Fanfiction Lounge

[Frostweaver]

I don't want to sidetrack the current discussions, but I'd like to thank Frostweaver for the review of the first few chapters of my fan fic. I have read and taken advantage of each piece of advice you've given. I will definitely go back and keep proofreading what I've already written as well as apply these pointers to future chapters. I've read several of the fics posted on the forum and I have to say that most of them are much better than mine. Thank you very much for taking the time to critique mine.

I wasn't even through with ch.1 though... >>; I just stopped after when Calvin first encountered the Rockets at Viridian... It's not complete. When I do, I always, always, send a PM to notify the reader about it. Since I haven't PMed you (yet), that means I'm not finished ^^;;;

PS: I just checked the story, and the current review only read up to 10 paragraphs or so, lol XD;

 

[Aegis]

Lol, really... Just say that it can't be broken ;p

Those who aren't ready to distinguish when rules can be bent slightly, will listen to it, and therefore will have a relatively high minimal quality to the story at the very least. Those who know what they are talking about will instantly understand what the rule is referring to, and thus will safely ignore it for the more risky path for an even better story.

Better to write it out as "absolute" if you get what I mean ;p

Wow... you an English teacher or something? xD, nah I'm just kidding.

I can usually distinguish when they can be bent, but sometimes I can't, so I just don't. But when I do that it always seems like my plotline is all messed up. That's why it is taking me so long to write another fan fic worthy of posting.

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Lol, really... Just say that it can't be broken ;p

Those who aren't ready to distinguish when rules can be bent slightly, will listen to it, and therefore will have a relatively high minimal quality to the story at the very least. Those who know what they are talking about will instantly understand what the rule is referring to, and thus will safely ignore it for the more risky path for an even better story.

Better to write it out as "absolute" if you get what I mean ;p

Well, I've taken every English class in my college and am an old lady of twenty-three so I sure better know that by now ;). My trouble is that my poor spelling skills, due to my learning disability, hold me back for fear of people simply calling me 'lazy' for not getting something right, which I can't even see is wrong with my dyslexia... and everything else:P.

But I guess it is better to be truly trying and make mistakes than be so afraid to make mistakes you never try at all ;)

 

[Frostweaver]

You don't look like you have any learning disabilities holding you back to me o.O;;;

Meh I'm not so strict about grammar myself... Usually when I write a review and back then tried to catch all the mistakes, someone always come afterward and find double the amount as me when it comes to grammar/spelling XD

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

You don't look like you have any learning disabilities holding you back to me o.O;;;

Meh I'm not so strict about grammar myself... Usually when I write a review and back then tried to catch all the mistakes, someone always come afterward and find double the amount as me when it comes to grammar/spelling XD

Then I did I good job of fooling you ;). But trust me I have troubles that ever spell cheack cannot answer..It is my own lanege ;).

 

[Frostweaver]

Then I did I good job of fooling you ;). But trust me I have troubles that ever spell cheack cannot answer..It is my own lanege ;).

It's not too bad, just as long as we try to be careful, it'll eventually fix itself. Surely in review fixes, I personally think that grammar/spelling checks are much easier to do for most people than the other elements in a review. So, I pay the least attention to grammar/spelling, and instead stuck with the other elements to it ^_^;

Yay finally done ch.1 of the story for the review *whew* ;o;
2 more chapters to go before that review is finished...

Is it just me or is this place getting more popular and more active again? ^^

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

It's not too bad, just as long as we try to be careful, it'll eventually fix itself. Surely in review fixes, I personally think that grammar/spelling checks are much easier to do for most people than the other elements in a review. So, I pay the least attention to grammar/spelling, and instead stuck with the other elements to it ^_^;

Yay finally done ch.1 of the story for the review *whew* ;o;
2 more chapters to go before that review is finished...

Is it just me or is this place getting more popular and more active again? ^^

Well, I know my spelling troubles will never go away, that is why I have a speech to text program to :) So I can finally use my whole vocabulary. Knowing what a words means and how to use it, but not how to spell it enough to get the first two letters in order is the worst feeling in the world :(. I get that feeling every 2nd word alot of the time but with my speech program I feel so much freer, it's so wonderful :D.
I think people are coming back becuase you are here, an old reveiwer always brings hope to the forum :)

 

[Scarlet Weather]

I wouldn't know- this place was dead when I first came here.

*tumbleweed tumbles by*

See? SEE?

*Is shot for using all caps*

Ow.... yeah, one of my biggest writing flaws. Caps lock angst- not to mention Evil Typo Syndrome (ETS). The only way I can treat it is to write my stories on a word document. Yeah.

 

[Aegis]

Well, I know my spelling troubles will never go away, that is why I have a speech to text program to :) So I can finally use my whole vocabulary. Knowing what a words means and how to use it, but not how to spell it enough to get the first two letters in order is the worst feeling in the world :(. I get that feeling every 2nd word alot of the time but with my speech program I feel so much freer, it's so wonderful :D.
I think people are coming back becuase you are here, an old reveiwer always brings hope to the forum :)

Yeah, I think it is. But Frostweaver, have you ever posted a story here? *strains brain to remember* I'd like to read one of your stories.

My biggest writing thing is typing way to fast, so I make lots of mistakes all the time

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Hmmm..I noticed that the rules say nothing about bumping your fic due answering a reveiw, which I just did becuase I left for a break from the forums before they posted it a month or so ago. I could take it off if it is an awful thing to do, but they are one of the few reveiws of my fic I got here :(

 

[Lily]

Frosty wrote tons of stories before...heck, I'll fetch them for you!

*stalk*

 

[Dragonfree]

o_o Frostweaver is teh back! *goes to glomp severely and stuff* :D

 

[Scarlet Weather]

0_0 I have seen Dragonfree post! *falls to the floor in a dead faint*

Char: ACC? You aren't dead yet, are you?

ACC: No... why?

Char: I was going to ask if I could write the next chapter of your fanfic if you were.

ACC: No.

Char: Ah, well, can't win 'em all.

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

About the 'The Story Will Get Better' 'sin'...I actually think that it is not always a bad thing.

Of course if you are using it as a way of making up for your writing skill (like spelling) being awful at the start it is a writing sin as it should be edited before hand but...

If you beginning is a little bit boring or everyday it can be used to highlight exciting fantasy moments/lands/creatures in contrast and really make you story shine.

By starting with something your reader knows a lot about and then slowly feeding in details that you make up that are more interesting it can also suspend some disbelief and move the story forward.

If you start the story at the 'interesting' part all the time your plot will always be working hard to recapture and top that beginning again and again. Unless the writer is very good and skilled that is one reason stories burn out and are never finished.

So the more slow beginnings are helpful for newer authors to work with, and I really don't mind stories that 'get better' if they are well written :)

 

[Frostweaver]

About the 'The Story Will Get Better' 'sin'...I actually think that it is not always a bad thing.

Of course if you are using it as a way of making up for your writing skill (like spelling) being awful at the start it is a writing sin as it should be edited before hand but...

If you beginning is a little bit boring or everyday it can be used to highlight exciting fantasy moments/lands/creatures in contrast and really make you story shine.

By starting with something your reader knows a lot about and then slowly feeding in details that you make up that are more interesting it can also suspend some disbelief and move the story forward.

If you start the story at the 'interesting' part all the time your plot will always be working hard to recapture and top that beginning again and again. Unless the writer is very good and skilled that is one reason stories burn out and are never finished.

So the more slow beginnings are helpful for newer authors to work with, and I really don't mind stories that 'get better' if they are well written :)

I agree with what you're saying, except...

Slow beginning =/= bad beginning ;p

If everything starts slowly, then surely it starts slow because the author is setting up for something, and it is all considered necessary. Your writing can be brilliant even when the plot starts slowly. Doubt she's here now, but Nekomajo Asunya always tried to have really exciting parts of the story to lead off, mostly dealing with battles or cliffhangers... but surprisingly, the "boring, slow, plot-less" shopping scene of just buying potions was widely regarded as the best part of that particular arc of the story ;p

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Well, I'm only saying that when most people say 'it gets better' most of the time they are saying that because their beginnings are slow or don't make sense to began with, but get 'better' a little later when that part clicks together with everything else.

I actually really like authors notes before a story because I get a feeling for the sort of person the author is and how they feel about writing and the background of say, where they got their idea for the plot.

I don't see the 'it gets better' comment as a sign of weakness, that would be the 'I will not post another chapter until I have ten reviews' comment, or the 'Submit your character to be in my story' thingies :P. A fanfic is a fanfic, not an RPG ,and people should be able to make their own characters :)

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Well, I'm only saying that when most people say 'it gets better' most of the time they are saying that because their beginnings are slow or don't make sense to began with, but get 'better' a little later when that part clicks together with everything else.

I actually really like authors notes before a story because I get a feeling for the sort of person the author is and how they feel about writing and the background of say, where they got their idea for the plot.

I don't see the 'it gets better' comment as a sign of weakness, that would be the 'I will not post another chapter until I have ten reviews' comment, or the 'Submit your character to be in my story' thingies . A fanfic is a fanfic, not an RPG ,and people should be able to make their own characters

Tell me about it. I actually see the whole "it gets better" comment as a sign of weakness only in that form. Let me put it this way- an author who knows the beggining is slow will not say "It gets better", he will go out and revise the beggining, or he will make the meat of the story hugely good. Yeah. Either way, he will not say "It gets better" like that. On the other hand, comments like "I don't like the beggining much" and "this isn't the best part" are often signs that the fic is good, since it shows that the author has reviewed his or her own work. Kapish?

Anyway, on to the whole "give me characters!" thing. That is a problem. Madii-chan has a major problem with people wanting to do that. She shouldn't have accepted Ian to begin with, and now everyone who reads the story wants their character to be inserted. You'd think these people could just join her roleplay....

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Most of my chapters that seem to not make sense only don't seem to make sense to people that are not use to looking deeper at a story that just the first level. I think that I nearly spell what the plot is about to anyone who is use to reading hints in a story but I've found that I have to state things in a simple way later on for the younger readers to 'get' it :). I think that even in most adult fiction nowadays people are too use to being spoon fed plot and look for the same thing in fanfic:P

 

[Frostweaver]

Young readers will take the story in one way and enjoy it if the story is good, while the older readers will read the story and think that it's even better due to their higher interpretative skill. Surely the 10 year olds try to read Lord of the Rings, and fail miserably to understand the deeper meaning in comparison to their 18 year old siblings, but both age group will enjoy it nevertheless because for a good story, they'll both find something that they enjoy.

So, I personally won't consider age/skill to be a reason for spoon feeding or weak author's notes in the beginning either ;p

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Authors notes are good if you are the sort of person that likes them ;).

And as much as a lot of people would like to think age is not an issue with spoon feeding detail at times it can't be helped. More and more young people aren't reading as much, and the reading level of most books is middle school or less for many new adult books, even with mature subject matter.

Of course just because you spoon feed does not mean it has to be written badly ;). It's a balance, you don't want to talk down to your readers but you don't want to act like they are stupid ether.

If you write a fanfic and it looks like a thesaurus got sick and blew up on your paper, all because you want to do everything but use the simple word 'said', I think that is overdoing things a bit ;) There is nothing about using simpler words now and again that make you any less of a skilled writer :)