Lounge

[Robinski]

They are just what they sound like, the orphans and street-kids of the town of Lufmatho, which is the setting for the fantasy novel that I finished (Draft 1) about two months ago.

The links to the short I'm writing now are very tenuous - it's in the same universe, but that's about it - at the moment, I'm not finished writing yet!!

[krystalynn03]

They are just what they sound like, the orphans and street-kids of the town of Lufmatho, which is the setting for the fantasy novel that I finished (Draft 1) about two months ago.

The links to the short I'm writing now are very tenuous - it's in the same universe, but that's about it - at the moment, I'm not finished writing yet!!

 

Well, I'll be patient...or patient until Monday--if that's the same piece you threw your hand in the air to share.

[Robinski]

It is.

[krystalynn03]

Good deal!

[Kammererite]

They are just what they sound like, the orphans and street-kids of the town of Lufmatho, which is the setting for the fantasy novel that I finished (Draft 1) about two months ago.

The links to the short I'm writing now are very tenuous - it's in the same universe, but that's about it - at the moment, I'm not finished writing yet!!

 

yay! i've been waiting to enter that world again....what ever happened to "Waifs and Strays" by the way. 

 

Also i've been in edit avoidance mode all March so thought i would give my self an external deadline and post my intent to submits starting on April 11th here. Submitting to RE is what pulled me thorough Essence of Fire so i hope it can get me in the groove again.

[Robinski]

yay! i've been waiting to enter that world again....what ever happened to "Waifs and Strays" by the way

It's finished, 1st draft. I suppose I could put it up on the alpha readers thread. No-one yet has read all the way through. The Start Write Now group kind of fragmented away, and my first alpha reader has had to put it to one side (I think). My wife is reading it at the moment, she's halfway through.

Yeah, maybe I'll do that and it will refresh the Alpha reader thread.

Hey Silk, how do you feel about pinning that thread?

p.s. - glad to hear you're back!

Edited March 27, 2016 by Robinski

[aeromancer]

Quick question: What's the general consensus of killing off main characters? In other words (to be more specific) I have a character that Heroically Sacrificed. Now, I set up a system to resurrect this character, but (because of unexpected character development) this character has gone from "vital to resurrect" to "Hmm..."

 

In case you are wondering, I've already got two hero corpses and two villain corpses.

[kais]

Quick question: What's the general consensus of killing off main characters? In other words (to be more specific) I have a character that Heroically Sacrificed. Now, I set up a system to resurrect this character, but (because of unexpected character development) this character has gone from "vital to resurrect" to "Hmm..."

 

Interested in everyone's opinions on this, too. 

[Robinski]

It's certainly something that can have a huge impact, I'm thinking Game of Thrones of course, take your pick of the exiting main characters! I guess for me it's a question of there being characters left behind to be invested in and who are strong enough to carry the story forward.

[Kammererite]

I think main character death via heroic sacrifice is epic and can really pull at the heart strings. That said i believe there are other reasons to kill of a main character but i think they have to be important and make sense in the story.

Personally for me Game of Thrones is to much. I really don't care about any of the remaining characters and would be willing to wager that when he finish the series that all the original POV's will be dead or meaningless.

 

Mini rant aside. I personally am not a fan of resurrection. Sure i've seen it done well but typically i put the book/ stop watching a show when this happens and walk away. If you kill a character they should stay dead unless your doing some afterworld story with ghosts or different dimensions.

Just my opinion.

Cheers

[Shadowfax]

Heyas folks!!! I know I've been quiet but we've been so busy lol. We got hung up on a weather delay and it's been hectic as all get out. We are picking up and packing the trailer today and starting our drive tomorrow.

Things... Marci!!!! Noooooooo ;_; I'm gonna miss you and I hope it's nothing terrible and sad.

Killing characters... it's like this. You need to answer important questions. How many characters do I have, and how many do I need? If have > need, feel free to trim. But you also need to ask yourself, why. Death must serve a purpose. Does the death: further plot development? Further a (different) character's development? Provide *desperately* needed tension/emotional impact? If you can't say yes to any of those, don't kill the character. And if it's the third one, also ask yourself why the story is desperately lacking in tension, because that's an issue all on its own.

On a personal note, as much as I hate seeing some of those characters go, I think Martin's blatant killing of them is genuine and realistic. Its a continent-wide warzone full of ambition... people will die left and right. He has built an enormous amount of tension in his books simply by declaring that no one is safe. Character death is a theme, he has to keep it up to stay true to that thematic element. Not every book could get away with it like he does however.

As for character resurrection... it's not a ploy I enjoy, but it can be done if you follow some basic rules. 1. Foreshadow the ever loving heck out of how it would be possible. If it isn't built up, readers will get hit from left field with something miraculous, not understand it, or worse, be left with a chunk of exposition in the narrative slowing the pacing. 2. Use it sparingly. If your characters can come back any time, there will be no tension. The readers will not care if your characters are in danger, there will be threat to their lives. 3. Never ressurect a character simply because you're afraid to kill it in the first place. If youve established they need to die, kill them. If they're critical to later plot, then ask: can any other character fill this role? If yes, kill them and move the plot to a different character's arc. If no, find another way. A fake death is fine if you can pull it off. Or mount some tension and give the character a reason to disappear for a while.

Sorry, got into lecture mode xD

Also, I'll respond to my critiques you guys left when I have a bit of extra time. I appreciate them and they're super helpful. I have a very good idea of how I can start a prologue and chapter one of my book. Literally all I had written were those scenes and a bazillion pages of world-building notes. Plus my rough outlines. So, thank you.

I'm off to go move now! *waves*

[Silk]

Hey Silk, how do you feel about pinning that thread?

p.s. - glad to hear you're back!

 

I feel reasonably confident! Pretty sure this is a thing I can do for you.

 

Edit: Except I forgot the part where I have to find it first. Whoops.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Silk

[EthanBassett]

I'm beginning to realize that the characters in my current project are a bit too stereotypical. Which shouldn't be that hard to fix except that I'm already half way through what I have planned to write and I've been thinking about these characters so much that changing them seems wrong. I know what I have to do to make my characters more interesting but every time I change anything about them it just doesn't feel right. Like I know who my characters are and what they like and changing that makes them something their not.

 

My progress has pretty much stopped and I imagine it will stay that way until I can solve this.  

[Robinski]

Interesting - I hate it when my characters don't do what I want them to.

 

If you don't want to change the character of your characters, how about having them do stuff that's out of character? Maybe one acts out of rage and does something uncharacteristic. Maybe one just plain old makes a mistake, a miscalculation. One might be drunk and drop the ball.

 

Maybe you don't need to change your characters, but can still do something to change the situation they are in. Have someone throw a hand-grenade in the window. There's an interesting film called Force Majeure, where a family on a ski holiday is sitting having a meal in a restaurant (if I recall correctly) and this avalanche tears down the hill and comes towards the building. Everyone ducks for cover, but the dad ups and runs off, leaving his family to fend for themselves. The rest of the movie deals with the emotional fallout of that single, split-second, instinctive choice.

 

That sort of thing would change your plot, I suppose, but it shows that there is always scope to introduce the unexpected.

[kais]

So quite on the board today!

[Robinski]

It is - nice weather we're having though.

[kais]

It is - nice weather we're having though.

It's been AMAZING on the west coast! I think today is the last day of it, which makes me sad.

 

Also, I am finally almost through my R&R stuff, and the agent wrote me back today to respond to a question, so I feel all kinds of good.

[Robinski]

That's great!

I was being ironic about the weather. I live on the West Coast too, but of Scotland, where clouds come to die.

[Shadowfax]

I'm logged in on my phone! We're driving through Wyoming now and it's covered in snow and only 28 degrees F. Wyoming fails at recognizing springtime in the states.

[kais]

I live on the West Coast too, but of Scotland, where clouds come to die.

I used to live in Ireland. I know this pain.

[king007]

Writing has been going so slowly for me, but I have a little story that I've been playing with in my head and writing about occasionally. I'm interested in cotinuing it but I'd like to confirm that the tone I'm using and style of story telling so far is good and intriguing. It's just a short paragraph really, nothing much. I'd appreciate your input and impressions.

 

He breathed, and breath came in. He looked, and his eyes beheld. They saw not what was before him; they saw instead what lay beyond. Endlessly, he stared, for only a moment; one that felt like infinity itself. One in which he glimpsed a land of new beginnings, opening up its embrace and revealing a welcoming warmth. His eyes darted around exploring the magnificent sight.

There lay the dreams of men, the hopes of the unfortunate, the cure of the sick, the rest of the tired, dazzling in irresistible charm. He could see smiles and hear joyful laughter. He could feel a pleasant sensation reigning over his chest, a relaxation climbing up his body. Peace and ease, as if he was floating in a pool of utter bliss, with clouds a pillow for his head. He wanted to let go, to forget, to drawn into this sea of fulfillment.

The offer was truly tempting. However, a new beginning meant also the end of what came before. And he, the man with the spear, was not keen on leaving things unfinished. He thought there were still loose ropes waiting to be bound, a few fires to be lit. The time for his departure, he believed, had not yet come. He chose to silence the calls of temptation, and resist the urge of letting go.

As foolish as it might be, he thought it was not as foolish as trying to build something anew, with the looming shadow of the previous one haunting him forever; matters yet to be resolved, feelings yet to be explored.

[kais]

Writing has been going so slowly for me, but I have a little story that I've been playing with in my head and writing about occasionally. I'm interested in cotinuing it but I'd like to confirm that the tone I'm using and style of story telling so far is good and intriguing. It's just a short paragraph really, nothing much. I'd appreciate your input and impressions.

 

He breathed, and breath came in. He looked, and his eyes beheld. They saw not what was before him; they saw instead what lay beyond. Endlessly, he stared, for only a moment; one that felt like infinity itself. One in which he glimpsed a land of new beginnings, opening up its embrace and revealing a welcoming warmth. His eyes darted around exploring the magnificent sight.

There lay the dreams of men, the hopes of the unfortunate, the cure of the sick, the rest of the tired, dazzling in irresistible charm. He could see smiles and hear joyful laughter. He could feel a pleasant sensation reigning over his chest, a relaxation climbing up his body. Peace and ease, as if he was floating in a pool of utter bliss, with clouds a pillow for his head. He wanted to let go, to forget, to drawn into this sea of fulfillment.

The offer was truly tempting. However, a new beginning meant also the end of what came before. And he, the man with the spear, was not keen on leaving things unfinished. He thought there were still loose ropes waiting to be bound, a few fires to be lit. The time for his departure, he believed, had not yet come. He chose to silence the calls of temptation, and resist the urge of letting go.

As foolish as it might be, he thought it was not as foolish as trying to build something anew, with the looming shadow of the previous one haunting him forever; matters yet to be resolved, feelings yet to be explored.

I'm intrigued enough to want more!

[Shadowfax]

Well, we made it to Missouri! 5 days of driving, hauling a trailer and copped up in a small car with 2 cats >.< BUT WE MADE IT!

 

Got in last night, finally got my laptop set up again and so I hope to start putting together a proper prologue and chapter one to my book. I've ha da lot of time to think over everyone's comments and "write" in my head as a drove, so I'm super excited and really nervous at the same time.

[Robinski]

Welcome to wherever you are!

 

[Robinski]

Writing has been going so slowly for me, but I have a little story that I've been playing with in my head and writing about occasionally. I'm interested in cotinuing it but I'd like to confirm that the tone I'm using and style of story telling so far is good and intriguing. It's just a short paragraph really, nothing much. I'd appreciate your input and impressions.

 

Yeah, I rather like the tone of this as an introduction, it does ask questions about the nature of the being we're seeing here, the nature of his power and influence, which seems wide-ranging. I couldn't read a whole story in this tone though, it's very grand and portentous, rather melodramatic. I think that's okay in small quantities, but rather heavy for a whole novel - imho.

 

Good to see some words from you, King, I hope this comes together for you. There are some nice ideas and phrasing in the language, not too much that I would comment on if I was line editing.