Jiraku
Destructive elements only have attack techniques, while non-destructive elements can only heal or give support. What lameass would use water magic to summon a tsunami, or use light magic to sun-scorch their enemy (that isn't already branded as hopelessly evil/demonic?) What idiot uses their dark magic to create a fog of shadows or artificial shade from intense sunlight instead of all-out destruction, and who uses fire for stuff like erecting burning walls, setting up campfires, or lighting up dark places?
((*chuckle* I like the way you said that.))
Aldorel
Bonus points if the character's birthday is the day on which they come into their magical powers. As in, "When a Child of Heaven turns 16, they will suddenly be able to throw bolts of magical fire from their fingers, and stuff."
((*snort*))
Ludera
Firlodge_the_second
((Okay, I'm guilty of the magic-at-pubery-age thing. But it's not 'YAY! I IS TEENAGER = MAGIC POWERS' so much as it is 'Some of the things you might notice about your body are: mood swing, etc, and magic.' ))
((Same here. In my case, though, you have magic since you were a baby but you can't do much with it until you hit puberty. It comes gradually—you don't suddenly wake up on your fourteenth birthday to find out you've undergone a complete physical metamorphosis overnight, after all, and I think it should be the same way for the magical bit too.))
Don't you know that all “special” abilities (be they fantasy or sci-fi origin) manifest out of nowhere on their birthday and not an hour later or sooner. Whether that birthday is 11th or 18th (21st if you're really pushing the envelope) depends on the story, but it absolutely has to be on their birthday. Because birthdays are inherently important events in a cosmological sense and totally
not arbitrary dates with only socially constructed significance.
((My world has magical aptitude as an emerging process as well, although ...)))
The Phoenix Rises Again
The gaining of magical powers should be a blatant metaphor for 'awakening sexuality'
((... That angle completely failed to occur to me. I still might go with it, although obviously I'd go for subtlety.))
M e i
Filler is meant to be boring. Think of it as novocaine for your readers' brains.
That sounds about right. ((I
hate novocaine.))
Quote:
((
n Greek mythology [Amazons] did hate men, and in most versions men were not allowed in their society, I think.))
((I recall a myth I heard once involving Hercules visiting the Amazons and it mentioned them having husbands who acted—as best as I could tell—like stereotypical housewives and who were
very surprised that a man could defeat their wives in a fight.))
II Carolus II
And if characters ARE gay, they all have to be teenagers or young adults. No gay old people, because nobody who is gay lives past the age of 35!
That is why J.K. Rowling has earned my undying respect.
heart
((She might have my respect if her
only "gay" character weren't so completely asexual [old age + no sexual/romantic relationships; to paraphrase Daniel Hemmens: "saying Dumbeldore is gay is like saying McGonagall is straight; meaningless"]; if said character's only homosexual relationship wasn't implied to have been involved in turning his partner into a fascist; if it weren't for the strong implication that after
that little fiasco, Dumbledore became completely asexual and never entered into a relationship with another man again; if Rowling hadn't tried to backtrack later and claim their relationship was purely platonic, and that the fact that in that case he apparently never had sex at all changes nothing; and if she'd even bothered to mention the fact in one of her
actual books, instead of reserving it for a post-Potter interview.
((There must be at least a couple gay characters over 35 in childrens' books which are written by competent authors.
They would have my respect (though it is kinda depressing to think that this is enough of a Big Deal to warrant that kind of respect.))
Hot lin78
rolleyes Well, Rid V, you brought up about everything that I could imagine. That pretty much means there's no use for anyone else to post to this thread. Thanks!
Hot lin78
((The Solemn Truths is actually something cooked up by Astarael-Banisher a couple hundred pages ago, with contributions from yours truly. When Astarael dropped off the face of the thread, I kinda took over because I figured somebody's got to do it.
((Like it says in the intro, the point of the Solemn Truths is not to stifle anybody from posting, but to keep the thread from getting bogged down in issues that have been hashed and rehashed
ad nauseam over the course of the Anti-Guide's history. I think you'll find if you put some more thought into it there are many other instances of authorial stupidity which are not covered in the Solemn Truths, and therefore are less likely to be cliché to this thread.))
The Phoenix Rises Again
Rid, you forgot that women can't ever come one to guys ever. They shouldn't even tell a guy unless he's dying.
((Always happy to oblige by adding another topic if we feel it's cliché
to the Anti-Guide.))
Do you mean “women can't ever come
on to guys ever”? This is basically true, except for the obvious exception:
ChubbyKitten
Any woman who does come on to a guy when he isn't dying must be a skank and climb all over him.
((Hmm, I suppose that might be an Anti-Guide cliché at that. If you want it added in, I'll be happily to oblige. Or you can repost the Solemn Truths and add it yourself.
((And it's Rid
V, thank you all very much.))
Teen romances or dramas or really any sort of situation comedy must include the Party Scheduling Dilemma: two events taking place at exactly the same time on the same day, both of which the protagonist wants to/feels obligated to attend. Cue five minutes or one short chapter of the protagonist being stumped by the dilemma until s/he/it strikes upon the brilliant plan of attending both events, and excusing themself every ten minutes or so from one event to head over to the other. Fortunately for our hero, they will always take place at sufficiently close locations so that the protagonist can move between them in a matter of minutes.
Of course, the protagonist must always and without fail be found out either towards the end of (one of) the events, or soon ex post facto. Never towards the beginning or the middle, and they must absolutely
not be allowed to get away with it under any circumstances. Because that would just be wrong.
That is, letting them get away with it without getting found out would be wrong. Having the whole matter easily forgiven and forgotten without any long-term consequences for the protagonist or any of the other characters involved is not only acceptable—it's mandatory.
