Don't ask me what took me so long to upload this chapter. It was completed many days ago, but I kept putting it off because I keep having this impression that it wasn't good enough. However, my mental fatigue is urging me to just upload the chapter already, so I obeyed.
So here we are. 21 chapters.
Wow.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting this series to be so long. In fact, when this story was in its brainstorming stage, I'd naively thought that I'll make 4 chapters - one per character. Then, as I started writing Tifa's story, I realised that I was dumb to think that way so I made provisions to try and end each character's story in 3 to 4 chapters, that is, to end all four character's stories by Chapter 20, at most.
And now, Vincent's story itself has ten chapters and still counting! I could have made his story a story on its own. I don't know if I should be happy or not. I guess I should be glad that I was able to expand and work on what could have been a skimpy story. I also could say that I'm not good at being concise.
Well, let's just start on some of my author's notes:
If you remember, Vincent's story is based on the lyrics of "The Only Exception" by Paramore. Well, the whole series is based on that. The initial idea of writing a successful businessman who chose to distance himself from others because of a past hurt seemed good in the beginning. I learnt by this chapter what a hole I've dug for myself to jump into. I've spent a considerable amount of time wondering how I could reconcile his empty hole with just a mere conversation with a random girl that he met.
Hopefully, this chapter was satisfactory. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter because I was not sure how I could deliver the climax of his story the best way. I read the chapters many times, and could have read a lot more if I did not actually dread reading it. It's strange; I felt that this chapter was emotionally powerful for me. In the many times that I was writing and editing, I felt very moved by the story that Vincent carried and how vulnerable he was when facing his demons. Seems strange that the author would be affected by her own stories, but for this chapter, it really was the case.
Also, I apologise if my chapter has been really long. I realised that I should have done the entire Vincent’s story in the previous chapter and leave this whole exposition scene for this chapter alone, but that would mean that I would churn out the previous chapter a lot later than it is now. That’s because I really started writing and planning this chapter after uploading Chapter 20. Can’t believe it took me more than a month to write this whole thing out. It's going to be just as difficult to churn out the chapters from here, wish me luck.
One of the hardest things that I had to handle in this chapter was the topic of child-making, hehe. I mean, I didn't want to be so up front and talk about the more intimate matters of the heart. So I think I spent a good fifteen minutes thinking of a good way to describe child-making? I couldn't have avoided it anyway, not when Lucrecia was pregnant.
With the major portion of Vincent's story gone, I'm foreseeing his story to end in the next chapter. However, being aware of the trend, maybe the ending will be split into two chapters, yet again! *smack forehead in frustration*
Well, that's all, I think. Again, I have not finished Chapter 22. Not even 30 percent of it. So be prepared for a long wait again. Sorry guys :(
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
Poem: Powerless
So I saw this in my mail:
Well, unfortunately, I'm out of the age range so I cannot participate. I thought that I could write my entry here instead.
So here goes. It's a poem and not a short story, so already, I'm disqualified but ah, who cares?
Powerless
Hands traverse.
Heart has stopped
but Time moves forward still.
There we go. Hope it's not too confusing to understand.
Of course, I considered starting my story with "Tick tock tick tock", but that would be quiteeeee cliche, wouldn't it?
Maybe I should find more writing challenges online, not because I need to keep my blog going, haha! I think it would be good to start writing things apart from fanfiction. If I want to be serious about my writing, that is.
Well, unfortunately, I'm out of the age range so I cannot participate. I thought that I could write my entry here instead.
So here goes. It's a poem and not a short story, so already, I'm disqualified but ah, who cares?
Powerless
Hands traverse.
Heart has stopped
but Time moves forward still.
There we go. Hope it's not too confusing to understand.
Of course, I considered starting my story with "Tick tock tick tock", but that would be quiteeeee cliche, wouldn't it?
Maybe I should find more writing challenges online, not because I need to keep my blog going, haha! I think it would be good to start writing things apart from fanfiction. If I want to be serious about my writing, that is.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Sorting the mail
I have over 300 unread mails in my inbox at the start of the year.
I know. Don't judge me.
I finally have the time to sort through my mail.
Well, it's not like I absolutely had noooo time at all to do all these things previously. Just that, I would rather use the minimal time I had to rest or do something fun, and administration is not fun in my books.
Anyway, I'm rather pleased to find out that more than a hundred of them were notifications from fanfiction about the readers' support to my stories. Again, I'm always bowled over by the love everyone gives :) The fact that you looked at my story and went, "Huh, guess I'll keep your story in view for the future" makes me all happy and warm inside.
Right now, if you're wondering why I'm not off writing my fanfiction furiously, it's because I'm also side-watching season 2 of "I am a singer", this singing competition from China, inspired by the Korean version of the same thing. I can't really multi-task, and it's really late so I don't wanna work my brains anymore, hehe.
I know. Don't judge me.
I finally have the time to sort through my mail.
Well, it's not like I absolutely had noooo time at all to do all these things previously. Just that, I would rather use the minimal time I had to rest or do something fun, and administration is not fun in my books.
Anyway, I'm rather pleased to find out that more than a hundred of them were notifications from fanfiction about the readers' support to my stories. Again, I'm always bowled over by the love everyone gives :) The fact that you looked at my story and went, "Huh, guess I'll keep your story in view for the future" makes me all happy and warm inside.
Right now, if you're wondering why I'm not off writing my fanfiction furiously, it's because I'm also side-watching season 2 of "I am a singer", this singing competition from China, inspired by the Korean version of the same thing. I can't really multi-task, and it's really late so I don't wanna work my brains anymore, hehe.
Monday, February 11, 2019
Can I Stay By Your Side? - Chapter 10
Fun Fact 2: I've read somewhere that the character profile of Yamamoto Takeshi was written out to be the typical Japanese stereotype. Firstly, "Yamamoto" and "Takeshi" were very common Japanese names. He wields a katana, likes sushi, father owns a sushi shop, likes to play baseball etc. He even named his Vongola Box Weapon, the Akita dog and the swallow, Jirou and Kojirou. "Jirou" is one of those common names of the old.
So in that line of thought, I made Tanaka Sana's name a stereotypical one. "Tanaka" is a common Japanese family name. The name "Sana" is quite common; however; not extremely common. I like names like "Yuki" or "Haruka" may be more common. I just couldn't place these names on my OC. Only "Sana" fit, in my opinion. Thus, Tanaka Sana was the name of my main character.
---
So, it's Chapter 10! It is probably my longest chapter so far at about 3900 words. I couldn't break the chapter into two parts. Then again, if you have read my other stories, you would know that 3900 words is not much. However, I wasn't expecting that length coming from a story as simple as "Can I Stay By Your Side?"
If you've read my previous author's notes, you would realise that I found "Can I Stay By Your Side?" a story without too much complication to the plot. Also, the nature of what it should be (a shoujo manga-esque book) makes some of the details lacking. The average chapter length for each chapter was estimated to be about 2500-3000 words, a far cry from the 3500-4500 word behemoth chapters that I usually write for the other fics. Well, I'll take it as a good thing because it means that I'm finally becoming more serious in this fic.
Yes, it's intentional that this chapter ties back to a couple of things, namely the first line in Chapter 1 and obviously, the title of the story. Doing things like that make me happy.
If I've not said it once, I'll say it again: It's really difficult to write a serious fic about a gag manga! The nature of the first half "Katekyo Hitman Reborn" is that it is a gag manga, so the events in the story are of course filled with sensational actions with oblivious characters coupled with the poor main character who is the knowing one in the midst of it all. It's actually difficult to write a normal fanfic about a gag manga without making the characters OOC.
Yet with that, I'm excited at the prospect of a challenge. Back when I was writing “I Want To Be A Turk!”, I had two goals:
1.) Write a story with minimal loopholes
2.) Insert OC into the canon storyline in a way that does not require me to retcon anything.
That was why whenever Meia is around during an event that happened in the actual Final Fantasy 7 game, she would be in a position where the average gamer wouldn't see her (thanks to fixed camera angles!), like in a corner or far away from the player’s point of view. As it turned out, it became easier to to write as I got used to the limitations that I had given myself.
I guess in this fic, the challenge that I should give myself is to write a serious fanfic from a gag manga! But yeah I know, halfway through the manga in the Kokuyo arc, things start to become real action-packed and less gag manga. But... by then, who knows where my story would take me?
Moving on, I'm shell-shocked by the number of people who still faved and followed me in the 3 years that I was away. And yes, the fanfiction site thought that I was spamming and eventually, I had to stop. I’ll slowly take my time to thank all who faved and followed me, even for the other titles. But you readers always make me feel that what I've done is not meaningless. You really push me to write more each day :)
Anyway, one of the reviewers said that she found Sana’s love troubles super relatable. It gives me much satisfaction that someone could relate to her. Sana’s feelings carried a lot of what I felt when I was her age. Umm, minus the shy and quiet parts - I'm as noisy as any crow on the street. However, a lot of the feelings and reactions Sana felt were a product of my own experience and exposure to shoujo manga.
If you are wondering, I'm always playing the unrequited love role, so I was hardly the protagonist female who gets her feelings reciprocated. In fact, I once had the idea of writing out a whole compilation of love stories that end in unrequited feelings! That was many years ago and once in a while, I still think about that plot bunny! Also, I started writing fanfiction when I was just a little older than Sana. If I had such a fantastic and successful relationship rate like that of my friends, I doubt I'll ever come across fanfiction, much less write one, but that is a story for another time. :)
Okay, so I thought I was quite bad at describing that place where Sana and Yamamoto had their conversation. I realised that there wasn't quite a good description for the place that I had in mind, except for outdoor amphitheatre. However, the park that they were in is a small one and, calling that an outdoor amphitheatre is quite ambitious.
So I’ve found a picture online to better illustrate myself. Just imagine it without the grass and that railing. The place is full-on concrete - exactly the kind of place that you would play recklessly and get a fracture from a bad fall. Hope it is clearer now! Also, if you actually know what this kind of design is called, do let me know!
Finally, to those who are not sure how Yamamoto managed to get hot drinks in the middle of nowhere, there are tons of vending machines littered everywhere in Japan. Almost all of them sell hot and cold canned drinks. Many visitors (like me) would enjoy choosing a different drink each time, but honestly, using the can as a hand-warmer is a splendid reason to buy the hot canned drink, I'm not even gonna pretend.
Once again, thank you for reading my fic and to those who actually made their way here to read my long long long author notes, thank you very much!
Pictures taken from:
Washington Park Amphitheatre: http://ronandmarysummerinportland.tumblr.com/ (Photo Credit: Timothy Grundvig)
It's been a while, so I shall quote verbatim from another page of my blog on the usage of pictures: Pictures are taken through Google Search and will be credited to the website accordingly. Usage of deviantart pictures will not be used unless permission has been granted.
So in that line of thought, I made Tanaka Sana's name a stereotypical one. "Tanaka" is a common Japanese family name. The name "Sana" is quite common; however; not extremely common. I like names like "Yuki" or "Haruka" may be more common. I just couldn't place these names on my OC. Only "Sana" fit, in my opinion. Thus, Tanaka Sana was the name of my main character.
---
So, it's Chapter 10! It is probably my longest chapter so far at about 3900 words. I couldn't break the chapter into two parts. Then again, if you have read my other stories, you would know that 3900 words is not much. However, I wasn't expecting that length coming from a story as simple as "Can I Stay By Your Side?"
If you've read my previous author's notes, you would realise that I found "Can I Stay By Your Side?" a story without too much complication to the plot. Also, the nature of what it should be (a shoujo manga-esque book) makes some of the details lacking. The average chapter length for each chapter was estimated to be about 2500-3000 words, a far cry from the 3500-4500 word behemoth chapters that I usually write for the other fics. Well, I'll take it as a good thing because it means that I'm finally becoming more serious in this fic.
Yes, it's intentional that this chapter ties back to a couple of things, namely the first line in Chapter 1 and obviously, the title of the story. Doing things like that make me happy.
If I've not said it once, I'll say it again: It's really difficult to write a serious fic about a gag manga! The nature of the first half "Katekyo Hitman Reborn" is that it is a gag manga, so the events in the story are of course filled with sensational actions with oblivious characters coupled with the poor main character who is the knowing one in the midst of it all. It's actually difficult to write a normal fanfic about a gag manga without making the characters OOC.
Yet with that, I'm excited at the prospect of a challenge. Back when I was writing “I Want To Be A Turk!”, I had two goals:
1.) Write a story with minimal loopholes
2.) Insert OC into the canon storyline in a way that does not require me to retcon anything.
That was why whenever Meia is around during an event that happened in the actual Final Fantasy 7 game, she would be in a position where the average gamer wouldn't see her (thanks to fixed camera angles!), like in a corner or far away from the player’s point of view. As it turned out, it became easier to to write as I got used to the limitations that I had given myself.
I guess in this fic, the challenge that I should give myself is to write a serious fanfic from a gag manga! But yeah I know, halfway through the manga in the Kokuyo arc, things start to become real action-packed and less gag manga. But... by then, who knows where my story would take me?
Moving on, I'm shell-shocked by the number of people who still faved and followed me in the 3 years that I was away. And yes, the fanfiction site thought that I was spamming and eventually, I had to stop. I’ll slowly take my time to thank all who faved and followed me, even for the other titles. But you readers always make me feel that what I've done is not meaningless. You really push me to write more each day :)
Anyway, one of the reviewers said that she found Sana’s love troubles super relatable. It gives me much satisfaction that someone could relate to her. Sana’s feelings carried a lot of what I felt when I was her age. Umm, minus the shy and quiet parts - I'm as noisy as any crow on the street. However, a lot of the feelings and reactions Sana felt were a product of my own experience and exposure to shoujo manga.
If you are wondering, I'm always playing the unrequited love role, so I was hardly the protagonist female who gets her feelings reciprocated. In fact, I once had the idea of writing out a whole compilation of love stories that end in unrequited feelings! That was many years ago and once in a while, I still think about that plot bunny! Also, I started writing fanfiction when I was just a little older than Sana. If I had such a fantastic and successful relationship rate like that of my friends, I doubt I'll ever come across fanfiction, much less write one, but that is a story for another time. :)
Okay, so I thought I was quite bad at describing that place where Sana and Yamamoto had their conversation. I realised that there wasn't quite a good description for the place that I had in mind, except for outdoor amphitheatre. However, the park that they were in is a small one and, calling that an outdoor amphitheatre is quite ambitious.
Finally, to those who are not sure how Yamamoto managed to get hot drinks in the middle of nowhere, there are tons of vending machines littered everywhere in Japan. Almost all of them sell hot and cold canned drinks. Many visitors (like me) would enjoy choosing a different drink each time, but honestly, using the can as a hand-warmer is a splendid reason to buy the hot canned drink, I'm not even gonna pretend.
Once again, thank you for reading my fic and to those who actually made their way here to read my long long long author notes, thank you very much!
Pictures taken from:
Washington Park Amphitheatre: http://ronandmarysummerinportland.tumblr.com/ (Photo Credit: Timothy Grundvig)
It's been a while, so I shall quote verbatim from another page of my blog on the usage of pictures: Pictures are taken through Google Search and will be credited to the website accordingly. Usage of deviantart pictures will not be used unless permission has been granted.
Friday, February 8, 2019
What on earth are you doing now? (200th post!)
Almost everyone is asking that of me, in varying sentence structures.
Since becoming jobless, I've been living the dream!
Not really.
I did post a chapter each on two of my fanfiction.
Then... I kinda jumped onto the bandwagon that is called Marie Kondo. Yeah, thank you Netflix. Now the whole of Singapore is going on a decluttering spree. So far, I've only cleared out my clothes and my personal books. I've got a ton more to declutter. But on a side note, it has been doing good to my soul. On another side note, I'm doing this decluttering REALLY slowly.
Also, I went on a Netflix binge. I finally finished "Avatar: The Last Airbender" in a matter of days and I'm currently on "Sousei no Omyouji (Twin Star Exorcists)". More on Avatar another time.
Then, a friend of mine is decluttering his house (for a completely different reason from mine) and shoved me a ton of herbs, chocolate chips and essential oils that potentially might last me 5 years. So I've been doing a lot of baking, recipe researching and essential oil blending "lessons" online.
Well, it does sound like I'm living the dream. Alas, when you are my age, the pressures of society will creep up onto you. Already someone is asking me, "So... how long do you intend to be like this?"
And it hasn't even been a month! I've seen people go jobless for longer than that! Sigh. But I don't blame these people for asking. Singapore is really fast-paced and I cannot expect to live my life as a *cue zen voice* "free-spirited soul" when finances are going to become tighter. So yeah, I'll live my life carefree... but at a faster pace, heheh.
Nevertheless, my mind never stopped thinking about writing from time to time.
If my brain is not thinking about fanfiction, it is about my original.
Yep, over the course of two years, whenever I had time, I would ponder about a particular plot bunny. Not fanfiction, original. It's strange to even write that down. I've had a number of original plot bunnies, but this one has been in my mind for a long time. It's more like, two plot bunnies which I've combined, so I'm also afraid that I'm doing too much for one story. Then, there're obstacles that I'm facing, such as doubt in myself, and doubt in whether the story would actually pan out to be good. There are still a number of details that I cannot decide, and without those decisions, I cannot begin writing.
Gah, maybe I'll follow Samantha Sheffield once again and just "DO IT". I mean, I've already visited the library to do some research. I'm sure it's just a step in the right direction.
But yeah, that's pretty much what I've been doing the whole month. :)
P.S: Also, happy lunar new year to all who celebrate it. It's the third day of the lunar calendar and everyone, including myself, must go through the ritual of falling sick due to a lack of control at the sight of snacks and food. But, that's just the veeeerrry picture of prosperity, huh?
P.P.S: My 200th post, whoopee!
Since becoming jobless, I've been living the dream!
Not really.
I did post a chapter each on two of my fanfiction.
Then... I kinda jumped onto the bandwagon that is called Marie Kondo. Yeah, thank you Netflix. Now the whole of Singapore is going on a decluttering spree. So far, I've only cleared out my clothes and my personal books. I've got a ton more to declutter. But on a side note, it has been doing good to my soul. On another side note, I'm doing this decluttering REALLY slowly.
Also, I went on a Netflix binge. I finally finished "Avatar: The Last Airbender" in a matter of days and I'm currently on "Sousei no Omyouji (Twin Star Exorcists)". More on Avatar another time.
Then, a friend of mine is decluttering his house (for a completely different reason from mine) and shoved me a ton of herbs, chocolate chips and essential oils that potentially might last me 5 years. So I've been doing a lot of baking, recipe researching and essential oil blending "lessons" online.
Well, it does sound like I'm living the dream. Alas, when you are my age, the pressures of society will creep up onto you. Already someone is asking me, "So... how long do you intend to be like this?"
And it hasn't even been a month! I've seen people go jobless for longer than that! Sigh. But I don't blame these people for asking. Singapore is really fast-paced and I cannot expect to live my life as a *cue zen voice* "free-spirited soul" when finances are going to become tighter. So yeah, I'll live my life carefree... but at a faster pace, heheh.
Nevertheless, my mind never stopped thinking about writing from time to time.
If my brain is not thinking about fanfiction, it is about my original.
Yep, over the course of two years, whenever I had time, I would ponder about a particular plot bunny. Not fanfiction, original. It's strange to even write that down. I've had a number of original plot bunnies, but this one has been in my mind for a long time. It's more like, two plot bunnies which I've combined, so I'm also afraid that I'm doing too much for one story. Then, there're obstacles that I'm facing, such as doubt in myself, and doubt in whether the story would actually pan out to be good. There are still a number of details that I cannot decide, and without those decisions, I cannot begin writing.
Gah, maybe I'll follow Samantha Sheffield once again and just "DO IT". I mean, I've already visited the library to do some research. I'm sure it's just a step in the right direction.
But yeah, that's pretty much what I've been doing the whole month. :)
P.S: Also, happy lunar new year to all who celebrate it. It's the third day of the lunar calendar and everyone, including myself, must go through the ritual of falling sick due to a lack of control at the sight of snacks and food. But, that's just the veeeerrry picture of prosperity, huh?
P.P.S: My 200th post, whoopee!
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