|
Post by thelunarfox on Sept 30, 2009 12:56:32 GMT -5
I got these from Laura of LakesideHeights (who I'd love to have join us). She has a blog about life and writing that I just couldn't stop reading one day, and I picked up these three helpful links from a few back entries. CommonMistakes for First time Novelists. This is a lot like the "How not to write a short story tips" but much more in depth. It's now a ten part series with five tips each to make fifty tips in total. But it's still a very quick read. I read through it in twenty minutes, and it's making me closely examine my own story. Writing Sex. Because there may come a point where you need it-- to write about it I mean. I actually found it to be a short and amusing article. The Mary Sue litmus test. Geeze! It seems you can't do anything! Maybe the Mary Sue topic should get its own thread.
|
|
|
Post by girlyesterday on Sept 30, 2009 16:04:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the link lunarfox. I particularly enjoyed her Gameplay vs Storytelling entry. It was very insightful. Ah that Mary Sue Litmus Test drives me nuts. I think Mary Sues are perfectly fine depending how they are portrayed. Some Mary Sues I've read about are actually very three dimensional and entertaining to read. And if you ever believe that test, apparently, every single character suffers from that complex including ones written by Tolkien and he's supposedly the greatest writer of the twentieth century. The Common Mistakes for First Time Novelists was an entertaining read.
|
|
|
Post by Stacy on Sept 30, 2009 17:13:07 GMT -5
Does anyone know a way to contact her? If so, go ahead and send her the link and an invite. I do switch POVs in the same chapter in Sunset, but after that each POV change gets its own update. Yay, I figured that out on my own! No one picked up on the Shakespeare reference in the memory of how Jason and Lilith met (that I know of - maybe someone did and just didn't comment on it) and it didn't seem to bother people. Yeah - I'll keep my pretty metaphors, thanks. I don't write for an audience. In my Sims stories, I completely avoid the said issue. Yay for pictures to show who's talking! Target is upper middle class?! How do I afford to shop there then? I feel a bit better now about starting with Lilith waking up. Because as soon as she wakes up she remembers the meeting, which is what starts the plot and that's why I'm writing about her waking up on that particular day. Still though - definitely changing the beginning of the non-Sims version.
|
|
|
Post by thelunarfox on Oct 1, 2009 11:17:54 GMT -5
Her father just passed away, but as soon as she's back, I will totally tell her about this forum if she hasn't already seen it. Laura is an amazing writer working on her own book and using the Sims to write for fun (hopefully only between working on her actual book). I didn't pick up the Shakespeare reference in that Valley update! I'll have to go back and look. Oh Mary Sues-- I am starting to think of Mary Sues as clichés. Is your character a cilché? Has it been done before probably to death? Tolken was the originator, so his fantasy characters can't count in a Mary Sue litmus test. I wouldn't even try because I know it wouldn't be true. But if I create a character-- a beautiful elf with pale skin and unusual colored eyes (which I do have-- Hello Amberle Silverring), then I better make sure I am not trying to copy Tolken or she will become a Mary Sue. (My own Amberle was exiled from the elves, never taught magic, dislikes her own people, and has issues with fire.)
|
|
|
Post by Monday Morning on Oct 1, 2009 11:51:47 GMT -5
I tried taking the Mary Sue litmus test and I had to stop halfway through. I realized that some of my characters do fall into that category, but also, the test was ultra-long! My goodness! I've got two characters that are close to my heart that aren't sims. One is also an elf, Roux Fortelle, who is non-magical, is blind in one eye, is a black market trader, and carries a rapier, and is not the prettiest elf on the block. She's my brigand of sorts, and if I ever pick up her story again, I can definately see Tam from RT influencing her. So, in a way, she is a Mary Sue. My other character is my recently created Remini Johnson whose appearance I drew heavily from silent film star Clara Bow. She's from my story that takes place here in Phoenix, and yes she is described as petite, but that's because she's a dance teacher. Yes, she happens to be dating a Ken Doll of a boyfriend, who's also a cop, and yes she happens to be alone when she's attacked. Mary Sue, here she comes! Although, it's nearly impossible to not have a Mary Sue. No matter the genre, almost everything has been done one-million-and-one times. Have a look at any soap opera, American or not. They may be different series, but they all end up having the same types of characters, the same type of plot. Maybe this is just my point of view, but it's so hard to go to the book store and find anything by one author that hasn't been done before by another.
|
|
|
Post by girlyesterday on Oct 1, 2009 16:27:49 GMT -5
I agree MM, everything has been done before in one way or another BUT, the key is how it's done is what makes it interesting or not.
I am probably one of the only few people who didn't enjoy reading LOTR - at all. I preferred Zelzany's Amber series.
|
|