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The Fan Fiction Mafia

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Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
Adding all the new members! :D



Aaaaaaand I still envy your talent. :< Because damn, for a first fic, that's not bad at all!

Maybe the fact that you can't read the first eighteen chapters is a cue to do a reboot? 8D

Guh-whaaaaaaaa?! You read that? Heh, I'm flattered. Ironically it was in its prime when the chapters were all lolteenageangst, and those are the chapters that I can't stand now.

I did consider rebooting it at some point. I feel like it would have to be a total overhaul though since there's so much that I'd want to change and it's just so time consuming doing both a run-of-the-mill badge-collecting plot and then there was that thing with the relics and with Team Magma and Aqua and oi. I would like to do something Pokemony again though, since this isn't really the right area for my Digimon stories and it would be nice to be relevant again . =P
 

Quilava42

Blazing Flowers
Hey, I need advice from you fellow crew members. What do you do if your plot becomes boring overall in the first few chapters? Do you refine the story, leave it as it is or redo the story? Or if your writing is unclear? Because I wanted to add a couple of parts on my fic here. Like adding a prologue of an evil team trying to get Lugia. And changing the plot a bit on some of those chapters.
 

JX Valentine

Ever-Discordant
asdfghjkl; OH HEY, PEOPLE WHO CAME WHILE REAL LIFE DECIDED TO LAY THE SMACKDOWN.

So the members list has been updated, but if I somehow missed your post, poke me. ;_;

In the meeeeantime! I won't be able to reply to everyone (because good God we're awesome already), but a few notes here and there!

Maybe I should go find a co-owner.

I posted my idea on Fic Ideas there. And have you read the part where he got whipped?

IIRC, yep. Aaaaaand I was like, "I don't know what's going on. :D:D" I mean that in the nicest way possible too because weren't they, like, at school or something? I'm not sure how to feel about a school where whipping happens. *sage nod*

Who do I have to whack to get in, Don Jax?

There's a writing club on dA that's been shortchanging us on the pay offs, if you know what I mean.

unless something else about the fic catches my eye... ohaithar AEM).

AEM SAYS HI BACK.

Except Bill. Bill's too busy being Bill.

Also a brofist for this! SCPokémon ftw!

High fives all around!

Guys. We should totally do it. Like, that should be our first challenge. Weird-as-**** SCP-style entries for Pokémon. Y/N?

Also, I swear I've read every post including all of yours, but I just want to say...

One of the other best parts is how I posted it. I did all of my writing on an ancient laptop (Windows 3.1 baby, aw yeah) I'd commandeered. It wasn't hooked up to the internet, though—my primary means of interneting back then was through our WebTV. The WebTV, by contrast, only let you access the internet, so there was no way to store files on it and Google Docs et al were still years and years away. So in order to start posting Alosir Longblade I had to:

1. Save fic to a floppy disk.
2. Take floppy disk out to living room computer, also internetless, and print out the current chapter.
3. Scoot chair over to WebTV, navigate to the forum I wanted to post to and, reading from the printout, manually retype the entire chapter in the reply box.

The 90's were weird.

Also why does everyone hate Second person? I don't understand?

Ikr? As Phoenix said, yeah, it's pretty much because it's so very rarely done in fanfiction and even rarer to see it done well. But it's a really cool mode of telling stories if you know what you're doing with it, and it can be pretty awesomely powerful if you pull it off. (I can't rec Dragonfree's Butterfree enough.)

You know, I remember posting in a thread not too long ago, saying the forum had nothing to fear because Jax wasn't the mob boss. Now, I have to go back and eat my words. :|

THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE WHY TAKE LUCKY SEVEN IS NOW A MAFIA. :V

I can provide arms and ammunition in the form of witty banter, as well as bullet-proof vests in the form of self-deprecating humor.

We will take over Clubs yet.

I mean what?

So, I guess I'm kinda like a repairman for fandoms. The more I see how utterly broken an anime/game/book is, and how good it could have been, I either go into daydream mode or immediately start pulling up Word. *shrug*

...I don't know why, but I suddenly had the thought that you were the Engineer of fandom's Team Fortress. But that's okay because I spot some Medics and Heavies in here too. (NO, I'M NOT SAYING WHICH IS WHICH. Guess! >8D)

Well, I wouldn't say that it's cute by any means. And it's far from friendly. But yeah, let's go with that so that I don't have to spoil anything.

FACEHUGGERS JUST WANT TO HUG YOU.

And then jam their self-pollenating ovipositors down your throat.

OUT OF LOVE. :D

Yeah. All of our characters could probably attest to that.

Some more than others. Amirite? >8D

Not when the name is...Stonetail.

STILL PRETTY METAL.

...Only I guess not really because that would be more like stone maybe?

All hail kingpin Jax.

*dons sunglasses and struts like a boss*

My first story was pretty much a mixture of Animorphs and an element of the Jimmy Neutron movie. All the characters were people I knew (read: other kids in my fifth-grade class) and I never wrote past the part where the main character turned into a tiger and almost ate her best friend. This was probably for the best.

On the contrary, it sort of sounds like you stopped at the best part. :(:(:(:(:(

Also *adds to Redwall brofist* Those were some of my favoruite books growing up, and his description and settings and characters always enchanted me. His death was really saddening.

...I seriously had no childhood. I... I never read the Redwall books, guys. *ducks and covers!*

(Are they the kinds of books you can still appreciate when you're in your twenties, or are they more like Artemis Fowl, where you read them at twenty-five and go, "Why did twelve-year-old me not see that this is Captain Planet with toilet humor?"

Oh, we're a mafia now? Well all right... *snickers while plotting* I'll be around.

Who am I kidding? I'm too nice for a mafia!

THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO THINK.

In actuality, you're probably, like, this mafia's top assassin or something. All sweet and such, but NOPE. GARROTE WIRE FOR EVERYONE.

Another reason that I really like fanfiction is that it gives me a good outlet for experimenting, either with ideas, or forms, or styles.

So much this. Especially so for Pokémon fic, amirite? I mean, it's like the fandom's a beautiful, beautiful sandbox.

The unicorn offers to fly her to the moon (no reason stated)

Do you really need a reason to fly to the moon? ;D

Oh, can I have a deadline? Sort of, as it's pretty distant. For Pokedex One-Shots, I want to be able to complete the other five regions before the English version of the sixth gen Pokedex is available. Not that I want to rush myself and throw in something low quality (comparatively) for the sake of numbers, but that is my current goal.

Absolutely! Would you like me to mark you down for October 2013 (i.e., when the games come out), or are you aiming for something a bit sooner? Or do you just want to keep it at "before the English 'dex is available"?

Guh-whaaaaaaaa?! You read that?

Admittedly, in spurts. :( Like, I read the first chapter way back when on PC, IIRC, and I remember thinking it was actually pretty good, especially compared to a lot of other trainer fics out there. I've never gotten around to finishing it, though, but I've recently discovered that the Kindle is a fantastic thing. In other words, it's going on mine someday, and I'll tell you what I think of the ending. ;)

I did consider rebooting it at some point. I feel like it would have to be a total overhaul though since there's so much that I'd want to change and it's just so time consuming doing both a run-of-the-mill badge-collecting plot and then there was that thing with the relics and with Team Magma and Aqua and oi. I would like to do something Pokemony again though, since this isn't really the right area for my Digimon stories and it would be nice to be relevant again . =P

In that case... DO EET. And hey, on the positive side, if you liked working with the characters, rebooting the whole shebang's another chance to work with them. Even if you have to overhaul everything, all that'd means is you get a fresh start and more opportunities to see what you can do with them.

'Sides, it'd be awesome to see more of the vets posting again. ;D

What do you do if your plot becomes boring overall in the first few chapters? Do you refine the story, leave it as it is or redo the story? Or if your writing is unclear? Because I wanted to add a couple of parts on my fic here. Like adding a prologue of an evil team trying to get Lugia. And changing the plot a bit on some of those chapters.

Hmm. Well, in my personal opinion, editing's not a bad thing, especially for early chapters. Early chapters are the foundation for the rest of your fic. They're like the thing that the house that is the rest of your story stands on. What happens when a house's foundation or the ground underneath it isn't very good? Best case scenario is the house gets cracks in its walls. Worst case scenario is the house sinks. Just like a house, a story can have a good foundation and a bad foundation. Having a bad foundation doesn't necessarily mean that the story will sink, but it will mean some people are going to notice the cracks in the walls. Sometimes, it's okay to go back and redo the basement of your story (read: refine the first chapters). Maybe it might even be a good thing to bulldoze the whole shebang and rebuild from the ground up (read: rewrite). But either way, it's definitely an option, and I tend to say that if you have the time to devote to doing that, it'd be a good idea to at least consider it.

On the other hand, I'm also not you, and whether or not you'd want to do this is really up to you. Sometimes, you can still work in exciting plots after slow beginnings and still get people to like what you're doing. Also remember that whatever you decide, it'll be the beginning of the story you work on for quite some time after this. So think carefully and make a decision based on what kind of story you want to be writing months from now and whether or not the choices you've made in the beginning will help you get to that future story, if that makes sense.

Do I think you should rewrite your particular fic? It's definitely salvageable, but it sounds to me like you're not particularly happy with it, which is the important thing here. So you may be looking to take the more drastic option, and if you think that'll be the kind of fic you'd like to write, I say you should go for it.

Hope this helps!
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
Admittedly, in spurts. :( Like, I read the first chapter way back when on PC, IIRC, and I remember thinking it was actually pretty good, especially compared to a lot of other trainer fics out there. I've never gotten around to finishing it, though, but I've recently discovered that the Kindle is a fantastic thing. In other words, it's going on mine someday, and I'll tell you what I think of the ending. ;)



In that case... DO EET. And hey, on the positive side, if you liked working with the characters, rebooting the whole shebang's another chance to work with them. Even if you have to overhaul everything, all that'd means is you get a fresh start and more opportunities to see what you can do with them.

'Sides, it'd be awesome to see more of the vets posting again. ;D

"Ending"... <snicker>. I'd appreciate if you told me; that way I can write one! ;)

Yeah, that's true. I'll give it some thought. I've currently got a few Digimon (blasphemer!) projects going on, but once I've thinned the herd, maybe. And I could always write as a breather, if I need one.
 

Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
Guys. We should totally do it. Like, that should be our first challenge. Weird-as-**** SCP-style entries for Pokémon. Y/N?

Yes, that should be one of our challenges. Unfortunately, I'm gonna personally pass on writing one because I'm still freakin' scared of everything from SCP despite being fascinated by it, and I don't think I have enough knowledge of SCP to really write one myself. I'll happily read everyone's contributions when they're up, though.

Just for the love of God, please don't post pictures.

...I seriously had no childhood. I... I never read the Redwall books, guys. *ducks and covers!*

*runs in and high-fives you hard* DUDE I NEVER READ THE BOOKS EITHER though I saw some of the cartoon series LET'S FORM A "NO CHILDHOOD" SUB-CLUB

(Are they the kinds of books you can still appreciate when you're in your twenties, or are they more like Artemis Fowl, where you read them at twenty-five and go, "Why did twelve-year-old me not see that this is Captain Planet with toilet humor?"

I think they're the books you can still appreciate as an adult. My dad collected a lot of the books and read them himself. He actually tried reading them to us when we were kids, but we didn't get very far, and we have since then forgotten the story.

I also never read the Artemis Fowl books. They never interested me. But now that I know it's pretty much Captain Planet-esque...

So much this. Especially so for Pokémon fic, amirite? I mean, it's like the fandom's a beautiful, beautiful sandbox.

Funny: I hate sand. Seriously, can't stand the feel of sand. Never liked touching sand as a kid, and I still don't. But what does sand have to do with fandoms in the first place, just because you mentioned it's a metaphorical sandbox xP?

I'M TIRED LET ME BE
 

OceanicLanturn

Non non non!
Why you like fanfic/writing: Because other than the fact that my art sucks...

I like to do creative stuff, especially Pokemon-related ones. I don't know, I've always had a love for writing, especially fictions. I really like writing because you can literally do everything with your character, a toy that never breaks (I'm so sadistic lol) and I love to experience with it. I also like continuity for plots for the anime. This is usually sparked by my interest of what happened to ... after so and so happened, what adventure did so and so experience after so and so parted with so and so... It's really a free-for-all space for creativity. And dayum, I love creative writing :3

For example, I'm writing a fic with Dawn in it because she was my favourite character in the anime. So yeah, pretty much it.

~Please accept mui
 

SilentMemento

Lone Wolf
FACEHUGGERS JUST WANT TO HUG YOU.

And then jam their self-pollenating ovipositors down your throat.

OUT OF LOVE. :D

And then have the spawn of their self-pollenation violently rip itself from your chest cavity, grow into a true xenomorph, and proceed to stalk and hunt down all of your friends to share the same kind of love with them. Of course, this is all out of love, so... ;D

Some more than others. Amirite? >8D

Yeah... -looks nervously at all of his characters, who probably want to kill him in all kinds of horrible ways-

STILL PRETTY METAL.

...Only I guess not really because that would be more like stone maybe?

Still doesn't compare to actual metal. :p

...I seriously had no childhood. I... I never read the Redwall books, guys. *ducks and covers!*

(Are they the kinds of books you can still appreciate when you're in your twenties, or are they more like Artemis Fowl, where you read them at twenty-five and go, "Why did twelve-year-old me not see that this is Captain Planet with toilet humor?"

It's alright. We all have no childhood...although I am pretty surprised that you didn't grow up with Redwall; it was a very popular children's series.

(Actually, they're the kind of books that make you go, "How the hell could they possibly be classified as children's stories with the content they have?!" They did have some species always be evil (and the henchmen/mooks tended to be idiots), but other than that, there were some fairly complicated personalities, especially for a children's series. I still read the ones I have.)
 

Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
(Actually, they're the kind of books that make you go, "How the hell could they possibly be classified as children's stories with the content they have?!" They did have some species always be evil (and the henchmen/mooks tended to be idiots), but other than that, there were some fairly complicated personalities, especially for a children's series. I still read the ones I have.)

Animorphs, man. Those were some pretty gory books for a kids' series (well, I think they were Young Adult books now that I think about it), and I think they were pretty complicated enough that though I've read them thoroughly as a kid, I still can't wrap my head around everything. Also, you shouldn't be surprised that some children have read the Warrior series, since you've read them yourself, and from what I've read on about it, people are really surprised it's a kids' series.

The stuff you could get away with in children's literature and entertainment back in the day... is it any wonder why we came out the way we did?
 

Negrek

Lost but Seeking
Animorphs, man. Absolutely some of my favorite books as a kid, and then I went back and randomly read the Wikipedia synopsis a while ago and my mind was blown by how strange it all was. "There was this alien MMO player and then he got godlike powers and decided he was going to save the universe under his old username and then he merged with a black hole and became like part of the fabric of the universe or something" and whaaat, just whaaaat? So awesome and also so wtf. With that as one of my influences, no wonder I write such weird stuff now.

I never actually finished the series (got up to like 35 and decided, "this is never going to end!" and gave up on it), but I definitely want to go back and try to at some point. I could probably knock off each book in about half an hour these days anyway. :p

(Also a big fan of Redwall back in the day, people who haven't read it should check it ooout~)
 

Sid87

I love shiny pokemon
Animorphs, man. Those were some pretty gory books for a kids' series (well, I think they were Young Adult books now that I think about it), and I think they were pretty complicated enough that though I've read them thoroughly as a kid, I still can't wrap my head around everything. Also, you shouldn't be surprised that some children have read the Warrior series, since you've read them yourself, and from what I've read on about it, people are really surprised it's a kids' series.

The stuff you could get away with in children's literature and entertainment back in the day... is it any wonder why we came out the way we did?

Jesus Christ... hearing people a good DOZEN YEARS younger than I am talking about how they "grew up" is so damn weird.

I didn't have any of these things you're all talking about when I was a kid. Animorphs? Warriors? No, that post-dates me a great deal. I never even heard of either series until about 6 or 7 years ago. I had HE-MAN, bitches. And the original ThunderCats. And Silverhawks. And, later, the original Ninja Turtles.

Most of my childhood reading was comic books anyway (heck, most of my ADULT reading is comic books). X-Men and Spider-Man and... really, everything Marvel put out.
 

harryheart

Well-Known Member
Why you like fanfic/writing:

I absolutely love writing because it gives us a chance to delve into new worlds, into our thoughts and ideas and begin to express our creations to the world!

I love reading all these projects and things for the exact same reason. You can begin to explore strange new worlds and it's quite exhilarating that we have the chance to explore all these and have new opportunities to take in and learn.
 

Quilava42

Blazing Flowers
I wanted to say this from the beginning, so I want to do it now. Is learning from someone's writing skills and adapting them as your own good? Because I did it from this person here before based on her flowery style and I noticed it was bad since like Jax stated it in her review of my story with the first part and the second part.

And I'm scared of this because I wanted to do this again without making it odd. But I just typed two starting paragraphs that I had to use guides on and Jax's Anima fic and here's what I have:

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating from the blankets of gray thunderclouds that shrouded the entire sky in a second and it faded away. Thunder roared from the upset clouds. The sea raged all over the islands, hitting the rocks that pointed upward from the water and the land.

Water Pokemon that were usually jumping out of the water at Whirl Island like Tentacool and Remoraid were not present; they’re underwater, swimming quickly in order to protect themselves from the violent weather. They didn’t have any other option, as they knew that a huge downpour will strike in approximately an hour. Some of the Lanturn families rested in their deep coral branches that were large enough to cover them from any harm.
 
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Pyroli

Banned
Animorphs, man. Those were some pretty gory books for a kids' series (well, I think they were Young Adult books now that I think about it), and I think they were pretty complicated enough that though I've read them thoroughly as a kid, I still can't wrap my head around everything. Also, you shouldn't be surprised that some children have read the Warrior series, since you've read them yourself, and from what I've read on about it, people are really surprised it's a kids' series.

The stuff you could get away with in children's literature and entertainment back in the day... is it any wonder why we came out the way we did?

I never could get into Animorphs, which is surprising considering all the Sci-fi junk I'm into now. I see quite a few people talking about their childhood book series however, so I may as well contribute. Childhood, for me, really depends on how far you want me to go back. I spent a lot of my Grade one to three years reading Peter Rabbit, moving onto Guardians Of Ga'Hoole, Warriors, and Redwall once I got a little older. But, of course, in Grade 6 I began reading Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings, as were most kids my age.

Now that I'm fifteen I really just read books that pertain to my interests, as well as Sherlock Holmes, Fanfiction, John Green's beautiful literature, and Stephen King.

Anyways,,,

Fess up, kitties. What was your first story about?

Bad memories are stirring up all over the place here. I think my first story was some sort of crappy Warriors fanfic, or perhaps it was Child's Play, it could even be The Sky Chronicles. Basically, I really don't remember anything I wrote before Grade 7, nonetheless their order. I remember a Warrior's fanfic, although I don't remember the plot. Child's Play involved a girl who died in a car crash and all the characters she had ever drawn came to life as the mind that created them passed away. And Sky Chronicles, well I'm rewriting that one on this forum under a different name at the moment. It's a sort of... Pokemon/Silence Of The Lambs Crossover.

So yeah, that's basically my writing past. I tend to stick to writing Sherlock fanfiction, Roosterteeth fanfiction, and Pokemon fanfiction now. Sometimes dabbling in my own personal work.
 

gorgonfish

ribbit-ribbit
I never could get into Animorphs, which is surprising considering all the Sci-fi junk I'm into now. I see quite a few people talking about their childhood book series however, so I may as well contribute. Childhood, for me, really depends on how far you want me to go back. I spent a lot of my Grade one to three years reading Peter Rabbit, moving onto Guardians Of Ga'Hoole, Warriors, and Redwall once I got a little older. But, of course, in Grade 6 I began reading Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings, as were most kids my age.
I didn't really like to read until the sixth grade when everyone started talking about Harry Potter after GoF came out. That was my first year in public school after being homeschooled, so I figured knowing what everyone else was talking about would help me find some friends. Animorphs was something I read off and on, but being kind of slow I'd just skip around the series based on whether the animal on the cover was cool. James and the Giant Peach, Series of Unfortunate Events, Indian In The Cupboard, and The Phantom Tollbooth were also favorites. Oh, and the Bartimaeus Trilogy! Loved that series!

I was a big fan of horror too, but my parents wouldn't let me read things like Stephen King. Those would give me nightmares; the movie versions were fine. Jurassic Park was pretty much my bedtime story. xD
 
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Azurne

~ ♥ ~
I wanted to say this from the beginning, so I want to do it now. Is learning from someone's writing skills and adapting them as your own good? Because I did it from this person here before based on her flowery style and I noticed it was bad since like Jax stated it in her review of my story with the first part and the second part.

And I'm scared of this because I wanted to do this again without making it odd. But I just typed two starting paragraphs that I had to use guides on and Jax's Anima fic and here's what I have:

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating from the blankets of gray thunderclouds that shrouded the entire sky in a second and it faded away. Thunder roared from the upset clouds. The sea raged all over the islands, hitting the rocks that pointed upward from the water and the land.

Water Pokemon that were usually jumping out of the water at Whirl Island like Tentacool and Remoraid were not present; they’re underwater, swimming quickly in order to protect themselves from the violent weather. They didn’t have any other option, as they knew that a huge downpour will strike in approximately an hour. Some of the Lanturn families rested in their deep coral branches that were large enough to cover them from any harm.


Learning from someone else's writing is an okay way to start off, but you've got to pick the right role model, and keep in mind that different authors have different styles. What may work for one author's voice may not work for your voice. Choosing someone randomly off the internet to practice your style isn't the ideal place to start, because you have no idea whether or not this person is really qualified to be teaching you anything. They could have terrible grammar or overabundant purple prose, but you might not know until someone more experienced points it out to you. So if I were you, I'd poke around the more qualified of the literary community and see if you can find an author whose style intrigues you. Typically, most published authors have an okay style and know-how of the english language, so if you want to find something there you may have better luck. Just keep in mind that even some of the published ones are terrible, and just because you're published it doesn't automatically equate you with being a master. Until you have a better grasp on what is a "good" style, your best bet is to grab a bunch of books by well-known authors (Anne Rice, Stephen King, for instance) and compare styles.

Also, keep in mind your style doesn't have to directly copy theirs, and as a matter of fact it shouldn't. Over time, you'll learn what you're more comfortable with. Don't chain your narrative's voice to the table and force it to sound awkward where it shouldn't. It's a growing process, and you should let it grow.

EDIT: aaaaand just to be clear I wasn't insulting Jax here. Her writing is more than qualified and there's nothing wrong with attempting to copy her style, I was just saying it's generally very risky to do that when you don't know anything about the person you're imitating. :F
 
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JX Valentine

Ever-Discordant
"Ending"... <snicker>. I'd appreciate if you told me; that way I can write one! ;)

I can help write a fic?! DEAL.

Yes, that should be one of our challenges.

Welp, guys. Brb while I cook up rules. 8D

*runs in and high-fives you hard* DUDE I NEVER READ THE BOOKS EITHER though I saw some of the cartoon series LET'S FORM A "NO CHILDHOOD" SUB-CLUB

OKAY.

On that note, thanks to the folks who threw in their two cents about Redwall. I am totally A-OK with books with intricate world-building, so I'll give them a shot. 8D Also, yeah, I don't know how I missed out on Redwall. I think it was just because Goosebumps and Baby-Sitters Club and books like those dominated the elementary reading scene where I grew up, so you didn't really see too many kids getting into fantasy talking animals unless they had a TV show or movie accompanying it. Come to think of it, I also remember my friends back then being really into the Sweet Valley High books and the Mary-Kate and Ashley books. (Hey, guys! Remember when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen had their own everything? If you don't, congratulations on remembering the less embarrassing parts of the 90's.)

But man, Animorphs! I do have to say that got tacked onto the pool of literature kids in my neighborhood liked towards the end of that golden age when they actually read anything. And I remember reading a couple of the earlier books in the series and loving it (because **** yes aliens and kids with transformation powers), but I sort of wish I gave that series a bit more attention back then. It was awesome.

I also never read the Artemis Fowl books. They never interested me. But now that I know it's pretty much Captain Planet-esque...

To be fair, the "HUMANS ARE DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT" bits are one-liners. Buuuut they're one-liners that come right the **** out of nowhere, so it feels like you're getting your head beaten in with the point. Like for example? There's this one scene in the first book where Artemis is looking at a whaling ship because iirc he's luring an elf into a trap onboard. And you'd think it'd be all suspenseful and whatnot, but that got completely ruined by having the story stop and preach at us. Like, it legit said something to the effect of, "Artemis looks down on people because whaling is a thing that happens." As if the author's characters are more morally superior to the readers, y'know.

And it's a shame that there's some of that in the series (along with the toilet humor, of course, like when a different magical character defeats one of the main characters through hurricane-force flatulence) because the premise sounded pretty awesome. Twelve-year-old super-genius crime lord? Yes please. And that premise could really have been delivered so much better. It's not like you can't write a brilliant piece of lit with awesome characters and no overt preaching. *motions to Harry Potter*

I wanted to say this from the beginning, so I want to do it now. Is learning from someone's writing skills and adapting them as your own good? Because I did it from this person here before based on her flowery style and I noticed it was bad since like Jax stated it in her review of my story with the first part and the second part.

And I'm scared of this because I wanted to do this again without making it odd. But I just typed two starting paragraphs that I had to use guides on and Jax's Anima fic and here's what I have:

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating from the blankets of gray thunderclouds that shrouded the entire sky in a second and it faded away. Thunder roared from the upset clouds. The sea raged all over the islands, hitting the rocks that pointed upward from the water and the land.

Water Pokemon that were usually jumping out of the water at Whirl Island like Tentacool and Remoraid were not present; they’re underwater, swimming quickly in order to protect themselves from the violent weather. They didn’t have any other option, as they knew that a huge downpour will strike in approximately an hour. Some of the Lanturn families rested in their deep coral branches that were large enough to cover them from any harm.

First off, to Azurne: haha, no offense taken.

That being said, to answer your question, Quilava... it really depends on which person you're emulating. Azurne's pretty much got it down. Part of what might help you figure out what works for your voice is asking yourself why the author made the decisions he or she did in their own stories. For example, that author on dA. Why did she decided to use the kind of language that she did? Is she trying to evoke a certain mood? Is she just trying to be poetic? Figuring out not only the hows but also the whys will not only help you figure out how exactly you'll apply their examples to your writing but also help you filter out writers who might not be the best role models. (Note: Anyone who relies on an overabundance of flowery language -- not saying your dA friend does but rather just saying that that's a thing that happens -- is probably not the best role model.)

Child's Play involved a girl who died in a car crash and all the characters she had ever drawn came to life as the mind that created them passed away.

That actually sounds pretty heartbreaking, ngl. I'd read it! :D

Also, it's probably for the best that you put everything you wrote prior to Grade 7 out of mind. XD Oh, those hilarious times of our lives.


Anyway, since it's been a couple of days and since it relates to Quilava's question, hows about we change topics?


Which authors do you look up to?
 

Pyroli

Banned
Which authors do you look up to?

Fricken, John Green, man. He's such a brilliant writer, a really funny guy, and just really fun to see do stuff on youtube with his brother. His tumblr is seriously one of my favorite blogs to this day (Not to mention, he actually gave me some tidbits about writing and journalism; which was pretty cool and I screamed for like 5 days.). I also look up heavily to Arthur Conan Doyle, due to some of his beautiful quotes. (And the fact he created two of my all time favorite fictional characters ever.)
 

OceanicLanturn

Non non non!
I think I'm accepted, since I was added to the member list on the front page....... right?

Anyways:

Which authors do you look up to?
Considering how I like to write and yet I don't read much... I have really no idea! :D Well if Serebii People count, I have to say the author of Carry On, Blissey. //Forgot name >+> My brother like Sherlock Holme's books, but he always restrict me from reading it. Apparently, he thinks I'll set the book on fire and destroy it into million pieces, or I'll "bend" it. I think he takes care of his books better than me!

Well, anyone has any ideas for good books? :>
 

SilentMemento

Lone Wolf
Which authors do you look up to?

Easy. I take a lot of inspiration from some of the older authors. Edgar Allen Poe is probably the main one; I've always been impressed with how he managed to frighten readers so much with so few words - and to top it off, he had very little gore in his better works (The House of Usher, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado). Stephen King is another one; any aspiring horror writer should take notes on King and his ability to pull the strings of the readers' minds. It, The Mist, and The Langoliers are just a few of my favorite stories of his. Nathaniel Hawthorne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and J.R.R. Tolkien are some of my other influences. I could probably name more, but I can't think of any right now, so...
 

gorgonfish

ribbit-ribbit
Which authors do you look up to?

Oh boy. From a strictly professional level, I look up to a lot of authors for the things they excel at in their writing. Spending too much time on the internet googling favorite authors can disillusion a person. That's happened to me a number of times; the author is brilliant, but seem so full of themselves it taints how I see their work. Anyways.

Brandon Sanderson- This guy is one of the most prolific fantasy authors I've ever come across who actually puts out quality writing, barring the great Terry Pratchett. Sanderson is also insanely gifted at building intricate worlds and crazy magic systems. After he has a book published, he posts annotations of each chapter almost like director's commentary from a film, where he talks about why he chose to include certain things and remove others. It's been a nice learning experience as a writer. He also has a podcast called Writing Excuses: each week they put up a 15 minute episode discussing a certain topic about writing (they've been doing it weekly since 2008 so it has a nice backlog). My favorite of his novels so far is The Way of Kings, which takes place in a world based on coral reefs and tide pools. He actually has one of his books free on his website called Warbreaker.

Patrick Rothfuss- His prose is brilliant, absolutely mind-boggling. His story itself not so much, in my opinion. It's got so many expies imported from Harry Potter. One character is an exact reproduction of Luna Lovegood in everything except her name. He's also very pretentious. His prose is brilliant though.

Garth Nix- He's just awesome. If you haven't read his Abhorsen or Keys To The Kingdom series yet, you're missing out.

Ursula K Le Guin- Her EarthSea and Powers series are amazing. She's also very good at pacing.

Stephen King- I've been making my way through his books slowly. The Stand and It have been my favorite so far, but that will probably change once I make it to The Dark Tower series.
 
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