RTFRP (Read The Rules Please)

[pokecole]

I'm thinking about writing fanfic but i don't know how you would make it or post and whatnot. These rules seem to go in one ear and out the other. Could i get an example of how i start it?

[bobandbill]

Originally Posted by pokecole

I'm thinking about writing fanfic but i don't know how you would make it or post and whatnot. These rules seem to go in one ear and out the other. Could i get an example of how i start it?

How to... make a fanfic or just make the fic thread itself? If the former, the general gist is have an idea, plot it out, write it out, proofread, edit, proofread again, edit if need be, maybe have someone else proof read, and then post. The Writing Resources thread as linked to in the rules has a lot more links which can help too with the writing process.

And if you meant how do you go about posting the fic here after it is finished, then merely go to the main section and hit the New Thread button which can be found above and below the main list of threads. Then just give it a title and prefix (Pokemon or Other) and copy+paste the story into the main box and hit 'Submit New Thread'. Same process for poetry, except you do it in the Poetry subsection. If it's a chaptered fic, each chapter goes in the same thread. I hope that answers it? I'm just not sure what it was you were asking exactly.

[Mizan de la Plume Kuro]

Originally Posted by pokecole

I'm thinking about writing fanfic but i don't know how you would make it or post and whatnot. These rules seem to go in one ear and out the other. Could i get an example of how i start it?

Everyone's nervous their first time. =)
If you want a step-by-step, first you'll want to actually write the story, that's a given, on a word processor. This'll help with preliminary spellchecking and grammar, and you can save and come back later. Once you've done that, make sure that the story is readable, as in that here're not too many obvious grammatical mistakes that you can pick out at a glance. Next, step away from the computer and take a break --maybe even half a day. Then, come back and revise it. A common mistake is to proofread and revise in the heat of the moment or when you're tired right after finishing. What you want is to come back later and be able to review your own work critically and say, "Yes, this is up to my standard. I want to post this." If you do it straight away, your prior excitement will lead to bias and you thinking that this is the best piece of work you've ever written. Obviously you won't create a masterpiece on your first try, unless you're Robert A. Heinlein of course (Haven't read his yet, but Asimov recommends him), so revise, revise, revise!

Anyway, once you're done revising, and for the best quality work you'll be doing this a lot, then you can post it. To do this, simply click on the new thread button, choose a prefix and a title, and copy and paste the fic from a word processing program. Now here're some important warnings. Do not format the body of the text with vibrant colours and or decorative fonts, do not change the text size, and do not align the text to the middle or right --always left-align. This makes your fic readable and doesn't make your readers want to gouge their eyes out. Next, and this is another important bit, double space your lines. For some reason, Vbulletin forums don't understand the concept of pressing the enter key once, and so normal text from a word processor often lose their line breaks.

Finally, click post and wait for a review. The F&W is a bit dead in terms of reviews at the moment (because of the contest), but it'll liven up in a while, hopefully.

Hope this helps and don't be nervous. We're here to help. =)

EDIT: Damnit, Marcin. xD Ninja'd.

[vaibhavAtomic]

Thanks a lot.Really it helps me a lot.

[justinrpg]

I have a question, I proofread and corrected my mistakes... then I uploaded it, then I find 2 more later (after printing it out)(my sis noticed one) after I uploaded it how do I go about replacing the original .txt file with the corrected one?

[Nam]

Hey, I have an unfinished Fanfic I would like to post, but I have some doubts. I don't know whether I can post it in these conditions:

1) It only has 1 complete chapter.
2) I don't plan on continuing it.
3) It has inappropriate language; which, I personally consider to be mild. Such as

Spoiler:

sperm and I think I used the word boobs?

DO NOT CLICK SPOILER UNLESS YOU READ THE REST!

The reason why I want to post this is because even though I don't plan on finishing it, I think it's pretty good, and I'd like some feedback and opinions. I assure you I don't discribe anything inappropriate, other than said in spoiler. The rest is mere speculation from the reader...

[JX Valentine]

If it's actually a one-shot (as in, the entire story is contained in that single chapter, but it has the feeling of being unfinished), then sure, nothing wrong with posting that.

If you actually mean that it's written as if it's going to be a first chapter... then, uh, sure, that'd be okay too. I mean, in terms of a general writing forum. Lots of people only post a few chapters; the only difference between what you're doing and what they're doing is that you come right out and say, "Okay, guys, I'm not actually continuing this, but here you go." Besides that, you've got the point of a writing community in the first place. You're posting for feedback, so yeah, rock on.

Content I'm leaving up to the mods. I mean, it'd depend on what you mean by reader speculation, especially with that spoiler. Strong hints of sex, maybe? Because if it's just using those words/if it's not actually adult lit (i.e., porn), then I know a number of readers would be A-OK with that.

[Nam]

Well, there's definitely no sex in it. Perhaps you'd like me to send it to you so you can understand exactly?

[JX Valentine]

Originally Posted by Nam

Well, there's definitely no sex in it. Perhaps you'd like me to send it to you so you can understand exactly?

Well, since I'm not actually a mod (and can only tell you what will and won't float in a writing community in general), it's probably a better idea to send it to the real mods to see if it's not crossing any lines for PC specifically. You can drop a note to Astinus or bobandbill in that case.

[bobandbill]

Well, since I'm not actually a mod (and can only tell you what will and won't float in a writing community in general), it's probably a better idea to send it to the real mods to see if it's not crossing any lines for PC specifically. You can drop a note to Astinus or bobandbill in that case.

Yeah, just PM it to either of us.

[Tarranium]

I just want to clear something out here.
I have a Digimon fanfic that I'd like to upload but I have 11 long chapters so is it okay if each chapter is it's own thread? Or do I have to just continue posting it to the same thread?

[JX Valentine]

Originally Posted by Tarranium

I just want to clear something out here.
I have a Digimon fanfic that I'd like to upload but I have 11 long chapters so is it okay if each chapter is it's own thread? Or do I have to just continue posting it to the same thread?

When posting a fic to a forum -- any forum -- you should put all of the chapters for the same fic in the same thread. Look at the other long fics on this forum for a template. This is for courtesy more than anything else; posting each chapter in a different thread not only forces readers to wade through all of your stuff to find someone else's but also wade through everyone else's and your other chapters to find, say, chapter five.

[Tarranium]

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

When posting a fic to a forum -- any forum -- you should put all of the chapters for the same fic in the same thread. Look at the other long fics on this forum for a template. This is for courtesy more than anything else; posting each chapter in a different thread not only forces readers to wade through all of your stuff to find someone else's but also wade through everyone else's and your other chapters to find, say, chapter five.

Alright thanks, just making sure.

[Pokemon Game Fan]

Are we allowed to use coding in our stories? Sorry if it's been answered, just want to be sure.

[Bay Alexison]

Originally Posted by Pokemon Game Fan

Are we allowed to use coding in our stories? Sorry if it's been answered, just want to be sure.

What you mean by coding? You mean underline, bold, and italics? If so, then it's fine if those serve a purpose for your writing style.

[Kura]

Hey guys! I sorta had a question/ suggestion..
First of all.. I don't think these forums are only for pokemon fanfictions right? I am actually kind of surprised that there isn't a "General Fanfiction recommendation" thread (other fics.. not to pimp your own).. kinda like the other entertainment section has with movies and shows/anime, you know? Because there's an amazing fic I'd love to recommend.. and I'd also love to consider some other recommendations.
I'm guessing it could either stay unorganized and then just people can sift through and post.. or it can be organized by genre (comedy, angst, etc)..

Thoughts? I just haven't seen any fanfiction discussion threads here :C.. sad..

[Astinus]

Oh, people can definitely post other works that aren't just Pokemon, whether they're for other fandoms or original works.

As for recommendation threads, every once in a while, someone might make a thread in the Writer's Lounge subforum asking for people's recommendations. Most people post Pokemon fanfics, but some people post for other fandoms. It's just more difficult to recommend fanfics for other fandoms because it needs to reach fans that not only like that fandom but also Pokemon in order to be here.

So there's no official thread for recommendations, but if you feel like making one that can encompass all fanfics and not just Pokemon ones, you can. And maybe the mods will decide to make an official one that's more organized.

[Kura]

Originally Posted by Astinus

Oh, people can definitely post other works that aren't just Pokemon, whether they're for other fandoms or original works.

As for recommendation threads, every once in a while, someone might make a thread in the Writer's Lounge subforum asking for people's recommendations. Most people post Pokemon fanfics, but some people post for other fandoms. It's just more difficult to recommend fanfics for other fandoms because it needs to reach fans that not only like that fandom but also Pokemon in order to be here.

So there's no official thread for recommendations, but if you feel like making one that can encompass all fanfics and not just Pokemon ones, you can. And maybe the mods will decide to make an official one that's more organized.

Cool that might sound great! Um.. do you know if there's a thread that's for published literature recommendations, too? Maybe the thread could be about good reads? .. but I am not sure if other entertainment already has something like that.

Um.. I think if I am going to go through with an official one with JUST fanfiction and not published lit.. the front page can be listed as 1 section for pokemon, subsectioned perhaps by a couple headings (adventure, romance, comedy) or something.. (cause it's most popular) and the rest can be alphabetical by series name?

What do you think? Should I first make it and then PM it to mods in this section.. or should we discuss it first?

[bobandbill]

Cool that might sound great! Um.. do you know if there's a thread that's for published literature recommendations, too? Maybe the thread could be about good reads? .. but I am not sure if other entertainment already has something like that.

Culture + media have... what are you reading a thread and a 20-day-old-thread-since-last-post kinda about thoughts on books in general...? But I don't see any harm in a thread for discussing published books here anyways - heck, this place could use the activity more anyway. =p

And... personally I think it should be fine to just post one in the writer's lounge and make the list as you go (see firstly how many people post and then add the genres as you go). Besides, as Astinus said it wouldn't be the first time such a thread was made, if not in an official manner. (For that there's the (new) Fic of the Month listing and the fic index sticky, but the latter is not by recommendations and so is different).

[Dark Zoroark]

Is it ok to post a short story?

[Astinus]

Even though you already posted your story, I'll still answer your question so you (and others) will know. It is perfectly fine to post a short story of any length (drabbles included) so long as the story is finished.

[MEGAS]

Question, does writing a series count? I mean like, episodes, parts (part 1, 2, 3, etc) and seasons. You post each episode on each new thread, and can put link to previous episodes I do.

[Astinus]

You post each episode on each new thread, and can put link to previous episodes I do.

That part would break the section's rules. So long as each episode is telling a connected story, they all go in one thread. So if episode 3 is a continuation of episode 2 which is a continuation of episode 1, they all go in one thread.

[droomph]

Soooo I've got an unwritten story (that'll be a viddy game one day but whatevs) in my head that isn't related anything with an existing franchise (well, not on purpose, at least) so yeah. From what I can gather from the rules, do I just put the appropriate prefix on, or is there something else I need to do to signify that this is an original work and not a fanfic? Just checkin'

[Astinus]

Just use the "Other" prefix and mention in an author's note at the start of your story what the story is about. That way, people will know it's an original story (I think yours is?) instead of one based on another fandom.