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What is the weirdest place you've ever been struck by inspiration?

Just now I was struck by inspiration while watching Yugioh GX. The idea didn't come from the show itself, it just came to me out of nowhere. It was actually a major part of my current story, a rewrite of The Hand of Arceus, which I couldn't get until now. I actually get a lot of my ideas when I'm watching television, but they're never from the actual show I'm watching. xD

Have you ever done something horrible to your character - really horrible, not just lose a match - because you thought they had been getting off too easily until that point?

Not yet. But I've got plenty of ideas for terrible things that are going to happen to one of the main characters of my story. If anything, I think his whole life will be flipped on it's side. From later on in the story it's just going to be horrible thing after horrible thing. xP

In literature (or perhaps your own writing) what is your favourite theme?

I like the whole thing of introducing all these characters who you'd think have nothing in common with eachother, but then, through the use of flashbacks, their lives are revealed to be intertwined. I guess you could say I just like flashbacks. There will be a lot of them later on in my current fic.
 
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Mizan Nix Zamnie said:
I'm going to find time to watch that. It sounds interesting. By the way, if you're looking for random anime, might I recommend Kino's Journey | Kino no Tabi.
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I think you will enjoy it, despite (at some points) its graphic nature. Of course what is realism without that? XD I'll be sure to check it out (the one you suggested).

txteclipse said:
You've stumbled upon something wonderful indeed. Probably my favorite anime of all time.
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:D

It was interesting... I was thinking the other day (woah!) and the whole theme got me also thinking about Where the Wild Things Are. At least the movie version, as it explores further issues. It's funny though... a battle of philosophies, seems to be raging within me XD

Not in a bad sense but just at an intrigue, I'd even like to put it down in my writing to some extent... Like how at the same time the world is a horrible place, but also a beautiful place... One places too much into the material and not as much on family or indeed the world... I'm not strictly talking about a religious sense though... Hummm... (I think I have to organize the ideas in my head better XD).

But I would like to incorporate such elements to some extent in my fic... Whenever I get around to finishing it that is...
 
Have you ever done something horrible to your character - really horrible, not just lose a match - because you thought they had been getting off too easily until that point?

Let's see, I made Shayla run away fom her family, kill some innocent people, get abused by her mate and nearly get killed by a sadistic vampired. She's had a rough life, let's just say that.
 
In literature (or perhaps your own writing) what is your favourite theme?

Oh, boy. I don't think I have one recurring theme, I tend to explore so many in one story and never really use them again. |D Not to mention I've only completed one serious story, and that one I think is quite outdated in terms of writing level...
 
So. Who here thinks I should double-major in English on top of Mechanical Engineering? And yes, that is a serious question. Seriously.
 
Bay said:
Have you ever done something horrible to your character - really horrible, not just lose a match - because you thought they had been getting off too easily until that point?
This question irks me. Not sure about all of you, but I don't do something horrible to my characters because they are getting off too easily. The only time I'll do that is if I'm doing a satire or parody and trying to make a point how Mary Sues don't have much going on in stories. Seriously, if you have your character get off too easy, then that means the world revolves around the character, not the character revolves around the world, and that's not a good thing. I do "horrible stuff" to my characters because I plan things to happen to them already. Required for the story sometimes for plot and theme purposes. Also I already plan what challenges the characters have to make so that I won't have any of them get off easily.
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That's how I took the question when I answered. In both my examples, the horrible thing happens to the character to give them a quick boot to the ass to have them grow up. The horrible thing that happens to the mysterious other second character I mentioned to make him realize that crap happens to him, no matter who he is, and to stop taking people for granted.

But yeah, in both my examples, the characters were getting off "too easy" at that point. It's kind of hard for me to explain, but I don't cause crap for my characters just to shake things up. It's necessary to the plot and their development.
 
Bay said:
Have you ever done something horrible to your character - really horrible, not just lose a match - because you thought they had been getting off too easily until that point?
This question irks me. Not sure about all of you, but I don't do something horrible to my characters because they are getting off too easily. The only time I'll do that is if I'm doing a satire or parody and trying to make a point how Mary Sues don't have much going on in stories. Seriously, if you have your character get off too easy, then that means the world revolves around the character, not the character revolves around the world, and that's not a good thing. I do "horrible stuff" to my characters because I plan things to happen to them already. Required for the story sometimes for plot and theme purposes. Also I already plan what challenges the characters have to make so that I won't have any of them get off easily.
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A character that "gets off too easily" isn't necessarily a Mary Sue. Many people live just-fine lives where nothing horrendous or even eventful happens. Are they Mary Sues? No, because people can't be perfect. Safe lives don't automatically equate to perfection, or Mary Suedom. Fictional "getting off" is very much the same concept, though does have the possibility of indicating a Mary Sue. Just not all the time.
 
Hello people who have been here in the fanfic section for much longer than I have. I'm a total noob but I thought I'de stealth into this thread and say 'hi'.
So without further ado,

Have you ever done something horrible to your character - really horrible, not just lose a match - because you thought they had been getting off too easily until that point?
No, I have to say I haven't. I have been tempted many times but so far nothing like that has happened to any of my characters, unless it was planned.
 
Astinus said:
That's how I took the question when I answered. In both my examples, the horrible thing happens to the character to give them a quick boot to the ass to have them grow up. The horrible thing that happens to the mysterious other second character I mentioned to make him realize that crap happens to him, no matter who he is, and to stop taking people for granted.

But yeah, in both my examples, the characters were getting off "too easy" at that point. It's kind of hard for me to explain, but I don't cause crap for my characters just to shake things up. It's necessary to the plot and their development.
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No, I understand completely. If you're doing it for development, that's fine. The only thing that got me with this question is many times the writers didn't realize they had their characters getting off too easy, so they would do something horrible to their character to shake things up, as you say.

Redstar said:

A character that "gets off too easily" isn't necessarily a Mary Sue. Many people live just-fine lives where nothing horrendous or even eventful happens. Are they Mary Sues? No, because people can't be perfect. Safe lives don't automatically equate to perfection, or Mary Suedom. Fictional "getting off" is very much the same concept, though does have the possibility of indicating a Mary Sue. Just not all the time.
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Yeah, you're right. In real life there are people that gets off too easily. However, I already mentioned to Astinus that the writers are handing their characters silver platters because they didn't think too much how the character will revolve around the story. Instead they think how the world will fit around the character. When the writer realizes it though, they go about having terrible things happen to their character to fix the Mary Sue problem instead of rewriting the story altogether.

And hello, Comet! Don't worry, we're all civilized folks here. :) Enjoy your stay here!
 
Here's an interesting quote from a one-line summary/review of Annie Proulx's "Fine Just The Way It Is", which I think is relevant to this topic of conversation: "As with all successful fiction, one never senses here that the author... is orchestrating the character's failure rather than simply chronicling it."
 
Comet~* said:
Hello people who have been here in the fanfic section for much longer than I have. I'm a total noob but I thought I'de stealth into this thread and say 'hi'.
So without further ado,
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Hey there! ;)

Contrary to what Bay said, we are all actually insane... all of us. And anyone who says otherwise is trying to compromise our reputation. XD

Dang... I can't seem to find the word 'surreal' in Latin... (I realize it might have been a word introduced way later after Latin became extinct, so I imagine a synonym would suffice.
 
In literature (or perhaps your own writing) what is your favourite theme?

A. Literature - the implication that nothing is as it seems. Maybe that's the reason as to why I have so many mysteries in my house...

B. My Writing - Anything goes, just as long as the story can handle it. But my favorite is the reincarnation theme and the amnesia theme. Sometimes I like to combine them.
 
Feign said:
Contrary to what Bay said, we are all actually insane... all of us. And anyone who says otherwise is trying to compromise our reputation. XD
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I enjoyed this quote. XD

Hello people who have been here in the fanfic section for much longer than I have. I'm a total noob but I thought I'de stealth into this thread and say 'hi'.
So without further ado,
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Welcome, welcome *enthusiasm*. To reiterate what Bay and Feign said, but give a little twist:

The FFL is the never-ending vortex of insanity where physics is thrown out the window and logic is stepped on multiple times with a piston-engine. We're the friendly, psychiatric patients of the FFL who, at times, can act in a surreal and somewhat scary manner that some find intimidating, and others find amusing. If you hover over the FFL link in my sig, you'll find a note of caution. If you click it, you're redirected to the latest post in the FFL.

This is the primary driving force behind the FFL.
*drum-rolls*
A bold topic.

Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?


I felt like giving a weird one today. XD
 
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Comet~* said:
Hello people who have been here in the fanfic section for much longer than I have. I'm a total noob but I thought I'de stealth into this thread and say 'hi'.
So without further ado,
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I think we're going to like you in this thread here.

Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?

lolmacgyver.

Stick a paperclip in the door. But this is no ordinary paperclip! It's a really tough piece of titanium reinforced with carbon fibres! And then we twist the paperclip and...it snaps.

Oh.

Well, uhm, press the emergency button and wait.
 
Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?

This is an interesting question, 'cause I've got an important elevator in my fic. xD Scott would probably try his spoiler-ish a few times, before giving up and climbing into the elevator shaft. James would probably also try climbing up into the shaft, spoiler-ish. Mark wouldn't even try to escape, he'd just sit there and wait for someone to rescue him. Evelyn would be constantly calling for help on the emergency phone and freaking out. Brace would try to figure out how to get the elevator to start working again, or he'd just call spoiler-ish for help.
 
Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?
Lisa would free herself with cunning use of her phone. She would call on her associates to plant small explosives around the door, allowing her to detonate them at will using a program installed on her phone. Or she could just call for help, but that wouldn't create enough collateral damage XD

Or, she could use her hat, which contains a slicer ring underneath the brim, to cut a hole in the door and escape that way.
 
Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?

If all of my characters were together (as usual), they'd probably just rely on Houndoom (as usual) to blast the door open. Otherwise, Latios could probably get out with a well-placed Dragon Pulse, while Latias and Ren would probably have to work together to get the door open. Kairn would pry it open with his sword.

Mewtwo would just be like "you're working again" and the elevator would be like "hey, you're right."

My new unnamed trainer would have Hummer (his Porygon-Z) hack the thing and they'd be on their way.
 
Spearow said:
Here's an interesting quote from a one-line summary/review of Annie Proulx's "Fine Just The Way It Is", which I think is relevant to this topic of conversation: "As with all successful fiction, one never senses here that the author... is orchestrating the character's failure rather than simply chronicling it."
Click to expand...
Love that quote. :3 I guess it is not easy for all of us to know how the author does his/her story. Heck, sometimes I'm still iffy saying if that person put that much thought into their story and such.

Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?
If Bunny and Jenny are with Jacob, easy: Jacob will just use his Xatu to Teleport outside. :P If they're without him, most likely the gals will use their Pokemon to break the elevator door. Jenny might think some way to use Bunny's belongings, though. XD
 
Your character is stuck in an elevator. What Macgyver-ish, or realistic, way would your character utilise to escape the elevator?
Leah would probably just press the elevator help button since her Pokemon wouldn't be able to get her out, though she might mentally curse Ed for taking her cell phone and only means of communication. Ed would probably use Leah's cell phone to call for help once he discovers that no, neither a Paras nor a Ditto can open an elevator door. Ally would do nothing since she would be afraid that trying to break out using her Pokemon would backfire somehow. William also wouldn't be able to do anything, so he would just sit back and wait for help. Danny would Teleport out and so would Blue.
 
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