Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Nitro Indigo]

While it was my internet home for a while, I eventually grew bored of Chicken Smoothie once I lost interest in the pets, and discovered that the forums are full of pretentious and condescending people.

 

[diamondpearl876]

If there's ever a topic any of you want to discuss, we encourage you to post a new thread, or, if you're unsure how to present the idea, feel free to contact one of the mods. Even if you feel like you're not saying much, you never know if your ideas might appeal to someone else in some way. I know I've come across posts that have reminded me of plot ideas I forgot to write down and it's kicked my butt into writing all over again.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Anyone ever struggled with a chapter name before? I'm certainly doing so right now, but I don't want to ask for advice because I'd basically have to spoil the whole chapter to get some honest opinions.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

@Eliza Prescott I've struggled with titles in general. Sometimes they're easy, sometimes they're the last thing I come up with, and sometimes I come up with a good title (eg: Searching for the Aurora Australis) and can't think of a story to go with it.

Also, is the colour picker on Pixlr not working for anyone else?

 

[Beth Pavell]

Oh, all the bloody time. I can never figure out what a chapter name should be till I've finished it

 

[canisaries]

oh, so so much. i had no idea what to name my chapters in my fic dear nemesis, and in agape i just had a formula i could use (and even then i dont think i made the most fitting choices)

but i mean, i dont usually even know what to name my oneshot fics. i just give them very vague names that kind of sound deep but not really

 

[Nitro Indigo]

One on hand, I find one-word titles boring, because they're hard to search for and talk about without clarification (further reading: most Pixar movies), but on the other hand, they sometimes give a sense of... wonder? For example, the Wiimake of Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is just called "Klonoa" in English, and it makes me feel sad in a good way, probably because of the ending.

I'm making another video where I talk about book covers, and I need ideas. For one, I'm not usually negative, but I finally have an opportunity to rant about the awful visual design of the UK editions of Wings of Fire.

 

[canisaries]

i have a really hard time getting into anything with a colon in the title (while not being part of a series where all parts expect maybe the first have some kind of additional subtitle to differentiate from each other), since it implies it has "lore so rich" that one name isn't good enough for it, which to me translates to it not being something easy to get into - for example, "klonoa" is much more welcoming to newcomers than something like "klonoa: door to phantomile", since the latter has two words in it i have never previously seen and say nothing to me. it feels like it's expecting me to know, even though i have no way to knowing anything about it without reading about it first. it comes off as kind of... aggressive to me in a way, as if its world and lore were so important that i'm supposed to stop whatever i'm doing and find out RIGHT NOW what it means or i'm some kind of uncivilized pleb.

this is silly, i know, but i just have a bad habit of disliking anything that i see as being "arrogant" even if there's no such intention on the part of the work itself. it just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I try not to get too hung up on titles but there are a few things that do turn me off, so to speak. Variations on rise/rising/rise of the, etc, for one. The other that comes to my mind are things along the lines of "Eighteen Kingdoms", that sort of thing, because you know damn well it's going to involve a lot of overly neat type-based worldbuilding. Actually, no, there's one more - titles themed along the idea of a rewrite, rerun, rebirth or reprise, because the story is a fix-it fic rehashing the anime

 

[Nitro Indigo]

"klonoa" is much more welcoming to newcomers than something like "klonoa: door to phantomile", since the latter has two words in it i have never previously seen and say nothing to me.

Nitpick: the game is part of a series, but it's also the first one. I honestly prefer it when the first installment has a unique title, because it makes it easier to refer to.

The other that comes to my mind are things along the lines of "Eighteen Kingdoms", that sort of thing, because you know damn well it's going to involve a lot of overly neat type-based worldbuilding.

I'm now remembering my fanfic Eighteen Elements, where a group of Pokémon containing one of every type had to gather somewhere because two of them wanted to meet Xerneas, because of a vague myth, and then Xerneas tells them that the circle of life is cruel, blahblahblah. This fic died because I couldn't get any feedback.

 

[canisaries]

Nitpick: the game is part of a series, but it's also the first one. I honestly prefer it when the first installment has a unique title, because it makes it easier to refer to.

i know, i looked it up so my comparison would make sense. but still, giving your first game a subtitle with the intention of giving sequels subtitles as well seems a bit too confident in the fact that it will at all get a sequel... i think it's pretty easy to just call the first game "<game> 1" or "the original <game>" in speech later on, anyway.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Oh, all the bloody time. I can never figure out what a chapter name should be till I've finished it

Chapter names are usually the first thing I have, but this one has certainly been a struggle. I've actually been finished with this chapter since Sunday night, it's the title that's holding me back. Even throwing the chapter at a few people in my IRL writing group hasn't gotten results. I'm half tempted to just give it a dumb name so I can get it out the door.

 

[canisaries]

Chapter names are usually the first thing I have, but this one has certainly been a struggle. I've actually been finished with this chapter since Sunday night, it's the title that's holding me back. Even throwing the chapter at a few people in my IRL writing group hasn't gotten results. I'm half tempted to just give it a dumb name so I can get it out the door.

while i don't think that's a bad idea since in the end chapter titles aren't the most important thing, i'd recommend experimentation. maybe even use a random word generator, listing the closest hits and using them to better realize what made you want to choose those words and create a title based on those thoughts. it's kind of a last straw, but it looks like you've done everything else already.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

If all else fails, pick a quote from the chapter and use it as the title?

 

[AceTrainer14]

I do that all the time with the general questions thread. I've lost count how many times this year alone I thought about asking a question, then figured it was a dumb question and didn't ask it.

There are no such things as dumb questions, only dumb answers

I struggle with chapter titles a lot myself. I also used to do punny things but that got a bit boring. For the last two arcs of 8ES I have adopted a random theme to help me just label them and move on. The last arc was set around Janine's gym so I used words from Britney Spears' Toxic for the chapter titles. This one I thought of two great musical themed puns in a row so I just rolled with it and used musical lyrics for all of them The Need a Name thread is for more than just character names, so that would be a good place to turn to for any future worries.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Seriously, the colour picker on Pixlr STILL won't work, but the eyedropper does. Google search doesn't give me the answer I'm looking for, and the site has conveniently closed down its help centre.

EDIT: On a completely unrelated note...

As soon as it finds a male to be its partner, the beautiful flower on its head darkens, droops, and withers away.

Lilligant is always female...

 

[canisaries]

Lilligant is always female...

it probably means a male from another species, but in the same egg group.

i'm more surprised by the fact that there's a blatant deflowering joke in the pokedex.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Did we all see the dancing Pikachu video? I am not one for viral stuff usually, but that was great!

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Did we all see the dancing Pikachu video? I am not one for viral stuff usually, but that was great!

I saw it via Reddit. Does anyone here know Korean?

EDIT: Can anyone help me with my Pixlr problem? No? Okay then...

 

[canisaries]

i don't speak korean, sorry.

anyway, a writing question: how should i write this interruption? which one of the following is better, or is there a better third way?

Spoiler

I bring the bag to the front door and begin dressing up.
“Why are you-”
Of course he has to interrupt again. I sigh loudly, not that it stops him.
“-dressing up so warm? You only need to go to the container.”

Spoiler

I bring the bag to the front door and begin dressing up.
“Why are you --”
Of course he has to interrupt again. I sigh loudly, not that it stops him.
“-- dressing up so warm? You only need to go to the container.”

the first one i guess is more consistent with how i do interruptions that don't continue, especially ones that cut off mid-word - but the second one is how i was taught to officially (in finnish, if that makes a difference, i hear some punctuation rules are different in different languages) break quoted text.