The Fanfiction Forum E-zine 2009

[Gavin Luper]

WE WANT YOU!

Are you a wannabe journalist?

Hungry for recognition?

Thirsty for glory?

Then why not join the ranks of the Fanfiction Forum E-zine and send us an article for our next edition as we move into our massive THIRD year of publication?

You can write about writing, reading and theories; you can do a spotlight on a poem or underappreciated fic; you can interview a fellow member --- whatever you've got to say about the goings-on in the fanfic forum, we want to hear it!

Anyone can be a published journo, so send your articles to me via PM by the 31st December 2008to be published at the beginning of the new year!

Oh, and post here to let me know if I can expect some articles from you or not!

Cheerio, then!

[Dark Sage]

I have one coming. It may already be in your PM box.

[PancaKe]

Lol mine was too long for the tpm pm box. Is that a bad thing?
So I sent it to your facebook.

[Gavin Luper]

Sweet! Thanks guys, I've received both your articles and they look great!

[mistysakura]

Indeed, MLG, some native English speakers are harder to understand than you are. I like the image of 'painted words' in itself. Your English is particularly impressive seeing as it's your third language -- I could never dream of doing creative writing in Japanese. It's funny that you say "commenting on one's fic is as natural as breathing", because sometimes I'm so lazy I can't be bothered to reply, even if it really only involves typing three lines! Then again, I suspect that if I didn't have to breathe to live, I'd be too lazy to do that too

The random quote from Shonta's article amused me. The article did not amuse me, but that's a good thing, because it made me think. I really like battles which are realistic physically. It makes us relate to what the Pokemon are going through, which I think makes them better characters. It sometimes bugs me that, as you said, in the games Pokemon never seem to suffer any actual damage, just lowering of HP and fainting. I wouldn't say that it leads to animal cruelty or anything like that, but it does make you forget that these pixels you're battling are supposed to be living creatures. If you think about it, leaving Pokemon in boxes for the duration of the game or breeding them endlessly to get good EVs would be obscene in real life, but not even the most fundamental of anti-violence-in-video-games people seem to notice. ...Anyway, back to the topic... I also like it when some of the mechanics of the Pokemon world are explained. Because the games and anime have left so many blanks, there's room for writers to get creative, and I've seen some smart ideas. For example, Dragonfree's The Quest for the Legends uses stats, but explains them as numbers like IQ, which don't rigidly determine a creature's fate. Although some things do defy all explanation, hehe.

Brian's article is really interesting. I find that loveless love happens in films and stuff too... and probably also in real life. It's hard to have any explanation for why a couple got together instead of some different combination, let alone a rational one. So maybe Love Hina isn't so farfetched after all. Maybe it's books which are too logical when they present couples as made for each other. But yeah, I do have a problem when in anime, we don't get to see the thoughts of characters at all, but watch them fall in love randomly. Perhaps there's a middle way -- having some insight into characters' thoughts so we have some idea of why they've fallen in love, but not necessarily a perfect match or perfect explanation.

And re: people being afraid of their ideas being wrong or ridiculed, indeed, that must happen too... Hopefully, at TPM, not the ridiculed part. It feels a bit different posting an opinion on an e-zine rather than in a normal post, because you're investing more in that opinion, and it seems like you have more to lose if someone pulls it down. So yeah, confidence is a factor. But if an idea's developed enough to be an e-zine article, I'm sure it can't be proved wrong that easily anyway.

Oh, and I agree that Brian is as human as the rest of us, but is grammar?

[mr_pikachu]

Good day, fellow Fanficcers!

We’re looking forward to bringing you the next issue of the Fanfiction E-zine. But since we need articles to fill each edition, here are some topic suggestions for any prospective contributors!

• Is there an event in Fanfic that you want to analyze? (The Fanfiction Hall of Fame, for instance?)
• Are there any concerns about the forum that you'd like to address?
• Any great fics that have earned some extra kudos, or maybe something that isn’t getting the attention it deserves?
• Do you want to talk about writing in general, or is there something about fanfiction in particular that people need to consider?
• Would you like to do a review of a TPM fanfic using the FFRO guidelines, or maybe an interview of a well-known Fanficcer?
• Do you think your fellow Fanficcers could learn something useful from a published novel?
• What are you going to eat for lunch?

Those are just a few of the things about which you can write. If you’ve got another theme that you think would be good for the E-zine, let us know! We're already planning another New Fic Spotlight, a stellar Interview with the Stars, and more. But we need your help to fill the issue! You make it happen, people!

Anyone here can submit an article for the E-zine. Basically, if you’re reading this message, you can write something. Just let us know what you want to write so that we can make preparations.

If you'd like to submit something for the next E-zine issue, please PM the completed article to me, mr_pikachu, by 12:01 a.m. Central Time, March 1, 2008. And if you can get it in sooner, please do. The earlier I get the articles, the quicker I can arrange them for E-zine publication.

Thank you! We look forward to seeing your articles in print! ^_^

[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~