[Originally a December 1996 post to the Fanfic Mailing List in response to a discussion on the comparative merits of script-format and standard prose fanfics.]
I think that my past writings have demonstrated my appreciation for good prose-format fanfics. But I do believe that analagous (if not equivalent) excellence is achievable in script format. Indeed, the Ranma 1/2 fanfic that I most often cite as my all-time favorite, Christian Gadekan's Ranma's Timeslip, is written as a pseudo-screenplay.
The following excerpts from an e-mail exchange some months ago (between me and a correspondent discussing some of my remarks on Ranma 1/2 fanfics) illustrate some of my views on script-style fanfic writing.
HIM: I find it very annoying for fanfic writers to script their stories in the manner of a TV or movie script.
ME: I'm not annoyed by it, but when authors send me stories in script format
and solicit comments on their work, I remark that they may be limiting themselves
by not trying their hand at the complexities of traditional prose.
HIM: I concede that many of the stories that I like are written in the screenplay format; however, when I read these stories I get the feeling that the writer is being lazy.
ME: This is uncharitable. Perhaps it is sometimes true that authors write in script format because they just don't feel like doing the hard work associated with straight prose. But it is true at least as often that they choose script style because they:
HIM: I know that there are excuses (I just don't see most of them as valid) for fanfic authors to write their articles screenplay-style; however, screenplays are written with the intent of being presented VISUALLY. That's why they are called SCREENplays. Fanfiction, on the other hand, is a WRITTEN medium.
ME: Screenplays are also a written medium, governed by established standards. One of those standards is to start from the assumption that most of the visual elements (and extensive interpretation and revision of the verbal elements) will be created by the director and cinematographer, as well as the actors who interpret their roles. The purpose of a screenplay is to provide a full storyline, including all dialogue, so that other details may be filled by someone else. While such a device is usually not as fulfilling for a reader as normal literary fiction, it serves the purpose of telling a story. If telling a story is a fanfic author's highest priority (as opposed to artful expression), script style is a valid choice. If the author is more concerned with stretching artistically, prose would probably be better. Artful script fanfics get high praise from me, since they're so rare.
Related to this discussion, I'd like to recommend that any fanfic writer considering a script-style work read Richard Uyeyama's Ranma Kanketsuhen '93, the notorious April Fool's joke-story written in the format of a "translation" script for a non-existent Ranma movie. To create the illusion of a real translation project, Uyeyama throws in a lot of uncommon details and editorial asides. Such touches could enrich all script-style fanfics, particularly if the author's goal is to recreate the spirit and ambience of the subject anime.
In my opinion.
Taleswapper
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