How long were you writing?

I've been writing fanfiction for seven years, but I've
been writing original fiction for over ten.  It's only
recently (the past four years or so) that I've been
noticing any improvement. I've been writing in the IZ
fandom for most of that time - this current fic has
been in progress for just about a year and a half.

The four chapters I just posted are actually the
shortest ones in the story - they seemed to get
progressively longer (I'm discovering this is becoming
typical of my writing).  When I sent chapter eight to
my beta readers they recommended I split it into two
chapters because it was too long - 18,000 words (which
isn't actually as long as a lot of the chapters I've
read in the Ranma fandom)

How old is Invader Zim?  Old as Voltron?

Not even close to that.  Invader Zim came out in 2001
and ran for a total of 29 episodes before being
cancelled due to a combination of low ratings and
disputes between the creator and the company producing
it.  Of course later on they discovered that the
majority of the fan base is made up of adults instead
of the age range they were looking at anyway.

I don't know why that was surprising, the creator was
the same man who wrote the very adult comic series,
"Johnny the Homicidal Maniac".  He also wrote "Squee"
which is a bit closer to the general tone and humour
style of Invader Zim.  Even without the adult content
of JTHM, a great deal of the humour in IZ is often
hard for younger folks to grasp.  Some of the things
that made me laugh the hardest were the most subtle.

For example, in the first episode, Zim's leaders are
holding the Great Assigning - it's an important event
to kick off Operation Impending Doom 2.  Well, Zim
shows up despite the fact that he's extremely
unwanted.  When one of his leaders points out that
he's supposed to be in exile, Zim's response is "Oh, I
quit when I found out about this", to which his leader
replies disbelievingly: "You QUIT being banished?"

Another exchange reveals that Zim is the reason
Operation Impending Doom 1 failed.  "I put the fires
out," Zim offers innocently.

"You made them WORSE!" His leader snaps back.

"Worse?  Or better?" Zim counters, looking unashamed.

If your fic is a basis of how funny the series is, I
think I wanna see the series for myself! :D

I recommend episodes like the "The Nightmare
Begins"(the pilot episode), "Tak, the Hideous New
Girl", and "Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars". 
However, there are several episodes that I tend to
avoid showing to anyone who isn't already a fan of the
series.  There are lots of hits and misses in this
show.

Does he usually suffer from insomnia?

I've rarely seen him sleep in the series, but that's
probably because he's too obsessed chasing the
paranormal.  
 

Nah, they're only mortal enemies who've been

trying to destroy each other for years.  No problems
there.
Yup, not even worth a lifting of an eyebrow.

After a few months, everyone does sort of take it in
stride.  People only notice when they're -not- at each
others' throats.

Can't wait!  From what I've read; it seems the main
char and his sister don't get along at all.  

His sister doesn't get along with anyone.  She also
has scary and unnatural powers.  My theory is that
she's not really human.

She's not - unless you count the time when Dib
grafted
the head of her favorite doll onto the body of a
fly.

Hmm, I'm beginning to see your point :D

It was a failed teleportation experiment.  She was
extremely unhappy when she found out about it.

Well, every bad guy's gotta have some way of raising
his spirits...

Actually, it's kind of funny. They never really make
it clear which of the two is actually the "bad guy". 
Since they switch between the characters' viewpoints a
few times, it becomes clear that each of them
considers themself to be justified and their
rival/enemy to be the bad guy.

Of course, Zim is the one trying to take over the
planet and destroy the humans, while Dib is trying to
save them, so I'd consider Zim to be the villainous
character while still being the show's protagonist.


*Growly

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