Fanfiction Lounge

[Citrinin]

Originally Posted by Sparkles

And Citrinin, when was the last time we dedicated any vestige of effort to maintaining the outward appearance of sanity?

Eh... Uhm...

You make an irrefutable point. XD;

[Misheard Whisper]

I tend to do that. No-one gives a ****ake mushroom, so why should we pretend we give a ****ake mushroom?!!!1!!?1!!!!8!!twohundredthousandmilliononehundredandseventyfourthousandthreehundredandtwentysixpointfivesevennineonesevensixpeanuts!

I just love the mushroom distorted euphemism.

[Citrinin]

Especially when done on Austin Powers 3. Ah, screwed up subtitles... one thing we book writers can't use. XD;

[.Ozymandias]

How much have you improved since your first Pokémon fanfic? In which ways did you improve the most? Do you still retain some of your early weaknesses?

Seeing as how I'm still writing my first pokémon fanfic (Late bloomer, okay?!), I'll answer this in reference to how I have improved since my first ever fanfic.

Allow me to treat you to a snippet from a CSI Vegas fic I wrote. No refunds will be given for burning eyes, bleeding ears or other ailments.

‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!’ Read the banner, printed out in garish letters in primary colours. I had been up since 6 decorating the living room for her and her alarm had just gone off. Nervously, I awaited her appearance, dozy-faced, in the hallway. The boys had already left to go on a ‘mans holiday’ for a few days, so we had 3 days of peace, quiet and Tom Cruise movies. Oh and totally papering ourselves, of course! She stumbled down the stairs, and I leapt out of the living room.

I want to be papered!

So, yes, I have improved on my grammar, my proof-reading skills, my description and my general sentance structure.

As for retaining weaknesses, I still have problems with fragments from time to time, and can get carried away with random, unnecessary detail.

[Mizan de la Plume Kuro]

So uhh... I'm going to be away for at least two weeks or more and this is I think going to be that last post until it's over. Exams are coming up and I have to prepare. So farewell FFL, Farewell PC, Farewell anonymous people who read this post, and farewell PFF&P. For now.....

[Picture from muuzikafilmy.blog.cz] I think...

[.Ozymandias]

Bye Bye, NG-who-is-no-longer-NG-and-is-now-MNZ! Good luck with your exams, and we promise to have pages of insanity ready for your return.

[Lash]

How much have you improved since your first Pokémon fanfic? In which ways did you improve the most? Do you still retain some of your early weaknesses?
A lot, if I say so myself. My original fanfiction, and roleplaying skills in general were horrible compared to how I write now. I still make beginners mistakes, but they're nothing compared to the super mega errors and phail I used to make.

Though, it is something to look back on. Two years, it took me to become a good writer, but I think the things that broke the camels back are maturity and actually paying attention in my engish class. I'm able to handle criticism now without being a whiny little ho, and I don't find it a challenge to write anymore.

[JX Valentine]

How much have you improved since your first Pokémon fanfic? In which ways did you improve the most? Do you still retain some of your early weaknesses?

Erm, I improved in probably everything ever. While I wrote legibly, my grammar wasn't that great, particularly because I didn't exactly know about that lovely thing called a spell check back then. My plots were all-around ridiculous (often without intending on being that), boring, or so emo it's painful to go back to find my old work. And, of course, I had Mary Sues all over the place. Never mind my affinity for author's notes in the middle of the story and whatnot.

I'd really like to think I don't have the same habits, but sometimes, I tend to write emo crap.

I mean, the bottom's my earliest works still on the interwebs. Compare this with my most recent fics. Lulz, guys. Lulz. (Oh, pre-2005 fics. How much I try to pretend I never wrote you. Except Fish Musings, which was actually half decent but could really use a rewrite.)

[Vigilante]

I got inspiration for a few one shots... I had to listen to a couple of Bryan Adam's songs like eighty times, but I got inspiration.

I was using a grammar checker and it said the phrase:

.. reason why I shouldn't ...

was redundant.

Doesn't mean I'll write anythingbig,just place my free write folder

[Astinus]

How much have you improved since your first Pokémon fanfic? In which ways did you improve the most? Do you still retain some of your early weaknesses?
I improved immensely. My first fanfic was nothing but 99% dialogue. Even then, I didn't know to use dialogue tags, so everything was a mess. I had a Sue running around the place, the plot was just a rehash of the anime with my Sue added, only more badly written. I had no idea to use spell-check.

Fortunately, the existence of that fic is no more.

So, comparing then and now, I think I've improved.

[dotKarma]

How much have you improved since your first Pokémon fanfic? In which ways did you improve the most? Do you still retain some of your early weaknesses?

I can't answer this... I don't have any Pokemon fanfics under my belt, yet. :(

I do have a one-shot I'm working on, though, so I'll be able to answer after I finish it up and write another.

[Feign]

New questions!

Do you ever intentionally or unintentionally have product placements in your fics? I am not talking about Pokemon items, but I mean real life items.

I don't usually myself, so far I've only ever seen iPods, but that's about it.

[Vigilante]

Do you ever intentionally or unintentionally have product placements in your fics?

No, if I do I make it its own brand and what not. Like a simple MP3, but have a made up brand for it.

[dotKarma]

Do you ever intentionally or unintentionally have product placements in your fics?

Not sure, really. The occasional iPod or song will be, but other than that, not really. Most things remain unnamed if I use them and I just hint at it.

[solovino]

How much have you improved since your first Pokémon fanfic? In which ways did you improve the most? Do you still retain some of your early weaknesses?
Don't know, really. I still have that d**** comma issue, and I still tend to overexplain things a little. But I'd say that compared to when I first began writing, now I write things a bit funnier and simpler.

The question is: would I want to do that with my (national equivalent to) IRS forms?

Do you ever intentionally or unintentionally have product placements in your fics?
Unintentionally? Never!
Intentionally? Well...

I love certain forms of product placement. And I like it even more when I can use product placement to make a social critique, a parody of something, or a veiled recommendation of things that I think should be the best.
For example, chocolate and mint brands used to show up in some of my old shames fics. I just released the second part of "Sixth" and it has a niftty Pokémon meta-product placement that I decided to throw in there because that part was too boring.
Linux and some particular software names show up in some of my fics, for example when a character brings up a notebook it shows "Ubuntu Krusty Krabby" (ZOMG! Double product placement!) or something, or if I'm writing FF-verse, the Galbadian army's missile system runs on "Microsort IIS". One of my FF characters feeds chocobos with "Armageddon Worms". In my vision of the FF7-verse ShinRa got to their position of power after easily overpowering a business alliance between "Shill" and "Mobel". Stupid things like that.

Actually, because I read this thread I decided to add a little nitpick in a character's personality in the aforementioned fic that I think counts as product placement. I just hope people gets the mock joke.

And yes I was self-promoting myself. I just updated the announcement thread as well so, yes, there's new content for "Sixth".

It's a shame that NG is leaving. I kinda like the guy, and wonder what his new name means...

[Bay Alexison]

Do you ever intentionally or unintentionally have product placements in your fics?
The only product placement I did was a Pokemonized version of Countrytime Lemonade called Sunyshore City Lemonade in Chapter 11 of NE. Many reviewers actually thought I'll use that as a health item (I used a soda, instead). XD Geez, lemonade can be used for drinking too. XD

Speaking of lemonade, I want some now because it's really hot at Cali now. >.>;

[JX Valentine]

Do you ever intentionally or unintentionally have product placements in your fics?

The Pokémon Storage and Retrieval System runs on Windows.

The only time I brought up any sort of brand was in describing Rose. She's into all things cute and pink, so she's wearing a Hello Skitty shirt. Other than that, never really had a reason to.

[Vigilante]

Oh my god it is extremely hot... not so much now as a few hours ago. Like a 108 degrees and stuff. I am gonna melt.

[Feign]

Man... I love heat that hot... I miss 115F I miss Australia, and Indonesia.

[Vigilante]

I hate the heatt, I'd wanna be frozen to death, not barbecued.

[JX Valentine]

...You're a hellchild, and you want to be frozen to death?

Dammit. Where's my eyebrow-raise emoticon when I need it?

[Misheard Whisper]

'Hello Skitty'? That, I must admit, is pure unadulterated win.

The closest I got was Tyson's T-shirt, which has an exploding Voltorb on it and the word 'Armageddon'. Although . . . the laptops may have something in the future.

[dotKarma]

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon

'Hello Skitty'? That, I must admit, is pure unadulterated win.

Agreed. I never thought of putting little things like that in to make it work.

I was wondering if you all recommended any fanfics that I should read. I'm going on a trip soon and I need to stock up my r4 with a bunch of stories I could read while I'm away

*and without a computer :( *

[Feign]

Its something you'd have to pick and choose at this point

Perhaps start with ones that are near the top of the list of the main fic board, or click on people's sigs. Or just random click/search.

[Misheard Whisper]

Mine. No, honestly? Um, Jax's Anima Ex Machina is good, although I've only read a couple of chapters. Dragonfree's The Quest for the Legends is an excellent example of what can be done with an OT fic if you know your stuff, but I don't think she updates it here, so you'd have to try Serebii. If you venture in there, though, take a wide-bore double-barrelled shotgun, seven cans of pepper spray and an Escape Rope. Don't forget the gas mask.