Writing Discussion

[The Rich Port]

Honestly, I've read some good ones.

Yeah, they never involve the main characters, but still, it counts as fanfic even if you have no idea who the characters are.

I just couldn't resist.

Nah, you're otherwise correct.

Goddamn fanboys/girls...

However, I was hoping to make one that is actually respectful to human emotions and... Logic.

It even has rape!

... Not that that's a good thing. It's a bad thing. But that's why it's good. To have it in a FF fanfic...

Anyway.

I got it all figured out. My Tidus/Cloud/Emo Guy From FF VIII looks like this guy and is actually an overall nice guy, my mage girl is basically Daria/Teen Titan Raven, my white mage is a prissy bitch with a heart of gold, my bard is an entitled misogynist, my Dragonlance General is an entitled misandrist, and my Hope is actually an adult instead of a tiny boy getting creepy vibes with an older teenaged girl.

[Bezombia]

You know what's harder than writing a Final Fantasy fanfic?

Writing a Final Fantasy fanfic with original characters.

You know what's harder than that?

Writing an FF fanfic with likeable original characters.

It's bad enough FF more or less always sucks in the writing department, it doesn't help that it's characters are usually walking stereotypes. While that makes them goofy, one-note and stupid, it also makes them instantly recognizable... For the most part, and therefore makes their stories easier to tell, whatever they may be.

What's even harder than even THAT is making a good universe for them to have their adventures in. FF has pretty much tapped the fantasy universes dry, so I'm actually gonna go further back than the first ever Final Fantasy game.

A lot of Latin American authors wrote good Magical Realism stories. It's kinda their thing.

Indeed.

Magical realism was always defined to me as "the casual intersection of fantasy with reality."

A good example of it is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings."

*starts writing a final fantasy fanfic*

>Replaces all characters with original characters
>Replaces the setting with an original setting
>Replaces the lore with lore more easy to work with

10/10 best FF fanfic ever

[The Rich Port]

You know what's harder than writing a Final Fantasy fanfic?

Writing a Final Fantasy fanfic with original characters.

You know what's harder than that?

Writing an FF fanfic with likeable original characters.

It's bad enough FF more or less always sucks in the writing department, it doesn't help that it's characters are usually walking stereotypes. While that makes them goofy, one-note and stupid, it also makes them instantly recognizable... For the most part, and therefore makes their stories easier to tell, whatever they may be.

What's even harder than even THAT is making a good universe for them to have their adventures in. FF has pretty much tapped the fantasy universes dry, so I'm actually gonna go further back than the first ever Final Fantasy game.



Indeed.

Magical realism was always defined to me as "the casual intersection of fantasy with reality."

A good example of it is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings."

*starts writing a final fantasy fanfic*

>Replaces all characters with original characters
>Replaces the setting with an original setting
>Replaces the lore with lore more easy to work with

10/10 best FF fanfic ever

Ive been trying not to be total ripoff.

The plot I came up with is.pretty rudimentarry

Think ff2 + ff10

[Conserative Morality]

You know what's harder than writing a Final Fantasy fanfic?

Writing a Final Fantasy fanfic with original characters.

You know what's harder than that?

Writing an FF fanfic with likeable original characters.

It's bad enough FF more or less always sucks in the writing department, it doesn't help that it's characters are usually walking stereotypes. While that makes them goofy, one-note and stupid, it also makes them instantly recognizable... For the most part, and therefore makes their stories easier to tell, whatever they may be.

What's even harder than even THAT is making a good universe for them to have their adventures in. FF has pretty much tapped the fantasy universes dry, so I'm actually gonna go further back than the first ever Final Fantasy game.

Why are even writing fanfic at that point?

EDIT: Scrap that, ARE you even writing fanfic at that point?

[The Rich Port]

You know what's harder than writing a Final Fantasy fanfic?

Writing a Final Fantasy fanfic with original characters.

You know what's harder than that?

Writing an FF fanfic with likeable original characters.

It's bad enough FF more or less always sucks in the writing department, it doesn't help that it's characters are usually walking stereotypes. While that makes them goofy, one-note and stupid, it also makes them instantly recognizable... For the most part, and therefore makes their stories easier to tell, whatever they may be.

What's even harder than even THAT is making a good universe for them to have their adventures in. FF has pretty much tapped the fantasy universes dry, so I'm actually gonna go further back than the first ever Final Fantasy game.

Why are even writing fanfic at that point?

EDIT: Scrap that, ARE you even writing fanfic at that point?

I don't know anymore.

To be fair, I don't have the patience or the whatever it is to come up with fantasy universes. I've come up with one and that's about as far as I wanna take it. Technically, it's set before Final Fantasy 1, so it's in that generic monster-crazy world, and my story actually gives an origin story of why the world of FF 1 is what it is.

Plus, it gives me an excuse to write a lot of romance and analyse relationships and whatnot.

Auron the Cid, the sensitive Zangief, enters into a healthy, mature relationship with Celes Invicta, my hipster black mage, while "Creampuff" Ashe of the Light gets it on with the Prince of the Al-Bhed, Cecil Limpwood, in a weird idealistic courting, and, finally, things get super fucking weird when Head Imperial Bitch In Charge Serah Skylance basically makes Hope of Lesser, my femi-Japanese bishounen her sex pet. There's lots of dynamics like that going on in Final Fantasy games, come to think of it.

I've been personally wondering what exactly would make a Final Fantasy fanfic an FF fanfic if none of the characters are in it.

[Shaggai]

Well, it's usually defined as "has magic, but is stylistically realism." The other main definition (phrasing courtesy of Sir Terry Pratchett) is "fantasy written by someone I went to college with."

A lot of Latin American authors wrote good Magical Realism stories. It's kinda their thing.

Yes, I know.

[Zeinbrad]

Well, I want to do The Fault in Our Stars (Happy Beano?) with Nicholas.

Also Beano, how's your friend?

[Nazi Flower Power]

Well, I want to do The Fault in Our Stars (Happy Beano?) with Nicholas.

What? I sincerely don't understand what you mean by this.

[Bontavation]

Well, I want to do The Fault in Our Stars (Happy Beano?) with Nicholas.

What does that mean? Please tell me you aren't just trying to transplant your "character" Nicholas into The Fault In Our Stars.

[Zeinbrad]

Well, I want to do The Fault in Our Stars (Happy Beano?) with Nicholas.

What? I sincerely don't understand what you mean by this.

I was basically saying sad story.

Sorry.

[Nazi Flower Power]

Well, I want to do The Fault in Our Stars (Happy Beano?) with Nicholas.

What does that mean? Please tell me you aren't just trying to transplant your "character" Nicholas into The Fault In Our Stars.

Yeah, I was kind of worried that he meant that...

[Nazi Flower Power]

What? I sincerely don't understand what you mean by this.

I was basically saying sad story.

Sorry.

Ah, OK. I'm sure there was a better way to explain that, but considering what you have worked out so far about Nicholas' background, I think a sad story makes sense.

[Nordengrund]

I am doing a NaNo this year and November is fast approaching. I still am debating between writing a dystopia novel or a magic realism novel.

What's wrong with magic realism in a dystopian setting?

That sounds like a cool idea, but for now I want two separate stories.

One is a dystopia speaking out against political correctness, the other is actually realistic fiction with a pinch of the supernatural. It is set in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebrations, so I don't think they would go together.

Might do the magic realist dystopia after those.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

I like the idea of a group of activists smuggling people out of North Korea via a mysterious, surreal, nightmare-ish* route through some alternate plane of reality.
*Not nightmarish, but nightmare-ish, if you understand what I'm saying. Spooky, but not terrifying.

[Norstal]

You know what's harder than writing a Final Fantasy fanfic?

Writing a Final Fantasy fanfic with original characters.

You know what's harder than that?

Writing an FF fanfic with likeable original characters.

It's bad enough FF more or less always sucks in the writing department, it doesn't help that it's characters are usually walking stereotypes. While that makes them goofy, one-note and stupid, it also makes them instantly recognizable... For the most part, and therefore makes their stories easier to tell, whatever they may be.

What's even harder than even THAT is making a good universe for them to have their adventures in. FF has pretty much tapped the fantasy universes dry, so I'm actually gonna go further back than the first ever Final Fantasy game.

Why are even writing fanfic at that point?

EDIT: Scrap that, ARE you even writing fanfic at that point?

Well, I've read a really good Harry Potter fanfic about the philosophical implications of living in a world with magic and how it conflicts with natural laws like physics. You can probably write a good FF fanfic if it's satirical like that, although it would be extremely difficult.

[The Rich Port]

Why are even writing fanfic at that point?

EDIT: Scrap that, ARE you even writing fanfic at that point?

Well, I've read a really good Harry Potter fanfic about the philosophical implications of living in a world with magic and how it conflicts with natural laws like physics. You can probably write a good FF fanfic if it's satirical like that, although it would be extremely difficult.

It's that line of when things stop being fanfiction and become transformative works.

[The New World Oceania]

I like the idea of a group of activists smuggling people out of North Korea via a mysterious, surreal, nightmare-ish* route through some alternate plane of reality.
*Not nightmarish, but nightmare-ish, if you understand what I'm saying. Spooky, but not terrifying.

Nightmare-esque might be better word choice.

[Vozt Yurkova]

I like the idea of a group of activists smuggling people out of North Korea via a mysterious, surreal, nightmare-ish* route through some alternate plane of reality.
*Not nightmarish, but nightmare-ish, if you understand what I'm saying. Spooky, but not terrifying.

Presumably they'd end up missing their window to leave said alternate plane and getting oppressed by nightmarey folk.

[SuperFruitland]

Few days of work on fanfics has subsided in my very own thread, fanfics about my region.

(Totally not advertising or anything...)

[Zeinbrad]

I was basically saying sad story.

Sorry.

Ah, OK. I'm sure there was a better way to explain that, but considering what you have worked out so far about Nicholas' background, I think a sad story makes sense.

I just need to figure out if I focus on one event or his entire life before the books.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

I like the idea of a group of activists smuggling people out of North Korea via a mysterious, surreal, nightmare-ish* route through some alternate plane of reality.
*Not nightmarish, but nightmare-ish, if you understand what I'm saying. Spooky, but not terrifying.

Presumably they'd end up missing their window to leave said alternate plane and getting oppressed by nightmarey folk.

I don't think that the term "opression" really does what "nightmarey folk" do to people justice.


Anyways, here's a rough idea of how I'm imagining it now:

Imagine you're a citizen of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. You're desperate to escape oppression, and willing to do anything for freedom. One day, you hear about a way out. It's dangerous, but (to your mind) worth the risk. You manage to contact someone who knows more, and they lead you to an abandoned building in the suburbs of Pyongyang, down several flights of steps, and into a subterranean atrium that seems much older than the building above. The walls are adorned with faded writing like none you've ever seen, and here and there are carvings that, while difficult to understand, almost seem like some sort of warning.

In one wall is a large, foreboding door, leaving into a massive cave system. The door is not completely closed; a rope fastened to a post inside the atrium is strung through the door and out into the cave. Your guide provides you with a small amount of food and a flashlight, and gives you a simple set of instructions: "Follow the rope. Try to ignore your surroundings. Whatever you think you see, do not leave the rope. And, above all, do not fall asleep inside the cave."

Hesitantly, you venture out into the labyrinth of pitch-black tunnels. At first, all is silent and completely devoid of life. However, as you go deeper, always clutching the rope, you start to notice things. Now and then, you see a faint light at the end of a tunnel, beckoning you. Sometimes, muffled, distant conversations meet your ear. At one point, you hear what sounds like a crying child, but you remember your guide's warning and press on.

After a few hours, you start to hear whispering coming from nearby - sometimes up ahead, sometimes right behind you - and the cave starts to be lit by an eerie reddish glow. The rough cavern walls give way to marble halls with high vaulted ceilings, packed with thousands of lifelike marble statues. You're almost certain that you see some of them moving near the edges of your vision. The whispers grow softer, and you begin to feel tired, but the guide's warning rings in your head, and you push onwards. For hours, you stumble drowsily forwards, until at length you re-enter the cave system, this time next to an inky subterranean river. Pale shapes seem to move below the surface, but, thankfully, you can't quite make out any details.

After hours of walking, almost too tired to continue, you reach a door much like the one you entered through, leading to another ancient atrium. Relieved, you see the other end of the rope, and someone rushes forward to catch you as you fall to the ground, exhausted. You're finally free.

Of course, that's a journey gone right. Presumably, an actual story based on the idea would feature something going wrong.

[The New World Oceania]

Presumably they'd end up missing their window to leave said alternate plane and getting oppressed by nightmarey folk.

I don't think that the term "opression" really does what "nightmarey folk" do to people justice.


Anyways, here's a rough idea of how I'm imagining it now:

Imagine you're a citizen of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. You're desperate to escape oppression, and willing to do anything for freedom. One day, you hear about a way out. It's dangerous, but (to your mind) worth the risk. You manage to contact someone who knows more, and they lead you to an abandoned building in the suburbs of Pyongyang, down several flights of steps, and into a subterranean atrium that seems much older than the building above. The walls are adorned with faded writing like none you've ever seen, and here and there are carvings that, while difficult to understand, almost seem like some sort of warning.

In one wall is a large, foreboding door, leaving into a massive cave system. The door is not completely closed; a rope fastened to a post inside the atrium is strung through the door and out into the cave. Your guide provides you with a small amount of food and a flashlight, and gives you a simple set of instructions: "Follow the rope. Try to ignore your surroundings. Whatever you think you see, do not leave the rope. And, above all, do not fall asleep inside the cave."

Hesitantly, you venture out into the labyrinth of pitch-black tunnels. At first, all is silent and completely devoid of life. However, as you go deeper, always clutching the rope, you start to notice things. Now and then, you see a faint light at the end of a tunnel, beckoning you. Sometimes, muffled, distant conversations meet your ear. At one point, you hear what sounds like a crying child, but you remember your guide's warning and press on.

After a few hours, you start to hear whispering coming from nearby - sometimes up ahead, sometimes right behind you - and the cave starts to be lit by an eerie reddish glow. The rough cavern walls give way to marble halls with high vaulted ceilings, packed with thousands of lifelike marble statues of people with their eyes closed. You're almost certain that you see some of them moving near the edges of your vision. The whispers grow softer, and you begin to feel tired, but the guide's warning rings in your head, and you push onwards. For hours, you stumble drowsily forwards, until at length you re-enter the cave system, this time next to an inky subterranean river. Pale shapes seem to move below the surface, but, thankfully, you can't quite make out any details.

After hours of walking, almost too tired to continue, you reach a door much like the one you entered through, leading to another ancient atrium. Relieved, you see the other end of the rope, and someone rushes forward to catch you as you fall to the ground, exhausted. You're finally free.

Of course, that's a journey gone right. Presumably, an actual story based on the idea would feature something going wrong.

The story would be incomplete if the North Korean government isn't in hot pursuit.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

I don't think that the term "opression" really does what "nightmarey folk" do to people justice.


Anyways, here's a rough idea of how I'm imagining it now:

Imagine you're a citizen of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. You're desperate to escape oppression, and willing to do anything for freedom. One day, you hear about a way out. It's dangerous, but (to your mind) worth the risk. You manage to contact someone who knows more, and they lead you to an abandoned building in the suburbs of Pyongyang, down several flights of steps, and into a subterranean atrium that seems much older than the building above. The walls are adorned with faded writing like none you've ever seen, and here and there are carvings that, while difficult to understand, almost seem like some sort of warning.

In one wall is a large, foreboding door, leaving into a massive cave system. The door is not completely closed; a rope fastened to a post inside the atrium is strung through the door and out into the cave. Your guide provides you with a small amount of food and a flashlight, and gives you a simple set of instructions: "Follow the rope. Try to ignore your surroundings. Whatever you think you see, do not leave the rope. And, above all, do not fall asleep inside the cave."

Hesitantly, you venture out into the labyrinth of pitch-black tunnels. At first, all is silent and completely devoid of life. However, as you go deeper, always clutching the rope, you start to notice things. Now and then, you see a faint light at the end of a tunnel, beckoning you. Sometimes, muffled, distant conversations meet your ear. At one point, you hear what sounds like a crying child, but you remember your guide's warning and press on.

After a few hours, you start to hear whispering coming from nearby - sometimes up ahead, sometimes right behind you - and the cave starts to be lit by an eerie reddish glow. The rough cavern walls give way to marble halls with high vaulted ceilings, packed with thousands of lifelike marble statues of people with their eyes closed. You're almost certain that you see some of them moving near the edges of your vision. The whispers grow softer, and you begin to feel tired, but the guide's warning rings in your head, and you push onwards. For hours, you stumble drowsily forwards, until at length you re-enter the cave system, this time next to an inky subterranean river. Pale shapes seem to move below the surface, but, thankfully, you can't quite make out any details.

After hours of walking, almost too tired to continue, you reach a door much like the one you entered through, leading to another ancient atrium. Relieved, you see the other end of the rope, and someone rushes forward to catch you as you fall to the ground, exhausted. You're finally free.

Of course, that's a journey gone right. Presumably, an actual story based on the idea would feature something going wrong.

The story would be incomplete if the North Korean government isn't in hot pursuit.

Perhaps people normally make the journey in groups, after a more in-depth explanation, but this time the preparation gets cut short by a government raid, forcing a smaller-than-usual number of people to leave before they're ready.

[Vancon]

How do I into morally ambiguous "good guy" colonist who wants freedom for all?

I need a villain for my RP, and I have the basic idea for him, but I want some reference material and I have nowher to look.

[The New World Oceania]

How do I into morally ambiguous "good guy" colonist who wants freedom for all?

I need a villain for my RP, and I have the basic idea for him, but I want some reference material and I have nowher to look.

Evil Puritan/Tory/axe murderer. Consider The West Wing and how the antagonists are typically portrayed as far-right conservatives; a colonial setting might do the same to federalists, Whigs, or what ever ideology so fits your intention.