The Writing (and Artistic) Ranting Thread

[V]

Spoiler: Unpopular opinion but...

Why does it seem like 99% of fantasy stories are set in medieval Europe? It's so boring. I'm so bored with it. Can we set it somewhere else? Anywhere else? Why is highfantasy so scared of branching out?? Please...some sand...rock....varied weather...please....

Haha, I was thinking the other day how easy it would have been to set my latest comic ideas in a medieval setting instead of a neolithic one or a sci-fi one.... mainly because the "world" of Euro medieval settings is already so engrained and understood in UK culture. It's a safe bet and people don't think it's too weird or taxing. But unless there's something else in there to spice it up, I agree - potentially formulaic and boring.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

I've worked on illustrations for writers that requested NDAs on the material they sent me for reference. It's a little strange, but maybe those writers had something ripped off in the past before and they're just a bit nervous. I can sort of see why but there wasn't much risk from me, lol.

My money is on whoever gave the advice had it happen. Fortunately it's no big deal. I'm sure as hell not going to tell anyone what the story is, or rip her off. I've got 7 WIPs of my own to contend with. That's enough masochism for the next 5+ years. xD

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

That moment when you have two more pages to read in order to catch up on an old WIP, and you procrastinate because you're afraid you still won't know how to proceed from where you left off. Help me. ._.

 

[V's patron]

Writing classes and workshops are a great way to network, learn a new skill, or overcome writer's block. They also can be a distraction just like any kind of research.

Online classes can be cheaper but I prefer an in-person class. Just a different kind of energy.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

Wildly swinging between panic and optimism as I draw closer to the end of this final edit/read-through. If I counted it as a draft, it would be the ninth--but like with the previous, I don't. When all that's being changed is word choice or the syntax flow, it doesn't really feel like a whole new draft; just a polished version of the ones before it.

The sooner it and the cover are ready, the sooner I can get the ball rolling on the whole promotion side of things. ^^

 

[V's patron]

I started doing 3 writing excersizes i learned from class. Thats my routine everyday.

I also started writing two fanfics at once which is bound to a bad idea. I thought 2 or 3 more when i got up so atleast i got goals to hit.

I wanna make time for my own work too.

 

[Angel]

Have to write a comedy.

I'm not funny.

This is going to be hard.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

After some uncertainty on whether it was going to fall through, looks like the anthology is back on track. Here's hoping we can get it launched sometime this year.

In other (equally good) news, the cover for Fall of the Spectrum is nearly done (just some minor tweaks), and it is frigging gorgeous.

 

[V's patron]

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

Part of me is getting into the groove with Shattered Time; the other part isn't all that eager to work on it, because I'm split between wanting to delve into final edits on The Mythos Trials (I want to make significant changes regarding Lucas's arc to reflect the character he is in ST, even though it would make more sense to finish ST first) and yet another MG story concept that came out of nowhere yesterday.

Why is my brain like this? ST has been on the back burner for three years now; it shouldn't be this difficult to finish the first draft at least. It's not even going to be my longest work, so what the hell?

I'm going to force myself to finish it this year; TMT's final edits can (and should) wait. Just wish my determination was strong enough to block out any other distraction. ._.

 

[Shadow]

@Rebel Dynasty Ugh, I'm having similar problems with committing to writing things. I really want to work on my Holmes pastiche but I'm having a hard time allowing myself to write it because...I've honestly never seen a Holmesian writer get their novel published without publishing something else beforehand...but I don't have any ideas that are attractive to me right now beyond the pastiche, which...

...y'know. A whole annoying circle that ends in "I'm just gonna go write fanfic instead."

I hope ST starts looking more appealing! And that you can work on it with more ease soon! <3 I hate to say it, but have you considered you might need to rewrite or rework what's already written? Sometimes that helps me, even if it's really annoying.

 

[V's patron]

I've been looking into copywriting as a side gig. I'm wondering about being a ghostwriter on Fiverr. There are a lot of accounts that offer to write a screenplay or coverage for cash. Im wondering if i could do that despite being a screenwriting amateur.

I'm in a similar boat to @Shadow. I wanna develop my original ideas but my brain just comes up with fanfic. Often for series i don't remember or have not played. Like i should've played Ff10-2/ff10 before i wrote my Jak and Daxter/FF10-2 fic.

Ps. I started a smut version of said fanfic. Its terrible.

But thinking about fanfiction, I'm curious if i could just channel what i wanna say into my original work. I've done it before with my tv pilot.

Long story short, it was a movie about time travel and i took the main character and gave him the ability to see ghosts instead.

Besides what is fanfiction but a shortcut or a safety net to say what you wanna say or explore whatever comes to your head?

PSS. Covid19 and Ramadam screwed up my sleeping schedule.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

@Shadow I'm sorry you're going through the same. The industry can be so fickle; I do recall an older man on Twitter who told me he'd published Holmes stories, but unfortunately I don't recall who he was. If I figure it out, I could ask him how he managed to get his out there, if you like?

As for your suggestion, I might have to--at least in part. ^^; We'll see what happens, though. If I still can't get into it by the time I reach where I left off, a makeover might be what ST needs.

 

[Shadow]

@V's patron if it's any consolation, any time you write smut it's probably going to sound rubbish while you're working on it. It loses all it's...y'know when you have to sit and think it through it all. I don't think I've ever written a smut scene that I thought was good while I was working on it--and I'm not ashamed to admit I've written A LOT of smut in the last couple years. Step away from it a bit and come back to it later; that usually helps me, at least. It might read better later. ^^ (And I'd say go for it, regarding channelling what you want to say into original fic! Why not? ^^)

@Rebel Dynasty I hope, if you do, that it goes well! ^^ And that it's not too stressful. (Also sorry I haven't had a chance to pre-order yet! Am broke currently. OTL But hopefully soon.) Thanks! <3 If you wouldn't mind, I wouldn't mind hearing his answer? If you know his name, might also help cuz...y'know, then can also look up his stuff. But only if it's not a problem for you. ^^

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

@Rebel Dynasty I hope, if you do, that it goes well! ^^ And that it's not too stressful. (Also sorry I haven't had a chance to pre-order yet! Am broke currently. OTL But hopefully soon.) Thanks! <3 If you wouldn't mind, I wouldn't mind hearing his answer? If you know his name, might also help cuz...y'know, then can also look up his stuff. But only if it's not a problem for you. ^^

)That's okay, there's no pressure. ^^ ) If I can find him, I'll definitely let you know. Problem is, it's been quite awhile since I've seen a post from him or received a message, so I'm not even sure if he's still around. ._. But I will try to find him. ^^

 

[V's patron]

1.What do you love the most about your main character?
2.What do you hate the most about your main character?
3.Why does your character need to change? Or do they?
4. Fill in the blanks: This is a story about [main character], who is [dominant trait], who wants [tangible goal], but [obstacle in the way]. This story ends when [completion or resolution].
5. Why must you tell this story now?
6. If this screenplay were found at the bottom of the ocean perfectly intact 100 years from now, what would you hope whoever read it would take away from it?
7.When I am stuck, all I need to do is remind myself of [fill in the blank] and I will continue to write this story.
8.There’s a big part of me that wants to be healed by writing this story. What is it?

These are self-evaluation questions my writing class posted. They are ways for you to remind yourself off your passion and why you started it in the first place.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

Trying to stop myself from overthinking it (as I always do when approaching the end of every WIP's first draft; the whole, "I've got a good momentum going so I guess now's a good time to slam on the brakes" thing. Why am I like this? ._.)

Also thinking this, like all others, is a bloody hydra. Outlines be damned--every time I think, "Okay, another chapter down, 7 to go" the bloody thing sprouts two more in its place. x_x

I guess I'm just happy it's getting there, even if I worry I'll wind up hitting a standstill soon. ^^;

 

[Morgan]

Is there room here for one more person with writer's block that might have just made a breakthrough? I'll spill some context and the solutions I came to, hoping it'll help out.

I dropped off on a story that I was working on, since I couldn't progress to the other parts of the plot that were already written (or thought concretely about), and had writer's block twice so far about it.

When I first had the block, the issue was general, of whether or not I was going into detail at the right times to keep the reader interested while going forward in the story with the parts that I want to tell and not giving away too much of the plot while I'm building up to it. I thought I would be set for life with the existing mindset I had but I got stuck.

Until then I'd held myself to not stressing over word counts or chapter quotas. The chapter is done when the idea I want to convey is on the page, and the story is done when there's nothing left to explore, no sooner. If I edit the chapter and it comes out shorter or longer than before, it's no skin off my back as long as it's properly polished. I even already had in mind that just because I know something, doesn't necessarily mean that the reader should know about it at that point in time. It's the tug of war between the reader wanting details and the writer drip-feeding information to generate tension, get the reader asking questions, etc. I also knew that it's within my power to skip things and go to the relevant portion and deliver things later.

As a reader, though, doing that versus getting down to the moment as they happen is the difference between the characters having dialogue versus the narrator saying, they talked. Doing that too much creates a disconnect between the reader and the story, robs the characters of their voice, runs the risk of being unbelievable and contrived. At that point, there's no difference between the reader engaging with the plot as-is, and them reading a Wikipedia summary of the plot. It's like if Star Wars were nothing but the opening crawl throughout the entire movie's runtime. And it's a little lazy IMO to rely on "You know these characters already, so take my word on [detail here]" because if the reader is coming in with their ideas of what the characters are like based on how they experienced the previous works in the series, if something happens in the plot that doesn't remotely go with the idea they've built in their head, it turns them off from the rest of the story. Again with Star Wars, it's the OT setting Han and Leia up as a couple and then the New Trilogy shows their relationship dissolved over one son after the Extended Universe fed fans with Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin. Seriously, why Kylo of all people?

Spoiler: As an aside:

It doesn't help that I've read one too many stories where the writer cut to the "important parts" and skipped over something I felt was equally important as to who the character was. Examples from stories I won't name explicitly: a character close to the protagonist died right in front of them, they shared their last words and everything, but the protagonist had a concussion before that point and suffered from flat affect, so they didn't do much; the protagonist of the first book died in the final one, and a character close to them had to deliver a eulogy, but the eulogy literally got ruined by the weather so they didn't say much at all; one of the viewpoint characters died after a confrontation with the antagonist, but the knowledge that the character died at all was delivered after the story had a timeskip and focused on the fiancee.

... damn. Now that I think about it, "people not being allowed to grieve" seems to be my wonk. I'd understand it if the characters weren't the type to process things immediately, but in these cases it really was the writer getting out of having to write it, and all these situations happened near the end of the story itself so there's no chance of them (the writer or character) going back to that. I mean, with the second one, couldn't the guy just not have a written speech at all and say the same thing to show they weren't mincing words? It just read like the writer out-of-universe spilled coffee on their manuscript and said "**** it" and made it an in-universe thing.

Anyway, once I noted what I could do as a writer, and what I'd want to read, I put more value on the reader side of things and wrote towards that instead. "If I had no memory of this entire plot and someone delivered it to me the way this is already written, this is what would keep me hooked on it", type of thing.

The second time with the block was more specific. Being in the character's head to explore how they felt about a particular subject, but not being able to move past that to get them to do something. I know it, they know it. Again, I could skip over it, or have them uncharacteristically get over it, but a) I've noticed when that's happened and never once felt relieved being on the receiving end of that, b) it's part of the character to dwell on discomfiting things, even other characters in the story have noticed it, c) I remembered advice I read that if you're stuck somewhere, your mistake is about ten lines back or some other arbitrary number. The character did or said something that verbally painted you in a corner. Looking over what I already had in the lore/worldbuilding, I figured out that the character feeling a specific way wasn't just preventing them from taking action in the immediate moment, but in general it makes them incapable of being able to do a setting-specific thing at all according to how the world works, so they don't actually feel the way I'm writing them to feel in such a broad way, their emotion is more nuanced than that. I have to capture what that is, to let them do what they can do.

So that's how I'm getting along. Going back to writing now.

 

[Shadow]

Why do so many new writers get annoyed when they ask for advice and an older writer points out that they owe it to their readers to give them a cohesive and coherent story that makes sense? Because that's like storytelling 101: the story has to make sense, which in turn makes it believable, when you get to the end...that's literally the writer's job...

 

[Picard]

Why do so many new writers get annoyed when they ask for advice and an older writer points out that they owe it to their readers to give them a cohesive and coherent story that makes sense? Because that's like storytelling 101: the story has to make sense, which in turn makes it believable, when you get to the end...that's literally the writer's job...

Because they understand how difficult it is and are afraid?