The A-Z Shortcut
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The A-Z Shortcut |
| Creator: | Crystalix |
| Date(s): | May 5, 2008 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | The A-Z Shortcut, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The A-Z Shortcut is a 2008 essay by Crystalix.
It is part of the Fanfic Symposium series.
Some Topics Discssed
- plotting
- laziness
Excerpts
For well over a year now I have read fanfiction of all genres, ratings, pairings, and fandoms. After browsing through hundreds of fanfics, and writing several of my own, I have found many amazing pieces of writing. However, I have also found one consistent error in writing that not only disappoints me to no end, but also ruins the whole fanfic and often leaves me fuming for hours. Now, everyone makes mistakes. It’s a given, that when you read as much fanfic as I do you are bound to come across the odd error or two. Spelling errors- I can brush off, bad layout- not the end of the world, even someone being completely out of character and talking with an accent that they have never and will never have, is usually something that I don’t flip out over.
But the one thing, that I find can completely ruin a fic for me is what I call “the A-Z shortcut”. You wouldn’t believe how many stories I have read where the plot itself has amazing potential, the characters are laid out well, the spelling and grammar is great, but then a writer decides to take a “shortcut” in the plot and ends of squashing their story completely. I have found this most often in AU (Alternate Universe) stories, particularly ones of the romance genre; when the author is really only interested in the mushy/smutty/fluffy love scenes that they’ve planned out in brilliance and are full of drama, yet knows that they need some kind of story surrounding it to make a half-decent (and un-confusing) fic.
Now, I myself know what this is like. You have the “main event” almost written out to the smallest detail in your head, but then you realise that you have to GET to that point somehow and you suddenly question whether or not to write it after all: you’d love to write that scene, but you’re not at all interested in writing the zillions of pages it may/may not take to get there. This is when many writers seem to fall into the “A-Z Shortcut”.
I’m writing this as a PLEA to writers out there to take the time and write something worthwhile! This is your piece of writing that your name is going to be on! If you’re going to put all the time and effort into writing something, why not do it as best as you can? Why not take those extra few days to make it great, so that you can really be proud of your work and know that you wrote it to the best of your ability? In the end, it is much more satisfying to your readers as well as yourself!
Just remember, you might know what’s going on in the story, but your readers won’t unless you tell them! They won’t know why or how something is happening if you don’t explain it, they can’t just read you mind! Your attitude will almost always be reflected in your work, so if you start to take shortcuts, people are going to notice and it will clearly show! They may get the job done faster, but it’s better to be a little late and do a great job, than to have it done fast and have something that’s not even close to as good as it can be!
So next time you get an idea, and come to that point where you want to take the A-Z Shortcut, suck it up and keep going the way you were. There’s a reason that there are 24 other letters in the alphabet, just like there’s a reason character and plot development were invented! Take the time, because in the end, it’s worth it!