Fanfiction Lounge

[Astinus]

Name brands? In your fic, do you use existing name brands, make up your own, or just go with what canon states (the Silph/Devon/Poketch Company/etc...)?
It's not really needed to be known what specific brand of soda a character is drinking. Why go through the trouble of stating that "he drank a Coca-Cola" when it's easier to just say "he drank a soda". With that said, I don't use brand names in my fics. I just use generic items.

What point of view do you enjoy writing in most?
Third-person limited. It's the point of view that I'm most comfortable writing in. I love the way that a writer can use it to twist the events of a story and keep the reader guessing as to what is real or not.

Do you like to keep your fics going with sequels and/or prequels?
My character needs to grow so much that she requires badly-written sequels. (Two more "books" are planned following her, and that's it.) There's just so much I want to cover that I can't stop writing in my series. So far, I've found no need to write a prequel.

 

[President Showaddywaddy]

Name brands? In your fic, do you use existing name brands, make up your own, or just go with what canon states (the Silph/Devon/Poketch Company/etc...)?
I don't really use brand names. But if there is a situation that does require it, I don't see a problem with brand names. There's is nothing worse, in my opinion, than a bad pun on a real name, so I tend to stick with the real ones.

What point of view do you enjoy writing in most?
Third-person. It allows more scope for feelings in general. Plus my ideas sound terrible in first person.

Do you like to keep your fics going with sequels and/or prequels?

My plot is kind of on a wing and a prayer- Griff

Thank god, I'm not alone on this. I'm already struggling for plot ideas for my fic as it is, I don't need more pressure. Although I do have something on hold at the moment while I'm updating, that wont last long.

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

What point of view do you enjoy writing in most?
I mostly write 3rd person but every 5 or 6 chapters I might do a 1st person, depending on the situation and what I want to get across. I prefer 1st person for characters and emotions but 3rd person for plot and description.

 

[Duncan McNeil]

Name brands? In your fic, do you use existing name brands, make up your own, or just go with what canon states (the Silph/Devon/Poketch Company/etc...)?

Meh. Well, I really dislike when there's stuff like "Moca-Cola" and things like that. My fics tend to be really action oriented, so there's usually not any mention of brand names. However, if I was going to do it I'd either just go with a real name or something from the canon.

What point of view do you enjoy writing in most?
Well, I pretty much stick with third-person. I've been trying to improve my first-person lately, partially by way of flashbacks etc. The reason being is that I've been trying on a new fic that is entirely in first-person, but I just can't get it to flow as well as my third-person.

Thank god, I'm not alone on this. I'm already struggling for plot ideas for my fic as it is, I don't need more pressure. Although I do have something on hold at the moment while I'm updating, that wont last long.

Heh. I know of a lot of really good fics (yours included, Griff) that have a pretty good plot. I was suprised to see that so many people don't have that much planned as for plot.

Plotting is by far my favorite in terms of writing. Usually I'll have the entire plot (all the important bits, anyway) done well before I've started the fic.

However, coming up with the plot pretty much as you go is quite a bit of fun, though plot holes appear everywhere.

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

For me, thinking too much about the plot is the quickest way to kill a story idea. If I think about it too much there is no emotion left to put into the actual writing of the story. The same goes for telling the plot to anyone else :)

 

[Duncan McNeil]

For me, thinking too much about the plot is the quickest way to kill a story idea. If I think about it too much there is no emotion left to put into the actual writing of the story. The same goes for telling the plot to anyone else :)

Really? It usually helps me to bounce plot ideas off of someone else, just to get another perspective on it. Often times I can get good ideas if I talk about the plot to someone else.

Heh. It's funny to me how different everyone is here. Two writers can both write really excellent fics, but they're writing styles can be miles apart. Ah well. As long as the story if good, I'm okay. :)

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

I guess I can't say that I have NO plot planned, I do have quite a bit planned...it just doesn't happen for awhile. And then theres just unknown plot in between here and there.

 

[Yamato-san]

I keep hearing that plot and story are two completely different things. I'm still trying to comprehend what that means, exactly (though I get the feeling it'd REALLY help me out if I did). Mind you, this is taking into account that "plot" doesn't simply refer to the generic formula of "beginning> build-up> conflict> conclusion", which might make it a bit harder to define.

 

[Scytheteen]

Sounds like a review to me. xD

In any case, new topic!

What point of view do you enjoy writing in most?

Although all my stories are written in third person, I tend to enjoy writing in first person more because you see that person's perspective on what happened, and plus you don't need to Italisize and add ' around thoughts. xD

I keep hearing that plot and story are two completely different things. I'm still trying to comprehend what that means, exactly (though I get the feeling it'd REALLY help me out if I did). Mind you, this is taking into account that "plot" doesn't simply refer to the generic formula of "beginning> build-up> conflict> conclusion", which might make it a bit harder to define.

I think that is the first time you made a post that wasn't 15 million words. xD

Anyway new topic: Where do you get inspiration from?

I get my inspiration usually when watching TV or listening to music.

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

Where do you get inspiration from?

Books ;). You know, those things with pages that don't come on DVD?:D
Everything I write is a mix of everything I've ever read (more or less) and my own ideas and style :)

 

[JX Valentine]

Anyway new topic: Where do you get inspiration from?

Ooh. Nice topic. (This is coming from someone who enjoys hearing what gets other people's brains going, mostly because I like to try the same to see what happens.)

Anyway, my inspiration comes from the following:

1. Music. This tends to be a big one most people give as their inspiration, so I don't think I need to explain.
2. Art. Whether it's comics or a painting, sometimes, colors just jump at me and make me think all sorts of crazy things.
3. Things I read. I love browsing Wikipedia, for example, because sometimes, I come across an article or a link in an article that suddenly makes me come up with a really awesome plot bunny. The same thing tends to happen with random websites and other people's fanfiction. It's also why I love doing prompt challenges.
4. Occasionally, YouTube videos. I really can't explain why, but sometimes, a really good YouTube video spawns crackbunnies.
5. Taking a shower. Because, for some reason, some really weird ideas come to me while I'm standing around in the shower.

 

[Dragonfree]

I may use named real-world brands, but generally I don't like to be specific about stuff like that. I've had one "Would you like a drink? Coke? Pepsi?" and I think that's the only line I've had in my fics ever that mentioned any real-life brand. I don't mention it unless it feels necessary (here, he would name the brands and there wasn't really any way to get around it). I think it's pretty silly to use parodical brand names, really. It can be amusing in humour, maybe, but in anything more serious it's just kinda stupid.

I prefer writing third person limited. Mostly just because it's the one I'm most used to.

I primarily get inspiration from plot holes from earlier in my stories. Otherwise it just jumps out of my head, really. That tends to happen in the shower or while I'm out walking, especially in the rain.

 

[Yamato-san]

I think that is the first time you made a post that wasn't 15 million words. xD

I tend to have a lot to say, is all.... just out of curiosity, do you actually read them? Honestly, I keep thinking some of the stuff I write is enough to open the door to several other discussions, but am quite let-down when no one comments on any of it. T_T But I guess I'm not the only one.

 

[TurtleKing]

Anyway new topic: Where do you get inspiration from?

I get my inspiration usually when watching TV or listening to music.

I get inspiration by sitting in the bathroom until something comes to me. Usually when I'm writing, I'm sitting in a bathtub, not with water in it, but just sitting there. It's calm and quiet in there, lol.

 

[Astinus]

Where do you get inspiration from?
School. I'll be sitting in class, and all of a sudden, I'll have a new idea to write about. It does help, since I'll be furiously writing, so the teacher thinks I'm taking notes. One of my teachers is particularly great at saying phrases or teaching the class things that I find interesting to write about.

Work also helps. There's nothing like walking down the same twenty-two aisles to get the mind going. I normally carry a roll of paper in my pocket so that when inspiration strikes, I'm ready.

For me, thinking too much about the plot is the quickest way to kill a story idea. If I think about it too much there is no emotion left to put into the actual writing of the story. The same goes for telling the plot to anyone else :)

Heh. Like Duncan, sometimes I need to talk over a part in my story with a friend. I do agree that if a plot is completely thought-up and the author doesn't want to deviate from it, then the magic of writing is lost. I like writing about a situation, thinking that my characters will go one way when they decide to go another.

 

[txteclipse]

I listen to music, take a shower (per someone's suggestion) and simply admire the world around myself when I need inspiration. Sometimes the plot just flows smoothly, and sometimes it doesn't. The only thing you can do is weather the inspiration famine until the rainy season comes, so to speak.

Anyways, I have a rather large predicament. I have taken so long to write a new chapter (five weeks) that my mind has begun to wander. Long story short, I thought up a new fic. Should I attempt to write two fics at once or should I just finish the one I started and move on to the next one? The one I'm writing now is intended to be rather long, just for some background.

 

[Isaac Gravity]

Where do you get inspiration from?

No specific order but listed to look neat.

1. Video Games
2. Media (American and Japanese primarily)
3. Many kinds of mythologies and folklore/stories about the paranormal and various mysteries/wonders of the world that are left unexplained.
4. Music
5. Imagination

 

[purple_drake]

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Where do I start? @.@ I've been inspired by songs, books, random comments, other TV shows/games, mythology... seriously, I get inspired way too easily. Off the top of my head I've got something like a dozen stories I intend to write, and that's just in the Pokemon fandom. ._. So I get distracted by new ideas very, very easily, and tend to get inspiration overload in which I just can't decide which idea to focus on.

Plus, if you want to count it, I do daydream an awful lot (probably more than is good for me) and a lot of the time I cross over fandoms, which gives me a really broad scope. Most of those ideas aren't feasible or worth writing down (and a lot of them are so out there I'd be laughed off the 'Net if I even tried to write them into a fanfiction), but they can give me good inspiration for other things, even if there's almost nothing left of the original idea but a vague relation in concept. I've gotten some of my best original-story ideas that way.

As for the plot issue, I have to agree with the others, talking to someone really helps me work stuff out; in fact, if someone's around when I'm threshing a plot out I tend to talk out loud to them, whether they're interested or not. XD Gotta feel sorry for my sister, she's usually my victim for that.

I try to have the main plot points worked out and written down beforehand, but it usually ends up being the beginning and the end, so I have a habit of getting caught with what happens in the middle. ^.^;; That, or I get stuck on the little details and just generally connecting the ideas together.

 

[TurtleKing]

Who is your favorite character in a fanfiction on this forum, other than one of your owns?

 

[Noah Fowl EX]

Who is your favorite character in a fanfiction on this forum, other than one of your owns?

Oh, that's a hard one... I'd have to say Duncan McNeil right now because I just spent the hour reading it...