Anatomy of a popular one-shot

Yes I'm aware I'm tooting my own horn. 

No. I don't care.

Anatomy of a popular one-shot

I've written many one-shots. Not exceeding a hundred yet mind you, but I've had my fair share of them - thirty plus if you count the stories from my inactive account, and ten to fifteen on my current. 

For those of you who don't know what a one-shot is: It's basically a short story, the shortest short story ever. It can really only count as a one-shot if it's a single chapter so word count is relative. 

Some people find it easy. Others not so much.

I write one-shots as experiments and mainly to scratch the writing bug that pops up. I don't have the best track record with long running stories, so one-shots and collections of one-shots are my safest bet which would explain the number of them that I have.

I'm no expert at it, but I've come to recognize a few things once the story has been posted. An example being the two one-shots that spurned the creation of this post.

Before I give away any misleading secrets, it's important to note a few things: 

A story's popularity depends on a number of factors, these include, but are not limited to:

• The fandom you're writing for
• The pairing or main characters involved
• The genre you categorize it under
• The rating of the story

As you may have noticed, the actual writing isn't mentioned because those are internal factors and what makes a story attractive to potential readers is the bare minimum they see which in fanfiction is limited to a 455character summary, a title, and the above already mentioned. 

Note: Readers will notice any spelling and grammatical errors in your summary and it could be held against you. A good first impression is important.

Now, as I said, I recently posted two one-shots three days apart (they're practically twins), here they are, their first picture outside of my brain -

Despite the fact that the stories were three days apart they had nothing else in common: Not their fandom, not their rating, not their word count, nothing. 

But what's interesting is that I felt exactly the same when I wrote both. I was suffering from writer's block about another story and I wrote those two to make them better. They were written practically the same day but released seperately because I felt like it (no joke, I didn't think either of them were particularly good so I was reluctant to release them onto the internet).

As you can see from the reviews though, the stories garnered different responses. 

The first, my shot in the dark - first Fairy Tail one-shot was me writing away my obsession with a pairing that isn't particularly popular. I thought it was the better of the two so that's why I posted it first. I didn't expect a miracle, if anything I'm surprised I got any reviews at all. 

The second was posted under the excitement that my Fairy Tail one-shot survived without a flame or troll in sight, and I hoped I'd get the same response. 

If you're on the Facebook Group Fanfiction Writers Unite you'd know how it was received: I got eight reviews within two hours of posting, and the numbers kept going...

I still think it's a joke, and I honestly laugh about it because it's so unbelievable. 

Looking back, the stories are pretty different. 

Fandom and pairing:

Fairy Tail, though popular as a fandom, didn't have a big community of Laxana shippers.

Pride and Prejudice on the other hand, is quite active, and its  DarcyxLizzy/Dizzy ship definitely takes up the entire harbor.

The up would go to the Pride and Prejudice story.

Plot wise: 

The Fairy Tail one-shot was my version of a Laxana trope: the pairing being drinking buddies. 

The Pride and Prejudice one-shot was a complete out of the box: the pairing in the same economic situation (a trope that is rarely ever explored though I've yet to figure out why). 

It would be a toss up, but since the trope was more uncommon in one then the other, the up would go to the Pride and Prejudice story

Rating:
The Fairy Tail one-shot was rated T for safety (Cana's a big drinker, plus the trope was drinking buddies so there was that).
The Pride and Prejudice one-shot was rated K because it was still regency, no one swore and no one did anything mildly inappropriate (for our time period besides a kiss)
Both ratings show up without having to fiddle with the filters, but the more G rated it could be the better chances the story has of being read (safety first). The up would go to Pride and Prejudice story.

Word count:
The Fairy Tail one-shot was 3k
The Pride and Prejudice one-shot was 1k
One-shots are usually read because they're always complete and because generally, they're short so the up went to the Pride and Prejudice story.

Genre:

Both were categorized under romance, with Fairy Tail having the added Friendship thrown in because the actual romance was more implied. 

In that, there are no differences. In fact, having another genre can attract more readers, so the up might have gone to Fairy Tail if I wasn't so unsure of how obvious my preference for Laxana as more than a friendship pair.

Summary: 

I've changed the summary twice for the Pride and Prejudice story while the Fairy Tail one has remained the same. For the most part, both stories seem relatively simple in the trope they present - 

The Fairy Tail one-shot was clearly going to be about drinking (Cana and alcohol always go hand in hand) and I had it easier putting into words what exactly it was about while the Pride and Prejudice one-shot was a little more vague, but implies the pair are in the same situation, though it was difficult to word it in a way I was happy with (I'm still not by the way, but what can you do). 

Content: 

I liked the story more in Fairy Tail because it had a clear beginning, middle and end. I got to play around a bit with headcanons. It also read more like a one-shot despite it being 3k in length. I struggled with the tenses though, and people did notice, but overall, the response was the best I could've hoped for.

The story for Pride and Prejudice was a bit more muddled, the only thing really clear about it was the fact that it was happening in the moment - the beginning and end weren't particularly clear, but that seemed to have an appeal to people as they reviewed to say they wish there was more to read.

The thing I was most worried about was how completely out-of-character I thought everyone was, but the readers disagreed.

Also when I reread it a few hours after I posted just to make sure the readers and I were reading the same thing, I found a multitude of errors and missing words, none of which was present in the Fairy Tail story. No one seemed to mind.

So here's what I got from the responses of the two one-shots:

Write what the plotbunnies tell you to. You don't have to put it in a box and organise it. Get what you want to say out and then rework it to make sure it meshes. You'll miss the story if you're too worried about how it'll look.

Content is king. Don't worry too much about the spelling and grammar as you write (though don't post it if you haven't corrected the mistakes), the plotbunnies don't have time for proper English. Let them do what they do and then clean up the mess.

Be bold. Like this font. People want to read something new, just because it's been tried and tested doesn't mean it'll be popular. 

Also, just because a fandom or it's pairing isn't in demand, doesn't mean you shouldn't write that story your plotbunnies have been nagging you about. You could be the start of that ship's popularity. I know, because I've been one too ;-)

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Mirror, Mirror: Limbo, a Bleach fanfiction

Mirror, Mirror: 

Limbo, a Bleach fanfiction

In which I reflect on a story I wrote which as a whole will be examined and reviewed for my personal growth. After all, no one's harder on me than me.

Limbo reviews 

She isn't dead yet. But it certainly feels like it. 

Bleach - Rated: K+ - English - Friendship/Romance - Chapters: 1 - Words: 1,639 - Reviews: 6 - Updated:8/3/2014 - Published: 8/3/2014 - [Ichigo K., Rukia K.] - Complete

So this isn't my first not-real romance (the first was Shadows of the sun) and it isn't particularly sad or anything like that, it's more a reflection. I admit the basis is pretty cheesy, the prompt was simply, "Describe the colour orange" probably from a popular tumblr question, "Describe the colour red without using the word red." It obviously isn't as genius as that, but I gave it a shot anyway.

Where she lay, bathed in the sparse sunlight that entered her white gilded cage, she didn't feel the warmth on her skin.

 Rereading that, if the sunlight was sparse than it implies that the sunlight that can reach her wouldn't be strong enough to make her feel warm. Though adding "white" helped in hindsight, light reflects on lighter surfaces but wouldn't be absorbed so it really wouldn't be warm...nice save past me!

She could see it, and she knew it was there shining dimly before her face, but that was all. 

Rereading it, I could've mentioned that weird halo effect I (and I assume others) get when I close my eyes in front of a light, I just missed a chance at symbolism.

Rukia wondered at it, this lack of sensation. Was it a consequence of her confinement? She didn't have anyone to talk to, and the tower itself had nothing inside it besides her own body. 

From "She didn't have anyone to talk to..." sounds awkward, should have thought of a way to better phrase that.

Once she had listened the snap of the flags, but the sound had since silenced; static noise filling her world with only her heartbeat to disturb the stifling emptiness.

Personally I liked that. High five past me. 

Closed off from the familiar trill of spirit energy; the tower was surrounded but isolated preventing even the sounds of birds and the rustle of leaves as the wind blew. Perhaps without her notice, she had become accustomed to the sounds  noise and her mind had simply deemed it unnecessary and blocked it from her notice. But that didn't explain why the sun didn't feel like anything against her skin.

The phrase in italics reads as too abruptly ended, but the fact that she's only thinking about hearing birds and leaves says a lot about where Rukia's priorities lie. Birds in flight and leaves in the wind = sense of freedom which she currently doesn't have so yay, symbolism! 

The second "sounds" in the paragraph is distracting me though, probably the repetition, should've changed it to noise.

The last sentence (underlined) is from a post I read online, it was an assumption that when you're dying the last things to go are your sense of touch and your sense of smell, taste goes first and then sight; though that's just from that one article while others claim a completely different combination. But I'll stick with the touch last so possible symbolism?  

On days that she would lay for hours, she'd burn and sweat. On days that she didn't lie until the very last minute, the ground would be hot and her back would sizzle while the other half of her body would be half frozen, her skin as pale and as white as the floors and walls surrounding her.

When she lies down she burns...could've elaborated more or threw in some prose for imagery, but it gets to the point,  the fact that there's more description towards the latter shows which actually holds the most consequences. (Feeling it all or feeling only some of it while at the same time feeling like she's fading into her surroundings) <--- I was unintentionally, surprisingly deep. Personal opinion -  the only person whose going to love me more is me.

Right now, it should've been the first.

Abrupt. But it goes to the point and hopefully brings more impact to what I previously reflected about the proceeding paragraph.

Since she had woken (though she couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep), she had been there waiting to bake and boil.
It seemed that during her isolation she had adopted a masochist attitude, her desire to sense anything at all was overwhelming; to feel was to live and to live was all she wanted.

 Further elaboration on the proceeding paragraph. I don't know how I was writing any of this to be perfectly honest, now that I'm reflecting on it, I think it's pretty cool...

The sun – setting, rising, she couldn't tell – sat atop her face, a yellow glow behind her closed lids.

Repetitive. Could have impact, but could have easily lost it too. (Note to self: use with caution)

It used to calm her; getting to bathe in the sunny smile of a dying star. It was the affectionate touch of someone familiar, someone that loved her, someone that comforted her; it was a touch that said, "You're safe". 

Maybe that was why it didn't surprise her then that she couldn't feel it here.
She wasn't safe.
In this building. In Soul Society. Anywhere really.

Last line, lost the tone.

 Her chest grew heavy and she sighed to ease it.

I'm catching some tenses getting mixed up, grammar isn't my strong suit so I either get better or get a beta. I noticed with my other slightly angsty-not-really-a-romance stories that I jumble my tenses more often, though I'm not sure if its the genre or just the way my brain is working.

 Ever since that fateful night, she knew she would never be safe. For two months, it was simply limbo, a waiting game; a matter of 'when' rather than 'if'. The danger was always there, not just for her, but for Ichigo too…The reminder of him is immediately followed by a flash of orange.

 Italics, too abrupt - tone still missing.

It's the color of warmth – not the flowery, superficial warmth of yellow or the intensity to burn like red, but enough to feel the heat without the fear of being destroyed in the process. Orange was a balance; it was delicate and required consistency at all costs. He epitomized that. Superficial in his pretenses as much as she was in hers, but passionate in a way that she could never hope to be.
He liked to pretend that he didn't care about anyone or anything; that he really was some punk who liked to cause trouble. But he would die to save his sisters, put his life in danger for his friends; and was consistent in his scolding of her stupidity.
The thought pulled at the corner of her lips.
It was always half his fault at the least.

I think I found the tone again, and its blending with nostalgia, doesn't feel too awkward but that could just be me.

Despite the fact that he always rushed in like a hero and walk out like one, he'd always sit on his bed pouting at the end of it, apparently not satisfied with saving the day.

As someone pointed out in the Facebook Group (I think it was Gems, though I may be giving undue credit haha) that this particular sentence was awkward, I did try and fix it with the edit and I'm slightly happier but can't tell if its still uncomfortable to read.

As she healed the little she could, she remembered asking him once, rather annoyed, why he had the gall to be upset – did he want to go walking around bleeding a gallon of blood onto his favorite shirt?

The tone goes missing near the end, but it can be attributed to her getting caught up in her memories of him.

"It's just," he paused with a scowl as he glared petulantly through her, his hands twisting fitfully on either side of him, "you're always saving me."

I've made Ichigo sound a little childish here, which was the point, but a part of me feels its a little too open for Ichigo to admit it. So.CREATIVE LICENSE POWERS ACTIVATE.

"Of course, if you need saving then I'll do it, there's nothing wrong with that. We're partners remember?" Unconsciously rougher than before as if to punish him for being stupid, she made sure he was looking her in the eye as she reminded innocently, to the point that she almost sounded mournful, "If you die, whose going to feed me then?"

May have been too insistent with the image I wanted the readers to have, stopping at "she reminded him innocently" would have sufficed without the overload.

His scowl deepened, but the lingering look – worry, anguish? – banished, and the rain that Inoue romantically used to describe his sadness, was no longer there.
It was times like that, even when they continued to argue, that she could feel the glimpse of the sun against her cheeks, though it was probably because she was shouting herself hoarse at him.

It's only a slightly there romance like Shadows of the sun so of course Rukia's brushing away any possible romantic feelings aside, plus its Rukia, she and Ichigo are pretty dense (or maybe it's just Rukia, I forget).

 But orange wasn't just about passion and balance, it was the color of citrus fruit: sometimes sweet and sometimes sour. It described his mood, his behavior perfectly.On the surface, he's always sour.

Again, the change is abrupt (Note to self: Work on transitions).

Also, saying too much is distracting and gives too much away.

Because he's surrounded by idiots: His dad, his friends, his teachers, school, a certain teddy bear mod soul, a crazy girl living in his closet. Sour. Sour. Sour. It's his default.
With his sisters though, he's sweet.
He'd never do anything to hurt them, he'd never let anyone hurt them; and he'd do anything for them. With Inoue he was sweet, though tangy was more suitable – he actually didn't like scaring people, least of all innocent, well-meaning girls like Inoue Orihime. But he wasn't sweet in the same way he was with his sisters, it was about the same way he acted around scared pluses. To his credit, he had a way with them – especially the deceased children. Not that he'd ever really admit it.

Repetition during the italics was better, it gave some impact, but could have been too much considering Karin and Yuzu weren't mentioned other than here.

She knew it the first time with that little girl he brought flowers for in the morning, the one who was frightened off by some fools on their skateboards.
Ichigo had protected her and defended her, something Rukia doubted few people did for total strangers, least of all, dead ones.
Come to think of it, he's actually a big softie.

CREATIVE LICENSE, I know she didn't see it, but that was the only example I could think of at the top of my head.
The last sentence shows how much she's gotten used to the modern world thanks to Ichigo even if it would be uncharacteristic coming out of her mouth (unless she was pretending to be the sweet, normal school girl Kuchiki Rukia which, guess what Brain? HIGH FIVE!)

"Shuddup," he barked, arms crossed and looking away with a tick on his forehead.
Standing beside him, she giggled girlishly. "Oh don't be embarrassed Kurosaki-kun!"
"Would you-just-urgh! Stop using that voice!"
Holding her cheeks, and shaking herself side to side, she faked a swoon. But no one really noticed, they were too busy staring at Ichigo and whispering amongst themselves.
Normally she wouldn't want to put too much attention on herself and by extension him, but he deserved it for making her "sweet, innocent Kuchiki" mask hard to put on yesterday. Why he insisted on pushing her buttons, she had no idea.

No secret that Ichigo doesn't help with her cover, could have executed that a bit better though...

Besides, it wasn't all her doing. Ichigo had raised enough attention on his own.
He did, after all, just save some poor kid from getting run over.
"Oh Kurosaki-kun," she continued to croon, "you'll save me too if that ever happens, riiight?"
His face reddened further before he grabbed her by the elbow to drag her away. "Shuddup, we're going to be late for class."
"Ohhh thank you Kurosaki-kun, for saving me from being tardy~"

Personally liked this little snippet the most because I got to show her getting under Ichigo's skin which very few people can do (when fighting isn't involved).

 Thinking on it now, she swore that she lived for his scowls. Though, "lived" may be too strong a word.

Get it? 'Coz she's dead? HA-HA.

She had heard silly notions of how she "saved" him. Yes, she kind of did that night they first met, but she wouldn't have had to involve him in the first place if she had handled it quicker. And "making the rain stop" was never her intention, though admittedly if she could lighten his burdens she would. Still, if you asked Inoue or Tatsuki, they would say that she stopped that rain in him, made the sun shine again.
The idea though was distressing.

I'd hate the idea that someone I cared about had it rough. I know everyone's had issues and problems they faced to get to where they are, but most of the time we're quite ignorant of what has happened in another person's past so yeah, that was me projecting...

Was his rain similar to her cloudy day, when he couldn't feel anything and everything around him was nothing but static noise, feeling like limbo?

 Entire question felt weird to me. I was told by Zadien that she particularly liked this line, and obviously I liked the imagery it brought with it but I could have worded it a bit better.

She hoped not, that wouldn't be a very good way to describe orange; orange was supposed to be stable – the safe color of a growing flame. It wasn't meant to die down; it was supposed to grow stronger – brighter, but it would be squished beneath the heel of a captain or lieutenant if Ichigo was still in Soul Society.

I wanted to emphasis how even though she was the one being executed, she was more worried for him than for herself. I can actually see her frowning at the very thought in the end.

Orange, to her, was a person: Sunkissed  tanned skin, brown eyes, orange hair. It was a person she had grown dependent on: to carry out her duties, to live a seemingly normal life, to show her how the modern world worked. He was orange – reliable, stable.

Hey paragraph from way back when, I see you!

I wanted to avoid any adjectives at this point besides the "sunkissed" part though it may have been a mistake and I should've just said "tanned" instead because without having to explain, the colors themselves make me think of being warm.

Death Gods were beautiful, point it was a known fact. And even as a substitute, he was certainly handsome. At just fifteen he had the determination, strength and courage to show up most of the official shinigami in Soul Society. Those traits defined orange to her: undeterred, unwavering and unbroken.

The "Death Gods are beautiful" line was inspired by one of my favorite IchiRuki one-shots called You know  it really helped to ease the transition a bit.

Orange was an emotion.
A tremor shook the earth, and her eyes opened just as a wall of the tower collapsed, the dust rising as a single figure stood in its ruins.
She knew that spiky hair anywhere.
In those brief seconds that her mind was processing him standing there, still breathing and having the audacity to smirk at her dumbfounded expression.
Warmth settled on her skin, and she was alive again.
"Ichigo."

And that's it! I really liked the end, which I make my goal to ensure doesn't suck too much because its usually the last thing anyone will read because most people ignore author's notes (sniff).

Anyway, my overall impression of my work:

I'm relatively happy, my tenses though need work across the board and my transitions could be smoother. There's also the issue of my repetitiveness which can be an impact or a deterrent so I just need to pay attention. Otherwise, I'm impressed since I definitely didn't notice any of the symbolism when I was writing the story nor did I feel as connected to it as I do now that I analysed it like I did. Still, there's room for improvement. If I write a similar fic or one on similar grounds, I'll do a comparison and see if I've actually addressed these issues.

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