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 Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:40 pm
I love public domain. Then again, considering I have Frankenstein's monster as a semi-major character in my universe...he is the one character people know they can trust. Which is needed, considering my universe is pretty dark. I also like using fairy tales as a basis for my work, or altering them. XP *holds back epic-long rant that she has about some people's characters, especially ones meant to fit in a published canon universe* I will simply say that Slappy unknowingly turning into a human and not noticing or caring for TWU WUV, or Jack Skellington hooking up with the girl he knows killed Sally (and strung her body up like a pinata), or some chick who supposedly knew the Scarecrow when she was seven and he was in high school and grew up in urban Georgia despite contradictory evidence, he goes off to college when she is nine, and that he, several years later, forces her into working with him despite not knowing anything about her and turning him into an idiot in the process have made it to the top of my hate list. (And I will spare you the book-long rant I wrote on that last one. I wish I was joking, but there were so many holes in the profile, my brain was trying to eat itself alive to escape the stupidity). We will furthermore not get into the many varieties I have found for Severus Snape. I could write an even longer book on him... I have heard about The Wheel of Time, and it seems to fall into "love it or hate it" territory, even with another author taking over. I do not think I read a book series where the author changed (unless some of the "sequel" books in Goosebumps were ghost-written---I think the fourth Monster Blood book was, since it had NOTHING to do with the last three), but I have seen comics where the art changes. My friend has a series from X-Men following Chamber, and the last issue or two in the arc has a drastic art change despite being the same story. It was very distracting and irritating, because the new art style was so simple and stylized compared to the realistic look the previous comics had. Racheling: For that reason, I feel some sympathy for Eoin Coifer for finishing the last Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book. My friend (same as above) is a purist and refuses to read it because Douglas Adams is not authoring, but though I have never read an Artemis Fowl book, I heard good things about Coifer and am willing to give it a chance when it comes out.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:49 pm
Our internet has been down, so chances are, I will be around even less than I have been lately.
I'm re-writing my NaNoWriMo, but I've changed so many things its really not the same story. And thats just fine with me.
Racheling: Oh geez! I didn't know he was dead! Thats tragic. I never thought about all the pressure a writer would have to finish someone else's work- I'm glad you point it out. My heart will forever be softened towards replacement authors. XD
Nightmare: Although I appreciate public domain, I don't use it very much because it always just feels like fanfiction- as though its not completely mine.
I love Snape! I have a new appreciation for grumpy people. I would never try writing his character though- he's pretty complex, and I'll leave him to his original creator.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:04 pm
I can see that, though I love my monster. <3
Snape has been my favorite Harry Potter character since the first book, though I will admit my faith in him wavered for a moment with the climax of Half-Blood Prince (and then I remembered both the Unbreakable Vow and that he was a skilled Legimens, which restored it).
It pisses me off when people take characters like him and basically ignore their characterization to treat them like big cuddle dolls. Coming from someone who has actually role-played Snape...I have never played another character that attracted as much stupidity as he did, and it was one of the main reasons why I rarely play him anymore.
I love playing complex characters, be they my own or someone else's. I like the challenge to write them out.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:06 pm
I was late in realizing the incredible complexity of Snape. In other words, it wasn't until it was spelled out in the last book that I finally caught on. Of course, as much as I love Harry Potter, I read the last three books at least a year apart, forgot many important details, and I was never one to pay very close attention to details anyway. And even through all that, I was blown away by how clever the ending was. My life's goal is to write an epic trilogy that ends so astoundingly- that, and to have kids.
The balance of fandom is a funny thing- you want to be able to share your love of something with others, but if there are too many people, they tend to lose the real meaning. I suppose you could say that for just about everything though.
Now, I don't write other people's characters anymore, but I still 'disect' them in my mind, to understand multipul angles in them.
I have a traditionally ornery character, but I know he needs to be more than just grumpy all the time. To make him more real, he should probably have a soft-spot for at least one person. What kind of humor does he have? Whats the difference between a good mood and a bad mood with him? What, if anything, would make him smile?
Come to think of it, I would really like to feel out some character worksheets right now- like that interview thread.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:17 pm
I've officially started writing a currently untitled novel.
Technically, its a rewrite of The Adgengar Pandemic, but I've changed it around so much. The old main character no longer exists, and the title doesn't apply anymore.
I've written six pages so far, because it was part of a class assignment, but I have a long weekend ahead of me and I've got alot of motivation right now. So, chances are, alot will get done, if I'd ever stop drawing characters from an old piece of work...
Some things I need to research is some basic fashion, maybe a little bit about fashion week in New York, although none of my characters will be attending.
Also, do I really need to do research on New York? I've never been there, but so many shows are based there, its kind of like I have been. I suppose I should get some basic streets and locations down, especially for the more prominent buildings.
Thankgoodness the immortals are in prison- they won't be going anywhere strange that I would have to research.
I have figured out my climax. All I'm going to say is that fires are exciting, as long as you're only writing about them and not actually in them.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:45 pm
I hated Snape at first when I started reading the books, but as Sorcerer's Stone went on, I warmed up to him as a great villain, and then when the reveal came, I was thrown for a loop. I have loved him ever since.
My goal in life is the same, really. Minus the kids. XP I have eleven younger siblings at all stages of childhood. There has never been a better form of birth control.
I love more obscure fandoms for that reason. Fewer idiots. But when you have something like Batman that has been around for over sixty years...or ones that start out obscure, then really pick up, like Nightmare Before Christmas (and while it is a younger fandom, I think it has far more idiots, no thanks to Hot Topic and other places whoring it out as "Goth" when it is anything but...) I wish I was joking. I have met two people in my life wearing NMBC merchandise and gotten this exchange:
Me: Oh, hey, I love that movie!
Them: ...There's a movie?
Me: ... *smile, nod, mental facepalm*
My personal belief is the only truly relevant character sheet is the following:
External goal: Something like getting a job, winning the girl, etc. Something physical.
Internal goal: Secret desires, like love, acceptance, closure, etc. The character may not be aware of it.
Other goals: Optional, especially for minor characters, but mini goals that will help achieve the main goals.
Drive: What makes the character strive for the goal. Why do they want it?
Method(s): How the character tries to get what they want
Chain: What is holding the character back from getting what they want?
Often, just knowing those will give you an idea of the character's personality, and will allow everything else to fall right into place.
Pulling from a familiar example, in "Nightmares and Regrets," Jordan wanted to go and enjoy the reunion. He also wanted closure from what he did to Crane years ago. Some other smaller goals cropped up as the story went on: surviving the fear traps, getting himself and Abby to safety, and defeating/reconciling with Crane. He was held back by his own guilt and insecurities. How he accomplished those goals said a lot about his character: he got over his fears, and when he had a chance to really hurt Crane, he chose to forgive him instead.
On the flip side, Crane wanted vengeance and to hurt his enemies. The hurt and fear they gave him drove him to his actions, and his plan would have succeeded if he was unable to be reasoned with, and if his own fears and motives were not used against him. ("She's innocent, just like you were." ). Vengeance consumed him, and that was both the drive and the chain, and his methods of dealing with his enemies tells a lot about who he is.
I do think questionnaires for characters are fun to do, however. I also play with the Mary Sue Litmus Test for laughs, just to see how high my characters (and sometimes canons) get---and only a few times have I ever thought that the test was right in that some traits really were just tacked on and useless when I thought about them in context. I never take it seriously. If it makes sense in the context of the story (i.e., Jessica Rabbit's impossibly voluptuous figure makes sense because she is a toon), it is not a Sue trait.
I have been there, done that with changing things around. One character in my current work was the protagonist in an old story. Well...long story short, a year of ignoring the story and using the character for other things changed her too much to use her. If I ever go back to it, I will have to make up a new protagonist (which is fine---I can fix a TON of other flaws while I am at it).
I would do even a little research on New York. TV and movies will exaggerate to tell a good story (not that there are not actual accuracies).
I have been busy (got two more job offers, one of which I may actually get, yay!), but I am almost done with the next chapter for "Family Ties."
In any case, I am curious about this fire scene you have written, and if you do not mind, I would like to read it.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:36 pm
That character questionaire is pretty good- I've used one thats pretty similar, and adds one more thing: Epiphany: When and how does your character change through the course of the novel?
I think its important that all, or most, of the characters come out of the story different than before, even if its only a little bit. If an event is important enough to write a whole book about, it probably changed more than one person's life.
Determining my characters goals is suprisingly hard for me. I'm plot based- not character based- so my characters are usually reactive, not proactive. However, it seems that readers prefer proactive characters, so I'm trying to make the transition.
About that character that you used for multipul purposes- I reuse characters all the time, which is probably because I'm plot based.
Its really helpful, actually. Whenever I think of a new scenario that I would possibly like to write about, I just throw old characters into it. I get to know my characters really well, and I get to experiment with all kinds of stories and genres. I quickly realize what I am actually interested in writing, and where my characters really fit to make the best story.
I also get a real fondess for my characters after spending so much time with them, and its never boring to write about them. That said, its generally easy to keep going with one story, and I'm not distracted easily, at all.
Research reseach research. I think the best thing I could do right now is just spend a few days in a local city of good size- get a feeling for walking down crowded sidewalks and window shopping.
As far as the fire scene goes- I write chronologically, so I really don't intend to get to it for a while. Things change here and there- I have most the details worked out, but little things will always pop up and suprise me, so by the time the fire scene comes along, there will be more to it than I could imagine right now. But I appreciate your interest- maybe in a few months, when its done, I could post it.
I was just reminded of something: When you write, do you feel like you're discovering something that was already there, waiting for you, or do you feel like the creator, in complete and total control?
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Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:32 pm
I think I will add that to the list. Thank you. ^^
To start with, if you can find an external or internal goal, just focus on that. The other one will generally crop up. And sometimes, it is the same one.
The character in question, I only recently had a solid story for. I used her in role play, and her development (which I love) fits better in the work I have now. One of the curses of role play. I have been better about creating characters hat better fit the worlds I come with, though. Live and learn and all of that.
I can wait. ^^
And to answer your question, it is a bit of both. I am in control of the story, the characters, the world. I created them. Yet time and time again, I will have a moment of fridge brilliance or have an epiphany, or connect two pieces that previously had no relation.
Funnily enough, the same character mentioned...I had an epiphany of just how devious she is last night. As I created her, I knew she was an amoral, selfish anti-heroine who strides the line between right and wrong, but is a good ally to friends and the little family she has loyalty to.
Yet my mind conjured a scene where she was being held prisoner, and had her child threatened. She talked all of her kidnappers out of killing them by proving that if they hurt her or her child or killed them, they would only prolong what they wanted, and would possibly die before accomplishing their goal. They were the only leads, and as she knew the kind of things she would be facing, her child was prepared too, so they could not execute the talk-or-we-hurt-him plan they had previously.
I always knew she was clever and scheming, but that just shed a new light to me on the potential she has, and how well she can use people---even her own kid---as pawns. And that she calmly spoke while being held more or less at gunpoint, and got her attackers to fear her instead of the reverse...I fell in love all over again.
Suffice to say, you can be in control of the story, but that does not mean there is nothing that cannot be discovered later.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:32 pm
I just live for the moments when I'm hit with an epiphany.
I'm the 'creator' type. If I need to change names, personalities, locations, entire plot- its all in my hands, I can do it. And as far as I'm concerned, none of it existed until my brilliance created it. ^^
But its not like I create it all at once- its a long, ever-changing process, as new ideas are introduced and inspiration charges me. Even as I write, its very subject to change. Often times I depend on a new epiphany to revive my motive and get me writing again. <---(bad habit)
I don't feel like things are set in stone, I don't feel like my characters have taken over the story (of course, I'm plot based).
I've met writers who will say things, referring to their characters, such as, "I thought she was going to live in New York City, but she let me know that Baltimore was her hometown, and I had no say in it."
Thats always been... strange to me. I decide whats going to happen.
Its true that as you develop characters, they'll tend to pull in some direction, but I'll change parts and pieces from them if it really doesn't fit the plot.
However, most of my characters are formed to fit the plot from the beginning, so I only have that trouble to a very small degree.
Character epiphanies are my personal favorite, because they tend to send waves of effect through the entire story- its not just once piece; now you get to deal with this new bit of brilliance through the entire book! Yes!
I'm getting way too tired now...
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:11 pm
I do too. I love it when pieces just snap into place for me.
Agreed, though that does not mean there are not things left to be discovered. I find when I make an epiphany, I tend to find a new way of thinking in-general. It says a little about who I am and how I problem-solve.
Even if I am character-based, I also agree that nothing is set in stone. Take it from the girl who re-wrote her canon three times because the flaws were too great to fix otherwise. While characters will grow and change and reveal themselves to you, you are still in control.
There is a difference between discovering something you never thought about a character, and thinking they took over. They never do; you are the one in control because you created them. It tends to send warning flags to me when I meet someone like that; most people I met who have the "my character is telling me this" mindset have been bad writers. Not all, but a majority.
Character epiphanies rock not only for that reason, but for the sheer excitement of learning something new. That makes writing exciting to me.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:37 am
I see activity has been painfully slow. Oh well, its not like I've done much to help lately. Although the power cord to our laptop died and so it was only a matter of hours before the laptop shut down too...
I went to see two movies over the weekend.
Megamind: it may just be the funniest show I've ever seen. Ever. I want to buy the movie, and a poster.
TRON Legacy: Besides the fact that I loved it, I saw it at just the right moment.
Let me start at the beginning:
I've been working on a new novel that I've mentioned a few times above. I do like the story, I really do. But I didn't have a real reason to be writing it, I had no statement to make with it. I didn't even see exactly why a reader should spend their time on it. Yes, thats very bad.
After watching TRON, I had a major epiphany (which actually had very little to do with the show) and I realized what I needed to change.
Now its unrecognizable from my previous idea, except that all the characters are the same. Yes, I do that all the time.
But I have a real reason to write now, and awesome TRON music to listen to whenever I'm not writing.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:29 am
I have been busy with other things myself. Like doing a ton of art, and working on original work. Epic tale regarding the latest chapter of my fanfic in my journal. I will be posting it soon.
Megamind = awesome, and should be recognized for the genius it is. I like how it uses, subverts, ignores, and plays with comic book tropes. And without much (if any) crude humor, to boot!
I have not seen either Tron movie, but I want to. And I am glad to hear that it inspired something for you. Funny how something entirely unrelated to your story can inspire something so awesome. <3
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:39 pm
I keep quoting megamind, but apparently not enough people around me have seen it, so they never get it. And then I just look like a fool, giggling to myself. This is why I must arrange an epic movie night.
Although the entire movie was fantastic, I really just enjoyed the first half. Megamind is such a hilariously ingenius character, I could stand to watch a full length film about him, without a climax, or any major plot points. Any banter between him, Roxanne, Minion, or Metroman would suffice.
That aside, my well of inspiration has run dry. More like, my fascination with that particular epiphany has died.
I did learn something though.
I can't write anything unless it has a lasting impact on me, one that I feel every time I think about it.
My main piece has this effect on me, which is why I love it so much.
Anything else I try to come up with... not so much. Its been discouraging, to realize I have such a lack of interest and feeling in anything else. I'm still searching though. I haven't given up hope yet...
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 4:32 pm
Forget me stick! ;D
Also, happy birthday. <3 In five years, you can be an old fogey like me.
Megamind was amazing.
"You forgot the most important thing."
"What's that?"
"PRESENTATION!"
Well, at least you have your other story to work on. Who knows? Maybe you will get the inspiration with that epiphany back. ^^
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:07 am
I'm back! I also changed my name, just in case anyone decides to drop in and read this, and is totally confused. I guess I'll have to change my journal name soon.
Don't count on me being really frequent or anything, I don't exactly know how much I'm going to be here.
Anyway, I had great inspiration about three weeks ago and its still running strong. However, I can't depend on my 'inspiration' to keep me going forever so I need to buckle down and get some real work done. Task #1 is to come up with a plausible conflict.
Yes, that's right, I have the perfect characters, perfect setting, perfect beginning, but no real plot line. There are so many possibilities its hard to choose! (Also I have yet to come up with something good enough).
Oh, that's right, I graduated high school on May 24th, and my parents got me an apple laptop as a gift!!! I'm so thrilled!
I'm starting college in the fall, and I'm probably going to major in theater- I would just love to direct live theater, even at a high school. (But I have much bigger dreams).
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