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The other day I asked lizardman22 what he considered a good story. He said he likes a story that "pulls him in", one he can visualize easily. To him, this means a subject he takes interest in and knows something about, writing that's descriptive but not tediously so, and language he can relate to. (You can read the conversation here.) Of course, he didn't suspect at the time that his answer would lead to the beginning of The Bronze Seagull...
But I digress. I figure that in order to possess the right to ask a question like that of someone else, I should be able to answer it myself. That's what this journal entry is about.
What I value in a story can be summed up in three words: attention to detail.
I like a story that demonstrates that the author knows what he or she is writing about, and has made some effort to research and/or think about the subject material as opposed to just making details up on the fly without caring how they fit together.
The reason I take to fan works is most likely because there's an extra layer of detail to pay attention to: faithfulness to the source material. If you're writing about a character or setting conceived by someone else, you'll impress me the most if your impression of that character or setting matches the original creator's, or at least differs for a sensible reason.
Sometimes attention to detail isn't readily visible. That's why I'm not shy about challenging anything I perceive as inconsistent or illogical. I'm one of those people that would say "Wait a second-- wait a second-- if that's his chair, then how do his dorsal plates not damage the back when he sits in it?" Of course, such a challenge doesn't automatically mean you've failed my test; if you can give a satisfactory answer, I'll most likely warm up to you.
As for my genres of choice, I'm interested in both fantasy and sci-fi, but what really catch my eye are works that blend multiple genres, or put new spins on well-known formulas.
...That's all I have to say at the moment. Perhaps it'll answer a few questions others have had about me.
But I digress. I figure that in order to possess the right to ask a question like that of someone else, I should be able to answer it myself. That's what this journal entry is about.
What I value in a story can be summed up in three words: attention to detail.
I like a story that demonstrates that the author knows what he or she is writing about, and has made some effort to research and/or think about the subject material as opposed to just making details up on the fly without caring how they fit together.
The reason I take to fan works is most likely because there's an extra layer of detail to pay attention to: faithfulness to the source material. If you're writing about a character or setting conceived by someone else, you'll impress me the most if your impression of that character or setting matches the original creator's, or at least differs for a sensible reason.
Sometimes attention to detail isn't readily visible. That's why I'm not shy about challenging anything I perceive as inconsistent or illogical. I'm one of those people that would say "Wait a second-- wait a second-- if that's his chair, then how do his dorsal plates not damage the back when he sits in it?" Of course, such a challenge doesn't automatically mean you've failed my test; if you can give a satisfactory answer, I'll most likely warm up to you.
As for my genres of choice, I'm interested in both fantasy and sci-fi, but what really catch my eye are works that blend multiple genres, or put new spins on well-known formulas.
...That's all I have to say at the moment. Perhaps it'll answer a few questions others have had about me.
Worldbuilding
An essential skill for a writer who wants to write anything of length is worldbuilding. Creating large, complex settings and cultures, the elements of which interact with each other in interesting and believable ways. And as you might be able to guess, it's a skill I'm lacking in. I just don't have the passion for it. I don't know if I'm not starting small enough or what, but any world larger than short-story-size feels like more trouble than it's worth. All I can manage are bits and pieces, just enough to describe in one paragraph and hold together a single short story-- and recyclable for more than that if I'm lucky. I can also take the concepts established by others and follow their patterns, for example creating characters for settings and cultures that already exist. Some of you may have noticed my numerous collabs with @lizardman22 (hereafter abbreviated as 22). P1P2 collabs, we call them-- short for "Part 1, Part 2"-- in which I offer up the start of a story, introducing
Helplessness
Last night I played a game of Wargroove against a friend online. He beat me (he always does). The last few turns were especially humiliating; my commander was boxed in by units I couldn't attack, all my other units had been picked off, and I couldn't bring in any new units without them being killed on the spot-- and that was before he took out my recruitment structures and left me unable to create new units. I was too noble to resign, so there was literally nothing I could do while he took his sweet time taking out my stronghold and claiming the win. That scenario perfectly encapsulates an emotion I have a particular dislike for: helplessness. Helplessness is a terrible feeling. I mean, of course it is-- but for me it goes beyond that. As hyper-empathetic as I am, I can hardly stand to read about characters (including fictional characters) in helpless situations, whether they allegedly deserve it or not. Frustratingly, there seem to be quite a few writers on DeviantART and
The problem-solver
Yesterday (May 31) was my birthday. It was a fairly uneventful birthday-- I can count the birthday wishes I received on one hand-- but I did go out to dinner with my father and a friend of his at a favorite restaurant of ours. We talked at length about myself and my future (and my lack of plans for it). We even shared favorite stories about things I'd done. I told a story of my own, about something I was proud of doing. One time when my parents were out of town, my iPhone needed to be shipped in for repairs, but it specifically had to be at a UPS store and there was no such store in my hometown. I looked up the nearest UPS store on my car's GPS navigator, and it was in another city an hour's drive away. So I set the GPS, drove over, shipped off the iPhone, had lunch somewhere local, and drove back home. According to my dad, this story demonstrated what excellent problem-solving skills I had. And that stuck with me. To me it felt like nothing. The whole point of a GPS
Devious Journal Entry
So you're telling me that people actually SOCIALIZE during family gatherings? As in they TALK to each other about irrelevant personal matters, and not only is it tolerable, it's actually their preferred method of dinner entertainment? Sounds far-fetched.
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