Name: Galaxy1001D
Age: Too old to be watching cartoons
Race: Human
Sex: Been a while
Galaxy1001D's Guide to Writing:
A while back someone asked my for advice on writing. Let me share with you what I've learned since contributing to this website. I can sum it up in eight points.
First, start small. Don't write your 30-chapter epic for your first fic. I recommend one-shots or stories with less than ten chapters if you are just starting out. If I could write a full-length novel, I wouldn’t be wasting my time writing fan fiction, I’d be writing something for professional publication.
(I’m writing Kim Possible, and Tenchi Muyo because that’s what I can write. My first stories were one-shots that broke the fourth wall and made fun of fanfiction rather than being an actual story taking place in the Kim Possible or Tenchi Muyo universe. Once I got through the clunky stages, I began writing stories under twenty chapters in length. As I learn as I go, each story gets longer.)
Two, know how it ends. I know it sounds backwards, but it’s easier to write if you know how your story is going to end. That makes foreshadowing a lot easier, you know. Don't break this one...I can tell you from painful experience you don't want to break this one.
Three, write when you’ve got something to say. Remember your creative writing classes and English Literature classes remember things like theme and mood. What is this story about? Is there anything that all of us hacks writing fan fiction forgot to write? Correct that oversight! If there is a cool scene in your head, figure out how the characters got there and where they go after the scene is over.
Four, don’t worry about being original. According to Aristotle, there are only eight plotlines. We all could have stopped writing after William Shakespeare died, but we didn’t. You can teach a new dog an old trick. If I had an original bone in my body, I would be writing an original novel instead of messing around with fan fiction.
Five, write what you know. (The fact that I’m writing Kim Possible and Tenchi Muyo is pretty humiliating.) If you don't know it, than read up on it. Odds are, you will write about what interests you. People naturally get good at what they're interested in.
Six, write it out and write from the heart. You don’t have to pander to the masses until the second rewrite. Get what you want to say out on paper (or pixels) before you forget what you want to say. You can always go back and edit it for television later. A lot of controversial subjects find their way into science fiction because they can be disguised.
Seven, if you’re not making money and not having fun, don’t do it. You don’t owe us anything.
Eight, if you got a clear idea of what you want to say, don’t get sidetracked. Don’t let advice like this or bad reviews distract you. Until we offer to write it for you, you are your own boss. Don’t fill your stories with unnecessary fat. Keep it lean and mean!
As a final note, if you got what it takes to be the next J. K. Rowling, by all means stop posting to this website, get on with your book, and make some money! If you feel that you need some practice first, or just want to write for fun, share what you got with us. Although some of us out here can be jerks, most of us are inspiring writers like yourself who are only too happy to encourage a fellow author in need.
Well, I hope this helps more than it hurts. Good luck with your stories. They say that everybody has a good book in them or a story to tell. Go out and tell your story.
Literary Profile:
So far most of my stories are Kim Possible or Tenchi Muyo related. Therefore I'll confine my comments to how I write (and how my reviews are influenced by my views) to these two shows.
Let’s begin with Disney's Kim Possible, a show that ran for four seasons on the Disney Channel.
Kim Possible is a G rated cartoon, and in my opinion, if you make these characters swear like sailors, use excessive violence, or have bizarre sexual relationships, they aren't the characters from the show anymore; they are strangers who share the same names. Although it is often desirable to stretch the envelope concerning censorship, I hesitate to tear it asunder. There are lots of things I feel that the Disney characters simply won’t say or do. I'm not planning to write an “M” rated Kim Possible story, (though I do have plans for a "T+"). If I was into maturity, why would I be watching a cartoon on the Disney Channel?
Lately I have discovered Tenchi Muyo, an obscure Japanese cartoon that was translated to English and shown on Cartoon Network back in the 1990's. Although the plotline borders on nonsensical and the franchise has several conflicting continuities, the show has a lot of charm and the multitude of characters combined with the mature themes makes this series easy to write fan fiction for.
Tenchi Muyo was one of the earliest “harem comedies.” A harem comedy usually features an incredible assortment of gorgeous females from outer space, (or the Magic Kingdom, or Aesigard, or Hyboria, etc,) that invade the life of a rather ordinary, almost inferior teenage boy. These gals usually have incredible powers or skills that further make our hero look small in comparison. Other examples aside of Tenchi Muyo includes Love Hina and Oh My Goddess.
One interesting thing about Tenchi Muyo is that there are a number of different continuities. Just as Batman: The Animated Series has a different continuity from the newer mangaesque cartoon The Batman, Tenchi Muyo has three different continuities. The three major continuities are called Tenchi Muyo Ryo-ohki OAV (as in Original Animated Version), Tenchi Universe TV, and Tenchi in Tokyo (or Shin Tenchi Muyo). The various movies or comic books are usually attached to one continuity or another.
At first I was irritated with the conflicting continuities, but then I realized the incredible amount of “wiggle room” that precedent set. If AIC and TV Tokyo don’t care about continuity, why should a fan fiction writer? Although I normally frown on Alternate Universes, with Tenchi Muyo I say: Knock yourselves out. Free lunch boys and girls.
Sex, Violence, and Profanity in my stories:
Sex:
Although people trying to have sex are funny, sex itself isn’t. Any sexual relationships between the characters in my stories happen off stage and are only vaguely hinted at, so that it is easy to deny that any sexual encounter ever happened at all. For example, in many of my stories, Drakken and Shego are not living in sin, they are married, and the romance went out of their marriage a long time ago. Whether Kim and Ron ever take advantage of their trips abroad to engage in sexual activities will be hinted at in a humorous fashion, but never definitely answered one way or another. In short, when sex is mentioned, it is mentioned in innuendo, and any sexual encounters are inferred, not declared. Speaking of innuendo, so far I have restricted all Tenchi Muyo sexual encounters to harmless flirting. Still, I bet money that my first ‘M’ rated story will be a Tenchi one.
Violence:
Any of my stories starring Kim Possible will have plenty of action, but violence will be kept to nonpermanent, bloodless combat in which lethal weapons always miss, and no one gets seriously injured, much less killed. The exception to this is any story with Shego as a protagonist. On the cartoon, Shego does not show any reluctance to use excessive force. Even so, I try to keep things light and avoid any real or serious death or injury whenever possible. I have attempted to keep my violence confined to a cartoon level, whether it is Kim Possible or Tenchi Muyo.
Profanity:
It is a challenge to have the teens talk like teens and still not use profanity, since so many common expressions involve swearing. Classic movies and the Disney Channel help demonstrate rated G ways to express oneself, but it takes a clever writer to get around the lazy habit of using a cuss word to make a point. In my Tenchi Muyo fics, I restrict profanity to that used on late night TV. Profanity should be used sparingly in my opinion because it tends to jump out of the page and break the rhythm of the narrative, regardless of the rating of the story.
The Cast and Continuity:
When I write fan-fiction, I often forget that I have the freedom to change the characters into anyone that I feel like. Rather than modifications, I make interpretations, and attempt to never contradict the show. (I’ve relaxed a bit with Tenchi Muyo) I'm not worried about continuity with my own stories, but I try hard to make my stories as close to the program as possible. I try never to make sequels for my stories so that one doesn't have to read one story first to read another. All of my stories so far are episodic, self-contained short stories of less than twenty chapters.
My favorite Kim Possible characters are Kim, Ron, Drakken, and Shego. They have great chemistry and bounce off each other to make an enjoyable show. My favorite Tenchi Muyo characters are Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi.
Here is the way I write for Kim Possible:
Kim and Ron: Kim is the dominant athletic aggressive hero, Ron is the submissive, lazy comic sidekick. If Ron was a serious hero and Kim was a submissive waif, they wouldn't be the characters from the show. Although the idea of two teens of opposite genders who love each other traveling unchaperoned without making love seems more unbelievable than a cheerleader who saves the world, I simply can’t bring myself to come right out and say “Yeah, they’re doing it.” How do you say that and still maintain their clean wholesome Disney image? It’s a difficult tightrope. Due to my rigid commitment to canon, I am a Kim/Ron shipper in the majority of my stories (after all, the producers seem to be Kim/Ron shippers).
Drakken and Shego: In my opinion, they are capable of homicide, but how do I express that without actually letting them kill anyone? As villains, they constantly attempt murder but I don’t intend let them succeed at it. In my prequel “Shego Gets A Job,” I’ve allowed Shego to maim people, but all of them are evil masterminds and all of them survive to appear on the show. In “Not Another Death-fic” Shego kills a character that represents the author (namely me) so I don’t think that really counts. Although I am a Drakken/Shego shipper, that doesn't mean that Shego is faithful. She is evil, after all. In many episodes they bicker like a married couple so until the final episode "Graduation" I made the (usually unspoken) assumption that they are married. I presumed that since they are both evil and selfish, their marriage is dysfunctional and always a hair's breadth from ending. Although the final episode implies that they haven't taken that step, I can still say that I was a Drakken and Shego shipper before it was cool.
Rufus: I try not to forget about Rufus, since Rufus is often an extension of Ron's character, and to forget the Rufus exists will change Ron into someone that I don't know.
Original Characters: I try to keep original characters to a minimum. After all, who cares about a character that you don't know? My two original characters so far are Arthur Storey, the despised author avatar, and Global Justice Agent Oscar Carlson (OC), Drakken’s archnemisis before he met Kim Possible.
Here is my take on the cast of Tenchi Muyo:
Tenchi Masaki: Perhaps the humblest man in the universe. If he was an American he’d probably be played by Tom Welling from Smallville. He is usually the voice of reason in the chaotic world of Tenchi Muyo. The balancing act to have him be both manly and feminine is harder than you’d think. He may be physically young, but mentally he’s mature, perhaps even stodgy.
Ryoko Habuki: Although the Ryoko I think of is the feminine rogue from Tenchi Universe, the OAV Ryoko is easier to write for. She is the force of chaos, representing freedom and passion. Her flaws and her struggles to overcome them make her a fascinating character.
Ayeka Jurai: I’m probably too harsh on her. She is the voice of discipline and restraint, (well she certainly wishes she was, things don’t always work out that way). Try as I may, I just don’t see Ayeka and Ryoko fighting, at least not viciously. In my opinion, these two are not only rivals and roommates, they are best friends who just happen to get on each other’s nerves.
Sasami Jurai: This cute little girl is the source of all that is lawful and good, the place where all virtue springs. Her combination of innocent child and motherly caregiver makes it hard to imagine her doing any wrong.
Mihoshi Kuramitsu: Although I often fall into the trap of having the bubbly blonde fall into the role of comic relief, Mihoshi is a character that I really love. The opposite of Tenchi Masaki, she is a child in the form of an adult. Unlike Sasami, her innocence often leads to misunderstandings and accidents, for Mihoshi exists in her own little world. Still, it is hard to dislike someone who doesn’t have a vindictive bone in their body and always offers unconditional love.
Washu Hakubi: Thanks to Hideoshi Okuda’s manga, I often cast her as the “Voice of the Narrator,” who breaks the fourth wall. In this way, I avoid the need for author’s notes. She is also a great way to let out my inner geek with her sci-fi technobabble. And let’s face it, anyone who has seen episodes 5-12 of the OAV will fall in love with the saucy scientist. In the OAV, she takes the role of the shameless flirt that Ryoko is in TU.
Kiyone Makibi: Mihoshi’s “straight man”. In Tenchi Universe, it obvious that Mihoshi is hopelessly in love with her partner. I see Kiyone being in denial about their relationship. Although Kiyone claims to want a world without Mihoshi, as Shakespeare once wrote: “The lady protests too much, I think.”
Nobuyuki and Katsuhito: Tenchi’s father and Grandfather take the roles of bit players in my stories, especially those in AU’s. I try to use as few original characters as possible, so these two wear a lot of hats.
In my Tenchi Muyo AU’s, I often have the cast break character and comment on the story itself. In this way I try to reassure my audience that despite the alternate setting, I’m trying my hardest to insure that the characters here are the “real” characters. It’s also a quick and easy way to establish which continuity a ‘canon’ story takes place in. I don’t worry about
Well, now you know we're I'm coming from. Don't let my interpretation discourage you from writing your way. Everybody has a story inside them. These are mine.
My Stories So Far:
ACT 27: Roger the Vigilante: Rated K+ In Progress
A Big O story that attempts to take up where the animae left off. Rated ‘K’ for now but I expect the rating to go up in later chapters.
Bram Stoker's Kagato: Rated T In Progress
The cast of Tenchi Muyo star in a Dracula parody. Rated T for adult themes, fantastic violence and mild sexual humor. No profanity is planned. Slight possibility of minor character death.
The Love Doctor: Rated K+In Progress
Although off-hand remarks about adultery and murder are uttered in the first chapter, no such events are planned to occur.
Star Trek: Pioneer, AKA Dagger of the Brain: Rated T In Progress
In this Tenchi Muyo/Star Trek fusion, violence is kept to a cartoon level, profanity is censored. Sexual humor gets a bit out of control in Chapter Nine, but so far it’s nothing worse that what was on the show. Any death is only there to parody Star Trek’s original series.
Too Many Shegos: Rated T In Progress
This story takes place right after Tick-Tick-Tick, the episode where Kim and Ron meet Drakken and Shego for the first time. We find out why Shego won't let her boss clone her in Kimination Nation and why Kim and Ron aren't boyfriend and girlfriend in the first three seasons. I also attempt to answer the question: What does Bonnie have against Kim and Ron? Sex is discussed, and innuendoes and puns in bad taste may creep into this story.
No Need For A Decision Rated K Complete
There is probably something hidden in this Tenchi Muyo story that’s inappropriate for younger readers, but so far I haven’t been able to spot it.
No Need For Kiyone Rated K+ Complete
After watching the third Tenchi Muyo OVA, I was compelled to point out that the writers left the truth about Tenchi’s mother so vague that they could say whatever they wanted and change anything they liked if they ever made a fourth one. In my opinion the Mihoshi Galaxy Police Special belongs in the Tenchi Universe continuity, but I made an effort to leave it in the OVA.
No Need For Tenchi Universe Rated T Complete
A Tenchi Muyo story that compares two different continuities of the show. Contains mild sexual humor, two swear words that are used on late night TV, one implied use of the "F" word, and implies cartoon violence.
Tenchi Trek: Rated T Complete
The cast of Tenchi Muyo star in a Star Trek parody. No adult situations are planned, but I don't censor my Tenchi stories as rigidly as my Kim Possible stories. Once Ryoko gets into the story sexual humor is added to the mix, causing a 'T' rating just to be safe. Profanity is kept to a minimum, and never goes beyond a late night television level.
Son of Drakken: Rated K+ Complete
Second AU. Well, I hope it's an AU. Artificial insemination is mentioned, but at least I manage to keep sex out of this story!
To the Victor Goes the Spoils: Rated T Complete
In my second Tenchi Muyo story, I once again break the fourth wall to have the characters poke fun at the fan fiction community. Rated T for profanity, fantastic violence and mild sexual humor.
Come In, Watson: Rated T Complete
In this Sherlock Holmes spoof there is mild toilet humor and use of the word 'bloody' that is considered profanity in England.
Arthur Muyo: Rated T Complete
In this, my first Tenchi Muyo story, I aim my cannons at authors who write themselves into their stories. I’m not wild about original characters in the first place, but I especially hate stories where the characters from the show are reduced to supporting roles. Sexual themes are touched upon briefly. Mild profanity is used. All violence is kept at a cartoon level.
Shego Gets a Job: Rated T Complete
In this story, Shego quits Team Go so she can show up her brothers by joining a team of evildoers. The T rating is for the violent things that Shego does to the villains when things don’t work out. In my story, Shego is the reason that Drakken has his scar, Dementor always wears his mask/helmet, and Gemini (from The Ron Factor) has only one eye and a bionic hand. I try to keep the violence as bloodless and comic as possible, but I still gave the story a T rating just to be safe. In addition, chapter two has sexual innuendo, but no sexual encounters. After the first two chapters, the sex and violence go down to rated G level.
Disney’s Ron Stoppable: Rated K+ Complete
My first AU. What would life be like if Ron was the hero with the website? My answer is: not that different really. Guest-starring Professor Farnsworth, (or one of his ancestors) from Futurama. Although the word, “porn site” occurs in chapter one and Farnsworth soils himself in Chapter Two, so far it is a joke about suppositories that has invoked the most outrage. Go figure.
Ask Team Possible: Rated T Complete
Team Possible answers questions from viewers like you. The first two chapters end with sexual innuendo, but I never come right out and say that Kim and Ron are “doing it”. Where would the sexual tension be if we knew one way or the other?
Not Another Death Fic: Rated T Complete
This story makes fun of the most popular romantic Kim Possible pairings that appear on this website. Although relationships between the same sex and between minors and adults are mentioned, none actually happen. In the end it is revealed that Drakken and Shego are married, and not living in sin at all. (As a matter of fact, it seems unlikely that they have even made love in a while.) In addition, Shego kills an original character and his pet in a bloodless fashion, but the character is so annoying that even the good guys applaud her actions.
Ask Drakken and Shego: Rated K Complete
A story with no controversial topics at all. Murder of a household pet is implied, but never verified. The word “lovers” is mentioned, but never followed up on. Should be standard Disney fare. I am considering a Chapter to make fun of Kigos that will contain no romance of any kind, but I may add it to “Ask Team Possible” instead.
Arthur, Arthur: Rated T Complete
Once again, I aim my cannons at self-inserts. The T rating is because Kim and Ron decide to start making up things about this character on the spot. When they claim that the author avatar is a homosexual, he gets angry and leaves.
Stories that are still in the planning/writing stage:
From Beyond: Rated K+
A classic horror story by H. P. Lovecraft adapted for the Kim Possible universe. Contradicts events from Shego Gets A Job.
Go Team Go, the series: Rated K to K+
A look at Shego’s adventures in Team Go and to show that she was never cut out as a superhero anyway. No sex, violence, or profanity is planned.
Gotor, the Most Powerful Being Who Ever Lived. Rated K
This Star Trek story pokes fun at the incredibly powerful omnipotent beings that the crew in the original series seemed to encounter so often. After Kirk outsmarts the latest god-like entity, the cast of The Next Generation must deal with the aftermath of his actions.
Man versus Monkey: Rated K+
A serious story as Kim and Ron attempt to redeem Monkey Fist and try to restore Lord Monty Fiske, the eminent archeologist. Contains psychobabble, and may talk above the heads of younger readers, but I plan nothing that merits censorship.
Needs Improvement: Rated K+ to T
A Futurama story with less sex, violence, profanity than was on the show.
Not Another Lemon: Rated T
When Kim and Shego discover that the Kigo story they are in is pointless pornography, they refuse to do it and leave. Homosexuality and pornography are discussed, but never followed up on.
Pixie Scout Boot Camp: Rated K
No controversial topics are planned for this fanfic, aside of the idea of preteen girls being trained like marines.
Sexual Peak: Rated T
During Sex Ed class, Ron discovers that teenage boys his age are in their sexual peak, and uses it as an excuse to be an obnoxious jerk. No profanity or sexual situations occur. Barkin mentions sexual organs and masturbation in the classroom and Ron gets kneed in the groin, but no one gets seriously hurt.
Shego, Warrior Princess: Rated K to T
Perhaps my only contribution to the great art form known as Kigo. In this Xena parody, I plan to keep things as rated "G" as possible. I can't believe that no one else has thought of this. All I need is a plot, I've got the cast done already.
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