As you probably already know, I am a huge fan of writing fanfiction. I have been writing Sonic fanfics since I was twelve years old, and started sharing them with the world when I was sixteen. Over on Wattpad I quickly became one of the leading names in Sonic fanfiction - an honor that I don't take for granted in the least. I could not have gotten to where I am now without my readers supporting me and voting for my trilogy.
In February of this year I decided to branch out a little and begin writing fanfiction for another fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was optimistic that it would be fun and relatively easy; I know all of the characters and series and differences between like the back of my hand. My action and battle scenes have definitely improved over the last few years. I was following a character I had already used before. It shouldn't have been difficult, right?
Wrong.
Don't get me wrong - I love TMNT. I like the oneshots I've written in years past. I even like the really crappy fanfic I wrote a couple of years ago that I will probably never let another soul read. But when it came down to crunch time and I was releasing chapters for the public and attempting to continue a story my readers were used to taking place on Mobius, suddenly my brilliant idea for an epic crossover-like event didn't seem so brilliant after all.
There are a lot of challenges when it comes to writing TMNT fanfiction just by itself, let alone trying to combine two worlds. One of the biggest obstacles I've had to face is the version of the Turtles that I am basing my fanfic on. "Dude, This is No Vacation" features the TMNT as we saw them in the 2007 movie. Keep in mind that it was only one movie, and the characters were older and living different lifestyles at the time and etc. Trying to harness the more matured and serious characters of the now adult Turtles is hard when you - like so many others - are used to the 15-year-olds we see on TV every Sunday. I find it especially difficult to nail Leo and Donnie. Leo went on a one-year plus hiatus before the events of the 2007 movie that really changed him as a character, brother, and leader. Attempting to show his maturity is not easy when you watch the still-growing Leo on TV every week. Donnie is even harder because we don't see that much of him in the movie. We know that he got a job while Leo was away, but since my fanfic takes place after the events of the film, trying to re-integrate him into the world of crime-fighting when he isn't as used to it as he used to be is nearly impossible when you consider that his character has certainly changed as well. How might he handle things differently now than he did when he was younger? I just don't know.
The good news is that Raph and Mikey are pretty much the same, just older. I can play around with their characters a little to show their maturity here and there, but ultimately, Raph is still a lone wolf and Mikey is still a goofball. And Splinter? Don't even get me started on how difficult it is to portray him. Though I envision him as the Splinter from the 2007 movie, I draw on many traits of the Splinter from the 2003 series to help me write his character as both a strict sensei and loving father. Not easy!
Another difficult thing about writing for TMNT is the action / battle scenes. I have gotten better at writing them thanks to my practice with Sonic fanfiction, but TMNT action is much different than Sonic action. I have had to rely on different battle scenes from different movies to help me write accurate one-on-one battle action for the Turtles' universe versus the Sonic universe. (Fun Fact: The Karai vs. Kay battle scene in "No Vacation" was loosely based on the Turtles battling the Shredder in the 2014 movie.)
Besides writing TMNT just for itself, trying to add elements of Kay's past life on Mobius is a whole other battle to be won (no pun intended). There were several points while writing book one that I beat myself up for one reason or another, most prominent being that I was still focusing heavily on Sonic when it was supposed to be a TMNT story. This bothered me for a long time until I began to realize something: this is MY story, and if it's going to be a crossover, or focus more heavily on Sonic, then that's okay! My readers will like whatever I give them - most of my readers are from the Sonic fanbase anyway. Sometimes I still worry about the crossover thing, but in the long run, I started out writing this series just for myself, and I want to keep it that way as I finish it. My readers will stick around. They haven't failed me yet.
One final problem I had while writing "No Vacation" is the fact that I spent a LOT of time focusing on Kay instead of the Turtles when, again, it's supposed to be a TMNT fic. Towards the end of book one I began to branch out a little into omniscient third person instead of the limited I'd been doing up until that point, and my hopeful goal is to continue that as I move into book two this week. That way my readers will get plenty of Kay, but also plenty of Turtles.
Speaking of book two, a lot of fun things await my readers as Mobius and Earth clash in "Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide." I intend to make it longer than the first book, add more of the omniscient POV (as I mentioned above), add way more action and drama, etc. As I mentioned over on Wattpad, war is about to begin...and not just between the good guys and bad guys. Sparks are going to fly and chaos will reign in my newest TMNT fanfic, coming this Thursday, September 24. I am super excited to share this new book with my readers, and I think they will really love where I plan on taking the story. Here's hoping for the best!
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