Interlude - From the Writer's Point Of View

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

This isn't an actual chapter of the story but no chances will be taken.

I'm back! Kind of, just a little bit. There were a couple reasons why I left in the first place though, so let me explain that first.

First, making a fanfic was kind of a phase I went through after reading so many and being stuck in my own head for so long. Kind of the result of not socializing as much as I should have with my friends and instead focusing on imaginary stories that would, sadly and not sadly, not come true. So when that phase was over, i became disinterested in fanfiction as a whole, and kinda just left everything here without an explanation or even saying that I was gone, so I do apologize for leaving without warning.

Secondly, this was (and still is) my first and only story, so there were a lot of things I wanted to do and a lot of things I didn't want to do, which is part of why Shawn is the way he is, but we will get to that later.

This last reason is probably the biggest reason of all, which is why I might come back soon (i.e. 2 weeks maybe). Everything that is typed out, all 29k words that are in that story, were all typed on my phone, as I don't have a laptop. This made writing a chapter an excruciating process for me, and made everything take a million years. It single handedly made me want to just not want to type out a chapter, especially when I could be doing other, more entertaining things, like actually playing pokemon or doing something with friends and family.

So with all that said, what has changed now to make me want to come back?

Well, first off, I am in a whole new situation, where i live hours away from my family and friends, which makes fanfiction a lot more appealing as a source of entertainment, and writing is more than likely a better hobby than just playing video games.

Partly because of this situation, I am going to get a laptop or computer of my own soon, so I will actually be able to put out my ideas on paper without feeling like it takes forever.

So when I do get a piece of hardware to put my thoughts down on, fanfiction will likely come back into my brain, as it already has.

Now, onto the fic itself.

It was really just inspired by me reading a ton of fanfiction, and at the same time playing Pokemon Black. Pokemon has always been one of my favorite franchises, even from a very young age, so writing a story about it seemed very interesting to me. Especially after reading so many fics and seeing so many failed attempts or stories that just couldn't do it, it made me want to try my own and see how it went.

Obviously, it worked out a lot better than most people's fics do, at least while it lasted. However, there were a number of things readers like yourself complained about and had issues with, so I will address what I remember being chief complaints/things that were constantly pointed out to me.

Breaking Canon - My issue with this is not one as a person as much as it is a writer. This is my first fic ever, and I mean, EVER. So i really don't want to get into the complicated realm of pushing over a domino and changing everything or changing a lot about a character or the story, because i would have to do a lot to keep track of it and because i literally have no other writing experience, so I feel like I would have a hard time writing changed characters or changed stories. Maybe if I end up doing fanfictions as more of a hobby and write a few more stories then I will be more comfortable, but while I was writing the story, and now, it is a can of worms I don't want to open. This is why Shawn is the way he is in this regard - the part of him that doesn't want to interfere with canon is directly because I don't want to have to write a changed story in my first ever fic, so take that as you will.

Shawn - Shawn is also a blank slate of sorts because I don't fully know how to write a completely new character that hasn't been in anything but my imagination, so its hard for me to put traits to him without him being directly influenced by me, without him basically being me - so that's why he doesn't really have any defining character traits so far.

I wont respond to any reviews here since this isnt an actual chapter, but I will make a comment on a review I looked at, since I haven't checked anything on this website in forever. They said that my writing style is good but adding words to the story by putting in reviews in-chapter is a cheap trick. I appreciate the compliment, but when I started the fic I didn't really know another way to respond to reviews besides including them in the story. Looking back in retrospect, I could put my responses in a separate fic, but then that makes it a bit of a hassle to go back and forth between the reviews for the fic and the reviews for the fic that I would use to respond to the reviews. Yeah, that got complicated quick, but it could be a solution if I end up back on here.

The Pokemon - The very limited amount of pokemon I was originally set on (6) was because I did not want to have to write and keep track of so many pokemon, partly because it was my first ever writing, partly because it would take forever on my phone to write it all, and partly just because it sounded complicated. This would still be a problem if I came back, but not as bad since I would have a computer/laptop to type on instead of my phone.

On an unrelated note, if Uvuv looks at this little interlude of mine, I was not trying to call Jord a gary-stu character in my response to your review - I had responded to your comments about Jord and then I moved on to my opinion with writing Shawn and how I didnt want him to be a gary-stu. I can see how it looks on paper, but the intent was not to call jord a gary-stu. Just wanted to get that off my chest while im still writing.

So If I do come back, when will it be?

Likely if I decide to come back and write more, then there will be another chapter added by the end of September. If there is nothing by the end of September, then just assume fanfiction is not appealing to me anymore and I will be gone forever.

Coming back to what I said earlier before I go, would putting all my responses to reviews in another story be a good solution? Or should I continue to put my responses in this story? Let me know in the reviews, and also let me know, if I do come back, should I re-do this story or just continue from where I left off? Or should I start a whole new story in a whole different region? Let me know any of your thoughts down below, and I may see you soon.

Peace.