The Fanfiction Forum E-zine 2009

[PancaKe]

Pressure pressure pressure!!!

[Gavin Luper]

Egads the pressure!

If I haven't received the article(s) I'm waiting on by tomorrow afternoon, I'll post the e-zine up as is!

Cheers!

EDIT: Tara, got your PM but my inbox is nearly full ... but yes, awesome ideas. Will PM back once I empty everything out!

[Houndoom_Lover]

I'll hit you guys up next month ^_^ Don't worry- you'll have me contributing to this thing I love again soon. I'm almosy graduated guys- Squee!

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Good thing you're late, we'll have more time.

[mistysakura]

Congrats on graduation, Houndoom! And yay to more articles for July! Wonder if we'll get more stuff once people have finished with exams and stuff.

[Gavin Luper]

~ The FanFiction Forum E-zine ~
May/June 2009 Bumper Edition






Contents


This Is Your Forum
Gavin Luper

Is This Growing Up?
PancaKe

When the Grammar Nazi’s Away, the Poets will Play
mistysakura

My Language Studies and TPM
Mikachu Yukitatsu

www.ThePokemasters.Community
PancaKe

Atoning for the Sins of the Past
Chris 2.1

To Be a Master [Final Edition]
mistysakura

I Am Not Ashamed!
PancaKe

The FanFiction Forum E-zine: Over to You!
Gavin Luper






This Is Your Forum
Gavin Luper

After an activity slump during May, it’s welcoming to see the recent flurry of posts in both the main forum and the Writer’s Lounge. More comforting still is the sheer number of articles and editorials that fanficcers have contributed to this edition, making the May/June issue a bumper compilation indeed!

This mid-year period – when the Antipodeans are rugging up in bed with mugs of hot chocolate and the Americans and Europeans are throwing the windows open and enjoying the summertime zephyrs – is often one of the busiest times of year on the Fanfic forum. Many of us profit from the holiday period and get some chapters of our fics churned out; others are able to widen their reading.

A lot is happening on the forum at the moment. Firstly, the results of the most recent Hall of Fame election have just been released, with beloved veteran TPM member PancaKe winning the vote in a close race! Congratulations to Tara, who joins Brian (mr_pikachu) and myself (Gavin Luper) in the sacrosanct Hall of Fame!

Secondly, the 2009 Silver Pencil Awards are just on the horizon! Look out for the Suggestion topic in the very near future! More activities are planned for the Writer’s Lounge, too, so watch this space!

There’s a lot going on in this edition of the e-zine, too. New Hall-of-Famer PancaKe offers some brilliant editorials on the current state of the Fanfic Forum and, moreover, the current state of the Fanfic Forumer. Experienced contributor mistysakura analyses the interplay between grammar and poetry, as well as delivering the final instalment of her successful To Be A Master serial that’s become an adored feature of the e-zine this year. Additionally, Mikachu Yukitatsu offers an article on the different languages spoken on TPM and Chris 2.1 explores the idea of growth in the capabilities of a fanfic writer.

We’ve put a lot into this bumper issue, so curl up under the rugs with your coffee (or sip your lemonade in the pool of sunlight by the window) and enjoy!

Is This Growing Up?
PancaKe

I decided today I would write an article for the e-zine. To begin, I did what every other writer does when they wish to start a project; I opened word. As I sat there, staring at the blinking curser, I felt like my mind was as blank as the page before me.

This is what it’s been like for my writing too.

I try; I honestly try to get back into it. I try to sit down and come up with ideas. I try to get myself back into the writing zone through all sorts of tricks and gimmicks. When I was younger, I used to write like a madman (woman in my case but you get the point). I had this special playlist on winamp (yes, pre iTunes days!) that I would play every time I wrote. So, in an attempt to continue my fictional writing, I’ll play songs from that era that inspired me originally to write. It works while I’m driving in the car – I’ll hear songs and go “Augh I want to write so badly!” And then I’ll either run out of time, or I’ll find time but be out of ideas.

Sometimes I wonder if this is just a part of growing up. I was looking over old notes of stories I had made when I was younger, about the time I started writing Full Moon, and so many ideas to be developed! Yet, there were holes, concepts to be explained, and feeling completely uncreative and frustrated at my pathetic attempts to explain this and that and the other in my fantasy world, I called my eleven year old brother and asked his advice.

Not that I’m slagging advice from other people, I’m just wondering if this is a case of growing up, getting older, being busy and forgetting to let my imagination wander. Have I really lost my touch? Have I really forgotten how to write, how to create ideas, imagine stories and craft them?

Is this just extended writers block, or growing up?

And so, I leave you with this pathetic vent about my writing capabilities. It’s all I can imagine writing.

When the Grammar Nazi’s Away, the Poets will Play
mistysakura

There has been a lot of debate over how to judge a piece of writing. In Beyond the Score: The Measure of Success, mr_pikachu demonstrates that fixed categories, with points for each category, are sometimes unable to explain the success of a piece of writing. You get great, yet plotless slice-of-life stories; captivating, yet formulaic trainer fics; thrillers with stacks of action and no style; diatribes on the evils of society, with not a single individual in sight; and pieces which are so universal it doesn’t matter where they took place at all. Besides, one person’s good plot is another person’s trash. However, most people would agree that spelling and grammar are absolute. Tomes have been written on the subject. Rules are etched in ink and passed down from red-pen-yielding teacher to scribbling student. A sentence is either right or wrong – there is no ‘in-between’… or is there?

Take a look at this poem.

ygUDuh
aaaaydoan
aaaayunnuhstan
aaaaydoan o
aaaayunnuhstand dem
aaaayguduh ged

aaaayunnuhstan dem doidee
aaaayguduh ged riduh
aaaaydoan o nudn
LISN bud LISN

aaaaaaaaaaaadem
aaaaaaaaaaaagud
aaaaaaaaaaaaam

aaaaaaaaaaaalidl yelluh bas
aaaaaaaaaaaatuds weer goin

duhSIVILEYEzum

Out of thirty-three ’words’, half a word is spelt correctly. Sentences don’t start with capitals – heck, where are these ‘sentences’ we speak of? Where’s the punctuation? Seemingly random words, and parts of words, are capitalised. If a mod saw this on a fanfiction forum, they’d most likely be tearing their hair out in frustration, trying to break it gently to the aspiring writer that perhaps they ought to take up crocheting instead.

And our jaws would all drop when we found out that this poem, which makes so little grammatical sense, was written by the great American poet e. e. cummings.

So why has e. e. cummings screwed over the rules of spelling and grammar? Perhaps he was feeling particularly cynical that day, and felt like putting random letters on a page and laughing to see the ’poem’ analysed down to the last space and proclaimed the work of a genius. Perhaps his typewriter screwed up. Perhaps he was screwing with our collective heads. But if you slur the poem as much as you can, and say it quickly… no, even more slurred… think drowned in a beer barrel…

Do you get this?

All of a sudden, it makes sense. The gross misspellings imitate a broken accent while the capitals emphasise the speaker’s insistence on certain words. The whole poem points out the irony of an uncivilised person (represented by the uncivilised spelling and grammar) discriminating against un’SIVILEYEz’ed people. The poem is ironic because it in itself is discriminating against the speaker and making him out to be an idiot.

Spelling and grammar have long been manipulated in poetry. Many poems have neither capitalisation or punctuation, giving the poem a gentle, perhaps even passive, feel. In the twentieth century, poets have played with punctuation and the layout of words on the page. Sometimes, punctuation goes where it shouldn’t go, creating a disjoint effect. A poem by Paul Mitchell goes:

Practice

i play.aaaaaaaaaadrums.
I mean, i don'taaareally
play drums. I mean
it's hardaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayou know
the rhythm. therhythm's hard. i get
my feet wrong. and the sticks.
In my hands.aaaaaawrong, I get the wrong
drum.aaaaaaaaaaaaI mean, I hit the right drum
aaaaaawith the wrong stick.
I likeaaaaaaaaaaaaadrums. it's
aaaaaahard, though. to prac
tise. no one likesaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadrums.
aaaaaaThe noise.aaaaaan
my rhythm.aaaaaaI play. drumaaaaas.

At other times, poets forgo traditional formatting all together, and create poems of all shapes and sizes. A famous example is Swan and Shadow.

Many haikus, whether in Japanese or English, are fragments of sentences. A pedantic may froth at the mouth going “argh there is no verb!”, but a lot of the time, haikus are precisely about looking at a fragment of time and finding the stillness, the silence, the beauty of the moment. With a poem like

The sea in spring –
Ever so slow and idle
All day long.

It just wouldn’t make sense to have the sea do anything.

As for spelling, the "yguduh" example is by e.e. cummings, but something similar can be found on our very own forum: Spoil Chick.

Unorthodox use of spelling and grammar in prose is more unusual, but it can nevertheless be found. The most common example is the sentence fragment: "And then there were none." Despite starting a sentence with "and" not being allowed, standalone fragments can be very powerful statements. Another example is having a narrator speak ungrammatically for characterisation purposes, perhaps to show their casual voice or emphasise their lack of education. We see it all the time in teenage fiction, especially those written in diary, e-mail or text message form (try reading a novel’s worth of forum posts, complete with emoticons… my eyes, they bleed!) Sometimes it makes sense to have a sentence end with a preposition, instead of having something convoluted. Some people even fuse words or make up their own words to get their unique meanings across – if Shakespeare did it, who’s to say we can’t?

So even if something as seemingly fundamental as spelling and grammar can be manipulated to suit your creativity, where is the limit? Maybe there is none. Maybe we should just be as innovative as we can, and not worry too much about formalities like well-described settings. At the end of the day, we're here to communicate our weird and wonderful thoughts to the world, and language is supposed to help us, not hinder us. And if we do get published, and our works last the test of time, the perception of “good writing” will change anyway. Somehow, I don’t see the readers of tomorrow cross-checking our writing with an antique twenty-first century grammar manual…

*looks over shoulder* Shh, I hear the Grammar Nazi coming!

*straightens self* Of course, that is not to say that spelling and grammar should be manipulated for manipulation’s sake. If you want to tell a good story, you want it to be understood, and correct spelling and grammar are important to that end. Yeah. Totally. But exceptions are essential in the world of art…

“Uh, hi, Grammar Nazi. I was going to say exceptions prove the rule, right?”

My Language Studies and TPM
Mikachu Yukitatsu

My mother tongue is Finnish. Here are the languages I have studied, respectively.

English
Swedish
Japanese
German
French
Mandarin Chinese
Russian
Spanish

I have studied Japanese and Chinese by myself, not at school. I teach Japanese now, however. I had only one course of Russian in Lukio (Finnish equivalent to senior High School) and don't remember a thing. Spanish is my newest language. I studied it for almost one year at Kansalaisopisto, an educational establishment for adult students.

I started English like most Finns do, when I was 9. We hear English daily in TV, videogames tend to be in English and we use the internet quite a lot, so it isn't easy to avoid it. However, I didn't know I would write messages in the very same language 7 years later for Americans, Australians and other nations to read. After I turned 13, I started Swedish, the second official language of Finland. Biggest boosts to my Swedish studies were Sailor Moon we had in Swedish here in Finland and Pokémon Orange league which my own country skipped.

Yeah, I have found grammar studies useful. Yes, I am a theoretician. In Lukio, I loved the first course in Finnish language and literature because I learned lost of useful grammatical terms. On the other hands, I hated all the other courses because they were poem analysis, reviews of books we were forced to read, painting analyses and stuff. This has resulted in me being disinterested in reading books. Fortunately, TPM is different. Even after I have printed a topic, it's still more enjoyable to read than a book.

I let my Finnish affect my English, for example I often leave the subject out of a sentence. For in Finnish language, we conjugate the verb and may leave the subject out.

(minä) teen = I do
(sinä) teet = you do (singular)
(hän) tekee = he/she does
(me) teemme = we do
(te) teette = you do (plural)
(he) tekevät = they do

My multi-language approach has given me many great opportunities at TPM. It started when a Finnish member posted a topic about Pokémon Championship Finland in late 2001. I replied in Finnish and Austrian ViceMaster Alex advised I should always give a translation, which I did, then.

Next, a Finnish guy named Harwey appeared. In his welcome topic, I posted a long reply in Finnish and English. Once a French guy proposed in French we should post in French here at TPM, and I was able to both translate his reply and respond in (was it four?) different languages. In 2003, I translated Team Rocket mottos from Finnish and Swedish. I even got some positive feedback from a Swede. In 2003, I also began to translate TV Tokyo Pokémon ep previews.

Much later, I posted a topic about Pokémon names with Finnish meanings. I have posted poems in the Poetry Corner in both English and Finnish. The situation now? I kinda have neglected languages other than Japanese and English, but I keep up the former in teaching-related business, and the latter by posting at TPM. I have almost overcome my hate for poem analysis, so I might do something like that someday. I'll also keep reading more.

www.ThePokemasters.Community
PancaKe

With Heart Gold and Soul Silver soon to be released in Japan, now is the perfect time to relaunch the main site. Thousands and millions of gamers of all ages and nationalities will be googling for news, pictures, and secrets. The biggest challenge for us now is getting out there while people are still looking for us.

This raises the question: What can the Fanfic community contribute? Sometimes we get lost in thinking that our gifts in language aren't as useful as the gift to write html, or create fanart or construct detailed walkthrus. Surely these are the things that the site most needs, right?

Recent discussion in The Writers Lounge (What can we contribute to the main site?) has been aimed at brainstorming useful and necessary ways we can offer our skills.

Phoenixsong raised this point: "The more the site opens with that differentiates it from the other Poké-info giants, the better. Fanfic was a big part of that back in the day as far as I remember, and I see no reason that it couldn't be again."

TPM, in order to regain our place among the giants, needs to boast something different. What is it that TPM can have that other sites don't? Community.

Community based features are what brought a lot of us to the forums, and has kept us here for so many years. Many of us can say we've been here for three, four, six and even eight or nine years - and why? For the people.

The fanfic pages on the old website boasted a massive library of fics, contributed by fans around the world. It was easy to lose yourself for hours among the tales. It was just as easy to write, submit and be included. These are the type of features we need to refresh the page - features that welcome new members into the community.

In the discussion topic, members have been compiling a list of things that we can bring to the website:

- Fanfic E-zine linked/posted
- Hall of Fame
- Uploading fics from the Fanfic Archive
- Direct links to awards / publishing the Golden Pens and Silver Pencils on the main page (Gavin Luper)
- A whole forum e-zine (Ultimate Charizard)
- Editorials (Jeff) like these
- Reviews of games/movies/episodes/other pokémon memorabilia

At this point in time, we need two things from you, fanfic community.

1. We need people to brainstorm, suggest ideas, think creatively. Is there some way that we can be using our writing skills to support the site, to create community and to be different from all the other giants?

2. We need people to get on board. Contribute to the forums, write reviews and editorials. If we need raters, get on board and rate. How can we boast community at TPM if we're not all in this together?

Atoning for the Sins of the Past
Chris 2.1

When I was writing The Pokémon Masters League there was a chapter in which a character, penned as a typical villain, was finally caught. His name was Ecks. Restrained in a cell, and awaiting a trial, he was smart enough to know he would soon meet his demise and, through dehydration, starvation, his eccentricity and childhood trauma, he began hallucinating. The security cards melded into wolves clad in tuxedos, playing jazz instruments with aplomb. Ecks sat, immobile, as the people he had murdered wove into the cell and regaled him with tales about their deaths. I explored a concept of dying, and what it could possibly entail. The four deceased characters explained, individually, that their death reflected the life they lived and was a grand spectacle taking them somewhere else. The attention-seeking glamour-girl Solia Fuerte died amid a huge battle in the city; her death was embodied as a grim parade through the streets, where she sat on a throne made from skulls and saw the highlights of her life, before passing into another realm. Similarly Karin’s dying moments manifested as a Broadway performance, on a stage before thousands in a wonderful dress.

At the time, some readers commented with enthusiasm, wondering themselves what their own deaths could manifest as. Scoring a home run for their favourite team, fireworks exploding in the sky? Or leaping from a plane, no parachute, screaming in the delight of the unknown?

I wondered about my own. As an aspiring journalist my only thoughts seemed to be that my dying montage would involve being stabbed repeatedly by a dissatisfied rockstar. Given my clumsy nature, the notion of a doctor explaining to my family that I stepped on a skateboard and whizzed under an ice cream van seemed similarly just as plausible.

While I debated this query, a related thought popped up. Not the notion or the event of me passing from here to wherever lies ahead, no; instead, particularly my given enthusiasm as a writer, I may have to atone for sins of the past. Over the next few months I’m going to be wondering just why, despite winning a couple of nice shiny awards, the bad might outweigh the good and I might be condemned to a Hell where the pens are all out of ink and the computers run on Microsoft Works Word Processor.

I have been in these forums for too many years. I have undergone new names and seen people come, go, come again, elevate to new levels of power and flee with their tail between their legs. In the time that OzAndrew has slugged away with Electric Buggy To Victory, and Gavin has chewed through Lisa The Legend, fics of my own have burst into life. Some have been finished, and I have tied them into bundles and hurled them into the archives, while others have sat, forgotten as I feverishly type something new. Other fics, while completed, have dissolved in the voids of computer errors.

The first thing I ever wrote for the forums was a nail in an as of yet uncreated coffin. I simply opened the ’new post’ window and began writing something. It was set in New Bark Town, a trainer stole a Pokémon, and this kid (think I called him Gold…funny how that works) wanted to be the best trainer in the world. The entire thing was shorter than this article.

And here came the first mistake. I needed a name for my fic.

‘Gold’s Johto Journey’?

No.

‘To Be A Master?’ At the time, my name was Lugia_Master2K1 so I think the term ‘master’ might be done to death. Too much mastery of anything is never good.

So I picked a name that sounded classy, ominous and a little bit pretentious. Destiny’s Way. The idea being all the crazy calamity that was going to kick off with a Pokémon being stolen at Elm’s Lab was all destiny. Oh the pain. I went away to live life as a twelve year old boy and came back one night to see if people were climbing over one another to get more of the fantastic fic. I imagined critical acclaim; the idea of a publishing deal flickered across my mind, I’ll admit. Unfortunately all the replies were about one thing. The title. Apparently there was already a fic called Destiny’s Way on the boards and boy, was it popular. ‘I don’t know why you’re trying to RUIN the other fic,’ quizzed one angry ficcer. ‘Why are you copying the title?’ another argued. I quickly apologised, after a brief attempt at negotiating (‘Can’t there be two fics called Destiny’s Way?’ - ‘No’) I conceded, and ended up deleting the fic. I left the forum that night, and don’t think I came back for some time. As a way of dealing with the knock down, I made a brief fic on Serebii. Without any planning, I created a brief fic famous for its multitude of water Pokémon and a continuously rotating team. But that’s for next time.

To Be a Master [Final Edition]
mistysakura

Screenshots courtesy of Pokémon Nightmare, Pocket Monsters and AnimeClick.

I Am Not Ashamed!
PancaKe

I love writing. Many of you are well aware of my love for writing stories. In fact, if not for the severe writers block that has plagued my creative juices, I would still be publishing stories left, right and centre. And, I'm not ashamed of it either!

But the minute I say to someone, "Oh yes, I've written a book, I've written quite a few stories in my day", their reply is "What was it about?"

Freeze.

I don't think I have ever turned around and said, "Oh, well it’s about a girl who turns into a pokémon, kind of like a werewolf, and she lives in a boarding school with pokémon." Just as I have never said to the general public "My hobbies include writing stories about pokémon."

I can't explain why either! It's as though friends and family will laugh at me, will raise an eyebrow, will pat me on the head and say "Yes dear, that's lovely" or take a few steps back. Is that what I really fear? If it's not, then why is it I choke up, stumble over my words and mumble answers that vaguely describe my interest in writing and reading general fanfiction?

Only trusted friends know. Only my friends equally obsessed with pokémon know. They're the ones that go "Oh wow, can I read?" instead of going "Oh, really..." They're the ones I'm not afraid to tell after a while; I'll give them links to my stories and hope they'll read it. They're the ones I'm comfortable around.

So what is it with everyone else? Am I the only one who lives a secret double life? By day I am a university student who works at a coffee shop and hangs out at church a whole lot, by night I'm a famous fanfiction author, known world wide for my creations and successes?

Am I ashamed after all?

Even moreso, am I the only one?

The Fanfiction Forum E-zine: Over to You!
Gavin Luper

So you’ve just finished reading the latest issue of this e-zine. You might have noticed that we’ve tried something a little bit different this time around: we’re focusing more on editorials, on the opinions and sentiments of regular members, in addition to our usual fare of expository articles.

So what do you think? Do you like the addition of opinion pieces in the e-zine? Would you like to write your own, even?

Moreover, what would you like to see appearing in the e-zine? More interviews with members? More writing tips, as opposed to opinions? How about fic and poetry spotlights? Or – for the future – what about the idea of themed editions?

Please leave your feedback and comments for us, and together, we’ll help to shape the future direction of the Fanfiction Forum E-zine.

After all, it’s your forum. It’s your e-zine.

[PancaKe]

Oh noes. I must rush and send you one more article.

[Houndoom_Lover]

I was gunna ask when this was done but the date it up there. I can't wait for it~

[PancaKe]

Aw . Now I feel bad for not submitting more articles! :-( It's a shame that after two months we only have three articles. People - get a move on! Perhaps at the end of each issue you could put some suggestion topics out there? Kind of like:

"Be Part of the E-zine!

We want you, yes you, to be writing and contributing also. Next issue in particular, keeping Halloween in mind, we are looking for editorials, articles, fanart, quizzes, reviews and anything else you'd like to contribute around the theme of horror lalalalalala"

You can make it sound much better.

Perhaps have a fanart section? I'd love to see interviews with the stars come back (hint hint Gabi), possibly a notice board, shoutouts, etc.

And there will be lots to write about next time, with winners from both the Fic-Swap contest, and the Silver Pencils, as well as other articles I wanted to write and will start writing now.

Feel free to steal my ideas for next time people.


wow this will be a long reply.,


Ada I loved the quiz! Turns out I'm "Deathmatch" - which I had already started to read. Although it did spark my interest in Thorn Darkrose's story as well. I may check that out when I can get away from all this uni homework!!!

Houndy I love your article! It's once again filled with your randomness, but yet, sound and solid advice! Very awesome, and great inspiration for more writing (and more articles!)

[Houndoom_Lover]

Mistysakura! I forgot to squeak in your direction! Great opening and quizz...So much has happened between the last E-zine, its almost mindboggling!

I agree with PancaKe about the stunning lack of articles and the bounce board we could have at the end of them. I'm soooo glad I got one in. It felt wooonderful!

That quizz was such a sweet (Sweet here means cool in this sentece) addition! I dug it emrmcely. :3 Thanks for including Ivo! I got to question two and thought "Hey, D sounds fimular" Bizzamba!

And anyone reading it, I'll put date it once its drawn. I got this new system, where I write down all my fanfictions on tiny slips of paper. Put them in my travel art box (A blue pencil box) shake it up alot and draw one. This time around I drew Gon Yi Tampi:Fight! Maybe next time I'll draw Ivo so always stay tuned :3 Who knows what I'll do next!

And PancaKe! That's a great article, you know, when I went to orientation, I met two girls who wrote fanfictions. They were talking about it, and I said I did too. And then one of the girls said that she tried to keep it cannon but gave up along time ago to just write smut. >w< I wanted to cut the coversation off there. Even though we write fanfictions, there's some magical kind of quaility to good ones (ours) that trancend just fanfiction. Even my friends who write fanfictions, I'm still to neverous to tell...Why? I'm naturally shy about my work....But I love to work on them ^_^


And thanks, CaKy! Every word of that ringings true- its how I got outta a four-fiveish month nothing...It might have been even more. The tap had been running dry for quiet sometime...and that I will not put up with ^_^ And I do hope it helps others!

[Chris 2.1]

It was a very small but great Zine. Perhaps ironic that, upon doing it bimonthly we have an even smaller issue than usual!?

I am sorry to not have contributed. I am currently writing an article for the next one however, and perhaps since the ezines are two months apart, the forum can actively engage the members in writing things.

For example, maybe ask a few winners of the SP awards to write something following the announcements of the winners. Just a little bit about how they feel and the fics they write, and who they thought they would win. I think that could be cool.

[mistysakura]

twitter

you won’t believe this. the magpie up there just texted me to announce that it’s taking a piss. how to tell it to dump its shit elsewhere in 140 characters or less?

Nominated for Best Poem. To Be a Master #6 is nominated for Best E-zine Article. I'm nominated for Best Reader, Most Likely to Become a Couple (with mr_pikachu, Gavin Luper and Lady Vulpix, no less. Perhaps I should have been nominated for Most Likely to Take Part in an Orgy?), Least Likely to Become a Couple (with Shuppet Master), Queen of Fanfic, Fanficcer Most Likely to Make You Gasp, and Most Helpful Fanficcer.

Thanks a lot for the nominations, guys!

[classy_cat18]

The FanFiction Forum E-zine ~ Special Halloween 2009 Edition!

It’s my E-zine and I’ll whine if I want to…
classy_cat18

Another e-zine, another chance to give you insight on the fanfiction community. This month, PancaKe takes the reins as she provides the majority of this issue, giving us the news of the past month or so. Lady Vulpix provides us with another interview. I’m short on words, so “gomen nasai” for the short commentary. Read, enjoy, and send all complaints to mr_pikachu.

News
PancaKe
Colored Font for Fics?
PancaKe
Interview with the Stars: Samchu
Lady Vulpix

News
PancaKe

Host Takes The Most In Silver Pencil Awards

Gavin Luper, host of the 2009 Silver Pencils and Fanfic Forum moderator, has taken home fifteen awards at the latest Silver Pencil Awards.

Winning the outstanding Awards Award (handed to the participant with the most awards), Gavin’s awards include Best Fic of the Forum, Best Plot and Best Writing Style for Lisa The Legend, as well as Best Writer and Best Reader.

“I can only assume that people have been revisiting [Lisa The Legend] a lot lately thanks to the Synopses and therefore voted for it,” Gavin said. “I felt rather ridiculous handing myself the Awards Award but I do honestly appreciate the recognition.”

Tied second place, both with five awards each were Chris2.0 and Pancake.

Chris 2.0’s fanfic Show Off walked away with Best Pokemon Fanfic among other awards.

“Best Pokemon Fic is a massive achievement for a fic that has only been around since the start of the year,” Chris said.

Pancake walked away with a variety of member awards, including best contributor, and, surprisingly TPM addict, snatching the title from Mikachu Yukatsu by one vote.

“I knew I'd be quite a strong candidate for the latter, and this was a bitter defeat,” Mikachu said.

Gavin Luper and Pancake were crowned King and Queen of Fanfic respectively, with DragoKnight being named Jester, and Charles Legend being picked as most likely to cause the universe to explode.

The Silver Pencils and Golden Pens Awards occur every six months, and have been running since late 2003.

The next awards are the Golden Pens, occurring over the December-January period. To offer suggestions regarding the awards ceremony, visit the Writers Lounge.

Members Dash to Join in Writing Sprint

The October Writing Sprint recently took place over the 10th and 11th of the month.

The Writing Sprint is a chance for writers to be inspired by a theme, and write whatever comes to mind throughout the weekend.

Ten different works were submitted this month, based on the theme “Body”.

Entries ranged from poetry to prose, featuring both pokemon fanfiction and original ideas.

First time Sprinter, Kyuuketsuki said that experiencing the Writers Sprint was fun.

Kyuuketsuki entered “Poliwag’s Adventure”, a short story that focused on overcoming image issues.

“He'll defiantly be punished for destroying the village." A Jigglypuff said as Poliwag crawled out smiling "At least now he won't be able to make fun of us small Pokémon."

"Yeah. He finally got what he deserved." Poliwag said "Body size and shape doesn't matter, I just kicked his butt."

For some members, the Sprint was too short, and didn’t allow for much time for people with work and busy weekends to take part. Several members feel that the Sprint should be extended to give more members a chance to participate.

“Often weekends can be difficult,” Firepokemon said. “Perhaps something that is a week long could be trialled?”

Coloured Font For Fics?
PancaKe

It seems there are two sets of unspoken rules when it comes to posting our original writings. For RPG’s and Dragon Tamers writing, coloured font is more than acceptable. For stories being posted in Fanfic, white font is the traditional way to post.

I post my conversational text in gold, however when I post a piece of writing, be that poetry or a story, I will post it in white. Why is it we make these decisions? Do you make an active decision to post in a colour or in white? Or do you just copy paste and press post?

I spoke to Crystal Tears, author of original fiction Kingdom Heartless, and creator of RPG of the same name, and asked her about the choices she made when posting her fanfic in coloured font.

“I thought it gave a distinct feel to the story,” she explained. “Leaving the font white made it lack personality. I also wanted to carry over the relation between the fic and the RPG, as the plot in the RPG was originally posted in that shade of purple.”

When choosing a certain colour, several factors affected her decision, including the vibe of the colour, the readability of the shade and the tone of the story itself. “It helps convey the message that Kingdom Heartless isn’t a happy tale, nor it is a completely hopeless [tale],” Crystal Tears said. “I tried other colours, but the purple seemed to fit the overall theme much better.”

Many of Kingdom Heartless’s readers come from an RPG background, where reading fiction in a variety of font colours is normal. Most readers have expressed positive feedback to the lilac shade, which Crystal Tears says was a relief.

“I was worried when I first posted in the purple colour that maybe someone would complain,” she said. “I went on the notion that if I could read it with ease, not many would have a problem with it.”

Crystal Tears believes that there are two main reasons why more people don’t post their fanfictions in coloured font, both stemming from a fear of poor colour choice.

“One, people are afraid. A bad colour will ward away readers… If someone doesn’t like the colour, they’re probably not going to read the story. Two, picking a colour that fits the fic is harder than it seems. I got lucky with the purple…White is the safe neutral, it has no colour draw, but it’s not going to ruin the feel of the story either.”

But, what do you think, forum? Do you like coloured fonts in fanfics? Why do you choose to use or not use them? What’s your say on the matter?

Interview with the Stars: Samchu
Lady Vulpix

Lady Vulpix: HI.
Samchu: *is knocked over by force of hi *
Samchu: ...hello...
Lady Vulpix: Oh! Sorry!
Samchu: it's ok
Lady Vulpix: It's just that I've had no luck contacting you during the last few months.
Samchu: you've been trying? i had no idea. sorry.
Lady Vulpix: It's OK. We're talking now.
Samchu: yes we are
Lady Vulpix: If my file is right, you're a writer who hasn't been interviewed yet. Is that correct?
Samchu: you mean for fanfiction?
Lady Vulpix: Yes. That's why I've been trying to talk to you since April.
Samchu: oh... heh... my bad
im amused that you can use the term writer when i haven't put anything on there in the...5 months you've been trying to contact me longer even i believe. but yeh, i wrote some stuff in there
Lady Vulpix: That holds for me as well and I still consider myself a writer. So, would you like to be interviewed?
Samchu: sure!
Lady Vulpix: ^_^
Samchu: two sections of TPM in one year? go me! lol
Lady Vulpix: Who got to you first?
Samchu: rpg
Lady Vulpix: Oh!
Samchu: mmm really hated that interview. so many generic questions...
Lady Vulpix: Oh, sorry to hear that.
Samchu: it's ok
just felt like i was being asked the same questions i read every month
Lady Vulpix: Well, that won't be the case here. There are only 2 questions I repeat every month, and those are the first and the last.
Samchu: ooo an exciting interview? well i'm intrigued enough to do it. fire away!
Lady Vulpix: Yay!

Lady Vulpix: So, when did you first start writing?
Samchu: Whenever my primary school decided that we were old enough to use the english language creatively. I'm thinking about age 6 or 7 though it may have been earlier than that.

Lady Vulpix: So your first shot at writing was a school assignment?
Samchu: That I can remember, yes. I know I dabbled at home on a typewriter but whether that was before or after the assignment I couldn't say.

Lady Vulpix: A typewriter? Nice, I don't hear that word mentioned very often. Are you saying you learned to type when you were around 6?
Samchu: oh yes. It was faster than writing it by hand so back then it had the same appeal as using a laptop for writing does now.

Lady Vulpix: Wow, that's impressive. So, what kinds of writings came out of your typewriter?
Samchu: Mostly stories invovling my family or people that I knew. Most of it was fiction because it meant that I could also write about dinosaurs which were a passion of mine when I was young.

Lady Vulpix: Heh. Did you and your family meet dinosaurs, then?
Samchu: Meet them, rescue them, raise them, even get eaten by them. But only in my stories. The closest we ever came to meeting dinosaurs was the fossils and bones in the local museum.

Lady Vulpix: Are you still interested in dinosaurs?
Samchu: Not as much as I wish, or sometimes even try to convince myself that I am. But the interest is still there. It might just need some exposure to bring it back to the surface but it will never be a major passion for me again. My dreams of being a paleontologist are long gone.

Lady Vulpix: What are your current dreams?
Samchu: To become a published author and maybe make enough to live off of it. Marry my girlfriend and settle down in the states, have a couple of kids and maybe some day open up a bookshop. And if I'm really pushing it, one day I even hope to write something bigger than Harry Potter.

Lady Vulpix: That one's a big dream, but who knows? It may happen. I don't think anyone could have foreseen what Harry Potter would become.
Are you writing anything now?
Samchu: I'm still trying to finish the novel that I started halfway through the first ever x-pokes (some of the more senior rpgers might remember that one). Everytime I get somewhere with it I think of some way I can improve and have to start from scratch. But one day I'm going to finish it. Hopefully before I graduate from University. I have a few side projects that I've been fiddling with on and off and I'm also helping Shayna to write a book of short stories about the lives of lesbian couples. Sort of an attempt to educate through fiction and maybe bring a little hope to those newly out who aren't really sure how the whole 'being gay' thing is supposed to work. I know I was lost on a few things when I came out. It's not like there's a lot of people willing to help you out with that.

Lady Vulpix: What kind of things? (Sorry, I haven't been through that, so I don't know what it's like.)
Or we can change the subject if you prefer.
Samchu: No no, I would be more than happy to answer. Well for starters you have the differences between butches and femmes (though the names themselves are fairly self-explanitory) and there's not much help available in regards to how exactly you should try and go about telling those nearest and dearest to you (though I've found there's a lot more help appearing as the years pass). The biggest problem still, though, is sex. Because the only real education people can get from it is from books, the internet and porn. And it's really hard to dig past some of the upheld stereotypes that people have and get to the true facts. That's part of the reason for this book. We really want to show how similar the dynamic of a lesbian relationship is to that of a straight one so we're covering all the bases. Comfortable relationships, get-togethers, break-ups, even those first-time moments. Just to show that it really isn't that scary to be 'different' and it's not that different either.
Lady Vulpix: That does sound helpful.
Samchu: That's what we're hoping for.

Lady Vulpix: What about RPGs? How did you get involved with them, and how did you decide to incorporate them into your writings?
Samchu: Well like most teenagers of the 90s I was into pokemon and one night I stuck pokemon into a google search and TPM sprung up as a result. So I clicked on it and headed over to the forums and I discovered an rpg forum filled with all kinds of pokemon rpgs. So I joined up and things sort of progressed from there. As for incorporating them into my writing, X-Pokes was the first and last to get that treatment. It was a common trend at the time for people to write up fic versions of an rpg they were in and post them in fan fic so I figured I'd give it a try. I got CT's permission and it's just been a cycle of deletes and rewrites ever since. Though I will admit I have wrestled with a few ideas relating to Drusilla's Blood & Magick rpgs but nothing has come from them...yet.

Lady Vulpix: Do you read other people's stories on TPM?
Samchu: Not as much as I used to. I was once an avid closet reader but now I only read things written by eeveeshayna or Crystal Tears and usually at their request.

Lady Vulpix: Closet reader? Is that a reader who doesn't post replies or something else?
Samchu: Yes a reader who doesn't post replies. I was usually too overwhelmed by the talent of people I viewed to be far superior writers than I to comment.

Lady Vulpix: Sorry to hear that. But you don't feel that way anymore, do you?
Samchu: I'm a lot more confident in my own abilities now than I was. I even decided to enter one of fanfics writing competitions many months back which ironically had me pitted head-to-head with one of the few people on TPM who's writing I had always admired. I decided that if my story beat hers then it was proof that I had managed to surpass her (a little selfish perhaps but it seems to be a human goal to someday surpass those you admire). But as it turns out I lost and realised I still have a long way to go. Which hasn't phased me one bit. If anything it's been inspiring. I love being challenged.
Lady Vulpix: As they say, there's always a higher mountain. But that's a good thing, isn't it?
Samchu: Definitely.

Lady Vulpix: So how did you overcome your self-deprecation?
Samchu: I practiced and I submitted what I wrote to the scrutiny of the people around me. I knew they would lie to be keep me happy so I ignored what they said and just watched their faces as they read (because they can't lie about that). And I was pleased with what I saw so I started thinking that maybe there's some talent in me after all.

Lady Vulpix: Wow. Interesting tactic! Didn't watching them as they read make you nervous?
Samchu: It was terrifying but it was the most honest response I could get so I took the risk, and I'm glad I did.
Lady Vulpix:

Lady Vulpix: Do you like reading?
Samchu: Of course! I'm also one of those terrible people who has to finish a series if they start it. I can't stand renting books though (which is a shame because libraries do great things and are under-appreciated), I just need to own the books that I read.

Lady Vulpix: Have you read many series?
Samchu: Not many but some. Most notably the entirety of Tamora Pierces' tortall series, which she seems reluctant to finish, and The Looking Glass Wars on which I am awaiting the next installment.
Lady Vulpix: Oh. I'll have to look them up.
Samchu: I would definitely recommend them.
Lady Vulpix: Thanks.

Lady Vulpix: So, in general, what genres do you like reading?
Samchu: Fantasy. No question about it. Anything else just...isn't as exciting for me.

Lady Vulpix: And I take it the same holds for writing?
Samchu: Yep. Though I've been trying out a few different genres, such a sci-fi. I don't enjoy them as much but I still like to write them. It's nice to make a change sometimes.

Lady Vulpix: Now that you mention it, a lot of people mix up fantasy and sci-fi. How do you feel about it?
Samchu: It doesn't bother me much. I was glad to see last year that a lot of book stores were beginning to distinguish between the two genres in regards to their shelving categories and I think it's a little irritating that some places I go to seem to have given up with the seperation process halfway through but other than that I don't mind.

Lady Vulpix: Heh. I guess it's still better than sorting all books alphabetically by the name of the author (I've seen that done).
Samchu: wow, that's crazy. especially if you're like me and can't remember the author's name, just the title of the book and roughly what section it will be in

Lady Vulpix: OK, there's only one other question that comes to my mind right now. What's been keeping you so busy lately?
Samchu: My life apparently. April and May I was preparing for (and sitting) the exams for my university courses. I spent most of June trying to find a summer job and starting it. July was spent with my girlfriend (who was visiting England for only the second time in her life and kept me very busy). August was spent in the US with my girlfriend and some of the greatest people I've ever met (who sadly will not read this). And since coming back to England a little over a week ago I have been rushing around trying to prepare for the start of my second year at University as well as dealing with all the tiny ins and outs of renting my own house with some friends (which I will be moving into a week on monday).
Lady Vulpix: You can always send those people a link to the interview.
Samchu: That's true. I'm sure Shayna will pass on the message as well.
Lady Vulpix: ^_^

Lady Vulpix: OK. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the readers of this E-Zine?
Samchu: I guess just...keep writing and never stop believing in yourself.

Lady Vulpix: Thanks a lot.
Samchu: You're very welcome.

[Kyuuketsuki]

I'm in there! *Goes hyper* My name was published, I have to send a copy to my mom . Anyway, great E-Zine, I'll definatly check some of the fics mentioned in there.

[Samchu]

Ok...so the start of that interview makes me look like a complete f***ing ass****. Can I just clarify that I was in a really bad mood when this interview was done and so my attempt at 'humour' clearly failed.

I love you Denny!

[Mew Master]

I feel so violated[/sarcasm]

[Samchu]

I'll violate you any day ^_~

[Mew Master]

Kinkeh

[PancaKe]

Oh, I thought I wrote more than that! ^___^ I liked reading the interview as well. Gabi you interview so well!

[Gavin Luper]

I really loved this issue of the e-zine! Even though it was cut a bit short (I think your other articles will be run next month, Tara) it was still a great read. I really love the journalistic approach taken to Tara's news writing: it makes it feel like a professional ezine, and it's easier on the eyes - and more engaging - than the editor's usual brief summary. Well done on the news articles, and the coloured font discussion. Gabi's interview with Samchu was riveting too, digging into the personal side of matters as well as the professional.

In all, a great read, guys. So well done to you all, and to Shonta for collating it.

See you all next issue!

[classy_cat18]

Actually, those are all of Tara's articles that she sent me. I took a few of them and lumped them into a news column. ^^;

[PancaKe]

Who is running the next one??

[classy_cat18]

That'd be Gavin. He's got the December issue.

[PancaKe]

Ok awesome, I'll send my articles through to him... when they're done!