Thread: Fic of the Month - Monsters and Men-Quirky Circuit

Dang, I was hoping for my Zelda fic to get fic of the month. xP Earning things like that help boost my confidence and get me motivated when writing. It's not about the award, but about the results it brings, basically. But congrats to Dai! I'm not a fan of Mewtwo, but I don't see this story on the board anywhere. o_O

I'll see if I can find a link and update accordingly

Sounds good to me! That way, people who are interested in Mewtwo can find the fic easily. :]

I know I'm a bit late on this, but thanks very much for the honor, and to anyone who's expressed interest in the fic!

I can certainly understand if Striking Back is a bit difficult to find, as I update in huge, random sporadic burst that are weeks or even months apart. XD

But if anyone's still interested, the link is in my signature, and I think I've updated recently enough that you might be able to find it in the first few pages. ;)

Thanks again for your interest and your readership!

Dai

Who is March fic of the month? *hint hint* hehe

Originally Posted by CyberPika

Who is March fic of the month? *hint hint* hehe

Apologies on behalf of the entire Writer's Workshop staff for the delays on this. Organising the awards etc. has thrown this a little behind schedule. There will be a March Fic of the Month, @LightningTopaz is working on selecting it.

I was wondering when the March fic would be selected. Can't wait to see what's chosen this time! :3

I'm working on selecting it--should have my choice made later today

March's Fic of the Month is Llama_Guy's Crystal of the Elements!

S/he may be a new writer, but s/he's got a lot of potential that I felt was worthy of this honor.

Watch this space for an interview!

I'm really, really proud to be selected for this, only a few hours after posting my first work ever Hopefully I can now gain a lot of readers so I can fulfill my shameless need for attention a lot of people will find their way to and enjoy the fic!

Also, I'm a guy ;P

Again, I was very impressed with the story, and felt it was worthy of the honor.

Here's the interview:

Why did you decide to create a fantastic Pokeworld?

I decided to create it for several reasons. The first is that I'm not particularly fond of the world as it is portrayed in the anime and the games - it seems too child-friendly. Pokemon has so much potential, and they've only touched it. AS for why I chose a fantasy setting in particular, is more random. I've had three major plot bunnies regarding Pokemon for some time now. One includes a more futuristic sci.fi.-setting, a "Pokemon in Space" if you want.

The other is a fanfic more inspired by the likes of Mushishi, a fantastic anime about a traveling expert on some strange creatures ("Mushi") that inhabit that series' world. It would be about a traveling pokemon biologist who discovered pokemon, who observed them in their natural habitats - a deeper look into pokemon as the animals they are - a subject hardly touched by the pokemon media so far. There's tons of references to pokemon biology, to them hunting other pokemon for prey, and so on and so forth, but you see so little of it. I wanted to expand more upon it.

The third bunny is the CotE storyline and setting - which is basically pokemon put into a more conventional fantasy setting with wizards, sword-fighting, the conflict of good and evil, and all that. I've always wanted to expand the Pokemon media into something like that, as it provides ample grounds for doing so. The reason for choosing this particular bunny over the other two is probably nothing more than coincidence; I ended up developing it more and decided I'd write this one. Keep your eyes open, though, as the other two are still potential candidates for writing.

What was the most challenging part of building your world?

It is always challenging to build something; but the fun involved in it overcomes that by miles! I've made a large map of the world, and I've had lots of fun creating the individual cities and villages that will appear - they all have very unique cultures that will hopefully give a different and interesting experience as the story moves and touches the different parts of the Auricu region. The challenge mostly lies in making it realistic, making it dynamic. Anyone can create a world and a setting, but very few can create a world and setting that captivates by itself , that is interesting in itself, even without the actual story (the Tolkien unvierse is probably the finest example of that). I aspire to be one of those few.

And when creating fantasy, that is even ore challenging, because the world and its setting is so important; history, culture, how it all plays together, it needs to be dynamic, it needs to be genuine, feel realistic. A war happened long ago may have soured relations between two states - even to this day. How would this affect their culture? Why was a city built in this particular location? And how did this affect the inhabitants? What should I include, and not? Fantasy often have alternate humanoid species such as dwarves, and elves. Should I have them included? Or not? You can't have fantasy elements simply because they're fantasy elements. And then there's the mages. The main character is a mage, so I need to focus on and create an entire culture and history around this, that actually plays into the story.

For most of the stuff probably won't go into the story. There's only so much you can include without dragging down the story - and that's also a challenge. But it's much easier picking what to include when you have all the background material beforehand, compared to when you just have to make up things on the fly. It feels more genuine, done right of course.

What was the most enjoyable part of building your world?

The different cultures, and the mythology. To create so many different places, to imagine what the people there are like, how they have adapted to their natural surroundings, what they live off of, how they interact with others. To plan the history, to create and create and create until I'm sick of it - only I don't get sick of it! Again, I won't include even half of all the stuff I write and create, but I will create a large compendium of history and background stories for mostly everything as it appears in the story.

The mythology was really fun, but also challenging - and I'm one of those who relish a challenge. The Pokemon franchise has a lot of legendary pokemon - and I've played around with them, created my own stories about their roles in this world, how it was created, how it all plays together - one might find that the legendaries has many similar roles, but put into a very different mythological setting. And who knows, maybe some will appear later on in the story?

Any advice for anyone looking to write a story like yous?

Be creative. You don't have to make it fit with existing pokemon media if you don't want to. You can if you want take pokemon and throw them into an entirely foreign setting, and that's fine. Make an interesting world, an interesting setting - many fantasy stories are made or broken based on the appeal of their setting. But don't overdo it, show moderation. Fantasy for the skae of fantasy is enver good - that is, don't throw in elements like elves, dwarves, etc., simply for the sake of having fantasy element to your story. That will detract rather than add to your story.

What is your biggest inspiration?

I don't know, I don't directly reflect on what I take inspiration from as I write, so long as I avoid plagiarizing something. But large fantasy worlds typically inspire me. I admire the complexity of the Lord of the Rings universe, the painstaking detail put into the foreign elements of the Mass Effect universe, and I love creating settings like that myself - those that are deep, complex and vast. Thematically I probably draw a bit from Lovecraftian literature. I have not read any of his works, but the themes present - cosmicism, the futility and pointlessness of our existence, the angst and depression that occurs when faced with something you simply can't overcome, something that's just so overwhelming you feel utterly powerless and pointless, are themes I like myself. I have a rather nihilistic outlook on the world, and that reflects in my writing.

Any advice to young writers?

Heh, I'm a young writer myself (this story is my first serious attempt at actually writing a longer story), but I'll give advice as best as I can. The first thing I notice, is that it's very easy to give up - and rightfully so, writing takes time, and it's frustrating to become good at. Why? Everyone can write, but not everyone can write well. And being able to do something, but not being able to do it well, can be frustrating. And the learning curve is such that you often don't notice yourself if you've become better. You are in many ways very dependent on feedback from other people to see your own improvement. So my advice is to just keep going even if it seems hard and difficult. Share your stories, because that's the best way to get motivation - and also the best way to improve. If you receive negative feedback, don't get disheartened, instead, use the suggestions posted to improve yourself; take what advice you can get. But for many simply sharing their stories is hard - we're all a bit insecure, and most writes (and creative people in general) have this thing where they are never satisfied with their work. That's probably the biggest hurdle. Know that people who aren't involved in the making of something rarely sees all the apparent flaws you see yourself. It might be goo even if there's a thousand small things you want to fix. SO share it, see what people think. If they don't like it, use that as a motivation to improve. If people like it, then use that as a motivation to improve. Writing takes time, so find motivation everywhere you can!

Congrats!

But Pokemon is supposed to be child-friendly...

Originally Posted by Kelleo

Congrats!

But Pokemon is supposed to be child-friendly...

I know, and I really love it for what it represents! But I feel that fanfiction gives an opportunity to throw Pokemon into a less child-friendly setting, or just generally do wild things with the media at hand. That said, a fantasy setting can also be child-friendly, but I like the darker stuff better P:

Originally Posted by Llama_Guy

Originally Posted by Kelleo

Congrats!

But Pokemon is supposed to be child-friendly...

I know, and I really love it for what it represents! But I feel that fanfiction gives an opportunity to throw Pokemon into a less child-friendly setting, or just generally do wild things with the media at hand. That said, a fantasy setting can also be child-friendly, but I like the darker stuff better P:

Ah, I see. When it comes to darker stuff, it depends for me. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't.

You know, I'm kinda envious of you. You got an award with your first story and I've been writing for a long time lol. I thought I was a quick study, but you, sir, must have true natural talent.

To be honest, I had low expectations going in, but once I saw the detail of his world and his characters, I knew he was worthy for the award.