Fanfiction Lounge

[TurtleKing]

Do you tend to make your protagonist the same gender as yourself?

Well, my fic switches main characters. In the first volume, Diamond (Male) , was the lead character. In Volume 2, Dawn (Female), is the lead character. Though I don't know how a girl thinks, it helps to ask other girls.

 

[Astinus]

Good grief, I leave for one night and 3 new topics are posted...you guys need lives xD

Hey! Hey! Where can I buy one?

Do you tend to make your protagonist the same gender as yourself?
I do, actually, if it's an original character. But for canon characters, I feel more comfortable writing as males. So it's a rather odd thing. But my two original characters are female.

What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?
(Gods, Alter Ego. What's with the wordiness?) I think about what end I want to achieve, and I think of the beginning. Then I plop my characters into the story and let them go from there, letting them reach the end any way they want to. I try not to interfere too much with them.

(How awful. I forgot about Stella. Sorry, Saff! *shoots her own legs to act like a shield.)

Do you like reading/reviewing fanfics or one shots better?
Anything. Give me a story and I'm there. Maybe. If school and work aren't all "rar".

 

[Dragonfree]

Hmm, I didn't notice this until now.

Do you like to keep your fics going with sequels and/or prequels?
I write spin-offs to go in-depth into other characters, but I'm not one to pick up a fic after it has ended and specifically make up a sequel/prequel for the sake of making a sequel/prequel. If one story needs to be split into multiple parts or branches, I'll do that, but I won't go invent a new story about the same characters after the first is over.

Basically, if I write many stories about the same characters, I write them to make the telling of a single story more complete and expansive. I don't write "The Quest for the Legends 2" to cash in on the original's success. ;) Similar to what Psychic was saying, really.


Who is your favorite character in a fanfiction on this forum, other than one of your owns?
I haven't really read enough fics here to know. :/


Do you tend to make your protagonist the same gender as yourself?
Actually, I tend to make them guys for some reason, even though I'm a girl. Maybe I'm just so used to reading fiction about boys or something.


What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?
When I write a story, the first things I think of tend to be the beginning, the end and maybe some random scenes in the middle, but the rest has to make itself up as I go along. Admittedly that's one of the things I absolutely can't do, because I can't stretch out the storyline to make something other than those few things happen in it, and in The Quest for the Legends the end has been evolving as I've gone along and gotten things more fleshed out, so technically what I should do is make it up as I go along. :/


Do you like reading/reviewing fanfics or one shots better?
I love reading a good chaptered fic with an intriguing plot, but I just have this annoying tendency to fall behind. ><;

 

[TurtleKing]

I don't want to sound like a party-pooper, but am I the only one tired of the questions? :/

 

[Scarlet Weather]

I don't want to sound like a party-pooper, but am I the only one tired of the questions? :/

They're pretty much the whole thing of what this subsection is about. Well, that and "PLEASE REVIEW MY FIC!" shouting, which is generally looked down upon. *sweatdrop*

In plot writing? I prioritize pretty much whatever works. I've got one bloody fanfic in progress and I don't want to lose interest. I remember a famous author once said something along the lines of "I write only when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired every morning at nine o' clock." With me, it's the same thing, just with "nine o' clock" changed to "whenever something else isn't eating my free time."

To answer my own question, while I do have quite a few male protagonists in my first fic draft I also have several female leads. That's the problem with making Pokemon heavy on the intelligent side: too many dang characters to keep track of, even if most of them are static.

And I like reviewing fanfics better than one-shots, but only when I'm not behind on reviewing. Fanfics generally get my priority when reviewing. As for my reasoning.... I'm not really all that sure. XD

 

[Astinus]

I don't want to sound like a party-pooper, but am I the only one tired of the questions? :/

Eh, they're interesting, and they allow an insight into the mind of the authors. Plus, they bring some needed activity to this section. I like reading everyone's responses, since with these writers, I know diddly-squat about them and their stories. So it's interesting to read how people go about writing.

Ah, here's something that ACC-M's post brought to mind.

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?

With me, I don't try to force my writing. So I sit around waiting for something interesting to come to mind, and then I start to write wherever I am. There's no way I could sit down at my computer or my desk every day and try to get something written. I get distracted too easily. Plus, as I said, I don't want to force my writing.

Well, that and "PLEASE REVIEW MY FIC!" shouting, which is generally looked down upon. *sweatdrop*

^^; Ah, it's allowed, just not every five seconds.

 

[Andelc]

Whats fanfiction? I know its like writing or something

 

[Astinus]

Fanfiction is when a fan of a show/anime/book/anything wants to take the world created and explore it some more through writing. Like for those in this section, we explore more about the Pokemon world with our writing.

Fan fiction (also commonly spelled as fanfiction and frequently abbreviated to fanfic or occasionally just FF or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fiction about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creators. Fan fiction usually describes works that are uncommissioned and unauthorized by the owner/creators and publishers of the original and usually (but not always) works which are not professionally published.

It's just stories based on something that someone else created.

 

[Bay]

Do you tend to make your protagonist the same gender as yourself?

Not really. In my old fics, "Heart of the Sea" and "Take Fifty Five!", the main protagonists is male. In "Nothing, Everything" though, the main protagonist is female.


What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?

Yeah, I pretty much figure out the ending and themes of the story and then go from there. However, when I get to the ending, it ALWAYS ended differently than what I originally plan. It could be a chance even though I finished "Nothing, Everything", the ending might be changed again, seeing I think I could have make the ending deeper. XD

Do you like reading/reviewing fanfics or one shots better?

Like Sike, have no preference whatsoever. It depends on the quality of either of those two. ^^

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?

I pretty much wait for inspiration. Like for instance, "Nothing, Everything" I was so inspired to write it that I was able to finish it during my summer break. Now I have to go through the editing process. XD

And Griff...I pretty much have a busy life, with school and work taking up a lot of my time. XD

 

[Haruka of Hoenn]

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?
I just wait until I'm inspired to write about something. When I 'force' myself to write, I don't get any fresh ideas. It just comes naturally to me, I guess.

Do you tend to make your protagonist the same gender as yourself?
Yes, for some reason I do...

Do you like reading/reviewing fanfics or one shots better?
It doesn't really matter to me, as long as they're interesting and of good quality.

What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?
I start out, basically, with the idea of the main problem in the story, and what it's gonna be about. Then, I think of the climax and the ending, and after that I actually begin to write!

P.S. Chapter 2 of my fic is up! Come check it out! :)

 

[JX Valentine]

Woohoo! New question to answer!

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?

Kinda. Most of the time, I write whenever my mood is like, "MUST WRITE." It's not really so much "I'm bored and need something to do" as it is I just get in that sort of mood.

Unfortunately, this mood most often comes in the dead of night or during classes to the point where those are almost like my set times. Yes, I write fanfiction in class and somehow pass. I don't recommend this to anyone, but, uh, it happens.

 

[Noah Fowl EX]

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?

For me, that is a really good question... I normally write from about one A.M to five AM, that's my fixed time, but when I can't think of anything I'll just drift off and continue on when inspiration strikes me...

Do you tend to make your protagonist the same gender as yourself?

No... I choose the protagonist at random, normally... I mean, does it matter whether it's a girl or a boy? Sometimes, but most times it could be both.

What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?

I see what is coming, and I aim towards there... When I have the first draft done I refurbish the plot and rewrite the draft... So I suppose I aim towards the end...

Now, here is a question that some of you may not understand, but for those who do, answers would really be appreciated...

When your characters are talking through though, do you write with speech marks or through italics?

 

[JX Valentine]

When your characters are talking through though, do you write with speech marks or through italics?

I used to do single quotes back when I only had Works and Notepad while FFNet only accepted TXT, HTML (which was too much of a pain to code at the time), or DOCs. However, after getting Word and starting to spend a bit more time in the proofreading process (which allows me to go in and insert BBCode if I need to italicize), I feel as if it's easier to tell if someone's thinking by using italics, rather than any form of quotation mark at all so as to avoid confusing the reader by making them think you just didn't hit the shift key in the right place. That and it's the norm in writing. Most published works that I can think of off the top of my head tend to use italics for thought (if they show what characters are thinking at all).

 

[Dragonfree]

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?
I write when I'm in the mood to write. This gets annoying because then there are long periods where I'm not in the mood to write and write practically nothing. :/ Sometimes I force myself to write when I'm not in the mood, but generally it turns out awful when I do that.

 

[purple_drake]

*mumbles something about stupid Internet connections which randomly throw you off and don't let you back on*

I need to start coming online during the night, this place gets really busy then. ._.

Do you like to keep your fics going with sequels and/or prequels?

Knew there was a topic I was forgetting that I wanted to reply to. ._.

Like others have said, I don't write prequels and sequels just for the sake of it... but it quite often happens that story I have ideas for ends up so big that it needs to branch out into a sequel/prequel anyway. 'Choice and Consequence' was originally meant to be a standalone journey-fic, but then I started getting ideas for the protagonist's background and realized a prequel one-shot would be needed in order to explain it... and then when I was writing the first few chapters, something which was originally intended to be a single-use plot device ended up being a major part of the plotline itself--so big that I realized I needed a sequel to finish telling its story.

What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?

Well, most of the time my story ideas come from a single scene--usually a battle/major dramatic revelation--which I think has a lot of potential and is usually the kind of thing which comes at--or near--the end. Then I start spinning backwards to find out how the characters got to that situation in the first place.

So as a result, I always know what's going to happen at the end. It's the middle that I get caught with. ^.^;; That said, if the story demands that the end be changed for one reason or another, I will generally change it, so I'm not dead-set on keeping the original idea.

Do you like reading/reviewing fanfics or one shots better?

Oooh, tough question... In terms of reading, it depends on what mood I'm in. Sometimes I might just feel like an epic and go into a long chaptered fic, but then afterwards I tend to be exhausted (especially if it's really well-written and gets me really into it; adrenaline rushes, gah) and get stuck in a slump for a few days during which I'll only read one-shots. If I'm bored and just want something to distract me from what I'm supposed to be doing, then I'll just go for the short and sweet stuff.

In terms of reviewing, I think I usually go with fanfics, although I'm not entirely sure why, considering how lousy I am at reviewing regularly. Too much of a closet reader. ^.^;;

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?

Well, I have no set writing time, but I don't exactly wait for inspiration to strike either. If I'm on the computer I'll always have the document of whichever story I want to write more on open, so if I manage to force myself to write or I do get inspiration then it's there and ready. If I'm not on the computer (which is more often these days, since my laptop died and I'm sharing the computer with my sister <_< ) then I'll have a notebook nearby so I can handwrite it instead.

Plus, whenever I go out somewhere, even just for a drive in the car, I take a little notebook with me to jot down notes as they come. When inspiration does hit me, though, I can write pages in a day and keep going for weeks... and then when it dries up I can have trouble writing for months afterwards. <_<

When your characters are talking through though, do you write with speech marks or through italics?

Italics. I'm pretty sure it's the accepted norm, although I think I have seen texts where people use single speech marks in addition to italics, but since I use that to denote telepathy I've chosen the other route.

 

[Astinus]

Yes, I write fanfiction in class and somehow pass. I don't recommend this to anyone, but, uh, it happens.

Unless you're in college. Then it doesn't matter if you write in class. Because your teachers think that you are taking notes and are genuinely interested in the material. I just have to watch out because one of my teachers stands close to my desk to read what I'm writing (he finds it fascinating), so I have to cover up my non-notes with my arm.

Okay. Enough about school.

When your characters are talking through thought, do you write with speech marks or through italics?
Neither. Since I handwrite my stories, I just write my character's thoughts. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do when I type my chapters up. Of course, since most of the books that I read don't separate the thoughts from the regular narration in anyway (since pretty much all that I read are books in third-person limited) I picked up the habit of leaving thoughts alone. People will probably shoot me when they read my fics because of that.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

When your characters are talking through thought, do you write with speech marks or through italics?
I do both, putting the thoughts in italics then throwing speech quotes around them. It's how I learned to do it in middle school, and old habits die hard.

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?
I write whenever I have time and whenever I feel motivated. Which hopefully will be more often now that finals are over:)

Do you like reading/reviewing fanfics or one shots better?
If I'm strapped for time I won't read 15 chapters to catch up on a fic. But usually, I read chapter by chapter once I am caught up, so at that point I really have no preference.

What do you prioritize in plot writing? Do you start by figuring out the ending/big theme and work your way towards it with the chapters or do you just decide on the story as you go, leaving the ending open until it's time to write it?
A little of both. I have the basic skeleton of my plot already planned, but already I've stuck numerous additional scenes, sidequests, and diversions in it to mix things up, things that were not in my initial plans. As for the actual ending of mine, it's still in the air since I'm 20-odd chapters away from it still. I have a general idea of what I want to happen, but I'm still debating how I'll pull it off.

And with that, I must announce that there is a POSSIBILITY that I will be online very little for the next three and a half weeks.

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

When your characters are talking through thought, do you write with speech marks or through italics?

In third person I use speech marks+italics, in first person it's just italics. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

 

[Duncan McNeil]

When your characters are talking through thought, do you write with speech marks or through italics?

Both. Italics for thought, and speech marks for things they say out loud.

Does anyone have a set writing time every day? Or do you wait for inspiration to strike before sitting?

Well...I usually can write some in the mornings, but the majority of my writing is late night when everything gets quiet and I can finally get to work. Even though I do have plenty of time on the computer at one place or the other, I'm usually just reviewing fics instead of writing mine. Yeah...

To all the readers/reviewers of Legends of Sinnoh, the epilogue is up! Yeah...

 

[Eruption]

My first chapter of Magma is up.

I hope you guys like it.

When your characters are talking through thought, do you write with speech marks or through italics?

Neither. I use 'Insert thought here'