Writer's Block Daily

Hey, I'm planning on writing which seems to me a large epic. Should I attempt to write a large series of books, ending the first on a colossal cliffhanger, or try to shove everything into one book?

Take however many words, pages, or books you feel your story needs. It depends on the story and your own preferences.

But, really, start writing it first and decide that later.

If you're ending the first book on a cliffhanger, have the story resolved before then. Don't give half an ending.

I was having trouble with writing the beginning of my book so I asked a friend and she said I was taking too long to get into the meat of the story. So I guess I have to cut out scenes I haven't even written yet.

I feel like I shouldn't be doing revising when I'm writing the first draft. I feel this will help, but...

edited 26th Jul '14 5:42:17 AM by electronic-tragedy

Hey Drunk, is this the same middle-aged female detective as the last one? I liked her.

Yes, it is, demarquis. You'll like her in this one too. I just finished reading it myself.

I've added it to my TBR list. I just need to finish the other two books I'm already reading.

MY PEOPLE: The winter emperor demands your time.

The emperor demands to know how many characters have you people created?

I have created like 30 characters, not counting characters for internet boards role play. They are all cool, I think.

Assuming we limit ourselves to named characters who can't be disposed of for plot reasons on top of being in currently active project(s) (ergo, not background passerby or from scrapped projects or we'd be here all day), 55 exactly. And if I flesh out all of my stories, that number's only going to grow.

edited 26th Jul '14 7:05:47 PM by CrystalGlacia

I can't even begin to count.

Considering I spend more time coming up with characters than I do anything else...too many.

Lots.

I've been involved in a lot of RP games, on and off the Internet. I try to make each character unique instead of going off a template, so that's a shitton already. There was the time I GM'd for a couple of games, which means a lot more characters even when I'm not dumping Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega onto my players. Then there's my current writing project, where I'm making the effort to ensure that just about every named character has a distinct personality. (About a dozen and counting, so far.) That's not counting one-offs and one-dimensional bit characters, which would inflate the count too much.

Current count is 26, though I doubt it will stay that way.

I'm not going back and counting all that, it'd take me weeks.

Probably in the neighbourhood of fifty of immediate importance, with a more significant number of side characters. If we include characters who we barely touch upon in the narrative but still have basic personalities and names—family members of major characters, for example—this number moves into the hundreds.

8. Six good guys and two antagonists.

I've created a lot, but usually about 6 to 12 for each story.

About 56 last time I counted, in one story. Not as many in others.

That depends on what we qualify as a "created character" here. Do they need to be named or have an active role in the plot? Is a design of regular backdrop character enough? Can I count my person-less but still pretty important Monsters of the Week? Or are we only counting the most important, fully fleshed characters who have elaborate backstories and a lot of 'useless' flavour information like star signs and favourite bands?

Depending on the restrictions, I would say from 100 to 600, approximately. I have a ridiculous amount of minor and one-shot characters spread across 10-something different projects.

Also, on the topic of different take on the zombies: I'm currently trying to weave a good plot for my comic's Halloween Special, and I'd like to use zombies with some sort of different (and hopefully funny) twist, similarly how Sunset Overdrive created post-apocalyptic mutant world as a result of energy drink gone bad. If anyone has any ideas, no matter how outlandish, feel free to shoot me with one. I'd greatly appreciate.

edited 27th Jul '14 1:41:40 PM by Xeroop

I've been reading this for the last few days, and it's probably the best story using The Sims 3 that I've read. The author does a great job making the characters distinctive in both personality and appearance. Oh, and black humor. And allusions.

A lot of stories online fall into the trap of being too melodramatic, but The Scumthorpe Files is looney enough that even its mushy moments are compelling.

edited 27th Jul '14 2:23:47 PM by chihuahua0

Any named character who serves a purpose in the story, not just any cameo a la Derpy.

So, Homoerotic Subtext. I ended writing the two main characters with it, and my friend ended like "Awkward dude..."

I mean, every night they are alone in one of the characters room, while one is checking the other one body. Also, they talk about their feelings.

It Amused Me, people, but maybe I should avoid writting too much subtext. Dunno, a bit of subtext amuses me, too much subtext makes me feel uncomfortable. That's why I stopped reading Naruto.

edited 27th Jul '14 10:06:58 PM by Tomodachi

I've never seen the point of subtext that couldn't theoretically be text.

subtext can work as a type of foreshadowng dealio.

It works if you want your audience to argue about it. Remember, there are always three versions of every novel; the one the author imagines, the one they write, and the one their audience reads. The three are often quite different. Subtext is about letting those differences exist.

Sure, you might have an idea about what the characters are up to...but thanks to "conservation of detail", you don't have time to get into it. So, you hint at it and let the audience's imagination fill in the rest - or not. (Note: this is most effective with sexual-type scenarios. Audiences will see sexual tension even in places the author had no intention of putting it.)

Also subtext serves a purpose in getting "scandalous" ideas out to the masses in a digestible format. Those "in the know" will pick up on it, those who are oblivious (or willfully ignorant) will not. Example; the lesbian subtext in Xena. Prime-time television wasn't ready for a full-on gay relationship at the time (network execs would have axed the show if the writers had tried), but the viewer base damn well knew what was going on there.

edited 27th Jul '14 10:45:46 PM by drunkscriblerian

Well, despite being played for awkward laughs, I actually wanted one of the characters reveal his sexuality along his true motivations, since he has been very mysterious about himself.

The other character is straight, btw. Not a bisexual, just straight. Played for Drama.

edited 27th Jul '14 10:47:32 PM by Tomodachi

Re: Zombies - my favourite version ever was invented by a friend of mine, as a background element in her alternate-history urban fantasy. The zombie plague was a virulent paranormal infection bred in the trenches of WWI, decimating every front and returning home with the conscripts when peace was declared. The apocalypse lasted for two years and wiped out over a third of the population by the time quarantines were lifted. Fortunately, without the peculiarities of wartime conditions, and with the discovery of early panaceas and other medical innovations, the curse mutated into much less grotesquely lethal forms; in the modern world, contracting the infection is pretty common in the months before and after Halloween, and will earn you a few days of sick leave and some commiseration from your friends. The zombie apocalypse itself has long since passed out of common knowledge.