=====PREFACE=====
preface - the introductory remarks of a speaker or introduction of an author, usually explaining the object and scope of what follows
This is, obviously, the preface. Yeah. Well, this is likely going to be the most boring part of this story (with the possible exception of the story itself), so I suppose it would be in my best interest to get it over with quickly, before one of the readers decides to bomb my house for boring them to death. This is by no means my first attempt at a MegaMan-style (from now on MM) fanfic, but it's the first that I've actually been crazy enough to upload. So please, bear with me and my abominable writing skills.
Now that I'm done insulting myself, it's time to get down to the real purpose of a preface. The fanfic I'm writing is, as you may have noticed, set in the MegaMan X (from now on MMX) era. I have assigned actual dates to the years when I bother to specify the year, since "21XX" just plain isn't going to cut it for this work. Yes, I like nitty-gritty details. So sue me.
Somebody is, inevitably, going to whine about me using non-canon characters. Canon characters are characters who actually appeared in the game/show/anime/whatever that the author of a fanfic (or somebody who's referring to a modification of a series) is writing about. For example, X and Zero are canon characters. Bob The Talking Met From Mars would not be a canon character. To those of you who think I shouldn't use any non-canon characters: tough. Live with it. If you don't like the usage of original characters, maybe you should--dare I say it?--just not read stories that use them.
This is going to be quite a long story. Horridly long, most likely. Updates can be expected once a week. No, I'm not going to work my rear off just to churn out a chapter a day, because I'm doing this for my own enjoyment, not a living. This is not for people who like light, 5-minute reads.
Now, onto the issue of criticism. Constructive criticism is welcome. Flames and insults without reasoning are not. However, it has come to my attention that some of the people who have apparently 'skipped' the simple skill of learning the meanings of the words 'constructive' and 'criticism'. For their benefit, I have provided the definition of those two words:
constructive - promoting improvement or development
criticism - the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature
So, constructive criticism would not look like this (an example of what people who have 'skipped' learning the definitions of such simple terms often do): "omfgzz! u r dum! dat was sucks! lolololol!!!111!!!!11!one"
Or, there is the occasional intelligent flamer (although some might argue that is a contradiction in terms), who looks something like this: "Ugh, that was the WORST thing I've read in a long time. If you're going to write, at least do a good job. Better yet, DON'T write at all. That was so bad I doubt you COULD write anything good."
Those are both something we like to call flames. They are written by immature, self-centered people with intellects akin to those of children. They are NOT constructive criticism. This is an example of constructive criticism: "Eh, not the best thing I've ever read. For one, you spent way to long on descriptions, and quite a few of your scenes were rather cliché and unoriginal. Also, try and work a bit on grammar and spelling."
That last one was an example of constructive criticism. The first two were flames, one by a moron, one by somebody who's just immature. Well, that concludes my bad attempt at humor and futile effort to prevent flames. Now, onto more of the 'good' stuff.
Back on topic (there was a topic?), I might as well give a general idea as to the layout of my fanfic. In other words, how it's written. The prologue (and perhaps epilogue, if I bother to write one) is written in first- person, from the point of view of one of the characters in my fanfic, who may or may not be a canon character. Feel free to guess. If I do include an epilogue, it will become obvious then.
I am a firm believer in grammar. Meaning there will be all those fancy grammatical objects that many fanfic writers choose to love out-you know, quotation marks, commas, and periods-that kind of stuff. The story itself is written in the Third Person Perfect Limited Omniscient. Big term, huh? Basically, it means it's not told from anybody's point of view in particular, talks in the past tense, can discuss events at any locations, and may occasionally portray the thoughts of some characters. The exception to this is in the prologue (and possibly epilogue), which is written in the First Person Present Limited. Don't worry, those fancy terms will become clear as you read. Assuming you want to waste your time doing so.
And now, the preface is finally over. If you managed to get through that, you're probably up to the challenge of reading the fanfic itself.
preface - the introductory remarks of a speaker or introduction of an author, usually explaining the object and scope of what follows
This is, obviously, the preface. Yeah. Well, this is likely going to be the most boring part of this story (with the possible exception of the story itself), so I suppose it would be in my best interest to get it over with quickly, before one of the readers decides to bomb my house for boring them to death. This is by no means my first attempt at a MegaMan-style (from now on MM) fanfic, but it's the first that I've actually been crazy enough to upload. So please, bear with me and my abominable writing skills.
Now that I'm done insulting myself, it's time to get down to the real purpose of a preface. The fanfic I'm writing is, as you may have noticed, set in the MegaMan X (from now on MMX) era. I have assigned actual dates to the years when I bother to specify the year, since "21XX" just plain isn't going to cut it for this work. Yes, I like nitty-gritty details. So sue me.
Somebody is, inevitably, going to whine about me using non-canon characters. Canon characters are characters who actually appeared in the game/show/anime/whatever that the author of a fanfic (or somebody who's referring to a modification of a series) is writing about. For example, X and Zero are canon characters. Bob The Talking Met From Mars would not be a canon character. To those of you who think I shouldn't use any non-canon characters: tough. Live with it. If you don't like the usage of original characters, maybe you should--dare I say it?--just not read stories that use them.
This is going to be quite a long story. Horridly long, most likely. Updates can be expected once a week. No, I'm not going to work my rear off just to churn out a chapter a day, because I'm doing this for my own enjoyment, not a living. This is not for people who like light, 5-minute reads.
Now, onto the issue of criticism. Constructive criticism is welcome. Flames and insults without reasoning are not. However, it has come to my attention that some of the people who have apparently 'skipped' the simple skill of learning the meanings of the words 'constructive' and 'criticism'. For their benefit, I have provided the definition of those two words:
constructive - promoting improvement or development
criticism - the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature
So, constructive criticism would not look like this (an example of what people who have 'skipped' learning the definitions of such simple terms often do): "omfgzz! u r dum! dat was sucks! lolololol!!!111!!!!11!one"
Or, there is the occasional intelligent flamer (although some might argue that is a contradiction in terms), who looks something like this: "Ugh, that was the WORST thing I've read in a long time. If you're going to write, at least do a good job. Better yet, DON'T write at all. That was so bad I doubt you COULD write anything good."
Those are both something we like to call flames. They are written by immature, self-centered people with intellects akin to those of children. They are NOT constructive criticism. This is an example of constructive criticism: "Eh, not the best thing I've ever read. For one, you spent way to long on descriptions, and quite a few of your scenes were rather cliché and unoriginal. Also, try and work a bit on grammar and spelling."
That last one was an example of constructive criticism. The first two were flames, one by a moron, one by somebody who's just immature. Well, that concludes my bad attempt at humor and futile effort to prevent flames. Now, onto more of the 'good' stuff.
Back on topic (there was a topic?), I might as well give a general idea as to the layout of my fanfic. In other words, how it's written. The prologue (and perhaps epilogue, if I bother to write one) is written in first- person, from the point of view of one of the characters in my fanfic, who may or may not be a canon character. Feel free to guess. If I do include an epilogue, it will become obvious then.
I am a firm believer in grammar. Meaning there will be all those fancy grammatical objects that many fanfic writers choose to love out-you know, quotation marks, commas, and periods-that kind of stuff. The story itself is written in the Third Person Perfect Limited Omniscient. Big term, huh? Basically, it means it's not told from anybody's point of view in particular, talks in the past tense, can discuss events at any locations, and may occasionally portray the thoughts of some characters. The exception to this is in the prologue (and possibly epilogue), which is written in the First Person Present Limited. Don't worry, those fancy terms will become clear as you read. Assuming you want to waste your time doing so.
And now, the preface is finally over. If you managed to get through that, you're probably up to the challenge of reading the fanfic itself.