NaNoWriMo: Here is my soul - please don't eat it too fast

NaNoWriMo

It's the time of the year where novels are written in thirty days or less, and where souls are devoured faster then you can say 50K

So yes, I finally took the plunge and signed up for the 50,000 word writing challenge and with a day already wasted in indecision, I spent most of my Saturday trying to get my story up and running. 

For those wondering: I'm writing an original story, one I hope to publish some day, but one I've always put off writing the first draft because seriously: first drafts are beautifully hideous and  loving them is the worst thing you could possibly do which is why I decided my time to write was now - in my nineteenth year of existence, I was going to pen an original story with no previous story background to catch me and characters completely of my own imagination.

I did it before, once, when I was fourteen and let's just say it was a blend of the City of Bones and Twilight which made it horrifying in more ways than one. 

In any case, alongside trying to get to my 50K word count goal, I'll be updating my very neglected blog in order to track my progress: 

Day One 

I saw this somewhere on Facebook and the urge to join in on the challenge niggled.

I had already declined to join in on another Facebook group event called FAGE and I regretted it enormously. 

I didn't want a repeat of that regret, regardless of the fact that I was doing exams (theory and practical, kill me). 

As the day passed by, I came across hundreds of articles on how to get started and how to win NaNoWriMo.

Still, I was hesitant. 

What if I just couldn't do it? 

I posed this question on Facebook and the response was simple: Irrespective of whether you reach 50K, as a writer you'll always win. 1000 words or 50 000words, that's more than you probably would have before.

The next day. I signed up and it began.

Day Two

I was so torn between doing NaNoWriMo, stressing over exams and just generally trying to keep up with life that I had forgotten one of the most important things about writing a story. 

The story.

For hours since I joined up, I wrote and rewrote line after line going absolutely nowhere. On the Facebook group for NaNoWriMo, I posted: All I'm coming up with is brain fart. My first NaNoWriMo is brain fart *dies*

OMFG why did I do this to myself. 

What have I done? 

Noo...I'm not ready...

Hours later while searching through old stories that were ambiguously titled(I have more than fifty "THIS ONE" and "COMPLETE THIS DAMNNIT" documents) and while rereading them, one story caught my eye.

It was a disjointed mess of "fight scene", "chase scene","interrogation scene" and "opening scene 1/2/3", but there was a summary I had wisely written down and it was the story I decided I would finish. 

Once I get far enough I'll let you in on it, but at 2K so far, the story's under wraps. 

Until tomorrow. 

Anyone taking part in NaNoWriMo? Want to buddy up for the writing? How's your experience with the challenge? Is this your first time?

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Anatomy of a popular one-shot

Yes I'm aware I'm tooting my own horn. 

No. I don't care.

Anatomy of a popular one-shot

I've written many one-shots. Not exceeding a hundred yet mind you, but I've had my fair share of them - thirty plus if you count the stories from my inactive account, and ten to fifteen on my current. 

For those of you who don't know what a one-shot is: It's basically a short story, the shortest short story ever. It can really only count as a one-shot if it's a single chapter so word count is relative. 

Some people find it easy. Others not so much.

I write one-shots as experiments and mainly to scratch the writing bug that pops up. I don't have the best track record with long running stories, so one-shots and collections of one-shots are my safest bet which would explain the number of them that I have.

I'm no expert at it, but I've come to recognize a few things once the story has been posted. An example being the two one-shots that spurned the creation of this post.

Before I give away any misleading secrets, it's important to note a few things: 

A story's popularity depends on a number of factors, these include, but are not limited to:

• The fandom you're writing for
• The pairing or main characters involved
• The genre you categorize it under
• The rating of the story

As you may have noticed, the actual writing isn't mentioned because those are internal factors and what makes a story attractive to potential readers is the bare minimum they see which in fanfiction is limited to a 455character summary, a title, and the above already mentioned. 

Note: Readers will notice any spelling and grammatical errors in your summary and it could be held against you. A good first impression is important.

Now, as I said, I recently posted two one-shots three days apart (they're practically twins), here they are, their first picture outside of my brain -

Despite the fact that the stories were three days apart they had nothing else in common: Not their fandom, not their rating, not their word count, nothing. 

But what's interesting is that I felt exactly the same when I wrote both. I was suffering from writer's block about another story and I wrote those two to make them better. They were written practically the same day but released seperately because I felt like it (no joke, I didn't think either of them were particularly good so I was reluctant to release them onto the internet).

As you can see from the reviews though, the stories garnered different responses. 

The first, my shot in the dark - first Fairy Tail one-shot was me writing away my obsession with a pairing that isn't particularly popular. I thought it was the better of the two so that's why I posted it first. I didn't expect a miracle, if anything I'm surprised I got any reviews at all. 

The second was posted under the excitement that my Fairy Tail one-shot survived without a flame or troll in sight, and I hoped I'd get the same response. 

If you're on the Facebook Group Fanfiction Writers Unite you'd know how it was received: I got eight reviews within two hours of posting, and the numbers kept going...

I still think it's a joke, and I honestly laugh about it because it's so unbelievable. 

Looking back, the stories are pretty different. 

Fandom and pairing:

Fairy Tail, though popular as a fandom, didn't have a big community of Laxana shippers.

Pride and Prejudice on the other hand, is quite active, and its  DarcyxLizzy/Dizzy ship definitely takes up the entire harbor.

The up would go to the Pride and Prejudice story.

Plot wise: 

The Fairy Tail one-shot was my version of a Laxana trope: the pairing being drinking buddies. 

The Pride and Prejudice one-shot was a complete out of the box: the pairing in the same economic situation (a trope that is rarely ever explored though I've yet to figure out why). 

It would be a toss up, but since the trope was more uncommon in one then the other, the up would go to the Pride and Prejudice story

Rating:
The Fairy Tail one-shot was rated T for safety (Cana's a big drinker, plus the trope was drinking buddies so there was that).
The Pride and Prejudice one-shot was rated K because it was still regency, no one swore and no one did anything mildly inappropriate (for our time period besides a kiss)
Both ratings show up without having to fiddle with the filters, but the more G rated it could be the better chances the story has of being read (safety first). The up would go to Pride and Prejudice story.

Word count:
The Fairy Tail one-shot was 3k
The Pride and Prejudice one-shot was 1k
One-shots are usually read because they're always complete and because generally, they're short so the up went to the Pride and Prejudice story.

Genre:

Both were categorized under romance, with Fairy Tail having the added Friendship thrown in because the actual romance was more implied. 

In that, there are no differences. In fact, having another genre can attract more readers, so the up might have gone to Fairy Tail if I wasn't so unsure of how obvious my preference for Laxana as more than a friendship pair.

Summary: 

I've changed the summary twice for the Pride and Prejudice story while the Fairy Tail one has remained the same. For the most part, both stories seem relatively simple in the trope they present - 

The Fairy Tail one-shot was clearly going to be about drinking (Cana and alcohol always go hand in hand) and I had it easier putting into words what exactly it was about while the Pride and Prejudice one-shot was a little more vague, but implies the pair are in the same situation, though it was difficult to word it in a way I was happy with (I'm still not by the way, but what can you do). 

Content: 

I liked the story more in Fairy Tail because it had a clear beginning, middle and end. I got to play around a bit with headcanons. It also read more like a one-shot despite it being 3k in length. I struggled with the tenses though, and people did notice, but overall, the response was the best I could've hoped for.

The story for Pride and Prejudice was a bit more muddled, the only thing really clear about it was the fact that it was happening in the moment - the beginning and end weren't particularly clear, but that seemed to have an appeal to people as they reviewed to say they wish there was more to read.

The thing I was most worried about was how completely out-of-character I thought everyone was, but the readers disagreed.

Also when I reread it a few hours after I posted just to make sure the readers and I were reading the same thing, I found a multitude of errors and missing words, none of which was present in the Fairy Tail story. No one seemed to mind.

So here's what I got from the responses of the two one-shots:

Write what the plotbunnies tell you to. You don't have to put it in a box and organise it. Get what you want to say out and then rework it to make sure it meshes. You'll miss the story if you're too worried about how it'll look.

Content is king. Don't worry too much about the spelling and grammar as you write (though don't post it if you haven't corrected the mistakes), the plotbunnies don't have time for proper English. Let them do what they do and then clean up the mess.

Be bold. Like this font. People want to read something new, just because it's been tried and tested doesn't mean it'll be popular. 

Also, just because a fandom or it's pairing isn't in demand, doesn't mean you shouldn't write that story your plotbunnies have been nagging you about. You could be the start of that ship's popularity. I know, because I've been one too ;-)

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Ships that sail themselves - An Introduction

A brief history of how ships came to sail themselves 

do you see how glorious it looks? SHIPS!

Ships that sail themselves - An introduction

Like most things, fanfiction takes simple words and gives them entirely new meanings. The most important words to take note of when wadding through the Romance genre (which is arguably the most popular in any fandom) are related to pairings and couples. Such words include: Slash (subdivided into yaoi and yuri), Harem and Canon Compliant. 

A word often used to describe a pairing regardless is the word "Ship". 

Taken from Wikipedia: 

"derived from the word relationship, friendship or worship, is the belief of (or desire for) two (or more) people, often fictional, to be in a romantic relationship. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with the ongoing development of romance in a work of fiction. Though technically applicable to any such involvement, it refers chiefly to various related social dynamics observable on the Internet, and is seldom used outside of that context. The methods of shipping can include creating images of two characters a fan wishes to be shown in a loving relationship with one another or writing fan fiction stories on web-based boards in this same context."

Further, ships themselves can be subcategorized:

• Ship - The idea of a relationship between two or more characters or individuals
• Friendship - The idea of a non-romantic (friendly) relationship between characters
• Sailed Ship - A ship that is canonically true
• Crack Ship - A ship that would be unlikely to become canonically true because of many fictional barriers between the characters.
• Joke Ship - A ship that is paired for fun, and not taken seriously.
• Sunken Ship- A ship that one once supported (and perhaps still does) that went down in the ocean, drowning all on board; essentially a hopeless relationship
• Ghost Ship- A ship where one or more of the characters has died either canonally or in an AU (Alternate Universe). It may be dead, but it's still sailing.
• Cannonball (also wrecking ball) - An abrupt course of events
• Shore - A happy ending to a ship
• Thunder - Foreshadowing events of a ship losing momentum
• Slash - A homosexual ship (sometimes 'femslash' for two females in a relationship)
• OTP - Short for "One True Pairing"; to deem a ship OTP, one is declaring their deep emotional investment in it; perhaps he or she feels that the characters involved in the relationship are meant for each other above all other relationships they may be put in by others
• BROTP - Related to OTP, except that instead of a romantic relationship, it refers to a friend relationship; the term "BROTP" is a combination of bromance and "OTP". A bromance is a relationship in which two men are close friends, but not romantically involved.
• TTP - Two True Pairings; sometimes a fan of a show, book, movie, etc. cannot decide on an OTP and is left with two options. TTP is used to express this.
• There are also several variations of OTP besides BROTP, which include but are not limited to: NOTP - a ship that one viscerally dislikes and is strongly against; OT3 - A ship with three participants (the numeral may increase with the number of characters involved in the ship); and depending on the ship itself and what is considered a staple of thatménage à trois, a term which mixes "ship" with another word of some meaning to the fandom.
• Shark - A person who is against a particular ship
• Ship Wars - The sometimes bitterly contentious disagreements between fans who favor different pairings of characters

 Some of the above are not used as popularly as others, but you get the point.

The reason I'm compiling this information is because when I discovered fanfiction I was quite literally, walking in blind. I had no idea what the hell a "ship" had to do with romance or what the hell "slash" was, and dear gods, could someone tell me what the ratings mean?!

So I'm compiling all this info for you lovely people who may also be just as lost as I was, so here it is: a brief, never official history of fandom shipping:

There are many ways to categorize the shipping ways of a fandom, which depends solely on the fandom in which you'll decide to lurk, but let's start with something we know.

Grandpa Hank, telling it like it is.

• From Friends: Chandler and Monica, Ross and Rachel, Joey and food. 
• From How I met your mother: Marshall and Lily, Ted and Robin
• From Bones: Booth and Brennan, Hodgins and Angela. 
• From Game of Thrones: Drogo and Dany, Ned and Catelyn, Jon and Yrgitte 
• From Wall-E: Wall-E and Eve
• From Harry Potter: Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, James and Lily, Remus and Tonks
• From Mortal Instruments: Jace and Clary
• From Hunger Games: Peeta and Katniss
• From Fault In Our Stars: Augustus and Hazel
• From Supernatural: Dean and pie. 
• From Twilight: Bella and Edward (come on, there was no real competition pfth), Alice and Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, Esmee and Carlisle. 
• From Doctor Who: The Doctor and more often not, whoever his partner is for the season
• From Avatar: the last airbender: Aang and Katara, Zuko and Mai, Sokka and Suki

All the above are considered "canon" because they've been stated, by the source material, that they are the real deal - the end game. (Note: Obviously those aren't all the canon pairings in a single fandom, but those were the ones off the top of my head)

If you like anime or read manga, you may wonder why I haven't put any up considering I'm an anime fan and I should know at least one canon pairing. Well, see, in anime/manga it's a bit harder to label a pairing canon because more often than not it's more suggested than it is stated. Only animes/mangas that are short (24 episodes or less or are less than a 100 chapters) generally have a canon couple such as "Beyond the Boundary" and "Angel Beats", in general I think most animes/mangas only reveal their real ships towards the end of the series such as with "Sailor Moon" or "Card Captor Sakura" despite the fact that most people knew they were going to be together in the end doesn't necessary mean that they will be (Hint: Avatar the last airbender - that shit hurt me in my heart).

For big animes/mangas like Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Fairy Tail, etc. It varies from being implied and suggested to being teased.

Implied/ suggested -  one character shows signs of romantic feeling towards another, however, it is either not returned or the characters in question are oblivious. The author of the original material would have done it on purpose and leave behind a lot of symbolism in the wake of it hinting at the existence of the pairing.

From the manga

i.e:

• Bleach - Ichigo and Rukia, despite not playing as big a role as her counterpart, Rukia finds her way sharing pages or shots with Ichigo. In the opening credits, they are also seen wearing matching/complimenting colours or on opposite backgrounds (he on black and she on white). In the anime and manga, they are sometimes portrayed as being tied together with a red string which in Japanese culture is referred to as "The Red String of Fate" that binds two people that were destined to meet.
• Fairy Tail - Gajeel and Levy, despite their rough start, Gajeel becomes protective of Levy and when he gets his Fairy Tail mark it's the opposite colour of hers (his is black and hers is white). His gruff exterior means that people aren't generally at ease with him and that he isn't particularly easy going around people himself, however during the series he doesn't mind getting Levy's support either after a battle when he can't walk anymore or when he leans casually on her during a normal day.
• Fairy Tail - Natsu and Lucy, of the long years Natsu has been in Fairy Tail, his only partner has been Happy and then Lucy. His team up with Ezra and Gray doesn't necessary count as he doesn't refer to them as partners, though he refers to everyone bearing the Fairy Tail mark as nakama. During the series, Lucy and Natsu have always taken to wearing matching outfits/accessories, and no surprise, as partners they are often saving each other, getting each other in trouble or running away together (sadly,not like that).

As you can see, this stuff is usually more visual than it is verbal. Some could easily argue these things away, while others will hold it as evidence.

Teased: both characters shows signs of romantic/not so platonic interest in the other, though this is also interpreted differently by different people.

I.e:

• Bleach - Ichigo and Rukia - When Rukia got taken back to SS, Ichigo went right in there and blew some shit up to save her, plus he reached an insane level of strength to duke it out with her brother for her honor (sadly, not like that). Despite claiming he was saving her as payback for her helping save his family, the other characters weren't so believing. She is often called the person who made the rain stop, and during the manga and anime after she leaves, Ichigo wonders how he's going to keep up to the speed of the world without her. When Ichigo's powers are taken away, his goodbye to Rukia is the most heartbreaking thing in history, ask anyone.
  

  

  Screenshot from the episode with true commentary 

• Fairy Tail - Gajeel and Levy - When he first joins Fairy Tail, the first order of business was making it up to Levy by saving her from Laxus, further, he speaks only to her and Juvia (without demanding to be fought with like Natsu and Gray). During the S-class exam, he told Levy that he'd make her big, an important thing since she didn't feel that she was strong enough to have been chosen to participate.
• Fairy Tail - Natsu and Lucy - Natsu's habit of cuddling with Lucy in the morning before she wakes up and kicks him out is no secret. He has also shown signs of being fiercely protective of her (when he thought she went home, when her father died, when her future self was killed,etc.) particularly the last example as he says, "You've taken something dear before me, right before my eyes." During the Grand Magical Games, he had her back when she was being blackmailed to not fight back and even when she lost, he was there to pick her up. Plus, when the baddies were trying to kidnap her, he lost his shit way more than everyone else did.

(Note: Both terms are interchangable, I just like to show some love for my ships)

Those are just my perspectives, and I'm limiting myself to Bleach and Fairy Tail because I've actually watched/read them and I support the three above mentioned pairing myself (biased I know, but hey, it's my blog).

The above examples as well as other pairings such as HarryxHermione, DracoHermione, DracoxGinny, HarryxLuna, RonxLuna, RonxLavender, NevilleLuna [Harry Potter], GendryxArya [Game of Thrones/A song of fire and ice], ZukoxKatara,AangxToph [Avatar: The last airbender], etc. Are all examples of canon-possibilities because they were suggested or implied and had built up a fanbase, however, they're either currently unexplored, wish fulfillment or have not yet happened.

(Note: left out slash to avoid confusion, but those exist in the same capacity too)

And now said slash:

Slash is subdivided into Yaoi or Yuri, but is called plainly "Slash" outside of anime/manga. Slash is basically LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) I don't read these types of fic as they aren't really my cup of tea so I can't really give in depth analysis on this, so I'll try to make it quick to lower the amount of stuff I could be wrong about:

If my research is right, the term slash actually developed from the Star Trek fandom.

When deciding on the main characters for a fic, in the past it was simply separated by "/" to indicate a romantic relationship. Even then though, the most popular genre had been romance (albeit still growing and not as popular as it is now), so when non-gen pairing was indicated people simply referred to it as "slash".

Yaoi/ The G in LGBT, is all about male on male goodness. The most popular I know of is Sherlock and John and maybe Dean and Castiel, others include Harry and Draco, Snape and Harry, and so on.

Yuri is the female on female equivalent. I'm not too knowledgeable on this one as it isn't as mainstream in fandom as its counterpart, but that could just be the fandoms I lurk. I have, however, come across Hermione and Bellatrix, Alice and Rosalie, Lucy and Levy, etc.

The remaining LGBT is self explanatory, like I said I don't know much about this topic, so let's move right along...

The next part is separating what makes a pairing (gen or otherwise) crack.

Crackfics are a different topic entirely as a fic can be regarded as crack regardless of whether it's a romance or not. Crack fics are usually as its name implies, as if the author was on crack and the story they've posted just some huge joke (which, oftentimes it is, but some people genuinely support their crack ships).Crack pairings are about the same. They are pairings that have no foundation whatsoever, and they quite literally do not make sense and have no basis for a relationship at all.

Lion King and Iron Man - Crack.
Sasuke and Ramen - Crack.
Thor and an ice giant - Crack (though I'd probably read that...)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I came to understand all the funky terms that the fanfic community comes up with. These are by no means, everything, it'll probably be updated over time and other posts may pop up expanding on it. But this is my brief guide on how ships came to sail themselves.

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That awkward moment in fanfiction when you don't know what comes next (part2)

That awkward moment in fanfiction when...you don’t know what comes next pt 2

So you’ve got writer’s block

I took awhile to decide whether or not I wanted to write anything new after I completed my first story. 

Completing a new story, as discussed before, was emotionally exhausting. But I wanted to do it again. The problem was finding a way to do it.

I just got out of a relationship with a thirty chapter story; I wasn’t ready to jump into another.

I wanted excitement, something brief with no commitment whatsoever. I wanted a story fling.

So I wrote a one-shot for a different fandom, read stories that were completely different to my own and that dealt with completely different things, and finally, started writing on this blog again.

Anyone whose suffered through writer’s block knows the only way to conquer it is to get busy.

Write. Edit. Read. Review. Repeat.

Here’s a few tips to beat any form of writer’s block with a stick, whether caused by a completed story or a prolonged hiatus:

1.       Get in touch with why you loved your fandom/OTP in the first place: rewatch/reread the series/movie/book; read stories from the fandom; watch videos made for the fandom; look at art depicting your fandom; whatever you want to get the inspirational juices flowing.

2.       Accept challenges/prompts/requests.

3.       Write things out of your comfort zone: a different genre, write from the perspective of a different character, write something you haven’t yet.

4.       Read. Fanfiction, original fiction, an old favorite, something on your To-Read list, an article from a magazine; as long as you’re reading, you aren’t doing nothing.

5.       Get some fresh air.

6.       Do your chores: believe it or not getting your mind off of writing can be just what you need. Doing mundane tasks keeps you focused on one thing and lets your mind wander like it should whenever it’s been stuck in one place for too long.

7.       Get out: you know what that is right? The thing you did before you had to meet self-made deadlines, before the write-write-write mindset?

8.       Don’t write anything. Maybe you need a well deserved break from it all. Whenever something enjoyable feels like work, it’s a sign that you’ve forgotten what it is you enjoyed about it, and that’s okay.

9.       Have a conversation: your cat, pet rock, the mailman, your sister, you husband; whoever. Being in touch with people on any level is important as a writer.

10.   Explore: haven’t been to that famous church a town away? Why not make a plan to go? Always wanted to try that café down the street? Now’s your chance!

11.   Eat.

12.   Listen to a debate: from the news, on the internet, between friends or family; you’ll either drone it out and discover an idea or you might take the argument in and have some new perspective on an old topic.

13.   Jam to some music: you don’t have to dance in your pajamas at an ungodly hour, but just taking a few minutes to let yourself go, and stop worrying about life so much

14.   Relax: do something that calms you that doesn’t involve writing – maybe play a videogame, cook, fix up your car, take a nap, internet search cat videos, work out.

15.   Watch a movie.

16.   Splurge a little: buy that new book you've wanted, that pair of shoes, maybe go on a road trip or eat at that fancy place that have those amazing pies you've been day dreaming about. Go on. I won't tell.

17.   Take pictures: mental pictures or actual pictures, try and find something interesting about the world and maybe it’ll inspire you.

.

18.   Go people watching: just watch and observe, make up tales out of your head based on the lives of random people and the story you’ve wanted to write might just hit you

19.   Exercise: a walk in the park, a cycle down the street, sit-ups in front of the tv, whatever floats your boat. The increased oxygen to the brain is a good thing.

20.   Share: talk about your writing or your ideas with just about anybody; having the chance to verbally bounce off any insecurities or thoughts you have as a writer can be greatly comforting when you realize you aren’t alone.

21.   Review: you’ve got a few stories on favorites that deserve a shout out, how about writing them in in-depth review of why you enjoyed their work? They’ll appreciate it.

22.   Do a good deed: Karma is a wonderful thing when it’s on your side

23.   Watch some comedians on Youtube (Michael McIntyere for example): whether you roll your eyes at the cheesiness or find yourself actually laughing, you’ll hear how they manage to craft a story to people and how they get the audience into their inside jokes.

24.   Edit: maybe you have a few uncompleted stories on your computer like I do, find the time to edit it and it’ll be completed and published before you know it.

25.   Learn something new: be it about your fandom, your stories, yourself or something completely unrelated. There’s a lesson in every experience

 

Here’s other lists that may help too:

5 tips to punch writer’s block in theface
27 wacky ways to beat writer’s block
Practical ways to beat writer’s block
 10 ways to beat writer’s block

·          

Got any tips of your own to beat writer’s block that wasn’t mentioned here? Share it below J

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That awkward moment in fanfiction when...you don’t know what comes next

That awkward moment in fanfiction when...you don’t know what comes next

So you finished your first story…

First off, congratulations!

Readers who don’t write have no idea how difficult completing a piece of work is, it can be a one-shot, (insert-number-here) prompts, requests, collections and full on chaptered stories.

It takes a lot of motivation to swallow down the excitement, anxiety, pride and fluctuating feeling of self-loathing (“Dear Fanfic Gods on High, why did I make it more complicated than it has to be?”/ “Why aren’t the plot bunnies cooperating?!”). Question is: Are you ready to do it all over again?  

My answer was this, “Tap out.”

Maybe I just have commitment issues. But the work required to get the story started, to keep it going and then end it was emotionally exhausting.

We’ve all come across amazing stories that sit on the first five chapters, and they never finish. Why?

It’s hard. So hard. Very hard. Frustratingly hard. It’s creative constipation really.

But you know what?

I’d do it again.

I haven’t really written anything for a few weeks (months?) since I changed the status of my story from “Incomplete” to “Complete”, and I’ve never felt so fulfilled in my entire life. Yes, the story wasn’t perfect, but it was finished and very few people can actually say that when you take into consideration the number of aspiring writers all over the world and those with completed works under their belt.

I’d do it again to feel like I have something to show for it. It was the evidence of my abilities as a writer and proof that I can push through the muddle and slug of writer’s block and lack of support and be less of the “spur of the moment” writer I was years before.

I would do it again.

But how? I didn’t want to do a sequel (which is happening anyway because plotbunnies). And I didn’t want to be a one trick pony by only writing one type of story.

But how would I be able to create another story without the influence of the one preceding it?

Writer problems.

Have you recently completed a piece of work you didn't think would ever be complete?  Were you proud? Exhausted? Excited? Filled with regret that it didn't end the way you originally envisioned it months/years before? Share your thoughts below :)

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Book Club: My Little Pony: Friendship is Illogical by Rarity the Sewaddle

“Buttloads” of random characters end up going through a portal and turning into ponies. Yes. That’s it. So far.

Book club:

A review of the first chapter of My Little Pony: Friendship is Illogical by Rarity the Sewaddle

Fandom: Xover – My Little Pony x Pokemon

The review:

I came across this story on a Facebook page for Fanfiction, and since I’ve been on hiatus for awhile, I thought reviewing a story would be fun. I might have shot myself in the foot with an x-over (hint: don’t like them) and with a fandom I’m not familiar with (My Little Pony…seriously, it could’ve been anything really…).

And since it’s the first chapter, there’s not a lot to review except for the technicalities so the bare bones is where I’m going.

Note: There will be nitpicking.

•      Numbers should be spelt.
•       Proper paragraphing. Please.
•        Indicating a person is shouting doesn’t mean you have to CAPS LOCK it to hell. It’s okay really. We get it.
•       Punctuation. Verbs following the closed inverted commas should be in small for example:

“Stop it! You guys aren’t funny!” Exclaimed a new voice.

Should be:

“Stop it! You guys aren’t funny,” exclaimed a new voice.

Or:

“Stop it,” exclaimed a new voice, “you guys aren’t funny!”

Or:

A new voice exclaimed, “Stop it! You guys aren’t funny!”

Even if it is a writer's first story online, I still feel that what you learn in English class applies so I take no mercy when it comes to the structure of a story. Everything else is based on personal preference.

And now, said personal preferences.

The descriptions – there isn't anything memorable or interesting. Only for the character’s appearances and by that I mean what the ponies look like.

What the actual characters look like before isn’t really mentioned it’s simply assumed. Which wouldn’t be wrong considering people would be reading the story because:

• .      They enjoy My Little Pony and Pokemon so therefore have extensive knowledge on both fandoms.

And

• .      They enjoy the two together.  

Still, the extra description wouldn't do anyone too much harm.

There are also action descriptions like falling into the vortex, but it reads like a cliché. The transformation is alright, but it felt rushed.

I thought there would be more Pokemon to be honest. The fact that Ash had gotten Professor Oak to come and see him slip into the portal took nary a page. And the description about the chicken (I assume?) resembling an Eevee? His new form resembling a Ponyta? Superficial use of Pokemon-verse. It might be relevant as Ash is from the Pokemon universe, but it felt tacted on.

If maybe Ash was in a panic/excitement that he thought he was being turned into a Ponyta and he tried to do some sort of attack after his transformation was complete maybe I’d buy it…maybe.

The dialogue is stilted, there’s nothing natural about it. Scootaloo goes from calling Ash a jerk to “wanna be friends?” in the span of a single line.

Obviously I wasn't meant to like x-overs, but my preference stands. The reason being: bringing two (or more) universes together can be tricky and I personally see it as more work on both the author and the readers part to keep up with all the references, characters, setting, etc. This wasn't horrible, but I won't be reading any more x-overs any time soon.

Brownie points: An interesting premises. Maybe. I don’t usually read x-overs.

Health deductions:

He’s going…he’s going; he’s....lost.

Red pen level: 6/10

Punctuation. Paragraphing. 

And please don't shout things in CAPS. I know it's emphasis that the character is shouting, but it hurts my eyes.

Characterization: ?/10

I can only do this for Ash and nine year old him sounds about right…stupidly slipping in a vortex, being overly excited and eager…yes, sounds about right.

7/10

Plot: 0/10

Based on the first chapter, very little is actually established. The character goes through a vortex and becomes a pony. That’s great. And then? It’ll probably be answered in future chapters, but there isn’t any stakes raised or any other kind of plot mentioned.

Overall: 3/10

Recommendation:

Take your time: Describe the universes your characters were in before landing up in Evertree forest and becoming ponies. Describe how they feel and think vividly from their perspective when they transform, imagine having the senses of a pony and attribute it to how your character may or may not have trouble adapting to being something that they weren’t before.

Read dialogue out loud: Think about how you would have a conversation with someone you haven’t met before. You’re lost and confused. Answer from the character’s perspective. Bender, for example, would say something inappropriate or be losing his mind that he’s an animal and not a robot who runs on booze.

Make sense. Please. I still have no idea what the hell is happening, and I realize its only the first chapter, but I took a glance at the second and there’s just more characters rocking up…Princess Twilight can be interested in the human world, but WHY AND FOR WHAT, I’d love to know.

Have you read this fanfiction? Do you think I got it right, or are we going to agree to disagree? Review the fic in question or leave me a line below. 

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