Random Questions Thread

So roughly what I was estimating, yay. Thank you!

I've seen a lot of books slap "None of those characters are based on real-life people" disclaimer on the first page, and that seems to be enough. Generally, unless the characters share surname with very popular celebrities (Bruce Willis, Jennifer Lopez etc.), you shouldn't have any problem, and even then, the issue is mostly "wait, is this character based on [celebrity]" rather than legal things.

I'm not just referring to celebrities. I'm referring to a full name that, once you Google, you'll have links to Facebook.

edited 1st Jul '16 8:11:53 AM by HallowHawk

So what if your characters share their name with non-famous real-world people? It's just a thing you have to deal with when you're writing about characters with names that originate in our world. Slap the 'this story is just a work of fiction, any resemblance to real events or individuals is purely coincidental' disclaimer on, and you're good to go.

Thanks

Speaking of Facebook, I found someone who owns a video game company, and I plan on submitting a planning document for a game plot. How should I behave as I send my message?

Is this idea unsolicited? If so, then a word of warning: it might be worth checking first whether they're accepting such submissions at all. I don't know about smaller companies, but I recall seeing it stated that at least some of the larger ones simply bin any unsolicited concepts. I wouldn't be surprised if the same were true for many small companies, too.

I believe that this is due to both potential legal trouble (someone claiming that they used an idea without permission), and simply because most developers have plenty of ideas, and that unsolicited ideas are thus superfluous.

If you're inquiring about hiring them to make your idea, however, that's a different story—and one on which I defer to others, save to suggest that you don't include a description of your game concept until you've established that they're interested.

I have a question of my own: I have a number of short stories (and one novella) that I haven't managed to get published in paying online magazines, and right now I'm just sitting on them. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed with them? I have a website—would it be worth posting them there? (One thought is that they might help to draw eyes to said site, and thus to the game project that's currently shown on it.) Should I attempt to get them published in non-paying online magazines? Drop them entirely? Something else? I'm really not sure of where to go with them right now... :/

edited 2nd Jul '16 8:48:42 AM by ArsThaumaturgis

In short, ask if they are looking for game plot ideas before submitting anything?

Yes, I believe so.

Thanks

New question: In the Spanish language, when do you use "la"? Contrast "Fuerzas de Seguridad de la Tierra Verde" with "Fuerzas de Defensa de Panamá".

It's a feminine pronoun, you use it with feminine words.

Feminine words or word gender have nothing to do with human gender and, as it might be counter-intuitive for english speakers- follows a rule called the rule of congruency.

That is, if a word ends with vowel "a", it is feminine, if it does with "o" or, in some cases, "e", it is masculine.

Example.

Las fuerzas

Los pueblos

In the instance you are suggesting, Panamá is a country name, and it doesn't get preceded by an article, as in

Fuerzas Armadas de Panamá

Fuerzas Armadas de España

But, given that Panamá is a given name for a colonial territory, it can be preceded by an article, as in colonial times given names for american colonies were used as adjetives, and it's always masculine unless talking about Florida, California, Argentina or Filipinas.

As in

Gobernador de La Florida

Gobernador de la California

Indígenas del Perú

So, "Fuerzas Armadas del Panamá" would be correct.

Question: How would you picture an stereotypical twenty-something good girl? What kind of items might there be?

edited 3rd Jul '16 10:20:06 AM by MrsRatched

She responds to conflict and tension with a gentle smile, a reasonable suggestion, and seeks the protection of an authority figure if things get funky.

Ok, I'm an idiot, I didn't asked correctly.

I meant: How would you picture an stereotypical twenty-something good girl's room? What kind of items might there be?

edited 4th Jul '16 4:18:04 AM by MrsRatched

What sort of time period and setting are we talking? Actual 1950s west, modern day, some other time or setting? The era's going to change which books you find on her shelf, what sorts of posters or imagery you'll find on the walls, the style of clothing and jewelry she might keep in there, and even the style of her furniture and bedsheets.

Posters of or a taste for certain pop stars might be consistent with a wholesome image in the modern day, but not in the actual 1950s. Lots of dresses of a certain style might be an absolute necessity for a wholesome good girl in time periods before, say, the 1970s, but in the modern day, it could mean anything from jeans and a hoodie to, again, certain styles and prints of dresses. I knew a girl in high school who, probably due to some shitty things that's happened in her past, pretty much acted like a 1950s good girl, but she was a foster kid and didn't have the money to have much more than old jeans and t-shirts in her wardrobe.

A wholesome young lady probably isn't going to have bright colors anywhere in her room until the 1970s or 80s at least, and in the modern day, they might be totally normal. A good girl of the 1950s or 60s might have her schoolbooks and old classics like Laura Ingalls Wilder, or stuff from the Bronte sisters on her shelf, while a good girl from the modern day might instead prefer YA fiction, a genre or style of book that didn't really exist until recently. Certain hobbies have been considered appropriate for wholesome young ladies at one time, and either old-fashioned (needlepoint, maybe) or too rough (certain sports) or inappropriate (due to sexism) at others.

A pair of co-workers (a man and woman) get into an elevator together and go up a skyscraper from the ground floor, so the ride is long. A security camera runs in the elevator, but no audio is recorded.

Assuming the man himself doesn't set out to intentionally do anything wrong, what can the woman do during the elevator ride such that the recording on the security camera implies the man had done something wrong to her (e.g. violence, sexual assault)? I was thinking of the woman goading the man into a fight, but I don't know how exactly she could pull it off.

In-universe sexism could be invoked, if required.

edited 7th Jul '16 11:54:44 PM by hellomoto

Start talking very provocatively, but keeping a serious facial expression. Then, when he responds with physical advances, act extremely offended.

What happened to him right before? Could he be already at his breaking point, and then she says something, with a straight face, about something that makes him snap (e.g. mocking a dead friend or relative of his)? This would only work if the only people who know him well (and know how much the dead person meant to him) weren't in a position to help afterwards.

I'm worried about what you mean by "sexism intentional", but not going to go there.

In the first case, talking provocatively with a straight face is going to confuse most men, and many of the ones who might respond physically will probably be weirded out into inaction.

In the second case, punching a person for insulting a loved one is still assault and therefore doesn't look like he did something wrong, it is actually doing something wrong, having defendors on the outside or not.

I was thinking that his body could obscure part of her and her show something to him, but no matter what I think of, it either looks good for him or is actually wrong on his part.

I suppose she could pull a knife or gun, then he tries to disarm her?

I suppose she could rip her own clothes then reveal it to the camera?

Then there is the classic simply slapping him as if he said something wrong, but that will imply so little that no one would bother investigating it unless they already had a score to settle.

She could also ask him to do something that could be interpreted as harassment. Assuming she knows where the camera is placed, she could for instance ask his advice on something she holds in her hand (her phone, a paper...) out of view from the camera, so that he comes closer to her, apparently uninvited. Then she could pretend to lose her balance or something like that. If the man steadies her, it could like as if she tried to move away and he grabbed her.
OK, it's very contrived, but that's the idea of it. I'm assuming that by "in-universe sexism" you mean that the worst will be assumed of the man?

Not punching her, but like, kabe-don her? (Like, hit the wall and sort of pin her) It has sexual connotations, (apparently it's a suggested trope under the title "Wall-pin of love,") but it could come from just-plain-anger.

edited 8th Jul '16 4:30:49 AM by lavendermintrose

What are the major neighborhoods in Seattle, and how would the city fare under occupation from some enemy force?

Is it possible to draw inspirations from stories you don't like and even certain tropes that you acknowledge but despise?

I think so, yes: You might find ways to rework the ideas into something that you like. You might pick out elements that you do enjoy, and find uses for them more congenial to your tastes. You might find yourself going off on a tangent, suggested by something in the work.

For an example of the latter: Imagine that you disliked some high fantasy work, which involved a warrior out to kill an evil sorcerer. You might read that, and the idea of an evil sorcerer might prompt you to think about good sorcerers instead, and inspire a story following a good sorcerer on some unrelated plot.

Similar inspirations might be found in tropes, I imagine.

edited 9th Jul '16 10:41:03 AM by ArsThaumaturgis

The art of writing is emotional manipulation. Drawing inspiration from stuff you don't like is learning the dark arts. Sure, you are less likely to make use of that inspiration, but it adds to your skillset.

There can be no light without the dark. This sometimes seems truer in fiction than it is in reality. Every plot must have conflict, every great moment something to contrast against.

And even if there is no redeeming quality in the work at all, it teaches you exactly what not to do. Studying the stuff that you hate can be invaluable.

All of this. Deconstruct it, if you want to call it that.

I sometimes find myself noticing that something I wrote looks like some thing I don't like, a little bit, and cringing at the thought of having some fan of that thing go "omg, I love it because it's like that thing!" (especially when the thing is popular), so then I put in some sort-of deconstructive elements, sort of, as a very subtle Take That! to the thing I don't like. Like, this one thing that starts off with an issue about a character potentially losing control of their powers, and then it never gets resolved, but they act like it did... when I noticed a character I had sort of sounded like that character, I gave them a backstory about having to kill someone they loved who lost control of their powers and couldn't be saved.

Alternatively, sometimes if I want to use inspiration from something I do like, that the fans hate about the show, I'll have a character give the fandom's response and another character tell them how stupid that is. Subtly, or at least, I try to be subtle.

But I saw a writing tip that was, "Take a story you don't like at all. Try to rearrange the elements so that you'd like it." So that sounds like an interesting exercise.

What's a job that if you lose an eye, it can really debilitate your ability to do said job?

The goal is to get a good realistic cause for a man who gets an exceedingly large work injury settlement.

Anything that requires extremely good depth perception. Stuff that occurs off the top of my head is crane operator, surgery, or airline pilot.