Koakuma's Writer's Parlour ~ Have some tea and discuss fiction and writing here!

[Dead Princess Sakana]

You don't even need to qrite to be a Librarian after all.  Just read and organize.

More like, you needed to be so crazy as to sign up for helping out with reorganizing PSL back then and do such a good job at it that it was decided you should suffer further. That's how Chao and Rou got the job  :]

[Ryuu]

I am okay with this idea.

[Esifex]

I vote just use the Artist tag for the writers as well - this is going along in the same line of thought as the 'we don't need more tags' is using.

[Unassuming Squid]

I don't think a writer tag is necessary. The Artist tag is quite encompassing, and having more tags would just clutter stuff up.

[Suikama]

how bout we just give the writers the artist tag too :getdown:

[Dead Princess Sakana]

Yeah, I guess it's settled. If a writer is so outstanding they deserve a reward, it will be RA.

[Suikama]

I said that partly in jest, but hey if it works then it works :V

[Esifex]

More like 'lets give them photoshop jockeys the RA tag and join our elite bastion of artists' hurhur

[Dead Princess Sakana]

I said that partly in jest, but hey if it works then it works :V

Well, it was something that was brought up and more or less accepted in the thread I linked as well, so yeah :V

[Tengukami]

This is more a board suggestion than a fiction topic, but I've been noticing a trend lately where new-ish writers will start topics not with a story, but rather with an outline, or a character list, basically asking for encouragement or suggestions from others. Further along in these threads, story chapters might get fleshed out.

I think there's clearly a demand for some sort of "writer's workshop"; perhaps a stickied thread where people with ideas or outlines that they want feedback on can post in. Once they feel confident enough, or feel the story outline is more solid, then they can go ahead and start a thread on their story.

My reasoning for this suggestion is that such a thread would be an invaluable resource to others trying to work out their own writing - tips on style, organization, dialog and outlining would all be in the workshop thread. It would coalesce the help people could get. Secondly, when they do get around to posting a story, it would stand alone in all its glory, instead of following a couple pages of asking for feedback and getting it.

In other words, a writer's workshop thread would turn into a great resource for people who want help with their fiction ideas, whether they post in the thread or not, and the new stories that arise from that help would get more of the attention they deserve.

[Dead Princess Sakana]

Actually, Koakuma's was already for that purpose as well, but we can try with an extra thread as well.... hmm, let me dig around, I'm fairly sure we had a thread for story ideas and stuff before. I'll then merge them all together into a workshop thread and sticky it.

[Tengukami]

Actually, Koakuma's was already for that purpose as well, but we can try with an extra thread as well.... hmm, let me dig around, I'm fairly sure we had a thread for story ideas and stuff before. I'll then merge them all together into a workshop thread and sticky it.

Sounds good. Look forward to it!

[Iced Fairy]

I've noticed something that's pertinent to a lot of fics on the site so I figured I'd make a general comment on it.  Or rather start a discussion since I'm really not sure how to handle the matter perfectly myself.

Specifically I figured I mention the first post.  The thing everyone's going to see when they open up the thread the first time.  I've noticed a lot of really short openings in the past couple of months, and I think that's a mistake.  I know I have a hard time getting a feel for anything more then the barest hint of a writers style off a very short intro.  I feel the introductory post should give the reader a good feel either for the characters or the plot (as it is in the beginning) by the end of it.  If you don't do that your chances of getting solid comments isn't all that great.

On the other hand it should be easy to read too.  I imagine some of the longer fics still scare people off, and a very long intro probably does something similar.  So I'm not really certain I've mastered it myself.

Anyway what's everyone's opinions for starting out?  Good content is, of course, necessary but what do people feel a good length is?

[Ryuu]

I don't really care how long or short something is but these paragraph long fics that are supposed to have some larger plot or something kind of baffle me

[Tengukami]

I notice these are coming from new writers who maybe aren't used to writing 500-1000 words in one sitting. It does take time to develop even that much stamina. And as we've had a number of new faces here, that probably explains the trend. My outlook is that if a single paragraph at a time is what they can manage, that's understandable, and maybe readers are alright with that. But I know the very short pieces leave me feeling there's not enough there to spark a reaction. Like Iced, I want to see a solid intro.

[Esifex]

Like Iced, I want to see a solid intro.

Speaking of solid entries, this took long enough

:|

You're such a tease, Ammy.

[Tengukami]

Speaking of solid entries, this took long enough

:|

You're such a tease, Ammy.

Thanks!

Speaking of which, I need more time with that project you gave me. Got two articles due this week.

[Dead Princess Sakana]

YOU'RE ALL GONNA JOIN THIS! NO EXCUSES! KEYBOARD ONLY! FINAL DESTINATION!  :getdown:

[Blackraptor]

YOU'RE ALL GONNA JOIN THIS! NO EXCUSES! KEYBOARD ONLY! FINAL DESTINATION!  :getdown:

Lunatic Mode. Handwritten and scanned...using your non-dominant hand!

[Nosebleed]

Is there a section in this forum where I can put fiction non-affiliated with touhou?

Currently balancing Crossing the Border and this new idea of a story I have in my head.

[Dead Princess Sakana]

Is there a section in this forum where I can put fiction non-affiliated with touhou?

Currently balancing Crossing the Border and this new idea of a story I have in my head.

There's no rule against non-Touhou-fiction, so feel free to post it here.

[Nosebleed]

There's no rule against non-Touhou-fiction, so feel free to post it here.

Ahh Ok.  Thank you! 

[Esifex]

I feel that everyone needs to read this. Consider it 'straight from the mouth of babes' - sometimes the acknowledgements written by an author can be just as interesting and intriguing as the story they've written themselves.

This is the afterword by Brent Weeks, author of the Night Angel trilogy. The Night Angel trilogy gets the Esifex Full Stamp of Approval - it's the only set of books that hooked me so hard that I read each one in a single sitting - and these are 600+ page behemoths. The story is vivid and manages to hook together several different plots without being convoluted or confusing, there are ample twists and turns as not only is the reader discovering hidden plots and schemes, but the characters are as well. The stories build upon what starts as a basic need for survival and doing everything in your power to meet that goal, then as your power grows, a demand for justice to be carried out replaces that former goal. The trilogy is based out of a pit of corruption and filth - the first book is almost entirely based out of the slums and ghettoes of a run-down, oft-conquered city of Cenaria. Examples of humanity found where you'd least suspect it is counter-balanced by such human filth in positions of power that you can't help but rally to the cause of the characters, even if at first you despise many of them.

I very, very strongly recommend picking these books up if you have any interest in Fantasy Fiction, or even just liked playing the Assassin's Creed games - the main character is a Wetboy, a magically powered Assassin. Another difference, though, is that 'Assassins have targets because they miss sometimes. Wetboys have deaders, because once the contract is taken, their target is dead already - they haven't been told yet.'

Enough of my rambling, this is gonna be a beastly wall of text already as it is.

Acknowledgements by Brent Weeks, Author of 'The Way of Shadows'


It was all downhill after seventh grade. That was the year my English teacher, Nancy Helgath, somehow made me cool when she encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe to my classmates at lunch. They sat goggle-eyed as I read "The Pit and the Pendulum," "Berenice," and "The Raven." But I had eyes for only one: the tall, smart girl I had a crush on - and was terrified of - Kristi Barnes.

I soon started my first novel. I would go on to become an English teacher and a writer, and marry Kristi Barnes.

This book wouldn't have happened without my mother - for more than the obvious reason. I started reading late, and when I did, I hated it. This wasn't helped by a teacher who shouted "Choppy sentences!" at me for my inability to read smoothly in the first grade. My mom took me out of school for a year to home-school me (insert social-awkwardness joke here), and her dedication and patience gave me a love for reading.

Thank you to my little sisters, who begged for bedtime stories. An enthusiastic and forgiving audience is a must for a budding teenager storyteller. Any princesses in my books are their fault.

It's one thing to love reading; it's another to write. My high school English teacher, Jael Prezeau, is a teacher in a million. She inspired hundreds. She's the kind of woman who could chew you out, cheer you on, make you work harder than you've ever worked for a class, give you a B, and make you love it. She told me I couldn't break the grammar rules until I was published. It was a rule up with which I could not put. She tried.

In college, I briefly considered politics. Horror. A few people turned me from disaster. One was an industrial spy I met in Oxford. On reading a story I'd written, he said, "I wish I could do what you do." Huh? Then my best friend Nate Davis became the editor of our college literary journal and held a contest for the best short story. Wonder of wonders, I won the cash prize, and realized I'd earned slightly better than minimum wage. I was hooked. (It was better than I would do again for a long, long time.) I started a new novel, and whenever I tried to do my homework, I could count on Jon Low to come knocking on my door. "Hey, Weeks, you got another chapter for me yet?" It was irritating and flattering at once. I had no idea I was being prepared for having an editor.

I must thank the Iowa Writers Program for rejecting me. Though I still sometimes wear all black and drink lattes, they helped me decide to write the kind of books I like rather than the books I ought to like.

My debt to my wife, Kristi, cannot be overstated\. Her faith kept me going. Her sacrifices awe me. Her wisdom has rescued me from many a story dead end. To get published, you have to defy overwhelming odds; to marry a woman like Kristi, you have to knock them out.

My agent Don Maas has an understanding of story that I've not seen rivaled. Don, you've been a reality check, a wise teacher, and an encourager. You make me a better writer.

Huge thanks to the amazing editorial team at Orbit. Devi, thanks for your many insights, your enthusiasm, and your guidance ushering me through an unfamiliar process. Tim, thanks for taking a chance on me. Jennifer, you were my first contact at Orbit, and I have to tell you, the fact that I'd e-mail you a question and get an answer the same morning was a big deal. Of course, then you started sending me paperwork - and then I knew I wasn't dreaming. Alex, thanks for your brilliant Web page design, the beautiful billboards, full page scratch-and-sniff ads in the New York Times, and those nifty little cardboard display stands at Borders. They're fab. Lauren, thank you for taking my ones and zeroes making something real. Hilary, copyeditor extraordinaire, a special thanks for two words: bollock dagger. They made the novel.

I also want to thank all the other people at Orbit and Hachette who do the real work while we artists sit in cafes wearing black, drinking lattes. I'd mention you by name, but I don't know your names. However, I do appreciate what you do to take my words and make something out of them. So, layout people, art people (by the way, Wow!), office go-fers, accountants, lawyers, and the mail guy, thanks.

Crazy dreamers need a lot of encouragers. Kevin, your being proud of me is about the best thing a little brother can get. Dad, one of my first memories is of sharing my worry with you about the space shuttle poking holes in the atmosphere and letting out all of Earth's air. Rather than rushing to correct me, you listened - and still do. Jacob Klein, your encouragement and friendship over the years have been invaluable. You were there at the very beginnig (4 A.M. in Niedfeldt, I think). To the Cabin Guys at Hillsdale College (Jon "Missing Link" Low, Nate "My Head Looks Like PK's Butt" Davis, AJ "My Girlfriend Will Clean It Up" Siegmann, Jason "I love butter" Siegmann, Ryan "Mystery Puker" Downey, Peter "GQ" Koller, Charles "Sand Vest" Robinson, Matt "No Special Sauce" Schramm), I wouldn't have shared a slum house with better wangs. Dennis Foley, you were the first professional writer who gave me time and guidance. You said you'd tell me if I should give up and get a real job - and that I shouldn't. Cody Lee, thanks for the unbridled enthusiasm; it still makes me smile. Shaun and Diane McNay, Mark and Liv Pothoff, Scott and Kariann Box, Scott and Kerry Rueck, Todd and Lisel Williams, Chris Giesch, Blane Hansen, Brian Rapp, Dana Piersall, Jeff and Sandee Newville, Keith and Jen Johnson - thanks for believing in us and helping make the years of work and waiting not just tolerable, but fun.

Thanks to everyone over the years who, on finding out I was a writer, didn't ask, "Oh, are you published?"

Last, thanks to you, curious reader who reads acknowledgments. You do realize the only people who usually read acknowledgments are looking for their own name, right? If you're quirky enough to read acknowledgements without knowing the author, you and I are going to along fine. Picking up a book by an author you've never read is a leap of faith. Here's my offer: you give me a couple of pages, and I'll give you a helluva ride.


Not only does he write for us to read his story, but he writes for the sake of his friends and family, and especially himself. Brent Weeks is a guy who seriously enjoys what he does, and it shows in some of the interviews with him.

But he didn't go it alone, and he remember everyone who helped him out along the way. Most of everyone, at least.

The important bit here is that not only are you writing for an audience, but you're writing for yourself, for your friends, for everyone you know who would enjoy a good story.

Don't stop. Keep on keepin' on.

[Suikama]

GLORIOUS REVOLUTIONS

[Alfred F. Jones]

GLORIOUS REVOLUTIONS

PSL is currently experiencing a Great Leap Forward. Please stand by and await further instructions.

[Dead Princess Sakana]

Shall we change the name back? It was named Communism Fanworks before, wasn't it?  :derp:

[Alfred F. Jones]

Too bad I couldn't find Pravda's slogan. I would have used that instead. :<

[Tengukami]

Too bad I couldn't find Pravda's slogan. I would have used that instead. :<

"Organ of the Soviet Communist Party". Yeah, doesn't sound too sexy, does it?

[FinnKaenbyou]

A reference, if anyone needs it.

-----

To Cirno's I came, seeking fortune
But they're making me post till I'm dead
The Janitors have it so easy
The mod's putting gold on his bread

The people of Patchy's are hungry
But think what a feast there could be
If we could create a book-loving state
That cared for the writers like me...

I am the man who arranges the books
That are written by authors just like you
When their deed is completed, I read
Till the end is decreed, then file them through

Sometimes it seems that to skim fics is fine
And the tale will reach its ending soon
Then I see that there's plenty to go
And I'll have to discard my afternoon

Can I have a short one, please?
Why must these infernal fics tease?

I am the man who arranges the books
That continue to fall from up above
Come, those who write! Let the authors unite!
A collective regime of peace and love

I work so hard in arranging the books
But the mod team and admins bleed me dry
But the readers will RISE, we will not compromise
For we know that CPMC must die

Long live Ruro, ban our foes
We salute the strawberry rose

I am the man who arranges the books
That continue to fall from up above
The books on the shelf can't belong to yourself
A collective regime of peace and love

I have no choice in arranging the books
And now Sakana rules, what she says goes
The rule of the game is we all are the same
And my fics must create unbroken prose

Long live Tuna, she loves you
Sing these words, or you know what she'll do

I am the man who arranges the books
That the one-weekly contest brings to pass
They come two weeks late, and they're meme-spamming bait
But it's still posted, even if it's ass

I am the man who arranges the tanks
So our enemies' blood will freely flow
The artists are dead! And Ruro is RED!
Let us point all our guns at the TSO!

We shall write forever more
We can start a flaming-post war!

I am the man who arranges the words
That are building a project Gappy fears
Frolic in glee for the great library,
For our VN is fueled by artist's tears!

I work so hard in arranging the books
But on IRC I can't vent my steam
It took ages for me to create my OC
And now she's been reduced to phweeing memes!

Pointless work for zero pay
This is one game I shall not play

I am the man who arranges the books...!

...But, tomorrow, I think I'll go outside.
My writing is poor, can't produce anymore,
Who will care if I let my fanfics slide?

Maybe folks will like me too
IF I WRITE A MARY-SUE!

I am the man who arranges the books
That continue to fall from up above
My OC is me, and he's clearly OP
Tell me, why should I care for peace and love?

My OC is me, and he's clearly OP
Tell me, why should I care for peace and love?

Peace and love

Peace and looooove!

-----

And now the shelves are down
The admins frown
There's Marty Stus all over town

The Tuna's lair: Well, don't despair
There's filleted fish surrounding there

The fairies gave us crystal meth
And Ruro bled herself to death
But now that Fate has stopped the hating
Who'll get in our way?

So we reject generic prose
And once again, respect the rose

Prepare the crosses, let them fly
Resign our posts? We'd rather die

We shall against the artists fight
We shall display our authors' might

We shall produce our fics and write
Forever and a day

Fiiiiiiic ooooveeeeeeeer.

[Sana]

Rou you are a genius :>