Writer's Block Daily

He probably wouldn't need to keep their survival secret, depending on his PR needs and relationships between different kingdoms—if their parents and older siblings were executed in public, word would get out to their allies really fast and they'd probably start threatening/declaring war or "just" cutting off their trade and military aid while the kingdom is vulnerable after a very public coup, which would leave him at the mercy of OTHER people who want to invade. Conquering is easy, ruling is hard. Medieval politics were brutal, but executing CHILDREN would probably be seen as going too far in a lot of cultures. Everyone Has Standards, after all.

After he starts getting letters from the old dynasty's allies, the usurper could very well "let" the children live without too much fuss—publicly, it's because Children Are Innocent and he only wanted to make an example of their "evil/traitor/inferior" parents and sibling. But it would also be because executing them would give their family's allies and loyal citizens a really good reason to start spinning him as a "child-killer" and assassinating him before he could make it to the throne room.

And a third reason is because he could hold his "mercy" over their heads when they start getting out of hand. "You don't want to end up like your parents and brother, do you?" or "I spared you because you were children and you didn't know any better, but you won't have that excuse forever."

Edit: Page-topper about (potential) child-murder, whoo.

edited 9th Feb '17 12:43:18 PM by Sharysa

I wrote a scene today where an orphan has a one-sided conversation regarding mortality with a dying tree.

although i don't do romance that much, i wish to ask how one can a make a romance book or a romantic subplot interesting in a paranormal related work. mind you, i wish to do away with the whole "monsters are suppose to be evil scary thing or are nothing more but an object for teen lust" sort of thing. by using some moral ambiguity, it might kind of work.

note: the people in question will be a male human and a female revenant.

What makes a romance interesting is ultimately the chemistry of the two characters. Especially a subplot—if you have characters who interact well it's fine if there's no drama in the romance whatsoever. It can work as a way of revealing certain things about both characters.

If you did want to poke holes in the idea of Twilight-Esque supernatural romance, especially with a revenant, one easy way to do it is to point out that, well... a revenant is dead. Well, undead, but even so. There's a lot of potentially dubious elements there, from small amounts of rot that the living character might have to overlook, to the possible existential and moral questions. Depending on how the Revenant was reanimated, do they truly have free will?

Alternatively, you could lean on some of the older, less pleasant elements of it instead of finding convenient excuses why it doesn't work that way. How much the human element of this relationship supports or dislikes this could serve as a sticking point. Like, to give a (non-romantic) example: The protagonist of a series I'm working on physically requires raw meat in his diet, the fresher the better—meaning he usually kills animals and eats them then and there. At one point he makes friends with a human woman, and a major sign that she's starting to come to terms with his inhuman nature is that she's willing to stay with him while he eats.

@Sharysa- It's the noble who's keeping the kids a secret from the usurper king, rather than the king who's keeping it a secret from the people. I've further refined his character into an opportunist who ended up defecting to the rebels because they seemed likely to win, but he knows that if his relationship with the new regime doesn't go well, it might be handy to have the heir to the last dynasty in his pocket. And yes, he does use the fact that he 'let' them live as a threat frequently, which the protagonist will likely call him out on at some point. ("Ah, yes, such a moral paragon. You decided it was more advantageous to not murder an eight-year-old girl in cold blood. I stand in awe of your compassion.")

@Bigger Ben- Ok, you have me intrigued. What circumstances lead to that happening?

Does anyone else find that particular stories just demand being written in a particular tense, point of view, or style? Like, you start writing it one way and it just feels so off that you know you have to change to something else?

Oh boy, the noble's hid the former heirs from the new king AND defected to the rebel's side just because he thinks they're going to win? What's he planning to do, engineer a Rightful King Returns plot? That audacity sounds like it's going to blow up in his face royally.

edited 12th Feb '17 11:19:25 AM by Sharysa

And apparently he hid them in part because he sided with the usurper knowing he would win yet intended to keep the children as a backup plan in order to play both sides.

Honestly, depending on how that noble is played, he could become a very admirably despicable figure. Or not, since he sounds like too much of a jerk to earn some sort of respect.

Before I ask for advice, here's a little backstory. Please do not be offended by any of my thoughts:

I always loved reading. When I was in 8th grade I read at a 12th grade level. I loved books with mystery, action, and adventure. However, I was never good at writing. Whether it be writing essays or writing fictional stories. I could never bring all my thoughts together and manifest a story out of it. All that came out were just 1 or two paragraphs of plot details, general ideas of characters and setting. When I was about 12 I wrote a 3 page story and ever since then, I could never write a fictional story more than a paragraph. I just can't think.

Also, Anime was my first love. Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, and Naruto all made me super excited. I would draw and try to create my own 'anime' characters. All would turn out terrible, but I could write something. I could manifest a story (albeit a bad one). Then as I entered my teens, I moved away from anime and got into comic books/superheroes. My first superhero show was Smallville and I had loved it at the time despite its immense flaws. I would then delve into Agents of Shield, Flash, Arrow, Gotham, and Legends of Tomorrow..However, recently, I noticed an extreme lack of interest in the comic book world. I would read a comic book and see Harley Quinn defeat 3 super-powered villains Batman would struggle with. And this just threw me off because inconsistencies like this would happen all the time in Marvel and DC. And the stories of the comics would be so boring and repetitive..save the world from blowing up, stop this villain, lose your powers, regain your powers, etc. Y-the Last Man is still my favorite comic book to date, surpassing many Superman and batman comics imo. Anyways, in the comic book world, there is no progress. You have heroes who can warp reality, cross dimensions, teleport, create technology, and more..yet there is still starvation, thirst, poverty,and more. What are the superheroes fighting for if the world will always stay the same? Why are the villains constantly attacking one city over and over again, why not move?

And Anime, I am just so tired of the fanservice,psuedo-deep plots, and the friendship is power storylines. An action adventure anime had numerous panty shots of a girl who was supposed to be 12...Another anime is consumed by idealism and constantly avoids the realities of life. I was never a fan of space ship sci fi books/movies or magic/fantasy books and movies...yet I like some aspects of both worlds. So my question is...how do i create a story when my motivations for loving literature and television are gone? I don't want to write another average story with the same basic ideas of everyone else. I have said things that are of my opinion and if you are a fan of comics/anime please do not be enraged because I am a fan of both, but I am not blind to the genres' flaws.

edited 12th Feb '17 5:51:11 PM by BruceKent

I think the guys who make the John Wick movies are reading my mind. Years ago, back when the first movie came out, I mentioned that the stylized close-quarters gun fu action there was similar to the stylized close-quarters gun fu action in one of my stories. I went to see Chapter 2 yesterday (it was really good), and the plot is kicked off by a formal system of favors where you must perform a favor that is called in, and trying to run or kill the holder means you're killed, enforced by the criminal underworld. In another one of my stories, the plot hinges on an informal system of favors where you must perform a favor that is called in, and trying to run or kill the holder means you're killed, enforced by the criminal underworld.

@Bruce Kent: "...So my question is...how do i create a story when my motivations for loving literature and television are gone?"

Seems to me you write the story you want to read. That's what I did, when I started writing action adventure thrillers, or sci-fi. If what you are lacking are inspirational examples from your favored genre, you find them in other genre's instead, and import them into the setting of your own story. Action adventure thrillers today are way too grim and edgy for me today. They take themselves too seriously, and seem to lack any sense of fun. So where to I get my inspiration from? Ironically, from young adult novels, among other sources. Anthony Horowitz serials are too over the top to take entirely seriously, so I take some of the same tropes, add some sex and violence, borrow some more ideas from anime, and viola, I have an adult spy novel that has the upbeat sensibility I want, and is somewhat unique to boot.

Well, that's me, anyway. You'll have to come up with your own approach, but maybe this was helpful.

@De Marquis thanks that actually helped me quite a bit. Also, your idea sounds interesting, I'd love to read it

Soon, soon, I hope to self-pub my first novel (knocks on wood).

Recently started using the Keirsey Temperament Sorter as a sandbox for character creation. It goes like this: I take the test in-character, figuring out how they would act in different situations in the process, and use the resulting role variant as a basis for further development. In the end I at least get the impression of what kind of person the character is, and have a direction(s) in which I can take them in the future.

Do you use personality tests as a tool for character design? I understand some are better suited for the task than the others (and that none are designed specifically for helping create a fictional character ). Which ones did you find most useful?

edited 13th Feb '17 6:17:04 PM by Millership

I don't usually use personality tests, but when writing an Ocean's Eleven-style heist, I realized I could basically plot some characters on a two-dimensional graph based on how outwardly confident they were on the heist and how inwardly confident they were. Say, positive/positive was something like the Leeroy Jenkins (brash and confident to the point of neglecting to look at the small details), negative/positive was the Cowardly Lion (very nervous, but thinks they have a good chance of success as long as they go over everything carefully), positive/negative was a cross between the Sarcastic Devotee and a Stepford Smiler (doesn't really think they'll pull it off, but hides it behind snark and sarcastic confessions), and negative/negative was a full-on Sour Supporter (thinks the whole thing is doomed only there to try and keep the others out of trouble as much as possible, and has no problem saying so). Once I noticed that, I tried nudging the other characters into other spots on the graph if I could without breaking their characterizations. I think it worked well.

although i hate the bully character sometimes, especially being jerk asses, i want to figure out a way to write one in a more realistic light since i like taking unrealistic cliches and making them realistic somewhat. however, i don't know how to go about this.

Well, what type of bully do you want to make? The "bullied at home bully" is often done, but it's a cliche on its own by now.

Soo I'm trying to write a small valentines themed thing (yeah its past the day, whatever), but I'm kiinda stuck on how to detail the contents of a custom box of chocolates involved. Mostly just white chocolate, but with some more standing out variants - but as I have specific idea for what they ought to be, I'd have no idea if it's a really existing common enough confection or what it would be called in english. Soo, any tips?

Specifications being something extra-chewy that could come in covered with chocolates (jelly beans? or something close to them?) as well as some sort of a bigger/puffier sweet treat (maybe pastry maybe not, better something to chew on too) in addition to regular sized candy.

well, in one of my series, all American giant, Nackie is occasionally picked on by the Rod (pat Rodriguez), some guy who likes intimidate him by his height and mass. this kinda becomes a plot point when Nackie decides to use his size shifting powers to scare him straight.....that's it i guess.

So is this bully solely chugging the masculinity train? Because that's a fairly standard situation that you can work with.

@Adannor: Chocolate truffles filled with chewy caramel are what came to mind for the first one. For the second, there's macarons with nonperishable fillings, such as ganache or frosting. Petit fours (the confectionary kind) and madeleines are also some options.

Yes, I realize those pastries/confections are all French, but those are fancier than cupcakes, little cookies, and puff pastries. Even in the US, it wouldn't be a stretch for a professional confectioner/pastry chef who would be willing to make a bunch of custom chocolates to also be able to make some madeleines, macarons, and petit fours.

Mm yes some of those could work for the arrangement. Thanks!

Although I had in mind something fruity for the filled chocolates, google says caramel with fruit puree is a thing so I could have that as well.

edited 16th Feb '17 1:16:03 PM by Adannor

hello guys, since Nackie (the guy i mentioned a bit in this thread) is Hispanic/Navajo, how much will that play in his character? will it be insignificant or play in part in the story? and before you ask, it's your opinion. if i were to do it, it might be mentioned from time to time until it becomes a plot point later on.

also, to give some context, he use to be a normal kid until he curiously tried to interact with meteorites from space. the exposure of it caused him to grow into 50 ft titan of man every time kaiju are near. why might i bring it up? i was wondering that since he's a superhero now, will that also play a part in it.

Thanks, guys, for the support/encouragement!

@Sharysa, yeah, his plan is going to come back to bite him by the time the story is over. Dealing with him is probably going to wind up being a Disc-One Final Boss for the main characters.

@Eterna- Good, Magnificent Bastard is the direction I was planning to go with his character. Although I'm tending to agree that he's probably going wind up too despicable to really fit. The scene I'm writing now in particular seems a little too mean-spirited on his part to pass off as "all part of the plan".

This is such a weird scene anyway. How do you show a shift in a character's attitude that takes place over the course of a week or two, when the action that takes place in those weeks is not all that interesting? As it's written now, it seems like the whole thing just happens right during that scene. And I'm worried that the protagonist is going to come across as unsympathetic because he keeps going on (not without reason) about how humiliating and difficult and generally rotten the situation is, without seeming to realize that for a lot of people, this or worse is their entire life. I mean, part of his character development is coming to realize that he has it a lot better than many people and to have more sympathy for others, but I don't want him to come across as too much of an entitled brat.

Oh well, that's what the second draft is for, and ignoring the broader storycrafting aspects of it, I quite like what I have so far.

Waited an entire day for answer but go on

A minority member who suddenly becomes 50 feet tall and mankind's answer to giant monsters? No, that won't cause any issues at all.