Fanfiction Lounge

For a start, what kind of place are you trying to describe? Picture it in your mind's eye, and write down a bunch of things that come to your mind. Then find a bunch of synonyms for any adjectives you come up with, and put a few (not too many) of them into your description. Just picturing Lake Acuity here, I come up with: freezing, icy, pristine, white, blank, glassy, powdery snow, snow on trees, frigid water, still water, footprints in the snow . . . just off the top of my head. Then I get this:

As I approached Lake Acuity, huddling inside my coat to escape the bite of the frigid air, I could not help but wonder at the pristine beauty that unfolded before me. Frosty flakes of snow drifted lazily down to join the millions that already blanketed the ground, and more still settled on the trees, partially obscuring them from view. The lake itself was beginning to freeze over; a glassy layer of ice covered the water. I shivered to think just how freezing that water must be at this time of year. What caught my attention, though, was the line of footprints that I suddenly realised I was following. Two perfect rows of small indents in the snow, made by two small feet, not so long ago.

*blink blink* Well, that was unexpected! *tucks paragraph away for future Candice oneshot*

Hope this helps you; just apply it to wherever you're trying to describe.

Oh hay! Activity!

Oh hey! I can't spell! :D

What is your view on using NPCs and lesser known canon characters in fanfiction?
I enjoy using the lesser known characters when writing, only because they are, in some cases, more open to interpretation. There's not a lot of information out there on them, aside from the basics, like how they act in one or two situations.

For instance, in my Pokemon fanfics, the canon character that I write about the most is Harrison, the rival-of-the-League for Johto. I know where he's from, his Pokemon, and how he acts in battle, and a bit outside of battle, but other than that, nothing. So when it comes to writing about him in my fanfic, I try to keep him in-character the best I can using the information I know about him from those small little six episodes that he was in. Otherwise, he's just not recognizable as the sweet Harrison that I love fangirl over have pictures of on my wall like.

Then I have a few cases, like one in particular, where the character only had a design because he appeared for two minutes at the tail-end of the last episode of the series. He was given no name, no age, no personality. Heck, he only had one line to say! So when writing about him, there was a lot to create with him, because of how much of a blank slate he was.

That character is the other half of my OTP. OTP, guys. My OTP of seven years.

Gods, I'm old. ;o;

BUT I LOVE THEM. :< TO ITTY-BITTY PIECES.

Part b) Is it easier to write about a well-established character, like Ash Ketchum, or an unexplored one, like any one of the hundreds of CODs?
Eh, for myself, I like the unexplored ones, because you can take them in a fresh new direction that they haven't been taken in before. Plus, it's more fun because you're not too tied down with canon personalities.

The problem is, though, getting people to recognize the characters as canon characters and not as OCs, especially if the canon character isn't really well-known. (Seriously, if I say "Jimmy", no one first thinks of Jimmy, the dude with the Blastoise. ;; ) So I dunno. I always fear that people will be like "STOP WITH THE GOSHDURN OCS!" and I'm like "But they're in canon! D:" and no one will read my canon character focused fic because no one knows who the canon character is.

THIS IS WHY WRITING ABOUT THE SIMS IS BETTER!

*hides in that much, much better fandom*

The excuse behind this post is the fact that I passed out on the kitchen floor before I wrote this.

The excuse behind this post is the fact that I passed out on the kitchen floor before I wrote this.

Click to expand...

...

Mods are supposed to be responsible role models!

Yes, I agree with you, Asty. I find it easier to write about canon characters with small parts too. I like Gym Leaders, because they mostly appear in 1-3 episodes, plus their respective games (which never tell you enough anyway). Except for Brock. I swear, when I get up to Kanto Gym Leader Oneshots, I am skipping the squinty freak.

Mods are supposed to be responsible role models!

Click to expand...

...

...whatever are you talking about? And what's wrong with Brock and his lack of eyes? >:[

What is your view on using NPCs and lesser known canon characters in fanfiction?

They're fun to use! I enjoy writing about a good deal of them (my fic is chock-fukll of minor canon characters/NPCs), and I like reading about them as well. Make for interesting stories and viewpoints, and at times a nice change from the usual canon characters (although they also are interesting...usually). As long as the writer doesn't completely change what that minor canon character is and/or protrays them well (some NPCs are really... undefined so some invention on their personality may be required), I'm fine with it.

Is it easier to write about a well-established character, like Ash Ketchum, or an unexplored one, like any one of the hundreds of CODs?

I'd say they both really offer different challenges, and different advantages in using them, really - with well-developed characters which are pretty much known to all, you've got less to invent, but stricter guidelines, or rather limits, in who they are, while with NPCs and some minor canon characters, it's more or less the opposite, really. In other (and better) words... what Valentine said. XD

Sparkling Dragon said:

Except for Brock. I swear, when I get up to Kanto Gym Leader Oneshots, I am skipping the squinty freak.

Click to expand...

bobandbill said:

And what's wrong with Brock and his lack of eyes? >:[

Click to expand...

BROCK DOES NOT APPROVE

BROCK DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS

Astinus said:

BROCK DOES NOT APPROVE

BROCK DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS

Click to expand...

How true. Incidently, Ranch also has something to say on the matter...


We should all totally make a fic on Brocks eyes and their grand adventure over the rainbow when Brock didn't have them. =P

Notice the only time you see them is once or twice when Croagunk Poison Jabs him...

Oh gods, it's been so long since I've seen the anime, so I don't have much information...!

But, isn't there a picture floating around of Brock pulling down on his eyelids and grinning like a madman? The only place I've seen the picture is an avatar on SPPf.

But a google search lead me to this Youtube video. (Quick, watch it before PUSA takes it down!)

I dunno. Brock's weird, yo. I've always preferred Tracey.

Sparkling Dragon said:

For a start, what kind of place are you trying to describe? Picture it in your mind's eye, and write down a bunch of things that come to your mind. Then find a bunch of synonyms for any adjectives you come up with, and put a few (not too many) of them into your description. Just picturing Lake Acuity here, I come up with: freezing, icy, pristine, white, blank, glassy, powdery snow, snow on trees, frigid water, still water, footprints in the snow . . . just off the top of my head. Then I get this:

As I approached Lake Acuity, huddling inside my coat to escape the bite of the frigid air, I could not help but wonder at the pristine beauty that unfolded before me. Frosty flakes of snow drifted lazily down to join the millions that already blanketed the ground, and more still settled on the trees, partially obscuring them from view. The lake itself was beginning to freeze over; a glassy layer of ice covered the water. I shivered to think just how freezing that water must be at this time of year. What caught my attention, though, was the line of footprints that I suddenly realised I was following. Two perfect rows of small indents in the snow, made by two small feet, not so long ago.

*blink blink* Well, that was unexpected! *tucks paragraph away for future Candice oneshot*

Hope this helps you; just apply it to wherever you're trying to describe.

Click to expand...

Gee, thanks for that. So... picture it in my mind... write down a bunch of adjectives that describes it... then put it in the story. Thanks a lot!

Astinus said:

I dunno. Brock's weird, yo. I've always preferred Tracey.

Click to expand...

Girl after my own heart, she is.

People need to use Tracey more often, as a random note. Why don't people like the poor guy? ;_; He had stalker tendencies! And they were more subtle than Brock's!

Isn't Brock eyes opened a tiny bit here? XD;

What is your view on using NPCs and lesser known canon characters in fanfiction?
Can be very fun to read and it doesn't matter if they're in the games, anime, or both. Of course, considering I was out of the Pokemon fandom for a bit, there will be a lot of NPCs and lesser known canon characters I won't know. XD

Is it easier to write about a well-established character, like Ash Ketchum, or an unexplored one, like any one of the hundreds of CODs?
Like everyone else, it depends. Writing Ash Ketchum shouldn't be too hard if you watch a lot of the anime episodes and do some research like looking thorugh character discussions of him and reading character bios in websites like Serebii and Bulbapedia. However, sometimes there might be some situations you'll be unsure how Ash will react and also if you can be able to have him change a bit if you'll be setting the fic a few years after. For unexplored ones, it's easier to go different ways in their personalities, but like Valentine said, sometimes the readers might think they're OC.

While we're on the topic of characters not fully explored in canon, and since we all love Tracey here (Well, we all should love Tracey.), and since I was just writing about them, what about not fully explored places in canon?

See, the fic I was just writing takes place in the Orange Islands. I have a map of them at the ready, but finding out the information on each island is rather difficult. Even Bulbapedia doesn't have much information on them, mainly because not much information was given on the Orange Islands in the actual canon.

The fun part about this is I can take basic canon fact about the Orange Islands, and fill in the holes myself.

The bad part is...I'm lazy. :(

It just gets rather frustrating that I can't tell for sure where my characters are going next, because I don't know what Pokemon are found on what island, and what's really done on each island.

Three days without a response to Asty? That makes Jax a very sad Napoleonic dictator. :(

Seriously, thinking back on the Orange Islands arc, you can pretty much get away with it, I think, Asty. Even the flipping writers couldn't get the damn islands straight. (Lulz at the Mandarin Island confusion.) That and a lot of the islands were pretty generic. So long as you've got an episode guide handy to remind you of the more distinctive ones (like Pinkan and the gym islands), I think you're good to go with BSing from what little information you've got.

Valentine said:

Three days without a response to Asty? That makes Jax a very sad Napoleonic dictator. :(

Click to expand...

Don't get short with people.

*runs*

(Lulz at the Mandarin Island confusion.)

Click to expand...

There are actually two Mandarin Islands. There's Mandarin Island North, which is where the episode "Pikachu Revolts" takes place. Then there's Mandarin Island South, where "Mandarin Island Miss-Match" happens.

Whether or not this was done on purpose originally, I can't guess. All I know is that my map of the Orange Islands has two Mandarins on there. Why they are both called Mandarin, I can't guess either. Maybe it's like the Carolinas. People were just getting lazy coming up with new names.

That and a lot of the islands were pretty generic.

Click to expand...

This is indeed why I'm stuck in my fic right now. While my two characters were in Kanto, my chapters could easily reach fifteen pages. In the Orange Islands, I have to pull out random things in order to pad the chapters. Like one character's need to pee.

Also, people might not be responding swiftly to me, because it's ten in the morning, I'm posting on here making sense, and I only got two hours of sleep.

Astinus said:

Don't get short with people.

*runs*

Click to expand...

*throws a block of cheese*

There are actually two Mandarin Islands. There's Mandarin Island North, which is where the episode "Pikachu Revolts" takes place. Then there's Mandarin Island South, where "Mandarin Island Miss-Match" happens.

Whether or not this was done on purpose originally, I can't guess.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's really not intentional. One of those islands (I think it was the one in "Mandarin Island Miss-Match") was actually not named Mandarin Island in the original, but the other was. So, it's more or less just a bit of fail on the dubbers' part, but not too many people know that.

This is indeed why I'm stuck in my fic right now. While my two characters were in Kanto, my chapters could easily reach fifteen pages. In the Orange Islands, I have to pull out random things in order to pad the chapters. Like one character's need to pee.

Click to expand...

I'd like to read the chapter about the one character's need to pee. XD

I actually replied to Astinus' question, but then PC's server went busy and I forgot to save the post. :X

In any case, Valentine said the same thing I was about to say, saved the Mandarin Islands. I think I remember both the North and South one...

Been a while since I watched the Orange Island episodes. ^^;

One other thing I want to say is I think it's fine if you put whatever Pokemon you want in the islands, even the later generation ones. In fact, I would like to see how some later generation Pokemon adapt to the tropical climate of the islands.

What is your view on using NPCs and lesser known canon characters in fanfiction?

Well, seeing as a fic that I'm planning involves the main character ultimately becoming one of those boring minor characters with only three Pokemon you see in Pyrite Town, I don't mind it at all. In fact, it's kind of fun to make people have to think, "Oh yeah! I remember that guy!" Unless, of course, they don't.

But, of course, using more-common characters in strange roles is okay too... C<

I figured that there was a problem on the dubbers' end with the wrongly named islands. The book that I got the OI map from was one of those "written by random person with no license from Nintendo" American deals, so I figured the information wouldn't be fully correct in the book.

I also tend to only look up information when necessary when it comes to Pokemon, so since the southern islands are too far away for my characters to travel to, I don't really know too much about them. (I mean, my characters are traveling on a raft built by a twelve-year-old kid who grew up nearly landlocked.) So I would never have known about the whole Mandarin Island misnamed fiasco.

Also, let me admit to never watching a Japanese episode of Pokemon. Ever.

As for the character peeing, it's just same said twelve-year-old girl telling her fourteen-year-old male traveling partner that "SHE GOTTA GO PEE!" loudly in the middle of a field. I still wanted a way to show that she's immature, and really, the realities of bodily functions should make their way in fic more often, for humor purposes, and because sometimes it's just needed. Like my OSC fics where Andy goes through puberty...

And Bay...that hurts me. :(

Bay said:

One other thing I want to say is I think it's fine if you put whatever Pokemon you want in the islands, even the later generation ones. In fact, I would like to see how some later generation Pokemon adapt to the tropical climate of the islands.

Click to expand...

^This.

I think it's perfectly acceptable, but not everyone does. I recently wrote a oneshot about Bugsy, in which he owns a Ninjask, and I got slammed for it. "Ninjask's not a Johto Pokemon," blah blah blah. Yet in the ten years between GSC and this oneshot, do you think that maybe, just maybe, Bugsy might have taken a holiday? he might have gone touring around Hoenn, Kanto, and even Sinnoh. He could have stopped for five minutes in Petalburg Woods, caught a Nincada, and moved on. What annoys me is some reviewers' narrow-mindedness. Some people are just unable to extrapolate!

Agree, Sparkling Dragon. Yeah, Bugsy might have some new bug Pokemon from other regions. Koga did when he was the Elite Four of Johto.

Also, call me crazy, I don't care too much if an Absol is featured as a wild Pokemon in, say, Johto. There might be times Pokemon will migrate to better places. Also, in Bulbapedia, there are some descriptions of some Pokemon being found in mountain areas and such

And Astinus, sorry. ^^; I would also forget to save my reviews whenever Serebii lags. -_-