The Fan Fiction Mafia

[OceanicLanturn]

I feel so shattered right now, I just finished a chapter and my mom turned off my computer (by accident) and I lost my 7-page chapter with TWO battle scenes ;_; Anyways, there's no use crying over spilled milk. I'm just gonna work on the next chapter first, and then come back to re-write it again. This makes me want to raise a topic but there's already one right now... so yeah :P To answering!

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?

To me, it really all depends on when a person starts writing. To me, good writers are talented or experienced. A person with 10 post count who writes a fic at the same quality as someone who started and finished 4 fictions sounds talented to me. However, no one knows how old one is behind the screen, or how experienced they are. Post counts don't mean anything. The 4 post counts guy could just be a really bored professional writer under disguise. I'm straying off though. Anyways, I restate the fact that I personally think it depends on when a person starts writing, and if they've actually improved or not. So age sort of matters, but you can't judge a book by its cover. Same applies for writers. However, I agree with the general consensus that older writers generally write better. Though, as long as I enjoy their work, it doesn't matter to me how old they are, I just... enjoy it!

As for my beginning, my writing use to suck. Horrible grammar ... -_- It makes me cringe whenever I see my old work, and I'm sure when I go older I'll cringe when I look at the work I posted on serebii...

[Deadly.Braviary]

Before I start, I just want to comment on Kutie Pie's post a bit.

I find it really cool to run into a well-written story and find out the writer was just a young teenager, because it proves to me that they've been practicing writing for a good number of years, or they're just that naturally talented (usually the former).

Are you talking about my story right there?!

Eh, sorry for the self-promotion but I saw this and couldn't resist.

If you just don't care about the quality of the work, then why are you writing in the first place?

There are several fics out there which I've seen which are pretty so-so, but still show a lot of potential. In fact, the only problem with some of them is one that every writer - even some pros - suffer from. Grammar. For some reason, fics with bad spelling and grammar tend to be skimmed over and dismissed. I know, because I've done it quite often. But once in a while, there's a fic which, if you take the time read, turns out to be pretty good. The bad spelling and grammar is the only turn-off. I have a certain fic in mind - Dormant's Author's Run, for those of you who want to know. It's good. It's pretty funny, it's got a good premise, and the writer actually pokes fun at the fact that he uses bad grammar, by having the 'Grammar Police' come after him to arrest him. Only problem? Bad grammar.

How did a discussion on age distort into bad grammar? So, anyway. Here's my stance on this.

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?

Honestly? If a writer's age is less than eleven or twelve, I'll look it up just to see how good they are. Because if you're writing a story at that age, no one expects you to stick with it. Hell, I've been writing since I was nine, and it was only when I turned eleven that I finally got a fic that went past double-digit chapters. That still didn't mean that fic was exceptionally good - it meant enough people liked it that I continued it. And keep in mind, at that age, I was typing entire chapters within an hour or an hour and a half, in the reply box. Yeah, I was a kid. So, yeah. Age matters, because if you start early, you might not be able to put up a good fic, but if you keep writing random stuff for a lot of time, you'll become a helluva lot better. Take me as an example - I've been writing six years now. And it's only now that anyone thinks my fics are getting better.

I made the topic me again? Wow, I really am narcissistic.

OK, I think I should stop here, or this will segue into a rant about how ecstatic I was when I got *slaps face* OK. Shut up.

[Amiちゃん]

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?

Not at all. I was in the 9th grade when I first started writing, I wrote in script and it was mostly because I was on a forum where everyone wrote like that. I look back on those that I have on FFN and I pretty much laugh. They were so terrible, yet people who reviewed me really liked them. Still this this day, they comment on those and love them. So yeah, I started out pretty bad and then as I went into standard structure, I progressively got better.

[Kaiserin]

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?

Well, if you sat a thirty-year-old down at a computer and told them to write a story when they have no prior experience, I'd be willing to bet their writing would be hard to distinguish from a young teen's, outside of maybe vocabulary usage and certain uses of concepts. So not strictly speaking, no, but it can definitely factor in. A preteen is obviously not going to have the same experience or knowledge of writing an older teen or young adult would, especially since they haven't even technically finished all their English classes yet (if they live in an English-speaking country).

I think I was eleven when I started, and needless to say, I was atrocious. But I grew up and learned a bit. If you happen to be the person I frequently pester to beta my stuff, you'd know I actually have some terrible habits when it comes to grammar that die really, really hard, and that I'm the furthest thing from polished. (She's an English major and I love her to bits because she goes into Sensei Mode for me when I ask, bless her.)

[JX Valentine]

What time is it? IT'S TIME FOR JAX TO REPLY TO THINGS WHEN SHE PROBABLY DOESN'T HAVE TIME TO DO SO.

Also, as per usual, the member listing has been updated, but if I missed anyone, I'm an idiot who needs to be corrected.

That said!

So, in other words (TV Tropes to the rescue!), Platonic Life Partners/Heterosexual Life Partners? (If TV Tropes scares you, the basic gist of the definition is that it's a completely platonic relationship that's stronger and more important for the characters than any other relationship in their lives, including romance.)

Ooh, yes! I just wasn't sure if it'd be a kosher thing to call actual relationships that. But pretty much both of those tropes in a nutshell, yep.

Because you're totally right. Close platonic relationships tend to be more meaningful, in part because they're not as heavily explored as romantic relationships... but mostly because they don't share those cues of hugging/kissing/what-have-you with romantic relationships. So when a person is close to someone on a platonic level, it ends up being conveyed in the tiniest details -- a significant look, a well-placed line of snark, subtle bits of body language, that kind of thing. And I think because it relies so much on getting every little detail just right, it ends up being a lot more powerful than a romantic relationship because whereas a romance might be a given (to the point where we only need to be told that two characters are doing it to understand), a reader ends up practically feeling the dedication that two people in a platonic/heterosexual life partnership experience (because they have to put so much more into it to establish that they're that strongly connected).

Tl;dr, I think bromance life partnership is gorgeous when done correctly.

On that note!

So I've got an idea: sort of a fun little thing to help sharpen everyone involved:

Post a little snippet, maybe a paragraph long. Perhaps its from an upcoming story or chapter of your latest work... and everyone else... picks it apart until it has no bones left. Leave no tiny error unnoticed!

I am totally okay with this, and if I wasn't currently working on a bunch of stuff I've promised not to publish (because they're gift fics), I'd be all over this.

Maybe when I finally pick AEM 32 back up, I'll do it, but in the meantime, feel free~!

I feel so shattered right now, I just finished a chapter and my mom turned off my computer (by accident) and I lost my 7-page chapter with TWO battle scenes ;_;

*pats* That's why they tell you to save and save often.

And a few answers on my end because I want to hit ALL THE TOPICS.

Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?
TRUE STORY: My very first fic on Serebii was a crackfic meant to poke fun at shipping names back when acronyms were still a thing. However, its FFNet version did more hilariously than its Serebii version. And by that, I mean I might have scarred a few shippers for life.

I have also been known to screw around with shippings in general, and at least one fic was written purely to see what actually got reviews on FFNet.

And then there's Mary Sue Must Die.

On a serious note, I don't think I've ever really written a fic for serious points. Most of my "let's write a fic with a message" shenanigans usually involve copious amounts of crack. Other than that, I generally tend to write just for the sake of telling a story, if only because I think it's more fun that way. Granted, I have a tendency to explore the **** out of goodness knows how many things, but I really only do it because it's fun to discuss, not so much because I want to teach people something or get a particular point across. I guess you could say it's pretty easy to tell when I am and am not actually writing for the sake of making a point. Because I'm usually pretty obvious about it. *nod*


How did you get an idea for a fic? Does it come to you? Or if you get inspired?
The usual. Listen to music. Watch something. Go for long walks. Read. Take a shower. Talk to the most hilarious people.

And sometimes, it's vodka and terrible life decisions.

...Wait, no.


What is your thoughts with 'tropes?'
Intrigued by the concept; hate the community. I agree with Dragonfree in that tropes aren't so much clichés, and the idea isn't to wake up and go, "I feel like inserting this trope in my writing!" A trope is just the name for a lot of common ideas and concepts to storytelling. They're not just clichés in the same way a hawk isn't just a falcon. After all, every story has a conflict, and hey! Conflicts are tropes. In other words, all the people at TV Tropes are doing is doing what literary critics have done for centuries: give names to elements of a story. Just as critics have identified quite a list of stock characters, the tropes community have identified the Five-Man Band and all its variations. To borrow a trope, that kind of thing is Older Than They Think.

Where it runs into trouble is, of course, the fact that a lot of people think of it backwards. Tropes aren't meant to be consciously inserted into a work. They're just there. By trying to get a trope to show up in your work, you basically analyze your own writing... which might be fun to do, but no one's a worse literary critic for a piece than the writer themselves. Well, that and you really shouldn't try to get a trope across in your work, if only because that's rather missing the point of the whole exercise. It's like Griff said on a level: it's not a natural way of going about doing things (in that it's actually literally backwards).

Don't get me wrong. I love reading the articles. It's just that I feel like the atmosphere encourages writers to cram tropes into their work consciously (because it's the in-thing to do), and the community itself can get pretty weirdly anal. Like, there are legit people who claim pages on that site and lord over them for some reason. On the one hand, it gets pretty funny, reading page histories sometimes. On the other, it can get pretty damn obnoxious if you're minding you're trying to mind your own business and have fun on the site.

But yeah, mostly, I'm a bit leery at the people who try to invoke tropes in a serious or mostly-serious work. Just... yeah.


Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?
As others have said... *waves hand back and forth* Kinda sorta. On the one hand, obviously, you learn more and experience more as you age. On the other, I have also met people older than twenty who have produced some god-awful writing. (There was one involving a yeti, a horrible attempt at irreverent humor, a ****-ton of unnecessary political commentary, unintentional borderline racism, and an extreme fondness for comma splices and thesaurus abuse. I have never wanted to drink more than I did while reading that. Except for this other time I read a fic involving Ash being transformed into a hermaphroditic half-Beedrill nymphomaniac, and that was by someone who was at least five years younger than the former writer. Or that other time involving Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and buttered toast, which I'm pretty sure was written by someone old enough to know better than that. Moral of the story: Sexual frustration and a dedication to writing do not mix.)

Point is, in theory, it should. In practice... not so much. That's either a fortunate or unfortunate thing. I've also had the pleasure of reading some pretty awesome fics by people who were only thirteen at the time of writing them, just as I've read some "OH GOD WHY" fics by people my age or older. In a way, you could probably take this as encouragement because it means everyone has the potential to write... buuuuut of course it also means everyone has the potential to be a horrendous writer too. So that's really why it's best to look at authors on a case-by-case basis -- and if you're an author, that just means you don't have to be restricted by what you learn in school. (Meaning start reading online guides and whatnot. *nods*)

As for yours truly, I technically started writing way back when I was a kid. I was always screwing around with paper and things that can write on them; I just didn't always come up with things that're coherent or... even worthy of mentioning ever again. When I first started posting fic, however, I was pretty horrible at it. Like, I wrote a genuine fic, and people thought it was crack. And I think I'll let my angst-ridden, description-happy, slow-as-eff fics from the early aughts speak for themselves. Feeeeel free to do the math there.

*trots off to bed because why am I still up*

[Bay]

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?

Like everyone else, it's more on a case by case basis. There are authors younger than me I'm so jealous of their writing style and authors older than me I'm wondering what point they're trying to make in their fics.

As for when I got started, I think I got started writing as a hobby around 15. I didn't start posting until I was 17 and oh boy soooo ashamed of my tense mistakes and awkward sentences. -_-

[Kutie Pie]

Oh crap, I just noticed that second question xD. (Too lazy to go edit my actual post.)

How did you start out when you first started writing?

I started out bad, of course. I think I started out by copying/re-doing a couple of movies like the Powerpuff Girls movie, but that didn't go anywhere. I wrote that Henry Hamster one I mentioned a while back, and various other weird stories/nonsense. Eventually, I got into Pokémon a little bit, and when I found Serebii and its fan fiction section, I was all about writing Pokémon stories. Most of them were song-fic one-shots (thankfully will never see the light of day again), one was an awful, stupid script about Mew's wacky adventures that turned "serious" later on, but for the most part, they were either shipping fics, or re-writes of a couple of movies that also didn't go anywhere. Many of my stories dealt with Mewtwo or Mew, in which the ideas were... I guess decent for the most part, but I executed them poorly xP. I actually attempted a trilogy once, and I did get this finished and a fourth one being written out as well, but that was horrible as well, so thank goodness those are gone forever. (What was I thinking, making Celebi a jealous ex-suitor and kidnapping Mew for his own purposes and later poisoning her because she refused to do as he said?)

So... yeah.

[Hero of Ideals]

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?


Well it's more the maturity and wrting style the writer delivers. If the writer is mature for their age and writes really well, then they are real good. But it also matters you respect the series you have,, becuase no everyone is going to listen to you rant about how you don't like this or that, or call the writer of a series a troll or say they're trolling. Plus if both you or your review says their story is better than the sseries itself... Well read my intro to the club.

Bad, my old work was bad and back then, I would have cluttered with the other bad writers, plus I earned my 60+ folllowers.

[Azran Flame]

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?

In my opinion, I think it's more about maturity and experience than age alone. Sure, they have a strong correlation with each other, but like Kaiserin said, a 30-year-old with no prior experience in creative writing who attempts to suddenly write a book is probably going to be worse off than a 15-year-old with lots of vocabulary and experience. Even though 1) I'm very young compared to other people here and 2) English isn't my first language, I'm pretty confident with my grammar and punctuation; it's the vocabulary (or more specifically, puns, idioms, and expressions) and getting the language to actually flow that's hard for me. I started writing when I was ten or eleven, and back then I was horrible compared to now. Still, I look back and admire myself for having enough perseverance to actually write more than ten chapters on a rubbish fanfic. People did seem to like it, though. That probably attributed to my commitment.

Now, I have a question here: How do you open your stories? There's this story I'm really eager to start writing on, but I really can't decide how to open it. Of course, I know it depends on the type of story, but I'd like to hear your opinions anyway. Since it starts out as a normal-looking "romance" story, with more and more action scenes, mystery elements, and tearjerkers appearing as the story progresses (spoiler: it's not actually romance), I'm thinking about opening with an action scene that gives an insight to events that happen later in the story, or just the scene where the two main characters meet for the first time. So yeah, you could say that I'm looking for advice here. ^^;

[Kutie Pie]

How do you open your stories?

Start with a clincher, for starters. You have to be able to hook in your readers as early on as possible, or you will lose them from boredom/disinterest. If you have an action-packed story, start with some action (but not your biggest action, that's saved for the climax). If you have a mystery, start with a mysterious feel (or some action leading up to the mystery). If you have a comedy story, be snarky (or have some action with comedic results or what-not). If it's a first-person, don't start with "I", "my", or other first-person pronouns, or even have them in the first sentence (unless you do something clever). If it's a romance story, while we don't expect a form of it in the beginning, we expect the mood of the story to be light-hearted, so be light-hearted and "romantic" in describing the first scene.

In other words, you have to establish the mood of the story. And the best way to do it is through the first sentence/paragraph. If we get a good understanding on what the world is going to be like from the get-go, we can then determine what the story will be like. Writing is different from visual arts in that a picture's usually not accompanying the text. From a glance, we can (usually) tell what the picture or a movie looks like, and what its atmosphere is. Stories can be the same thing, but it goes much more deeper, and it can take time for the plot to pop up. First impressions don't go hand-in-hand with stories very well, but it's human nature to just take a look at something and if we aren't interested in the first few seconds, we move on. In a way, you have to really make it your best effort to capture the attention of someone and keep them there for longer than a minute. Movies and pictures can get away with looking half-assed because we at least got to see the full picture. Books don't get that privilege from the start. The reader has to read far along in just to get an understanding of what the story is about.

This is why your first chapter is very important, and must be handled with care. One slip at the starting line will make people look away, or laugh at you for making a "mockery" of yourself. That's why I like the hook to be sharp as possible without being too sharp that it becomes acupuncture so that way I have people looking at what jabbed them. And if it's shiny/pretty enough, they'll look even harder. Next thing they know, they're hooked, whether they want to be hooked or not. Does that make sense?

[Matori]

How do you open your stories?

This for me is seriously the hardest and often most intimidating part of writing a story- I have no problem writing once I really get into it, but it's putting down those first few words that's hardest. I will have to agree with other posters here, especially Kutie Pie, that a hook is really important, and I tend to open my stories either with some dialogue that sets the tone for the rest of the story, in media res during a scene that will later affect the whole story, or with a brief paragraph giving background on a major character and possibly insight into their thoughts. Occasionally I'll combine all three, like I did with Survival- the story started with a paragraph discussing Persian as a species, followed by a paragraph specifically about Giovanni's Persian and their Pokemon/trainer relationship, and finally cutting to the action that would ultimately set the events of the story into motion.

With those three elements, it was made clear what the story was about: 1. Persian 2. Giovanni's Persian, more specifically, the bonds the two share and 3. a freak accident and the consequences that followed. I think a lot of readers decide on whether they'll want to stick with a story based on the first few paragraphs- I've put aside books or skipped short stories in anthologies if the opening lines don't grab my attention or present to me anything I care about- and so I make sure to grab the reader's attention with something to draw them into the story, and more importantly the world I'm trying to create for it, and keep them going.

[Meeker]

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?
Maybe to an extent. I mean, I don't expect an elementary school student to write the work o Shakespeare, but I'm only 15, and apparently write pretty well (based on what I've been told). I started about 2010, gave up, got back into it in late 2011/early 2012, lost interest, then got back into writing again in late 2012. Story of my life right there.

[Bay]

How do you open your stories?

Depends what story I'm writing. Many of my one shots are on the fluff side, so I tend to have the start be lighthearted. For Nothing, Everything I started with the main character reading something (that was already shown in the games) as there will be a lot of mystery and history talk going on. Another fic (not Pokemon) I started with a radio announcement actually as a lot of political and military stuff is going on. Sometimes I'm unsure how I'll open the story with the beginning paragraphs, so I tend to write ahead and then go back to writing and rewriting the start until I'm satisfied and believe it'll hold the readers' interest.

[Griff4815]

How do you open your stories?

With great difficulty.

Seriously though, the openings of stories/chapters/scenes are always the hardest parts for me. It's the first several lines in particular. You need to establish the tone, scene, and setting. As people said, the opening of a story needs to leave a strong first impression. People do tend to subconsciously judge a book by its cover, or in this case, the first lines, so there's a lot of pressure. I try my best to have an intriguing prologue, when possible.

[Shadow Lucario]

I can't believe I am just now requesting to join. I have shamed and brought dishonor upon my family.

Why you like fanfic/writing

Ever since I read my first fan fiction on here I just loved the idea of coming up with my own version of events in certain fandoms. Ever since I could write, I've been writing stories. I constantly have ideas in my head and when I can express those ideas through characters and plots it gets me amped. I don't know how to explain it really. Like a lot of people, my first fan fiction was a bust. It got a pretty big following though and I have no idea why. My second story was much for successful and satisfying for myself. I call it Pokemon Academy: Dedication through Light and Darkness. It was my first finished fic and one that I was very proud of. If you want to take a look at it then I wouldn't mind. A few years later I attempted to rewrite the story completely under the title Remix: Dedication through Light and Darkness. I only managed to get seven chapters in. Now I'm on my third fic which is another that I am very proud of. It is entitled Hero's Bond and it takes me back to my journey fic roots. Take a look if you'd like.

[OceanicLanturn]

How do you open your stories?

It depends. I don't know. I usually start with a dialogue, though. I've noticed a trend that I tend to start with dialogues in most important chapters. As for opening the fic, also dialogues. I think that if I don't learn some new ways of learning how to open a chapter, my readers (if any) are gonna get bored XD

Also, I'm having a hard time coming up with a title for adventure fics. Bleh.

[Kutie Pie]

I can't believe I am just now requesting to join. I have shamed and brought dishonor upon my family.

Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow. *SHOT*

How do you open your stories?

It depends. I don't know. I usually start with a dialogue, though. I've noticed a trend that I tend to start with dialogues in most important chapters. As for opening the fic, also dialogues. I think that if I don't learn some new ways of learning how to open a chapter, my readers (if any) are gonna get bored XD

Ha ha, I start with dialogue sometimes, too, both as chapter openings and opening transitions xD. I have no idea why, exactly, but I need to stop doing that, since I feel it's pretty distracting. I don't know how my readers feel about this, but I haven't gotten anything telling me, "Stop opening everything with dialogue," so I guess no one seems to mind. *shrugs*

[Quilava42]

Another topic:

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

How do you open your stories?

Usually I start with text of a person who's telling the story. Dialogue seemed weird to me when it comes out of nowhere. Not dialogue. It seems to make more sense to me. Starting with scenes is the hardest part since it starts it all.

[Kutie Pie]

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

Good question.

Yes. If there's too much of it, even if it's rather realistic given the situation, it can get very distracting. Movies, as much as they can get away with swearing like sailors, can have too much of it that it turns an audience off. There's always going to be that niche that doesn't mind if every other sentence drops the "f" bomb, but the vast majority can only take so much at a time, even if they go see R-rated movies all the time.

The same applies to writing, especially when it comes to fan fiction. You have to keep in mind the fandom you're writing in, and the rating--the demographic you're shooting for is especially important in this case. If you want to have Pikachu and friends swear up a storm, go ahead, just make it for mature audiences and be reasonable with it. Not sparingly (unless you want to)--reasonable. Too much of it at one time is extremely annoying to read. I personally groan a little whenever I see a bunch of swear words in one place hurr hurr hypocrisy because Deoxys swears up a storm anyway but it's nothing that harsh, but I will hit that back button if I reach my limit with the swears. That's just me. I don't know about the rest of you folks.

Can a curse word affect the atmosphere to where it benefits the scene? Depending on who you ask, it can. If you're looking for a specific mood to the scene, you can have a precision f-strike happen from a character who normally doesn't swear, or doesn't talk, whatever will help the story along and hit it home. You just have to be clever with it, even at the risk of some of your readers.

[Brutaka]

Why have I not joined this? I don't know.

Why you like fanfic/writing: Because honestly, I want to find out what happens in this story just as much as everyone else. I have NO IDEA where any of my characters are going are what theyre gonna do. I'm just sorta along for the ride. Salvage Springs burned down? Oh, okay. N showed up and has taken a curiosity to Amy? Alright then. Arceus manipulated a poor human? Awesome. A Cloyster decided to cheat at a friendly battle? tsk tsk.

Does age really matter how well you write? How did you start out when you first started writing?
Not really. It's sort of an individual jurisdiction. You don't need to be old. Just experienced/talented or have good friends to help you.

EDIT
Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?
Yes and no. It depends on what kind of story you're doing. If it's super realistic and set in our modern time, chances are there will be lots of cussing. Not from everyone, but it'll be there.
Though it needs to make sense and have a place. And it needs to be approached with tact. No overusing it. Or at least make it so that if you do use it a lot, make it so that it doesnt sound forced. If it sounds natural, people tend not to mind as much.

[Shadow Lucario]

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

If it's just over the top then yes. I feel that cursing should only be used in a situation where that certain curse word describes it better than any other word. If you have someone running around dropping F-bombs, that just doesn't look good, but the occasional damn isn't distracting at all. I'm not saying don't use the F-word, just pick the right moment.

[Griff4815]

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

I think that depends on the reader. For me, personally, if it's in a character's nature to swear, then I'll have them swear. For example, one of my characters who's a rebellious mercenary who doesn't care what anybody thinks of him isn't afraid to swear. However, when people use swearing to try and make their story more "edgy" or use the f-bomb like its a punctuation mark, then it can get kind of annoying and tiresome. Swearing also kind of has to be consistent with the overall tone of the story. Like, it's jarring when subbers make the characters of the Pokemon and Digimon anime, for example, swear when the characters are supposed to be kids, pretty much for the purpose of making the show seem more mature. It just seems out of place in certain situations. The reverse situation is also true, like when gritty, savage pirates use words expletive replacements like "gosh" and "gee-whiz". It has to be realistic given the characters, the tone, and the situation.

[Bay]

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

Me personally it depends on the story, characters, and fandom. For instance there is one series with the characters cursing a lot, so the swear words in the stories for that fandom didn't bother me that much. With Pokemon cursing once in a while I'm fine but overused yeah that'll be a bit much.

[Meeker]

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

Depending on what it is. I don't suggest using the "f-bomb" in a Pokemon fic much, if at all. It all depends on what your atmosphere is. If you've got a hellish war zone or a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I feel that it should be fine, given that something like that will do things to people's heads and brings out the worst in them. However, please, don't make a guy swear in something like a Disney movie (excluding The Avengers or something similar) or something along those lines. It also depends on the character. I expect a hothead to use more explicitives than some one who's relaxed more often. There are so many different situations that can make these things work, and stop them from working.

[Azran Flame]

Can cursing get in the way of the atmosphere in the story?

I think it depends on the character and the situation. If they're a gangster-type person, or otherwise very rebellious and stubborn or something along those lines, then I'd say it's perfectly fine, since it would practically be in their nature to swear. If they're in a dangerous situation, like a war zone or an emergency that could result in deaths, then I'd also say it's fine to an extent, as long as they're not the kind of character to never swear. For example, you wouldn't expect a Victorian, tea-drinking, stiff-upper-lip gentleman to swear, even in the most dangerous situations. It just wouldn't work out. Also, in this case, I think single swear words would be more atmospheric than an f-bomb. It would make the characters in that situation look even more shocked and afraid.

You should keep in mind the demographic and general feel of the story as well, obviously. I wouldn't particularly like to see f-bombs in light-hearted Pokémon fanfics.