POLL! YAY POLL

[kippurbird]

So, in going with the idea of writing a series of essays on the basics of creative writing, I thought to take a poll, after all, my friend's list would be reading this, so I might as well get their opinion on it, eh?


[Poll #962299]

Comments

Add-on

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, to add on to my suggestion, where, when, how, and why it might be a good idea to include a character's dream. I think Limyaael broached the subject at one point but I don't remember how detailed she went into it, especially since I believe she was mostly referring to nightmares. :)

Re: Add-on

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

You mean a dream that a character has? Just clarifying.

Re: Add-on

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

Yes! Sorry, I tried clarifying it but I obviously didn't do a good job of it. That is what I meant, though.

I have two stories where I included dreams (one where the dream was an alternate universe that the character discussed with his friend later) and a foreshadowing one (it was a simple, brief dream where the character was falling and then suddenly realized there was no reason she should hit the ground... so she didn't, in the dream, and then she was woken up by someone else. She wasn't going to learn to fly but something surprising, that she personally never would have expected to happen, was going to happen to her later on.)

Oh, by the way, hi! *Drive-by friending*

[b2wm.livejournal.com]

I'd love some stuff on adding in the action without losing the mood and characterization without bogging down the plot. That's always been my weak point in longer fiction, to be honest, especially the first part.

How and when to work in little details is always a nice thing, too, and personally, I can't rant on the importance of minor characters enough, but I recoginize that there's a way to take that a bit too far. (*Cough*Jordan and to a lesser extent, Eddings*cough* Of course, I think part of my problem with Jordan's cast of thousands is that they're all minor, undeveloped characters...)

Re: Oh, by the way, hi! *Drive-by friending*

[jacedraccus.livejournal.com]

You want minor characters taking over, try Ed Greenwood. I swear, he shows events purely to set up having the main character walking past.

Like you get a scene with a guy who is essentially a loan shark putting pressure on a bunch of his debtors. He then kills them and takes all their payments and valuables, and makes sure to stab each corpse with a weapon coated in 'brainburn', so that wizards won't be able to magically pry information from their dead minds or something. He also makes sure to kil the two henchmen that assisted him with this... all so that he can then have his loan shark be mugged by the main character.

Or another scene later on, set amidst a lot of ongoing action. Some thugs breaking into a noble's home and tying up him and his wife so they can ransack the place... or something like that. Bits of this scene are interspersed with bits of action happening elsewhere at the same time, but once again, all it seems to be there for is to provide context when the main character crashes through the window while being chased, or chasing someone, or something.

Admittedly, I didn't FINISH the book, so i don't know if any of this is revisited in later pages, but it didn't look that way at the time.

Re: Oh, by the way, hi! *Drive-by friending*

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

That sounds almost farcical. ^_^;

Re: Oh, by the way, hi! *Drive-by friending*

[jacedraccus.livejournal.com]

Well, the thing is that Greenwood created the Forgotten Realms, the shared-world setting where most of his novels are set. And he does articles, titled 'Realmslore', about places and people in the Forgotten Realms... I think he just has the same 'Gee whiz, ain't this cool' problem that Paolini does, he's just better at working it into the story.

Re: Oh, by the way, hi! *Drive-by friending*

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Well, I'll give it a shot, but probably later on. I think in the beginning I'll be starting with the basics of writing. Character, plot, setting, etc.

[delphinapterus.livejournal.com]

I'd be pretty happy to read about whatever subject(s) you write pick to examine.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you. Hopefully they'll be worthwhile.

[thelittlebudgie.livejournal.com]

To elaborate; you never know what might be useful. So I'll read anything.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

*lists off chores for the day...>>*

[votgs.livejournal.com]

Characterization--

Because god -damn-, I went to a writing course, and spent an hour and a half listening to a bloody Star Wars book writer twit blabber about 'let your characters -speak- to you, they're real and they have voices!', instead of useful concepts and ideas and things to remember when building realistic characters. >_< Should have slapped the Mary Sue Litmus test on one of her characters, hah!

I really respect your critiquing of characters in Eragon and Miss Formulaic (the wench), so I'd like to see an essay.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely talk about characterization, because as I'm sure you know, it's damn important. I'll probably talk about the voices, but I'll also give the basics of how to build them. Letting them speak to you is what you have to do once you create them.

[madamsnape.livejournal.com]

Um... I hate writing on a line that disappears... so I'll write the topics here:

* Characterizations - how many authors fail to create captivating characters that draw you into the story heart and soul.

* Showing and Telling - sometimes it's better to tell and not show, if you do it well. The rule "show don't tell" doesn't always work, because there has to be a balance. Some authors really do show too much and don't leave any mystery... so in essence, they might as well have just told you.

* Poor plotline - or non existant... some authors forget that there has to be a purpose to a story, an actual outcome. There are many stories that I've read and finished feeling like I'd wasted a couple of hours reading a bunch of words thrown together.

[cazrolime.livejournal.com]

*blinks* For some reason, I voted using my character journal. Whups. Sorry bout that. >.>

Anyway, what I mean by 'characterization' is: Characters who move the plot, as well as/rather than being moved by it. Characters who grow and change throughout the story, and who don't freeze dead just because the story finishes. Making big turnarounds in character believable (y'know, like people who switch sides in a conflict and stuff). And... lots of stuff... about writing. ^^ Hurrah!