Deadly.Braviary
Well-Known Member
I believe there's a Fic Ideas thread for that purpose, Jax has a link to it in the very first post.
~Deadly
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The Fan Fiction Mafia
- Thread starter JX Valentine
- Start date
- Status
I believe there's a Fic Ideas thread for that purpose, Jax has a link to it in the very first post.
~Deadly
What are your takes on evolutions? What do they do?
It's a good plot device, but I don't believe on having it as an ace in the hole like the anime does. In fact, while I haven't actually written one yet (besides The Gift), I dont think I'll ever have them evolve in battle. Or if they do, it wont have a significant impact on the outcome. Unless it causes them to learn a new move, like Combusken. But even then, to make it seem realistic, you couldn't have them master it in 2 seconds.
How many people have considered making an original story here?
I have tried at least 3 times, but I was never able to get past 30 pages or so. I don't what it is. Maybe I just suck at world building so I have leech of a fandom to get anywhere. -_-
It's a good plot device, but I don't believe on having it as an ace in the hole like the anime does. In fact, while I haven't actually written one yet (besides The Gift), I dont think I'll ever have them evolve in battle. Or if they do, it wont have a significant impact on the outcome. Unless it causes them to learn a new move, like Combusken. But even then, to make it seem realistic, you couldn't have them master it in 2 seconds.
How many people have considered making an original story here?
I have tried at least 3 times, but I was never able to get past 30 pages or so. I don't what it is. Maybe I just suck at world building so I have leech of a fandom to get anywhere. -_-
I wouldn't post on here, the non-pokemon fic section always strikes me as a bit of a wasteland. I do a lot of original fiction, I just post it to Fictionpress instead. If you're looking for a readership, you're better off going to a site like that because odds are you won't get too much viewer traffic here.
Liltwick
Just your Sleepy FIzzy Mod
Well, I haven't been here in forever. I did finally get some inspiration to start writing again, so expect me to start being more active here. Anyways, time to answer some questions given that I can answer.
I do have an original story series that I am working on, which is currently on Fictionpress. I got roughly three chapters in to it before I got busy and couldn't continue working on it. Looking back, that was when I was still generally new to writing fiction in general, and most of the wording choices make it look like it wasn't written properly. I do plan on reviving, and revising it one day.
Kutie Pie
"It is my destiny."
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
Oh yeah, I have ideas for original stories. I have at least four story ideas, two of them which I can see looking better as a manga or graphic novel (I draw the characters to those two stories a lot anyway). Would I post them here, though? I don't think I will. Fictionpress maybe, but I do plan on taking up writing as a side-career, I just have to finish one of the stories. One is pretty much a supernatural romance, now that I think about it, but it's not with vampires or werewolves, but with trolls.
Yeah. That was years ago, though. I still have the main idea for it, but I haven't had a lot of interest in it for a long time. So that might never happen. I don't expect it to be popular either like with my other story ideas, but hey, as long as people have read them outside of the Internet, that's good enough for me. Just doing it for the art.
Oh yeah, I have ideas for original stories. I have at least four story ideas, two of them which I can see looking better as a manga or graphic novel (I draw the characters to those two stories a lot anyway). Would I post them here, though? I don't think I will. Fictionpress maybe, but I do plan on taking up writing as a side-career, I just have to finish one of the stories. One is pretty much a supernatural romance, now that I think about it, but it's not with vampires or werewolves, but with trolls.
Yeah. That was years ago, though. I still have the main idea for it, but I haven't had a lot of interest in it for a long time. So that might never happen. I don't expect it to be popular either like with my other story ideas, but hey, as long as people have read them outside of the Internet, that's good enough for me. Just doing it for the art.
Um, can I join?
I don't really write fanfics, but I've absolutely adored writing for several years now. I often get stuck, and I criticize my work too much, but I really feel good getting my thoughts on paper. It can be a very relaxing and enjoyable activity. I also hope to be a novelist one day, so there's that too I guess.
I don't really write fanfics, but I've absolutely adored writing for several years now. I often get stuck, and I criticize my work too much, but I really feel good getting my thoughts on paper. It can be a very relaxing and enjoyable activity. I also hope to be a novelist one day, so there's that too I guess.
How did you get an idea for a fic? Does it come to you? Or if you get inspired?
It just comes to me. Perhaps my ideas can be slightly fueled by real life occurrences, but the bulk of it is from my own imagination.
How do you portay romance correctly in your stories?
I'm a newbie writer and don't really see myself doing any romance-specific projects in the future. However, if I incorporate it as a subplot/snippet of a story, then my beliefs for how it'd be done would run parallel with Kutie Pie's.
What is your thoughts with 'tropes?'
They're quite handy for determining what's cliche and what's not. Or if you want to represent as many of them as possible in a parody or something. They can make you feel bad about your plot, but view it more as a guideline.
Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?
I'm about to seem self-centered in a moment. I promise I'm not. Please don't yell at me.
In almost all cases, it simply depends on the person. Mature adults can go either way, and the same goes for children and adolescents. For example, I'm twelve. Now, don't get me wrong: I'm terrible at writing. But I also excel for being at a level superior to my age. Nearly all the kids at my school (one of the most challenging ones, coincidentally) pale in comparison. With such a difference comes potential. While I'm an amateur now, you can say that I have the ability to rise far above that in a small amount of time if I had the freedom to focus upon it. This applies to other new writers at this forum as well.
In other words: Judge the person, not the number.
How do you open your stories?
Again, I'm still new to this, so I can't say I have much experience with it. But my golden rule is: make the opening unique and/or unexpected. Maybe it can be in the climax of a major battle, or simply a slice of life for a main character. If you can grab the readers' attention, then you're already halfway there. (For the opening, I mean.)
Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?
It all has to do with the scene, character(s), and explicitives in question. Does the presence of the swear match up with what's going on? Does the character have the capacity to utter said word? If so, is it a precision F-bomb for a key event or a cluster F-bomb for a mild inconvenience? (Note that the last part does not count for a character that simply swears like a sailor because it is their nature. For example, if you have the tolerance to observe it, consider Dave from Dragonfree's Morphic.)
*rushes off, annoyed that I don't have time to respond to the newer topics*
It just comes to me. Perhaps my ideas can be slightly fueled by real life occurrences, but the bulk of it is from my own imagination.
How do you portay romance correctly in your stories?
I'm a newbie writer and don't really see myself doing any romance-specific projects in the future. However, if I incorporate it as a subplot/snippet of a story, then my beliefs for how it'd be done would run parallel with Kutie Pie's.
What is your thoughts with 'tropes?'
They're quite handy for determining what's cliche and what's not. Or if you want to represent as many of them as possible in a parody or something. They can make you feel bad about your plot, but view it more as a guideline.
Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?
I'm about to seem self-centered in a moment. I promise I'm not. Please don't yell at me.
In almost all cases, it simply depends on the person. Mature adults can go either way, and the same goes for children and adolescents. For example, I'm twelve. Now, don't get me wrong: I'm terrible at writing. But I also excel for being at a level superior to my age. Nearly all the kids at my school (one of the most challenging ones, coincidentally) pale in comparison. With such a difference comes potential. While I'm an amateur now, you can say that I have the ability to rise far above that in a small amount of time if I had the freedom to focus upon it. This applies to other new writers at this forum as well.
In other words: Judge the person, not the number.
How do you open your stories?
Again, I'm still new to this, so I can't say I have much experience with it. But my golden rule is: make the opening unique and/or unexpected. Maybe it can be in the climax of a major battle, or simply a slice of life for a main character. If you can grab the readers' attention, then you're already halfway there. (For the opening, I mean.)
Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?
It all has to do with the scene, character(s), and explicitives in question. Does the presence of the swear match up with what's going on? Does the character have the capacity to utter said word? If so, is it a precision F-bomb for a key event or a cluster F-bomb for a mild inconvenience? (Note that the last part does not count for a character that simply swears like a sailor because it is their nature. For example, if you have the tolerance to observe it, consider Dave from Dragonfree's Morphic.)
*rushes off, annoyed that I don't have time to respond to the newer topics*
JX Valentine
Ever-Discordant
Hey, guys! Sorry I've been so scarce lately. I'm taking a bit of a hiatus for awhile in that I'll be lurking and updating the first post (and throwing in comments to this thread, naturally), but real life has got me tangled up. I am also in talks to maybe get a co-owner, so there's that!
In the meantime, what's that I hear? Something about a...
Yes. Go vote if you haven't already! That's an order from your mafia don!
(However, please do not discuss who you voted for until after the results are posted. That ruins the surprise~!)
Meantimes, responding to Deadly's very interesting post...
Ooh! A challenge!
1. Yes to both questions. It is totally kosher for anyone to give out challenges, and it's equally kosher to participate in the challenges you set. In fact, I'd recommend having you participate too, just to help coax people to join in. Of course, I wouldn't recommend participating if it involves judging fics, but chances are, those kinds of challenges might be a bit too complicated to put together. But tl;dr, yes.
2. The shorter the prompt, the easier it is for writers to interpret, meaning it's best if you keep it to "mid-life crisis," not "Gym Leader faces a mid-life crisis." You can also specify that it's a challenge wherein writers have to include Gym Leaders and the prompt mid-life crisis, but you want to word it in a way that makes it sound as open as possible, if that makes sense. (For example, including "Gym Leaders" and "mid-life crisis" as separate but equally required prompts allows a writer to interpret the full challenge as "Gym Leader faces a mid-life crisis" or "Gym Leader knows someone/is close to someone who is going through a mid-life crisis, and this is how they deal with it." If you can interpret the challenge multiple ways, you're good to go, in other words.)
3. This one I'm leaving up to everyone else. You could impose a minimum/maximum word count to add to the challenge, but you could also ask around to see what everyone would be comfortable with tackling. b)'')b
Looking forward to seeing what comes out of this~!
Also, all the folks who asked to join have been added to the roster. Hi there!
In the meantime, what's that I hear? Something about a...
Yes. Go vote if you haven't already! That's an order from your mafia don!
(However, please do not discuss who you voted for until after the results are posted. That ruins the surprise~!)
Meantimes, responding to Deadly's very interesting post...
Ooh! A challenge!
1. Yes to both questions. It is totally kosher for anyone to give out challenges, and it's equally kosher to participate in the challenges you set. In fact, I'd recommend having you participate too, just to help coax people to join in. Of course, I wouldn't recommend participating if it involves judging fics, but chances are, those kinds of challenges might be a bit too complicated to put together. But tl;dr, yes.
2. The shorter the prompt, the easier it is for writers to interpret, meaning it's best if you keep it to "mid-life crisis," not "Gym Leader faces a mid-life crisis." You can also specify that it's a challenge wherein writers have to include Gym Leaders and the prompt mid-life crisis, but you want to word it in a way that makes it sound as open as possible, if that makes sense. (For example, including "Gym Leaders" and "mid-life crisis" as separate but equally required prompts allows a writer to interpret the full challenge as "Gym Leader faces a mid-life crisis" or "Gym Leader knows someone/is close to someone who is going through a mid-life crisis, and this is how they deal with it." If you can interpret the challenge multiple ways, you're good to go, in other words.)
3. This one I'm leaving up to everyone else. You could impose a minimum/maximum word count to add to the challenge, but you could also ask around to see what everyone would be comfortable with tackling. b)'')b
Looking forward to seeing what comes out of this~!
Also, all the folks who asked to join have been added to the roster. Hi there!
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Ehh, I haven't been active much either, since I don't stay up after 10.
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I written an original story that's posted on a different website. It was when I had a lot of problems though I wanted to write it since I loved doing it. Another one I did, but it was hard getting an idea of it, though I was inspired by a Flipnote series in Flipnote Hatena(if you know what it is) and other franchises as in Bleach and Final Fantasy. I may write one when I get older, but it'll be hard like the last one I did.
What are your takes on evolutions? What do they do?
Evolution isn't everything. ;p Sometimes, Pokemon like Pikachu and Scyther are still strong without evolution, though some need it to survive, like Wurmple and Caterpie. I am currently planning a story where a trainer catches an Electrike. And his Pokemon evolve FAST because of extreme training. Electrike didn't evolve because she gets easily tired and she's frail and young(not TOO young), though she's the same age as the trainer's Blaziken. And the trainer became ticked off over how she loses and didn't evolve though his Lairon as an Aron was strong when he wasn't in his evolved form. It depends.
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I written an original story that's posted on a different website. It was when I had a lot of problems though I wanted to write it since I loved doing it. Another one I did, but it was hard getting an idea of it, though I was inspired by a Flipnote series in Flipnote Hatena(if you know what it is) and other franchises as in Bleach and Final Fantasy. I may write one when I get older, but it'll be hard like the last one I did.
What are your takes on evolutions? What do they do?
Evolution isn't everything. ;p Sometimes, Pokemon like Pikachu and Scyther are still strong without evolution, though some need it to survive, like Wurmple and Caterpie. I am currently planning a story where a trainer catches an Electrike. And his Pokemon evolve FAST because of extreme training. Electrike didn't evolve because she gets easily tired and she's frail and young(not TOO young), though she's the same age as the trainer's Blaziken. And the trainer became ticked off over how she loses and didn't evolve though his Lairon as an Aron was strong when he wasn't in his evolved form. It depends.
Deadly.Braviary
Well-Known Member
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I've written one, but I abandoned it. Although apparently our glorious don found it so good, she actually nominated it for the Fic Awards - twice, no less XD
Anyway, I've got an uh-mazing idea for an original fic (titled The Impossible Man), it's basically a near-future sci-fi saga inspired by The Matrix and slightly by Total Recall. But the one time I tried actually writing it, it sucked :/ But the idea is still awesome.
Long story short, yeah.
I've actually already got that open in the very next tab. I guess that now you ordered me, I have to go do it.And 'mafia' really should be capitalised. Yes, I am a Grammar Nazi.
Thank you, thank you / You're far too kind.
Because Numb/Encore FTW.
My dastardly wit gives you
Deadly's Prehistoric Challenge!
Yes, I did say dastardly ....
Prompt: "The world of Pokemon in prehistoric times!"
What, you want more detail? OK - I want your take on how the world of Pokemon would be in prehistoric times. Go ahead, write anything you want. An essay on how the natural discovery of fire was fast-forwarded by Charmander? Sure. An unlikely love story between Aerodactyl and Omastar interrupted by evil cavemen? Go ahead. A passage from Jurassic Park re-written with ancient, terrifyingly huge, mind-bogglingly alive dino-Pokemon? No, sorry, you can't have that one, that's my interpretation XD
I'm going to take Jax's suggestions, and say length can be anything you deem OK to submit. You can write a one-shot of 15 pages, a drabble under 1000 words, or even a special chapter in your regular fic that takes place out of its canon, so to speak whatever floats your boat!
This is not a contest, so no pressure: there's no first place, you're writing for the enjoyment of others. There is no deadline for submitting your entry or for saying you want to participate.
I'm going to be participating myself! Like I said, I'm going to rewrite a passage from the novel Jurassic Park, altered to Pokemonify it.You're more than welcome to copy my ideas, though. If you decide to participate, a post in this thread will suffice (although if you want to be particularly nice, you can VM me as well). You can also drop out if you have not enough time.
All the best!
~Deadly
I've written one, but I abandoned it. Although apparently our glorious don found it so good, she actually nominated it for the Fic Awards - twice, no less XD
Anyway, I've got an uh-mazing idea for an original fic (titled The Impossible Man), it's basically a near-future sci-fi saga inspired by The Matrix and slightly by Total Recall. But the one time I tried actually writing it, it sucked :/ But the idea is still awesome.
Long story short, yeah.
I've actually already got that open in the very next tab. I guess that now you ordered me, I have to go do it.
Thank you, thank you / You're far too kind.
Because Numb/Encore FTW.
My dastardly wit gives you
Deadly's Prehistoric Challenge!
Yes, I did say dastardly ....
Prompt: "The world of Pokemon in prehistoric times!"
What, you want more detail? OK - I want your take on how the world of Pokemon would be in prehistoric times. Go ahead, write anything you want. An essay on how the natural discovery of fire was fast-forwarded by Charmander? Sure. An unlikely love story between Aerodactyl and Omastar interrupted by evil cavemen? Go ahead. A passage from Jurassic Park re-written with ancient, terrifyingly huge, mind-bogglingly alive dino-Pokemon? No, sorry, you can't have that one, that's my interpretation XD
I'm going to take Jax's suggestions, and say length can be anything you deem OK to submit. You can write a one-shot of 15 pages, a drabble under 1000 words, or even a special chapter in your regular fic that takes place out of its canon, so to speak
whatever floats your boat!This is not a contest, so no pressure: there's no first place, you're writing for the enjoyment of others. There is no deadline for submitting your entry or for saying you want to participate.
I'm going to be participating myself! Like I said, I'm going to rewrite a passage from the novel Jurassic Park, altered to Pokemonify it.
All the best!
~Deadly
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Bay
YEAHHHHHHH
What are your takes on evolutions? What do they do?
Depends if the Pokemon will evolve through level up, stones, etc. For the Pokemon that level up, I had done the "evolve during a battle" one or two times before. I can see a Pokemon evolve during training too if pushed hard enough. I don't think too much about this since I don't do evolutions often.
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I've done several original stories before, but not anymore. I have an original story idea but if I were to post it I might do it at Ficitonpress as others said.
Depends if the Pokemon will evolve through level up, stones, etc. For the Pokemon that level up, I had done the "evolve during a battle" one or two times before. I can see a Pokemon evolve during training too if pushed hard enough. I don't think too much about this since I don't do evolutions often.
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I've done several original stories before, but not anymore. I have an original story idea but if I were to post it I might do it at Ficitonpress as others said.
JX Valentine
Ever-Discordant
Funny story about this! People universally agree that the word "mafia" should be capitalized when referring to a specific criminal organization. (The Sicilian Mafia, the Japanese Mafia, the Russian Mafia, etc.) However! There's other definitions of the word, and in those definitions, mafia is not capitalized. So it ends up depending on how seriously we're taking ourselves. *le nod*
'Course, that also doesn't get into the question of whether or not "Mafia" would still be capitalized as an adjective referring to a general criminal organization instead of a noun referring to a specific one, but! (Some style books will tell you not to capitalize the word "mafia" when used as a general term for organized crime, so if you're using it as an adjective referring to general organized crime, you don't capitalize. Others will say this is bull when used as an adjective because who uses the word "mafia" as an adjective when they're not saying that the person is actually a member the Mafia?)
And also o' course, that's not the only thing problematic in that phrase. Namely considering I just used the male title instead of the female one, but knowing me, this is completely appropriate.
(I should totally write a guide to grammar on here. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND. SO MANY THINGS.)
Deadly's Prehistoric Challenge!
Yes, I did say dastardly ....
Prompt: "The world of Pokemon in prehistoric times!"
What, you want more detail? OK - I want your take on how the world of Pokemon would be in prehistoric times. Go ahead, write anything you want. An essay on how the natural discovery of fire was fast-forwarded by Charmander? Sure. An unlikely love story between Aerodactyl and Omastar interrupted by evil cavemen? Go ahead. A passage from Jurassic Park re-written with ancient, terrifyingly huge, mind-bogglingly alive dino-Pokemon? No, sorry, you can't have that one, that's my interpretation XD
I'm going to take Jax's suggestions, and say length can be anything you deem OK to submit. You can write a one-shot of 15 pages, a drabble under 1000 words, or even a special chapter in your regular fic that takes place out of its canon, so to speak
This is not a contest, so no pressure: there's no first place, you're writing for the enjoyment of others. There is no deadline for submitting your entry or for saying you want to participate.
I'm going to be participating myself! Like I said, I'm going to rewrite a passage from the novel Jurassic Park, altered to Pokemonify it.You're more than welcome to copy my ideas, though.If you decide to participate, a post in this thread will suffice (although if you want to be particularly nice, you can VM me as well). You can also drop out if you have not enough time.
All the best!
~Deadly
If I wasn't already participating in another challenge and goodness knows how many RL shenanigans, I would totally be on this.
There would be time machines involved.
In any case, adding to the first post!
Toxic Nightshade
GET TO DEL TACO
What are your takes on evolutions? What do they do?
Evolutions are not really crucial for your fiction, it honestly depends on the author if that is the path that they want to take. Evolutions do open up a new chapter and personality for the pokemon and trainer, which makes for more personality layers, so to speak. (like Ash's Charizard, if i remember correctly. i haven't seen that episode in years though.) I do not completely rely on evolutions though in the fic I am writing. My main character's signature pokemon is a Duskull, so I am going to keep it as a Duskull. Of course this makes problems considoring power, but it's what needs to stay. Like I said, it really depends on the author if they want evolution or not.
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I considored the thought, but I really prefer not to post my original stories on Serebii. Fictionpress, like the other people said before me.
I wish i could join the Competition, but the two stories i have been writing has sucked the creativity from me. I'm all out at the moment..
Evolutions are not really crucial for your fiction, it honestly depends on the author if that is the path that they want to take. Evolutions do open up a new chapter and personality for the pokemon and trainer, which makes for more personality layers, so to speak. (like Ash's Charizard, if i remember correctly. i haven't seen that episode in years though.) I do not completely rely on evolutions though in the fic I am writing. My main character's signature pokemon is a Duskull, so I am going to keep it as a Duskull. Of course this makes problems considoring power, but it's what needs to stay. Like I said, it really depends on the author if they want evolution or not.
How many people have considered of making an original story here?
I considored the thought, but I really prefer not to post my original stories on Serebii. Fictionpress, like the other people said before me.
I wish i could join the Competition, but the two stories i have been writing has sucked the creativity from me. I'm all out at the moment..
What are your takes on evolutions? What do they do?
...I feel like I should have a lot to say about this, given that "evolution" is half the title of my main fic. Not many evolutions actually happen in it, though; most of the time when evolution is brought up, it's regarding certain Pokémon decidedly not wanting to evolve (because when I began the fic I was an idiot who hated Sceptile to an unreasonable degree and that mindset ended up in a few of the characters, too, but shush). In my other fic, which is a Pokémon POV, the characters do evolve, usually after winning a battle rather than during it, and their newly-evolved form generally gives them a somewhat more mature outlook on life than they had before. Though whether that maturity comes from the change itself or due to inevitable factors regarding the species they now are (for example, being able to hunt for themselves when they previously just had to depend on adults for food), I'm not sure, and I imagine that's something that could vary depending on how a writer wants to tackle it.
Overall, since I've never written a badge quest trainer fic in which the purpose of evolutions is primarily for Pokémon to grow stronger, I guess I consider evolution to be essentially just a useful element in crafting a story. There's all sorts of potential in the concept of a character changing irreversibly from one form to another; the new form will have its good points, but it could have some bad ones too, and not necessarily just in terms of battling.
I approve of the challenge involving prehistoric Pokémon! I love fossil Pokémon and am all for encouraging more people to write about them. =D However, I probably won't participate in the challenge myself, partly because as much as I love fossil Pokémon, the thing that really interests me about them is not their natural lives in prehistoric times, but how they interact with trainers in the modern world. (This preference of mine may have something to do with the fact that it's essentially what my main fic is all about, and I've grown fond of the concept as I've written the fic.) Even in my other fic which is set in prehistoric times, the fact that it is is kind of incidental to the actual point of the story, so I was lazy and just threw in a bunch of modern-day Pokémon like Zigzagoon and Taillow to populate the supposedly-dinosaur-era-equivalent setting, because I couldn't be bothered to create multiple believable Fakemon species for the era when they weren't important to the story anyway. (I am the worst at worldbuilding.)
The other reason I probably won't be participating is because if I'm going to be doing any kind of writing any time soon, I should prioritise getting back to working on my main fic.
Which brings me onto a topic. There hasn't been a new one in a while, has there?
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
...because I am really struggling with this right now. I've reread recent chapters of the fic to remind myself just how much I love this story and really want to continue with it, but whenever I try and actually write some more of it, even though I know what's supposed to happen, it just doesn't come. It must be that, because I've written only extremely sporadically for the past ohgodfartoolong, my brain doesn't remember how to settle into a fiction-writing mood. Are there any ways to remedy this, or is this just a case of having to bash my head against this metaphorical brick wall until something breaks and the writing starts flowing again?
...I feel like I should have a lot to say about this, given that "evolution" is half the title of my main fic. Not many evolutions actually happen in it, though; most of the time when evolution is brought up, it's regarding certain Pokémon decidedly not wanting to evolve (because when I began the fic I was an idiot who hated Sceptile to an unreasonable degree and that mindset ended up in a few of the characters, too, but shush). In my other fic, which is a Pokémon POV, the characters do evolve, usually after winning a battle rather than during it, and their newly-evolved form generally gives them a somewhat more mature outlook on life than they had before. Though whether that maturity comes from the change itself or due to inevitable factors regarding the species they now are (for example, being able to hunt for themselves when they previously just had to depend on adults for food), I'm not sure, and I imagine that's something that could vary depending on how a writer wants to tackle it.
Overall, since I've never written a badge quest trainer fic in which the purpose of evolutions is primarily for Pokémon to grow stronger, I guess I consider evolution to be essentially just a useful element in crafting a story. There's all sorts of potential in the concept of a character changing irreversibly from one form to another; the new form will have its good points, but it could have some bad ones too, and not necessarily just in terms of battling.
I approve of the challenge involving prehistoric Pokémon! I love fossil Pokémon and am all for encouraging more people to write about them. =D However, I probably won't participate in the challenge myself, partly because as much as I love fossil Pokémon, the thing that really interests me about them is not their natural lives in prehistoric times, but how they interact with trainers in the modern world. (This preference of mine may have something to do with the fact that it's essentially what my main fic is all about, and I've grown fond of the concept as I've written the fic.) Even in my other fic which is set in prehistoric times, the fact that it is is kind of incidental to the actual point of the story, so I was lazy and just threw in a bunch of modern-day Pokémon like Zigzagoon and Taillow to populate the supposedly-dinosaur-era-equivalent setting, because I couldn't be bothered to create multiple believable Fakemon species for the era when they weren't important to the story anyway. (I am the worst at worldbuilding.)
The other reason I probably won't be participating is because if I'm going to be doing any kind of writing any time soon, I should prioritise getting back to working on my main fic.
Which brings me onto a topic. There hasn't been a new one in a while, has there?
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
...because I am really struggling with this right now. I've reread recent chapters of the fic to remind myself just how much I love this story and really want to continue with it, but whenever I try and actually write some more of it, even though I know what's supposed to happen, it just doesn't come. It must be that, because I've written only extremely sporadically for the past ohgodfartoolong, my brain doesn't remember how to settle into a fiction-writing mood. Are there any ways to remedy this, or is this just a case of having to bash my head against this metaphorical brick wall until something breaks and the writing starts flowing again?
Hero of Ideals
Banned
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
Half of my old work in on Hitaus/revision time, so as long is the original idea I had for them is there, I will get back to them. Right now, my current work is more novel like, not script or summary based (Unless my prolouge chapter is getting readers up to snuff of what happened) But I do plan to revise them anyway, I... well looking how most MS/HS write and act, I feel dumber than a Slowpoke. My old work was short, only 1,000 to 3,000 per chapter and when you have big action shows like Pokemon and Fairy Tail, people (who love the series) want really good detail and a mature writer, not one who complains about stuff and treat the professionals like their work is bad and they are better than them. You have no idea how annoying people are in their reviews.
Is Character Development your first poiority?
To me, I develop all my characters. Sometimes I break down their old development to rebuild them from the ground up. My top 5 characters I love to develop the most are:
Ash (We know who he is)
Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)
Lisanna and Lucy (Fairy Tail)
The Pokespe Cast (Pokemon Adventures)
When it comes to my way of development, it's all about choices with my characters and the hardships they must overcome. Some take a leader role, others are treated like true mains, not a love interest. Alll of them are equal in strengh and never too overpowered. For example, Ash catches Legendaries that are more connected to him, but even so, they're not badass and will give him badass wins. Many stories never develop these characters, and it saddens me how they are treated. In the shows and games, I turn the other cheek and not let it get to me, but Fanfics are another story.
Half of my old work in on Hitaus/revision time, so as long is the original idea I had for them is there, I will get back to them. Right now, my current work is more novel like, not script or summary based (Unless my prolouge chapter is getting readers up to snuff of what happened) But I do plan to revise them anyway, I... well looking how most MS/HS write and act, I feel dumber than a Slowpoke. My old work was short, only 1,000 to 3,000 per chapter and when you have big action shows like Pokemon and Fairy Tail, people (who love the series) want really good detail and a mature writer, not one who complains about stuff and treat the professionals like their work is bad and they are better than them. You have no idea how annoying people are in their reviews.
Is Character Development your first poiority?
To me, I develop all my characters. Sometimes I break down their old development to rebuild them from the ground up. My top 5 characters I love to develop the most are:
Ash (We know who he is)
Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)
Lisanna and Lucy (Fairy Tail)
The Pokespe Cast (Pokemon Adventures)
When it comes to my way of development, it's all about choices with my characters and the hardships they must overcome. Some take a leader role, others are treated like true mains, not a love interest. Alll of them are equal in strengh and never too overpowered. For example, Ash catches Legendaries that are more connected to him, but even so, they're not badass and will give him badass wins. Many stories never develop these characters, and it saddens me how they are treated. In the shows and games, I turn the other cheek and not let it get to me, but Fanfics are another story.
Kutie Pie
"It is my destiny."
Soooo is there two topics going on xD? Aw well, I'll answer both.
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
I'm so not the right person to answer this because I have waaaaaay too many stories on hiatus (one's indefinite), and Forsaken has been in one for a year because chapter twenty is too hard to write. /pout
I blame college >:/.
But what I like to do is just go back and read through it to get back into the rhythm. When I reach the end, in most cases, I'll have some motivation to write a little bit, and see if that'll get me back into writing. It works for a little bit, but inspiration is my energy source, pretty much. If I'm not getting inspired enough, or heck long enough to get to a computer, I won't write. It's like my brain and my hand are conspicuously not connected properly the moment I want to write.
The fact I have another story up right now and a new story I'm currently writing out to upload laterthough I'm nervous about this one because of how mature it is doesn't help.
Is Character Development your first priority?
Like you wouldn't believe. Character development is very important in story-telling, and because I'm kind of a perfectionist and am very picky about stories, this is pretty much my number one priority. I must make the character believable. I must keep them in character. I must, I must, I MUST make them real.
And so far, I'm doing pretty well in that department.BUT IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH MOAR I NEED MOAR
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
I'm so not the right person to answer this because I have waaaaaay too many stories on hiatus (one's indefinite), and Forsaken has been in one for a year because chapter twenty is too hard to write. /pout
I blame college >:/.
But what I like to do is just go back and read through it to get back into the rhythm. When I reach the end, in most cases, I'll have some motivation to write a little bit, and see if that'll get me back into writing. It works for a little bit, but inspiration is my energy source, pretty much. If I'm not getting inspired enough, or heck long enough to get to a computer, I won't write. It's like my brain and my hand are conspicuously not connected properly the moment I want to write.
The fact I have another story up right now and a new story I'm currently writing out to upload later
Is Character Development your first priority?
Like you wouldn't believe. Character development is very important in story-telling, and because I'm kind of a perfectionist and am very picky about stories, this is pretty much my number one priority. I must make the character believable. I must keep them in character. I must, I must, I MUST make them real.
And so far, I'm doing pretty well in that department.
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How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
Okay, maybe I'm not the best one to be answering this since my "long" hiatuses from writing are like a month, six weeks tops. Something always keeps pulling me back in. I think the best advice I can give is to read over what you've written previously, set some time aside for yourself and just write for a solid two hours. Maybe it's utter crap and you just delete the whole thing, or most of it. Doesn't matter. What matters is you forced your way through the bind and got your thoughts flowing in the right direction again. There's no better way to test the waters than to dive straight in and the best way to get back into something after setting it aside for so long is to immerse yourself in it again.
I may catch some backlash for this, but there's no such thing as writer's block. Seriously. It's an umbrella term we've placed on the myriad of things we do that prevent us from actually sitting down and writing. Writer's block is procrastination, burn out, the fear of progressing in the story, etc., all jumbled together into one overarching term. Writer's block is an excuse, a comfortable malady we claim when we don't want to put the work in. The cure for writer's block is not "give it time, the inspiration will come eventually". The only way to get over it, as proven time and again, is to work through it, forcing yourself to go the distance. Look at quotes from famous writers on the subject, none of them say to sit back and wait for the muse to come. Every single one I've seen says to make your own way.
And if it's any consolation, elyvorg, I don't think your hiatus is as long as Tolstoy's. After publishing Anna Karenina, he didn't write a word of fiction for nine years. But when he realized that he couldn't run from it anymore and returned to writing, he wrote The Death of Ivan Ilyich, which is simply fantastic. You've got to find the determination, and do it. It's as simple as that.
Okay, maybe I'm not the best one to be answering this since my "long" hiatuses from writing are like a month, six weeks tops. Something always keeps pulling me back in. I think the best advice I can give is to read over what you've written previously, set some time aside for yourself and just write for a solid two hours. Maybe it's utter crap and you just delete the whole thing, or most of it. Doesn't matter. What matters is you forced your way through the bind and got your thoughts flowing in the right direction again. There's no better way to test the waters than to dive straight in and the best way to get back into something after setting it aside for so long is to immerse yourself in it again.
I may catch some backlash for this, but there's no such thing as writer's block. Seriously. It's an umbrella term we've placed on the myriad of things we do that prevent us from actually sitting down and writing. Writer's block is procrastination, burn out, the fear of progressing in the story, etc., all jumbled together into one overarching term. Writer's block is an excuse, a comfortable malady we claim when we don't want to put the work in. The cure for writer's block is not "give it time, the inspiration will come eventually". The only way to get over it, as proven time and again, is to work through it, forcing yourself to go the distance. Look at quotes from famous writers on the subject, none of them say to sit back and wait for the muse to come. Every single one I've seen says to make your own way.
And if it's any consolation, elyvorg, I don't think your hiatus is as long as Tolstoy's. After publishing Anna Karenina, he didn't write a word of fiction for nine years. But when he realized that he couldn't run from it anymore and returned to writing, he wrote The Death of Ivan Ilyich, which is simply fantastic. You've got to find the determination, and do it. It's as simple as that.
Bay
YEAHHHHHHH
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time?
Like the others said, sometimes I look back at the writing/outlines to get back in track with my story if I haven't worked on it for a while. There is one story I got stuck for a while but I think I have an idea how to handle one of the problems. I just need to get my lazy butt off and write it/send that idea to the beta and see if she approves it.
Is Character Development your first priority?
Yup. If I'm going canon characters I try to keep them in character as possible. Original characters I try to make them as realistic as possible. Pretty much like Kuite Pie said, lol.
Like the others said, sometimes I look back at the writing/outlines to get back in track with my story if I haven't worked on it for a while. There is one story I got stuck for a while but I think I have an idea how to handle one of the problems. I just need to get my lazy butt off and write it/send that idea to the beta and see if she approves it.
Is Character Development your first priority?
Yup. If I'm going canon characters I try to keep them in character as possible. Original characters I try to make them as realistic as possible. Pretty much like Kuite Pie said, lol.
Hero of Ideals
Banned
- Status