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D34THROW posted:Anyone ever successfully written a short story (or short story series) or novel (or novel series) using an RPG system to determine the flow of things? Basically playing, say GURPS, against yourself. I'm thinking of doing so because I've tried collaborative writing before and I really like the unpredictability of it, so I'm thinking RPGs as a guide might be a way to incorporate that into my writing proper. The novel-turned-anime "Record of Lodoss War" started out as a written version of a D&D campaign played by some Japanese guys, but rewritten and punched up in some ways (such as the male Fighter ending up with the female elf girl), just as an example. Also, hi, new here, working on a Japanese-myth inspired YA fantasy with a female heroine. Definitely too long to be put down since I intend it to be kind of Deltora Quest-y, with books in the 100-200 page range over a longer-than-trilogy number of books. The first question I'm asking is mostly a matter of avoiding an Evil Triangle: -Don't want the books to be too 'weeby' (Solution: Avoid honorifics like -kun, -san, -senpai, -sensei, etc. as well as stuff like "oni-chan" and the like) -Don't want the books to be too 'historical' (ie. I'm pointedly avoiding using words that are over-associated with Japan: Swords are swords, not 'katanas', the Emperor is an Emperor, not a 'Shogun', Assassins are assassins, not 'ninja', etc.) -Don't want the books to just be a regular YA fantasy but with characters having names like Haruka, Takumi, Saburo, etc. etc. (mostly to be solved with more subtle touches, like kitsune and oni and the like) Do you have any tips on avoiding said Evil Triangle?
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Nov 5, 2021 09:43
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 15:43 |
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My idea does come from a place of passion but I won't lie and say that I haven't seen a marketing angle for this project: "Preteen and teen girls like YA fantasy novels. Preteen and teen girls like anime. What if there was a YA fantasy novel that was anime-esque?" So I'm not denying that there isn't going to be at least a little anime in this, I just don't want to go full: quote:Name-kun left her house with a slice of toasted loaf between her teeth, due to her hands being full of daikatana and wakizashi, and a bo-staff strapped across her back. ...that. And there's some other influences, Journey to the West is a pretty solid one as well. I have an Appeal I'm going for, but I don't want to alienate other audiences with too many Gratuitous Weeb Words like "doki-doki" and "kokoro" and so on and so forth.
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Nov 5, 2021 21:56
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Alrighty, thanks for that. I might make a thread and start posting sections in a few days or so, I'll let you know about it then.
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Nov 6, 2021 01:54
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Oh, I already am moderately aware of YA fantasy, I was quite the Percy Jackson fan back in the day, and I read Deltora Quest as I mentioned. I am white, but I am staying aware of stereotypes. The whole 'don't say "'Samurai' or 'Ninja' or 'Shogun'" was part of trying to avoid the obvious national stereotypes, and I'm avoiding the "Japanese people are nerds" part by just... having a cast of characters with variable intelligence, but I realize I have blind spots and I'll definitely try and seek out some people who can help me with this.
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Nov 6, 2021 02:44
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I would also like to provide Relatable Writing Memes:
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Nov 7, 2021 04:58
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Here's my thread. I'll try to start assisting with critiques and questions where I can to get that Cred that will get people to critique me. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3984147
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Nov 7, 2021 06:54
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Thanks. I'll definitely keep that name in mind. Also, here's something #relatable. 
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Nov 17, 2021 00:37
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Nov 17, 2021 18:17
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Nov 18, 2021 22:29
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Nov 19, 2021 11:14
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Dec 6, 2021 00:03
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Dec 6, 2021 10:06
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Dec 17, 2021 19:14
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Dec 27, 2021 19:00
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Dec 30, 2021 18:36
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newts posted:I really dislike this too because people use it so often to distance themselves from their writing decisions. Just admit you wanted your characters to gently caress. Ah yes, because what the writer wants and what the characters desire always line up 100% of the time. There are no reluctant heroes who don't want to go on this epic fantasy quest.
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Dec 31, 2021 18:32
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If nothing else I'm glad that what I'm doing is generating Discussion and Interest.
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Dec 31, 2021 19:45
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Which of these are you? I'm definitely a #2 type: I'll explain my magic system, my cosmology, maybe the government if I deem it necessary but otherwise? PFFFT.
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Dec 31, 2021 20:19
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Jan 1, 2022 23:14
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Sitting Here posted:For any given project I have a scrap document where i save the text from deleted sections. I just knocked half a chapter off my novel and it feels good! But it's nice to have the deleted text on hand in case there was a detail or turn of phrase that I can still use. It's interesting to go back through my scrap words and see the funky ideas I had while drafting. Oh hey I read a thing about doing this! 
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Jan 2, 2022 06:21
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Yeah I don't really have anything to add aside from what Nae and Muffin said-there's a bit of Proper Noun Overdosage, maybe cut some of that back, focus more on Rahelu than her parents, etc.
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Jan 4, 2022 04:22
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I'd also be willing to read this despite my inexperience, though Discord would probably work better for me than PMs ( RisingDragonBlade#7518 )
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Jan 4, 2022 07:16
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This is just making me want to drive by Royal Road with a "You're homophobic assholes" comment. Jesus.
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Jan 5, 2022 22:42
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 Show of hands: Good line or not
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Jan 9, 2022 00:08
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You know what that's a fair point, I haven't really been offering much of my own opinion because... well I'm new here so I feel like my opinions are less valid or at the very least less thought-out than most of you Big Shot Super Writers With Experience. Anyway I find the line just kind of amusing, and I probably wouldn't cut it but I admit that it is kind of cheesy.
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Jan 9, 2022 01:44
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Alright, fair enough. I linked my thread with my story earlier but I figure now it wouldn't hurt to be a little more direct and link the thing directly. This is, as a reminder, the Japan/Journey to the West-inspired fantasy that's also pulling a bit from Deltora Quest. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u9qXLOZdwOUmykZquv3d8qcuBSdnjI0oPNjetUeiyjY/edit?usp=sharing
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Jan 9, 2022 02:36
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I was thinking more in terms of book structure and general overall plot-100 to 150-ish pages per book that's longer than a trilogy, with a group going throughout a world on a road trip to collect special things where every book has a new location and new obstacles. In terms of the target audience I'm definitely not going full adult but there might be some light swearing and a more explicit romance, but Deltora Quest got really drat dark at points in terms of drama/character deaths/horror and I'll probably have some moments like that as well. Definitely in the YA-y area.
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Jan 10, 2022 08:24
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 Oooh, this one looks promising. I might give this a shot at some point. Anyone can vouch for this?
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Jan 19, 2022 07:56
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 Yep, I agree with this quite a bit. Not that death can't be used effectively, but I have absolutely no interest in having MC drop like flies in the name of 'realism'.
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Jan 23, 2022 01:47
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Hey, I know quite a few 'kids media' where death is used sparingly but effectively. There is a very effective use of it in the third and fifth Percy Jackson books. Deltora Quest uses it well.
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Jan 23, 2022 02:44
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I figured it would be better to limit my memes to general Positive Writing Vibes than Specific Rules To Be Followed since I don't think people will argue over this
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Feb 4, 2022 02:01
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no quotation marks to indicate dialogue either?????
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Feb 6, 2022 06:40
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Sending good vibes to everyone writing today  
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Feb 20, 2022 23:24
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I remember once reading a thing (though I can't seem to find it) is that tropes are like... individual ingredients, and the original work is like a general recipe type. "It's a My Hero Academia fluff fic where there's only one bed" is basically the equivalent of "This is an angel food cake that contains nutmeg and cinnamon". But that doesn't work with regular literature. Saying that someone will like this book because there's a friends to lovers in it is like recommending a recipe to someone just because it has one ingredient they like in it, completely divorced from the context of, say, only enjoying that ingredient/trope with a specific character pairing or based on a certain show or whatever. Edit: Found the thing 
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Feb 21, 2022 04:40
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Like, I read a piece of original fiction recently that I did not like because it felt too fanficcy, in that the author clearly seemed bored with everything that wasn't the ships, and it telegraphed its big trope moments in really obvious ways because it wanted the reader to squee about them, the world felt poorly-realized and then in critical plot scenes it kinda just blew past everything, because it felt single-mindedly focussed on, well ... fanfic stuff. I still stand by fanfic as a valuable form of prose, I just think people who only read and write fanfic need to be cognizant of the world outside their scene. It's not just them that has the problem either: fantasy written by people who only read fantasy is dire, I'm just seeing a lot more fanficcy submissions than bad fantasy ones so it's on the brain. This made me think of this for some reason: 
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Feb 21, 2022 20:53
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I mean, I don't read a lot of fanfiction so I can't really give any deeper thoughts. Most of the fanfic I do read is stuff like canon retellings, stuff that could be canon, or that "character ends up flashing back to just before the story started and getting a second chance to do it over, but better" stuff, not angst or fluff or smut.
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Feb 21, 2022 23:33
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I'm sorry, I just like to share things I find funny or insightful. There's nothing inherently wrong from quoting from other sources. Sometimes, they can be quite useful, or funny, or just interesting to think about! I don't share them to be lazy, I share them because I think they'll spark discussion, or that people will get a chuckle out of them!
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Feb 21, 2022 23:47
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Yeah, an all-italics "Previously on" at the book's very start is how the Deltora Quest series that inspired me handled it and that worked pretty fine. Recap the broad overlying goals, the major characters and the big events of the previous book in an out-of-universe bit near the start and you should be mostly fine.
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Feb 27, 2022 19:18
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When I was discussing my female protagonist with my sister for a little insight she helped me see through the problems I was creating for myself with regard to how 'girly' I was making her. Originally I was having trouble between a sassy tomboy characterization or a graceful, cool, and ladylike (but still capable of fighting) one. I decided on tomboy but then the problem was if she actively loathed femininity or had a secret girly streak she desperately wanted to keep hidden. My sister helped me realize that's a bad binary and now I've settled on Haruka being tomboyish, but still open to feminine experiences.
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Mar 8, 2022 10:17
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 What book is this from? This seems like great advice but I wanna see what comes after it. And before it, too.
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Mar 25, 2022 04:17
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