TheCouchEffect
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/His
More specifically, what part of your story surprised you the most and how?
What was the most surprising part of your story?
- Thread starter TheCouchEffect
- Start date
MikaelBrigman
Golurk-Platinum
- Pronouns
- he/him
Other than people reading it?
K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
- Partners
-
@MikaelBrigman Well, that's a default stance personally...
More on topic. Though I nearly obsessively outline I wound up jumping the rails of my own plan in a long fic that I thought I was done with, the end result tabbed on a whole fifteen chapters, rehauled the ending, and wound up accidentally putting down the ground work of a sequel for something that I planned on being a standalone novel.
I didn't write myself into a corner, I wound up writing the corner down and realizing, well heck, I've got enough material for a sequel...
More on topic. Though I nearly obsessively outline I wound up jumping the rails of my own plan in a long fic that I thought I was done with, the end result tabbed on a whole fifteen chapters, rehauled the ending, and wound up accidentally putting down the ground work of a sequel for something that I planned on being a standalone novel.
I didn't write myself into a corner, I wound up writing the corner down and realizing, well heck, I've got enough material for a sequel...
TheCouchEffect
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/His
@MikaelBrigman That is a whole mood. But yes, other than that!
@K_S That's a really interesting turn of events! How exactly did you realize you had the perfect set-up for a sequel?
@K_S That's a really interesting turn of events! How exactly did you realize you had the perfect set-up for a sequel?
K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
- Partners
-
Well, if you tipped your head in my cardinal direction during the night I published the final chapter you would have heard the "thud thump thump" of me head-desking as realization set in...
On a more serious note, it was a mix-match of "hmm I have a lot of unused notes here" and leaving the fic I exited with more questions than answers irritated the heck out of me and left me realizing that if I wanted to wrap it up I really needed to wrap it up.
Basically, I started the tale as a tale of two men, middle-aged and both reaching midlife crisis stage respectively, trying to get over their trauma and reconnect after some very different life choices that left them morally opposed on almost every subject that mattered but them still making their friendship (the only stable point in either of their lives) work.
The story ended with an international threat level 'mon getting triggered, put down/contained, and the focus swinging away from a slightly hostile and diverse cast to a very flawed world stage that had let things get to such a disaster point. Basically it went from two old men prepping for retirement to them having to band together, take stalk of their resources (two young trainers, a small hometown community, and a scratching of a syndicate), and realize it was them against the powers that be. Powers that sat on their hands while the apocalypse was kicking up in their own backyard, and it's looking more and more that their governments were either inept, corrupt, or selling out to a more powerful Region who was gunning to kick up international war.
On a more serious note, it was a mix-match of "hmm I have a lot of unused notes here" and leaving the fic I exited with more questions than answers irritated the heck out of me and left me realizing that if I wanted to wrap it up I really needed to wrap it up.
Basically, I started the tale as a tale of two men, middle-aged and both reaching midlife crisis stage respectively, trying to get over their trauma and reconnect after some very different life choices that left them morally opposed on almost every subject that mattered but them still making their friendship (the only stable point in either of their lives) work.
The story ended with an international threat level 'mon getting triggered, put down/contained, and the focus swinging away from a slightly hostile and diverse cast to a very flawed world stage that had let things get to such a disaster point. Basically it went from two old men prepping for retirement to them having to band together, take stalk of their resources (two young trainers, a small hometown community, and a scratching of a syndicate), and realize it was them against the powers that be. Powers that sat on their hands while the apocalypse was kicking up in their own backyard, and it's looking more and more that their governments were either inept, corrupt, or selling out to a more powerful Region who was gunning to kick up international war.
Last edited:
DeliriousAbsol
*Crazy Absol Noises*
When I first wrote The End, I was taken quite off guard when my whimsicott character Mischief seemingly wrote himself out of the story for a while. It always surprises me when the characters take the reigns and react naturally to a situation. I was really inside his head at that point, and his natural reactions just flowed. The scene even made me actually cry. If I'd forced it to go the way I'd initially planned, then it would have felt very unnatural and OOC for both characters involved. I've done that before with older stories and yikes. This is one of the reasons I don't work with a solid mapped-out plan.
Then, in the re-write, Mischief did a similar thing and vanished from the main cast earlier than originally! It smoothed out a part of the story that seemed a bit jarring in the old write-up. Plus it gave him a much needed heroic moment.
In the original, his OP knock-out of Reshiram took me by surprise too. I was like 'Okay, I guess this works'. I can't even remember what I was going to do originally there.
He suits his name, I won't deny that...
Then, in the re-write, Mischief did a similar thing and vanished from the main cast earlier than originally! It smoothed out a part of the story that seemed a bit jarring in the old write-up. Plus it gave him a much needed heroic moment.
In the original, his OP knock-out of Reshiram took me by surprise too. I was like 'Okay, I guess this works'. I can't even remember what I was going to do originally there.
He suits his name, I won't deny that...
TheCouchEffect
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/His
@K_S That escalated quickly. More importantly, that sounds like an amazing story and I'm left wanting answers from that brief description.
@DeliriousAbsol That sounds absolutely glorious. It's always fun when the characters take over completely. Mischief sounds like a fun character.
@DeliriousAbsol That sounds absolutely glorious. It's always fun when the characters take over completely. Mischief sounds like a fun character.
MikaelBrigman
Golurk-Platinum
- Pronouns
- he/him
Now the most surprising thing is that I've finished writing and uploading it.
K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
- Partners
-
Ah you've acquired a perseverance, kudos.
Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
- Pronouns
- Them
- Partners
-
Veronica from Obsession was originally supposed to be a very "model society woman" sort. But then I had her offhandedly mention how if you had the Lunar Wing, you'd never have nightmares again.
The idea of Veronica as a bundle of nerves just barely keeping it together was born in that moment.
The idea of Veronica as a bundle of nerves just barely keeping it together was born in that moment.
TheCouchEffect
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/His
@Blackjack Gabbiani That sounds like such a fantastic way for that character to develop! It's always nice when the characters can surprise us as we write their stories.
Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
- Pronouns
- Them
- Partners
-
Haha yeah it threw me for a loop too. It's an odd thing.