Me and Fanfiction...

I actually began writing fanfiction before I even knew what it was. As I worked to hone my writing craft with duel cards and pokémon stories, I knew publishing them would never be okay because of copyright. Plus, I would never want to ruin such marvelous series. (That's not to say I wouldn't jump at the chance to work on a team writing a new series or game for either franchise. That would be a dream come true!) Once I found this website, I figured the worst thing that could happen when I posted my stuff is that people wouldn't like it. (That happens plenty.) The best thing to happen, though, has been people giving me feedback that ultimately makes me a better writer. The tricky part is posting chapters before the entire story is complete. My writing tends to begin while incomplete and I fill in the details as I go. That means it would be easier to develop a plot twist and then go back to add foreshadowing to an earlier chapter. Not so easy when the earlier chapters are already out there. It's tough to plan out the entire story in advance; my characters tend to grow so solid that they end up telling me where the story is supposed to go and I just write it.

For most of my stories, I'm willing to accept OCs. I have a short questionnaire that helps me figure out where your character fits. The only issue comes when people give me a character who is too complicated to use. Quirks are delightful and a complex past is fine, but any feature that requires extensive focus on your character to understand or realize will probably be dropped. (Multiple personalities is a popular example that has proven difficult for me to give anyone except a main character.) But seriously, if sending in a character gets you invested in my story, I'm happy to accept it.

I also love reading recommendations. If you want me to read your work, another author on the site, or even a print/e-book out there in the world, let me know. I will totally check it out!

Current project...

First of all, I love most of my Yu-Gi-Oh! story. But I got in over my head and failed to plan all the way through a bunch of things. I am doing a better job right now of planning for a rewrite in which the overall story will change some, but the day-to-day events will change significantly. I want to make the new one include a bit more information on dueling strategy and card knowledge, so my updates will be slower as I study my butt off like a journalist.

OC Form:

Name
Age/year-in-school (use negative numbers for upcoming students)
Basic appearance
Significant personal info (e.g., family members or dating life or dueling philosophy)
Quirk(s)
Deck type
Role: Default option is current Duel Academy student. Other options include DA student, student at other school, faculty member, member of secret org (more info later), future DA student (e.g., a first-year during Bryan's second term), or something creative I didn't list here.

Extra info? YES/NO (Selecting "yes" means I will send a lengthy questionnaire to fill in gaps.)

Disclaimer: I will give you credit for character creation, but I may take liberties with behavior and actions. Definitely request the extra information if staying true to your vision is important to you.

Tips for creating a successful character:

1. Duel Academy is for 10-12 grade. I've chosen to scale this back from my previous story so these characters are no longer college students.
2. I would prefer not to use cards you made up. There can be exceptions if you go into explicit detail and have a full deck list and everything. Ask me about it first, though.
3. Bryan and Matt (with some supporting cast) are the main characters. I can't take an OC with a background so in-depth he or she needs to be the focus of his or her own story. You all have some fascinating characters, but my goal isn't to tell their stories. Sorry. (Maybe I can be a sounding board for your own story?)
4. Let me know if you based your character on someone or have outside source material for me to reference (such as a deck list on YGOPro). That's awesome and might help me out.

Plans...

I have some thoughts for another Professor Who story. The first was strictly something that was fun for me and I might do another one sometime. We'll see.

There is another Yu-Gi-Oh! yarn I want to spin sometime. It is inspired by the anime/manga but I think it's completely not what you'd expect. One of those things where you finally realize what I'm doing right near the end. No update yet.

I am very excited about an idea I have for a Pokémon classic story. The main character will be a poor kid growing up in Kanto with the original 150 pokémon while he struggles to break out of his wretched life and make a name for himself. No update yet.