A Friendly Reminder to Userpedian Writers

[Contra(dictory)]

important note: apparently me making this thread is egotistic or something. you can see the arguments below if you want, but i'd just prefer it you read this post and came to your own conclusions before proceeding



[9:10:40 PM] Travis Touchdown: I try to stay away from being egotistic with my fics.
[9:10:49 PM] Travis Touchdown: Tabuu gets defeated. A lot.
[9:11:02 PM] Travis Touchdown: He's never the Hero who defeats the Big Bad.
[9:11:14 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: once again, something the rest of the wikific authors can learn
[9:11:17 PM] Travis Touchdown: He's the main character, yeah, and he does a lot of cool shit
[9:11:23 PM] Travis Touchdown: but there's always someone better
[9:11:48 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: you don't have to be the best to be a good character
[9:12:17 PM] Travis Touchdown: exactly
[9:12:45 PM] Travis Touchdown: and I think that's an important thing for those kids to understand
[9:12:47 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: what if i mstd some wiki fic
[9:12:52 PM] Travis Touchdown: you're never going to be the best
[9:13:00 PM] Travis Touchdown: ever, that's the harsh reality of things
[9:13:05 PM] Travis Touchdown: but there's nothing /wrong/ with that
[9:13:06 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: [ash ketchum voice] god fucking dammit
[9:13:29 PM] Travis Touchdown: your friends and your trials and tribulations are what make you strong
[9:13:48 PM] Travis Touchdown: and as long as you learn from all the lessons you're encountered with and always better yourself
[9:14:05 PM] Travis Touchdown: you can find that it's not a bad thing to be second best to somebody else
[9:14:12 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: maybe i'll write something about how being the very best sucks ass
[9:14:24 PM] Travis Touchdown: you'll find that you don't have to be the greatest to be great
[9:14:38 PM] Travis Touchdown: and you don't have to have it all to be happy
[9:14:46 PM] Travis Touchdown: my ambitions are very humble
[9:14:48 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to write
[9:15:01 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to be a writer and a techie
[9:15:10 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to fix people's problems and make things to make them happy.
[9:15:21 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to settle down with someone I love and live the best life I can.
[9:15:22 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: a noble goal
[9:15:26 PM] Travis Touchdown: I don't want fame, or fortune
[9:15:31 PM] Travis Touchdown: I don't want to be rich
[9:15:34 PM] Travis Touchdown: I don't want any of that


You can have a main character without them being the strongest.
You can have a side character that's better than your main.
You can show how flawed the main character is, even if he/she's based on yourself. Acknowledging flaws- and yes, you do have them- is the first step to fixing them.
You can criticize yourself without hating yourself.
You can criticize other people without being mean.

I know that for you guys, Userpedia writing is typically a "just for fun" thing. And I get that. I see the appeal in writing stories where my author avatar is this all-powerful beast and all my friends are super awesome too and we beat up internet vandals and bad guys.

But here's a reality check: that's not how the real world works.

There will always be somebody better than you. You will never be the best.

But that's...not a bad thing. At all.

If anything, it's good. You have reason to better yourself. And as long as you keep working, you'll be a happy person.

Maybe one of the people reading this has more ambition than I do. That's fine. I wish you luck, there. But you will never be the absolute best, have absolute power, absolute knowledge...and if you make it where your fictional representations are all like that, you'll do some comparisons and come out feeling inferior to yourself.

Don't do that.

It's okay to have strong main characters. But make sure they're not the strongest. Don't let them be Mary Sues.
It's okay to depict yourself and your friends in stories against virtual vandals. Why not? It's fun. It's what Userpedia was made for.

But self-improvement is the state of the human race, and it should also be the state of anyone who takes writing even remotely seriously. Even the people who don't want to do this professionally- don't you want to make something good? That people will praise and enjoy? Writing for fun is fun and I've never stopped having fun doing this, and while bettering yourself may not look fun on the surface, actually doing it is like nothing else.

Don't settle for less. You deserve better than that.

I'm saying this because, in all honesty, Project 132 is likely going to be my actual last fic on Userpedia. I'm getting older, now. I'm nearly an adult. There's a point where I'm going to have to leave this place behind, and it's looming ever closer.

Don't worry, I'll finish Project 132 and it's going to be my greatest work yet. I can promise you that. You have plenty to look forward to if you enjoy my fics.

But I feel that I have to leave something behind, for you guys just starting on Userpedia or you guys who've been there for a while. People reading and writing and spriting and all that.

When I leave Userpedia- and I will, one day, permanently- I want to know that I've left behind a site that's thriving and active, where everyone's making excellent work and improving themselves and helping others improve.

Maybe this won't make much of a difference, but I believe that effort means everything when it comes to stuff like this. And it never, never hurts to try, even if you don't make it anywhere.

 

[YE360]

Why doesn't everyone know this?

 

[Nabber]

The best thing to do is probably just exclude yourself from the story unless you have a reason to put yourself in it, that is, so you can understand the character's personality better.

 

[Random Blue]

As the other person in the skype convo (but my skype name is carcinoGeneticist now), i agree with all of this. On other sites about posting fiction, people will and have made guides about writing and how to handle characters properly, and I think one is long overdue here. So, Tabuu, good luck with Project 132, and I know it's going to be badass.

 

[Glowsquid]

I'm glad you're fighting the good fight to maintain Userpedia's tradition of reputable literary classics

 

[Daniel Dyce]

I'm glad you're fighting the good fight to maintain Userpedia's tradition of reputable literary classics

I love you glowsquid

 

[Contra(dictory)]

I'm glad you're fighting the good fight to maintain Userpedia's tradition of reputable literary classics

It doesn't have those and I don't expect it to. But people can make some good shit on this platform before they go off to do better things.

Userpedia is a wonderful starting point.

The best thing to do is probably just exclude yourself from the story unless you have a reason to put yourself in it, that is, so you can understand the character's personality better.

Userpedia is the perfect training ground for storytelling. Using your author avatar's not a bad thing at all, if done right.

In fact, author avatars in mainstream fiction isn't even a bad thing- but it's the execution that makes all the difference.

 

[Brock]

Gary was the very best. Just look how that turned out.

Gary was here, Ash is a loser. R.I.P. Raticate.

 

[Daniel Dyce]

[9:10:40 PM] Travis Touchdown: I try to stay away from being egotistic with my fics.
[9:10:49 PM] Travis Touchdown: Tabuu gets defeated. A lot.
[9:11:02 PM] Travis Touchdown: He's never the Hero who defeats the Big Bad.
[9:11:14 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: once again, something the rest of the wikific authors can learn
[9:11:17 PM] Travis Touchdown: He's the main character, yeah, and he does a lot of cool shit
[9:11:23 PM] Travis Touchdown: but there's always someone better
[9:11:48 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: you don't have to be the best to be a good character
[9:12:17 PM] Travis Touchdown: exactly
[9:12:45 PM] Travis Touchdown: and I think that's an important thing for those kids to understand
[9:12:47 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: what if i mstd some wiki fic
[9:12:52 PM] Travis Touchdown: you're never going to be the best
[9:13:00 PM] Travis Touchdown: ever, that's the harsh reality of things
[9:13:05 PM] Travis Touchdown: but there's nothing /wrong/ with that
[9:13:06 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: [ash ketchum voice] god fucking dammit
[9:13:29 PM] Travis Touchdown: your friends and your trials and tribulations are what make you strong
[9:13:48 PM] Travis Touchdown: and as long as you learn from all the lessons you're encountered with and always better yourself
[9:14:05 PM] Travis Touchdown: you can find that it's not a bad thing to be second best to somebody else
[9:14:12 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: maybe i'll write something about how being the very best sucks ass
[9:14:24 PM] Travis Touchdown: you'll find that you don't have to be the greatest to be great
[9:14:38 PM] Travis Touchdown: and you don't have to have it all to be happy
[9:14:46 PM] Travis Touchdown: my ambitions are very humble
[9:14:48 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to write
[9:15:01 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to be a writer and a techie
[9:15:10 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to fix people's problems and make things to make them happy.
[9:15:21 PM] Travis Touchdown: I want to settle down with someone I love and live the best life I can.
[9:15:22 PM] BYAKUYA "YOUNG MONEY" TOGAMI: a noble goal
[9:15:26 PM] Travis Touchdown: I don't want fame, or fortune
[9:15:31 PM] Travis Touchdown: I don't want to be rich
[9:15:34 PM] Travis Touchdown: I don't want any of that


You can have a main character without them being the strongest.
You can have a side character that's better than your main.
You can show how flawed the main character is, even if he/she's based on yourself. Acknowledging flaws- and yes, you do have them- is the first step to fixing them.
You can criticize yourself without hating yourself.
You can criticize other people without being mean.

I know that for you guys, Userpedia writing is typically a "just for fun" thing. And I get that. I see the appeal in writing stories where my author avatar is this all-powerful beast and all my friends are super awesome too and we beat up internet vandals and bad guys.

But here's a reality check: that's not how the real world works.

There will always be somebody better than you. You will never be the best.

But that's...not a bad thing. At all.

If anything, it's good. You have reason to better yourself. And as long as you keep working, you'll be a happy person.

Maybe one of the people reading this has more ambition than I do. That's fine. I wish you luck, there. But you will never be the absolute best, have absolute power, absolute knowledge...and if you make it where your fictional representations are all like that, you'll do some comparisons and come out feeling inferior to yourself.

Don't do that.

It's okay to have strong main characters. But make sure they're not the strongest. Don't let them be Mary Sues.
It's okay to depict yourself and your friends in stories against virtual vandals. Why not? It's fun. It's what Userpedia was made for.

But self-improvement is the state of the human race, and it should also be the state of anyone who takes writing even remotely seriously. Even the people who don't want to do this professionally- don't you want to make something good? That people will praise and enjoy? Writing for fun is fun and I've never stopped having fun doing this, and while bettering yourself may not look fun on the surface, actually doing it is like nothing else.

Don't settle for less. You deserve better than that.

I'm saying this because, in all honesty, Project 132 is likely going to be my actual last fic on Userpedia. I'm getting older, now. I'm nearly an adult. There's a point where I'm going to have to leave this place behind, and it's looming ever closer.

Don't worry, I'll finish Project 132 and it's going to be my greatest work yet. I can promise you that. You have plenty to look forward to if you enjoy my fics.

But I feel that I have to leave something behind, for you guys just starting on Userpedia or you guys who've been there for a while. People reading and writing and spriting and all that.

When I leave Userpedia- and I will, one day, permanently- I want to know that I've left behind a site that's thriving and active, where everyone's making excellent work and improving themselves and helping others improve.

Maybe this won't make much of a difference, but I believe that effort means everything when it comes to stuff like this. And it never, never hurts to try, even if you don't make it anywhere.

this message has been is brought to you by the god of userpedia fiction

 

[Glowsquid]

Userpedia is a wonderful starting point.

Places to showcase original writing and writer advice forums are dime-a-dozen though. Budding writers would be better off practicing by writing anything that... isn't Mariowiki fanfiction, don't you agree?

 

[Contra(dictory)]

am I not allowed to make a genuine, heartfelt attempt at giving advice to the younger/less experienced?

because if so whoa my bad

apparently I can't try to be a nice guy without having a god complex

Userpedia is a wonderful starting point.

Places to showcase original writing and writer advice forums are dime-a-dozen though. Budding writers would be better off practicing by writing anything that... isn't Mariowiki fanfiction, don't you agree?

Self-inserts in fanfiction is typically frowned upon. Fanfiction itself is typically frowned upon, too, and it's usually easier to write a fanfic than to make your own wholly original thing.

However, I think that Userpedia presents the perfect platform for this kind of thing. The critics you'd have here wouldn't be too harsh, and self-inserts are a great step towards learning characterization. You know yourself, your family and friends the best- once you start depicting them in fiction, you'll also learn how to depict other people and your own unique characters.

Having a template to base your world off is a-okay in Userpedia, too- New Wikisburg and all that is a great starting place. But I see a lot of people making their own subversions of it or even creating their own places that are completely original, even though users and familiar wiki aspects may be featured in them. Maybe the other places would be better for self-improvement, but this is a place where you can have fun while doing that, where it doesn't seem like a hell of a lot of work with little reward.

 

[Daniel Dyce]

am I not allowed to make a genuine, heartfelt attempt at giving advice to the younger/less experienced?

because if so whoa my bad

apparently I can't try to be a nice guy without having a god complex

No you can't because every so often your ego gets ahead of you and you make a topic like this so that everybody can praise how smart you are and can listen to you because you crave attention

 

[Contra(dictory)]

am I not allowed to make a genuine, heartfelt attempt at giving advice to the younger/less experienced?

because if so whoa my bad

apparently I can't try to be a nice guy without having a god complex

No you can't because every so often your ego gets ahead of you and you make a topic like this so that everybody can praise how smart you are and can listen to you because you crave attention

uh huh

yup giving advice is sure egotistic

it's not like I think lowly of myself as a writer and person and think I'm overshadowed by a hell of a lot of people- I'm nowhere near second-best or the best

but no guys nevermind anything I've said in this thread

nothing I said was valid because Tabuu said it and Tabuu has a raging God complex that he can't keep in check

EDIT: I don't crave attention, but I actually would like if people read the opening post of the thread
because I actually do think it's good advice

 

[Daniel Dyce]

am I not allowed to make a genuine, heartfelt attempt at giving advice to the younger/less experienced?

because if so whoa my bad

apparently I can't try to be a nice guy without having a god complex

No you can't because every so often your ego gets ahead of you and you make a topic like this so that everybody can praise how smart you are and can listen to you because you crave attention

nothing I said was valid because Tabuu said it and Tabuu has a raging God complex that he can't keep in check

you hit the nail right on the head

 

[Rocker64]

There will always be somebody better than you. You will never be the best.

I thought I would drop in and mention this is bullshit, there is someone who is the best with no one better than them. There has to be someone at the top, that is how it works.

In all seriousness, I do think this is great advice though.