The Eternal Lost Lurker wrote:
(other comments snipped)
Who knows? right now this is still in the rough concept fase. I
would be
gratefull for all the comments and suggestions you might want to
send.
Lurker: All I can say is learn how to spell, or at least how to use a
spellchecker. As for the fic...good luck. From experience, I can tell
you that this kind of fic is *extremely* hard to do, because it jerks
with the flow of the Ranmaverse too much. It won't be easy, and
chances are it'll probably generate more negative response than
positive. I mean, *Mousse*!? That's *far* worse than pairing Ranma up
with Ryouga!
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that writing a *good*
onna-Ranma work is tough for other reasons. How well can you get into
the character of someone in that situation? Have you ever known what
it's like to be mentally between genders, or lived enough with someone
in that situation, to discover the conflicts that exist for them? The
change in self-perception would be very much like a death, as the
masculine Ranma Saotome would have died, leaving a female one in his
place. That death would be mourned by all, including Ranma, with the
appropriate responses.
Beyond that, I have to say that writing any onna-Ranma work is a
gamble. Many people have written such works in the past, and you'll
have to live up to some very high standards. It will either be
well-remembered as one of the best... or it will be quickly forgotten.
If you really want to do it, I recommend you take a look at the manga
translations on the 'net. I would have to say that at least a working
knowledge of what happens in the manga, especially the later manga
volumes, is a must. There is some evidence in the manga to support the
idea that Ranma is becoming more 'female' mentally (for an idea, look at
the opening scene to my own work, "Clothes Make The..."), and the
knowledge from occasional scenes with Ranma dressing up for this reason
or that one is a must. Next, if you don't know any personally, look at
the pages of some transvestites and transsexuals on the 'net. You will
be hard-presssed to find better information on what it's like to be in
that situation. Finally, I gotta agree with Robert here: get a
spellchecker working. Such frequent misspellings mar the beauty of any
work. Make sure you have consistent spellings for the characters, in a
format acceptable from romanization: Ranma, Kasumi, Ryoga (or Ryouga),
Mousse, Kuno (or Kunou), etc.
Finally, if you do want to go for it, good luck, and God bless.
-- Nick