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Hello, fellow writers! Got any question that you can't find answer from Google or Wikipedia, but you don't think it needs a separate thread for? You came to the right place!

Don't be shy, and just ask away. The nice folks here, writers and non-writers, experts and non-experts, will do their best to help you.

The folder below contains links for special interest threads, mostly at OTC, but also from Yack Fest and Troper Coven.

    Special Interest Threads 

Also take a look at Useful Notes on various topics. They can be pretty useful.

Now, bring on the questions, baby!

edited 11th Apr '18 6:31:51 PM by dRoy

TruthHurts22 That One Gal from her own little world Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
That One Gal
#14551: Jan 11th 2017 at 10:43:51 PM

Another question: are wars overdone in stories? Mostly in fantasies, wherein there either was a war or will be a war during the plot?

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#14552: Jan 11th 2017 at 11:00:41 PM

Well, not to be depressing, but I think real life demonstrates pretty well that it's not exactly implausible for there to have at least been a war in the memory of any particular setting.

Slysheen Professional Recluse from My nerd cave Since: Sep, 2014 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Professional Recluse
#14553: Jan 11th 2017 at 11:07:07 PM

Nope, war is a central theme to human society. The concept is a popular and easy way to add drama.

You certainly don't have to have a war in any case, so don't feel pressured that it has to be there or absent.

edited 11th Jan '17 11:07:26 PM by Slysheen

Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.
UltimateLazer Since: Apr, 2016
#14554: Jan 13th 2017 at 4:36:40 AM

What do you guys think of the Big Bad Ensemble trope?

I think it's interesting to have more than one main villain and adds an extra dimension to the story. I'm currently working on three different stories, and all of them have multiple and simultaneous Big Bads. It does require more effort to write though, when compared to having a singular villain to focus all of the narrative one, but I think the payoff is worth it.

Author.
ewolf2015 MIA from south Carolina Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: I-It's not like I like you, or anything!
MIA
#14555: Jan 13th 2017 at 10:01:18 AM

for the war question, yes, it is overdone but that doesn't mean its bad. honestly, it's pretty hard creating a plot or backstory when you have do away with the war thing. as a suggestion, maybe try a bloodless revolution and the like, a civil rights movement, or a competition.

MIA
eital Since: Nov, 2013
#14556: Jan 13th 2017 at 3:59:14 PM

About my worldbuilding idea (should I move to the other thread), I liked the idea of banning magic from being stored in non-living beings, but at the same time a magic-amplifier mirror would play a huge part? But at the same time, I could have someone casting the a spell with simillar results.

Also robots, I'm not sure how those could work ithat verse? I like the concept, as well as those robots having souls (and therefore being able to use magic). And humans being in semi-denial about having created beings with souls. But maybe the whole thing should be left behind?

Slysheen Professional Recluse from My nerd cave Since: Sep, 2014 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Professional Recluse
#14557: Jan 13th 2017 at 4:53:21 PM

[up] Not necessarily. You'll just have to iron out inconsistencies. If you want "living robots" and no mana in non-beings drop the amplifier. Or work it around so it's not "unliving" anymore. Magic A Is Magic A can be pretty helpful for things like this.

You'll never be able to cram in all the things you want in a story, so it's a game of choosing which elements complement each other the most.

edited 13th Jan '17 4:55:12 PM by Slysheen

Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.
TruthHurts22 That One Gal from her own little world Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
That One Gal
#14558: Jan 13th 2017 at 7:37:06 PM

Ignore.

edited 14th Jan '17 8:09:18 PM by TruthHurts22

UltimateLazer Since: Apr, 2016
#14559: Jan 14th 2017 at 6:14:49 AM

Curious about something. Do people born in Japan but have no Japanese ancestry get persecuted, and to what extent?

I know it's not common, but minorities in Japan do exist. I was thinking about a character for one of my stories. She is Japanese by nationality but ethnically she's 100% Korean. The two nations have been known to have sour relationships and for very good reason, though I've heard it's gotten better in recent years.

However, for this reason, she was seen as not being "truly Japanese" despite having been born there, and having spoke Japanese as her first language, which shaped her character as she grew up. She was seen as out-of-place in Japan, and she felt out-of-place when she visited South Korea because she thought of herself as Japanese.

This to me is an interesting subject to think about, and I'm developing the idea more in my head. But I'd like some idea of what non-ethnic Japanese people who are citizens of Japan are treated like. I don't want to go too overboard with her being an outcast, because I don't think she would be a complete pariah just because of her race, but I'm aiming for a realistic level. What are your thoughts on the matter?

Author.
TruthHurts22 That One Gal from her own little world Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
That One Gal
#14560: Jan 14th 2017 at 7:01:25 PM

Soo...yeah. Should I move [up][up] that to a more relevant thread?

Sharysa Since: Jan, 2001
#14562: Jan 15th 2017 at 3:42:59 PM

Ultimate Lazer: Japan is pretty infamous for being EXTREMELY xenophobic, but it's less in the "lynching and one-drop-rule" way and more "social ostracizing, 1950s-esque stereotyping, and just plain ignoring that non-ethnic Japanese citizens exist."

However, this will definitely vary by age and upbringing—in general, the younger generations (teens and 20-30-year-olds) will at least TRY to be more open-minded unless they're in a really traditional place, but older generations have a strong likelihood to a) hold explicitly poor views of anyone who isn't ethnically Japanese, or b) make Innocent Bigot comments about how your character "isn't like most Koreans" because they're normal/well-mannered/not-a-criminal.

ewolf2015 MIA from south Carolina Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: I-It's not like I like you, or anything!
MIA
#14563: Jan 15th 2017 at 4:22:25 PM

[up] i was expecting worse.

MIA
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#14564: Jan 15th 2017 at 4:46:02 PM

I'm planning on writing a story where most urban legends are revealed to be true. Now, I know many American and Japanese urban legends, and the U Ls about the Mexican dog turning out to be a monstrous sewer rat and the child being found dead and holding drugs could easily be translated to Mexico, but I was wondering about other countries. Are there any urban legends that are specific to other nations or that could easily be translated to countries that aren't American/Japanese?

Also, the reason I specifically mention the sewer rat and kid-drug container is because, besides their easily being translated to Mexico, they can easily be spun into creatures that inspire urban legends. Likewise with the Slit-Mouthed Woman and Phantom Clowns. The pop rocks and soda UL? Not so much.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
Victin Since: Dec, 2011
#14565: Jan 15th 2017 at 5:34:26 PM

Frankly I don't remember any recent Brazilian urban legend. In fact, I don't think I remember meeting any urban legend in school or anything of the like.

Anyways, I know we have the Bathroom Blonde (which is basically Bloody Mary), Sack Man and Cuca. Although you could easily argue Cuca being folklore (who was even a character in the literary works of Monteiro Lobato in the first half of the 20th Century). Oh, there was also the legend that told Fofão plush toys were cursed/possessed/alive, and had a knife secretly stuffed inside them. For murdering, of course.

edited 15th Jan '17 5:34:39 PM by Victin

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#14566: Jan 16th 2017 at 5:48:52 AM

[up] Thanks for the help there concerning Brazil. Anybody else go anything from another country, or that could easily be translated to somewhere other than America or Japan?

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
Kakai from somewhere in Europe Since: Aug, 2013
#14567: Jan 16th 2017 at 7:56:48 AM

[up]In Poland, we have the black Volga, which was a car whose passengers supposedly kidnapped children for nefarious reasons (mostly to drain their blood and sell their organs), and the Wawel Chakra, which has an urban legend status here, and which is supposed to be a "place of great power" type of thing. There's also a story of a puma prowling the wilderness, having escaped from a zoo or a garden of some rich dude.

For something slightly more gross, there's also the "Religion Notebook" story (we have Religion as a school subject). According to this one, Satanists (yeah...) would come to children in front of the school and ask them what type of notebook they're using for Religion. If it was a notebook with lined paper, they'd cut them in lines, a squared paper - in squares, and if it had no line at all, they'd skin the type.

edited 16th Jan '17 8:02:17 AM by Kakai

Rejoice!
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#14568: Jan 16th 2017 at 10:39:12 AM

[up] Thank you for the help. The "Religion Notebook" legend seems to be quite similar to that of the Slit-Mouthed Woman over in Japan.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
YourBloodyValentine Since: Nov, 2016
#14569: Jan 16th 2017 at 11:13:04 AM

In Italy I've heard the legend of vipers thrown from helicopters in the wilderness, for pest control or similar.

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#14570: Jan 16th 2017 at 12:06:06 PM

[up] Any way that could be spun as a (sapient) creature that inspires the legend?

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
handlere The Exia is my waifu from Hell Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Robosexual
The Exia is my waifu
#14571: Jan 16th 2017 at 11:32:29 PM

[up][up][up] What if the kids go to a school where they use tablets instead of notebooks?

Seen in the profile picture: the Gundam Flauros Rebake Full City, piloted by McGillis Itsuka, captain of the Turbines
Millership from Kazakhstan Since: Jan, 2014
#14572: Jan 17th 2017 at 1:46:12 AM

Hello.

Need some help on assembling the shortest semantic association chain between "chaos" and "failure". Came up with this:

Chaos -> Variety -> Randomness -> Probability -> Improbability of an event -> Failure.

  1. Are the leaps of the links' semantics too far from each other?
  2. Is there a way to make the chain shorter?

Spiral out, keep going.
WillDeRegio Since: Jan, 2015
#14573: Jan 17th 2017 at 4:31:48 AM

Chaos —> Disorder —> Breakdown —> Failure

I got that chain from looking up synonyms for the the starting and ending words and made a relatively small leap of logic from disorder leading to a breakdown in a system.

Kakai from somewhere in Europe Since: Aug, 2013
#14575: Jan 17th 2017 at 7:39:04 AM

@handlere, that urban legend is from the 90s wink

Rejoice!

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