Top Five Mistakes in Narnian Fan Fiction
1. Misspelling “Narnia”
2. The dreaded Susanfic: Susan mourns her relatives, then starts believing in Narnia again, usually following a visit from Aslan. Dreary and generally unsatisfying.
3. Mixing characters from different time periods.
4. Reusing C.S. Lewis’s phrases from the books, especially when Aslan is speaking (Yes, we know that “no one is ever told any story but their own.” It’s a great quote, but give us something fresh.).
5. Loose ends. Don’t promise something and then not deliver. If there’s a gun over the mantle in Act I, it better go off in Act III.
Yes, misspelling “Narnia” is a major one. ;D
Quickly followed (quite annoyingly) by misspelling the actual canon character’s names. -_-“
Yes, yes, misspelling Narnia… 😛 oh oh… 😀
I wouldn’t call a Susanfic a “mistake” per se; it’s more the equivalent of figures in figure skating (in the old old 6.0 system) in my eyes haha. I think most Narnia writers (including myself!) have attempted a Susan!fic at some stage in their writing career- and to be fair, I have read a few very, very good ones. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater, hey?
Susan BELIEVING in Narnia? Yeah!
These sound less like mistakes and more like personal preferences. I agree with #1 and #5, but what exactly is wrong with exploring the possibility of Susan’s return or interactions across time? They might not be your cup of tea, but someone choosing a premise that you don’t approve of isn’t a mistake.
I think it’s not the Susanfic itself, but how it’s written. The same old cycle of mourning, Aslan, believing gets monotonous. Then again, if the writer can write really, really well, they can get away with it, but for the most part, it’s a cycle people get trapped into. Something fresh is always a key to fan fictions.
I feel like I just took the writing a “what happened to Susan” fic part is more of a challenge and less of a warning … to what end, who knows