Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Greninjaman]

Suggestion: move it forward and make it a flashback.

Timeskips and flashbacks can help move a story along. I do agree.

 

[Welkamo]

I've been posting a lot of old oneshots on AO3, which is sort of lessening the guilt I feel about not updating PHAV in a while.

Also holy crap I need to write happy things.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I've taken a break from writing fanfiction this week due to burnout. Instead, I'm finally trying to give form to my original story idea about a scarred griffon in an idyllic-ish fantasy world.

 

[Greninjaman]

I've taken a break from writing fanfiction this week due to burnout. Instead, I'm finally trying to give form to my original story idea about a scarred griffon in an idyllic-ish fantasy world.

A thought just occurred to me after reading your post:
At what point is a story original or fanfic? Where is the line? If I were to drop a Pikachu into an original story, would it be fanfic? If I put Pikachu into my Final Fantasy story, would it become a Pokémon/Final Fantasy crossover story?

 

[Welkamo]

I've taken a break from writing fanfiction this week due to burnout. Instead, I'm finally trying to give form to my original story idea about a scarred griffon in an idyllic-ish fantasy world.

Take a break if you need to. I had burnout the other day, and ahhh it wasn't fun.

I have an original story idea, but I probably won't post about it here.

A thought just occurred to me after reading your post:
A what point is a story original or fanfic? Where is the line? If I were to drop a Pikachu into an original story, would it be fanfic? If I put Pikachu into my Final Fantasy story, would it become a Pokémon/Final Fantasy crossover story?

I mean, if a character in my original story likes Pokémon as a franchise, then that doesn't automatically make my story a fanficiton. It's a similar case if, say, I make a reference to Pokémon in my cartoon by having a Pikachu cameo.

From the Wikipedia article "fan fiction":
"Fan fiction is defined by being related to its subject's canonical fictional universe, either staying within those boundaries but not being of the canon itself, or else branching outside of it into an alternative universe."

There's the difference, I think.

 

[Galactic_V]

I mean, if a character in my original story likes Pokémon as a franchise, then that doesn't automatically make my story a fanficiton. It's a similar case if, say, I make a reference to Pokémon in my cartoon by having a Pikachu cameo.

From the Wikipedia article "fan fiction":
"Fan fiction is defined by being related to its subject's canonical fictional universe, either staying within those boundaries but not being of the canon itself, or else branching outside of it into an alternative universe."

There's the difference, I think.

Exactly. Otherwise The Simpsons and Family Guy are also fanfics? A fanfic is when you create a story based on some franchise that doesn't belong to you (for eg you write something about a character who seeks to be a Pokemon trainer, and meets and interacts with Pokemon characters), and note that it applies to everything from games to texts to animated series, anything you produce that someone else has the copyright is a fanfiction.

You can very well make references and\or parodies in your original work though, it's completely fine and legal. One of your OCs is a Pokemon fan, and they're constantly making Pokemon references, that's fine. Or writing a scene to look like something from another work, but in a way to produce comedy, is characterized as a parody (even though I think it's a little hard to define what a parody is exactly...).

Now, about cameos, it's a little complicated. It's completely legal, I believe, in the case it falls in the parody and\or reference scenario. You can't have a Pikachu be a recurring character in your original work, otherwise it may be a copyright infringement.

 

[Welkamo]

(even though I think it's a little hard to define what a parody is exactly...)

Satire/Parody/Pastiche - TV Tropes

There seems to be confusion here, elsewhere on the internet and in the wider world about what satire actually is. To help make things a little less complicated, here's a handy-dandy breakdown of three useful words for you to cut out and keep.

tvtropes.org

 

[BackSet]

The problem with parodies is they're very hard to pull off and most end up being shallow and not even resembling their source material (or basically being identical to their source material with changed up names).

I have opinions on parodies.

 

[Greninjaman]

I have a question about titles. Here is a bit of context:
"Emmy goes to the library to pick up a book titled Moby Dick."

Do you just leave the title of the book as is or do you underline it or something?

 

[Welkamo]

I have a question about titles. Here is a bit of context:
"Emmy goes to the library to pick up a book titled Moby Dick."

Do you just leave the title of the book as is or do you underline it or something?

Book titles are italicized, and so are movies, TV shows, vehicles, paintings, sculptures, albums and other large works.
"Things like songs, chapter titles, photographs, poems, and short stories use quotation marks.

 

[Greninjaman]

Book titles are italicized, and so are movies, TV shows, vehicles, paintings, sculptures, albums and other large works.
"Things like songs, chapter titles, photographs, poems, and short stories use quotation marks.

What about the names of boats? I have been italicizing them.

 

[Welkamo]

What about the names of boats? I have been italicizing them.

Yes, because boats are vehicles (ex. RMS Titanic.)

 

[SuperTrainStationH]

Yes, because boats are vehicles (ex. RMS Titanic.)

Check out the Wikipedia article for the Space Shuttle OV-104 Atlantis, you can get a peek of how it's deployed in some actual "formal" writing.

 

[Greninjaman]

I am writing a part for my story, and a question popped up while I was writing: Is it really stealing if the item is being taken from a place that has been abandoned for years?

 

[BackSet]

I am writing a part for my story, and a question popped up while I was writing: Is it really stealing if the item is being taken from a place that has been abandoned for years?

Internet says yes but it only counts as theft as opposed to burglary. Apparently the two are different things.

 

[Greninjaman]

Internet says yes but it only counts as theft as opposed to burglary. Apparently the two are different things.

It is odd that they are two different things when they imply the same thing...

 

[LightningTopaz]

As I'm writing my series of theater stories, I have one nagging question--how much of the plays do I need to show my audience? I obviously want to show exciting and memorable scenes that the Sensational Six (Ash-Misty-Brock-Serena-May-Dawn) are part of, but I have established that plays in this imagined genre of theater can last for way longer than a real world play or musical, and I don't want to drag the performance scenes out for too long (and create very long multipart episodes).

For now, I am showing:

--Memorable moments.character thoughts during rehearsal
--A few exciting/memorable part(s) of the performance itself
--What the gang is doing during free time in between shows (when they stop in a town)

Is this reasonable to show? Do I need to show more, or am I not showing enough?

 

[Welkamo]

As I'm writing my series of theater stories, I have one nagging question--how much of the plays do I need to show my audience? I obviously want to show exciting and memorable scenes that the Sensational Six (Ash-Misty-Brock-Serena-May-Dawn) are part of, but I have established that plays in this imagined genre of theater can last for way longer than a real world play or musical, and I don't want to drag the performance scenes out for too long (and create very long multipart episodes).

For now, I am showing:

--Memorable moments.character thoughts during rehearsal
--A few exciting/memorable part(s) of the performance itself
--What the gang is doing during free time in between shows (when they stop in a town)

Is this reasonable to show? Do I need to show more, or am I not showing enough?

You could always summarize less important parts and only show the highlights/greatest hits/most important scenes.

 

[BackSet]

It is odd that they are two different things when they imply the same thing...

Not quite. Theft involves the taking of someone else's property while burglary actually covers a wide variety of crimes, including theft, that are done after one has committed a B&E (Breaking and Entering). So if you break into a home and then set it on fire while still in the home, that's still burglary. At least, under Washington state law.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Indeed - I think all Common Law jurisdictions make this distinction. It's like the difference between assault and battery - you might say assault is making someone think you're going to hit them, while battery is carrying that threat out.