Mark-Up In reply to Arrow-Riddari [2013-01-18 21:56:12 +0000 UTC]

The first thing I do is over train. There's always a chance you'll lose someone, but if you train above and beyond what you think you'll need, it's less likely someone will die. On the otherhand, if someone does end up dieing, I tend to do the same process over and over again:

1. Look at the screen in shock.
2. Stop myself from shutting off the game and pretending it didn't happen.
3. Leave it be - take a break, cool down. Eating a snack helps, if you take comfort in food like I do. Coffee, ice cream, chocolate. Sometimes I even bake just to keep my hands busy.
4. Cry a little. Yes, it's a game, but they are still very special pokemon to you and there's worth a few tears.
5. Move on. Pick up your gameboy (or turn on your emulator) and box the 'mon first thing. You'll always remember them, and they'll always be special, but you need to continue on. It's hard, but it's possible.

Good luck, Arrow, I know just how hard it is and I feel for you, truly.

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Arrow-Riddari In reply to Mark-Up [2013-01-19 01:43:37 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot with the help.

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Mark-Up In reply to Arrow-Riddari [2013-01-22 01:44:22 +0000 UTC]

No problem at all! Feel free to contact me any time.

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Mark-Up In reply to Shaoroun [2012-08-25 18:02:03 +0000 UTC]

Lol, sure, Shaoroun! I'll list out a few to get you started, and you can ask if you have any questions, okay?

1. Don't make them like you! Unless this is a self-insert, try and keep away from the characteristics that make you, you.

2. To make the OC a little more real, observe the little ticks and quirks of the people around you. Even someone sitting in a coffee shop reading a paper has their giveaways when flipping a paper or the way they fiddle with their cup. These little things make a stale character come to life.

3. There have to be bad characteristics. Jealousy, irrationality, overemotionalism - all of these are things that everyone shares in common. If you're trying to make your OC as realistic as possible, then they're gonna have to have a touch of bad to outweigh the good.

4. No sudden realizations. Now, let me explain this one, because it might not be what you think: often times with underdeveloped (or, Arceus forbid, Mary Sue's) characters, there is no lead up to a climactic realization. No thought given to the circumstance, no clues that help the character to understand. Just a sudden, unanticipated realization just to move the plotline on. Example: Stephanie (our OC for now) is trying to solve the mystery of who is stealing all the brownies. She is getting absolutely nowhere with it - can't connect the clues she does have, doesn't understand, blah, blah, whatever - when all of the sudden Tommy comes in and, BAM, she realizes, out of nowhere, that he is the thief! This is not development. There needs to be a lead up to any event - even a realization. So make sure you have this in your story so that you can have an exciting climax!

5. Think about how the character would react to a situation, but not you, personally. Gauge their reaction on what you've already developed of their personality. For insance, if someone were to call me a bad name, I'd get annoyed at them. If they were to call my OC Merci a bad name, she'd sass back or punch them in the face (depending on the severity of the name in question); (OC) Trish would perhaps get really sad. Your character should react in a way that befits their personality.

6. No stereotyping. As in real life, in literature stereotyping isn't a good thing to base a character on. Now, that doesn't mean you can't have a Chinese character who honors tradition, it just means you have to be careful with how you go about it. Read and reread to make sure everything is as it should be.

Other than that, the best advice I can give is to go with your gut. If it feels right, it usually is. I wish you the best of luck in your Nuzlocke, and even more of it when writing it up. It's difficult to write all the plotline and battle scenes and still keep your story going the way you want it to, but I'm sure you'll do great. Again, good luck, and I'm happy you decided to ask me for advice! If you have any questions, please, feel free to ask.

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Shaoroun In reply to Mark-Up [2012-08-27 08:54:45 +0000 UTC]

sorry for the late reply!

thanks a bunch Delu! this will help IMMENSELY!

if i have anymore questions i'll be sure to ask! ^.^

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Mark-Up In reply to Shaoroun [2012-08-28 01:22:24 +0000 UTC]

Lol, no prob! And good luck on the 'Locke!

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Shaoroun In reply to Mark-Up [2012-08-28 08:07:34 +0000 UTC]

thanks ^.^

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2012-06-15 02:31:02 +0000 UTC]

Busy. My promotion process at work finally went through, and I've got a fancy new managment shirt to prove it. Et tu, mon amie?

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2012-06-16 23:53:26 +0000 UTC]

Ooooh management.
Re-drawing my comic. Put the rough up on DeviantART if you want to give some critique.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2012-02-03 18:52:42 +0000 UTC]

Only slightly. I swear, I'm taking the summer off. A full school schedule+35 hours a week at work is just too much.

But, yeah, not dead. Et tu?

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2012-02-04 01:19:45 +0000 UTC]

Still on summer holidays, been drawing a bit to keep the old wrist supple but I really should have done more for when university goes back, like having some buffer work on the Nature Diary.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2012-02-05 06:55:02 +0000 UTC]

I was almost going to ask what you were going on about, but then I realized that your summer is my winter and, wow, that's fascinating. I know what you mean; didn't do anything over hols and now that I'm back in class and doing assignments, I can't think of anything to do. Like, I have an 11x17 poster to do - subject is anything of my choosing - and I just don't know what to do. But this Nature Diary sounds nifty; explain?

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2012-02-05 10:21:30 +0000 UTC]

I study Natural History Illustration and one of the projects set every year by the Field Studies class is the Nature Diary - A visual diary built up over the course of the semester documenting what you see around you and encouraging you to make quick sketches while out and about to improve your ability to capture the life and motions of what you see in a few short moments.

For my first two semesters I was constantly accused of taking my field sketches home and butchering them when I tried to complete them. Now I leave a spare page after a heap of field sketches to make a full colour rendition of my subject. Still, the lecturer is a pain in the ass and seems to put more stock in how many books you've filled rather than how well you filled them, so I was planning on getting a heap of pages done before the summer holiday ended.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2011-11-28 05:33:50 +0000 UTC]

Only a wee bit. Can I blame it on work? *headtilt* And my 8 page english paper.

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2011-11-29 23:45:59 +0000 UTC]

Feh, I've been reading your work for a fair while now and as a citizen of a British colony I'll point out that your English is pretty damn good.
I'd probably have to go over it again to see if it's American English or the Queen's English...I forget to check these things.
I blame many things on university work, so that's a fine excuse. Good luck with your marks.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2011-12-05 03:17:05 +0000 UTC]

I can tell you now, it's American English. Sadly, I have no amazing accent or extra u's in my words. But thanks for the compliment. ^^ I try to keep up with the grammatical part of the process, but I know I've missed it a few places. Honestly, I can't stand to read a good story that has too many grammatical flaws like that.

Thanks on the luck, I'm going to need them, I'm sure.

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2011-12-05 13:56:41 +0000 UTC]

Ha Ha! I have an Aussie accent and I never thought twice about it until I visited Scotland. Leave your homeland and you'd be surprised how delighted people are by your accent.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2011-12-07 06:41:14 +0000 UTC]

Oh, everybody on the planet doesn't think we Americans are idiots? I know I do. Ho-hum. I'd kill for an awesome accent like yours.

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2011-12-07 12:22:23 +0000 UTC]

Arrogant assholes yes, idiots no.
It's kind of hard to call somebody an idiot when you know they have your butt on speed dial for a nuclear warhead. I know we're allies and all but I also know that your nuclear co-ordinates are in alphabetical order...kinda depressing thought that.
Conspiracy theories aside...
I have a few friends who are American, I've discovered that it's the folks who can afford to travel often give the rest of the country a bad image. The rest of the country are really just like average Aussies (might have to rethink the whole not idiots statement after that thought) I doubt you're an idiot, haven't had any reason to believe that you're anything but a nice person and a fine writer.

Oh, interestingly enough if you watch Crocodile Dundee...I sound like Wally the tour guide not like Mick Dundee.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2011-12-08 02:36:14 +0000 UTC]

These are all very true things. As for the idiocy, I think most masses can be seen as idiots. It's the near rare individuals that actually make sense that we all /hope/ to be, and yet most are not.

I actually haven't seen the movie, but just because you've said this I'm going to go youtube it and try and stalk you in that way. It's hard to be a creeper half way around the world.

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2011-12-08 03:09:28 +0000 UTC]

I'll avoid pointing out that you already have my email address to make creeping easier...
I'm definitely an idiot. It's what makes me so entertaining, like a pet monkey or one of those dogs with hair over their eyes that always run into things.
Never seen Crocodile Dundee? That's cool, despite my mates nagging it took me three years to see Dogma.

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2011-12-09 20:19:15 +0000 UTC]

This is very true.
*snicker*
You say pet monkey, and all I can think of is those poor gypsy monkeys in the little costumes and the symbols and the wind up box of music.

Dogma is a great movie, but, yeah; when people usually ask if I've seen a movie - popular or otherwise - I more than likely haven't.

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2011-12-09 21:58:28 +0000 UTC]

I think you have a toy monkey and a real monkey kinda confused on that one. Toy monkeys have the cymbols, pet monkeys tend to have the wind up music box and both have suits.
Pet monkey is an old joke among my mates. In primary school we got told to do a paper on what we'd be in medieval England. There were four different occupations chosen, guys wrote about being knights, girls chose ladies or princesses...I wrote about being a jester's pet monkey.

So you're more of a book person than a movie person or just too damn busy to bother with either?

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Mark-Up In reply to psychedashell [2011-12-11 02:13:10 +0000 UTC]

Hmm. You might be right there. But who's to say a real monkey can't do both? Or a fake monkey can't come to life.

You had the best one, I'm sure. Your teacher must have loved you for breaking the monotony of knighthood and princessdom.

Too damn busy for either, really. And when I do have time, I spend on things I know I like rather than things that are widely known and I probably wouldn't. Don't see why I should spend my time doing something I may or may not enjoy when I could do it doing something I know I do.

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psychedashell In reply to Mark-Up [2011-12-11 02:26:04 +0000 UTC]

I dunno, I've never read anything regarding a monkey's musical ability. But if my younger brother can play the cymbols it can't be too hard.
Yeah, he read it out to the class.
Time well spent. There is a quicker way of finding out what I'm like, that would be punching Drew Gilbert Grading into Youtube. You won't hear much from me though.

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