10369 réponses à ce sujet

[Addai]

tklivory wrote...
Anyway, my point is this: skill is essential to a good writer, and you can produce book after book with solid writing skills and little else.  TBH, most published authors fall into this category.  Inspiration, however, is what makes people talk about your work long after it has initially hit the book shelves.

Yes, I think that's true.  One of my current favorite reads is an author whom I've seen writing in casual contexts, and she has horrible punctuation and grammar.  Her prose is very plain, occasionally clunky.  But she's a storyteller- that's the genius in what she does.

I envy that so much!  If I could barter with the fates for one talent, it would be to be a storyteller.  Writing skill can be learned, but you have to have something to say.   Alas, I don't have the talent.  I can't even fake it. 

Modifié par Addai67, 29 novembre 2011 - 04:59 .

[tklivory]

@ Addai - heh, I betcha that deep down we all feel that way. I wonder how many 'great' authors feel/felt that way? But you know what? I still love "The Arrangement", so you must be doing it right somewhere. :happy:

@ Meri - 'Great' writing isn't perfect, it merely makes people want to read it again/talk about it/want moar, etc. As I said, LOTR, which many consider 'great', would definitely have been sent back to Tolkien by a modern editor, but look at what it inspired. (Or, much as I don't particularly like them personally, Ayn Rand's books) And I've read your book at least three times, so there's something compelling there.

I love writing, though it was Dragon Age that made me take up the pen again (well, keyboard, but you know what I mean). Heck, I've even gotten back into writing my original works, which I haven't touched since I made a career change a few years ago (*sniff* I wish music paid better - *sigh*).



Ooh, I just thought of something else I'd like to ask ya'll: personal favorites vs your reader's favorites.

For example, I'm working on my Arlathan-era novella "Rise of the Wolf", and very few people read it (understandably, it is pretty esoteric). I also write my little "Once Upon a Time" series, and many more people read those. Though I am fond of "Once Upon a Time", I kinda wish more people would read "Rise of the Wolf".

Has anyone else encountered that? Where your personal favorite story is not read as much as other stuff you write?

Modifié par tklivory, 29 novembre 2011 - 05:45 .

[Klidi]

@ tklivory - yes, it's the same. The onesthot that gets most of hits is the silly little crack about Fenris/Shale OTP.  The oneshot that is one of my own favs gets 20 hits per month, because it's Loghain/Teagan story (not smut). And also because I think at this point most people that follow my stories expect Zevran/Airam fluff, not angsty story about impossible love.

[Corker]

I dunno; most of my stuff is either on kmeme (no hit counter) or my BSN blog (hit counts not visible for older posts).

Of the five things I can see hit counts for, cute pictures of my kids in DAO Halloween costumes takes the lead. Poor 'Birthright' is at almost the bottom of the list along with another dwarf fill. Yes, I think I'd rather that got more love than the stick figure history of Thedas.

'Age of Dragons' isn't my favorite, but the lack of response makes it clear I'm doing this because it amuses me, not for any readership. Not that I really expected that making Aveline and Donnic into Ygraine and Goloris would strike a resonant chord with the fandom. (Carver's going to be Uther Pendragon, y'all. And Merrill's building a golem, the Prague kind. And and and and is it really obvious I love AUs?)

(EDIT: Is a man-portable flamethrower too much in an Arthurian setting?  The illumination is 9th-11th century, I'm ostensibly in the 5th... but a Lady of the Lake living all by herself in exile needs some protection, amirite?  Flamethrowers apparently existed as early as the first century... maybe Joseph of Arimethea, en route to Glastonbury, ended up on a boat that had one?)

Modifié par Corker, 29 novembre 2011 - 07:01 .

[Addai]

There was trade with the Med from ancient times, so you could introduce a napalm-type weapon in an Arthurian setting that way. It might be a bit twinky, I dunno. Can't the Lady of the Lake just have magic?

[Addai]

tklivory wrote...

@ Addai - heh, I betcha that deep down we all feel that way. I wonder how many 'great' authors feel/felt that way? But you know what? I still love "The Arrangement", so you must be doing it right somewhere. :happy:

That was one case where a plot came to me pretty much whole-cloth.  I find that if I get that, the rest is easy.  Usually I can dream up characters and a setting, but no plot, so nowhere to go with them.

[Corker]

Addai67 wrote...

There was trade with the Med from ancient times, so you could introduce a napalm-type weapon in an Arthurian setting that way. It might be a bit twinky, I dunno. Can't the Lady of the Lake just have magic?

I figure there's not much naptha in Britian, so she's only got enough to vaguely menace interlopers who come to mess with her.  I suppose I'm overly enamored of the idea of Merrill with a flamethrower.

She does have magic, but I don't think qabbalah is very good for fireballs.  Hence the attempts at the golem.

[tklivory]

@ Corker - Hmmm... how about gunpowder and bombs? That would sorta line up with Thedas (the Qunari had gunpowder and brought it with them from wherever, and bombs certainly are in DA). I know that flamethrowers existed in China waaay before than in Europe. Heck, they even had batteries in ancient Assyria.

So if you can't justify flamethrower, you should be able to justify fire bombs. Right?

[tmp7704]

Corker wrote...

(EDIT: Is a man-portable flamethrower too much in an Arthurian setting?  The illumination is 9th-11th century, I'm ostensibly in the 5th... but a Lady of the Lake living all by herself in exile needs some protection, amirite?  Flamethrowers apparently existed as early as the first century... maybe Joseph of Arimethea, en route to Glastonbury, ended up on a boat that had one?)

The early kind of greek fire is recorded in use during the 5th century, and some sort of flamethrower is apparenly mentioned as tool of war ca 400 BC. That said, not sure why a mage out of all people would need such device when she can just launch the fireballs from her fingertips. (and if she isn't too good at that, then why she'd opt for a mechanical solution instead of trying to improve what she already has)

Modifié par tmp7704, 29 novembre 2011 - 09:48 .

[tklivory]

@ tmp - I think she is looking for 'real world' alternatives, as the 'magic' she is using is derived from the qabbalah, not from Thedas Fade-type magic. Qabbalah can do golems, but she's right, not really fireballs.

(and totally sorry if I got that wrong, Corker!)

Just had a thought - qabbalah emphasizes the utilization of the inner will to influence external events - maybe instead of fire (as satisfying as that is visually), use kinetic force? That would definitely work for self-defense.

Or am I babbling now? (totally possible...)

[Corker]

@tmp - I'm working on a DA2 AU that's based on the intersection of RL Roman Britian with Geoffery of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britian," with a dash of the fantastic thrown in. (Bethany gets prophetic visions, for example, but that's the extent of her magic.)

Merrill is my little Jewish Lady of the Lake, living in exile from her people per the game (because AFAIK, qabbalah would not have been something a woman could legitimately pursue. That particular strain of occultism isn't documented til later, I think, but wtf else am I going to use for Jewish mysticism?). Well, there's Saxons and Picts and Irishmen raiding and pillaging all over the bloody place, and I'm just looking for a rationale that keeps them away from Merrill's little hut on the shores of the Lake of Glass (Glastonbury Tor was in a fen and had direct sea access at this time, if I'm reading my sources right). Since her clan comes direct from Jerusalem (working the Joseph of Arimathea/Holy Grail thing ~16 generations ago, I figured a Constantinople flame thrower was something that I could sort of hand-wave in.

It's a lot of fun. Bianca's a cheetah and Fenris is an ex-gladiator, from York by way of Damascus. The Jews were all kicked out of the Roman armies in the early 400s, so he was left with a pile of debts and no job. Into the Eboracum arena with him! (York had a gladatorial pit, and there's evidence for ventadores fighting animals there, although I doubt it was active into the 5th century. But it works with Fenris's overall arc, soooo...)

It's pretty much an exercise in self-indulgence of my history geekery.

[tmp7704]

Corker wrote...

It's pretty much an exercise in self-indulgence of my history geekery.

My knowledge of arthurian myths pretty much ends at being aware the holy hand grenade wasn't part of the official version, so i'll take your word for it

... that said, it'd be another potential source for Merrill's self-defense, right there.

[Morwen Eledhwen]

tklivory wrote...

I love writing, though it was Dragon Age that made me take up the pen again (well, keyboard, but you know what I mean). Heck, I've even gotten back into writing my original works, which I haven't touched since I made a career change a few years ago (*sniff* I wish music paid better - *sigh*).

Once upon a time (ha ha) I did think I was going to be a writer, but then I found myself in the same predicament as Addai --pretty good writing chops, but no plot bunnies. Or at best, old and tired bunnies that had been around the block a few too many times. But then, like you, Dragon Age happened, and now the plot bunnies are abounding and procreating like --well, bunnies. So I finally had a reason to write, and now I've pretty much booked my writing life for the foreseeable future, because the story lives and it won't let go. . .

[tklivory]

Okay, this isn't Dragon Age art, but the 'caption' fits what writing can feel like so aptly, I have to post it here:

It's Leonardo da Vinci as inspired by the Assassin's Creed games


And if you like this and play the Assassin's Creed games, you should totally check out Silvestri's other artwork - it is amazing.
 

Modifié par tklivory, 30 novembre 2011 - 05:57 .

[Raonar]

(EDIT: Is a man-portable flamethrower too much in an Arthurian setting?  The illumination is 9th-11th century, I'm ostensibly in the 5th... but a Lady of the Lake living all by herself in exile needs some protection, amirite?  Flamethrowers apparently existed as early as the first century... maybe Joseph of Arimethea, en route to Glastonbury, ended up on a boat that had one?)

.... Corker, you so just beat me to this. But I'm going to use the 'idea' of a flamethrower in my fanfic anyway, I've been planning it for months.

And it won't be man-sized.

[Corker]

@Raonar, my understanding is that this is one of those technologies where bigger is easier. The Byzantines were notorious for their ship-mounted fire-throwers; I'd known about those. That they had portable ones was a surprise.

[Raonar]

I think we all give antiquity too little credit.

[Merilsell]

Lol. Then I'm a master in multi-tasking. Yup, definitely. xD

[Sialater]

As far as fan-fiction versus professional writing, with all due respect to the esteemed Mr. Martin, he's full of ___. (edited for professionalism)

When I went to school, ages and ages ago, for my Creative Writing Degree, the NUMBER ONE RULE they pounded into our skulls was to write every day. No matter the subject, no matter the topic, no matter how good. Sit your ass on the chair and tie your hands to the keyboard and write. Throw it away later if it sucked, but above all, write.

Fan Fiction is my throw away. I use it to get cliches out of my system, to try things creatively that might not sell, to play with characters and concepts I'm not sure of before I commit them to a story I want to parade before a publisher. It's a writing exercise on a large scale. Writing prompts NEVER got me anywhere, as witnessed by my abysmal showing in the weekly Zevran thread prompts. But, I've written two original plots via fic, and am figuring out how to write believable men and tough women. (And succeeding, if my reviews are to be believed.)

A voice of your own will emerge when you write enough. Whether you intend to be a professional or not. World building is actually easier than making believable, real, living, breathing characters. If FF is what helps you get there, Martin and Rice can, well.... never mind. I'm trying to be professional here.

Modifié par Sialater, 30 novembre 2011 - 10:06 .

[Addai]

Well, they have their opinion like everyone else. They don't like the idea of someone ****'ing with their characters. I respect that and will never write or read ASoIaF fanfiction.

[Sialater]

That's fine, but to dismiss it entirely?

~gets down off soapbox~ If I say more, I'll lose it.

[Tryynity]

In some respects I have to agree - Ive seen what some FanFiction does to characters and I shudder to think people would ever mess with any of mine... but on the other hand it is also a compliment that they liked them so much they wanted more from them.

I also agree FanFiction is an excellent tool for practising the craft of writing - like when I played the piano I practised for hours - the trick is to be practising the right notes & technique LOL

I have also heard the same - to just sit and write, to develop the habit of writing.

Modifié par Tryynity, 01 décembre 2011 - 01:39 .

[tklivory]

Sialater wrote...

When I went to school, ages and ages ago, for my Creative Writing Degree, the NUMBER ONE RULE they pounded into our skulls was to write every day. No matter the subject, no matter the topic, no matter how good. Sit your ass on the chair and tie your hands to the keyboard and write. Throw it away later if it sucked, but above all, write.

^^ THIS

Followed by the number two rule: READ.  Read as many different authors, genres, and types of writing as possible - all it can do is make your toolbox larger for your writing.

[tklivory]

Also, FWIW, I've found this article by Peter David an interesting read about writing.  He's a very prolific writer of books, comic books, movie scripts, etc - not an 'inspired' writer, but someone who crafts writing for a living.

Anyway, I've found that it contains some good advice, and explains why he makes his recommendations pretty well.  It also has some practical advice on how to get published in comic books, but I would think that the same advice could also work for standard publication to an extent as well.