Greeting denizens of the internet, it is I Kallerston! Speaking (well being read by you) today to talk about how, and why I write.
If you are reading this then you have probably read my Fanfiction crossover 'Trainer to Huntsman' a crossover between the online series RWBY and the Pokémon video game franchise. If this is not why you are here, then welcome mysterious traveller to my humble abode on the internet.
The reason I am writing and subsequently posting this now is because by the time this is uploaded, my fanfiction (listed in the previous paragraph) will be going on indefinite hiatus. Now for most writers on this website, that would be that. They would say it's offline (even though they really mean cancelled) walk away from the computer and sit back in a chair with a cuppa watching TV. But I feel that my readers deserve more than that; so, I am using this opportunity to explain myself as well as give insight into my writing style and perhaps inspire future writers out there in the world.
I suppose I should start at the beginning.
How did I get into Fan Fiction?
Tom.
… I should probably explain more shouldn't I?
Tom is a friend of mine who I met in secondary school (a British combination of middle school and high school for my readers across the pond) who as you would guess reads Fanfiction. I learned this one day in late 2016 while we were on computers in a resource base we called 'The Fish Bowl' due to how glass windows were on all the walls exposing us to peeking Tom's (not my friend) on the adjacent corridor.
Regardless one day I noticed he was on . And since our school had banned resources like YouTube for students, I decided why not? And so, began my dive into my new hobby. And out of all the franchises I could have looked at, I chose… Mighty No.9.
And with that reveal I'm sure I've lost 99% of people reading this. I'm sure I don't have to explain why this is such a negative thing on the internet, but in a nutshell for those who don't know. Mighty No.9 was a game funded by Kickstarter, gone horribly, horribly wrong. I didn't back the game but I bought it, and I enjoyed my time with it. I haven't played it in a long time, but I didn't regret my purchase.
But back on topic: the story I ended up reading was called 'Mighty no 9: To Feel Again' by 'SapphireLibra3'. It was six chapters long, at the time (and still is, it hasn't been updated) and I enjoyed it. The grammar was good, the plot made sense, and I didn't feel like the characters were behaving out of character. It wasn't perfect but for my first ever Fan Fiction it was alright.
So, after a positive first impression I read more stories, well I said read, I meant skim. I suppose Fan Fiction isn't really the place to say this but I have certain standards when reading but then again, I liked Mighty No.9 so really, I might just be very specific in my tastes. Regardless time passed, until I found a story. A story that I passes on at first, but when boredom overcame me one day, I decided to give it a whirl and set me on the path to writing my own story.
That story was 'The Things We Do For Our Friends' by 'Chronoman'. The story is four chapters long, and hasn't been updated since April last year, the same month it was published but if you like my story, I recommend it. Like mine, it is a crossover between RWBY and Pokémon. This story was the first real story that I got genuinely invested in, it even converted me to a concept that up until that point I thought was just dumb 'talking Pokémon'. And if you've read my story then I bet it surprised you to read that just now. But still it was only four chapters and with no word on whether it was ever going to be updated again I was left in a state of limbo. If this writer wasn't going to update their story then what will I do. The answer was simple… Make my own.
The creation of 'Trainer to Huntsman'
Let me give new writers a word of warning. Coming up with a complete plot for a story… Is really freakin' difficult. The highlights are easy, ever since I was five I've daydreamed about my favourite characters going on adventures (it really makes you wonder why it took so long for me to start writing), but a full plot with characters and over arching storylines. It ain't easy.
I really didn't have much of a plot really, all I had was a vague idea of 'OC trainer enters Remnant. Meets Team RWBY. Hijinks ensue.' For proof of this, consider Kai's team in my story. Do you people know how long it took to come up with a complete team of six! All of the following were potential candidates to be on his team.
(Deep inhale!) Bisharp, Beedrill, Torterra, Sceptile, Banette, Cofagrigus, Braixen, Croagunk, Garchomp, Clawitzer, Boldore, Noibat, Rockruff, Snorlax, Dusknoir AND Gallade! And they're the one's that I can remember!
In fact, there's a good chance that my muddled thoughts would never have come together if it wasn't for one more story. One of the most well well-written, infuriating and important pieces of writing that I have ever read. This story was 'The Fairy Contender' by 'Insane Dominator'.
Me and this story have a weird relationship. On one hand; it does a lot of things that make me scratch me head and go why?! Making it difficult to read. On the other, it is an impressive written accomplishment, that raised the standard of Fan Fiction in my eyes and convinced me to try what would become one of my new favourite animes, despite my original negative impressions of it.
The story follows Nic Pularis an OC Pokémon Trainer from Kalos who is given a mission from Arceus itself to master the eighteen plates (I know there are only seventeen plates, roll with it) by travelling to the land of Fiore, otherwise known as the world of the anime Fairy Tail. And once there he writes himself into the main plot of the series taking centre stage, while affecting major arcs and characters.
And to me this was a great idea. All I had to do was replace Earthland with Remnant, Fiore with Vale and Bob's your uncle, Betty's your aunt, I finally had a plot. And this story also gave me inspiration in other areas. It's the reason my trainer is from Kalos, which let me choose his team based on the team I used when going through X and Y. And once I decided on Kalos, I thought I'd bring in Team Flare as antagonists to stop me from treading the same ground as the show.
The quality of the story itself aside whether it's a masterpiece or gutter waste. I owe a great deal of debt to this story and it's writer in helping to kickstart my fanfiction career, and getting me to enjoy Fairy Tail (which I know seems controversial to like the show on the internet these days, but you know what, I like it and that's all that matters) so if you readers gain nothing else from the inner machinations of my mind, please check out 'Insane Dominator' s other work.
But back to me and my story. I finally had a plot, I finally had a character and their team, and I thanks to writing out some practice stories I figured I had enough experience to write and publish my very own story on .
How I wrote my story
At this point it had been a little over a year since I first discovered . First and foremost, new writers, always write in order, because if you go ahead and write the bits you want to write, then you'll struggle to find the motivation to go back and write the stuff in-between. One of the main goals with my Fanfiction was to write chapters in bulk and release them weakly similar to an anime season. To put this in perspective, I officially began writing 'Trainer to Huntsman' on 'Sunday 17th September 2017' after writing thirteen chapters I published the first on 'Monday 19th February 2018' roughly five months.
I accomplished this and I began posting regularly every Monday until the sixth chapter, when I started posting on Sunday's and this was fine until I ran out of chapters because as some of you already know… I didn't exactly run out.
Instead in the time it took for me to publish thirteen chapters, I had written another fifteen. The reason for this, goes all the way back to me in school.
This year, the year I started writing I have been in my second and final year of sixth form college. Which for those who don't know is basically optional two year extension from secondary school to study longer and give yourself points to help get into a university.
And in Sixth Form or at the very least in my Sixth Form we get 'Study Periods' which us students commonly referred to them as 'Free's'. These 'Free Periods' were a one-hour lesson which we could do whatever we wanted in as long as it was on the school premises and as long as it was y'know, legal and stuff. The school encouraged us to study, and we did, we did. We weren't daft… But we didn't study all the time. Sometimes people played online games, other people abused proxy servers to get on school banned websites, and as for me, I spent some of these writing with great efficiency. So, remember kids stay in school, so you can spend your time writing for the internet.
And so, this year, I quite happily spent my time writing chapters for my story…
However, this all links back to the unfortunate reason I started writing this in the first place…
Why is the story going on hiatus?
I officially finished sixth form around the middle of June this year. From that point until now I have been on my summer holiday. You would think that would give me more time and incentive to write my story when in reality… It was the opposite.
I mentioned before how I wrote in my study periods. That was when I was writing pretty much all of the chapters. For some reason whether it's because I had nothing better, or it was the environment, or the Feng Shui or something. But I always felt compelled to write in those periods. So, without those periods I've been compelled to write less.
To put this in perspective in the time I started posting the new fifteen chapters to now. I have written one and two thirds of a chapter. That's it I'm sorry to say. I just can't force myself to write anymore. I suppose you can call this writers block, even though I know all the arcs, and plot points and developments in the story, I just can't… Write it down.
And that leaves one final question…
What now?
Right now… I'm taking a break from writing. Maybe when I start university my drive will come back. Maybe later, maybe not at all. I've also thought about other stories I could write but as I mentioned before, all I have are ideas and highlights. Not a plot.
So… Yeah… Sorry to do this to you all. But I guess while I'm here…
Thank You!
I just want to give my deepest appreciation and heartfelt thanks to you! The readers. As well as the 126 followers and 105 favourites of 'Trainer to Huntsman' You may be small, but the reviews you give and the activity I see really make this feel worthwhile. And while I'm here I may as well give my personal thanks to the following:
· Jyoster-One of the first people to review my story even all the way back at the beginning. Your weekly reviews always made me smile when I saw them.
· The Qrow-You may have read only two chapters before you quit but I still appreciate the constructive criticism you gave me. I hope to make use of it in future writing.
· Gamerlover41592-Your constant stream of positive reviews is appreciated.
· Lots of everything-I only discovered this recently but you put my story in a community with similar stories. I feel a little honoured.
· ClearwingYuta + kingdomkeymaster97 + jtopel + tardisdr323 + danplugger + shadowmwape + Toy2711 + kurokitsune028 + dragonbane552 + doublegengar05-You people who have not only liked my story but are also following me as an author. I can only hope to create more content in the future that you'll all like.
And last but not least—
· Greatness123-Not only for your consistent reviews but apparently, I helped inspire you to write your own story. You're still a little rough around the edges but I see a lot of potential, I'm sorry for being negative though I promise I'll be more positive in the future. Keep up the good work and I hope my readers seeing your name will give your story a shot while mine is on hiatus.
So that's it. I've made my peace. But if I can say one last thing before I go. It's that if I have inspired any of you to start writing, or if any of you are considering it. START! Don't be afraid to publish, don't be afraid to put your soul into a word document! It could begin something great! And if I learn that my story has inspired other people to write… Well then…
Guess I must have been doing something write. (Get it. It's write instead of rig- I'm just gonna stop now).
'Because a universe without stories… well, that's just empty space, amigo.'
~ Vic (Red vs Blue Season 14, Episode 24)