Everybody's doing it

[Scav]

Here's something for all of you dedicated people waiting for WWYP results to do.

There are a wealth of articles and books about cliches, tropes, and otherwise overused plots and stories. Here are a few.

Strange Horizons -- Overused plots They Don't Want to See

SFWA -- "Writerisms" (#6 remains a huge fault of mine)

And, for those of you able to spend a little money, there's always The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, which is a wonderful glossary on major fantasy tropes. I recommend at least reading the free Amazon preview.

It's both fun and sobering to go through these as a checklist. Yep, do that. Did that. What was I thinking? Oh... crap.

A lot of these illustrate why it takes practice and commitment to be a writer. On the surface, some of the advice conflicts. See: "Florid Verbs" versus "Useless Verbs." On the one hand, verbs that are too colorful and used too often turn into "purple prose." On the other, filling a story with "He was ___" and choreographing a scene with a bunch of "He turned" "She moved to" "They walked" phrases gives you no descriptive value. It's all about experience, so you can season it al dente. And actually have it be good taste.

 

[Virgilijus]

That's some good stuff, Scav.

Although I would say that on the over used themes it's kind of contradicting: This theme can be good if you use it properly which basically means "If you're a good writer, you're a good writer".

 

[Kais]

I'm really beginning to doubt my story now. Those tips are invaluable, I'll have to make sure I avoid those lame storylines next time.

"Weird things happen, but it turns out they're not real.

1. In the end, it turns out it was all a dream.
2. In the end, it turns out it was all in virtual reality.
3. In the end, it turns out the protagonist is insane.
4. In the end, it turns out the protagonist is writing a novel and the events we've seen are part of the novel."

Not completely either of those things, but close enough I guess...

 

[tmw_redcell]

Memorable Limyaael's Fantasy Rants Entries
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/me...l&keyword=Limyaael's+Fantasy+Rants&filter=all

Some good opinions on Fantasy for any of you who are starting out with it.

 

[Eor]

That rant Recell posted made me think that my old fanfiction would have actually been good, if I had continued with it. Except for that part about heads. I had planned a lot of heads flying around.

"Writerisms" was very good

 

[Akebo]

Haha...I find myself using these sometimes. Might have to watch it. But I feel that making a line like into a wonderful story a really good challange. yeah, that's me, a rebel. Moreso, I want to know if any of you either love Star Fox or have written a fanfiction about it. I need some guidance....

 

[Scav]

And another one that floated around Reddit yesterday:

Kurt Vonnuget's 8 Rules of Writing

And Virg, my opinion on these "rules" is the same as all "rules" I talk about in Writing. They aren't rules because of some law that dictates good writing. They're guidelines for improving your writing faster by avoiding common pitfalls.

For instance, one "rule" is for a young writer to never write about suicide. There are exceptions, yes, but 99% of the time the writer is not experienced enough to provide insight on suicide, and they are just writing about it because it gives their story pre-packaged drama.

Part of being a good writer is realizing why these rules are a good idea. For instance, my "always have at least two plots" rule is effective because it forces your story to have depth, and even pushes for better characterization -- when was the last time you only had ONE problem?

 

[Virgilijus]

Well, when you put it that way

And I really liked Kurt's advice. From number four down, at first I thought "Yeah...maybe", but then I realized all of the most engrossing stories I've read have done them all. And for me number six is tough, since I naturally don't want to hurt something I created.

Maybe post links to this next year when WWYP5 starts up?

 

[Scav]

Oooooooooowned!

Yes. Actually, the plan is to get an "On writing" series going, hopefully with you all contributing. I'm itching to write a "why I believe in these rules" article, talking about the thought behind "Don't use adverbs," " passive voice is evil," "Dialog is best used as characterization," "if you must have a phone conversation, get out of it as soon as possible," "a short story can only support 1.5 characters," "Hiding things from your readers does not create suspense..."

Also, I'm going to share my favorite writing quote of all time. I heard it in an NPR interview with James Ellroy (LA confidential), but he was quoting someone else, so I have no idea who said it. I'm paraphrasing a bit, but it's still awesome.

Q: How do you know whether an idea is a short story or a novel?

A: You know it can be a novel when you feel time flowing through your characters.

It seems hackneyed at first, but wow. He's right. For some characters you just have the one-shot, a small role for them to play no matter how real they are. But sometimes, you create a world with characters that feel so engaging to you, that you wouldn't mind spending the next 2 years of your life walking alongside them.

 

[Akebo]

Ha! I agree with that wholeheartedly. In my longer fanfictions, I could start to feel the time flowing, but then I scraped 'em. I never really stick with anything for long. At one point, I did feel time flowing thorugh a character in a short story. Does that count?