Basic Pokemon Writing FAQ v1.0

[Yamato-san]

are you calling Houen Mirror World's scripting better?

 

[Frostweaver]

Actually, in terms of scripting, Houen Mirror World is more of a hybrid scriptfic-narrative , as Houen Mirror World still has narratives. I did try to read Houen Mirror World, but I'm terribly picky on scripting formats because I just can't stand a scriptfic without stage directions >>; If you must insist on judging Houen Mirror World's format, it's either classifying it a hybrid, or call it a 6/10 for format correctness... missing out on the stage direction is a terror for a scriptfic, and it just instantly loses a lot of its meanings...

Script-fanfics are no way forced to humor, and in fact most professional script-novels have very serious themes. Miller's "The Crusable" done almost entirely in script besides the background context talks of religious fear, which is quite a controversial and serious topic (along with sexual immorality, manipulation, and many other themes). It's a script, and it's serious.

When a script fanfic is written nicely enough (almost impossible in a fanfic skill level of writing though), it conveys much more than what a 3rd person narrative can do.

1st person excel in first hand feelings and giving readers a sense of closeness. Script convey to us a theme/themes as we analyze the action of a character and how this theme affects whatever they do. 3rd person is the mixture in between. Narratives are more personal, while script always look on an issue as a whole, but both can talk of character emotions just as well.

 

[Geometric-sama]

I decided to read through all the rules 'n' stuff, and there's a lot of it that I definitely dispute. These are just my rebuttals from my long (prize-winning) experience as a writer:

-Oneshots (stories with just one chapter) should be at least 1400 words long

No way. They can be as short as you want them to be. There's no point pulling out certain stories to three times their original length. The story stagnates and becomes ultra-boring. Better to keep it simple but moving along properly.

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

Oh no you don't. See what I wrote just above. Description is good, yes, but most people tend to overwrite and again, the story stops moving. I hate reading stories that stop moving. Action is always more important than description, except in a certain type of writing that focuses only on one very small occurrence. If you write your action properly, it serves as description as well. I can't be more specific than that - types of action often describe a person's personality. "Creeping" is different from "plodding", for example.

Don?t use "said" without adverbs. "Said" is the most boring verb in any Fanfiction. Use adverbs to help out, or use alternative words like commented, asked, exclaimed and so on.

? Never overuse "said." Use it only once if you have no option. Use other words such as replied, exclaimed, asked, questioned, explained, phrased, called, etc. There are many more than just that.

This is actually a much-believed myth. Don't get pulled in. As a kid I used those words a lot, before I realised they really made my writing seem overwritten. "Said", if used properly, is more poignant than many other words. Using one of the "non-said words" really wrecks the flow in some cases. What's more boring than something like...

"Hello," Ash said quickly.
"Oh, hi," May said shyly.
"Look at the stars," commented Ash. He put his hand on May's shoulder.
"Oh, wow! They're bright," exclaimed May.
"Do you like astronomy?" asked Ash.
"I love it," replied May with sparkling eyes.

That could be rewritten to sound more interesting:

Ash glanced around. "Hello."
May smiled shyly. "Oh, hi."
"Look at the stars," Ash said, resting a hand on May's shoulder.
"Oh, wow! They're bright," exclaimed May.
"Do you like astronomy?"
"I love it," said the girl, the stars reflected in her eyes.

And see, I used one adverb - and not with a "said" - only one "exclaimed", two "said"s. And that sounds much better than the one with two "adverb-said" combinations, a "commented", an "exclaimed", an "asked" and a "replied". Not that the fragment was particularly interesting in the first place, though.

Also, try to use as many adjectives in order to make your descriptions a bit more colorful.

Overuse of adjectives ruins a story. I look back at some of the writing I did as a seven-year-old fourth-grader (that received top marks) and I wince, just because of the number of adjectives.


*giggles* OK, that's enough nitpicking for now. Just tell me if you want me to pick on you more... you horrible ex-pair, you. :P XD *chases another ex-pair (Alex)*

 

[oni flygon]

Frosty wrote the first post, not me. I just posted it using my account...

 

[Lily]

No way. They can be as short as you want them to be. There's no point pulling out certain stories to three times their original length. The story stagnates and becomes ultra-boring. Better to keep it simple but moving along properly.

I think he means by one shots in general, but not all the time, since majority of the one shots can be quite detailed and long. Certainly short one shots are possible, as long as the meaning and point is taken across.

Oh no you don't. See what I wrote just above. Description is good, yes, but most people tend to overwrite and again, the story stops moving. I hate reading stories that stop moving. Action is always more important than description, except in a certain type of writing that focuses only on one very small occurrence. If you write your action properly, it serves as description as well. I can't be more specific than that - types of action often describe a person's personality. "Creeping" is different from "plodding", for example.

Again, descriptions in general. Many people prefer stories that are descriptive, although of course simple description is perfectly fine, as long as it's legitimate and satisfactory. =D

About the whole issue with 'said,' I was given the impression it meant something like:

"Hello," Marie said.
"Hey," Sam said.
"It's a nice weather today," she said.

...something like that, probably implied as overusage?

I suppose ya better ask frostweaver. o.o;

 

[lex]

I dont know if this is the place to ask but what is a fanfic? Im sorry if there is another thread for this but can someone tell me

 

[Lily]

Fanfictions are simply stories over the internet that you make, based on characters with disclaimers, such as Pokemon, anime, TV shows and Video games.

Your own original idea isn't a fanfiction though.

 

[lex]

Oh thankyou very much! But why is'nt your own original idea a fanfic?

 

[Dragonfree]

Because then it's not a *fan*fic; a fanfic is always based on some other, existing work.

 

[lex]

Ohh thanku now I get it! Imma try it out ^^

 

[Aiya Quackform]

Woah, "Drop" got listed as a good example! COOL!!! *is very happy now*

This is an excellent guide, with several universal rules. I do however, feel that some things that were stated as rules are really only guidelines. For instance, the oneshot 1400 'rule' can be totally obsolete depending on the desired impact.

Also, I strongly disagree with the avoid using "said" rule. In fact, using too many adverbs can be a sign of poor writing. The dialogue itself should say enough about tone, without the need for fancy adverbs.

I'm going to come back later and post some of my thoughts on writing characters.

 

[O]

Can't think of a Pok?mon name?

Japanese words.

Grass or Bug
Midori [Green]
Hana [Flower]
Niwa [Garden]
Happa [Leaf]
Haru [Spring]
Ki [Tree]
Yasai [Vegetable]
Kooen [Park]

Fire
Aka [Red]
Daidai [Orange]
Hiru [Daytime]
Atsui [Hot]
Karui [Light]
Taiyoo [Sun]
Hare [Sunny]

Water, Ice
Ofuro [Bath]
Nomimono [Beverage]
Ao [Blue]
Samui [Cold]
Tsumetai [Cold]

These are a few examples. I can give some to A Pok?mon specifically. Just Ask

 

[oni flygon]

Uh...Omega...what's this supposed to be? >.>

 

[Lily]

Some people can't think of Pokemon names, I guess, and Omega wanted to just present a list of names and help out. XP

{What'd ya say Oni-chan...should I sticky or let it be? o.o;}

 

[oni flygon]

Let's just merge it to the How to write fanfic thingie...>.>
I'll merge it...

 

[O]

I wanna ask, if you're doing a crossover would you put it in Other Writing or here?

 

[Frostweaver]

If Pokemon is part of the crossover element, you *can* put it here and/or other writing. Of course, being a smart writer will put it in both, because then you got double the chances for it to be read and critiqued.

 

[Aiya Quackform]

I noted this a little before, but here's my full thoughts on this:

-Don?t use ?said? without adverbs. ?Said? is the most boring verb in any Fanfiction. Use adverbs to help out, or use alternative words like commented, asked, exclaimed and so on.

No offense to whoever wrote this, but this is totally wrong! "Said" is a lovely invisible verb that does not distract from flow. If you're constantly using "shouted," "yelled," "cooed," "screeched," "commented" and the like, not only do these words lose their effect, but you distract and bore the reader! Sure, you do want to use these on occasion, along with "asked," but adverbs should only be put in when absolutely necessary! If you can't tell tone of voice by the words, you probably need to rewrite the dialogue.

For instance, take the words, "Yeah, sure." Without an adjective, this could mean a dozen different things:

"Yeah, sure," she giggled.

"Yeah, sure," she said with bitterness.

"Yeah, sure," she said in a flat tone.

But if your intention was for it to be said with a bubbly, happy attitude, you could go with this:

"Oh, definitely!" she said.

So here, I used the simple little word said with the tone I wanted without an adjective. The thing is, "said" is invisible and therefore is not boring, it's simply an unnoticed, not distracting word.

 

[Dragonfree]

I don't agree with the guide, but I don't agree with Aiya Quackform either.

"Said" is not a word that should be avoided, and yes, it is invisible.

However, I frankly disagree even more with Aiya's post. So you're supposed to rewrite the dialogue if the words don't say all that adverbs could say? Uh, right. So what am I supposed to do if, say, my character is speaking slowly? Make two vowels instead of one?

And what if my character SAYS "Yeah, sure"? You're basically telling me that I should replace it with "Oh, definitely!" or something, but don't try to tell me you've never in your life said "Yeah, sure". If you can use it, your characters can use it. And what then? Maybe I don't want to rewrite the dialogue. Maybe this character says "Yeah, sure" in a giggly tone, not "Oh, definitely!" Whee, I'm faced with the ultimate choice of making the character OOC or avoiding all this stupid trouble and just writing '"Yeah, sure," she giggled.' Guess what I'll pick.

Just plain "said" without adverbs is the appropriate word when there is no definite tone in the character's voice. An exclamation mark can also negate the need to explain it (which is actually what happens with the "Oh, definitely!"; it sounds just as neutral as "Yeah, sure" when you remove it). And most of the time, people don't speak with much of a definite tone, making just "said" appropriate very often.

When you should rewrite the dialogue is when what is said sounds completely flat and the alternative/adverb for said actually seems to be adding tone that isn't there. But I frankly find it distracting when I see a line loaded with emotion that just ends in "he said". It feels like something is missing. It makes the character seem like a bad actor repeating his lines instead of a proper character. It depends on how much emotion there is, of course, but if there is a lot of it, by all means don't just decide "The readers can tell it's supposed to be said angrily" and use nothing but "said".

This doesn't just apply to "said", you know. It's just a question of using the appropriate word, that's all. If you always wrote "giggled", for example, it wouldn't always be the right word to use. Neither is "said".

 

[Aiya Quackform]

Perhaps I did overstate my opinion. There are certainly times when you'd want to use "Yeah, sure," but you also want to make sure that words give some sort of tone without adverbs.