Random Questions Thread

Does anyone have any tips on how to organize a writers' meeting? Location, time, what to serve the writers, tips on how to make it as constructive as possible?

How many participants?

I don't know. Assuming somewhere between 3 and 8 to begin with, myself not included.

What is the word for those "Pssss" sound you make to quietly grab someone's attention?

Hmm... good question. Not sure myself. A hiss, maybe?

edited 26th Mar '13 3:39:43 PM by peasant

Yeah, "hiss" should work.

Three interrelated questions.

• If someone passes out from donating blood, how long are they typically out for? (in cases where there's no preexisting conditions or other unhealthy things)

• How dangerous is it when a healthy young person has their carotid sinus reflex activated? What's the longest he/she would be out without it looking like brain damage?

• Is there a safe(ish) way a human could be passed out/unconscious for about 8 minutes?

edited 26th Mar '13 3:54:34 PM by Phoenixflame

Hiss sounds good enough, thanks.

Well you can be unconscious for years in a coma and wake up without brain damage, so 8 minutes doesn't seem bad. I'm pretty sure that if you pass out from blood loss, you still continue to breathe.

@Khant: It's all about the agenda. The very first thing you do is discuss the purpose of the group. Once you have consensus, you can begin planning activities to support that purpose. Plan for about half an hour's worth of structured discussion, and after that open conversation. If these people havn't met yet, they need an icebreaker of some kind. Go around the table and ask each person to introduce themselves. There are all kinds of icebreaker activities, try here. Brainstorming is another activity that will be helpful. Try here. So:

I. Welcome everyone and explain reason for the meeting
II. Round of introductions
III. Icebreaker
IV. Brainstorm a Purpose for the Group\\ V. Schedule the Next Meeting
VI. Open conversation

edited 27th Mar '13 5:14:46 AM by DeMarquis

Stupid question.

Do you think "I apologize for hurting your tea-drinking, crumpet-eating sensitivity." is slightly subtler way of saying "Stop getting butthurt, you pussy."?

Sounds like.

It's a slightly more PG-13 one. I'm not sure whether it doesn't rank a tad higher on the offensiveness scale, actually.

The scenario goes like:

"Oh, I am sorry. Are you gonna get all butthurt and cry like a little pussy you are?"

"Hey, language."

"Fine. I apologize for hurting your tea-drinking, crumpet-eating sensitivity."

The swear-happy dude eventually learns to curse in less blunt way.

edited 29th Mar '13 11:47:01 AM by dRoy

Very suitable.

Would it seem unrealistic for a remote village to be situated some 30-50 miles from the nearest town in England or Wales? If so, what kind of figure sounds more reasonable?

edited 29th Mar '13 8:15:44 PM by peasant

Considering England (the political area) is about 100-200 miles wide and 300 tall, I'm guessing that's a tad too far apart to make sense. Even if you're including Scotland and Wales, it's still only about 200 x 600 miles. So unless this is early history when populations were a lot sparser...

"One day's walk" is generally accepted as the standard distance, so 15-20 miles is fair. Maybe less than that if the terrain is especially bad. Any more than that, and getting to the market to sell your wares becomes too difficult to be really worthwhile.

I can make my story more complex, but doing so will change it into a dark Cosmic Horror Story for sure. Should I go for it? I don't really like dark tales, but I want my story to be as good as possible.

edited 31st Mar '13 8:01:58 AM by sunember123

I think that that depends on whether complexity serves your story, or is true to it. In other words, complexity is not necessarily synonymous with quality: a simple story may be very good, and a complex one poor, and vice versa.

I'm extremely curious as to how this could be the case.

So am I. How is making it more complex going to cause it to be darker, and why are you treating a Cosmic Horror Story as necessarily a bad thing?

edited 31st Mar '13 1:06:38 PM by Madrugada

@sunember 123, If you wouldn't like to read it, don't write it. You won't have fun and neither will the reader. "Good" writing does not necessarily equal "complex." Good writing is enjoyable writing.

Hmm. Plots should be kept as simple as possible, characters on the other hand usually benefit from some complexity.

Plots should be as complicated as they need to be to serve the story the best. A mystery with a simple plot probably won't be very effective as a mystery. A coming-of-age story with a very complex plot probably won't be very engaging as a coming-of-age story.