Your Writing Code of Ethics

I only spoof genres and styles I actually enjoy

Like Mel Brooks?

Come to think of it, I do this too. I've only ever enjoyed Affectionate Parody anyway, and if I start parodying something I don't like, the tone turns too nasty for my taste.

I don't think I've ever done an outright parody. Taking a shot at someone else's work usually involves Deconstruction and Grimdark in my case.

I guess I can say that the first few chapters of my novel (at least, planned) include bucketloads of parodies of anime and cartoon comedy tropes. After the Wham Chapter however, it's a whole another story...

Pretty much my whole book series is designed to be in the style of an anime. There's quite a few Ecchi moments, strange hairstyles and colors are rather common (although it's justified as being dyed... most of the time), the school uniforms are very Japanese-style. I'm also hoping to find a way to convey the fights as having that anime feel (like the way they seem to have bursts of extreme speed, but pause when their swords clash).

I even tend to think of the scenes as being anime whenever I'm imagining them in my mind.

edited 28th Aug '11 1:27:25 AM by VolatileChills

...ethics... ethics...

"Say what you say as if it's never been said before." I like to do this through deconstruction, Decon-Recon Switch, or reconstruction... usually in that order, in terms of preference.

Otherwise, the only other thing of is that, for me, The Law of Conservation of Detail doesn't exist. I will worldbuild all kinds of random, largely-useless pieces of information, and throw them in just to mess with the reader.

"Why did you tell us that Theodore Roosevelt went hunting with Franz Ferdinand? Is that going to be plot important? Will there be hunting?"

"Nah, I just thought it was funny."

edited 28th Aug '11 8:43:53 AM by USAF713

My code of ethics are as follows:

• Never, ever, EVER do things for their own sake. My biggest pet peeves among these things are: Metahumor/ self referencialism, black comedy, gratuitous profanity violence and sex and tropes related to them, overblown characterization/ personality types etc. ALL these things require a rhyme and a reason if you actually want to be taken seriously.
• Make your work stand on its own merits. Never, ever resort to cheap gimmicks, do not make over half of your writing just a bunch of Shout Outs and self deprecating, postmodern crap.
• Your characters may be "your babies", but as much as they are just fiction, behind the page, behind the screen, they live, breathe and bleed. Treat them as such
• If you need to, break the rules anytime.

I don't think of principles for how to write well as "ethical" principles. Quality of the craft is important, but I doubt ethics is the right word. (I think Carol Bly was wrong in The Passionate Accurate Story.)

In terms of actual ethics, the only thing I'd really object to is Dan Browning — misleading your reader about the real world.

A few personal guidelines:

• The story matters above all else. - Self-explanatory.
• Do not censor. Do not hold back. - Considering the nature of the stories I write, not going for broke isn't an option. Editing for the purposes of serving the story is allowed, but to tone things down to appease others is dereliction of duty.
• Keep the Author Appeal indulgences to a minimum. Do not shoehorn it in where it does not belong or deliberately build things around it. - Again, self-explanatory.
• Do not force a single thing. - Let the narratives, the characters and everything else develop on their own terms.

1. Don't plagiarize.
2. Don't throw anything out (even if it's not actually in the story anymore).
3. Write a story, not a message.
4. Give it my all.

That's it, really.

Take believable characters, put them in self-consistent settings, and have them react in plausible ways. Do this even if they make bad decisions, even if horrible things happen to good people, and even if this can be construed as promoting a moral you don't agree with. If you really can't stand where your story is going, tweak the initial parameters, but you mustn't be afraid that your audience will desert you for writing what makes sense, nor that your readers are mindless little lemmings who'll rush out to imitate the example you set.

Within that framework, there are still multiple options in any given situation. When possible, avoid paths that result in a likeable character losing all dignity. (Of course, characters who're highly resistant to loss of dignity can go through a lot of crap.)

Tying in with the first paragraph, if you're going to have an antagonist, their mindset should be one that would be understandable to a real-life person similar to them. For instance, if you're yet another sci-fi author who has heroic atheists fight against Christian fundamentalists, you should write the latter in such a way that a fundamentalist reader would be forced to acknowledge "In this situation, I would do the same thing, with the same negative results." The alternative is "I would never act like this. Atheist writers are such idiots!" (This also means not outright praising your heroes, especially if their actions for a supposed greater good will appall half your audience.)

Never overplay your hand when trying to promote a moral. Suppose you're writing a story in which the villain argues The Evils of Free Will, but really just wants to control everyone else. If you successfully present the villain as a selfish hypocrite, you can't then use this to argue that people like Tongpu are wrong.

edited 28th Aug '11 4:01:48 PM by feotakahari

Oh, and there's one loose rule I have:

• With the exception of tragedies (like Kira Is Justice), the ending must be Bittersweet and/or Earn Your Happy Ending.

edited 28th Aug '11 4:14:55 PM by chihuahua0