A couple of questions

[SavageJP]

My account is brand new, but believe me I've lurked these forums for a long long time aha.
I'll introduce myself here, my name's Justin, and I'm working on my first fan fiction story for Skyrim. I've wanted to do this for a really long time, and now that the summer's here I can finally get around to it. I really enjoy reading everyone's stories, but I do have a couple questions I'd like to ask some other writers, just so I can try and get this process rolling. For a little background, I'm planning on writing a rather long story with this one, and not a short story. I'm aiming for a decent length novel here, somewhere between the goosebumps books and some of the Halo novels I love writing, but fan fiction and fiction in general is sort of a new territory for me, so I apologize in advance for all the newbie questions, I just seem to have the most issue with organization.

1) About how many characters do you have in the story? And how in depth do you usually go with them? I have a ton of characters in my mind, and I can think of a backstory for all of them, I just don't know how far I should really take it.
Also, how do you organize your characters when you make them? Anyone use anything like a template? I've been making little profile pages, but I can seem to include everything I need when I first start building the character.

2) If I'm writing a long story like I plan to, should I post it on the forums as I complete each chapter? Or whenever it's finalized? I have a friend willing to illustrate for me, so for some reason, in my head, I was thinking about waiting 'till my story is complete, then formatting it like a book, complete with illustrations and all, and then turn it into a PDF file and be able to download it and view it like an actual e-book. Just wondered what everyone's thoughts on that would be.

3) I was kinda wondering if Bethesda actually approved anyone to be considered in lore, and would let anyone actually publish their story. I'm not thinking this for myself, but like reading Kathodos; that's a good story, and I had wondered if anyone ever sent in a story to Bethesda and said, "Hey, what do you think of this? Publishable?". I've seen how even games like Runescape have come out with novels and such, I think TES has such a great expansive amountof lore with gaps, that people could fill them in.
I just had that thought and wondered if anyone tried or Bethesda's actually made comment to this.


Sorry for the expanse of questions; like I said, fiction is not my forte, but I'm eager to jump in.
I appreciate anyone who responds, and any criticism is of course welcome, and if I should just shut up, lemme know!

-Justin

 

[Delusional]

1. Really, it's up to you, and how many characters you think will be necessary to convey your story well. This is a very subjective question and is largely determined by your own personal preferences for writing and the demands that your story requires.

For character organization, personally, I like to make personal Character Cards for them, like you would do for a roleplay. That way, I have each character's general info, appearance, personality, equipment choices, and history/backstory all in one outline. I keep all the outlines in one word document separated by section breaks and such, with bold titles for each character so it's easy to navigate the document.

2. Once again, this is up to you and how you would like to share your story, if you even want to share it, with others. If you intend on having a friend illustrate for you, I would finish the novel before sharing it, so your friend has time to illustrate anything you need. Many people here on the forums post regular installments, and each person has their own way of posting chapters. Some just write it in one sitting in the forum post box, some spend several weeks hammering out a chapter in MS Word, some write several chapters before even posting one so they can stay ahead even if they fall behind on installments.

Really, this again also depends on what you feel is best for your novel. Of course, illustrations that aren't just in-game screenshots are a serious addition. In the end, it's what you feel is the best arrangement for your work to be displayed.

3. I'm not sure of Bethesda's take on publishing fan fictions, I've never heard of anything of the like, but keep this one thing in mind if you are thinking about being published.

If your work is available for free (on a forum or somewhere on the interwebs), there is no point in publishing it and selling it for money if someone could just view it for free on the internet. Just a general statement. If you publicly share a work of literature, the chances that you are going to be able to publish said work are very slim. Of course, that's really only when you share the entire piece, if you want to showcase just an excerpt, that's not as big of a deal as the entire novel.

But really, back on topic, I haven't heard anything about Bethesda publishing fiction based on TES. By all means that doesn't rule out the possibility, but I'm not sure if Bethesda does that.

Hope my meager words help you to some extent.

 

[SavageJP]

Thanks, I appreciate that! I might get like, halfway through with writing, then start posting installments.

 

[Chirurgeon]

Welcome!
First as far as characters go you sort of have to weigh how each character is going to advance the plot. If they are not involved with that you can play with them and kill them off, etc. Or you could pull a George RR Martin and have a thousand named characters and you never know who is going to die. There are pros and cons to each. When i write if I think that character is not going to influence the plot or my main character then I do not invest in them largely. however it is nice keeping the reader guessing.
As far as posting as you go versus waiting till its complete there are pros and cons to this as well. Posting as you go means that it is more difficult to amend the story later. But allowing the community to add input is also something you would gain if you posted chapter by chapter. I like posting as I go as it allows me more flexibility. Plus all of my writing deals with game events and gameplay that I tweak for my own characters. Posting over time allows more readers to find your work as it is sitting on the front page near the top also. Just some thoughts. Good luck!

 

[Matt]

I have no fiction published here, but I feel I can be helpful to you, if you don't mind. Delusional did a good job in answering your questions, but I have some specific thoughts to add to each one.

When determining the number of characters it is best to go with what feels right, not with what makes logical sense in your situation. The length of this story remains ambiguous, so there is absolutely no reason not to try and tell the story organically. One or more of your characters are, of course, going to be the main protagonists of your tale, and all you must do as a writer is tell that story. It really does reduce to that simple of an idea. If you begin adding things for the sake of having more then your story will feel bloated or perhaps redundant, but if you strip things away it might seem anemic and hardly worth the trouble. The real money is in discovering a new cast of friends in your mind or on a page and telling their story as it happens in their natural environment. Later on, you can assess - via self and peer review - if the story is lacking and improve it after you've uncovered the story waiting to be told.

Your next question dealt with how to post your story via a forum. As with all things creative, it really is up to you, but I would be as bold as to say wait. Write the story and then allow us to enjoy it and/or review it for you. In my humble opinion, posting a part of the story before you've written the rest is like asking someone to taste the chicken before its cooked. During the process of preparing that meat, you will cook out any harmful bacteria as well as alter the flavor depending on your method of cooking it. With a story, you have no way of knowing if you will learn new things about your characters as you go along. You cannot be certain that you won't want to do things different part way in. Happens to me all the time, even in script writing. As you follow your characters on their journey, you may go on one yourself. It would be, (again, imho) foolish to lock yourself into a set course of action and ridiculous to plan on going back and constantly change things you already posted. (Though, some writers love the live feedback they get as a story goes on. Still, sometimes the feedback is harmful in that you want to continue to please fans, so you may corrupt your initial vision to sate their desires for your characters)

Your third question dealt with publication and let me tell you, this is a broad topic. I cannot speak to Bethesda's willingness to publish fan fiction, but it has been announced that Kindle and other eBook publishers are seeking licenses to do just that. That in mind, it is the opinion of this writer that fan-fiction is for yourself and for the fans of the same thing that has you interested enough to write about it. It is also excellent practice for working on your own material. It is basically a chance to work with established, successful material which enables you to focus more on the mechanics and techniques at your disposal rather than the background content. Just a thought.

Hope I was helpful.

~Matt

 

[Chirurgeon]

I disagree that having peers review partially completed work is like tasting raw chicken. It makes it seem as if posting things in pieces is somehow going to taint your writing. This couldn't be further from the truth. The community can be very helpful in discerning what you should do or not do, or someone may have a plot twist or setting change that could help your story immensely. Writing is an evolution and having peers to help you evolve is a valued part of the process. Not doing that is not taking advantage of the people that can offer a lot on these forums. Just my two septims.

 

[Matt]

In my opinion, it does taint your writing. Peer review that happens later - once they've seen the conclusion as you, the writer have - is where you receive insight to improve the work. I feel so strongly toward peer review that I joined this site and have been affiliated with writing sites since I was young. However, that review should happen AFTER you've completed your work on your own.

I am not talking about posting excerpts of a story for peer review prior to completion, as that is something I make use of myself and recommend to anyone. Neither am I referring to someone continuing a character(s) story based on the demand of his or her fans. I am referring to the act of purposefully posting incomplete stories and asking your peers to review it. It is like asking someone to solve a math equation with only some of the numbers. Sure, we can gawk at the fancy prose but can the writer actually deliver a satisfying literary experience? That remains to be seen. For example: as much as I have been enjoying Kathodos here at SF, I cannot definitively declare the author as a great storyteller. It has yet to (and I certainly do not expect it to) fall short of the mark set by the first chapter but who is to say that it won't? Maybe I'll find the ending terrible. If the story was finished however, I could effectively review it for her and offer constructive criticism to aide in her growth as a writer. Using the same story as an example, the biggest mark against it thus far (keeping in mind that Kathodos is nothing short of the greatest fanfic I've ever read on a forum) is its lack of a consistent voice in the narrative. The further apart the chapters are numerically, the greater the difference becomes. Presumably, this is a result of the author stopping and starting her muse between "postings".

Once again, this is all my opinion. In reality, it is possible that posting on a forum is what a budding writer requires in order to achieve the confidence necessary to share their work with others. One post at a time is a quick way to garner instant feedback and adjust from there. That said, there comes a time when one should simply type it up, get their reviews, and get on to the next thing. The writing industry is a "What have you done for me lately?" profession that allows little room to linger.

Lastly, I have no doubt that this community (or any other, for that matter) can be a useful tool in the writing process. I just disagree that any writer should publish something that is incomplete, even if it is for free on a fansite.

~Matt

(sorry it took so long to post....I have satellite internet and live in the Midwest, so I lose signal if we get a sudden thunderstorm...which we do. A lot.)

 

[Chirurgeon]

I completely disagree and I think you are looking at an old model of writing. Until forums like this existed the only way to get any sort of recognition is to send your whole manuscript to an editor or peer and hope that they like it and can send it back for revisions. I like to think of writing on these forums as rather like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Instead of sending the whole picture off for review or posting an entire book at once, you look at the individual components and the joining of those components allow you to see the completed picture.

"For example: as much as I have been enjoying Kathodos here at SF, I cannot definitively declare the author as a great storyteller. It has yet to (and I certainly do not expect it to) fall short of the mark set by the first chapter but who is to say that it won't? Maybe I'll find the ending terrible."

The same could be said for a completed book. The first chapter may be excellent but the ending may be terrible. yet you still have to read the whole thing. And the unfortunate aspect of that is that you would not have been able to take advantage of your peers criticisms, AS YOU DEVELOP THE WORK. You could have averted a bad ending.

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen what people have said or thought about things and been like yea that is a good idea. Now if you don't have the skill to weave it into your story effectively then it can make your story fractured. So that is a risk with editing as you go. However if you are creative you can certainly do that. Good flow and story progression is something that many writers struggle with. Without feedback you cant adjust to what other people are seeing. If you release a finished product then you had no way of nipping a problem in the bud.

Your examples of raw chicken and solving math problems without equations is not a good comparison for posting work as you go versus complete. You can learn a lot from one chapter about a writer without reading the whole thing.

 

[ultimatedovahkiin]

1) It doesn't really matter how many characters you start out with as you can add more as you go along if you think of one you would like to add. You should probably start out with at least four, I have never actually really added any new characters as my stories revolve mainly around the heroes from the five games. Only the villain changes, in my I added two villains, and there are side characters like the Divines. But really, you only need a hero (or more if you want a team like I have) and a villain, then at least three side characters to help out the hero and enrich the story. The backstory, it doesn't really matter how long it is as you can go a whole story and not reveal a character's backstory to give them a mysterious like aura, or you can make them opened up completely and reveal a whole thing. If you feel a backstory is too long to reveal all at once, then stretch it out across the story, hell if you are doing more than one story with the same characters, stretch the story across the series. Profile pages, will be helpful to sort, so if you can and want to the use one, I don't write anything about my characters down, I keep them in my head, but a profile page is a great way to sort the characters.

2) Release each chapter at different times as to a. get more popularity for your story. b. it will make the story seem longer. c. it gives more suspense to cliff hangers. Now, that being said you can have the story done before release, but you can release a chapter one at a time. Though if you are anything like me, you will want the story up and running A.S.A.P. so you might then want to release as you get chapters done and be writing the story as it is still in progress. Illustrations and pictures are a good add to your story, Chirurgeon's story The Nascent Ranger has pictures and they really add to his story.

3) I have never sent any stories in, so I wouldn't really know, but you could probably research that, I'm sure if they read it and it was good enough they might email you back or mail you back however you send the story, and if it is good enough then they may want to publish it. I would love for them to publish my first story in the series, or really the whole series, but mainly the first one since it is probably my favorite one I have written :/

Hope I answered your questions, if not and you need more info, message me. I am always happy to help out.

 

[Matt]

Even with e evolution of forums, I have seen that peer review remains largely the same. Since I began utilizing writing forums, I have been a part of twenty-one writing and literary focused forums or sub-forums. Only TWO of those (this one and Sal's Realm of RuneScape) contained stories that display the format shown here. This is not to say that everyone that writes fan fiction here at SF is wrong. That is absolutely not what I am trying to say. What I am attempting to convey is that this is not the norm for fiction peer review and should not be taught as such.

Without feedback you cant adjust to what other people are seeing. If you release a finished product then you had no way of nipping a problem in the bud.

What I'm getting from you right here makes absolutely zero sense to me. A finished product shouldn't have any problems. Individually, there will be readers who disagree with your material or don't like the way you ended it, but that is normal. As far as mechanics, plot devices, characters, etc, etc, go that should be buttoned down before you post the story. Again, THAT is where peer review comes in. As a writer, I have peer groups with equal or better skill that I use to review my works before I publish them. It is part of being a writer. They aide in ironing out the kinks in my work and I do the same for them, privately. Even then no one sees it in its entirety until it is finished. That is crazy.

As a teenager, I posted my fair share of continuing forum stories, but only because it felt like a natural segue from the roleplaying I'd been doing since I was eleven. I lacked the experience and the confidence to see something through, and having a fan base prod me for the next chapter kept a fire under my chair. There is merit in putting a story out there that way, but to say it is the new way of doing things is completely laughable.

The same could be said for a completed book. The first chapter may be excellent but the ending may be terrible. yet you still have to read the whole thing. And the unfortunate aspect of that is that you would not have been able to take advantage of your peers criticisms, AS YOU DEVELOP THE WORK. You could have averted a bad ending.

The difference is this: When you publish a work you are saying, "Come, enjoy my work. And when your done, please, offer me some useful criticism that can help do even better next time." If you write a terrible book, you are going to receive negative feedback. If you write a good book you will receive great feedback. If you post a story that isn't a story (IE, an incomplete sequence of scenes) then who is to say? Sure, you can offer some immediate criticism on mechanics and decisions regarding plot items or character developments, as I have done already in my time here, but there is little room to encourage a writer's growth this way. The reason for that is simple: How do you know how good you are?

Seriously. If you are changing your work as you go based on user feedback then you are writing by consensus. 'They like this, so I'll include it.' In my opinion, that is not the same thing coming up with your own ideas and seeking peer advice on how to present those ideas. How can I look at an incomplete story and say, "Yeah, you need to work on this area", if I've only seen a portion of what you can do? Furthermore, when the story is finished, who really influenced the plot twists or story arcs? Can you be sure it was you if you weighed options given to you by several different people? As a reviewer or potential employer (I am always looking to hire or commission new writers) there is no way that I can be certain of any of these things.

I like to think of writing on these forums as rather like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Instead of sending the whole picture off for review or posting an entire book at once, you look at the individual components and the joining of those components allow you to see the completed picture.

All of those components exist in traditional manuscripts. I fail to see how forum writing is innovative by comparison. In fact, forum writing can be detrimental if instant feedback becomes a crutch.

"The purpose of a story is wasted if it is only meant to entertain." - Robert A. Heinlein.

I know that I am likely treading on toes here, but I don't know how to be anyone but myself. Everyone has a different experience with writing and I respect that wholeheartedly. Continuing Forum stories can be a lot of fun and are excellent tools for young writers seeking confidence and/or acceptance by their peers.

But I will argue until they close the thread against terming it a valid model for writing a publishable work. It simply is not.

~Matt

 

[Delusional]

Wow guys, was the debate necessary? The poor guy asked for answers to a few questions, not a debate about whether or not he should post chapters here on the forums as he goes...

There are pros and cons to each side, and once again, it is a personal preference, as showcased by aforementioned debate. Some may enjoy the criticism of others and advice on how to improve the writing (personally, I've never seen people suggest major plot points or any other story aspect in a fan fiction thread, I've only seen general writing criticism and such), while others prefer to write the entire novel on their own, favoring independence and then share the work afterwards.

Either way, it doesn't matter. Either way, it still remains a personal preference, as do many things in the world of writing. We are individuals, and thus think individually.

 

[Matt]

It seems the debate is necessary. And he did ask about whether or not he should post on the forum in chapters.

Posting a 'forum serial' or whatever it is called is not the same thing as typing out and publishing a complete work. It is not six or a half dozen. Seeking feedback at every chapter break changes the story fundamentally from what it would have been.

 

[Cordelia]

Chiurgeon, Matt, you're both right, you're just talking about two different things.

What Matt addresses is a more professional (in the sense of someone taking their craft to career-sustaining levels) "I'm presenting to you my novel" aspect of writing, wherein the entire story is written, edited by peer groups (on or off site), cleaned up, edited again, repeated as necessary, and then posted with as few errors (grammatical and continuity related) as possible, and it is ONE METHOD.

Chiurgeon advocates posting what you have so the peer review happens as the story develops, to help guide a writer away from mistakes and toward stronger prose, characters, and plots before they're "set in stone", as it were. It is a learn as you go, adapt to the advice, active form of writing, and it is ANOTHER METHOD.

Neither method is wrong, they're simply different, and both advocate the same thing: Seek advice, and learn.

Where you're finding disagreement the most is Matt's method comes across as being very "Finish your story without input from the community, and learn retrospectively what could have been fixed before you posted it, after the fact." We're seeing "Don't seek to avoid problems before you reach them" in that method. Chiurgeon's method, by contrast, comes across as "Post your story mid-draft, and correct as you go rather than learn how to finish, edit, and post a completed product polished to the best of your ability." We're seeing "Don't learn how to make a finished product before showing it off." The thing is, this isn't what either of you is actually trying to say.

The majority of people writing fan fiction here and elsewhere are not doing so in a way to push themselves to professional levels. Many of them will type their chapter in the text box and post it because they have a story to tell, and want to share it as soon as it occurs to them. There's nothing wrong with that. To the same degree, there's nothing wrong with holding on to a piece until you feel you have it written start to finish and at a publishable quality. The author of the story is the only one who can determine which method is going to help them the most, and which method they will ENJOY the most.

Please try to remember, if it isn't fun, it's not worth writing, which is only exponentially true of fan fiction.

To return the thread to its original intent: The number of characters you choose should support the story. Determine what you want to accomplish in your story, and the characters tend to fill themselves in for you, whether you take the path of the Planner who plots out each event before writing them, or the Pantser who writes to discover what happens next as they get there. Don't give yourself character limitations, because it makes you write a story to meet those limitations or expectations instead of using characters as the tools they are; means of expressing your story to your readers. To the same end, recognize when you're adding characters for the sake of adding characters, and cull the herd when they start detracting from the story instead of adding to it.

The simple answer is: There is no standard by which you must uphold yourself. The story is yours, the characters and how many are included or excluded can only be rightfully determined by you.

How you post your chapters will be up to you as well. A total chapter dump all at once, say in the case of a completed story, would be discouraged if for no other reason than it means no one has a reason to come back over and over. Posting on a schedule can ensure people get used to when they can expect a new chapter from you, but it also demands that you have your chapters ready by then so their expectations don't turn to disappointment and disinterest. That method works best when you have a few chapters finished and waiting while you work on new installments, or if you have it completely finished and can then post on a regular schedule at your leisure.

For other writers, posting whenever they have it done works.

Life happens, and it gets in the way of what me might like to do creatively, and the community here understands and supports that. Whatever works for you, we'll accommodate.

Finally, I have seen nothing to indicate Zenimax, Bethesda, or Random House are accepting fan fiction submissions, especially unsolicited. That's not to say they would never or will never, but I am unaware of anyone writing something that wasn't solicited and commissioned by the companies in question. My advice to that aspect would be: If you want any chance of them publishing it, don't post it here or anywhere else until they've turned you down officially. If you just want to write and enjoy sharing fiction with a group of fans eager to share your story in a world we all know, then please, post it here. We're more than happy to read it when it's ready.

 

[ultimatedovahkiin]

So, after reading Delusional's post, and the whole debate, I have come to think of a solution, so Matt thinks that this person should write the story first, Chirurgeon thinks he should release chapter after chapter. Now, I like chapter after chapter because I do love the criticism and comments, but Matt had a good argument too, he said that it is better for the whole story all at once because there will be no criticism that might put someone down in writing the story. Both sides have valid cases, so, here is what should be done about this. First, was this debate necessary? Not really, was it helpful to the maker of this thread? Not really, it probably confused him. So the solution can be, he should start off releasing chapters as he goes, IF for some reason he feels that any criticism given is not nice and he cannot handle it because it is affecting his work, then he should finish the story first as to block out any criticism that would sway his writing. If the two of you would like to continue the debate I am asking that it be done over perhaps private chat or on each others walls as to not turn this thread into a debate ground.

 

[SavageJP]

Man, you guys are awesome. I really do appreciate the discussion and all the responses here. I clearly think I got a bit too far ahead of myself here, since this is basically my first attempt at writing fiction as a whole.
I think I might just go the route of posting chapter by chapter on the forums here just to receive criticism and some feedback, since I am very inexperienced at this, and I won't act like I'm not. It would probably be better for me to post in a serial form because there will probably be some good, straight-forward feedback from this community, just judging from this post.
What I'd like to do, is have say, one person read over my story and edit it, and then I can save it until the end, or post it chapter by chapter without looking like a complete idiot if I make a mistake right off the bat.

But, I might just have to get over my fear of embarrassment and just go ahead and post it and get feedback.

Then, by the end of it, I'll probably format it like a book and add pictures just for fun and ease of reading, if anyone cared to read it after it was all said and done.

Also, when it comes to characters, I tried to make profile cards as if they were role play characters, and I think that really helped with my organization.
That's the biggest thing I have an issue with right now is organization and the writing process in general when it comes to fiction.

Again, thanks a ton guys; this gives me a lot of faith in this community and trust that when I decide to post my story, I'll be getting some good, honest feedback

 

[Cordelia]

I like using programs like Novel Idea on the iPad, and yWriter to organize chapters, scenes, characters and what have you. So far, Novel Idea is my favorite to work with for pure organization, but yWriter does let you do some pretty neat things as far as keeping track of what scenes and chapters different characters appear in, and word count. It doesn't have spell check, though, which is possibly the only major criticism I have for it.

Also, it's very heartening to hear you'd like to have your chapters beta read before posting. Personally I think this is a brilliant idea, especially if what you want to do is improve your writing. Anything you can do to help yourself feel more confident about what you're posting is a good idea, and editing with beta readers is one of the best.

I'm currently acting as a beta reader for Delusional, and I would be willing to do the same for you if you don't get anyone else lined up, but I have no doubt you'll find beta readers very easy to come by in this community.

I'm very glad you joined up, and even happier you've found some of the advice you were hoping to find here.

 

[Matt]

In the end, despite our disagreements, our intention was to help you. I'm glad you were able to see that.

If you require any advice, help with organization, or peer review please feel free to send a message. I'd be more than happy to help in any way possible.

 

[ultimatedovahkiin]

Well, welcome to the forums, and more specifically, the fanfiction section. I will be watching for your story to be posted. And here's a tip on writing fiction, it's not hard, you just have to have an active imagination and you have to utilize that imagination to assist writing. So if you ever get bored and have nothing to do and you need ideas for your story, do what I do. Just start imagining your story as if it were a movie going on in your head, and a revolving plot as you go along and some supporting dialogue, "watch" your characters and story in your mind and just have fun with it. Eventually when you think you have enough for a chapter, cut it off and put in on paper, or the internet in this case. As you are writing some things may change, you may add things, you may leave things out, but that is what will happen. One warning though and I speak from experience, be careful doing this as it may cause you to mentally move on to the next story and you will develop ideas that will be for the next story, then you may get anxious to write them which may cause you to cut your current story short to move on. it's rather annoying when that happens haha. Anyways, welcome to the forums and I am awaiting your story.

 

[Docta Corvina]

The others before me have really covered all the bases to impressive extents, so I don't really feel I have anything to add per se. I would only say that the "debate", as it were, has shown that there is more than one personal approach to writing. Writers all have different needs, different end goals, different motivations. Some write and post fanfiction because it's an escape from stresses of various kinds. It's relaxing and for people with great imaginations, it's a perfect hobby. Others do it as personal tributes to the parent material. Others do it for practice. And some do it for all of the above, or for reasons beyond those. But at the end of the day, it's done because it's enjoyable. And that should always be the most important element in this.

I may have stylistic preferences/techniques that differ from those of other writers, and that's fine. I maintain that there is always a method to my madness, even though that is not to say that there is never room for improvement in every one of us. I actually have started initial research and plot sketching for an original piece that I hope to publish as a novel in the future. But "Kathodos" has been a fun little project for me in the meantime. I have characters whom I have greatly enjoyed bringing to life, and would tell their story no matter what. I've been writing for a long time (more than half of my life), so it's something I'll always do. But if others are enjoying them too, I am glad. And I hope they continue to enjoy the ride through to the story's end. Thank you for the kind words about my fic, by the way. It's greatly appreciated!

Love of writing and the ES world is what unites us here in the Fanfiction area. And we should celebrate that.

 

[Chirurgeon]

Bottom line is that there is no right way to publish fanfic on here. I just want people to be open-minded about how they post it. In the end its all about creativity and enjoying the awesome stories on here. I feel that there is much more to discuss here but I will let sleeping dragons sleep.

Now onto the important matter of posting my next chapter. haha