Writer's Block Daily

I think the single most common way my characters get hurt in fight scenes is being jumped by one mook from behind while they're dealing with another.

Funny, that's generally how my protag's take down the mooks.

I think the most common way any of my characters hurt mooks or other way around in fight scenes is unintentionally.

edited 10th Dec '14 2:44:14 PM by Xeroop

I'm currently having a character use his space fighter's backup optical ranging system to determine the measurements of his female companion so he can buy her some clothes without asking.

...I'm not sure if it's creepy or not, honestly, because he's doing it in the context of the fact his companion is essentially working herself until she drops to avoid having to think about her problems and hasn't changed clothes in several weeks; he suspects she doesn't have any, won't answer him if he asks, and it's better if he just has some appear because she won't think about it.

I'd say motivation matters, so in context that's not super creepy.

Got an idea from a sign meant to deter potential shoplifters. Which do you think would be the better anti-police-state graffiti?

• "Smile! You're being watched."
• "Smile! You're on camera."

"Smile! This is going on Youtube."

Why in the world would I dream about reading a bad sequel to a book that doesn't exist?

I wrote and posted two music reviews this week. One for Taylor Swift, and another for Glass Animals. Two widely different acts, but it's for an Album of the Year list.

All while (the week before) finals. Productive procrastination, everyone. Imagine what I'll do once it's Christmas break.

edited 13th Dec '14 5:34:55 PM by chihuahua0

Aw, man. I completely forgot about my plan to remark when it was 10:11 on 12/13/14.

I sat down and wrote almost 5600 words for the story I haven't touched in three months. Whew. It's harder to write than my other stuff, because it's all Serious Business and very little humor, compared to my other fics that have plenty of slapstick and geek humor.

My computer's power feed broke. None of my files are in jeopardy, but it means I can't work with anything until I get it fixed, which won't be until after the holidays. Goddammit.

Lesson of the day: Always have backups.

Could you maybe remove the hard drive and plug it into another computer? (Not sure if that's possible easy with a desktop, but I imagine it is.)

edited 15th Dec '14 11:28:05 AM by LongLiveHumour

Not currently, since I do not own all the tools required to do that. Thankfully I have insurance for these kind of mishaps, so fixing this won't cost me a thing, but the time couldn't have been more inconvenient.

I've got a world with semi-Aristotelian physics, and I'm wondering whether I should have a continuum of matter instead of atoms or enable quantum computers. Hmm.

It must be finals that are stressing me out, or a conversation with my mom that prompted this.

I feel like I have a future in writing since several people tell me I'm good at it and I enjoy it immensely. But then again I don't think I can make a career out of it.

Comic books/graphic novels: I gotta know the right people, or get an artist friend (I do have them, but they have their own things going on and I feel like they won't like what I write), can't even write what I want to unless I can prove I can write good.

TV/Movies: Expensive as hell college courses that are far far away

Novels/short stories/etc: Takes forever and all my ideas never fit book format.

Music: I have no musical talent whatsoever.

edited 16th Dec '14 5:55:07 PM by electronic-tragedy

You can write without trying to actually make a career of it.

Counterpoint: Quentin Tarantino. Never went to film school. Learned everything from paying attention to what types of movies people like to rent when he worked at a video rental store. "When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, 'No, I went to films.'" So find a movie rental place that still exists and start working there.

Also, yeah, just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to make a career out of it.

To be honest, for some people, that's not the most helpful statement. I mean, for others, if they're happy to do something else and write at the same time, then mazel tov, but I know a lot of people who would benefit making a career out of a passion.

I mean like, I get told that kind of statement all the time and it kind of makes things worse.

Not to say that other people wouldn't find help in that kind of thing, but it is worth noting that not everyone would.

Well, yes, but that was addressed specifically to someone who felt that they enjoyed and were good at writing, but didn't think they had a future in it.

edited 17th Dec '14 1:36:39 AM by nrjxll

I want to make a career out of writing (because my other choice is art which I don't see myself doing or go into science which I'm competant at at best but not passionate about), but all my chances of learning it are slim or just seem so out of reach. I get what you guys are trying to say, but I'm still very much worried about my future.

There was a Blockbuster but it closed down, now everyone uses Red Box. Perhaps a movie theater? I think there's one near where I live. I don't think it'll help.

My theater teacher has a friend in TV, who writes for a comedy show that's popular (Married... With Kids I believe?). I guess I need to show her some writing or something. I'm not sure.

edited 17th Dec '14 10:26:54 AM by electronic-tragedy

Unless you have a sizable portfolio of work and are willing to treat your writing like a full time job, a career in writing is probably less glorious than you think it is.

Check out Telling Lies for Fun & Profit by Lawrence Block. His advice boils down to:

• know the market by constantly reading new material
• find your niche, something you can churn out 5+ pages a day
• send out your stuff until you can pinpoint what you can reliably sell and stick with it

A lot of people who say they "want to write" really mean that they want to have written. They've little interest in the craft and labor itself, only the rewards that come after the long and grueling process of going through draft after draft and editing. If you can't bother to teach yourself and put forth a reasonable effort to become as skilled as you can, career prospects are going to be bleak.

tl/dr: you'll need to work very hard, for potentially a very long time, in the face of extremely stiff competition, and all with a fair measure of luck even if you have the requisite talent (a big if), if you want to earn a living as a writer. And even then odds are slim that you'll catch a break.

It's an oversaturated market with comparatively low demand and too much supply. I shall wish you luck if you decide to enter it, because you will need it, no matter how big you dream or how good you imagine yourself to be.

Came up with either an absolutely brilliant or absolutely terrible idea for testing your worldbuilding. Find a beta reader familiar with your universe. Write out a simple Encyclopedia Brown-style mystery, a Fair-Play Whodunnit that asks the reader to solve it before revealing the answer. Make the answer something from your world. See if your beta reader can solve it.

Now, when I say "simple", I mean really simple. For a real-world analogue, you've got three people, one of whom definitely killed a black person, and you need to find out who from their backgrounds. Two of them are ordinary, but one of them's a white guy in the KKK. Obvious, ain't it? The idea is that, for a fictional world, people will retain more of your worldbuilding if it's interesting and/or presented well, so the basic stuff (i.e., groups like the KKK hate black people) will be more obvious to them. If your worldbuilding isn't that great, they won't be able to find the answer.

I don't know how well that'd work as a test - seems like it'd only trip up the totally oblivious.

edited 17th Dec '14 10:07:22 PM by nrjxll