![]() |
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. >_> |
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:
By the way, I haven't seen you around these parts before. Welcome. ^_^ |
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)? |
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 |
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. ^_^_^ |
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 |
Don't get ahead of yourself, Citrinin. I already said you could have the whip. ;P
|
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_<; |
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 . . . |
Quote:
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. |
^_^ Astinus is tired, methinks.
|
Quote:
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." |
Quote:
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. |
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.
|
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 |
Quote:
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. ^_^; |
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. |
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 |
I tend to make it up as I go along. It's so much fun just rolling with it.
|
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;
|
Well, I always have a general idea of where my plot is going. For example, in Shattered,
Spoiler:
But beyond that, I like to fill in the blanks. Otherwise, it feels like writing the story twice. |
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
|
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.
|
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.
|
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. |
Heh, that's something you could write a one-shot on. ;)
|
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. |
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.
|
Quote:
.... >_> <_< |
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.... |
Quote:
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.) |
Quote:
|
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. |
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.
|
Quote:
Quote:
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.) |
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. |
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. |
Quote:
*sparklesparkle* Quote:
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:
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:
Quote:
|
Quote:
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." |
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. |
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." ).
|
Quote:
Quote:
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). |
I was hanging around Serebii while PC was down. It's too biiiiiig. *hides in corner*
|
Quote:
And, of course, the people. Just... yeah. |
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! |
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. |
That sounds like a good idea - that is, having discussion topics outside the Lounge. ^^ That way, they won't die out so easily.
|
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?
|
Yes, let's go with the Plot Bunny Zoo.
Quote:
C'est moi. |
Since we're all posting our rarely-used Serebii Forums accounts, I may as well.
My relatively new Serebii account, then. |
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. |
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. |
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
|
Quote:
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:
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. |
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. |
Bring it on, Serebii! We'll be waiting with flamethrowers and Bug-types XD
Quote:
|
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. |
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Spoiler:
Quote:
Quote:
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* |
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 |
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.
|
That's a good point, Jelly. You sound like you're somewhat experienced. Do you have an account on Serebii?
|
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?
|
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:
Quote:
Quote:
Oh curses, I previewed and saw I have been ninjaed at least 4 times... Quote:
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:
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:
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 |
Quote:
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:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
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: Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
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:
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. |
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. |
Hmmm, if there are that many problems, Astinus, then I think there definitely needs to be a rewrite. :O Or at least an edit.
|
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?
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. |
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. |
Quote:
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. |
Quote:
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. ^^; |
The community-written guide sounds like an excellent idea. ^_^ I'm 100% for it.
|
I can expand on my post in the Reviewing and You, about respect for writers/reviewers and consideration of genre?
|
Quote:
|
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. |
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.
|
Quote:
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. |
Quote:
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. |
Quote:
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 |
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? |
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? |
I imagine so: a community written guide would consist of many things, and a small contribution is still a contribution. ^^
|
Spoiler:
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. |
Kanto Lover, regarding the prologues...
Spoiler:
|
Quote:
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. |
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. |
Quote:
|
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* |
Quote:
Thanks for your replies. ^^ |
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). |
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. |
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. <_<
|
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. |
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. |
Well, you're a step ahead of me, then. I can't write something without posting it.
*puts Giratinasaur on pedestal* *worships* ^_^ |
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. |
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.
|
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. |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 3:06 AM. |
![]()
© 2002 - 2018 The PokéCommunity™, pokecommunity.com.
Pokémon characters and images belong to The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo. This website is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK, The Pokémon Company or The Pokémon Company International. We just love Pokémon.
All forum styles, their images (unless noted otherwise) and site designs are © 2002 - 2016 The PokéCommunity / PokéCommunity.com.
PokéCommunity™ is a trademark of The PokéCommunity. All rights reserved. Sponsor advertisements do not imply our endorsement of that product or service. User generated content remains the property of its creator.
Acknowledgements
Use of PokéCommunity Assets
vB Optimise by DragonByte Technologies Ltd © 2023.