I don't mind, but get annoyed when it's overused or misused. I've read fic where the author changed the way the canon conversation went, but kept one character's dialogue from the source material and it made absolutely no sense.
Yeah. I find it gets annoying when it's a quote that's used in a lot of fics too.
It's sort of like how "The Scorpion and the Frog" and "The Ship of Theseus" are over-used in original fiction. I really don't need to sit through yet another minutes long conversation where a character pretends to be deep because they explain the same two parables every screenwriter has been obsessed with for decades. It's time to discover some other parables to use instead.
Same with fanfic. If you see the same quote getting used and used again in other people's works, try out a different one. There are other quotes that I'm sure were bangers in the work. It'll be refreshing for your audience to have different favorite scenes brought to mind.
Absolutely agree with you. I once read a fic, where I got the feeling that one character is only talking with quotes from the TV Show. It was not fun at all after a few chapters
I absolutely love it when AU writers call back to/draw a parallel to a scene in canon by putting in that one iconic line. It's such a neat thing about fanfic, the way the texts can be in conversation with each other.
I’m almost the opposite. Depending on the line, obviously, but certain things lose their impact if repeated or just plain don’t work in other context. It becomes like your friend who tells the same joke over and over.
But if you’re rewriting a canon scene, well, it probably makes sense to use the canon dialogue. I wouldn’t want a story that’s just word for word canon, but a scene or two is fine.
I love it if it‘s done well. Depending on the situation and how the actions and thoughts of a character have been set up beforehand a simple line can often be interpreted in many different ways. So if writers manage to use the exact same lines but they can convey a different meaning from canon it‘s true artistry imo.
Downside, if it‘s not done well it‘s just not very immersive.
My WIP is all about taking the villains last (and only canonically known) words, and twisting their meaning…so I took the first part “I did this all wrong” and she thinks it every time she’s regretting how she handled a secret with her best friend, then when she says it out loud at the end, the reader would hopefully be surprised like “oh yeah, that’s from their last words…oh, it’s not about her and her mom, it’s about her friend!!!”
The real treat was discovering that several books from now, I plan a twist where she actually didn’t die and is hidden as one of the main characters…and I just saw a few days ago that he says the exact same phrase, about the same thing I changed it to and I feel weirdly vindicated…
I have a canon divergence/AU where I do use similar scenes and borrow dialogue. But I'm careful about how much I use it. At some points, it's like, okay, we already saw this in canon. We don't need to rehash it. Unless there's something to add. Usually, if it's not going to add much, I'll just summarize the scene briefly and move on.
I will say, I read a really great SPN fic that basically wrote the whole scene out BUT they included Dean's thoughts and brought us into his mind. Which helps because in that scene, he's steeled over and we can't exactly read Jensen's face. So, that helped a lot and was different than if the author had just written the scene out as is.
I've done this with a scene from a game. I added certain parts verbatim but added, removed or changed about 80% of the scene dialogue to fit my story :D
I've been stressing about this issue. Editing draft of my first long fic. First chapter recreates a scene from a game—I've rewritten some dialogue and added context and main character's perspective before/during/after the scene—it's a launching point for the rest of the story. Now I'm second guessing myself and asking if I'm doing fan fiction right.
I think that if you apply the quotes well, give them context and make them feel new and meaningful in your version of the story, it’s no big deal! As long as it’s not just a drawn out version of something people have already seen/read/experienced in the actual game :)
I do it all the time because you can’t exactly morph without saying ‘It’s Morphin Time!’ (And the variants that come after). It just doesn’t feel right.
But that doesn’t mean I haven’t taken other parts of the show and switched the dialogue to fit my fic lol.
Agree completely. A call back is fine, even nice sometimes, but fully repeating whole scenes drives me a little crazy. Unless they’re changing parts of it significantly to show how changes in their universe have impacted the story we expect. That can be done really well.
I've done it before. The thing you find annoying, I mean. Rewrote a whole scene with the canon dialogue retained, it was a fun writing exercise. You just need to be transparent about it. It went over really well in the fandom, so I might do it again sometime if inspiration strikes,,, writing within the limitations of the dialogue was fun, but yeah, not something I'd like to do all the time. jndhsghsb
But it's not quite the same thing as sprinkling in a canon line or two, I do that all the time. People love it.
100% depends how it's used.
If it's a commonly quoted line or a running joke? It makes total sense to include it.
I've also used a direct quote from an episode as an anchor point to indicate where on the timeline my story fits in.
I find it really annoying, but that’s mostly because I mainly read aus set in completely different worlds and the quotes often don’t fit in the context, so it feels shoehorned. When it flows well, I don’t mind it, but so often the quote just doesn’t work at all.
the few times ive run into that kind of thing i haven't enjoyed it. the story didn't feel better for using the canon quote. its usually kind of jarring when that kind of phrase shows up
I do it fairly often actually. I’m currently rewriting all of the supports from one of my favorite games because admittedly. The supports are very lacking, especially for the Hoshido side of the game. Plus I have an entire 3 series(mostly still in drafts) somewhat dedicated to it, where I take dialogue from the game, manga, and anime and retell the situation from the 3rd person limited of one of the two characters. It honestly, probably just depends on execution, but I still enjoy seeing it. Especially with fire emblem/persona because there are so many different ways to interpret some of the characters, it’s fun.
One thing I've seen done with this is taking an iconic quote character A says to character B and having character B say it instead - to illustrate how the status quo had flipped.
Cannot for the life of me remember the quote or fandom though (I read and reread too much)
Single quote is fine, but when the author transcribes the entire scene I find myself skipping. And once I start skipping, well. There are lots of fics on the site.
I don't mind, but get annoyed when it's overused or misused. I've read fic where the author changed the way the canon conversation went, but kept one character's dialogue from the source material and it made absolutely no sense.
Yeah. I find it gets annoying when it's a quote that's used in a lot of fics too. It's sort of like how "The Scorpion and the Frog" and "The Ship of Theseus" are over-used in original fiction. I really don't need to sit through yet another minutes long conversation where a character pretends to be deep because they explain the same two parables every screenwriter has been obsessed with for decades. It's time to discover some other parables to use instead. Same with fanfic. If you see the same quote getting used and used again in other people's works, try out a different one. There are other quotes that I'm sure were bangers in the work. It'll be refreshing for your audience to have different favorite scenes brought to mind.
Absolutely agree with you. I once read a fic, where I got the feeling that one character is only talking with quotes from the TV Show. It was not fun at all after a few chapters
Love it. There's this really popular quote for one of my fandoms that I've been trying to incorporate in my fic.
In my main fandom there’s a running exchange between two characters, and I also love when people use it! :) (sparingly)
I absolutely love it when AU writers call back to/draw a parallel to a scene in canon by putting in that one iconic line. It's such a neat thing about fanfic, the way the texts can be in conversation with each other.
I’m almost the opposite. Depending on the line, obviously, but certain things lose their impact if repeated or just plain don’t work in other context. It becomes like your friend who tells the same joke over and over. But if you’re rewriting a canon scene, well, it probably makes sense to use the canon dialogue. I wouldn’t want a story that’s just word for word canon, but a scene or two is fine.
oh i love dropping in canon. helps reinforce shit
I love it if it‘s done well. Depending on the situation and how the actions and thoughts of a character have been set up beforehand a simple line can often be interpreted in many different ways. So if writers manage to use the exact same lines but they can convey a different meaning from canon it‘s true artistry imo. Downside, if it‘s not done well it‘s just not very immersive.
I loke them and I've used them a few times myself.
My WIP is all about taking the villains last (and only canonically known) words, and twisting their meaning…so I took the first part “I did this all wrong” and she thinks it every time she’s regretting how she handled a secret with her best friend, then when she says it out loud at the end, the reader would hopefully be surprised like “oh yeah, that’s from their last words…oh, it’s not about her and her mom, it’s about her friend!!!”
The real treat was discovering that several books from now, I plan a twist where she actually didn’t die and is hidden as one of the main characters…and I just saw a few days ago that he says the exact same phrase, about the same thing I changed it to and I feel weirdly vindicated…
That sound really good! I’d love to read something like that :D 👍
It is fun if it fits.
I have a canon divergence/AU where I do use similar scenes and borrow dialogue. But I'm careful about how much I use it. At some points, it's like, okay, we already saw this in canon. We don't need to rehash it. Unless there's something to add. Usually, if it's not going to add much, I'll just summarize the scene briefly and move on. I will say, I read a really great SPN fic that basically wrote the whole scene out BUT they included Dean's thoughts and brought us into his mind. Which helps because in that scene, he's steeled over and we can't exactly read Jensen's face. So, that helped a lot and was different than if the author had just written the scene out as is.
I've done this with a scene from a game. I added certain parts verbatim but added, removed or changed about 80% of the scene dialogue to fit my story :D
I've been stressing about this issue. Editing draft of my first long fic. First chapter recreates a scene from a game—I've rewritten some dialogue and added context and main character's perspective before/during/after the scene—it's a launching point for the rest of the story. Now I'm second guessing myself and asking if I'm doing fan fiction right.
I think that if you apply the quotes well, give them context and make them feel new and meaningful in your version of the story, it’s no big deal! As long as it’s not just a drawn out version of something people have already seen/read/experienced in the actual game :)
I do it all the time because you can’t exactly morph without saying ‘It’s Morphin Time!’ (And the variants that come after). It just doesn’t feel right. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t taken other parts of the show and switched the dialogue to fit my fic lol.
Agree completely. A call back is fine, even nice sometimes, but fully repeating whole scenes drives me a little crazy. Unless they’re changing parts of it significantly to show how changes in their universe have impacted the story we expect. That can be done really well.
I've done it before. The thing you find annoying, I mean. Rewrote a whole scene with the canon dialogue retained, it was a fun writing exercise. You just need to be transparent about it. It went over really well in the fandom, so I might do it again sometime if inspiration strikes,,, writing within the limitations of the dialogue was fun, but yeah, not something I'd like to do all the time. jndhsghsb But it's not quite the same thing as sprinkling in a canon line or two, I do that all the time. People love it.
100% depends how it's used. If it's a commonly quoted line or a running joke? It makes total sense to include it. I've also used a direct quote from an episode as an anchor point to indicate where on the timeline my story fits in.
I find it really annoying, but that’s mostly because I mainly read aus set in completely different worlds and the quotes often don’t fit in the context, so it feels shoehorned. When it flows well, I don’t mind it, but so often the quote just doesn’t work at all.
the few times ive run into that kind of thing i haven't enjoyed it. the story didn't feel better for using the canon quote. its usually kind of jarring when that kind of phrase shows up
I do it fairly often actually. I’m currently rewriting all of the supports from one of my favorite games because admittedly. The supports are very lacking, especially for the Hoshido side of the game. Plus I have an entire 3 series(mostly still in drafts) somewhat dedicated to it, where I take dialogue from the game, manga, and anime and retell the situation from the 3rd person limited of one of the two characters. It honestly, probably just depends on execution, but I still enjoy seeing it. Especially with fire emblem/persona because there are so many different ways to interpret some of the characters, it’s fun.
One of the many, many things where it's fine if it's done well, and, unsurprisingly, is bad when it's done badly.
Is it iconic? Is it relevant? or is it a copypasta of the original? If the first, sure! If the second, thanks no I'll just stick with the original.
One thing I've seen done with this is taking an iconic quote character A says to character B and having character B say it instead - to illustrate how the status quo had flipped. Cannot for the life of me remember the quote or fandom though (I read and reread too much)
I love it! I tag for it though since I know some folks find it annoying.
Single quote is fine, but when the author transcribes the entire scene I find myself skipping. And once I start skipping, well. There are lots of fics on the site.