General Writing Discussion

[XIVcaliber]

'Kay, this is the last thread I'm making for a while. Trust me.

Due to some drama flaring up the past couple days, I've decided to make this thread and dedicate it to the pursuit of NON-FANFICTION-related writing. So, to be frank, no talk of fanfiction here, this is a thread entirely created for the purpose of discussing old fashioned, original writing.

Now, to start off the topic.

I'm sure you've all heard of Chrono-Splice, my sci-fi novel thing that I've been trying to write for the past two years that was inspired by a very weird dream. I'm sure you've also heard that I've finished Crimson, the "Part I" if you will, of the novel itself. Unfortunately, not even two chapters into Azure, or "Part II", I get horrible writer's block, and a serious lack of motivation. My theory is that I'm freezing up like this because I'm trying to include more emotion than normal, even *gasp* a relationship, and I have no real-life experience of such, creating a void in my mind that I can't pull any information out of. I'm reading frantically to try and solve this, but...I'm not sure. Things keep happening. The more I think about it, the more I think Chrono-Splice isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe I'm just paranoid and have no self-esteem, or perhaps I'm right. That's why I want all of my writer friends to give me the most convincing criticism of my work as you possibly can. And yes, I know only Eric and Niko have read it, but please, if you can, I'd really appreciate it. This is the story I plan on publishing later in life, so I want to make sure that it's my best foot that I'm putting forward.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

Two theories.

1.) You're edging into George Lucas Love Story territory, where you shoehorn in a relationship in an effort to include more emotion. This should be avoided.

2.) [rabidshipper] You should go out with Shelby, then. [/rabidshipper]

[niko2pico]

Okay time to put on my serious face.
It's good, not great. The problem is it's your first serious piece of writing, you just need more practice. If you want to try to get it published, then practice and revisit it and make some edits. My suggestion is to try posting it on other sites to try and get moar views, and by extension critique. As for the relationships, no you don't need to have had a girlfriend to write a successful one. I have no idea how to write a successful relation ship which is why (spoilers) I write unsuccessful ones. And I wouldn't ask Jake for help either. I am hesitant to say this, given that I haven't yet seen any romance in his work (maybe Orbahlen and those other projects will change this). In my wild speculation, he and I suffer from a similar predicament but on opposite sides of the spectrum. I focus on darker drama and comedy whilst he does the lighter side. The person you should go and ask is Eric I think. I have made my criticisms of his work very well known, but I still say his characterization is great (even if they are just pokemon) (gah no, be nice and positive Niko).
As for the block, just wait and work on a side project. I'll give you my favorite quote
"Time diminishes small passions, but increases large ones. Just as a gust of wind extinguishes a candle yet fans and inferno"
I got a couple of projects for you and I to work on together. Worst case scenario it's just more practice.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I laughed out loud at the 'serious face.'
To build on my last post, you don't necessarily have to have been in a relationship to write about one. I suggest you find some books which feature highly emotional characters, at least if they aren't melodramatic. I actually reccomend Plainsong for a look at characters and their relationships- it's a difficult read, in that you have to stop and and digest what you have read periodically, but it is an excellent book.
Most writer's blocks can be overcome by reading something else. It's pretty well known that all ideas come from some other source, but the trick is drawing inspiration from several different sources to produce something new.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

This thread needs more love.
Characters. How do you see them? As pawns of your story? Wards? Subjects? Individuals?
Personally... and this is the closest metaphor I can come up with... I see my original characters as being, well, children of mine. It sounds freaky/weird, I know, but I tend to have a certain protectiveness off them and a desire to see them grow and overcome challenges, to become truly decent people. The feeling increases the more I develop a character. A side-effect of this is that Whippy and Zeria G are now the two characters who I care about almost as much as real people.

[niko2pico]

Not sure about this one. i have no characters that i am that attached to. I put a lot of time into the personalities and back stories for my OCs Shaun, Maria Vasquez, Adrian Silva, and Ezeikiel Vi Saren (my dnd character). I really don't know what to think of them. I do have a much more intimate relationship with my characters than I would think you do though Jake. I don't mass produce them by way of tropes the way you do, and as such I can't make as many, as quickly, and thus I have a strange attachments to them because they take so long to make.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

. I really don't know what to think of them. I do have a much more intimate relationship with my characters than I would think you do though Jake. I don't mass produce them by way of tropes the way you do, and as such I can't make as many, as quickly, and thus I have a strange attachments to them because they take so long to make.

Wait, what? I don't mass-produce characters. Anymore, at least, I had this phase two years ago where I did nothing but make up characters for DnD, but I grew up. While I do use tropes to describe my characters, keep in mind that Tropes are tools, the means to effectively work with a craft. While my new characters may seem stereotypical and trite, it's because they haven't even been fully developed. When a character is around for a long time, the result of tinkering and playing around with the character and trying out this or that trope to see if it would fit them... I can produce a hell of a result. Keep in mind what I just said: I try out tropes to see if THEY fit the character, not to make the character conform to them.

As for your 'strange attachment'... I thought about it a lot, and I think I get what you mean. I've been looking back at some of my older characters, and I've realized my previous belief of my character's being my 'children' was at least partially incorrect.
I think this happens to all writers... a few particular characters become aspects of ourselves. Or maybe the writer suddenly realizes that the character has always embodied a part of them. Like you said, it's difficult to describe.

[niko2pico]

So want to do an OC interview?

[XIVcaliber]

NO! BAD NIKO! DO NOT REMIND ME OF GUNTHER'S CHARACTER INTERVIEW!

[niko2pico]

No seriously ask me some questions and i answer them a character would.

[VonGentlemen]

Oh.
My.
God.

Remind me to totally make himself bite himself for lack of a character.

[XIVcaliber]

Enough off topic posts.

Characters...for me, at least, they're extensions of myself. I had a phase like Jake once, it was coupled with a phase in which I believed I could actually draw. I should probably exorcise all those old pictures from the depths of my dA. Now I'm just down to a few characters, most of them go into Chrono-Splice. I feel as if I'm connected the most to Elray, obviously. He's just...another part of me, except he's not a decrepit nerd. He's just confused, an emotion that I often feel. I believe that a writer needs to know all of his characters on a personal level. Unfortunately, I know Xivlan on a personal level. He tells me to play with knives sometimes.

[niko2pico]

"See that house Niko?"
"Yeah Zeike"
"You know what to do"

[VonGentlemen]

Which as a result, turns planning sessions for me into something like this.

"Hmm, a castle is a bit too over the top at this stage. I know, I'll put them in a house!"


Twenty minutes of typing later....

"A non-flammable house!"

For me, characters are aspects of my personality, usually NPCs that I like enough to expand into a PC of my own.
+100 exp to whoever can guess where I got my current PCs from.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I hereby declare this the General Writing/ Tabletop Gaming Discussion Thread.

One chance to surrender...

Niccolo.jpg (126.16 KiB) Viewed 535 times

The concept for my character in Andre (VonGentleman's) D&D campaign. Considering how he's based entirely off of some 'hunter' class that can use guns, and the horror/medieval/western/feudal japan theme of the setting as I'd heard it described, Niccolo seems surprising fleshed out. Also, I made him earlier this afternoon.
Some character history:
Name: Niccolo. Full name unavailable for certain reasons.
Age: 29
Ethnicity: British/Italian.

Backstory: If asked, Niccolo will tell you he's a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter. If he decides you're trustworthy, he'll reveal he's an elite agent of Her Majesty's Secret Service. If you get close to him, he'll tell you about how he was once a member of a noble house (whose name has been wiped from history) whose members were devoured by demonic forces in one terrifying night, and that he was the only one spared due to his faith in God.
All of the above is accurate. He still wont tell you that he was the reason for the demonic attack in the first place, though.
To explain: Niccolo's noble house was (in)famous for their hedonism, satanism, cruelty, and mockery of religion. Niccolo, having been born and raised more or less outside of the (frequently bloody) orgy, was in contrast pious, generous, and generally a good guy. During his time at his family's estate, he grew sickened by the actions of his relatives. The patriarch of the family, whose name has also been lost, recognized this and used Niccolo as a pawn to further his own ambitions. He manipulated Niccolo into finding a method to bring retribution upon his family: Selling their souls to the devil. Believing they were damned anyway, Niccolo completed the ritual and (after reading it twice) signed the contract from the devil that appeared before him. At that moment, a legion of demons rose into the ground and proceeded to devour and burn the estate as Niccolo watched in horror. Niccolo's payment for the sale was 100 devil's favors; one for each member of his family (including the aforementioned patriarch.) While he could use them for any number of powerful (and twisted) enhancements, Niccolo has resolved to only utilize each favor as collatoral- for renegotiating others' contracts with Lucifer, for redeeming the souls of others, and for paying off powerful demons (or demon-powered individuals.)

He hides this horrific event behind his natural charm and eloquence, his genuine piety and selflessness, and his devotion to protecting his queen... and anyone else he happens to meet.

He utilizes a pair of rather newfangled revolvers and carriers a large load of specialty bullets, including alchemical silver, cold iron, UV, consecrated stake bullets, exploding, incendiary, adamantium (only a few, though) and, to top it off, a special marked bullet which is said to instantly kill anyone who believes it has said ability.

[niko2pico]

you should post the party portrait.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I'm going to redraw your's and Elliot's characters and then draw a new, better, backgrounded version of the group pic.
I just wasn't satisfied with my quick and dirty drawings of your characters...

[XIVcaliber]

Remember, Malphi are very tall and have JET black skin with glowy red eyes. Xivlan likes his eyes, but he wears a white flu mask and black leather armor with a sickle sheath on one side, and a clip for his medical kit on the other.

My guess is that Zeike is also tall, but burly and has mildly bestial features, while wearing a black fur coat and some other armor that I can't remember.

[niko2pico]

Zeike is actually remarkably slim. Most of his immense strength comes from the chosen one powers he received.

[VonGentlemen]

Wheeeee.
Another session down.

Also, D&D drama = sucks.

Gunther still wants to take his break.
I dunno' why though.