
flyingarrow
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on: August 29, 2015 03:00
I like these kind of stories, I think they are imaginative and interesting
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