Your story as a FF writer on the Base - Your first inspirations!

[Michael92]

I hate making a second thread already, but seeing ChakraW's thread about writing process, I got totally inspired and thought I would raise another interesting topic about everyone's inspiration sources, whether it comes from films, books, manga & anime, real life experiences, or even from other writers on the base. I thought I would also ask your "FF story" here on the base, how you came across FFs, how you got inspired, and how you started out writing...

I'll start out with my own story, a story that is not only a story on how I came across FFs and began writing, but also a story about the earlier days of NB's FF section;

I remember when I first joined NB back in Dec 09... I was new to the whole forum deal, and I hadn't heard of everything that was into play here, like RP, FFs, etc, and it wasn't until early 2010 that I came across the FF forum for real. At first, I laughed at the idea, telling myself who would bother to do something so stupid and nerdy (Yes! That was indeed my initial thought, something I would have beaten myself up over if I met the 09-10 "me" today xD), but I quickly came around when I came across some people who did in fact write. They were totally bad-asses, and they quickly won me over. As time went by, I did a lot of "friend's reading," and one of my first FFs to read was the infamous John Constantine's Utopic Monkeys, a FF that took the forum like a storm, creating several debates, getting staff members like Zise, Nexus, Caliburn, Mugiwara (past one), Rei, and some others involve... But both in good and bad days... In the end, he practically had to stop writing as his FFs got banned due to rule breaking and vicious language and description (even writing a detailed rape scene in his "Past Creates the future" FF, with the character's name being Rei (it was a NB member based FF)! O__O).

It was after that first storm, that the FF forum began to take real shape. Writers like Kagutsuchi, Keotsu, Riku, Flaw, Roku, Bishamon, Faust, Sonne (Sherlock Holmes, Aki Sora, and many other names is part of history. Most people know him as Greg), Pervy Sage, Scary Yamato, Kiwii, Kuroi Honoo, and many more, laid the founding bricks for this section. I read a lot of FFs at that time, not because I was into finding the best story, but because it was a new experience and most FFs was written for fun. As we approached summer, I started to get the idea of making my own FF (if you're curious to see how I went from there, and how my current writing process these days are, you should check out ChakraW's thread in this section), and my two main inspirations at that time were Kuroi Honoo, and someone names Akash (I did in fact name them both as inspirations in my first chapter, and me and Kuroi are best friends to this date).

I started out in July 10, and when August came around, I joined my first ever FF contest, going up against people like Faust and Kuroi himself... As many new writers, I was excited like crazy, but of course I had no hopes of winning... A few weeks later, I found out that I actually managed to win at my first try, and boy was my moral skyrocketing at this point, I felt invincible, almost like a God! And it was at this point, when I joined my second FF contest the month after, that I actually went up against the God of FF himself, RokuNR. This was, and still is the craziest FF I've ever been part of! xD The Staff got involved, and a major investigation happened as it was a race between me and Greg, both having over 20 votes, while the God, Roku, was for some reason, way behind. In the end, Greg got DQF from the contest as he was busted having cheated, and a lot of members and their alts were involved. Even I lost a lot of votes, and barely managed to get 1st, right in front of Roku. I had beaten the FF God himself, in a contest I thought was the most important one in the world xD Damn I was arrogant, as I went around the base bragging, getting lots of folk pissed XD I decided because of all the heat that happened, that I would take the next month off, as suggested by John C, to let the "heat" go down as he said. I did however, join the two months after that, which I also was lucky enough to win (I did indeed have a huge fan/noob-base back then for sure, and I should perhaps not have won any of these four contests as there were a lot of other writers more worthy of winning - Like Roku and his Bleach Movie) them too. The rest is history, and I'm still around in 2013. Well that's my story as a FF writer on the base, what is yours??

So that's how I came over FFs, and how I got inspired by several writers on this forum to start out on my own... But through the years, I've taken a lot of inspiration and ideas from movies and books I've read, which have helped me define who I am as a writer today. I don't, however, have one major inspiration from any established authors though, but I'm sure one of you have a story to tell here too. Let me hear your story.

 

[Chakra Wizard]

*Sniff* That was so...inspiring! :T_T: ...XD

Yeah, I'm kind of the same way. I saw the FF's and decided to do my own, then the same thing happened with OF's after I realized how many there were on here. Takes up a lot of valuable time in my real life, but it also helped me realize how much I wanna write for a living, so I regret nothing=D

 

[Lili-Chwan]

Very nice story man. I feel bad coming with my little inspirations after your excellent story, but meh, let's get this topic going.

For me it's always the little things. I'm in NB for the RP, I think everyone pretty much knows that. But what I really like about it it's just the freedom to create. It's just so encompassing, so blank and full of potential. I love to create custom techniques, and elements, and everything custom NB RPG has to provide. I don't do them with the idea of "Uh, this would fit my style" or "Uh, I have a jutsu that does this, this idea would be badass with this other one". Nah. I take inspiration on little things. Things I think are awesome, or things I think are so innovative, no one would think about it. Little phenomenons, events, objects, animals, etc. Very basic things, I pick them up and give them a Naruto spin, make them battle suitable, and voilá, you got a Lili custom. No kidding, it really is about a very little inspiration, for example, I have a jutsu whose inspiration for it was something a Fairy Tail character said, a japanese word, Bibiri, which means cowardly.

I soon started to get more involved in created custom stories. Stuff that would encompass everything I do in the RP. The story of my character, the story of how I got to where I am, where the abilities come from etc etc. I took inspiration from the NB member's FF, where they picked the names of NB members and weave a story with them. It's such a nice spin, I loved it. So I knew I had to do the same if I were to make a Custom Clan.


The idea behind the Custom Clan was, once again, very simple. I love Genjutsu, and most of my techniques/elements are about new concepts or means to cast Genjutsu. And in a conversation with Reborn, I started thinking about Taste, and how to use Taste perception to create genjutsu. And BAM, Ganmi was made. And the idea of the Candymaker started to take form.


Finally, the mood. This was one of my greatest inspirations, and I still think about that even now, and in everything I do creatively. I read an interview with the creators of an online minigame called "Alice is Dead". yeah. And one of the things that really stood out to me was his idea of setting the mood. See, we don't need to have all our senses guided to one single feeling. A scary movie doesn't have to have a scary setting, with scary characters with scary music. It works much better to have a dissonant element. It's much scarier to see a scary environment, with a very eerie and playful music. Or a happy terrain with a creepy character. Etc etc. the idea of dissonant elements is now so ingrained in my mind that I try to apply it to everything. And that is why my FF is about a mass murdered whose name is Candymaker, seemingly harmless, but terrifying.


I also tend to like Easter eggs, something I took from Oda's One Piece. I like to put some goddess names in my creations, or have everything be about animals, or about the 7 sins (I love the 7 deadly sins). I even have a technique where every word starts with the letter M xD Those are just to have fun while creating.

 

[Germanicus]

Hmm...interesting.

Not much of a story here. Always liked reading, and one day listening to Rise Against I just decided "hey, I wanna write a book like this."
I started working on my novel. Eventually I started doing side projects. Absolution, a spiritual short story of sorts. Eventually I found this site and got curious about fanfiction. I wrote the first chapter of Revenge of the Hawk, and Train decided I was decent. He "took me under his wing" and everything else was a blur. Wrote five revenge of the hawk chapters, tried to move onto originals. Wrote the three part intro for PFI, which never received any real notice. Started writing Iron Fist and Mirage of Uchiha between several hiatuses.

Never did anything in the contests, met y'all swell folks. A dull, unimportant story. Reminds me to keep the eye on the prize, keep the skills sharp, get better. That's the goal, inspiration, and idea.

 

[Chakra Wizard]

Hmm...interesting.

Not much of a story here. Always liked reading, and one day listening to Rise Against I just decided "hey, I wanna write a book like this."
I started working on my novel. Eventually I started doing side projects. Absolution, a spiritual short story of sorts. Eventually I found this site and got curious about fanfiction. I wrote the first chapter of Revenge of the Hawk, and Train decided I was decent. He "took me under his wing" and everything else was a blur. Wrote five revenge of the hawk chapters, tried to move onto originals. Wrote the three part intro for PFI, which never received any real notice. Started writing Iron Fist and Mirage of Uchiha between several hiatuses.

Never did anything in the contests, met y'all swell folks. A dull, unimportant story. Reminds me to keep the eye on the prize, keep the skills sharp, get better. That's the goal, inspiration, and idea.

Not true, man. This could very well be the humble beginnings of a Pulitzer Prize-winning author=D

 

[Seffy]

I was inspired to write after I wrote a few poems for fun and had them published both in actual books and in my school literary magazine. I lack motivation completely, but it was due to my English/Psychology teachers that I even decided to pursue a form of writing skill. My friend is still trying to get me into a journalism career, but to be honest it's either writing an actual story, not the terrible things happening in the world, or just spending my time reaching out to people that need help. (Which is why I want to go back to school to major in child's psychology.)

I'm a passionate person and use writing as a tool for therapeutic release and it just inspires me to continue on. Over the many years I have been writing, it's become part of who I am and I enjoy doing it so I will never stop something that makes me happy. Inspiration is just a small part of being a writer, you need that motivation (that drive Sam was going on about) to really take writing to a whole new level. Either way we all have different methods to be inspired and it's interesting to read all the different ways all of the above react to writing. Good job guys! :bouncy:

 

[Disquiet]

Well there were several members here that use to come to me for assistance with their life problems (still do), all were awed at my breaking it down using metaphors and analogies. Similar in principle to gai with the 8 gates, writing is just one medium in which I get to release even more imagination and empathy. Writing....it doesn't stop there.


Anyways, I enjoyed hearing all the inspirations and motivations! Always lovely. :bouncy:

 

[Michael92]

One night's long sleep, and I wake up to so many different and intriguing "stories" ^_^ Way to go guys =)

*Sniff* That was so...inspiring! :T_T: ...XD

Yeah, I'm kind of the same way. I saw the FF's and decided to do my own, then the same thing happened with OF's after I realized how many there were on here. Takes up a lot of valuable time in my real life, but it also helped me realize how much I wanna write for a living, so I regret nothing=D

Haha, hardly, I did put in a lot there, just for writing purposes xD But still, thanks ^_^
Hehe, I understand where you're coming from, in fact, I never really knew the main reason to why I continued writing... I guess the main reason was that I decided that I wanted to finish my work, no matter what, and then I went on from there. Writing itself has never been my main priority, regardless of how much time I spend on it, as if I have a choice, I'd rather watch a good film or tv series, or play a good game, or just find something else to do with my friends... I never liked reading, and when I was little, I only read because I had to (school, mother bugging me to do so). I think after I turned 10, I only read one single book (the only book I've read in my life on my own interests - Romance of the Three Kingdoms) before I started out writing FFs when I turned 18, so yeah, I had not much to go on writing wise, other than reading other FFs, so basically my structure and everything was not that good (it still isn't really, but compared to back then, it's an improvement I must say) in fact, my only strong point has always been my story, the way I find crazy ideas to incorporate, but that's basically it. What I'm trying to say is this, writing FFs has almost always been my guilty pleasure, and none of my main friends know of it even to this date, my family knows it by accident (though I suspect they've forgot now), and it wasn't until I went to "Folk-High School" last year, that people found out (it was impossible to hide it there due to the fact that we were living together), so it was after that that I stopped caring what people thought of it. In the end though, it wasn't that bad...

Overall, I often write only when I have nothing else to do, if I'm bored... and even then, it's actually harder to write (if you first are tired and bored, nothing seem fun). I've fortunately changed a bit over the years, and now, it's not only about getting the series done anymore... I guess I continue to write for my readers, or even for myself, just to get it done... A mix between both I suppose, I'm not really sure though xD But I won't deny that there's always been a part of me that's got excited about writing down future plots in my notes (I'm always a step ahead unfortunately), and when I finally get there chapter wise, it's often been so long that I just write it for the sake of it. But enough mumbling for now.

Oh, and yeah, haven't regretted it one bit for sure

Very nice story man. I feel bad coming with my little inspirations after your excellent story, but meh, let's get this topic going.

For me it's always the little things. I'm in NB for the RP, I think everyone pretty much knows that. But what I really like about it it's just the freedom to create. It's just so encompassing, so blank and full of potential. I love to create custom techniques, and elements, and everything custom NB RPG has to provide. I don't do them with the idea of "Uh, this would fit my style" or "Uh, I have a jutsu that does this, this idea would be badass with this other one". Nah. I take inspiration on little things. Things I think are awesome, or things I think are so innovative, no one would think about it. Little phenomenons, events, objects, animals, etc. Very basic things, I pick them up and give them a Naruto spin, make them battle suitable, and voilá, you got a Lili custom. No kidding, it really is about a very little inspiration, for example, I have a jutsu whose inspiration for it was something a Fairy Tail character said, a japanese word, Bibiri, which means cowardly.

I soon started to get more involved in created custom stories. Stuff that would encompass everything I do in the RP. The story of my character, the story of how I got to where I am, where the abilities come from etc etc. I took inspiration from the NB member's FF, where they picked the names of NB members and weave a story with them. It's such a nice spin, I loved it. So I knew I had to do the same if I were to make a Custom Clan.


The idea behind the Custom Clan was, once again, very simple. I love Genjutsu, and most of my techniques/elements are about new concepts or means to cast Genjutsu. And in a conversation with Reborn, I started thinking about Taste, and how to use Taste perception to create genjutsu. And BAM, Ganmi was made. And the idea of the Candymaker started to take form.


Finally, the mood. This was one of my greatest inspirations, and I still think about that even now, and in everything I do creatively. I read an interview with the creators of an online minigame called "Alice is Dead". yeah. And one of the things that really stood out to me was his idea of setting the mood. See, we don't need to have all our senses guided to one single feeling. A scary movie doesn't have to have a scary setting, with scary characters with scary music. It works much better to have a dissonant element. It's much scarier to see a scary environment, with a very eerie and playful music. Or a happy terrain with a creepy character. Etc etc. the idea of dissonant elements is now so ingrained in my mind that I try to apply it to everything. And that is why my FF is about a mass murdered whose name is Candymaker, seemingly harmless, but terrifying.


I also tend to like Easter eggs, something I took from Oda's One Piece. I like to put some goddess names in my creations, or have everything be about animals, or about the 7 sins (I love the 7 deadly sins). I even have a technique where every word starts with the letter M xD Those are just to have fun while creating.

Not at all, that was one heck of a deep post Lili ^_^ I can't really say that I can relate to all your points, due to the fact that I've yet to check the RP section out (still that part of me who thinks it looks dull and all, just like I initially thought about FFs I suppose >_> U_U), but I do understand your points, it's about finding those little things, no matter how small, that counts. No idea is basically dumb or meaningless (mostly), and everything can be put into words.

Easter eggs in you FF/OFs?? Damn, I never really thought about that, but I think I'm definitely going to pick that up for my original Fiction, as it will be based upon real life history, around year 200 (might do some "change of history" type of thing too in the end), and I think I know some that I can put in there. This is of course, if you don't count references to other type of fiction, that I've already put into my fiction (like the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda series appearing in my Naruto FF).

Hmm...interesting.

Not much of a story here. Always liked reading, and one day listening to Rise Against I just decided "hey, I wanna write a book like this."
I started working on my novel. Eventually I started doing side projects. Absolution, a spiritual short story of sorts. Eventually I found this site and got curious about fanfiction. I wrote the first chapter of Revenge of the Hawk, and Train decided I was decent. He "took me under his wing" and everything else was a blur. Wrote five revenge of the hawk chapters, tried to move onto originals. Wrote the three part intro for PFI, which never received any real notice. Started writing Iron Fist and Mirage of Uchiha between several hiatuses.

Never did anything in the contests, met y'all swell folks. A dull, unimportant story. Reminds me to keep the eye on the prize, keep the skills sharp, get better. That's the goal, inspiration, and idea.

It's still a story man, and it's great ^_^ And yeah, you seem to have done the completely opposite thing of me, by already being very indulged into the way of writing before coming here, while I on the other hand, discovered writing here.

Not true, man. This could very well be the humble beginnings of a Pulitzer Prize-winning author=D

Couldn't agree more with you bro, Germanicus is a hidden Gem for sure!

I was inspired to write after I wrote a few poems for fun and had them published both in actual books and in my school literary magazine. I lack motivation completely, but it was due to my English/Psychology teachers that I even decided to pursue a form of writing skill. My friend is still trying to get me into a journalism career, but to be honest it's either writing an actual story, not the terrible things happening in the world, or just spending my time reaching out to people that need help. (Which is why I want to go back to school to major in child's psychology.)

I'm a passionate person and use writing as a tool for therapeutic release and it just inspires me to continue on. Over the many years I have been writing, it's become part of who I am and I enjoy doing it so I will never stop something that makes me happy. Inspiration is just a small part of being a writer, you need that motivation (that drive Sam was going on about) to really take writing to a whole new level. Either way we all have different methods to be inspired and it's interesting to read all the different ways all of the above react to writing. Good job guys! :bouncy:

Wow, this is new and interesting for sure, I didn't know you were that humble and caring Sara ^_^
But yeah, that drive to write is really important, whether it comes from other people, books, movies, real life, music, FF/OFs on the base, and so on. Without it, you'll never be able to finish what you start, and I suppose that fact alone, often is my main and only drive to continue... The fact that I want... That I need to finish my series before I die xD

Well there were several members here that use to come to me for assistance with their life problems (still do), all were awed at my breaking it down using metaphors and analogies. Similar in principle to gai with the 8 gates, writing is just one medium in which I get to release even more imagination and empathy. Writing....it doesn't stop there.


Anyways, I enjoyed hearing all the inspirations and motivations! Always lovely. :bouncy:

Each person has their own story it seems, and although they differ, we all strive for the same goal within our stories.

 

[Disquiet]

Each person has their own story it seems, and although they differ, we all strive for the same goal within our stories.

I know this, I'm just giving my story like you and the others were allowed to do. =D

 

[Vilvake]

When I was in 2nd grade, there was a writing contest for grades 2-4, and it was a requirement to enter it. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until the very last moment to write my submission and really half-assed it. Although, to my surprise, I finished first out of hundreds of other kids. That's when I discovered my love for writing.

Since then, I've intermittently written random creative writing pieces for fun. My old computer is filled with documents called things like "My book" or "My first chapter". I also began posting on yahoo answers to get feedback - and this is what really pushed my love for writing over the edge. Specifically, it was one comment I got. When I remember this, I'm always reminded that a compliment can really stick with people and positively influence their outlook.

Well, that was a few years ago, and since then, I have stopped writing as often. Other things began taking up my time, like trying to learn programming, watching anime and increased homework loads. However, I still go on creative tangents randomly. An example of that is

You must be registered for see links

post. It began as a simple question, but morphed into something entirely different. Also, occasionally, I will get very deep into a topic that is otherwise simple. Like

You must be registered for see links

.

My history teacher this year also noticed these things. She sent an email to my parents saying she loved my creative writing side. I had unintentionally begun going off on these tangents in my essays, lol. I happened to have this one on my computer:

Spoiler

In the story Things Fall Apart, the definition of a tragic hero- falling from high fortune and standing because of a tragic flaw- is personified perfectly by the character Okonkwo. Three of his qualities in particular highlight that fact well. He was the victim of problematic chi, carried high status in his community, and was overly arrogant and prideful. These characteristics develop throughout the story and give us deeper understanding to how Okonkwo’s life was shaped.

The first was that fate and the gods seemed to be against him. From the day he was born, Okonkwo was disadvantaged compared to other men in the village. Coming from an 'average' family is usually enough to feel sorry about. After all, some are lucky enough to be born into a prestigious background, and get handed opportunities left and right without earning them. More 'normal' families may think it's unfair that they don't have these connections; that they have to start from nothing and climb their way up to where they can see success hovering above them. However, Okonkwo didn't even get the luxury to start from that point. Instead, he began life in a deep gash that was carved into the Earth by his father, Unoka. When one looks up from this perspective, it is only possible to see the squinting faces of those who are looking down into the black of the gash, struggling to find a sign of meaningful life at the bottom. Unfortunately that struggle only became increasingly difficult; with every mistake and irresponsible decision Unoka committed, with every incidence of laziness and with each new debt, another shovelful of dirt was dug from the gash. This process continued until it more closely resembled an ugly scar, which was not only hewn into the Earth, but also into Okonkwo's very soul. He carried this burden, and had even overcome it, when fate decided to bring him back down to where he belonged. This was carried out in the form of an accidental shooting. One that left a boy dead and Okonkwo banished for seven years.

The second was his high status and standing in the community. Okonkwo was one of the most highly respected men not only in his own clan, but across the nine villages and beyond. He earned this respect, as well as the power that came with it, from his impressive personal achievements. These would be more than noteworthy without taking his background into consideration, but if you look at the whole picture, Okonkwo's attainments deserve a certain emphasis. The first stride towards respect that he made was throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was fiercely respected for his skill, and rightfully so; he carried a win streak that dated back seven years. So when Okonkwo, then a young man of eighteen, wrestled him and won, a wave of notoriety formed under him and carried him to new heights. Okonkwo was not arrogant; he knew that the wave would eventually lose its power and deposit him on land surrounded by water, an island where he would once again have to fight against barriers to his success. That's why he didn't go limp and let the wave carry him; instead, he fought against its force in hopes to catch the next one. This led him to try and convince a wealthy farmer to provide him with yam seeds, and the farmer did. Okonkwo had successfully caught the next wave of success- and it pushed him past the furthest reaches of his wildest dreams. His work had finally paid off. He had become a wealthy, highly respected farmer.

Finally, the third quality that emphasized his position as a tragic hero was his tragic flaw. It was exhibited throughout the story in the form of arrogance and pride, and, eventually, led to his downfall. After Okonkwo had successfully crawled out of his father's shadow, his determination took on a new medium. He had already defeated the limitations his father had placed on him. So know he longed to decimate anything that could link him to his troubled past. This new initiative was where his tragic flaw stemmed from; he was arrogant in order to confirm he was better than his father, and prideful because he sought to destroy anything his twisted mind believed to be contrary to that fact. An example of his arrogance was when he killed the head messenger without his clan’s approval. Simply laying down and allowing a superior force to dictate his life was too much for Okonkwo to bear. After all, that was exactly what his father had been to him; a grip that had guided his circumstances and forced him into the dirt. For that reason, he took action without his clan’s approval. His unwavering pride was evident when he burned down the Christian church, which could be considered a symbol for his complete rejection of the white man’s beliefs. He hated the fact that since his culture was being conquered, there was an implication that it was inferior to the conqueror’s own. His mind warped this into meaning he, himself, was inferior to the white men. Similar to how he believed his father, Unoka, was inferior to the other villagers. After processing all this information, he couldn't help but come to a simple conclusion- in the eyes of the white men, he was at his father's level. Okonkwo absolutely hated that.

Together, these three characteristics tell the story behind Okonkwo’s classification as a tragic hero. First, the influence of his father planted the seeds of doubt in his mind, and they grew until he was unable to accept himself. Next, his quest was to become well respected within his community. Finally, once he had achieved his goals, he sought to look past them; now he wanted to stop the white man’s culture from taking over his own. However, in the end, all his ambitions link directly back to overcoming his father’s weaknesses.

And this was an economics assignment. I still cannot believe I turned this one in:

Spoiler

Although I have never known someone personally that had their identity stolen, I can understand why it happens so frequently, especially in reference to college students. The most obvious answer as to why it's more likely to happen to them is a lack of understanding in financial safety. It's common sense; in the same way, in any given sport, a rookie is likely to get penalized more than an experienced player, young adults don't have the real-world experience necessary to protect against ID thieves. Although, I want to focus on an aspect of a college students life that seems to get overlooked- they live very publicly. Some people seem to have the idea that most ID thieves are overweight computer hackers that only bother to shower when they crawl out of their mother's basement. Unfortunately, that is simply not true. All it would take is for your roommate, or a roommates friend, to pick up a stray financial document that you left lying around, and then boom- you have a charge for one-thousand of the fluffiest, most heavenly pillows of all time. Even though this would be a sweet purchase in a group of two or three, you would simply not have enough space in your little dorm room to fit so many of them. Proceeding to check the calendar you would be surprised to notice that it is not, in fact, finals week, giving you the confidence that you weren't delirious from a late night of studying, and that you certainly didn't walk into the nearest bulk-pillow store and go crazy. To prevent this unfortunate (yet so comfortable, and... and soft, so impossibly soft...) series of events from occurring, it would be wise to shred up all financial documents that you receive in the mail after reading them, as well as deleting all emails that could pose a threat to your financial security if stolen. Continuing on to my second point, you might be surprised (or dismayed) to hear that the nefarious overweight computer hacker finally crept up the stairs and took a shower, before advancing on to catch a bus to the local library. You see, his Twinkies reserve was running dangerously thin, and having never held an honest job in his life, he had to steal someone's identity to pay for the replenishment of his precious stock. That's why he sneaked into the library (he could have simply walked in, but he never has this much fun and was unfortunately caught in the moment) and craftily installed cookies on all the computers, so that when unsuspecting college students walked in to pay a bill on one of them, all their financial information would be stolen. Don't worry about this particular incident, though. I've already called the police. Evidently ID thieves don't hold up too well in prison, so our guy is slowly rocking himself in the corner of a cell, rhythmically nibbling at a Twinkie... but that's beside the point. The moral of this particular story is that you should never conduct financial business on a public computer or network. Especially because I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows of a very peculiar tall and scrawny man that has been sitting in his father's attic, fidgeting with his thick rimmed glasses as he plans his method of atta... just kidding. In conclusion, there are many ways a college student could get their identity stolen, and I outlined a couple of them here. So they better watch out- they never know when another overweight computer hacker will be after them.

I haven't written much specifically for NB yet, but I would love to get into it. As soon as I get a good idea...

 

[Seffy]

One night's long sleep, and I wake up to so many different and intriguing "stories" ^_^ Way to go guys =)



Haha, hardly, I did put in a lot there, just for writing purposes xD But still, thanks ^_^
Hehe, I understand where you're coming from, in fact, I never really knew the main reason to why I continued writing... I guess the main reason was that I decided that I wanted to finish my work, no matter what, and then I went on from there. Writing itself has never been my main priority, regardless of how much time I spend on it, as if I have a choice, I'd rather watch a good film or tv series, or play a good game, or just find something else to do with my friends... I never liked reading, and when I was little, I only read because I had to (school, mother bugging me to do so). I think after I turned 10, I only read one single book (the only book I've read in my life on my own interests - Romance of the Three Kingdoms) before I started out writing FFs when I turned 18, so yeah, I had not much to go on writing wise, other than reading other FFs, so basically my structure and everything was not that good (it still isn't really, but compared to back then, it's an improvement I must say) in fact, my only strong point has always been my story, the way I find crazy ideas to incorporate, but that's basically it. What I'm trying to say is this, writing FFs has almost always been my guilty pleasure, and none of my main friends know of it even to this date, my family knows it by accident (though I suspect they've forgot now), and it wasn't until I went to "Folk-High School" last year, that people found out (it was impossible to hide it there due to the fact that we were living together), so it was after that that I stopped caring what people thought of it. In the end though, it wasn't that bad...

Overall, I often write only when I have nothing else to do, if I'm bored... and even then, it's actually harder to write (if you first are tired and bored, nothing seem fun). I've fortunately changed a bit over the years, and now, it's not only about getting the series done anymore... I guess I continue to write for my readers, or even for myself, just to get it done... A mix between both I suppose, I'm not really sure though xD But I won't deny that there's always been a part of me that's got excited about writing down future plots in my notes (I'm always a step ahead unfortunately), and when I finally get there chapter wise, it's often been so long that I just write it for the sake of it. But enough mumbling for now.

Oh, and yeah, haven't regretted it one bit for sure



Not at all, that was one heck of a deep post Lili ^_^ I can't really say that I can relate to all your points, due to the fact that I've yet to check the RP section out (still that part of me who thinks it looks dull and all, just like I initially thought about FFs I suppose >_> U_U), but I do understand your points, it's about finding those little things, no matter how small, that counts. No idea is basically dumb or meaningless (mostly), and everything can be put into words.

Easter eggs in you FF/OFs?? Damn, I never really thought about that, but I think I'm definitely going to pick that up for my original Fiction, as it will be based upon real life history, around year 200 (might do some "change of history" type of thing too in the end), and I think I know some that I can put in there. This is of course, if you don't count references to other type of fiction, that I've already put into my fiction (like the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda series appearing in my Naruto FF).



It's still a story man, and it's great ^_^ And yeah, you seem to have done the completely opposite thing of me, by already being very indulged into the way of writing before coming here, while I on the other hand, discovered writing here.



Couldn't agree more with you bro, Germanicus is a hidden Gem for sure!



Wow, this is new and interesting for sure, I didn't know you were that humble and caring Sara ^_^
But yeah, that drive to write is really important, whether it comes from other people, books, movies, real life, music, FF/OFs on the base, and so on. Without it, you'll never be able to finish what you start, and I suppose that fact alone, often is my main and only drive to continue... The fact that I want... That I need to finish my series before I die xD



Each person has their own story it seems, and although they differ, we all strive for the same goal within our stories.

SARAH mine has an h at the end. XD Seriously though the way we lived in the past greatly effects how we go about our future. It's a form of inspiration that can be that drive for motivation as well. All I really want to do in life is reach out to people (for personal reasons) if I can get to them through writing easier, than so be it that's what I will do. This world is already a terrible place to live in so why not try to make it better? I'm a big dreamer, I know. lol :bouncy:

 

[Michael92]

I know this, I'm just giving my story like you and the others were allowed to do. =D

And I concurred =p

When I was in 2nd grade, there was a writing contest for grades 2-4, and it was a requirement to enter it. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until the very last moment to write my submission and really half-assed it. Although, to my surprise, I finished first out of hundreds of other kids. That's when I discovered my love for writing.

Since then, I've intermittently written random creative writing pieces for fun. My old computer is filled with documents called things like "My book" or "My first chapter". I also began posting on yahoo answers to get feedback - and this is what really pushed my love for writing over the edge. Specifically, it was one comment I got. When I remember this, I'm always reminded that a compliment can really stick with people and positively influence their outlook.

Well, that was a few years ago, and since then, I have stopped writing as often. Other things began taking up my time, like trying to learn programming, watching anime and increased homework loads. However, I still go on creative tangents randomly. An example of that is

You must be registered for see links

post. It began as a simple question, but morphed into something entirely different. Also, occasionally, I will get very deep into a topic that is otherwise simple. Like

You must be registered for see links

.

My history teacher this year also noticed these things. She sent an email to my parents saying she loved my creative writing side. I had unintentionally begun going off on these tangents in my essays, lol. I happened to have this one on my computer:

Spoiler

In the story Things Fall Apart, the definition of a tragic hero- falling from high fortune and standing because of a tragic flaw- is personified perfectly by the character Okonkwo. Three of his qualities in particular highlight that fact well. He was the victim of problematic chi, carried high status in his community, and was overly arrogant and prideful. These characteristics develop throughout the story and give us deeper understanding to how Okonkwo’s life was shaped.

The first was that fate and the gods seemed to be against him. From the day he was born, Okonkwo was disadvantaged compared to other men in the village. Coming from an 'average' family is usually enough to feel sorry about. After all, some are lucky enough to be born into a prestigious background, and get handed opportunities left and right without earning them. More 'normal' families may think it's unfair that they don't have these connections; that they have to start from nothing and climb their way up to where they can see success hovering above them. However, Okonkwo didn't even get the luxury to start from that point. Instead, he began life in a deep gash that was carved into the Earth by his father, Unoka. When one looks up from this perspective, it is only possible to see the squinting faces of those who are looking down into the black of the gash, struggling to find a sign of meaningful life at the bottom. Unfortunately that struggle only became increasingly difficult; with every mistake and irresponsible decision Unoka committed, with every incidence of laziness and with each new debt, another shovelful of dirt was dug from the gash. This process continued until it more closely resembled an ugly scar, which was not only hewn into the Earth, but also into Okonkwo's very soul. He carried this burden, and had even overcome it, when fate decided to bring him back down to where he belonged. This was carried out in the form of an accidental shooting. One that left a boy dead and Okonkwo banished for seven years.

The second was his high status and standing in the community. Okonkwo was one of the most highly respected men not only in his own clan, but across the nine villages and beyond. He earned this respect, as well as the power that came with it, from his impressive personal achievements. These would be more than noteworthy without taking his background into consideration, but if you look at the whole picture, Okonkwo's attainments deserve a certain emphasis. The first stride towards respect that he made was throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was fiercely respected for his skill, and rightfully so; he carried a win streak that dated back seven years. So when Okonkwo, then a young man of eighteen, wrestled him and won, a wave of notoriety formed under him and carried him to new heights. Okonkwo was not arrogant; he knew that the wave would eventually lose its power and deposit him on land surrounded by water, an island where he would once again have to fight against barriers to his success. That's why he didn't go limp and let the wave carry him; instead, he fought against its force in hopes to catch the next one. This led him to try and convince a wealthy farmer to provide him with yam seeds, and the farmer did. Okonkwo had successfully caught the next wave of success- and it pushed him past the furthest reaches of his wildest dreams. His work had finally paid off. He had become a wealthy, highly respected farmer.

Finally, the third quality that emphasized his position as a tragic hero was his tragic flaw. It was exhibited throughout the story in the form of arrogance and pride, and, eventually, led to his downfall. After Okonkwo had successfully crawled out of his father's shadow, his determination took on a new medium. He had already defeated the limitations his father had placed on him. So know he longed to decimate anything that could link him to his troubled past. This new initiative was where his tragic flaw stemmed from; he was arrogant in order to confirm he was better than his father, and prideful because he sought to destroy anything his twisted mind believed to be contrary to that fact. An example of his arrogance was when he killed the head messenger without his clan’s approval. Simply laying down and allowing a superior force to dictate his life was too much for Okonkwo to bear. After all, that was exactly what his father had been to him; a grip that had guided his circumstances and forced him into the dirt. For that reason, he took action without his clan’s approval. His unwavering pride was evident when he burned down the Christian church, which could be considered a symbol for his complete rejection of the white man’s beliefs. He hated the fact that since his culture was being conquered, there was an implication that it was inferior to the conqueror’s own. His mind warped this into meaning he, himself, was inferior to the white men. Similar to how he believed his father, Unoka, was inferior to the other villagers. After processing all this information, he couldn't help but come to a simple conclusion- in the eyes of the white men, he was at his father's level. Okonkwo absolutely hated that.

Together, these three characteristics tell the story behind Okonkwo’s classification as a tragic hero. First, the influence of his father planted the seeds of doubt in his mind, and they grew until he was unable to accept himself. Next, his quest was to become well respected within his community. Finally, once he had achieved his goals, he sought to look past them; now he wanted to stop the white man’s culture from taking over his own. However, in the end, all his ambitions link directly back to overcoming his father’s weaknesses.

And this was an economics assignment. I still cannot believe I turned this one in:

Spoiler

Although I have never known someone personally that had their identity stolen, I can understand why it happens so frequently, especially in reference to college students. The most obvious answer as to why it's more likely to happen to them is a lack of understanding in financial safety. It's common sense; in the same way, in any given sport, a rookie is likely to get penalized more than an experienced player, young adults don't have the real-world experience necessary to protect against ID thieves. Although, I want to focus on an aspect of a college students life that seems to get overlooked- they live very publicly. Some people seem to have the idea that most ID thieves are overweight computer hackers that only bother to shower when they crawl out of their mother's basement. Unfortunately, that is simply not true. All it would take is for your roommate, or a roommates friend, to pick up a stray financial document that you left lying around, and then boom- you have a charge for one-thousand of the fluffiest, most heavenly pillows of all time. Even though this would be a sweet purchase in a group of two or three, you would simply not have enough space in your little dorm room to fit so many of them. Proceeding to check the calendar you would be surprised to notice that it is not, in fact, finals week, giving you the confidence that you weren't delirious from a late night of studying, and that you certainly didn't walk into the nearest bulk-pillow store and go crazy. To prevent this unfortunate (yet so comfortable, and... and soft, so impossibly soft...) series of events from occurring, it would be wise to shred up all financial documents that you receive in the mail after reading them, as well as deleting all emails that could pose a threat to your financial security if stolen. Continuing on to my second point, you might be surprised (or dismayed) to hear that the nefarious overweight computer hacker finally crept up the stairs and took a shower, before advancing on to catch a bus to the local library. You see, his Twinkies reserve was running dangerously thin, and having never held an honest job in his life, he had to steal someone's identity to pay for the replenishment of his precious stock. That's why he sneaked into the library (he could have simply walked in, but he never has this much fun and was unfortunately caught in the moment) and craftily installed cookies on all the computers, so that when unsuspecting college students walked in to pay a bill on one of them, all their financial information would be stolen. Don't worry about this particular incident, though. I've already called the police. Evidently ID thieves don't hold up too well in prison, so our guy is slowly rocking himself in the corner of a cell, rhythmically nibbling at a Twinkie... but that's beside the point. The moral of this particular story is that you should never conduct financial business on a public computer or network. Especially because I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows of a very peculiar tall and scrawny man that has been sitting in his father's attic, fidgeting with his thick rimmed glasses as he plans his method of atta... just kidding. In conclusion, there are many ways a college student could get their identity stolen, and I outlined a couple of them here. So they better watch out- they never know when another overweight computer hacker will be after them.

I haven't written much specifically for NB yet, but I would love to get into it. As soon as I get a good idea...

Whoa, I can only imagine the moral boost you got then, in fact, the only thing I can related with is winning my four first FF contests I suppose =p

And yeah, things often become something more when you first write something, I mean, I don't know how many times I've had a simple idea or a note, to follow, but ended up halting the whole story to go side-tracking into something entirely else for a whole chapter. One example to this was in my earlier days, where I had a simple set up of the story where Naruto and the rest were suppose to move from Konoha over the Great Naruto Bridge, and to Kiri (still the same FF I'm writing these days), and the idea was simply to have one battle on the way, but that they would get there like in three chapters or so.

In the end, I ended up visiting the past, detailing some major battle between Naruto and Sasuke, even creating a chronicle just for Sasuke, side-tracking with Kakashi and Gai, ending up creating another chronicle, this time for Kakashi, and also creating a whole chapter where the characters had to go looking for different ingredients to an antidote. In the end, something that was suppose to last 3 chapters, lasted 8 chapters + two chronicles based on 3 chapters each, meaning 14 chapters in total.

I guess the same can be said about my sequel FF, where I was suppose to end the battle between Naruto & Sasuke vs Tobi and bring an end to the war, and create peace. I eventually ended up with Kabuto as the main villain, having Naruto and the rest of the alliance go through some crazy Edo Tensei revival, which has lasted for 23 chapter or so instead of just 3-5.

So yeah, it's easily to get side-tracked and write a bunch on something that was simple to begin with. I guess that's why I had to extend the plan for 12 chapters to 15 for my original work, had to create two chronicles with 3 chapters each, within the same universe, and also had to go from 15 chapters of the sequel, to 18, then 21, then 24, then 27, and finally, 30 chapters in total... Not only that, but ideas for another sequel appeared, which will be 6 chapters in length, and then I'm going to end it all with a "short Movie" (with a formula much like Roku's Bleach movie), so in the end, like I mentioned before, going with an idea of a short, all for fun, three chapters work- with a three week schedule, I've ended up writing for over three years soon, totaling over 45 chapters, and still plenty to go.

SARAH mine has an h at the end. XD Seriously though the way we lived in the past greatly effects how we go about our future. It's a form of inspiration that can be that drive for motivation as well. All I really want to do in life is reach out to people (for personal reasons) if I can get to them through writing easier, than so be it that's what I will do. This world is already a terrible place to live in so why not try to make it better? I'm a big dreamer, I know. lol :bouncy:

Damn xD I was just thinking about that because you've mentioned it some times, but i was certain you had said that your name was also Sara, without an "h," when I've been referring to Lawliet, thinking that it was you I referred to xD

Well, that depends on how you define the "world." Where I live, things could not really have been better in many regards, but I know the world is bigger than so.

 

[Disquiet]

And I concurred =p

Awesome! I'm glad that's another to agree with me.

 

[Michael92]

Awesome! I'm glad that's another to agree with me.

I was more or less summing up my post, by agreeing to the fact (mentioned in your post) that everyone here has their own story, and their way to get into writing, whether they've been doing so for a long time, or just recently started themselves

 

[Disquiet]

I was more or less summing up my post, by agreeing to the fact (mentioned in your post) that everyone here has their own story, and their way to get into writing, whether they've been doing so for a long time, or just recently started themselves

What a way to sum it up.

 

[Seffy]

Damn xD I was just thinking about that because you've mentioned it some times, but i was certain you had said that your name was also Sara, without an "h," when I've been referring to Lawliet, thinking that it was you I referred to xD

Well, that depends on how you define the "world." Where I live, things could not really have been better in many regards, but I know the world is bigger than so.

lol It's fine and yeah I mentioned it to you a few times. (with the h)

The world as a whole, but that's why it's a big dream. XD

 

[Michael92]

What a way to sum it up.

^_^

lol It's fine and yeah I mentioned it to you a few times. (with the h)

The world as a whole, but that's why it's a big dream. XD

I'll remember it to the next time, promise!

With the right inspiration, and the will to go through with it, no ambition is too great you know As you move, your inspiration will only climb to higher grounds!

 

[Soraton]

The source of my inspiration is kinda deep...really touching actually, has a lot to do with the kind of person I am today. Kind of an emotional roller coaster so I hope that you're strapped in. A lot of people and events have influenced me over the years but that moment was what I believe changed me forever.
One day...I was eating noodles and suddenly I felt like writing something. And so I did. The end.

 

[Michael92]

The source of my inspiration is kinda deep...really touching actually, has a lot to do with the kind of person I am today. Kind of an emotional roller coaster so I hope that you're strapped in. A lot of people and events have influenced me over the years but that moment was what I believe changed me forever.
One day...I was eating noodles and suddenly I felt like writing something. And so I did. The end.

Haha, that's deep man, and yeah, who said you needed a deep background story to begin with?

 

[Soraton]

Haha, that's deep man, and yeah, who said you needed a deep background story to begin with?

I dunno, I feel like a deep background adds more depth to my...........soul? I don't even know what I'm trying to say by this point.=D