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Old attempt at a fanfic... should I redo?
My greetings to everyone here.
I am new to the forums, I was an avid anonymous reader of this community, as well as others (Serebii etc) for a while, but decided to join here (PS: people told me it was a good choice;)). Well, basically I've read the guidelines and recommendations for writing FF, and I decided it would be great if I could rehash or otherwise redo my only, unreleased, Pokémon fic to date. It was essentially an OT (although I have to say I'm still proud of it because I wrote it well, neat and consistent years before having read a fanfic tutoria, guidelines or the like), but I want to, somehow, "spinoff" it, by changing he perspective to that of the antagonist, and rewriting it in media res. Let me summarize: "Darius" is a Trainer with already a lot of experience. He comes from a noncannon region. Now, he entered the Kanto League, as he want the chance to enjoy a completely new land. However briefly after getting his 4th badge, he and other trainers receive invitations to a secret meeting. There they are offered with the opportunity of a lifetime: to join Team Rocket. The three other trainers are given specific tasks to fulfill as profiling, but Darius is led to an interview with the leader of the organization who grants him with a special task: he has to enter the Kanto Tournament, and defeat in battle a trainer called "Lou" who happens to be an old time friend who has unexpectedly come back to Pokémon battles after some years of isolation. As of this point, I have start-in-the-middle factor kick in, as at the same time Darius prepares for the upcoming tournament and tries to locate and study his old friend, he is left wondering why would Team Rocket assign him with a test that for them would offer no apparent purpose more than a simple and menial proficiency test would. He backtracks on his days as a beginner trainer, on the memories he has about his home, his adventures, and his starter rivals, trying to determine what does Lou mean, both for Team Rocket and for himself... is he a rival? a target? a threat? a friend? He has to discover what he really wants versus what he is really being offered, in the light of a battle that would decide his future life. See? Told you... an OT. Maybe another kind of it, if it works I'd callit it an "OR" ("Original Rocket")--- So here I draw two groups of questions. I hope the veterans here can provide me with advice. First Question Set: Writing related
Second Question Set: Pokémon World Related The work is to be ambiented in Kanto "some time". There may be some cannon characters, I have not yet decided. But I have some problems with the concept of my trainers being "foreigners", and for the sake of me I can't remember what do the Pokémon canon say about this, so I'll cry for help here: Does the canon/games/animé...
Well... I hope you can help me answer those questions, they will be decisive in my decision (not to self: improve on lexic) to wheher continue or scrap the idea. Very seriously thanks in advance! |
I'm still kind of new to this stuff, really, but I'll try to help you anyway. I know a lot about stories - I have a lifelong experience, after all - but not that much about Pokémon fanfics. I hope I don't turn out all noobish and all.
First answear set: 1. It sounds plausible and very well workable. If you write it well and make the characters with care and effort, it'll be a great fic, I think. Just don't make it pseudo-deep with the part about meanings and all that. Pseudo-deepness never ends up looking very nice. 2. I think doing the OT-part with flashbacks is an awesome way to approach it, as no-one wants to read a fic that starts like that anymore. I don't think it needs more care than any other parts: you have to assimilate (eek, borgs!) the flashbacks to the story in appropriate places - I would think either chronologically or in places that somehow associate with the contents of the flashback - and somehow make them distinguishable from the other text. That's not a big job, really. 3. Why not write this? Not writing it properly will haunt you forever! Or if it won't, then, well, I guess it doesn't matter what you write anyway. I'm not a native English speaker either, so I know how frustrating it can be when you just can't remember that one crucial word that would make your fic so much better... I think you should go with this idea. Try, at least. How can you know if you don't try? 4. Ah, but it depends. I believe that you can write well and you seem to be sensible and smart, too, so I would also suspect that you can do this one well. If it's written well, has a plausible and somewhat interesting plot and well-written and thoroughly thought characters, I don't see a reason for it to be uninteresting to read. Second set: 1. In Pokémon fanfics, everything doesn't need to be thought over :laugh: I mean, if even the anime makers haven't really spent much time on thinking about that, maybe you shouldn't either. Although I do have an idea about this if you need one: even the starting trainers don't really sign up to anything, so I guess the qualification comes from getting all the 8 badges. So you start by getting the first badge and then go on until you have reached the state where you are qualified to enter the real Pokémon League. It's the same for every region, so you don't need to notify anyone if you change regions. Does that sound plausible? 2. I think the order of the gyms is just a recommendation. You probably could get the badges in any order, but it would be fairly impossible to beat the eight'h one with lvl 7 pokémon. or then it could be that the badge you get makes it possible for you to get the next one, if you know what I mean. You need the first to get the second and so on. I don't know which would be more sensible of an explanation, so you go with whatever you want (like you'd need my permission for that...) 3. Nothing was ever said about that. Well, officially, that is. The internet has a vast diversity of Pokémon hacks that center on the player becoming a Team Rocket/Magma/etc member. I haven't looked into those that much, so I don't know. I've just bumped into them, so I know there are a lot of those. You should try searching for some if you want to know what others came up with. However, I think your version of it is completely plausible and well thought, so I don't see any reason for not using it. As for the canon cameos, I think Prof. Oak would be an easy one. Bill would be awesome if you did it well. Also I think you could use some really minor character, like some of the yougsters you have to battle in the games, and let him make an appearance as a grownup. Or something. I'm not an expert since I've never played the first games. Well, yet. I hope I was even remotely helpful to you. I'm not exactly a veteran like you requested, but I can still do something. Hopefully someone more experienced will answear to your plea. Then I would be like a first aid kit! :laugh: Good luck with writing! ^-^ |
Thanks An-chan for the suggestions. As noone else as exactly voiced their opinions, I'm going to take the challenge based on your suggestions and work on the rewriting for the remainder of the month. I might actually release the prologue by the end of the week, if RL doesn't further interfere.
Then, I may apply for a Beta reader. I haven't actually given much thought to that option. Part of what makes the flashback thing an interesting approach, I think, is that it will allow me to explore and expand the characters' persnalities by revealing partial, and sometimes biased perceptions, that can then be complemented with the events of the "present". Kinda like, when you suddenly see a friend's face in a magazine, and you say to yourself "Oh, I'd swear his eyes were blue, not brown", and things like that. And thanks for the idea of checking on Pokémon hacks. Now how couldn't I think of that before? Well... I guess it's time to get back to work, then. If anyone else wants to give suggestions, I'm all a Nidorino's ears, I'll need them. Bye! |
Hello, and welcome to PFF. I don't know if I can really be classified as a veteran, as I have only been here since March or April, but I am confident in my abilities as a writer/reviewer. I hope that my answers below will help you decide what you will do with your fiction...
First Question Set: Writing related
Oh, and if you need one, I'll be a beta-reader for you. I noticed that you mentioned applying for one. I'll just make it easier on you and offer right here. |
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