Hi guys,

So I've been involved in online TF fandom in one capacity or another (mostly alt.toys.transformers, before it became something a bit different than I'm used to, as well as the TF: Lost Years MUSH) since late 1994, and it really seems like things have changed in a broad sense - places like this, however, make online TransFandom a place that's still worth being a part of as far as I'm concerned. Thanks, hey?

Do any fans do this sort of thing anymore, or am I sort of alone here? I hope not.

What is it about TF fanfic? I love it, but so much of it has changed in the last few years. Where is the Oakland FTP site located these days? It had a ton of awesome work on it - "Shelter from the Void", "Andraxus", "Assimilation", "Broken Down", "Broken Circut", the "TF Vs. Aliens" stuff and a few other great stories. Has the site moved? Where can I find these stories now? Does anyone read them anymore? Oh, and "Human Urges" is also great, too - is it finished? I've always wondered about that story. Are fanfic and fanzines a big thing in the TF fandom now? I haven't seen much evidence of that being the case, so I'm curious. I dug out a bunch of old fanzines from my closet this morning - "Maelstrom" and "The Survivors" and some old "Con-Quest", too - what's up with all of this?

Lastly...what's with ATTCM? Is it gone for good? How could one potentially set about reversing that problem?

Thanks, guys. I would love to reconnect with people who know what I'm talking about - or not - really, just any affirmation that I'm not out to left field on this stuff would be great. I appreciate your help!

Cheers,

Joseph

 

i'm guilty of not reading the fanfics here for some reason. i'm more inclined to read something where its store in an archive system, like transformersfanfics.co formerly lexicon.tf for example.

i guess its because i'm more liable to chat with ppl than read on this site.

 

I enjoy reading a good story. Not to step on anyone's toes, but so much of what is written is hobbled by poor grammar that it's impossible to enjoy. Or it's full of cliches. There are some really good fanfics out there, but I have to wade through some not-so-good stuff to get to them.

 

again, the benefits of an archive system. they have rating/review features which allow you to filter stuff.

 

i regret to say that i avoid reading fanfic. i dont deny that some of it is really really good, but 9 out of 10 times it's so terrible and/or badly written that it makes me want to hang myself.

 

eh, id think that entering the 1st paragraph - heck even 1st sentence - you cen tell whether its going to be good or not.

 

True. It doesn't take long.

 

I enjoy fanfics; I can stomach some of the bad stuff too because there are people out there that aren't natural writers or maybe are just starting out and don't know all the ins and out of grammar, punctuation, spelling. Especially if they're the target Hasbro audience; I have worked on numerous fanfics over time, I have found that not many people seem interested in leaving reviews of any kind and I have also found that I am guilty of that myself. I try not to, but it is difficult to find something to say after sitting for an hour or less time reading through about fifty pages of material.

I don't think my fanfics are cliched, but then again who can say; I do believe that its' really all a matter of taste, if you happen to hate re-writes of Beast Wars/Beast Machines/G1/Armada or the like then naturally you'd think people doing that were cliched. I hate when a good fanfic never gets' finished also; I've read some really good things from here and elsewhere and more often than not the writer for whatever reason will simply cut his losses and stop writing it because either they wrote themselves into a corner and can't them out or they could be hopelessly incapable of ever finishing what they start... Some of my own stories I'll admit I have let go in the past, back in high school when a lot of them seemed pointless or too childish; however even if it takes me another year to get back to what I was working on I'll always return because I can't stand leaving a stoy unfinished, unless I really think it's a piece of shite and shouldn't be touched with a ten foot pole.

 

Didn't see there was two threads on this...so here's my responce from the locked thread in the General TF forum:

There's a fanfic forum here on the boards with some pretty cool stories in it. I wrote some fan fics a few years back...not the best pieces of writing ever but it was fun at the time. I do enjoy reading fics from time to time.

 

I think the ones on here are decent, heck I joined because of them and am hooked! what I'd like to see is like a multi-person fanfic... Say more than one person work on an idea. yes it's a bit more tedious, but it saves us from those grammar errors, and short works that go nowhere. But that's just my 2 cents (hides under rock)

 

I had the same idea too. But I was thinking more along the lines that because the Trans universe is so huge it's hard to keep up with details, and if someone is writing they can easily get lost and form plot holes ( which I did   ). And it makes me heartily sad about my effort.

I'd leave more commets with the fics that I read, but I hate seeing my name on the forum. I try and read any I can because there are some good ideas in there, sometimes very creative, but sometimes the person, like me, has trouble with grammar or spelling (spell check made me illiterate   )

I am also a supporter of fan made characters. That's the reason why I got into fanfics. My friends and I said "The Autobots lost again" "The Mini-Cons are scared." Lo a behold we created characters that were cool, awesomus, and had some pretty dark background stories, to interatce with the other characters, save the day...and tick the hell out of warlords like Megatron. However, as with all comedians our characters kinda...fell outta line...and had to be eliminated.... :evil

I'd like to see these archives and collect some stories to read in my spare time. Not enough people are posting them. Not enough people are comenting to them

 

well I'll say this, I'd be happy to help and write one if anyone wants just send me a msg or whatever. I just don't see my own mistakes when I'm writing. (shrug) (Heck I could even write the theme song)

 

Great fan fics here, but i only have time to read the shorter ones. Guilty of not reading others' fan fics as i should...

 

I love fanfic - both reading and writing it. It takes time and some reading to seperate the good ones from the bad ones. But the good ones are great and worth it. They add to the universe and characters you already know. (I just never have time to read all the fanfics here that I would like. I'm slowly working on it.)

Let's face it, your favorite character or favorite incarnation of TFs be it G1 or Armada or whatever will never have enough episodes or stories to satsify you completely. I ALWAYS want more. But Habro keeps doing reboots every few years and while it's interesting to see how the line keeps changing, you still want your favorite incarnation to live on. That's a main reason why fanfic exists in the first place. You can go deeper with fanfic, exploring the world - filling in continuity gaps, continuing continuity where the shows left off, creating your own continuity, characters, and crossovers. It's endless creativity with my favorite fandom.

And the round robin story idea sound cool. I'd be willing to participate too.

 

the vang touches a good reason people create stuff (whether its art, writing, whatever). the motivation of doing something should always be rooted in the desire to just get stuff out there and not necessarily looking for feedback/an audience. once you prioritize feedback over creativity for creativity sake you might go down that road where you get frustrated for lack of it.

if you are in it for the fame, at least be prolific. but either way, make sure its fun for you.

 

I'm the same as Vangelus. The stories I'm working on right now have all original characters. Don't get much readers and not much feedback, but I just write to get it out of my head and onto paper, sort of speak. I try to leave feedback as much as possible, but I still need to try harder.

 

thank you for this statement, this why I can sleep at night cause if I don't write it... it'll keep me awake imagining it