Obsolete: The Writers Workshop Rulebook & Information Hub

[Anime Psyclone]

Wow. I wrote like 500 words in my story

 

[Antoshi]

Ah, neato. I do love the sense of recognition on these forums for authors. Definitely helps me to feel like a part of the community.

Also that Plusle and Minun gif is pretty freakin' adorable.

 

[AetherX]

Happy Halloween, Bulbawriters!​

Only a few things this week. First off, three clever new one-shots from @Haunted Doll, his first in the Workshop in a little while. They're pretty quick reads, so check 'em out:

Experimentation
The Eternal Bond
The Origin of Missigno

And a huge shout out to @lucarioknight56 for finishing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Forgotten Isles, the second fic in his series. Finishing a long story like that can be tough, so congrats!

See you all around the Workshop!

 

[Anime Psyclone]

I didn’t make Reverbrations of time. @Unown Seer did.

 

[AetherX]

It also came out a couple weeks ago. Sorry, I'm tired

 

[LightningTopaz]

Good evening, writers of Bulbagarden!

Our top story this week is the Writing Awards, which are coming up very soon! There are a few changes for this go-round, so stay tuned for more details. We understand that many of you are busy with the holidays and school, so the goal of the changes to the awards is to streamline the process for both you guys and us.

Again, we will have more info in the weeks ahead, so keep an eye out!

On to our releases this week:

Our new release for the week is an intriguing story about a scholar reluctantly thrust into a mystery involving Raikou and an Unown that could have more sinister implications...find out more in Pokemon: Invasion

Our other release is a longtime fic that is finally continuing after a bit of a hiatus--fans of Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey, rejoice!

That's all for this week--happy writing, everyone!

 

[Misfit Angel]

It's that time again!

Announcements
The Winter 2017 Awards are fast approaching! If you're looking to participate as an contestant, make sure you've updated your stories since the conclusion of the Summer 2017 awards!

New Releases
Only a couple of new things this week:

• Keystone, written by UselessBytes, a oneshot collection of reports by a researcher in Hoenn.
• Infinite ∞ Reins, written by Ghostsoul, a story inspired by the bizarre sci-fi series Rick and Morty.

Other
This week's vocabulary is "concatenation", a series of interconnected and interdependent events. How many of you out there are writing stories with lots of plot threads that will all wind together eventually? Doing so properly can be difficult, but can show a masterful grasp on the art of writing.

 

[diamondpearl876]

^ On the left is all of you. On the right is me. I say this because, holy cow, there's been a LOT posted this week! I'm just here to give you all the credit that's due. : ' )
​

FIRST UP, NEW FICS THIS WEEK!

@lucarioknight56's posted the prologue to the final story in his trilogy, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Unequivocant! Check out the work of one of the WW's most prolific writers!

Okay, that's it, but there's been lots of FIC UPDATES, TOO!

@canisaries is back with chapter 4 of Hunter, Haunted! If you're into creepy, immoral characters and stream of consciousness-esque writing, her fics are definitely for you.

Chapter 6 of @Agenda's Iterations is out! As per usual, she delivers an interesting tale with a unique style of writing.

Walking With Gods by @Twilight-Kun now has chapter 5 up! You'll definitely fall in love with the characters of this fic.

Chapter 2 of @Elixir's Pokemon: Invasion is here, featuring the WW's favorite region, Johto! Seriously, you can never have enough Johto fics around.

@LightningTopaz continues nearing the end of her series, Pokemon Moonlight Silver, with Episode 106b, in which Ash and co. continue their adventures in the Ice Cave!

Last but not least, @Antoshi has released the final chapter of his work, A Blond Ray of Sunshine, along with some heavy rewrites to previous chapters! Here's to hoping we see more of this author around!

As a side note, if all of you lovely authors want to advertise your own fics on your own time and in your own words, there is always the Fic Advertisement Thread! Get your name out there as much as you can!

THIS WEEK, I ALSO WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO OUR REVIEWERS.

This week's been full of hype for reviews! A very quick word count of reviews posted just this week gave me a total of 12,890 words! For reference, that's basically the length of three average chapters posted here in the WW. That's a lot of feedback, and I know reviewing can take a lot of time and dedication. So, thanks very much to our reviewers for taking the time to give our authors some much deserved love this week! You all rock, and I hope to see you all at the awards when it comes time for nominations!

AND SPEAKING OF THE AWARDS...

Here's my official warning/announcement/however you want to view it. I get a lot of questions, you know, about how much crunch time writers have before new chapters aren't eligible anymore. Well, below is the tentative list of dates for the awards!

NOMINATIONS OPEN - Monday, December 4 - Friday, December 15

NOMINEES POSTED/USER VOTING STARTING - Monday, December 18

JUDGING PERIOD - Monday, December 18 through Friday, January 19

Again, I hope to see you all there! As usual, some changes will be made to the nominating/judging process to make things run smoother and to maximize the amount of feedback and appreciation all of you deserve for your hard work. The mods have also come up with some fun additions for participants, so stay tuned!

 

[AetherX]

^diamondpearl876 chewin me out for being late with this.
​

I hope everyone's getting a lot of writing in before the awards. It certainly looks like you all are! No new fics this week, but plenty of updates:

Chapter 12 of After the Ashes: Sasha's Story from @Twilight-Kun. Check it out if you like stories of unlikely friendships.

Chapter 7 of Legend of the Darkness. @TRNatalie continues her retelling of an anime storyline that never was.

Chapter 6 of Reverberations of Time, @Unown Seer's mysterious tale that stretches across decades.

Chapter 107b Pokemon Moonlight Silver and Week 360 of Live from the Fireside, Season 14, the long running stories of of @LightningTopaz.

Chapter 2 of Infinite ∞ Reins, a Rick and Morty story by @Ghostsoul .

Blog 15 of How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps by @AceTrainer14. One day Alaska will be brave enough to fight the creatures that you have to fight beneath the bed each night to be a grown-up.

Chapter 7 of @Sike Saner's clever and creative fic, The Worldslayers.

In OTHER NEWS, we have added a new question to the FAQ:

12) Am I able to post information about my worldbuilding ideas and/or my worldbuilding atlas to the Written Word?
Definitely! There has been some confusion in the past about keeping anything worldbuilding-related to blogs only, but we welcome you to share your world by making a new thread for it in the Written Word.

So feel free to worldbuild it up in the Written Word! I know I always enjoy reading through all the little details an author comes up with. It's still okay to keep that stuff to your story thread instead if you'd prefer.

I'd also like to note that @Emma Prescott's hair is absolutely lovely. Soft as a puppy's ears, and shines like the sunrise off a still lake. That is all.

Keep it up, Bulbawriters!

 

[LightningTopaz]

Good morning (or evening), writers of Bulbagarden! Here's what's happening around the Workshop!

Our top story this week is the start of the Writing Awards. This has always been one of my favorite times of year, because we always manage to get a number of amazing stories every time--even in genres I don't really like or typically read.

For example, when I was asked to judge the Dark category for the first time, I was initially adamant (and then reluctant) about doing so. But it turned out to be a good thing--I never would have gotten to read the powerful "Plasma's Folly" and the thought provoking "Flying in the Dark" had I just brushed off dark stories (and stories with darker themes like FitD) as all doom and gloom.

Whether your story is a lighthearted romp, or a brooding dark epic, I cannot wait to see what you guys have to offer this time!

With the awards comes a flurry of reviews--the Review Game has been updated 6 times in just the past two days!

If getting in the spirit of the holidays is more your style, the holiday writing contest is now underway.

And finally, a quick shoutout to Land of the Roses, which marked its first anniversary!

That's all for this week--happy writing!

 

[Misfit Angel]

It's that time again!

Announcements
The Winter 2017 Awards are open for nominations! If you're looking to participate as an contestant, make sure you've updated your stories since the conclusion of the Summer 2017 awards! Some categories are still fairly slim, so get out there and nominate!

Writing Prompts
This is something that even I forgot happened! Are you looking for the writing prompts thread? It has been moved to the Written Word subforum, as it fits there better. Don't forget, a new one is posted every Monday!

New Prefixes
We've got some new thread prefixes available in the Written Word.

• Popular, which is intended for long-running threads that can be contributed to whenever you like. Also includes service requests, such as the sample and name threads. No need to worry about the stigma of "bumping" or reviving these threads!
• Worldbuilding, which is intended for background information or "atlas" type threads. Wanna sum up all of the misc. background information about your story's world, the Written Word is now open for hosting these!
• Discussion, primarily intended for narrower threads which might eventually die out on their own over time.
• Academy, meant for Workshop Writing Academy lessons or informative articles.

New Releases
Only a couple of new things this week:

• So Close, written by diamondpearl876, based on the Ace Attorney series
• The Island of Dr. Fuji, written by Gama
• Derpshots, written by Derpghost

Other
I'd like to take this opportunity to announce that I'm putting together a special Christmas chapter for Land of the Roses. The chapter will feature a gift exchange and characters from other stories are invited to take part! If anyone is interested and wants further details, get in touch with me via PM or VM! I'd like this to be limited to human characters from Pokemon stories only, it'll be much easier for me to manage and write.

 

[diamondpearl876]

​

Hey, all! We're in the middle of the holiday season, but I've been super happy to see the activity here, especially with the awards! Thanks to everyone who nominated, and props to all those authors who got those last minute updates in on time. I've been there, and deadlines are usually either inspiring or just downright annoying, I know.

We had one new fic release (The Eternal Bloodline by @Emma Prescott) in an attempt to get some non-Pokemon representation! Nice!

And these fic updates!

Interlude 15 of How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps by @AceTrainer14!
Chapter 4 of Infinite Reins by @Ghostsoul!
Chapter 3 of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Unequivocant by @lucarioknight56!
Part 2 of The Island of Dr. Fuji by @Gama, a returning member! Welcome back!
Episode 111 of Pokemon Moonlight Silver by @LightningTopaz!
Chapter 8 of Iterations by @Athena!
Chapter 28 of The Long Walk by @Beth Pavell!

Also, the mod team has discussed the recent influx of Review League prizes over the last couple of months and have decided to adjust the prize prices accordingly.

Review/Beta read: 20 points -> 40 points
Shiny of your choice: 40 points -> 20 points
Chapter title art: 60 points -> 50 points
Quick character sketch: 40 points -> 60 points, 1 character max. Anymore characters will be a case by case basis.

These changes were made after gauging how much time has been put into completed prizes thus far. Current pending prizes will not have points taken away/added based on these new prices. I'll also take this opportunity to thank all of the users who requested a Review League prize this month for their patience, given the holiday season.

Until next week, folks!

 

[Beth Pavell]

You've missed mine off the updates, Super Mod

 

[diamondpearl876]

You've missed mine off the updates, Super Mod

I said this to my mods and double checked but still missed it...

Been a long week. Sorry about that! Added now!

 

[AetherX]

​

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! A day late this week for obvious reasons. We've got some gifts for you, but they're not quite ready yet, so keep an eye out in a few days

Two new fics this week:
Sibling Rivalry by @Antoshi, the sequel to our current FOTM: A Blond Ray of Sunshine.

In Search of the Polar Star by @Flaze, a holiday themed one-shot based around the new Pokémon Special characters Sun and Moon.

U P D A T E S :
Hunter Haunted, Chapter 8, by @canisaries
Pokemon Moonlight Silver, Episode 112, by @LightningTopaz
The Worldslayers, Chapter 8, by @Sike Saner
The Islands of Dr. Fuji, Part 3, by @Gama
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Azure Rescuers, Chapter 12, by @Gengarzilla
Iterations, Interlude, by @Athena
Let's Play Pokemon Plus and Minus, Chapter 3, by @SeanWheeler

The Winter Awards are still underway, with our judges working very hard to get the results back. In the meantime, check out the User Voted Awards! See you next week!

 

[Antoshi]

@AetherX It's actually 'A Blond Ray of Sunshine.' As I mentioned at the start of the story, 'blond' is the male equivalent of 'blonde'. Thanks so much for the shoutout as always, though.

 

[diamondpearl876]

I keep up with all the posts in the WW but like... every time I see an updates list, it surprises me. I did not expect that much during Thanksgiving and definitely not during Christmas week. Please teach me the ways of writing productivity, guys.

 

[Antoshi]

@diamondpearl876 Over time I've learned how I react to different situations.

In my years of doing this I know that, personally, either I start getting demotivated or I start rushing when I post up a chapter of an unfinished story and then try to keep a schedule. This becomes especially problematic when I end up getting into something else that takes up my free time or something important comes up that requires my focus instead. So, what I do now is finish writing an entire story and then proofread it before I even upload the first chapter.

Of course in-between finishing a story and starting a new one, sometimes I browse through and see other peoples' new content. It always gives me that urge to just say "screw it" and post what I have because I want to share in the same excitement as others when they post new material. But I know it's best if I just stay cool and keep writing for now.

With that in mind, it just ends up being coincidence that I'm uploading through the Christmas season.

 

[LightningTopaz]

@diamondpearl876 @Antoshi

That being said, it is possible to stick to a schedule--you just have to be willing to revise it when holidays, emergencies, and hard drive failures happen. In addition, don't be afraid to delay an episode, or even start from the ending and work backwards if you really want to write the ending first. Don't be afraid to also cut out an episode if you feel that it doesn't have a purpose in the story anymore.

If I had stuck to my original schedule, Moonlight Silver would be much longer, and would likely have extended into February. But I don't regret cutting episodes out even after I started writing--the Whirl Cup was cut for logistical reasons (had I left it in and made it a Pokethlon as I originally planned, Misty would have had a gimme Pokethlon, which would have cheapened the end of her run.) and the Ashachu storyline, even though I wanted to include it in the remix, was taken out because it didn't fit into how the story was developing.

 

[diamondpearl876]

@diamondpearl876 Over time I've learned how I react to different situations.

In my years of doing this I know that, personally, either I start getting demotivated or I start rushing when I post up a chapter of an unfinished story and then try to keep a schedule. This becomes especially problematic when I end up getting into something else that takes up my free time or something important comes up that requires my focus instead. So, what I do now is finish writing an entire story and then proofread it before I even upload the first chapter.

Of course in-between finishing a story and starting a new one, sometimes I browse through and see other peoples' new content. It always gives me that urge to just say "screw it" and post what I have because I want to share in the same excitement as others when they post new material. But I know it's best if I just stay cool and keep writing for now.

With that in mind, it just ends up being coincidence that I'm uploading through the Christmas season.

I suppose I like releasing chapters as they're written because I can use feedback as I'm going forward rather than realizing after the fic's done that I screwed up big or something. ^^; I also find reviews and being able to talk with people who are reading as motivation (even if it is awkward sometimes because it's hard not to give spoilers). I have so many projects going, though, that it might be worth trying it with one down the road and compare the two different methods...

@diamondpearl876 @Antoshi

That being said, it is possible to stick to a schedule--you just have to be willing to revise it when holidays, emergencies, and hard drive failures happen. In addition, don't be afraid to delay an episode, or even start from the ending and work backwards if you really want to write the ending first. Don't be afraid to also cut out an episode if you feel that it doesn't have a purpose in the story anymore.

If I had stuck to my original schedule, Moonlight Silver would be much longer, and would likely have extended into February. But I don't regret cutting episodes out even after I started writing--the Whirl Cup was cut for logistical reasons (had I left it in and made it a Pokethlon as I originally planned, Misty would have had a gimme Pokethlon, which would have cheapened the end of her run.) and the Ashachu storyline, even though I wanted to include it in the remix, was taken out because it didn't fit into how the story was developing.

I'll be the first to admit I love schedules and routine. Unfortunately, I react badly when they're broken and when unexpected things come up. I've gotten better at handling my reaction to that, but... it does effect my writing still. Cutting out material is another thing I'm working on - I've said elsewhere that I hate just throwing away ideas or things I already wrote because goddamn it I spent time on it, but sometimes, it's just for the best.