Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[AetherX]

I like that the new bird is based off of a woodpecker. That's always been my go to tiny bird for my original region that I'll never make.

(until I need some reference material from Bulbapedia)

Yeaaaah this is pretty much my problem with unplugging to be productive.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Every time I manage to close the internet and focus on writing, five minutes into it I realise I need to double check something and then Im screwed.

BTW, Review Game has stalled again if anyone wants to use that as a last-minute bit of awards spotlight-getting. There's just over 49 hours left to cast votes and update stories!

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

Every time I manage to close the internet and focus on writing, five minutes into it I realise I need to double check something and then Im screwed.

One feeling I am all too familiar with. In particular, one project I've been working on recently, to keep some creativity going while my main writing's stalled, has led to me doing a lot of research on Youtube of all places. With obvious results, of course.

 

[CrystaI]

That's why, I keep myself an offline version Pokemon encyclopedia in my computer by saving html. I had also installed an offline dictionary software that allows my to search for words from several hundreds of dictionary immediately, as long as you had installed the respective selections of different dictionaries. I develop myself a habit of saving webpages if I see something interesting and/or inspiring for story plot construction. Hence I don't need to always connected to the internet for reference material or information search, unless I requires the newest information where my stored ones are already outdated.

 

[Kelleo]

Every time I manage to close the internet and focus on writing, five minutes into it I realise I need to double check something and then Im screwed.

BTW, Review Game has stalled again if anyone wants to use that as a last-minute bit of awards spotlight-getting. There's just over 49 hours left to cast votes and update stories!

I think I might look into doing this. It seems like either nobody is reading Super Luigi or I'm just a crappy writer, because it's the only story in the Non-Pokemon/Crossover category that hasn't gotten a single vote. I hope it's the former, which is why I'm considering throwing it into the review game after giving a review to someone myself.

But I feel like it's more likely the latter in the end. Yes, Zelda: TAP and FE: Dawn of Darkness have both won the award at least once (which is why I can understand TAP's only getting one vote so far, because it's won two or three times, actually. It's good for other stories to have a turn at some glory instead at this point). But I had a lot of help with them from a co-author. Super Luigi, I wrote entirely on my own. Yes, it got fic of the month once, but that could've just been out of pity and because it was a non-Pokemon story that wasn't getting a lot of attention. I'm actually starting to re-evaluate myself as a writer here because of this. Sure, I can come up with some wicked awesome ideas, apparently. I've been praised for some of the stuff I came up with. But the writing itself? That seems to be another story entirely, no pun intended. Even my characters never get votes or nominations (I nominate them myself. No one else has ever nominated them, I think. Ralph from my FE Awakening stories might've been one time, but that's it. Though admittedly, he is one of my best characters).

I realize I'm truly not as good on my own as I am with my co-author. But I didn't think that meant I couldn't write anything good without him. I don't want to have to piggy-back off of him just to get something really good out. I thought Super Luigi was still pretty good in the end and worthy of award talk. I didn't expect it to win or anything, don't get me wrong. Or even move onto the next round with TAP there. I just thought it'd get one vote at least...

And yes, I know that not getting votes or nominations doesn't really automatically mean I'm bad. But it does mean that I'm not as good as I'd like to be.

I've been writing stuff for ten years, and I've been working with my co-author for the last seven of them. I think at this point, it might be a good idea to throw in the towel. But I don't want to quit writing. I enjoy it. Even if I don't ever get published someday. And even if it ends up being all fanfiction in the end. And my co-author would surely be pretty bummed if I did quit. So...I don't know what to do here. I don't feel like I'm going to get any better at writing than I already am given what I just stated above.

 

[RaccoonGoon]

I think I might look into doing this. It seems like either nobody is reading Super Luigi or I'm just a crappy writer, because it's the only story in the Non-Pokemon/Crossover category that hasn't gotten a single vote. I hope it's the former, which is why I'm considering throwing it into the review game after giving a review to someone myself.

But I feel like it's more likely the latter in the end. Yes, Zelda: TAP and FE: Dawn of Darkness have both won the award at least once (which is why I can understand TAP's only getting one vote so far, because it's won two or three times, actually. It's good for other stories to have a turn at some glory instead at this point). But I had a lot of help with them from a co-author. Super Luigi, I wrote entirely on my own. Yes, it got fic of the month once, but that could've just been out of pity and because it was a non-Pokemon story that wasn't getting a lot of attention. I'm actually starting to re-evaluate myself as a writer here because of this. Sure, I can come up with some wicked awesome ideas, apparently. I've been praised for some of the stuff I came up with. But the writing itself? That seems to be another story entirely, no pun intended. Even my characters never get votes or nominations (I nominate them myself. No one else has ever nominated them, I think. Ralph from my FE Awakening stories might've been one time, but that's it. Though admittedly, he is one of my best characters).

I realize I'm truly not as good on my own as I am with my co-author. But I didn't think that meant I couldn't write anything good without him. I don't want to have to piggy-back off of him just to get something really good out. I thought Super Luigi was still pretty good in the end and worthy of award talk. I didn't expect it to win or anything, don't get me wrong. Or even move onto the next round with TAP there. I just thought it'd get one vote at least...

And yes, I know that not getting votes or nominations doesn't really automatically mean I'm bad. But it does mean that I'm not as good as I'd like to be.

I've been writing stuff for ten years, and I've been working with my co-author for the last seven of them. I think at this point, it might be a good idea to throw in the towel. But I don't want to quit writing. I enjoy it. Even if I don't ever get published someday. And even if it ends up being all fanfiction in the end. And my co-author would surely be pretty bummed if I did quit. So...I don't know what to do here. I don't feel like I'm going to get any better at writing than I already am given what I just stated above.

If I may, I know that everyone writes differently and feels differently about it, but I don't think you should quit if you enjoy it. If you feel that you want to improve as a writer the best advice I can give is write even more. There comes a point where skill comes into writing, and like any skill, you need to practice it and work for it. Hopefully this slump will pass.

 

[Kelleo]

Yeah, I said I don't want to quit, and I won't. I just don't know how to get any better at writing than I already am. But I guess you're right and that I have no choice but to keep writing anyway.

 

[AceTrainer14]

@Kelleo: There is more to getting attention than simply being good when it comes to fan fiction, and putting all your confidence in an awards system that is heavily flawed isn't the healthiest way to go about things. If you want people to read your stories more, you can try being more active in the community. Reading and reviewing other people's work is an easy way to get attention for yourself as some people tend to want to reciprocate. It's not a guarantee, but just sitting there waiting for people to appreciate your work as much as you do isn't going to get you any attention. Look at yourself: you've only voted/nominated one story throughout this whole process. You've only read that one story, and for many other people they would have only read one or two stories over the last six months. Just try reading more and being more active, particularly with other Zelda fics out there, and they will hopefully read your story in return.

 

[Kelleo]

AT, if you don't remember, I recently returned from a hiatus because I was recovering from losing my brother and dog... I just couldn't bring myself to be active at that time because of how messed up things were for me! I'm sorry.

I'm trying to be more active. But I'm not that interested in Pokemon fanfiction. You could say "well why are you here then?" but this place isn't supposed to be for only Pokemon stories. And this is the best writing section I've ever seen in a forum. No other compares at all. Also, I've actually read more than just Sylvia the Sylveon... It was just awhile ago that I looked at a few other stories.

I'm kind of offended that you think I just sit here waiting, because I don't. Well, maybe I do that a little, but as you can see, I've been active in the quiz game, the review game, and the awards and such. But you decided to scrap that first one, and the review game hardly gets any attention as is.

Oh, I saw another Zelda fic on the board here, but I thought it was awful. I'm sorry, but I did. And I wasn't going to go in there saying "this isn't a very good story at all, blah blah blah" because I don't like being a total negative nancy about reviewing/commenting and I didn't want to end up hurting the author's feelings. But I didn't see anything I liked at all. I didn't see any other Zelda fics that weren't mine. And Super Luigi isn't Zelda, btw... I thought that was obvious.

 

[AceTrainer14]

@Kelleo: I'm not saying you had to have been active all the time or read stories every single day when you are going through trauma, I'm saying that now you are back you can try being more active. You might not like Pokemon fan fic very much, but there are a lot of good stories on the site, and if you aren't willing to try and smple other people's work, you can't really expect them to want to read about Mario Brothers and Zelda if they aren't that interested - it's a two way street is all I'm saying. And being active in the games isn't the same as following and reviewing stories, especially as the games never got much attention in the first place.

It isn't just you or aimed solely at you. We have a number of people who complain about not getting more readers or reviews who never actually read or review anyone else's work. I'm sorry if it sounds like I am accusing or judging you, but we have this discussion with you basically every single time your stories are eligible for the awards and it never seems as though you do anything to change it except complain about people not reading or voting for your stories. If you want people to read your work, you have to be willing to do the same for them, otherwise you just need to write for fun/yourself. I am not trying to be mean or hurt your feelings or anything like that: I am simply stating the facts.

And I'm aware Super Luigi isn't Zelda, I have just seen more Zelda fics on here by other authors. I wasn't going to tell you to go read more Mario/Luigi when there isn't any. And you don't have to go and tell someone there story is bad: you can provide constructive critcism without being completely negative.

 

[Kelleo]

Oh, oh, okay, I see now. My apologies for misunderstanding you (I seem to be doing that a lot lately... Misunderstanding people, I mean. >_<). You're right, it is a two-way street. That's a reason I started reading more by starting with Sylvia the Sylveon. I just don't find a lot I'm interested in reading, I suppose.

I don't mean to complain or anything. I'm not trying to be a sore loser or anything. Honestly, I'm not. I don't want to ruin the awards or anything for anyone either by doing such things. I'm sorry if that's what it sounded like. I probably should just stop talking about it so we can end this conversation right here. I don't want there to be any trouble. So again, I'm sorry...

Oh, I see. Yeah, but the thing is, I'm not too good at that. I often don't know where to start or don't get my point across properly. I wanted to leave a comment on Sylvia the Sylveon, but couldn't because I wasn't sure exactly what to say, and in this case it wasn't even going to be negative.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Well, there are ways you can improve...

 

[Kelleo]

After writing for more than ten years? Like I said, I don't agree with that. Neither of my stories moved on while everyone else's did... That hurts. Though it's still understandable. And best of luck to them...

 

[kintsugi]

After writing for more than ten years? Like I said, I don't agree with that. Neither of my stories moved on while everyone else's did... That hurts. Though it's still understandable. And best of luck to them...

Yo. I've watched this happen in an out for several Awards cycles, and for a while, I honestly didn't know what to tell you that hadn't already been said. One of the most important things above all else is to read other people's work -- on a grander scale, it lets you see what works and doesn't work for other people + you can establish a sense of community; on a smaller scale, they're more likely to review you back. The rest, yeah, is kinda muddled. Writing is subjective, so there's no "beta readers hate them: how 2 make instant story lose ten pounds." There isn't some inspirational combination of words that I'll type up that will make you feel better.

I understand your frustration, on some level. You've poured years of your life into honing this talent, and it doesn't feel like you've gotten anywhere and people don't appreciate what you've done. I get that. I think, on some level, we all get that. As someone who is currently unmotivated as all hell for reasons outside of this forum, trust me when I say that this feeling of stagnation isn't something unique to you, and that most of us remember what it feels like and are trying to offer our varying ways of dealing with it. Talking doesn't fix it, though. Shittalking other people when they win instead of you, shittalking legitimate attempts at helping you, shittalking yourself when you don't think you're performing to their best -- these aren't things that are going to fix it.

It sucks. I get it. Fixing shit is hard, so much harder than anything else, but it has to be done. Get a beta. Read someone else's story each week. Review some and try to figure out what you're looking for in a good story, and figure out how that applies to your own righting. Write a little bit every day. Go over your old work and look at how much you've improved. It doesn't have to be all of these things, or some of these things, or even any of these things, but at some point the time for talking is over and you've got to start doing... something, at least.

...idk. I'm always open to talk in private if this starts cluttering up the thread.

 

[Kelleo]

I don't need a beta reader when I already have a co-author. That would be completely redundant. Co-authors do what beta readers do and more.

But yeah, you've pretty much said what AT just said, so I don't understand what point you're trying to get across here. I already said I want to read some more, but I can't review or comment much because I don't know how to do it most of the time. So that's not an option for me, I'm sorry to say.

Trying to write a little every single day is easier said than done. What about things like writer's block, and a thing called life?

And...what? Where is anyone "shittalking" anybody other than when I said I might be a crappy writer? I don't recall saying anything negative about anyone except myself.

We're having a civil conversation, aren't we? I don't feel like it's cluttering anything, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

[AceTrainer14]

I do personally think we should stop things here. If we keep going, I think we will just end up going around circles and that will end up cluttering up the thread. The excuse that you can't write reviews isn't actually an excuse as leaving small bits of feedback is actually one of the simplest things someone can do - if you clicked on the link in my last post, you would see that.

And you have done a lot of 'shittalking' in the past, Kelleo. Basically every time you don't move on or someone wins instead of you you complain, and you are the only person that does that. If you aren't willing to read and review people's work, there is not a lot else you can do to try and get more of an audience, but constantly complaining is not the way to get anyone to read your work.

If you want to continue this conversation with me in private messages you are welcome to, but I am not having any more posts in this thread taken up with us going around in circles and repeating ourselves constantly.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Yeaaaah this is pretty much my problem with unplugging to be productive.

Predictably, it happened. The funny bit is by the time I got my internet reconnected (deciphering that mess of wires in the back of my computer is such a hassle sometimes), I had forgotten what I needed to look up, and figured out a different way to move forward.

And yet here I am. I can't stay away from you guys!

 

[AceTrainer14]

And yet here I am. I can't stay away from you guys!

Woohoo! Does that mean we can still get you to judge? (We're a wee bit desperate)

 

[Beth Pavell]

I wish I were more unpluggable. Some of the best days of my life have been out of mobile signal and thoroughly left alone

 

[Misfit Angel]

Woohoo! Does that mean we can still get you to judge? (We're a wee bit desperate)

We'll see. With @Caitlin; getting a full time job recently, my free time may have just been shot in the head. Someone needs to look after her little hellspawn, and she can't justify a babysitter with the current financial situation.

I think there's an inherent difficulty for me with the judging process, anyways. Seems like most of the judges you need are for the section I'm competing in. If you can wiggle people around, I could potentially give it a shot; I'll have to see how things work out over the next few days to see if I'll have both the time and energy.

While I'm here, anyone have any instrumental music suggestions? According to my media player, my least played bit of music I listen to while writing is at a mere 843 plays. The magic isn't there anymore and I'm looking for something new. I just realized there's a thread for this kind of question.