I've come to the conclusion lately that writing is a lonely hobby, and by lonely I don't mean that the action of putting words on paper makes one feel isolated (although I wouldn't rule out the possiblity because us artsy types can feel particularly angsty while transcribing our feelings into words). I mean that we are putting down a world that until recently only existed inside our heads, and unless we have a dedicated fanbase--often not the case unless you're Stephen King--very few people ever know of this world we've poured hours of work into describing on paper.

Because writing can be lonesome, I decided to start this club. Basically, it's your space to do with what you will. Post your writing, seek out advice, discuss strategies, works that inspire you, talk about your current projects (because the writers out there will back me up when I say that you always have some kind of story or set of characters kicking around in your head even if you're not putting anything down yet), etc.

I only have one standard I want to set up in advance: please don't just say "I'll join!" and let that be your only post here. The point of this club isn't for you to have one more membership under your belt; it's for you to really connect with other writers. Discuss what you wish as long as it pertains to writing, but please, discuss a lot! There's so much to talk about in the world of writing, and I want this club to be a way for us writers to feel just a little less lonely. ^_^

Writers Roster
Sadhana
icor
KeKe
NekoDono
AugoraTheMateria
Kusari Yarou
Yukari
Lutearina
Materia Thief
Sora G. Strife
Damaged
Tifa Lockhart
Angelwing Aeris
Alantie

Banner by Damaged:

Great idea, Sadhana. I'd love to join, because I do spend rather a lot of time writing. :lol:

Please let me join, Sadhana! Writing truly is my passion, but I'm kind of down lately as i haven't felt the urge to put anything down on paper. Even when I've got several books planned out in my head, just waiting for the world to read them. I'm so glad you thought of this!

Of course you can join! I'm glad you like to the idea. :lol:

As for issues with putting things down, might as well get the conversation ball rolling with a topic that we all know too well... Writer's block.

I have a rather painful encounter with writer's block, and as the case often is, it sucks. :( I have the premise for a story with the main characters already created in my head. However, I can't seem to break through the second chapter. I'm a big advocate of the "don't over plan, just write" principle, but whenever I "just write," no plot comes out. Anyone have any advice on how to get the story started? Because I love the idea for this book too much to throw it in my mental wastebin, where many old stories lay crumpled up.

Hmm... I'm kind of in the same position. I have an awful habit of writing one or two chapters of something, then losing my fire. In fanfiction I started writing just one-shots, but now its' difficult for me to churn out a drabble.

My advice would be to write up a very loose outline - you don't have to put much detail in it, just a few thoughts on how the story will go. Even if you have another idea, you can put it in the outline and work around it. That way you have some room to manuever.

Yeah, something like that. :lol: I'm sorry, I'm terrible at explaining things.

Sign me up. My dad is an author and so am I! I don't write just fan fictions either. I write short stories, poetry, and such. I've personally always considered writing an art form. You need creativity to do it!

I'll join too! I'm currently writing about four stories at the moment. 3 fanfictions and one based on a mystery video game. I always have writer's block and I hate it so much.

A couple times I wrote stories on my computer and then the computer crashes, and the biggest problem is that I don't remember what I wrote! :lmao: That's when I started writing my stories in notebooks.

And besides stories, I write skits. And once again, my computer crashed and I lost my longest skit (it was only three pages). So I have a notebook for skit writing.

Yay!! :woot: Thanks Sadhana!! I'm no writers and I suck in writing, but I do louuuuuuve to read CXA fanfics so much!! Your idea of welcoming all great authors with a club is amazing! Big thank to all of you, guys/girls, go write more I'm begging ya!! :huggle:


......sorry I'm not her to sign up, simply wanna support this club by claps. :blush:

Oh, what a wonderful idea for a club! I'd love to join!
My favorite, favorite book is "On Writing" by Stephen King...shows how much I love the craft :D
And you guys should go read that book NOW, it's wonderful and true and inspiring- it's my writing bible :lol:

I'll definitely sign up for this! I've been writing stories ever since I was a kid, and right now I'm doing a degree in English Studies where creative writing modules are mandatory each year. I'm loving it at the moment, it's great to have the opportunity to just spend an hour and a half in a seminar and discuss short stories and novels, and do writing exercises. Last week, in my short story seminar, the tutor asked us to just write, without thinking about the story at all, and see how long it took us to develop the story and have an idea what it was about, trying to keep writing for as long as possible without knowing where the story was going to go. Also, another exercise we did was to take a random sentence from a book and have that as the opening sentence for a short story, and see where things went. Try one of those two, Sadhana, it's strange how a story can unfold when you do something seemingly silly like that. Even if you don't get much, you might get two or three really good lines of prose!

My novel writing tutor is awesome. Last week she showed us extracts from novels to help show us how to shape characters. She used the description of Julie in Anne Rice's Ramses The Damned as an example of how not to do things. I couldn't help but lol, and think of Anne's big 'dickensean principles' Amazon rant after that.

But anyway, thanks for starting this club, Saddie! Hopefully we'll all be able to help, critique and support each other.

KeKe and Yukari: Thanks for advice! As for an outline, I can try, but I'm a bit unfamiliarized with the process since I haven't written one in at least 8 or 9 years. Yukari, those sound like some good exercises that I'll definitely give a shot. The last thing I want is for this story to sit on the shelf because I don't know where to take it. I hate it when the potential for a good novel just gathers dust and loses its magic. :no:

Ughh, I love that book. When I first got it, it was one of those books that I read cover to cover in one sitting. I keep it on my writing desk at all times for quick reference. :)

Alright, so here are some simple enough conversation starters: What kind of writing do you like to do? Poetry, prose, etc? How long have you been writing? Current projects?

As for me, I am very much a novelist. How long have I been writing novels? Ehh, pretty much always. I finished my first novel when I was 11 or 12, and it was awful but completing is still one of my proudest achievements. I've finished one other novel since then, about 3 or 4 years ago. Since then, I haven't written a whole lot. I started a new novel a few months ago--thus far untitled--and I love the concept for it. It might be too big for me, but that's what revisions are for, right?

I don't dabble very much in other forms of writing. Poetry is as an overwhelming amount of complexitiy in a compact space, and I lack the talent to make my poems work (kudos to all you poets out there 'cause I really don't know how you guys do it!). I've been known to do a little bit of fanfiction should the mood strike me, but even that is a spur of the moment mini-project that I don't revise or edit almost ever. I've done a little bit of journalism though, writing opinion columns.

Writing novels would totally be my dream profession, if it were achievable. But regardless of whether or not I could ever make a living out of it, I'll always be writing. I don't think I'd be physically capable of attempting otherwise. ^_^

I'll start. I like to write long stories like a novel. I don't really like writing in chapters till I'm done writing the whole story but I do write in chapters. I haven't really done any short stories yet. I might though.

I don't write poetry. I don't have that skill. I did try though when I was 11 but they were little stupid things. :lmao: I don't have them anymore.

I've been writing since we had to writing projects in school in Writing Class. But I started writing independently when I was 12. So I've been writing for 5 years off and on.

As I stated before, I'm currently on 4 projects. Hopefully I'll finish one before I finish high school. :lmao:

Here's a question: what do you use to write? Computer? Pen/pencil and paper?

I use Pen/pencil and paper. Computer became unreliable when they started crashing.

My *very* first story was actually a 20 page sci-fi anime-ish story that I wrote at 14...so, SO full of cliche dialogue and fangirl-ed characters that I blush to read it now.

...and yet it's so dear to me that I practically went insane and desperately begged my uncle to save it from the computer that went wonky. It was the ONLY file that was retrieved, and I was(and still am) very glad. Sigh...there's just something about your "first baby" eh? :lol:

What kind of writing do you like to do? Poetry, prose, etc? How long have you been writing? Current projects?

My gosh, you guys write novels?! *bows to you both* University doesn't leave me room for anything but short stories nowadays, and that's just so hard, as I currently have a fledgling chaptered fic on FF.net that I want desperately to continue. Sigh. How *does* one get back into the verve of something that she started writing long ago? :whistle:
That's not to say that I don't cherish my one-shots...I pour my creative energy and my love for the characters into them! In writing for my fandoms, I live by what Buffy creator Joss Whedon says:

That rings so true for me!
And I'd much rather have a character-focused, 'plotless' read, than a 'thrill-a-minute ride'. It's why I always liked "The Rule of Four" better than "The Da Vinci Code" even though the rest of the world basically bashed the former, and fangirled/fanboyed over the latter :ermm:

I certainly don't want to limit myself to shorts...aside from loving it, you also gotta *grow* as a writer, right? I have such ideas for chaptered fics running around in my head! So much that I want to unleash them on my fandoms...if I only had the proper drive, and the creative energy, and the patience for actual research(because I never want to sound amateur), and most importantly, the TIME. Sigh.

what do you use to write? Computer? Pen/pencil and paper?
A little bit of both!
When I get the tiniest twinge of an idea...I immediately jot it down in my special 'writing journal' so it won't be lost. It could be a quote that I can totally see a character saying; it could be just a catchy passage of prose. Just the little mgic spark to build my opus upon! :P
Now when I'm putting the pieces together into one story...I use the computer. Yes I suppose what Stephen King says is true: that sometimes, the computer can be a 'trap' that can lead a writer to be unneccessarily verbose just because he/she likes the sound of the computer keys. And hell, my handwriting may suck I'm a monster typist and that beautiful 'clickety clack' is one of my favorite noises in the world :lol:
But for some reason,the computer gives me a better outlook on how I should present my 'magic'. Because it is after all the same medium that the fanfic readers will use. *shrug* Also, as I mentioned, I'm a very fast typist and I prefer the keyboard to the pen when I'm finally "downloading what's in my head directly to the page"(<Stephen King again...gawds, I love that guy!)

As if I haven't babbled here long enough, here's my query for fellow fanfic writers: what do you think makes a good summary? I've noticed that my fics with the 'serious' summaries get less reviews and hits than the ones with the lighthearted ones-which happen to be shipper fics! Or is this just a case of shipper fics simply being more popular? :hmm:

*gasps*

Why have I not joined this club?! I simply ADORE writing. It's one of my greatest hobbies, and there's no describing the wonders of writing, you know? :heart:

I'm in a Creative Writing class at my school, my first period. It's a pretty small class, nine people (not counting the teacher), but it's really nice that way because we feel sort of like a little family. xD Corny, but true.

I have two novels I'm planning to write, and I've written a ton of poetry and a couple short stories. :lol: I need to work on my character development/descriptions before I start the actual story, though. <3

So, sign me up, if you please! :fangirl:

Mostly, I use the computer. For me, it's much faster, and I don't have to deal with the very un-fun hand cramps I can get from writing excessively. Also, it makes the process of editing and revising neater and cleaner. Copy and paste this line over there, delete this paragraph, change this word to that word. My handwriting is messy enough as it is, and to have to do all that on paper would be a horrid massacre of scribblings.

However, I do use pen and paper occasionally. I don't have a laptop, so whenever I'm not around my computer, I carry a pen and my writing journal. My writing journal is confined to containing short stories though because I really couldn't handwrite more than 15 pages.

Lute, I added you to the members list! ^_^

I'd like to join~

What kind of writing do you like to do? Poetry, prose, etc? How long have you been writing? Current projects?

I write both poetry and prose--it's mostly whatever hits me at the moment. I've been writing since they've forced me to write in elementary school, so uh--don't know how long that's been. :lol:

Current project is setting up for "The Butterfly Contract," my NANOWRIMO project of the year. It was actually last year's as well, but I got nowhere near finished with it, so I'm hoping to re-write and start it up again. :]

Oh, and my short story for the "Hands" theme of CxA. I'd actually like some feedback on it, because I know how I want it to go (generally), but I'm unsure of what is there at the moment. :unsure:

What kind of writing do you like to do? Poetry, prose, etc? How long have you been writing? Current projects?


I'm almost strictly prose, but every once in a while I churn out a few song lyrics. Poetry has never been my strong point. I've been writing since first grade, at least that's when I first remember turning in a short story.

Current projects? Two fanfiction commisions for a friend at school and a novel. Novel is coming along real slow, though. All I've got so far is a few scenes written up in my English journal. However, I have a good portion of the plot figured out.

By the way, what do you guys think of fanfiction commisions? I've heard of some people that do it, but I'm personally scared of commisioning to anyone I don't know personally. It's not like fanart - you can't put a watermark on it or anything, and even if you sign it a determined person could just retype the whole thing for themselves. But then again, I guess its less dangerous than posting your work on a website, where anyone can copy and paste it. Plus, they can't publish it. I don't know. I'm kind of on the fence here.

I've, quite honestly, never heard of fanfiction commissions. I've done requests before, but never something for money. I don't understand how that would work, regardless. :ermm:

I assume it would be similiar to taking fanart commisions, except charging by length instead of by coloring or complexity. Most fanart commisioners use paypal, so I guess it would be the same for fanfiction.

I personally have never seen a fanfiction commisioner, but I talked to my friend about it and she says she's seen some people on deviantart do it, but I'm not sure.

MT, you've been added to the roster. :P

I have good news! I'VE BROKEN THROUGH MY WRITER'S BLOCK!!! :dance: Don't you love it when that happens?

This morning, I woke up a little earlier than I needed to for class, but I couldn't go back to sleep. So I decided to spend the extra time meditating. Apparently, all I really needed was to clear my mind because I was only meditating for 15 minutes when... EURKEA! I figured out exactly what was preventing the story from beginning. All I needed was to add one extra sentence at the end of the first chapter and to alter the first sentence of the second chapter.

I'm proud to announce that my story is finally flowing smoothly, and I'm full of that feverish excitement you get when you're full of a book to write. Plus, I found the perfect epigraph, and it's a great opening for the novel.

Basically, I'm really happy! :D

Congrats, Sadhana!

Surprisingly, I was able to write about four pages out for my novel. Not a lot, but with my limited time it's quite an accomplishment for me. :lol: I find it best when I have mood music available, and the Crisis Core soundtrack has been a wonderful source of inspiration. Plus, I added a new character, and I like the way he's turning out. One of the main characters also got a slight adjustment.

I feel happy. :D

I'm so happy to hear that, Sadhana! I know how much writer's block can get a person down, so it's great you've broken through it. :huggle:

What kind of writing do you like to do? Poetry, prose, etc? How long have you been writing? Current projects?

I never thought I could write poetry until I did a creative writing module in it last year and I had to do it. I wrote three poems, a sonnet, a free verse, and a ballad, and by the end of it, I did have something I was proud of in my free verse poem. (I submitted it to my uni's literature magazine and they included it!) I think with poems you get an idea that they have to be deep, or dark, or clever, or make you think, but they don't. My free verse was a silly poem about being drunk and meeting a guy.

But I definitely don't consider myself a poet. I write prose fiction, mostly from first person perspective, 'cause I like to be right inside a character's head, focus on one character and develop other characters through how they interact with the main character. And I probably wrote 'character' far too many times in that sentence. :lol:

I've been writing ever since I was able to. When I was six, my mum used to be a dinnerlady at the school I went to. She said that my teacher told her that when it was time to mark our stories, she'd always get a cup of tea and put her feet up to read mine, 'cause she knew it'd make her smile.

Current projects? At the moment I'm working on two short stories and the first 4500 words of a novel for my uni modules. However, the novel I'm working on for creative writing is the same novel I've been working on for a while. It's finding the time to work on it that's the problem, 'cause I go to uni in the day and work part time in the evenings.

Here's a question: what do you use to write? Computer? Pen/pencil and paper?

Both. If I'm at work I sometimes scribble things down in my notebook (I'm meant to use it to write down customers' numbers and things that need to be done later, but oh well...) or if I'm halfway to falling asleep and something falls into my head that needs to be written down I'll use the notebook I keep next to my bed. I use the computer when I'm writing full chapters.

By the way, if anyone's a mac user, I found this great application called Jer's Novel Writer. It's brilliant, there's a margin that you can click in and write notes about the current paragraph, and your notes stay next to that paragraph. There's a database tab where you can put character descriptions and names of places and things, and organise them in folders according to categories. There's even a notes tab where you can scribble down odd sentences or ideas, or whatever.

Ahh, that sounds like such a great program! Is there possibly a non-Mac version? :(

This is something that's been on my mind lately, so I thought I'd bring the question here. What inspires you? I'll leave it ambiguous so there's room for flexibility.

In terms of new stories, nothing in particular inspires me. An idea just springs into my head, like it was there all along and I'm just discovering it now. But when I'm writing something that I've already started, I draw inspiration from so many places. Sometimes, listening to a particular song that really has nothing to do with the scene I'm writing can make my writing so much better. Or a lecture from a totally unrelated class. Or just sitting in Starbucks reading will give me sudden insight into a story I'm writing.

Basically, I can't even put a finger on what inspires me. It's such a fickle thing. I wish I could control it so that it would come at the most oportune and desired times. But as far as I can tell, it's totally random. :lol:

What inspires you? Nothing really. Usually an idea pops into my head and parts of a story come into my head in no particular order. Then it becomes a pain trying to put it into order. The idea usually comes after I watch something whatever it may be. I go, "*gasp* That's an idea for a story/fanfiction!!" But I don't let it go directly on paper. I let it build up in my head for as long as I can, letting it be more stable if you get my drift.

What inspires you?
Songs and poetry tend to have some inspirational effect, but normally my process is that I think of some phrase/sentence that I like or something strikes me as interesting and my mind takes over, haha.

And wow, any chance of a non-mac version, Yukari?

I write with whatever I have in front of me, to be quite honest, although I prefer computers as I type quicker than I write. :]

*blows the dust off this topic*

Kind of random, but has anyone ever seen Stranger Than Fiction? I just saw it for the first time recently, and I loved how honest it was to the writing process. :D Anyone else seen this movie or know other movies that are similarly honest about the craft of writing?

Join me in.

I prefer using a computer. I usually don't get writer's block. I get inspired by almost everything, but I will not write something new if I am writing on another work.
Prose writer, although I can include snippets of haikus in my work.
Current project? Cherry Blossom

[URL= http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1395313/]My Account in FF.net[/URL]

Ah, glad you asked! I'm wondering if any of you know Studio Ghibli's lovely "Whisper of the Heart"?
It's a sweet love story about a girl who meets a boy by tracking his name down on library cards, but it's also a coming-of-age about the ambitions of two young people. The girl wants to be...you guessed it, a writer, and there are some vivid, semi-fantasy sequences where she could be doing something as ordinary as running down a flight of steps, and suddenly, the scenes from the story she's writing come to life, we can actually see the world she's writing, and the characters she's created.
...Yeah, it sounds kind of awkward here, but it's beautiful onscreen! :sweat: At one point, she just wants everything- school, entrance exams, family- to grind to a halt so she can pen the masterpiece that she knows lurking somewhere inside. I can totally relate to that feeling! :lol:
...and as a plus, the love story is terrific
Watch the fan-dubbed version, though. The Disney-dubbed one changes the ending <_<

Also...Dead Poets Society. Yes, yes, I know it centers self-discovery and they study poetry, not prose. :P But I think it wonderfully captures the power of great writing as a whole. As Robin Williams' character says, "The human race is filled with passion"

You might as well add me in too. I'll post snips of my works if you want me to.

What kind of writing do you like to do? Poetry, prose, etc? How long have you been writing? Current projects?


I like to write fanfictions mainly, but recently, it's been poetry because of lack of intrest and other things on my mind (exams >.<). The reason why I started writing in the first place was to get my mind off of the bad things that were going on, so I would normally write something stupid and sappy, but then I would always go back and edit it. It wasn't until I watched Lord of the Rings for the first time was it that I finally decided that I really wanted to write.

I've been writing since I was in about the 5th grade, but as I said above, it wasn't until I watched LOTR that I wanted to write full time.

My current projects are Patters of the Rain and Ray of Light.


What do you use to write? Computer? Pen/pencil and paper?

I like to use the computer because of spell check, but when we don't have one (mine crash a lot), I rarely write unless it's poetry.

Hm, a bit off-topic, but I was wondering what you guys do (or hypothetically would do) in this situation:

Okay, so I have a firm idea of plot in my head. It's there, it's set and I know how I want it to end and a pretty good idea of how's and why's. However, I'm having problems simply writing it. I've written the beginning and the end to my satisfaction. However, this story simply requires a long process of steps/scenes/segments or else all believability is lost.

So I guess my question can sum up to, "How do you guys deal with the inevitable "middle" of the story?" There's the intro, there's the conclusion, but what about the build-up and necessary exposition?

I'm having issues writing my next entry for the 100 Themes, so uh, if anyone would like to act as my beta too, I'd love you forever? <3 I'd ask my normal beta, but she's unfamiliar with FF canon.

If you all would have me, I am very interested in joining this club. I have become a very prolific fanfiction writer of late, and it seems that few are truly interested in reading my works. It doesn't really matter, simply because the mere act of writing them is fulfilling in itself, but it certainly would be nice for others to actually see my writings.

Before immersing myself into FF7 fanfiction, I was a very prolific writer of extremely dark, brooding horror stories. I also delved into the realm of twisted, moody science-fiction. Certainly writing Clerith fluff is an interesting change, but even so, my typically descriptive, chaotic and moody style still reflects itself somewhat even with such lighter material.

Anyway, enough about me. If any of you are interested, here is my ff.net link:

http://www.fanfiction.net/~xealii

Hmm.. that's a good question. This actually hits me a lot when I write. What I do is I take a break for a couple of day, you know, just get away from the writing scene for a while and then come back to it fresh. If that doesn't help, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you've just been burned out and need to recharge.

I've read that if you write too much in one day, you tend to burn out (loose intrest, get writers block) easier and when you try to write something, it makes no sense to you or anyone else that reads it. I suggest that you calm down for a few days, maybe just write an outline of what you want to happen and come back to it in about three days. That always helps for me. Other than that, I don't think I can help too much, but I tried.


As for my current project, I plan on getting it published, but I'm not going to post it up anywhere just yet. I'll save it to a disk once I finish chapter five (Act V for me ^_^) and see what happens. I plan on after chappie five to take a break and recharge.

I added everyone to the front page. ^_^

@Kusari: Oooh, I love Dead Poets Society. I didn't even think of that one. And "Whisper of the Heart" certainly sounds interesting; I'll definitely give it a look.

First, if it pertains to writing, it's not off-topic at all. :D

Also, I'm glad you brought up the "middle" of a story because I've found it recently to be my weak spot, but I'm not bad at writing it. Really, the problem is that it's simply not as interesting to write as the beginning and the ending. It requires very slow and thoughtful writing that you know has to lead to the amazing climax you have planned, but when push comes to shove, a lot of the time it feels like you just want to push through it rather than revel in writing it. And I don't think I'm alone in saying that boredom in writing is the kiss of death for a writer.

How do I deal with it? I constantly take down notes about whatever comes into my head with the book, and just try to keep the same momentum that started me writing the story.

@TheMachine: Of course we'd be glad to have you. :P

I wouldn't get discouraged about few taking an interest in your fanfics. Speaking as someone who has done her share of fanfiction, I think we fanfic writers can be a bit overly sensitive when it comes to how our work is received. We put the fanfics out there for anybody to read, and can take it a bit personally if we don't get much of a response (or even more unimaginably horrifying--a negative response).

But you know what? A lot of people are avid fans of fanfiction, but for whatever reason are too shy to engage in the simple act of replying to the ones they like. So you never know whose fallen in love with your writing.

That's great! I hope you can get it published. :D Do you have a title yet?

I would like to join, please.

Writing eventually became a passion of mine--it's like I can never survive a day without writing anything. Even if it's mere poetry, I just have to write something! :lol:

I have always turned to writing as a form of self-assurance that at least I can do something useful that exercises my creativity. Aside from that, it is something that exercises my flow of thoughts.

Although it was once a hobby or a way to pass the time as I was growing up, it is now a profession. I'm just happy that I landed my dream job of becoming a writer last year. I may not be tasked to write fictional things but writing articles for different clients with different requirements is really a great learning experience.

To me, writing opened up my mind to a lot of new things. It is not just a form of self-expression anymore but it is also a powerful tool that can be used for providing helpful information to other people who may be interested.

Among the things that I love to write that isn't job-related also include songs for my band. I used to write a lot of fanfiction before, but finding time to balance that hobby with my job and band-related duties is really difficult. :lol:

Yes I do have a title! I'm so glad that you asked. It's called Ray of Light. If you want a little backstory about it, I can send you a bit of it in a PM.

The Machine: Don't be discouraged if no one will review your stories, some people are just too shy to reply. I've had plenty of stories up in the past and I've had a max of like seven reviews. But don't let it get to you. What I really look forward to is how many people put me on their favorites list; well, that and the hits.

I don't really mind if nobody reviewed my works now. As long as I see that the number of hits are plenty, I am content with that.. rather than seeing common and hollow reviews like "lol funnyz" or "aw rite mor!"

Truth be told, I am still overly sensitive about that, too. :lol: That's why I always put in the author's notes of my newer fics that I don't like bad criticism so if they don't have anything nice or constructive to say, they should just ignore my story instead of flaming me.

Guilty as charged. :P
I may like the story but I may choose not to review it anymore if I'm just going to say something like, "That was great. Write more."
Although that can serve as food for the ego of the writer, I don't like overdoing it because in the long-run, I might sound insincere to them. :(
So as much as possible, I also try to find positive points in their stories if I can.

I cannot stress anymore how often that happens to me especially when it comes to writing fiction (both original and fanfiction).

I also suggest free writing. Works for me. :lol: Like, write down anything you can think of regardless of grammar, content, and coherency. I use that to pick out ideas.

Interacting with fans can also give you more ideas.

Ah! Thanks for the tips!

What inspires you?
Sadly to say, just about everything. I could be cleaning, watching TV, looking out my window, everything! But what really sucks is when you have a huge mess in your mind and you don't know whats what. Sometimes even my dreams inspire me, and I'll go write something about a dream I had.

I remember one time when I was dusting (and really needing a facemask x.x) and I wasn't really thinking of anything when suddenly it hit me! I could have a character be cleaning with a facemask on; but I quickly trashed that idea. It didn't go well with the fic that I was writing.

Is it bad when your mothers food inspires you? If you go read Patters of the Rain Chapter 10 you'll see that I made the character cook. That dish that she made was actually something that I LOVE that my mother can make.


EDIT:
I am at my wits end about my current project (meaning, I don't know what I should do). The story is supposed to be kinda sad with few happy times until the end of it which is a while to come hopefully. I've got pros and cons, but I don't know which one I should go with.

Pros:
If she stays, she's happier
Her relationship with blossom
She has a stable home where she's loved instead of abused

Cons:
More depression (which can also lead to a longer story, but I don't know if I want to do that)
Relationship put on hold
She'll keep running away



I want to story to be longer than five chapters, so if someone doesn't mind... HELP ME!

Sorry for not replying sooner about the Jer's Novel Writer application, MT and Saddie. Unfortunately, there isn't a non-Mac version of it. Windows can run Visual Typewriter, which looks quite cute. You can mess around with how the document looks, but I don't think it's got any special features for noting stuff. :mellow:

I don't think that's bad at all, Damaged. I get inspired by conversations I overhear, which I suppose could make me seem really nosy, haha.

About fanfic reviews, it's definitely true that there are a lot of readers who don't review. I'm guilty of that too, 'cause sometimes even if I enjoy a fic I can't think of anything to say other than 'good work, I loved it', which isn't that helpful or original. To give an example, one of my fics has 552 hits so far, and 2 reviews. But both those reviewers said it was sufficiently 'hot' (It was an erotic oneshot that was a companion to a longer fic) so I'm not worried that it sucked. Ahem.

For another example, one of my most popular stories on FF.net got 239 reviews and 26810 hits. Checking your stats on FF.net sheds a lot of light on the ratio of readers to reviewers, so don't worry if you don't get many reviews, people are still reading and enjoying your story.

What do you think makes a good summary?

That's a tough one. I guess it's something that sets the scene and then asks a question that the fic will then answer. That's always seemed to work best for me. Of course, all shippy fics really need to do to get readers is to announce the pairing in the summary. :lol:

What inspires you?

Lots of things! Song lyrics, looking out of the window, being really close to falling asleep, reading, sitting on the train. Basically, anything that relaxes me and clears my head of all those annoying thoughts about life stuff.

I've got a question! When you write, do you ever end up unconsciously or consciously adopting stylistic elements of the author you're reading, and what do you think about that?

I'd been reading a certain book, and I noticed when I wrote a short story that I was focusing on things like the character being aware of the sun warming the wooden table that she was leaning on, and hearing people speaking in Spanish and not being able to understand them. Usually I would just describe how gloriously sunny the day was, how it was different from the weather back home and how other people were reacting to the heat. The author I'd been reading that day has a similar style, and focuses more on how things affect his characters, rather than the world around the character.

I don't think this is bad, as long as your own voice is still distinguishable. If you're lifting descriptions from the author, it's plagiarism, obviously, but I don't think that being inspired to shift your focus onto something different from usual is a bad thing at all. It's a nice change of pace, and the end result can surprise you.

EDIT: The character's wondering whether to stay somewhere or leave, right, Damaged? Think about how both of them would affect the pacing of the story. If the character leaves, then this gives you the opportunity to create new characters for the main character to meet, interact with and learn from. (Of course, you can always have new charas without the main one leaving.) Plus you get to create new places and this can also impact the main character. If she stays, then you get the opportunity to develop already established characters and relationships further. So it depends whether you think you've developed those charas and relationships as much as you can.

Thanks for help, but I don't know what to do if she stays or goes. Is that bad? I don't think I've had this much trouble before with a project. Maybe it's my nerves and the fact that I want to get it published.

Lol. Let's see here... my most popular fic has around 1000 hits at last count, and only 1 review. Oddly enough, I have other fics with a much lower number of hits that have many more reviews (one has around 300 hits, and 7 reviews). Still the page has only been up for a month and a half, so I guess I shouldn't expect much in the way hits or reviews.

I do this often enough. Currently I am re-reading Dune, by Frank Herbert, and I've been noticing that my style has begun to read a bit like his work. I find it difficult to explain exactly how the writing is similar... nothing is plagiarized obviously and I'm tackling entirely different subject matter. It's a subtle thing, a stylistic similarity I guess, and I doubt anyone aside from myself would even notice it.