Fanfics Review / General Discussion Thread

[rndmnwierd]

Going on, like three and a half years I've been here, I'm not backing out now. Well, it was 3 in July, point is! I'm ready for an update Estrea-sama!

EDIT: Oops, just noticed the update!

[Estrea]

^Haha!

I've been here for about...2 and a half years? Heh. An eventful time indeed...

Honestly speaking, writing Nanchatte Renai has been extremely difficult and painful thus far. Not that my other stories aren't difficult to write (AA for sheer length as it progressed, Gegenschein for complexity, and Nocturne required a lot of random creativity), but Nanchatte Renai is more emotionally draining that the rest.

I'm not sure if I'm alone in this, but I always have an odd sensation of being sucked into my own worlds to shape it as I go. Kind of like the Brush of Truepaint, except in writing instead (Oblivion fans will know what I mean! ) But yeah, it takes me a lot longer to write because of that. :/

And now I'm just rambling. ^^;

[rndmnwierd]

I understand, it happens to me too. I find that I write better and am more inspired when I can immerse myself in the world I've created. Unfortunately, once I come out of it, either I can't go back or it's really difficult and I lose interest in my story.

That's happened more than once.

[Estrea]

Awww that really sucks. Nothing is worse than creating a world and then finding that you can't get back in. It's like a slap in the face. :/

On another note, I actually finished writing the ending of Nanchatte Renai, but I can't post it until I continue the story to that point. Took me about 2-3 hours to get it out in a fit of inspiration, and I ended up going to bed at 7am...haha. Needless to say, I now have a very clear view of where it's going to end. Fufufufu....

[Fenrir]

I started off as an 85ers+Ayaya (who is a 35er).  Then I moved onto GAM, and now I write ComFen vs. GAM.  Even my "in Reina's head" fic was 1/3 about GAM.  Hmm, I see a constant.

Isn't it nice to get your inspiration back, Es?  Work can cause brain damage, but writing helps give meaning to life~  (How do you think I wrote most of the Love universe?  Why, sitting at my desk during the boring parts of work ).

*Comfen sense tingles*

Mmm, I remember those days. *Me sitting at me desk; phone vibrates at work; reads text* I'm bored~~ *face palms* *texts back* Have Ayaya disappear and get Miki to go crazy then.

[Estrea]

^So YOU were the real culprit behind those stories!

[rndmnwierd]

^^ 

[JFC]

^So YOU were the real culprit behind those stories!

[Foxy Brown]

So, how do people with actual creative talent come up with ideas for stories? My method of coming up with a title that seems funny to me and then bashing together a story that fits with it doesn't seem to be working anymore.

[Estrea]

^Well that seems to work when you're just manufacturing short stories. Occasionally, anyway.

There seems to be two major approaches to coming up with story ideas (I'm generalizing of course), and that is basically either character-driven or plot-driven.

For character-driven stories, more likely that not, the author usually has either 1) a pairing in mind which they want to explore (or put together, or tear apart...), or 2) they just want to write about a specific person or people. With that in mind, inspiration can come from just about anything. In our case since we're writing about the girls, media appearances and the like can give us ideas, or situations in our own lives might give us places in which to throw the girls into. Which I theorize is why there are so many high school fics around in general when it comes to ficdom (not just H!P, everywhere else).

Then there's plot-driven, in which case the storyline comes before you start picking roles that would fit into the plot. Let's take my own crazy story, AA. My premise was very simple. After having read through the entire fanfic section at the time, I noticed that there were no pirate stories! Therefore I wanted to write something with pirates in them. Next would have been "what would the pirates be doing???" and "what do pirates have to do with the story??". And it all went on from there. Ninjas, conspiracies, and Highlander jokes came later.

To put it simply, either you pick the characters first and form the story around them, or you pick a story first and fit characters into them. That's the main idea, but there are different ways of approaching the whole business. Just my two cents.

[rndmnwierd]

I don't know about the creative talent part, but I'll give you my way.


The way I think is in pictures or feelings, not words. Sometimes I have trouble getting my point across. So I usually start by imagining a scene or scenario with a certain character(s). Depending on my mood, it might by romantic or downright scary or crackalicious. Then I say, "Hmm, that might be interesting." so I either imagine the beginning and go from there or the end and work backwards. Then I write non stop until I have all my ideas out. Sometimes I imagine scenes that are far apart time-line wise and have trouble connecting the two....

But my method sucks and I rarely finish what I start. Usually, I'll write until I'm sick of it or a new idea comes along and I latch onto that one. Though my ADHD has become better as I moved out of my teenage angst years...

[Estrea]

Oh yeah, I do the imagery thing pretty often. I don't jump straight into writing though. I plan more before going into it. It's hard to continue if you just leap into it without a plan.

[rndmnwierd]

Yeah, I've recently taken to writing stuff down by hand. In an effort to not lose my train of thought.



This is filled on the other side, too, and I have it written in multiple places.

[strawb3rrykream]

^
OMG I do that too! Not often but if I'm at school and I get an idea, I'm all scribbling all over and my friends are like

I am so sad that I've been gone so long from my beloved fanfic section. There are so many updates I want to read! So please be patient with my attempt to catch up.

[Estrea]

Awww poor you. You'll catch up eventually~

I always keep paper next to me, whenever possible. I even use my order sheets at work to scribble down ideas when it's not busy. XDDD Sometimes I jolt awake at night and scribble stuff. It's good to get these random impulses out before they slip out of your grasp.

[badsaints]

*knock and looks around* What's this? I see great writers!

So this is how you plan the stories? Hmm must take down notes

[rndmnwierd]

I used to write on paper everywhere, in class, at home, while simultaneously typing on the computer. Since I'm left handed, though, and I always use crappy pens and pencil, whenever I write, I smear the sentence and end up with more on my hand than on the paper. 

So I finally broke my habit of writing everywhere, though I kind of regretted it. Recently I started doing it again so that I wouldn't forget stuff in real life, so hopefully I'll come up with good ideas again!

Ah, baddie! *waves inside* I wondered when you'd get here!

[badsaints]

*waves back* Hey rndmn!

I used do write on papers too but I end up too lazy to type them on my lappie later My stories ended up stashed in a corner of my writing table Since I'm always on the comp, I type bits & pieces of my stories directly on my lappie whenever the inspiration comes and then I'll weave the stories together

[Estrea]

Heh, I use to write down my ideas everywhere too...even at school during class, when I ran out of paper, I took a stack of newspapers and started scribbling on them. And when I ran out of that, I started carving poetry right onto my desk. I always wonder what happened to that desk...

[rndmnwierd]

 ^

^^ It's ADD for me.

All of my high school notebooks had at least two stories started in each. Except the classes I slept in, lol.