Conquering Writer's Block

Chapter One: Writer versus Reviewer


Author's Note

EDIT: I changed the setting from Los Angeles, CA to San Diego, CA. Sorry, but I'm not revealing my reasons just yet.

Check it out, I made a Nanoha fic! It's pretty amazing that this only took a couple of days to complete, even though most of those couple of days were spent conceiving the idea.

So then, I should probably tell you a little bit about this story before you start. Nothing integral to the plot, and no real spoilers, just some things that may make or break your interest in this story.

First off, the beginning of this chapter is based on a conversation I had with a person whose story I reviewed. Not really important to you guys, I'm sure, but it's just a little tidbit that I figured you might find intriguing.

Second off, Fate is going to be a serious tomboy in this story, wearing boyish clothes, playing basketball with just about anyone she can (and almost always winning), and just having a boyish aura, despite her feminine appearance. Despite all that, however, she is a writer for this very site (I'm sort of breaking the fourth wall, aren't I?), and she writes about romance and the like. It's like she has two different sides.

And third, the one that will most likely be the decision point for most of you, is that the pairing is not NanoFate. The pairing should be pretty obvious by the end of this chapter, as well as the character settings, so I won't say anything more on the matter.

I think that's about it, actually, so I'll see you in the (shorter) bottom author's note!


Furious clacking noises resounded through the small apartment, stopping every once in a while, only to be replaced with the sound of fingers angrily drumming on a desk. Burgundy eyes stared at a laptop screen in annoyance, watching as the pixels in its lower right corner were once again lit up with a white box, signifying yet another email notification. Sighing in frustration, the blonde owner of the laptop moved her index finger across the mouse pad to click on the little popup window before it went away, causing a mid-sized window to pop up in the middle of the screen. The subject header was interesting enough, considering the sender, but when she read through the entire short message in a mere half a second, she grimaced in annoyance.

Subject: Review: Summer Romance

From: FanFiction

I Forgot My Password,

A new review has been posted to your story

Story: Summer Romance

Chapter 10: Corruption

From: Naru-tan

Reply

Sweet story, update soon

Burgundy eyes closed as a frustrated sigh escaped the blonde's slightly-parted lips, every fiber of her being wishing that she would just get a constructive review at least once a week. But no, it seemed like the only reviews she ever got were things like, "I like this, keep it up," or, "Awesome, please update soon," with the latter being particularly annoying when they happened right after she updated, which happened to be the case this time.

Come on, I just updated, like, an hour ago, the girl thought, her eyes snapping open in slight anger as she looked at the screen, only to find another review popping up in the corner of the screen. The blonde always believed in giving reviews a chance, however, and so she clicked on the little popup, reading the review with what soon turned from barely-restrained anger to actual fascination.

Subject: Review: Summer Romance

From: FanFiction

I Forgot My Password,

A new review has been posted to your story

Story: Summer Romance

Chapter 1: Lady Killer

From: Reinforce Haya

Reply

Damn, I wasn't planning to be so drawn in by this... I was planning to read this chapter to decide if I cared enough to keep reading later, then go write on my own stories. Well, I guess life doesn't always go as planned, so I might as well just go with it.

Anyway, let's get to the actual review, shall we? Also, if you plan on responding (Which is unlikely, considering the number of reviews you have for this story already), please wait until I've finished reading what you have out so far. I'm a fast reader, so it won't take too long, but I'll probably only make one other review after this, and that one will be for your newest chapter.

First off, I'll discuss the grammar. I'm honestly quite surprised that, at first glance, I didn't see anything worth nitpicking over. If I ever reread this story, I probably will, but I guess I was just too hooked to notice anything wrong with it. This sucks, since I'm a beta, and I'm supposed to catch these things immediately. But hey, this only goes to show how good you are, since you drew a grammar Nazi in enough to get her to not see anything, if there was anything to be seen to begin with.

Second, I'll discuss the idea…

This message has been truncated due to length. To view in full, please visit site.

The overall intelligence of the review surprised the blonde; never in a million years did she expect such a thought-out review to come so soon after an update, and on top of that, not be ass-kissing like almost all of her other reviews. She almost immediately clicked on the reply button, eager to see the rest of the review, and when the new tab loaded, she was pleasantly surprised to see that there was much more to it. She found where she left off, then continued reading from there.

Second, I'll discuss the idea. While I normally don't read yuri stories that have something like this as the premise, something drew me in. Well, I can't really say much yet, as I still have yet to see anything truly mind-blowing, in a good or bad way. This kind of plot has been used, but not so much that it's cliché, which explains why it's so popular. The fans of your story saw something they may have at least heard of before, yet not enough so that it turned them away with thoughts like, "Been there, read that."

Lastly, I'll assess the execution. Just like with my previous paragraph, I feel I should say that I actually can't judge this very much without reading the next chapter, or all of the ones out so far, for that matter. But, from this chapter alone, I see a very good execution of a good, if slightly used, idea. I haven't come across something that I haven't seen elsewhere, but I'll be honest with you; most of the places where I've seen similar ideas were done much more poorly than what you have here. So, kudos for making it into my top ten list for execution of good ideas.

Anyway, I'm sorry for making such a long-winded review. The next will go by the same structure, though I might be a bit more critical depending on if the story has improved, stayed the same, or maybe even gotten worse. And, if you want to respond, I urge you to wait until I've finished with what you have out.

See you in my next review.

Burgundy eyes shined with excitement as the blonde smiled broadly, trying her best not to squeal out in joy at the revelation that some of her readers still actually put thought into reviewing. It was a very rare sight indeed to see a review as well-thought out at this, and the anticipation of the next review from this "Reinforce Haya" was making the poor girl go crazy.

But, unfortunately for the blonde, the publishing of a ten-thousand word chapter that she had just finished at one in the morning, combined with an hour of trying her damnedest to work on the next one and opening emails of all kinds from FanFiction, had left her quite worn out. A yawn escaped her lips, and she soon found her burgundy eyes getting harder and harder to keep open. She knew she couldn't fight the dreaded devil known as sleep much longer, and so, she shut her laptop and took it off of her lap, getting up from her comfortable reclining desk chair and slowly walking up to her bed through the darkness.

When the blonde reached her bed, she immediately collapsed onto the soft memory foam mattress, her ruby eyes slowly closed as she shifted until she had somehow gotten under the covers. She thought one last thing before she fell into unconsciousness, a happy smile on her face.

I really hope this Reinforce Haya girl likes the rest of my story… I really want to see another review from her… hopefully, she'll have reviewed in the morning.

With that, the FanFiction writer known as Fate Testarossa fell into a deep sleep, one filled with blissful dreams of conversing with intelligent reviewers.


Sapphire eyes slowly fluttered open, only to immediately shut tightly as a ray of incredibly bright sunlight fell directly onto them, nearly blinding the poor owner of the eyes in the process. Propping herself up with her left arm, her right covering her eyes, the girl slowly sat up in her queen-sized bed, deciding to chance it and open her eyes once more. Greeting her was a room she barely recognized due to the lack of any personal items or furniture other than her bed. It was really no surprise, though; she had just moved to this house with her family the day before, and they hadn't unpacked much of anything just yet other than the necessities.

The girl grabbed her phone from its spot by her pillow, unplugging it from its charger and watching the phone light up with her reflection, a nifty little feature that she got in the phone's app store. Her chocolate-brown hair, which came down to her shoulders, looked to be in serious need of washing. She hadn't showered in days, what with the stress of moving from Tokyo, Japan to San Diego, California, and the dullness of her normally-lustrous brown hair showed it as clear as day.

And yet, despite her substandard appearance, the only thing she wanted to do was check for a response from the author whose work, Summer Romance, had taken a special spot in her heart. It hit so close to home, with the plot so far almost feeling like it had been a page torn directly from her life story, making her get more and more involved in it, despite the sad mood it carried throughout each chapter.

It's almost like it's the events of last year's summer vacation in her point of view, the brunette thought, slowly arising from her bed as she unlocked her phone. The only real difference is that the main and supporting characters are from my favorite anime instead of her and I…

Shaking her head vigorously, the girl snapped herself out of her reverie before any depressing thoughts could come of it, opening her email app and checking it for messages from FanFiction. In her first review to Summer Romance, she remembered focusing a bit on the idea being slightly used, but in reality, that wasn't the case; actually, the real reason she said it was to mask the fact that it hit close to home for her, connecting with her on an emotional level to the point of scaring her slightly.

About two hours after reviewing the first chapter the night before, the brunette had spent at least thirty minutes crafting a review that did its best to convey her feelings on the final chapter, which were very conflicted. On the one hand, the writing itself was beautiful; the most recent chapter had bumped this story up to the number one spot of her favorite stories list, even among non-fanfics. On the other, the chapter ended on a very sad note, which, combined with the author's note at the bottom telling that there wouldn't be an update for quite a while due to writer's block, made the already-disheartened brunette even more so.

Without even scrolling down, the girl found what she was looking for as soon as the app loaded: at the very top of her email list sat a PM from her new favorite author, I Forgot My Password, which had apparently arrived no more than fifteen minutes prior to the brunette waking up. When she opened the email, she was delighted to see that the subject header wasn't an angry one, but rather, a happy one instead.

Subject: PM: I Forgot My Password

From: FanFiction

You have received a message from:

I Forgot My Password

Reply

Wow, thank you! I don't usually see reviews that take the time to evaluate how I wrote something, so this was awesome of you to do and awesome for me to read. It's also pretty interesting how I got such high ending marks even though you're mad at the semi-conclusion, so I feel I should both thank you for still reviewing and apologize for making you wait.

As for my writer's block, I feel kind of guilty for saying that at this point… it was actually a half-lie. Sure, there's the fact that I can't write any further at the moment, but writer's block isn't actually the reason for that.

Anyway, thank you for sticking with it to what I'm sure we both hope isn't the end, and I'm glad I was able to read such an intelligent review. It's really cool to see someone who obviously knows their stuff give my story such high marks, and it's left me fired up— in the good way, of course!

As a parting note, I'm sorry if you spotted any typos in this message; I just woke up, so my mind is still a little fuzzy. Well, I guess that's it for now, so I'll see you when I see you!

As soon as the brunette finished reading the email from her phone, she hurriedly got out of bed, walking over to where she had left her laptop plugged in the night before. Opening the laptop up, she quickly typed in her password to unlock the piece of machinery. She noted that she had stopped for the night on her PM Inbox on FanFiction, so she pressed the control shortcut for the tab to reload, finding that there was indeed a PM from her new favorite author resting at the top.

Clicking on the link, the brunette waited for the page to reload, then reread the message to make sure she had read it right in the email she received. When she found that she had indeed read the email correctly, she smiled widely, ecstatic that she may have started forging a bond with this amazing author known as I Forgot My Password. Then, as the girl reread the message once more, something struck her as very strange.

If writer's block isn't the cause of her saying that there might not be any updates for a while, then what is the cause? The brunette known as Hayate Yagami thought, sapphire eyes sparkling with curiosity as she quickly began typing out a reply.


Seemingly only a few seconds after Fate exited the shower connected to her room, clothed in a black T-shirt, dark blue jean shorts, black, fingerless leather gloves, and a ruby necklace that brought out her eyes, she found her cell phone in the middle of vibrating, with an email notification lighting up the lock screen. The blonde walked over to her bed, grabbing the device and swiping across the screen where the email was without even looking at the subject header. She entered her phone's password to unlock it, the phone automatically navigating to the mail app, where it showed the email she had just seen.

Subject: PM: Reinforce Haya

From: FanFiction

You have received a message from:

Reinforce Haya

Reply

No problem; I always try not to leave one-liner reviews, as I'm always getting them myself, and I know first hand that they get really tiring, really fast. I'm glad my reviews were enjoyable to read, and I must thank you for responding so graciously, even though my last one was a bit harsh.

I'm sorry if I'm asking something too personal or something, but I am curious about one thing: if writer's block isn't what's holding you back from making more chapters, then what is? Again, I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds asking this, and you don't have to tell me if I am.

And as for your morning grammar, I'm pleased to announce that I didn't spot any mistakes, so you don't have to worry about that. You're a really good writer, and your grammar is flawless! I would offer to be your beta, but there's nothing to fix! It makes me wonder, though: do you already have a beta?

Fate smiled gently at the message, or more specifically, the thoughtfulness and consideration put into it, walking over to her closed laptop, opening it and typing in her password to unlock it. After a few seconds, she had navigated to her PM Inbox, clicking on the one at the top, which, obviously, was the one from Reinforce Haya.

Looks like I've made another online friend, the blonde thought happily, rereading the message before putting her hands – well, her two index fingers, to be precise – to the keyboard.


Almost immediately after exiting the shower and entering her room, clad in a white blouse, blue shorts and white running shoes, Hayate found her phone vibrating, an email notification lighting up the lock screen. Running over to her laptop, her sapphire eyes shone with anticipation as she checked her email inbox from there, finding another PM from I Forgot My Password.

Navigating back to her FanFiction PM Inbox tab on her other window, she refreshed the page, then right-clicked on the PM thread with her new favorite author, choosing to open the page in a new tab. She then clicked on said new tab, reading the PM for the first time on the site, rather than through her email.

Looks like you know the pain of having those one-liner reviews well, just as I do! I have a comrade! And no problem; I see getting worked up over things like that as a waste of energy, and besides, you've proven to be a really nice person, so I don't mind!

Don't worry about it; you'd have no way of knowing if it was a personal matter or not, and there's never any harm in asking, so it's fine. It is a bit personal, but I don't have any real trouble discussing it, since there's only one person who I wouldn't want to hear it, and she doesn't live in San Diego like I do. So, you said you were curious as to why, and I figure there's no harm in telling you, so…

You see, the story thus far is kind of based loosely off of a personal experience of mine, and the end of the most recent chapter pretty much ends that segment of my life. If I continue with this story, I would have to experience new things to give me new inspiration, and if I were to do that, I would probably end up changing the pairing, since the main character that represents me hasn't seen the person that the other main character in my story represents in quite a while. At this point, however, I don't think I could do that, since I'm still not over her…

Whew… you know, that was actually really refreshing to get off of my back, since I really haven't told this to anyone other than my roommate. Sorry if it bummed you out or something, but thanks for reading all the same.

By the end of the message, Hayate was in tears, the story having truly moved her, though not because of how sad it was; rather, the true reason she was so moved was because she had been through the same experience herself. She didn't think it that anyone else would have gone through what she did, and the fact that someone else did was a huge shock to the poor brunette. But then, another thing that this author said made its way into her thoughts, one that made her sapphire eyes glimmer with happiness as she looked up and out the window of her room.

She said that she lives in San Diego, Hayate thought, looking back to her laptop happily as she began to type out a reply. Maybe I could meet up with her!


"What'cha doing?" a cheery voice said, its owner walking into Fate's room, only to find the blonde tap-tap-tapping away at her laptop's keyboard, a wide grin on her face. "We were going to go play basketball in the court by our apartment, and you agreed to not write the entire day, remember?"

"Oh, but I'm not writing," Fate said, turning to her auburn-haired roommate with a gleam in her ruby eyes that nearly matched that of rubies themselves. "You see, Nanoha, I met a very thoughtful reviewer last night who reviewed the first and tenth chapters of Summer Romance, and we've been talking ever since."

"Well, you're a little too excited for it to just be about that," Nanoha commented, a smug look on her face as she leaned on her roommate's desk to get a better look at the blonde's laptop screen. "So, what's got you so happy, all of the sudden? You're usually all doom and gloom ever since last summer, so what is it that got you out of your funk?"

"Well," Fate started, her ruby eyes still showing an unusual amount of happiness for someone who had been in an emotional funk for almost a year. "I know you'll think I'm an idiom for agreeing to this, but she said that she lived in San Diego as well, and that she wants to meet me!"


Author's Note

So, what do you guys think of this chapter? I hope that, at the very least, this will give readers insight into the minds of FanFiction authors, who are always looking to see reviews that are thoughtful, not just one-liners.

Anyway, I'm very curious as to what those of you who read my other Nanoha fic, The Disappearance of Testarossa Fate, think of this new fic. If you read that and then read this, I'd love some feedback!

Well, I'll let you go for now, since I'm sure that everyone here other than me has a life to get back to. I'll just leave you with a disclaimer before you go.

I don't own the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series or anything I use from it!

See you next chapter! Ciao!