05-16-2014, 03:24 PM | #201 |
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Hey, I'm the same way sometimes. I have no idea when Tales of a Pizza Delivery Boy will end and I'm already on 34 chapters with that one. I guess it'll end when the show ends.
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05-17-2014, 03:02 AM | #202 |
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Even if it ends the creative process never stops because then you're left with "What happens next"?, I'm sure you can find ways of stretching it out beyond the show's lifespan if you chose to.
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05-17-2014, 07:39 AM | #203 |
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Maybe, but I'm not sure on that one. Honestly, I'm not going to worry about it right now since we have at least two more seasons to go so far. I'm just enjoying the ride and having a blast.
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05-22-2014, 06:17 AM | #204 |
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"A Radical Portrait of Dimension X" (The Eighth Novella) Review
To start off, this fanfic now ushered in more plotlines with more than one or two villains, unlike the previous novellas did, and I can see your writing grow as you are juggling not only these plotlines but also the characters, relationships, plot connections/twists, and implicit messages associated with each of these plotlines. I have to applaud you for taking that bigger step up in your writing.
I'll try to be complete in my review, and as always if you have any questions about anything I didn't mention, feel free to ask! Here I go... The Dimension X portrait assignment, and Tibbit: It was unique change on the whole Neutrino culture bit, on how you decided to present the more serious, yet distant aspects of Neutrino culture. Not that it was bad or anything, but a bit unexpected since their culture is all about having fun. What made you choose art as part of the Neutrino's involvement, Spoiler:
One thing that seemed rushed was in Chapter 21 in the characters explaining the connection between Spoiler:
Michelangelo, April, and Kala: So Michelangelo is continuing this EDX journey though peoples' minds? I didn't expect that aspect would continue and that Donatello would be so heavily involved with this story, but it did. You seem eager to explore this side of Michelangelo more. The execution in explaining why Michelangelo preferred April over Kala, and why April preferred Michelangelo over Donatello was great! You made it very convincing, despite me being more of the Donatello and April shipping (especially since she kissed Donatello twice in the OT.) You expanded Michelangelo's maturity in him wanting more than just partying through Kala's dialogue, but as I stated in the chapter review, I'm curious why exactly Michelangelo wanted more than the partying lifestyle. I know he's in his 20s now, but from a more reflective viewpoint I was curious to see Michelangelo make this mental revelation, but maybe you'll explain it later. This Mikey/April relationship is definitely something to be lauded for because through these stories you presented their romantic relationship in a very natural method (unlike the majority of other TMNT fanfics which their romantic relationships thrive on melodrama), and seeing Michelangelo want more than the "party life" is showing the depth of April and Michelangelo's relationship. I know you said sometime ago that you wouldn't consider yourself to be Michelangelo in personality, but he seems to be your favorite Turtle here. Or at the very least, your favorite Turtle to write about. Kim Sagan/Donatello: I honestly didn't think that he would return or that he would be connected to EDX somehow. I know the EDX was distributed to other companies, but the question remains... how exactly did Sagan get in touch with the EDX? Hmmm.... maybe I'm missing a detail here or it will be revealed later. One part that intrigued me was within Ch. 18, when Sagan was trying to tempt and skew Donatello's thoughts, but yet didn't bother with Michelangelo (in Ch.11). I wonder why not. But also, how Sagan was trying to make Donatello envious of Michelangelo's involvement and being with April. I'm a bit perplexed by Sagan's statement of, "...and feel so over-privileged you don't know what to do with success when you get it..." I don't know how exactly Sagan would tempt Donatello in feeling "over-privileged" and "successful" considering a lot of Donatello's personal inventions and accomplishments are overlooked. I'm sensing that you are probably going to involve Donatello in some greater mental struggle/journey with Sagan appearing again at the last chapter, and I guess everything will make sense in the subsequent stories. (I have to remind myself that there is stronger continuity between these novellas now. ) Fiona's connection and Agatha Marbles: I enjoyed how you were able to "weave" Fiona's backstory through the paintings to make her related to Spoiler:
Krang's connection with Pen Pal Soda and Shredder: This caught me completely off-guard because I didn't expect this turn of events later in the story at Ch. 15, but it does add another layer of suspense. With Krang giving so much discussion about compromise and conspiracy , as I mentioned before, it reminded me of the political thriller TV show Scandal and with that, I can speculate on a whole variety of outcomes that could occur to see how Krang is planning for the fallout of humanity revealing so much uncomfortable and incriminating truth, and to add even more intrigue, how it could apply to the Turtles and possibly their relationships as well. One thing that caught my eye was Shredder working on a "refined training regiment", which would allude to your next novella: Tattooed Teenage Tournament Fighters, but I wonder if it could also involve a Super Shredder or sorts, or a Battle Nexus environment too. Raphael and Leonardo: It's interesting that you chose Spoiler:
Plus, what made you decide to make Leonardo such an art scholar where he knew so much about these paintings and art history? I'm guessing since Leonardo is an avid reader of classic literature (reading The Three Musketeers in "The Four Musketurtles" and being at the lair's library in "Leonardo is Missing"), that's what made you decide Leonardo could have such knowledge of art? I thoroughly enjoyed the bonding moments between Leonardo and Raphael in Ch. 13 and 17. You scratched beyond the surface with Leonardo, by making Raphael be perceptive about Leonardo's "confidence crashes" and Leonardo contemplating how he feels he and his brothers are drifting apart. It's a solid gold moment because it could really be the tip of the iceberg of potential, if you could expand on Leonardo's fears, worries, and thoughts of change for himself and others. Seeing that you scratched the surface with Leonardo and Raphael, I'm going to encourage you go deeper with them. You clearly have the skills and talent to expand on a character's maturity, depth, fears, emotions, and thoughts as seen in Michelangelo, and almost as much in Donatello. I'm going to challenge you Zarius to see if you can really stretch your writing skills on individually expanding Leonardo's and Raphael's characters. For most TMNT fanfic writers, it seems there's difficulty in writing about one particular Turtle in fully comprehending the motivations of that character, and how they are channeled through a personality that's difficult to relate to. You wouldn't by chance have that difficulty with either Raphael or Leonardo now Zarius, would you? Final thoughts: I also forgot to mention that I enjoy the depth you put place behind the plots (the meaning behind the paintings, Tibbit's remarks about criticisms, and Krang's comments about how humanity would react to knowing the absolute truth of things) and the social commentary, because it shows that you have a deeper message to tell to the audience, and displays that you have carefully planned this story out in being able to seamlessly give your opinion about social topics through the characters and their circumstances. So again, I'm curious to see if you can expand Raphael and Leonardo characters , and maybe I might get to see that in Tattooed Teenage Tournament Fighters since they are both more inclined toward fighting. But overall, as I stated at the top, I applaud you for taking that bigger step up with your writing, in have more plotlines "weaved" in your story without making it confusing. |
05-25-2014, 02:53 PM | #205 | ||||
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Part One
My pleasure mate. I felt with pretty much just a trilogy of stories left it was time to bring the strands together early and really latch people onto the stories as they enter the final phases. I didnt count on the novella being the longest in chapter length but my schedule in reality dictated that...all for the best I guess, as it meant I could meticulously peice together the immense shopping list I had of what to include.
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05-25-2014, 02:54 PM | #206 | ||||||||
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Part Two
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05-25-2014, 11:52 PM | #207 | ||||
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It's interesting you should consider Mikey the "emotional crux" of the stories since typically most people like to make Raphael the "emotional crux" with his extreme emotions or at least those with adolescence (teens and 20-somethings). Of course, OT Raphael wasn't as much of a hot-headed as the other Raphaels in the Turtle multiverses, but there were moments (especially in the "Red Sky" seasons) which could take a writer into that trajectory. Plus for me personally, it's a bit too easy to make Raphael the "emotional crux" of a TMNT story (and which unfortunately seems to be heavily implied in this 2014 movie) since his choleric personality has so much to work through and it's displayed so obviously. But I'm always intrigued when writers decide to use the other three Turtles as the focus because it displays a deeper level of perception since their struggles and hardships are not always obvious as Raphael's. I enjoy reading the stories from this (Michelangelo focused) different light Zarius. I'm not saying I don't enjoy Raphael-centric stories, but it short-changes Raphael's personality tremendously when his extreme anger is primarily over trifling issues, which makes me question if Splinter really did strictly discipline Raphael well, if the smallest infractions make Raphael so explosively angry like the tantrum of 6 year old kid who doesn't get his way. Quote:
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Thanks Zarius. It's not only you writing good stories and characters, but observing the effort and careful forethought put into your stories is what makes it very appealing and indicates how you are perceiving these stories on many different levels, which is clearly visible in the details and extent of your writing. It's a pleasure to read because the stories are engaging on many different levels (the characters, the relationships, the plots, the social commentary, etc.; which I try to do in my own writing too ), and I'm glad that I was able to help your writing. |
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05-30-2014, 09:26 AM | #208 |
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An update for keen readers of the series.
I don't have a timetable for the next novella, but I am thinking of structuring it differently. Possibly a shorter chapter count but with considerably larger page counts for each chapter. I aim to make these last two books in the series feel pretty 'big'. I've also got a pain-staking amount of pre-production work to do on this next novella, I have to watch a lot of videos on the Tournament Fighters game and absorb all the various fighting moves and powers, as well as research the characters you can select in the game, also reread one of my earlier fanfics to refresh the memory, and then rewatch episodes of another 80s cartoon (bit of a clue to what's being followed up on there) before commencing on this. I'm also in the process of writing two Doctor Who novellas/novels and I want them out of the way before I commence further. |
06-06-2014, 07:49 AM | #209 |
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Some fresh info on the fic as it develops
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06-06-2014, 08:16 AM | #210 |
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Awesome insight onto what we can expect out of this fic, Zarius. I say just take your time and do your research. Sometimes, it's a good idea to do something like that so you can get a fresh perspective on where you want to go with a story. I definitely can't wait for it though.
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06-06-2014, 08:19 AM | #211 |
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Thanks Bubbly, it's a really different take on things this time around and I want to properly nail it, even if it means the fic might not come out for a while
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06-06-2014, 12:24 PM | #212 |
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More teases
Hmm...how can I best describe this one at the moment? Think of it as a blend between And |
06-06-2014, 03:28 PM | #213 | |
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I had to do similar things in doing so much legwork for my fighting scenes within my own fanfic, and especially for me in visualizing the fights, but probably the bigger issue is as you find yourself writing the details, is how far you want to take the violence rating and brutality since storywriting/actual fighting is more detrimental to the individual fighters than video game fighting. I'm eager to read the story when it is posted, but I'm more than willing to be patient Zarius. |
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06-06-2014, 04:03 PM | #214 |
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Thanks for understanding guys, and for the spirited encouragement and advise.
The fighting and the impact it has on characters have been strongly considered, there will be different and unique approaches to the fighting and the fighters themselves, delving beneath the surface and into the psychological aspects of the players will play a part in things also. Some characters in the video game I'm looking at will probably also have to be fleshed out by my own improvisation I'm 5% on the first chapter (does'nt sound like a lot, but it is), and I ironed out how chapters two and three are going to go. |
06-06-2014, 04:11 PM | #215 |
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Oh... I've been there too Zarius . When there's a fighting scene I have to write, my writing gets reduced on average to 1/3 of my normal writing progress. Sometimes at the end of my planned writing time and I review the word count and developments, I'll be thinking, "What? Only that much?!? But I planned for so much today!"
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06-06-2014, 04:20 PM | #216 |
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Heh, whilst it's not even a fight scene I'm currently writing, that's still very true. Fight scenes really is the part where the story completly stalls, and for the next few pages or so you have to take the characters through a physical journey that leads into the next development, but until then, the story stands as still as a statue and it's just glaring at you the entire time, all those chapters waiting to be written staring at you with their rolex watches on their wrists, the only word from their lips being "hurry up".
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06-07-2014, 08:19 AM | #217 |
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Another update.
"Tatooed Teenage Tournament Fighters" has undergone a name change, due to the changing and evolving nature of the story I'm putting together, I felt a much more appropriate title was "The (Cheap) Seats With The Clearest View" |
06-07-2014, 06:23 PM | #218 |
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That's great, Zar. I actually like that name change, so go for it.
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06-13-2014, 04:47 AM | #219 |
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06-13-2014, 07:26 AM | #220 |
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Read and reviewed, Zar. Awesome start to this. Can't wait to see where this goes.
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