Tcr

Forgot weird, crazy, little nuts, strange, hermit…. Wait, that’s just writers…

Yeah. The worst part about writing is finally putting it out there, the story you want, the way you want it written, and then being bombarded with ‘Well, that was terrible, that sucked, et cetera’ and then questioning everything that you have within. It always sticks with you no matter what has been said and how much someone else says they love it. Unless you revel in disturbing people… Because then it becomes a feast…

Or think something completely out in left field because of lines the characters say or things they do… (Not here, but on a different one I have posted on, been asked about some seriously buried, questionable thoughts on NeoNazism, then accused of having it out for anyone non-Aryan… Because of BaH… lol)

No, not so much embarrassing, but more scary in my case. All my characters are, in some wild and weird extension, me… All the main characters of mine carry with them probably a lot more of myself in them then what I would have wanted… That’s the scary part ;).

Sounds like a bad remix of a song… “There it is! Lick that floor! LICK-LICK-LICK that filthy floor!”

Okay… lol. I’ll take BaH as my example here. In the tags, as in the story, I do not personally get excited over the concept, written or otherwise, of rape. However, I definitely love my history, I love trying to write the characters, I love transforming them. Writing BaH and CHHW are all part of what I love and know, but some elements may not be personally stimulating for me. The time frame for BaH was rife with things that are disturbing and not something I want to see in reality, but writing them is something that has to be done. Not sure if I’m making any sense or just confusing more… We’re all weirdos here, that’s why we write. But yes, I understand, certainly. And obviously, there’s a calling for it, so I’m not saying it can’t be, but it’s not something I, personally, would write. Certainly, writing fiction is fine, but carrying it out in reality is not. That’s a good way to think and to carry out the writing. I try to do the same, for all the characters, not just the ones that don’t get me going. Taking BaH for example (...again), I’ve never lived under the eminent threat of death that encompassed Germany at the time, never had to make the decisions any of the characters did, so I try to put myself back to that point. It’s a little easier since that’s something I love (I love history and the World Wars are the areas most interesting to me). But I do the research still, in characters, in everything I can do. Come Hell or High Water is the same way… Unfortunately, living in current times, I’ll probably never experience the wonders of the universe… lol. That said, I have tried to research characters to create real characters. Stuff that doesn’t interest me, take the rape example from earlier, I’ve spent weeks trying to formulate a comprehensive, dark, yet strangely interesting scene regarding this (especially since this is a big moment in that character’s life... Actually, this is one of those several huge moments in that character’s life and will have several overarching ramifications to the rest of the story.)

Okay <cracks fingers>, let’s get started. <Cowers in corner> Do I have to let people know about my writing process? Is it done? When you write, do you ever feel self conscious about it? To be honest, I doubt that anyone ever experiences a clean lack of self-conscious. Always something creeps into the words. Worries that something’s not right, not perfect, that it needs this, or that one forget something. In my case, there’s a lot of questions about ‘Is this good enough’ (...CR can definitely attest to the levels of self-doubt that flows in), which then leads to, ‘is there too much of me in there’. Am I rambling and not answering the question? Maybe I am... Do you feel like maybe you are giving away too much? Always. There’s that nagging sensation that eats away, causes doubts… CR’s been good at slapping me upside the head and reminding me when I’ve given too much away (like a good Beta), although I do see it even when I’m not having her Beta. People go through all sorts of changes in their life. If you are the same person at 20,30 and 40, you are doing it wrong. Well, I’m not the same writer I was at twenty, nor twenty five, nor two years ago. Experiences change perspective, perspective changes writing and characterizations. At twenty, I wouldn’t have thought about coming onto AFF. At twenty-two, I almost died. At twenty five, I challenged myself to start writing outside the comfort zone. Two years ago, I first wrote in a character that I had never thought to include, due largely to my challenge. Last year, I started posting on AFF. Do you feel like there are lines that shouldn't be crossed? On a personal level, yes. Always. Robbing a bank, murder, turning the country into a totalitarian dictatorship… Writing wise, yes, but only on my own personal side. Writing characters who rob banks, commit murder, turn a country into a totalitarian dictatorship is fine within the confines of the written word. Indeed, they are present in reality, so why should they not be present in the world created by an author? I won’t write a minor1/minor2, that’s my personal line that won’t be crossed, but in the world of writing, if it fits into the narrative, then go for it. Can you go too far? Strangely enough, I’ve seen this question paraphrased on several writing sites and even arguments while trying to find details with regards to writing BaH and CHHW. Can you go too far… This bears with it a question more of person preference than of overarching finality. I guess the answer for me is yes, you can. Can that rape scene be cut without any loss to the over all narrative? Can that disembowelment scene be cut down a little because it goes on too long? (There might have been some of that on my part, too, so… lol). But that is preference more than a strict guideline, in my opinion. As I continue to work on BaH and CHHW, the boundaries I once thought as ‘too far’ have shifted backwards, further and further back, (mostly due to Blood and Honour) and I find myself looking back and wondering how far ‘too far’ is now. Maybe you should I feel one should definitely push their boundaries of comfort. But that may just be me.

Well, little late to this party… RL gets in the way, leave for a bit, and everyone throws a party… I can’t really say there’s one that I’m feeling under-appreciated for after reading all the comments… One, two, three reviews… And here I was feeling like mine were bad at eight reviews. I have my loyal fans and readers that have assisted with those reviews, which is why they feel under appreciated. Blood and Honour, which I feel is one of my better works, has eight (tied with Come Hell or High Water), scored over 1300 views (whereas CHHW has just under 700)… That said, half of those are from two loyal readers (two whom a big thanks goes out to them)… CHHW, most of those, I think half again, are from one… So, it does feel a little under-appreciated… (Yes, throw the chairs now...) MSM: I know how it feels. It’s thanks a lot to the support here and from CR that I’ve stayed here and kept posting up (even through long a long hiatus, Sahara desert length breaks, of reviews and views. Like CR said, come talk to me when you feel like leaving…

LOL. Out of control, you? No, can’t be. Must be talking about someone else… I can’t do the PWP, myself, not because I don’t want to, but because I always set out without a plot, then it develops into something that needs multiple chapters to complete with an in depth plot that no longer quantifies it as a PWP… Damn overworked Muse, can’t stop developing stuff! To answer the original question, though, I try to write something in that doesn’t personally excite me in everything I write. I think BaH is going to be the biggest one I’m going to have with that regards… Most of the tags are stuff that I don’t personally get off on… But, that said, I do have one line that I won’t cross… I applaud those writing minor1/minor2, but that’s something I’ve tried and it just weirds me out a little too much… I’ll beta off on stuff, but yeah, I don’t think I’ll be writing it...

Chapter 15 is posted. Any comments and concrit are always welcome.

After a hiatus of sorts…. Chapter ten is posted.

Chapter 14’s up to read and enjoy . I’m hoping everyone’s enjoying it and, as always, questions, comments, and concrit are always welcome .

Chapter Thirteen’s up to read. Bit of an overhaul to the summary over the last few days, too , with a hopefully more intriguing hook to it. As always, questions, comments, points, concrit, leave a review and I’ll reply.

Hi, stranger :) Sounds so logical now, but never thought of it that way. Admittedly, I'm strange when it comes to books; I usually read the flyleaf after I've skimmed over the first chapter(s) (from which I make a judgement call...), so the summaries, in my case, are more an afterthought. Which is probably reflected in how my writing is… You... Hate... Writing... Summaries? <holds fingers in shape of cross...> Blasphemy! I agree. The two important/interesting elements work and would certainly blend in with what BW said. The set target audience would, consequently, be determined by those; for example, a SciFi romance would likely have the romantic elements outright listed, allowing the intended audience to know. Not only that, but, because of the main themes and elements being presented, you have, hopefully, a hook in the summary that draw people in (...which is exactly what a summary should do and what BW said already...). Obviously, something called Attack of the Killer Lizard Blob People From Planet 672 is not likely to have "Killer Lizard Blob People attack! Bob milks his cows. Joan walks the dog. It's an interesting day." (Although, I'm kind of interested, in a strange way, at why Bob and Joan are doing mundane things as Lizard people are attacking...)

Okay, so, scenario… you've written up something you want to post (...because who doesn't want to post an incredible work of art taking people to all realms and realities?) you stare at the monitor in front of you, blank, sterile white, laughing incessantly (no, that last bit only happens to me?) as you try to think of a summary... Obviously, this isn't the same for everyone. There are probably some who write up a summary in ten seconds that sound like a summer blockbuster, sure to bring in millions of dollars… and others on the opposite spectrum, who struggle endlessly trying to get something that sounds, to them, remotely interesting (as a writer, I think I might be a little overly critical of my summaries… Regardless of what I think or how they sound…) So, how do you all go about writing your summaries? How do you “sell” your work of art? What techniques do you use and recommend to improve a summary? What do you avoid? What grabs you as a reader? What turns you off? (Why choose A over B, essentially?)...

Hell of an Anniversary: Thank you, CloverReef, for your review. The beginning and the action were good, though pretty wordy. My favourite part was the end, though (no, not because it was over.) Your pacing and wordiness cleared up a bit, and the action got really good. And the last few lines were excellent. " A loud, wet, resounding snap came from the forearm to a grin on his face."This was my favourite. Such an unusual but powerful twist of words. Nice job, hun. Too wordy, eh? Guess I haven't learned enough to completely cut betas out, lol. Glad it cleared up by the end, even slightly. (On a side note, I'm sure that's the entire reason for why it was the best part ...) Strange that you thought that was the best line, as that was the one I gave the least thought about. It was a reaction line, a bit of an insight into Jacs... A victory of sorts over one person who had tormented him.

Chapter Twelve’s up...

Chapter eleven is posted. On a side note… Posted a oneshot (almost a character prequel) that gives a little background into the character of Jacs called ‘Hell of an Anniversary’. So, check that out too

Haven’t I said that many times? lol. On a personal level, I feel that if you have the same, repetitive nature of a two page chapter system without any change, it becomes boring and monotonous IF you don’t keep the audience’s attention. A ten page chapter that draws you in can feel like a two page one; a one paragraph chapter (which, admittedly, pisses me off), can feel like a twenty page chapter if it’s plain boring… Longer chapters are fine, if they’re not draw out to impossible sizes by multiple tangents, thus boring people to death.

EVERYONE HIT THE FLOOR! Did I? Well, damn… Most of mine was on just the culture aspect of diversity… Shit… Huh… More accurately, I should have asked about all diversity, you’re correct…

Oh, certainly. Kind of a terrifying thought at times when reading them... Stereotypes are definitely not a bad thing, as there are reasons they last so long. I tend to stray away from stereotypes, though, on the reasoning tangentially said above. Most stereotypes I've seen/heard come with negative inferences... When I first started, my casts were all Caucasian without a second thought, usually English speaking American. Then I started writing more vaguely, allowing readers to create a character. I've noticed a lot of people leave it vague... There's no real mention of culture, religion, ethnicity.… I wonder if this is intentional or if this is subconscious?

Obsession? You? No, say it ain't so! Lol. As a wildly ranged reader of all sorts of weird random stuff... To me, the numbers don't matter much. If I'm engrossed in a chapter, for example, I'm not likely to notice if it's five pages or twenty-five pages. In the flip side of the statement, if it's boring and drags on for all unnecessary eternity, then five sentences feel like five hundred pages.… As a writer, I'm bad... I set myself up, not with a word count, butane average page count (for ones which I'm trying to publish). It has to be an average of ten pages! No more, no less! The line must be drawn here! On here... I tend to go with what a chapter feels like... If it feels complete to me, I end it... Which isn't always a good thing, as sometimes a chapter isn't entirely done. So my page counts vary wildly... From as little as two and a half to as much as nine....

As someone who has tried to show a rather diverse cast of characters within my writing (of which, unfortunately, only one has achieved this at this point in time; others, not posted, have done so as well, but...), I’m curious and, in all fairness, perhaps this curiosity can help someone in writing their own endeavours. Firstly, how do you attempt to drastically avoid the cliches and stereotypes of the characters who aren’t, so to speak, your background? Secondly, as writers, do you often have concerns that, who or what you’re writing about will be disrespectful to that culture? And thirdly, for aspiring writers, is it better to avoid making references to the diverse cast and allow the reader to otherwise insert their own thoughts and ideas for the cast? In my attempts, I usually do a fair amount of research, sometimes relying on friends who are there or know people who are, or, and this is the usual aspect, I do a lot of research into the culture (religion, views, thoughts on the aspects in the story, cultural history). This isn’t always perfect. (Logically, one takes the internet and, even, written word research with a grain of salt based off who is writing it (every man, woman, child, dog, cat, and parrot seems to have some opinion on some culture somewhere in the world). As for point two, I’m always worried about how it will come across when writing my characters. CR can verify that much (...surprised CR hasn’t ended up in fetal position in corner mumbling incoherently as a result of my worry...), which usually means lots of discussions... Not sure if there’s anything that can really be done there… I had asked myself quite often while writing mine and figured others might have had the same thoughts or even may be able to offer advice and tips that can help. TCR