Not So Frequently Asked Questions
- When will the next chapter of How to Write an Aeris Resurrection Fic be done?
Both Chapters 13 and 14 are complete! However, although combined, they're the size of a telephone book, to be honest, they also both suck spectacularly, so I'm waiting for my beta reader to hack them to pieces before I subject you to them.
As for Chapter 15...probably some time before the Earth explodes.
If you want to know when the next chapter will be out, just e-mail me at [email protected] or PM me with your fanfiction.net account, and I'll write to you when I post a chapter here.
- How do you pronounce "Jycellaemynthia"?
Listerine.
Seriously, as I said in Chapter 4, I imagine it as Ji (as in "git")-cell-ay-myn-thia (rhymes with Cynthia. I suppose that if you pronounced it phonetically, it would probably sound different (Jye-cell-ay-mynthia or something), but the pronunciation is completely arbitrary.
Oh yeah, and Jycei = Ji-say. Or Hexadecimal, whichever one you prefer.
- Whatever happened to Shattered Flowers for My Beloved? When are you going to update it?
Well, due to the poor reception of her first chapter ("A joke? What are all these reviewers talking about? Can it be that the stupid, unenlightened masses don't take my masterpiece seriously?"), Jycellaemynthia had lost her motivation to continue, so she had decided to put Shattered Flowers for My Beloved on hiatus until her ego healed. However, after much soul-searching, she has finally realized that those reviewers were all misguided, and posted Chapters 2 and 3! She is hard at work on Chapter 4, which may or may not be finished by April 1st, 2007, depending on whether or not Evil Mina gets around to writing something in a year's time...I mean, depending on how many nice reviews Jycei gets.
- How come you've only written three fics, you pathetic slacker?
Basically, it's because I'm a lazy ass. If you want a more specific answer, then it's because I have a bad habit of writing over two thousand words of something, then either lacking the motivation to continue it, or realizing that it's horribly ill-conceived and poorly executed. An additional problem is that it's especially hard to think of ideas for comedy fics or things to parody (as for me trying to write serious fics...it's not a pretty sight).
But I do have ideas, and a few half-started fics saved on my hard drive that may actually go somewhere. However, none of them are for Final Fantasy VII fanfiction parodies (which is probably the fandom you're into if you're actually reading this), because I'm kind of parodied out when it comes to FF7.
- I wrote an ARF. Am I doomed to hell for all eternity?
Don't worry, it is perfectly possible to write a very good Aeris Resurrection Fic, if you can think of a plausible reason for how Aeris comes back to life, keep everyone in character, and find a way to avoid the cliches of the genre. Most of them, unfortunately, suck, but that's just because of how they're written.
However, I personally am not fond of the genre, just because I, for one, loved Aeris's death in Final Fantasy VII. Not only was it the perfect climax to the end of Disc 1, it showed that people are not immune to death just because they don't deserve to die. The reason I don't like ARFs is because to me, changing the ending of the game for the sake of giving your OTP a happy ending encourages the message that far too many movies and books send, which is that it's impossible for good people to stay dead. But plenty of other people can appreciate a good ARF, so you don't need to live in shame for the rest of your life for having written one.
- Can I use the concept of How to Write an Aeris Resurrection Fic and write my own how-to guide on writing fanfiction?
You're more than welcome to steal it; in fact, I'm honoured if you actually want to. I definitely don't own the idea; recently, I've found a few guides to writing cliched fanfiction for various fandoms, all of which were written before I started writing HtWaARF. (Damn, I should have known that it was impossible for me to come up with a totally original idea.) Of course, I would appreciate it if you told me before writing it, just because I'd love to know about it.
However, I wouldn't recommend that you post it on fanfiction.net, because you run the risk of it being deleted.
- Why do you ramble on so much?
Because I'm annoying.
- Can I suggest an idea for How to Write an Aeris Resurrection Fic?
The correct answer to this type of question is supposed to be, "Sorry, but as an artist, I can't allow your suggestions to corrupt my pure and untarnished vision, because I have planned out my masterpiece for years in advance." However, the truth is that already, much of the fic will be totally different from what I thought it would be, and part of that is due to reviewer suggestions. So hey, if you have an idea for something I should throw in, be it a joke or an aspect of ARFs to parody or even a plot twist, you're welcome to mention it, and I'll give you credit for it. Odds are it's probably better than something I could come up with. Just don't take offence if I don't use it.
- I hate your fanfiction/the newest chapter/a really bad joke, or I found a huge continuity or grammar error. If I tell you, will I hurt your feelings?
Not at all. On the contrary, if you have any constructive criticism, I would love to hear it. In fact, maybe I should be a little clearer: please, please, please tell me if you don't like something! For the love of God, I'm begging you! Not only will you be doing me a big favour, help improve my writing, and keep my ego in check, you'll also end up with a fic that isn't quite as painful to read. See? It's a win-win situation.
- Oh, Evil Mina, you are so talented and wonderful and cool and beautiful that I want to reward you for your contributions to the field of mediocre fanfiction and send you money. How do I do this?
It's easy. Just e-mail me with your name, address, city, telephone number, credit card number, PIN, passwords, birthday, and favourite colour. Oh yeah, and tell me what hours you won't be at home. I'll do the rest.
- No one's ever asked you that question.
...Shut up. It's called the (NS)FAQ for a reason.
- Why did the chicken cross the road?
42.
~Evil Mina