Writer's Block Daily

is that sarcasm?

Yes.

then it's problematic then? surprised no one else come in to kick me in the balls over that.

Especially given that half of his heritage has a stereotype of violence associated with it, and both halves of it are not, and have not been, abundantly well-treated in the United States, it's certainly going to worry some people. To say nothing of the outright racist people.

Within his own cultural groups—now, bear in mind that most of my cultural knowledge of Native American and First Nations is Cree, not Navajo, so I'm making some undue assumptions and may be wrong—there's a lot of stories focusing around people with magical powers, or magical assistance, and a lot of them focus on fighting various monsters. So he's probably going to cause a bit of a stir within that community and the people who try to keep the traditions and beliefs alive.

Basically, there's going to be a lot of eyes on him, wondering what he's going to do, and be like. Most, if not all, of his actions are going to be criticized and taken to pieces. I don't know if it's problematic—but I'm white, so I'm not in a position to say. But realistically speaking, it's going to affect the way that people see him.

Buuuut if you wanted to go for a more lighthearted, less-realistic series, then it could very easily be ignored. In universe. Out of universe? For the people who know of him, it's going to be hard not to think of Apache Chief/Longshadow, and eeeeeverythign that comes with him.

i was expecting sharysa but alright. thanks, for making me feel like shit. so is making one third of him native American alright or....

god, no wonder i prefer to write black, Hispanic, Asian, and white characters only. more obscure cultures and minorities are more dangerous to thread on.

if you have any suggestions, how might one avoid this? change the race (but please don't suggest white unless you mean some white), forget about it, or don't make a big deal about it?

but...another thing i wish to add, although he's that ethnicity and i hate myself for saying this but, after he got his powers, he kinda makes costumes for himself that's akin to captain patriotic.

and now that i say that, every time i touch a race issue everything goes to shit.

edited 17th Feb '17 7:36:10 PM by ewolf2015

I mean, my primary suggestion would be to research the culture and portray it accurately and respectfully. That's a good rule of thumb overall, really.

But like I said, you don't have to reflect any of this in his character or how the story deals with him. It's just things to consider if you wanted to go in that direction. What's important is that you write him as a person first, and if you want to make his heritage and culture important to that character, that you research it thoroughly so that you don't step on any toes.

that's one thing i actually kept in mind, thank you.

Then you probably don't have anything to worry about.

I apologize if my tone came across as harsh or condescending—it's no excuse, but it's been a stressful week. My point is, in my opinion, I would bring stuff like that up in a story. But then again, my main story has Cree protagonist and deals heavily with his race, both literally and metaphorically. I'm a different kind of writer doing a different kind of thing.

And I can't speak from a racial perspective, but here's my perspective on it as a bisexual person: Sometimes, it would be nice to read a story about LGBT people where they don't have issues related to their sexuality—where they just happen to be gay. You don't have to bring anything about his race up if you don't think it would work for the story.

Which is funny because he's a heteroromantic bisexual (not going to care about that either.)

By the way, it didn't come off as that to be honest.

edited 17th Feb '17 8:20:25 PM by ewolf2015

Actually, I don't think its a bad thing at all, in fact maybe you can use it. People in-story might have a problem with him, and that's a good source of narrative tension right there. And he might have a problem with it too, as in "why should I risk my neck for you people?" And, in the end, he and they have to work with each other.

Hi, how might one introduce info on kaiju in a screenplay or prose without coming off as boring exposition?

edited 19th Feb '17 7:48:50 AM by ewolf2015

screenplay and prose are two very different things, so which one are you doing?

I guess script

Then it's more important to focus on readability and flow, and obviously dialogue and all that stuff. Scripts can have long descriptions, but they are not meant for the viewer. They are meant for the actors and the directors and all that stuff, so the descriptions should be helpful to the people portraying it, not the people consuming it.

So what you might want to think about instead is how you'd visually want to portray it, and then write that in the script.

Visual mediums are very different than prose.

edited 19th Feb '17 10:38:51 AM by MrAHR

Here's a copy of the original Pacific Rim script. It's markedly different from the movie, but pay attention to it! In screenwriting (and really any writing), the best way to learn how things are typically done is to read other examples.

If you want examples of Kaiju introductions, that's as good a source as any. Pay special attention to the top of Page 12, among others.

ok, how about prose?

I can't decide whether my (not evil) cult leader should be The Atoner for being a serial killer or for being a gang member.

Serial killers tend to have, y'know, the kind of issues that don't resolve so easily.

I was supposed to write a story.

I am designing a divination deck for worldbuilding purposes instead.

#Isthisproductive

edited 20th Feb '17 1:46:14 PM by EternaMemoria

And if I went that route, dealing with those issues would be a major part of their character. They're already making such an effort to distance themselves from their past that they've declared, "That Man Is Dead."

If the cult leader plays a really big part, the ex-serial killer route can work and be very interesting, but if it's further from the spotlight, go with the far more sympathetic gang member route. A serial killer is typically assumed to be across the Moral Event Horizon until proven otherwise, a former gang member is much more likely to be assumed to have standards and sympathetic causes for his past transgressions. I've personally worked alongside and with former gang members with no problems or qualms, but I don't think I could trust a former serial killer who wasn't being very closely watched.

edited 20th Feb '17 3:39:56 PM by KillerClowns

Yeah, actually. Now that I think about it, "former serial killer turned cult leader" is one of those ideas that sounds interesting in principle, but can't really work in practice due to various issues. And they're an important minor character at best, not really worth putting in the time to iron out those issues. Leaning heavily towards former gang member now.

hey guys, i need help with setting up a web serial in word press

What do you need help with, specifically? Formatting/Web stuff, or more along the lines of writing serially structuring the story/updates kind of deal?

For the former I don't have much knowledge of Wordpress itself, but I have some experience with Wix and Tumblr, and an eensy-peensy bit of actual web/Java/CSS knowledge. For the latter the bulk of my writing so far has been serial fanfic and I'm currently working on the first chapter of a serial original novel, so I think I could provide some advice if you aren't sick of me sticking my nose in yet.

hi, how might self esteem issues manifest in someone? for context, nackie has issues with his height, is bullied at times for it, and feels like he's not worth it for anybody. also, he ended up losing his parents after an some lab accident. and, when he was 5 years, he was taken in by one of his father's colleagues who promised to take good care of him henceforth.