Fanfiction Lounge

Jelly · Jul 4, 2009

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

Where I live, there's a lot of nature. I like to draw inspiration from nature. And I get lots of ideas from talking to my friends, even if they don't realise it. They talk a lot, just like me, and sometimes I have to stop, pull out a notebook, and write down something they said. It makes them look at me funny. >_>

liveitout · Jul 4, 2009

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

My desire to describe absolutely everything, to the extent that the plot is overshadowed (plot? what plot?)

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

I never write about anything that I haven't experienced/heard about from a friend. That keeps the story as close to being realistic as possible.

My two cents for Kanto Lover:

Spoiler:

"Unit one, attention!" Lieutenant Colonel Gray barked at her soldiers while walking briskly out from Vermillion City's army base.

Pretty good start. From the first three words, we know this is a military setting. Soldiers are being addressed. Some kind of mood is set. However, I feel it's a little spoiled by the length of the sentence. I get the distinct feeling that you're trying to sketch the setting: Lieutenant, soldiers, Vermillion City's army base (no visuals of that last one at all). It's not necessary to do that right off the bat. I'd go with short sentences, like:

Unit one, attention!" barked Lieutenant Colonel Gray. Her soldiers stood stiff in the early morning light. (Or whatever)

The tall, brown-haired squad commander…

Tall and brown-haired? She might as well be short and blonde. Those words don't have any connotations, so they don't give any impression of character. I commend your brevity, but something like "grim and stoic" would paint a better picture than just a physical description.

…the next morning.

Did you mean 'during the morning' or something like that? Not a good way to mention the time of day, since the rest of this sentence is descriptive/narrative. You could mention the light/position of sun/long shadows/morning chill instead.

A few of the soldiers let out a collective gasp when they heard this, but otherwise remained silent.

Okay, so we get the sense Professor Oak is someone important. But a 'collective gasp' seems too theatrical for soldiers. Maybe 'raised eyebrows' or 'slight ripple' would fit them better.

… Are your orders clear?

I understand that you want to keep the scene short, but those orders aren't clear to me. This isn't enough information to launch any kind of mission. What about the Pokemon this ninja is using? Or a floorplan of the building the Professor is being held in? You could have the Lieutenant add that they'll be briefed further on the helicopters.

… heard as an MH-53 Pavelow landed nearby with its blades whirring furiously.

Instant helicopters! Okay, so there's a heightened sense of urgency. I'm with Astinus, though – furiously sounds funny in this context. Growling furiously, yes. Whirring furiously, no.

…as the soldiers boarded the transport aircraft.

The ending falls a little bit flat. Boarding transport aircraft is just not exciting. I don't have any suggestions, though. In a movie, this is probably where they would switch to a bird's-eye view to hide the fact that soldiers boarding a helicopter one at a time look pretty silly.

Overall, it looks like a good start to the story, introducing the context and plot. A common mistake is to get bogged down in unnecessary details in the first scene, which you've avoided. It could be spiced up, though. Try to vary your sentence lengths – it can make a huge impact on the mood of a passage.

Citrinin · Jul 4, 2009

liveitout said:
My desire to describe absolutely everything, to the extent that the plot is overshadowed (plot? what plot?)

I can empathise. :P I went through a stage like that. XD;

By the way, I haven't seen you around these parts before. Welcome. ^_^

Feign · Jul 5, 2009

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

Hummm hard to say, perhaps leaving out plot or something important.

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

Well aside from mediums, not my own personal life.

Okay and because we all have the time here we go for some more:

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?

bobandbill · Jul 5, 2009

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

Hmm... interesting question... might be my typos - seriously, I make WAY too many of those. Making events be clear to the readers is another problem I tend to have - I'm trying harder to make sure everything can be understtod by the writer. ~~That and being lazy and too busy half the time~~

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

A fair bit, actually... there have been various times where I have taken some random event from a day and happened to have been able to adapt it to my stories, one way or another. Some basically go in rather simply requiring little change, and others are basically nothing like the original event - it merely led to a tangent of thought.

EDIT: Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?

No, not really... maybe stuff that could be made into a movie or show (if the writing was good enough and all XD), but nothing that I intended to fit that specifically.

Of course, if you hadn't included the words 'not in script form', then I'd say yes, I have done something that was designed to be for a movie. Did it for fun way back when. (Also led to my username, woot).

Oh, and welcome, ye newcomers, to the madness that is this thread. =D

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)
Sorry gaiz, I just have to answer this again. My biggest weakness is the twin evil of procrastination and disinterest. When I procrastinate, I lose interest in writing the fic. As a result, I procrastinate even more, until it dies entirely. This has been the fate of every chaptered fic I have ever attempted. My new fic, Shattered, will debut on this forum tomorrow. I state here and now that if I do not update every single Monday, you all are invited - no, urged - to hunt me down and beat the crap out of me until I write another chapter. If you don't want to go that far, just VM me. I need lots of motivation, I'm afraid. ^_^_^

Citrinin · Jul 5, 2009

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?
No. :P My only medium is a narrative. ^_^;

Sparkling Dragon, we'll come equipped with torches and pitchforks. :D

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

Don't get ahead of yourself, Citrinin. I already said you could have the whip. ;P

Citrinin · Jul 5, 2009

Procrastination is a vicious beast, as any writer (or any person who does anything over a period of more than a week) knows, and one whip is hardly enough. ;) We need an angry mob.

In any case, I can see what you mean about the vicious cycle of procrastination and not caring. I've never done anything long enough for that to happen to me, but I can imagine. o_<;

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

Mob is good, yub yub.

Anyway, beware of procrastination. I don't want HWIMAR to go the same way as my Faith . . . or Edge of Destiny . . . or Beta 24 . . . or Swiss Cheese . . .

Astinus · Jul 5, 2009

Sparkling Dragon said:
I don't want HWIMAR to go the same way as my Faith . . . or Edge of Destiny . . . or Beta 24 . . . or Swiss Cheese . . .

I totally started to read that as the acronym for "How I Met Your Mother". I've never even seen that show, but I guess that is the power of Neil Patrick Harris. He's able to infiltrate that well.

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?
I can't say that I have. All of my writings have been intended to remain as the written word. There are times when I can actually visually see the scene in my mind, played out as if it is a movie/television show, but I figure that that is just my imagination at work.

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

^_^ Astinus is tired, methinks.

JX Valentine · Jul 5, 2009

Astinus said:
I totally started to read that as the acronym for "How I Met Your Mother". I've never even seen that show, but I guess that is the power of Neil Patrick Harris. He's able to infiltrate that well.

Oh, good. I'm not the only one who was distracted by his sexiness.

I miss Doogie Howser, guys.

I'd also answer the questions with my usual length, but I'm lazy. Instead, the answers are "no" and "no, despite what AEM's roots are."

Astinus · Jul 5, 2009

Valentine said:
Oh, good. I'm not the only one who was distracted by his sexiness.

Also, Doogie Howser was one-half of my 80's/early 90's childhood.

And yes, Sparkling Dragon. My eyes tend to cross when I've been on the computer all day, so I am tired. But I couldn't go outside and enjoy the nice weather because my neighbors across the street, behind us, and two houses down decided to set off illegal fireworks.

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

I hate that. We have idiots in our neighbourhood who save up a stash each year and set them off every night for three weeks before Guy Fawkes, when you're only allowed to buy fireworks in the week leading up to it.

Bay · Jul 5, 2009

Just recently I almost got killed by the idiots at my neighborhood that set off the fireworks. x_x

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?
No, not really. My writings are meant to be in novel form. However, I have written scripts before and those are meant as movies. XD

Citrinin · Jul 5, 2009

Sparkling Dragon said:
I hate that. We have idiots in our neighbourhood who save up a stash each year and set them off every night for three weeks before Guy Fawkes, when you're only allowed to buy fireworks in the week leading up to it.

Funny how restrictions create an allure so strong that they end up having the opposite effect intended, isn't it?

But back to talking about fanfics, I'll often see my fic in my mind's eye. Even though its only true place is in written form, I will see the events as they occur in my head. ^_^;

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

I talk to my characters. They live in my head, and when I'm stuck, I ask them what they're going to do. It helps, especially if they're characters I know well. One of them is Cassie, the daughter of a nobleman in one of my dead fics. She only ever made two appearances, but I got so attached to her that she sits in my head to this day. My Platinum file is named after her-

Hey, Cassie! Put that accordion down!

'Scuse me.

Citrinin · Jul 5, 2009

Not a technique I've tried personally, I must say. XD;

When I'm stuck, I take a run or a bicycle ride, and just envision my characters in all kinds of crazy situations. Then, I adapt these crazy situations to the plot, make them more realistic, and I have a plot twist/device. :D

Misheard Whisper · Jul 5, 2009

I tend to make it up as I go along. It's so much fun just rolling with it.

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