History Blog / LimyaaelsFantasyRants

The Rants used to be posted on Website/LiveJournal, but Limyaael has moved to [=InsaneJournal=]. The Rants originally posted on LJ can still be accessed there, though.

* AnachronicOrder: [[http://limyaael.livejournal.com/357919.html Non-linear narrative rant]] goes into how to do this effectively. Mostly, it comes down to using multiple different ways that people can record history, such as personal letters, diaries, journals, posters and broadsides, or even newspapers (especially if the world is based mid-Victorian or later). Also, make sure that different perspectives speak differently to give a sense of time passing and the differences in opinion that go with it.

** She gives advice on how to SoYouWantTo/AvoidWritingAMarySue, because if she sees a MarySue in a book, she has a self-admitted tendency to want to throw the book at the nearest wall. To her, a character is a "Mary Sue" if the narrative is going out of its way to make sure that a character doesn't have to suffer consequences or receives unearned rewards.
** [[{{Gayngst}} Gay characters suffering because they're gay]] draws a lot of ire from Limyaael. While she's pro-LGBT, she admits that many stories with a GayAesop are hard for her to read. This is both because [[DontShootTheMessage they tend to be preachy despite Limyaael agreeing with the idea]], and because [[BrokenAesop a lot of books show gay characters in ways that break the lesson]], such as having them constantly suffering or [[BuryYourGays having their lovers frequently die]].

* {{Gayngst}}: She criticizes the overuse of this in point 2 of her [[https://limyaael.livejournal.com/214314.html Rant on gay and lesbian characters]]. She particularly hates it when it makes little sense within a fantasy world where same-sex relationships have been portrayed as mostly accepted for the characters still angst about being gay. Limyaael finds it annoying if the narrative goes ''out of its way'' to make LGBT characters suffer, such as how gay characters have to deal with [[BuryYourGays losing their lovers]] far more often than their straight counterparts. Having gay characters kill ''[[GayngstInducedSuicide themselves]]'' draws even more ire from Limyaael. She even notes that many societies which are written where [[EveryoneIsBi bisexuality is the norm]] and have complete gender equality do not escape this, either. She criticizes this because it makes any intended GayAesop by the author fall flat in Limyaael's view, since the story turns it into a BrokenAesop where it simultaneously says that LGBT people should be accepted while showing them suffering in a way that makes being LGBT look like nothing but misery. It all boils down to the consistent theme in Limyaael's rants: if you're going to put something in your story, you should think about the logical consequences of it on the worldbuilding. And that includes in ways that would ''benefit'' the characters, such as gay characters ''not'' having to suffer.[[invoked]]

%%* BerserkButton: Nothing will get Limyaael into rant mode faster than lazy and unoriginal writing.

* GayAesop: In point 7 of her rant on [[https://limyaael.livejournal.com/214314.html gay and lesbian characters]], she advises against writing "gay message fantasy", largely because it's frequently quite heavy-handed. She feels this increases the distance between LGBT and straight characters mostly, with a better way being to simply portray them as people like everyone else, not focusing too much on their sexual orientations or having problems so much about that. She admits however that Creator/MercedesLackey (who's criticized for this in her rant) was progressive to write pro-LGBT stories ''at all'' in the 1980s/early 1990s.
* {{Gayngst}}: She criticizes the overuse of this in point 2 of her [[https://limyaael.livejournal.com/214314.html Rant on gay and lesbian characters]], particularly when it makes little sense (or none) within the fantasy world (where same-sex relationships have been portrayed as mostly accepted, for instance). Limyaael finds it particularly annoying if the narrative goes ''out of its way'' to make many LGBT characters suffer, often [[BuryYourGays losing their lovers]] far more often than their straight counterparts for instance. Having them kill ''[[GayngstInducedSuicide themselves]]'' draws even more ire from her. She even notes that many societies with [[EveryoneIsBi bisexuality as the norm]] and have complete gender equality do not escape this either. Even ''then'' bisexual characters have to struggle.