Fanfiction Lounge

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

For chapter titles I kind of went through phases. For a few of the first chapters I had the "_____ of a _____" as well as a few unthemed chapter titles. After that, I started to put song title's/lyrics in titles and they all had double (and the rare triple) meanings. Now I'm into the one word titles which are ambiguous and have double+ meaningn.

So basically, I find themed chapter names interesting as long as they pertain to the story.

 

[TurtleKing]

If you mean the "OMG plz rite more!" variety, I don't really mind them, though I usually tend to want more. I mean, I prefer a review that's a paragraph or two because then they actually say something about my fic, but I'm really not going to track down and slay the first born of anyone who just posts a one-liner review.

Besides, sometimes, they can be entertaining. Like the ones that have either asked what a Shakespeare fic is doing in the Pokemon section or have otherwise mistaken Midsummer Knights for being a medieval Pokemon fic. (This has happened I think two or three times.) Or the AAMLer who said Ash x Misty was funny... in an Ash x Max story. Generally, it's the ones that don't actually read the fic that are some of the most amusing comments I get.

Ugh, I don't find them amusing. I'm thankful that they took the time out to comment about my fic, but when it's constantly the same reply after every chapter, "OHMIGOD!!! AWESOME! MORE MORE MORE! NOW NOW NOW!!!" It gets soooo annoying.

 

[Dragonfree]

In The Quest for the Legends, my chapter titles are just something random describing some major theme of the chapter and are generally really bad. In Morphic I'm not naming chapters at all and like that much better.

In Scyther's Story and The Fall of a Leader, I split them into seven "parts", each one containing a number of "chapters". The chapters were only numbered, but the parts had names and I generally think I did a far better job with those titles than the chapter titles of The Quest for the Legends. Each part revolves around one particular arc of the story which is very clearly about something in particular, so they're a lot easier to name; mostly they're single-worded, representing individual characters or concepts that the part centers around.

 

[Gummy]

How do you feel about "n00b" comments about your fic?

When you have a fic that barely gets any reviews, you'll come to embrace these. Back when I was writing Mission Pokemon, these "n00b" comments were what kept me writing and if it wasn't for writer's block, that fic would probably be finished.

New question: Do you welcome the use of legendary Pokemon in your fic(s) or try to stay away from them?

No matter how many people say legends are cliches, you have to admit that they are interesting to write/read about.

 

[Dragonfree]

How do you feel about "n00b" comments about your fic?

They annoy me because they don't really tell me that the person read the fic and generally give the impression that the person would have said that about any fic. The reviews that really make me happy are long reviews that actually tell me something, such as by coming up with a particularly spot-on suggestion on exactly how something could be improved or even just pointing out a general problem that I'd never noticed or something, or in fact if you point out something in particular that I hadn't thought much about that you thought was done particularly well and would like to see more of. Reviews that really tell me something are the ones that make me start bouncing in my chair and feel all happy and squee-like and motivated. "plz update more" reviews are just... well, a let-down, because I see the thread has been bumped to the front page but then it turns out to be somebody telling me absolutely nothing. I honestly don't think they're any better than no reviews at all.

Do you welcome the use of legendary Pokemon in your fic(s) or try to stay away from them?

The Quest for the Legends (obviously) involves the legendaries and I'm having a lot of fun with that, but in my other fics I haven't used legendaries much because I tend to be more interested in more ordinary characters. I don't really mind either way, though.

 

[JX Valentine]

Ugh, I don't find them amusing. I'm thankful that they took the time out to comment about my fic, but when it's constantly the same reply after every chapter, "OHMIGOD!!! AWESOME! MORE MORE MORE! NOW NOW NOW!!!" It gets soooo annoying.

Oh, those ones, I really don't find amusing either. It's the ones that are written by someone who obviously didn't read the story that make me chuckle... because then I can reply to them and tell them that they may want to read the rest of the story.

I do agree that they don't say anything about the fic and that they can be a little grating if they're repetitive, but it could be worse. They could be trolling the review box. (I've had reviews from someone who was most likely a troll. They were lengthy and nonsensical, and I still can't make heads or tails of them.) And for that reason, I just let one-liners go.

Do you welcome the use of legendary Pokemon in your fic(s) or try to stay away from them?

Depends completely on the story. In some cases, you just need those legends as vital plot points. In others, you probably are better off without mentioning them. For example, there's a difference between centering an entire fanfiction around the legend of Kyogre and Groudon (which would logically call for an appearance by either or both of them -- possibly Rayquaza as well) and having a trainer start off with Mew/see Mew for no particular reason (that would actually impact the story) other than "it's my fic, and I can have my character meet Mew for no reason if I want to."

Basically, I feel like legendaries aren't really cliches so much as incredibly dramatic elements. They're the gods of the Pokemon world, so a writer really can't throw them in without thinking carefully about why and how first. In other words, if you include a legendary, the magnitude of the appearance will probably be dramatic. I mean, this is like getting a chance to climb Mount Olympus and meet Zeus. You've got to have a really good reason for it. Otherwise, you should survive without it.

Myself? I just take the above philosophy. Only one of my stories mentions a legendary Pokemon, and that's because it was inducing the apocalypse. Other than that, none of my work touches legendaries, and I really don't foresee that I will anytime soon. I just don't write about heroes that are that epic (mostly because I'm more interested in the underdog character, rather than the Ash Ketchum character).

 

[mewthree w/armor]

My short story intro:

Ash looked over his shoulder to his father, he had that familiar smirk on his face. Ash began racing in his head thinking of an activity he might have to do outside the house on a thursday night but nothing came to mind. He felt a hand over his, and he closed his eyes.

Ya you might wanna do this in the Pokemon section.

You might want to ask this in the Fanfiction Lounge dedicated to Pokemon Fics. This section of PC is meant for writing not related to Pokemon.

Watch the mini moding there please.

 

[Gummy]

Sorry about that. The Other Writing section doesn't have an offical Mod, but I guess that doesn't justify me breaking the rules.

 

[Sike_Saner]

Why do you use Pokemon nicknames?

Those of my human characters who name their Pokémon really just do so because it's always just seemed to me that those particular characters would.

How important is the title of a fic?

I think it can be pretty important. I don't think I can really speak for anyone else, but I know that if a title catches my eye or sticks in my mind for whatever reason, I'll usually check out the story. Now, if an author has written something that I enjoyed, I'll usually just go ahead and check out anything else of his or hers on the chance that it might be good, too; the title isn't really a factor in whether or not I check out the story in that case.

Who/What inspired you to write your fic?

Mostly, it's just been the theories and what-ifs that have popped into my mind about certain Pokémon. Song lyrics have given me inspiration here and there, too.

Is it okay to cut down on the description when you're trying to add a mysterious atmosphere to your chapter?

I'd say it can be. I have seen it work before (or at least, I've seen it work on me before when I've read that sort of thing; again, I don't really think I can speak for anyone else ^^;).

How do you feel about "n00b" comments about your fic?

Usually, they don't really bother me. I'm admittingly not particularly fond of the kind that just say something along the lines of "when's the next chapter up" and nothing else, though.

Do you welcome the use of legendary Pokemon in your fic(s) or try to stay away from them?

If a legendary Pokémon has a reason to be there, I'll put it there. If he, she, or it doesn't, then I won't. In that way, I guess I treat them just like I treat any other Pokémon.

 

[Yamato-san]

I've got a new topic for discussion, but since I had a lot to say, I decided to make my own thread. Anybody who's studious on the Pokemon games may find this rather interesting.

 

[Gummy]

I checked your thread out Yamato-San and you're right about it being interesting. I'll be sure to leave a comment later.

In other news: How do you feel about crossover fics?

 

[Percy Thrillington]

How do you feel about "n00b" comments about your fic?

They are annoying. There's nothing more to say. They're a part of life, there's nothing you can do.

Do you welcome the use of legendary Pokemon in your fic(s) or try to stay away from them?

Well, in Operation Main Frame, it is based on the legendary Pokemon because at the time I started writing it, no one was writing about legendary Pokemon, so I decided to fix it. But, yeah, if you look at TrainerJeremy's fic, that had a Kyogre on route two, in order to 'make the story original' - you can see why most people are against legendaries in fan fics. Most people just can't capture them properly in their imagination, I mean, I've seen fics where the legendaries are way too strong, or they just come out of nowhere.

How do you feel about crossover fics?

I recall reading on PFU, a fan fiction that was a crossover of Pokemon and High School Musical. It was actually alright. But I don't like them, you need to be a seriously good author to be able to make a crossover fic work, and most experienced authors aren't bothered to write a crossover fan fiction when they can write a normal one that'll be ten times better.

 

[Astinus]

How do you feel about "n00b" comments about your fic?
What fic? :o

Eh, I would get annoyed if I see a comment on my story that could apply to every other fanfic on the Internet. "Awesome write more!!11" tells me nothing at all. Not even if you actually read the fic. But, if the review tells me something specific about my story, good or bad, I wouldn't mind. Seriously, just say that you like the fact that I explained why ten-year-olds do have to leave home in the Pokemon world in my prologue. Simple, and now I know that you read my fic.

(Heh. TurtleKing, I now know why you requested a review from me. ^^)

Do you welcome the use of legendary Pokemon in your fic(s) or try to stay away from them?
I use them as gods to pray to. Of course, I made a comment in my fic about how other people view legendaries in fics, so Arceus made a semi-appearance. (My fic is turning into a bizarre fantasy commentary fic. Yay.)

The Legendaries don't really appear. I do think that one just showed up on the route where my main character is, but I can't be sure.

How do you feel about crossover fics?
For the love of llamas, explain why those two universes would cross! For the crossover series that I'm writing, it was easy for me to explain why one universe was now part of another. (Yay for space-travel!) But if you are just slapping together Naruto with Star Trek: The Next Generation, I might be tempted to slap you with a feather-blowing fish.

 

[JX Valentine]

I've got a new topic for discussion, but since I had a lot to say, I decided to make my own thread. Anybody who's studious on the Pokemon games may find this rather interesting.

I've glanced at it and will attempt a reply when I'm a little less half-asleep. (I do have something to say about PP, but I'd rather wait to attempt the explanation.)

How do you feel about crossover fics?

Depends on what the crossover is and how it's handled. I mean, for example, I don't care how talented you claim to be. Naruto and Pirates of the Caribbean will only end in crack.

With that out of my system, I'll have to agree in saying you need to be fairly experienced in pulling it off. And I don't just mean "taking the concept of one fandom and plopping it in another" (which is what the fic you're talking about essentially is, I think, Oni, given that the characters seem to be OCs). I mean you just can't have Ash Ketchum go to Hogwarts unless you really have an idea of how to write straight fics in both canons (that is, a Pokemon-only fic and a Harry Potter-only fic). I say this because a lot of crossover authors tend to go into it without really knowing what the world of either is about, so it really does feel like a corny cameo guest appearance that sitcoms of the 90's were so fond of.

What, I think, a good crossover might be is one that makes the reader feel as if it's perfectly believable for one cast to meet another. That is, mesh the stories together in a way that the characters are in-character and well-written, rather than guest-appearancy, if that makes sense. I have seen fics done like this, so really, I don't mind crossovers in general as long as the author takes the time to do something extra to pull them off.

 

[Hundred Poke]

Cool!
Thanks! :) This thread is so cool!

 

[Dragonfree]

How do you feel about crossover fics?
Well, there are two kinds of crossovers. You have the conceptual crossover, in which concepts borrowed from one fandom are used in a story about another fandom; I've written a Pokémon/The Matrix conceptual crossover, for example, revolving around the idea that the real world was in fact a virtual reality that humans in the Pokémon world had plugged the Pokémon into to use them as energy sources, while no characters from The Matrix actually appeared in it and the events of the Matrix movies never actually happened. Not all fandoms can really have their concepts taken out of them and mixed with something else, however. Then you have the full crossover, in which the events of both canons happened and the characters often meet, and how well this works depends completely on the compatibility of the fandoms involved: could they conceivably happen in the same universe? You can't write a full Lord of the Rings/Pokémon crossover realistically because the canons clearly happen in two completely different universes and thus making the crossover inevitably requires universe-jumping of one sort or another, which really can't be pulled off as anything other than crack. On the other hand, nothing stops you from writing, say, a Harry Potter/LOST crossover, because both of them happen in the real world, if a modified version of it. Nothing in either canon directly contradicts anything in the other canon, so you can conceivably have characters from both meet.

 

[Umbreon Ruler]

How do you feel about crossover fics?

Er... not a fan. The only ones I've ever tried to read were crossovers of at least one show/book/whatever that I can't stand and Pokemon. For instance, I read one involving Naruto and the first chapter nearly bored me to death. I've seen the show, but I couldn't tell one character from the next. Now, if it was a crossover of things I like (I'm not really watching any animes right now, and no books come to mind) then I'd probably love it. But I have yet to find that combination.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

My opinion on crossover fics? Unless it's something fairly plausible, like Kingdom Hearts with a random Final Fantasy game, I'd say no. Probably the absolute easiest fandom to write crossover fics for is the Kingdom Hearts series, what with the whole "multiple worlds" thing going on, but outside of that I don't really see an environment where, say, a Pokemon/Naruto thing is going to make sense.

Lost and Harry Potter? Oh, if I knew more about Lost I'd totally write that just for the hilarity factor. Then again, it would probably end up a crack fic. XD

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

Lost and Harry Potter... I'd SO write that...although I don't know enough about the Harry Potter series, xD (Lost fanatic here). This is a bit off topic so I'll answer the topic.

Crossover? It depends on the plausibility/reasoning for such things to cross over. I don't really like total cross overs, but really minor things, like maybe a character might be okay as long as it was backed up.

 

[Rebellious Treecko]

How do you feel about crossover fics?
I love crossover fics. I just like the idea of different characters fighting evil together or something.
You can take two/three/a whole lot of game series/shows and combine them for unusual results.

That's a big reason why I like Kingdom Hearts games so much.
(sorry for the short post)