9961 réponses à ce sujet

[Drussius]

This may seem like an odd question, but would you think it out of place in the ME universe to describe an engineer as having grease-stained clothing and streaks of grease on their hands and face? The ME universe just seems so clean and tidy, it was my first instinct when describing an engineer and yet rereading it now, it seems wrong somehow...

[Sialater]

I don't see why not. Machines have moving parts, those moving parts will need lubricant. Now, whether it's petroleum based or not, you might want to consider, but I think it'd still be called "grease."

[Drussius]

Thank you. Perhaps I'll leave it as-is then. Just for some reason I had a hard time picturing it when I reread it, and yet when I wrote it, it seemed so natural. I don't see how a machine with moving parts could be completely lubricant-free, but who knows? If anyone has a contradictory opinion, I'd love to hear it.

[Icyflare]

Drussius wrote...

Just wanted to weigh in on the titles suggestions/debate, although by now I'm sure the person who asked has chosen."

NOPE. My problem is that I haven't got quite a solid grasp on my story's themes yet. I thought that Robert Frost's poem Nothing Gold Can Stay did well to exemplify the idea of fragility, but the title is a little lengthy so I'm looking for something pithier. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions though. They're good for when I do get around to naming my fic.

CAN'T RESIST. IMPULSE. Okay, here's a piece of literature trivia. War and Peace should really be called War and People. The original russian word Мир (Meer, like Mark Meer) use to mean both, because when tsars went out to see the world, they actually meant see the peasant people. Now, when it got translated to English, someone decided to make it War and Peace instead because of the double meaning. Also, because English loves its binaries. Phew, got that off my chest.

Will add more later, but need to hop off to work..

[PMC65]

noxiuniversitas1 wrote...

Oh and, on a bit of a tangent... anyone have trouble writing strong characters of the opposite sex? I struggle with male characters (for semi-obvious reasons...). So far, the two with the most screen time have been Kaidan and Joker (still trying to get my head round bigger scenes from Garrus' / Wrex's perspective), and (sadly), they've mainly been used for comic relief (except for a couple of scenes with Kaidan). I'm definitely trying to make them likeable and in-character, but somehow... they just always end up the butt of Shep's / Ashley's / each others' jokes.

I've tried to ask my other half for some pointers, but all I get out of him is more inspiration for more comic relief (like man flu...)

Writing characters all have their struggles for me because none have my voice ... A character with a hot temper challenges me or a character that has lived their life in a suit challenges me. A male character may sometimes present a challenge because of the T (testosterone) perspective but then I reach out to my brother or a male friend as a sounding board. 
  
When it comes to characters my trick is first to get a handle on their heart ... as well as a few fleshings like what they love to eat, read, listen to, religion, etc. When I looked at Kaidan and Joker here is what worked for me in the initial set-up ...

Kaidan's heart is kind ... He is protective, caring and thoughtful while on the flip side he struggles to keep his anger under wraps, can be indecisive and fails in communication at times. He suffers migraines so he very rarely wears cologne (Victorinox Swiss Army cologne), likes acoustic music, practices both meditation and yoga as well as reads The Art Of Happiness (Dalai Lama). All he wants is to find his Ms. Right, settle down near his parents, have kids and maybe become a teacher ... he loves kids.

Joker's heart is vulnerable ... He is loyal, strong-willed and determined while on the flip side he keeps people at arms length, uses sarcasm as a wall and does not suffer fools (or at least those he considers to be fools). He grew up in and out of hospitals so he has learned to take his mind elsewhere when in pain and he would have also seen others in pain ... He is a St. Jude kid. As a sickling it would have made him feel less than others or at the least jealous of other kids as they played football, got the girl, etc. He loves flying, video games, comic books ... yep, a geek. He also is a CCR fan, pizza freak and his best friend is an IT tech on the Arcturus Station. The boy is a sarcastic jerk who deep down would love to be Superman but would settle on just being Clark Kent. Normal. But he would never admit that ... not even to himself. 

I did this with all of the characters in my stories and as they moved from chapter to chapter they grew, changed, developed even more in my head. But I always start with a snapshot and work from there. I don't know if this helps but it is my process at the start. I have to at least know their hearts to a degree before I begin writing them.

[lillitheris]

Icyflare wrote...
fragility

Work with that. But don’t overwork it.

…

Interesting note about War and People.

[Drussius]

A quick question for people who publish on FF.net. I read something about them deleting all the Rated-M fics or something along those lines. Did anything come of that? If I decide to start publishing a fanfiction, would it even be worth signing up there to post them? Or would they likely be deleted in short order if they included any adult-themed material? Not that my writing would have more than violence and some adult language perhaps, but still...

[lillitheris]

Only MA content is deleted, and then only sporadically. M is fine.

(Of course, there’s the whole problem of what exactly belongs where, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Just keep backups of your stuff in case at some point you need/want to migrate elsewhere.)

[MrStoob]

@ lilltheris: I was looking at your fanfics compilation and your comment about some being under-represented so had a further look. I was truly surprised to see that Legion and Mordin have so few. As two well liked characters, I thought they'd have more. Grunt too. There you go though, eh? While Mordin might be a bit overwhelming to write dialogue for, Legion I would have thought wouldn't be too bad, with plenty of scope for misunderstandings and humour.

Modifié par MrStoob, 15 juin 2012 - 09:11 .

[Sialater]

I think the reason neither of them have fics dedicated to them is that they're both VERY difficult to write. Mordin for his patter, and Legion simply for the alien perspective of writing from an AI's POV.

[MrStoob]

Sialater wrote...

I think the reason neither of them have fics dedicated to them is that they're both VERY difficult to write. Mordin for his patter, and Legion simply for the alien perspective of writing from an AI's POV.

I didn't find EDI too bad to write for as an AI, just remove all emotional response and try to understand the logic of each scenario.  EDI has curiosity which can be played on too.

Legion I'd approach similarly, as far as emotion and logic go.  But he does have his dark side, being an online game demon and interested in relationships, despite his dismal score on the romance sim.  And that he bought the Eden Prime game but never played it, suggesting he only bought it for the donation to the Eden Prime charity.  So he seems to suffer guilt somehow.

Modifié par MrStoob, 15 juin 2012 - 09:34 .

[Sialater]

MrStoob wrote...

Sialater wrote...

I think the reason neither of them have fics dedicated to them is that they're both VERY difficult to write. Mordin for his patter, and Legion simply for the alien perspective of writing from an AI's POV.

I didn't find EDI too bad to write for as an AI, just remove all emotional response and try to understand the logic of each scenario.  EDI has curiosity which can be played on too.

Legion I'd approach similarly, as far as emotion and logic go.  But he does have his dark side, being an online game demon and interested in relationships, despite his dismal score on the romance sim.  And that he bought the Eden Prime game but never played it, suggesting he only bought it for the donation to the Eden Prime charity.  So he seems to suffer guilt somehow.

Ok, let me rephrase.... ALIEN AI.  EDI, for all her AI-ness was made by humans, therefore, she'd have more familiar thought patterns.  Legion was made by quarians and has very little organic influence in his make-up.  

Modifié par Sialater, 15 juin 2012 - 09:46 .

[fainmaca]

With Legion my main struggle is pronouns. Is it a he? an it? a they? I never know. I have fun writing their perspective though. He just has so much potential, you can really go anywhere writing about it.

I have a question that is kinda lore-ey. Could you see pin-operated grenades being used in this setting? I know that we never see one in the games, but could you see maybe a more... I want to say primitive but that isn't really right... society like the Batarians using them?

[MrStoob]

You seem to have justified the pin usage already, so in a grey area of lore, fill your boots I'd say.

That said, I can't imagine there being too much tech/cost implications in an electronic timer or 'pin'.

[fainmaca]

I'm just picturing the cliched scene of someone pulling the pin with their teeth and throwing the grenade, and I'm not sure if using the old technology will spark many complaints.

Its a small thing, I know, but I have been raked over the coals over something as small as shepard not wearing his helmet during a raid on a Cerberus base (I never equip helmets in-game because I like to see faces for emotion etc, so that bleeds into my fic all too often).

[lillitheris]

Your brain is your most important organ, fainmaca, always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. Or assaulting an enemy base!

…


Pins are simple but effective, which is why they’re still being used. I’d probably go with “he set the grenade for a five-second delay and tossed it” rather than a pin or futuristic specifics, but you could also try to come up with an alternative trigger yourself, and fall back on the pin if there’s nothing simple.

Modifié par lillitheris, 15 juin 2012 - 10:14 .

[fainmaca]

True, but I needed him to have the helmet off to fall for a knockout-gas trap. I figured seeing as he wasn't going EVA, it wouldn't be too big of a break of logic. Except, apparently, for one person. In over 800k words, that single paragraph convinced them to stop reading.

A good cautionary tale for new authors. Some rules-lawyers will crucify you for ANYTHING.

[MrStoob]

fainmaca wrote...

True, but I needed him to have the helmet off to fall for a knockout-gas trap. I figured seeing as he wasn't going EVA, it wouldn't be too big of a break of logic. Except, apparently, for one person. In over 800k words, that single paragraph convinced them to stop reading.

A good cautionary tale for new authors. Some rules-lawyers will crucify you for ANYTHING.

Reminds of an old musicians addage and fluffed/bum notes:

90% of the audience won't notice, 9% won't care, the rest can **** off!  :happy:

[Sweawm]

Icyflare wrote...

AgentStark wrote...

anyone going to help me with my name problem?

If it's about the name of a ship, there was a discussion about it some pages back.

Names. Titles. I'm always a fan of using Latin in titles. It makes some boring sterotypical words like Shadow into awesome words like Umbra. Latin may be a dead language but it sounds cool.

[Drussius]

fainmaca wrote...

I'm just picturing the cliched scene of someone pulling the pin with their teeth and throwing the grenade, and I'm not sure if using the old technology will spark many complaints.

Based solely on the sound made in-game when you arm/throw a grenade, and the little blinking lights on them, I'd assumed that the old pin and trigger combination had been replaced with something along the lines of "flip up protective cover, press button and throw" type of system.

But the bottom line is, it's your fanfic. If the image of pulling the pin with their teeth and throwing it works well for your scene, use it! At worst, some very picky person might leave a comment about it. Most would probably accept it and read on.

[Obsidian Gryphon]

Wow. I just went to FF and I saw a recent update on the fic Priority Vacation? I got this warning.

Fraudulent Web Page Blocked



You attempted to access:
http://www.fanfictio...iority_Vacation

This web page is a known fraudulent web page. It is recommended that you do NOT visit this page.

For your protection, this web page has been blocked. Visit Symantec to learn more about phishing and internet security.

P.S. I think Norton is acting cookie but I'm not sure. I tried to access FF about 6 hours ago and couldn't get in.

Modifié par Obsidian Gryphon, 16 juin 2012 - 01:29 .

[gearseffect]

Sorry if I'm a bit late too way in on the titles, For me Tittles should reflect the overall theme, not just in the overall story either. If your giving your Chapters titles the chapter tittle needs to reflect the overall theme of the chapter, and if you do like I do and break each chapter down into parts, and name each part then the title of that part needs to reflect the overall theme of that part too.

Now on the subject of characters having so little representation in Fanfic, well that's one of the things I keep getting told about my current Fanfics. People keep telling me things like this, I'll use my most recent feedback for Awakening, "Wow you've really nailed Samara's character down, I mean REALLY got her down well. There is so few Samara fanfics out there so I read them all. Let me tell your writing and portrayal of Samara is without a doubt the best so far. I am looking forward to how this progresses and it ties in very well to Breaking Points."

Yes I told that person it meant so much to hear that, because I truely agonize over every little detail around Samara and how I write it, and write her, I rarely have her use words like "isn't" it's always is not, Samara just seems so sophisticated and having her short term with (what are those things called again I look like a fool for not remembering now) I can't remember what those things are called now.

But yeah I agonize over every little detail, and one of the things I made clear to not ever do with Samara is have her swearing/cuss, it just don't work for her. I play around with weird dialogue exercises and her cussing just isn't her.

Anyway titles should be able to give the overall theme, hence why I chose Breaking Points for my Fanfic, and then when I decided that Samara should get her own tie in series well Awakening seemed fitting for her and what is going to develop over the course of the two fanfics.

I've often wondered how Fluffy came up with Flotsam?

[fluffywalrus]

gearseffect wrote...

Sorry if I'm a bit late too way in on the titles, For me Tittles should reflect the overall theme, not just in the overall story either. If your giving your Chapters titles the chapter tittle needs to reflect the overall theme of the chapter, and if you do like I do and break each chapter down into parts, and name each part then the title of that part needs to reflect the overall theme of that part too.

*snip*

Anyway titles should be able to give the overall theme, hence why I chose Breaking Points for my Fanfic, and then when I decided that Samara should get her own tie in series well Awakening seemed fitting for her and what is going to develop over the course of the two fanfics.

I've often wondered how Fluffy came up with Flotsam?

I fully agree with getting a title to match the themes of the story. Just makes sense, to me.
I answered how I came up with Flotsam a page ago, I think.

[Drussius]

Flotsam is a city on the Blood Sea of Istar in the Dragonlance setting, right? I assumed your fanfic was a Dragonlance story.

That was a joke.

Modifié par Drussius, 16 juin 2012 - 03:25 .

[gearseffect]

fluffywalrus wrote...

Icyflare wrote...

On an unrelated note, how do you guys pick your titles? I get the theory it should represent a theme in your story, but I've always disliked the whole combing-through-all-the-words-I-know process to find a word that's apt and powerful without being overdramatic.

I generally try to think of something that encapsulates the characters I'm writing about, their life, their world. I mean, it's better than "Shepard and Garrus Friends Forever: Through the Fire and the Flames VII". If a single word doesn't come to mind, I generally allude to a character and a key plot point including said character.

My one (and only) fic is named "Flotsam", which I feel is apt.
Let's look at the definitions:
1: floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly : floating debris 2a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) <human flotsam>
2b : miscellaneous or unimportant material <a notebook filled with flotsam and jetsam>

My origin story revolves around an Earthborn Shep who's been floating from orphanage to orphanage, watched over by uncaring staff, is ignored by most, isn't given support for her future, etc.
And then there's stuff in the future I can't allude to or it'll spoil it maybe. Perhaps.

But yeah, It's like, there's all these kids just floating around, broken away from any semblance of family, anything resembling lasting stability...they were discarded, unimportant. Excess.

So I generally try and find something to fit the themes of my writing, and voila! Flotsam fit oh so nicely

Opps I missed this, my bad. Also good to know I'm not the only one who tries to avoided spoiling stuff that is gonna happen later in my Fanfics, granted I'm vry mean with teases and hints here and there. I really wish I had more time that wasn't so busy to read more Flotsam, because it's really good. However I want to submit a review at the best of my abilties and that means I need time.
It's a bugger not enough time in the days.