McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

How not to do.

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JRBobC:
Yeah.  If all authors followed that list to the letter there would be no new Fantasy/SciFi/Romance/Action/Drama tv shows, movies, books, comics, etc. 

Agree with Shecky, what matters is how its put together.

belial.1980:
I've decided to write a spoof story that uses as many of these as possible, just for fun. Maybe if it's funny enough I'll post it up here.  :D

Matrix Refugee (formerly Morraeon):

--- Quote from: belial.1980 on March 11, 2009, 12:55:50 AM ---I've decided to write a spoof story that uses as many of these as possible, just for fun. Maybe if it's funny enough I'll post it up here.  :D

--- End quote ---

Ooohh... I used to hang around the Godawful Fanfiction Forums before it dried up, and I can tell you, there were things on there that would give Denarians nightmares. How bad/cliche could it be??

thausgt:

--- Quote from: Shecky on March 10, 2009, 02:57:16 AM ---Um, Jim WRITES his stuff using as many trite old formulas as he can find. It's what got him his first sale. :D
--- End quote ---

Found this in one of my favorite "light reading" wikis. The fact that the "narrator" is named Bob is an utter coincidence:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SoYouWantTo/WriteAFilmNoir


--- Quote from: Shecky on March 10, 2009, 02:57:16 AM ---Just proof that following the formulas isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's how you put them TOGETHER that counts. :)

--- End quote ---

Exactly. You could take a couple of your favorite cliches and see how you can twist them into something completely different... and more interesting.

For example, let's start with a basic one that would make Harry groan: "The Butler Did It". Our hero gets dragged into a classic murder mystery, and all the evidence seems to point toward the master of the dining room, wine cellar and pantries... until Harry notices that all of the evidence has been tampered with. After a lot of lightning crashes and mysterious chases, the true culprit is revealed: whose real name happens to be 'Butler'.

Of course, care must be taken to avoid turning a tense thriller into a farce. As Sherlock Holmes can attest, upon unmasking the murderous victim of all-but-unique shape-shifting curse: "Alimentary, my were-Datsun!"

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