Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Beth Pavell]

@Juliko - this video might help:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5962hQXCLQ4

 

[Juliko]

Interesting! Thanks! I'll check it out!

 

[BackSet]

Heeeeyyyyy there.

Hi.

So... I have run into a writing rut and have had the insane idea to (gasp) ask for help.

So, anyway, I'm rewriting my Ace Attorney fanfic because it was terrible and I've run into the problem that I know (most) of the evidence and I know the murderer and the victim and the defendant (though I think I might need to change all of that) but I just can't get everything to fit together. Any advice on that kind of stuff as well as additional miscellaneous tips for writing Ace Attorney style mysteries.

 

[canisaries]

Heeeeyyyyy there.

Hi.

So... I have run into a writing rut and have had the insane idea to (gasp) ask for help.

So, anyway, I'm rewriting my Ace Attorney fanfic because it was terrible and I've run into the problem that I know (most) of the evidence and I know the murderer and the victim and the defendant (though I think I might need to change all of that) but I just can't get everything to fit together. Any advice on that kind of stuff as well as additional miscellaneous tips for writing Ace Attorney style mysteries.

i mean knowing this little, it's hard to give fitting advice, but it kinda sounds like you've maybe approached the planning from the investigation's perspective? that will be necessary once it's written, but i think it's better to make the crime and its timeline first and then think of what kind of clues could point to the truth, and what could stand in the way of it, such as red herrings or the people involved being uncooperative or intentionally misleading. thinking from the killer's perspective especially helps, since they're the reason the entire thing happened in the first place, and the goal is to expose their actions.

 

[Cresselia92]

Heeeeyyyyy there.

Hi.

So... I have run into a writing rut and have had the insane idea to (gasp) ask for help.

So, anyway, I'm rewriting my Ace Attorney fanfic because it was terrible and I've run into the problem that I know (most) of the evidence and I know the murderer and the victim and the defendant (though I think I might need to change all of that) but I just can't get everything to fit together. Any advice on that kind of stuff as well as additional miscellaneous tips for writing Ace Attorney style mysteries.

Well, I have plenty of knowledge of the AA series and I’m writing my own mystery / detective story as well (albeit not AA, it draws plenty of inspiration from that series and Ghost Trick), so I may give you a few pointers that could be helpful.

First things first, you need an idea of how the whole crime has been executed from the start to the end, maybe with some time stamps as well to have an idea of what could or couldn’t have happened in those timeframes. This includes the way in which the killer could have hidden or destroyed some evidence to cover their tracks.

After that, place as many red herrings as you can, maybe by making sure that the evidence can be used in multiple ways or that hide a secret — think of “The Thinker” clock, which looks more like a statue than an actual clock. Also, giving a potential motive or lackluster alibi to the defendant can make them more suspect and make it harder to defend them.

You also could think about some half-truths that the potential culprits could say to justify their alibis, or sprinkle their testimonies with missing info or info with double meanings.

Hope this is helpful for you. ^^

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I just realised that people in Unova seem more distant from Pokémon. There are several venues where Pokémon have minimal involvement or theming (eg: the sports stadiums in Nimbasa City), there's a lot of urbanisation but little mention of Pokémon helping to build things (Conkeldurr's lore notwithstanding), few people are seen walking around with Pokémon...

I bring this up because I'm imaging a fanfic that takes place in Unova where an outside-context problem forces people to reconsider how they treat Pokémon.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Ages ago, I saw a discussion about Pokémon becoming humans on either a YouTube comment thread or Reddit. One person suggested Gardevoir, specifically mentioning that it would have difficulty walking since it normally supports itself using psychic powers. Today, I felt like writing that... only to realise that the "I'm so above humans" personality I came up with doesn't fit Gardevoir at all. Maybe I could try Alakazam instead?

EDIT: On second thoughts, it'd be better for me to stick with my first idea instead of spending ages trying to find another one.

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but I personally don't see any reason why that sort of personality wouldn't necessarily suit a Gardevoir. Really, most Psychic-types are off to a head start, if you want a character who feels they're 'above humans', since being accustomed to having psychic powers could naturally lead to them feeling them have a 'superior' mind, being condescending to non-psychics, and so on. Gardevoir's appearance I'd say also lends itself well enough to quite a proud, assured personality, if done right. I don't know, as I say I might be missing something, but I'm afraid I don't really see what the problem is.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Because Gardevoir is supposed to be a loyal and devoted guardian angel. Unless I could use that darktheory that the PokeDex was written by the winners...

 

[BackSet]

Given that you can't fit an entire species into one box (just look at dogs. We say they're loyal and man's best friend and I certainly love them but some kf them can be hella vicious).

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

Because Gardevoir is supposed to be a loyal and devoted guardian angel. Unless I could use that darktheory that the PokeDex was written by the winners...

I mean, do you need to strictly keep to the Pokedex descriptions? I'd say if you want a character to feel like an individual, you've got to be willing to deviate from the 'standard' personalities for them to some extent. That and also, there's nothing to say you can't incorporate both traditional and untraditional traits alongside each other - to stick with this example, there's nothing to say the sort of 'guardian' figure you describe can't also be haughty and arrogant in some ways ("I'll have the job of defending our trainer because who else is good enough to?" kind of attitude).

That's my take on this anyway. I don't know, I never really felt any particular inclination to pay any attention to a Pokemon species' stereotypical personality in my own work, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on this, but I hope this is helpful nonetheless.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Quite frankly, who gives two hoots about the pokedex entries? The idea that all members of a single pokémon species should have a similar disposition sounds terribly dull to me, and pokedex entries are often bizarre or impossible, never mind their extreme brevity.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I remember once there was an anthology fanfic on Serebii based on PokeDex entries. My favourite was about Porygon.

EDIT: Also, now I feel like writing a oneshot making fun of PokeDex entries.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I have a vague recollection of who that author might be - you might want to link these things, you know, to aid discussion

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I can't remember what it was called, nor the author's name.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

@Nitro Indigo That's fine, Nitro, but it does mean we don't have anything to say on the matter unless someone else wants to spend ages digging for it.

Anyway, sort-of good news but maybe not: got an interview for an apprenticeship position. Kinda dreading the idea of working a full time job job about half of the national minimum wage. Gonna go anyway, see how it shakes out.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

It feels like nowadays, fanfics don't get famous anymore. You could say that it takes years to get a devoted fanbase, but some of the most famous My Little Pony fanfics are oneshots from circa 2011. Nowadays, most of the featured box on Fimfiction consists of single-joke oneshots that get forgotten about after a week. It feels like the creative sides of fandoms in general are dying out.

 

[hanecco]

Have fanfics ever really become famous outside of select circles? Granted, I'm not really into the scene and don't post on any major fanfic websites, but even notorious ones like My Immortal (rated MATURE for explicit sexual content, violence and self harm) are known only among specific subcultures.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

As @lapisora rightly says. I doubt that fanfics ever really got famous except within subsections of their own fandoms. It just doesn't come with the territory. Even getting thousands of comments on FFN doesn't actually mean there's genuine reader engagement or good word of mouth going around or anything.

I'll be happy to get a dozen comments per chapter by the time I'm done with mine.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I mean within a fandom. Like, most Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fans will know what Silver Resistance is, and most Bronies will know what Anthropology, The Writing on the Wall, and Fallout: Equestria are, but all of those fanfics are in the range of a decade old. Those are all genre-definers, though, so maybe those can only come around in the early years of a fandom?