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What kind of personality do you like to see in a character? What quirks or attitudes do you like to give your characters?
I have a real thing for weakness and failure. Proud characters who eventually break down, characters with deep-rooted beliefs that they end up violating, characters who are completely helpless against what's happening to them, characters who turn out to have been gravely wrong for most of their lives, characters who had great plans but failed to execute them as intended and got themselves into deep trouble that way... in general, the more I'm reminded that the character is human (in the metaphorical sense; this applies just as well to non-human characters) and flawed, the more I like the character. I tend to pile these kinds of things onto my characters while writing - not quite all of them, but at least half of my major characters suffer from something in this direction, whether that has actually been revealed or not.
Do you use romance in fanfiction often? Is it a main theme or is it a side plot? Is it limited to human characters only?
Not often, no. I'm not a fan of romance, so it doesn't come to me automatically; if I want it to be in there I generally have to think about it. That said, since it's a part of life, it's not something that I intend to cut out when there's a place for it. It just wouldn't be a main theme.
And it generally would be limited to human characters, yes. Someone else has already said this, I think, but I can't really see pokemon 'falling in love' the same way humans do. That's not to say I'm going to ignore pokemon mating, but love and sex are two different things and I generally see pokemon as having, in some ways, more basic emotions than humans. Sure, they might get attached to each other, and some might mate for life, but I still wouldn't classify it as 'romance', at least not the way humans would see it.
What do you think is the most effective POV to write in, and why?
I think we've had this topic before... or something similar to it, anyways.
Like people've said, it depends on what the story's about. Some stories are better in some PoVs, and other stories are better in other ones. That said, my personal preference is third person limited, because it means you can get in relatively close to a character's mind and thoughts but still be far enough away that you're not limited to writing only that character.
What kind of personality do you like to see in a character? What quirks or attitudes do you like to give your characters?
And this question sounds familiar too.
Uhm... I can't remember how I answered the last time, but it's still kinda difficult for me to say. ^.^;; A character is a character, really... if they're well-rounded then I tend to like them. I like too many kinds (and some of 'em are complete opposites) to be able to compare and pick which characterisations are my favourites. Plus, it sometimes depends on the character itself. Two characters (not necessarily from the same fandom/story) might have similar personalities, but I like one and not the other.
Although, I do like it when a character has an unexpected quirk--something you'd never expect of them. Like a big tough guy liking kittens, or something similar.
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
It depends. I tend to think that pokemon in general would have names, whether given to them by their parents or their pack or whatever. Like a pair of eevees in one of my fics--Bairn and Brother. They were owned by a trainer (who didn't give them nicknames) but are siblings, so they needed something to call each other. Brother's the older, protective one and Bairn's the younger, 'weaker' one, so their names kind of reflect the relationship they have with one another.
Of course, except in certain circumstances or with trainers who are particularly close to their pokemon, there's no way that the trainer would be able to know what the pokemon call themselves, so they call 'em what they'll call 'em. A pokemon would then accept the new name to reflect their change of identity (from being wild to a trainer's pokemon), the way Bairn does after he's captured. Although, if the pokemon resented being captured, or didn't like their trainer for whatever reason, they might not accept the nickname at all and continue calling themselves by their old one. :P
In terms of trainers giving nicknames, it depends on the trainer. Some do, some don't, and when they do it'll depend on their personality.
Spoiler:
For instance, in my story the protagonist has an eevee she named Hazel, an arcanine called Firefoot, a butterfree called Bramble (Bram for short), and a vaporeon named Tarn, which all kinda relate to characteristics the pokemon themselves possess. In another fic, the protagonist will be naming her pokemon after mythological deities--she'll be naming her persian Freya and her parasect Panacea, for instance.
Do you intend to give your characters any accents or dialects?
Well, I'd like to, but it hasn't really come up as something I can insert yet--at least not something that's relevant. If/when I do, I'd probably just go with the simplest route of giving each region their distinct dialects, with possible accents for certain areas, perhaps. Although I'd probably fudge on the description of each accent. XD
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
I may need to in order to distinguish between members of the same species of pokemon. If I have my characters calling for their pokemon while they're in a group of the same type of pokemon, the pokemon would naturally all think they were being individually addressed. The problem will be having the nicknames show up in the first place: right now, my characters' pokemon are solo in that no other members of the same species have been met, so there would be no need for nicknames.
Do you intend to give your characters any accents or dialects?
My characters speak in a quasi-old-english, so they kind of have a dialect. I may, however, make it more pronounced with the pokemon that speak in my fic: they're used to speaking in pokemon, if that makes sense, so they would have a hard time speaking english. I've already done this with one of the pokemon that has just gained the ability to speak to humans, as he doesn't know very many words yet. I don't think that's too spoiler-ish.
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
I do have planned for my main character to give nicknames to her Pokemon team. The first set, her team she starts out with, are named with words in the Gaelic language (which is also what I use for an "ancient" language in my version of the Pokemon world). I have all six named in my notes. And no, I won't be listing the names. :x
Do you intend to give your characters any accents or dialects?
Maybe, if it's needed. Or perhaps something for each region. But I won't actually write it out in dialogue, and force people to read paragraphs of a horribly done Scottish accent.
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
Bunny in "Nothing, Everything" nicknames her Pokemon, though I won't say why she uses those names as I hadn't mention it yet. :X
Do you intend to give your characters any accents or dialects?
Not really, unless Bunny speaking formally counts. XD
What kind of personality do you like to see in a character? What quirks or attitudes do you like to give your characters?
It depends on the nature of the fic and the roles the character plays in the fic. I like to see characters with intelligence. Stupidity doesn't do it unless they're intentionally stupid for comedic purposes. I like characters who have unique side interests that don't all relate to Pokemon - helps in creating the feel that there's more to life than just the pogeys.
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
No. In my region giving Pokemon nicknames is a federal felony that carries a minimum sentence of 62 years hard labor. Well, not really, but given the fact that I don't see the point of nicknames, coupled with the fact that I cannot come up with good nicknames to save my life, I tend to leave them out. I had a notion of having the villains refer to their Pokemon as "Battle Unit 76044" or something similar, but I decided to scrap that idea XD
Do you intend to give your characters any accents or dialects?
A husband and wife have a British and US Southern accent respectively. Random Pokemon Center attendees may also speak with accents, but that's about it.
No matter how admittingly fond I am of reading it and no matter many times I write it, I think I'll never find it easy to write. I'll probably always fret my brains out about making sure I pull it off well, and I'll probably always have something of a hard time carrying out the decision to put an end to a character since it's never a decision I make frivolously and since I always end up with some sort of sentimental attachment to my characters.
However fond of the character I may be, though, that won't save him/her/it if I've determined that character's death to be necessary or appropriate given the circumstances. If I think anyone else who'll be reading might object to or complain about the character's death... well, that's not enough to save the character, either. Similarly, I won't just go and kill a character off if I don't feel that it's necessary or appropriate for him/her/it to die, and I won't kill a character to please people who might like to see him/her/it die. I also won't kill a character off just to try and milk a reaction out of people.
Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
I don't consciously use religious symbolism, no. So if there's anything in my work that could be construed as religious symbolism, it's pure coincidence. The only possible parallel to any real-life religious beliefs that I think occurs in my own stories is in the form of one Pokémon culture that worships a deity whose form is that of their own species, as has been done in some real-life human religions. That aspect of those Pokémon's religion was not deliberately chosen to bring any real-life religions to mind or to make any statements about any actual religions, however, and I didn't intend it to be based on any actual religion in particular.
The religious beliefs of human characters in my fics isn't really explored, but I imagine that humans in the context of my stories vary in their beliefs just as they do in real life. I've had human characters use phrases like "oh, my God" and "what the hell", but I've left open the matter of what religious beliefs they actually have, if any.
Religious beliefs and practices of certain Pokémon cultures have been addressed more directly, but as is the case with the humans, there is no single belief system shared by all Pokémon in my fics. Quite often, there is no single belief system for any given individual species of Pokémon, either.
If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
Whenever human music appears, I personally like to think of it as being by some real-life artist, but since I don't mention the song title or artist by name, I'd say it's really left open to individual interpretation. Any kind of music belonging to a Pokémon culture that appears in one of my stories would, for the record, not be real-life music, but if anyone wanted to imagine it as coincidentally having the same melody as *insert real-life song* or being somehow reminiscent of some style or another of real-life music, I wouldn't bop that person over the head with a rolled-up newspaper or anything for it. XP
I do put quite a few little references to real-life music in my fics, but really just along the lines of pulling some chapter titles from the lyrics of actual songs or naming characters after actual musicians (by which I don't mean I'm giving characters the exact full names of any real-life musicians).
Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?
No, I don't use it. This is mostly because I've simply had no reason to use it, but also partly because, admittingly, really thinking about that particular subject makes me feel like my brain's going to implode. XD;
What is your favorite pokemon to write about/Which one would you most like to write about? Why?
Spoiler:
Pretty much any Pokémon that I've written about that happens to be one of my favorite Pokémon is one that I particularly enjoy writing about, such as Wobbuffet, Glalie, and Nosepass. Why I enjoy writing about those really is mostly just one of those "because I just do" sort of things, but the nature of their abilities is often a part of why I enjoy writing about them, too.
Porygon2 falls under the category of Pokémon I've enjoyed writing about due to the nature of its abilities, too. So does a species of Pokémon whose first appearance in my fics is in chapter 8 of Communication--I'm not going to identify that Pokémon species here just yet, though, not even under a spoiler tag. XP
Pokémon I would like to write about, but haven't... Banette's one of them, and so are Bronzong and Froslass. There are also some of my fake Pokémon that I'd like to write about, too, but only have a reason to use a couple of those.
Do you ever get that feeling in writing where you just don't want to write anymore?
Kind of. There are times when I don't feel like writing for one reason or another and don't know when I'll want to again, but I think I'm always aware to at least some degree that I won't ever let myself get away with quitting--I'd always wonder what might have been if only I'd finished what I'd started, and that's a kind of wondering that I don't enjoy.
Do you have any fics/one shots planned for the future? If so, what?
Spoiler:
I presently have one and only one fic planned for the future. Specifically, it's a chaptered Pokémon fic having to do with some of the characters from The Origin of Storms, as well as with some of the things that have been touched upon in my other fics but have never really been a main focus of the plot for either of those stories.
There is another idea for a fic that I've been kicking around for a little while, though: a chaptered fic having to do with a late '80s sci-fi movie called Arena. That, however, is still pretty much just a notion I've entertained--I wouldn't call it a plan at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if writing that became a plan, though. XP
I've also given thought to writing fics based on a couple of other fandoms, especially Space Ghost, but those are also just ideas at this point, not plans.
How do you deal with subtlety?
That's one of those things that I admittingly don't really think about consciously. ^^; So if I actually succeed in accomplishing it anywhere, I'm afraid that it's purely by accident. XD;
Do you use romance in fanfiction often? Is it a main theme or is it a side plot? Is it limited to human characters only?
It's been restricted to Pokémon, actually--I have yet to write romance involving humans, and I don't imagine that I ever will (unless I do decide to write that Arena fic someday...) since a.) I prefer to write about creatures other than humans, and b.) romance is really not one of my favorite things to write about--I'm just not as confident when it comes to writing that as I am when it comes to writing some other things, I'm afraid. ^^;
That hasn't stopped it from creeping into my fics, though. XD The Origin of Storms had a small number of couples that were shown to be or to have been romantically involved, and all of them (especially two of them in particular) actually ended up having some effect on the story even if none of the romantic elements were really the focus of the stories.
Spoiler:
The same goes for the romantic involvement that is shown to exist between some of the characters in Communication.
I think that the fact that romantic elements haven't been a main focus of either of the stories is part of what allowed me to actually be comfortable enough to write those things in there. The other thing that I think enabled me to be comfortable enough with that stuff was the fact that I was dealing with couples that either already were or no longer were couples at the time in the story that I wrote about them, with how they actually became couples never really explored in much detail since I didn't feel that the story really called for it.
Spoiler:
However... I am approaching a point in the story that I'm currently writing where I do feel that the story not only calls for that but demands it. This'll be my first time writing about a romantic relationship as it actually unfolds instead of writing about a couple that's already a couple, which is the aspect of writing romance that I've always found the most daunting.
Regardless of how I've felt about the notion of writing that kind of thing, though, I am going to write it--again, I really feel that it's too important in this case to leave out, and besides which I think that actually going for it is probably the best way that I could go about getting over my lack of confidence when it comes to writing such. Seeing as how I'm finding myself with much more of an idea of how to handle these characters in this situation than I'd expected I would have, I'm already starting to feel silly about having been such a chicken about this sort of thing. XD
What do you think is the most effective POV to write in, and why?
I think it varies from story to story, from author to author, from reader to reader... in short, I think there's no single most effective POV.
What kind of personality do you like to see in a character? What quirks or attitudes do you like to give your characters?
Any personality that I find especially memorable for any reason is a personality about which I especially enjoy reading. I love characters whose personalities make it unlikely that I'll forget them anytime soon. ^^
There aren't any particular attitudes that I prefer to give to characters (at least not consciously), and the same goes for quirks, though I will say that I definitely do enjoy giving quirks to characters ^^.
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
I usually refer to the Pokémon characters by the names given to them by their own kind, but people who train Pokémon or have them around for any reason are usually shown to give names to their Pokémon. If the human-given name is the only name the Pokémon has, he/she/it is always referred to by that name. If not, then the human might call the Pokémon by the "nickname", but the Pokémon will otherwise be referred to by its "original name".
In my fics, Pokémon-naming practices in my fics vary from human to human. For example, one of my human characters (specifically Morgan) often gives Pokémon names that she considers fitting for the species (such as Ominous for a Claydol and Raze for a Skarmory), but also sometimes names them after other humans or else just chooses a name that she thinks has a nice ring to it.
Do you intend to give your characters any accents or dialects?
I've occasionally referred to a character as having some kind of accent, though not in terms of comparing it to a real-world human accent or anything like that. Also, I prefer not to actually write out the effects of accents in the actual dialogue.
As for dialects, I don't believe I've ever used those, unless having the aforementioned Claydol's people never use contractions counts. XP
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples?
The only nickname inmy fic is one that the Pokemon gives to his trainer. The trainer's name is Lucius, but the Pokemon calls him Lucy.
What do you think is the most effective POV to write in, and why?
I find it a bit easier to write in first person because you can really flesh out the main character while having everyone else keep their secrets and ambitions.
Do you ever get that feeling in writing where you just don't want to write anymore?
Well actually, writer's block already has me in its deadly grips. I'm hoping my writing spirit will prevail by the end of Febuary.
What do you think is the most effective POV to write in, and why?
First person, you just get so much more, well, you're told so much more about the story and you can really, let me think, feel, the character's emotions and thoughts. I don't write in it because I just don't think I'm good enough yet.
Do you use Pokemon nicknames? If so, any particular examples
Yes, I do. Normally the name represents something. Like, in Operation Main Frame, the Lucario (that you only see at the second last chapter) is nicknamed Tempa. Tempa doesn't seem to have a meaning within the fic itself, which is why I'm planning on writing a one-shot about it.
Why do you use Pokemon nicknames?
When I was writing a fanfic, I ran into the problem of having two Pokemon on the same team that were the same species. (There were two Pikachu.) So I needed nicknames to tell the two apart in narration.
That fic died. But the idea of one character naming her Pokemon remained, so I kept it. The names became different, but the idea is the same. In case there are two Pokemon of the same species, the reader can tell them apart.
Well, Laertes, Augustus, and Aristophanes obviously have nicknames given by their trainer (why they're name after a character from Hamelet, a Roman Emperor, and a Greek writer of comedies are best known to Gale). That's not their real name (in fact, their real names are completely unpronounceable and untranslatable by humans or Pokemon outside their own species due to the fact that they speak a language composed of their own name). As far as that goes, Pokemon outside their own species don't usually refer to each other by name and simply use pronouns or generic ways of referring to them ("Comrade", "Friend", "Partner", "Enemy", etc.) So nicknames do exist in my fic, but they're really just a method for a trainer to talk to his Pokemon on a more personal level and make it easier for them to bond. The only Pokemon in my fic to have their real name revealed will be *SPOILER ERADICATION BLASTER*.
Speaking of fanfics, I've actually made progress in chapter two today and I maybe be able to actually post it before the end of February. Yay me!
How important is the title of a fic?
I find it to be quite important. An eye-catching title can draw in a lot of readers. I'm trying to look for something original to put for the title of my story. (like part of song lyrics)
How do you treat the subject of character death?
It'd be hard to kill off a major/popular character in a story, but it could also bring more attention/popularity.
A death near the end of a story does sound...a bit repetiitve to me, though. I think a few deaths throughout the course of a story would seem better.
A character death can be a good, or bad idea, depending on how you use it.
Speaking of your fanfic, I have three hours of free time on Valentine's Day (Oh, Hanako, the crazy things you do to give a card to someone), and unlimited Internet access at school, which means that I'll have time to review!
Since I can't play the Sims then. >>
How important is the title of a fic?
On forums, very important. We don't have the feature of also tossing in a quick summary of the story to catch readers' eyes, so title is pretty much everything. Have a horrible title, and people will click to see the train wreck of your fic. Have an interesting title, and people will click to hopefully read the engaging plot line that is your fic.
How do you deal with Pokemon nicknames?
In The Quest for the Legends, some trainers simply nickname their Pokémon and others don't, depending on their personal preference. Two of my human main characters call their Pokémon by their species names while one uses nicknames, and at least one minor character also uses nicknames.
In the fic universe, however, Pokémon also use nicknames for one another that each individual makes up to use for others (i.e. each individual has many names, one for each person who has made a name for them). This is what is used in my two Scyther spin-offs, and the names used in the narration are the names that the POV character uses for each character. The names are always words or composites of words due to the nature of the Pokémon language.
Why do you use Pokemon nicknames?
In The Quest for the Legends, I do it mostly to be realistic; I just figure that some Pokémon would give nicknames. There are a couple of scenes containing multiple individuals of the same Pokémon species; first there's a scene with three Scyther in it, which uses their own nicknames for one another as described above, and then there are several scenes with three Charizard, which are a little awkward as only one of them has a nickname, but thankfully the ones without nicknames are of different genders and have different trainers, allowing me to use "the male Charizard", "the female Charizard", "Mark's Charizard" or "Carl's Charizard". Neither character would use nicknames, and I place the characterization above possible conveniences like being able to identify different individuals of the same species.
How important is the title of a fic?
Important (sadly, since I'm terrible at titles). I often cringe when at the end of a movie trailer the title turns out to be something awful, and the same applies to fanfics although I don't read as many of them as I'd like to at all.
Well, I don't usually use Pokemon nicknames, but in "Nothing, Everything"...
Spoiler:
It's use to show a part of Bunny's personality. :X
How important is the title of a fic?
Like everyone else, I beleve it's important as it'll grab the reader's attention. I actually have a few people love the title "Nothing, Everything". XD Pretty much that's the only good title I came up with for my fics. XD
Now to answer my question. Well, there was a fic out there called "Pokemon Academy" by Bluntasaur. Seeing that, made me want to write the fic that I have now. And what happened after 29 chapters of my fic? My fic has almost as much views as the author of said fic does! Still, I pay my respect to Bluntasaur for inspiring me to write. I'm really glad he did!
Who/What inspired you to write your fic?
Heh, I was going to make a topic just like that.
The idea just came into my mind one day. I got some good ideas for a touching friendship/bonding kind of story, but I didn't really get inspired to do it until I read "Treecko and Champ: Oore". :)
Dachampster inspired me a little, that's about it.
Well I came up with the initial idea hen lying in bed after waking up on days weekends before the summer. I was also inspired to write by Dachampster as well as this other guy "cloudmeister"/"Ryou###" on FF.net/PE2K respectively. The show did as well.
