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JX Valentine December 27th, 2007 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3199569)
How do you choose what fan fiction you are going to read? Randomly, or is it organised?

"Ooh! Pretty title!"

Um... Yeah. I'm easily distracted.

And if it's a friend's fic or a fic I know contains a character I like, I'll read it then too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3199907)
Anyways, I felt really impatient, so I decided to post my fan fiction, chapter one... I know you said you'd pre-read it Jax, but I have somehow messed up my e-mail account... If you want, you can do chapter two instead.

Perfectly fine by me. I'll try to sit down to read chapter one as soon as I get a free moment. I see it's already got five stars and six replies, which makes it look awesome just from a glance at the cover (so to speak), buuuut I'll wait until it's not 1:15 in the morning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay (Post 3201376)
What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?

Break at least 30k words for NaNoWriMo. Yes, I'm doing it again next year. No, I never learn.

Also, it'd be nice to actually break my chapter limit for a work. I'm already about halfway there with one certain epic, although I'm planning another alongside it that I'm extremely excited about.

At which point, my third resolution is to actually start and release that other work I have in mind, rather than stew on it and then scrap it again like I did with Project: Firefly.

And my fourth and final resolution: I'm doing a collab fic. Actually finish my chapter and send it off on time so my partner can do his. The saint I'm working with doesn't mind the delays, but it'd be nice to actually continue the project.

Saffire Persian December 27th, 2007 11:55 PM

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Originally Posted by Hanako Tabris (Post 3201310)
Ah ha ha ha, Bay. :x I'm on the case with the beta work. It's just that I got a new video game that's really good, innovative, and fun to play. So I've gotten lazy. Plus, I got a new book by a certain author that I'm obsessed over.

New video game? Do tell.

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?

I'll be damned if I don't get at least eight chapters of my Nanowrimo fic done and posted. Ah, and working more on Metamorphosis, too. The story can't die because I'm distracted by other works and life in general.

txteclipse December 28th, 2007 12:52 AM

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?

I want to take my time getting to the parts at the end of my book that I already have structured out in my head. In other words, slow and steady is the key (although not too slow). I have rushed a few chapters, I'll admit, so I don't want to do that anymore.

I also want to keep my ever-increasing wonder of the world ever-increasing. I don't want to get bored of the things around me, so I'll try to find things to interest me. I've been doing a good job of it so far (too good, you might say), but I want it to continue. I don't want to be dragged to the depths of monotony that ritual and familiarity can so easily cause, as has happened to me too often.

/end cheesy monologue. And yes, that is correlated with writing, although you probably knew that.

Astinus December 28th, 2007 2:29 AM

Quote:

New video game? Do tell.
Drawn To Life. It's a game where nearly everything is created by the player. You draw the hero, the weapons, the vehicles the hero uses in the world. It's for the DS, and I know that you have trouble getting your hands on the DS, Saff. (Still have your Glameow that you requested, to let you know.)

Of course, now I just installed The Sims: Unleashed on my laptop. ^^; So there's another game I love playing.

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?
Actually post my fic on the day I decided on. I figured that if I had a certain date in mind that I wanted to post the fic on, then I would actually get my lazy bum in gear and do something. So far, it worked.

Alter Ego December 28th, 2007 3:55 AM

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Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3192361)
YAY!!! My posts make two more people their b****es. Ii kanji da na~. ^^

Well, if reading's all it takes then that would make a female dog for the posts of everyone in this thread. xD *Shot*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3192361)
the idea of Pokemon saying their names is actually an anime cliche.... several mascot-like characters will say their own name (or some phrase) to seem cute (it doesn't even need to be the only thing they say... instead, it could work as a Japanese sentence particle or ending, as you can see with Nyaasu/Meowth in the Japanese version of the anime). Also, unlike what the English dub would have you believe, a lot of Pokemon don't call out their whole names in some drone-like fashion.... instead, a lot of Pokemon in the original version will only say a fragment of their name sounded out like an animalistic call (Juptor/Grovyle says "Jururururu" in growling tone). It's still an oddity that their calls resemble even part of their name (and we can't act as if Pokemon were named after their calls, since nearly all Pokemon are named after actual words, in both Japan and English-speaking countries... I can assume the French and German names have meaning as well), but again, it's an anime cliche. I guess most people just go with it in the end. And if it really bugs anyone, there's nothing in canon to suggest they must say their names (as a matter of fact, in the video games and the Special manga, they only tend to growl).

Well, there are cases when an animal's cry actually sounds like their name. At least...there's one case. Ever heard a gecko's cry? It sounds just like "geck-O!". :3 But yeah, that's an exception. I usually go for the part-of-name approach myself (In case where I could imagine part of the name actually sounding like their cry, like with Murkrow), but yeah...some are just a bit too far-fetched. It's just at the same time...well, even in the manga and games they seem to respond to their species names right from the get-go (though the latter is obviously a practical simplification) so I was sort of looking for some way to explain that with the name thing. xD

And like...that mascot thing sounds familiar. I think I saw something about that in a Digimon fansub, come to think of it. But yeah, thanks for clearing that up. I always found the saying their names bit a tad strange, but then everyone seemed to be doing it so I figured it was convention. xD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3192361)
As for the idea of Pokemon knowing their own name when called out by a human.... I brought up how Pokemon seem to already know attacks earlier, so it's not hard to imagine they have their species names imprinted in their minds (if they don't have a small grasp on human languages altogether). Remember, I also suggested the idea of relating Pokemon training to dog training earlier. Pokemon could realistically come to understand their name and attack commands over time.

So...it could be some kind of genetic memory? I guess, though having such terms still sounds like it would be genetic memory created by a long period of domestication. Ehh...come to think of it, I think I'll go with understanding human language. It covers more ground so I'll have to make less excuses. xD

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Originally Posted by purple_drake (Post 3192627)
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of fans or pumps inside the pipes which they might use to get water around to the different locations, but I know nothing about water systems so I'm just assuming they'd exist. :P

That makes two of us. I suppose that sort of thing could exist, but then I don't know squat about pipes either so I can't be sure. I think I'll just stick to Qwilfish travelling through the pipes and sort of skip over the details of their interior, no need to let such little details interfere with a good scheme. :3

Quote:

Originally Posted by purple_drake (Post 3192627)
Well, the problem with that is that then you'd have to explain how the wings grow and how they manage to levitate themselves... I mean, they're not psychic or anything. :P

I have a theory that their cells can absorb lighter-than-air gases--say, something like hydrogen--and when their cells build up enough of these gases then it enables them to float. Flying seems seems to be a matter of choice for them, though, so I haven't quite worked out how they manage to control to absorption enough that they can choose when they want to fly or not... but anyway.

Well, they might not be psychic, but they do have those weird orbs of theirs that supposedly give them the power to control weather, so I suppose they can at least manipulate the flying conditions in their favor. As for absorbing gases...that sounds like they'd have to absorb a heckuva' lot of gas, because the pokémon flying with that principle (Koffing and Weezing) are really only a kind of organic balloon with a very thin skin and -- presumably -- some kind of brain suspended within it, the rest being vacuous space for gases. This means that they have very little mass, and even so the gases only let them float, not really fly. Dragonair, on the other hand, are supposed to have fully solid bodies, so like...this sort of reminds me of the biology/physics/chemistry cross-science experiment I was involved in back in the IB. You see, we were going by the hypothesis that if you eat your chocolate cold enough, the amount of energy that your body would use to heat up the chocolate would equal the amount of energy you receive from consuming it, meaning no calorie absorption and thus no fat gain from eating the chocolate, regardless of how much you took. In principle, it works, in practice we found that you'd have to freeze the chocolate to a temperature somewhere below absolute zero, so...it wasn't very feasible. xD

But we did get to eat the excess research material, so it was a good experiment all things said. :3

So yeah, everything theoretically viable won't work in practice. Nice theory, though. ^^

Quote:

Originally Posted by purple_drake (Post 3192627)
As for pokemon calling themselves/each other pokemon--I like to think not. In fact I tend to think that they have different designations for things like cities, pokeballs, Pokemon Centres, etc. I generally have pokemon call themselves 'Kin' if referring to pokemon in general, and then 'brethren' when referring to one of their own type, right down to the generic 'pack' or 'eyrie' or whatever for their family groups and/or trainer and team (if they're human-owned). Haven't managed to figure out what they call each other if referring to specific species, though... about all I know is how eeveelutions refer to one another (eg, eevee=='cousin of the wilderness', vaporeon=='cousin of the lake').

I kind of view it as a separate 'culture', even though I also generally see pokemon as being intelligent enough to understand human speech too, so in time they would learn the human way of saying things. :P

Hmm...that's a good point about the learning bit (Hey, I've been preaching for the whole 'smart pokémon' thing since day one, so...xD), though that would always be restricted to explaining the behavior of individual pokémon or groupings of pokémon. (Like this one pokémon I wrote (a Spinarak, unless my memory is failing me) who always spoke with a ridiculous amount of dramatic flair because she lived in a theater and picked it up from overhearing all the plays. :3) But yeah, the species-to-species thing is still a puzzler. Ehh...I suppose the terms are open to interpretation since they are sort of pokémon-culture-dependent? I do agree that just going by pokémon seems odd for a pokémon who's never been acquainted with the word.

How do you choose what fan fiction you are going to read? Randomly, or is it organised?

I...sort of browse around. If I see something new by an author I like then I will feel inclined to start there, sometimes I may take a look at a much-praised fanfic just to see what all the fuss is about, but otherwise I just click at threads that seem to be of a suitable size for my tastes. And...I'll have to admit that formating is very important for my interest in reading a fic. If I see a neatly formated, professional-looking fic I'll feel inclined to read, whereas a mess of writing all bunched together makes me feel inclined to backtrack and look for something else.

And...well, if the formatting looks like a kindergartener's first collage project (Meaning a bunch of random font changes, colors, smilies, and sprites) then a part of my soul dies and I have to leave my computer for a moment to mourn it.


Seriously, few things make me resent a fic like bad formatting. The way I see it, it's proof that the author either a) can't be arsed to spend a few minutes of their life in organizing their messy thoughts into a presentable shape, or b) thinks that knowing how to use font and color change tags somehow improves their writing. >.< Seriously, when I look at a fic, I'm interested in the writing. Not the color of the font, not slapdash sprites; the writing. Anything that detracts from it just serves to lower my opinion of the fic. :\

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?

Resolution? Get some bloody chapters written and get something posted. That's it.

Seriously, I've been unable to concentrate on actually writing my fic for several weeks now and it's driving me up the walls, because I really want to get that first chapter written before I have to go. >.< I've already executed three different prologues, one opening chapter, and two main protagonists, and I'd hate for all their sacrifices to be in vain.

So yeah, I guess my big fanfic resolution would be get chapter one written before the 7th of January. :3


And yes, in case there are some here who haven't heard of it yet, I'm due for an extended absence/low activity period. Six months, to be precise, because that's the minimal amount of compulsory military service that I must undergo. After the first few weeks I get weekends off, but my activity will still probably be very limited. My apologies to anyone who may be inconvenienced by this, but I really don't have a choice in the matter. (Well, unless you consider one year of crappy communal job doing goodness knows what, goodness knows where, for below-minimum wage or two years of prison for deserting to be options, but I really don't. <.<) This is also, in a way, the reason for my lack of reviewing activity lately, as I've largely been wrapped up in exchanging soppy PMs with a number of forum friends and making arrangements for a number of unfortunate circumstances that will keep my RP characters out of their respective plots' path for half a year.

So yeah, sorry to Skii and the other people who have been forced to wait for their reviews longer than expected. (Mind you, only Skii could really expect, but I do plan to post for a number of others) I am working on them and they will get done; it's just that I have a lot of other things to do too. .__.

Mind you, Skii, posting another chapter for me to go through isn't exactly making your review come quicker, so please, pretty please, could you hold your horses with the new chapters for a couple of days? It would be much appreciated.

purple_drake December 28th, 2007 5:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3192870)
actually, there're extremely few Pokemon subs. They're mostly raws. However, Pocket Monsters is a pretty simplistic anime, so even if you don't know a lick of Japanese, it's not very difficult to catch the context of what's going on (and if you don't, there's plenty of summaries and stuff online). Though, knowing a bit of Japanese can still help (it's especially a treat with the jokes that come up... it's interesting that Dunsparce was talked about earlier, because its sole episode involved one of the most hilarious pun-based scenes I saw in the show. "Kocchi, kocchi!" XD).

Well, that makes things a little more difficult. :P I might still go for it, though--I'm actually interested in learning Japanese, I just have a problem with motivation. >.< I did learn it for five years in primary school, but I never really paid attention and I'm really regretting it now. And hey, maybe going for Japanese episodes will get me that elusive motivation. :P

Quote:

BTW, when you say SPPF version of PMC.... would you happen to be referring to the old narrative version? Or just the scripted version that I posted there? If it's the former, then kudos for being that long of a fan, I'd like you to PM me whatever you remember about that old thing. If it's the latter.... PM me anyway. I would care to hear some feedback, and especially what you think of all the changes I've announced here. ^^
PM is pending... it's kinda late and I've been lazy with my online life over Christmas. XD

But it was the scripted form, and I have to admit it was something like two years ago when I read it so I don't remember much... but hey, I'll PM you anyway with what I do. ^.^;;


Quote:

Originally Posted by Alter Ego (Post 3201887)
Well, they might not be psychic, but they do have those weird orbs of theirs that supposedly give them the power to control weather, so I suppose they can at least manipulate the flying conditions in their favor. As for absorbing gases...that sounds like they'd have to absorb a heckuva' lot of gas, because the pokémon flying with that principle (Koffing and Weezing) are really only a kind of organic balloon with a very thin skin and -- presumably -- some kind of brain suspended within it, the rest being vacuous space for gases. This means that they have very little mass, and even so the gases only let them float, not really fly. Dragonair, on the other hand, are supposed to have fully solid bodies, so like...

Maybe Koffing and Weezing don't have the right types of gas? And since their skin, as you said, is fairly thin, they don't have enough in the way of cellular structure to absorb enough of the right gas... I dunno. ^.^;; I forgot about the crystals, though, I can't believe I did that. >.< Although I'm not sold on it being the only thing keeping them aloft... maybe the crystals absorb some form of energy which helps them levitate, as well as manipulate the weather. :P Most likely I'd say it's a combination of things, though, now that I've thought about it...

Good luck with your military service, by the way. ;)


How do you choose what fan fiction you are going to read? Randomly, or is it organised?

Well, I don't read that many fanfictions in the Pokemon sector; those that I do are ususally for reviewing purposes, so I usually go for the short stuff. I don't have the motivation to read through ten odd chapters of a fic unless it really interests me, which is why I usually only review stories which are in their early stages.

Other than that, it's pretty random--unless, like Jax said, I know the fic has a faved character in there. :3 Them, I read.


What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?

To be more motivated in terms of both reviewing and writing. >.< I tend to have spontaneous bouts of motivation for either one of them, but it usually doesn't last long... I'd like to be able to train myself to write/review no matter what my state of mind.

...of course, that doesn't just stand for writing, either, I tend to be way too lazy with just about everything else, too. >.< But, I figure if I can train myself to write regularly--which is something I like doing--then training myself to do something I don't like should be the next step. If I can master the first then the second should be a little easier, right? :3

So in terms of reviewing, for now I'll just settle for getting to the end of my review list (you're still on there, DP, sit tight!). In terms of fic writing, I'm already well on my way to getting out of my five-month dry spell in terms of my main story, but I want to be able to update it regularly the way I was at the beginning of this year. Plus, I have an OT fic I'm hankering to begin, except I keep on getting derailed by some one-shots I was supposed to have written before Christmas. >.< Plus revamping all those other fics that need revamping.

...man, when I say it like that it sounds like I have so much to do. >.<

...ANYWAY!! ^^ Hope everyone had a good Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever else people may celebrate at this time of year.

Yamato-san December 28th, 2007 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay (Post 3201376)
And also, that's one good thing about being quietly known...you won't have crazed fans asking when is the next chapter coming and what team my character will have. I'll feel guilty not putting up the chapter in fast speed and it would be all horribly written. XD

one of the most important things to remember as an author: DO NOT give into fanservice, character-shippings being another such example. Now, if you yourself like your own characters and feel they could get together without hindering the story in any way, all the power to you (after all, you as the writer should know better than anyone which characters seem compatible for forming a relationship). But don't do this just because a bunch of whiny readers (especially the ones who can't write their opinions worth a damn) demand it to happen and you end up forcing it in, making it look really half-assed and out of place. In the worst case scenario, this could even result in you ****ing up your entire storyline.

Bay December 28th, 2007 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3202795)
one of the most important things to remember as an author: DO NOT give into fanservice, character-shippings being another such example. Now, if you yourself like your own characters and feel they could get together without hindering the story in any way, all the power to you (after all, you as the writer should know better than anyone which characters seem compatible for forming a relationship). But don't do this just because a bunch of whiny readers (especially the ones who can't write their opinions worth a damn) demand it to happen and you end up forcing it in, making it look really half-assed and out of place. In the worst case scenario, this could even result in you ****ing up your entire storyline.

So true. Yeah, I was originally going to have two characters in NE getting together but then it would probably be all whacked out and would not make sense as the story progresses. XD

What's so weird is I have been thinking about the concept of fanservice as there's one author in Serebii who's a really great writer but is now asking what Pokemon her characters should have. I know it's not as drastic as forcing a romance, but still. I'm afraid for her that if the characters suddenly have the Pokemon the fans did not ask for then they'll be disappointed. O.o There's also one author who have fans asking if one of the characters that died will come back. If she planned for him/her to come back in the first and planned that for a long time, then that's fine. However, if the author did that to please the fans...in my opinion it wouldn't leave a dramatic effect on me.

Yeah, basically saying if the writers force things to happen because of the fans then it could disappoint the readers and maybe even the writer (although like what Hanako said, sometimes...XD)

Grovyle42(Griff8416) December 28th, 2007 2:33 PM

Yeah, about the fanservice, I think the best advice that I've heard was "don't try to please everybody because you can't".

Oh yeah, good luck with the military stuff, Alter Ego. I've had thoughts about joining, myself (the Canadian army, mind you, so we'd still be driving in tanks from the Korean War xD),but I'm still in high school, so :P

Yamato-san December 28th, 2007 8:01 PM

crap... I probably should've brought this up a while ago, but since it's still a problem now, I figure what the hell? I'm trying to think of a good name for my erogee, but have thus far come up with nothing. At one point, I was originally thinking of "Desert Flower", but after doing research to see what, if anything already has the name... well, let's just say that I doubt anybody would want to associated porn with this.... Damn you, Waris Dirie! -_-

BTW, Purple Drake, you didn't by chance see the original one-shot I posted in a contest, did you? I mean, considering you did read my other work on SPPF.

Elite Overlord LeSabre™ December 28th, 2007 9:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay (Post 3201376)
And also, that's one good thing about being quietly known...you won't have crazed fans asking when is the next chapter coming and what team my character will have. I'll feel guilty not putting up the chapter in fast speed and it would be all horribly written. XD

I get a bit nervous when my core reviewers don't respond, but I'm not one to want a whole posse piling on mindless praise and SPAMming up my thread, either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purple_drake (Post 3202005)
So in terms of reviewing, for now I'll just settle for getting to the end of my review list (you're still on there, DP, sit tight!).

You've got plenty of time, Chapter 5's a ways off. That is, if you can find anything that Alter Ego hasn't already picked up on...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay (Post 3203104)
What's so weird is I have been thinking about the concept of fanservice as there's one author in Serebii who's a really great writer but is now asking what Pokemon her characters should have.

Not to mention it's SPAM, with emphasis on the "Annoying" in that acronym. Don't worry, it's been reported to the moderators over there by yours truly *wicked Dr. Claw-type laugh* I love the report button.

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?
Perhaps get my fic completed on at least one forum :O Maybe do another one-shot or two (I had a very well-received one on Sppf that I unfortunately can't post here until my chaptered fic progresses quite a ways).

Scarlet Weather December 29th, 2007 6:50 AM

SPAM is an acronym? *ULTRA-SHOT'ED*

Hmm... since I've finally figured out how to extricate my main character from his predicament for my fanfic (and get the plot moving) I'm just going to randomly ask this question. (BTW, all of the eighty or so people who've read Thief in the Night and obviously know it exists but haven't commented on anything, shame on you, I'm just starting out and I want more feedback. 0_o Not to mention that Jax's one-shots got more attention... *HYPER-ULTRA-SHOT'ED FOR WHINING*)

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?

Just a question here. As a side note, Mark Twain parodied something like this in two of his short stories so I know that this isn't a unique experience.

Dragonfree December 29th, 2007 7:47 AM

How do you choose what fan fiction you are going to read? Randomly, or is it organised?
By now I tend to read fics because I see someone talking about it and mentioning that it contains something I find interesting or I see excerpts that look really good, or maybe just because I'm curious about how good some person X really is at writing. I read Saffire_Persian's The Ties that Bind for the first time because the end of it was nominated for "Most Emotional Moment" in some award at Serebii and I saw it there, realizing immediately that it was something I had to read. Then I began to read DarkPersian479's fic there because he'd been talking a lot about it in the Authors' Café and posting about his character and I got curious to see how it was. Occasionally people have asked me to read their fics or somebody has just recommended them in a convincing enough way to make me figure I really ought to read it.

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?
Writing more in general. I've only written three chapters of The Quest for the Legends (ILCOE) so far in 2007, although I will probably finish the fourth before the new year. At this rate I'll never finish it. <.<

By the way, "spam" isn't an acronym. Somebody made a backronym for "Stupid, pointless, annoying messages" out of it to explain the point better, and some people started thinking it was what it originally meant.

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?
No, not really. I tend to plan how the character gets out before I've actually written the character into a situation.

TurtleKing December 29th, 2007 7:13 PM

A New Chapter of Poke Special Manga: DP is FINALLY up!

purple_drake December 30th, 2007 3:49 AM

On the fanservice thing... there really isn't anything for me to say that everyone else hasn't already said, but I agree completely. :P I mean, it's one thing to offer advice and plausible alternatives to how something should be done if it didn't work the first time or ideas of what could possibly happen in the future, but it's completely another to beg or order for something to happen.

And then for an author to give in... just, no.

The sad thing is it's not even limited to fanfiction; I've heard of authors whose publishers made them/tried to make them change the names of their characters/countries... for what reason I can't imagine, but considering how important I consider names to be there's no way I'd go in for that.

...I can tell I'm gonna be hell for the imaginary publisher who picks me up. XD


Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?

Mmm, I'm pretty sure I've done that multiple times, but the only time I can think of right now in any detail is the most recent chapter of CaC.

Spoiler:
One of my characters is stuck in the Fuchsia City gym during a rainstorm, which means he's being used as training fodder for the ninjas. I don't want to say too much, even in spoiler tags, but suffice to say there was one bit where I was having trouble getting him out of the situation without him being killed or it being implausible.


I lost count of the number of times I rewrote that bit. ._. Gah, it was annoying.

Eruption December 30th, 2007 9:34 AM

Magma is being rewritten.

The prologue has already been rewritten.

Astinus December 30th, 2007 1:27 PM

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?
Let me answer this with another question. Have I ever written a character in any situation? Nope. Everything pretty much works out for my characters, at least so far, and the ones that I have planned. Then there are the ones that aren't planned yet, and I am going to have fun with those. :p

And ACC-kun, let me finish my beta work for Bay and Saff, and I'll be back to reviewing. So by the end of the week, you should have a review. (Hooray for three days off from work!)

Yamato-san December 31st, 2007 11:28 AM

How do you choose what fan fiction you are going to read? Randomly, or is it organised?
pass.

What are your guys' fanfic resolutions for 2008? Any new fic ideas you want to write or want to get the chapters done faster?
New Year's resolutions? I never believed in that crap.

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?
Can you even answer this question if you're the type that's planning everything out ahead of time?

Now that I've got those questions out of the way, I've got one to ask myself... a bit of a double-question, actually. What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?

Personally, I'm rather fond of the Chekhov's gun. It's interesting when every little detail manages to come together in a story over time, and the author shows, not only a great sense of continuity, but that they've had something important (if not majorly crucial to the story) planned for a seemingly minor and insignificant item/character/event/line/etc. the entire time.

Of course, I'd like to use it myself.... unfortunately, I can't spoil anything. Not just because I prefer not to spoil much, but because the Chekhov's gun loses all meaning if you know what's coming. However, without divulging too much, I will say that I plan to include certain characters in the background (particularly in crowds), or even get a minor speaking role, early on in the manga. Some such characters will become part of the main focus in later parts, and one might even play an important role in the planned sequel.

Bay December 31st, 2007 11:58 AM

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?

Not now at the moment. I tend to at least plan how the character will get out of a situation, although I might think of two or three and decide which is the most realistic.

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?

I like foreshadowing mostly because I'm always interested what's going to happen next. For "Nothing, Everything", I did that like putting some scenes that will be revelant later on and also on the character's conversations.

And oh, I know it's a bit early but Happy New Year! ^^

Grovyle42(Griff8416) December 31st, 2007 2:36 PM

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?

The ones I use are Chekhov's Gun, Back-Story, Flashbacks, Foreshadowing, In Medias Res, Irony, juxtaposition, poetic justice, symbolism.

I'll say how later, but right now New Years Party.

Elite Overlord LeSabre™ December 31st, 2007 4:02 PM

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?
I use foreshadowing that's so cleverly hidden and vague even I have trouble telling where I'm inserting it:) I'm thinking in the future to include more backstory, and perhaps some of Lisa's possessions will play a Chekhov's Gun-type role in the future... it's still all in the planning stages.

@Hanako: If you have time, I would like a review as well:)
@everyone who's reading this: Have a great New Year and productive 2008!

DP479 out

Gummy December 31st, 2007 6:00 PM

Whether or not you've noticed, I haven't been online (or rather, posted anything) for some time now. The reason for this is because my parents decided to ground me for the whole month after a mishap at school. Anyway, the point of this message is that even though my punishment is over, my parents have severelylimited my time on the computer. Until I can convince them otherwise, chapters for Shining Nightmare will be coming slower, the one-shot I'm planning will be put on hold, and all promised reviews are better off forgotten (sorry). Now, let's get back on topic:

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?

This is exactly how my last fic ended. The main character and friends were pretty much trapped by the bad guys with absolutely no plausible way of getting out. Of course by now I've come up with a solution, but I'm well into my second fic with others coming before I can do a rewrite.

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?

I would like to say that I like to use foreshadowing, but the truth is most of my foreshadowing is done without my knowledge. I just write what's going through my mind at the time and only when I get to a certain part in the story do I realize that I hinted to it a few chapters back.

I apologize for all typos in this message, but I'm in a rush. Happy New Year to all!

JX Valentine December 31st, 2007 6:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACC-M (Post 3204645)
Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?

I try not to because I realize doing that to myself tends to make it obvious that I did it to myself when someone else does it. That is, if I wrote myself into a corner, realized it, and actually tried to dig my characters out of a situation, my audience usually can tell. (Mostly because they usually can tell if I pull something out of my rear in general.)

So, whenever I prepare to write about a situation, I try to plan it out the end as soon as I do the beginning. That way, I can easily see where I want to go and work through it as logically as possible so the two ends can connect as neatly as I can get them to do so. As in, once I can picture exactly how the ending should be, I can work backwards to the beginning to see just how the domino effect falls. That way, when I sit down to write, it's just a matter of working back through the path I've just walked up in my head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3211533)
I never believed in that crap.

Even if it just means setting a goal for yourself?

Quote:

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?
Looking through the list, I'll have to agree with you about Chekhov's gun. Mostly, it's because I'm of the E.A. Poe school, where one of the rules is that no word should go into a work that won't be used in some way to add to the overall effect. In other words, literally, if you're going to put a gun on the mantelpiece in the first act, it had better be shot by the third. (Yes, Poe mostly said this in reference to the short story, but I love it when authors can make it apply to any work. It makes the reader think about every last detail the author brings into the story, and it comes as a pleasant surprise when they're suddenly reminded of those details later.) To answer the second question while applying this technique, Midsummer Knights uses it repeatedly, some instances more obvious than others. For example, the mystery package I seemingly forgot about in chapter seven will be brought up again soon, as will Viola's eyes.

That isn't, of course, the only technique I like. My other favorites (although it was a tough decision because I like so many of these techniques) are as follows:

1. Foreshadowing. Sure, when someone screws up with foreshadowing, it tends to be pretty obvious. However, when it's done correctly, it can come out awesomely in that it evokes essentially the same feel as Chekhov's gun (for good reason, as the latter is pretty much the former anyway). As for answering the second question, I'd think that the description of Chekhov's gun is sufficient enough. I mean, if you're going to do Chekhov's gun, you're pretty much doing foreshadowing anyway. It's just that foreshadowing can be so much more on top of that, like a single line spoken by a character that the reader passes off as unimportant.

2. In medias res. I think I'm overly fond of this technique, if only because it forces the reader to jump right into the action of the story, rather than waste time building up to it. If done right, I've noticed that it has the potential to start the story off on a dramatic note and leave the reader wondering just what's going on. Unfortunately, I tend to fail miserably at this instead but insist on doing it in nearly every short story I write. *shrug*

3. Irony, particularly dramatic irony. Because, really, nothing says twisted like walking a character off a metaphorical (or possibly literal) cliff without having them know it. Unfortunately, I can never get the same feel out of writing irony compared to when I read it (for obvious reasons), so I just don't employ this technique that often.

4. Self-fulfilling prophecy. While I enjoy the unexpected, sometimes, watching the way the expected turns out to be almost inevitable is just as enjoyable. (This is why I actually enjoyed reading Macbeth.) Unfortunately, I haven't really had the opportunity to play with this technique fully, and any attempt I've made so far are mostly implicit. (If it counts, "So the World Turned to Ash" might be an example. I won't go into too much detail about it except that it becomes incredibly obvious partway through.)

5. Unreliable narrator. As I've said before, I'm very fond of the unexpected in a story (or at least moments where things are not explicitly expected), and to lead the audience into believing the narrator is giving them the entire story only to reveal at the end that it's only part of the story (or not even relevant at all) just feels like the ultimate trick up the author's sleeve, so to speak, especially considering the fact that the voice in a written work people tend to trust the most is the person who's telling the story to begin with. Like with #4, I haven't really been able to use this in a written work as fully as I want to. The only time I've ever really dappled with this idea was in a poem of mine that isn't even online. (Maybe I'll post it later.)

Scarlet Weather December 31st, 2007 7:06 PM

Literary technique? Well, I've definitely got a bit of Chekhov's Gun going on in "Thief in the Night". In Medias Res is fun, but I've left that one in reserve for now because "Thief in the Night" had to begin with the robbery of Phiros Tower and Gale's descent. It was the only scene I had planned out. Irony is fun, though I'm not sure how often I actually call it into play. The one device that will play a heavy role in "Thief in the Night" to explain the actions of certain characters is the Backstory because what the characters were doing beforehand definitely changes how they respond to the events of "Thief in the Night".

Hmmm... New Question on New Year's Eve.

Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?

I'm not talking about Mary-Sue, Look-at-me-I'm-so-cool/angsty/unloved, pity me/worship me characters. I'm talking about inserting a character, major or otherwise, who responds to situations in a manner which you probably would in the same situation. I actually plead guilty in regards to "Thief in the Night", since a few of my minor characters say and do things very typical of me. They aren't complete self-inserts, but they do reflect a little bit of my own personality which makes it easier to relate to them. (Laertes and his excuses about why the guard he was supposed to have taken care of was still conscious come to mind. That's definitely what I'd be saying.) In regards to my ideals, the only one that's really present in "Thief in the Night" as a main theme is "love is blind".

Grovyle42(Griff8416) December 31st, 2007 10:27 PM

Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?
Oh yes... hell yes. xP

There's a little bit of me in each of Jeff and his pokemon team. It's quite ironic that the one who is the most like me isn't Jeff but is in fact Treecko. Jeff initially was going to have my personality but that kind of quickly strayed away to only having a part of it. I'm actually not sure if it's Treecko becoming like me or me becoming like Treecko at this point. xD I'm also like Atlas, as well, when I want to be.

As for moral views, I give most of those to Jeff and Daedalus (the Taillow).

My sense of humor goes to Corphish.




Oh yeah, Hanako? I'm not sure if you were going to do this anyways, but I'd appreciate a review whenever you get the chance.

Bay January 1st, 2008 12:13 PM

Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?

Both yes and no. ^^;

In "Nothing, Everything" there are characters that hold certain ideals identical to mine but at the same time I have characters challenging them. XD As sert-inserting my views...there are a couple of views I put in there but at the same time I also let the readers challenge them as I know they probably are iffy about it.

Spoiler:
Pretty much the themes of the fics is of in question form like, "Is it always good to have two birds killed in one stone?" and "How much should you really trust someone?" and later have the readers think about if what the characters did are right or wrong and also what if they're in their shoes.

Astinus January 1st, 2008 5:55 PM

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?
I don't really have an answer for that one. I like pretty much all literary techniques and love seeing them used. And I really don't know what technique I will use in my story. If they get placed in, fine. If they don't, fine again. I find that if someone forces a technique into their story, then it comes across as forced and they're just trying to show off. It becomes a case of "Look at me! I used foreshadowing!" and it looks really blatant that they tried and failed. Which is why I let things go their own way.

Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?
One of my original characters started off as a self-insert and then developed into her own character. It doesn't mean that she doesn't share some views of the world. She's just not a character created solely to get my views out to the reader. But I do find it hard to not make my character think the way I do. So I have to remind myself to keep my thoughts out of her head.

There's a problem I'm having with the fanfiction I'm writing. See, the part that I'm writing now takes place five months prior to the main time setting of the rest of the fic. So would I count that as a prologue, or just as a first chapter? Since the part I'm writing now introduces the main character, and I heard that's a no-no for the prologue. But shoving in the back story for the event that happens five months ago would be kind of hard to squeeze in somewhere since it's a main event. It's just really confusing.

purple_drake January 1st, 2008 6:52 PM

Hanako, I wouldn't mind a review either, if you're still offering... preferably for 'At What Cost', because that one still needs improvement before the contest deadline... ^.^;; Thanks!


What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?

This isn't exactly something I actively think about... I don't go around thinking, 'oh, I think this literary technique will do well here', I just sort of write the story and whatever techniques come out of it, come out of it. ^.^;; So I really don't know how many of them I use or plan to use, although there are a few I have recognised in my own writing. The biggest ones would be foreshadowing and dramatic irony; I probably use them in almost all of my stories somehow. Flashbacks I also use quite frequently... plus a whole list of others that which are less frequent. Really, though, I generally don't intend to use any particular device, and while it's interesting to know that 'oh, the way I'm planning to write this bit is called ..........', it's something I'd prefer not to be aware of, just to avoid over-thinking things.


Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?

I've never really thought about it before, actually. Keegan originally began as a self-insert, so in some ways she could probably called a medium for some of my ideals, although her character has developed into someone very different to me.

I do use stories to kind of examine what I think, but in doing so I usually consider the complete opposite to what I believe in, so it's probably not so much an insert of my own views as an examination of a particular subject.

Yamato-san January 1st, 2008 9:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanako Tabris (Post 3216095)
What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?
I don't really have an answer for that one. I like pretty much all literary techniques and love seeing them used. And I really don't know what technique I will use in my story. If they get placed in, fine. If they don't, fine again. I find that if someone forces a technique into their story, then it comes across as forced and they're just trying to show off. It becomes a case of "Look at me! I used foreshadowing!" and it looks really blatant that they tried and failed. Which is why I let things go their own way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purple_drake (Post 3216228)
This isn't exactly something I actively think about... I don't go around thinking, 'oh, I think this literary technique will do well here', I just sort of write the story and whatever techniques come out of it, come out of it. ^.^;; So I really don't know how many of them I use or plan to use, although there are a few I have recognised in my own writing. The biggest ones would be foreshadowing and dramatic irony; I probably use them in almost all of my stories somehow. Flashbacks I also use quite frequently... plus a whole list of others that which are less frequent. Really, though, I generally don't intend to use any particular device, and while it's interesting to know that 'oh, the way I'm planning to write this bit is called ..........', it's something I'd prefer not to be aware of, just to avoid over-thinking things.

I'm not really knowledgeable on the types of literary techniques myself. As a matter of fact, I only heard the name "Chekhov's gun" for the first time rather recently, and when I looked up the meaning, I instantly recognized it as something I've always found quite nifty in story-telling. I'm not asking people to just look at a list and pick an item off of it, nor am I asking people how they'll force it into their stories (notice the "if")... that link is mainly there to help those who can't pinpoint a name to their favorite technique, much like myself.

Alter Ego January 2nd, 2008 3:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanako Tabris (Post 3216095)
There's a problem I'm having with the fanfiction I'm writing. See, the part that I'm writing now takes place five months prior to the main time setting of the rest of the fic. So would I count that as a prologue, or just as a first chapter? Since the part I'm writing now introduces the main character, and I heard that's a no-no for the prologue. But shoving in the back story for the event that happens five months ago would be kind of hard to squeeze in somewhere since it's a main event. It's just really confusing.

This...depends a lot on the contents of your chapter, really. If it's relating something that's not directly a part of the main plot but affects the reader's perception of it, it's prologue, if not then it's a chapter. My prologue (admittedly still open to edits) is technically introducing my main character, but since it occurs over ten years before the actual plot and only has the purpose of hinting at some things in my main's past for the reader's benefit (Heck, my main character is still a toddler and isn't even mentioned by name in it), I couldn't call it a chapter in good conscience.

Geez, this is turning out about as clear as mud, isn't it? Basically, the first chapter is what gets your main plot rolling, so if the events of the chapter aren't directly part of the chain of events that is your main plot then it's prologue. As with many things in literature, it's sort of a fuzzy gray area though. Since you said that it's a main event, then I'd call chapter, but not having the writing in front of me I really can't say anything definite. Just go with what feels right for you. :3

Have you ever written a fanfic character into a situation where you could not think of a believable way to get them out?


Haven't gotten that far yet. Even the events I have lined up aren't anything that a creatively applied can of Max Repel couldn't solve. ;D

What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?

Epiphany, I just love it when something that's been bugging me from the start finally clicks into place, makes me feel all smart. x3 And yes, I'm implementing it into my story. In fact, the epiphany is something that the better part of the story will be building up towards, but I don't want to get into details. The more I babble about my ideas, the less I tend to do about them. <.< Anyways, I like Chekhov's gun too, since that's a lovely device for an epiphany of sorts, and I've always been partial to biased narrators of all kinds. (Particularly free indirect discourse :3)

But yeah, I don't actively think literary techniques, I just write what feels right, using whatever technique best fits the job. Besides, I can't even remember the names of half the stuff I've used. xD

Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?

Well...not consciously, no. If I want to preach I cut out the middle man and do it myself. Writing myself in fiction just seems...awkward (I mean, it goes to the point where I'm reluctant to use first person because of it). That being said, I have no doubt that part of my opinions and values will filter through to my characters whether I want them to or not, simply by virtue of me being the one writing. I try to balance out viewpoints without making anyone 'win' all the time, though. Besides, given my love for contrasts, if there ever was a 'me' character there would most likely be an anti-me to but heads with him/her. xD

But yeah, I prefer to maintain a clear distinction between myself and my characters, so if my character does some things that are clearly part of my own personality, I usually counter-balance it with a trait that's not like me at all. It's like, if I wanted to write about myself then I would do that, but I'm really more interested in writing about my characters. :3


And...thanks for the well wishes, guys. :3 Mind you, Griff, I've never had any thoughts of joining the military, but our country still does compulsory drafting and I don't have a health condition so I had to. >.<

Yamato-san January 2nd, 2008 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alter Ego (Post 3216793)
Basically, the first chapter is what gets your main plot rolling

not true. The first chapter could also be used simply to introduce your main characters, the setting, or what-have-you. In fact, you can spend several early chapters just focusing on characterization, building relationships, etc. well before a plot comes up (now I'm beginning to see what separates "plot" from "story" ^^). Being one to heavily draw my influence from anime, I notice this a lot, and I'm interested in starting out my own serial in such a slow-paced manner.

Astinus January 2nd, 2008 3:09 PM

Quote:

Since you said that it's a main event, then I'd call chapter, but not having the writing in front of me I really can't say anything definite.
Since it's when she gets her first Pokemon, thus being officially recognized as a trainer though she doesn't leave home, I'd safely call that a chapter. Thanks, Alter Ego.

Sure, purple_drake, I'll add you to the list. The contest deadline is sometime in the first week of February, right? I try to get you a review with plenty of time to edit it if need be.

TurtleKing January 2nd, 2008 8:48 PM

Chapter 20 of Poke Special Manga: DP is up! Volume 2 is complete!

Alter Ego January 4th, 2008 4:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3217989)
not true. The first chapter could also be used simply to introduce your main characters, the setting, or what-have-you. In fact, you can spend several early chapters just focusing on characterization, building relationships, etc. well before a plot comes up (now I'm beginning to see what separates "plot" from "story" ^^). Being one to heavily draw my influence from anime, I notice this a lot, and I'm interested in starting out my own serial in such a slow-paced manner.

Bleah, distinction between plot and story indeed. I can't believe I mixed those two terms up. >.< Mind you, even if focus is on characterization, I'd expect to see some inkling of plot by the end of chapter two. I mean, if there isn't any I'm really left going "Well, these are nice characters and all, but are they actually...you know, going to do something?". Strange thing about the anime, though, because in all the ones I've watched the plot is kicked off in the first episode (Presumably to catch viewer interest) and the serious character development tends to take place at the first few episodes after that, during which the plot is slowed down for a bit.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 5th, 2008 7:13 AM

I have a new chapter up if anyone is interested.

Incinermyn January 5th, 2008 3:42 PM

Man it's been a while since I've asked for a review in this thread, but anyways, that's why I'm here. Chapter One of Biohazard's been reposted, so if anyone has the time, could you review it?

Percy Thrillington January 5th, 2008 7:05 PM

Ok, time for a couple of thousand topics to answer:

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

Bay January 5th, 2008 9:29 PM

Oh yeah, more questions to make this lounge active again! XD

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

Don't want to be mean but I would say he's not actually being active in the community and not taking advantage in the lounge. I think it's fun to take part on these topics and maybe learn a few things about writing. Meh, I guess I'm not bothered or annoyed by those people that much.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

Not sure how to answer that question. I guess it depends on how the writer wrote it. If it's chat speak all over the place, then it's SPAM. If if just has a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes than I would say it's just a real fan fic with the author starting out.

If by SPAM fic you mean the author is purposely putting chat speak, bad grammar, etc., then the author would usually put it in his author notes. Also, you can compare that fic and his other fic that is more serious.


Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Well, my first fanfic "Heart of the Sea" and "Simplicity" almost have the same amount of chapters, the former eight and the latter seven. I was also going to end "Through the Lenses" around seven to ten chapters as the plot is not going to be huge, but I scrap the project for a few reasons. Also, I have a romance genre fanfic (not Pokemon :X) that I plan to end around seven to ten chapters too. "Nothing, Everything" though has...don't really want to say yet until I at least finish posting Part One, though it's at least more than twenty. XD So yeah, it's pretty much me ending the stories around seven to ten chapters except for "Nothing, Everything" because I suck at making epic stories...XD That, and my very busy schedule. ^^;

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

I tend to have my characters love his/her Pokemon. In "Heart of the Sea", the main character really cares for his Pokemon, espcially one that's not his but not until at the end. In "Nothing, Everything", it's not really noticeable until the later chapters. The weird thing though is there are scenes the Pokemon is the one that loves his trainer (the two are together for a while ^^ ).

Elite Overlord LeSabre™ January 5th, 2008 10:35 PM

Do you self-insert your own views into your fiction, or insert a character who holds certain ideals identical to your own?
Yeah, I do. My character's into math, old cars, and hotels. Later, she'll reveal that she's one of those types who's all "It's not a dorm, it's a residence hall," a lot like me XD (yes, I'm one of the annoying college residence life fanatics lol)

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?
If they're a new author who hasn't thought about the topic at hand, I can't really hold it against them. It is annoying, yes, but not everyone has really thought about their writing enough to come up with responses to the questions that are being discussed. If I'm going to announce a chapter, I'll usually say something else along with it. If I can't think of an answer to one of the current topics, I'll just create a new topic XD

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?
If the fic's like three sentences long, it's SPAM. If it is of a reasonable length, then it's a fairly safe bet that there are just grammar issues. Your typical SPAMmer isn't going to take the time to write three pages of poor writing just to clog up the forum. They're just going to type up maybe a few sentences of rubbish and click "Post."

A parody fic writer might deliberately use poor grammar, however, and at least one fic I read does include Messenger chats embedded into the fic..

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?
I only have one fic, but right now its length is going to be determined by flow more than anything else. Already it's more chapters than I had envisioned, and it's fixing to just keep growing:)

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?
I'd rather leave it out personally, but then I'd be hounded by reviewers for not including Pokemon bonding, so in that sense I'm forced to include it. Sometime, I'd like to do a parody fic where the "trainer" is a machine and so the bonding thing is out of the question.

Isaac Gravity January 6th, 2008 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3216278)
I'm not really knowledgeable on the types of literary techniques myself. As a matter of fact, I only heard the name "Chekhov's gun" for the first time rather recently, and when I looked up the meaning, I instantly recognized it as something I've always found quite nifty in story-telling. I'm not asking people to just look at a list and pick an item off of it, nor am I asking people how they'll force it into their stories (notice the "if")... that link is mainly there to help those who can't pinpoint a name to their favorite technique, much like myself.

Ah, if you put it like that then:What's your favorite literary technique? If you're implementing it into your story, how are you doing that?
Magic Realism. I really obsess over that style but always thought of it as simply "paranormal/supernatural/spiritual" you know, the greater mysteries of reality that we know/feel exist but cannot rightfully justify/solidify it no matter how much we try.

After that, there's my equal obsession with flashback and side story things that go hand in hand with what I like to see/do.

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?
Trying to play the devil's advocate? Heh, okay, I'll play along: Stuff like that doesn't cross my mind. I actually expect to see such comments.

We all have our reasons for being somewhere don't we? Let others rationalize their own actions is my thoughts. Letting your presence be known beats lurking sometimes especially if you don't really have anything to say about the current situation.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?
*Shrugs* ...Someone who is trying to create versus someone who thoughtlessly doesn't give a damn I guess.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?
Go with the flow. If the situation requires more material implied or is something I find great interest in fleshing out in greater detail for a while, I will work to the required length needed to satisfy the current situation at hand. If the situation is meant to be more episodic or no heavy input is required then the overall material will be modified for that.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?
Depends on the character and Pokemon comrade at hand. I'd like to emphasize teamwork and trust in general but...

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 6th, 2008 7:17 AM

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

Seeing as it's a big theme/plot point in my fic I like to keep it in. Also, it gives me warm fuzzies to read/write about xD.

Percy Thrillington January 6th, 2008 9:32 AM

I'm bored, so I may as well post...

Just a few replies:

Quote:

I'd rather leave it out personally, but then I'd be hounded by reviewers for not including Pokemon bonding, so in that sense I'm forced to include it.
Weren't you against fan service?

Quote:

Trying to play the devil's advocate?
I do very well at it. No, seriously, I just thought it'd be a good question... Or topic... Or whatever.

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

Ok, I think we'll all agree that most of the people that do that don't have the best writing ability... I agree with Bay when she says that they're taking advantage of the lounge... It's pretty rude, if you ask me.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

I can't, really... I mean, if you look at 'The Piplup Ganstas' - I really wasn't sure if he was being serious or not... It really depends on the writer's past record within the forum, doesn't it? But myself and Jax are working on a project, and the example I'm using is a real fan fiction... When you see it you'll understand why it's hard for me to see the difference.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Whatever goes with the story, really... I mean, why would you limit your story to a certain number of chapters? That will be boxing your story in and will only work if you have planned it chapter by chapter.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

I have it there discreetly for those that are smart enough to read between the lines.

Yamato-san January 6th, 2008 12:42 PM

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?
They are the plague that's killing /b/.... er, Fanfic Lounge.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?
pass.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?
Why the hell would I give myself a set limit of chapters? Maybe if I was being published and needed to meet some kind of page criteria, or if I was directing an anime that was intended to have a set number (often one or two) cours, neither of which are extremely likely scenarios.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3229507)
That will be boxing your story in and will only work if you have planned it chapter by chapter.

Even if you planned out the events of the chapter, as I've discovered when working on my scripted revision (which was originally meant to just convert my narrative chapters into a different format), said events could end up looking a lot shorter or longer than intended once it's actually put down in writing. As of this point, I still haven't a clue how my work will flow as a manga, let alone how long it'd end up being. However, I would like to have my chapters be around 40-60 pages in length. It seems to be a standard for monthly manga publications (not that I plan to do chapters on a monthly basis), and probably a good enough length to carry out most events without having to cut it off. I get the feeling that if chapters were 15-20 pages (which is a standard for weekly publications, like Shounen Jump), it'd be a tad short. Hell, I plan to have some action sequences, and if Dragon Ball's any indication, it can be very easy to fill up these 15-20 pages just trying to display battle choreography in all the panels. But like I said, I won't really know how things will flow until I get into it.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?
As mentioned, I'm trying to lower the over-emphasis on Pokemon that the franchise tends to display. However, I also mentioned that Pokemon would still be important (it's kinda hard to ignore when you've got super-powered animals being commonplace and entire cultures being built around this.... I'm just not having people go bat**** crazy every time the antagonist injures a Rattata, making light of the fact that there're far bigger issues at hand, namely the fact that the antagonist is causing catastrophic amounts of damage and putting fellow humans in danger). That said, I intend to have humans bond with their Pokemon, even give those Pokemon some decent amounts of spotlight (albeit, it's a little difficult given their lack of dialog). However, just as we may act in real life (unless you're one of those crazy-ass PETA members), humans WILL act biased towards their own kind. Even if they're real close to their Pokemon, the bonds with humans will often be greater, even if only slightly. Thus, as difficult as it is on the characters (and I do intend to portray this properly), they will have to choose to save their family members over their Pokemon partners now and again (given, this is kinda magnified by the fact that Pokemon are oftentimes capable of handling themselves far better than any human could, but there will be situations where both Pokemon and humans do end up in real danger).

Sike_Saner January 6th, 2008 6:23 PM

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

They don't really bother me, but I do wonder how they can do that without feeling terribly obvious. o.o; I know I'm not particularly comfortable with the idea of posting just to announce a new chapter or ask for a review... ^^;

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

I'd pretty much call any fic whose author actually cares about it (even if the quality of it might lead some to believe otherwise) a real fic. Something just thrown out there with no care on the part of the "author" and no purpose except to increase postcount is the sort of thing I would consider a SPAM fic.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

I never have a pre-planned number of chapters. I just write as many as it takes to tell the story in its entirety. If two or more of my stories were to end up with the same number of chapters, it'd just be a coincidence. XP

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

The former. I don't have many characters who have Pokémon, but those who do have them love them.

Scarlet Weather January 7th, 2008 3:53 PM

So much for getting a review by the week's end, eh Hanako?

Ahem, yes. Now that my obligatory jab (all in good fun, of course) at everyone's favorite fanfiction mod is out of the way I can get down to serious business.

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

I think that what they're doing is basically counterproductive, though I now understand what it feels like to wait for weeks with no reviews. *cries*

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?


"Pokemon goes to school"=Fic with bad grammar etc.

"Piplup Gangstas/Fat Tony"=Spam, and poorly written spam at that.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Whatever it takes to get the story from beginning to end while working in all the characters or scenes I have planned. (Maybe I should explain that when I write a fic it's because I have an idea "What if Character X got into Situation Y resulting in Z?" The fic is basically transitions between the most important scenes. Thief in the Night is only an existing fic because I thought of a cool scene involving an escape from a giant tower after stealing a necklace.)

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

Depends on the character. Gale has been with Augustus for a few years now, so they view each other as partners. Laertes and Aristo, on the other hand, think of him more as their boss and follow his orders because that's where the food and battle experience comes from. :3 Later characters will have bonding experiences with their Pokemon (with occasionally humorous results, such as the unrequitted Human x Pokemon love I warned you peoples about.) But really, bonding is present depending on the experience of the trainer. And there are more complex relationships then simply friends, the same way there are between people.

purple_drake January 7th, 2008 10:48 PM

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

I'm mostly not fussed as long as it doesn't go overboard with people begging for reviews every page or something. Although I'm not entirely sure what the point is of saying that a new chapter is up... if the thread's at the top of the page then anyone who's reading the fic will be going in to check to see why people are posting in there anyway, so they'll see that there's a new chapter. And if they're away for so long that it gets bumped to the second page, then it's likely that they'll have missed the post in the Lounge too... well, unless the Lounge goes on a lull like it did over New Years'.


How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

I don't think about it, really. ^.^;; But people can post spam without meaning to or realizing that they are, so even if they intend for the fic to be taken seriously it could be considered spam anyway. I'd probably say a combination of being ridiculously short in length (as in, the story doesn't elaborate on important things nearly as much as it should, as opposed to having a deliberately short prologue or something), general bad grammar and ridiculous storylines (like the Piplup ones). And yeah, if it's clear that the author isn't taking the story seriously and is just posting for the hell of it.

...oh, and posting multiple chapters in one post can be an indication too...

Mostly I'd say to judge on an individual basis, though.


Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Go with the flow of the story, definitely. :3 That's speaking in theory, though--that's what I would do when the time comes. I've only got one chaptered fic under my belt and I can only think of two others which I've actually planned out in enough detail to know how many chapters there are going to be, although if necessary to the story that would change.

Though, considering that one story has 7 chapters, one will have 15 and an epilogue, and the last has a planned 28 chapters, I think it's safe to say I'm going to vary a lot with future stories too. XD


Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

This question sounds like it's making an assumption that a trainer must eventually love their pokemon. A trainer can travel with their pokemon for a long time and bond without necessarily loving them--respecting them, certainly, or understanding them even--or without necessarily considering them to be equal to humans. Since pokemon should be considered as characters in their own right, and developing the relationship dynamics between characters is a part of telling the story itself, then I'm not entirely certain how it can be left out.

For my own stories, I don't actively think about it. Keegan does have a close relationship with her pokemon, so the 'bonding thing' goes in there. Tynan's a little harder to explain; he doesn't buddy buddy with them, but he's far from being an abusive trainer. I suppose you could say that he takes their presence for granted.

So for me, if there's going to be 'bonding stuff' it really depends on the character, because some are going to bond with their pokemon and some aren't.

Incinermyn January 9th, 2008 2:06 PM

Hmm... Apparently nobody had time to when I asked before, but could someone please review Biohazard's first chapter for me? I find it very unnerving having seen it gone days without a single response, and I'd really like to know if I'm doing something wrong with it or not...

Yamato-san January 11th, 2008 10:55 AM

さーっ、質問の時間だ! Saa, shitsumon no jikan da!
(Alright, it's question time!)

How do you treat the subject of character death?
I say death in itself is a pretty sensitive subject, and one can expect the audience (as well as yourself) to get rather attached to some of your characters. However, by including death, it adds an extra sense of realism and danger, because common sense dictates that not just anybody could make it out of even a mere percentage of the type of grave situations commonly portrayed in media (let alone not suffering some severely debilitating injury or mental scars and otherwise getting through the entire ordeal completely fine and capable of resuming normal life as if nothing had happened), so not even the major mainstay protagonists should be 100% immune from it. By killing off a major character, it tells the audience that your story's not the type where everyone's going to get out of the situation safely and have a predictably typical happy ending (and in such stories, not even the main character is completely safe).

Of course, given what I just said, there are some authors who think that death and violence automatically makes a story dark and deep (or those who'll try to appeal to an audience that thinks that way), so they'll insert character death just to be gratuitous. In some cases, characters will get offed left and right, becoming forgotten immediately afterwards. It goes without saying that death probably shouldn't be handled in such a way. Not every story calls for death (especially ones that lack any action or other dangerous scenarios), and if a death is deemed necessary, it should be handled delicately. Any time a major character dies, especially one who had a highly prominent role throughout much of the storyline (whether as a protagonist or antagonist), their death should be treated as a big deal, and clearly something that should effect the story (particularly effecting those who were close to him/her). As for the matter of frequency, personally, I'd like to use (both major and minor) character death sparingly, but still include it nonetheless (though, I can see at least one of my stories ending with something of an apocalyptic scenario where several characters are offed at once.... in such a situation, giving each character focus in an on-screen death sequence, as opposed to leaving it all to implication, is the least I could do).

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 11th, 2008 11:59 AM

How do you treat the subject of character death?
I make death a big deal in my fic. So far I've only had a very near death-experience (and a poor Wurmple who was Daedalus's breakfast. :P )

In all honesty, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to kill off any characters or not...even the villains.. But when/if I do have to, I plan to make it realistic and tasteful (so no blood and intestines flying every which way).

Isaac Gravity January 11th, 2008 12:16 PM

How do you treat the subject of character death?
I'm a bit of a wimp towards character death. Major, minor, heck even people in the background and villains who really deserve it I have no problem bringing injury (massive or minor) their way but I don't have the guts in me to bring them death.

I can make exceptions though but in that case its for two things: character back stories (only if really needed) or for character development. Even then I'm shaking doing that out in the open.

As a whole, character death is something I like to avoid so I use it only when its necessary.

Percy Thrillington January 11th, 2008 12:17 PM

How do you treat the subject of character death?

Hm... To me, a character dying is all about the reaction from the other characters. When I kill off characters, I do so realistically, and when they die, it's the consequences of that death and the reactions that I'm interested in.

It's not to be played around with or to be used as a:

'Oh, my fic isn't doing well, I better kill off a character!'

Bay January 11th, 2008 12:34 PM

How do you treat the subject of character death?

Well, on "Nothing, Everything"...

Spoiler:
There's one character that I killed off on the second chapter, though throughout the story his name and his actions will keep popping up from time to time. In fact, his death and past actions is the reason the three main characters are under the situations they're in now. Yeah, bascially in that story it became a huge deal with those three not getting the answers they wanted from him before he died. Okay, should stop there before I spill more things out. :X


Yeah, bascially I treat character deaths that would like led to consequences and character development. I never really killed off a main character yet, but it's because I don't think it's needed and would make it as if I'm trying too hard to make the story too dramatic. For supporting characters and minor characters, I do deaths a couple of times as I feel it flows the story and would actually make a more lasting impact, would make character development, fits the theme well, etc.

Incinermyn January 12th, 2008 7:56 AM

How do you treat the subject of character death?

To me, when it comes to killing off characters, I normally try not to overplay it and make the reactions to it as realistic as possible. That is, unless it's some type of comical death (basically something you'd expect to be in something like Scary Movie or some other parody), then I try and make it really unbelievable or just plain rediculous.

Dragonfree January 12th, 2008 9:23 AM

I love killing characters, but not death for death's sake; what I find interesting about death is the psychology associated with it. The Fall of a Leader, for example, largely revolves around the Scyther society's perception of death and there are quite a few character deaths in it; all of those are there because they serve a major purpose in the character development of the story (aside from the random prey, of course, but I don't really count them as characters).

Spoiler:
The main characters are called Stormblade and Shadowdart. The first actual character death is that of Stormblade's mate, who is killed on a hunt by a Letaligon (a fake Pokémon). Additionally, she was pregnant at the time. He has been clinging to her as basically his only friend in the world, and her death drives him into a frenzy where he brutally tortures and tears the Letaligon apart in revenge, which is the second death and serves the purpose of making Stormblade feel truly disgusted by his own actions and decide that maybe Shadowdart, who has been warning him about the dangers of caring too much about another individual, is right after all. The first death both serves the purpose of initiating this and of leaving Stormblade having nobody left to turn to except Shadowdart.

The third death is that of the swarm Leader, who is killed by Shadowdart in a duel. It's the first time that Shadowdart kills another Scyther and is therefore where he faces his own fear of death. He has also talked and talked about how much he will love to kill the Leader (whom he despises) and accordingly feels no remorse when he has won the duel and actually killed him.

The final three character deaths haven't happened yet, since they are in parts six and seven, which I haven't posted yet. I'm not going to spoil them, but all of them serve the purpose of developing Shadowdart's character.

txteclipse January 12th, 2008 3:44 PM

Character death is a tough subject, and there's some good and bad examples in many different works.

Spoiler:
In the Redwall series (some of you may have read it or are reading it), there is one book I don't remember which) where a main character dies in about the last twenty pages. The thing is: you don't know this until later. The actual part where the character dies makes it sound like she just gets knocked unconcious, and the other main character also thinks this, but when he tries to wake her up he realizes that she is actually dead. I had to read that part a few times, because I really couldn't believe it. The character had been in the entire book from the start, was one of the two central characters, had tons of character development, and then just got killed by some bad guy on a whim. It really sucked to read, but it was also one of the most memorable scenes I have ever read.


Now: there are also some character deaths that make me groan. If a bad guy is killed as a result of a monologue, I groan. If a good guy is getting his butt kicked and then suddenly gets super-awesome for no reason and kills a bad guy, I groan. If a good guy dies just to say something epic, or to look "heroic", I groan. If a good guy dies to save a bunch of people, takes a bad guy out in the process, and still gets to do a heroic monologue, I practically want to claw my eyes out. Some of these have been implemented to good effect in the past, but that's only on an extremely rare occasion. Mostly, these types of "Mary Sue" deaths just annoy me.

My take on character death is that it should be used to seriously develop other characters and/or create a serious change of tone and/or change of plot.

Yamato-san January 12th, 2008 4:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txteclipse (Post 3243547)
Now: there are also some character deaths that make me groan. If a bad guy is killed as a result of a monologue, I groan. If a good guy is getting his butt kicked and then suddenly gets super-awesome for no reason and kills a bad guy, I groan. If a good guy dies just to say something epic, or to look "heroic", I groan. If a good guy dies to save a bunch of people, takes a bad guy out in the process, and still gets to do a heroic monologue, I practically want to claw my eyes out. Some of these have been implemented to good effect in the past, but that's only on an extremely rare occasion. Mostly, these types of "Mary Sue" deaths just annoy me.

you might need to be more specific, because the way I see it, it's not completely unrealistic for a character to act sacrificial, like for instance, giving their allies a chance to run away fully knowing there's a good chance the character him/herself won't survive holding off against an antagonist. However, such a thing sorta sounds like one of these "heroic" deaths you don't like.

txteclipse January 12th, 2008 6:11 PM

Like I said, there are both good and bad examples. Well, maybe I shouldn't say bad. Maybe I should say "mediocre" or "unimpactful." It's not that the death usually ruins the story, it's just that it doesn't seem to have the effect it should or that you can't really "feel" for the character. If the character goes "out of character", so to speak, when they die, it just isn't believable for me and doesn't do anything for me.

For instance: if the character has been a goof-off for the entire story, and then they suddenly get really serious and start saying really serious things before they die, it's like you aren't reading about the same character. The death doesn't feel right because the character is different. Or if the character is a bad guy, and then they suddenly see the error of their ways and sacrifice themselves to correct whatever they have done, it feels fake. The character has obviously been bad for some time, and it's almost impossible for someone to just suddenly be good to the extent that they would give themselves up to save other people.

There have also been good heroic deaths, like when someone knowingly sacrifices themself to save other people. These are actually usually quite impactful, although many seem to take on a "cookie cutter" feel, if that makes any sense. It's like some authors make it a point to have at least one person die knowingly as a result of trying to save other people. The author usually has a brief period of mourning, and then the character is forgotten even if they have been an integral part of the story. That just isn't realistic to me.

That's a lot of writing, but I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, what I described is the "for the sake of someone dying" thing. If the character really doesn't have to die, and it has little to no impact on the story or characters, then I usually find myself cringing.

EDIT EDIT: Wow I think to much. My main problem may be that I've seen certain character deaths that literally tear me apart, or otherwise affect me exactly like the author wants them to. If you've seen Das Boot, among other things, you may know what I mean.

Anyways, it may be that other character deaths aren't necesarilly "bad", but they just aren't as potent as things I've seen. I may be a little biased against character deaths that aren't utterly emotionally wrenching, but I guess that's a little unfair on my part. Character deaths can be as serious or unserious as the author wants, and it's pretty much up to them to decide. Not all stories are meant to be heavy or overly deep.

Astinus January 15th, 2008 2:47 PM

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?
:< They annoy me. I don't mind if there's more substance to their posts, or if at other times they take part in the conversation. But when the only appearance by them is just to say that a new chapter is up, I wish for nothing more than to...I dunno. Do something to them.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?
I flip a coin.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?
Flow where I want to. Flow around the world.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?
Wouldn't it be kind of difficult to leave the bond out of the story, unless you want your Pokemon to not be well-rounded characters? I mean, bond or not, they still develop some sort of feelings towards their trainers. For some, it wouldn't go as far as undying devotion, as in the case of anime Ash and Pikachu. For some, it just might mean respect on both sides, where they are friends. And then there are those who view their Pokemon as some sort of status symbol, which is how my trainer starts out her relationship with her Pokemon.

How do you treat the subject of character death?
If it's needed, fine. For instance, in a different fic that I have a few one-liners written about from three years ago, the plan was to have a character die to spur on the team to finish the good fight. I would never include a death to try and gain popularity.

And ACC? Bugger off. :<

TurtleKing January 15th, 2008 5:10 PM

Volume 3 of Poke Special Manga: DP is finally up after a 2 week break from writing! This chapter is called VS. Murkrow and Misdreavus! Pt. 1.

Scarlet Weather January 15th, 2008 6:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanako Tabris (Post 3251407)
And ACC? Bugger off. :<


Cruel words. My heart bleeds in agony. XD

Anyway, point taken. I don't mean to harass for reviews, it's just that I'm paranoid about posting anything else until I get feedback. If there's a problem in the first chapter, I want it to be one that doesn't affect the rest of the fic.


As for the subject of character death... well, my characters may or may not die at any given point. If there's a part of the story where I feel a death is necessary and will add poignance, effect the plot, make the fic better, etc. I will not hesitate to have the character die (in a self-sacrificial manner or otherwise). Gratuitous death for the purpose of pleasing the fans isn't something I feel inclined to do, especially since I hold a little bit of personal affection for all my characters. I mean, if I killed one off for no good reason I'd be thinking "Hold on, I just spent most of my free time daydreaming about this character's traits, struggling to make them human and believable, giving them an appearance that fits the setting and adds to the story, AND developing them as a person only to kill them off? And what did that accomplish?" If they die, they'll do it only when the death is meaningful. (By 'meaningful' I mean in the sense that other characters and the plot are affected majorly).

purple_drake January 15th, 2008 7:06 PM

How do you treat the subject of character death?

Carefully.

Like everyone else, I'm not fond of gratuitous character deaths, but at the same time a death doesn't necessarily need to be 'meaningful' either. Certainly, if the character were a main character, then the death would have to affect the story--because they're so directly involved in the events that a lot of what comes afterward would be affected by it--but if done well then a 'meaningless' death, like an accident, could be just as poignant. Which I suppose is another way of being meaningful to the story...

I'd take into consideration the situation itself. If a situation is realistically dangerous enough for a character to die, I wouldn't be opposed to it even if it didn't end up spurring the protagonists on to greater heights or something. Let's face it, death comes as death comes, and not necessarily in any 'meaningful' way (which in itself can be pretty angsty for the characters who are left behind, wondering why the hell that person had to die in that way instead of this way...).

Uhm, yeah, so mostly I'd consider the situation and how dangerous it is (I'm a fan of whumpage and hurt/comfort, so I'm more likely to have my major characters injured and possibly scarred) but also, from a purely practical point of view, the character's role in the story. Sometimes a character just might not have any place in a story after a certain point, but has been too involved in the story up until then to just realistically move away or leave the business or whatever other ideas there might be for getting rid of them. Although, one of those options at least leaves it open for them to return if needed... which, depending on their relationship to the protagonist, might not necessarily be a good idea. It depends on what's happening.

In general, I like a few character deaths for realism's sake (because stories where everything turns out hunky-dorey and everyone gets married to each other and has ten kids and live happily ever after just kind of annoy me, especially when there was extreme physical danger involved in the story... at least have someone permanently scarred in some way, please!), just not too many. Although, I also have a tendency to get attached to characters and object to their deaths on a purely subjective basis. ^.^;;

Especially when we're talking in terms of fanfiction... I just realised that up until now I've been thinking in terms of stories in general. O.o I don't actually like reading fanfics in which the author kills off a canon character. ^.^;; Considering I've done exactly that in the past and will be doing so in the future, it's incredibly hypocritical of me to say that, so I should probably clarify by saying that I'm not fond of deathfics; that is, stories which are about the death and solely about the death. If they die in the course of some grand adventure (or near to, yanno, with a meaning and a reason and all that) then yeah, I can take it. I'd mourn, but I could take it. Especially if I was warned beforehand. :P

The kind of death I do not like is the 'final moment monologue' syndrome. It's just been done so many times, that when a character on the verge of death starts monologuing and you just know they're going to die at the end of it--or a few words short of the end of it--I start rolling my eyes. I wouldn't mind if they monologued, fell unconscious, then died a few hours later of their injuries without waking up again, but the timing is just... meh. I know it's good drama and all, but really.

That should come under the heading of 'not necessarily bad but tired and old', though, I suppose. Some of the other heroic cliches txteclipse has brought up tend to make me cringe too, for much the same reason. They're just so easily abused.

The other thing that gets me is when a person dies and doesn't stay dead. For comedic purposes--or the author is deliberately trying to make a point with it--yeah, okay. But usually the character needs to be brought back for a damn good reason before I'll accept it. There are some stories which I like in which that happens, but mostly it depends on how it's handled; if a character is brought back solely to get together with their romantic interest so they can live happily ever after or something like that, then no. Just no.

Yamato-san January 16th, 2008 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by purple_drake (Post 3252233)
Especially when we're talking in terms of fanfiction... I just realised that up until now I've been thinking in terms of stories in general. O.o I don't actually like reading fanfics in which the author kills off a canon character. ^.^;;

don't worry about it... even though I am careful about adapting certain game mechanics (I probably mentioned earlier about representing Pokemon stats), I've gotten to look at my ideas as stories by themselves a lot. As for the canon characters.... I too don't wanna kill any of them off (the only exception is someone whom I've based off of a background character, though technically, it's kinda half-canon half-original there). Given, I don't exactly intend to give them sugary sweet endings neither. In any case, I rarely involve canon characters altogether. The only story planned to heavily involve canon characters at all is a oneshot starring Kaede (the girl Ash faced in the Houen League), and my serial will feature a few canon characters but not many, most notably the miko sisters in Ecruteak City (and even so, I'm giving the characters original personalities and backgrounds, as it's still a unique canon despite the world being derived from the games).

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The kind of death I do not like is the 'final moment monologue' syndrome. It's just been done so many times, that when a character on the verge of death starts monologuing and you just know they're going to die at the end of it--or a few words short of the end of it--I start rolling my eyes. I wouldn't mind if they monologued, fell unconscious, then died a few hours later of their injuries without waking up again, but the timing is just... meh. I know it's good drama and all, but really.
just making sure, but "monologuing" is when they give some long-winded speech and/or their life story, right? I don't intend to ever do that. Usually, if a character's suffering from a fatal wound and hacking up blood, but they have some last word they need to convey, it'd make sense to have them try and do so in as few lines as possible. If a character does have a death monologue, it should be before they commit suicide, as opposed to being injured and conveniently collapsing right after they finished talking. I'm also rather fond of having time seemingly slow down as you hear the final thoughts (instead of spoken dialog where they struggle just to say one syllable) of a character who's meeting their demise.

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The other thing that gets me is when a person dies and doesn't stay dead. For comedic purposes--or the author is deliberately trying to make a point with it--yeah, okay. But usually the character needs to be brought back for a damn good reason before I'll accept it. There are some stories which I like in which that happens, but mostly it depends on how it's handled; if a character is brought back solely to get together with their romantic interest so they can live happily ever after or something like that, then no. Just no.
bleh, I know exactly what you mean. Seriously, if you like a character and want them to stay alive to the end of the series just for the hell of it, then just let them live. Don't give them so big dramatic death scene that's ruined when a reset button is completely pulled out of the author's ass. -_- And if there is a resurrection, at least make it sensible, preferably done through techniques that've been foreshadowed for a long time.

Spoiler:
Time for my usual anime/manga references.... I'd say Nausicaa did this alright. Hell, as much as the series is criticized nowadays, even Dragon Ball made sense of its resurrections... although they never really did much with most the characters who did come back. Also, the game Chrono Trigger.... one would expect it to just be common sense, seeing as it revolves around time-travel, but apparently, they played up the added bonus of a Chekhov's gun, in the form of a doll you're capable of obtaining as early as the beginning. ^^


If there was absolutely nothing leading up to it, however, it kinda shows that the author didn't know how the character would come back when they died (meaning they wanted them around to the end, albeit for no real purpose on the character's part a lot of the time, and just felt like giving them some cheap drama along the way without thinking of a decent way out of it beforehand), or even if they'd come back (in which case, they just succumbed to fanservice or something AFTER they planned an otherwise permanent death). Again, it's just salt to the wound if it's done through some completely out-of-nowhere deus ex machina.

Spoiler:
I enjoyed the anime Mai-HiME for the most part, but god damn, I hate the reset button it had to push for its ending. -_- Another example could be found in Pokemon: the Ruby/Sapphire adaption of the Special manga (god, Ruby ****ing fails as a character).

Some might also be willing to point out the recent Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai movie, however someone on SPPF makes a good point in its defense: after Latios and Lucario, they probably wanted to try something different and a little less expected. Also, given Palkia's space-warping powers, it's not entirely far-fetched neither.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 16th, 2008 2:47 PM

I have a question. What if it's presumed that a character dies but it's never actually confirmed (i.e they never actually see the body or have living proof of the death)? Is it still in poor taste to have the character live even if they didn't actually die? (although the characters think they did). Keep in mind this would not be in result of nagging fans.

Isaac Gravity January 16th, 2008 5:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3253775)
I have a question. What if it's presumed that a character dies but it's never actually confirmed (i.e they never actually see the body or have living proof of the death)? Is it still in poor taste to have the character live even if they didn't actually die? (although the characters think they did). Keep in mind this would not be in result of nagging fans.

In the world of mecha (especially Super Robot Wars) if there's no body found even after the mech suffered loads of damage/blew up then the MIA can always come back with some form of plot armor simply because of the above reason regardless of how crazy the idea they survived all that seems.

Is it in bad taste? In the eyes of the beholder honestly. I'm pretty neutral towards these kinds of situations if I look at them in the above perspective. But... I guess its ultimately in how its all pulled off really. That's what I think anyway.

txteclipse January 16th, 2008 10:50 PM

I actually kind of like "almost deaths" in which the author goes back and shows how the person didn't die. The reason they live is often one you don't expect, but makes perfect sense when you hear it.

However, I don't really like the "I lived because of blind luck" thing, unless it seems plausible. For illustration's sake, if someone has a nuke dropped on them, they aren't going to live unless there's some serious crap going on. On the other hand, if someone falls off a bridge, there's a chance they could be alive. I'd be more inclined to accept the latter, unless the former had a really good explanation.

Scarlet Weather January 18th, 2008 6:17 AM

Actually, the whole "I fell but I'm still alive!" thing is the most common form of presumed-death experience and is becoming a bit cliche, in my opinion. Actually, I'm thinking of writing a parody-fic in which the characters push a villain over a bridge to his apparent death and then spend the rest of the story looking for him because, as the main character says, "Falling off a bridge to your apparent death is NEVER fatal in this kind of story!" Ah, but that's for another day.

Kakakyz, next question.

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?

Just a point of personal inquiry. I think the closest I get in the current draft of "Thief in the Night" is a short scene where Gale and a main character argue about the origin of life, and Gale loses the argument because he can't prove anything he's said up to that point any more then the other character can. It's kind of a gratuitous scene, though, so I'm wondering whether or not I should add something in that would add a little more plot exposition or develop the other character somehow. Hrmm...

Percy Thrillington January 18th, 2008 9:25 AM

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Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?


An intellectual question, good work ACC.

Okay, at the end of my fan fiction, they begin to question if there is an afterlife, an a certain character knows whether there is or not, but won't tell, and the moral to do that is that you'll never know until the time comes, which is what I was trying to achieve... I didn't give to much away about the story there, did I? XD.

To add to that, I also have a topic to boost some life in here:

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

Scarlet Weather January 18th, 2008 10:33 AM

Hmm...

In answer to that question, one of the "quirks" I wrote into "Thief in the Night" is that every chapter title is also the name of a song or a reference to a song. Chapter one is "Fall Out" by the Police, Chapter two is planned on being called "Synchronicity", also by The Police. But I don't really use music in the actual fic other than a short segment where it's stated that a band is playing a love song. Well, when I get around to drafting that part. Anyway, I try not to throw in real names because it feels a little.... gratuitous, and serves to confuse the Pokemon world with the real world. They are two very different places though they do share similarities. Plus it feels weird to throw an American (or even British) artist's work into a country based off of Japan. If anything, I'd mention Ayuko Tsuchiya or something like that. Problem is that I'm not knowledgable enough about Japanese culture and language to even attempt to give the Pokemon World a culture based heavily off of it, so I just opted to give it a culture pretty much distinctly its own. Phyres Island I'm taking more liberties with because it's not a "region" Per Se, and it has its own government separate from that of the other regions. As a result it's pretty distinct in culture and has differing laws particularly dealing with gun control, civil service, etc. Anyway, point is that I don't insert real-world artists because their music makes no real sense unless the culture is one that listens to that music heavily.

Yamato-san January 18th, 2008 12:35 PM

actually, English songs ARE popular in Japan. You just don't see them crop up in anime as much as they do in our shows/movies because anime tend to go with original soundtracks (watch a news broadcast or a commercial, on the other hand, and they're bound to show up). Not only that, but a lot of series will refrain from making pop-culture references. I mean, there are some out there that do make such references, no denying that, but they're not in the majority, let alone the mainstream. Also, if a pop-culture reference is made, it's usually pandering towards otaku, as seen with Suzumiya Haruhi and Lucky Star (but again, there are exceptions to this... Bleach acknowledges Western artists on occasion, and the name Bleach itself is based off of an album, indicating a heavy music influence on Tite Kubo's part).

Scarlet Weather January 18th, 2008 2:16 PM

See what I mean about knowing absolutely nothing about Japan? Yeah, I'm not even attempting to give the Pokemon world a culture that leans towards any particular country because of this. I could probably find this out with a bit of research, but I've always been more interested in Japan's history and folklore then their current culture. I know about weird things like the requiem ceremony for broken needles, but not about the music scene or the popular movies.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 18th, 2008 2:36 PM

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
No religion (except for some Arceus references).

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I do use real music in my fic. Oasis and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, for example.

Astinus January 18th, 2008 2:40 PM

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
I used to in a previous draft of my OT fanfiction. Right now, though, there's no place for it, so there's nothing. I do still keep the idea of the Pokegods, with my character "praying" to them and cursing Dialga when she's late for school. But that's it so far.

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I don't use any music. At all.

Yamato-san January 18th, 2008 9:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACC-M (Post 3258293)
See what I mean about knowing absolutely nothing about Japan? Yeah, I'm not even attempting to give the Pokemon world a culture that leans towards any particular country because of this. I could probably find this out with a bit of research, but I've always been more interested in Japan's history and folklore then their current culture. I know about weird things like the requiem ceremony for broken needles, but not about the music scene or the popular movies.

like I said, pop culture references (especially in comparison to our shows) are particularly low in most anime that I've seen. That said, you can make the setting seem inherently Japanese without actually delving into that sort of stuff (in fact, there's really no reason to go out of your way like that.... there's a difference between making the setting a particular culture, and then there's just trying too damn hard. Truthfully, I feel like I was doing the latter in my earlier versions ^^').

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
my serial and its sequel are pretty much based around the concept of gods, so.... yeah. Do I draw parallels with existing religions? Not sure, really.... I think I mainly focus on religion in general. Though, given the heavy influence, some aspects of Buddhism and Shintoism may be there (Shinto especially, given the comparisons I was making earlier between it and legendary Pokemon.... though, a lot of the newer legendaries seem to lean towards Greek mythology).

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I'm an insane person and I have insane dreams of doujinshi. ^^ [cough] That said, although I in no way want to reference actual music (given what I said earlier), an original soundtrack to accompany my manga would be wonderful (and my erogee could especially use a soundtrack.... as well as voice-over work). I wouldn't mind using a bit of my own pocket money and, through usage of Paypal, Skype, and a fair amount of talent-searching, direct some promising amateurs to perform music for me overseas (alternatively, and this may sound like a typical otaku comment, I'm wondering about the possibility of me actually being in Japan in a few years. Except unlike most otaku, I'm actually serious.... I've gotten a little interested in a career as an English teacher there and might consider continuing work towards my Bachelor's Degree ^^).

I've even got a few songs and BGMs already in mind.... my problem is, I don't know how to compose worth crap, so I doubt I'll be able to properly convey the kind of tunes I want to hear, at least not without seriously looking into the study of music. Alternatively, I could take a shortcut with this intriguing Vocaloid program I've been seeing on Youtube lately (I hear it's so easy to use, a deaf monkey could supposedly compose decent songs with it). That isn't to say I'll use computerized sounds all the way through (even if Miku does sound surprisingly good), but they could be used to represent what it is I want real people to perform. Also, given the bilingual approach I'm taking towards my projects, you can expect vocal songs to mainly be in Japanese, though a few may be in English (including English versions of some Japanese songs).

For a listing of titles for some BGMs I currently have planned (though subject to change), click the spoiler below.
Spoiler:
for the erogee:
夢のミラージュ (Yume no Mirage/Mirage of the Dream; opening theme)
あれ…ノコッチ…? (Are... Nokocchi...?/That's... a Dunsparce...?)
NAIL IT、ネアル!! (Nail it, Nearu!!/Nail it, Neal!!; "Neal" is the nickname of the protagonist's Sabonea/Cacnea)
洞窟で… (Doukutsu de.../In the Cave...)
磁場の砂 (Jiba no Suna/Magnetic Sand)
面会時間 (Menkai Jikan/Visiting Hours)
ハーデスの川 (Haadesu no Kawa/The Rivers of Hades)

for the serial:
LOST SOUL (character song for a major antagonist)
自然対理工 (Shizen tai Rikou/Nature vs. Technology)
ヤベー…イサミだ! (Yabee... Isami da!/Crap... it's Isami!)
親子 (Oyako/Parent & Child)
陰陽師 (Onmyouji)

I'd also like remixes of some Pokemon songs, including (but not limited to) the BGMs to the Pokemon Center, Route 111, Enju City (Ecruteak City), the Ice Path, Colosseum's regular battle music, and some others. Also, in spite of what I said about existing music, classical music could be an exception. In particular, I could see "Night on Bald Mountain" having a fitting part at some point.

Bay January 18th, 2008 10:59 PM

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?

The first version of "Nothing, Everything" was going to have really heavy religious themes. However, I then quit on that version as I'm afraid I might trigger controversy. ^^; On the second version, it's going to be more based on the theme of history.

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

Spoiler:
In "Nothing, Everything" I had made up a couple of bands and songs loosely based on the real life ones, though the characters won't meet them in person...their songs will be heard on radio XD. I pretty much did that for the same reason ACC-M said.


__________________

purple_drake January 19th, 2008 3:48 AM

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just making sure, but "monologuing" is when they give some long-winded speech and/or their life story, right? I don't intend to ever do that. Usually, if a character's suffering from a fatal wound and hacking up blood, but they have some last word they need to convey, it'd make sense to have them try and do so in as few lines as possible. If a character does have a death monologue, it should be before they commit suicide, as opposed to being injured and conveniently collapsing right after they finished talking. I'm also rather fond of having time seemingly slow down as you hear the final thoughts (instead of spoken dialog where they struggle just to say one syllable) of a character who's meeting their demise.
Mhm... pretty much a discourse that monopolises a situation/conversation. In this case, though, I tend to refer to most pre-death speeches as 'monologues'. >.< Bad of me.

I think part of the problem of me not liking pre-death speeches--monologues or otherwise--is that a lot of the time they seem to be something irrelevant to the story or just... trite. And yes, the 'conveniently collapsing right after they finish talking' is another part. :P

The slo-mo technique is pretty fun too. ^^ Never written it myself, though; I'm partial to the sudden and shocking, when the either character dies instantly (usually written from the PoV of someone else) or falls unconscious and never gets a chance to think last thoughts. Or you don't find out they're dead until one of the other characters do.

Spoiler:
Quote:

Another example could be found in Pokemon: the Ruby/Sapphire adaption of the Special manga (god, Ruby ****ing fails as a character).
Hell yes. :< I haven't read past volume 19 yet, simply because I was spoiled and I hate the idea of what I know is coming up so much that I just haven't had the heart to keep reading.



Quote:

I have a question. What if it's presumed that a character dies but it's never actually confirmed (i.e they never actually see the body or have living proof of the death)? Is it still in poor taste to have the character live even if they didn't actually die? (although the characters think they did). Keep in mind this would not be in result of nagging fans.
Well, depending on how it's done (and who the character is ;) ) I haven't a problem with that happening, especially when it's pre-planned. If it's used for the sake of a plot device (not exactly fanservice, but the character really has no right to be returning) then it falls under the lines of being badly done. It's like Isaac Gravity said: it depends on how it's pulled off, and I'd consider an assumed death to be easier to pull off well than an outright resurrection.


Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw parallels to religious beliefs?

Mm, I'm not sure how to answer this, mostly because I'm Christian and I'm sure some of my stories have some kind of religious bias without me noticing.

In terms of Pokemon-specific stories, I usually have people swearing by God, although depending on where they're from they might also swear by a Legendary, even though I don't exactly consider the Legendaries to be gods that humans, at least, worship (at least not in this modern day and age, or not commonly). Pokemon, on the other hand, I do see as worshipping and praying to the Legendaries, such as they can. It's really only recently that I've become interested in introducing real-life religion to the pokemon world.

Spoiler:
In my OT, the protagonist is myth-obsessed and names her pokemon after mythological deities, but she herself is atheist, while her rival is Catholic.


However, I usually don't try to insert symbolism for the purpose of drawing parallels... not actively, at least; I do recall some of my characters in HotM/CaC being allusions to Biblical characters. Also, it depends on a little on what culture the fandom is set in--Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho, for instance, have Shinto and Buddhist aspects to take into account, because of their plotline and/or setting.

As for my original stories, well, I try to involve real-life religions where the setting is a real-life setting, but in terms of completely fantastical cultures I tend to create my own, although they may be inspired by real-life religions/mythologies (such as one which is based off the Ancient Egyptian pantheon and beliefs).

So... yeah. ^.^;; This topic kind of falls under the realm of 'things I don't think about but just happen'.


If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

On the rare occasions I have used music, it's been real stuff.
Spoiler:
(although, also in my future OT, there's a major character who is obsessed with classical and operatic music.)
Anything that isn't real stuff I'd usually avoid naming or creating an artist for.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 19th, 2008 6:46 AM

Question: Has the idea of fan fiction awards ever been pitched here? I've seen it done on a few other forums and was wondering if it's been brought up here.

Dragonfree January 19th, 2008 7:01 AM

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
Yes. Most obviously, Morphic is largely about conflict rooted in fundamentalist religion closely based on real life. Meanwhile, the primary theme of The Quest for the Legends, to a large extent, relates to religion but doesn't really have anything to do with the real world since situations are quite different. Then there are Chains and Shackles, two one-shots entirely based around religion. My other stuff, no, not really.

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I've never referenced songs, bands or albums in my fic at all, real or imaginary, and I don't plan to. Seems rather pointless to me.

Astinus January 19th, 2008 2:05 PM

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Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3260170)
Question: Has the idea of fan fiction awards ever been pitched here? I've seen it done on a few other forums and was wondering if it's been brought up here.

Actually, yes. You can see the original plans in this here thread. Obviously nothing came of it. I have been thinking of doing a new awards ceremony, but we don't have that many active fics...active members...active moderator. x.x I can't even keep on top of the FFotM.

So if anyone has an idea of how to work awards here, and if there is a want for them, let me hear it.

*goes back to OSC* <3

Percy Thrillington January 19th, 2008 2:12 PM

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Actually, yes. You can see the original plans in
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this here thread. Obviously nothing came of it. I have been thinking of doing a new awards ceremony, but we don't have that many active fics...active members...active moderator. x.x I can't even keep on top of the FFotM.

So if anyone has an idea of how to work awards here, and if there is a want for them, let me hear it.



Read the thread.

Fan fiction of the year to be picked out of the fan fiction of the month category (first time winner is no doubt Griff).

But, I was thinking, perhaps we could have mini awards like; funniest writer, most thought provoking fic, ect.

Cue the protests to my ideas, I guess.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 19th, 2008 5:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3261203)

Fan fiction of the year to be picked out of the fan fiction of the month category (first time winner is no doubt Griff).

Don't quite know what you mean by the last part.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3261203)
But, I was thinking, perhaps we could have mini awards like; funniest writer, most thought provoking fic, ect.

Cue the protests to my ideas, I guess.

I like the ideas of mini awards. I'd help out with this if we ever did such a thing.

Rebellious Treecko January 19th, 2008 6:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3261203)
But, I was thinking, perhaps we could have mini awards like; funniest writer, most thought provoking fic, ect.

Ummm...NO? :D

I know it's a good idea for some, but there's already Fanfiction of the month; I doubt we need more awards. (and competition) >_>
*gets flamed*

Astinus January 19th, 2008 9:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3261730)
Don't quite know what you mean by the last part.

Since you're the only active FFotM you would win by default. 8D; Lucky you.

I'm still hesitant to say yes to these awards, since we don't have a lot of activity here. Give me some more time to think it over. I'm reading ACC-kun's fic soon, and my mind is prepped for that.

Dragonfree January 20th, 2008 4:52 AM

I think it could work, really. :/ Admittedly there aren't that many fics on here to win it, but TPM has regular awards that work out very well and don't cause any drama llamas like a certain other forum's awards, so I don't see why we couldn't try.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 20th, 2008 6:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanako Tabris (Post 3262495)
Since you're the only active FFotM you would win by default. 8D; Lucky you.

I'm still hesitant to say yes to these awards, since we don't have a lot of activity here. Give me some more time to think it over. I'm reading ACC-kun's fic soon, and my mind is prepped for that.

Stir of the THunderstorm is still active.

No pressure for awards I was just curious if it's ever been mentioned.

Percy Thrillington January 20th, 2008 6:53 AM

I'm pretty sure it has, but, as Dragonfree said; there'd be nothing wrong with trying it.

So, who wants to manage it all? *Crowd point at Hanako*

Seriously though, if we could come up with good mini awards, thre's nothing really stopping us from seeing if it'd work or not.

Just my two Cents, anyways.

Alter Ego January 20th, 2008 11:27 AM

Peek-a-boo. :3

So yeah, it's still my hard-earned first weekend break from the military, so I thought it would be a downright shame if I didn't at least poke my head in here. Not reviewing this week, though (probably not the next either, since it's apparently a Sunday-only break) but it's my hope to reach a point where I can actually manage some of that too, as soon as I've managed to stuff my last RPing skeletons inside of the closet and get them locked up nice and tight anyway. So yeah, certain authors may expect reviews at an indeterminate point in the future.

While we're waiting for that particular point, though...

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

Meh, I feel about them much the same way as I feel about the people who feel inclined to 'sign off' each one of their posts, which is pretty much the same way I feel about flies. Light nuisance, but mostly I just ignore them. Feels sort of redundant, though, since it already shows in the main section when a new addition has been made to a fanfic. The biggest pity is for them, though, because they're really missing out on the best part of what the lounge has to offer. =O

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

Writer's attitude and general writing record. The profile can also give some indication, as true illiteracy and lack of writing skill really shines through on forums.


Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Unless there was some very specific symbolism (or connection to an existing work) I wanted to work in, I really can't picture myself pre-determining the amount of chapters in a work of fiction. I write as many chapters as I need. No more, no less.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

Oh, there will definitely be bonds. When you have multiple intelligent beings forced into interaction for longer periods of time, I seriously couldn't picture a scenario where a relationship of some kind wouldn't form (unless we're dealing with artificial pokémon like the Porygon line). Whether it's the old 'friendship and love' thing, a case of being united by necessity (I've actually been toying with the idea of having a human and pokémon pair where the two truly, deeply resent each other (not just in the 'friend rivals' sense either. This is a duo wherein one has already attempted to kill the other and has made it quite clear that they'd do it again if they had a way to get away with it.) but still get with the program because their survival is hinged on co-operating), or a less emotional master and servant relationship. In general, I'm inclined to have some sense of friendship and/or loyalty form, even if it's not mutual, but because I enjoy creating the most screwed up people at times, it's...not unheard of for me to draw those to unhealthy extremes (over-protectiveness, possessiveness, and just unhealthy obsessions galore, really).

But yeah, there's usually some kind of bond at the bottom, even if it's a twisted one. :3

How do you treat the subject of character death?

Very cautiously. A character's death can be a powerful plot device, yes, but only if wielded sparingly and in good taste. I'd also want a very pressing plot reason that requires the character in question to be dead, because once I decided to kill them off, they're gone along with all the plot purposes they could serve while alive (unless of course I'm pulling a faux death stunt). So yeah, it will most probably occur at some point of some fic I write (the when and where is still completely open), but only after I've exhausted less extreme methods of impressing the seriousness of the situation. Personally, I'm partial to trauma and psychological breakdown. In some cases, that's way scarier than a character just dying, imo.

So yeah, the mortality rate for my characters is fairly low. The odds of them escaping unscathed, however...>D

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?

Meh, usually not. I draw on folklore and mythology quite a bit, and I suppose that religion of some kind is pretty much intertwined with that, but at most the religious stuff is bits and pieces from various religions frankensteined with the figments of my own addled mind. I do have some cases of using religion in fiction (Notably the Typheite emperor cult from one of my oldest RPs, the dawnbringer religion in my fictional nordic region, and the Ho-oh worshippers which is a certain character of mine (ACC would know this one) belonged to), but it's always a fictional one. As an atheist, I have no inclination to push a religious agenda in my writing, but since it's a notable part of human society I can't completely exclude it in good conscience either. The only really religious character I've done was...pretty messed up by their religion, though, but that was a poke at extremist belief in general rather religion in particular. :3

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

Meh, I usually don't put that much emphasis on music in my fics. If I need to, though, it's always invented. Part of establishing the whole 'different world' thing. I'm not much of a song writer, though, so I don't do specific lyrics much. x3


As for awards...personally I think FFotM is enough, since there's a lot of room for bruising egos if we have a wast array of categories and some people still won't get into anything. (or get titles they don't want) Besides, that's more work for whoever has to organize it, but it's not a make or break thing for me either way. :3

JX Valentine January 20th, 2008 12:43 PM

Hello, folks. Apologies for disappearing all of a sudden. Working on a short serial for someone's Christmas gift. And by working, I mean "procrastinating like hell while attempting to beat NiGHTS Journey of Dreams."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanako Tabris (Post 3262495)
Since you're the only active FFotM you would win by default. 8D; Lucky you.

Would Midsummer Knights also count, even though I'm working on a technically different version?

And to add to the survey discussion...

What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?

Considering I was guilty of it at one point, I really don't mind so much. It's when people start (for lack of a better term) whining that no one reads their fics that those posts get on my nerves (because, really, I don't get a lot of reviews on a daily basis, so I really don't want to see someone complaining that they aren't either). That and I agree with Alter Ego. I find that it's a shame that the only thing they have to say is "plz read my fic!" in the middle of a serious discussion about the elements of a plot, for example. That and it sort of breaks the tone of said serious discussion.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?

Quote:

Writer's attitude and general writing record. The profile can also give some indication, as true illiteracy and lack of writing skill really shines through on forums.
^ Word. Usually, I try to look at past posts of the user to see if they're joking or not. If the story is their first post, I also look at the content. Canon raping (ghetto Ash, liberal abuse of the word censor, smut for no reason, PWP) is a huge indicator, as writers with genuinely bad grammar, from what I observe, usually also stick to the tried-and-true plots (new trainers with Ash-esque beginnings, Mary Sues, fluffy/smutless romances, that sort of thing).

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?

Go with the flow. Sometimes, a story really can't fit in the same number of chapters as another work of mine, either because there's too much material or too little to call for more than a few chapters.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?

This depends on the character. I've created characters who bond with their Pokemon as if they're parts of their family or the only creatures in the world they can trust. Likewise, I've created characters who only see Pokemon as pawns or toys and therefore don't get too attached past the master-servant relationship. It depends completely on what the story calls for. (After all, there's all kinds of people in the world, ranging from the bat **** crazy PETA members Yamato-san was talking about to the equally bat **** crazy artists who find mutilating cats to be a form of unique visual expression. Why should my worlds be limited to even a happy medium?)

How do you treat the subject of character death?

Depends on the story and the characters. Background characters may die for the sake of exactly what Yamato-san had brought up: to emphasize that the world I've created isn't the Happy Bunny Candy Land that Ash lives in. Main characters die for major plot reasons, and they will naturally be treated with more respect by the other characters than the complete strangers that died off screen. That isn't to say that death is taken lightly for some as compared to others. Just that every death serves a purpose to add to the story.

Obviously, I have absolutely no problem with killing off my characters, but I need a reason for doing it. Same thing goes with injuring them. I may be a sadist, but I know all too well that a story just doesn't get the same effect if I go Elfen Lied on everyone I create.

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?

Viola is a Jesus figure.

If I can find a reason to, I don't see why not. I'm very fond, for example, of the story of Lilith and the Book of Revelations (although I'm ironically not Christian) and will happily use either if the story calls for it.

The problem is I don't usually find a reason to, save for the occasional "using the Lord's name in vain" bit. Prophecies just aren't my thing anymore, and it's incredibly awkward to fit religious allusions into futuristic or sci-fi fanfiction.

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

Again, with Yamato-san here. Although I don't often use music in my writing (because I really don't find a reason to, as few of my characters ever sit around and listen to music), I tend to like creating soundtracks for my work. Unfortunately, by "soundtracks," I mean "music by actual, record-producing artists" and not talent I happen to know and hire. (With that said, yes, Midsummer Knights has an opening and closing theme. What they are, I'll never tell.)

When I do fit in music, however, I just go with real musicians (a couple dancing to Frank Sinatra, Bill getting bored and playing Bach on a piano, a girl singing karaoke to the Go-Gos, that sort of thing) because my attempts at creating Pokemon-related band names have always been lame (the Volbeats instead of the Beatles, for example).

Yamato-san January 20th, 2008 1:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jax Malcolm (Post 3264226)
Again, with Yamato-san here.

YAY!!! ^^ I'm always right! XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jax Malcolm
because my attempts at creating Pokemon-related band names have always been lame (the Volbeats instead of the Beatles, for example).

I don't know if I've said it before, but that's exactly the kind of thing I hate in a lot of fics that I've seen. It's like every author out there thinks they're one of the writers for The Flintstones and turn Pokemon world into some pun-filled bastardization of our world. After all the canon research I've done over the years, I've come to one conclusion: the world featured in (most of) the franchise is more or less the same thing as our world. There are real locations (most notably South America), there are real animals (which are simply never focused on), some real people may exist or have existed in the past... about the only major differences are the obvious addition of super-powered creatures that could be contained inside of a ball (history and culture probably being slightly tweaked to suit this fact), Japan having an altered landscape, differences in technological development, and some other miscellaneous stuff.

JX Valentine January 20th, 2008 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3264482)
YAY!!! ^^ I'm always right! XD

What if you said one day, "I'm wrong"? Would you be admitting a fallacy or just sticking yourself into some mind-bending paradox that will eventually send you spiraling into babbling insanity?

...Because if it's the latter, that would be really cool to watch.

Seriously, though, as much as I have disagreed with you in the past, I'll have to agree with you here... on a level. While it is corny and often unnecessary (as the anime apparently mentions real-life famous faces now and then), the weird thing is about canon is that they occasionally make up puntastic names as well. Brad Van Darn instead of Jean-Claude Van Damme, for example. Clevon Schpealbunk instead of Steven Spielberg, for another example. (Even Schpealbunk's famous film, I Saw What You Ate Last Tuesday, is merely a pun on a real-life movie.) So, to make names up like that would fit in with canon, but the problem is that the anime has absolutely no shame in being corny. If one wanted to write a fanfiction with a more serious tone, then yeah, I'd say don't do it too, although it's not so much because the Pokemon world is our world with a few differences than because it just destroys the tone an author wanted to build in his story. I mean, if you're writing drama or darkfic or something that's just generally not Happy Bunny Candy Land, you just can't throw in a line mentioning Britney Spearow and expect people to take you seriously thereafter, am I right?

Regardless, it'd be interesting to hear what people have to say about throwing in puns just because canon did.

Yamato-san January 21st, 2008 2:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jax Malcolm (Post 3265887)
the weird thing is about canon is that they occasionally make up puntastic names as well. Brad Van Darn instead of Jean-Claude Van Damme, for example. Clevon Schpealbunk instead of Steven Spielberg, for another example. (Even Schpealbunk's famous film, I Saw What You Ate Last Tuesday, is merely a pun on a real-life movie.) So, to make names up like that would fit in with canon, but the problem is that the anime has absolutely no shame in being corny.

not only does the anime have no shame in that, but you bring up the ENGLISH VERSION. I think I've made it clear several times that I follow the original Japanese version of the Pokemon franchise a great deal. And I never explicitly said that canon doesn't do it (hell, I myself might be overlooking, or have yet to be aware of, a punny pop-culture reference or two that occurs in the Japanese canon.... actually, I think Gligar Man might be a good example). All I said is that fanfic writers often go overboard and compared their works to The Flintstones (which, as anyone should know, was notorious for using mineral-based puns at every corner).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jax Malcolm (Post 3265887)
What if you said one day, "I'm wrong"? Would you be admitting a fallacy or just sticking yourself into some mind-bending paradox that will eventually send you spiraling into babbling insanity?

dunno.... but speaking of paradoxes....

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?
Yes, I do anticipate the use of time-travel in one or two of my stories... however, I plan to be very, very careful with its usage. I've done a lot of theories on the subject, and time is an extremely dangerous element to be screwing around with (if anyone's interested, I can delve further into the matter). I intend to showcase some harsh consequences that result from a mere two years going back (and even the choice to revert the present to its original state will show to be a difficult one as well).

Also, on the matter of Celebi and Dialga, I do plan to differentiate their powers. Celebi only travels through time, but never alters it, thus resulting in a time paradox. Anyone who's traveled from the future is pre-destined to go back with Celebi once their future occurs. Although it probably won't actually be shown, in a rather humorous manner, I'll have one character hypothesize on the time paradoxes and state that, even if a time-traveler put a gun up to someone who should be alive in the present, and they were about to pull the trigger, some freak incident will occur that insures the person's survival, such as the gunman being suddenly crushed by a wooden beam or struck by lightning. Dialga, being a more powerful being with full manipulation of time (as well as being a twin god whose counterpart manipulates space), actually is capable of altering the present. Dialga's powers also exclude it from the time paradox phenomenon, so Celebi (or anyone traveling with it), despite having the weaker time powers, can still directly affect the present if it were to somehow manipulate Dialga's actions at any point in history.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 21st, 2008 2:59 PM

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?
It is one of the ideas going about my mind. I wont say how yet, though. Probably involving Dialga.

Percy Thrillington January 21st, 2008 3:47 PM

Quote:

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?
You have no clue how much I want to answer that. I can't, however, for fear that my fic will be ruined if I do. It involves Celebi, and the fact that if you were to, say, kill Hanako Tabris in the past, someone would become Hanako, and Hanako would never have died... No offence Hanako, I just needed a name. Anyways, it's sort of like; if something major happened; E.G. The Second World War, and someone went backwards in time and killed Hitler, someone would step up and take Hitler's shoes. He may have different looks, a different family, but he is created by Dialga/Celebi to stop a paradox that would destroy the world.

If you look at it this way, it's sort of like the way they could've prevented Donnie Darko doing what he had to do.

Did that make sense? I don't think it did. Ah well, when my fic is completed I will quote this, and we'll all look back on this post of lunacy and laugh.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 21st, 2008 3:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Raichu (Post 3268231)
You have no clue how much I want to answer that. I can't, however, for fear that my fic will be ruined if I do. It involves Celebi, and the fact that if you were to, say, kill Hanako Tabris in the past, someone would become Hanako, and Hanako would never have died... No offence Hanako, I just needed a name. Anyways, it's sort of like; if something major happened; E.G. The Second World War, and someone went backwards in time and killed Hitler, someone would step up and take Hitler's shoes. He may have different looks, a different family, but he is created by Dialga/Celebi to stop a paradox that would destroy the world.

If you look at it this way, it's sort of like the way they could've prevented Donnie Darko doing what he had to do.

Did that make sense? I don't think it did. Ah well, when my fic is completed I will quote this, and we'll all look back on this post of lunacy and laugh.

I also love the "course-correcting" thing that comes along with time travel/seeing the future. I also plan on using the course correcting clause if I do use the time travel thing. Say you see into the future and know that someone is gonna die. You try to save them. But when you save them then they'll still fall down the stairs, if you warn them about the stairs then they will die some other way. I like how they did that in Lost.

Saffire Persian January 21st, 2008 4:04 PM

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?

I had an old fanfiction idea that will probably never come to pass that involved time-travel. I also had a one-shot that also used time-travel in the exact method (pretty much) that would have been used in the old fanfic idea I mentioned. It involved Celebi and the like. Currently though, no time-travel has been planned. xD

JX Valentine January 21st, 2008 4:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamato-san (Post 3268001)
not only does the anime have no shame in that, but you bring up the ENGLISH VERSION. I think I've made it clear several times that I follow the original Japanese version of the Pokemon franchise a great deal.

That's all fine and dandy for you, but most people who write English fanfiction follow the English version for obvious reasons. Ergo, the argument still stands in that the people who write fanfiction in English and use punny names can still attempt to use the argument, "Well, canon did it, so why can't I?," which was my point. Would you care to address the general population on this side of the pond that is the Pacific, or would you rather consider me inferior because I acknowledge that most fans in America don't watch the original version of the anime because they neither can understand Japanese nor have the ability to import media (that they most likely can't understand anyway)?

Additionally, you state that you're going off "all the canon research [you've] done," which implies that you're making an assumption about the Pokemon world in general being simply our world with Pokemon in it. My response was saying that, yes, in a way, it is, but canon (dub included, as that's part of canon) also takes liberties that include puntastic, occasionally Flintstone-esque names (if not just downright corny knockoffs of reality). Because it's not exactly uncommon in the anime, a fanfiction author could simply use the excuse "canon did it" and still abuse puns. My question is, then, if people (as in, not just Yamato-san) believe this is okay for fanfics that consciously attempt to take on the tone of the anime -- and if not, where would the line be?

Astinus January 21st, 2008 7:55 PM

Thanks Oni Raichu. ;o; *wants to remain alive until Valentine's Day (which falls on a Thursday OMGOMG!)

>>; Anyhow...

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?
No.

Quote:

I think I've made it clear several times that I follow the original Japanese version of the Pokemon franchise a great deal.
That's all fine and dandy like caramel candy, Yamato-san. But do you know that there are people in the world who don't watch the Japanese version, and Jax wasn't just talking to you?

As for the issue of pun names, I feel that they are all right if used for humor purposes. If I'm reading a fic written just to get some laughs, then it's fine. If, however, the pun arises in the middle of a serious fic, then I just have to roll my eyes. If there is a need to lighten the mood of the serious fic at some point, then there are different ways to do this than a pun pulled out of the nose.

That said, I don't use puns. Namely because I don't like them, and also because there's no need for them in my fics.

Bay January 21st, 2008 8:39 PM

Spoiler:
Hm...probably I'll change that made up band and instead have classical music being played on the radio. :X


Well, I don't hate puns that much but I see where you guys are going. I'm guilty of having a couple of characters using puns for comic relief in my more serious fics. Yeah, I'm that bad in comedy. XD Pretty much I use puns either in my humor fics or comic relief.


Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?


Spoiler:
There's one instance where I have the main characters travel back in time by a Pokemon (not a legendary :X) and what happens is they're seeing what is happening but they won't be able to say hi to the other people and other things as those other people can't see or hear them actually. Think in the lines of one scene in the second Harry Potter movie where Harry finds out what happens on one certain past event...(will think of a better time travel example eventually XD ).

(Man, many of these questions are relating to what will happen in the future for Nothing, Everything! My other fictions are ones I hadn't post here yet! XD

txteclipse January 21st, 2008 10:21 PM

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?

I haven't decided yet. I've actually thought about it a lot, and I have a few ideas, but I'd have to wait and see. It would pretty much give away my entire story if I said much of anything, which is a constant annoyance while writing, but hey. It's a fun topic to discuss, in any case, considering there's so many opinions as to how time travel would work. If a person/pokemon was doing the time-traveling, I'd do the whole "if it isn't alive it can't time travel" thing to get rid of the superior-technology-being-taken-back-in-time conundrum. If the time traveling was done by machine, I'd probably have it only be able to do short bursts of time travel or something.

Elite Overlord LeSabre™ January 21st, 2008 11:33 PM

How do you treat the subject of character death?
I'm not sure. it hasn't yet come up in my writing, though it will in the future. It involves the suicide of villains in order to avoid jail time, so I'm not sure how much of an emotional imact it'll have on the characters, if any at all.

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
Spoiler:
It's the basis of the "evil" organization in my fic. I've modeled them after fanatical religious cults like the Branch Davidians and Jonestown, with the leader being a David Koresh/Jim Jones-type figure. He's a self-proclaimed prophet who claims that his illegal and unethical deeds are justified because a divine force is communicating with him and instructing him to do these activities. One side of the organization operates like a terrorist group, another performs research and experiments on Pokemon, and still another operates a church which functions to brainwash followers.

Besides that, my characters do have religious beliefs (though this won't come up too often) and my character likes to sing Contemporary Christian songs during karaoke. Which leads us to...

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
All real artists, though only one or two songs really end up playing any sort of important role in terms of theme. The rest are ones that just pop into my character's head, or end up getting played on the radio or at karaoke parties. I'd rather not come up with made up music, just as I'd rather use real-life companies instead of made-up ones.

Do you use time-travel in your story? If so, how?
No. It wouldn't fit in with the context of my fic. However, if I did, it wouldn't involve Celebi or Dialga. It would involve a Rapidash, some plutonium, a flux capacitor, and the Rapidash would have to accelerate to 88 miles per hour to initiate the process...

On a side note, Chapter 4 of my fic is up. [/shameless plug]

Grovyle42(Griff8416) January 23rd, 2008 10:54 AM

I'm going to go ahead and post a new question (I don't know if this has been done):

What is your favorite pokemon to write about/Which one would you most like to write about? Why?


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