About Me:

I am a fan of a large variety of fictional worlds from almost every genre and media. My favorite by far, however, is Ratchet and Clank. When I played A Crack in Time a possible explanation or continuation of the story came to my mind (as I'm sure it does to many). One day I finally decided to try writing it out and so I found this site. After that, I began writing Days Past.

I really just want to make this story good. Whether I try my hand at writing other fanfictions is still up in the air. I'm not a writer and I don't plan to become one career-wise. I'd appreciate any comments or opinions on my story (good or bad) as my only goal, again, is simply to make it the best story possible.

Update April 16th, 2020:

So, an explanation for my extended hiatus. Back in June my boss left my company and I got tapped to take his position. Between the extra responsibilities and the transition efforts, my writing time was virtually axed. I tried to keep up with writing weekly chapters way longer than I should have and I burned out a little.

I have learned from past burnouts, however, and so I was able to keep writing a bit, mostly focusing on non-Days Past stuff. The current arc of Days Past is very 'subtle' and needs to be intricately put together, but I realized when I had to post weekly that I was starting to force the work and that was hurting its quality, so I took a step back.

This brings me to my next decision, which is that I will no longer be doing weekly-release style chapters.

I really love releasing chapters weekly, I get to see how many people are eager for each new chapter, readers are more likely to comment if the chapter is fresh and, if I'm honest, the deadlines give me the kick in the rear I need to really get to work. As mentioned above, however, the downside is that the quality can sometimes take a hit.
So until further notice, I will be releasing chapters in an 'arc' format, where multiple chapters that relate closely to one another will be written and released simultaneously. This gives me the opportunity to go back and fix/adjust plot details to a chapter that I would have otherwise already posted.

In terms of COVID-19, a lockdown has been in effect in my area for over a month (as it has with many), however, my job is considered 'essential to sustaining life', so I haven't actually gotten any more free time to write than I did before.

That being said, I have found a bit of success just following my muse through various other projects of mine. I know I've said before that I would focus on Days Past until the current arc is done, but I made the creative decision that I need a break from it. Not to worry, though, as I still have plenty of outlines and drafts for the current arc and beyond, so Days Past will come back eventually.

As for my other projects, nothing's been completed so far, but plenty of work has been done overall. My main focus now is on A Prog in the Machine, which is currently winning the 'next story' poll. Hopefully, I can post something for everyone to enjoy while stuck in lockdown, but again, I'm not going to rush anything.

FanFiction vs. Archive of Our Own:

For those that don't know, I am also on another Fanfiction website called Archive of Our Own, or AO3 for short. I'm also on Deviant Art, but not actively.

I've been weighing the pros and cons of FF v. AO3 and I've come up with a list.

AO3 pros:

-I can link stories together in a 'series'.

-I can use an infinite number of tags to specify a story's content.

-Instead of reviews, AO3 has a more classic forum-style of comment section where you can post thoughts to a specific chapter without having to worry about spoilers for anyone else. You can also reply to comments and start conversation threads from them.

-AO3 allows me to post links and embed images directly into my story, which is great for my recent artwork commissioning efforts.

-The 'like' button is called 'kudos' on AO3 instead of 'favorite' like on FF, which I think helps prevent people from going "I 'liked' the story... but was it a 'favorite'?"

AO3 Cons:

-No Direct Messaging on AO3. Unlike FF, all communication has to be done in comment-form on works in public (though, this might be a plus for people who deal with a lot of spam/harassment).

-Unlike FF, the viewer tracking data is very barebones on AO3. I can only see 'hits' to a whole story, whereas on FF I can see the breakdown by chapter and even country origin of views. As a writer, AO3's stats give me a much more vague picture of who's just checking out my stories and who's actually reading them.

-No Polls. FF's polling system is super helpful and I love using it. I'm using it right now to help me decide where to focus my writing efforts (so go vote above!). Unfortunately, AO3 doesn't have that. The closest thing I could do was have a comment thread on a chapter itself, but it's not as good and not private.

Conclusion:

Personally I find that AO3 has the advantage. As someone who primarily writes, I really like the pros and I can get over the cons, but from the perspective of a reader, the ability to filter through tags is a huge benefit.

I will keep posting to both sites, but I'll consider AO3 the better one for commenting and replying to comments. If you've read Days Past then you've probably noticed that I've asked readers to refrain from spoilers in reviews and that the main way I respond to reviews/comments is by putting the reply in the next chapter itself. I do this mostly when I think the reply is something I'd like other readers to see as well, but that's obviously a very inefficient system. Going forward, I'm going to remove public replies from chapters on FF, so if you'd like to discuss something about a chapter instead of a one-off comment (especially if it contains spoilers), then do it on AO3.

Side Stories:

I've decided to branch out by trying my hand at writing some other stories, rather than just focusing everything on my one series. These stories will be short and completed quickly and hopefully entice new readers to try out my main series.

Here is a list of possible story premises that I may or may not take a shot at:

1. Lombax in a Big Galaxy:

'The galaxy is so much bigger than Veldin,' Ratchet thought. He'd always wanted to see what laid beyond his own atmosphere, but things were so much different than what he'd imagined. Practically overnight he had gone from a backwater hick mechanic to an interplanetary celebrity hero. From 'fancy dress balls' to paparazzi, how will he cope with the intense culture shock?

2: The President's Daughter:

Dr. Nefarious and his Biobliterator have been defeated, the Tyrranoid war is over, and peace has returned to the Solana Galaxy once again thanks to heroics of Ratchet and Clank. However, Ratchet's peace had anything but returned as he now faces his greatest challenge yet... dating the daughter of the Galactic President. (SashaxRatchet)

3: The Other, Other 'Last' Lombax:

Angela Cross had succeeded in fixing the Protopet with the help of the first Lombax she'd ever met, at least since her parents had disappeared. Unfortunately, it turned out that he seemed to know as little about their race as she did. After Ratchet suddenly returns home to help defend the Solana Galaxy from a major threat, Angela is approached by a strange man who might just have the answers she seeks, but only if she can survive the coming danger that he warns of.

4: Just A Prog in the Machine:

Ratchet arrives at the Vartax Detention Center to speak with Neftin Prog. A new Criminal has emerged with some connection to the Progs' previous criminal activities and Neftin has information on them... for a price. Behind a triple-thick glass wall, the larger Prog sibling confides in Ratchet his concern for his sister. Having noticed that she was not coping well with the loss of her purpose, or with the guilt of what she'd done to achieve it, Neftin's only hope is the one other person in the galaxy who could understand the pain of growing up without a family, or even a race, to call their own. Can Ratchet learn to understand and rehabilitate the former galactic villain, or will his animosity towards Vendra Prog for what she did... and what she took... get the better of him? (Mild VendraxRatchet)

5: A Nefarious Backstory:

Ninth grade started like any other year for young Steven Nefarious. He was a brilliant young student prodigy attending a prestigious high school of the sciences in Blackwater City. With dreams of receiving his doctorate and changing the galaxy with his biological research, he was excited to begin his first day of Mr. Bozell's biology class. Among the many wonderful things about the first day of the semester, Nefarious learned that the school had gotten a new transfer student. This boy was unusually large and wearing all green spandex for some reason, but Nefarious wasn't one to judge. With summer over and the school Science Fair to look forward too, Steven was sure that he'd have the best year ever!

6. Ratchet and Clank

After the recent reboot of Ratchet and Clank into a movie (followed by my subsequent denial of how horrible it was), I began to wonder what a 'good' retelling of the story would actually look like and I started outlining how 'I' would have made it. I've even noticed a few other authors writing their own versions of the OG R&C series. If anyone is interested, I'll put my keyboard to the monitor and show you what my interpretation of the Ratchet and Clank origin story is.