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Topics - arianne

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16
Author Craft / Awkward Fight Scene
« on: October 25, 2010, 09:30:47 AM »
Wonder if I could get a little help here...

I have two junior high school alpha males who are feuding with each other. In the scene I'm working on, their two groups meet in school and start pushing each other around (yeah, we all remember what it was like to be in junior high... ;D)

The thing is, the scene has to end with the boys making an appointment to fight in the playground at a later date, as the climax of the story depends on them doing so.

If anyone has knowledge (or *ahem* personal experience) of this kind of situation, could you explain how this kind of "date" usually is made? Why would two hot headed boys agree to back down and fight at a later date when they're with all their friends, with half the school looking on besides? Wouldn't backing down equal weakness and/or wimpiness?

I did try to do something about this scene, but right now the characters all sound like they're eating cardboard. I need to add in some stuff and make it more natural...like the kind of thing an actual teenager would say as oppsed to something Gandalf from Lord of the Rings would say...

Thanks in advance for any advice!

17
Author Craft / Conflict on multiple levels?
« on: July 06, 2010, 04:11:54 PM »
Okay, so this may be a stupid question, but most of the "writing craft" books I've read deal with conflict on a one-to-one basis; by that I mean they assume that there are only A and B in one scene, A wants to do this, B wants to stop him.

A pokes B's defenses
B defends himself
A attacks
B attacks back (aka rising conflict)
Climax
B surrenders
A raises fist in victory

Volia, conflict!

My question is, can someone explain briefly about how to deal with conflict on multiple levels? Such as, when there are four or five people in the room, A wants to do something, B wants to stop him, C is in love with A but disagrees with A's idea, D hates C and agrees with B's idea etc etc.

I mean, one can't do a directly rising conflict sequence like the one above when there are so many people involved. A and B fight, but before they can get to the climax, C cuts in with a comment that dissolves the tension and we're back to square one. D jumps in with a remark, and B starts to fight with him....

Anyway, hope you guys get what it is I'm trying to ask! :) Thanks in advance for any advice.


18
Author Craft / Luke, *I* am your father...overused?
« on: July 06, 2010, 04:02:21 PM »
Hi, I was just wondering if it is becoming overused and cliched to have the villian of a piece be the main character's dad/mom/uncle/grandpa/sister etc etc? (Luke, who's your daddy? ;D) Or is it pretty much okay? Is it more annoying to have the author string you along for the whole book and then tell you the bad guy is the dad, or is it more annoying to have the fact that baddie is the dad out there in the open around the first or second chapter?

My friend mentioned that making the baddie a relative gives the reader more of a "shock factor", which brings with it a certain amount of emotional impact. I'm not sure I agree with him, as most of the dads-as-baddies are people teh main character has never known.

Anyway, thoughts?

19
Author Craft / Originality--How important is it?
« on: June 06, 2010, 10:50:41 AM »
Another writing question. Well, more of a insecure writer question.  ;D

How important is an original plot/premise/concept to the novel?

Or is it more about the characters and the wording and so on?

Let's say I had an idea for a female wizard living in, um, New York. And the wizard was totally different from that other Barry/Larry guy  :D. You know, the sarcastic dude with the skull in his basement.

Let's say my wizard was sweet, kind, caring, timid, never sarcastic. She has no pets, lives in a huge penthouse with a pool in the backyard.She calls her mom twice a week, hates fast food and soda.  Whatever. Like anti-Barry.

And then I give this wizard a bunch of pals like supersexy cop dude who loves her, dates her, and wants to marry her; couple of sisters; vampire buddies. Again, anti-Barry.

So then I write this whole book about this wizard and how she solves a mass vampire killing.

(Don't worry, I didn't actually have the idea to write this, it's just an example. In case Jim's lawyer and agent happen to be around...I am not stealing his wizard. Relax.  ;D)

If I were to write said story, what would your opinion be of that story? Would it be, um, marketable? Is it a bad thing to lack originality in a plot?

I know the above was kind of an extreme example, but how about if one was writing a vampire novel or something of the sort? It's hard to step outside a genre entirely and be completely original.


20
Author Craft / Character Question (and PS hello)
« on: June 05, 2010, 01:05:27 PM »
Uh, hi to everyone.

I'm new to both the Dresden files and to the forum, but I've lurked here for a while, and I've read like 7 Dresden books in the past week, so hopefully I should be able to keep up.  ;D

I have a bit of a character question, and it's this: is it a bad thing to have too many characters?

I'll try to keep things vague so that I don't violate any forum rules. Basically, my hero guy is a normal guy who is dragged into a magical world. There are 4 or 5 magical people who work as a team to get him into the magical world, and then the hero guy has 4 family members he's really close to, and who fill important roles in the story later.

So that would be like 10 characters in the space of the first three chapters.

I'm worried that the reader might be distracted by some many names. But on the other hand, I've already cut a bunch of characters and I don't know if it's possible for me to cut out any more ???

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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