thatnerddave

[thatnerddave]

Mamoru, Motoki, and Artemis walk into a bar…

Work on Act 8 of my PGSM sequel fic is progressing quite nicely.

One of my readers’ favorite pairings so far has been Mamoru and Artemis. Their bickering, frenemy-like relationship is a ton of fun to write. So in Act 8, they’re back at it… and dragging poor Motoki along for the ride!

Mamoru is distraught about the events in Act 7 and withdraws to a bar. Motoki and Artemis tag along to keep an eye on him. What follows is one of the funniest, and most heartfelt, scenes I’ve written for PGSM.

Act 8 - Close Enough is now in the rough draft phase and scheduled for a July release.

[thatnerddave]

Act 8 rough draft is officially underway!

There’s no stopping PGSM Season 2.

After spending about a day outlining and making a research checklist (it’s a hefty list this time around), I’m actively drafting Act 8 - Close Enough.

Rei awakens in enemy hands and the adventure begins again…

[thatnerddave]

I promised myself a break!

I just marathoned almost 30,000 words of Sailor Moon fan fiction over the past 6 weeks. I was awake until 2:00 am last night putting the final edits on Act 7 - Push. I edited a music video and created new eye catch images. I really thought I’d earned a break.

Minako disagrees. She has a new mission and she’s eager to get started.

So here I sit. The journey begins again. Act 8 - Close Enough.

Minako Aino stood in Rei’s personal chambers at Hikawa Shrine and fought the urge to cry…

[thatnerddave]

Listen to “Push by Minako Aino”!

This still stands as one of the strangest things I’ve ever done: writing an original song for a fictional character to tie into a fanfic sequel to a television series that has been off the air for 20 years.

Yet, here we are.

Minako Aino and Rei Hino have grown closer over the years, but something is holding Rei back. With pressure from her record label mounting, and frustration over Rei building, Minako writes “Push” to signal a new chapter in her musical career… and perhaps even her personal life.

The song features an arrangement and vocals by katie_sings, and album art by Engel Chase. I also personally remastered footage from PGSM for the music video.

As all fan fiction projects should be, this song is a gift to the community. If any Sailor Moon fans who are also singers would like to record and post their own version of the song, send me a message, and I’ll provide the backing track and lyrics.

All I ask is that credit is given to all parties involved in its creation.

If the song is not to your tastes… hey, I tried. This was certainly uncharted territory for me.

Oh, and if you want to know how Rei reacts to this song… read Act 7 of my PGSM sequel fic.

[thatnerddave]

Act 7 - Push is now live!

The unofficial sequel to the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series continues with a new episode: Act 7 - Push Part 1 and Part 2!

Wedding bells are ringing and the Sailor Guardians are looking forward to a slice of happiness after weeks of Black Moon attacks. What starts as a celebration quickly turns into one of their biggest struggles yet. Now, a deception will be unmasked. A truth will stand revealed. A heart will be broken. And in the midst of chaos, two Guardians will have to choose: find their way to each other at last, or lose each other forever…

Also featuring the new, original song Push!

New uniforms! New powers! Bold new takes on classic characters and timeless storylines!

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Season 2: Black Moon releases new episodes monthly on AO3, Wattpad, and FanFictonNet!

This fan fiction season 2 of PGSM packs enough thrills and surprises to delight any Sailor Moon fan!

Check out the new chapter today!

Chapter Art by Killanarcisse

[thatnerddave]

One more scene to revise!

Act 7 of my PGSM sequel fanfic is coming… and it is absolutely bonkers!

I promised a mid-season finale, and I wasn’t kidding. Buckle up, because this is something else.

Are you caught up yet?

[thatnerddave]

👀

Princess Sailor Moon, is that you?

big fan of stories that, while undoubtedly being about the power of friendship, acknowledge that the power of incredible violence is just as important

the love was there. the love changed everything. the crowbar helped also

[thatnerddave]

Me when I’m revising. 😅

My average writing experience:

"Alright I think I'm almost done actually-"

*Google doc grows second health bar and a choir starts singing in latin*

[thatnerddave]

Act 7 is almost done!

How many fingers is Sailor Venus holding up?

Only two scenes are left to revise in the new chapter of my Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon sequel season, Act 7 - Push!

Two more scenes until I can finally release this story out into the world, alongside a new “Minako Aino” song and some absolutely gorgeous chapter artwork!

It’s… it’s a big update…

I may have gone overboard again…

[thatnerddave]

I just shocked myself…

You ever get into a flow when writing, I mean totally into the zone, and then something pours out of you and onto the page that you just didn’t expect?

And it’s really good? And it opens up a whole lot of questions and possibilities…that you’re not sure how to answer yet?

What the hell did I just do?!

[thatnerddave]

How the heck do I write this stuff?

I’m at the tail end of my writing process for Act 7 of my PGSM sequel fanfic. It’s looking like the newest chapter will release early next week. What a relief!

As I near the end of my cycle, I can look ahead to the whole process starting again for Act 8 - Close Enough. If I didn’t love writing so much, it would be daunting. It has, however, caused me to reflect on my process.

Every writer has their own process. It takes time to refine what works and doesn’t work for us creatively. To celebrate hitting over 100K words of Sailor Moon fan fiction, and the halfway point of my story, I thought it might be fun to invite you into my kitchen and show you exactly how I prepare a meal.

This is a long post, so if you’re interested, buckle up.

1. The Master Outline: I’m a planner. Before I started working on this project, I created a rough master outline for the whole season. I mapped out rough character arcs for each character and broke the season into Acts. Each Act received a two paragraph summary of what needed to happen to drive the plot forward.

Have I deviated from this outline? You betcha. Still, it’s my guiding light, so when I start writing a new Act, I read that summary first.

2. The Act Outline: What? Another outline? I told you I’m a planner. Since I’m writing a sequel to a TV show, I outline my Acts in terms of scenes. At this stage, I usually aim for around 12–15 scenes.

My Act outlines are messy. Each scene gets a paragraph or two, but also dialogue fragments, thoughts and musings about relationships, reminders about stuff that has to happen, references that might be fun to include… It’s like a glimpse into my brain. Umino sketching Haruka during his date with Naru was a throwaway idea at this stage that ended up in the story.

3. Research: Once the Act outline is set, I identify areas that might require background information and begin researching. Ami’s run through Nakamura Clinic with an injured Makoto took a ton of research. Surprisingly, so did Naru’s date with Umino.

4. Rough Draft Time: Only now the writing can start. It’s usually tough to get started. That first scene is the point of lowest confidence, when all the pages are blank. The initial act of creation feels like pushing a truck through a pinhole with your mind.

Once the words start flowing, speed is the name of the game. I try to keep moving, to stay in the moment and keep my narrative edge sharp. I don’t second guess or doubt. That comes later. When I’m not sure how best to describe something, I describe it poorly. I can fix it later.

5. First Revision: Since each Act is broken into scenes, I treat each scene as a discrete unit. In other words, once a scene is finished, I give it an immediate revision before moving on to the next scene. Grammar, usage, punctuation, and flow all get a first check.

6. Second Revision: The first draft is finished! Yay! Time to revise the whole thing as a cohesive whole. Do all the parts fit together? Does the continuity hold up? Did I forget to mention something? Are there any scenes that don’t work and can be cut? Worse, is there something not working because it needs another scene? Revise!

7. Write New Material & Revise It: At this stage, I usually find that I did not lean into the characters hard enough. I neglected dealing with some emotional fallout. In some way, I need to add something. In Act 7, near the end, I had to add a short scene focused on Ami. If you read it, you’ll wonder why there ever existed a draft without that scene.

8. Third Revision - Emotions: In the past, I spent a lot of time working with non-fiction writers. My mind still likes to work in simple, direct terms. If somebody is sad, my mind says “She is sad”. In fiction, saying so indirectly is a lot more interesting. What does the character do, how does the character look, that shows she is sad?

At this stage in my revision process, I hunt for oversimplified emotions, then work on expressing them in more interesting ways.

9. Beta Reader (?): I certainly wished I was awash in friends and family who want to read my stuff, but many don’t even know I write fanfic. I’ve made some friends in fandom who’ll occasionally read an Act before I post it and I’m very grateful for the input. I think out of nearly 120K words, maybe 1/4 actually were beta read.

10. Listen: Almost done! The final stage of my process is a fourth revision. At this point, I will use a “natural voice” text-to-speech program and listen to the whole Act. It’s shocking how listening can help you hear a usage mistake or reconsider a word choice.

Once the final edits are complete, I’m finally ready to post…and the cycle can begin again.

Prepare yourself, because next week…Act 7 - Push finally arrives!

In the meantime…why not get caught up on PGSM Season 2?

[thatnerddave]

Hear me out…what if she comes back in season 2?

Because…oh, boy…did I just stumble on a context for her return in my season 2 fanfic that NOBODY would see coming…

If you love PGSM, you really should get caught up with the Black Moon sequel fic.

[thatnerddave]

Sailor Venus is coming…

So close! I’m still filing away at the climactic battle for Act 7 of my PGSM fanfic sequel. Almost there! I’m getting more and more excited to release this chapter; I think it turned out to be a real highlight, filled with twist and turns.

Last night, I woke up at 2:00 am with a scene from Act 8 just sitting in my brain, fully formed. I grabbed my phone and wrote a rough draft right then and there.

It got me excited to move on from the never ending rewrites of Act 7 and turn my attention to what happens when Minako Aino powers up again at long last.

Here’s a tiny taste:

I am having way too much fun.

[thatnerddave]

Revise… Revise… Revise Some More…

I love writing, but there’s one thing I might love just a bit more: editing. There’s something immensely satisfying about taking a rough draft and, like a sculptor, chiseling and polishing away the rough edges until the final form of a story emerges.

Act 7 of my PGSM Season 2 fan fic has been in revision for a while now. I’m getting impatient; I just want to release it into the wild already.

The truth is that Act 7 has evolved. A lot. I just completed a major sweep through about 90% of the story, checking continuity, fixing grammar, and patching minor errors. It struck me how much the characters demanded to go their own way.

Ami surprised me with a big decision that will change her trajectory for the next few chapters. Rei’s spiritual powers led her into a situation I never anticipated. I had to rewatch a couple of episodes of PGSM to get my facts right.

Motoki mentioned something about his family that screams “future complication”. One of the villains decided to open his big mouth and all but revealed a big twist ahead of schedule.

And then there’s Usagi. Her bond with Chibiusa formed much quicker than I anticipated. To protect her future daughter, she leapt head-first into a situation I thought she’d avoid for as long as possible.

These character… they’re very pushy. They know who they are, and they remind me of it. Constantly.

Now, I’m left to revise that final 10%. A deception unmasked. A truth revealed. A heart broken. An unexpected return. And… a great loss.

I love these characters. Time to hurt them.

[thatnerddave]

Question: are you willing to have Minako's new songs recorded? :)

Hi there! Thanks for reaching out!

A little background: as part of my PGSM Season 2 fanfic, I wrote 2 songs for Minako Aino. It seemed crucial to me, given how important music was in PGSM, to make sure that music plays a role in my season 2, as well. So, Minako Aino is recording a new album.

Each song represents a big moment in the story. One links directly to Act 7, the other to Act 8. After I wrote the songs, I grew very attached to them. I’m a novice song writer, but I was proud of them. I had to make them real.

I ended up finding somebody to arrange the songs for me. She also recorded a sample vocal. I’m not much of a singer, and even if I were, I wouldn’t sound like Minako.

At this point, I have two recordings for each song: the “backing track” and the sample vocal. I’ve even created rough cuts of a couple of music videos I thought about releasing alongside Act 7 and Act 8.

Now, I know this might seem a bit…excessive…for a fan fiction story, but I decided to let my creativity run wild and see where it takes me. I’m having a blast.

As for your question: would I be interested in other Sailor Moon fans recording my “Minako Aino” songs? Heck yeah!

The glorious thing about fan works is that we’re all fans together, creating together, bouncing off each other and expressing our love for our fandom.

If somebody actually liked my songs enough to want to sing them? What an honor that would be!

I’d even provide the backing track. Gladly.

[thatnerddave]

PGSM returns to TV in Japan!

Via Sailor Fun Comics and Retro Sofa over on BlueSky, it looks like Toei will be re-broadcasting the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series in Japan!

This is huge news. Toei has a tendency to ignore the existence of PGSM, so the fact that the show is actually returning to TV is worth celebrating.

Could they be testing the waters, gauging interest in the show some 20 years later? Could international licensing finally be on the table, or at least an HD Blu-Ray release?

I’ve got my own, custom HD upscales I made of PGSM, but an official HD release would no doubt be superior.

Who know? Even if nothing else comes of this re-broadcast, a new generation will have the chance to experience the best version of Sailor Moon’s story.

Let’s celebrate!

[thatnerddave]

In Gratitude to the FanFic Community…

In the fall of last year, I finished watching an obscure Japan-only, live-action adaptation of one of my favorite childhood stories for the first time. I fell in love with Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Hard.

The series only adapted the first arc of the manga, and I immediately began to wonder how this version of the story might have progressed through the other arcs.

I’ve been a writer most of my life, but success has been elusive. My goal for many years was to become a professional comic book writer. I wrote and published a couple of mini-series that did not lead to more work. I managed to find my way into some anthologies, and…crickets.

It occurred to me that it might be time to try my hand at prose writing again rather than scripting. Why not try to write a novel? What did I have to loose?

Truth is, I was out of practice. I’d focused on scripting comics, on writing for an artist, for years. Then along came PGSM. I could spend more time with those characters, I reasoned, and sharpen my skills in a safe, fun way.

I could write a second season of PGSM, just for myself.

Things escalated quickly. Suddenly I had a detailed outline for a full season, thoughts on character redesigns, even ideas for opening credits. I could post it all online, I thought. For kicks.

Who would care about a Z-list comic book writer indulging in his little writing practice?

Not many people, but…so many more than I could have ever expected.

The fan fiction community welcomed me with open arms, answered my questions, taught me the lingo, and then…actually embraced my story. I had no reason to believe that ANYBODY would care about MY continuation of a 20-year old television series that never even came West.

Are my story’s stats the best on AO3? Far from it, but I don’t care. I’m so incredibly grateful that so many actually are reading my attempt at expanding the world of PGSM when, until recently I had never even READ fan fiction, much less written it.

Each and every one of those readers is precious to me.

So, from the bottom of my heart…thank you for reading.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to line editing Act 7.