Fanfiction Lounge

I think that's a lovely idea.

I've been trying to go through the various fanfics on this website, and have yet to really fall upon any overally good quality writing. Mind you, I don't want to sound insulting. So, in other words, what I mean is that, I have yet to really find anything that pulls my interest.

So, yes.. something like a sticky that helps someone like myself read some good stuff would be most excellent.

The problem with an idea like that is that you're never going to get people to agree on what constitutes "quality." The best you could do is appoint the people you most respected as readers and reviewers to go through 'fics and select those that they thought were good. No matter what, though, there are going to be some that people just don't like, regardless of how objectively "good" one might call them. Not to mention that there's no conceivable way to find all the "good" 'fics on the board without a few slipping through the cracks. Some of the best 'fics are the least known, so just finding or noticing them when they appear is a problem in and of itself. What's more, by then filtering out the 'fics that you do notice and giving them this seal of quality or whatever, the ones that you don't pick out are even less likely to get attention, simply because people are going to rely on that one thread or whatever to filter out goodfic for them, and assume that if something hasn't gotten the proper approval, it doesn't qualify as "great."

I suppose it all depends on how stringent your quality guidelines are. If you'll settle for something "readable," then there probably wouldn't be a whole lot of issue. Well, take that back. A lot of the most revered writers on Serebii indulge in prose that looks like it's in some foreign language. So I guess you couldn't reliably agree on even that.

In any case, I don't see a problem with a thread for people's personal faves or whatever, although it would obviously be of far more use if the people contributing could give a lucid explanation of what, exactly, made the stories they had selected so great. I don't know that a collection of the supposed "best" stuff would really accomplish much, though.

Mmhm...I think a site like that would be a wonderful thing. Although I have a lot on my hands now, you can count me in in a couple of weeks. ^_^ I'd be perfectly happy to do graphic work for the site (linkbuttons, site graphics, logo, etc.), and to help set up a management structure. In fact, here's an idea.

Negrek's comment about differing opinions of quality is a very good point. I suggest that such a site would have a group of administrators - a kind of Fanfiction High Council, if you will - who debate new additions to the library and vote on the entries. The original founders, of course, would make up the Council in the beginning.

Aqua, that council-thing was precisely what I had in mind!

This "council" or parts of it (I think that if we have a sensible "council", we can trust them on making good decisions about these things even without all of them being there all the time) would rate, accept, spell check (not me, I suck a that) and classify the fics (for the genre search and such). Also, I assume every member of this council would be a writer themselves, but none of their fics would be accepted without mutual agreement either. Or, well, without voting. This would make the process of upping fics a rather slow and troublesome one, but if we get 4-6 good fics to start with, I don't think it'll be a problem.

What I consider as the strendt of this webpage-idea compared to a sticky thread would be the usability. If we make a webpage, we can have, as I said, brief writer's profiles, better searching, continuance in the style of formatting... It would be a lot more user friendly. Also, the lack of comments in between chapters would make reading more easy and all.

If this idea gets more support, I think it would need its own thread. We can't keep spamming this thread with something like this, after all.

Welp, another day and night of sleep and I feel slightly better than yesterday. I'm still as clumsy as I was yesterday though, as I've proven already by dropping almost everything I try to pick up...

Anyways, whereas yesterday I was viewing the n00bs on my n00bwatch with anger, today I have gone back to my good old laughing at them for being so ridiculously absurd. Oh, the lulz... Like there's this one guy whose fic was closed and he keeps on arguing with Yami Ryu and Zephyr Flare and acting like he's actually winning when all he's done is insult and piss off both of them (I guess the repercussions of insulting a mod slipped his mind) and show everyone just how big an idiot he is. Hell, he even managed to insult someone else who doesn't like Yami and was warning him about calling her a guy. When you insult someone who was on your side...now that's the sign of a true idiot.

I'm glad that no one really seemed to mind my raving. :D So yeah, from anger to lulz. Tiss how my mind works.

As for the idea about the thread/site devoted to cataloging good stories, I like it in concept but as Negrek pointed out, in execution it'd be hard to do. What would be the line for inclusion? One person's idea of good may not necessarily be someone else's (as evidenced by those people who mindlessly praise every single fic they see). And then you'd have to deal with people upset because they didn't get in, since to them you're basically giving them the finger and telling them they suck.

If you were to only have one person choose rather to accept or deny a fic, then issues of subjectivity would arise, but if you let anyone choose then there's no stopping the fics which are blatantly low quality yet still meet the rules from getting in. A panel of judges may be best, but you need to be sure that whoever is chosen has the time to look over the submitted fics and that there's enough judges so in case one or two can't vote on a fic for whatever reason (such as if they're the author or are away) there's redundancy in place. Maybe even rotate judges every so often.

Of course, that just brings up the point of...how do you choose who is a good enough reviewer to be able to say rather a fic is good enough quality?

...And then we just have to remember that this is just fanfiction and we shouldn't take it so seriously, so who cares if we piss off some people? Tell them to suck it up and get better at writing so some day they can get in Teh List.

P.S. I see now that Aqua (and An-chan while I was writing) discuss a council type of thing; that's basically the same idea I have in mind with the judges.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I got mah new keyboard today. It be nice and shiny, with chrome trim (the first bling I've ever had for my computer...), laptop style keys (nice and firm, short travel, clicky...), and even a laptop style layout to keep the whole thing small. The layout will take some getting used to, but after I adjust I feel I'll prefer having to not stretch as far to reach the delete key and such. The arrows will be hardest to adjust to, since they're right below right shift when I'm used to them being to the right of it, meaning that I'm always hitting the 0 on the numpad instead... Ah well, I just need to use it to work on a chapter or something and I should be reasonably good to go.

Such organizations actually already exist on FF.net; they're called C2 communities, and tend to specialize in one particular kind of 'fic.

Most of them suck, but that'd be an example of a site with extant author profiles, classification, search capabilities, consistent formatting, and so forth. Clearly they can only index FF.net 'fics, but it's an infrastructure that already exists.

Anyways, whereas yesterday I was viewing the n00bs on my n00bwatch with anger, today I have gone back to my good old laughing at them for being so ridiculously absurd. Oh, the lulz... Like there's this one guy whose fic was closed and he keeps on arguing with Yami Ryu and Zephyr Flare and acting like he's actually winning when all he's done is insult and piss off both of them (I guess the repercussions of insulting a mod slipped his mind) and show everyone just how big an idiot he is. Hell, he even managed to insult someone else who doesn't like Yami and was warning him about calling her a guy. When you insult someone who was on your side...now that's the sign of a true idiot.

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That guy's a troll, so he's no doubt enjoying the spectacle at least as much.

Ah, come on, it's more fun if you imagine they're just a n00b and are completely serious. Sure, it's funny either way, but imagining that there's some irate kid on the other side of the conversation sincerely thinking he's smarter than everyone else just makes it all the more magical.

Oh good lord, good lord. I don't remember the rules here being so hilarious. Astinus, you just got coolness factor +10.

...why are you guys giving me such an annoying urge to make a searchable, genre-sorted general Pokémon fanfiction archive? ;_; Don't tempt me so!

txteclipse said:

Oh good lord, good lord. I don't remember the rules here being so hilarious. Astinus, you just got coolness factor +10.

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Agreed. I'll have to say I wish I had the balls to tell an entire population that they make me want to shoot myself in the head.

Or, when I did, I wish I got the ":( ok sorry" or the "you're so ****ing awesome" responses. All I got last time I did something like that was wank.

No input for the thread. I'm always a bit uncomfortable with that sort of thing because, as was stated before, you have to really define what the standards are. Otherwise, you'll get those crappy one-line reviewers flooding your VMs/PMs with "omg include this plz!" Or a bunch of stuff I wouldn't call incredible. While I'm not insulting your standards, An and Aqua, I never did like those C2s for that reason. ("lol this c2 includes the best fics EVAR!!!1" Right.)

All the other forum rules just got pwn'd.

Astinus, you're amazing and we grovel at your feet. Or something like that. -sacrifices noobs' hearts to the Almighty One of Fanfiction Moderation-

After reading through the 6 or 7 pages of my absence in the FFL, I have concluded that most writers make at least one character basically like them self.

If it means anything, I too knew that Dragonfree was a mod.

The only problem I see with the list of good fics, is when some noob gets pissed because his/her fic didn't make the list, otherwise, I can't wait too see it.

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I am writhing an OT fic with the POV of the trainers starter. Not a normal starter, but one she cought herself. The probelem I am having: I don't know where to start the story. Do I start it just before she catches the pokemon, or two years later? (or anyother random time?)

Buoysel said:

I am writhing an OT fic with the POV of the trainers starter. Not a normal starter, but one she cought herself. The probelem I am having: I don't know where to start the story. Do I start it just before she catches the pokemon, or two years later? (or anyother random time?)

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If it were me, I'd start just before the Pokemon was caught. It's always nice to see someone describe how a Pokemon feels after getting caught or how being inside a pokeball for the first time feels. Also, a lot happens in two years and the readers miss out on the entire process of the Pokemon getting accustomed to being bound to this one human. Of course, if you want, you can set the story two years in the future but have the Pokemon reminisce a lot about the past.

Like everyone else, I'm not too fond of a thread only listing the best fics. Besides memebers most likely getting mad, there's also the factor of many people reading those fics and not the other ones. True, we all want to read something of great quality, but the fics not on the list won't get read and reviewed and that won't give the writer a chance to improve.

And Buoysel, I would too start out with before the catch for the same reason Gummy started, that is if you want more of a trainer-Pokemon bonding kind of story. However, if the real plot starts two years later, start off at that time.

Buoysel said:

After reading through the 6 or 7 pages of my absence in the FFL, I have concluded that most writers make at least one character basically like them self.

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Well, yes. Either that or someone they know. The reason why is because it's easiest to base a character off one the author already knows -- namely, a personality they see in real life. Sometimes, the characters take elements from the author themselves because the author can easily draw on their own experiences (or interactions with the person the character is based on if it's not themselves) and superimpose those experiences onto a character in order to easily figure out how the character would think and feel in a given situation.

In simpler terms, basing a character off oneself -- even loosely -- allows the author to imagine what it would be like to be the character. That perspective lets them create a more realistic character because the character would then be able to act logically, with a developed personality.

If it means anything, I too knew that Dragonfree was a mod.

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As did I. But that's because I stalk people's LJs. (This is also how I know exactly who Shrike mentioned earlier without having spent too much time on SPPf -- because a friend of mine shared links to the drama for lols.)

I am writhing an OT fic with the POV of the trainers starter. Not a normal starter, but one she cought herself. The probelem I am having: I don't know where to start the story. Do I start it just before she catches the pokemon, or two years later? (or anyother random time?)

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Depends on the story itself. If you're aiming for a story about a more experienced trainer (thereby avoiding the cliches of a new trainer fic as well as problems that may arise from any remote compulsion to write a character who's more experienced than she should be -- i.e., wins a large number of battles at the beginning, et cetera), pulling a kind of in medias res feel where the reader joins her long after she's started her journey is perfectly kosher, especially if the story isn't about a badge circuit and if you've explained how she got her Pokemon. It's perfectly kosher to write about an original trainer that happens to be experienced, really, so long as you at least establish her background when you introduce her.

If you're aiming for a new trainer story or would like to explain the capture in more detail than a passing reference, I'd suggest either a first scene or a prologue that takes place during or just before the battle that leads up to the capture. That way, you can establish her character and how she managed to get a nontraditional starter while opening with a dynamic scene -- or a scene with enough action to get us hooked.

I really hope that no one is expecting me to give some sort of response to any idea given in this thread. Why? Because I feel like slitting my wrists! am waiting for you people to all come up with something semblance of an idea, or for the majority to say if they are for or against this idea.

You know, I don't even know wtf I'm talking about anymore. Someone mind shooting me?

No really. Someone told me something today at work that made me want to die. So...yeah. :<

I'm going to go write some fanfiction now to forget about my problems.

Too bad the hilariousness of the rules is somehow wasted, as those who should be reading it apparently never do so. Then again, if they did, the rules wouldn't be quite as hilarious. People are simply impossible.

Anyway, I just wanted to correct one thing. After reading many posts that damn the idea of list to the lowest level of any known neatherworld, I want to make clear that my idea wasn't about the thread. I, too, realized it would be a somewhat bad idea, making all sorts of people mad. What I want is that separate, high quality fanfiction archive! Maybe it would be better if the "council" or jury or whatever would just choose fanfics for the page, and so no-one would get mad. Oh, and about that "who can decide what's good"-thing: the criteria would be something like, say, decent language, proper grammar, logical plot, some level of originality and maybe that at least one member of the jury likes it. Or something.
I'm just so fascinated about this idea, I really want to make a page like that, but I don't know how. Moreover, I don't have the power and authority in the world of Pokémon fanfiction needed to make the page, you know, popular and concidered high value.

Just imagine the easiness of searching new fanfics by genre or author...
Just imagine the joy of reading fanfics without any comments or reviews between chapters...
Just imagine the benefits of not having to go through tens of crappy fics in order to find one readable...
Just imagine the utter happiness of getting your fic and author's profile added there!

Am I getting overboard? :laugh:

Maybe I should ask my boyfriend to help me and make a sample (sort of) to get you interested.

I'm not sure what you're going for here. How is an archive different than a list, except that it stores fanfiction in addition to providing links?

If you want to make such a page, go ahead. I'm just saying that I'm not sure how this will work out better than what has been done previously, and usually unsuccessfully, to group the "best" of pokémon fanfiction together, nor whether it would be beneficial.

Also, just because people say that they have reservations about your idea doesn't mean that they're "damning it to the lowest level of any known netherworld." Really, now.

Eheh, don't take me too seriously ^-^' I tend to use expressions I think are funny but many think are stupid. So, just take me as the noob I am and assume everything I say is said with humour.

Anyway, if I find a place to host this page at, I think I'll give this thing some sort of a try. Maybe after some time I can present v0.1 of "the quality picks of Pokémon fanfics chosen by a jury" to you. We'll see about that.

Maybe I should just forget the whole thing and focus on writing...

//Edit: If someone noticed, I posted a link here before... I took it away because it wasn't quite as ready as I had thought (read: I forgot to save the pages). Now it is! So, here I present you Blue Hive, the example site I made! I even made up some author profiles and fics to give the picture. Ahh, it was fun to make!
I made it because I have wanted to try freewebs for a long time now, and I thought this was a perfect reason to do so. And I'm having a holiday on the moment, so I have far too much time on my hands. Go to that website, see what I meant and tell me some opinions, if you may. Just remember it looks like that because I can't make webpages... It doesn't matter if you hate it or something, though, I had fun doing it anyway and thus my time wasn't completely wasted anyway... :laugh:

I just realized Yamato-San was banned...and I really wanted him to be the new moderator for here instead of that cheesball thing we have watching over us now.

I'm too lazy to look through posts and find a topic so I'm just going to leave now by mentioning fanfiction.

I like fanfiction. Like, a lot.