I need help working out some details

[Lupine Volt]

Alright. Currently, I'm planning on starting a drabble series about life in the Pokemonian universe, and it's issues. The general premise of the story is how, when children leave home, do some of them settle down after their journeys?

The story revolves around 8 teenagers living in an apartment complex on Four Island. I chose Four Island because I always imagined it as a nice place to live, once you sized it up to more than two houses, a store, a Pokemon center and a rather large daycare.

I need some help working out the kinks with the characters, the story, and the title. So, right now, here's a basic rundown of the characters.

Brandon Dune: 17 years old, a slightly headstrong police officer who has been living on his own for three years, ever since the death of his parents. Is currently dating Serenity.

Serenity Cherry: 17 years old, a young chef making her way in the world from the new city. Has a tendancy to be a pushover. Is currently dating Brandon.

Travis Tempest: 14 years old, currently working in a bookstore. An aspiring writer who wishes for nothing more than to make a name for himself. A bit of a space case.

Heather Gersten: 15 year old pet shop employee. A friend to all living things, open and generous to all. Also has a habit of guilting other people into charity events.

Jessica Gail: 14 years old, a nurse in training at the local Pokemon center. Has a rather nasty temper, and a sarcastic personality.

Johnathan Formeo: 16 years old, a tour guide on the local glass bottom boat tours of the coral reefs. A rather laid back person, and a peacemaker amongst the group.

Glynda Emberson: 16 years old, a maid at the local hotel. A bit of a ditzy person, having never applied herself at anything. A bit annoying to be around after a while.

Peter Cluely: 13 years old, a young newcomer to the apartment, still living off of his parent's money and Pokemon battling while trying to find a job. Has a tendancy to state the obvious.


...The drabbles will cover the general things a sitcom would. You know, money troubles, sexual harassment, addictions, love troubles...

Now tell me the truth: Do you think I'm wasting my time on this? Do you have any suggestions, ideas, or critism?

 

[Negrek]

I'm not sure how you plan to do this with drabbles. They're so short that you don't have enough room for real conflict development or resolution, and certainly not to get a lot of character interaction going. They're generally best suited to "snapshot" kind of writings that deal with a short scene or a single character's reaction to something.

Further, from your character outlines here I'm not sure that this is really something you'd need to do as a pokémon fanfic. While there's not a lot of information given, pokémon don't play an even mentionable part in any of the given characters' lives, save for the last guy. Aside from the fact that all the characters are younger than would ordinarily be expected given their positions, the fact that this is set in the Pokémon world doesn't appear to have a lot of bearing on the story.

Also, it can be difficult to handle this many characters if you're hoping to give them anywhere near equal treatment. Is there any particular reason you want all of them to be significant?

 

[Lupine Volt]

Well, drabble may not have been the best term...sort of just a series of short stories, with miniature story arcs and such.

ON the note of Pokemon, they would play a rather large role. First and foremost, they are the only reason at all that these kids are living on their own. Plus, I plan to show Pokemon being used in day to day life of normal people. For example, Brandon owns a Charizard, and frequently patrols while watching from above, and would also own a Porygon capable of sending messages back to the precent for backup or information. Serenity is a chef at a restaurant that get's a lot of customers, so she frequently has psychic assistance from her Gardevoir.

As of why I have so many characters, I find that if I try to focus on a small number, they tend to turn into Mary sues/Marty Stus. I figure this way I can scatter the usual positive aspects I give my main characters amidst the 8 of them. Plus, with 8 characters, I can manage to write a wider selection of genres. For example, Brandon would, being a police officer, have a lot more action and chase sequences. Jessica, being a nurse and having a loose temper, can have a bit of angst. Peter is the one I planned to use as a mouthpiece for explaining things within the world of Pokemon.

 

[OrangeAipom]

I think you should make it an island, instead of Four Island, since you're changing it so much anyway.

Is it a sitcom or a hundred genres? Which one is it?

 

[Lupine Volt]

Well, sit coms usually expand into several other genres. The overall genre will be humor, although, with the various situations the characters get into, I will be able to explore action, romance, angst, mystery...

I chose Four Island because the Sevii Islands are almost completely untouched , so I have wiggle room. And I rather liked Four Island. I suppose I could change islands, but I had a plan for a story arc set within the Ice cave, and a few stories taking place on visits to other islands, and the Kanto/Johto mainland. Four Island was convienent, so I'm expanding it into a moderately sized town on the island, with the Ice cave somewhere in the hills behind the city.