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Jelly July 4th, 2009 7:09 PM

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

Where I live, there's a lot of nature. I like to draw inspiration from nature. And I get lots of ideas from talking to my friends, even if they don't realise it. They talk a lot, just like me, and sometimes I have to stop, pull out a notebook, and write down something they said. It makes them look at me funny. >_>

liveitout July 4th, 2009 7:17 PM

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

My desire to describe absolutely everything, to the extent that the plot is overshadowed (plot? what plot?)

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

I never write about anything that I haven't experienced/heard about from a friend. That keeps the story as close to being realistic as possible.


My two cents for Kanto Lover:
Spoiler:
Quote:

“Unit one, attention!” Lieutenant Colonel Gray barked at her soldiers while walking briskly out from Vermillion City’s army base.


Pretty good start. From the first three words, we know this is a military setting. Soldiers are being addressed. Some kind of mood is set. However, I feel it’s a little spoiled by the length of the sentence. I get the distinct feeling that you’re trying to sketch the setting: Lieutenant, soldiers, Vermillion City’s army base (no visuals of that last one at all). It’s not necessary to do that right off the bat. I’d go with short sentences, like:


Unit one, attention!” barked Lieutenant Colonel Gray. Her soldiers stood stiff in the early morning light. (Or whatever)

Quote:

The tall, brown-haired squad commander…

Tall and brown-haired? She might as well be short and blonde. Those words don’t have any connotations, so they don’t give any impression of character. I commend your brevity, but something like “grim and stoic” would paint a better picture than just a physical description.

Quote:

…the next morning.

Did you mean ‘during the morning’ or something like that? Not a good way to mention the time of day, since the rest of this sentence is descriptive/narrative. You could mention the light/position of sun/long shadows/morning chill instead.

Quote:

A few of the soldiers let out a collective gasp when they heard this, but otherwise remained silent.

Okay, so we get the sense Professor Oak is someone important. But a ‘collective gasp’ seems too theatrical for soldiers. Maybe ‘raised eyebrows’ or ‘slight ripple’ would fit them better.

Quote:

… Are your orders clear?

I understand that you want to keep the scene short, but those orders aren’t clear to me. This isn’t enough information to launch any kind of mission. What about the Pokemon this ninja is using? Or a floorplan of the building the Professor is being held in? You could have the Lieutenant add that they’ll be briefed further on the helicopters.

Quote:

… heard as an MH-53 Pavelow landed nearby with its blades whirring furiously.

Instant helicopters! Okay, so there’s a heightened sense of urgency. I’m with Astinus, though – furiously sounds funny in this context. Growling furiously, yes. Whirring furiously, no.

Quote:

…as the soldiers boarded the transport aircraft.

The ending falls a little bit flat. Boarding transport aircraft is just not exciting. I don’t have any suggestions, though. In a movie, this is probably where they would switch to a bird’s-eye view to hide the fact that soldiers boarding a helicopter one at a time look pretty silly.

Overall, it looks like a good start to the story, introducing the context and plot. A common mistake is to get bogged down in unnecessary details in the first scene, which you’ve avoided. It could be spiced up, though. Try to vary your sentence lengths – it can make a huge impact on the mood of a passage.

Citrinin July 4th, 2009 7:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liveitout
My desire to describe absolutely everything, to the extent that the plot is overshadowed (plot? what plot?)

I can empathise. :P I went through a stage like that. XD;

By the way, I haven't seen you around these parts before. Welcome. ^_^

Feign July 4th, 2009 8:03 PM

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

Hummm hard to say, perhaps leaving out plot or something important.

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

Well aside from mediums, not my own personal life.


Okay and because we all have the time here we go for some more:

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?

bobandbill July 4th, 2009 8:03 PM

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

Hmm... interesting question... might be my typos - seriously, I make WAY too many of those. Making events be clear to the readers is another problem I tend to have - I'm trying harder to make sure everything can be understtod by the writer. That and being lazy and too busy half the time

How much inspiration for your story do you get from your day-to-day lives?

A fair bit, actually... there have been various times where I have taken some random event from a day and happened to have been able to adapt it to my stories, one way or another. Some basically go in rather simply requiring little change, and others are basically nothing like the original event - it merely led to a tangent of thought.

EDIT: Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?

No, not really... maybe stuff that could be made into a movie or show (if the writing was good enough and all XD), but nothing that I intended to fit that specifically.

Of course, if you hadn't included the words 'not in script form', then I'd say yes, I have done something that was designed to be for a movie. Did it for fun way back when. (Also led to my username, woot).

Oh, and welcome, ye newcomers, to the madness that is this thread. =D

Misheard Whisper July 4th, 2009 8:21 PM

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)
Sorry gaiz, I just have to answer this again. My biggest weakness is the twin evil of procrastination and disinterest. When I procrastinate, I lose interest in writing the fic. As a result, I procrastinate even more, until it dies entirely. This has been the fate of every chaptered fic I have ever attempted. My new fic, Shattered, will debut on this forum tomorrow. I state here and now that if I do not update every single Monday, you all are invited - no, urged - to hunt me down and beat the crap out of me until I write another chapter. If you don't want to go that far, just VM me. I need lots of motivation, I'm afraid. ^_^_^

Citrinin July 4th, 2009 8:28 PM

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?
No. :P My only medium is a narrative. ^_^;

Sparkling Dragon, we'll come equipped with torches and pitchforks. :D

Misheard Whisper July 4th, 2009 8:32 PM

Don't get ahead of yourself, Citrinin. I already said you could have the whip. ;P

Citrinin July 4th, 2009 8:40 PM

Procrastination is a vicious beast, as any writer (or any person who does anything over a period of more than a week) knows, and one whip is hardly enough. ;) We need an angry mob.

In any case, I can see what you mean about the vicious cycle of procrastination and not caring. I've never done anything long enough for that to happen to me, but I can imagine. o_<;

Misheard Whisper July 4th, 2009 8:46 PM

Mob is good, yub yub.

Anyway, beware of procrastination. I don't want HWIMAR to go the same way as my Faith . . . or Edge of Destiny . . . or Beta 24 . . . or Swiss Cheese . . .

Astinus July 4th, 2009 8:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon (Post 4818269)
I don't want HWIMAR to go the same way as my Faith . . . or Edge of Destiny . . . or Beta 24 . . . or Swiss Cheese . . .

I totally started to read that as the acronym for "How I Met Your Mother". I've never even seen that show, but I guess that is the power of Neil Patrick Harris. He's able to infiltrate that well.

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?
I can't say that I have. All of my writings have been intended to remain as the written word. There are times when I can actually visually see the scene in my mind, played out as if it is a movie/television show, but I figure that that is just my imagination at work.

Misheard Whisper July 4th, 2009 9:01 PM

^_^ Astinus is tired, methinks.

JX Valentine July 4th, 2009 9:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Astinus (Post 4818289)
I totally started to read that as the acronym for "How I Met Your Mother". I've never even seen that show, but I guess that is the power of Neil Patrick Harris. He's able to infiltrate that well.

Oh, good. I'm not the only one who was distracted by his sexiness.

I miss Doogie Howser, guys.

I'd also answer the questions with my usual length, but I'm lazy. Instead, the answers are "no" and "no, despite what AEM's roots are."

Astinus July 4th, 2009 9:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valentine (Post 4818306)
Oh, good. I'm not the only one who was distracted by his sexiness.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h116/tharrin1/NPH.jpg

Also, Doogie Howser was one-half of my 80's/early 90's childhood.

And yes, Sparkling Dragon. My eyes tend to cross when I've been on the computer all day, so I am tired. But I couldn't go outside and enjoy the nice weather because my neighbors across the street, behind us, and two houses down decided to set off illegal fireworks.

Misheard Whisper July 4th, 2009 9:33 PM

I hate that. We have idiots in our neighbourhood who save up a stash each year and set them off every night for three weeks before Guy Fawkes, when you're only allowed to buy fireworks in the week leading up to it.

Bay July 4th, 2009 9:46 PM

Just recently I almost got killed by the idiots at my neighborhood that set off the fireworks. x_x

Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?
No, not really. My writings are meant to be in novel form. However, I have written scripts before and those are meant as movies. XD

Citrinin July 4th, 2009 9:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon
I hate that. We have idiots in our neighbourhood who save up a stash each year and set them off every night for three weeks before Guy Fawkes, when you're only allowed to buy fireworks in the week leading up to it.

Funny how restrictions create an allure so strong that they end up having the opposite effect intended, isn't it?

But back to talking about fanfics, I'll often see my fic in my mind's eye. Even though its only true place is in written form, I will see the events as they occur in my head. ^_^;

Misheard Whisper July 4th, 2009 11:10 PM

I talk to my characters. They live in my head, and when I'm stuck, I ask them what they're going to do. It helps, especially if they're characters I know well. One of them is Cassie, the daughter of a nobleman in one of my dead fics. She only ever made two appearances, but I got so attached to her that she sits in my head to this day. My Platinum file is named after her-

Hey, Cassie! Put that accordion down!

'Scuse me.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 12:32 AM

Not a technique I've tried personally, I must say. XD;

When I'm stuck, I take a run or a bicycle ride, and just envision my characters in all kinds of crazy situations. Then, I adapt these crazy situations to the plot, make them more realistic, and I have a plot twist/device. :D

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 12:50 AM

I tend to make it up as I go along. It's so much fun just rolling with it.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 12:52 AM

Making up as I go along doesn't quite work for me. I can come up with good concepts on demand easily enough, but not ones that won't produce plotholes. I have to spend time crafting them so they don't rip open my story. XD;

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 1:07 AM

Well, I always have a general idea of where my plot is going. For example, in Shattered,
Spoiler:
You just got spoiler-roll'd.

But beyond that, I like to fill in the blanks. Otherwise, it feels like writing the story twice.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 1:09 AM

I can wing it on minor twists, of course, or something like what Pokémon is going to be caught. But major ones always require crafting for me. :P

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 1:11 AM

I don't even know what starter my OT has yet. The mind boggles. Then again, that doesn't really come into play until Chapter Three.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 1:28 AM

I don't know any of the caught Pokémon in the story, except those of a currently shadowy and briefly mentioned character. I'm thinking that with Pokémon and their personalities, I'm going to try to develop them in an impromptu manner, so that way, as you said, it doesn't feel like I'm writing the same story twice.

txteclipse July 5th, 2009 3:04 AM

I could have sworn I just replied here. Hmm, I wonder...

Oh well. Guess I'll reply again/what should be again/what might not should be again. Or something. Yes, that was the most productive half-paragraph you've ever read during your lifetime, and several others.

[Plan ahead or ready-fire-aim method question object item thing]

I'm mostly a make-it-up-as-you-go type, but I've found myself planning ahead more and more. It adds to the intricacy that I love and the writer's block that I hate.

[Other question I can't remember]

No.

In a completely unrelated side-note, I left my back door open yesterday while I wasn't home. After realizing this upon my return around 1:30 this morning, I proceeded to search my house for intruders, wielding the four inch folding knife that now rests reassuringly in front of me on my desk. Despite the fact that my dog showed no signs of having encountered any trespassers, and the fact that the few hundred dollars lying on our kitchen counter has remained undisturbed, I am still unconvinced that a rather stealthy thief or homicidal maniac is not hiding somewhere on the premises, perhaps in a cupboard or in the attic. This may be due to my natural sense of caution, my general distrust of the majority of the earth's population, or the fact that I'd like a little excitement once in a while. The knife, needless to say, will accompany me to bed tonight.

Also, I believe I could have done without the mental images conjured up by that picture. I hope to God that's just milk.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 3:19 AM

Heh, that's something you could write a one-shot on. ;)

Giratina ♀ July 5th, 2009 4:28 AM

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

Well, I have a tendency to be unable to come up with events. I don't mean 'plot' - I could have the beginning and ending wrapped up flawlessly and still do this - but 'events', which means the stuff that happens between point S (start) and point E (end). This means I usually just write up whatever comes to mind until something that happens clicks with a way to get to the ending... bad habit, I know, but I'm working on it.


Have you ever written something (not in script form) that you would have intended as a movie or a show, as opposed to a fic or other writing (made for TV thing)?

Nope.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 4:51 AM

Some advice I can give you for that, Giratinasaur, try to make your events connected to either an extension of that which happens at the beginning, or leadups to what will happen in the end (or both). That way, the events can be extensions of what you're already good at, and not just thrown in.

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 6:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txteclipse (Post 4819002)
Also, I believe I could have done without the mental images conjured up by that picture. I hope to God that's just milk.

Sure, txt. It's milk.

....

>_> <_<

.Ozymandias July 5th, 2009 8:23 AM

Miss me?! *collective groan of NO*

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

I tend to ramble a lot about mundane things, especially when I'm very involved in a story or with a character. With the same token, in one story I'm finishing now, I had a hard time conveying the order of events to the readers because I was so worried about over-explaining things that I found it impossible to get the balance right.

My other problem is starting something new before I finish something else. Currently I have 3 multi-chaptered fics (A Darker Day, Girl of Green Street and Gene War) in varying states of completion, an original piece called Adnihilo which is a little under 1/4 of a way through, 4 One-shots for Green Street, Pokémon, Original Fiction and a piss-take of Twilight and a half-written gift-fic for a friend on my harddrive which all need finishing.

Oh god I'm going to die before I get that all finished....

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by .Ozymandias
Miss me?!

*goes to cheat on Asty for .Ozy*


Incidentally, guys, I thought you all would like to know that I just renamed the PFF&P, and we are now Happy Fun Rainbow Unicorn Candy Land.

However, while writing that post, I did manage to come up with an interesting question. Yes, we all know about the recent flood of threads in the Writer's Lounge going, "lolololololololol hows my idea?!?!?!" and nothing more. As in, there's really no discussion other than, "I'm coming up with this. What do you guys think?" And while it's nice to get opinions about your ideas or post excerpts to see if your narration/grammar/characterization/whatever is okay and not vague/unreadable/Sueish/whatever, I was never too sure about the point to actually just posting ideas and leaving it be. Or, well, posting very vague concepts and having the rest of us develop your story for you comment on it.

So, the questions are:

1. To you, what function do these idea threads serve?
2. Keeping in mind your answer to #1, do you think it's necessary for these threads to exist?

Depending on the majority's answer, I might come up with another experiment. You know, like the review thread all of two people usually use on a monthly basis. I was already thinking about making a little thread that was basically a plot bunny exchange center. (Which is a vague definition of the thread on purpose because I'm an egotistical jerk.) I could easily modify it a little before seeing what you lot would do with it.

(And if anyone's wondering why I like releasing experiments on this forum, it's because I like to play with the populace. Sometimes watching them flail. This is why I'm not allowed to play Sim City ever.)

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by .Ozymandias (Post 4819869)
My other problem is starting something new before I finish something else. Currently I have 3 multi-chaptered fics (A Darker Day, Girl of Green Street and Gene War) in varying states of completion, an original piece called Adnihilo which is a little under 1/4 of a way through, 4 One-shots for Green Street, Pokémon, Original Fiction and a piss-take of Twilight and a half-written gift-fic for a friend on my harddrive which all need finishing.

Oh god I'm going to die before I get that all finished....

Zis is nuzzing. You should see my flash drive. It is crammed with unfinished stories, and that's not counting the dozen or so I've already lost/given up on and deleted at various points.

liveitout July 5th, 2009 12:48 PM

Plot bunny exchange? Oh my goodness. I love bunnies.

(I don't think I understand what you mean by 'plot bunny'.)

Idea threads are made for people who enjoy having ideas but don't enjoy implementing them (i.e. actually writing&finishing a story). We shouldn't remove them and ruin their fun.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 1:04 PM

A plot bunny is a colloquial term for one of those little fic ideas that sit in the back of your mind, but you know you're never going to use for one reason or another. For example, right now I'm thinking of a fic involving Giovanni going head to head with Archie, Maxie and Cyrus in a series of contests to see who is the best main series villainous team leader. I know I'll never write it, but I'm putting it out there.

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 2:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liveitout
(I don't think I understand what you mean by 'plot bunny'.)

To simplify Sparkling Dragon's definition, it's writer's slang for an idea that nags at your mind. Some plot bunnies do eventually get turned into actual fics. Others don't. (AEM started out as a random plot bunny I had while watching Alien during a hiatus I was taking from A Midsummer Knight's Dream.)

Quote:

Idea threads are made for people who enjoy having ideas but don't enjoy implementing them (i.e. actually writing&finishing a story). We shouldn't remove them and ruin their fun.
But doesn't the fact that you (general you or the you that refers to anyone who actually writes idea threads for this purpose) dislike actually writing defeat the purpose of posting in a writing forum in the first place? You know, given that this forum is about writing and all? =/

Besides, as the forum definition goes, Writer's Lounge is a place to get advice for, well, your writing. (Outside of your actual story thread, at least.) Filling it up with idea threads when you have no intention of actually sitting down to write them seems like you're spamming the crap out of the forum, especially given the fact that there's absolutely no point in giving you advice in the first place, considering the fact that there will be no story in which you will be applying said advice. Hence the plot bunny exchange idea I had and might actually develop if it's true that the lot of you (again, general you) are posting in this forum just for the sake of spewing ideas you just want to keep in Development Hell so we don't have to go through the formalities of looking at another thread that doesn't actually want advice tailored with the assumption that you're actually going to be writing something.

I guess what's annoying me about the possibility that this is what's going on is that some people have legitimate questions and actually want help for actual story ideas that they want to put into production. Filling the forum with crap you're not actually going to write drowns out the people who are looking for real advice they're going to use. Not to mention it wastes the time of people who are dispensing the advice, thinking you're actually asking a legit question (while diverting them from the people who really do want their help).

Edit: Actually, yeah, what pisses me off is entirely about that possibility just the thought that people are actually wasting my time by posting threads with no intention of actually taking them past development. I'd hate to be snappy and egotistical, but really, I'd rather be attempting to help someone who actually wants to write (and is, therefore, not defeating the purpose of posting in the Writer's Lounge in the first place) than doing the equivalent of throwing quarters in a bottomless pit just because some kid likes to dig holes but doesn't actually intend on putting a wishing well there. (Or, in a non-metaphorical sense, real life means I have limited time and patience. If you're just going to abuse the forum by posting ideas for the sake of posting ideas instead of actually turning them into at least a first and second chapter, then, yeah, I really do hope you realize I could be doing something other than attempting to give you advice on how to turn it into an actual fanfic. You know. Like cure cancer.)

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 2:30 PM

jax is on the warpath, run while u still can
But seriously, I agree with you. But we shouldn't ban idea threads entirely, because some people do actually use them for their intended purpose. I've been talking to Jelly recently, and she has every intention of writing the story from her idea thread in the Lounge. It'd be like banning alcohol. It'd solve some problems, but it'd be unfair on the people who drink responsibly, and for enjoyment.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 2:41 PM

And, of course, put fanfic ideas in the hands of gangsters.

I understand the frustration, though. To take the time to help someone, only for them to have little intention of writing it, is annoying. And, unfortunately, there's no way of telling whether someone DOES have an honest intention - I suppose you could put a limit idea threads per user before the user has to actually post one of them.

Astinus July 5th, 2009 2:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valentine (Post 4820222)
*goes to cheat on Asty for .Ozy*

Oh no, Love! How will I ever survive without you!? I must lie in bed and weep for you until you return to me! I will do nothing but waste paper as I don't write down my thoughts to show you how empty my life is without you! And when you return, we will make sweet, slow, magical, healing lovin' all into the night.

*sparklesparkle*

Quote:

1. To you, what function do these idea threads serve?
Annoy the moderator.

But seriously, I'm not understanding the point of idea threads. In my own personal experience (which is all I have to base this on, sorry), I noticed that the majority of people who post ideas tend not to follow through with them for one reason or the other.

I mean, it's nice and all to actually get an idea. We all do. It's just a matter of actually sitting down and writing it that makes all the difference in the long run. Even if only a few chapters are written, it counts more than just getting the idea and letting it die (in my opinion).

Quote:

2. Keeping in mind your answer to #1, do you think it's necessary for these threads to exist?
I think you can't really say no to all idea threads, just like you can't say yes to all idea threads. It really depends on the motivation of the author.

Some people might post the thread to get a more solid idea of their future audience, to know if the story that they have written (or have even planned further than a basic idea!) will be well-received or not at the place they are planning to post.

Other people post the thread as soon as they get the idea, so they don't have anything more than a vague idea of what it's all about. This is when idea threads are looked down upon, because readers ask for more information, and there is no more information, so it reflects badly on the original poster (OP) of the thread.

So not all idea threads are horrible ideas. It's just that the majority of them are.

Quote:

Depending on the majority's answer, I might come up with another experiment.
Another experiment, Val? I haven't recovered from the last one you did.

Quote:

This is why I'm not allowed to play Sim City ever.)
You can play the Sims, though. Then you can zoom right in on their tear-stained faces as you delete their toilets, and they pee all over themselves.

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 2:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon (Post 4820912)
jax is on the warpath, run while u still can
But seriously, I agree with you. But we shouldn't ban idea threads entirely, because some people do actually use them for their intended purpose. I've been talking to Jelly recently, and she has every intention of writing the story from her idea thread in the Lounge. It'd be like banning alcohol. It'd solve some problems, but it'd be unfair on the people who drink responsibly, and for enjoyment.

It's not really banning idea threads that I'm proposing. I mean, if you're legitimately looking for advice, that's what this forum is all about. It's mostly posting ideas to get them off your chest with no intention of actually writing them that I'm trying to think about curbing because, yeah, I kinda figured at least one person was doing that. *motions to Swampoleon* (But if everyone's doing that, yeah, I just want you all to know that that sort of thing pisses me off a little.)

There's also a possibility of funneling things into one thread -- like one big idea thread on which everyone could get advice about their story and not the finer details. The problem with this is that it could potentially get messy if we all use it at once, and besides that, I'd proposed something like this to Asty before, to which we agreed it'd be difficult to get people to realize the thread's there, especially with ten stickies already in this forum. (It's possible that we don't need to make this one a sticky, but it'd be convenient.) In the meantime, the rest of the forum could be reserved for specific questions (such as "I have this idea, but will this character work?" and "I'm working on this scene, but I don't know how to go from Point A to Point B, plz help") or the "look at this part and give me a mini-beta" sort of thing that's been going on in this thread now and then. Hell, we might even be able to do a Little Details kind of thing if we could just realize that this forum can be used for a lot more than just idea thread after idea thread.

So, in short, I'm not proposing the banning of idea threads, particularly from authors who fully intend on actually writing the ideas they come up with. I just propose the limitation of the posting of idea threads from kids who have no intention of doing anything with what they're coming up with -- possibly the funneling of those ideas from those kinds of posters into one larger thread so we can actually advise the people intending on writing and, well, answer questions that are a bit something more than, "Is this idea any good?" (And if we could succeed in doing that much, there's a possibility of being able to put all ideas in that thread, but the first experiment might only need to cover plot bunnies that are attempts at attention-whoring wanting mild advice as well... like, well, yeah. *motions again*)

Maybe it's not my place to say this because I'm not the mod here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that it'd really be cool if we could clean up the forum, stop any abuse that's possibly happening, and use this place to its full potential. We're currently not quite doing that because all we're talking about is, "lol i has a new idea plz rate" and "lol idea iz gr8 cant wait 2 see u rite it."

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 2:50 PM

It's a similar situation with the fics themselves. The issue is arrogance. People take 5 minutes to whip up a piece of crap, and then expect us to give them serious reviews. Then when we tell them how shitty it is, they moan about us flaming them. Words cannot express my contempt for these people.

EDIT: Whoa, double ninja'd.

Bay July 5th, 2009 3:09 PM

Jax, I too thought about doing an ideas thread because of those threads going around, but after talking with Astinus, she told me that's not going to happen the same reason she told you before. In any case though, I too get a bit annoyed now the only threads we got here are those threads with the vague ideas. Unlike here, in Serebii there would be lots of threads that cover all kinds of topics like starter Pokemon, Points of View, Items, Regions, etc. I guess part of it though is because in this lounge we discuss all kinds of writing advice, including any ideas and scenes that we need help on, so there's not too much of a need for a separate thread over Pokeballs, for instance. As to why there are those "I have an idea!" thread, I guess part of it is it's easier for the author to find out if anyone thinks their idea is good or not. Of course, the bad thing is because there's so many of those threads, we just don't feel like looking through all of them (and maybe say the same thing- "this idea is too vague." ).

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 3:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay (Post 4821088)
in Serebii there would be lots of threads that cover all kinds of topics like starter Pokemon, Points of View, Items, Regions, etc.

If anyone's wondering, this is exactly what I was hoping would happen if we could funnel idea threads elsewhere. It's one of the few things I like more about Serebii's writing community compared to PC's, really. (PC has a better atmosphere, better reviewers, and generally cooler things to do, but for whatever reason, more people ask a wider variety of questions over at Serebii.)

Quote:

I guess part of it though is because in this lounge we discuss all kinds of writing advice, including any ideas and scenes that we need help on, so there's not too much of a need for a separate thread over Pokeballs, for instance.
The awkward thing is that we've got so many things going on at once. For example, Kanto Lover was looking for advice about her snippet, but she was only addressed by two people, while the rest of us focused on a bunch of other topics (namely the bold ones). Maybe she was looking for only two opinions, but on the other hand, maybe it's okay to encourage people to branch off of the FFL and form other threads. Given the number of responses people make to the idea threads, I think we'll see it, even if it's one of those "I have a snippet" bits, and at least there, we'll have more room to form a conversation with the OP and help her through things like that.

The FFL's awesome, of course, and totally where people should go to have a discussion, but for some things, like opinions on canon and whatnot, it's probably better to ask in a separate thread. Yet, even then, people come back here, probably because they think they'll definitely get an answer.

If the master idea thread concept doesn't pan out after a few more responses to this conversation, though, what do people think about a plot bunny exchange, or a place where they can post plot bunnies or abandoned fanfics that other people can pick up and use as inspiration? (As in, for those of us already writing major fics, it'd be a place to put the other ideas we get to get them out of our heads. For those of us with writer's block, it'd be a place to go to find an idea that might work. For those of us with old fics that we're about to abandon but would like to see finished, it'd be a place to post the snippets or finished chapters to see if anyone would like to pick them up and finish them.) I ask this because it's a similar idea, really -- a place to funnel the plot bunnies the original developer doesn't actually want to write, only it's not a place to post advice or praise/crit for said ideas the way my original thought for the bunny farm went. Moreover, it's also technically saying you'd be free to take the ideas in it if you want.

In other words, the next question about the comm is will something like this actually be used? Will you feel comfortable with it, or will you just think it'll be abused/neglected for more idea threads?

Edit: Lulz, guys. I just went on Serebii again for the first time in I can't remember, only to find out they have an idea a little like this. Only I was thinking, at the time, of something more like this. Maybe I should go over to SPPf for awhile (although I must admit I don't like a number of people over there as much... or, for the most part, at all due to past drama with them that I'd rather not mention).

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 3:59 PM

I was hanging around Serebii while PC was down. It's too biiiiiig. *hides in corner*

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 4:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon (Post 4821292)
I was hanging around Serebii while PC was down. It's too biiiiiig. *hides in corner*

Yeah, gotta agree with you there. I mean, I had to use CTRL+F to find the blinking fanfiction forums. =| (I'm really hoping that statement didn't just make me a sad person.)

And, of course, the people. Just... yeah.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 4:07 PM

I eventually worked something out. Minimize all forums except the one with fanfiction in it. It's the only place I post there, anyway.

I posted Shattered!

Astinus July 5th, 2009 5:01 PM

I think that's one of the problems with the FFL. The topics move way too fast in this thread for anyone to actually keep up with them, and to respond to those that need responses. Like Kanto Lover's problem. I noticed it and responded to it the best I could because the Lounge was slow, and I had the time. But when I don't have the time to respond/read through everything that's posted in the FFL, it gets to be overwhelming. (Seriously people, I leave for a few days and come back to 15+ [guesstimate] pages. My eyes crossed trying to read it all.)

To me, the actual FFL is like a relaxed actual lounge. The writers get together to drink alcohol and strawberry daiquiris for the mod! refreshing drinks, sit back, and find out a little bit more about their fellow writers to learn that they aren't the only crazy one. It's for the small discussions.

For the big ones, I feel that they should go into their own threads. For example, what someone feels about changing some ideas from canon, and how far is too far when it comes to that. It's its own discussion that can spark so many different threads and ideas and so on, that it would be a shame for it to be lost in the other random topics of the FFL.

So are we looking to start a revolution here in PFF&P?

Also, I like the idea of a plot bunny exchange. Because sometimes, I feel like writing a fanfic, but can't come up with an idea.

I'm just going to say that SPPf was my very first forum. D'aw. Look at my little n00by self.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 5:05 PM

That sounds like a good idea - that is, having discussion topics outside the Lounge. ^^ That way, they won't die out so easily.

Giratina ♀ July 5th, 2009 5:13 PM

Agreed. Bigger discussions should have either A: a thread of their own or B: a seperate thread for each one. Personally, I think making a new thread for all of those discussions would be a better idea, because if there were all sorts of new threads every time someone comes up with that idea the boards would be nearly flooded. See what I mean?

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 5:34 PM

Yes, let's go with the Plot Bunny Zoo.

Quote:

I'm just going to say that SPPf was my very first forum. D'aw. Look at my little n00by self.
lolwut. Do you ever log in?

C'est moi.

Giratina ♀ July 5th, 2009 5:38 PM

Since we're all posting our rarely-used Serebii Forums accounts, I may as well.

My relatively new Serebii account, then.

Astinus July 5th, 2009 5:43 PM

I'm logged in now.

I haven't signed in since May of this year. I haven't actually been active since this month last year. Modding over here took a lot of my time, and also there was a few months where I had no interest at all in the fandom.

Giratina ♀ July 5th, 2009 5:48 PM

I just didn't like the atmosphere at Serebii. Not just the members, but... everything. It was all so big and, when I first saw it, very very scary (not to mention the skins aren't the greatest...). Thank goodness my first Pokémon forum was PE2K. I don't think I ever was not interested in Pokémon, but there have been times where I just didn't feel like doing anything on the computer. Like, nothing.

So I guess hiatuses just came out of that.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 5:59 PM

From what I've heard of Serebii, the atmosphere isn't nice, and its leader has a habit of thinking he's always right. :S Luckily, I came here before I'd heard of it. :P

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 6:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citrinin (Post 4821759)
From what I've heard of Serebii, the atmosphere isn't nice,

Well, sort of. When I was last there, I had two problems:

1. Outside of the fanfiction forums, attempting to ask anyone anything (like about the games or the canon) got me a dead end because there were, at the time, a lot of morons there. I mean, seriously, dumb and ornery. I asked a question about the geography of the Pokémon world, and if I recall correctly, I got a mini-argument. Or just stupid comments. Either way, it ended with me going, "Well, that was a waste of my time."

2. Certain reviewers over there didn't (and, from what I hear from friends who are still there, still don't) take the "we exist to help the author through feedback" philosophy like they usually do over here. Instead, it's the "we review to worship the kids writing tl;dr-worthy chapters and make everyone else feel like crap" kind. Also stemming from fairly personal experience. One of my comedies got blown off by a reviewer who gave me a vague review along the lines of "the plot doesn't work," and when I asked said reviewer (nicely, mind you) what it was about it that didn't work, said reviewer told me the reviewer's job wasn't to skyrocket me to stardom. Um... 'kay.

Long story short, outside of the fanfiction forums weren't exactly worth it back when I hung around there for a little while, and in the fanfiction forums, it tended to be a hit-and-miss kind of thing. Some people swear by the crowds there and think it's one of the best writing comms you can go to (and I do admit that it has some shiny things), but you've got to be wary of both your average crap reviewer (the kind who only issue one-liners and general, vague shorties) and the ones who bite.

Quote:

and its leader has a habit of thinking he's always right. :S
This is true. He's notorious for going onto other forums and such to either advertise his own site or argue against people who question it. You can find him on PC, in fact. Look him up at some point to find some lol-worthy arguments.

Also, d'aww. That's a cute little Asty.

Also also, woot. Will finish up that plot bunny exchange idea soon, then. Expect it sometime this week.

Astinus July 5th, 2009 6:25 PM

Aw, I had dug through the members list to find Val's SPPf account, and she took away the paragraph that would allow me to post it.

So no Val's SPPf account for you.

I did have a rant against SPPf halfway typed, and almost ready to post, but I remembered that a mod over there is here, so I decided against it to not create some sort of issue.

I do have the feeling that Serebii Joe will search PC to see what people say about his forum, and he'll come to the FFL to defend his forum. I'm sure we can handle that.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 6:29 PM

Bring it on, Serebii! We'll be waiting with flamethrowers and Bug-types XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valentine
and the ones who bite

Yami Ryu much?

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 6:38 PM

Thanks for the info, Valentine. ^_^

To cut down on the stickies in the Lounge, you could compile all the "guide" threads into one. I've seen them do that across other forums.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 6:56 PM

Nah, don't do that. We're speshul @[email protected]

:t150: says hi, btw.

JX Valentine July 5th, 2009 7:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Astinus (Post 4821842)
Aw, I had dug through the members list to find Val's SPPf account, and she took away the paragraph that would allow me to post it.

XD You could if you want. I'm a little curious about my old posts myself, but unfortunately, Serebii decided not to make the search feature public. (When did that happen, and who thought that was a good idea? =|)

Quote:

I do have the feeling that Serebii Joe will search PC to see what people say about his forum, and he'll come to the FFL to defend his forum. I'm sure we can handle that.
If he comes on this thread and posts, I will pay all of you handsomely to go grammar nazi on him like you usually do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon (Post 4821847)
Yami Ryu much?

Spoiler:
I wasn't going to say anything. XD To be honest, though, she's not the only one I've seen. Or, for that matter, the worst. I've seen kids on there who, as a result of not getting a good response to their review (as in, the author didn't take their advice), completely cussed them out over it.

However, yes, Yami was the one who blew off my comedy. Which was fine because it wasn't that great, but, you know, if you say it doesn't work, you might as well actually bother to go into what about it didn't work instead of saying the entire thing as a whole doesn't without further explaining to a heavily confused writer who might genuinely want to improve what you mean about an otherwise extremely vague statement. (I mean, so many things can go wrong in a story, and it only takes one really bad mistake in a single area -- characterization, plot, whatever -- to really screw up the rest of your work. Just saying it doesn't work initially is stating an opinion, sure, but if a writer asks nicely what you meant specifically, it's just common courtesy to go into detail. Of course, it's usually common courtesy to go into detail in the first place and explain what areas you thought were weak and why. You don't even have to break things down through pages and pages of quotes. Just a paragraph explaining you didn't like the characterization because it was flat, you didn't like the plot because it was boring, that sort of thing.) But I go into massive detail over why telling someone they suck and leaving it at that is a bad idea unless you're already worshiped in the community for some weird reason, so.

Also, spoiler cut because to be honest, I'd be more surprised if Serebii himself came over and found this as opposed to half the crowd over in SPPf's fanfiction forum. Even though I've also hung around the general fanfiction community long enough to know that Yami tends to enjoy some lulz over stuff like this, usually while saying the other party hasn't got the balls to tell her to her face. Which would be heavily ironic, considering she disabled PMs in that conversation, meaning I couldn't reply to that lovely PM in which she told me off for apparently begging her to help me get to awesome writerhood.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Citrinin (Post 4821881)
Thanks for the info, Valentine. ^_^

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to rant. Which will probably come back to bite me on the ass, but hey, that's how the internet works nowadays. Kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Drama.

Quote:

To cut down on the stickies in the Lounge, you could compile all the "guide" threads into one.
This might actually be a good idea, considering certain threads like Lily's and oni flygon's are pretty much the same, with only a few variations. Maybe if we made an updated version that combines them without going through the mess of merging threads and whatnot?

And I still don't get why the example of a good fanfic is there. I mean, sure, it's intended to be a guide on how to be a good author, but it just kinda looks more like a review to me. *shrug*

Bay July 5th, 2009 7:35 PM

I think I'm the only one here who is okay with Serebii. XD There's quite a lot of fics there I like and I was able to be friends with a lot of people there. However, I missed many of the old authors there that left and the new authors seemed to try to have their fics like Saber's. :/ I'm still active there, but not as much as before due to me losing interest in Serebii a little and real life stuff.

I too think it's a good idea to have seperate threads on bigger topics. It's cool that we're discussing stuff here, but sometimes if I want to go back to a specific topic, I have to go back 23838383 pages. XD For instance, I remember one time the discussion of what happens to the Pokemon if someone goes jail and I want to go back to read that topic for the ending of NE. The end result is I was trying to find that discussion for two hours with no luck. -_- I then said screw this, I'll just come up with something and end it there. XD

Jelly July 5th, 2009 7:36 PM

Yami Ryu's reviews amuse me, actually. Her problem is she doesn't take into account the experience of the writer she needs to read 'reviewing and you'. Then the newbs cry because they can't handle such harsh criticism. Honestly, though, in the last few days, I've seen at least six crappy OT stories beaten down by Yami Ryu in exactly the same manner.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 7:42 PM

That's a good point, Jelly. You sound like you're somewhat experienced. Do you have an account on Serebii?

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 7:48 PM

By the way, whatever happened to Fanfiction of the Month? I see some really old threads around (for example, at the bottom of the page). Was it abused or something?

Venia Silente July 5th, 2009 8:01 PM

And I haven't been here for how long...?

What is your greatest weakness as a writer, whether in fanfiction or in general? (Other than writer's block)

Maybe that I'm, like, too flamboyant, and something like, that.

Also my overuse of comma if you haven't noticed.

But seriously. When I first began writing non-technical things, I realized I greatly lacked in the general description department, using too many or too deep words to describe stuff and somehow missing a more obvious and simpler way to describe things every time. A particular instance when I wrote something about a body in a bed makes me laugh sometimes (heck, it's good that I didn't write it as a "corpse").

With regards to the subject of the flood of "idea" or "query" threads, I can safely say that I am amused at how many of these topics exist here, in particular the "Complete my Idea for ¢2" kind. I'd rather see fewer deeper threads, really. But one particular thing that calls my attention is that, sometimes, one of these request for help is well versed, provides enough information, or shows that the authore has actually given it quite some brain time, and most spectacularly, it ends up here in the Lounge. If I recall correctly the whole Zombie Apocalypse Pokémon Stuff idea began right here about 10 pages ago; I myself am guilty of asking in deep about a Pokémon's perception of human beings. It is fun when such things happen because they kinda bring the Lounge back to life from Fainted Status when it has goe too much time... untouched.

Now, that said, I completely support the idea that the Lounge is more of a conversational place (what with the Chainsaw Chanseys, Doogie Howser, the Lounge Musical, etc). It is good to have some subjects debated here in a very light manner; if any subject, idea or proposal that is well developed before asking here requires asking back, then it's time for a subject-specific thread.

As for posting ideas or requesting help about things that will never, or at least not very soon be implemented, there are not many things to do unless we see the actual discussion taking place (be in the thread or outside of it). I've seen some threads that are very obviously a question on a subject that will never be implemented, yet they end up having a purpose because the topic trigger a particular kind of discussion or inspire the author to try another prespective and do another kind of work. I myself took one of the latest opinions in my own idea thread and decided to try and integrate it with the story I am currently writing. It'll take quite some time to see the light (Elusive Goals is projected to have 20 chapters, the actual Indigo Tournament battles begin at Ch.8), but still.

So, answering the questions...

All that whole thing said, I... kinda don't support the idea of banning idea threads. I would like something like a "thread warrant system": overall, lighthearted discussion takes place in the Lounge, if the poster of the Original Problem and its reviewers decide the idea has particular merit or the discussion may be long or deep enough that it would either monopolize the Lounge or be dragged because it is too specific, then a specific "idea thread" is sanctioned. Yes, way slower and it may be mod-dependant, but between that and a threadyard I have already made my mind 42 times.

1. To you, what function do these idea threads serve?

To me idea threads allow for laser-guided, specific and efective help when the problem warrants it. Which seems to be the minority of threads, of course.

Some discussions will become long runners, others require a level of depth and further reporting that may and will interfere with the more normal, light operation of a, well, normal and light thread. So a special-subject threas is required.

2. Keeping in mind your answer to #1, do you think it's necessary for these threads to exist?

I completely do, albeit with certain limitations as stated above.


It essentially boils down to what Valentine said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valentine
The awkward thing is that we've got so many things going on at once. For example, Kanto Lover was looking for advice about her snippet, but she was only addressed by two people, while the rest of us focused on a bunch of other topics (namely the bold ones). Maybe she was looking for only two opinions, but on the other hand, maybe it's okay to encourage people to branch off of the FFL and form other threads. Given the number of responses people make to the idea threads, I think we'll see it, even if it's one of those "I have a snippet" bits, and at least there, we'll have more room to form a conversation with the OP and help her through things like that.

(emphasis added, not that it is any bad, but it plainly stated the reason for a particular idea becoming a thread, as per in-forum definition)



Quote:

Depending on the majority's answer, I might come up with another experiment.
I love when you experiment with us, Valentine... :cheeky:

Quote:

To cut down on the stickies in the Lounge, you could compile all the "guide" threads into one.
That's quite a good idea and I would like to help, seeing that at some point I was forcibly appointed as an Apprentice "emerency Scarlet Weather" which means I should be contributing to the Lounge... Don't Ask, it was a weird thing.

Oh curses, I previewed and saw I have been ninjaed at least 4 times...

Quote:

I too think it's a good idea to have seperate threads on bigger topics. It's cool that we're discussing stuff here, but sometimes if I want to go back to a specific topic, I have to go back 23838383 pages. XD For instance, I remember one time the discussion of what happens to the Pokemon if someone goes jail and I want to go back to read that topic for the ending of NE. The end result is I was trying to find that discussion for two hours with no luck. -_- I then said screw this, I'll just come up with something and end it there. XD
That's also one of the things I don't like about the Lounge. if you want to look for something, it becomes quite complicated unless you have a good previous impression of what the subject was about, and even then it becomes complicated because of the way the subjects are discussed - deeply and sparsely at the same time. A subject that was first discussed at page 295 can trigger no comments until page 300, and even then as a secondary subject inside another in a post, and then be sparsely discussed in about three or four posts until page 340. Some other times a very specific subject is brought about in page 301 and some good comments are made in page 303, but you have to read all through because the subject is encased, or "sandwiched" in between two larger and softer pieces of bread subjects that are also treated more lightheartedly in every post. Try and search the thread for "Sentret" or "airborne", come on, I dare you.

If something can be done about that, like a "Fanfiction Lounge Table of Contents" (and I'm shooting myself in the foot here, see above) for at least the last year, then that would be quite fun, although I'm still not sure about its usefulness (and where would it go to begin with?).

Quote:

By the way, whatever happened to Fanfiction of the Month? I see some really old threads around (for example, at the bottom of the page). Was it abused or something?
Now that's a good question. I've not managed to fully understand what happened here, although I remember the matter was discussed here in the Lounge at some point. Search for it if you want, it can't be farther that 80 pages behind... :D

Now, what does this Writer's Area (the forum section in general) need in my opinion?

* a dedicated light discussion thread (like this one).
* a better distinction between actual writing discussion (plots, devices and tropes) versus an actual Pokémon discussion (Leagues, myths, canon(s), ...). Maybe, and I feel I am overstretching the problem, two separated threads for those particular kind of distinctions.
* (eventually, once people has been educated) a dedicated examination where people can for certain subjects (how to tackle a specific subject, for example their approach to the Storage System, yes, it was done here, somewhere between 200 and 100 pages ago. Feeling Google-lucky?) and have a short and active answer, be lead or referred to an adequate thread where that stuff has already been deeply discussed, or both. Integrated search systems are just not semantic enough.
* a coffee machine.
* a system that will keep me logged out until I finish my thesis.

Quote:

Once upon a time, way back in December 2007, a moderator of this section by the name of "Hanako Tabris" thought that the writing guides deserved a rewrite because of how disorganized they were.

Many many more! months later, the current moderator of this section took a look at the guides for this section, and saw how outdated they were.
LOL's...
Just lol's.


About the Serebii FF mods / reviewers...

I'll make no comment here, sorry. Although I'll say when I first came here was because I decided that PC looked more amicable when compared to Serebii, and the first people who welcomed me kinda... contgratulated me on my choice. I still created a Serebii account afterwards...

And speaking about that... My Serebii UU account...

Also, since I know I am going to be ninjaed...

Cracked nuts to you all... :D

Astinus July 5th, 2009 8:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citrinin (Post 4821881)
To cut down on the stickies in the Lounge, you could compile all the "guide" threads into one. I've seen them do that across other forums.

Once upon a time, way back in December 2007, a moderator of this section by the name of "Hanako Tabris" thought that the writing guides deserved a rewrite because of how disorganized they were.

Many many more! months later, the current moderator of this section took a look at the guides for this section, and saw how outdated they were.

The fics referenced in the first guide are horrifically outdated, and unless some young author really wants to go searching for five year old fics, that's not good.

I'm really not liking the category of "overused" Pokemon.

Quote:

-Oneshots (stories with just one chapter) should be at least 1400 words long
No. Absolutely not. There are many short stories out there that work when they fall under 1400 words. (I personally have many like that myself, and if I tried to stretch them out to reach that "at least" amount, it just wouldn't work.) Besides, that automatically discredits the drabble form for stories, meaning that if a drabble writer sees that in our guide, it makes them not want to post their work here.

Quote:

-Don’t use “said” without adverbs. “Said” is the most boring verb in any Fanfiction.
Again: No. Absolutely not. I personally don't like adverbs to "perk up" writing. Context should be used. Also, this leads to many young authors thinking that they have to use such gems as "he jerked out" and "she ejaculated" as dialogue tags, which is worse than "said".

Quote:

-Always have descriptions! This is not a movie. Your readers rely on your words to “see” what’s happening. The more detailed your story is, the better.
Quote:

-Never dedicate an entire paragraph to descriptions… descriptions are important, but do not let the story come to a halt for the sake of descriptions.
Quote:

One thing to do when you're doing descriptions is to use a Thesaurus. If you don't have one at home, you can use Microsoft Word's Thesaurus.
Again: No. Absolutely not. There will be no thesaurus abuse.

Quote:

Colors often represent many ideas behind it, especially on an original character's clothing
Sometimes, though, a green hat is just a green hat because that was what the character was pictured wearing when they appeared in the author's mind.

Quote:

Oh, and yeah, like Oni says, use the Thesaurus. Many times, it has helped me. Green became, for me, which has extended my vocab by miles, verdant, lush, emerald, jade... get the point?
Please oh please. Who cut the cheese, right? Again, green is green, and we're not interior designers here. We don't care what shade of green something is that a character is wearing.

The parts that say that scenes that take place in X weather are the exact same in terms of symbolism annoy me, since I personally wrote a fanfic that was fluffy about two characters caught in a heavy downpour, which according to the guide means:

Quote:

Heavier rain

- Dark feelings and mood
- Weeping
- Terror, panic (fear of lightning)
- Gloom and depression
- Brooding
- Passion and anger
I'm not going to go through the various guides to reviewing in the first writing guide, since that's not where my knowledge lies.

Quote:

No... Prologue are meant to be short and quick, nice and easy. Prologue is the reverse of the fanfic chapters. Fanfic chapters got a generally preferred word length minimum, while prologues got a word length maximum. No reason for any prologue to last more than 500 words approximately
I'm getting annoyed at the "word count" parts of this guide. The prologue for the book series that taught me the most about writing starts off with a prologue that is well over 500 words. It's at least three times that much, if not more.

Quote:

When a script fanfic is written nicely enough (almost impossible in a fanfic skill level of writing though)
...

Then there's a whole list of nicknames that for Pokemon that are all in Japanese, which leads to possible foreign language misuse.

There's no disagreement with the first post of the first writing guide until the last few posts of the second page.

And the second guide has been deemed as wrong/inexperienced in some areas by the original poster of the guide.

Quote:

By the way, whatever happened to Fanfiction of the Month?
Mod got lazy. Not a lot of interest from the people.

I can say that the July FFotM, if my laptop hadn't died, would have made Val the member with the most sticky threads in this section.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 8:09 PM

Serebii was the second major forum I joined. This is the third.

As for Kanto Lover's request, make that three. I didn't post here because I gave her feedback over MSN.

Ninja'd while reading solovino's post. Astinus, you're right, we need a revamp. I'd be willing to help. And I would so vote in FFotM.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 8:13 PM

Hmmm, if there are that many problems, Astinus, then I think there definitely needs to be a rewrite. :O Or at least an edit.

Feign July 5th, 2009 9:44 PM

Quote:

The parts that say that scenes that take place in X weather are the exact same in terms of symbolism annoy me, since I personally wrote a fanfic that was fluffy about two characters caught in a heavy downpour, which according to the guide means:
I don't usually describe the weather in my writings (unless important), but I do like Pathetic Fallacy XD.

Astinus July 5th, 2009 9:49 PM

I'm thinking that there would be a community-written guide. We all have our areas of expertise that make us all different from the rest. So why don't we all get together as a community and work towards making a general guide that will be the ultimate in ultimate guides?

See, what I'm thinking, is that whoever wants to write a guide gets to volunteer their services to write a guide on what they're good at (dialogue, characters, description, research). They get checked out by the others to make sure that things are up to snuff, then the guides get written. When done, they get shared so that comments can be made, advice can be added/taken out. Then they get posted in a lovely sticky guide that has a table of contents for easy reference.

This way, there's only one guide. It's not all over the place, and not one person is doing all the work.

Does this work for everyone?

Edit: Thank you, Feign, for teaching me about something I have never even heard of before.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 9:50 PM

I love using the weather. Like the first chapter of Shattered; the weather is beautiful, setting a positive tone. Then the characters start talking about the cyclone in Johto (fun), which makes you wonder whether something bad is happening.

EDIT: Ninja'd. And yes, Astinus, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I recommend we put Reviewing and You in there, for starters. That's one guide which will never be outdated.

Feign July 5th, 2009 9:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Astinus (Post 4822454)
I'm thinking that there would be a community-written guide. We all have our areas of expertise that make us all different from the rest. So why don't we all get together as a community and work towards making a general guide that will be the ultimate in ultimate guides?

See, what I'm thinking, is that whoever wants to write a guide gets to volunteer their services to write a guide on what they're good at (dialogue, characters, description, research). They get checked out by the others to make sure that things are up to snuff, then the guides get written. When done, they get shared so that comments can be made, advice can be added/taken out. Then they get posted in a lovely sticky guide that has a table of contents for easy reference.

This way, there's only one guide. It's not all over the place, and not one person is doing all the work.

Does this work for everyone?

Edit: Thank you, Feign, for teaching me about something I have never even heard of before.

Thanks :)

I could definitely help out :) (on a side note, I remember providing a post on how to write a proper argument in another forum, dunno if it would be useful here).

If anyone else wants to know about Pathetic Fallacy click on the link you just read.

As for the example I said, the weather in a story incorporating Pathetic Fallacy would mean that the weather would reflect the opposite of the current tone in the writing. So the day would be sunny when someone had been murdered. Or a couple got married during a hail storm.

This is in its basic form, Pathetic Fallacy tends to get into Romanticism (not to be confused with Romance).

The most fun literary device I'd love to use, but do not have a chance to use, is Poetic Justice.

Bay July 5th, 2009 9:58 PM

Quote:

I can say that the July FFotM, if my laptop hadn't died, would have made Val the member with the most sticky threads in this section.
Astinus, you know Val will love you for that (and more). :P

And also for the community guide thing, sounds grand. :) Hm, I might want to do a guide, but not sure what I'm good at/what I want to write about. ^^;

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 10:07 PM

The community-written guide sounds like an excellent idea. ^_^ I'm 100% for it.

Misheard Whisper July 5th, 2009 10:14 PM

I can expand on my post in the Reviewing and You, about respect for writers/reviewers and consideration of genre?

liveitout July 5th, 2009 11:33 PM

Quote:

I'm thinking that there would be a community-written guide. We all have our areas of expertise that make us all different from the rest. So why don't we all get together as a community and work towards making a general guide that will be the ultimate in ultimate guides?
Coincidentally (or probably not), people in the roleplay forum have been talking about doing this exact same thing. Must be the season for cleaning out old guides. Unfortunately, it hasn't quite got off the ground. I'm going to watch how you guys go about making a collaborative guide it and copy your method, if it works.

Citrinin July 5th, 2009 11:37 PM

Yes, the logistics might be a bit tricky, but we know from things like Wikipedia that such endeavours can be highly successful.

Possibly we could have two threads: one for posting ready-to-be-reviewed guides (or partial guides on topics), and a commenting thread for making suggestions. Then, once there's a general consensus that we have enough content, we could begin to amalgamate, eliminating redundancies and tidying up the format.

Just a suggestion.

txteclipse July 6th, 2009 2:20 AM

Holy crap. This place exploded while I was gone. Look at all this important business being conducted! Sparknotes of what I think: idea threads=cool if not used to let other people write your stories, writer's guide revamp=also cool. I'll try to help, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a very dependable person when it comes to things like that. I'll still try, though.

JX Valentine July 6th, 2009 5:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay (Post 4822488)
Astinus, you know Val will love you for that (and more). :P

You imply that I don't already sleep with the mod.

I mean, what?

Seriously, though, thanks guys. ♥

Also, supporting the idea of a community-written guide and possibly the two-thread idea. I say possibly because on the one hand, it'll keep the guide thread from getting cluttered, meaning we'd have less of a chance of accidentally drowning a newer, smaller guide in comments to a larger one. On the other hand, there's a slight problem with confusion, but if there's no confusion over the idea that the guide thread would be a work in progress and that the guides there aren't necessarily finalized or our Bible, then this one won't be an issue.

I'm definitely going to help out here with whatever guides people don't want to write and with critiquing.

Giratina ♀ July 6th, 2009 6:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkling Dragon (Post 4821847)
Yami Ryu much?

Yami Ryu. Yikes.

I think that people over there just can't take lighthearted stories very well. You know, like not necessarily 'comedy' but not overly-serious either. And since those types of stories are the only ones I seem capable of writing, a few days after joining Serebii for the main purpose of ficpostery and maybe spriting I just kinda grimaced and said, "I'll wait until the rewrite."

Woah. Okay, big post jump.

As for the fic revamp idea, I think that could be very useful. Even though some of the points you responded to were really just opinion versus opinion, a good rewrite every once in a while never hurt anyone. If you want to keep the old thread around just for archives or something, I guess we could do that as long as someone edits the beginning(I think mods and admins can do that?)/responds to the thread saying that there is a newer version, for those of us who have a preference to keeping up-to-date.

Bay July 6th, 2009 8:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valentine (Post 4823238)
You imply that I don't already sleep with the mod.

I mean, what?

Oh, but it's not for lust. It's for love this time. :P *gets shoot a thousand times*

And Giratinasaur, total agreement with you on Serebii on that one. The only lighthearted stories they'll accept are parodies. And also, the audience seem to like the more darker fics and think angst teenagers are developed characters. -_-

I think it's safe to say NE is mostly a lighthearted story (the suspense and mystery elements are used in a less intense tone) ...until Jacob suddenly had a change in personality. :O

Misheard Whisper July 6th, 2009 11:22 AM

Going with the two thread idea . . .

We all post our bits, discuss and edit them in one. Then Astinus reposts them all in a second thread and locks it. If further sections are added later on, she just unlocks the thread, adds, and locks it again! Hm?

Feign July 6th, 2009 4:15 PM

Should we add our tidbits here? I'm thinking to write a small guide on what is best to avoid writing on.

Also I don't imagine that I'm going to have a big long guide, instead rather, smaller tidbits, that would be just as useful. So as long as it fits in a category (with other people's advice), could that work?

Citrinin July 6th, 2009 4:24 PM

I imagine so: a community written guide would consist of many things, and a small contribution is still a contribution. ^^

Legendarian Mistress July 6th, 2009 5:53 PM

Spoiler:

Prologue:

Viridian City, Spring 2008…

If one was to step down the stairs of the Viridian Pokémon Mart’s off limits area without knowing what was held down below, all they would see to their horror, was a row of narrow tubes lined up against all four sides of the large underground area. The tubes spawned from the ground to near the ceiling; their contents inside would seem like nothing but dark, lifeless objects huddled in the clear water to minimize their size. Several bubbles would float up from time to time from the oxygen tanks installed down below, and at the very back of the cave, a large monitor attached to the rugged stone would flicker every once in a while with long streams of coded characters running one after the other.

But for Professor Robert Jones who knew what the area really held, however, he would take four certain steps to the left and flick on the switch hidden behind a panel of stone. He would then watch the lights descend down from the ceiling to illuminate the environment below. Sterile equipment, glistening white in the bright light of the room, would lead up to the many laptops sitting innocently on the large counters, their screens black as they hummed in sleep. Thick wires attached to the backs of them would slither over the tabletops to the cylinders against the walls where many Pokémon rested, floating in their drugged sleep, before separating to join up with the main screen at the back of the room.

Beside at least five black, thin computer screens rested a silver platter of tools that lay beside each other one by one, as clean as the day they were made. Their metal almost had a malevolent feel to them as they glinted off their reflections under the lamps. Several cabinets stood tight against each other, on both sides of the large screen that served as the main database. Each handle was locked tightly together by small, golden lockets.

Deep in an underground facility, experiments were being conducted and Pokémon were being cloned. Due to the processes involved, they gave off tremendous amounts of gamma radiation, a dangerous kind of wave. It is because of this radiation that the facility had to be located underground. The cloning was normally done at level seven and the average depth was around five thousand, six hundred metres. Professor Robert Jones, the head scientist, was currently working on cloning a Meowth. The process had been successful so far.

He waited for a few minutes and smiled faintly to himself when a Meowth – exactly as he had imagined it – appeared in the cloning tank beside him. The tiny cat, with pale cobalt fur spotted with lavender blotches and a gold trinket on its brow, slept serenely. Its small front legs and huge hind paws were seen underneath it in a curled, foetal position. The cloning tanks themselves were circular glass tubes and connecting the Pokémon to the tanks were thin, flexible wires. Each of the several dozen cloning tanks had a screen in front of them that displayed vital statistics in complex graphs and detailed charts. Percentages flashed across the screen, slowly rising.

Stopping work to have a well needed break, he strolled over to have a look at the work of his colleagues’. In one tank was a sound asleep Growlithe. The small, orange dog also lay in a foetal position. A mane of amethyst hair covered the top of its head, while below its chin was a large beard of the same fur. Black stripes covered its body, giving it a feline look, and the normally fluffy tail was actually two small, ribbon-like tails that swerved by movements known only to them.

Adjusting his glasses, Robert spoke to his colleague. “How is the progress of the Growlithe clone?”

“It’s going well, sir,” the junior scientist replied, trembling from a little excitement. “Its vital statistics are slow to rise, which is worrying. Other than that, everything is going according to plan.”

“Very good,” the head scientist answered back, placing a hand on his colleague’s shoulder. Dressed in a white laboratory coat and black boots, with the traditional glasses that scientists wore, he had a look of power about him. “It doesn’t really matter that its statistics are rising a bit too slowly, as it will reach one hundred percent sooner or later.”

Turning away from the junior scientist, he faced the other cloning tanks and observed the rest of the scientists working on the other genetically engineered Pokémon. It looked as though Professor Robert Jones was about to speak, when he was interrupted by a hesitant cough.

Another junior scientist, whose scientific intellect was inferior to that of his superiors, raised his hand in a questioning way. Prone to talk out of turn, he carried on, regardless of the fact that Robert hadn’t even turned his cold blue-eyed gaze on him. “Boss, who gave us all of this money in the first place?”

“You imbecile!” Professor Robert Jones started. “We will find that out in due time! For the moment, keep your head down, bottom up and get working!”

Shaking his head in dismay as he walked away, Jones couldn’t help thinking. Some of these junior scientists are just not meant to be in the scientific workforce.

An hour later, the scientists had finished their work on the cloned Pokémon. Taking in each of the experiments’ features didn’t take long, and Professor Robert Jones nodded slowly. “This Treecko,” he began, “what’s the progress report on it?”

The Treecko was a small bluish-grey reptilian being. It happened to be gifted at ascending trees in no time at all, and its hands and feet had spikes on them. An outstandingly thick and cumbersome tail, more or less the length of its body, grew from its rear.

“It was one of the last to reach one hundred percent, sir,” another scientist answered.

“I see,” he replied.

“Sir,” the junior scientist started off. “How will we know how strong these Pokémon are?”

“I’m not sure, Blake,” Robert responded. “But I hope we find out soon enough.”


Later, the ageing Professor Oak was having a conversation with an aide who had just come back from a secret mission. The Professor was old, and the aide young, but Oak still insisted that he was young-spirited.

Oak’s greying hair was trimmed neatly, as it came down just short of his ears; whereas the aide’s long brown hair came down to his shoulders and he also had the beginning of a goatee. Both Oak and the aide wore long white lab coats, but Oak’s fell down to his black boots and the aide’s stopped in between the knee and the ankle. The assistant also wore a short-sleeved grey v-neck jumper over a blue business shirt.

“How was everything? Were you able to smuggle a few of them away, Mike?” Professor Oak asked quietly, his voice a bit hoarse.

“It went perfectly,” Mike answered. “And yes, I got a few of them with me. But being a double-crosser isn’t easy. If they find out, we’re history.”

Mike paused and drew four gleaming, red and white Poké Balls from his pocket. “The majority of them were Kanto-based creatures, but there were others – from Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh – who weren’t native. The security cameras were malfunctioning, as well, which proved handy.”

“Are these four worthy of being classified as you-know-what?” the researcher questioned, his grey eyes appearing to glint for a moment.

The aide looked at his mentor and nodded silently. He handed the four spheres over to Professor Oak, who placed them in the small dome. Mike looked away briefly, thinking of the scientists he had deceived, but was jerked out of his reverie by an expectant Professor.

“Did you not hear me? I asked which ones they were,” the researcher repeated.

“Budew, Growlithe, Spheal and Shinx,” the aide answered.

“Thank you for your time,” Professor Oak replied, with a genuine smile on his face.

At the same time, he wondered what had been going on in his aide’s head before he had had to repeat himself. But for now, the next Pokémon League season was rapidly approaching and that meant he would have to devote time to drafting up trainer cards.


That evening, the sunset cast long shadows over the town of Pallet. As Charles Ryder Harris, blonde-haired husband of Fiona, sat in his wheelchair on the back patio he reflected on how one incident changed his life forever.

All I had been doing was watching the Dratini evolve into Dragonair in the Fuchsia City Safari Zone. I suppose I should’ve kept my eye on the Rhydon herd as well, because all of a sudden there was an explosion. They panicked and started stampeding in my direction. Even to this day I knew I should have gotten out of their way then, but I was still entranced with the evolving Dratini colony and I failed to realize that the herd’s speed was deceptive. Because of that, I misjudged my escape time. They loomed ever closer; I tried to get out of their way, but it was too late. The herd steam-rolled over me and that’s how I ended up the way I am today.


For those who have read my fic, if they compare that version of the prologue to this version, maybe some more things will be understood. Please feel free to comment.

Bay July 6th, 2009 9:26 PM

Kanto Lover, regarding the prologues...

Spoiler:
I read both of them and to tell the truth, the second version of the prologue doesn't look too different from the first prologue. However, I like how you indicate that the lab is in the PokeMart. The first version didn't indicate where the hidden lab is.

Onto other things, I want to say that the description of the lab is too much and it seems you're trying to have the place be detailed all at once. No, don't do that. Gradually describe the lab bit by bit. One instance is you can have the lab be described while Jones and his scientist are at work, have the head scientist's emotions be shown and such. Okay, to give you a better idea of what I'm saying, here's one example from my fic:

Quote:

From Chapter Six of "Nothing, Everything"
While Jenny and Bunny stared at the Vivus painting, Balin and Sky looked around at the weapons.

Balin looked at an armor filled with dust and scratches. The fox Pokémon stared at it in disgust and then snorted. His nose wrinkled when some dust landed on it and he sneezed.

Sky was staring at a few axes and arrows until he glared at his own reflection on a shiny shield. After the Drifblim saw that, he moved his eyes in an appreciated sort of manner. He then inhaled some air to make himself bigger and then laughed.

Sky’s laughter had Balin instantly ram towards the armor out of flight and then fall on his back. The armor shook violently and was making noises. Balin saw that with eyes wide open and then got up to run away. The armor was falling down until…

THUD!
Okay, this isn't the best example, but it'll do. XD Basically what I did is I described what's inside the room but at the same time I have some action going on and some emotions here and there. Hence, having the description of the room being done gradually.


I also want to talk about one part of dialouge that made me double-take:

Quote:

Another junior scientist, whose scientific intellect was inferior to that of his superiors, raised his hand in a questioning way. Prone to talk out of turn, he carried on, regardless of the fact that Robert hadn’t even turned his cold blue-eyed gaze on him. “Boss, who gave us all of this money in the first place?”
Saying "Boss" to the head scientist? I would think the junior scientist would say "Professor" instead. In a corporate setting, maybe (if you want to be rude to your boss :P), but not so much in a lab setting, even if the lab is going underground.

Last thing I want to talk about is the addition of the last part. One thing is I'm not sure why that part is added and how it's connected to the prologue (and the story overall), but then again I haven't read the other chapters of Spliced yet. Another thing is I actually have one reviewer tell me this too--the thoughts on the man's perspective went too long. Instead have the man's thoughts be in his perspective a couple of times and then expand on that in the narrative. Here's another cruddy example from my fic XD :

Quote:

From the Epilogue of "Nothing, Everything"
Not too far from Lucas and the reporters, both Bunny and Jenny looked on, weary looks on their faces.

That was a hard trial to get through, Bunny thought to herself.

It was a couple of months after Jacob was caught and the trial was a short but intense one. The reporters would always stay overnight to try to get the latest information, much to Lucas’ annoyance. There were many witnesses, including Brenda and her husband, Matt, and Momoan. She created a scene when she complained how Bunny, Jenny, and Jacob ruined the competition, so that particular contest was delayed for a couple of days.

Not easy going against Jacob.

Bunny felt she could not breathe when the lawyers kept asking her questions about what Jacob did to her and Jenny. On a couple of questions, she stuttered, but for the most part she was able to answer them without being emotional. Each time Bunny gazed at Jacob’s eyes, she knew he was sad to see her going against him like that, but she had to.

I felt weird about that, especially after I had forgiven him.


“Bunny, are you okay?”

The young woman turned around and saw Jenny looking at her with deep concern. She gave out a chuckle.

“Sorry. Just that it was hard for me to answer the lawyers’ questions in front of the Professor.”
Here I have Bunny's thoughts in her perspective short and sweet while I expand on why she think this and that in the narrative.

Well, hopefully if you decide to do another rewrite of the prologue that you'll take this and the other advice people gave you in consideration.

Astinus July 7th, 2009 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giratinasaur (Post 4823257)
Even though some of the points you responded to were really just opinion versus opinion

I understand that. I wasn't planning on even implying that all guides must follow what my opinions were on writing. If that was true, then no fanfiction out there would have description only because of how awkward I find description (both writing and reading it) to be, especially physical description of a character.

There were somethings that I pointed out that weren't a matter of opinion, such as the minimum word count of short stories. What I'm hoping for with this new guide that's being talked about is a not-so-specific guide. It should be a more general guide, a place for new writers to begin getting advice to figure out how to write fanfiction before they develop their own style. It would be like the basics being shared.

Right now, I'm rather tired from a bad sleeping schedule and from a long day at work (and I doubt that I'll be able to sleep well when I go to bed soon), so I'm not going to say anything in terms of planing out this guide, or any of the other changes to this subforum. If any of you have any more input on this, then feel free to say whatever you have to say.

I'll start the two threads when my mind is actually working.

Citrinin July 7th, 2009 1:35 AM

Hooray!

I'm curious: how far ahead do people write ahead before posting a chapter? That is, do you have, keep, say, a chapter or two ahead in Word just in case? The idea occurred to me today, as I'll be away for a few days next week.

txteclipse July 7th, 2009 2:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citrinin (Post 4826398)
Hooray!

I'm curious: how far ahead do people write ahead before posting a chapter? That is, do you have, keep, say, a chapter or two ahead in Word just in case? The idea occurred to me today, as I'll be away for a few days next week.

I post two chapters for every one I write. In other words, I don't write ahead.

JX Valentine July 7th, 2009 2:37 AM

Dude, seriously, Kanto Lover, we just got done using you as an example for why we should split off from the FFL and make separate threads. Especially now that you've given us the entire blinking prologue to your fic. O_x Get a beta!

I don't mean to be biting, but... yeah. It's going to be hard to comment a la beta-style via this thread because, remember, you only got two comments last time around. It might be more beneficial if we could separate your question (i.e., "How does this look?") into its own thread so we can spend some time on discussing what's going on and how to improve your story. As it stands, this thread boxes us in and limits how much conversation we can get going about your work.

And even then, it seems like what you're trying to do is get the entire thread to act as your beta for you. Don't you already have one? I mean, I'm all for commenting on prose and whatnot (and I really have to do so recently because I have, like, three or four stories that still aren't over a month old that are either review requests or otherwise review promises), but it seems like what you're expecting from us is the detailed proofreading that you should really only be getting from someone who's working closely with your work before you post it. Which is, by definition, a beta reader.

As for Citrinin's question, I tend to finish up a half a chapter before I post the next one for AEM. Which, actually, is a bit of a problem because it means there's a bit of a wait for the next one. It was nice when I actually had another chapter waiting in the wings last month because I couldn't stop writing the stupid thing, but. *shrug*

(Also, not having a new chapter waiting before I posted the next one is what's killing A Midsummer Knight's Dream. Because then I wander off somewhere between chapter twelve and thirteen.)

In other words, in answer to the question of whether or not you should work ahead, I say you might as well do it.

P.S. Guys, my beta finally joined PC. Now, to rope her into this thread. *evil hand rubbing*

Citrinin July 7th, 2009 2:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valentine
P.S. Guys, my beta finally joined PC. Now, to rope her into this thread. *evil hand rubbing*

This will be the best evil plot ever. >:D [S]he will have to endure our... posts?

Thanks for your replies. ^^

Bay July 7th, 2009 9:59 AM

I write ahead for a couple reasons. One, to make sure that I'll actually stick with that project. I would write a few chapters first before I know that I'll be fully committed to that story. Second reason is so I'll have a chapter ready to be posted, considering during uni breaks I have a lot of time to write and when uni starts I don't really have that much time. This break through I haven't written anything besides the 7k story because I suddenly got a lot of things to do this summer. :X

And Valentine, hah my review is more like a mini beta report? XD; I don't really think so. I just explain a couple of things and give advice. Half of the review is actually me posting long excerpts from my fic to better illustrate my explanations. XD In all seriousness though, I get what you're saying. The only problem is maybe there might be a few more people that would also post threads just asking if this scene is good enough and such if you encourage Kanto Lover to do that (though yeah, good that you told her it's better if she brings whatever writing problems she have with the beta).

Misheard Whisper July 7th, 2009 11:36 AM

I never really write ahead. Whenever I finish a chapter, I go all 'OOH OOH OOH I finushed a chapter zomg lets go post it!"

>_>
<_<
>_<

I'm working on that one.

Dagzar July 7th, 2009 12:24 PM

I usually write ahead, having around 1000 words of the next chapter done before I post the current one. Lately though, I've been procratinating, so now I'm behind in my writing and I'm too lazy to write more than I have too. <_<

Misheard Whisper July 7th, 2009 12:30 PM

Yay! Procrastinators of PC unite!
Tomorrow . . .

That's the problem I had with all my dead chaptered fics. I lost a little interest after a while. As a result, I didn't feel such an urgent need to write. So I procrastinated. That made me feel further and further away from my fic, making me feel less and less like wanting to write. So I procrastinate more. Eventually, I just go 'screw it!' and delete the file. Not happening with Shattered, though.

Giratina ♀ July 7th, 2009 12:38 PM

I've got about ten chapters of two separate stories written and I haven't posted either of them here. I guess that's probably because of a great abundance of writer's block (and also because the five-pages-per-week thing I did with Metal Coat was a real pain...).

So yes, I like to write (or at least think) ahead when I can.

Misheard Whisper July 7th, 2009 12:51 PM

Well, you're a step ahead of me, then. I can't write something without posting it.

*puts Giratinasaur on pedestal*
*worships*
^_^

Astinus July 7th, 2009 1:15 PM

Can I safely say that I am the only one that actually finishes the entire fanfic before posting it? While I mostly write one-shots, the one multi-chapter fic I have was completely finished before I released it online.

The reason why I do this is because it tends to take me a long while to write a fanfic. For instance, the multi-chapter fic took me two years to write. So I would like to have an entire fic finished before posting it so that there's not years between chapter postings, to the point where people might forget that the fic exists.

I'm also tending to agree with Valentine, Kanto Lover. You're asking for a group of people to look at your entire prologue in a thread that is for general discussion. If you want more than one or two people to look at your prologue, you should post it in a separate thread. Or at least talk to your beta.

I'm working on starting the revolution here in the Writer's Lounge, everyone. Good news there.

Misheard Whisper July 7th, 2009 1:37 PM

This whole issue is the reason that I mostly write oneshots. Requires far less commitment. Go ahead, tell me I'll never be a good author if I keep that up. ^_^ I know. I'm working on it. If I finish Shattered, I'll take it as a sign of improvement.

Astinus July 7th, 2009 2:29 PM

Everyone, I'm ashamed to admit this, but my memory needs refreshing.

What topics would be covered in the stickied FFL thread, compared to being discussed in their own separate thread?

I'm going to assume that the FFL would be used to discuss small writing questions, like the one we just had. I would just like a distinction made by other people before I set things in stone.


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