Fanfiction Lounge

[Bay]

Yeah, I agree with Orange Flaffy that maybe it could work with two first person POVs. That way, we can see the different thought processes of both of them and you'll have a lot of depth to both of them. ^^

As for the other part: I think that's okay if your main character go all wild with describing the first time he knows how to use his electric toys, for instance. I know I would be really excited too if I tried something new. ;) However, I don't think it sounds bad if you have your character explain how a few things work to other people in the story. In fact, I'm all for characters explaining how something works in a lecture hall! XD In all seriousness though, I think it could still work so that we the readers can also feel the other people's excitement when the main character is explaining the technonlogy. For instance, let's say we have a magic show scene. After the magician does a trick, the audience claps and maybe the readers will think the same, since I believe part of being a writer is trying to make us the readers convey feelings to either a character, scene, line, etc.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

When writing, how do you emphasize a character speaking in a louder voice?
Dialogue tags and exclamation points mostly. I will on occasion use caps, but only sparingly so they don't lose their effect.

What should I shout when I lose to a level 2 Starly?
Dagnabbit! What in Sam's hill done happened here?

Do you guys prefer to post chapters as you go or finish a few chapters first and then begin posting? What are some advantages and disadvantages for each one
I try to stay 1-2 chapters ahead of what I post. I recently fell out of that trend but now I'm mostly back on track. It allows for you to more consistently post chapters (though with the number of noob SPAM replies rampant on the green forum, your fic may well get buried anyway:/) and you're hedging against writer's block.

Now, a question for our lovely moderator: I have a song parody (not a songfic, straight out parody), involving an aspect of Pokemon, that I'd like to post over here. Is that sort of thing allowed?

 

[Astinus]

Now, a question for our lovely moderator: I have a song parody (not a songfic, straight out parody), involving an aspect of Pokemon, that I'd like to post over here. Is that sort of thing allowed?

Songfics are not mentioned at all in the old version of the rules. And on the safe side, the new as-of-yet-unposted new rules don't say anything about them. I guess, since the way that you described it made it seem like this, that it would be like a poem, maybe?

Aw, what the hey. If it doesn't break any rule, then post it over here. There shouldn't be a problem.

I'll answer the topics when I'm not trying to save my Sims.

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Songfics are not mentioned at all in the old version of the rules. And on the safe side, the new as-of-yet-unposted new rules don't say anything about them. I guess, since the way that you described it made it seem like this, that it would be like a poem, maybe?

Aw, what the hey. If it doesn't break any rule, then post it over here. There shouldn't be a problem.

I'll answer the topics when I'm not trying to save my Sims.

It is like a Weird Al song, where you reword the subject of the real song to be about your fandom :). Basically, just lyrics. I did one once to the song 'Jessie' by Joshua Kadison about team rocket. I might post it here someday, if it is allowed :)

 

[Astinus]

Hey, we need some fun fics around here. So I'll give you both the go-ahead to post your parodies.

Thanks for explaining it a bit more to me, Orange_Flaaffy. Now I have an idea as to what DP means, since I've seen them on other forums.

 

[Sike_Saner]

When writing, how do you emphasize a character speaking in a louder voice?

Mostly just via speech tags and/or exclamation points, though there have been a couple of instances in which I went with the all-caps method.

What should I shout when I lose to a level 2 Starly?


You shouldn't shout. You should just drop into a fetal position and start whimpering.

Do you guys to prefer post chapters as you go or finish a few chapters first and then begin posting? What are some advantages and disadvantages for each one?

With my current fic, I've been posting chapters as I finish them (on the sites where I have all the chapters that I've written thus far posted, anyway), but I've found that I actually prefer not to do it that way. My previous fic was written in its entirety before I began posting it, and I felt much better about working at my own pace back then since I wasn't keeping anyone waiting by taking as long as I needed to finish a chapter. So yeah, for my next fic, I'm definitely waiting until I have the entire thing finished and ready to go.

 

[Gummy]

Do you guys prefer to post chapters as you go or finish a few chapters first and then begin posting? What are some advantages and disadvantages for each one?

For my most recent fic, I decided to write the Prologue and two chapters before posting. But that didn't really help, because I've posted those three and still haven't finished Chapter Three XD. An advantage, if you're really committed, is that you'll almost never have a late update. A disadvantage is that you aren't getting any comment and whatever you did wrong before will be carried over to other pre-written chapters.

 

[Astinus]

The list of my "friends" kills me. x.X Every time I see it when I post, I always smile.

Do you guys to prefer post chapters as you go or finish a few chapters first and then begin posting? What are some advantages and disadvantages for each one?
For my fic, whenever I get around to posting it, I'm hoping to have a few chapters ready to go. This way, I can have a steady set of updates in the beginning, when it's make-or-break time. But, like Gummy said, the disadvantage to this is that if a reviewer points something out, then it's somewhat difficult to edit things around, depending on what was pointed out.

And as others mentioned, if you write while posting, then there are times where a large deficit of chapters happens, and readers are left to wonder about the fic. :/

You should just drop into a fetal position and start whimpering.

I can picture a Starly standing over a trainer, saying "You got owned!"

 

[Gooberdued]

What should I shout when I lose to a level 2 Starly?

ZOMG! n00bz u c4nt us H4x0r P0Kemanz!

When writing, how do you emphasize a character speaking in a louder voice?

Usually italics, or "said the boy in a loud voice."

Also, I was just curious:

How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?

I'm starting a fic now and I was just wondering how other people plan out their stories. I've thought about the plot a lot, but I haven't written anything down on (virtual) paper yet, and it just seems like it would be helpful to write it down so I know what I'll be writing about in the future. Sometimes I'll be writing a fic and then a great idea will come to mind, but then I wish I had thought about it earlier so I wouldn't have to rewrite the story.

 

[Astinus]

How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?
XD I answered this question over on Bulbagarden the other day.

For me, I don't plan at all when I write a story. If I do plan anything out, then the story just comes out rather forced, and it seems as if I'm keeping the story from growing into what it wants to be, rather than what I force it to be. I like letting my characters decide where they're going to go.

Of course, not planning things out beforehand hurts a bit. For my Pokemon fic, which isn't planned, I have to keep rewriting it as ideas change. For my Digimon fic, which was planned with scenes and a plot, I don't have to rewrite. So there is a slight downfall to not planning.

Still, I just can't plot out my fic.

Speaking of my Pokemon fic, I'm now on version 6.4. Poor version 6.3 only had eleven pages. ><

 

[txteclipse]

When writing, how do you emphasize a character speaking in a louder voice?

One of these --> !

How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?

I usually plan out extremely important scenes that are integral to the story/plot/whatever, but otherwise I just write as I go. It usually works, but sometimes I don't like a scene and I re-write it so much that I get extremely annoyed and bored with writing, which in turn stalls me. Like now, for instance. I'm writing a very emotional chapter that I'm trying to avoid making angsty but also trying to avoid taking too lightly because it's a massively important scene, and I've been working on it for two months now. My readers dislike this, and I can't say I don't share their sentiments. I've probably re-written the chapter around seven times, but I finally think I have it (if I had a nickel for every time I've said that...)

 

[Bay]

Haha, like Astinus I answered this too but this time from Serebii. XD


How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?

Pretty much what happens is I do a basic outline for my stories for what events I want to do, but I leave room so that I don't plan every single thing. Also, I tend to plan how I want my characters to develop and a couple themes I like to use so that I at least know what kind of direction I want the story to go. Those things give me a chance to maybe change scenes if I felt one idea is better then the other, and usually I would write down any new ideas that pop onto my head so that I won't forget.

As for how I begin and end, I usually begin the place where the conflict starts and end the place where the conflict ends, mostly because I love writing how the character reflects the events that happened to him/her moments ago. ^^

And of the plots I used...so far none is the save the world kind of thing except for "Desitny's Tricks". For my other current fic, the plot is bascially of one of the characters mistakenly accused of murder but that mistake is actually a message meant for her and another character and would lead to both of them finding out what that message means. XD

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?

The basic structure for my main fic was planned out well in advance. It started as a forum-based RPG that I made in 2005, which basically mapped out all of the locations and the order in which my character would visit each. Enemy strongholds, Gyms, and the like were already in place. I also had my Gym Leaders and the Elite Four planned out (and only one changed between the RPG and the fic). As I started writing, I drew up tentative teams for the other major players in the fic on notebook paper; some teams, like Lisa's have remained constant, while others have been changed a bit.

Some of the minor events, sidequests, etc, do come up on a whim, or when another author asks for their character to make an appearance.

My other fic ideas are more spontaneous, random stuff that I come up with in my head, usually in the dining hall on campus ( o_O ). Most never will come to see the light of day on a forum, though.

 

[JX Valentine]

Going back a topic...

Do you guys to prefer post chapters as you go or finish a few chapters first and then begin posting? What are some advantages and disadvantages for each one?

I tend to post chapters as I finish them. On the one hand, it means that I can get stories out as soon as I write them, and I have less of a chance of losing interest because I just don't feel right about abandoning something that I've posted four or more chapters for if I don't have a good reason for it. (One or two chapters I feel I can get away with.) Not to mention I can get feedback as I go, so it means that the chapters that come later will improve in quality, as opposed to chapters that make the same mistakes that appear in the first chapter or chapters that will probably need to be rewritten depending on the reception of the earlier chapters, if that makes sense.

On the other hand, it also means that there tend to be long waiting period between chapters because I work hard on writing new ones to the point that it sometimes takes a month before anything new comes out. This means less readers. Additionally, I spend less time with the chapters, rather than holding the chapters on my computer for me to go back to and look at without showing anyone else inferior work. So, my early chapters will be riddled with things that just don't work for people, whereas my later chapters will end up being superior in quality because I'm getting feedback for them. But still, it's the first chapters that tend to count.

How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?

Half planning and half not. I get a very loose concept (like, for example, "girl finds strange key that somehow leads to her joining a secret society playing a dangerous game that spans a dystopian city") and create a blank Word document for me to put random notes on. Whatever I think of in the next few days, I write on the document, regardless of how significant they are. (A lot of these notes are actually not meant to outline a plot because I tend to lose interest if I actually know exactly what I want to do. Instead, these notes tend to be about the world of the fic, loose character concepts, lines I want to use, scenes, or other elements I want to include.) After a few days of letting that document grow, I actually begin on the first scenes, but I keep the document running alongside whatever I'm working on, so the document fills up with ideas I may or may not use while the story goes along. The events themselves, meanwhile, are half based on the ideas I write down and half whatever I come up with at the time. It's entirely possible for me to sit down and write for four hours without the document up. *shrug*

 

[Sydian]

What should I shout when I lose to a level 2 Starly?

Well, for one thing, that wouldn't happen to me--I always carry back up in the event I'm training low level Pokemon. But, if so, something along the lines of: -silence-

When writing, how do you emphasize a character speaking in a louder voice?

LIKE THIS.

How do you plan a story? Do you make an outline, etc., or does it just come to you as you write?

Sometimes they just come to me. Others, I plan from the ending by asking 'how did they get to this point?'

And on that note, over my vacation, I have a new plot idea! It's going to be a oneshot and I'll start writing it when I get a few things answered:

What are those things that are under a girl's dress(from back in the day where all we wore were dresses) that makes it stand out? It's made of metal, I know that...

And...what's Anakin Skywalker's wife's name? I can never seem to remember...

I watched Star Wars V and VI(that IS a six, right?). I missed you guys!! ;-; Oh! I was insulted! Last night, at a restuarant, the waitor...called me...sir. ;-;

 

[Scarlet Weather]

What is the name of Anakin Skywalker's wife?

Amidala. No, I'm not a Star Wars fanatic. Not in the least. *shoves R2D2 models into closet*

What are those things under a girl's dress?

Can't help you there for fairly obvious reasons. 0.o

What Should I say after losing to a level 2 Starly?

ZOMGZ THIS GAME R H4X3D!1!1!11!!!!

How do you plan for a story?

I change my mind about my story so constantly that I'm literally paralyzed by indecision. It'll probably take me another year to finish the next chapter at this rate, so I'm hoping that I'll get more time to write once schoolwork starts to slack off a little.

Do you prefer to post chapters as you go?

Yes. It isn't the best way to promote a fic, but at this rate it's the only way anyone will get to read "Thief in the Night" before I turn thirty. 0.o

ACC-M, providing friendly answers to all questions, no matter how bizarre, for over two years! Now approaching his seventeenth birthday! *manly squee*

 

[ShadowHoundoom]

Chapter 1 of my fic is up, anyone can take a look at it if you have the time.

And lol why are people even bothering to answer my Starly question? I'd just blow my intelligence out to the floor if that happened.

 

[JX Valentine]

And lol why are people even bothering to answer my Starly question?

Because that's the best question we've had so far. XD

Also, on Anakin's wife's name, wasn't it Padme?

 

[Scarlet Weather]

No, that was just an alias she was using so that people wouldn't know she was teh queenzorz (Even though characters keep calling her that).

Hmmm.... as for the Starly question... I ANSWER BECAUSE IT IS THERE. >.<

Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!

Mary-sue Litmus Tests: What is your general opinion?

I don't remember this being asked before (though it probably has and I'm just too dang lazy to check >.<) so I'm gonna say it now. You're all probably aware of the number of so-called "litmus tests" flying around on the internet to test the so-called "sue Ph" of any characters you happen to create. What is your opinion on the accuracy of these tests and their usefulness in general?

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Mary-sue Litmus Tests: What is your general opinion?
I do not like them because usually, by most of their counts, even I am a mary sue :P.
I think any character, be they fictional or not, is more than the sum of their parts put together.
In the case of written characters this means, IMHO, that it is not so much the details that make a mary sue as how those details are written :).
As long as you can write a character in such a way that the reader cares about and believes in them that to me makes them a good character, high mary sue test or not :)