POPULAR: Simple Questions, Simple Answers

[Pain Split]

I was thinking of writing this Pokémon fic (and even wrote up a rough draft for the first chapter). It included a Vulpix getting abandoned by her Trainer on a blizzardy mountain range, and eventually giving up on life out there, a Cubone's mother dying from exhaustion in a barren desert, and finally that same Cubone going insane, ripping out his mother's skeleton, and finally dying alongside his mother's corpse.
Now, a couple things I was wondering pertaining to this:
Firstly, how would the readers react to this, and would it get good or bad reception? I want people to like my writing.
Secondly, how would I have to rate it? The Cubone's side of the story is taken entirely in his perspective, so the story itself inherits Cubone's insanity. He perceives that ripping out his mother's skeleton is just a twisted mental image, so that's what the story says, but it will also have some implications that it really did happen.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Firstly, don't worry about what your readers will think. Put it out of your mind completely. Focus on writing a story that's good in itself, not one that's popular. My immediate thought is to be sure that you're going somewhere with it - in a one-shot darkness for its own sake might come off ok, but in a multi-chaptered work I'd probably be thinking "Why am I reading about misery with no plot?"

As for rating, well, I would suppose it would depend on how graphic it is - not my call though, one of the mods would clarify that.

 

[Pain Split]

I wasn't planning on changing my story to make it more popular, I was just wondering what others would think of it. I want to know if people would like my writing the way I want it.

 

[Dorothy]

I wasn't planning on changing my story to make it more popular, I was just wondering what others would think of it. I want to know if people would like my writing the way I want it.

This is a common - and reasonable - worry. You could try asking people to look over your writing before you release it.

 

[Legacy]

Yeah, get someone to proof it before posting and consider their advice, but at the end of the day, it's your story you are telling. Do it as you see fit and be confident that people will enjoy it

 

[Beth Pavell]

I have a question about reading habits. If there are interesting things happening in a chapter, and breaks between the heavy emotion/action, how long is too long for the chapter? I know I'm prepared to read for maybe 20 minutes before I want to either finish the chapter or put the fic down for later, but what does everyone else think?

The reason I ask is because the next chapter of The Long Walk looks like it's going to be at least as long as Chapter Eight. Thematically all the events belong in the same chapter - and a lot of the word count will be fast paced action - but I'm unsure about whether it'll read as overlong

 

[AetherX]

Honestly, I only get bored as a reader when a chapter is really long but nothing happens. If it's all one cohesive chunk then I personally wouldn't have a problem.

I'm interested as to what other people say though, as I'm in the same boat. My most recent chapter is 11,000 words, 6,000 of which are a huge battle scene. It's the climax of the story, but still... I may have gone overboard.

 

[Dorothy]

I'd say somewhere in the 20-pages range is the sweet spot for a chapter, regardless of word count. Most of my chapters end up around 4000-7000 words and a little over/under 20 pages.

 

[Srebak]

If i could redirect everyone back to my original problem: the one regarding my idea for a fanfic. It seems that another problem i'm having with the idea right now is the thought of a loss of trust between the main character and the main female lead.

The main female lead's parents were taken prisoner by the story arc's villains, so, naturally, the main character promises to help get them back. The only problem with that now is that i'm stuck imagining a scene where the main hero and his team (the main female lead among them) are on a mission to rescue them, and any other prisoners they can find, but are given a chance to find out the main villains' master plan in the process. This is a problem because this idea involves the main character having to choose between risking the rescue mission for this important info or sticking to the plan and rescuing his lady's family. I'm leaning towards the latter; where he says saving the prisoners is more important and that they'll get the information later. But my mind keeps leaning towards the former; where he decides to get the info instead and inadvertently starts to break his promise to the female lead. I've even started to imagine scenes where she says things like "I trusted you" and "Stay away from me" when the rescue failed. All of which were things that i wanted avoid

Any thoughts

 

[Drakon]

If i could redirect everyone back to my original problem: the one regarding my idea for a fanfic. It seems that another problem i'm having with the idea right now is the thought of a loss of trust between the main character and the main female lead.

The main female lead's parents were taken prisoner by the story arc's villains, so, naturally, the main character promises to help get them back. The only problem with that now is that i'm stuck imagining a scene where the main hero and his team (the main female lead among them) are on a mission to rescue them, and any other prisoners they can find, but are given a chance to find out the main villains' master plan in the process. This is a problem because this idea involves the main character having to choose between risking the rescue mission for this important info or sticking to the plan and rescuing his lady's family. I'm leaning towards the latter; where he says saving the prisoners is more important and that they'll get the information later. But my mind keeps leaning towards the former; where he decides to get the info instead and inadvertently starts to break his promise to the female lead. I've even started to imagine scenes where she says things like "I trusted you" and "Stay away from me" when the rescue failed. All of which were things that i wanted avoid

Any thoughts

If you want to cause a rift, I think accidentally breaking the promise is a better idea.

 

[Srebak]

If i could redirect everyone back to my original problem: the one regarding my idea for a fanfic. It seems that another problem i'm having with the idea right now is the thought of a loss of trust between the main character and the main female lead.

The main female lead's parents were taken prisoner by the story arc's villains, so, naturally, the main character promises to help get them back. The only problem with that now is that i'm stuck imagining a scene where the main hero and his team (the main female lead among them) are on a mission to rescue them, and any other prisoners they can find, but are given a chance to find out the main villains' master plan in the process. This is a problem because this idea involves the main character having to choose between risking the rescue mission for this important info or sticking to the plan and rescuing his lady's family. I'm leaning towards the latter; where he says saving the prisoners is more important and that they'll get the information later. But my mind keeps leaning towards the former; where he decides to get the info instead and inadvertently starts to break his promise to the female lead. I've even started to imagine scenes where she says things like "I trusted you" and "Stay away from me" when the rescue failed. All of which were things that i wanted avoid

Any thoughts

If you want to cause a rift, I think accidentally breaking the promise is a better idea.

Except I don't want to cause a rift, not between the main hero and the main female lead (not in this story arc at least)

 

[harryheart]

Then (if that's the case) you just need to avoid any chance to break their trust and cause a rift, even if that means giving up on that particular plot. Unless you can do it in a way that doesn't break trust, i.e. she has the idea and realises that it's for the best and there'll be another chance to rescue the parents.

 

[Umbramatic]

Hello all. Used to be known as InsaneTyranitar and briefly TheHydreigonator, in case any of you remember me. I'm coming back here after RPing at another site for over two years and want to try my hand at writing fics again, but have one big problem I need to address.

My self-discipline.

Basically, my last fic, Long March of Time, was initially abandoned after five chapters because of Black and White coming out and school and life stuff getting heavy. After that, I tried to resurrect it many months later, but only got out one chapter before becoming sucked into the RP I mentioned earlier.

Similarly, a Kingdom Hearts fic I tried to write crashed and burned after two chapters because I found another writing project (PEFE) (Though to be fair it was also because I realized I had way too little experience with the franchise to fic it properly.)

So yeah. I'm afraid to do anything with my longer fic ideas because of this.

So I ask you all: How do you steel yourself up to do those longer fics and not get burnt out or distracted? Any sort of advice is appreciated.

(And should I do a oneshot or two to ease back into things?)

 

[AetherX]

@Umbramatic; As an author of a long fic, I know the answer to this (at least as it applies to me). It all comes down to love for the story. If you really love the world you've created and the characters that inhabit it, you will never give up on it. The world of Unpredictable has been my escape from reality ever since it's conception four years ago. I will never drop the fic, because to abandon it is to abandon a part of myself. I've taken long breaks from updating, sure, and I've toyed with other ideas, but I keep coming back. I realize this sounds kind of cheesy and isn't really advice, since it isn't something you can do to prevent yourself from dropping a story you've become disenchanted with, but it's the truth. The only strategy I can suggest will help prevent getting distracted by other "better" ideas: don't start something new, incorporate them into the current story! I've done it countless times.

@AceTrainer14; and @Flaze; are two other authors who have stuck to quite long stories and finished them, even continuing to write in the same world and with the same characters after multiple years. I'm interested to see if they agree with me.

 

[AceTrainer14]

I think Aether makes some solid points. I think the easiest thing to do is to come with a story and develop it from start to end before you start writing; you probably won't stick to the exact same path, but I find that by setting out roughly what will happen throughout the story, you become more committed to working on that story and seeing the end result play out. If you try planning a story and get bored planning it, then clearly you are not invested in the idea and should move on to something easier. I had friends who thought it was weird I wanted to plan things out, but by coming up with scenes that you may not write for months or even years, you keep going in order to see those scenes play out. I do not think I would have written more then ten chapters of Eight Easy Steps if I had not had my end game set out long before I began writing, and I have definitely rebuilt the path to get there (and some stuff I have worked out along the way; only recently did I properly perfect one of the villains motivations in an afternoon of inspiration about three years on from starting the story) but it is the only way I have kept going. So my advice is essentially plan your story in detail (ie chapter by chapter) and you'll be committed to seeing that plan come to fruition, and if you don't like your plan then you probably won't like the story. If you think that sounds silly, JK Rowling spent several years planning the entire Harry Potter series before writing, and look how that turned out.

 

[Dorothy]

Conversely, I prefer to be rather vague and loose in how I plan my story. There are two reasons for this. First, I find that I feel constrained by what I plot, so if an alternative road opens itself for the story, I feel like I can't take it because it isn't what I've planned. Secondly, I see my characters sort of as living beings within my mind, and when I write it's like they move of their own accord. Sometimes they move in ways I didn't anticipate, and I need wiggle room to compensate. My plot outlines tend to be a bit skeletal as a result, and my characters and I fill them in as we go.

If i could redirect everyone back to my original problem: the one regarding my idea for a fanfic. It seems that another problem i'm having with the idea right now is the thought of a loss of trust between the main character and the main female lead.

The main female lead's parents were taken prisoner by the story arc's villains, so, naturally, the main character promises to help get them back. The only problem with that now is that i'm stuck imagining a scene where the main hero and his team (the main female lead among them) are on a mission to rescue them, and any other prisoners they can find, but are given a chance to find out the main villains' master plan in the process. This is a problem because this idea involves the main character having to choose between risking the rescue mission for this important info or sticking to the plan and rescuing his lady's family. I'm leaning towards the latter; where he says saving the prisoners is more important and that they'll get the information later. But my mind keeps leaning towards the former; where he decides to get the info instead and inadvertently starts to break his promise to the female lead. I've even started to imagine scenes where she says things like "I trusted you" and "Stay away from me" when the rescue failed. All of which were things that i wanted avoid

Any thoughts

If you want to cause a rift, I think accidentally breaking the promise is a better idea.

Except I don't want to cause a rift, not between the main hero and the main female lead (not in this story arc at least)

You could frame it as the heroine not being present for the choice, and the hero lying about what happened out of shame (i.e. "it was too late to rescue them, but at least we got this vital information"). This would set up the possibility of conflict and rift down the line, instead of right away like you want to avoid.

 

[Umbramatic]

@Umbramatic; As an author of a long fic, I know the answer to this (at least as it applies to me). It all comes down to love for the story. If you really love the world you've created and the characters that inhabit it, you will never give up on it. The world of Unpredictable has been my escape from reality ever since it's conception four years ago. I will never drop the fic, because to abandon it is to abandon a part of myself. I've taken long breaks from updating, sure, and I've toyed with other ideas, but I keep coming back. I realize this sounds kind of cheesy and isn't really advice, since it isn't something you can do to prevent yourself from dropping a story you've become disenchanted with, but it's the truth. The only strategy I can suggest will help prevent getting distracted by other "better" ideas: don't start something new, incorporate them into the current story! I've done it countless times.

@AceTrainer14; and @Flaze; are two other authors who have stuck to quite long stories and finished them, even continuing to write in the same world and with the same characters after multiple years. I'm interested to see if they agree with me.

This is actually relevant to something I did in that RP I mentioned. I ran this long, epic, story arc, and I was so PASSIONATE about getting it done and making it great, and I actually succeeded. I worry that getting that same passion for one of my current story ideas might be harder, but if I can I'm set. Though I'm thinking of also pacing myself a bit. And incorporating new story ideas into old ones sounds like a great idea.

I think Aether makes some solid points. I think the easiest thing to do is to come with a story and develop it from start to end before you start writing; you probably won't stick to the exact same path, but I find that by setting out roughly what will happen throughout the story, you become more committed to working on that story and seeing the end result play out. If you try planning a story and get bored planning it, then clearly you are not invested in the idea and should move on to something easier. I had friends who thought it was weird I wanted to plan things out, but by coming up with scenes that you may not write for months or even years, you keep going in order to see those scenes play out. I do not think I would have written more then ten chapters of Eight Easy Steps if I had not had my end game set out long before I began writing, and I have definitely rebuilt the path to get there (and some stuff I have worked out along the way; only recently did I properly perfect one of the villains motivations in an afternoon of inspiration about three years on from starting the story) but it is the only way I have kept going. So my advice is essentially plan your story in detail (ie chapter by chapter) and you'll be committed to seeing that plan come to fruition, and if you don't like your plan then you probably won't like the story. If you think that sounds silly, JK Rowling spent several years planning the entire Harry Potter series before writing, and look how that turned out.

I planned out said story arc extensively as well, so this definitely helps.

Conversely, I prefer to be rather vague and loose in how I plan my story. There are two reasons for this. First, I find that I feel constrained by what I plot, so if an alternative road opens itself for the story, I feel like I can't take it because it isn't what I've planned. Secondly, I see my characters sort of as living beings within my mind, and when I write it's like they move of their own accord. Sometimes they move in ways I didn't anticipate, and I need wiggle room to compensate. My plot outlines tend to be a bit skeletal as a result, and my characters and I fill them in as we go.

I'll consider this too... Perhaps plan, but rather loosely?

All in all, thanks!

 

[Dorothy]

Conversely, I prefer to be rather vague and loose in how I plan my story. There are two reasons for this. First, I find that I feel constrained by what I plot, so if an alternative road opens itself for the story, I feel like I can't take it because it isn't what I've planned. Secondly, I see my characters sort of as living beings within my mind, and when I write it's like they move of their own accord. Sometimes they move in ways I didn't anticipate, and I need wiggle room to compensate. My plot outlines tend to be a bit skeletal as a result, and my characters and I fill them in as we go.

I'll consider this too... Perhaps plan, but rather loosely?

All in all, thanks!

Yeah, that's what I tend to do, although that might not be the best route if you don't view your characters in the same way I do.

 

[Flaze]

Nobody cares about you Jabber (just kidding man)

Well as for me since I did get mention. Ummmm....well I kind of do a bit of everything which sometimes works and others don't. But the general subject is a way for you to keep up with an idea right?

Well long running fics are hard to pull off because they require a lot of times, sometimes you might thinking of giving up, other times you spend a lot of time without updating it and well you start to wander. But I think the key here is how important you see it as and how much you value the story and the characters you have planned. See I like to plan out specific parts of the story, places that I want to get to and then fill in the gaps later. Like jabber said you shouldn't plan out everything, for me I think it's because it could get a bit boring like if you want to get to a certain place but you have to go through something beforehand, if you plan the middle parts as you go it might be a bit more fun.

But other than that really it's just about dedication all the way through. Is the plot and the characters you have set out something you're willing to invest so much time into? it doesn't even have to be the biggest and greatest piece of writing in history, it just has to be something that you enjoy writing regardless of what comes out (you do have to regard what comes out of course but you get my drift)

I've had a lot of different ideas for fics with plots that could be defined as more interesting or engaging or more ground-breaking, I've also had ideas for different types of characters that go with these plots. But there's is just one thing about my main fic that I just can't turn away, maybe it's because of all the things I've spent years wanting to do with the story and the characters or maybe is because I just want to see it through. Hell, maybe it just seems a lot more time worthy to me than those other ideas that come into my head.

Either way you can plan the story and characters as much as you like, you can take as many advices as possible but as long as you don't have the dedication and drive for it even at the hardest times then you won't be able to pull it off.

 

[Umbramatic]

Nobody cares about you Jabber (just kidding man)

Well as for me since I did get mention. Ummmm....well I kind of do a bit of everything which sometimes works and others don't. But the general subject is a way for you to keep up with an idea right?

Well long running fics are hard to pull off because they require a lot of times, sometimes you might thinking of giving up, other times you spend a lot of time without updating it and well you start to wander. But I think the key here is how important you see it as and how much you value the story and the characters you have planned. See I like to plan out specific parts of the story, places that I want to get to and then fill in the gaps later. Like jabber said you shouldn't plan out everything, for me I think it's because it could get a bit boring like if you want to get to a certain place but you have to go through something beforehand, if you plan the middle parts as you go it might be a bit more fun.

But other than that really it's just about dedication all the way through. Is the plot and the characters you have set out something you're willing to invest so much time into? it doesn't even have to be the biggest and greatest piece of writing in history, it just has to be something that you enjoy writing regardless of what comes out (you do have to regard what comes out of course but you get my drift)

I've had a lot of different ideas for fics with plots that could be defined as more interesting or engaging or more ground-breaking, I've also had ideas for different types of characters that go with these plots. But there's is just one thing about my main fic that I just can't turn away, maybe it's because of all the things I've spent years wanting to do with the story and the characters or maybe is because I just want to see it through. Hell, maybe it just seems a lot more time worthy to me than those other ideas that come into my head.

Either way you can plan the story and characters as much as you like, you can take as many advices as possible but as long as you don't have the dedication and drive for it even at the hardest times then you won't be able to pull it off.

I'll definitely try to work up that drive, since it's helped me before.