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Doctor Zero posted:If dreams are so influential why aren’t there more short stories about people’s teeth falling out? Huh? Nobody has that dream, it’s just you.
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Jun 28, 2019 18:43
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oot posted:I've got a problem with the story I'm writing. It involves a character who just got through a harrowing conflict that took up years of his life, and everything was resolved in a satisfactory way. He thinks he should be happy but he finds himself feeling like he's missing something, like the excitement the life or death situations gave him. Then of course t he events of the story get into motion and he finds himself in that kind of circumstance again. Is this story a sequel to the one where you showed the harrowing and presumably exciting conflict happening? That sounds like it would make for an interesting read. I'm working on a story now where there is a conflict which has taken up years of the main character's life and at the end it get resolved in a satisfactory way. I also have an mind a sequel for that story where the main characters are trying to adjust to their new life, but even though they love each other, they're having problems, to the point where they take some time apart. That leads to some trouble, naturally. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Jun 28, 2019 |
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Jun 28, 2019 19:14
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For people who want writing advice from actual professional agents/publishers, I've become hooked on a podcast by Laura Zats and Erik Hane called Print Run: Patreon page. They release free stuff, but their biggest strengths IMO come from backer rewards. They do a Query Podcast and a First Pages podcast where they take user submitted queries/first pages and rip the poo poo outta them, going into way more detail than I've seen anywhere on either topic (including QueryShark). They've also contacted people over queries multiple times to ask for pages - I wouldn't say it's worth bankrupting yourself over, but if you've got a spare $3 to $8/month it's heavily worth checking out.
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Jul 2, 2019 11:42
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I've got another case of character-related writer's block. This time I've got a ruthless galactic conqueror character who needs to find something on Earth that gives him a second of hesitation over killing the inhabitants and plants a seed of doubt. Maybe I should think of something specific to the character, but if I go that route I don't want it to be a "Martha"-style copout. It would have to do with his nature.
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Jul 6, 2019 01:59
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oot posted:I've got another case of character-related writer's block. This time I've got a ruthless galactic conqueror character who needs to find something on Earth that gives him a second of hesitation over killing the inhabitants and plants a seed of doubt. Maybe I should think of something specific to the character, but if I go that route I don't want it to be a "Martha"-style copout. It would have to do with his nature. "By the Heart of the Screaming Void," Lord Uroth-Helvishar murmured to himself, his four eyes wide enough to display the jet-black of his sclera. "This... this is too precious to destroy. Too precious to hoard. No, it must be preserved, and shared, and made free. It must be loved, celebrated, revered." "So... like, you gonna finish that burger," said Joe, brow arched, "or are you just gonna stand there and mutter like a crazy person?" "Shush your filthy face-hole and pass me more of this delightful 'sriracha' sauce before I shred the covalent bonds of your atomic structure through sheer willpower!"
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Jul 6, 2019 03:52
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Couple of the more unusual things about Earth: —Moon is just the right size to eclipse the sun —The dominant species (humans I guess) are INCREDIBLY inbred. We are just absurdly homogeneous, I think the stat is something like 'the two most distantly related humans are more closely related than two chimps on opposite sides of a river.' I don't know why either of these things would make a space tyrant hesitate.
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Jul 6, 2019 03:54
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oot posted:I've got another case of character-related writer's block. This time I've got a ruthless galactic conqueror character who needs to find something on Earth that gives him a second of hesitation over killing the inhabitants and plants a seed of doubt. Maybe I should think of something specific to the character, but if I go that route I don't want it to be a "Martha"-style copout. It would have to do with his nature. Cats. Cute cute kittehs.
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Jul 6, 2019 04:11
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oot posted:I've got another case of character-related writer's block. This time I've got a ruthless galactic conqueror character who needs to find something on Earth that gives him a second of hesitation over killing the inhabitants and plants a seed of doubt. Maybe I should think of something specific to the character, but if I go that route I don't want it to be a "Martha"-style copout. It would have to do with his nature. This is one of those problems you're going to have to solve yourself, because it's all dependent on what you want your character to be. Why does he think Earth deserves to have its inhabitants killed, and what would make him change his mind on that? Depending on the character and the kind of story you want to tell, there's a thousand different reasons, but I can imagine a few broad types. First, you could have some element of Earth culture that appeals to him. If he's a strategist, maybe it's Earth games; if he's a secret lover of the arts, it could be [insert artistic achievement here], if he likes battle maybe it's sports. Second, you could have a more pragmatically-minded conqueror realize that Earth has some particular talent or resource that makes it more worth keeping than destroying. Maybe humans are just really good at communications technology. Maybe human advertisements are basically psychological warfare to aliens. Third, you could go for his emotions, do a Not So Different thing, have him see human strife and sympathize with it, that sort of thing. All these are just broad examples. It's up to you in the end, because it comes down to what you want your character's arc to be and where you want them to wind up at the end of it.
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Jul 6, 2019 04:20
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General Battuta posted:Couple of the more unusual things about Earth: Only for a certain amount of time on the cosmic scale, because the moon is gradually spiraling away from earth. The truly unusual thing is that humanity is around at the same time that the moon is at the right distance. As for answering the original question, sorry, I have nothing. You know your character and your story better than we will from just a few sentences. You know your villains motivations and goals, you know what they love, and what they fear.
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Jul 6, 2019 04:25
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oot posted:I've got another case of character-related writer's block. This time I've got a ruthless galactic conqueror character who needs to find something on Earth that gives him a second of hesitation over killing the inhabitants and plants a seed of doubt. Maybe I should think of something specific to the character, but if I go that route I don't want it to be a "Martha"-style copout. It would have to do with his nature. Is it a kill all life on Earth kinda deal? Because maybe he really likes spiders, and there’s so many spiders
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Jul 6, 2019 05:19
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oot posted:I've got another case of character-related writer's block. This time I've got a ruthless galactic conqueror character who needs to find something on Earth that gives him a second of hesitation over killing the inhabitants and plants a seed of doubt. Maybe I should think of something specific to the character, but if I go that route I don't want it to be a "Martha"-style copout. It would have to do with his nature. It would help us if you told us more about his nature (it would also help you).
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Jul 6, 2019 06:02
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Platypuses!
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Jul 6, 2019 06:24
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Any of y’all short fiction publishing goons submitting anywhere interesting these days? I think I’m itching for a new target magazine. I’ve got stories on sub to BCS and a couple themed anthologies right now but am unsure what to try next.
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Jul 6, 2019 07:13
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Thanks everyone. I did have a solution in mind already, and it ties his arc and the arc of another character together and also fits the themes of the story as a whole, I was just feeling iffy because it's kind of corny and unlikely. So I was hoping that reading other ideas might give me inspiration or help me refine it, and they did.
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Jul 6, 2019 16:34
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Nothing wrong with a corny and unlikely idea, as long as your execution's strong. Hell, I'd say it can be stronger if you absolutely nail an idea that, when described in short, sounds like a real corny-rear end thing.
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Jul 6, 2019 16:45
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Anomalous Blowout posted:Any of y’all short fiction publishing goons submitting anywhere interesting these days? I think I’m itching for a new target magazine. I’ve got stories on sub to BCS and a couple themed anthologies right now but am unsure what to try next. Freeze Frame Fiction is good, got a personal rejection. Helios Magazine but they are closed right now. There was another one, some kind of weird chest magazine that was good.
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Jul 6, 2019 17:58
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Exmond posted:some kind of weird chest magazine Juggs is a respectable publication.
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Jul 6, 2019 21:07
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Exmond posted:There was another one, some kind of weird chest magazine that was good.
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Jul 7, 2019 01:30
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feedmyleg posted:Juggs is a respectable publication. 
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Jul 7, 2019 04:49
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I'm a little worried about how some symbolism is going to come across. I wanted to associate rainbows with a certain character because of the Vajrayana rainbow body and 7-colored chakras, and also because the character is a composite being just like a rainbow is a composite structure. But my fear is it'll just come off as something about LGBT since that's the most common contemporary association a rainbow has.
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Jul 9, 2019 17:05
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If you want your readers to pick up on that symbolism but don't think that a sizable chunk of your audience would know about the chakras, then I think you should change it or clarify, yes. Maybe have a character talk about the chakras colors at another point in the story, then even unfamiliar readers are likely to make the connection.
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Jul 9, 2019 17:19
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oot posted:I'm a little worried about how some symbolism is going to come across. I wanted to associate rainbows with a certain character because of the Vajrayana rainbow body and 7-colored chakras, and also because the character is a composite being just like a rainbow is a composite structure. But my fear is it'll just come off as something about LGBT since that's the most common contemporary association a rainbow has. That's what critiques are for! Once you are finished your scene/piece, and are ready for critique, you should share it with a close-knit group of friends.
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Jul 9, 2019 18:33
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You won't be able to control what people read into your stories. If you want to do something interesting with rainbows, go ahead. People will think it might be a gay thing. People will also think it might be a gay thing if you don't have rainbows. You can control what happens in your story, but trying to control what people take away from it is much harder. Another reason to avoid "hey this isn't a gay thing" is because that's almost certainly going to come off looking bad.
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Jul 9, 2019 20:28
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Is it actually a story about gay people though? oot posted:I'm a little worried about how some symbolism is going to come across. I wanted to associate rainbows with a certain character because of the Vajrayana rainbow body and 7-colored chakras, and also because the character is a composite being just like a rainbow is a composite structure. But my fear is it'll just come off as something about LGBT since that's the most common contemporary association a rainbow has. But seriously what is the worry? That people will think you’re making a statement? People will always think that. Just don’t use the actual word rainbow and let people think what they want. Alternate hot take make the story into literal gay porn and then claim it’s a metaphor for chakras.
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Jul 9, 2019 21:29
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Doctor Zero posted:Is it actually a story about gay people though? It takes place in a universe where most of the characters are LGBT, and the character associated with rainbows is actually one of the few heterosexual ones (at least thematically). So it seems like that could be very confusing. But yes I actually had the same idea about not using the word rainbow and just saying "multicolored bands of light" or something.
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Jul 9, 2019 21:42
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Your rainbow is fine
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Jul 9, 2019 21:55
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Call it a palette?
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Jul 9, 2019 22:16
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oot posted:It takes place in a universe where most of the characters are LGBT, and the character associated with rainbows is actually one of the few heterosexual ones (at least thematically). So it seems like that could be very confusing. If this is the case, lean into it imo as irony
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Jul 9, 2019 22:32
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SelenicMartian posted:Call it a palette? Prism would get it across well, I think.
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Jul 10, 2019 02:40
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You're absolutely fine to use the rainbow, but I'll be the first to admit that I lol every time I think of Renly's Rainbow Guard in Game of Thrones, so consider that.
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Jul 10, 2019 05:58
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My action scenes suck. They have too much dialogue and I'm bad at describing movement. Anyone know where I can find a guide to describe action stuff?
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Jul 10, 2019 06:11
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Action is all about the verbs, vivid punchy verbs. You also want to have the scene be meaningful in itself, like the action is always an extension of another kind of conflict. I think I write ok action scenes, and I was happy enough with the words in this story, possibly because why and how they are fighting comes out of the characters and the fight uses the environment in a series of "then, and then, but then, suddenly then" moves and counter moves.
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Jul 10, 2019 06:43
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How would y'all handle a situation where a character who has been referred to as one name the entire story is found out to really be somebody else toward the end? Would it make sense in the prose to refer to them by the name the reader has known them by the whole time, or suddenly switch to the new name?
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Jul 10, 2019 12:39
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feedmyleg posted:How would y'all handle a situation where a character who has been referred to as one name the entire story is found out to really be somebody else toward the end? Would it make sense in the prose to refer to them by the name the reader has known them by the whole time, or suddenly switch to the new name? If other characters interact with the namechangee, you can also subtly (or not so subtly...) indicate how they feel about them now, by having them choose to adopt the new name instantly, awkwardly, begrudgingly or not at all, when referring to them.
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Jul 10, 2019 12:45
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Screaming Idiot posted:My action scenes suck. They have too much dialogue and I'm bad at describing movement. Anyone know where I can find a guide to describe action stuff? There are a lot of different "hooks" that can make combat interesting and which ones you want to emphasize will probably depend on the story and your style. You can focus on realism, on the intensity of what the characters are feeling, on what the combat represents thematically, on the cleverness of the tactics, on the pure spectacle through vivid description, or on something else. None of those are mutually exclusive either, and some are complementary. Edit: And personally I don't think a lot of dialogue during combat makes it boring. Look at a Metal Gear fight. The dialogue just needs to work with what's going on at a specific moment and what the fight is expressing. feedmyleg posted:How would y'all handle a situation where a character who has been referred to as one name the entire story is found out to really be somebody else toward the end? Would it make sense in the prose to refer to them by the name the reader has known them by the whole time, or suddenly switch to the new name? Based on how you're describing the situation as the new name being unambiguously their "true" name, probably switch to it. If it's third-person limited perspective you could also do something with the viewpoint character coming to terms with the revelation and not switching in the narration until they've accepted it. oot fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Jul 10, 2019 |
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Jul 10, 2019 16:17
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the main thing with action scene is that a good action scene requires the reader to have stakes in the scene. that involves 1) readers liking or having some attachment to the characters that are in the scene and 2) that the action scene have consequences to them that are understood and tangible. even a nicely described action scene is going to be boring if we dont care about the people involved. in writing, youre not gonna be able to get away with big explosions and shoot outs on their own, they need to feel meaningful rather than just spectacle for spectacle's sake.
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Jul 10, 2019 16:46
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oot posted:Based on how you're describing the situation as the new name being unambiguously their "true" name, probably switch to it. If it's third-person limited perspective you could also do something with the viewpoint character coming to terms with the revelation and not switching in the narration until they've accepted it. Simply Simon posted:I think that heavily depends on how they feel about the new name. If they are like "oh cool I always wanted to be King Boofenstein Esquirington", then you could reinforce their choice by switching over the name in the narrative as well. If they're like "actually I've always been Bodo to you guys and that's fine", then maybe treat the new name like a title that they'll have to grow into after the credits roll. Cool, thanks, makes sense. I actually have this happen twice in the book. The first is a character who has gone by a nickname for a good chunk of the book.The protagonist learns their real name, and eventually starts to call them by it as a term of endearment in vulnerable moments. The second is a person who has been going by a false name, later revealed to be an undercover spy. I think I'll stick with the nickname in the prose for the former case, and switch to the "true" name in the latter case.
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Jul 10, 2019 18:22
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I can think of three things that make up a good action scene: blocking, goal, and progression. (There might be more, but that's what I've got off the top of my head.) Blocking is a term I stole from theater/film, where it's all about how you position the actors and props in a scene. In writing, blocking has to do with making the reader understand the relations between characters and any other relevant bits for the scene. If two people are having a sword fight on some stairs, I should know who's standing above the other one. If someone chops the rope holding up a chandelier and uses it to swing across the room, I should know that the chandelier is there, and probably also that they just got pushed up against the wall beside the rope. When the reader understands the space the characters are in, and where they are in that space, they'll better understand the action that's happening. The goal is just what the character's trying to do. The goal should be impeded by something they have to contend with. This is basic story structure, but it's important in action scenes, because the arc of an action scene is like a story arc in miniature. Also, and this is the most important part, the reader should know the character's goal. They don't need to know everything, but it's much harder to make an action scene compelling if the reader doesn't know what they're trying to do. Imagine someone wading around in alligator-infested waters. Why are they doing that? Get out of there, idiot. Now imagine someone wading across an alligator-infested river. There we go, now we know why: they have to get to the other side. That's as simple as a goal can be, but knowing the goal makes it make much more sense. Progression also works like a miniature story arc. If your action scene feels samey all the way through, that's because it needs a sense of progression. The character gets more desperate, or nervous, or determined. They have setbacks, they make breakthroughs; their foot slips as they're scaling the cliff, they realize their laser cutter works just as well on chitin as it does on carbon deposits. The shape of the arc is up to you, but you want to mirror the structure of a story on a smaller scale: rising action, climax, resolution.
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Jul 10, 2019 23:11
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Yeah, building on that last point, action does not take the place of tension. I have read some boring rear end "action" scenes where some doofus just swings his axe "in a figure eight" and cuts things down, yawn BORING. You should always be escalating the tension. Fog of war. poo poo goes bad, people bring guns to knife fights, poo poo breaks at the worst time. Reinforcements show up. etc.
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Jul 11, 2019 00:04
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This is more peripheral to writing than the writing itself, but I've got an issue with character ownership. I really like the idea of another person's character and was going to use an expy of them in my story with no major changes except the name. But I haven't asked them, and I'm not sure if they should be credited in some way.
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Jul 11, 2019 00:16
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