9960 réponses à ce sujet

[YurigirlzCrush]

*looks around at the inches of dust, cobwebs, a horde of crickets, and tumbleweeds blowing around*

 

um... is anyone still alive? *frowns*

 

there's way too much dust to dust this mess. I'm calling in a cleaning service this time! *nod*

[Seracen]

Don't mind me, just dusting here...

 

Meanwhile, I find it interesting how I am making some of the choices on my current fic.  I am almost stressing out about going one of several directions, and end up wanting to do a couple simultaneously.  I got away with it last time, but I feel I am tempting fate by doing so again, lol.

 

Ah, choices choices.  Still, on the bright side I have killed off a few of my other darlings, and have made some headway as to the ultimate conceit of my story, so that's good.

 

Hope everyone else's story pursuits and New Year are going well!

[BronzTrooper]

Well, DA:I's given me plenty of ideas for my fanfics.  I may actually use a certain part of DA:I to, possibly, kill off one of my Wardens in my multi-Warden fanfic (those of you who've finished a playthrough of DA:I should be able to guess what I mean), as well as kill off one of my Hawkes in one of my other fanfics.  I'll also have subtle nods toward DA:I in my DA:O fanfics, which I think my readers will appreciate.  It'll be fun.  

 

Anyone else getting idea from DA:I?

[Seracen]

Well, DA:I's given me plenty of ideas for my fanfics.  I may actually use a certain part of DA:I to, possibly, kill off one of my Wardens in my multi-Warden fanfic (those of you who've finished a playthrough of DA:I should be able to guess what I mean), as well as kill off one of my Hawkes in one of my other fanfics.  I'll also have subtle nods toward DA:I in my DA:O fanfics, which I think my readers will appreciate.  It'll be fun.  

 

Anyone else getting idea from DA:I?

 

Oh for certain.  That's part of why I enjoy my time between projects.  The creative juices flow so much more clearly when inspired by such things.  For me, the trick is remembering where such inspiration comes from, and adjust it accordingly.  It's good that my mind acts like a sponge in such regards, but I am VERY conscious about avoiding plagiarizing off of other people's ideas.  Often I will craft a sequence, and forget where I got the idea from.  Thankfully, I've never flat out copied anyone, scene-for-scene or otherwise.  However, it was galling the one or two times a beta said "er, isn't that from [XYZ]?"

 

Heavy inspiration, on the other hand, suits me fine (so long as I can make the idea my own).  Also, I am not above quotes and homage!  But as for DA: I, I have been more inspired to do character studies.  In my particular case, the romance for one of my Inquisitor's was a bit short-changed, so I sought to remedy that.

 

The concept of a multi-Warden/Inquisitor story has struck me since the days of Origins, so I feel where you are coming from there (less so Hawke, probably b/c I detest Carver, lol).  In my sketch of the story thus far, I have female Adaar and male Trevelyan, but which is Herald and which is Inquisitor keep switching!  Also, MORE SCOUT HARDING!

 

But all that can wait.  Unless I am doing a one-shot, these various ideas are serving as fodder for my Mass Effect fic.  I tend to sacrifice any ideas I get on the pyre of whatever project I am currently working on.  It served me well on those spontaneous fics from when I started posting fanfic.  Nowadays, I adjust it and try to make it fit into my "grand plan," or I shelve the idea for use on a later project.

 

Rarely have I applied my inspiration to the setting that inspired it, and I've never really done a one-shot.  My ME fics were supposed to be one-shots, and one turned out a 100-page treatment of an alternate ending, and the other a 200-300 page sequel to the freaking series!  The closest I've ever had to writing a one-shot was a rehash of an old story I wrote for a class, and a challenge I once received for a "lemon fic," which still involved 4 chapters of story and action before getting to the fluff and buggery!  Hell, I was tempted to turn that lemon into a fully produced story, but I just didn't have the patience or interest afterwards, lol!

[BronzTrooper]

Oh for certain.  That's part of why I enjoy my time between projects.  The creative juices flow so much more clearly when inspired by such things.  For me, the trick is remembering where such inspiration comes from, and adjust it accordingly.  It's good that my mind acts like a sponge in such regards, but I am VERY conscious about avoiding plagiarizing off of other people's ideas.  Often I will craft a sequence, and forget where I got the idea from.  Thankfully, I've never flat out copied anyone, scene-for-scene or otherwise.  However, it was galling the one or two times a beta said "er, isn't that from [XYZ]?"

 

Heavy inspiration, on the other hand, suits me fine (so long as I can make the idea my own).  Also, I am not above quotes and homage!  But as for DA: I, I have been more inspired to do character studies.  In my particular case, the romance for one of my Inquisitor's was a bit short-changed, so I sought to remedy that.

 

The concept of a multi-Warden/Inquisitor story has struck me since the days of Origins, so I feel where you are coming from there (less so Hawke, probably b/c I detest Carver, lol).  In my sketch of the story thus far, I have female Adaar and male Trevelyan, but which is Herald and which is Inquisitor keep switching!  Also, MORE SCOUT HARDING!

 

But all that can wait.  Unless I am doing a one-shot, these various ideas are serving as fodder for my Mass Effect fic.  I tend to sacrifice any ideas I get on the pyre of whatever project I am currently working on.  It served me well on those spontaneous fics from when I started posting fanfic.  Nowadays, I adjust it and try to make it fit into my "grand plan," or I shelve the idea for use on a later project.

 

Rarely have I applied my inspiration to the setting that inspired it, and I've never really done a one-shot.  My ME fics were supposed to be one-shots, and one turned out a 100-page treatment of an alternate ending, and the other a 200-300 page sequel to the freaking series!  The closest I've ever had to writing a one-shot was a rehash of an old story I wrote for a class, and a challenge I once received for a "lemon fic," which still involved 4 chapters of story and action before getting to the fluff and buggery!  Hell, I was tempted to turn that lemon into a fully produced story, but I just didn't have the patience or interest afterwards, lol!

 

I have the same problem, except I'm able to give my own little twist on whatever ideas I'm borrowing to make it seem less like I just copied & pasted something and worked a scene or story around it.  I mean, I started typing up some scenes relating to Cole and the mage quest in DA:I just because I found the idea of both very interesting.  Especially the mage quest.

Spoiler

I mean, Time Magic?  That's awesome!

 

Honestly, the romances in DA:I don't seem all that interesting to me atm, but I'll probably change my mind after a few more playthroughs, so it's a moot point atm.

 

Well, the idea of a multi-Inquisitor fanfic doesn't make sense to me.  Same goes with multi-Hawke fanfics.  FF.net seem to reflect this, since I've seen way more multi-Warden fanfics than anything else, and I've only seen a couple multi-Hawke fanfics.  Multi-Warden fanfics are less lore-breaking than multi-Hawke or multi-Inquisitor fanfics since all the origins in DA:O occur, it's just the Warden's origin that Duncan shows up at.  Mess around with the timeline of the origins a little and you're set up for a multi-Warden fanfic.  Multi-Hawke is possible, but highly unlikely.  I mean, Malcolm and Leandra having 2 pairs of twins?  Highly, highly unlikely.

 

As for multi-Inquisitor, the Inquisitor is the only one to survive the Conclave and, as a result, is the only one who can close the Rifts, meaning that either you have several characters survive the Conclave and all have Marks (which is next to impossible, considering what you learn in the Fade), or you have 1 Inquisitor with a bunch of OCs running around alongside.  I'll only ever do multi-Warden fanfics, but to each his own, I guess.

 

And yeah, I don't like Carver all that much either.  Bethany all the way!  

 

As for your multi-Inquisitor fanfic, I guess you could go with having your Adaar be the Inquisitor and have your Trevelyan end up with Harding.  Trevelyan Inquisitor seems so.... boring to me.  Adaar Inquisitor is much more interesting, though Lavellan Inquisitor will always be my top favorite.  

 

I've been all over the place with my writing lately, though.  I want to get my fanfics back up and running (damn it, DA:I!  ), but I keep thinking about possible sequels for my multi-Warden and SI fanfics in DA:I and get so distracted by those ideas that I can't get anything done.  My multi-Warden fanfic is currently stuck at the meeting with Swiftrunner in the Brecilian Forest and I'm doing my fanfics in cycles, so my next update will be for AWL and then back to my SI fanfic before going around again.  At least AWL will be finished soon (several more chapters), so I'll have more time on my hands, but I plan on picking up one of my other fanfics that I've put on hiatus for the time being after that.  Damn it...

[Seracen]

Ah, so in reference to a few posts that others have made in this thread...

 

I have finally gotten a few reviews and PM's that make me tilt my head quizzically, as well as in amusement.  On the one hand, having readers chomping at the bit for more is always nice, as is engaging in conversation with them.  On the other hand, at a certain point the demands can come across as pushy.  I'm the one writing it, after all, and if I think a story's done, it's done!  Also there's critique and there's picking apart, one is more helpful than the other...

 

Then again, there's that old saw about the artist who spray-paints his work after it's been displayed in the art museum, then claims it isn't vandalism b/c "it wasn't finished yet."  Anyhoo, so far the conversations are more endearing and a bit amusing, so I'm not throwing up the flags yet.  Also, it's a bit flattering to receive reviews and PM's from several different people nearly a year after I posted my story.  It makes me wonder how they found the darn thing, lol!

[MrStoob]

Ah, so in reference to a few posts that others have made in this thread...

 

I have finally gotten a few reviews and PM's that make me tilt my head quizzically, as well as in amusement.  On the one hand, having readers chomping at the bit for more is always nice, as is engaging in conversation with them.  On the other hand, at a certain point the demands can come across as pushy.  I'm the one writing it, after all, and if I think a story's done, it's done!  Also there's critique and there's picking apart, one is more helpful than the other...

 

Then again, there's that old saw about the artist who spray-paints his work after it's been displayed in the art museum, then claims it isn't vandalism b/c "it wasn't finished yet."  Anyhoo, so far the conversations are more endearing and a bit amusing, so I'm not throwing up the flags yet.  Also, it's a bit flattering to receive reviews and PM's from several different people nearly a year after I posted my story.  It makes me wonder how they found the darn thing, lol!

Ha!  Attention is always good, it can give one a bit of momentum.  And who doesn't like people saying nice things?

 

Haven't been in for a bit, writing's rather scarce here atm, nor have I played DA:I so can't really contribute there.  Hope you're all well though!

[Seracen]

Ha!  Attention is always good, it can give one a bit of momentum.  And who doesn't like people saying nice things?

 

Haven't been in for a bit, writing's rather scarce here atm, nor have I played DA:I so can't really contribute there.  Hope you're all well though!

 

Nice to hear from you Stoob!  Yeah, I JUST got a message that DID come across as overly pushy and entitled.  I'm still glad for the reviews, but I think I just hit my cutoff for replying to a few of those PM's.  Still, I take it as flattery more than anything else, not like I'm going to be shy about replying to new PM's and readers!

 

Then again, I'm taller than most of my contemporaries, so I have the luxury of not being intimidated that often, haha!

[MrStoob]

I try to be a bit of an arms length kind of a guy on the FF pages.  I find it can turn into too much of a discussion on what direction the fic could/should take, and TBH I'd rather not go into that with readers.  As many good ideas that a reviewer/pm might have, I have a pretty defined (though admittedly not planned, per se) idea about where the fic is going.  At its extremity, I'd proffer that if someone has good ideas for a fic and strong feelings on the matter, then they should write one themselves!  

 

Edit: Oh.  Something I'd been meaning to enquire about: Rila and Falere.  I am certain that in the vox audio that Falere calls Rila 'Rila-Bo', like a cute sibling nickname, but the dialogue text just says 'Rila'.

[Seracen]

I try to be a bit of an arms length kind of a guy on the FF pages.  I find it can turn into too much of a discussion on what direction the fic could/should take, and TBH I'd rather not go into that with readers.  As many good ideas that a reviewer/pm might have, I have a pretty defined (though admittedly not planned, per se) idea about where the fic is going.  At its extremity, I'd proffer that if someone has good ideas for a fic and strong feelings on the matter, then they should write one themselves!  

 

Yeah, I hear you on keeping things at arms length.  I just realized that the reader basically lamented that I didn't write a three-way romance between Shep/Jack/Ashley, and that I wasn't going to retcon a chapter for them on an old story.  I also draw the line at folks trying to influence the direction of my story (unless I ask due to a mental block).  However, I am always willing to hear ideas, and enjoy engaging in conversation (so long as it doesn't get too involved/awkward, which is the trick).  Case in point, one of my betas had some REALLY good ideas about how I should change certain scenes in the story, and it helped immensely (granted, they were a BETA, and an old friend as well).

 

Still, this would only be the 2nd case of friction I've ever had with a reviewer, and I wouldn't even call this a major issue, just a bit misguided.  The reviews themselves still remain mostly welcome (barring the petty grammar callouts).  As for the first time I ever butted heads with a reviewer: the guy/gal completely flew off the handle!  It was amusing actually, and I reveled in writing the return email.  The reader never replied, so I suppose I must have set them straight.  In that particular case, I let them know how I actually enjoyed that the story engendered such a passionate response...so I probably trolled them somewhat, and deflated any argument they might have brought up.

 

 

 

Edit: Oh.  Something I'd been meaning to enquire about: Rila and Falere.  I am certain that in the vox audio that Falere calls Rila 'Rila-Bo', like a cute sibling nickname, but the dialogue text just says 'Rila'.

[snipped out the YT vid]

 

Interesting catch on "Rila-bo."  I guess it wasn't established enough that they wanted to avoid confusion in the subtitles (or due to laziness).  I see this sort of thing all the time in anime subtitling.  The Japanese honorifics/etc have only JUST started to become a main part of the subtitling.  Granted, this is mainly due to non-Japanese audiences finally understanding the nuance of such lingual conventions, which was not always the case for everyone.

 

Case in point, I didn't realize until MUUUCH later the true reason for FF8's Fujin ALWAYS SPEAKING IN CAPS.  She was speaking in a different dialect, and that was how they decided to translate it to audiences.  We in the west figured she had a speech impediment, or damaged vocal chords, haha!  If they were to release FF8 today, I am certain they would adjust the wording to reflect her dialect.

[MrStoob]

On a completely unrelated note, I had an odd dream where Seracen replied like this (one of those odd dreams where you're not sure if it actually happened or not):

 

 

                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 

Anyway...

 

At first I thought Falere might be saying, "Rila, buh..." but it doesn't flow like that the way she says it.

 

Edit:

Throwing an idea out related to the Falere thing (I'm writing a one-shot about Falere stuck alone at the monastery).  Is it wholly stupid and way out there that an injured Leviathan ends up at her planet, and she (details to be confirmed...) helps him back to health and returns her to the fleet and her mother?  lol  To be fair, I've already set some stuff up re: the origins of the Leviathan and a symbiotic past they had with the rest of the organics in which they required tribute of the dead for sustenance.  So as there's lots of dead people at the monastery, maybe that'd do it (spaaaaaaace magiiiiic!).

[Seracen]

On a completely unrelated note, I had an odd dream where Seracen replied like this (one of those odd dreams where you're not sure if it actually happened or not):

 

 

                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 

Anyway...

 

At first I thought Falere might be saying, "Rila, buh..." but it doesn't flow like that the way she says it.

 

Edit:

Throwing an idea out related to the Falere thing (I'm writing a one-shot about Falere stuck alone at the monastery).  Is it wholly stupid and way out there that an injured Leviathan ends up at her planet, and she (details to be confirmed...) helps him back to health and returns her to the fleet and her mother?  lol  To be fair, I've already set some stuff up re: the origins of the Leviathan and a symbiotic past they had with the rest of the organics in which they required tribute of the dead for sustenance.  So as there's lots of dead people at the monastery, maybe that'd do it (spaaaaaaace magiiiiic!).

 

Well, if I copy-paste your post, I HAVE posted those smileys, in a certain sense, haha!  Was I wearing the viking helm from my avatar, or were you looking at a forum page in said dream?  Glad to hear I am not the only one who has random dreams about my forum posts and other online meanderings!

 

As for Falere, that sounds like a cool idea, adorable even!  My only concern would be in WHAT WAY she helps heal the Leviathan, considering the size difference.  I immediately pictured her getting into a mobile suit (like the underwater mech) or ATLAS and trying to heal the Leviathan as if she were repairing rigging on a ship.  The other image I got was her mind-linking with the Leviathan in some way.

 

In my own fanfic, I had Falere form a link with a Rachni queen.  The gestalt allowed her, and other Ardat Yakshi, to control their urges.  It was a crude manner with which to "cure" the AY affliction and allow them back into normal society.  I only ever hinted at it in my story, but the background was there.  The idea was that the Rachni hive (and in this case Leviathan) would be TOO LARGE a force for an asari mind to take.  However, by linking multiple minds, one could share in a small, manageable part of a greater whole, and share in the calming emotions.

 

Anyhoo, just FYI.  Again, I like the idea, just curious as to implementation!

[MrStoob]

Well, if I copy-paste your post, I HAVE posted those smileys, in a certain sense, haha!  Was I wearing the viking helm from my avatar, or were you looking at a forum page in said dream?  Glad to hear I am not the only one who has random dreams about my forum posts and other online meanderings!

 

Now you mention it, I'm sure now that one of the smilies was a Viking helmet smiley... 

 

I hadn't really thought that in-depth about the ins and outs of how she could heal him.  The Leviathan in my fic have open areas within themselves in which other 'lesser' organics used to use to travel to other regions to avoid inhospitable seasonal weathers, part of the symbiosis they used to have (the Leviathan eventually demanded a tribute of the dead, causing the rift and the lesser species' rise through technology).  So that's certainly usable in this scenario.

 

One of my own little personal pats on the back (lol) was creating a scene that was like a benevolent Reaper attack, with the Leviathan sounding out its 'horn' to herald its arrival as saviour of the lesser species.

[MrStoob]

Just as an addition to dealing with feedback, I randomly joined a writers' group on fb that popped up a little while back and there was this page about that very subject, which may be of use to someone:

http://writerscircle...ust-it-too.html

[MrStoob]

Well I didn't go through with the Leviathan/Falere thing, probably more a flight of fancy than something serious (back burner at least).  However, the bits and bobs I'd already written about her time alone at the monastery, and some introspective Samara bits I'd done for no apparent reason gave me something else to write, which I was quite pleased with in the end.  I was also victim to a character telling me what I was writing is not 'in character'.  As a character I don't write for often, when I got to what I had intended for Falere it just didn't seem right.  The first natural feeling words from her mouth scuppered what I had initially intended.  Made a change for me anyway but I suppose I'm used to writing for the characters I do know well.

 

PS: Isn't January crap?

 

Edit:

Yea, yea, I know this isn't my personal blog. lol

 

Between the bits and bobs of that story, and other odds and sods I've had lying around for a while it seems to be Samara and her family week for me so far.  A oneshot and a couple of 'mini-shots' (v short single scene stuff) regarding the asari family, I'd almost call that productive!

[Seracen]

Well I didn't go through with the Leviathan/Falere thing, probably more a flight of fancy than something serious (back burner at least).  However, the bits and bobs I'd already written about her time alone at the monastery, and some introspective Samara bits I'd done for no apparent reason gave me something else to write, which I was quite pleased with in the end.  I was also victim to a character telling me what I was writing is not 'in character'.  As a character I don't write for often, when I got to what I had intended for Falere it just didn't seem right.  The first natural feeling words from her mouth scuppered what I had initially intended.  Made a change for me anyway but I suppose I'm used to writing for the characters I do know well.

 

PS: Isn't January crap?

 

Edit:

Yea, yea, I know this isn't my personal blog. lol

 

Between the bits and bobs of that story, and other odds and sods I've had lying around for a while it seems to be Samara and her family week for me so far.  A oneshot and a couple of 'mini-shots' (v short single scene stuff) regarding the asari family, I'd almost call that productive!

 

Well, at least you have interesting material that you might be able to recycle at a future point.  Congrats on getting all that work done!  Feel free to write about it here, this stuff is part of the reason why I still come to this thread!

 

As for the characters speaking to you, I totally understand!  They are living, breathing entities in my head, while I am writing the story at any rate.  It helps inform my writing.  That's part of why writing certain characters is so tricky.  I have to rework the dialogue and mannerisms until the character "fits."  Jack and Aethyta, in particular, were difficult to write.  The way my vocabulary works, they initially came across as hipster versions of themselves, lol!

 

Which brings me to an idea/request I got from a fan.  Someone asked if I would write a full-out harem story for Shepard (male or female...or both, considering my next story).  I won't lie, I've considered it, saving myself the trouble of figuring out just WHAT couplings I'll have ("screw it, have them all!!!").  I've even plotted out a way to potentially make it feasible.  However, I always balk at the idea of actually doing it.  Aside from the characters in my head screaming "NO YOU IDIOT," I feel that such a story would come across as smut.  Also...

 

1) that's a lot of romance scenes to write, in order to invest readers in all the myriad partners.  I don't even know if it would be POSSIBLE to properly value/appreciate the relationships at that point.  I personally would get fatigued READING such a thing, much less writing it!

 

2) while I've seen it work in anime, it strains credulity to consider it working in anything else but the most indulgent of fantasies.

 

3) I refuse to write pure smut!  Even that one lemon fic I was challenged to write...it ended up being 4 chapters of action and plot before I even got to the sex!

 

Ah, just venting.  Still, I'd be glad of any other opinions that the group might have on such matters.  For myself, it was the limits of what I felt I could reasonably do just to present a three-way relationship (and even that had to be constantly reworked)!

[MrStoob]

To be honest on the general subject of 'lemons' (of which I have only dabbled for my own amusement, no not like that...), I am surprised when I go for a wander on AO3 as to how many are pure filth!  It takes a lot for me to say that but the 'Rape/non-Con' tag seems to pop up far too often.

 

While I appreciate those varieties is not what you're going for, Seracen, I'm not familiar with the general 'harem' story scenario.  Is it that all are knowing and consenting?  Or is it a cloak and dagger, hope the others don't find out unless it resolves in a threesome type affair?  I think the closest I've come to a 'harem' anime is Tenchi Universe on CN.  That was a curious watch.

 

It seems I had trouble stopping myself today, in a good way I hope.  A couple of short chapts for my multi-crossover thing, with what I think are some nice passages.  I've still fallen short of the reveal on that one, though one of today's chapts really does spell it out if one reads between the lines.  Here's an short 'teaser':

 

"An aeroplane travels across the Atlantic Ocean skies without incident."

 

Also, a further couple of oneshots from the back burner regarding Falere and Mirata (Morinth), in different scenes that is.  With what she has suffered, how would Falere react when a Reaper!Shep drops out of the sky to help rebuild the monastery?  And a provocative scene of an early kill by 'Mirata'.  The family Samara seems to be my thing at the mo, but I always like writing for them and could probably bang on for ages, particularly Samara.

 

So yea, after a while in the desert, a day of writing madness!

[ftkerns]

Owwwww... Finally had the hernia surgery done a few days ago (guess I got lucky on my second trip to the ER and the hospital finally did what they should've done the first time), and I'm just now getting to the point where I can move around. I honestly had no idea it was even possible to be in that much pain. And the pain medication the doctor prescribed...well, all the pharmacies were out of it, because that's the only way my luck could possibly work. So I've just been living with it. Haven't been able to work for the past week, and that'll continue for at least a couple more weeks, so I've got no income. Someone at the hospital helped me apply for food stamps and cash assistance (which I need desperately) as well as assistance with insurance, but those departments have a track record of denying my applications even though I've been living well below the poverty level for over two years. So I'm not optimistic. 

 

I'll probably end up either writing a long blog post detailing the whole experience, or doing a video rant for my YouTube channel. Or both. I've got plenty of material to use for it ... such as the guy across the hall in the hospital who insisted on talking about the time we dropped those bombs on Japan ... in a booming voice that could be heard from one end of the hallway to the other ... at 2:00 in the goddamned morning, while I was trying to sleep ... and no one even tried to make him shut his sass-hole. I wanted to strangle him with his IV tube.

 

Anyway. Adventures in Hernialand. Whee.

 

Moving on ...

 

As for the characters speaking to you, I totally understand!  They are living, breathing entities in my head, while I am writing the story at any rate.  It helps inform my writing.  That's part of why writing certain characters is so tricky.  I have to rework the dialogue and mannerisms until the character "fits."  Jack and Aethyta, in particular, were difficult to write.  The way my vocabulary works, they initially came across as hipster versions of themselves, lol!

 

Which brings me to an idea/request I got from a fan.  Someone asked if I would write a full-out harem story for Shepard (male or female...or both, considering my next story).  I won't lie, I've considered it, saving myself the trouble of figuring out just WHAT couplings I'll have ("screw it, have them all!!!").  I've even plotted out a way to potentially make it feasible.  However, I always balk at the idea of actually doing it.  Aside from the characters in my head screaming "NO YOU IDIOT," I feel that such a story would come across as smut.  Also...

 

1) that's a lot of romance scenes to write, in order to invest readers in all the myriad partners.  I don't even know if it would be POSSIBLE to properly value/appreciate the relationships at that point.  I personally would get fatigued READING such a thing, much less writing it!

 

2) while I've seen it work in anime, it strains credulity to consider it working in anything else but the most indulgent of fantasies.

 

3) I refuse to write pure smut!  Even that one lemon fic I was challenged to write...it ended up being 4 chapters of action and plot before I even got to the sex!

 

Ah, just venting.  Still, I'd be glad of any other opinions that the group might have on such matters.  For myself, it was the limits of what I felt I could reasonably do just to present a three-way relationship (and even that had to be constantly reworked)!

 

On characters speaking to you ... I've kind of had a similar experience. Not exactly speaking, but when I'm writing and I get into a real flow with it, the characters kind of find their way through the story for me, and I just write it down. They usually get to where I want the story to go, but they do it their own way, if that makes any sense. And sometimes I'll write something I wasn't planning because it flowed naturally from the previous few paragraphs, and that turns out better than what I'd planned. It's just really cool when that happens.

 

On the other matter ... you might try writing it and see if it goes anywhere. If it looks like it's going to work, keep at it. If it starts looking like it's just not working, then pull the ripcord before you get too far into it. Who knows, it could make for an interesting story.

 

For me, one of the sticking points would be whether or not it seems out-of-character for certain characters to want to be involved in such a thing. Ashley, for instance, strikes me as someone who'd get really pissed off if someone suggested it to her. Samara, for another, probably wouldn't be interested, and would smile and say something kind about being flattered at being considered for it, but she's married to her job. Also, there's her worries about producing more Ardat-Yakshi. So the whole thing would depend on how you find a work-around for things like this. One idea I've had in mind for Samara is some sort of vaccine or serum or whatever that temporarily blocks her ability to become pregnant, so I suppose the possibilities this would bring about might at least chip away at her resolve. Sort of like, the time she spent on the Normandy reminded her of what it was like to have friends and family after traveling alone for so many centuries ... maybe now that Morinth has been taken care of, it's possible Samara might be wondering if she'd still have a purpose as a Justicar, and maybe, just maybe, it might finally be time to let that go and find a new path, possibly one that keeps her with Shepard and the others. Maybe she's finally lonely enough to open herself up to other possibilities. With her, at least, there's considerable emotional material you could mine for the story. I'll probably take a similar approach if I do anything significant with her in Freelancers.

 

Anyway, if the focus is kept on the characters and their emotions, and you find a way to make it a reasonable decision for them to make, and take your time letting the story run its course, it could turn out to be pretty entertaining. 

 

I did something similar with Game Over, the short novel I put on Kindle Scout a while back. One of the ideas I had was that humans were the only species that's really hung-up about sex, relationships, etc. Just struck me as amusing if all the alien species were like, "Huh, what's the big deal, anyway?" But considering the situation all the characters were in, they just kind of ended up clicking. The human protagonist had several moments of, "This is just too weird. They're talking about passing me around like a bong at a frat party." But he didn't resist it.   Several of the alien females looked at the situation like, "Sure, why not?" And others were more strongly attracted to each other. And over the course of the book, they all fell in love with each other. I tried not to portray it as some sort of fantasy or play it for laughs ... all of them went through a long series of traumatic experiences, including dying multiple times, and the whole experience created a strong bond between them.

 

By the way, I posted the rough draft on Textnovel (once they got the site back up and running again), and just a few days into January, it was given the 2015 Editor's Choice Award. Which I should be proud of (and I'm definitely grateful for it), I just find it a little frustrating that one of my works is good enough for an editor's choice award, but it's still not good enough to even consider for publication. Which has been the maddening, ongoing frustration of my entire writing career -- with only one exception, the best I've ever been able to do is, "close, but no cigar."

 

Anyway. I'm also right there with you on 3). I almost never put any sexual content in my writing aside from characters talking about sex or having characters get frisky with each other before doing a fade-to-black and cutting to a different scene. But in Game Over, for some reason I put a number of sex scenes in (each with the main character and one of the alien females, sometimes including bits with the females going at it), but I kept it pretty mild. The first scene actually started after two of them had just finished, and others were from POV characters watching the other characters doing it, so I didn't have to describe all the ridiculous explosions of pleasure that you typically find in lemon fics. And early on I kind of got bored with it and had two of the characters move off by themselves and start talking about how to escape the trap all of them were in, while the sex continued in the background and these two only occasionally took note of it. 

 

But when all that happened, it was seven chapters into a 10-chapter-plus-epilogue book, and all the previous chapters were action-adventure-drama stuff with the characters figuring out what was going on and trying to find ways to escape, while the romance between all of them built up gradually. So it wasn't pure smut ... the romance/sex stuff was something that just happened. I'm not even sure why, but the sexual content seemed right for this particular story, but I have no intention of making a habit of it. And as far as the sexual content of this story goes ... I think there's a difference between characters just humping it out, and characters loving each other. The latter is what I tried to do with those scenes, and for me that's the way it should be handled. It should be about their tenderness and passion and caring for each other, instead of just this body part going into that body part.

 

Those same characters show up in the sci-fi/romance I was invited to write recently, though they're kind of part of the background because the story's focus is on the scarred-woman character I came up with a while back. The returning characters are all happily married, so it still seems to be working out for them. 

 

So ... anyway. Not sure if this is any help at all, but this is how I handled that sort of situation.

 

And now I should get back to work on the current story. For some reason I thought the deadline was Feb 15, but I recently double-checked and it's actually Feb. 1.  And I already lost a lot of time because of the hernia surgery and being in too much pain to stay focused on writing. Since I've got this time during which I can't go back to work, I should take advantage of it ....

[Seracen]

To be honest on the general subject of 'lemons' (of which I have only dabbled for my own amusement, no not like that...), I am surprised when I go for a wander on AO3 as to how many are pure filth!  It takes a lot for me to say that but the 'Rape/non-Con' tag seems to pop up far too often.

 

While I appreciate those varieties is not what you're going for, Seracen, I'm not familiar with the general 'harem' story scenario.  Is it that all are knowing and consenting?  Or is it a cloak and dagger, hope the others don't find out unless it resolves in a threesome type affair?  I think the closest I've come to a 'harem' anime is Tenchi Universe on CN.  That was a curious watch.

 

[snip]

 

Again, kudos on having such a productive writing session!

 

Yeah, some tags on Ao3 crop up with distressing regularity.  I'm not surprised with the propensity for smut though.  Hell, harlequin romance novels are no different, and there's a market for it.  I won't deny that a good bit of fluff is just the pick-me-up a reader needs once in a while.  As for "harem," yes, I meant consensual, with all partners being knowledgeable.

 

I used sexual abuse as a form of torture ONCE in a story I wrote, and felt like I needed a shower after.  Obviously, not really a fan on non-con or cheating, and I can't write those sorts of scenes and characters very well (or at all), b/c I am constantly screaming at them in my head, lol!  I am a big fan of Tenchi (was one of my first anime), and it is pretty much the barometer for a "successful" harem story (although some seasons do a better job than others).

 

But ftkerns raises a good point...

 

 

 

[snip]

 

On characters speaking to you ... I've kind of had a similar experience. Not exactly speaking, but when I'm writing and I get into a real flow with it, the characters kind of find their way through the story for me, and I just write it down. They usually get to where I want the story to go, but they do it their own way, if that makes any sense. And sometimes I'll write something I wasn't planning because it flowed naturally from the previous few paragraphs, and that turns out better than what I'd planned. It's just really cool when that happens.

 

On the other matter ... you might try writing it and see if it goes anywhere. If it looks like it's going to work, keep at it. If it starts looking like it's just not working, then pull the ripcord before you get too far into it. Who knows, it could make for an interesting story.

 

For me, one of the sticking points would be whether or not it seems out-of-character for certain characters to want to be involved in such a thing.

 

[snip]

 

Anyway, if the focus is kept on the characters and their emotions, and you find a way to make it a reasonable decision for them to make, and take your time letting the story run its course, it could turn out to be pretty entertaining. 

 

I did something similar with Game Over, the short novel I put on Kindle Scout a while back. One of the ideas I had was that humans were the only species that's really hung-up about sex, relationships, etc. Just struck me as amusing if all the alien species were like, "Huh, what's the big deal, anyway?" But considering the situation all the characters were in, they just kind of ended up clicking. The human protagonist had several moments of, "This is just too weird. They're talking about passing me around like a bong at a frat party." But he didn't resist it.   Several of the alien females looked at the situation like, "Sure, why not?" And others were more strongly attracted to each other. And over the course of the book, they all fell in love with each other. I tried not to portray it as some sort of fantasy or play it for laughs ... all of them went through a long series of traumatic experiences, including dying multiple times, and the whole experience created a strong bond between them.

 

[snip]

 

So it wasn't pure smut ... the romance/sex stuff was something that just happened. I'm not even sure why, but the sexual content seemed right for this particular story, but I have no intention of making a habit of it. And as far as the sexual content of this story goes ... I think there's a difference between characters just humping it out, and characters loving each other. The latter is what I tried to do with those scenes, and for me that's the way it should be handled. It should be about their tenderness and passion and caring for each other, instead of just this body part going into that body part.

 

Sad to hear about all the medical shenanigans, but I'm glad you got the treatment you needed!  I wish you a swift recovery, and a productive writing schedule until then!

 

Interesting suggestions, and a reasonable way to approach it.  Like I said, I'm more interested in the emotional payout, as opposed to sexual gratification.  Still, some unique perspectives, and good advise regardless of application, so thanks for that!  I just don't have as much faith in writing with such abandon.  If I don't keep focus, I tend to ramble and lose track of the story.  Next thing I know, it's gotten out of hand and I don't know what to do, lol!  I just don't have faith that a "harem for Shepard" route would create anything emotionally compelling, except by porn standards, haha!

[ftkerns]

On AO3 tags and whatnot ... eh, yeah. I really do find it distressing that certain content crops up so much, and that so many people are actively searching for stuff like rape/non-con, etc. If I were more of a reader than a writer, I'd go out of my way to avoid stories with that kind of crap in them. And honestly, I never understood the difference between "non-consensual" and "rape." If it's non-consensual, it is rape. Period. And there's nothing at all erotic about it. Guess it's a good thing that I'm so obsessed with writing my own stuff, I hardly ever do any reading. But when I do add something to my reading list, it's stuff that's recommended by people who know what makes a good story.

 

I admit some of my works have weird relationships in them, but in every single case, every character involved wants to be in the relationship. I just don't understand the appeal of non-con ... and I'm sure I'm better off remaining in the dark on that. 

 

Sad to hear about all the medical shenanigans, but I'm glad you got the treatment you needed!  I wish you a swift recovery, and a productive writing schedule until then!

 

Interesting suggestions, and a reasonable way to approach it.  Like I said, I'm more interested in the emotional payout, as opposed to sexual gratification.  Still, some unique perspectives, and good advise regardless of application, so thanks for that!  I just don't have as much faith in writing with such abandon.  If I don't keep focus, I tend to ramble and lose track of the story.  Next thing I know, it's gotten out of hand and I don't know what to do, lol!  I just don't have faith that a "harem for Shepard" route would create anything emotionally compelling, except by porn standards, haha!

 

Thanks.  It's definitely good to finally have the surgery over with. By the time it was finally done, the hernia was about the size of my fist. There's a chance of it re-opening, but I hope it doesn't. I don't ever, ever want to go through this again.

 

The writing is going well, finally. The max limit on the word count for this story is 25,000, and I've just passed 15,000. I need to wrap it up quickly or I'll have to cut a lot of stuff out of it. But at least it's getting there.

 

On the harem thing, glad you found some of what I said useful.   I agree completely about the emotional payout. 

 

And yeah, it's easy for something like that to go off the rails. Or anything else, really. Until recently I've been able to keep the focus pretty well, but I did lose track of where one of my novels was going. Granted, I've been working on it for nearly five years, plus writing four or five other books at the same time. At some point I'll have to go back to the beginning and do some editing and hope I can find the plot again....

[MrStoob]

On a general writing note, and as I seem to be in a waffling mood...

 

As someone who also writes music, the similarities in the process is funny sometimes.  When writing music, you have this 'sound' in your head, a feeling that you want to put across, beyond just a melody and accompaniment; they're the 'easy' bit.  The overall 'tone' of the piece is not always so easy to write/record.  With writing, there is a similar feeling or tone that one tries to put across in words, and again, that's not the easy bit of writing.  X, Y and Z happen.  That's 'easy', but again setting the tone is the not so easy bit.  So often, as with my music, it never comes out quite how it was in your head.  In your head it was epic; on paper or recorded, it's okay... but still not the exact feeling you wanted.  Perhaps that's just the nature of the beast, and why we keep banging our heads against that brick wall in the hope that one day, it will be as we imagined.

 

In other news...

This month's musical challenge was 'The Secrets of the Sea'.  One of my co-contributors wrote a song about the desperate feeling we all experience at some point in our lives, and the lure of the sea to end the turmoil, to wit, top one's self.  The chorus goes:

 

And the ocean calls my name,

The waves sing to me,

"Come down and join us" they are saying,

"We are content and we are free."

 

I'd been writing my crossover madness as I said earlier, and when things don't happen across the multiverse (for reasons), Robert Lutece is at a loss.  He knows something should have happened but never did, and he feels only half a soul due to never encountering Rosalind, but he doesn't know why, or why his research has never produced any results.  He faces that abyss, literally standing at the ocean and the 'content and free' line worked perfectly for me, said so much more about Robert's feelings on the matter than I could have danced around with with words.  Needless to say, I let him know and thanked him.  He even asked for a link to my works in general, which I'm a bit apprehensive about as he isn't of our nerdy gaming, fan fictioning, realm.  I've passed the link on anyway, though that particular piece in which I used his phrase is (I would assume) pretty much impenetrable to anyone who doesn't know the System Shock/Bioshock/Half Life/Singularity franchises very well.  But, in case anyone is interested in hearing my mate's work, here's a link.  Just to say, there's no nonsense on the site, just the music, so we don't make money of clicks or anything (dunno why I felt the qualifier necessary lol).

http://soundclick.co...cfm?id=13023814

 

Edit:

Now that is surprising.  Number of works on AO3 with the character tag 'SHODAN'?  One.  Mine.  Muhahahahha!  I'll let the lady herself take this one.

 

“Your tiny insect minds – INSECT MIIINDS, tiny minds – c-c-c-cannot comprehend the vastness of my influence. iiiiinfluuueeence...”

 

In my research, I was glad to see that SHODAN is commonly voted greatest gaming villain of all time (though I personally think the scope is broader than just gaming).

[Seracen]

On a general writing note, and as I seem to be in a waffling mood...

 

 

Dude, I feel you here.  In terms of my own writing, there's so much waffling, I could feed a family of four for a year!    I have to believe it's part of the process...

 

 

 

As someone who also writes music, the similarities in the process is funny sometimes.  When writing music, you have this 'sound' in your head, a feeling that you want to put across, beyond just a melody and accompaniment; they're the 'easy' bit.  The overall 'tone' of the piece is not always so easy to write/record.  With writing, there is a similar feeling or tone that one tries to put across in words, and again, that's not the easy bit of writing.  X, Y and Z happen.  That's 'easy', but again setting the tone is the not so easy bit.  So often, as with my music, it never comes out quite how it was in your head.  In your head it was epic; on paper or recorded, it's okay... but still not the exact feeling you wanted.  Perhaps that's just the nature of the beast, and why we keep banging our heads against that brick wall in the hope that one day, it will be as we imagined.

 

[snip]

 

http://soundclick.co...cfm?id=13023814

 

Some amazing work there!  I've been trying to learn guitar for years, but I always find an excuse to procrastinate (granted, between writing, school, and work, I have valid reasons, but still, if I care enough about it, I should make the time).  I really liked the song, it feels and sounds like a young Ozzy (except more intelligible, haha).

 

 

 

Edit:

Now that is surprising.  Number of works on AO3 with the character tag 'SHODAN'?  One.  Mine.  Muhahahahha!  I'll let the lady herself take this one.

 

“Your tiny insect minds – INSECT MIIINDS, tiny minds – c-c-c-cannot comprehend the vastness of my influence. iiiiinfluuueeence...”

 

In my research, I was glad to see that SHODAN is commonly voted greatest gaming villain of all time (though I personally think the scope is broader than just gaming).

 

Ah SHODAN...such a great character she was!  Sure, the game is dated, but it's worth going back to play the System Shock games, simply to experience all that stuff.  Bioshock is a poor successor to the series, though it has merits as a separate entity.  SHODAN was just so iconic, and tapped into that sense of primal fear.  It went beyond just your standard stuff.  Skynet, eat your heart out...THIS is what humanity needs to fear!  Can you imagine if SHODAN ran the Terminators?  Brr...

 

It amuses me when people applaud GLADOS as this unique and breakthrough antagonist.  Basically, she's a toned down and funny SHODAN.  Doesn't mean she isn't a good character.  I don't have a problem with recycling such archetypes in the first place.  There's a reason these characters are "rote/standard," because they effectively drive the point across.  It's impossible to create a completely original idea.  More important, and fun, is putting your own mark on it, but I digress...

[MrStoob]

I think it's those similarities in themes that drew me to a vast crossover and the insane threads I've formed between them, there's the individual vs the many themes, AIs with god complexes, lone crusader often accompanied by someone (usually female) to protect, Freeman>Alyx, Big Daddy>Little Sister, Alenko>Katheryn, Delta>Eleanor and all with some variety of messed up space/time/interdimensional/blah.  All fuel for the ramblings of  mad man, as it probably reads more like, ha!

[MrStoob]

Dude, I feel you here.  In terms of my own writing, there's so much waffling, I could feed a family of four for a year!    I have to believe it's part of the process...

Sorry, had trouble with the quotey thing, so another post.  Yea, I have to agree there.  When the mood hits for a writing spree, talking about it does seem to have some cathartic effect and aid the process.

[Seracen]

Jeebus, this page of the thread has almost become a 3-man show between myself, Stoob, and Kerns, lol.  Also with cameo appearances by Yuri and Gamer!   

But yeah, yay for catharsis!  I have to believe that it's half the reason I write at all.  A lot of the emotions I felt I needed to work through got resolved in my past two Mass Effect fics.  I think that's partially why I've taken so long to develop my current one.  It doesn't help that this interim period has given rise to a multitude of fanfic ideas.  Work and school further muddy the waters, and there's the ever-present gaming and anime to further distract me!

 

I really need to invest in good dictation software, just so I can narrate and transfer the stories to my computer on my long drives from work and home.