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.
Showing posts with label Fanfiction Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fanfiction Reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Being A Young Writer
No, I'm not referring to myself as a young writer. I truly believe that I am one of the older writers in the fanfiction-verse. I was referring to a fanfiction that I was reading recently. Um... at point of writing, it has been many months. I finished reading that fanfiction a few months back, before I went on hiatus.
I won't go into too much of history and dive straight into the topic. I came across this fanfiction and thought that the summary of the story was quite interesting, so I decided to read it. Nowadays, to be committed to a story takes a lot out of me, and I'm not referring to writing my stories. I'm talking about reading the fanfiction of others.
The story is about the protagonist who was thought of as weak and useless (quite in line with the canon storyline). He has a twin brother (original character) who was better than the protagonist in many ways, even though he is horrible. Unknown to many, the protagonist lives a dual-life. His alter ego is a master assassin.
Sounds interesting, no?
The author was thirteen at the point of writing. I must say... Wow. To write and get yourself published online... it takes a lot of guts. It took me a few months to write my first chapter (which is "Romeo and Juliet in Balamb Garden") and many more months after that to ask my friends to read them. And that was when I was 15.
It probably also meant that younger people are less aware of what they are actually publishing.
So as I'm reading this fanfiction, my brain began to go from, "I can't wait for this story to tell me what it's about!" to "O----kay. I'll give this story another chance for the next five chapters." to "What is really happening?"
I can't tell you how bad it is without spoiling the story content or revealing the title. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I was really bad at my first chapter too. Unfortunately, I threw away my old drafts in disgust. ("Romeo and Juliet in Balamb Garden" is updated about six years ago because I could not stand how bad it was.) So I'll never know. I don't want to know then anymore too!
I'm not here to tear bridges and make fun of fellow fanfic authors. However, I can, very vaguely, tell you what are some of the things that happened that I did not like in another post, another time. Today, that's not my agenda. In case you are wondering, I really did give reviews and I was honest with her about her writing, but not done harshly. I pointed out what could be strengthened and she (the humble, lovely person she is) willingly accepted my comments and thanked me for taking my time to give feedback. Wow. That's good attitude there. I could always be a more thankful writer to my readers so there's something commendable in her attitude :)
Being a young writer is really something to be proud of. In my country where writing is often met with groans and complaints from students, I feel excited to see someone who is into writing fiction. More so if the person is a young person. I hope that that young fanfic writer will meet more people who will help her to become a better writer.
It took me many years to improve my writing. Truth is, fanfiction.net is not exactly the best place to improve because everyone is nice and they won't be able to give feedback anything more than grammar. I am also guilty of the same thing too. I am bad at giving comments to improve my fellow writers. However, let's do our best to help each other. After all, we are all in this because we like writing. Let's not make this a horrible experience for anyone.
Okay. I need to sleep. My opinions are a little muddled up because of my fatigue.
I won't go into too much of history and dive straight into the topic. I came across this fanfiction and thought that the summary of the story was quite interesting, so I decided to read it. Nowadays, to be committed to a story takes a lot out of me, and I'm not referring to writing my stories. I'm talking about reading the fanfiction of others.
The story is about the protagonist who was thought of as weak and useless (quite in line with the canon storyline). He has a twin brother (original character) who was better than the protagonist in many ways, even though he is horrible. Unknown to many, the protagonist lives a dual-life. His alter ego is a master assassin.
Sounds interesting, no?
The author was thirteen at the point of writing. I must say... Wow. To write and get yourself published online... it takes a lot of guts. It took me a few months to write my first chapter (which is "Romeo and Juliet in Balamb Garden") and many more months after that to ask my friends to read them. And that was when I was 15.
It probably also meant that younger people are less aware of what they are actually publishing.
So as I'm reading this fanfiction, my brain began to go from, "I can't wait for this story to tell me what it's about!" to "O----kay. I'll give this story another chance for the next five chapters." to "What is really happening?"
I can't tell you how bad it is without spoiling the story content or revealing the title. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I was really bad at my first chapter too. Unfortunately, I threw away my old drafts in disgust. ("Romeo and Juliet in Balamb Garden" is updated about six years ago because I could not stand how bad it was.) So I'll never know. I don't want to know then anymore too!
I'm not here to tear bridges and make fun of fellow fanfic authors. However, I can, very vaguely, tell you what are some of the things that happened that I did not like in another post, another time. Today, that's not my agenda. In case you are wondering, I really did give reviews and I was honest with her about her writing, but not done harshly. I pointed out what could be strengthened and she (the humble, lovely person she is) willingly accepted my comments and thanked me for taking my time to give feedback. Wow. That's good attitude there. I could always be a more thankful writer to my readers so there's something commendable in her attitude :)
Being a young writer is really something to be proud of. In my country where writing is often met with groans and complaints from students, I feel excited to see someone who is into writing fiction. More so if the person is a young person. I hope that that young fanfic writer will meet more people who will help her to become a better writer.
It took me many years to improve my writing. Truth is, fanfiction.net is not exactly the best place to improve because everyone is nice and they won't be able to give feedback anything more than grammar. I am also guilty of the same thing too. I am bad at giving comments to improve my fellow writers. However, let's do our best to help each other. After all, we are all in this because we like writing. Let's not make this a horrible experience for anyone.
Okay. I need to sleep. My opinions are a little muddled up because of my fatigue.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
More surrendering...
And then, to follow up on my previous post, more reviews came in.
From the same person.
In fact, this person made sure to review every chapter that I wrote, even though she was reading from Chapter 1 to 5 in one go.
I've not seen such a reviewer in such a long time.
You had no idea how happy she made me last Thursday, when I first received her review (and the subsequent 4 reviews after).
I don't think I'm the only one in this. Readers, please encourage your fanfic writers. They are all putting in their best, regardless of the quality of the stories.
From the same person.
In fact, this person made sure to review every chapter that I wrote, even though she was reading from Chapter 1 to 5 in one go.
I've not seen such a reviewer in such a long time.
You had no idea how happy she made me last Thursday, when I first received her review (and the subsequent 4 reviews after).
I don't think I'm the only one in this. Readers, please encourage your fanfic writers. They are all putting in their best, regardless of the quality of the stories.
Monday, March 9, 2015
I surrender.
Is it just me, or has the culture of readers online become one that are silent and supportive with their likes and follows?
Don't get me wrong, I love them equally. But today, I received my first review in a very, very long time. I don't think I've smiled so happily, or felt so satisfied with my work with that one review.
So I give up. I have to admit to myself that even though I love it when people favourite and follow my stories, it is the reviews that make my day extra special.
Don't get me wrong, I love them equally. But today, I received my first review in a very, very long time. I don't think I've smiled so happily, or felt so satisfied with my work with that one review.
So I give up. I have to admit to myself that even though I love it when people favourite and follow my stories, it is the reviews that make my day extra special.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Days of Exile: Chapter 60
It is over! I'm super excited.
I've rambled quite a lot in the chapter itself, but I've saved the blog post for things more personal.
Now, regarding the story where they went to Wutai, should I continue? I'm really in a dilemma about it. On one hand, I desire to write it out. On the other hand, I feel that it's time to break away from this world. I have to move on and try something new. If not, I may just ride on this 'success' and never improve in other things.
That is the biggest reason, among many others. It's also because I lack details and story plots to make it a good one. I don't know about you, but I never launch a story without planning up to 40% of the story. 40% means a skeleton of the story progression, the ending, some milestones of the story and solid, believable characters. Even my intentionally-crappy story on 9gag vs FF7 was planned. The only one where I did minimal planning was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "Dress Off!", which ironically, was the most successful story in my profile. That had implications on many levels.
I'm also afraid of the amount of time that I have to put in. As of now, I am uploading "The Only Exception" and I'm not sure how committed can I be with this story. Even now, I'm not very sure what is going to happen after Tifa's story. I'm pretty unprepared, hurhur.
Then again, if I start moving away from the world of "Days of Exile", it means that it will take A LOT to get back into the world. Maybe a rereading of "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile". Just the thought of it is enough to get my lazy soul crawling back to the couch.
Here is the link to the web novella that I've mentioned. I'm sure you can find those youtubers yourself with their usernames, right?
I've rambled quite a lot in the chapter itself, but I've saved the blog post for things more personal.
Now, regarding the story where they went to Wutai, should I continue? I'm really in a dilemma about it. On one hand, I desire to write it out. On the other hand, I feel that it's time to break away from this world. I have to move on and try something new. If not, I may just ride on this 'success' and never improve in other things.
That is the biggest reason, among many others. It's also because I lack details and story plots to make it a good one. I don't know about you, but I never launch a story without planning up to 40% of the story. 40% means a skeleton of the story progression, the ending, some milestones of the story and solid, believable characters. Even my intentionally-crappy story on 9gag vs FF7 was planned. The only one where I did minimal planning was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "Dress Off!", which ironically, was the most successful story in my profile. That had implications on many levels.
I'm also afraid of the amount of time that I have to put in. As of now, I am uploading "The Only Exception" and I'm not sure how committed can I be with this story. Even now, I'm not very sure what is going to happen after Tifa's story. I'm pretty unprepared, hurhur.
Then again, if I start moving away from the world of "Days of Exile", it means that it will take A LOT to get back into the world. Maybe a rereading of "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile". Just the thought of it is enough to get my lazy soul crawling back to the couch.
Here is the link to the web novella that I've mentioned. I'm sure you can find those youtubers yourself with their usernames, right?
Alrighty, time for fun facts of "Days of Exile"!
1. Every letter in the alphabet is used in the titles. I finally managed to get it done. If you are not sure what I meant, you can check out my post where I found out that I missed out "Y".
2. None of the chapter titles were words mentioned by Meia throughout that particular chapter. I'm pretty sure of that, but then again, I could be horribly wrong.
3. I absolutely love rewriting the game scenes. It may seem easy since I don't have to think of dialogue, but that's all that is easy. The setting, the actions, even the mistranslated sentences have to be looked into and mulled over before I could write out something more realistic. It was hard to understand what the game was trying to portray sometimes.
4. Many of the scenes were thought of last minute, and thanks to that, I found myself going in a direction that I was not expecting. One of them was Meia disguising as Matilda Ederfeld. Turned out that she was under disguise for a long time, and that led to her going to the Northern Crater, thus being more able to describe what happened when Cloud passed the Black Materia to Sephiroth. However, with that unplanned writing meant a lot of loophole filling.
5. My initial plan was to write the backstories on all the BC Turks, but the main story took up too much time. I've managed to cover Cissnei, KK, Alana, Cassie, Mason, Jasper and a bit of Leia. For Rod and Haato, I have mentioned it in the story but honestly, there was supposed to be a development from their stories so... Oh well. Since there may not be a chance anymore, Kido's backstory was that he was a lackey from Don Corneo's, which I've mentioned in "I Want To Be A Turk!" before but never developed further from that.
6. Oh well, it's pretty obvious that Kido is my worst character to develop. For some reason, I could not fit that taciturn character into the story. Better luck next time.
7. In case you are wondering about KK's name still, I really have no idea what it means, because I've never thought about it.
5. My initial plan was to write the backstories on all the BC Turks, but the main story took up too much time. I've managed to cover Cissnei, KK, Alana, Cassie, Mason, Jasper and a bit of Leia. For Rod and Haato, I have mentioned it in the story but honestly, there was supposed to be a development from their stories so... Oh well. Since there may not be a chance anymore, Kido's backstory was that he was a lackey from Don Corneo's, which I've mentioned in "I Want To Be A Turk!" before but never developed further from that.
6. Oh well, it's pretty obvious that Kido is my worst character to develop. For some reason, I could not fit that taciturn character into the story. Better luck next time.
7. In case you are wondering about KK's name still, I really have no idea what it means, because I've never thought about it.
8. My favourite characters in "Days of Exile" were Reeve Tuesti and Kent. I enjoyed how Reeve became such an emotional character with so much potential for development.
9. There were many character that regrettably, not written to their full potential. Kunsel and Kido were some examples. The one that I had the most regret towards, was Kent. I wish I could tell you what kind of backstory he had. In fact, actually I did, but I doubt anyone would be able to detect. You kinda need serious detective work, or owning the author's brain, to find out.
10. I would say the same for Lindy and Eddie too. The two of them are featured in Chapter 56 for a reason... which we may never know too.
11. Two of my titles are exactly the same. Chapter 60 was supposed to be "Reunion" but I just found out that it coincides with Chapter 4. Oh well. That's why it's not "Reunion" anymore.
From these two stories in the last 3.5 years, I learnt a few lessons that I thought would be fun to share:
1. Always do your research. That is not exactly a lesson learnt, but I can never emphasise enough.
2. Thinking about your stories when doing something repetitive, like running or swimming, helps ease the exercise a little better. However, you don't get very far as you will find yourself getting back to square one. For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Furthermore, the frustration when you do think of a novel idea, but you can't stop to jot the idea down.
3. Try not to write a story for more than 40 chapters. Lesson painfully learnt.
And that's all I have for you, folks. Thank you and... hope to see you around in my other stories.
9. There were many character that regrettably, not written to their full potential. Kunsel and Kido were some examples. The one that I had the most regret towards, was Kent. I wish I could tell you what kind of backstory he had. In fact, actually I did, but I doubt anyone would be able to detect. You kinda need serious detective work, or owning the author's brain, to find out.
10. I would say the same for Lindy and Eddie too. The two of them are featured in Chapter 56 for a reason... which we may never know too.
11. Two of my titles are exactly the same. Chapter 60 was supposed to be "Reunion" but I just found out that it coincides with Chapter 4. Oh well. That's why it's not "Reunion" anymore.
From these two stories in the last 3.5 years, I learnt a few lessons that I thought would be fun to share:
1. Always do your research. That is not exactly a lesson learnt, but I can never emphasise enough.
2. Thinking about your stories when doing something repetitive, like running or swimming, helps ease the exercise a little better. However, you don't get very far as you will find yourself getting back to square one. For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Furthermore, the frustration when you do think of a novel idea, but you can't stop to jot the idea down.
3. Try not to write a story for more than 40 chapters. Lesson painfully learnt.
And that's all I have for you, folks. Thank you and... hope to see you around in my other stories.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
What "Hirunaka no Ryuusei" has reminded me about writing
Warning: Spoilers for Hirunaka no Ryuusei's Chapter 76 ahead.
I should be doing other important stuff, but I felt that I need to bring this up as this will serve as a reminder to me in the future, should I ever feel discouraged.
I'm not sure how many of you have read this amazing shoujo manga called "Hirunaka no Ryuusei". If you have not, go read it. In the simplest way that I can describe, it is really good and worth a read.
Anyway, do you remember how I mentioned my dislike for love triangles?
Yeah, I still do. Anyway, quick introduction. Girl is Suzume, who fell in love with her teacher, Shishio. Meanwhile, classmate Mamura also likes her. Initially, Shishio likes Suzume too, but broke up with her when he felt the pressure of having to keep a secret teacher-student relationship (Good for you, Shishio.) So Suzume felt that she should move on, and she made the decision to be closer to Mamura.
Trust me. The story is much better written than my summary. Yes, yes, it's a typical shoujo manga plot, what were you expecting?
From here, the story spent a bit of time on Suzume and Mamura's relationship, while Shishio at the side, felt that he was not as willing to be apart from Suzume as he thought. The recent chapter has begun to climax the story, as Suzume finds out that Shishio was hospitalised and was concerned for him. Mamura, knowing of this, told Suzume to find Shishio.
Damn.
By the way, this post is NOT going to be a rant. I'll get to the real part in a bit, but allow me to say that to be honest, I was quite upset that the story was going to progress to a SuzumeXShishio ending (seems like it). I liked Mamura. He was the consistent character in the story and had always tried his best without being irritating. I also felt that Mamura and Suzume makes a more compatible pair.
Okay, that's over. Now, the REAL reason for this post.
Shortly after Chapter 76 was released, there was a ton of tweets sent to the author of the story, Yamamori Mika.
(I edited the names out for my website only.)
There were quite a number of tweets, but I just selected some. I was quite glad I was not on some impulse to send the author requests too. For one, I did not know that she was on Twitter, hehe.
Shortly after, Yamamori sensei made her Twitter private. Honestly, who would like to see that? Firstly, I suspect that since she has locked her Twitter account, it means that she really is going for a SuzumeXShishio ending. I will get over that.
I felt bad for her. She did not deserve the horrible comments from the readers, at all. Seeing what had happened to her reminded me that many years ago, I had something like that happening to me. I was writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", and I paired Kyoshiro and Yuya together (by the way, the canon pairing is Kyo and Yuya, which I definitely prefer). I wrote with that pair in mind because Samurai Deeper Kyo had not ended yet, and it was a long time since I first started the initial "KISS Me!" that led to "Their Memories of Fukinara High".
So there was a reader who messaged me a few times over the story requesting for a KyoXYuya ending instead of a KyoshiroXYuya one. She even suggested plots to help 'salvage' the situation (as I saw it).
No. I remembered that feeling. It was bad. I felt torn on one hand to want to make my readers happy, and on the other hand, I wanted the story to go MY way. In the end, I ended the manga on hold so it ended as a KyoshiroXYuya story.
If Yamamori sensei's initial idea was for Suzume and Shishio to be together, then I WILL truly be disappointed if she changed to Suzume and Mamura just to make some readers happy. I want Yamamori sensei to do what she wants to do, even if the ending is something that I do not like.
So what has Hirunaka taught me? It has reminded me of how I felt when my readers wanted me to do things their way. It has reminded me that I am ultimately writing for my pleasure (and someday hopefully, for a living). It has reminded me that while feedback is good and should be considered, I should follow my heart for the best interests of the story and characters.
I will support Hirunaka no Ryuusei regardless of the ending.
やまもりせんせい、がんばってください！
Picture taken from:
Hirunaka no Ryuusei
Tweet posts
Chapter 1 coloured cover
I should be doing other important stuff, but I felt that I need to bring this up as this will serve as a reminder to me in the future, should I ever feel discouraged.
I'm not sure how many of you have read this amazing shoujo manga called "Hirunaka no Ryuusei". If you have not, go read it. In the simplest way that I can describe, it is really good and worth a read.
Anyway, do you remember how I mentioned my dislike for love triangles?
Yeah, I still do. Anyway, quick introduction. Girl is Suzume, who fell in love with her teacher, Shishio. Meanwhile, classmate Mamura also likes her. Initially, Shishio likes Suzume too, but broke up with her when he felt the pressure of having to keep a secret teacher-student relationship (Good for you, Shishio.) So Suzume felt that she should move on, and she made the decision to be closer to Mamura.
Trust me. The story is much better written than my summary. Yes, yes, it's a typical shoujo manga plot, what were you expecting?
From here, the story spent a bit of time on Suzume and Mamura's relationship, while Shishio at the side, felt that he was not as willing to be apart from Suzume as he thought. The recent chapter has begun to climax the story, as Suzume finds out that Shishio was hospitalised and was concerned for him. Mamura, knowing of this, told Suzume to find Shishio.
Damn.
By the way, this post is NOT going to be a rant. I'll get to the real part in a bit, but allow me to say that to be honest, I was quite upset that the story was going to progress to a SuzumeXShishio ending (seems like it). I liked Mamura. He was the consistent character in the story and had always tried his best without being irritating. I also felt that Mamura and Suzume makes a more compatible pair.
Okay, that's over. Now, the REAL reason for this post.
Shortly after Chapter 76 was released, there was a ton of tweets sent to the author of the story, Yamamori Mika.
There were quite a number of tweets, but I just selected some. I was quite glad I was not on some impulse to send the author requests too. For one, I did not know that she was on Twitter, hehe.
Shortly after, Yamamori sensei made her Twitter private. Honestly, who would like to see that? Firstly, I suspect that since she has locked her Twitter account, it means that she really is going for a SuzumeXShishio ending. I will get over that.
I felt bad for her. She did not deserve the horrible comments from the readers, at all. Seeing what had happened to her reminded me that many years ago, I had something like that happening to me. I was writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", and I paired Kyoshiro and Yuya together (by the way, the canon pairing is Kyo and Yuya, which I definitely prefer). I wrote with that pair in mind because Samurai Deeper Kyo had not ended yet, and it was a long time since I first started the initial "KISS Me!" that led to "Their Memories of Fukinara High".
So there was a reader who messaged me a few times over the story requesting for a KyoXYuya ending instead of a KyoshiroXYuya one. She even suggested plots to help 'salvage' the situation (as I saw it).
No. I remembered that feeling. It was bad. I felt torn on one hand to want to make my readers happy, and on the other hand, I wanted the story to go MY way. In the end, I ended the manga on hold so it ended as a KyoshiroXYuya story.
If Yamamori sensei's initial idea was for Suzume and Shishio to be together, then I WILL truly be disappointed if she changed to Suzume and Mamura just to make some readers happy. I want Yamamori sensei to do what she wants to do, even if the ending is something that I do not like.
So what has Hirunaka taught me? It has reminded me of how I felt when my readers wanted me to do things their way. It has reminded me that I am ultimately writing for my pleasure (and someday hopefully, for a living). It has reminded me that while feedback is good and should be considered, I should follow my heart for the best interests of the story and characters.
I will support Hirunaka no Ryuusei regardless of the ending.
やまもりせんせい、がんばってください！
Picture taken from:
Hirunaka no Ryuusei
Tweet posts
Chapter 1 coloured cover
Sunday, May 25, 2014
If I had never admitted it, I'll admit it now...
I'll take a break.
Yes, I know. I haven't been writing actively in the first place. I was mainly reading more manga and books, so I haven't had time to focus on writing. But really, for now, I gotta stop kidding myself in thinking that I am getting any chapters done. Work is piling up, more than I can even imagine. Therefore, I will really, officially, take a break for two weeks. I have to settle my work and really reflect how I can be more efficient in my life.
Right now, I can imagine everyone who is reading this is thinking, "That's what every author says before they disappear from the face of earth and leave their fanfiction unfinished." I'm not going to blame you, neither will I make any promises. Of course I want to finish "Days Of Exile", but the time is not now. Ideally I want to continue in two weeks' time, but life is unpredictable.
Yup, so I'll take a break. I've been receiving your story favourites and reviews, though. And even though it's just a few of you, it really warms my heart. Thank you.
I'll see all of you on the blog in a few weeks' time!
Yes, I know. I haven't been writing actively in the first place. I was mainly reading more manga and books, so I haven't had time to focus on writing. But really, for now, I gotta stop kidding myself in thinking that I am getting any chapters done. Work is piling up, more than I can even imagine. Therefore, I will really, officially, take a break for two weeks. I have to settle my work and really reflect how I can be more efficient in my life.
Right now, I can imagine everyone who is reading this is thinking, "That's what every author says before they disappear from the face of earth and leave their fanfiction unfinished." I'm not going to blame you, neither will I make any promises. Of course I want to finish "Days Of Exile", but the time is not now. Ideally I want to continue in two weeks' time, but life is unpredictable.
Yup, so I'll take a break. I've been receiving your story favourites and reviews, though. And even though it's just a few of you, it really warms my heart. Thank you.
I'll see all of you on the blog in a few weeks' time!
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Days of Exile: Chapter 40
And.... I'm on time!
Today, I'm going to skip the nonsense talk and jump straight into review reply. As I mentioned in the previous post, I was embarrassed that I did not check the ffnet website to see if I got any reviews. I've been relying on email notifications too much. Gee. That might mean that all alerts and faves are not sent to me too!
Anyway, because there have been many reviews, I've decided to reply them all here (because it's not nice to waste space on ff.net, right? :P)
Jefri: Gee, I hadn't realised that you've asked so many questions! Why don't you just ask me whenever you see me? XD Anyway, here we go with all the answers! Human and Cetra give birth to half-Cetra naturally (Aerith is half Cetra half human, isn't she? :)) Vincent didn't kill Hojo, AVALANCHE did. You won't see much of Vincent because it's a Meia story! Hahah! He is not a main character, sadly. But I will see how I can include more of him (no guarantee, though). The exiled Turks fought Jade WEAPON, but otherwise played no part in the FF7 storyline. Thus, we shall just assume that AVALANCHE fought (or ignored) the other WEAPONs.
And that should answer most of your questions, Jef. Thank you for being so faithful to my story. You've even got yourself an account!! *clap clap*
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Takara: Hello faithful reader! Thank you for reviewing every single time! From your reviews I can feel your emotions towards the story and it makes me happy. It feels awesome to know that my readers are feeling strongly towards the characters. Hope you will stay with me till the end!
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Guest of Chapter 36: thank you for leaving me a review! Haha, I've got telepathic powers!! *wriggle fingers* and yeah, I never will figure out the WEAPON conundrum. The people on Gaia just never refer to them by a specific name. Weird. I know for a fact that humans love to give names. :P Anddd I guess by Chapter 37 you realised that yes, I did write about Yuffie's ultimate weapon in the Sunken ship. Hurray for details!
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koryandrs: Yes I'm back! Thank you for leaving a comment! Hope to see you around more often! By the way, you have a really cute name. Am I supposed to pronounce it like the plant 'coriander'? :P
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Occupational Haz/kadajclone10: Hehe, sorry for disappearing like that. I hope I don't do it anymore. I love it whenever you leave a review. It's almost like reading a thesis. You always give such great insight, and I treasure it a lot (mainly because you seem to have read/played/watched most if not all of FF7 compilation, credible knowledge you possess, oh great one!) I know you have been harping on the topic of the ambiguity of the Turk. Sorry that I haven't been jumping into that at all. I'm still brewing the story and pushing our characters into a certain direction. I do have an end goal in mind, but I'm not too sure if that would be good enough. Till then, do forgive the lack of explanation and tolerate any frustration from what may be signs of loopholes and contradiction.
Yes, I really love working with Meia, despite the fact that I've dropped some of her earlier characteristics. I also try my best to flesh out the 'villains'. Indeed, everyone has a grey and questionable area and it's simply a joy to argue in my head all day long, justifying one over another. Hurhur, sad is my life. I believe Tseng was referring to Ifalna, which means holy crap, I hope I didn't make a loophole anywhere! That was definitely a part that I overlooked, and now I'm nervous as to whether I made any mistakes in the previous chapters.
Anyway, I didn't mean for my review reply to drag on too, but a long and insightful review deserves an equally enthusiastic and appreciative reply :D
---
Luckcharm/TWA: Why is everyone getting new names or changing their names? Haha! I feel so bad that I haven't been replying the reviews, I mean, I really did not get any of the notifications! *glare at ffnet* Okay, time to reply you!
I know, Tifa and Cloud are simply heartbreaking. I also go "aww" whenever I'm typing their scenes. It's funny actually, I'm a Cloti fan :P Don't worry, perhaps better days are ahead? Second, I had to do the scene of Leia and Haato because in hindsight, I was annoyed with myself for being so nice to Meia's Turk life. There's no way Meia could breeze through her Turk years like that. No one is dumb, neither am I. I definitely am not going to dwiddle my thumbs and wait for readers to bash me for making Meia a Mary Sue (the type that are immune to bad omens and incidents). Hahaha, Reno and Rude DEFINITELY have bromance! *dance in virtual confetti* I'm so proud of Tihan's name that I want to name my future child so! Just that... I can't because it totally sounds funny when you pronounce it with the family name (No, I'm not married, just.. fantasising like an idiot).
---
Now, this is for all of you, whoever that is still reading. Yes, the story feels like it's at its end, but I still have many things in my head. Namely, whether I should even continue the story after Meteorfall. I'll discuss this with the rest of you in detail next time. Besides, I've got another few more months to decide... Who knows.
That's all for this week! I look forward to reading your lovely reviews! Have an awesome weekend!
Today, I'm going to skip the nonsense talk and jump straight into review reply. As I mentioned in the previous post, I was embarrassed that I did not check the ffnet website to see if I got any reviews. I've been relying on email notifications too much. Gee. That might mean that all alerts and faves are not sent to me too!
Anyway, because there have been many reviews, I've decided to reply them all here (because it's not nice to waste space on ff.net, right? :P)
Jefri: Gee, I hadn't realised that you've asked so many questions! Why don't you just ask me whenever you see me? XD Anyway, here we go with all the answers! Human and Cetra give birth to half-Cetra naturally (Aerith is half Cetra half human, isn't she? :)) Vincent didn't kill Hojo, AVALANCHE did. You won't see much of Vincent because it's a Meia story! Hahah! He is not a main character, sadly. But I will see how I can include more of him (no guarantee, though). The exiled Turks fought Jade WEAPON, but otherwise played no part in the FF7 storyline. Thus, we shall just assume that AVALANCHE fought (or ignored) the other WEAPONs.
And that should answer most of your questions, Jef. Thank you for being so faithful to my story. You've even got yourself an account!! *clap clap*
---
Takara: Hello faithful reader! Thank you for reviewing every single time! From your reviews I can feel your emotions towards the story and it makes me happy. It feels awesome to know that my readers are feeling strongly towards the characters. Hope you will stay with me till the end!
---
Guest of Chapter 36: thank you for leaving me a review! Haha, I've got telepathic powers!! *wriggle fingers* and yeah, I never will figure out the WEAPON conundrum. The people on Gaia just never refer to them by a specific name. Weird. I know for a fact that humans love to give names. :P Anddd I guess by Chapter 37 you realised that yes, I did write about Yuffie's ultimate weapon in the Sunken ship. Hurray for details!
---
koryandrs: Yes I'm back! Thank you for leaving a comment! Hope to see you around more often! By the way, you have a really cute name. Am I supposed to pronounce it like the plant 'coriander'? :P
---
Occupational Haz/kadajclone10: Hehe, sorry for disappearing like that. I hope I don't do it anymore. I love it whenever you leave a review. It's almost like reading a thesis. You always give such great insight, and I treasure it a lot (mainly because you seem to have read/played/watched most if not all of FF7 compilation, credible knowledge you possess, oh great one!) I know you have been harping on the topic of the ambiguity of the Turk. Sorry that I haven't been jumping into that at all. I'm still brewing the story and pushing our characters into a certain direction. I do have an end goal in mind, but I'm not too sure if that would be good enough. Till then, do forgive the lack of explanation and tolerate any frustration from what may be signs of loopholes and contradiction.
Yes, I really love working with Meia, despite the fact that I've dropped some of her earlier characteristics. I also try my best to flesh out the 'villains'. Indeed, everyone has a grey and questionable area and it's simply a joy to argue in my head all day long, justifying one over another. Hurhur, sad is my life. I believe Tseng was referring to Ifalna, which means holy crap, I hope I didn't make a loophole anywhere! That was definitely a part that I overlooked, and now I'm nervous as to whether I made any mistakes in the previous chapters.
Anyway, I didn't mean for my review reply to drag on too, but a long and insightful review deserves an equally enthusiastic and appreciative reply :D
---
Luckcharm/TWA: Why is everyone getting new names or changing their names? Haha! I feel so bad that I haven't been replying the reviews, I mean, I really did not get any of the notifications! *glare at ffnet* Okay, time to reply you!
I know, Tifa and Cloud are simply heartbreaking. I also go "aww" whenever I'm typing their scenes. It's funny actually, I'm a Cloti fan :P Don't worry, perhaps better days are ahead? Second, I had to do the scene of Leia and Haato because in hindsight, I was annoyed with myself for being so nice to Meia's Turk life. There's no way Meia could breeze through her Turk years like that. No one is dumb, neither am I. I definitely am not going to dwiddle my thumbs and wait for readers to bash me for making Meia a Mary Sue (the type that are immune to bad omens and incidents). Hahaha, Reno and Rude DEFINITELY have bromance! *dance in virtual confetti* I'm so proud of Tihan's name that I want to name my future child so! Just that... I can't because it totally sounds funny when you pronounce it with the family name (No, I'm not married, just.. fantasising like an idiot).
---
Now, this is for all of you, whoever that is still reading. Yes, the story feels like it's at its end, but I still have many things in my head. Namely, whether I should even continue the story after Meteorfall. I'll discuss this with the rest of you in detail next time. Besides, I've got another few more months to decide... Who knows.
That's all for this week! I look forward to reading your lovely reviews! Have an awesome weekend!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
What an embarrassment...
Hello readers.
Remember a few posts ago, I was all emo about why my readers are not active anymore? Here's what happened. After Chapter 35 or 36, I no longer received any more reviews to my email address. That was a shocker, because I could name a few readers that have been absolutely faithful. Nevertheless, I kept to my faith and uploaded Chapter 37... then 38... By the time I was at Chapter 39 I was bewildered. Why hasn't there been a single review?
Needless to say, I was devastated. I could not understand why no one was reviewing my story for the last one month. That, I admit, did make me less motivated to write. What's the point, if no one is there to enjoy it?
Long story short, I found out that FF.net has not been giving me email notifications about anything. Great. So here I was, all wallowed up in my own sorrow when all the time, everyone has been reviewing like normal. Even when I didn't respond to any of your reviews (because I didn't even know that they existed!), you reviewed faithfully.
I feel so stupid.
I'm sorry, guys. Really.
Thanks for never giving up on me. You give me courage to continue writing.
Well, at least until the end of Meteorfall, hehe.
Remember a few posts ago, I was all emo about why my readers are not active anymore? Here's what happened. After Chapter 35 or 36, I no longer received any more reviews to my email address. That was a shocker, because I could name a few readers that have been absolutely faithful. Nevertheless, I kept to my faith and uploaded Chapter 37... then 38... By the time I was at Chapter 39 I was bewildered. Why hasn't there been a single review?
Needless to say, I was devastated. I could not understand why no one was reviewing my story for the last one month. That, I admit, did make me less motivated to write. What's the point, if no one is there to enjoy it?
Long story short, I found out that FF.net has not been giving me email notifications about anything. Great. So here I was, all wallowed up in my own sorrow when all the time, everyone has been reviewing like normal. Even when I didn't respond to any of your reviews (because I didn't even know that they existed!), you reviewed faithfully.
I feel so stupid.
I'm sorry, guys. Really.
Thanks for never giving up on me. You give me courage to continue writing.
Well, at least until the end of Meteorfall, hehe.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Commitment and Reviews
Recently, I received a review to one of my old fics. It was nice to see some old names from the other fandom. Which brought me back to my own reflections again.
You see, before I started "I Want To Be A Turk!", I kinda wrote a semi-ending for my previous fic and I moved on. I naively thought then that I could finish "I Want To Be A Turk" in 6 months and then go back.
How foolish I was.
I admit, even now I feel the dread of needing to complete Days of Exile. But reading the review from my old readers renewed my commitment to update and complete Days of Exile.
So yeah. That's that. A short but genuine post about how I've been feeling. Even if I no longer feel the passion to write about Days of Exile (which really isn't the case, I promise!), I will finish the story because of my commitment. The day I fail to do so... I'm sure I'll at least apologise here on this blog before I go. If that doesn't happen, then you should figure out that some divine intervention prevented me from doing so, if you know what I mean! Of course, I really need support and encouragement from everyone once in a while. You know that you guys are really important to me, right?
Okay, on to another topic. Guys? When you want to give some suggestions to the author, be careful of how you phrase your words. I feel that a reviewer should never make his suggestions sound to the author as if he is commanding the author to take his suggestions. I'm speaking as a reviewer myself. At the very least, be polite and neutral about it so you don't seem pushy. I mean, dear reviewers, please don't use absolutes like "I want the story to continue this way." Sensitive authors (like myself :P) could be easily offended and you probably won't know why.
So I usually 'protect' myself by adding disclaimers like "This is just a suggestion", or "I'm just saying these things but you know your story best." Sometimes, I also assure the author that no matter the outcome, I would continue reading his/her story. And I do, even when the story becomes an atrocity (which hardly happens).
Now, speaking as an amateur author, I'm not too sure if other authors feel this way. Authors love comments, reviews and suggestions, but it's not cool when you get the vibe from your readers that they won't support you if you write the story this way. 'Nuff said.
Now, if you were to excuse me, I'll go write some stuff on Days of Exile.
Have a good week ahead!
You see, before I started "I Want To Be A Turk!", I kinda wrote a semi-ending for my previous fic and I moved on. I naively thought then that I could finish "I Want To Be A Turk" in 6 months and then go back.
How foolish I was.
I admit, even now I feel the dread of needing to complete Days of Exile. But reading the review from my old readers renewed my commitment to update and complete Days of Exile.
So yeah. That's that. A short but genuine post about how I've been feeling. Even if I no longer feel the passion to write about Days of Exile (which really isn't the case, I promise!), I will finish the story because of my commitment. The day I fail to do so... I'm sure I'll at least apologise here on this blog before I go. If that doesn't happen, then you should figure out that some divine intervention prevented me from doing so, if you know what I mean! Of course, I really need support and encouragement from everyone once in a while. You know that you guys are really important to me, right?
Okay, on to another topic. Guys? When you want to give some suggestions to the author, be careful of how you phrase your words. I feel that a reviewer should never make his suggestions sound to the author as if he is commanding the author to take his suggestions. I'm speaking as a reviewer myself. At the very least, be polite and neutral about it so you don't seem pushy. I mean, dear reviewers, please don't use absolutes like "I want the story to continue this way." Sensitive authors (like myself :P) could be easily offended and you probably won't know why.
So I usually 'protect' myself by adding disclaimers like "This is just a suggestion", or "I'm just saying these things but you know your story best." Sometimes, I also assure the author that no matter the outcome, I would continue reading his/her story. And I do, even when the story becomes an atrocity (which hardly happens).
Now, speaking as an amateur author, I'm not too sure if other authors feel this way. Authors love comments, reviews and suggestions, but it's not cool when you get the vibe from your readers that they won't support you if you write the story this way. 'Nuff said.
Now, if you were to excuse me, I'll go write some stuff on Days of Exile.
Have a good week ahead!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Days of Exile: Chapter 20, 21
It has been a while since I posted something fanfiction related, I suppose. Day by day, I'm finding it more difficult to write, because of work and my personal commitments. Nevertheless, I'm still fighting for every minute to write, as long as I have the desire to write, I will.
Wasn't Chapter 20 such a lovely chapter? Not surprisingly, many reviewers reviewed with criticism and doubts about the characters. I would love to say that I've got all the answers, but the truth is that... I DON'T. But one thing is for sure, I've made up my mind to walk down this plot and I hope that you will have the patience with me to walk till the end. Perhaps you might like how things turn out :)
Also, I've mentioned in my review on Eona that I tried out the whole thing of not-always-siding-with-the-protagonist thing into this chapter (and future chapters) so why don't you just give Meia another shot? :P
Don't say I didn't warn you, Chapter 21 onwards will definitely contains parts that you may not like or you may say 'This could've been better if it's this way'. I am also experimenting on my part so I'm afraid yet excited to know how this will turn out. I assure you, the non-Meia parts is still worth reading!
I know many of you will disagree, but I've also made up my mind that I'll bring down the word count of each chapter back to 4500-5000. If you haven't noticed, you guys have been reading close to 6000 word chapters. I don't know about you, but I get really frustrated when the chapter is long. Especially if the story is not as engaging. I really don't have the confidence that you guys will willingly plough through 6000 words and appreciation everything that I've written (even if you assure me again and again!)
At last, this is my review to everyone - because everyone's reviews are almost the same.
Firstly, thank you for putting in the effort to review. I appreciate it. Don’t worry about criticizing, I need a fresh perspective, though it may not mean that I’ll adjust my ways to suit everyone. That being said, of course everyone's reviews are taken for consideration for improvement. Thank you TWA, for reminding me that I've got to show Meia's photographic memory instead of only mentioning it ;P So never hesitate to comment. You never know when your words become the push factor to making someone better.
Just be assured that in the story, everything that everyone had said and done are within my awareness. I am aware of how I’m portraying Meia and everyone in Shinra. Yes, you are free to feel your displeasure at certain people, even protagonists, because it is intentional. :) Hopefully once things unfold and at the end of it, you’ll see things in a different light.
I'm glad that everyone liked Reeve/Cait Sith. Like what my fellow author redcherryamber said, Reeve is one of the least developed characters in FF7. Hope I can expand his character much deeper.
Lastly, to Cracked: Meia doesn't know what exactly happened to the previous lab assistant. Yes, she'll flip if she knew what happened. But the lab assistant wasn't killed so that Meia could fill in the role, just to clear things up. Shinra wanted the previous one dead already, before Meia even came along. Tseng's decision to take Meia into the Shinra Building was rather spontaneous (read Chapter 6 ^^).
Alright, that's all for the week! Have a great week, my sweet cheeks!
Wasn't Chapter 20 such a lovely chapter? Not surprisingly, many reviewers reviewed with criticism and doubts about the characters. I would love to say that I've got all the answers, but the truth is that... I DON'T. But one thing is for sure, I've made up my mind to walk down this plot and I hope that you will have the patience with me to walk till the end. Perhaps you might like how things turn out :)
Also, I've mentioned in my review on Eona that I tried out the whole thing of not-always-siding-with-the-protagonist thing into this chapter (and future chapters) so why don't you just give Meia another shot? :P
Don't say I didn't warn you, Chapter 21 onwards will definitely contains parts that you may not like or you may say 'This could've been better if it's this way'. I am also experimenting on my part so I'm afraid yet excited to know how this will turn out. I assure you, the non-Meia parts is still worth reading!
I know many of you will disagree, but I've also made up my mind that I'll bring down the word count of each chapter back to 4500-5000. If you haven't noticed, you guys have been reading close to 6000 word chapters. I don't know about you, but I get really frustrated when the chapter is long. Especially if the story is not as engaging. I really don't have the confidence that you guys will willingly plough through 6000 words and appreciation everything that I've written (even if you assure me again and again!)
At last, this is my review to everyone - because everyone's reviews are almost the same.
Firstly, thank you for putting in the effort to review. I appreciate it. Don’t worry about criticizing, I need a fresh perspective, though it may not mean that I’ll adjust my ways to suit everyone. That being said, of course everyone's reviews are taken for consideration for improvement. Thank you TWA, for reminding me that I've got to show Meia's photographic memory instead of only mentioning it ;P So never hesitate to comment. You never know when your words become the push factor to making someone better.
Just be assured that in the story, everything that everyone had said and done are within my awareness. I am aware of how I’m portraying Meia and everyone in Shinra. Yes, you are free to feel your displeasure at certain people, even protagonists, because it is intentional. :) Hopefully once things unfold and at the end of it, you’ll see things in a different light.
I'm glad that everyone liked Reeve/Cait Sith. Like what my fellow author redcherryamber said, Reeve is one of the least developed characters in FF7. Hope I can expand his character much deeper.
Lastly, to Cracked: Meia doesn't know what exactly happened to the previous lab assistant. Yes, she'll flip if she knew what happened. But the lab assistant wasn't killed so that Meia could fill in the role, just to clear things up. Shinra wanted the previous one dead already, before Meia even came along. Tseng's decision to take Meia into the Shinra Building was rather spontaneous (read Chapter 6 ^^).
Alright, that's all for the week! Have a great week, my sweet cheeks!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Reviewing too much has made me arrogant?
As many of you remember, I try to review every story that I read. So, one of my biggest fears when I review is that the authors might be offended. I'm not an expert in tactfulness and thus in my efforts to sound tactful, I send long messages to the unsuspecting author. Not that I've ever received any hate responses because of my reviews, but there are many times that authors would reply and ask me to elaborate on my review.
So that's where the problem lies. My opinions are not the gospel, so who am I to force my writing beliefs on others? If the author thinks that writing in caps lock is trendy, I can't do anything much about it.
Then, I'm also worried that authors would go to MY fanfiction profile to look at my stories. Whenever i give a critical review of a story, half my mind replays the scene of the offended author going to my profile. She will read 'Days of Exile' and go 'Ha! She doesn't even practise what she preach!' or 'She isn't that great anyway. Who is she to criticise me?'
Yeah, I'm paranoid like that. Maybe that's why nobody writes reviews deeper than 'great! upload soon!' Am i wrong to do that? I only wanted to share how I feel towards the story but if the author is offended by my review then i suppose someday i'll fall back to 'cool story, i love it!'
That aside, thank goodness the world didn't end on the 21st huh? Can't wait to celebrate Christmas and welcome in the new year, 2013! Hope Days of Exile will also continue to prosper and be successfully completed in 2013 :)
So that's where the problem lies. My opinions are not the gospel, so who am I to force my writing beliefs on others? If the author thinks that writing in caps lock is trendy, I can't do anything much about it.
Then, I'm also worried that authors would go to MY fanfiction profile to look at my stories. Whenever i give a critical review of a story, half my mind replays the scene of the offended author going to my profile. She will read 'Days of Exile' and go 'Ha! She doesn't even practise what she preach!' or 'She isn't that great anyway. Who is she to criticise me?'
Yeah, I'm paranoid like that. Maybe that's why nobody writes reviews deeper than 'great! upload soon!' Am i wrong to do that? I only wanted to share how I feel towards the story but if the author is offended by my review then i suppose someday i'll fall back to 'cool story, i love it!'
That aside, thank goodness the world didn't end on the 21st huh? Can't wait to celebrate Christmas and welcome in the new year, 2013! Hope Days of Exile will also continue to prosper and be successfully completed in 2013 :)
Monday, August 27, 2012
Reviews
Part of my job involves reading scripts and scripts of stories (Well, in my line of job they aren't called 'stories' but let's just keep it as that!). This time round, I'm required to give my comments for every script I read through.
As I was reading through my 6th one, I found myself having to come up with new words and phrases to show some variation in my critique. Suddenly, the feeling was all too familiar. And I'm sure many fanfic readers know what I'm talking about.
Reviews.
I've mentioned this in a previous blog post, but we can never rant enough about reviews :P
Here's my stand: I almost always give a review to every fanfic I read.
Coming from a writer who returned after a two-year hiatus, I understood the misery of spending all that time on a chapter only to receive one review (and I still am grateful to the reviewer to this day). When I was a younger fanfic reader, I didn't really review as actively because I didn't think that my comments were going to be constructive or valuable to the writer. I soon found out that if not constructive, every review is valuable to the writer. Since then, I told myself not to shortchange my fellow writers of the joy of receiving a review, even if it was only to say thanks.
There are only a few instances why I don't review nowadays (starting with the most common reason):
1. I'm catching up on a multi-chapter and I seriously don't want to bog the author down with an influx of reviews (I seriously can give 40 reviews if I'm catching up on a 40-chapter story, but I just don't. I don't see the point because that author might have improved since the earlier chapters).
2. I opened the story, but I did not finish reading even the first chapter, due to being called away for household chores and work.
3. The fanfic writer has not been around since 3 years ago. Yep. Once the author's last update on his profile is 2008-2009, I think twice about reviewing. That doesn't mean that I don't review anymore. I would if it's still a good fic, and hope somewhere out there the writer can see it.
4. I've read it from start to finish, read it twice and the third time. And I still don't know what is happening. This reason only occurs because the writer lacks grammar structure and the sentence did not bring its intended message across. In this case it's not fair to review because you know you didn't get the story at all. Let me give you an example:
one day boys welk in the park... and They saw kitte... and They thaik long stick owner.
You get what I mean, right? You aren't too sure what the writer is saying so it's best to leave it alone. Hurhur. So mostly it's reason 1 and 2, heheh!
Yes, I'm very proud to say that I review about 90% of the fics that I opened. Bad fics, unrelated fics, incoherent fics, OOC fics... As long as I understand what's happening and I've finished it? I review.
I know, I know. When you've ploughed through 20 fics in a day, you run out of what you want to say (I rhyme!). But think of a different perspective - how much you'll make a writer smile to receive a note of encouragement, a friendly feedback, even a small 'thank you'. We writers don't always need the 'OH MY GOSH YOU SO AWESOME I LOVE YOU KTHNXBYE' kinda stuff. How about 'I can see you're working hard!', or 'good job!', or 'i enjoyed reading that!'. If anything, a simple 'thank you for your efforts' warms the heart anytime.
Now it sounds like I'm complaining about my lack of reviews, but I assure you, I'm not! Honestly, I'm so content with my current state. Who would complain, receiving 4-8 reviews per chapter?
Also, please don't go all righteous on me and argue that if you like to write, even the absence of reviews will not stop you. True, BUT. Over the months, I discovered one thing: Many things that my reviewers write really makes me feel like writing all this is worth while. That kept me going longer than the desire to write Meia and Reno.
So you never know how you impact your writers :)
Back to my work. Yes, I look through many scripts and yes, since I have to comment on every one of them, it really takes a toll on me to come up with new things to 'review'.
Inking out,
aichioluv
As I was reading through my 6th one, I found myself having to come up with new words and phrases to show some variation in my critique. Suddenly, the feeling was all too familiar. And I'm sure many fanfic readers know what I'm talking about.
Reviews.
I've mentioned this in a previous blog post, but we can never rant enough about reviews :P
Here's my stand: I almost always give a review to every fanfic I read.
Coming from a writer who returned after a two-year hiatus, I understood the misery of spending all that time on a chapter only to receive one review (and I still am grateful to the reviewer to this day). When I was a younger fanfic reader, I didn't really review as actively because I didn't think that my comments were going to be constructive or valuable to the writer. I soon found out that if not constructive, every review is valuable to the writer. Since then, I told myself not to shortchange my fellow writers of the joy of receiving a review, even if it was only to say thanks.
There are only a few instances why I don't review nowadays (starting with the most common reason):
1. I'm catching up on a multi-chapter and I seriously don't want to bog the author down with an influx of reviews (I seriously can give 40 reviews if I'm catching up on a 40-chapter story, but I just don't. I don't see the point because that author might have improved since the earlier chapters).
2. I opened the story, but I did not finish reading even the first chapter, due to being called away for household chores and work.
3. The fanfic writer has not been around since 3 years ago. Yep. Once the author's last update on his profile is 2008-2009, I think twice about reviewing. That doesn't mean that I don't review anymore. I would if it's still a good fic, and hope somewhere out there the writer can see it.
4. I've read it from start to finish, read it twice and the third time. And I still don't know what is happening. This reason only occurs because the writer lacks grammar structure and the sentence did not bring its intended message across. In this case it's not fair to review because you know you didn't get the story at all. Let me give you an example:
one day boys welk in the park... and They saw kitte... and They thaik long stick owner.
You get what I mean, right? You aren't too sure what the writer is saying so it's best to leave it alone. Hurhur. So mostly it's reason 1 and 2, heheh!
Yes, I'm very proud to say that I review about 90% of the fics that I opened. Bad fics, unrelated fics, incoherent fics, OOC fics... As long as I understand what's happening and I've finished it? I review.
I know, I know. When you've ploughed through 20 fics in a day, you run out of what you want to say (I rhyme!). But think of a different perspective - how much you'll make a writer smile to receive a note of encouragement, a friendly feedback, even a small 'thank you'. We writers don't always need the 'OH MY GOSH YOU SO AWESOME I LOVE YOU KTHNXBYE' kinda stuff. How about 'I can see you're working hard!', or 'good job!', or 'i enjoyed reading that!'. If anything, a simple 'thank you for your efforts' warms the heart anytime.
Now it sounds like I'm complaining about my lack of reviews, but I assure you, I'm not! Honestly, I'm so content with my current state. Who would complain, receiving 4-8 reviews per chapter?
Also, please don't go all righteous on me and argue that if you like to write, even the absence of reviews will not stop you. True, BUT. Over the months, I discovered one thing: Many things that my reviewers write really makes me feel like writing all this is worth while. That kept me going longer than the desire to write Meia and Reno.
So you never know how you impact your writers :)
Back to my work. Yes, I look through many scripts and yes, since I have to comment on every one of them, it really takes a toll on me to come up with new things to 'review'.
Inking out,
aichioluv
Sunday, June 24, 2012
I Want To Be A Turk!: Chapter 62
It. Is. Finished.
Sorry
about the Jesus reference, I couldn't resist :P
Yes,
good-looking people! I Want To Be A Turk is COMPLETE!!! Let me get all the
mumbo-jumbo administration done first before I talk about my feelings... and
credits! You can't end a movie without credits, isn't it? :)
1. Please look out
for my new story! It is the sequel that I've been talking about. The story is
called 'Days of Exile'. It will be published on 7th July 2012. Reason
being I am beginning my full-time job this coming Monday. I would like to have
a good grasp of how my workload will be before I schedule my writing properly.
2. Please watch the
blog still, I'm considering releasing a secret Chapter 63 :) (no, you won't
know this information unless you've read it from my blog :P)
3. I'm sure you've
enjoyed the last chapter. Please do me a favour and write me a review? I would
be most glad to know how you find the story. I welcome anonymous reviews too :)
Now
THAT is out of the way.. here comes my feelings.
Wow.
And really, 'wow'
just cannot describe it all. Even though this is part 1 of my entire story, it
is STILL a 62 chapter story. I didn't think I would have the stamina to write
all the way. Perhaps it is because I've always had inspiration and just-in-time
ideas to make the story extra enjoyable. I think I can probably explain my feelings
better in my thanks so let's move on.
Easter eggs! :D Here
are some of the little things that you probably didn't know :)
1. Every letter in
the alphabet is used in the titles, except. What do I mean?
A - Acceptance
B - Blood Everywhere
C - Club Duel
...
U - Under Orders
V - Vendetta
W - Wall Market
X - Xylophonic Events
Z - Zirconiade
Yep...
They are all titles in my story. I missed out 'Y'... I just found out. Damn.
2.
45 out of 62 chapters are actually said/thought by Meia during the chapter.
3. Chapter 1-4 were
rewritten and reuploaded.
4. One of the plans
that I was considering was to make Meia a long-lost sister of Aerith, thus
making her a Cetra.
5. My favourite
chapters as a reader are Chapter 1, 31, 34, 36, 39, 45, 56, 62
6. I mused about
making Alana fall in love with Tseng, but that would be totally weird,
considering there's Elena :P
7. Rod has been in
love with Cassie awhile. However, the story only hints of his feelings for her
beginning in Chapter 43.
8. The christmas
party (chapter 13 and 14) was a great acheivement because it was unplanned and
yet I could link it to Wutai spies. Another unplanned chapter was Chapter 53.
9. The largest gap between
the uploaded chapter and the chapter that I've started writing is 12
chapters.
10. I Want To Be A
Turk is my longest story yet. The initial target is to finish the entire story
(including my coming sequel) within 100 chapters.
Of course there are
more interesting ones, but I don't remember them :P
And now, the full
list of people and things that I want to thank:
I would like to take this moment to thank
everyone who has contributed to this story. Be it a review, a favourite, an
alert, a research material, a suggestion, a criticism… without these things,
this story will not be what it is. I will list down the names of everyone who
has helped in some way or another… I’ll write down as much as I can remember.
Thank
Gaia for these websites and resources, without them I’ll never be the FF7
expert :P I'll list the website here as well so that others can use as their
own research material!
Final
Fantasy Wiki (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Wiki)
- I swear, this is the Final Fantasy BIBLE!
You need any information on anything, it has it! Everything that I know and
write about in this story uses FF wiki as reference! In fact, before I embarked
on writing this story, I ensured that I am clear about the storyline. The
timeline was also provided by FFwiki as well :)
Gunshotromance (http://freewebs.com/gunshotromance/) - The website that provides a transcript of the
gameplay. Although it wasn't complete, most of the script were taken there.
Basically anyone using BeforeCrisis will credit gunshotromance :P
HcloudXIII,
FFVIIExcavation, VincentValentineFVII (via Youtube) – They are youtube users
who have uploaded Before Crisis and Dirge of the Cerberus playthrough. I kind
of swap in between their translations to get the best representation. I also
cross-refer with gunshot romance cos youtube gameplays are played using shotgun
(female)/Cassie in my story. For gunshot romance, they use handgun
(female)/Alana in my story. For Dirge of Cerberus, I watched only to enjoy the
extension of the FF7 world. But when I saw Shelke Rui I thought I should use
her in my story. Thus... Shelke was in the early parts of the story and will
never appear till the events of Dirge of the Cerberus.
Sorumian (http://www.sorumian.com/) -
My main resource to look at Crisis Core gameplay. The only other time I look at
other people's Crisis Core gameplay is to look at the original Japanese
version. Gotta give props to Sorumian, he happen to always control Zack in a
way that I can see everything that I want to see (of course he didn't play with
that kind of intention :P)
Thelifestream (http://thelifestream.net/) - They were the
ones who explained the special episodes of Tseng and Reno for my reference. The
rather interesting site as they also explored other areas that aren't as
mainstream :D
SilentTweak (http://www.silenttweak.net/) - He translated the Japanese version of Crisis Core. As
requested, I've linked the main website, though this is not where I got my
translations from!
Finalfantasy
Neo Wiki (http://finalfantasy.neoseeker.com/wiki/Main_Page)
- This is where I get my monsters from. In Chapter 26, I needed to find what
the robots' names were in Crisis Core. Thank goodness neo wiki had pictures for
me to look at. :)
FFVII Web
Novel (http://ffviinovels.lhyeung.net/)
- For those who are not aware, there is a novella written by one of the staff
who was part of the FF7 team. On the way to a smile is a novella that focuses
on what happened to some of the people in the two years after Meteor, before
Advent Children. Worth reading for those who need something to read :)
Okay, I need to thank these people. Their work and encouragements have inspired me to be a better person. Yes, PLEASE read their stories if possible!!
Okay, I need to thank these people. Their work and encouragements have inspired me to be a better person. Yes, PLEASE read their stories if possible!!
Ancientbruises (Author of “Sticks, Stones
and Broken Bones”) – One of the Turk stories that provided inspiration for my
story. I love how devoted Reno was to Annie :) I hope she quickly finishes the
story though :P
Scribbler
(Author of “A Triangle of Many Sides – Book One”, “Photograph”… just to name a
few) – One of the rare authors that write with not only colour, but depth.
Hahaha, honestly I've been practically worshiping her works and raving about it
on my blog. Do I really need to convince you just how much I love her works? XD
She remains as one of my favourite authors and I, for one, know that if she
ever became a real author, I'll support her book :D
Redcherryamber
(Author of “Advent Children Told in Limericks”, “Elena vs Team Yaoi”) – I read
her stories whenever my own are starting to bore me. Her light-hearted stories
are fun to read, and her serious ones make you curl up and ponder on life,
heheh. She is also extra nice in person because she spends time to talk to a
silly goose like me when she is busy with her own life. I was very amused when
I realised that we both had same names for two of our characters, Rod and
Cassie. Rod is quite a common name for Rod (Male), even Scribbler uses Rod. But
Cassie? Absolutely unplanned. Simply amused when I saw that her shotgun
(female) is also called Cassie :) Anyway, Chapter 31 is inspired by her story
"Unspoilt" and in the coming sequel, I'll use another of her story as
reference too!
Vietta
(Author of “Don’t Follow”) – That story brought a very dark perspective of how
the Turks’ life were, I do use her story as reference to how I can make my
Turks more… serious and dark. Of course that never happened because somehow my
Turks become goofy and homey again *groan*. Nevertheless, a good inspiration :)
Vix3.16
(Author of “The Result Was A Storm”) – Despite it being yaoi, I couldn’t help
but be so attracted to how rich and colourful her description was! I remember
the first time I read her words I was hugging the computer squealing at the
wonderful imagery (NOT because of the yaoi!) Her story is a breakthrough for
me, it was the first yaoi I've ever read. It is still the first yaoi I've ever
read. Amazing description. The writing is so rich I can almost smell the air
that she was describing. It's one thing to describe sight and sound. If you can
make an environment so real using taste and smell... *thumbs up*
WriterzRC
(Author of “Dying to Live”) – I often enjoyed their writings on how the Turks
are very serious in what they do. I gotta say, they come in second after
Scribbler, though others may not agree so. Their story was a story based on
realistic views. Veld scolds Tseng for his mistakes, people are mean or
apathetic to the main protagonists... It's a terrible pity that they've stopped
writing, but their impact won't be forgotten.
Inu-shinai-kirara
(Author of “What’s This?”) – Thank you for reminding me (through your story)
that Reno needs to be lively and not too emo! She was an interesting author
whose story ending was unusual and refreshing :)
UnchainedMelody94
(Author of "From slum to SOLDIER) – I first read her story, I thought
"Hey, I could do something like that" and tada! this was born. The
very very first inspiration that started everything.
Samantha
Sheffield (Author of “Storm”) – Even after the inspiration from
UnchainedMelody94, I was hesitant on beginning the story because I was FULLY
aware of the journey I’m embarking. I knew that this was going to be a project
that might take years if I'm not committed to it (yes, I knew the ending right
before I began the story :P). Then I came across "Storm". I was
amused because I thought Sam Sheffield's story was very similar to mine and I
wrote to her telling her of my issues that we might have overlapping ideas. Not
only did she assure me that she was fine with the eerily similar storylines,
she encouraged me to start writing it. I thank the lovely author who (in her
words) encouraged me to “WRITE IT!”
The Writing Artist -
What a good friend she is. She tries her best to review every chapter and tries
even harder to point out places that she thinks that I can do better in. She
also drew a picture of Meia! *hearts* Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! (Note: The
Writing Artist has an original story in FictionPress.com that is really worth
reading, but maybe you should ask her to give you the details instead of I :P)
XXTakaraXX - Another
gem. She really reviews every chapter that I upload. I really treasure her
efforts to encourage me. In fact, she once pointed out a loophole in my story
and as thanks, I placed her as a mini character. That is in Chapter 37.
TifaRokkuhato - She
has been supportive and excited about my story. In fact, she first asked if she
could draw Meia. She did such a great job that her Meia was my display picture
for a long while :P
To the other
reviewers: I really, really, really appreciate each and everyone of you. I
didn't single you out to thank you because my word of thanks are all the same.
I know that you are busy but I'm so glad that you bothered to review my
chapters once in a while. Your compliments are specific and it made me so
special actually, to hear some of you say that it's the best FF7 story you've
read, or how much you love Meia, or how spot on the characters were described,
or how close you feel the characters are.
I can never never
express how important these words are to me. it made me feel at times that i
really have something that others appreciate and enjoy. I love the fact that
I've made someone's weekend more enjoyable. I cherish the idea that someone is
anticipating excitedly for my new chapter. I'm excited to see that my readers
are attached to the characters that I've written. I know that all my time
researching and writing and editing and rephrasing and watching (gameplay) and
thinking and thinking and thinking has been all worth while when you guys
comment.
Thank you guys. I
really love you. I wish I can hug each and everyone of you :(
Last few
things to thank:
I want to
thank that one month away from Singapore. In May 2011, I spent one entire month
in China, accompanying my dad. I remember I wasn't so enthusiastic about it
because I was still preparing for a dance performance in school, but I had
promised my dad to go to China to accompany him. Anyway, in my free time there
(which was basically almost 20 out of 24 hours), I was writing. Non stop. China
didn't allow facebook nor blogger. Thank goodness fanfiction was accessible. I
decided to read FF7 fics and everything else is history :) Looking back, I
doubt this story would have been birthed if not for that month of nothing but
planning and dreaming. Sometimes things happen in our life for a reason.
How can we forget? SquareEnix. Enough
said.
Since this is the credits, I should
place my disclaimers.
Characters and places are not created
by me, but the work of SquareEnix. The only main character that is original is
Meia. Please seek permission before using any work in this story.
Alrighty folks, time to move on and I
only wish that the sequel will be as entertaining as the original :)
Friday, April 13, 2012
I Want to Be a Turk!: Chapter 53
So... I haven't been using my blog for a long time, so I might as well, right? :) I'm writing this beforehand (like, on Tuesday) so I better write this before I realise that I have too much work to do to be hobnobbing here :X
So... Chapter 53. Amazing how time just goes and chapters fly out my head as if they are alive. anyway, i wrote this in January... with the idea and words being so fresh in my head. However, I edited and rearranged and tweaked the chapter for about another month or so before I was satisfied with it. Hope you are too :)
You know me. From the earlier stages of the story, I've been complaining that I suck at writing philosophical talks. The things my poor characters say make them so shallow :P Fortunately, (i think) this chapter turned out pretty well. Yes, I'm referring to the chat between Reno and Meia. :) On a side note, you DO know that the Banora place I was writing about was referring to the Banora right before Zack Fair fought Genesis for the last time?
this one!!
anyway, i thought that it'll be cool to have one final scene here before Zack plummets its existence into nothingness. Isn't it funny that no one ever discovered the place anymore after the events of FF7? (feels a plot bunny creeping behind my mind)
As I was saying, this chapter is jam-packed with information, but I hope you guys liked it :D Also, I hope that all of you are catching the storyline so far. It tends to be a little confusing especially if you don't have BC background. I do hope that most of you have Crisis Core background? Or FF7?
Now, review replies! (because I'm too lazy to reply everyone)
TWA: There you go, I hope this chapter is nostalgia explosion for ya, especially the earrings part. In my opinion, the gift scene tops the one in Chapter 13 now :P
Queen-of-Twilights: Thanks for reviewing once again :D
Takara: Oh dear, you're lost already? I suggest you... reread the story!!! Bwahaahah!! that really is my remedy. Unless I'm terribly mistaken, the story is going on a choo choo train direction. I am definitely not wasting my chapters with fillers, that's for sure. :P
rukoyokunefan: hello! thank you for your review! it is a pleasure knowing that you enjoy the story! i am enjoying the writing process too :) yeah, it'll be cool if Meia is a canon character too, but that would mean that I'm not the original creator :P when I wrote Meia I was hoping for a more normal character with humanly flaws, so it was fun trying to balance her awesomeness and mundaneness... so you know... she won't be too awesome and not too boring :P
Tifa: ZOMG you're back!! you mean girl, you made me wonder if you've been recaptured by Hojo. i miss hearing from you!
Dontgotaclue: thank you for your enthusiasm! I'll keep working hard and ensure that you'll not be (too) disappointed :P
also, many thanks to Lady-Bloody-Rose and Dontgotaclue88 for faving/alerting :D
in addition, on a completely unrelated note, i'm very happy to see that there are people who are still reading stories that have been long-published, like 'moves like jagger' and 'dress off!' thank you for your massive support!
Thank you for the many reviews! It really made my day (esp from Tifa and Dontgotaclue since they are... rare visitors :D) It is a huge joy to read your reviews, I'm not lying!
Friday, March 16, 2012
So, it has been sometime...
Since I wrote on this blog, that is.
simply put, writing and working concurrently is no joke.
everyday i arrive home feeling the terrible urge to finish my work (yes, i have to take my work home) and then crash on my bed.
so when i had my holidays, i wrote.
like there's no tomorrow.
thanks to the holidays, i finished one and a half chapters :)
but my work has suffered greatly.
alas... will i succumb to my work and no longer write? :(
then, i received a review from someone whom i've never seen before.
she said that she liked it.
amazing how a few sentences could revive my desire to write again.
and that was how i felt weekly, whenever i receive reviews from you guys.
just that, i haven't.
yeah, i know everyone's tired and busy.
i can't (i won't) hold it against you.
*goes to youtube to listen to 'hold it against me' :P*
so from a tired and hopeful fanauthor to her readers: please take care and don't fall sick. enjoy your life to the fullest, even if it means taking a few hours away to do the things that you love. (i meant writing your stories, not reading my stories :PP)
okay, back to work.
P.S: will upload the new chapter tonight :)
P.P.S: i've not forgotten about writing about writing. stay tuned... if anyone is out there reading this :)
Friday, February 3, 2012
I Want To Be A Turk!: Chapter 43
At last, a short chapter! 3500 words! Whoopee!
Another Sephy cameo :) Not that I like him, it's just a nice change to write someone that is not the Turks. That's why I enjoy writing Zack scenes a lot :)
Yes, I did realise that Cissnei was a little too feisty in my previous chapter. I hope I toned her down better here :) Honestly, I never saw her as the quiet type. XD She seemed pretty.. perky in Crisis Core :P
There you go, the picture that I was trying to depict.
The arrow pointing down meant that that would be how Reno saw Jasper and Meia... If this was Floor 56. Likewise, Jasper at Floor 54 can easily look up and peek at the other levels. It's never explained whether there are windows in every floor... and most likely this centre-hollowed-out structure is probably only for a few floors, because we don't see it in FF7 :P
I hope the picture was clear enough :P
Some quick responses to your reviews (generally):
- No, as this chapter states, there WON'T be a love triangle RenoxOCxJasper
- I appreciate you guys wishing that Reno have to work for Meia, but life isn't that perfect all the time (for Meia anyway). Still, there WILL come a time where Reno have to work hard for Meia... it's just not here :)
Thank you to all who have been alerting and faving like lunatics :DDDDD i'm so honoured that you think my little story is worth any of your approval. okay so half is sincere and true, straight from my heart. half is pure "HELL YEA" satisfaction. To those who aren't authors, once you've reached fanfiction Nirvana of spending a hundred hours (i'm not joking) researching on the canon plot, writing and erasing your sentences to make sense... you'll think that "HELL YEA" deserves a place here :P
Update: Chapters that I've completed: 44 - 51 and 54. Yes, people. I've written more than I should this week. My entire week of school work has been neglected. So next week, no more writing for me!! >.<
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Quick Post
a quick little update before i fly to school, well, not literally but you know what i mean :P
With regards to "I Want To Be A Turk!"
here are the chapters that are completed (and ready to be published, weekly XD):
43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49.
here are the chapters that lack just one or two scenes before they're completed:
48, 50, 51.
all the chapters after that are either empty, or they have one or two scenes written. some including the ever popular crisis core scene where cissnei let zack fair escape (WHYY????).
ahh, so NOW you know that if i completely stop writing, i can last another 1 month or so :P or even 3 months, if i upload fortnightly, WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
i'm just excited because i'm very close to the end of this story. The FIRST PART, mind you. Unless you guys are not interested to know what happens to Meia in the events of FF7. I'm predicting that "I Want To Be A Turk!" will end around Chapter... 70? *hides behind sofa from a volley of rotten eggs* I know it's long but hey! that is 7 years of storyplot that I covered!!!
The second part wouldn't be as long, since the events of FF7 only lasted... 3 months? Maybe 30 chapters or less. Of course if you guys are sick of Meia and want something else, let me know k? :)
P.S: thank you for the reviews! I've broken the 3-review-curse this week!... with four! :D
Monday, January 23, 2012
3-Review-Maximum Curse!
That's what I think happened to my story "I Want To Be A Turk!" No matter how hard I try, I just cannot exceed the average of 3 reviews per chapter. it always seems like everytime i get a new reviewer, an old one stops reviewing XD it's a conspiracy, i swear!!
Sorry to sound so desperate for reviews. I know that many authors (if not most) are fine with a steady amount of reviews, since they get story alerts and favourites all the time. But they (those who don't write fanfiction) don't get it, authors live by reviews!!
I'm not going to be all humble and say something like, 'i write because i love to. even when the whole world decides not to read my stories, i'll never stop!' the truth of the matter is (at least for me), the more reviews I get, the more likely people will take notice and want to visit my story. I often found myself being attracted to stories with loads of reviews, simple as that.
okay, the nicer side of the truth: it brings me joy (and a boost to my ego) to see that you readers like them. recently, a particular reviewer said that the story was vivid and pointed out some mistakes that i could focus on. that was really sweet of her, at least i know if i am on the right track, you know? then again, some people may not know what to write, or maybe they don't think it's all that fantastic anyway :P
bottomline: yes, my fanfiction writing passion thrives on reviews. as far as i love writing, it'll be a greater joy if there are people who enjoy them (and tell me so)
that being said, i bet im the only lunatic author who's telling her readers to jolly well review consistently and appropriately :P so well, another ranting session from me, erm... just move along and forget what i've said? :D
(P.S: to other authors, if you'd like me to read your story, let me know and I'd love to... if I have the time. Just PM me or something!)
In other news, I'm here to declare to everyone (and myself) that I will not write anything new (in terms of writing new plots or continuing stories) until I get my assignments 50% done... I really hate how much of a procrastinator I am... I'm 4 weeks away from graduation and I've not started on my assignments? Shame on me. *lock fanfiction folder away*
Sunday, December 25, 2011
reviews are absolute LOVE
just sharing some messages that i received this week that seriously made me smile. (some names are kept anonymous. but you know who you are :P) the fact that i highlighted some of them shows what i'm aiming for in each story too, that's why they make me happy, because it means my objectives were met :P
Moves Like Jagger
Moves Like Jagger
"I definitely imagined them playing the song for real"
"that song is epic! it's really addictive.. been listening to it since reading this story."
The review above is what inspired me to write this blog post. this was not an aim of mine (to have readers liking the song because of the story) so when i read it, i cannot describe how pleasantly surprised i felt!
I Want To Be A Turk!
"that song is epic! it's really addictive.. been listening to it since reading this story."
The review above is what inspired me to write this blog post. this was not an aim of mine (to have readers liking the song because of the story) so when i read it, i cannot describe how pleasantly surprised i felt!
I Want To Be A Turk!
"I'd rather have more I want to be a Turk! chapters more than anything else lol :}"
"the ending [of a chapter] was absolutely AWESOME"
funnily enough, they all came from different people! :D i really feel thankful at how my small and humble base of readers have expanded. i started out in the FF7 fandom with only Samantha Sheffield and TWA (btw, i pronounce it as 'twah' XDDDD) to offer their reviews. then... out of nowhere... i see new names and names becoming regular reviewers.
i cannot say enough how thankful i feel that there are people out there who bothers to read the (ten thousands of) words that i write. surely i'm not the best, but i am glad that you gave my story a chance to exhibit itself. its playful side, its solemn side... the ups and downs of the story plot that also reflects the efforts that the author puts in when she writes.
it must the CHRISTMAS season, i feel extra appreciative. Oh, just so you know, Singapore doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, so our time of mutual appreciation is during Christmas :P
"the ending [of a chapter] was absolutely AWESOME"
funnily enough, they all came from different people! :D i really feel thankful at how my small and humble base of readers have expanded. i started out in the FF7 fandom with only Samantha Sheffield and TWA (btw, i pronounce it as 'twah' XDDDD) to offer their reviews. then... out of nowhere... i see new names and names becoming regular reviewers.
i cannot say enough how thankful i feel that there are people out there who bothers to read the (ten thousands of) words that i write. surely i'm not the best, but i am glad that you gave my story a chance to exhibit itself. its playful side, its solemn side... the ups and downs of the story plot that also reflects the efforts that the author puts in when she writes.
it must the CHRISTMAS season, i feel extra appreciative. Oh, just so you know, Singapore doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, so our time of mutual appreciation is during Christmas :P
actually, i feel like writing a new story concurrently, but after much thought I decided against it. i'm starting to slacken on the pace of the Turk story, so I need to double up and write a little faster :P
okay, i'm going to sleep soon. hopefully i can force myself to write a bit more before sleeping. but i've got some stuffs to do first. MERRY CHRISTMAS, lovely readers! May things be brighter in our 2012 horizon!
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