FAVORITES

Fav. Movie: Anything with Jet Li, and most other old Kung Fu movies.

Fav. Book: A Song of Ice and Fire. Book 3 is my favorite.

Fav. Quote: Have your dreams big, and have your game big. Those who exceed the standard, subjugate enemies who exceed the standard. -On the cover art for a chapter of One Piece-

Fav. Games: Assassin's Creed, Halo, and anything that is new.

Fav. Pastimes: I like grappling and MMA - doing or watching - and poker and paintball and hot chicks.

STORIES

These are my stories. Feel free to read them. You know, if you want.

POKEMON

A Father's Gift: My first one-shot. I really like this story. I kind of came up with it off the cuff, so it's not real detailed.

Birth of a Madman: If Giovanni has a darkside, this is it. Extremely dark for me, but I feel like there is a darker story behind Giovanni than anyone realizes. I mean, there has to be some reason he can lead so many criminals so easily.

A New Saga: (I will never finish this fanfic because it has long been forgotten, but I will never remove it since it is the first real writing I ever did. Please read it if you are interested. I would love a review or two.) This is the first fic I have ever written. It is the reason I joined ffnet, and the reason I wrote my other [pokemon] fics. They are more to draw in readers to this one. It will be a long one, and may have several spinoffs in the future, depending on how far I get.

ONE PIECE

A Legend Before Legend: This is a great idea for a story that came to me when I first started to read One Piece. Unfortunately, I am not only busy, I am also lazy. Therefore, I am currently looking for inspiration to work on this again. I would like to just restart from the beginning with longer and more detailed chapters.

How to Fix a Broken Captain: My most popular story, and the first multi-chapter story that I have finished. That's right, it's FINISHED!

A Normal Day on the Grand Line: A one shot about a relaxing, uneventful day for the Strawhat crew. Yeah right.

When an Era Ends: A combination of two chapters from another story. Began from a one-shot called Dreaming of the Past.

Warrior: A very short drabble about how important it is to have something for which to fight.

In Loving Memory: In my humble opinion this is my defining narrative. It was the beginning of a new era and style of writing for me. I challenge you not to cry when you read this.

Duh I got sucked into One Piece So parody-rific that the title is full of poor grammar. Don't just laugh at it, learn from it!

Narrative Wisdom from the Twitter of Emma Coates (Storyboard artist for Pixar)

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was _. Every day, _. One day _. Because of that, _. Because of that, _. Until finally _.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on - it'll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d'you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.