9960 réponses à ce sujet

[hot_heart]

She'd know who Ash or Kaiden was, but the reports being vague was part of why I could keep it undefined. If that makes sense.

Thanks for the help though. I should have something workable now.

Glad to see the last couple of sentences weren't raising eyebrows though. That was my biggest concern.

[lillitheris]

hot_heart wrote...

She'd know who Ash or Kaiden was, but the reports being vague was part of why I could keep it undefined. If that makes sense.

Ah, right. I meant the “one grunt from Horizon” — whether Miranda is sure it’s Ash or not where the coup is concerned, I think the Horizon reference should be more definite.

Glad to see the last couple of sentences weren't raising eyebrows though. That was my biggest concern.

I’d say it’s perfectly fine where the writing’s concerned. I’m not sure about Miranda’s thought process there, but that’s just because this is a short excerpt without all the buildup.

[hot_heart]

Ah, well it's up on FF.net now if you did want to see. Hopefully it's all a little clearer. Couldn't really adopt your altered phrasing because it wouldn't fit with my more blunt, spare style seen so far (owed to my lack of experience probably).

Thanks once again for the help though.

[MrStoob]

'ello, ello. Back from my trip, as you might have seen in the general discussion and the happenings there. Got right back to the writing and have completed (I hope...) the story I mentioned using geareffect's detection skill that Samara uses.

Aura

I hate titles lol. Always the last thing I think of and I'm generally underwhelmed by my choice. Anyhoo...

[moreeman06]

Hey so i have to say this group is a great idea, haven't had time to read through all of it yet though

[lillitheris]

moreeman06 wrote...

Hey so i have to say this group is a great idea, haven't had time to read through all of it yet though

But see, just the existence of this thread got you out of your ’riting funk! :happy:

[IliyaMoroumetz]

Just popping in here to offer a piece of advice at how to write for better characterization that I learned a long time ago;

The Bechdel Test. Ever heard of it? You should. It's a necessary base-guideline for how to write more interesting female characters, since, historically, a lot of have been rendered in less than flattering ways in movies, books, and so on.

How does your story pass the Bechdel Test?

1. Do you have more than one female character?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. Do they talk about something other than a man?

If you've answered yes to all three of these, then congratulations: you've passed the Bechdel test and now have a foundation in which to craft a more interesting character! How you proceed from there is your choice, but the possibilities are endless.

[lillitheris]

The E3 talk got me wondering about the EC…in the completely unexpected and frankly unfathomable case that they don’t use my Meaningful Sacrifice thread verbatim as the basis for it — and thus automatically making “Unity” canon — but do actually change the ending in some reasonably significant manner, or introduce significant elements that contradict my plotting…I wonder if it’s necessary to redo portions of the beginning.

I know there’re lots of pre-ME3 ME3 narrations, most of which work pretty well. And on one hand, I’ve sort of insulated myself from the specifics of the end (thus far, anyway…I have plans to address it, but I might leave that part out). At the same time, I’m not sure if I’d be pleased or dis- if the story ended up a kind of a memorial for the travesty that the ending used to be…

Obviously the question can’t actually be addressed until we see what there is in the EC, but you know… 6 hours was too long to go without stimulating conversation! Talking to myself always works.

…

Edit: damn you, señor Moroumetz! Just as I was obliquely complaining about the silence.

Modifié par lillitheris, 05 juin 2012 - 02:18 .

[lillitheris]

IliyaMoroumetz wrote...

Just popping in here to offer a piece of advice at how to write for better characterization that I learned a long time ago;

The Bechdel Test. Ever heard of it? You should. It's a necessary base-guideline for how to write more interesting female characters, since, historically, a lot of have been rendered in less than flattering ways in movies, books, and so on.

This actually sort of works the other way around too…

[IliyaMoroumetz]

lillitheris wrote...

This actually sort of works the other way around too…

How so?

[lillitheris]

IliyaMoroumetz wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

This actually sort of works the other way around too…

How so?

For female writers. I had to actually check that “Unity” didn’t fail that with male/female transposed… I was actually pondering about that earlier, too, but I think I’m safe on the whole.

[MrStoob]

Is the Bechdel Test based on a particular gender writing the story? Seems a bit superfluous to me.

I wouldn't personally like to write a story then artificially add a character just to fulfill a set of arbitrary rules.

[lillitheris]

MrStoob wrote...
I wouldn't personally like to write a story then artificially add a character just to fulfill a set of arbitrary rules.

I think it’s more that you could examine why it is the case… if you have 3 guys stuck on a deserted planet, then it’s probably sensible that there are no female characters involved.

[IliyaMoroumetz]

MrStoob wrote...

Is the Bechdel Test based on a particular gender writing the story? Seems a bit superfluous to me.

I wouldn't personally like to write a story then artificially add a character just to fulfill a set of arbitrary rules.

Hardly.  A story is just a story, no matter who writes it.  What's important is HOW it's written.

Also, the above noted example about the three guys stranded on a planet also holds true.  So, your mileage may vary.

[MrStoob]

lillitheris wrote...

MrStoob wrote...
I wouldn't personally like to write a story then artificially add a character just to fulfill a set of arbitrary rules.

I think it’s more that you could examine why it is the case… if you have 3 guys stuck on a deserted planet, then it’s probably sensible that there are no female characters involved.

Indeed, unless the story is specifically about the dynamics of male/female interactions in a particular scenario.

Story first, audience second I would profer.  There is the counter that you should never write just to please an audience.  I would agree that if writing female characters then they should be well rounded and not just cliches, but the same should be said of male characters equally.

[Sialater]

IliyaMoroumetz wrote...

MrStoob wrote...

Is the Bechdel Test based on a particular gender writing the story? Seems a bit superfluous to me.

I wouldn't personally like to write a story then artificially add a character just to fulfill a set of arbitrary rules.

Hardly.  A story is just a story, no matter who writes it.  What's important is HOW it's written.

Also, the above noted example about the three guys stranded on a planet also holds true.  So, your mileage may vary.

Why do they all gotta be guys?  Huhn?  Huhn?

OK, just kidding.  And yes, keeping a balance between the strong women and not letting them overshadow the men (or gender balance) is a tough tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon.

Modifié par Sialater, 05 juin 2012 - 05:19 .

[lillitheris]

Sialater wrote...

Why do they all gotta be guys?  Huhn?  Huhn?

*cough*

[fluffywalrus]

MrStoob wrote...

Is the Bechdel Test based on a particular gender writing the story? Seems a bit superfluous to me.

I wouldn't personally like to write a story then artificially add a character just to fulfill a set of arbitrary rules.

To be honest, it's often more applicable to films than written stories.
Though I have come across the odd fic that fails this test....it's necessary, it's just less useful in a universe like Mass Effect, where it basically canonically passes the test. To undo that would be a major undertaking.

[MrStoob]

The 'test' seems a bit out-moded to me.

[fluffywalrus]

MrStoob wrote...

The 'test' seems a bit out-moded to me.

Like I said, it's a lot more useful when assessing films, because they have such a short run-time. A lot of rom-coms fail the test, for example. I imagine that with each passsing year, the test is less useful, but it serves its purpose well. I'm pretty sure any writer who fails the test, short stories or otherwise ... should just flat out stop writing.

[hot_heart]

fluffywalrus wrote...
 I'm pretty sure any writer who fails the test, short stories or otherwise ... should just flat out stop writing.

Pretty much.

[MrStoob]

fluffywalrus wrote...
I'm pretty sure any writer who fails the test, short stories or otherwise ... should just flat out stop writing.

Shall we take this to the nth degree then?

The MrStoob test:

1.  Does your story include a black person? No? Fail. Stop writing.
2.  Does your story include a disabled person? No? Fail. Stop writing.
3.  Does your story include a poor person? And so on, and so forth.

Pandering to demographics is an awful way to approach creativity. Write what you want to write I say.

Modifié par MrStoob, 05 juin 2012 - 07:15 .

[TheWerdna]

I am currently writing a fic and I need some help. I am really bad at coming up with names, and as such have been having trouble coming up with some names for ships. For the most part I just need some throwaway names for some, non-important, ships. Through i could also use some suggestions for a ship that is important to the plot (though I kinda want to come up with that one on my own)

[MrStoob]

TheWerdna wrote...

I am currently writing a fic and I need some help. I am really bad at coming up with names, and as such have been having trouble coming up with some names for ships. For the most part I just need some throwaway names for some, non-important, ships. Through i could also use some suggestions for a ship that is important to the plot (though I kinda want to come up with that one on my own)

There's loads of baby name sites, I've used one myself when stuck.

[lillitheris]

MrStoob wrote...
Pandering to demographics is an awful way to approach creativity. Write what you want to write I say.

Sure, but that shouldn’t prevent you from examining your own writing.

I’ve made a concerted effort to try to have my Systems Alliance ‘extras’ be from around the globe, especially since I couldn’t remember a single person conceivably of chinese origin in the games (I’m sure there is one, in addition to Emily Wong, but they already make up 1/6th of the entire planet…)