This article will be in three parts. The first is the actual article, the
second the corresponding original work by Brian Randall, and the third by
myself. If anyone cares to use the ideas below and create an original idea
based on it, let me know.
ja ne,
- Rob
ashita@cchono.com
"Met the Ghost of Stephen Foster
At the Hotel Paradise;
This is what I told him
As I gazed into his eyes:
'Rooms were made for carpets,
Towers were made for spires,
Ships were made for cannonades
To fire from inside them.
'Going to run all night,
Going to run all day,
Camptown Ladies never sang
All the Doo-Dah-Day, no no no....'"
- Squirrel Nut Zippers
===================================
This article will be in three parts. The first is the actual article, the
second the corresponding original work by Brian Randall, and the third by
myself. If anyone cares to use the ideas below and create an original idea
based on it, let me know.
ja ne,
- Rob
ashita@cchono.com
"Met the Ghost of Stephen Foster
At the Hotel Paradise;
This is what I told him
As I gazed into his eyes:
'Rooms were made for carpets,
Towers were made for spires,
Ships were made for cannonades
To fire from inside them.
'Going to run all night,
Going to run all day,
Camptown Ladies never sang
All the Doo-Dah-Day, no no no....'"
- Squirrel Nut Zippers
===================================
Okay, you've finished that forty-three part Ranma series that you've been
working on forever. You got through that small Sailor Moon trilogy you had
planned, and the fair-sized Tenchi/Rayearth/Evangelion crossover went off
pretty easily. You've done what you can with the series you're familiar
with, but now what?
You're still itching to write, you're still filled with the need to put your
ideas out. But you're not quite ready to start gunning for the Big Leagues,
as the world of publishers, agents and deadlines still leave you fairly
cold. So what now?
Ah, you've got it! An original story, one that you own the characters to,
and with a little luck, may be the stepping stone from fanfics into
professional, "you've been published" work. Now, an idea. Say, if you took
a guy like Ranma, and put him in a place like Tenchi's home, near a
girlfriend like Usagi, and a best buddy like Shinji...
Well, stop right there. Hold on just one moment and...
Get Your Own Damn Idea! (A Guide to Original Fanfiction)
by Rob Barba
(who clearly, after watching Elsa Bibat write these things for years,
has finally snapped)
and a little sing-along session with
Brian Randall and Matt Johnston
Part One: Untamed Equine 1/X, Mariner Celestial Body, Neon Genesis
Something-or-Other, et al
Well, you've decided to embark on that curious misnomer the anime fanfic
world refers to as the "original fanfic". More accurately called
metafiction by other fanfiction circles, it is the portal between the pure
forms of fanfiction and the completely original works that you see on store
shelves. Metafiction deals with archetypes and base templates, by which I
mean that they're vague reminders of the characters we know and love. There
is nothing wrong with having a highly talented martial artist living in
southern Japan who has a clumsy crybaby as his girlfriend and a wimpy,
angst-laden best buddy that's beyond na�ve. That's been in several works
long before there was anime or even animation. Ideas like that stretch into
works created in the BC period of human history, and as the old saying goes,
"there are no new stories, only new interpretations". So there's nothing
wrong with any of the above. What will stomp you into the floor like
Godzilla as literary critic is the moment your archetypes start getting too
close to the versions that we know.
After all, this is original fiction. This is not a bunch of characters
extrapolated and interpreted by you, this is a bunch of characters created
and designed by you. This is your world. You are God here. And because
this is The Gospel According to (Fill In The Blank Here), your world
shouldn't look as though you're barely west of Rumiko Takahashi or Tachueki
Naoko or what have you. Can you create something similar? Yes, that's
homage. Should you create something that is so similar to their works that
it merely appears that you've taken known anime characters and shoved them
in the Witness Protection Program? No. Original works mean just that -
original. So let's hop to getting at that original work, and to begin with,
we're going to take the above idea and dissect it.
For starters, by setting him in southern Japan, you've already deviated from
the norm, as far as Japanese-oriented (pun not intended, folks) culture is
concerned. A recent study of Japanese media indicates that 98.5% of all
Japanese media (novels, anime, movies, TV and radio shows, plays, songs,
etc) take place in Tokyo proper. Out of that remaining 1.5 percentage
point, most of that takes place in the surrounding Kanto/Kanagawa
metropolitan area (which includes other major Japanese cities like Yokohama,
Yokosuka, Chiba, Kawasaki, Oppama and Kamakura), which, at worst, are an
hour's trip from Tokyo. Stories like Tenchi Muyo!, Wings of Honniamaise, or
Gunsmith Cats (for an extreme example) are very rare, and the fact that
you're dealing with somewhere other than Tokyo is a nice start and a
refreshing change. In short, you're creating a world of your own here, so
use it.
But what about your characters? The concept of the outstanding warrior has
been around long before any manga-ke ever picked up an art kit. Ranma
Saotome? What's the difference between him and Ryu (from Street Fighter),
or the cast of Dragonball Z, or Ken (from Fist of the North Star) or etc etc
etc? Well, aside from the copyrights, they're all archetypes of the same
driven warrior, the one that needs to excel no matter what. They're just
handled differently. Now in the case of your martial artist, who says he
has to be exactly like Ranma? A lot of newbies might make the mistake of
basically renaming Ranma, maybe giving him a slightly different look. While
that might solve the copyrights and technically make him a different
character, all you've really done is given Ranma a fake ID, so to speak.
With a little imagination, you can create someone entirely different. So
let's see how this works.
Okay, you've got a boy, and he's 16. He knows martial arts. Damn well.
Okay? What next? Does he have to have 3.6 million girlfriends, all
fighting each other for him and the girl he wants not entirely too
interested in him? Let's apply reality check here, people. Back up a step.
Why is he into martial arts? Is it because he finds them fun? Is it
because he's the scion of a martial arts school? Did he learn later on
(when he realized girls dig martial artists) and was unnaturally talented at
it? Did he even really want to learn them, or was it foist upon him?
Forget the girls for now; the martial arts line alone can be a major force
in how he becomes who he is and how he thinks.
Okay, to speed up his creation (and for the sake of the rest of the article,
to come below), we'll assume that he learned the martial arts slightly
against his will; that he had no interest in learning, but that his
grandmother (parents are dead) insisted that he, as the last of his clan,
learn the family arts. That isn't his passion; he wants to be an artist (of
the computer CG type), but that his "curse" is that he was born and bred to
learn the family empty-handed style. He has a duty (ah, that giri!) to
learn the arts, but when push comes to shove, he'd rather snuggle up with a
laptop and create worlds via Bryce or something like that. Now, granted,
the above character sketch is simplistic and can be fleshed out later, but
you can already see how a person with this mindset doesn't and can't react
like Ranma. Even in a situation that might be the same, the results and
influences that form said results will always be different.
Now, let's get to the girlfriend issue. Realistically, how often do you
think what happens in Ranma's case occurs in real life? It doesn't. For
starters, time and tides change people and someone you knew from age six
isn't likely to look you up ten years later, especially if you've moved
around a lot, so let's toss out the Ukyo-types. For that matter, you can
ditch the Shampoo type as well; a young person moving to another, strange
country with almost no knowledge usually occurs across the Rio Grande, not
the Sea of Japan - not to mention the fact that likely she's got problems of
her own and revenge, unless she's that murderously driven, isn't likely to
happen. As for Akane types, the girl that you (might) like that appears not
to like you, you're not likely to bother with, much less try to win her
heart; you'll likely go after a girl that's much more favorable to you. And
unlike the Tendo sisters, your typical Japanese family would work to arrange
the most ideal marriage between a daughter and a son, not "pick one of my
daughters and hope for the best".
But enough of that, we're not working with those archetypes, as we've
already listed the Usagi-type above as our weapon of choice. Why is she
such a crybaby and clumsy to boot? Does she cry because she can't stand the
guy (arranged marriage, you know) and is emotional to the point of despair?
Or is it that she's in love with him at first sight beyond anything
imaginable, and she's constantly afraid something will happen to him? Or is
she just the bleeding heart type? Or, as Usagi herself, needs to seriously
grow up? What about the clumsiness? Did she have a disease when she was
younger that made her ungainly? Or is she in the stretch of puberty now,
coltish and unsteady as many girls can be during that time? Or is she
really an unnaturally talented martial artist, so talented in fact that she
doesn't want people to know (can't make people think she's better than
them), so to make up for it she faceplants and slips a lot? The last one is
absurd, to be honest, but it's another example.
Again, let's speed up the process. Let's say that she had a disease when
she was younger, one that put her in a wheelchair most of her life.
However, as she entered puberty, it's gone into remission, and now she's
learning to walk and live like most people do. Couple that with the usual
ungainliness from puberty and you've got a girl who (literally) falls head
over heels for anything. She cries a lot because she's put up with years of
derogatory comments and insults from people who fail to see that just
because she was invalid for so long, it doesn't mean she's less of a person;
she also cries because the boy, above, who's never known her until now,
treats her as a person and she's not used to being treated as an equal -
she's completely in love as overcompensation for something that she should
have received as part of a normal life. Now, how much do you think this
girl is like Usagi now? Change a couple of basic parameters, and she's
nothing like.
Okay, now let's hop on over to El Depresso. The misfit is also another
staple of fiction, from main character (Shinji) to best, um, "friend"
(Ryoga) and so on and so forth. But why is he the way he is? Is it because
life has repeatedly kicked dirt in his face, so much so that he's a shell of
a person (Shinji), or has he used that angst and anger as motivation to make
a better person out of himself, so much so that he knows no other way
(Ryoga)? Or.... You get the idea. In cases like this, it's especially
important that you be aware of what you're doing, because this character has
a pivotal role. Does he find that the main character is his one beacon of
light in the dark world? Or is that character the one intentionally
unscrewing the lightbulb? Friend or foe, rascal or rival? Does the
depressed character smile at the world like Pagliacci, or is he dour and
dark, a soul not to be around? Or is he another type of misfit entirely?
We've dealt with the angsty type, but of course there are others. The point
of the whole thing is that you need one. In the end, no man is an island,
and everyone needs friend or foil. In a sense, Batman cannot survive
without either Robin or the Joker - both provide motivation, and that's what
you're dealing with here.
Again, let's take a Quik-Take (TM) to this process. Our boy is depressed
and angsty because he's well, a wimp. Like Gosunkugi Hikaru, he's used to
taking his lumps, maybe for being weird, henjin, out of the ordinary. Why
would he be? That's for you to decide. It could be something as extreme as
he likes foreign stuff that even gaijin find disturbing (anyone for a
Japanese Goth or Metalhead?), to something as simple as his father
died/divorced/left home when he was a kid, and he's lived all his life with
mom and older sisters, who of course coddle him and protect him. Maybe he's
a fan of serial killers. Maybe he likes to be with old folks better than
those his own age. You can come up with your own reasons at will, but the
point is, he's vital to the function of the way things work.
Part Two: Nomenclature Can Be Fun!
Okay, you've got your people. Now, they need names, right? So, let's run
through the anime collection and dig up names. The hero can be, instead of
"Saotome Ranma", um...last name, Katsuragi, first name Hiroshi. And the
girl? Hey, Shidou sounds nice, and Ryoko makes for a nice girl's name, so
you'll use that. And for Hiroshi's buddy? Why not "Himura Mamoru"? And
for the town they're all in? Southern Japan...lessee...Nagano was a
Japanese city name in the news fairly recently, and after all, you know that
Furinkan was an imaginary town, so hey, they all live in the southern
Japanese town of Nagakan. Great. You're all ready to start your story.
Wrong again. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
You may just be close to making another mistake. Though not as common as it
used to be, Japanese names have meaning when put together. While "Saotome
Ranma" is a case where it doesn't ("Saotome" - washing woman or rice paddy,
"Ranma" - wild horse), names can be very poetic, like "Shidou Hikaru"
("Light of the Lion's Shrine"); or symbolic, like "Ikari Shinji" ("Ikari" -
rage or anchor, "Shinji" - kanji or symbol). Even town names can have
meaning, like the aforementioned fictional "Furinkan" (wind in the willows)
or the very real "Nagano" (flowing stream).
Why is this so important? Why do Japanese names have to have meaning, while
Western names don't? Two major reasons. One, it's cultural. They've been
doing it for hundreds of years, and it's part of the wa, the oversoul of
Japan, if you will. The second reason is more practical: you're writing
anime-style original fiction and if there's one set of authors who love name
games, it's anime and manga creators. Face it: anyone coming up with the
contrasting name of Tendo Akane (House of Heaven, Sunrise but also Berzerker
Rage, which clearly implies her nature: Adorable Bitch) is clearly having a
field day.
Now, the point here is that you need to keep this in mind when creating
names. Sure, you can go ahead and do the "Shidou Ryoko", but then you're
going to get some really neat combinations, like (bear in mind I am not
making these up, these are actual meanings when putting Shidou and Ryoko
together):
* Dragons and Tigers with Leadership
* Clever Writing and the Duty of a Teacher
* Coaching a Travel Agent
* Lion Shrine of Two Nations
* Seed of Two Rivals
* Satisfactory Machine Ignition
Anyone see the problem? It's by far easier, if you ask me, to go out and
actually do a little research and come up with names that mean what you want
them to mean. It's not hard; the tools are out there. Use an
English-Japanese dictionary. Hey, even the baby namer function at
babycenter.com has some Japanese names and their meanings. After all, if
you just happened to name your character Ayanami Rei, which meaning would
you prefer: "Ordinary Puppet Spirit", "Cool, Mistaken Tear" or "Zero
Riptide"?
By the way, doing the name research also prevents you from coming up with
(assuming it isn't intentional) names like "Sunigiri" (land of snows) for a
place in Okinawa, or some such. It may not mean much to you or a lot of
other people with the more subtle names like Sunigiri, but more obvious
names like "Morikawa" (Forest river) and then placing it on Sakurajima
(Sakura island), which, for the record is a volcanic island and thus has
little of "mori" or "kawa", can get you laughed at pretty quick.
Part Three: Research, Research, Research!
Since we're on the tack of research, you might want to expand that a bit to
cover more than just the names. Unless your address looks like "3-2-3
Uwamachi-chome" (and even in some cases where it does), you've still got to
do research about things. For example, we'll take my all-time favorite
example (much to the eternal chagrin of the original author, who shall,
because I'm nice, go nameless) about the author who raved about "the beaches
of Nerima". Everyone, break out a map of Tokyo, please. Note that
Nerima-ku is nowhere near the shore, unless you've been looking at a map of
Tokyo-3, in which case the original Nerima is thus underwater and still
nowhere near a beach. The point of this little exercise is to point out how
important research is.
Bear in mind that you're going to do some sort of research for a fanfic, but
in original fics it becomes even more important as you don't have the excuse
of someone else's universe to fall on. Just because Mt. Quingang exists in
the Baya-Kalan range in one reality does it mean it's there in all (and for
the record, in ours, it isn't). There's also the fact of physics, weather
patterns, geography, etc. etc. etc.
For our example in progress, let's figure this out. The fic takes place in
southern Japan. So, where? A city like Hiroshima, Nagasaki or Naha? Or a
smaller burb like Kagoshima, Eta Jima or Sasebo? Maybe even a little hamlet
like Onomi or Mihoshi (yes, that's an actual town and yes, that's where the
character's name comes from). Are you looking for a relatively empty city
(Kagoshima, due to the volcano), or for a small town with hustle and bustle
(Sasebo, due to the US and Japanese naval bases), or for something huge
(Hiroshima, with its metropolitan lifestyle)? Which is best for the sort of
fic you want? If your main character wants plenty of distractions from the
martial arts, or wants less distractions, which one to go to? It's little
things like that which can help or hinder along your fic.
Okay, for the sake of the example, let's pick Kagoshima. It's a former
resort town, former because of both the activity of nearby Sakurajima and
the fact that the peaceful style of the town doesn't suit many of today's
vacationers. It's not a rundown BFE zone, but it does have a ghost-town
feel of a place that is far less significant than it used to be. Most of
the major amenities can be found here, but the locals seem to be going
through the motions as if they expect their declining fortunes to change at
any moment...not that it has for years. That's the town your cast is in,
and how different is it from the bright Shibuya, chaotic Nerima, or
apocalyptic Shinjuku you're used to?
We could continue on with the rest of the research here, like your male
lead's talents, your female lead's maladies, or your sidekick's issues, but
I digress. After all, it's time to start working on your fic now.
Part Four: Inspirations....
Okay, you've done character check. You've done name check. You've even
taken that extra step and made sure that you've got all your ducks in a row
in regards to research. Well, now it's time to watch all your favorite
anime and get the perfect ambience for it.
Of course I'm going to comment again. What made you think I wasn't going
to? But in this case, you're on the right track. This is, after all,
anime-style metafiction, and thus having an anime feel is good. But why
stop there? There's more to the world than just anime, of course, and if
you let more than just that influence you, like all good authors, soaking up
the world will allow you to come up with a broader range of subjects. As a
famous author once said about inspiration, "It's always best to move ten
degrees to the right of your source matter. Too close can seem like
plagiarism, too far can be parody."
Anything can inspire, from songs, to old tales, to life's events. This is
where you can shine best, turning the separate materials into a whole,
vibrant tapestry, bringing influences and directions that others may not
have thought of before. An example of this is my own work, everblue....
Sure, the fic has the anime feel of the Ranma episode of the Zashiki Bokko
Hina (the Guardian Spirit Doll). But it also has the original version of
that seminal legend, as well as my experiences of staying at the actual inn
at Hakkone where the legend originates, and the events surrounding the end
of my relationship with my fianc�e at the time. You don't have to get that
personal, and you can of course switch out with a dozen different
influences, but even one variation from the theme can show new insights and
depth that wasn't there before.
So how does an original author do what he/she does? Well, in my case, I get
a general idea from an anime or two...then proceed to not watch that anime
and instead find other influences: music, old Japanese tales, French
paintings, whatever it takes. The original idea's still there in the head,
but by taking in other ideas and notions, and not soaking in every anime
clich� I can find, I'm adding a new level to the whole thing.
But don't take just my word on this. Here's what others have to say on this
as well:
Brian Randall, author, Sakura and Green Tea:
"What drives me as a writer? Inspiration is a fickle thing. Sometimes I
just get the urge to write something that doesn't fit in anything else.
Something that doesn't fit in the theme of an anime or manga, and that would
flow better with differing characters. Where inspiration comes from, of
course, is a whole different matter... For me, it can be dreams, or music,
or just seeing something that sets your mind on a tangent, where you end up
so far from the original source even you begin to wonder how/if they're
related."
Matt Johnston, author, Okaeri, Kaori-chan!, It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl,
and others:
"For me, the driving force of inspiration comes from music. There's always
a musical element in my stories; it's my second love and what I'd be doing
if I didn't write for a living. Okaeri, Kaori-chan! was inspired by the
lyric of an old song ("Like the time I ran away/and turned around/and you
were standing close to me"). Likewise, It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl uses
names of old 70's progressive rock bands for the names of the muses (which,
interestingly enough, follows in the footsteps of anime tradition).
"Once the characters and basic plot of a story are established, I scour my
CD collection and assemble a soundtrack. The exercise of assembling the
soundtrack makes me think critically on elements of the characters and the
story, as I look for the "perfect fit" in each song. I usually don't listen
to the soundtrack immediately after assembling it, but the process is a
powerful tool in focusing who and what my story is about.
"After the soundtrack is finished, I try to find large, long songs of a
similar vein as the soundtrack: old 70's progressive rock songs, long jazz
fusion tunes, psychedelic improv, jam bands, Japanese speed metal and dance
remixes; anything that's long enough to give my scenes a sense of pace and
flow as I write them. I ride the wave of the longer songs, usually playing
one on repeat as I write a scene. The flow of a certain scene often mimics
the flow of the song I'm listening to."
Part Five: Frappe!
Now that you've got it in all in one incoherent mess, how does one put it
together? For that, we turn once again to Brian Randall, and his stream of
consciousness explanation:
How it works:
First off, I don't want to sound too presumptuous, but I figured I'd write
down... well, how I write.
09/21/01
2:50 PM
On the physical level, I make sure I've got a ready supply of soda, since
the majority of my own free time happens when normal people are asleep.
That's from about 10:00 PM to about 5:00 AM PST. Which is when I get about
half of my writing done.
After that, I some music that fits the mood I'm trying to capture. For
something lighthearted, I'll usually stick with the Urutsai Yatsura Jukebox
collection, or maybe Princess Rouge. Darker or more action oriented stories
flow well with the Wild Arms OST, or even better with the Noir OST.
For this fic, I'm aiming for something a little more mature, less comedic,
and at the same time, not nearly as dark as most of the things I write, so
I'll choose the FLCL OST, starting with Little Busters (the Pillows), and
the Generator Gawl OST, along with some of the assorted J-pop I've managed
to collect.
Once that's done, I need to do a little research on the fic. The notes
suggest a few character archetypes, and places to use, so I'll work with
those with a little bit of tweaking.
The main character will be a sixteen (nearly seventeen) year old martial
artist/high-school student, who's the heir to a dojo. The catch here is that
while he enjoys the art, he doesn't respect the rigid code of honor his
father enforces, and spends most of his time tussling with the local youths,
in mostly-harmless gang-fighting. Add to that that his mother died when he
was young, so the only real authority figure he has is his father, and
perhaps a teacher, and I can establish him as a somewhat moody and
temperamental rebel-wanna-be, mostly the strong-silent type. While not a
genius, he's neither an idiot, though because of his slow words many people
assume he's not that bright. Which isn't true, his silence stems from the
fact that he's not a very open person, and he likes to choose his words with
care.
Add to that the sidekick, where I'll borrow a little more from the notes.
He's frequently down and in-the-dumps, emotionally. He's scrawny, asthmatic,
and something of a nerd, thought not a rocket-scientist laptop-toting
genius. He's got a small frame, wears horn-rimmed glasses (military friends
call them 'Birth Control Lenses'), and usually carries around a sketchpad.
He's a decent artist, though not great. On second thought, that's a little
too close to Keitaro (Love Hina), so let's make him a writer, instead. He
fancies himself something of a peacemaker, and a representative for the main
character, while also acting as a foil. His depression stems from the fact
that while he can talk the main character into doing things, he feels he has
no real power himself, and while not in love with the main character,
somewhat resents the female lead because he's worried that she'll draw him
away, leaving the sidekick bereft of friends, to slip through the cracks and
be lost. Add to that the fact that the main character isn't very open, and
the sidekick's afraid of trying to get him to open up, and the situation
pretty much creates itself.
Now, the female lead. The notes suggest that she be hospitalized, or in a
wheelchair, which is the reason for her clumsiness, and the reason that
she's got some social difficulties. I can work with that, but let's see how
it fits in with the current design. I think it would fit best if her problem
were (initially) more physical than social. Let's say that her family
actually moved to the city that this is taking place in, even though the
local economy is slowly dying. Why did her father move? Something of a
cop-out, but let's say that there's a family business that he has to
inherit, and his previous job was a dead-end. I have an image of him as a
factory worker, more than a salaryman, so let's say that it's an ancestral
home, and he works in the local industry. I have an idea that he deals with
fish, for some reason, which the female lead thinks is disgusting, but I'll
need to see if the recommended city is even on the coast before I can commit
to that. At any rate, the reason for her illness was an initially very weak
immune system, resulting in her being nearly constantly ill, and thus,
bedridden and trapped indoors most of her life. She spent most of her time
reading, so she's book smart, but doesn't know people well, and the years of
reading forced her to wear glasses -- her father's too poor to afford
contacts, so the other girls tease her. She's not used to dealing with
people aside from her father and mother at an emotional level, and thus,
cries a lot. Since I've pretty-much established that the father is the
central parental figure, and I've already got one character with a deceased
parent, a younger brother that the mother coddles can fit into the equation,
making her feel like she's being ignored much of the time.
Looking back, I can see that I've neglected to mention the sidekick's
parents, and I'll have to add to that before I can go on. To make things
easier, and since it fits his character (seeing how worried he is about
maintaining his only friendship) they're distant, but caring. Perhaps, in
all honesty, they're just not very good at raising children. His father
never has time for him, instead only thinking of his job, and his mother is
too busy trying to raise her standing in the various social circles that she
tries to be part of. Likely, much of this information will never even figure
into the fic, but it's good to have things covered before I start, since I
might want to pull on one of these untapped characters at some point.
And a minor addition to the female lead, since I forgot to add this. On top
of everything else, she's slightly anemic, so she's prone to fainting after
any serious amount of physical activity. If it turns out to make her _too_
weak, I can tone it down as much as I have to.
The last character is relatively minor, which is the main character's
father, but I expect him to have an important role at some point anyway.
After all, the contention between him and his son is an important conflict
in this story. So, first off, he's a martial arts instructor, and he wants
to pass the dojo (and the style) on to his son. He's only got the one child,
too, making it more important. Physically, he's lean and limber, where his
son is a powerhouse. Fairly tall, black hair, spends most of his time
teaching whoever will come whatever they can afford -- women's physical
fitness, children's basic martial arts and so on. I don't want a Soun or a
Genma, so he's not fervently insistent, or overly forceful, though he does
push a bit. He's not hopelessly broken up over his dead departed wife,
though he does miss her. Hm... what else? I can't think of anything at the
moment, but I might later.
3:23 PM
Okay, so I've got the four major characters so far, and they're not named,
though I have their personae and some details down.
Time to get some names, and that means finding words that associate with
them well, and sound good to me.
Main character -- Strong, quiet, stubborn, steady.
Sidekick -- Clinging, loud, pompous, attentive.
Female lead -- Fragile, hopeful, brave, and for some reason, I want to
stick 'flower' on this list, too.
Father -- Patient, wise, flexible, spiritual. Though I'm not as certain
about the last one.
But I've got some ideas. I don't actually own a Japanese/English
dictionary, and none of the friends that I have who know Japanese are awake
at this hour, so I'll go to an online dictionary and check.
http://enterprise.dsi.crc.ca/cgi-bin/j-e
Then I'll browse through the names and see what I get that seems to work.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the name search doesn't work for
looking for English meanings anymore -- I have to pick a Japanese name from
a list and try and find out if I can find one that means what I want it to.
This will likely take several hours and vex me to no end. Pity, that page
used to be great for this exact same thing, but now no longer functions
correctly.
Okay, a new idea. Look for the non-name word correlating to the meaning I
want, and then feed it back through the server as romanji, and look for a
name matching part of the kana -- that will save me some time, and a lot of
stress. Assuming that the kanji matches, too. In order to check for the
correct kanji, though, I need to check the box that says, "link kanji info".
Main character:
tetsujin
(n) strong man
kyousha
(n) strong person
kei
strong
ishiteki
(adj-na) strong-willed
genjuu
(adj-na,n) strict; rigour; severe; firm; strong; secure;
Okay, now that I've collected some words, I research the kanji for them,
and make sure that they have the meanings I want.
The kanji for tetsujin read as 'iron' and 'man', and I'm not sure that's
what I'm looking for, so I'll try the next. Kyousha is a bit better --
'kyou' means 'strong', and 'sha' means 'person' or 'someone'. Well, the
latter half doesn't do much for me, but 'kyou' is usable. Kei also means
strong, but I seem to remember that being a girl's name, so I'll keep
looking. Ishiteki turns out to mostly be a dead end, since it's got three
kanji, and it can be interpreted a few too many ways for me to use well. The
Kanji I've found for 'gen' in 'genjuu' is one I like. It can mean, "stern,
strict, severe, rigidity." I'm not sure it's too fitting for the main
character, but it could be used for the father later.
I finally come up with the name Kenkyou, with ken: 'strict', 'hard',
'solid', 'tough', 'tight', 'reliable', and kyou: 'teach', 'faith',
'doctrine'.
It's not the name I originally set out for, but considering the plans I
have for the character, I think it's fitting enough.
After that, a few more crawls through the dictionary to find some names for
the other characters.
Sidekick:
tenmen
(n) entanglement; clinging affection; involvement
seikan
(n) watchful waiting; careful supervision
sawagu
(v5g) to make noise; to clamor; to be excited; to be alarmed; to kick up a
fuss; to make merry; to be annoying; to be troublesome; to make a noise
Out of this, I decide that Kanten is a reasonable family name. Ten: 'code',
'ceremony', 'law', 'rule', and kan: 'tolerant', 'leniency', 'generosity',
'relax', 'feel at home', 'be at ease', 'broadminded'.
Still need a good name for him, though.
After a bit of fumbling, I get this: 'ka': 'applaud', 'praise', 'esteem',
and 'yuu': 'enter', 'insert'.
So Kanten Kayuu is the sidekick. 'Relaxed rule of flattery'. A bit
subjective, perhaps, but I think it works.
Female lead:
horyuunoshitsu
delicate health; fragile health
moroi
(adj) brittle; fragile; tender-hearted
waremonochuui
Fragile; Handle With Care
ayame
(n) iris (flower)
hana
(n) flower;
mebana
(n) female flower
zanka
(n) (last) flower remaining in bloom
Wow. With this many matches on just two words, I might actually find what
I'm looking for.
'Ka': 'flower', and 'sai': 'smash', 'break', 'crush', 'familiar',
'popular'. Lots of connotations there, but I like it. Note that the 'ka' in
Saika's name is different from the 'ka' in Kayuu's name. Still need a family
name, but I'm feeling a bit lazy, so I'll skip to:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~jpnwgw/Names.html
And pick a common surname from the region she used to live in. Saying she
lived in Chiba, near Tokyo, works. I'll use 'Nakamura', which can mean
'little pool'. I like that, since she's also got only a small bit of energy
before she tires and collapses.
Finally, the father:
anteishita
steady; stable; calm; firm
shikkari
(adj-na,adv,n) (uk) firmly; tightly; reliable; level-headed; steady
tegatai
(adj) steady; firm; solid; secure
chiesha
(n) wise man;
eimai
(adj-na,n) wise and great
kenjin
(n) wise man
Looking through that, I see that 'Kenjin' is an actual name, and it's one I
rather like. There are a few definitions, but the kanji I pick are: 'ken':
'constitution', 'law', and 'jin': 'person'.
Lawful man. I haven't touched on the stubbornness/firm bit, yet, so let's
take some of those words that I haven't used, and see about the family name.
I find: 'e': 'wise', and 'gen', 'beginning', 'former time', 'origin'.
Gen'e, 'wise origins'. I might be able to find better, but the 'wise origin'
school of martial arts intrigues me.
Okay. So, we've got the names.
Gen'e Kenkyou -- main character.
Kanten Kayuu -- sidekick.
Nakamura Saika -- female lead.
Gen'e Kenji -- the main character's father.
This works.
5:13 AM
Took me a while, though. However, in this whole thing, I found a few
interesting bits of kanji that give me a few more ideas of what I might want
to do with this story. The school that Kenkyou and his father practice is
named, 'wise origin', which makes me think that it's a very graceful and
thoughtful art. An art that involves planning and thinking, and then minimal
yet decisive action.
This still fits with my original plan, it's just that Kenkyou is going to
use a more powerful and method (of a generally graceful art), while Kenji
practices a much more graceful version. Kenji has been practicing for much
longer than Kenji, and therefore _needs_ less power. I like that.
Now, going over the notes again, I review and think that I made too many
similarities between Saika and Kayuu. So, we'll scratch the idea of Saika
having glasses, and focus more on her fainting and general clumsiness,
without taking away anything else. Their personalities should be different
enough for this to work, but I've got a little more research to do before I
can nail the plot down.
Our target city is Kagoshima, which I know nothing about. Time to hit the
books.
Great, according to the world atlas, Kagoshima is on the southern part of
Japan, on Kyushu, which is the large island immediately southwest of Honshu
(the main island, where Tokyo is). It's got a population of somewhere
between five hundred thousand, and one million. No major entries for trade
and other info is listed, so it's time for -- you guessed it -- more
research.
Searching google.com for 'Kagoshima city information' nets a couple of
useful sites.
http://www.minc.ne.jp/kics/Kagoshima/leisure.html -- tourist info.
This link lists some major places that I can use in landmarks for the fic.
For example, there's the Kagoshima city Aquarium. Their webpage is linked,
and tells me how many visitors they get per day. No pictures, unfortunately,
and no maps. Either of those would help with some detail, but there are more
sites listed too, and they include info like bus and rail info, so I can
accurately determine which bus Kenkyou and Kayuu take to get their, if they
do go. Also mentioned are a library, a zoo, and several museums, some of
which _do_ have pictures, and can help a little bit.
http://www.minc.ne.jp/kics/Kagoshima/intro.html
Another page on the same site provides more general info -- city banner,
famous landmarks, a good bit of local history, local dishes... All of this
is useful information, even if there's a good chance that much of it will
only be mentioned briefly, if at all.
http://www.city.kagoshima.kagoshima.jp/ -- there's a small link on the left
that says, 'English'.
This site is the proverbial jackpot. It contains maps, pictures, tourist
information, and a wealth of other information.
With the info in these links, I should be able to gather anything I need,
even though a lot of it probably won't figure into the fic.
Okay, now that I have characters, names, reams of information on the
locale, and all that good stuff, I need to focus on the truly important
details, and that means, the plot.
The loose plot I have sketched out in my head goes something like this:
The first scene opens up with Kenkyou and Kayuu loitering in front of the
school, chatting. Or, as established, Kayuu talking a lot and Kenkyou
nodding dubiously. From there, we introduce the heretofore-unknown element,
Saika. She's actually been going to the school for a few days, but Kenkyou
had been skipping for those days.
While Saika's already gotten to know of some of the students, it's the
first meeting between her and Kenkyou, as she falls and spills her notes on
the road. He helps her pick them up, and she thanks him, completely unsure
how to deal with him, and then runs off to get into class on time, while
Kenkyou strolls in taking his sweet time.
The next scene will be Kenkyou entering the class late -- because he
doesn't care -- and noticing Saika again. At this point, the extent of his
feelings towards her are, at most, mild curiosity. Kayuu hasn't noticed any
of this, so hasn't yet become excessively clingy.
That's about all I have planned solidly, so far. I'm trying to avoid the
cliche of Kenkyou saving Saika as the 'damsel in distress', especially since
Kenkyou's a noble soul, but a far cry from a 'hero' in the traditional
sense. Other scenes I plan on having are, of course, a conversation between
Kenkyou and his father, and a scene of Kayuu brooding over the slow changes
that happen as Kenkyou slowly finds himself drawn more and more out of his
shell.
6:00 AM, and I've been up since 9:00 AM yesterday. I've sketched out quite
a bit of what I want to do with this, and there's lot of room for changes --
perhaps Kayuu slowly _does_ fall in love with Kenkyou, or maybe Saika finds
Kenkyou's sometimes violent behavior distasteful. I can also improve a lot
of it, so the final work may not be too similar to the original outline, but
at least we've got a solid foundation. And since we do, I'm going to take a
nap.
3:20 PM
Okay, now that I've gotten some free time, I'm almost ready to start
writing. I'll do a quick search to see if I can locate a high school in the
area that Kenkyou attends before I begin.
A brief search yields a few results:
http://kids.glocom.ac.jp/schools/search.e.asp?action=submit&prid=46&kind1=H
http://www.edu.pref.kagoshima.jp/sh/Kagoshima-F/intro.htm
http://kids.glocom.ac.jp/schools/www.asp?mid=5317&url=http://www.kajitsu.ac.
jp/
Kashima Gakuen Kagoshima Jitsugyo SHS looks good, but their page is in
Japanese only, so I'm going to have to do a bit of research to make sure
it's appropriate for what I have planned.
Their name works out to something along the lines of 'Room to let academy'.
I don't know that that works too well for what I'm planning, so I'm going to
go ahead and create a school for him to attend, which can give me a little
more room to play around with things.
The name I pick out is, "Hikami Gakuen SHS". There are multiple kanji that
can be used for Hikami, one of them can mean 'top of the day', and another
means 'frozen surface'. I'll go with the first one, since it's listed in the
online kanji dictionary as a place name, and then use another meaning,
'above the gutter' as a derogatory term the students throw around once in a
while.
4:17 PM
Well, now that _that's_ settled, I think I'm about ready to start writing,
though I haven't come up with a title that pleases me yet. I'll post more
notes here as the creative process kicks in!
5:54 PM
Reality intrudes.
9/22/01 -- 12:06 AM
Back to work. I've completed the entire first scene already earlier today,
in one short run, and I think I'm getting a good feel for the way that I
want this whole thing to turn out.
12:30 AM
Great, scene two is complete, if a little rough, and it's time to think
about where this story is going to go next. I've got a few more ideas in
mind for how it's going to end, but not a whole lot solid for how to get
there. I want to have Saika get to know Kenkyou a little better during
lunch.
Beyond that, I want her to want to get to know him better. I have the
ending planned out already, but I think I need a scene of them away from the
school environment, too.
1:15 AM
I'm about halfway through the third scene, but I'm not sure I'm happy with
it. I'll take a quick break and look for some inspiration to see if there's
something I should add -- or something I need to take away.
3:36 AM
Looking over what I've written, I make some minor revisions to the third
scene, touch up a few spelling and grammar errors, and notice that Kayuu's
has no real significant role yet. I had planned to focus on his thoughts
about Saika, but looking back I can see that it wouldn't fit very well. I
plot out the next scene to go something like this:
Kenkyou and Kayuu leave school together to wander around, and Kayuu thinks
about what he saw, but doesn't think it's much of a problem, yet. He's not
afraid that he's going to lose Kenkyou to Saika yet. And thinking about
this, I realize -- as risque as it might be -- that having Kayuu think that
he might actually be in love with Kenkyou could actually work. He isn't
really, but he begins to think that he might be, and this makes him really
have to think about things more strongly, and overreact to Saika's presence.
But I'm digressing. For the next scene, I'll go ahead and have the pair of
them walking past the library at one point on their way towards a park,
where they hang out. The scene is designed to focus on them and their
interactions, though primarily on Kayuu and his thoughts, and add the
library, which is covered in the tourist information link I've listed, for
flavor.
Beyond that, to establish that there are martial arts, and that they do
play an important role, I've planned a tussle at the park between Kenkyou
and a rival. I'll have to look up a new name for the character, or at least
his gang, though it's not nearly as important, since he's such a minor
character.
A little bit more research on kanji yields the word for a gang of young
toughs, which I can use here, along with a word I had found earlier that I
couldn't use earlier. The gang will be called the 'Tetsujin Gurentai'. Which
means, "Iron person gang". And none of them are chefs.
So I'll have a brief battle between Kenkyou and the Tetsujin Kumichou
(Kumichou being a word for a yakuza boss). In the course of the battle,
Kenkyou gets a cut on his face, which is an important element later.
Other details I've got to consider are:
Does Saika see the battle? If so, what does she think of it?
Kayuu's thoughts on the battle?
Are the Tetsujin going to bother Kenkyou again?
After that, Kenkyou gets back home, alone, and has to confront his father,
who can tell that Kenkyou has been in a fight, and doesn't approve. I'll
leave it as that for now, and try and get some more work on the fourth scene
and beyond tomorrow.
4:26 AM going to sleep for a while.
9/23/01 -- 12:20 AM
After reviewing the story and making a few minor grammatical changes, I'm
ready to start on cene four, which is Kenkyou and Kayuu walking past the
library to deal with the Tetsujin Gurentai.
2:11 AM
Well, I realized after I started, that I had already made a point of
Kenkyou and Kayuu not knowing what they were going to be doing later that
day, so changed the Tetsujin Gurentai from a planned fight to a chance
encounter. I decided midway though the fight that having Saika witness the
battle -- and be indirectly responsible -- for the injury would add a little
element to the story, and give a greater reason for Kenkyou to be interested
in Saika.
2:41 AM
I've started on a scene with Saika waking up and seeing Kenkyou, and I'm
going to stop there for the night and think about things for a bit. For the
most part, I'm happy with it, but I need to sleep on it and think for a bit.
9/24/01 -- 12:00 AM
Polished the scenes a little more, mostly just grammar details. Finished
the current Saika scene. I think I'm almost done with what I consider to be
the first episode.
1:35 AM
And... I'm done. It's very short, but I'm happy with it, and there's a
little more story left to explore.
The backstory between Kenkyou and his father isn't touched on in this
episode, but this episode was busy enough as it was without trying for too
much in one go. I figure the next episode will cover more of what happens
and has happened with Kenkyou and his father, defining their relationship a
bit, and touching more on Kayuu. It's really a given that Kenkyou and Saika
are probably going to end up together, but then, that's not the entirety of
the focus of this story, either.
Well, take it or leave it, it's done.
Part Six: End Result
Well, you've seen how inspiration can differ radically from person to
person, specifically in Brian's case. But how does that affect the
archetype? After all, we've still got the above idea: teen-aged martial
artist, clumsy girlfriend, odd buddy, all in southern Japan. It has all the
bases of anime, but it's a jumping point that you can take anywhere, on a
far different tangent than some manga masters and anime artists can go.
So what happens next?
Only you can answer that question. Get writing!
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