Unpublished: Days of Exile (extra scenes)

If you write, poetry or prose, you will at some point in time, have scenes that you have ended up not publishing.

A lot of times, the scenes are not included in the story because it just does not work. And I've learnt in a Fiction Writing workshop that I've attended some years ago that I should not force scenes into the story just because I took a long time to come up with it and I didn't want to waste it. Other times, you would have scenes that you did not publish because you may have stereotypically written it on a diner napkin and have plain forgotten about it till it was too late.

In today's blog post, I am referring to the latter.

Of course, I wasn't writing my scenes and ideas on a diner napkin. I just typed them in my evernote and I forgot all about it. Completely. Until I chanced upon it just now while I was decluttering my evernote things.

So since Days of Exile is published and done, I guess I'll post it here instead :)

So this is meant for Chapter 55 of my fanfiction "Days of Exile", when Meia was explaining to Randy and Heidi her whole reconciliation with her job as a Turk. Once again, much like the previous unpublished post, I'll post what I've written verbatim, so forgive the lack of perfect grammar/spelling. Had to type fast before the plot bunny runs away, you know?

---

Meia looked at Randy. "During the time I was captured by Hojo, I have been thinking of a lot of things. Out there everyone has various impressions of the Turks, most of which are less than pleasant. When I was a child, I truly beleived that everyone had a good side in them. I know that while I was still a Turk, I saw that these people are more than just killing machines. They had a sense of humour, they were loyal to their cause (albeit an unethical one), they had feelings.

Seeing this more human side of them, im.inclined to believe that the people outside shinra are too narrow minded and unforgiving.

How could it, then, that we did all these terrible things, and try to be human at the same time? Why is it that being a Turk essentially meant we throw away our lives up to this point and live like a different person?

I could never come to terms with this. But the more I see, the more I have to accept the undeniable truth. The Turks did wrong things, for various personal reasons. They may not like it, some may like it, but the truth of the matter is as solid as a rock-" Meia stopped to take a breath, and remebered what Cassie said. "We had a choice to stand for what we believed in, and all of us had no qualms putting down our morals to get the job done. That, is what make us Turks not excusable for our doings.
However, I still reiterate that

We cannot expect ppl to like us or forgive us. We can never expect it. Even if we singlehandedly destroyed Meteor or cure Geostigma now, we wont be treated like heroes. The only thing we can do now is to live properly now. If we want respect from people around us, we will work for it.
The best thing I can do is to do what i think is right. Perhaps find someone who share the same passion as me.

Randy thereafter says a few things. Then he leaves and Meia didnt hear from him wver again. (Well, maybe not for a long while. The idea is that randy will not forgive the turks so easily anyway.)

---

There you have it :)

In the end, this scene was not published because I simply forgot all about it. I rewrote the whole chapter as you have already read in the published, actual Chapter 55. However, the main idea is the same and honestly? I like what I've written in this unpublished version, but it's unrealistic that Meia would go on and on while Randy and Heidi just kept quiet without. a. single. comment.

Besides, I love the ending of Chapter 55 and I would not do a single thing to change that :)

Anyway, the story is long completed and it's time to move on. I'll admit, I still enjoy reading Days of Exile and I hope to find more unpublished stuff lying around here and there in my laptop.

Can I Stay By Your Side? - Chapter 9

Gee, I realised that I never had a tag for "Can I Stay By Your Side". It's time to create one, I suppose?

And to make up for seven chapters that I've already posted, I'll put in some fun facts that I can't believe I didn't publish previously.

Fun fact #1: The original title that I really wanted to publish was "Soba ni ite ii?" which directly translated in Japanese is "Is it okay if you stay by my side?" but well, my lousy Japanese mistook the whole phrase and I reversed the meaning, hur hur. I may a decent writer but I'm still not a decent speaker of Japanese.

In other words, the title of this fanfic should have been "Can you stay by my side?" Hot damn! *knocks head against table in frustration*

---

Let's move on to Chapter 9. Chapter 8, as we already know, was my author's note so let's skip that.

When I came back to review my chapter, I thought that it would be easy to just look through for grammatical errors and just upload this chapter.

How wrong I was.

Well, if you guys have not already found out, I actually enjoy reading my own stories. Yeah, I know. I'm really narcissistic at times. I have been rereading "I Want To Be A Turk", "Days of Exile", "The Only Exception" many times over the course of 2018, trying hard not to forget how enjoyable it was to write.

However, "Can I Stay By Your Side" was a story that I didn't particularly enjoy. Mainly, as I discovered last week when I had to reread the story for continuation, because the story was too skimpy for my liking.

"Can I Stay By Your Side" is written in the style of how a Japanese manga is written. Unfortunately, it's a disadvantage because illustrations play a huge role in manga. Thus, I realised that for the first seven chapters, I found my story too skimpy and lacking of details and "colour".

Thus, when I looked through the chapter again, a desire to improve it surged. Surprisingly, I made quite a lot of changes to the chapter. Mostly a rephrasing of previously written sentences, but also addition of some sentences to bring clarity to the context.

The scene of Yoshiko and Sana on the telephone was such an addition.

In the end, it turned out that my chapters exceeded 2800 words, which was way more than I had expected. However, I'm satisfied with the result.

To those who faithfully read KHR in tandem with my story, I commend your diligence and challenge you to find loopholes in my story (it ain't that difficult to do so anyway).

In order to portray a more accurate description of the Japanese culture, I often used terms in their original Japanese name. Hatsumoude is what the Japanese do in the new year. I've also used a number of websites for research and cross-reference, which I have listed below.

Alrighty, the writing gears are creaking slowly but surely. I'm ready.

Credits:
http://www.hellotokyo.jp/2011/01/02/hatsumode-new-years-visit-to-a-shrine/
http://www.hellotokyo.jp/2010/11/14/try-your-luck/
https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0000776/
http://www.fuji-travel-guide.com/news-item/sanpai/
https://www.realestate-tokyo.com/living-in-tokyo/religion/shrine-temple-manners/
https://wow-j.com/en/Allguides/other/tips_manners/00674_en/

Why no chapter update?

Aren't I already back from hiatus one month ago?

How can I upload anything if I have not been able to write anything?

Mental block is absolutely frustrating.

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.

First post of 2016! (plus the end of hiatus)

Dear all.

I'm back.

After four months of hiatus, I've finally returned to my blog and my fanfiction. Yes, my wedding went smoothly. I had a wonderful honeymoon (where I secretly gathered ideas for my stories, hehe) and I have started the new year without even greeting you all.

Happy new year!

Since the year started, it has been a rather tiring January. I had to adjust to the changes in my families and my workplace. Did I write during my hiatus? Not really. I dare say that in my four month hiatus, I probably wrote less than two hundred words.

Should you be worried? Of course not. Should I be worried. Oh yeah, definitely. I am quite afraid that my mental block will last forever. Will I find back my inspiration like how I did when I was in China? Then so much for my dream of writing full time. Almost every day, I would sit and stare at both "The Only Exception" and "Can I Stay By Your Side?". I would sit and read and read and think, but I'm always at loss for words.

What am I doing then? Well, you would laugh at me but I'm rereading "I Want To Be A Turk!" I want to find back the trigger to this 120++ chapter story. So far, I am starting to get my feeling back, but I'll need more than just feelings.

I just want to thank all the readers who have been wonderful even during hiatus. I still receive notifications for people following and favouriting my stories. The notifications always make my day brighter :)

Today, as I was doing work, the "Voices of the Lifestream" remix of Shinra's Theme played in my iPod and I cannot help but start wondering about Meia and the world that I've created. Is everyone okay? A part of me still toys with storylines and plot bunnies relating to "I Want To Be A Turk!" but should I, really???

Anyway, no more of this. It's time to do goal-setting! Before I do that, let's do a review of my 2015 goals! You can see my first post of 2015, but I'll summarise here.

1. Read lots of manga.
Done. I've read enough to make me happy. It's really time to focus on writing again.

2. Write fanfiction outside FF7.
Done that too. I've started a fanfiction on Katekyo Hitman Reborn called "Can I Stay By Your Side?" and I'm getting pretty good reviews... I think.

3. Brainstorm on original YA fiction.
Well, I did brainstorm. Did I have ideas? Some. Did any of them form into anything substantial? No.

4. Create stories for children.
Ahhh, this one, I didn't. I have some ideas but again, none of my ideas became anything substantial.

Not a bad year for writing actually. Here are my writing goals for 2016.

1. Finish "The Only Exception"
I'm almost done, so I gotta pull through.

2. Start on another FF7 story
That's the easy part. The difficult part is... which plot bunny should I use??

3. Continue to brainstorm YA fiction.
Publishing this will not be the key for the next few years, but I want to work on the idea until it becomes something... unique. Well, uncommon at best.

4. Create stories for children.
I still want to do this. So I shall.

5. Publish at least 5 book reviews.
My real goal is 10, but I shall not push my luck. 5 first :)

And so, my 2016 goals are set. I wish all of you a happy new year once again and see you in fanfiction soon!

Fellow writer to fellow writer

So at my workplace, there was a child the age of 9. When I first met her, she was 7 and she wrote and drew her own picture book one fine day and surprised all my colleagues. I have not read it before and I wished that I would have the chance to.

Two years have passed since I first knew her and I met her again recently.

"Are you still writing?" I asked her.

To that, she shook her head and said that she has become too busy to write.

"But do you enjoy writing?" I probed. A large part of me prayed really hard that she still did and that she was not bogged down by the restrictions of Singapore's examinations.

"Yes, I love writing."

Phew! As long as her passion was still around, she should not give up. And that's what I told her, along with whatever advice I could scramble for her. Notebook of plot bunnies and ideas, writing just 30 minutes a day...

To her, it seemed like an adult telling a child what she thought would be best. Honestly, adult or not, we are all starting and running on the track of writing an awesome work. So when I was talking to her, I found myself talking to her like a fellow writer to a fellow writer. It was a nice feeling and I could not wait to see more people in my life who can step up and say "Let's share our experiences as writers!"

I also hope that this little girl will continue her desire to write.

In other news... I'm supposed to upload my new chapters. Hehe.

Publishing is not a distant dream anymore

Recently, I’ve noticed that there was an increase in local publishers in Singapore. More and more Singaporean authors are stepping out to write for the younger audience. I think that is great, and it makes me excited knowing that the entry to the market is wider and that my little dream of being published someday might actually come true.

So for the last two weeks, when I am not reading or writing fanfiction, I think about original stories. I am tempted to rewrite my older stories. I had old plot bunnies that were unfinished, but I am not sure if that was the direction that I wanted to go along.

A part of me is afraid. Afraid of what the real editors and publishers might think of my stories if I show them what I had done before. I am going to be honest here – I think that my stories have some kind of standard. Sure, it’s not J.K Rowling nor Neil Gaiman, but I enjoyed reading my stories. What if that had just been my rosy picture? What if the editors didn’t like it, and that was the best that I could do?

The thought of that cripples me sometimes. Sometimes, I wonder if the one thing that I thought I can do decently is not quite my calling or talent.

Alas, fear never pushes the man forward.

Throne of Glass and rants

No, I'm not writing to complain about Throne of Glass. I've mentioned in my review that I absolutely adore the book. Yes, the reviews were spiralling in their dislike for Celaena Sardothien. I noticed and see where they were coming from. Yeah, Celaena was bordering on being an annoying Mary-Sue. But I love her, there's nothing I can do about that.

I reread Throne of Glass and over the next three days, sped through the two books thereafter, "Crown of Midnight" and "Heir of Fire"... until the last 150 pages of "Heir of Fire". I was apprehensive how the ending would be. I mean, at the last 150 pages, the story was not picking itself up yet.

Also, I was not ready for the story to really end. Readers of the series would know that the story turned for the darker in the middle of "Crown of Midnight" and I was afraid that the story would not end up the way I wanted. My hopes were dashed by quite a number of books (and manga) before... I certainly hoped that "Throne of Glass" would not join them. So I left the book there for another day or two... until I finally told myself to finish it or else I may forget the story altogether.

Then I realised. There will be a fourth book.

To be honest, the first reaction was "What nonsense!"

I was all prepared for an ending to find that the book was not at its end. I wish that there would be some indication as to whether the book has ended or not.

Then in hindsight, "Phew! Thank goodness she didn't wrap up the entire ending in a measly 50 pages!" That kind of ending would have sucked. Big time.

Back to my rant, that's the problem with series. It's difficult to know which book to read first. The authors publish books as though readers will always pick them up the minute they hit the racks. How are readers going to find out which book came first and how would readers know whether the books is really the last book? 'Cause I truly believed that "Heir of Fire" was the last book in the series. Can you imagine if I threw all twenty-two "Legend of Drizzt" books at you for you to figure out the order?

Actually, I wouldn't be so upset if not for the fact that the last book of "Throne of Glass" would only be available on the 1st of September. Golly, and how long would that be before the book comes to Singapore?

Patience, patience.

I'm awaiting "Queen of Darkness" very eagerly now.

And as a side note, fangirling over Chaol Westfall so hard that I almost sacrificed my free time to reread "Crown of Midnight". Almost.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Unfortunately, I'm not ready to upload another chapter of my stories, so I've decided that I should look up on some quotes on love that I kinda like.

"After all this time?"
"Always." - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Love is like pi; natural, irrational and very important. - Lisa Hoffman

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart) - E.E. Cummings

“Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath in my ear sent a shiver down my spine. "But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”

“That sounds more like a poison than a person,” was all I could say. His confession had both shocked and thrilled me.

“Exactly,” Valek replied. “You have poisoned me.” - Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

This is my favourite from the Bible.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-29

I've tried to find love quotes for "Fifty Shades of Grey" but... I couldn't find them. Oh well. Not surprising.

And in the mood for something more narcisstic, I went ahead to find some of my love confessions in my fanfiction. I didn't find them all because I was lazy to type them out. So enjoy it!

Kyo threw the letter aside and held his lifeless wife tighter. "I won't ever forget you." - A Love That Surpasses Time (SDK)

Until fate decides otherwise, I'll be here watching her and ensuring that she is alright. Even here in the Farplane, I am watching over Yuna as her guardian and as one who loves her. - Guardian (FFX)

“So… Kayla is just lying, right?” Elena asked again. She had to be sure. “You and Tseng don’t like me, right?”

Reno’s voice was soft. “Wrong.”

Elena felt her heart sink. Reno and Tseng likes her? Then what-

"Tseng doesn’t like you, Elena.” Reno’s hand smoothed out Elena’s mutilated hair with little success. “I do.” - Moves Like Jagger (FFVII)

Hehe, the last one was my all-time favourite actually.

Once again, have a happy Valentine's day!

First post for 2015!

Happy New Year folks! Here is my first post for 2015. Here are some plans that I've come up with, with regards to writing.

1. Read lots of manga
Sadly, this one is here to stay. I know that I have been neglecting my writing because of this. But then again, I've neglected manga for almost 10 years for my other things in life. Therefore, I shall now focus back on my (technically) 'first love'.

2. Write fanfiction outside FF7
I thought it would be fun if I write other fandoms too. On top of FF7, I'm currently writing one that is from the Reborn fandom. If you like Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn, stay tuned!

3. Brainstorm on original YA fiction 
'Nuff said. It's about time I get started on writing outside fanfiction. I may not write anything, but I want to start gathering ideas.

4. Create stories for children
I tell stories to children. Sometimes, I would create my own stories on the fly, as mentioned before. This year, I want to see if, apart from YA fiction, I can write stories for children too.

What have you been doing since the year started? For me, I'm back at work and trying to get my life organised. My table was in a mess and I've just finished clearing it out. I'm also reading manga, letting the chapters fly by by the hundreds.

Since yesterday, I've been reading "Days of Exile". I started at Chapter 29. I did not know that there were a few errors and typos per chapter. It's pretty embarrassing. But is it arrogant of me to say that I enjoy reading "Days of Exile"? I really like reading the chapters, it almost feels like it's not mine.

All the best to everyone in this new year. May you continue to enjoy reading and writing!

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?

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.

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.

Of drawings and such

I was talking to a friend of mine just a while ago. She's a really talented artist but she said that she can't draw people very well. So that kinda reminded me of myself when I was a kid.

You may have heard me mention that I've watched anime and manga at a young age. What you wouldn't know was that I was really influenced by it. For the record, the very very first few anime that I watched were bits of Sailormoon and Ranma 1/2.

Anyway, it got me so into it that when I was in Primary 6, I tried drawing my own manga. I got caught for it by my parents and was scolded because I was not concentrating on my final exam (good ol' PSLE). When I went to secondary school, or middle school as some people would call it, I met a good friend and we started drawing together; showing each other's work when we were done. With her encouragement, I tried drawing another manga and guess what? I managed to finish one and a half chapters, yo.

Ah, good ol' days. I didn't last long though. It was one fine morning after my O' Levels that I realised that I wasn't quite cut out for drawing. I could only draw figures in a particular angle and they look pretty static. Furthermore, I. totally. suck. at. backgrounds. and perspectives. and the list goes on. The shame. I am too embarrassed to even look at my pictures now.

I lost contact with my friend after o' levels but the last time I checked, she was still drawing. Awesome.

With that, my drawing days crashed pretty quickly. Since that moment when I told myself that I wasn't cut out for drawing, I totally stopped. Nowadays, my drawings are just limited to cutesy animals and etc to make little children happy.

However, through that experiment, I realised that I was more interested in the other aspect of manga-making... the storyline.

And the rest, my friends, is history.

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

Writing 101 (2): Idea Hoarder (inspired by "Words Fail Me")

Today, I was browsing randomly in the bookstore and I've decided to get this book:



Well, it's not the kindle edition. I got the paperback. It's a book about writing. Don't ask me. I hate nonfiction, especially exposition, but reading all about the English language never bores me. I relish discussions and conversation explaining and arguing which preposition is more suitable for the verb and so on. Not that I'm an expert, but it is always an enlightening and satisfying moment when I get an answer, or acknowledgement that I knew was correct.

Anyway, I'm not done with the book (I just bought it, geez!) but I particularly liked a chapter where the author Patricia explained about organisation. As it turned out, she encouraged budding writers to hoard their ideas and keep them somewhere. You never know when you need them.

It's something I wished someone taught me before I threw my stash of laughable drafts away.

Anyway, after reading the chapter (actually I'm only halfway through the chapter but I'm pretty motivated now), here is my plan:

1. Write.
As Patricia T. O'Conner suggests, words, phrases, ideas, conversations, punchlines... Everything, anything. Write them down.

Noted with much gratitude. Looks like I'm going to be walking around with something to jot down all the time. Maybe it's time to buy a voice recorder. Nah, that would be too creepy. I'll lose friends at that rate.

2. Keep all plot bunnies 
Even if they are fanfiction or fiction, I'm going to now keep all my plot bunnies in a nice place. No more "Bah, that's stupid." *toss it to one side* EVEN IF it's stupid, I'm gonna keep it.

3. Keep a vocabulary notebook. For real.
I don't see this happening anytime soon, but I had a vision of collecting a compendium of new vocabulary words. Yup, I'm not going to upload them on the blog like before, because it'll be hard to maintain. It's not happening because I don't have the guts to get started. Seriously. I wish I can, but I barely know where to begin. It's supposed to be an attempt to improve my vocabulary, but now I see that it's necessary. Maybe I've got to do one for English and one for Japanese. Stay tuned... IF it ever happens.

So that's all I have planned so far! I'm going to head outta here and capture all my lost plot bunnies. Have a good Sunday ahead!

Picture taken from:
Book Cover

Love Triangles...

Before I get into this, I just want to clarify my previous post. I mentioned that I was going to upload Chapter 50. My mistake. I have not even uploaded Chapter 49. So we've gotta upload Chapter 49 first, right?

Then again, who is reading my story anymore? :( Silent readers, I suppose.

Back to the main point: Love triangles. I did not think about these until last year. That's when I really realised. I don't like love triangles. They are seriously the highlights of any romance story, but I don't like them still.

Oh, in case you are wondering, I stopped reading manga. Not that I lost interest. There were so many titles that I wanted to read (hmmm, sounds familiar with my novels too...) that I was not focusing on my career enough. So now I've stopped reading new titles.

Anyway, a few months back, I finished reading this manga called "Heroine Shikkaku". It was such a bittersweet story, because the guy and the girl did not get together until the very very last chapter. Sidenote: actually, it's pretty special in a way because most shoujo manga would spend more time drawing life after the protagonists get together. "Heroine Shikkaku" ended with the both of them finally coming to terms with their feelings. The journey to that moment was tedious, though. The boy was confused about who he likes. The girl was quite hurt throughout the entire manga.

It's kinda like that with the other titles too. In other titles, the girl actually ends up dating the rival because she was confused by the main boy's feelings. Even though everything worked out fine for the main boy and girl in the end, there was lots of heartbreak. In a love triangle fiasco, so many people will inevitably get hurt.

Honestly, I don't want that to happen to anyone, as far as possible. That's why I made it real clear with "Days of Exile" that Meia and Reno will be together. Even though I add in competition like Jasper and Kunsel, they pose no big threat. It's really difficult to console the character that is rejected, especially if a lot of emotional effort was made. I know that some manga tries to reconcile that by making the others fall in love with someone else, but that's just unrealistic.

I see love triangles being so prevalent in many books too... Twilight... Throne of Glass (review here!)...  Eon/Eona (review here!)... Hunger Games... plus a gazillion shoujo manga as the entourage.


So true, Inuyasha. So true.


The million dollar question that lasts till the end of Advent Children.


This one dragged on for FOREVER!

Is it really often the way to go? I mean, look at "Eragon (review is now available!)"! A perfectly good story without any of that love triangle stuff. Maybe that's because there were so many things going on in "Eragon" too...

Well, if the story is done well, then the love triangle adds flavour and spice. However, it's kinda sad if the love triangle is the MAIN storyplot, I think. It's understandable with shoujo manga, but not so for novel. I'm sure you can do a lot more than that, right?

Those are my opinions, and I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me. For all we know, sometime down the road, I will write a full blown love triangle story, hyuk hyuk. Life is strange, sometimes.

I shall end by wishing my country a HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!

Singapore is definitely a country to visit, once in your lifetime. Probably once is more than enough because we are THAT small. Nevertheless, it is a country to visit and understand the culture, if you can catch up with us locals.




Pictures from:
Inuyasha
Tifa and Aerith
Archie Comics
Merlion

Workshop: Fiction Writing (Part 1)

I went to a writing workshop a few weeks ago. To those who are clueless, here is the details of that workshop. You may need to click on the image to have a larger view.

If you remember my previous post, I was talking about how afraid I was to meet other writers because of my background as a fanficion writer. Turns out that I was too paranoid about it.

The workshop was amazing. Well, I think it's kinda rude to disclose what I've learnt. I think that it's best to the facilitators at the workshop. At most, I'll give some kind of remark rather than a detailed  So if you are here, expecting some kind of crash course, well, you're not going to get it, sorry :(

Firstly, we did a self-introduction. I was the second one in the line, so I had to make quick decisions. Should I just keep quiet? Or kick myself in the shins and jump into the fire? Well, I made the latter choice.

"Hi, I'm aichioluv, and I'm... I'm a closet fanfiction writer."

No one really reacted. Do they even know what is fanfiction? My facilitator, however, chuckled, though not in a bad way (I hope). So I continued.

"I'm here (in this workshop) because I want to see what I'm lacking in my writing, which should be a lot. And I want to see how I can improve in my writing."

Yup, my self-introduction went by smoothly. Not angry mob of nay-sayers, no pitch forks, nothing. Yes yes yes, I was overreacting, I admit. But seriously, I know the general reputation of fanfiction being completely unoriginal (duh, it's fanfiction!) and substandard. Of course I worry. It was absolutely liberating, my confession. After that, I felt less concerned, for some reason. No one judged me, at least they did not say it out.

I really enjoyed the workshop and I've picked up some tips for improvement. If I really had to nitpick, I wished that we had gone more in depth. Maybe analyse author's works and discuss how we can use their awesomeness to improve ourselves. Hmm, is it even legal?

Apart from that, I'm simply glad that the workshop delivered what it needed to deliver. Here are some of the things that I've discovered and rediscovered during the workshop.

1. I had no idea I have an inner critic.
At the start of the workshop, we were supposed to dismiss our inner critic. I was thinking, "What inner critic? I will be happy enough if I was more critical of my work." Due to everyone from fanfiction.net being so nice and friendly, even if I had any mistakes, they may put it in such a roundabout way... or maybe they did not even notice.

Then, I remembered. Once upon a time, I received a painfully honest review for one of my earlier works. In his/her defense, I'm super grateful for that review because it gave me a good reality slap on my face. Unoriginal as it may be, fanfiction is, obviously, works and characters created by the original author. To make characters out of their character is kind of an insult to the author, in my opinion now. So I'm glad that that reviewer was honest enough to tell me.

That being said, since then I was ever so cautious in my planning and I try to be real critical with myself - especially with character portrayal. Sometimes, I feel exceedingly frustrated when I can't illustrate certain personalities the way I imagined it to be. I guess that could be my inner critic trying to giving my ideas 'friendly reminders' back to oblivion.

So, I do have an inner critic. Never thought about that. While it's good to have a certain standard for yourself, it is just as important to ignore the internal naysayers and write what YOU want to write.

2. I've pushed myself out of the box.
I guess I really surprised myself there. Not that I am a really good fantasy/adventure writer in the first place, but I never considered making characters more than what I was comfortable with. In the end, I thought of things and ideas that were sort of out of my usual style. At least, what was what I tried to do. I did try to make one of the characters in an exercise a failed comedian, but I guess even the function of a failed comedian failed on me. *sigh* humour was never my strong point. Nevertheless, I was glad that I tried to do something slightly different. Turns out that I could so it if I really try.

I'll continue another time!

Details of workshop were taken from here.

Did you ever not know the importance of something until it's gone?

Yes, the cliche sentence.

I'm feeling it big time now.

I've just deleted an entire section of writing.

It's gone. Forever.

Damn it.

I want to curl up and cry >_____<

EDIT: I'VE FOUND IT! I found a previous version in my harddisk. That folder was not backed up for many months but well, I wrote that scene a long time ago so... I'm just so happy and grateful and relieved.

Phew.

So excited!

Aloha, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter that I've written.

Tomorrow (21st June), I will be attending a workshop on Fiction Writing, conducted by Academy of Literary Arts and Publishing Singapore. Any Singaporean writers here who are going tomorrow, I guess I'll see you. I would be super stoked if someone came to me and said that they have read my fanfiction, but then again, I don't have many Singaporean readers. Oh well.

Now, to be honest? I'm super anxious about tomorrow.


(K-ON! An anime that I would really love to watch, but it's not quite high in my priority list.)

What am I anxious about? Tons of things! This workshop is supposed to be an advanced workshop. Yes, I have experience in writing. But experience does not always equate to ability. I can just imagine.

Facilitator: let's have a short introduction around the room.

Participant A: Oh, I dabble a lot on writing. I've written articles for the Strait's Times (Singaporean newspaper).

Participant B: I've been sending manuscripts to publishers so I'm hoping for the best.

Aichioluv: Um... I write fanfiction?

*cue awkward silence*

I know, I should be proud of my 'heritage' but I am worried. What if I'm not cut out for this? What if I end up being more confused? What if my writing is so kiddish and I completely humiliate myself tomorrow?

What if, what if, what if...

I guess I'll only know tomorrow.

I would love to give you details about the workshop but I really want to get back to writing my chapter, so I'll tell you more after the workshop.

Meanwhile, have a good weekend!

Gif taken from here

Book Review (7): India Black - Madam of Espionage

Been a LONG while since I last reviewed. I meant to write this review as soon as I was done with the book, but I never got around to finishing it. (Note to self: Always finish the review when you're done with a book.)

Back to what I was saying. I was ploughing through Anne of Green Gables, which is a really lovely book to read when you don't want any of those fantastic twists. Then, a random decision to go to the library brought me to this book.



India Black - Madam of Espionage
Carol K. Carr

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): India Black is an intelligent and charming owner of a brothel, and minds her own business, technically. However, a death of a high-ranked customer in her premises led her on a spy-filled journey where she suddenly becomes a spy for the British government. Don't worry, there'll be a handsome gentleman who will spice the story up for you.

-------

It's a rather difficult concept to accept - not because of the plot's complexity, but because it's really, really hard to imagine a courtesan being a government spy. Which brings me to:

1. Preface
If you usually skip the prefaces, I suggest you read this one. It is a snarky but funny introduction of the book, narrated by India Black herself. In the preface she did mention the laughable possibility of a whore being a government spy, but once she explains the resourcefulness of a prostitute, it all makes sense. She also draws some parallels too-close-for-comfort.

All in all, the preface was the determining factor for me to continue reading the book, which goes to show how easily one can win over a reader with just a simple preface.

2. India Black as a protagonist
Snarky. That's it. I really enjoyed her character and how she tries to explain things in her opinion. To the eyes of French and the other men and 'bints' in the story, India was a calm and composed woman who knew how to get what she wants. If you read on, you know that she is very talkative in her own head.

The book was written in a first person narrative. I'm usually quite awkward with first person narratives because I feel that it limits the readers' perspective. However, the book was written in her perspective. That really shows the readers her true feelings, and it's rather funny. I kinda like her. She talks like a young adult who thinks that she is so educated. She has this arrogance yet sometimes behaves so immaturely. In fact, she at times reminded me so closely to one single character, that the only thing she lacked was 'Oh my'.

I had this thought about India Black and Anastasia Steele. I think that India Black's personality would be so perfect as Anastasia. For one, India Black has the bombastic words that EL James covets, but she delivers them so elegantly and not so... flippantly like Anastasia. Then again, the whole spiciness about 50 Shades of Grey is the fact that Ana is so innocent and pure... Who wants a shrewd virgin?

3. The world of Dickens
The story is set in the 19th century, UK. Dickens fans, hurray for you... Unless you are a HUGE Dickens fan, of course. You may then have your own standards. I'm not a huge Dickens fans, so I'm pretty cool with the whole Industrial period setting.

This was totally what I had in mind when I was reading the book.

-------

I've got an interesting thing that I dislike in this book.

1. I. Really. Dislike. Parentheses. (yeah. like those brackets around the words that you see.)

Remind me, not to do that to you guys (unless you really like it, then let me know). I mean, what is the point? Why can't you just write them out in sentences? Parentheses served to provide extra information (or a quick and suitable remark). However, I found it utterly distracting. Parentheses are littered everywhere in the story (even during the preface!). It's really hard to read something (anything!) when a stupid parenthesis comes and stands in your way.

Sometimes it works (sometimes it doesn't). Now that I've experienced it as a reader, I'm definitely going to cut down on that. And now that you've experienced it (refer to above paragraph), are you sure you want to do it on your own story?

2. Attraction between India and French
Simple question. Where is it??

I was quite bummed out. I thought there would be some romance or flirting between the two of them. But nada. Maybe the sequel might appease me. Then again, I appreciate that the protagonists didn't get it on immediately, unlike that of Maria V Snyder. No offense, I love Maria V Snyder!

-------

Rating: Consider it.

A cute read to put by your bedside, but not that difficult to put down. Come to think of it, months after I've finished reading it, I don't feel like picking it up again. Not even the sequel. Whatever it is, it's not in my priority list. So you decide.

Pictures taken from:
India Black - Madam of Espionage
Picture of London

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (6): Throne of Glass

You might remember that I've mentioned this some time ago. I'm done with the book shortly after that post, but it took me a while to get the review out. But I've done it, and here it is :)



Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Celaena Sardothien, legendary assassin who suffered a year in captivity, was promised freedom upon some conditions. She was to participate in a series of competitions against other fighters and emerge champion. Failure to do so will mean sure death. Celaena obviously accepts, and soon found many twists in what seemed like an innocent tournament.

-----

Let me get this straight - I love this book!

I did take a long time to get past the first 4 chapters (though that wasn't the story's fault, but my own work priorities). But one fine Saturday, I sat down, I read, and I didn't stop till I was done on Sunday morning... Okay, so I cheated, I slept a bit before I finished it on Sunday morning, but that's not important.

Overall, this book has gotten me on my toes and I'm eagerly waiting for the sequel to be out this fall (Yes, there will be a sequel!!) Let's get started!

1. Setting
The author spent about five chapters setting the story, which is really nice and stable. Five chapters to set the stage. The world is a medieval-like realm with castles and towns. The era was in oppression; a man who conquered the main city and declared himself King. Magic was banned, its books were burned and its people killed.

Yup, that's the underlying theme there. Oppression.

2. Costumes
I love the costumes. Nothing more I can say. Okay, so this has absolutely nothing to do with writing, but I just love the costumes. The description was lovely, though not as graphic as Memoirs of a Geisha (did you see the way the author describes the kimono? Absolutely love it.)

3. Celaena as a protagonist
I mentioned before that Eona was an interesting character, but I meant it in a negative way more than positive. Now, Celaena Sardothien is, in my opinion, a wonderful character. She is arrogant, cunning and witty, but also nice to the people that she likes. She also knows that she is beautiful, and often tries to use it to her advantage.

There is just something so attractive about her. To outsiders, she's elusive and mysterious. No one knows what the greatest assassin might do next. However, when the author writes in the perspective of Celaena again, you'll be surprised to find how normal she actually is. Also, it's so interesting to see her think throughout the book the thousand and one ways to assassinate people around her, albeit done too frequently.

In a way, she is like Christian Grey. Same multifaceted personality, but different. Different in the fact that Christian Grey's multicoloured personality backfires on him because he became very flat. For Celaena, the different parts of her personality, however extreme they may be, they made sense given the circumstances of her background.

4. Love Triangles
Argh. I hate this. I've said it again and again, I am so sick of love triangles. It's quite typical - Girl falls in love with Boy A first, but then there's Boy B. Plus, you can tell that eventually where the love triangle would result.

For some reason, even though I dislike love triangles, I'm super darn bad at guessing the result. I always brace myself for a possible twist. Never happened.

5. Plot
I appreciate the fact that the story has a pretty straightforward plot. There were some underlying subplots and foreshadowing, but nothing confusing. I need to take notes from these focused authors!!

Being a first part of a series, the book took some time to lay out its setting. However, what stood out for me was that the main plot was introduced by the end of Chapter 2. It's pretty risky to just throw out the main plot so early. You might lose the flavour and most authors prefer to roll out the story little by little. Well, it worked for me. I immediately got to know what the story is going to be about and that determines whether I'm going to like it or not.

Another author who did that was Maria V. Snyder. The initial plot was out by the end of Chapter 1, of which at the end of it I thought, "Sounds cool, let's go!" Some stories that dragged a little too long for my liking was Fifty Shades of Grey (review here) and "The Fire Within" by Chris D. Lacey. Alright, I'm about to be stoned because I know many people loved it. I've only read the first book and so far, meh. I am not giving up on the series though. So I'll try again!

Maybe I'm just a superficial reader who can't wait for the plot to thicken. Hmph.

---

Rating: Love It

I loved the book, I'm looking forward to the sequel. Need I say anymore?

Pictures taken from:
Book Cover

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.