Writer's Block Daily

This is not a high speed forum, don't rush

And you don't need to actually break him to have some change in experience and perspective. For example, he watches over humans struggle and prevail over other beings that are stronger than them. Perhaps he finally meets something that makes him struggle and strain to win too (note, no crushing defeat for him or anything, he just has to put in the actual effort for once) and that makes him emphasise with and respect them ("oh wow, that's what they experience all the time"). Or perhaps he comes to like a particular human for some other qualities and then said human sacrifices himself facing a superior foe because that's what heroes do and it shows the super-guy the meaning of the word.

Really plenty of ways to turn that around.

I don't think anybody's deliberately avoiding you. This isn't a terribly active part of the TV Tropes forums, and it hasn't been that busy around here as of late probably because most people are busy with school.

Thank you. Btw does this forum support fanfic writing as well? I asked a similar question at the World Building forum and they said they couldn't help me. So, what about here?

It depends on what the fanfic's source work is and whether someone happens to come by who is familiar with the work, but in general, yes, we're willing to help with fanfic. But we may also recommend that you see if there's an active thread for your chosen work, or to check out fan forums specifically aimed at your fanfic's source work as well.

edited 22nd Oct '16 4:30:36 PM by CrystalGlacia

How would you write god-characters who have struggled and fought for their position (like the Greek Gods against the Titans) who when the story begins have already gone past their prime and their age is over?

As being real tired and world weary.

Insufficient data for meaningful answer.

Is the end of their era an unambiguous humanist triumph, with the gods mere tragic remnants of an earlier age of superstition? The end of a golden age, heralding a new, grimmer era in which mankind's passions and desires reign darkly supreme? A bittersweet passing of powers from one way to another, perhaps hopeful but also mourning for what has been, maybe even what must be lost? Or something altogether different?

What it mean for the age of these gods, in short, to be at an end?

All that said, I do recommend American Gods, if you haven't read it already, on this topic.

edited 22nd Oct '16 5:00:23 PM by KillerClowns

Define who your gods are, and how they think. If they are humanlike, try to look for the closest thing to that that could happen to an human (perhaps a magnate seeing his fortune decline and his debts rise, or a celebrity who is desperately trying to stay in the spotlight and failing to).

edited 22nd Oct '16 5:01:15 PM by EternaMemoria

Moreso the second, but the entry of humanity into the spotlight is not a good one. Instead of a reign where mankind rule by their desires, their souls are instead innately dark and liable to run rampant, and thus they are not in fact the masters of their own age, but merely puppets of another power who gain more from Man's age than from the gods. The gods, while selfish and manipulative, offered an age where Man could grow without fear of their own desires turning them into monsters who could not even rule during their own age save for one individual who is merely a figurehead.

edited 22nd Oct '16 5:04:15 PM by LightningLancer

[deleted]

edited 23rd Oct '16 7:52:04 AM by ewolf2015

I've noticed I have a tendency for a smart character to give a technobabble explanation for something, an average-intelligence character to just stare at them in response, and the smart character responds with a borderline nonsensoleum explanation.

lol i have a character that kinda does that.

Soooooo, given that I'm explicitly avoiding "Asian/Asian-inspired" music genres in my play Takotsubo, I borrowed from The Legend Of Korra for the characters' personal music by having Asian instruments playing American music genres.

I'm also finding placeholder music so people can get a feel for the play's tone—which is "raging at corruption and injustice," so that means a lot of punk and metal. Hell, I'm basically using half of Mad Max Fury Road's soundtrack for the fight scenes.

I just realized that metal totally suits a gangster called the TIN Man.

This play is going to have guitars crunchier than trail mix.

So for my planned NaNoWriMo project I have a premise and a general idea for the kind of story I want to write but I don't have any real plot ideas.

Fix that. Consider that the challenge is already on and start writing plot outlines.

Doesn't even need to be a solid structure, even napkin notes "it'd be interesting if character X got into situation Y" and the like. Stitch them together later.

edited 23rd Oct '16 11:01:19 PM by Adannor

Like, I know what I kind of want the final conflict to be, but I don't quite know what the bulk of the story will be, and what the stakes will be. I'm seriously hoping to have an outline ready by the end of the month.

edited 24th Oct '16 12:38:56 AM by LinkToTheFuture

Well. Considering that you have characters, with motivations and personalities, and need to construct a plot for them, I think some advisory things for TTRPG GMs can be of help.

Consider this, for example◊, that builds up interactions between characters and provides fodder for character development as well as plot development. Here's the thread it started in, with examples of building a couple plot outlines.

Hey, I need some inspiration and suggestions for southeastern native American mythological creatures and the like.

This is a pretty good resource for details on Native American, First Nations, Metis and Inuit mythology, folklore, and cultural details in general. You should be able to find what you're looking for.

However, as with the points about Romani from a page or so ago, you'd be ultimately best-served by finding someone to talk to. Especially in this case, because please bear in mind, the 'mythology' in this case is, for many people, their religion. Being white I can't speak for any Native people, much less every Native person, but a lot of them don't appreciate having a significant portion of their culture reduced to stories. Especially since, historically, they've not had very good representation. If you want to portray it well, it's going to take a bit of care and attention.

I've used that research before, for a coyote trickster spirit.

Seconding the recommendation for the "Native Languages" website. It's a great starting point.

A reasonable "Plan B" is to read literature written by members of the community in question:

20 Native American Authors You Need to Read

Popular Native American Authors at Goodreads

7 American Indian Women Novelists You Have to Read

Full disclosure: I found these sites via a simple Google search.

edited 25th Oct '16 3:45:58 PM by DeMarquis

But are they writing stories set in the world of their myths or stories about banal everyday stuff just wiht "perspective"?

The cultural perspective is still fairly useful, actually. Mythology tends to come through culture, after all, so an understanding of their culture and perspective can actually be useful for getting into the mindset of the myths and provide insight into elements of the myths that aren't immediately obvious for various reasons.