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TNTOS

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Blog Entries posted by TNTOS

  1. TNTOS
    Hey, everyone, I'm back from my trip! I had a good time, but I missed BZP during my absence. Have I missed anything since Friday?
     
    -TNTOS-
  2. TNTOS
    Okay, yes, I watch Glee (or have been watching it since the third season, anyway, but I've seen most of the first season, too). It's just so hilariously bizarre at times, borderlining so bad it's good, that I kind of have to watch it.
     
    So, naturally, the always-active gray matter in my skull (which some people call a brain) came up with this brilliant idea for a Glee fanfic, an idea I came up with after watching the end of the third episode of the fourth season.
     
    At the end of the third episode, Rachel Berry (one of the protagonists) is in her apartment with this guy named Brody Weston, who goes to the same dancing school that she does. Long story short, the two have had unresolved sexual tension for a while now and end up kissing, but just as they do so, Rachel's real boyfriend, Finn Hudson, arrives and finds Rachel with Brody.
     
    The episode cuts off just when Rachel opens the door and finds Finn standing there (instead of her roommate, Kurt Hummel, who she expected to see). So you don't get to see how Finn reacts to seeing his girlfriend with another guy.
     
    How they resolve this cliffhanger is revealed in the next episode (which aired yesterday, in fact), but that bored me, so I came up with another (and better) idea.
     
    See, Finn went to join the army at the end of season three (which is why he wasn't with Rachel at the beginning of seaon four) to follow in the footsteps of his father.
     
    So I thought, "What if Finn, now trained in the use of military-grade guns, killed Rachel and Brody in a fit of rage and then went on the run from the police?"
     
    It's a bizarre idea, one that certainly wouldn't fit the Gleeverse (as the writers portray it) at all, but it intrigues me so much, partly because of its serious nature, partly because it's ridiculous, and partly because I'd get to turn Finn into a certified butt-kicker who doesn't afraid of the law (which is why he is on the run from it, obviously).
     
    I was thinking he'd escape to Ireland, where he'd team up with Rory Flanagan, an Irish exchange student from season three who was his friend, who'd let him stay at his house until the whole thing blows over. I'm sure Puck, another old friend of Finn's, would end up helping as well (not sure how, though, considering he's supposed to be in LA, if I remember correctly).
     
    I can just imagine the news reaching the Glee club at the school. Mr. William Schuester would be horrified, while other members of the Glee club (such as Artie and Brittany) would be involved in a master plan that requires Finn to be stopped, although not for noble reasons. Sue Sylvester would probably just quip "I knew he'd crack one of these days" and probably be secretly trying to undermine Artie and Brittany's evil plan while appearing apathetic to it. (No, I don't know why Artie and Brittany are the villains. But that's the fun of writing, though, isn't it?)
     
    I think Kurt would probably go insane or depressed upon learning the deaths of Rachel and Brody (especially Rachel). He'd probably wonder why his brother killed them and then work with the police to capture Finn and bring him to justice (maybe Kurt could become a super hero/vigilante with a fabulous costume, with Blaine as his sidekick. Not sure).
     
    If it turns out anything at all like my other stories, it'd have some big mystery surrounding the whole story that the protagonists are trying to uncover. I'm thinking this mystery would explain how the heck the characters are able to spontaneously sing any song on the spot on-key and with perfect dance coordination. Yes, that would work.
     
    This may just be my NaNoWriMo novel. As I've finished writing The Legend Imploded, I really would like another crack fic to work on and this seems just about perfect. Doesn't mean I will write it, though, but I am very tempted to. Very tempted to.
     
    -TNTOS-
  3. TNTOS
    So I've recently started watching Lost, since the entire series is on Netflix and what not.
     
    Thus far I've only seen the first four episodes, but I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far. My favorite character so far is probably John Locke, but that could change as the series progresses.
     
    -TNTOS-
  4. TNTOS
    I finally passed my driving test today. That means I can now drive without an adult who is 21 years or older in the passenger's seat.
     
    I was nervous, but the instructor said I did well and pointed out only a few, very minor, easily fixable problems that I did during the test. It really wasn't as bad as the first time. Maybe it's because I have glasses now, which definitely helped me see things better.
     
    Also, I got a new belt, which is something I've been meaning to get a while. So yay and stuff.
     
    -TNTOS-
  5. TNTOS
    At the top of the blogs, I saw an interesting advertisement for a writer's publishing kit (or something like that. Can't remember what it was exactly, except that it had something to do with writing).
     
    Anyway, it had the delightful title of "Becoming an Writer," which I think tells you all you need to know about these people and their abilities as writers.
     
    Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of it, but it was there and I had a good laugh at it, so I'm in a pretty good mood right now.
     
    -TNTOS-
  6. TNTOS
    Today I got the third and final book in the Kane Chronicles series, The Serpent's Shadow. I've only read up to Chapter 5 so far, but it's pretty good so far.
     
    I've been meaning to get this book for a while (as I already have the first two), but I've never had the money to buy it until just recently, so yay and stuff.
     
    -TNTOS-
  7. TNTOS
    A few days ago I finished editing The Ghost King's Tragedy. I'm confident that it's ready for posting; however, the release date is still August 1st. Besides, I might do some last minute editing, which is something I always do before posting a new fanfic or chapter of a fanfic. Usually it's something simple, such as word choice or arrangement, so often what you see posted on BZP looks a little different from what is writen in my Word documents.
     
    Also, I'm proud to announce that I've officially began work on the final chapter in the Legend Trilogy, BIONICLE: The Legend Imploded. So far, the plot is going in a direction that's very different from TLR and TLE. Whereas the last two stories were basically "go on a quest to defeat the Big Bad," TLI is going to be a bit more like a "collect them all and then defeat the Big Bad," but I won't say more than that 'cause I don't want to spoil.
     
    I also think TLI is going to be much longer than TLR or TLE. It might even be two parts depending on how long it ends up being, but don't take that as definitive right now. I'm still in the earliest stages of writing, so a lot could change between now and the time I finish it.
     
    That's all for now, so see ya,
     
    -TNTOS-
  8. TNTOS
    So I just downloaded Skype recently and it works on my computer and everything, but the problem is that whenever I click the "Add contacts" button, a screen pops up that says "You don't seem to have an active internet connection. Please check your connection and try again."
     
    I've checked my connection several times already and it still says that. I even disconnected and reconnected my Internet connection and it still doesn't work. My Internet connection works just fine (otherwise how would I be posting this?), but Skype still insists that there's something wrong with it.
     
    Does anyone know what the problem is? 'Cause I kind of really need to be able to add a contact and I can't do it as long as Skype keeps acting up like this.
     
    -TNTOS-
  9. TNTOS
    While at Wal-Mart yesterday, browsing the video games, I noticed that they had, apparently for sale, Kingdom Hearts 3D. This is interesting because KH3D is supposed to come out in America on the 31st. Yesterday was the 27th, meaning Wal-Mart was selling the game four days early.
     
    I didn't buy it, but it was interesting to see that they were selling it early. (At least, I think they were selling it. It wasn't on a shelf, but it was in the case they keep all of the video games. Bet I could have gotten it if I'd asked.)
     
    -TNTOS-
  10. TNTOS
    Looks like my ad (that's what it is, I won't lie) for my upcoming short epic, The Ghost King's Tragedy, has been approved and is on the Calender. Check out August 1st on the Calender to see it.
     
    I am most likely going to use this for future fanfics because this seems like an easy way to increase awareness of my works.
     
    -TNTOS-
  11. TNTOS
    I saw The Dark Knight Rises yesterday. Twice. In two different theaters. Because it's that awesome. One of the best movies ever (at least of the movies I've seen, anyway).
     
    -TNTOS-
  12. TNTOS
    Please stop starting stories, posting a few chapters, and then quitting and starting a brand new story that will inevitably go down the same path as your last.
     
    This is not an attack on or criticism of inexperienced writers. It's merely a gentle reminder that giving up on your current story won't make you a better writer or make you more popular. Your story isn't completely unsalvagable and you'll learn far more about your abilities as a writer if you stick with your story to the very end than if you give up on it before you're even halfway through.
     
    I've noticed that, a lot of the time, when an inexperienced writer gets a long, rather detailed review from a reader explaining what is wrong with their story, the inexperienced writer doesn't say a thing about the review, but a few weeks later you see they've posted a completely new epic, with no word about what happened to their old story, although it is usually obvious that the old story is dead.
     
    The logic behind this decision seems to be something like, "Well, this reader made it pretty clear that my story is a piece of trash. So I will start a new story, except without any of the problems the original story had."
     
    Problem is, more often than not, the new story has the exact same problems as the old story, if not maybe a little worse. The logic doesn't make any sense, anyway. How will starting a new story magically fix all of the old story's problems? Only if the old story's problems are inherent to the old story itself does that logic work, but as most stories can suffer from the same problems, writing a new story isn't the answer.
     
    Again, I am not attacking inexperienced writers. I understand the sense of shame and anger you experience when a reviewer points out so many problems with your old story that you didn't see, no matter how many times you looked over the story before posting it. And I completely understand the first impulse of "Well, this story has to go to the trash can" because I very nearly gave up writing my first epic, The Tales of Shika Nui, years ago out of the belief that it was not worth writing (although that had more to do with the lack of reviews than a long, scathing review, but I digress).
     
    Stick with your current story, unles it is completely, truly irredeemable or you truly do not like writing it anymore. I'm not saying you should never work on that new idea you have bouncing around in your head right now. It's just that you have a story right now - a story, moreover, that has the potential to be good - that desperately wants you to finish it, no matter how ugly it might look right now.
     
    Yes, getting long, detailed reviews explaining exactly what you did wrong can be pretty hard to take. Even I sometimes have problems with critical reviews of my work and I have been writing and posting stuff on BZP almost since the day I joined.
     
    But check that review again. Did the reviewer state that you must give up your story? No? He merely pointed out that the characterization is weak and that your spelling and grammar could stand for some improvement?
     
    Okay. Then keep writing your story, but keep his criticisms in mind if you believe they are accurate. If you're really angry, say to the reviewer, "Thank you " (the smiley is not optional). Or wait a day before responding, once your emotions have cooled down and you can think clearly again.
     
    Repeat: Keep writing your story. No matter how scathing or detailed the review is, if the reviewer encourages you to keep writing or at least says nothing about giving up, then keep writing. Even if he does tell you that you should give up, you probably should keep writing unless you have absolutely no more interest in the story yourself.
     
    I know how tempting it is to give up on a story, especially when you hit writer's block or you get the detailed review I have been talking about. I have yet to write a story where I didn't hit a wall, where I didn't think "Why am I writing this?", where I didn't want to give up and do something else.
     
    Except under rare, unusual circumstances, don't listen to those thoughts. No matter how persuasive they might sound, tell them to shut the heck up and then get back to writing.
     
    Starting a new story will not somehow make you a better writer. In fact, I will admit that I am wary of writers who have a large collection of unfinished works. It tells me that they are probably not good writers for the sole reason that they have never finished even one story (talking about epics and chaptered comedies here, not short stories). Their library of incomplete stories tells me that there is no reason to follow this writer, for he will never finish anything. They will never improve because they are afraid of failure. What incomplete works they have are generally of low quality and never get the chance to shine because the writer gave up.
     
    This is not to say that taking breaks from your story is bad. Sometimes, you need to take a day or two away from your work or even work on something else for a while to help you understand the story better. Thing is, though, you aren't giving up. You're taking a break or working on another story to give you perspective. It's up to you to decide when to return to the story and finish it, but I recommend to get back to it as soon as possible so you don't forget about it.
     
    Nor is this a slam against stories that have no ending. I wil admit, however, that I generally don't follow stories that never end because they usually get bland, repetitive, or too convoluted to follow after a while. I might drop in every now and then to see what's going on, but don't expect me to be a devoted reader of such a neverending story.
     
    Once you finish your current story, feel free to start your new one right away. It might actually be better than the last story now, since you have finished at least one story and so have an idea of what you are capable of. It doesn't mean you're perfect. It means that, if you can keep this up, you have the potential to become a great writer someday.
     
    I think I've gone on a bit of a tangent here, so let me reiterate my main points:
     
    -No matter how many problems the reviewer points out in his review, do not give up. Take what you can from the review and apply it to whatever your current writing ability is
    -Do not start a new story with the illogical thought process that it will somehow magically be "better" than your old story. Chances are it will have the same problems as the old story or, in all likelihood, be even worse
    -Taking breaks is fine, but get back to your story as soon as possible
    -Your current story may not be a very good story, but neither you nor your readers will ever know for sure unless you finish it
     
    This is a problem I've seen on BZP far too often. It just saddens me that so many writers with bright imaginations and a sincere desire to write give up because of one negative review. That's all.
     
    -TNTOS-
  13. TNTOS
    'Sup, everybody! Just wanted y'all to know that I have, as of today, entered the Library Summer Olympics. You can read my entry, Dimension Cookies, here.
     
    Yes, it is based on Dimension Hoppers and yes, I did try to write Isarot's POV similar to how he was in DiH, but whether I succeed or not depends on what y'all think. IMO I'm not too happy with it, but go and see it for yourself to come up with your own opinion.
     
    -TNTOS-
  14. TNTOS
    As a writer, I'm always seeking to improve. I try to make each story I write better than the last. Sometimes I get lazy, unfortunately, but overall I seek to become the best writer I possibly can, which means doing my best at every level and listening to the criticisms that readers give me.
     
    However, being a good writer also means recognizing one's limits. It means knowing what one can and cannot write at their current level and a good sense of when to try something new, something you never thought you could do but now have more confidence to do.
     
    I have come to that point in my writing career where I realize that there are certain things I cannot handle, at least at this point in my writing level. Let me introduce you to Terra Apocalypse, my NaNoWriMo novel that I hope(d) to one day expand into a trilogy.
     
    It's an immense tale, exploring what would happen to a planet facing, well, the apocalypse. It would have dealt with religious extremism, whole countries going to war, racism, and various other neat things that interest me like that. The next two books in the trilogy would have dealt with even grander things, such as the origin of life and the idea of God. Add in complex, well-rounded characters, interesting plot twists at every turn, and cool sci-fi settings and it sounds like an idea that cannot fail.
     
    I even wrote two whole drafts of TA, plus half of the third one. I did a lot of research and even read the entire Book of Revelation from beginning to end in one sitting several times to get me in the mindset necessary to write such a story of epic proportions. I told myself, "This is it. This is going to be my crowning work. When this is all over, I'm going to get it published and everyone will want to read it and it will get a crudy movie adaptation that the true fans will hate."
     
    And yet, despite my world-building notes and desire to write this story, it never came out quite right. Drafts One and Two are, to be blunt, crud, while I gave up Draft Three and renamed it Draft Two Point Five because I couldn't finish it. I soon came face-to-face with the problem of writing a novel about the apocalypse, set on a world that wasn't Earth or anywhere else I'd previously written in. I had to deal with a lot of plot absurdities and try to justify certain character choices that, at face value, made no sense whatsoever and required far too much explanation to make sense.
     
    At first, I thought it was really only the beginning of the story that needed work. I mean, the book opens with a royal marriage; how boring is that? Or, at least, it wasn't as interesting as it could have been, in my opinion, so I came up with a complication that never made it into any of the drafts but could have added some interest to the scene (having bandits crash the party and kidnap the bride and groom as part of a complicated political plot on the groom's brother's part).
     
    Yet it still felt wrong whenever I tried to write Draft Three. Even bandits kidnapping royalty didn't seem quite as interesting when I began to seriously ask myself how a group of rough, uncivilized bandits could break into a royal wedding that was rife with bodyguards and security of all kinds. Even if they were hired by someone attending the wedding who had a realistic motive for getting the bride and groom out of the picture, the idea still seemed too illogical and sensational, however 'exciting' it might have been.
     
    It was then that I had an epiphany. I realized that, however good a writer I may be, I am simply not at the point in my writing career where it was possible for me to write a tale as big and epic as Terra Apocalypse. Looking at my fanfics, I realize that I never have written a story spanning whole planets before. I mean, Dimension Hoppers come close, but even then, I only covered the parts of each dimension the protagonists visited that were important, such as a city or a ship. I didn't cover the entire dimension.
     
    I should have realized this earlier. I had attempted to write a story like TA before, which some of you might remember me talking about in the past. It was called Two Worlds, which I gave up on because it was simply too big for me as a writer at the time. I mean, I was dealing with two worlds (as the title subtly suggests), which is definitely bigger than anything I'd dealt with previously. Even coming up with hundreds of pages of world-building didn't help; in fact, I suspect the immense world-building is what turned me off TW in the first place.
     
    So, for now, at least, I've put aside Terra Apocalypse. I've begun work on a new original novel, currently titled The Nameless(referring to a character, not the book itself), which is thus far smaller in scope than TA or TW, but that's fine with me. I have zero world-building notes on TN, but that's also fine with me. It gives me the freedom to make up whatever I need and then figure out how it all comes together later, which is generally how I work.
     
    Now that doesn't mean I will never go back to TA or even TW. Some day, I might return to those projects, particularly TA because I stil love the idea of using apocalyptic imagery in a world populated by robots, golems, and mandrakes.
     
    It's just that, as a writer, I am not quite ready for a story as big or epic as TA. I should stick with what I am better at, which is stories set in one, not terribly large location, with little of the surrounding world fleshed out. That's kind of what The Nameless is like, which is why I like it so much and why I think it has a better chance of making it to the final stages of editing than TA or TW ever had.
     
    My piece of advice for other writers out there, then, is to know your limits. If you're a new writer, you might not know what you can and cannot do, so I suggest experimenting. Or if you're dealing with a story that seems to be going nowhere, you might just need to drop it for now because you might not be good enough to do the story justice.
     
    Just don't think of it as a failure or look at yourself as a failure. Both TA and TW have taught me my limits as a writer, which means there will likely be less unfinished manuscripts sitting on my laptop's hard drive now because I know what stories I can and cannot do. Perhaps this story you're working on will teach you the same thing or another important lesson that you as a writer need to learn in order to improve.
     
    -TNTOS-
  15. TNTOS
    Hey, I know I said I'd do in-depth reviews of the cartoons G. I. Joe Renegedes, Transformers Prime, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but I realized just how unrealistic a goal that was. It might be something I do later, but for now don't expect any in-depth reviews any time soon.
     
    Instead, I'll post some quick thoughts on each series. Please note that I am going to talk only about the first seasons of each series, for those are the only ones I have seen in their entirety.
     
    So here we go:
     
    Renegedes: Awesome show. Shame it only had one season. Favorite character was Snake-Eyes, but each character was good in their own right. Really cool take on the G. I. Joe franchise, one I am happy see that the new movie is going to be doing (although slightly differently). Definitely recommend it.
     
    Friendship is Magic: Good cartoon. I don't quite see why it's so popular, but the first season was decent. Favorite characters from this season are Rarity, Spike, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy (or, as I like to call her, Fruttershy), and Applebloom. Not as good as Renegedes, but a decent cartoon overall.
     
    Prime: Had a few good episodes, but overall felt a bit underwhelming, particularly in comparison to Renegedes. Favorite characters from this seaon were probably Megatron, Brakedown, and Agent Fowler. The Autobots are eh and the human kids are worse. Pretty good whenever the human kids aren't around, though.
     
    I may do another entry like this when Prime's second season ends and when I watch all of MLP's second season. Unlikely, but you never know. Depends on how bored I am .
     
    -TNTOS-
  16. TNTOS
    I finished watching the entire series of Avatar: The Last Airbender recently. And, because Netflix has it, I decided to check out the live-action movie adaptation, called The Last Airbender.
     
    I'm now going to pretend the movie doesn't exist.
     
    -TNTOS-
  17. TNTOS
    I got a Kindle Touch today. I've been wanting a Kindle for a while now and this one seems pretty good.
     
    Right now it's charging (because I want to be able to take it wherever I want), but based on what I've seen of it so far, I am quite pleased. I think it's going to be fun to read books on that thing for sure.
     
    -TNTOS-
  18. TNTOS
    Don't expect any updates for The Legend Exploded or Reluctant Allies any time soon 'cause Microsoft Word - the program which I wrote both fics on - isn't working on my computer right now. So I can't access the story documents where the new chapters are.
     
    No idea what the problem is, but just don't expect to see any new stories from me for a while. Hopefully we can figure out the reason it's messing up, but for now, no writing for me .
     
    -TNTOS-
     
    Edit: Never mind. It's working now. Just posted Chapter V of Reluctant Allies a few minutes ago.
  19. TNTOS
    As I am almost finished writing the third draft of The Ghost King's Tragedy (a short epic), I've decided to share some tidbits with you guys about what to expect in it:
     
    -World's End (from Dimension Hoppers) will be the main setting; however, it is not the World's End from the Ehlekverse seen in DiH but the one in the Shikaverse (AKA the main universe of all of my fanfics)
     
    -The main characters are Toa Akuna, Toa Oggakia, Toa Kiriah, and Toa Ahova, all of whom have starred in at least one epic prior to this one. This is partly because I want to write an-all female main cast, but there is a reason in-story given for why these four Toa are brought together
     
    -It takes place during Teridax's rule over the MU
     
    -It is also probably going to be the last epic I write before Dawn of the New Century. I am unsure how much of TGKT will be important to Dawn, but the events of this epic will probably affect Dawn in some ways at least
     
    I don't have a set release date for TGKT yet. It still needs to be edited several times before it will be good enough to post on here. I doubt it will take long to go over, though, because it's so short (at least, I hope so, anyway).
     
    -TNTOS-
  20. TNTOS
    Hey, guys. If you were browsing the Short Stories forum for a story to read, which title would stand out to you more? Twisted Monstrosity or A Nightmare? Which one sounds interesting enough to make you click and read the story?
     
    Both are possible titles for GC#11. I'm having a hard time choosing between the two, so I'm putting them up here to see what y'all think.
     
    -TNTOS-
  21. TNTOS
    So yesterday I watched an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the first episode of the series that I have ever actually watched.
     
    It was the newest episode (I think), Episode 18, where Pinkie Pie tries to befriend Cranky Doodle Donkey.
     
    To be honest, I really wasn't expecting much. I have never been interested in "girly" cartoons and, despite all of the praise the series has, I thought it'd just be another show whose fanbase produces more material than the actual company does. Which is to say, I thought the show would be terrible and the only reason it had any fans was because the fans saw room for improvement through fanfics, fanart, fan music, and the like.
     
    Yet surprisingly I enjoyed the episode. Pinkie Pie broke the fourth wall a few times (does she do that often?) and the song wasn't that bad at all. I was kind of hoping Cranky would not become her friend at the end, but the way it was done made sense. I can see why the show's so popular.
     
    Of course, I have seen only one episode so far, so I can't fairly judge the rest of the series. And, despite the praise I gave this episode, I do not consider myself a brony. My interest in it largely depends on whether the rest of the series is as entertaining as that episode, although right now I have no plans to watch more episodes in the near future, mostly 'cause I have other things I want to do.
     
    Still, that episode certainly gave me a good first impression of the series, which means I probably will watch more episodes some time, but again not any time soon due to other competing interests.
     
    -TNTOS-
  22. TNTOS
    As of tonight I have finished editing BIONICLE: The Legend Exploded, the sequel to my comedy from last year, BIONICLE: The Legend Reloaded, which was a TLR parody. It was epic, to say the least.
     
    It is 19 chapters long - way shorter than TLReloaded's 34, but this is because I was not aiming for a specific word count, whereas I wrote TLReloaded during NaNoWriMo, which is why it was as long as it was. Rest assured, though, that TLE is going to be just as epic as TLReloaded, if not a little bit more epic.
     
    Because the prologue is basically a recap of the events of the last comedy, I am going to be posting both the prologue and first chapter together in one post tomorrow. I tried to make the prologue as funny as I could, but I want this comedy to have a strong start, so I figure posting the prolgue with the first chapter ought to be strong enough.
     
    For those who don't know, TLE is a parody of the unreleased BIONICLE 5 movie. It is based off the story treatment Greg posted on his blog not too long ago, but as with TLReloaded, I have taken some major liberties with the plot in order to make it both funnier and more epic (and by epic I mean crazy awesome).
     
    So tomorrow, keep an eye on the Comedies forum for the explosive beginning to BIONICLE: The Legend Exploded! (pun intended)
     
    -TNTOS-
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