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Unsure of My Writing - Help?

ThePoTaterSalad

Tater
6
Posts
11
Years
    • Hi! My name is Tater, and I enjoy writing. Recently, I have begun writing my own story about the world of Pokemon. Essentially, it is about a kid who suffers emotional trauma, which guides him down the path of becoming a Pokemon Trainer. So far, I have only written the second drafts of three chapters and the prologue, but I don't feel very sure about them. I am doubting my skills as a writer, so I came here for help.

    If any of you can give me advice or tips on how to write fanfics that are genuinely enjoyable, I would gladly appreciate the help. Also, if any of you were up to it, I could post what I have so far and you could look it over.

    Thanks in advance, and I look forward to joining this community!
     
    Incinermyn

    Incinermyn

    The Abomination Lives!!!
    646
    Posts
    16
    Years
    • Character development is extremely important, especially in the case of trauma victims. The thing I'd like to ask is what kind of trauma did he suffer from? The term "emotional" doesn't always describe it. I mean, what kind of event happened to him that would make him suffer a severe emotional shock? That's really where your story has to begin. If he was in an accident or abused, then the scenario can basically right itself because it's a case of recovering and coping with stuff. However, there are a lot of other types of trauma that a person can suffer. I actually emphasize the case of bad memories in my series "The Crusade of Dark Nostalgia," and part of my characters' personalities revolves around them reliving past events that cripple them from moving on with their lives (there's also a supernatural cause for their inability to 'let things go,' but that's a secondary context and not the main focus of their personalities).
     

    ThePoTaterSalad

    Tater
    6
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • Incinermyn said:
    Character development is extremely important, especially in the case of trauma victims. The thing I'd like to ask is what kind of trauma did he suffer from? The term "emotional" doesn't always describe it. I mean, what kind of event happened to him that would make him suffer a severe emotional shock? That's really where your story has to begin. If he was in an accident or abused, then the scenario can basically right itself because it's a case of recovering and coping with stuff. However, there are a lot of other types of trauma that a person can suffer. I actually emphasize the case of bad memories in my series "The Crusade of Dark Nostalgia," and part of my characters' personalities revolves around them reliving past events that cripple them from moving on with their lives (there's also a supernatural cause for their inability to 'let things go,' but that's a secondary context and not the main focus of their personalities).
    Click to expand...

    The protagonist's dad leaves when he is a child, and the pokemon he grew up with, along with his best friend are murdered in front of him by the "bad guys" when he is a young teenager. I plan on re-writing a lot of it, but that is generally what happens.


    [EDIT]
    Also, I wanted to add that character development is a huge focus in this story, because growing up with the Pokemon Anime, I feel like I was starved of any sort of progression or closure of characters. Thanks for bringing this up, I think I will try to deepen the actual trauma that he has gone through, and attempt to evolve it over the course of his life.
     
    Last edited:
    Incinermyn

    Incinermyn

    The Abomination Lives!!!
    646
    Posts
    16
    Years
    • ThePoTaterSalad said:
    The protagonist's dad leaves when he is a child, and the pokemon he grew up with, along with his best friend are murdered in front of him by the "bad guys" when he is a young teenager. I plan on re-writing a lot of it, but that is generally what happens.
    Click to expand...

    That's a pretty good start, if that alone it part of the prologue or first chapter (I write a lot of dark themed fiction, so I don't have a problem with characters getting murdered or killed off). It sounds like you can work a lot with character interest based on that alone. Development comes in later, though, after you've already established this part. As he goes about becoming a trainer, you need to planning out where you're willing to go with the story. It's easy to overemphasize the fact that he went through this stuff without showing that he is overcoming the trauma as a trainer. Though, there is always the option of relapse where his memories are so bad that he can't get past it, but I doubt that's what you're aiming for.

    There's no real way to justify whether a fanfic is good or not just by talking about it, though. Sometimes the best thing to do is just post part of it and see if anyone's interested. It's hit-and-miss a lot of the time, but usually some people will read it, even if it's just a few.
     

    ThePoTaterSalad

    Tater
    6
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • Incinermyn said:
    That's a pretty good start, if that alone it part of the prologue or first chapter (I write a lot of dark themed fiction, so I don't have a problem with characters getting murdered or killed off). It sounds like you can work a lot with character interest based on that alone. Development comes in later, though, after you've already established this part. As he goes about becoming a trainer, you need to planning out where you're willing to go with the story. It's easy to overemphasize the fact that he went through this stuff without showing that he is overcoming the trauma as a trainer. Though, there is always the option of relapse where his memories are so bad that he can't get past it, but I doubt that's what you're aiming for.

    There's no real way to justify whether a fanfic is good or not just by talking about it, though. Sometimes the best thing to do is just post part of it and see if anyone's interested. It's hit-and-miss a lot of the time, but usually some people will read it, even if it's just a few.
    Click to expand...

    Yes, the prologue is about him receiving his pokemon from his uncle, which is currently Lt. Surge, and the "trauma" happens at the end of the first chapter. Basically, the whole town (Pallet) was set on fire, and that's when all of this happens. Since this is based off of the original Kanto games, he goes to Oak, asking for a Pokemon so that he can go help take down the "bad guys" that killed his friend and pokemon.

    I am trying my best to set it up like it's going to be a "10 year old and pikachu go on adventure", then immediately turn it around into this, in hopes to captivate any potential readers.

    Another thing that I wanted to touch on is characters. I am having issues with deciding who should join him on his journey, if any at all. His other friend (for now, named Gary), became a trainer 4 years before the protagonist did, and slightly guides him at the beginning of his journey. The only other character I have planned is a kid that loses his Caterpie, who follows the protagonist for like 1-2 chapters, then most likely leaves. So, I'm unsure if I should have characters that tag along with him, and if I do, should they be characters that people already know, like Misty or Brock, or a completely made up character?
     
    Incinermyn

    Incinermyn

    The Abomination Lives!!!
    646
    Posts
    16
    Years
    • ThePoTaterSalad said:
    Yes, the prologue is about him receiving his pokemon from his uncle, which is currently Lt. Surge, and the "trauma" happens at the end of the first chapter. Basically, the whole town (Pallet) was set on fire, and that's when all of this happens. Since this is based off of the original Kanto games, he goes to Oak, asking for a Pokemon so that he can go help take down the "bad guys" that killed his friend and pokemon.

    I am trying my best to set it up like it's going to be a "10 year old and pikachu go on adventure", then immediately turn it around into this, in hopes to captivate any potential readers.

    Another thing that I wanted to touch on is characters. I am having issues with deciding who should join him on his journey, if any at all. His other friend (for now, named Gary), became a trainer 4 years before the protagonist did, and slightly guides him at the beginning of his journey. The only other character I have planned is a kid that loses his Caterpie, who follows the protagonist for like 1-2 chapters, then most likely leaves. So, I'm unsure if I should have characters that tag along with him, and if I do, should they be characters that people already know, like Misty or Brock, or a completely made up character?
    Click to expand...

    I'm of the group that prefers to work with original characters more than canon ones. I would personally avoid trying to stick too close to the canon set up by the games/anime, and concentrate on more of your own idea where at all possible. I'm not one of those critics who snubs Journey fics, but it's too easy to follow that setup when you're clearly trying to make your own story based in the Pokémon world.
     

    ThePoTaterSalad

    Tater
    6
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • Incinermyn said:
    I'm of the group that prefers to work with original characters more than canon ones. I would personally avoid trying to stick too close to the canon set up by the games/anime, and concentrate on more of your own idea where at all possible. I'm not one of those critics who snubs Journey fics, but it's too easy to follow that setup when you're clearly trying to make your own story based in the Pokémon world.
    Click to expand...

    I see. And by Journey fics, I assume you mean "let's go get all the badges and collect all the pokemon." I will try to avoid doing that as much as I can, because my main focus was going to be on the "bad guys" and trying to take them down, while having an underlying objective of collecting all of the badges, in order to test his strengths along the way. But you would recommend having more than just the one guy walking around Kanto with nothing but himself and his pokemon?
     
    Incinermyn

    Incinermyn

    The Abomination Lives!!!
    646
    Posts
    16
    Years
    • ThePoTaterSalad said:
    I see. And by Journey fics, I assume you mean "let's go get all the badges and collect all the pokemon." I will try to avoid doing that as much as I can, because my main focus was going to be on the "bad guys" and trying to take them down, while having an underlying objective of collecting all of the badges, in order to test his strengths along the way. But you would recommend having more than just the one guy walking around Kanto with nothing but himself and his pokemon?
    Click to expand...

    Yes, Journey fics are exactly that. Sorry if the jargon confused you, but that usually is the term people use to describe fanfics where your character travels through their home region trying to collect all the badges and qualify for the Pokémon League.

    Also, groups are fine, so long as you don't go and overload the story with a bunch of characters that only have bit parts or have no major roles in the plot beyond a brief cameo. I mean, you don't want to dillude things by having your protagonist travel with an ever-changing group of people like Ash does in the anime. It would really drive you and your readers nuts trying to keep track of who's who.
     

    ThePoTaterSalad

    Tater
    6
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • Incinermyn said:
    Yes, Journey fics are exactly that. Sorry if the jargon confused you, but that usually is the term people use to describe fanfics where your character travels through their home region trying to collect all the badges and qualify for the Pokémon League.

    Also, groups are fine, so long as you don't go and overload the story with a bunch of characters that only have bit parts or have no major roles in the plot beyond a brief cameo. I mean, you don't want to dillude things by having your protagonist travel with an ever-changing group of people like Ash does in the anime. It would really drive you and your readers nuts trying to keep track of who's who.
    Click to expand...

    Okay, awesome! Thanks for all of your feedback, you have really helped me out with some big decisions.

    See you around! ;)
     
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