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The Fan Fiction Mafia

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Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
Which authors do you look up to?

...I really don't know o_o. Maybe J.K. Rowling, but it could be Lemony Snickett, I seriously don't know which authors I look up to. Yeah, I'm a bookworm, but I sadly haven't read a lot of new books because... well, for one thing, I don't really go back and re-read books I've already read for whatever reason, so they've been collecting dust on my shelves. Another is I don't know what books to read these days. I'm extremely picky about what I want to read, especially depending on the genre.

Like I'm a romance person, but I won't touch any of the common romance books you see on the shelf because I just don't like how the romance is handled in it. It's pretty much, "Ooh, dark-skinned, black-haired wild man who's an expert on sex seduces and teaches pretty, innocent, pale-skinned usually-virgin how to have sex, and she seems to orgasm all the time." I don't know how many of those books actually have a good plot behind them and good character development. And because I'm disappointed in the romance genre these days anyway...

But that's a rant I'll get to when that one topic comes up. Which... I don't know when/what that'll be.
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
Which authors do you look up to?

If we're talking book-only authors, then... well, I don't read a lot of books, but I'll say Richard Adams, the author of Watership Down. He did a really good job creating the characters and plot, and creating rabbit culture and showing things from a rabbit's point of view. Watership Down's my favourite book, so yeah.
 

Luxvan

Mozilla Fennekin
Which authors do you look up to?
Well, tbh I'm not much of a reader, due to my lack of focus and patience to sit down and read a novel, but I guess I would easily point to the two writers who I read as a kid, J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl.
Oh, and I don't know if this would count, as he's more of a poet than actual author, however you wanna put it, but I love Poe and his meanings behind his words. I'm not 100% serious or involved in them like he is, but he definitely makes me see things quite differently, and I like it better with this new view. I wish I had a mind like him.
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
Which authors do you look up to?

There are a few I look up to:

-Dennis Lehanne: He wrote Mystic River and I love how the characters' development was handled while keeping the suspense interesting.

-Tim O' Brien I'm into wartime narratives and The Things They Carried is my favorite. Some great characters there that made me care about them.

-Neil Gaiman: I admit to only reading a few short stories of his and I enjoyed them very much. What I admire him though is his writing advice. My favorite is this:

“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you. Tarantino - you can criticize everything that Quentin does - but nobody writes Tarantino stuff like Tarantino. He is the best Tarantino writer there is, and that was actually the thing that people responded to - they’re going ‘this is an individual writing with his own point of view’. There are better writers than me out there, there are smarter writers, there are people who can plot better - there are all those kinds of things, but there’s nobody who can write a Neil Gaiman story like I can.” (If anyone is interested, the quote is from here.)

I always remind myself of that advice whenever I'm down about my writing.
 
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Liltwick

Just your Sleepy FIzzy Mod
Which authors do you look up to?


Hmm, for me this is a tough question to answer honestly. In all honesty, none really. I don't really look up to anyone as I just don't really have any authors I particular like. Though there are some series I love, (Inheritance Cycle anyone?) I just don't like taking inspiration from other works. I rather have my mind create it's own stories instead of taking ideas from others. For Fan Fiction, it's different, for that I more or less try to adapt the characters into different, myriad situations.

Anyways, I feel in a writing mood today, maybe I can finally put this FanFic idea that's been swarming my head lately into a doc.
 

Meeker

It needs a fence.
Which authors do you look up to?
There are a couple, namely the Strugatsky brothers, their work Roadside Picnic actually inspired one of my favorite video games, along with that, the created a new form of sci-fi!
Dmitry Glukhovsky wrote one of the best works of the post-apocalyptic genre, Metro 2033. The book even has a game of it! Not a movie, a game!
 

JX Valentine

Ever-Discordant
I think I'm accepted, since I was added to the member list on the front page....... right?

Yeppers. Sorry about that! I must have forgotten to announce that I went through and added the new members for yesterday.

Well, anyone has any ideas for good books? :>

Well, the best one that I've read recently is 19 Dragons, which is fantastically still a free ebook for your Amazonians. What is it about? Nineteen dragons escape the shenanigans of humans by incarnating themselves as people, but someone stole a special device that allows them to continue incarnating as people even after their vessels die. So then they start dying off for reals, but because they're tied to continents as god-like pillars that keep the world from literally disappearing, that's not a good thing. War ensues.

And for a free ebook, it's actually pretty good. One of my hobbies recently has been trawling through Amazon's free stuff for new reads, and... let's just say that unless you really like sex, overdramatic supernatural stuff, or cheesy romance, it's hard to find something that's actually got a good plot going for it. 19 Dragons is pretty much the only ebook I've found in the freebie pile so far that didn't completely bore me to tears. (Then again, I wasn't in the freebie pile expecting to find good stuff anyway, so it was actually a really pleasant surprise. I've put the rest of the author's books on my wishlist, but alas, I am currently incredibly poor.)

Besides that, I will never not recommend Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which is about the end of the world and how an entire England full of Pratchett-esque characters stop it. Gaiman's solo works aren't too bad either, but I'd highly recommend going for Anansi Boys and American Gods over a lot of his other novels. Neverwhere isn't too bad in terms of concept, but you'll probably want to punch the characters at the end of it. And Stardust has a great concept but drags a lot at parts. And I could keep going, but yeah. His short story collections aren't too bad either, but they can get pretty hit-and-miss. The shorter, the better, really.

Pratchett is someone I unfortunately need to read more of, but I will highly recommend Discworld (which... I have started reading but need to keep going with, ffs) for anyone.

Other authors who are awesome: Octavia Butler (because Lilith's Brood is awesome) and, of course, Ursula K. Le Guin. (Admittedly, I've yet to get deep into Earthsea, but jfc, go read The Lathe of Heaven. And all of her short stories. All of them. Right now.)

Also putting in a note for Stephen King. His short stories are really better than his novels, gotta say. Anyone who says otherwise will be reminded of Cujo.

Or did you mean if I had any ideas for good books to write? Because I certainly do. ;)

Also! To answer my own question...

Which authors do you look up to?
Hells yes, Ursula K. Le Guin! I may not have read the body of her work, but good gracious, I look up to her as one of the most awesome people ever. Besides being a sass master, she's also got an incredible writing style and an amazing imagination. Same thing with Octavia Butler, for that matter.

Stephen King also gets a yes from me, although it's not so much because of his writing style (because I will freely admit I couldn't get into his novels that much -- although I will say his shorts are fantastic) as it is because On Writing is practically a bible. And he is also a sass master.

But for a long time, I looked up to Neil Gaiman, and I still do on a level, although I sort of grew out of his novels when I learned how ****ing awesome the aforementioned ladies are. Still, he's on this list because Bay aptly pointed out that he is, in fact, the most awesome fountain of advice for writers still alive. Kids, if you ever get discouraged or feel depressed while writing, watch this. It will make you feel like you can write ALL THE THINGS. Guaranteed.


While I'm here...

Kutie Pie said:
But that's a rant I'll get to when that one topic comes up. Which... I don't know when/what that'll be.

Omg, do it.

And then the next topic ends up being about romance. 8D
 

White_Roar~

Mother Monster
Finally - this started back up~!

Why you like fanfic/writing: I like Fan Fiction because it gives you the opportunity to write in any Fandom and any possible story! Which can be really interesting and cool with awesome plot ideas and non-Mary Sue/Gary Stu Characters! I also like Fan Fiction because it lets you express your ideas for certain fandoms and create new ideas as well!

I like writing because it lets you express yourself in any way. I also like it because I view writing is Art. A legendary, beautiful thing that can be practiced in a variety of ways! (i.e different points of views and other styles of writing). It's also a great activity to do when you'd like to express your feelings for something. ^^

EDIT:
Sorry, I accidentally deleted my post. ^^;;;


Anyway, Hi - JX Valentine! Thanks for accepting me! ^_^
 

JX Valentine

Ever-Discordant
Finally - this started back up~!

Why you like fanfic/writing: I like Fan Fiction because it gives you the opportunity to write in any Fandom and any possible story! Which can be really interesting and cool with awesome plot ideas and non-Mary Sue/Gary Stu Characters! I also like Fan Fiction because it lets you express your ideas for certain fandoms and create new ideas as well!

I like writing because it lets you express yourself in any way. I also like it because I view writing is Art. A legendary, beautiful thing that can be practiced in a variety of ways! (i.e different points of views and other styles of writing). It's also a great activity to do when you'd like to express your feelings for something. ^^

EDIT:
Sorry, I accidentally deleted my post. ^^;;;


Anyway, Hi - JX Valentine! Thanks for accepting me! ^_^

I was wondering what happened there! I thought you were withdrawing your request to join or something. D: Buuuut awesome to see you again, so you are now added to the list!

(Also, just a huge "this" to the part I put in bold. All of this opinion is totally fact, though, but hells yes to playing with expanding canon and whatnot.)
 

Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
Omg, do it.

And then the next topic ends up being about romance. 8D

Oh, fine. I suppose I'll rant/talk about what I think of the romance genre. If a question comes out of it, so be it. Keep in mind the romance genre is not just reserved for books, I have just as much issues with romance movie as I do stories.

And this turned out to be a story time in the life of Miss KP. Whoops, I apparently can't rant very well without getting personal xP. OH WELL, this is a mafia, we're all technically family now, so might as well spill some beans.

Possibly due to how I've been brought up in the household (I was somewhat sheltered up until high school), and because I stick to my personal beliefs, I view love as something that's pure and at times sacred. I was raised to believe the word “love” means to care for others. Thus, I believe there are three types of love in this world: familial love, friendships, and relationships (such as couples, dating or married). Familial love is that platonic love that deals with family, from mother to child, father to child, sibling to sibling, et cetera, we all know of this. Friendships are similar to familial love, only it extends to members outside of your own family. And I don't have to explain the relationships, we see it every day.

Call this insight/belief immature/childish/innocent/Disney-inspired, however you wish to call it. Especially since I've not once ever been in a relationship and thus have no such experience in this sort of thing, but whatever. That's something else entirely.

As some of us know, the romance genre wasn't always about love. It was common in days of the Renaissance to have a romance be about chivalry, or rationalism, or of the mysteries of humankind... in a way. (I have something open in a window right now that I'm looking at, and I'm trying to word it in my own way, and from remembering English in senior year of high school.) Over time, the romance genre slowly but surely became what we know of it today, in which it focuses on the essence of life in general: our feelings for one another.

It used to be taboo to show a kiss onscreen for longer than a few seconds. Nowadays, people hardly bat an eye when the couple are figuratively eating each others' faces. It used to be taboo to show a married couple on TV in the same bed. Nowadays, you can see people romp in bed on TV (depending on the channel). Don't get me started on the sexual jokes.

Society today throws around the idea of love and sex like nobody's business, both in the media and in literature. This personally bothers me, even though I'm legally an adult and thus am exposed to this every day, and thus shouldn't bitch and moan about it (which I hope I'm not) and just deal with it. Yes, as a kid I looked away from a single kiss from a movie, cartoon, and even my own parents because I thought it was gross (who hasn't as a kid?). I still squirm a little in place whenever I see kissing, and I can't bring myself to actually say the words “kiss”, “lips”, or “love” in casual conversation, or talking in general. I don't know why, I just don't.

When I was about twelve, I vowed I would marry when I grew up. I also vowed to not kiss until my wedding day, and so far I've kept my word. It was around this time in my life I started getting into the romance genre, slowly but surely. I'd seek out movies and books, sometimes even asked questions out of the blue about it, and in later years found the piano and violin romantic and sought that kind of music out as well. When I discovered fan fiction, this was the genre I looked for and wrote the most, and still do. For the most part, a lot of this flew over my head.

Then when I turned sixteen, I started showing a dislike for the romance genre. Not because I was getting tired of love, but because I wasn't liking where the concept of love was going. I know this isn't anything new, but I was noticing it around this time, and came to the realization the meaning of love in the eyes of others was extremely different from mine. I don't mind different opinions, I like listening to other people's opinions, but I'm particularly sensitive when it comes to romance. I remember just surfing through FanFiction.net one day in the romance genre (“M” rating off, mind you), clicking on stories here and there, and I very rarely liked what I saw. Not saying the people were bad writers, a lot of them were good, I just didn't like how the romance was portrayed in a lot of them. This is extremely common in the M-rating section, which is why I avoid it as much as possible (though curiosity killed the cat several times).

So on that particular day, I told myself, “I'm sick of what I'm seeing. I'm going to write a romance, but in the way I want it to be. I want it to stand out above all of this, to be different. I want to show people what true love really is, and just how important it is.”

Thus, Forsaken came to being—a story on romance, love, and sex in the way I wanted it to be portrayed.

It sounds like a selfish, anvilicious reason, and it probably does, but I don't regret writing it. I'm actually really glad I wrote it, because every time I go back to it, despite all that I'm exposed to every day, I'm reminded of how important this particular topic is to me, and that I cherish it and want to protect it. I want to keep it pure.

And so far... from what I've been told from my readers, I think I succeeded.

So... I guess this calls for a topic question (sorry if it sounds weird):

Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?
 

OceanicLanturn

Non non non!
Well, the best one that I've read recently is 19 Dragons, which is fantastically still a free ebook for your Amazonians. What is it about? Nineteen dragons escape the shenanigans of humans by incarnating themselves as people, but someone stole a special device that allows them to continue incarnating as people even after their vessels die. So then they start dying off for reals, but because they're tied to continents as god-like pillars that keep the world from literally disappearing, that's not a good thing. War ensues.

And for a free ebook, it's actually pretty good. One of my hobbies recently has been trawling through Amazon's free stuff for new reads, and... let's just say that unless you really like sex, overdramatic supernatural stuff, or cheesy romance, it's hard to find something that's actually got a good plot going for it. 19 Dragons is pretty much the only ebook I've found in the freebie pile so far that didn't completely bore me to tears. (Then again, I wasn't in the freebie pile expecting to find good stuff anyway, so it was actually a really pleasant surprise. I've put the rest of the author's books on my wishlist, but alas, I am currently incredibly poor.)

Besides that, I will never not recommend Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which is about the end of the world and how an entire England full of Pratchett-esque characters stop it. Gaiman's solo works aren't too bad either, but I'd highly recommend going for Anansi Boys and American Gods over a lot of his other novels. Neverwhere isn't too bad in terms of concept, but you'll probably want to punch the characters at the end of it. And Stardust has a great concept but drags a lot at parts. And I could keep going, but yeah. His short story collections aren't too bad either, but they can get pretty hit-and-miss. The shorter, the better, really.

Pratchett is someone I unfortunately need to read more of, but I will highly recommend Discworld (which... I have started reading but need to keep going with, ffs) for anyone.

Other authors who are awesome: Octavia Butler (because Lilith's Brood is awesome) and, of course, Ursula K. Le Guin. (Admittedly, I've yet to get deep into Earthsea, but jfc, go read The Lathe of Heaven. And all of her short stories. All of them. Right now.)

Also putting in a note for Stephen King. His short stories are really better than his novels, gotta say. Anyone who says otherwise will be reminded of Cujo.

Or did you mean if I had any ideas for good books to write? Because I certainly do. ;)

Wow, that's a huge list. I'm glad that it's free... Because I'm just too lazy to go to the library :3 Ahh... the treasure of internet.

Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

Do you mean like a theme and a point that one is trying to get across? Like say, horrors of wars by writing a story about a war where many dies and the person sees many gruesome scenes, or say, freedom and equality. Or do you mean a personal story inside a fiction world? If the former, I'm planning to soon. It's going to be about the aforementioned freedom theme. I haven't written anything yet, it's so far in planning. Right now I'm writing a fic about friendship and bond mainly and talks about the right way of treating Pokemon, with the main antagonist and protagonist sharing completely opposite views. So far, it's been subtle, but once I hit the filler chapters bill, it's going to fade (I think). It's going ok so far, but I felt like the theme hasn't really been 'brought out' much as of now. Hopefully, it will change. As for the latter, no, it makes me feel so self-conscious, though I might go through it when I run out of ideas.

As for your love rant, I pretty much agree with you. The love and sex words are thrown around too much, even in younger communities. My juniors are literally really corrupted. Bleh... It's funny because I'm thinking of writing a shipping fic AND a fic with love in it. Oh well~ I'm not sure if I should make the romance subtle (like the straight out 'I love you' from the guy/girl) or make it more faint, more of the nudge-nudge feeling. Meh :D

I just finished typing up a 7-page Chapter Two with a really simple plot: Catch a second Pokemon. I'm thinking there's definitely something wrong. It includes a battle scene though, so I guess it is sort of excusable... I'm not sure. I'm not experienced at all, so I'm glad I joined this club so I could ask some questions.
 

Diddy

Renegade
Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

I once wrote a fic about Bill that wasn't Teashipping (I think I had it that Professor Oak thought he liked Daisy and played the overprotective father figure, but Bill didn't actually have any romantic feelings for her) for Jax because she said that's all she sees. Does that count? I also wrote a fic full of angst and loneliness because I felt in a really *****y mood about people who in retrospect weren't really worth it. I did give it a hilariously parody angst title though, so I at least found some irony in me writing it.

There was a collab project I participated in (in the MLP fandom) and the idea was to pick a completely random pairing that the organiser had chosen via a random number generator and make that ship work. I ended up with Photo Finish (a hilariously german fashion photographer) and Nurse Redheart (a nurse that appears in the background that the fandom named). I ended up writing it in a Noir film style, set in a dirty bar with the nurse moonlighting as a lounge singer. It was pretty fun xD
 

Quilava42

Blazing Flowers
Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

I honestly tell a story sometimes because I want to. The only time where I try to make a point is if the plot is serious enough and if the character that is being focused needs to learn a lesson about what they did wrong and what that character tried to do. I was kind of good, though it was weak.
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

I mostly write to just tell a story and to explore some concepts/ideas not presented in the original canon source. Pretty much it, lol.

As for your romance rant Kuite Pie, I enjoy reading it. I don't mind the sex too much in books and tv/movies (this is coming from someone that writes smut for a different fandom, haha) if done right. I can understand though wanting to present romance and love you want it to.
 

Matori

THE QUEEN IS BACK
Wow, this thread is going fast. Time to catch up!

Which authors do you look up to?
I'm surprised at how many of them have already been listed here, but I'll go through and give mine plus reasons anyway.

Edgar Allan Poe

My earliest introduction to Gothic horror and one writer whose works have really stood up well to time. I loved the Wishbone episodes based on his work, and I first bought a book of his poems from a Scholastic book order form during my middle school Evanescence-fueled babbygoth days, and his work really stuck with me. Even though I didn't understand half the words, his poetry was still the most beautiful I'd ever read. From there I read his short stories, starting with The Tell-Tale Heart- which will always be my favorite horror story ever- and devouring any of them I could find in high school. Finding the $8 Complete Tales and Poems at Borders (RIP, dear friend) as a high school junior will forever be one of my happiest moments.

Poe had a real talent for creating atmosphere in his stories, and I try hard to get that into mine as well.

For anyone who wants to go deeper with Poe, I recommend trying The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym, his satirical works, like Diddling (hilarious even 200 years after it was written), the Roget stories (frequently overlooked but the first detective tales and the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes), and A Descent into the Maelstrom. Like another of my favorites, Stephen King, he wrote so much more than just horror, and those non-horror works are worth your time as well.

Stephen King
I know so much of his work gets dismissed as trashy airport reading/"commercial" but literature is a subjective thing and there are few King books I don't like. My absolute favorite will forever be The Dark Half, because it's a horror story for writers- what happens when one of your creations really takes on a life of its own? On that note, all the Castle Rock series of books are great reading, especially Needful Things, the final one, which ties everything together. I was reading the Dark Tower series but never got around to Book Six and it's been years since I've picked it up, so if I do a re-read, I'm going to have to restart from scratch at this point. Not that it's a problem, they're great stories. Misery is my all-time favorite non-horror (in the sense of anything supernatural) from him- it's a fantastic murder mystery story and of course, the movie is HIGHLY recommended.

I like Stephen's talent for creating really memorable locations and characters. His character development is one of his strongest skills and I think the reason so many of his stories are seen as horror classics. One of my goals, when I go forth to write a character, is to create someone like Annie Wilkes or Roland, someone you can't forget even after you've put the story down. I feel like that's when you know a character is really well written, that moment they become memorable enough that they stay with you long after finishing.

JK Rowling
Because she really is a fantastic writer and has some of the best worldbuilding I've ever seen. I'm jealous of her ability to turn an idea written on a napkin into a whole, sprawling society, one that's so whimsical and magical and yet with enough realism to feel like it actually could exist. Every detail she put into her vision of the wizarding world is charming and fascinating and makes you feel like you're there as you read Harry's adventures, and I also admire how she was able to include real-world issues like racism and prejudice into her universe in a way that fit and felt natural.

Terry Pratchett
I'm honestly surprised he's not on more lists here. One of my absolute favorites and author of some of the best satirical fantasy novels you'll ever read. Discworld is an odd series to describe because while on the surface, they're comic fantasy novels, the individual books cover nearly every genre imaginable- romance, mystery, action, horror, sometimes multiple genres in the same book. Did I mention they're all set in the same universe, mostly in the same area, and yet they all work well with each other?

What I love about Discworld is the way Terry packs them with recurring characters who appear when the scene calls for them, meaning after just three books you start seeing them the way you do old friends. It's a huge part of what makes the whole series so addictive and another quality I try to work into my stories. I see every character in my toolbox as relevant so long as the scene calls for them and try to give them appearances if I think they'll fit.


Which authors do you look up to?

Easy. I take a lot of inspiration from some of the older authors. Edgar Allen Poe is probably the main one; I've always been impressed with how he managed to frighten readers so much with so few words - and to top it off, he had very little gore in his better works (The House of Usher, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado). Stephen King is another one; any aspiring horror writer should take notes on King and his ability to pull the strings of the readers' minds. It, The Mist, and The Langoliers are just a few of my favorite stories of his. Nathaniel Hawthorne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and J.R.R. Tolkien are some of my other influences. I could probably name more, but I can't think of any right now, so...

I love your tastes so much, as you can probably tell.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is underappreciated, because EVERY ENGLISH CLASS shoves The Scarlet Letter down your throat, and people only know him as "that guy who wrote the story about the scarlet A". He was actually a brilliant Gothic horror author, along the lines of Poe really, and if I was an American Lit teacher, I swear to God, I'd give my class House of Seven Gables and The Minister's Veil to read instead of Scarlet Letter.

Which authors do you look up to?

Oh boy. From a strictly professional level, I look up to a lot of authors for the things they excel at in their writing. Spending too much time on the internet googling favorite authors can disillusion a person. That's happened to me a number of times; the author is brilliant, but seem so full of themselves it taints how I see their work. Anyways.

Brandon Sanderson- This guy is one of the most prolific fantasy authors I've ever come across who actually puts out quality writing, barring the great Terry Pratchett. Sanderson is also insanely gifted at building intricate worlds and crazy magic systems. After he has a book published, he posts annotations of each chapter almost like director's commentary from a film, where he talks about why he chose to include certain things and remove others. It's been a nice learning experience as a writer. He also has a podcast called Writing Excuses: each week they put up a 15 minute episode discussing a certain topic about writing (they've been doing it weekly since 2008 so it has a nice backlog). My favorite of his novels so far is The Way of Kings, which takes place in a world based on coral reefs and tide pools. He actually has one of his books free on his website called Warbreaker.

You called Pratchett great so I'll check him out. I've been looking for some new fantasy authors to read.


Which authors do you look up to?
Well, tbh I'm not much of a reader, due to my lack of focus and patience to sit down and read a novel, but I guess I would easily point to the two writers who I read as a kid, J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl is awesome, end of story.


-Neil Gaiman: I admit to only reading a few short stories of his and I enjoyed them very much. What I admire him though is his writing advice. My favorite is this:

“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you. Tarantino - you can criticize everything that Quentin does - but nobody writes Tarantino stuff like Tarantino. He is the best Tarantino writer there is, and that was actually the thing that people responded to - they’re going ‘this is an individual writing with his own point of view’. There are better writers than me out there, there are smarter writers, there are people who can plot better - there are all those kinds of things, but there’s nobody who can write a Neil Gaiman story like I can.” (If anyone is interested, the quote is from here.)

I always remind myself of that advice whenever I'm down about my writing.


That Neil Gaiman quote is one that means a lot to me too, especially with my bad habit of doubting my writing skills.

Also putting in a note for Stephen King. His short stories are really better than his novels, gotta say. Anyone who says otherwise will be reminded of Cujo.
Aw, Cujo wasn't THAT bad. But yes, read the short stories, they're fantastic. Everything's Eventual is my personal favorite collection, but Night Shift is also excellent and gave us The Mangler.

What is The Mangler, you ask?

It's a laundry machine that kills you.

You're welcome.

Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

A little of both. A lot of my stories (ironically, nearly all the Giovanni-centric ones) end up being about Power of Friendship, in my typically twisted and cynical way, of course, but about that nonetheless. I don't go into the story intending it to be that way, of course, but I let the characters do their thing and... it happens. And I really don't mind, because it's natural every time anyway. In general, I write to tell stories, and any points about stuff that come out of them just... happen.

My only exception to this is my Christmas stories, because I like those to give the readers holiday feels (though I also make an effort to make them genuinely good works that can be enjoyed outside the season), and in some cases it's harder than writing other "message" stories, possibly because of the characters I tend to work with.


whew
 
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Azurne

~ ♥ ~
If it's any consolation, KP, I feel somewhat similar (thought for different reasons) about the way love and sex are just thrown around like a token cliché authors have to have to make their story feel 'complete'. Sometimes it can be done well and can enhance the viewing experience, but a lot of times I'll be sitting in the movie theater like, 'okay. Here's our token power couple, can we move on with the rest of the film now?' It feels like they can't find any other way to strengthen two characters' relationship without making it romantic. People are complex creatures where almost no two are exactly alike, why do they have to be in a defined relationship eating each other's face off in order to understand the other better? I just feel like the average writer should try a little bit harder when it comes to interpersonal relationships. If a set of characters must be in love, it shouldn't have to be expressed in the traditional way of verbal affirmation, kissing, sex, etc, because not every relationship is so simple and neither are the people in the relationship. And please don't just throw romance in because it looks good.

This isn't even touching on how I feel about the romance genre in books. Nearly every one I've ever picked up has had the same formula, and even in some cases the same personality for the heroine. ('I am strong-minded and don't need a man!' *proceeds to obviously fall for some guy anyway*) There are almost always obligatory sex scenes, some of which are far more graphic and well thought-out than the author's entire attempt at romancing these two characters. Sometimes the characters don't even feel like people, they feel like 2-Dimensional puppets that the author is holding up while I watch the story unfold. They're like plot devices whose sole purpose is to get together, with characteristics ripped out of TV tropes to make them more interesting. (I know, I know, 'but Azurne, it's the romance genre, of course they're supposed to get together!' That's not how I perceive the idea of romance, sorry.)

To be clear, I actually have nothing against being openly affectionate or sex-positive, I'm actually quite touchy-feely myself. What I don't like is when being touchy-feely seems just like a tool, or another step in a romantic checklist for an author to mark off when writing their book. If your characters are openly physically affectionate because that's just a part of who they are, go for it! Otherwise, try and be creative about how they grow together.


Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

Most often when I write there is almost always some ulterior motive or hidden point in the story. Almost always. It just happens in the concept stage of the story, and probably stems from my "I like to fix things" habit. Or in some cases, "I'd like to point out why I think this line of thinking in society is bullcrap" habit. I try not to let it reign over the entire story, though, because if I deliberately center it around my point it feels less like a story and more like a lecture.

In fanfiction it happens less, but it still happens. As for whether or not it works, it's a hit or miss thing. My WIP original story, Shadeshift, scares me for this reason because it's starting to juggle too many points, and I'm not sure if I can handle all of them together. If I try to take one away though, it feels like I'm taking a chunk of the story with it. :/
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

There have been particular stories that I've wanted to tell, such as expansions to certain characters of mine, namely ones from RPs. I've written both stories about characters' pasts and original adventures involving them. I always have a lot of fun with those. Generally I just get a plot bunny in my head and work with that.

I know it sounds trite to say, but I don't think I've ever thought "I want to make a story about so-and-so theme" it just kind of happens while I'm writing and then I go along with it. In my two chaptered Digimon short stories I explored certain themes like the cycle of vengeance, forgiveness, and other things like prejudice and a sense of superiority between species. I'm not sure how it went. I hope I was subtle. Digimon fics don't really get a lot of attention on Pokemon forums, go figure. xD But I was writing them for myself anyways and wasn't expecting a whole lot of feedback. With my old Pokemon one shot "Victory or Death" I remember wanting to style a colony of Beedrills after the Red Army from Soviet Russia in WW2, with NKVD-like military police making sure no Beedrills would ever retreat from a battle. And in Never in the Wrong Time or Wrong Place, I kind of ended up starting to deconstruct the writing and tone of the Pokemon anime, because, around that point, I was realizing that the anime was generally pretty bad.

That's all I can think of. Oh wait, friendship seems to be a common theme in all of my stories. I've written far more about friendship than I have about love. I guess I kind of think friendship is underrated in comparison in seemingly every medium of fiction.


If it's any consolation, KP, I feel somewhat similar (thought for different reasons) about the way love and sex are just thrown around like a token cliché authors have to have to make their story feel 'complete'. Sometimes it can be done well and can enhance the viewing experience, but a lot of times I'll be sitting in the movie theater like, 'okay. Here's our token power couple, can we move on with the rest of the film now?' It feels like they can't find any other way to strengthen two characters' relationship without making it romantic. People are complex creatures where almost no two are exactly alike, why do they have to be in a defined relationship eating each other's face off in order to understand the other better? I just feel like the average writer should try a little bit harder when it comes to interpersonal relationships. If a set of characters must be in love, it shouldn't have to be expressed in the traditional way of verbal affirmation, kissing, sex, etc, because not every relationship is so simple and neither are the people in the relationship. And please don't just throw romance in because it looks good.

This isn't even touching on how I feel about the romance genre in books. Nearly every one I've ever picked up has had the same formula, and even in some cases the same personality for the heroine. ('I am strong-minded and don't need a man!' *proceeds to obviously fall for some guy anyway*) There are almost always obligatory sex scenes, some of which are far more graphic and well thought-out than the author's entire attempt at romancing these two characters. Sometimes the characters don't even feel like people, they feel like 2-Dimensional puppets that the author is holding up while I watch the story unfold. They're like plot devices whose sole purpose is to get together, with characteristics ripped out of TV tropes to make them more interesting. (I know, I know, 'but Azurne, it's the romance genre, of course they're supposed to get together!' That's not how I perceive the idea of romance, sorry.)

Agree times a hundred. I actually find it much more gratifying when the male lead and the female lead don't get together in stories.
 
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Cosmic Fury

Evil Overlord
Hey, I was sent an invitation to join the reboot of the FF Club. Don't mind if I hop back on board?
 

Wyrm

~Setting Sail~
Which authors do you look up to?

Nobody in particular. In terms of honorable mentions, however, Erin Hunter was the author that first drew me into the world of fiction. Before that I would always be looking at non-fiction, primarily encyclopedias and such. ._.'

Did you ever write a story to tell a story, or to make a point about whatever, or both? How subtle were you? Did it go well, or did you slip?

Nope. In the long run, I'd do that rarely, if at all. It's quite an idea, though...
 

JX Valentine

Ever-Discordant
Hey, I was sent an invitation to join the reboot of the FF Club. Don't mind if I hop back on board?

Aaaaand welcome back! :D You're added to the list!

Speaking of lists, also added KP's new topic, which is awesome and deserves a lengthy answer when it's not godawful o' clock.

But in the meantime, I'd like to say...

Kutie Pie said:
Possibly due to how I've been brought up in the household (I was somewhat sheltered up until high school), and because I stick to my personal beliefs, I view love as something that's pure and at times sacred. I was raised to believe the word “love” means to care for others. Thus, I believe there are three types of love in this world: familial love, friendships, and relationships (such as couples, dating or married). Familial love is that platonic love that deals with family, from mother to child, father to child, sibling to sibling, et cetera, we all know of this. Friendships are similar to familial love, only it extends to members outside of your own family. And I don't have to explain the relationships, we see it every day.

Just... this. All of this. It's beautiful. ;_; And same with the rest of this post, but I agree so hard with the bits about how there's quite a lot of shipping fic and whatnot that throws around the concept of love. Especially romantic love. :|

But for serious, I'll be back with a lengthier response, I swear. But high fives and cookies for kicking off the ranting part of the mafia so I don't have to. 8D
 
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