This isn’t really a template on how everyone should write. After all, everyone has their own style and preference. Some people rely on an outline; others would write plot summaries with word count a third of the story. There isn’t a right or wrong answer here. This is just how I do my writing, and I’m open to suggestions for ways to improve.

On the line between ‘plotter’ and ‘pantser,’ by my own admittance, I lean more on the pantser side. If you don’t know what I mean, a plotter is a technical writer who sets up an outline and character profile, which can be thick with information, before writing the story. In contrast, a pantser is the type who writes on the fly with only a thin, if any, setup. Of course, both styles have strengths and weaknesses, such as how a pantser would often lose track of the plot while a plotter’s prose would feel dry. But both are valid in ways to write a story.

Like I said, I’m more on the pantser side. However, that isn’t to say that I don’t know how the story will end because I generally have an idea of how it’ll end. In fact, I usually have a broad-stroke notion of how the story will go in my mind before writing it. But when I’m writing, I find myself adding ideas or even characters that I didn’t think I would put in. For example, in The Pokémon Prometheus stories, David the Zoroark wasn’t meant to be that prominent of the character. In fact, if you check out my notebooks where I first write it before typing it in, he first appears during the ‘hide the macro Faith the Vulpix’ part of the story, and he was nameless too. But then, partly due to Zoroark’s ability Illusion, I find myself adding him in more and more since it was so useful. So, when I typed it in, I added him in scenes and even created scenes for him to appear in (he wasn’t originally in the hospital scene, for example). And, perhaps as a consequence, I made Mayor Richard villainous since, in the original notebook, he was more bumbling and simply greedy. And that was his persona even when typing in the story until I wrote in: “After all, she wouldn’t be big enough for her to resist him with their help.” At that point, that’s when I realized what kind of character I should be writing Mayor Richard as, and I wrote him as such, even going back and adding in moments that made him more ominous. Though I still feel that I only got a proper grasp of his character in The Pokemon Prometheus: Maya’s Story (which is where I also have a better feel on Maya’s character), even if he only appeared for a moment.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing for The Pokémon Prometheus and later stories? It’s hard to say. All I know is it made what was originally a duo with Faith and Adrian into a trio with Faith, Adrian, and David, especially in The Pokémon Prometheus 2.

That isn’t to say that I don’t write outlines since I do at times. In fact, I feel that not starting with a strategy for A Massive Unwinding made writing it originally rougher to begin with. In part, the only thing I genuinely have a grasp on in the story is the final few dialogs when starting off, not the in-between. I’ve rewritten it a few times until I’m satisfied, partly because I realize how to use Ame’s artistic skills to good use in the story itself. I’m trying to create outlines so that I don’t make the same mistake again.

If you wonder how I generate such creative juices that allow me to think up stories in a broad stroke way, I think best when I’m walking. In fact, I would sometimes mutter to myself a tale I’m thinking of. Though that can be interrupted with a hypothetical discussion or debate with people I know. It’s the same when showering, though that tends to be more depressing and even self-loathing, so I don’t really rely on that. In fact, A Name More sprung up in my mind while walking one night, though it took me years to write it down. It went through several changes, such as how the original route that the werefox/Blondie and Mr. Tolle took to get from Australia to the United States was through Blondie hiding in some luggage during a flight. But when showing the heavily compressed story to college classmates, they don’t believe that he would survive the flight because it would be too cold/atmospheric pressure would be too much, etc. So that was why I went with a ship instead, even though it made the story longer.

As for writing it, I used to write the story down in notebooks, 8 by 5 inches for the short stories (and The Pokémon Prometheus since I didn’t think it would be that long) and 10.5 by 8 inches for the longer stories. I’ve changed to writing the rough draft on the computer since when writing The Pokémon Prometheus 2 on notebooks, I realized just how slow and impractical it would be going forward, especially since I’m a faster typer. To explain what I mean, I first started writing it sometime in the middle of August 2019 and finished in late July 2021 in four 10.5 by 8 inches notebooks. When I typed it in, the time it took for me to write was from August to November 2021. That’s a lot shorter, isn’t it?

Of course, I have a couple of hiatus writing it, but that’s beside the point.

I still kept the spirit alive by typing in a rough draft first, sending the file into my phone, setting it in the ReadEra app, and rewriting it again from reading it on my phone. The reason why I do that is because, while I do have an idea of how the story will go and end, I feel that rewriting it from the top will allow me to have a better grasp on the tale, making it consistent and even adding in some foreshadowing and such. To go back to A Name More, I was writing it by parts and rewriting them individually when originally writing it rather than having it all written down before rewriting it. It was necessary since it was also written for a class (incidentally, it was with the same teacher who I first wrote the heavily compressed A Name More, so it was also a bookend of a sort). While it did well, it was only at the fourth part, with Blondie leaving his refugee and home, the shower and mirror scene, and the discussion with Mr. Tolle is where I grasped the heart of the story. While I did add events and such to set it up, I still feel that if I was doing it my usual way, I would’ve made it more organic. Even so, I’m still happy with the result.

As for writing it, it’s a bit wobbly when scheduling it. To explain what I mean, one of my strategies when writing it is to go to work an hour or two early and write it there. For days off, I used to consider it an off day for writing, but since finishing The Pokémon Prometheus 2 in notebook form, I’ve been going to the library to write, so I generally write during the weekdays and have the weekend off, with some exceptions. I usually write for an hour or so, writing over a thousand words a day, unless I really want it done. I hope that I will write more with more hours with the move to Arkansas. As for why in the workplace and at a library, I find writing it at home too distracting. And while I’m aware of some mental tricks to help me, my house has been deeply ingrained into me to be a place to rest. But if you have any suggestions to improve my writing pace, please share them with me.

Once done and edited (whether by myself or with friends/dad), I send the copy to a number of my friends and see what they think. Of course, it’s not uncommon to see that only a few actually read it, even if it contains content they love. And I don’t begrudge them for that since we all have a life, and not all of us can drop everything to read it. But, at the same time, I feel disappointed, especially if it’s a story that is only three pages long (and tease me that they’re ‘halfway’ through as in have a link open but haven’t read it yet). Even so, I still won’t stop sending them my stories. I’m a pest that way.

And after all of that, I set them up to be posted. I post them on FA, DA, Weasyl, FN, and even Patreon (in fact, Patreon supporters can check out the rough draft if they’re interested). Though it’s sometimes convoluted since each website has its different story posting setup. Even with PostyBirb, it’s silly since I have to time the posts on DA and FN so that they’re posted around the same time as FA and Weasyl, and I’ve gotten distracted at times.

And boy, did this journal go on longer than I intended. Whoops. In any case, I hope you folks find it informative, and if you are writers as well, please share how you write.