#PennedPossibilities 845 — Has your writing affected the way you speak, or your word choice or sentence structure?
Not that I'm noticed, but I'm sure it's possible.
#PennedPossibilities 830: Ever created a SC you wished was MC?
Yes: there are a whole bunch of them in the Laundry Files.
So after I got bored with my initial MC I gave them all novels of their own. (Well, most of them: the ones who were still alive by that point in the story arc ...)
844. Tell about your MC’s stress behaviors.
("Starter Pack" has two MCs).
Jum: looks for a chinless noble failson to pilfer from. If none are available, he robs a bank (stealthily).
Tabitha: abducts a corrupt cop then murders, de-fleshes, and mounts his skeleton on a plinth to warn the commissioner away from her crime syndicate. If he doesn't get the message, she iterates.
Alternatively, she takes her dog for walkies.
(When they finally get together, They Do Crimes.)
PS: this is my "Stainless Steel Rat" homage. #PennedPossibilities
844. Tell about your MC’s stress behaviors.
("Starter Pack" has two MCs).
Jum: looks for a chinless noble failson to pilfer from. If none are available, he robs a bank (stealthily).
Tabitha: abducts a corrupt cop then murders, de-fleshes, and mounts his skeleton on a plinth to warn the commissioner away from her crime syndicate. If he doesn't get the message, she iterates.
Alternatively, she takes her dog for walkies.
(When they finally get together, They Do Crimes.)
Jess Mahler
boosted
#PennedPossibilities 842: Which POV(s) do you prefer to write?
I used to think close-third was such a clever way to narrate, where the narrator is inside the protagonist's head, but now I'm so utterly bored with it because it's so ubiquitous that we seem to have forgotten how to write any other way. I need to construct a story that uses omniscient narration...
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#PennedPossibilities 842: Which POV(s) do you prefer to write?
I used to think close-third was such a clever way to narrate, where the narrator is inside the protagonist's head, but now I'm so utterly bored with it because it's so ubiquitous that we seem to have forgotten how to write any other way. I need to construct a story that uses omniscient narration...
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
Jess Mahler
boosted
…amateur writing communities[' output is] just as valid as commercially published works. But in that enclosed environment young writers emulate what they see.
Which is learning a ruinous style?
I learned to write by reading SF&F novels all through my teens, mostly 3rd person, mostly from what were the big authors of the time: Anne McCaffery, Andre Norton, Frank Herbert, Poul Anderson, Fredrick Pohl, etc., and emulating their style. (I was a C- English student; I didn't know grammar from a hole in the wall.) I had been writing since the mid 1970s until I burnt out in 2001 (which I think is from trying to emulate C.J. Cherryh's style, which I adore but is terrifically hard to do).
Yet...
In 2015, I turned to writing fan fiction to practice writing in 1st person (and jettison my issues that caused my burnout), learning I could do all that I noted in the original post. I agree online is a valid community for writing, but also acknowledge that I had a goal of refining my writing toward commercial publication, not to fit in. That meant that my prose style had to have rhythm and make use of rhetoric and elocution.
Which is why I read everything outloud. If I couldn't "orate" to a room of listeners and keep their attention, then it can't work on the page.
And there, those last three sentences is also a tip of how to avoid I I I I repetitiveness.
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…amateur writing communities[' output is] just as valid as commercially published works. But in that enclosed environment young writers emulate what they see.
Which is learning a ruinous style?
I learned to write by reading SF&F novels all through my teens, mostly 3rd person, mostly from what were the big authors of the time: Anne McCaffery, Andre Norton, Frank Herbert, Poul Anderson, Fredrick Pohl, etc., and emulating their style. (I was a C- English student; I didn't know grammar from a hole in the wall.) I had been writing since the mid 1970s until I burnt out in 2001 (which I think is from trying to emulate C.J. Cherryh's style, which I adore but is terrifically hard to do).
Yet...
In 2015, I turned to writing fan fiction to practice writing in 1st person (and jettison my issues that caused my burnout), learning I could do all that I noted in the original post. I agree online is a valid community for writing, but also acknowledge that I had a goal of refining my writing toward commercial publication, not to fit in. That meant that my prose style had to have rhythm and make use of rhetoric and elocution.
Which is why I read everything outloud. If I couldn't "orate" to a room of listeners and keep their attention, then it can't work on the page.
And there, those last three sentences is also a tip of how to avoid I I I I repetitiveness.
#writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #PennedPossibilities
#PennedPossibilities 842
Which POV(s) do you prefer to write?
I have a strong preference for third person omniscient. I've done some work in first person and used second person for class assignments once or twice. First person is too limited for me to really enjoy and second person fiction has always just felt weird to me.
#PennedPossibilities 842
Which POV(s) do you prefer to write?
I've published two or more novels in each of first, third, *and* second person. I prefer whichever one works for the story I'm telling. (Currently working in tight third for both WIPs, but that's because they're homages to other authors.)
how do you avoid the I I I I I I problem?
If you tell a story about something that happened to you, how do you avoid saying I did, I heard, I said? Don't use the constructions until you need them, as in The bell ran loudly, versus "I heard a loud bell.*. Attribution is necessary, but the narrator can simply declare events or talk about what others do without specificity relating it back to themselves. Take a look at the sample stories pinned to my profile.
Btw: I've written this as first person narrative. Where's the I? Is it repetitive?
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#PennedPossibilities 841: Reveal a source of joy for your SC.
Pulling weeds. They're just plants that need to be moved somewhere else.
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#PennedPossibilities 840: Tell us about a source of misery for your protagonist.
She spends half the booked trapped in the antagonist's paramilitary murder cult.
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#PennedPossibilities 839: What type of antagonist are you writing?
An authoritarian cult leader who uses violence to create more violence to justify her use of violence.
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#PennedPossibilities 840
Tell us about a source of misery for your MC.
Elisabeti's greatest source of misery is the wars. Her spouse was killed fighting in them, her niblings slaughtered, herself left a homeless refugee with newborn infant.
Charlie Stross
boosted
@floofpaldi #PennedPossibilities 839 - Musing on the antagonist type list. Here's one that came to mind:
Ignorant Antagonist. One who is truly too stupid, complacent, or naive to realize they're the villain. Which could be an Anti villain, if they had ever stopped to consider their motivations. It might seem absurd, but there are plenty of folks doing nasty things by simply going with the flow.
Not that ignorance is in any way an excuse. We are all obligated to think for ourselves.
#PennedPossibilities 839 — What sort of antagonist are you writing? (See @floofpaldi's post for ideas or clarification.)
Two simultaneous works in progress.
WIP 1: the antagonist is a serial religious grifter—a televangelist analog in a space operatic universe—with a battleship and a militant order of monks at his beck and call. Willing to run a holy war for pleasure and profit.
WIP 2: there is no real antagonist, the empire the protags are embedded in and can't escape is the enemy.
@cstross the US government, and the AI companies, possibly the intersection. (I'm so tired 😂) #pennedpossibilities 840
@floofpaldi #PennedPossibilities 839 - Musing on the antagonist type list. Here's one that came to mind:
Ignorant Antagonist. One who is truly too stupid, complacent, or naive to realize they're the villain. Which could be an Anti villain, if they had ever stopped to consider their motivations. It might seem absurd, but there are plenty of folks doing nasty things by simply going with the flow.
Not that ignorance is in any way an excuse. We are all obligated to think for ourselves.
#PennedPossibilities 839 — What sort of antagonist are you writing? (See @floofpaldi's post for ideas or clarification.)
Two simultaneous works in progress.
WIP 1: the antagonist is a serial religious grifter—a televangelist analog in a space operatic universe—with a battleship and a militant order of monks at his beck and call. Willing to run a holy war for pleasure and profit.
WIP 2: there is no real antagonist, the empire the protags are embedded in and can't escape is the enemy.
#PennedPossibilities 839 — What sort of antagonist are you writing? (See @floofpaldi's post for ideas or clarification.)
(1/2)
This is just something to ponder. I find it interesting to read or talk about. That's all.
"The type of antagonist will depend on the specific story being written, but common antagonists include a purely evil villain with no motivation, a relatable antagonist with whom the audience can sympathize, a hypocritical antagonist who is two-faced, or an antagonist that is a force of nature or an internal struggle within the protagonist. A good antagonist often has complex motivations, a clear backstory, and their actions drive the plot forward and challenge the protagonist's thematic orientation."
Thoughts:
Villain: A character who is actively evil and seeks to prevent the protagonist from achieving their goals.
Anti-villain: A character whose motives are not entirely evil but still work against the protagonist.
Relatable Antagonist: A character who is scary because they have qualities that remind the audience of themselves.
Hypocritical Antagonist: Someone who pretends to be good but is actually wicked.
Frightening Antagonist: Someone who evokes fear more than hatred.
Skilled Antagonist: Someone whose skills are matched to the protagonist's abilities.
Insane Antagonist: Someone whose unpredictable nature makes them a formidable foe.
Traitorous Antagonist: Someone who betrays a friend or family member.
#PennedPossibilities 839 — What sort of antagonist are you writing? (See @floofpaldi's post for ideas or clarification.)
(2/2)
For my own story, Duncan is more of the traditional evil antagonist, as in an actual villain. He's just pure evil, filled with hatred for mortals, the same hatred for vampires and werewolves alike as well, and obsessed with the very idea of possessing things. He wants to kill. He wants to hunt. There's nothing redeemable about him. Saying anything more for the time being would probably give away some big spoilers, so I'll refrain.
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