Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Instrutilus]

You mean how they're considered pests by farmers because they chew on vegetable roots, while also being valued and nurtured for their droppings? I figured that was just a case of "they're great when there's no plants and the soil needs fertilizing, but the stuff's actually planted we need to get them out from there."

Spoiler

Alternately, Sun and Moon take place in alternate dimensions. Perhaps the Sun farmers hate them, while the Moon farmers adore them?

 

[AceTrainer14]

Aslo, being in a position where I'm working/living in Hawaii proper (on a ship there at any rate), I feel like I could potentially expand the Alola region, and include/allude to even more of the references the game makes. Most everything the game references is pretty spot-on already, even some of the apparent oddballs, but I could always add a few more.

Is there actually a weird western-ish town in the middle of one island?

I'd probably want to tidy up some of them, if it ever became an issue. Alolan Diglett, for example, doesn't make an awful lot of sense as far as the official explanation is concerned. Rattata is a bit dubious, though I suppose it makes poetic sense.

I had to search this and wow, that doesn't make much sense. They could at least just admit they thought putting wigs on a Diglett was funny

 

[chaos_Leader]

Is there actually a weird western-ish town in the middle of one island?

There is, actually, in the up-country of the island of Maui if I remember right (Akala island in game, where the weird little western town is, corresponds to rl Maui). And it's just as out of place yet still kind of charming in real life as it is in the game. In fact, probably one of the few places in S/M that I can think of that has no rl inspiration has to be the battle arena on Royal ave, but I think that has more to do with developers finding a place to put the new game mode than looking to emulate rl Hawaii there.

 

[Legacy]

I always hit this writing funk, like multiple times per month, where I hate my existing stories and then spend my time trying to come up with something new to get excited about. It works for a few weeks, then I repeat the cycle. I've NEVER finished a fic before, and that's depressing. Hpw do you guys keep the fire burning for your stories without wanting to give up and start something new?

 

[Misfit Angel]

I just take it slowly. It also helps that I've invested so much time and effort into my world and characters that I can hardly justify dropping it all. It'd almost be foolish not to continue.

Actually, ignore me. I'm probably the worst person for starting new stuff and not finishing it.

 

[chaos_Leader]

I've NEVER finished a fic before, and that's depressing. Hpw do you guys keep the fire burning for your stories without wanting to give up and start something new?

Sheer stubborn force of will.

Seriously though, it's not an easy process. I've restarted one story several times before I was satisfied with it and could move on.

 

[Instrutilus]

Anyone else here play Majora's Mask? I ask because I'm beating the 3DS remake and I'm NOT a fan of some of the changes (others I don't mind and a few I welcome). Otherwise, I think its story is the best the Zelda series has done and we should take inspiration from it's development to help better the stories.

Incidentally, I've grown so annoyed by the word 'fic'. I prefer the term story, as everything is a story, while fic has negative connotations.

 

[diamondpearl876]

For me, the excitement for a new project idea has to be there for several weeks, even months, for me to even start. If it fades, it fades, and that's that. Once I start, the excitement comes and goes. I've never had the excitement diminish on a story completely yet.

When I was younger, though... I couldn't focus on anything longer than a few thousand words, and I just practiced my writing skills with one-shots across several different fandoms. I don't know what changed, but hey, no complaints here.

 

[Kharixi]

Incidentally, I've grown so annoyed by the word 'fic'. I prefer the term story, as everything is a story, while fic has negative connotations.

I understand why you think that, but to me it really makes no difference whether my stuff is a story or (fan)fic.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I know I tend to bang on about this, but I think habit is a good way of combating the various forms of writer's block. To an extent I suppose you have to enjoy the process of pushing on through it and coming up with something worth publishing. So being stubborn, much like chaos_Leader says.

There's that, and I suppose being disciplined when it comes to plot bunnies. Tempting though it is to ditch the current project and write up the really great idea you just had, if it's a serial habit then it's probably less to do with having a better idea as avoiding the one you've started. After all. ideas are the easiest part of writing

 

[Drakon]

Unstable genetic code is a hallmark of cancer and Eevee has an unstable genetic code...

Does that mean Eevee is literally cancer?

 

[CrystaI]

Other than stubbornness, what keeps me up is pure L.O.V.E towards my own work, including my own world I set up, my own characters I fantasized around, and their story I imagined for them.
Well basically I think I'm the same kind of person as diamondpearl876, so I guess I may not be the best advisor.

But that is also one true word. If you didn't love (or at least, like, or enjoy) the story you had imagined in your head, where then will it comes the enthusiasm to keep writing it out?
So next time if you hit a writer's block, how about trying to do something to increase your LOVE towards your work?

For me personally, the kind of activities I do to increase my love towards my current project so much that I won't drop it no matter what, includes drawing design artworks and concept artworks of the characters, going deeply in-depth world-building including drawing maps, sometimes a little 4-frame comic strip, writing out monologues of characters, sometimes a little omake chat dialogue role-play, daydreaming of scenes that are not included in story planning (aka the "off-screen" scenes), even fantasize some impossible "situation" for them...... (Do not ask me what did I fantasized, because it is highly censorable )

 

[Beth Pavell]

Unstable genetic code is a hallmark of cancer and Eevee has an unstable genetic code...

Does that mean Eevee is literally cancer?

Well, no, because cancer by definition is abnormal. Eevee's genetic code allows it to take many different forms, so it's got far more in common with an evolutionary adaption than a disease

 

[AceTrainer14]

@Legacy: having shorter stories to write on the side of bigger projects I find helps. That way you never really get bored with one project if you have one distraction to alternate between. I wouldn't recommend having as many as I have had, as that just gets a bit much, but some sort of alternation generally is a good thing in these areas. If you have just one project and that is all you are writing, your mind is likely to wander if you get bored or stuck, and if you are stuck then not having something to distract you in a way that still stimulates does leave it open to just dropping the story.

 

[Kyuu-Tales]

@Legacy: having shorter stories to write on the side of bigger projects I find helps. That way you never really get bored with one project if you have one distraction to alternate between. I wouldn't recommend having as many as I have had, as that just gets a bit much, but some sort of alternation generally is a good thing in these areas. If you have just one project and that is all you are writing, your mind is likely to wander if you get bored or stuck, and if you are stuck then not having something to distract you in a way that still stimulates does leave it open to just dropping the story.

I agree! I mean, I've made more progress on drabbles/oneshots I have on the side than straight up multi-chapter works. (Which isn't saying much, seeing as I haven't finished anything in years.)

 

[Beth Pavell]

Ok, Chambers has just given me the dumbest word I've ever seen. Paneity: the state of being bread

 

[Natu? Natu!]

Cancer is basically when cells divide beyond control and have a potential for spreading. Most cancer cells have an unstable DNA, because many of the mutations causing an unstable DNA also increase the risk of developing cancer. That is not to say that they are the same thing. To a certain extent, as Beth Pavell points out, genomic instability is a foundation for evolution. In some organisms with short generations and high reproductive capacity, there are even mechanisms designed to make the DNA more unstable, and we all have similar mechanisms in some of our white blood cells, who undergo a phase of their maturation where they actively acquire mutations in certain specific parts of their genome.
I tend to think of Eevee's evolution mostly as a change in gene expression (although, in realtiy of course such quick changes as pokémon evolutions cannot be described as either). What happens if you breed an eevee evolution? Can you, let's say, take an espeon and use it to get an eevee that you then evolve into some other evolution? If that is the case, then the espeon must somehow retain the genetic information needed to get the other evolutions, and that would indicate that other mechanisms than a change in the underlying DNA sequence are at play, such as changes in gene transcription or posttranslational modifications.

 

[Misfit Angel]

I got a review by everyone's favorite asshole, Farla! True to character, she picked out the most nitpickiest things that don't actually impede the story or the reader in any way. I wonder what her motivation is for being so needlessly harsh... Maybe she's hoping to crush peoples' hopes so that they don't post anymore, thus giving her less competition for her own stuff?

 

[AceTrainer14]

I got a review by everyone's favorite asshole, Farla! True to character, she picked out the most nitpickiest things that don't actually impede the story or the reader in any way. I wonder what her motivation is for being so needlessly harsh... Maybe she's hoping to crush peoples' hopes so that they don't post anymore, thus giving her less competition for her own stuff?

I think her motivation is mostly fun more so than anything else. Some people seem to love getting reviews from her, otherwise she wouldn't have such a following/reputation/attention. January is the month to avoid posting on FF if you don't want a review from her, cause she reviews every new Pokemon fan fic posted that month.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I got a review by everyone's favorite asshole, Farla! True to character, she picked out the most nitpickiest things that don't actually impede the story or the reader in any way. I wonder what her motivation is for being so needlessly harsh... Maybe she's hoping to crush peoples' hopes so that they don't post anymore, thus giving her less competition for her own stuff?

Hah, yeah she did. I think my favourite is where she picked on your main character obviously exaggerating to make a point. Great reviewing tool that - deliberate wooden-headed stupidity in order to find something to criticise.

I suspect Ace is right in that her reputation probably motivates her ongoing reviewing. Apparently it tends to see-saw in terms of just how nasty it is, so it would seem that being "harsh" takes effort