Fanfiction Lounge

[TurtleKing]

Hey guys any advice for the FFC? I think I'm going to try this one but when is the deadline? xD

 

[txteclipse]

Go with a fox like pokemon, Or a large cat. But to me its more of a fox. I guess it could have the body of a cat, the ears of a rabbit, and the tail of a fox. Then you just have to get the head, maybe the head of a rabbit?

You wanted opinions right?

Yeah, opinions are wanted by me. I think foxes have a longer and narrower snout...Umbreon doesn't really look like one to me except for maybe her tail. The head and face are equally tough to pin down: I keep flip-flopping between rabbit and cat.

 

[Buoysel]

Hey guys any advice for the FFC? I think I'm going to try this one but when is the deadline? xD

End of the month. the prompt is "battle". Good luck.

 

[Negrek]

In his lap curled a sleeping Umbreon, another of the waiting four. The predominantly black pokemon possessed a rabbit-like body with thick ears and tail, although her legs and face were decidedly feline. The ring-shaped yellow markings dotting the creature's hide luminesced dully as her partner gently stroked her back, and she yawned widely before returning to her state of rest.

Why would you want to describe it in this manner in the first place? Secondly, if there are no ordinary animals in the world of your 'fic, you shouldn't be describing it in terms of them anyway, even if you wanted your paragraph to look roughly like the above. Finally, I don't think anyone's going to get up in arms if you call umbreon a sort-of cat sort-of rabbit.

 

[txteclipse]

Why would you want to describe it in this manner in the first place? Secondly, if there are no ordinary animals in the world of your 'fic, you shouldn't be describing it in terms of them anyway, even if you wanted your paragraph to look roughly like the above. Finally, I don't think anyone's going to get up in arms if you call umbreon a sort-of cat sort-of rabbit.

You mean the list format? Because I have over twenty primary characters and there's no way I'm going to be taking a long time describing each one. It's a bit of corner-cutting, I know, but at least I mix a little bit of action in.

The describing-Pokemon-as-animals thing is more readily justifiable. What category would you group Mightyena, Houndoom, and Arcanine under? Dogs, right? Group names still apply in my fics. Besides that, the pokedex in all the games does the same thing (Articuno is a legendary bird pokemon, etc.).

As for the description itself, I'm thinking it's going to have to do. It's not necessarily bad, now that I think about it, but there's a lot of differing opinions on what Umbreon resembles. I just buzzed another site that said everything from rabbit to cat to fox to donkey(!). Thank you all for your input, though. Maybe I'll do a different description if I have an Umbreon in another fic.

 

[Buoysel]

The only problem with rabbit, is that it has big back legs, so make sure you specify when describing. Perhaps a rabbit like head?

 

[Negrek]

You mean the list format? Because I have over twenty primary characters and there's no way I'm going to be taking a long time describing each one. It's a bit of corner-cutting, I know, but at least I mix a little bit of action in.

So why do it at all, if it's unimportant enough that you're going to cram generic details into a couple three sentences anyway?

What category would you group Mightyena, Houndoom, and Arcanine under? Dogs, right?

Not if "dogs" don't exist in your version of the pokémon world. If nobody in that world has ever seen a dog, they're not going to think "dog-like" upon encountering an arcanine or growlithe for the same reason that people in this world don't think "arcanine-like" upon seeing a dog.

As far as the pokédex goes, it depends on the canon you're using. After all, it mentions that arcanine is revered by the Chinese; however, in many pokémon 'fics, China doesn't even exist. Presumably if you have China, you'll have dogs anyway.

 

[Bay]

txtclipse, I think she meant more why you described almost everything of that Umbreon. Unless that Pokemon is a fakemon or something, you don't need to describe everything about that Pokemon since we fans already know how it looks like. You won't really describe everything a dog/cat looks like because we know how it looks like already saved for a couple of unique features, right?

For the description itself, I like how you put some action while describing the Pokemon, but you don't really need to describe everything of that creature, kind of slowing the story down a bit. We'll know that it's an Umbreon once you mention the name and a couple of characteristics.

Lastly, I think Umbreon and the Eevee evolutions as foxes, but that's my take. XD

 

[JX Valentine]

So, uh, how long did it take me to figure out that pkmncommunity.com doesn't point to the new servers? Or if it does, anyone want to take a venture as to why my computer decided to be stupid?

Crossovers. What do you think of them? Good, bad, or does it depend?

Depends on what it is and how it's handled. If you've got two completely incompatible fandoms that you try to mash together without any explanation provided as to how the two have merged, then it's not going to end well. For example, Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing. I haven't the faintest idea why people keep thinking throwing a magical reincarnation of a princess into a giant robot to fight other giant robots is a great idea, but yes, if you go over this idea aloud, you'll see why my brain broke.

With Phoenix Wright and Trauma Center, it's significantly easier to believe because they're both set in a similar world, and it's easy to come up with ideas as to how one cast met another. (lol, hi, malpractice lawsuit.)

With fandoms that don't cross worlds but are well explained, it can work well too as long as you take into consideration that, no, the worlds are not compatible. I once read a Digimon/Pokemon crossover in which Myotismon was sucked into the Pokemon world and wound up in Bill's care. All fangirl issues aside, I thought it was good in terms of a crossover because:

1. It did a decent job of figuring out how to get Myotismon in the Pokemon world.
2. The incompatibilities were brought up. Frequently. With amusing arguments as a result.

Point is, there's a difference between a crossover that's intentionally fun (which most tend to be) and one that's just horrendous. Mostly, it's in how well you remember that it is a crossover and that you should both explain how you can manage to cross elements from both fandoms and that if you attempt to crossover two incompatible fandoms, keep in mind that those elements you're pulling may not flow together nicely.

For the summary you gave us, it sounds like you've figured out how to merge the two fandoms nicely (digital system breaking down = key to Digital World, so to speak), although I'll have to read an actual chapter to see how you handle the fact that Pokemon and Digimon aren't exactly the same thing. Not saying that you won't know what you're doing. Just saying that it might be interesting to watch.

Ever written about someone who is just fabulous?

Bill's practically flamingly gay. Does he count?

Edit: There's such an empty feeling here...hmmm...oh yeah, I'm getting The Sims later today or tomorrow. Asty Jr. much?

As long as she's born from the obligatory mpreg yaoi couple. (Honestly, it seems like all of my friends have at least one. Or maybe I just have really weird friends.)

How often do you procrastinate when writing/reviewing a fic? And if so, how long does it take you to actually accomplish the task?

Put it this way: My last update to Midsummer Knights was -- what, May? Yeah, I can definitely write faster than that.

If I actually have enough ideas and motivation to write a chapter, I can finish twelve pages in about a week, a day of proofreading included. However, usually, it depends on whether or not I'm working on side projects. Totally new material, I seem to like taking a month, even if I don't actually use the entire month to write. If side projects are thrown in, then I tend to have the thing on hiatus for a couple of months.

Right now, Midsummer Knights is on its longest hiatus due to a combination of me going, "Ooh! The FFC looks cool!" and "I have this new project, and by God, I'll finish it by its release date in October!"

And then, after that, is NaNoWriMo. So, uh, you may not see another Midsummer update until December. Unless I can get off my rear and finish chapter three of my pet side project before then. And keep the plot bunnies at bay. (While my muse is going, "But... but... I wanna write about Sho Minamimoto! ;_;")

How often do you come up with new topics?

If you mean for the thread, never intentionally. You people just keep taking my innocent questions as topic starters. O_o

If you mean plot bunnies, far too often to be healthy.

Hey all, I'm having an awful time trying to describe an Umbreon that is going to be in my next chapter.

I'm inclined to agree with Negrek here for what she might've been getting at with her first sentence.

Mostly, my policy is that if the fandom element (i.e., character or prop) is well-known (which Umbreon is), then the audience can do without a description unless you're bringing up something fairly important about the element or unless there's something particularly different about it (like it being shiny). The reason why is because you write fanfiction, chances are, the only people who will read it are other fans. (After all, it's not that often that someone who has no interest in a fandom would want to go read fanfiction about something they have no idea about. For example, without knowing anything about the fandom, would you read a fanfiction about a manga called ShutterBox? You'd end up being lost because there's so many things to the manga's world that if you attempted to explain it all to a newbie, you'd be retelling canon more than you would your fic.)

Tangents aside, the issue is mostly that because you're writing for fans (mostly), you don't actually need to describe what an Umbreon looks like specifically. As in, you don't need to say it has a body shaped like a rabbit/cat/what have you because they know it looks like a rabbit/cat/what have you. So, bluntly put, you're wasting words describing something that's already implied. While it's okay to put description in, remember that the more padding you have to a story, the slower your story is going to be -- and the more likely you might let the readers' interest slip.

You could keep the part about the rings, though, mostly because that indicates her mood anyway (and sets up the environment).

Hope that helps a little. I know it doesn't answer your question directly, but it's just a proposal that you could possibly avoid it altogether. *shrug*

 

[txteclipse]

So why do it at all, if it's unimportant enough that you're going to cram generic details into a couple three sentences anyway?

It is important to some extent, because my readers don't all necessarily play Pokemon, and may have no idea what an Umbreon is. I just don't feel like taking pages to introduce all the aspects of each of my characters. It would probably lead to tons of unnecessary and completely forced actions, and I would eventually have readers screaming "get on with it!" I would actually probably be saying that myself.

That said, the Pokemon designs aren't exactly spectacular. There isn't that much to them. I'll go ahead and give the hairs-per-square-inch-count of Umbreon's fur if it's integral to the story, but I really don't find that kind of detail necessary for the most part. A general image is fine for me when it's not the focus of the scene, which is usually the case.

 

[Sunnybeam]

I once read a Digimon/Pokemon crossover in which Myotismon was sucked into the Pokemon world and wound up in Bill's care.

...I need to read that.

For the summary you gave us, it sounds like you've figured out how to merge the two fandoms nicely (digital system breaking down = key to Digital World, so to speak), although I'll have to read an actual chapter to see how you handle the fact that Pokemon and Digimon aren't exactly the same thing. Not saying that you won't know what you're doing. Just saying that it might be interesting to watch.

Weeeeell, the premise of the Mirage Chronicles is that the Mirage Pokemon were essentially Digimon (data come to life...such a ripoff), so they are perfectly compatible with the data structure of the Digital World. Aargh. I want to spill out all these ideas that I have for it, but half would give away some of the big plot points. >_<

 

[JX Valentine]

It is important to some extent, because my readers don't all necessarily play Pokemon, and may have no idea what an Umbreon is.

As I've said before in my long-as-crap post, typically, because you're writing fanfiction, your readers will most likely be other Pokemon fans, particularly if you post it on a Pokemon fan website. I'm not sure where else you post this fic, but generally, you can assume that when you write fanfiction, your readers already know what basic elements look like.

Eh, heck. I'll just copy and paste what I said earlier. Most likely, I was being ninjaed anyway.

The reason why is because you write fanfiction, chances are, the only people who will read it are other fans. (After all, it's not that often that someone who has no interest in a fandom would want to go read fanfiction about something they have no idea about. For example, without knowing anything about the fandom, would you read a fanfiction about a manga called ShutterBox? You'd end up being lost because there's so many things to the manga's world that if you attempted to explain it all to a newbie, you'd be retelling canon more than you would your fic.)

Tangents aside, the issue is mostly that because you're writing for fans (mostly), you don't actually need to describe what an Umbreon looks like specifically. As in, you don't need to say it has a body shaped like a rabbit/cat/what have you because they know it looks like a rabbit/cat/what have you. So, bluntly put, you're wasting words describing something that's already implied. While it's okay to put description in, remember that the more padding you have to a story, the slower your story is going to be -- and the more likely you might let the readers' interest slip.

It would probably lead to tons of unnecessary and completely forced actions, and I would eventually have readers screaming "get on with it!"

You're right. It does. Unfortunately, it especially happens when you have readers who are fans and come across that kind of description for something they already know enough about anyway. Not meaning to be blunt or anything here. Just trying to broaden a viewpoint you already have.

...I need to read that.

Displacement Via Reconfiguration, by Icedevimon13. Okay, so he practically used a magic portal, and the grammar and stuff might need some polishing. Still, I was amused. Especially about the argument involving an Eevee later on.

Weeeeell, the premise of the Mirage Chronicles is that the Mirage Pokemon were essentially Digimon (data come to life...such a ripoff), so they are perfectly compatible with the data structure of the Digital World. Aargh. I want to spill out all these ideas that I have for it, but half would give away some of the big plot points. >_<

It's fine. I'll wait until it's published. It sounds workable, though, and I'm definitely interested.

 

[txteclipse]

Mostly, my policy is that if the fandom element (i.e., character or prop) is well-known (which Umbreon is), then the audience can do without a description unless you're bringing up something fairly important about the element or unless there's something particularly different about it (like it being shiny).

Man I type slow. The conversation went on as I responded XD

I guess I read Negrek's comment wrong. I thought you meant that I didn't have enough description. The fact is, I try to make it possible for a complete stranger to read my stuff even though it is fanfiction. I guess that may never happen, but I do post some of my writing on deviantART and the like.

Wow, that's a dilemma. I've never considered the possibility that my descriptions may be completely unnecessary and could actually detract from the story itself. Call it a force of habit or what-have-you, but I've always done descriptions for everything. Maybe I'll comb that out in future revisions...I'll have to see, though.

EDIT: By the way, absolutely none of my human characters are from the canon. So it feels a little odd to have to describe them and then to not describe the Pokemon. Bah. My mind can't take this kind of convolusion right now. I guess I'll keep the Pokemon descriptions brief, like ripping off a band-aid for the people that already know what they look like. The Umbreon one wasn't too bad, was it?

 

[Buoysel]

Mostly, my policy is that if the fandom element (i.e., character or prop) is well-known (which Umbreon is), then the audience can do without a description unless you're bringing up something fairly important about the element or unless there's something particularly different about it (like it being shiny). The reason why is because you write fanfiction, chances are, the only people who will read it are other fans. (After all, it's not that often that someone who has no interest in a fandom would want to go read fanfiction about something they have no idea about. For example, without knowing anything about the fandom, would you read a fanfiction about a manga called ShutterBox? You'd end up being lost because there's so many things to the manga's world that if you attempted to explain it all to a newbie, you'd be retelling canon more than you would your fic.)

Tangents aside, the issue is mostly that because you're writing for fans (mostly), you don't actually need to describe what an Umbreon looks like specifically. As in, you don't need to say it has a body shaped like a rabbit/cat/what have you because they know it looks like a rabbit/cat/what have you. So, bluntly put, you're wasting words describing something that's already implied. While it's okay to put description in, remember that the more padding you have to a story, the slower your story is going to be -- and the more likely you might let the readers' interest slip.

You could keep the part about the rings, though, mostly because that indicates her mood anyway (and sets up the environment).

Hope that helps a little. I know it doesn't answer your question directly, but it's just a proposal that you could possibly avoid it altogether. *shrug*

Wow, that helped me, thanks Jax.


regarding the corpse:

I got the line today form dark somebody*, and I that's when I realized how little I have to work on. I now know that this is going to be funny as hell. I have no idea what happens before me and I have to write a page on something I don't even know about. This is going to be a murder of a fiction. I guess that's why they call it a corpse.

* sorry to whoever it is that I forgot their name.

EDIT FOR TEXT'S EDIT:

The Umbreon one wasn't too bad, was it?

No it wasn't, But I though Umbreon was about three feet tall. That is a little much, like having a 60lbs German Shepard sitting in your lap (ouch).

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Call it a force of habit or what-have-you, but I've always done descriptions for everything.

Same here. Actually I described everything because that was the general culture of the fanfic "community" at the time when I started writing (ZOMG You MUST describe EVERYTHING or else Renegade (of Sppf infamy) will come at you with flaming pitchforks circa mid-2006) and old habits die hard:/

Problem is, I really need a beta who will tell me when I've used too much long-winded description. Good as my current betas are, they don't really address the issue and tell me "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"

Actually, I've been over-describing for over 50 chapters now. Considering my fic's not going past 55, would it make sense to start describing less now, or just keep up my current style for the remainder of it and adapt a less-descriptive style for a future project? I'm worried that if I change my ways now, the change in style will be rather jarring...

How often do you come up with new topics?
I come up with them on occasion.

 

[Blue Angel]

I agree that since Umbreon is so well known, and this is a Pokemon fan site, people would know what an Umbreon would look like.

I can't totally agree with it in the case of Sinnoh Pokemon, because they are the newest, and not all of them are familiar.

But If you are a member of a Pokemon Fan Site, and you don't know what an Umbreon is...
I have no words to describe the frustration I would feel.
Although the action of giving them the *could have had a V8* slap to the head would relief that frustration quite nicely ^^

 

[Sunnybeam]

I agree that since Umbreon is so well known, and this is a Pokemon fan site, people would know what an Umbreon would look like.

I can't totally agree with it in the case of Sinnoh Pokemon, because they are the newest, and not all of them are familiar.

But If you are a member of a Pokemon Fan Site, and you don't know what an Umbreon is...
I have no words to describe the frustration I would feel.
Although the action of giving them the *could have had a V8* slap to the head would relief that frustration quite nicely ^^

Yeahhh...that's pretty much my feeling on it too.

But I once got told off in a review for My Name Is Fuega (this was on SPPf, by the way) for not describing the appearance of a Vulpix, an Eevee, and an Absol. Oh, and a Zangoose. I added some description for the PC release, but...I thought it was a bit silly, seeing how this is a POKEMON forum...-_-; It's like having to describe what a tree looks like. Or a cat. Or a snake.

 

[Bay]

Same here. Actually I described everything because that was the general culture of the fanfic "community" at the time when I started writing (ZOMG You MUST describe EVERYTHING or else Renegade (of Sppf infamy) will come at you with flaming pitchforks circa mid-2006) and old habits die hard:/

Problem is, I really need a beta who will tell me when I've used too much long-winded description. Good as my current betas are, they don't really address the issue and tell me "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"

Actually, I've been over-describing for over 50 chapters now. Considering my fic's not going past 55, would it make sense to start describing less now, or just keep up my current style for the remainder of it and adapt a less-descriptive style for a future project? I'm worried that if I change my ways now, the change in style will be rather jarring...

I used to do that too. I would try to describe everything. XD Now though, I'm trying to describe only the important things. Heck, for the one shot contest for instance, I'm trying to only describe the important features of the characters (for instance, shows a personality of them/another character looking at them).

As for the writing style, DP... well, if that story were 25 chapters, then yes I think a change of stytle would be nice. However, since you're almost done with the story it would be a bit jarring. Perphaps after you're done with that story you can change the style either for your next project or when you rewrite "Lurking in the Shadows." People might disagree, though.

 

[Buoysel]

Yeahhh...that's pretty much my feeling on it too.

But I once got told off in a review for My Name Is Fuega (this was on SPPf, by the way) for not describing the appearance of a Vulpix, an Eevee, and an Absol. Oh, and a Zangoose. I added some description for the PC release, but...I thought it was a bit silly, seeing how this is a POKEMON forum...-_-; It's like having to describe what a tree looks like. Or a cat. Or a snake.

Just pretend that your readers are blind. ^_^; Which doesn't make since. Pretend that you are describing it to someone who has never seen it before.

Description is a finicky thing. If you have too much then the story becomes long and boring. It makes it fees like you are reading a text book. However, if you don't have enough, it makes the story seem in low quality, and makes you look like a noob. So either way, you have to find the perfect balance.

 

[Sunnybeam]

Mmhm...early in my writing career, I had a real problem where I'd get so hung up on description that the writing would come to a halt. Now I use it as pacing - in a scene where people are just walking along and not much is happening, I describe lots of little things (like the rustle of leaves beneath a gentle wind, etc.) If the scene is moving quickly, I describe very little...which is what happened with my FFC oneshot.

Actually, there's a certain (upcoming) section of Fuega that intentionally has very little description, to emulate a trance or unreal state...my friend said I was "horrible at writing graphic violence", but he's a noobish writer (very, very noobish) and didn't get the effect I was going for.