Article Dumping: Writer's Block Edition

Can I dump an article? I was looking for an article on how to write characters with distinct speaking patterns, and I found this.

Check the author.

I didn't even have to see the author; the evasive 'About the author' footnote was all I needed.

Blame B. Mac. He was the one who wrote all the Interpol junk.

And it's an expected feature in guest posts.

Now, it seems like Thursday always have the fewest posts:

Thursday:

• Jeff Goins, Writer: Writing Lessons from the Newsroom: Listen, there's always something interesting about someone, credibility, why should the audience care, and macro to micro.
• The Write Practice: 3 Reasons to Write Stream of Consciousness Narrative: Once again, I really need to do the practice.

edited 5th Apr '12 3:14:47 PM by chihuahua0

Today:

• The Future of Storytelling has Arrived! - a piece regarding how storytelling works in lieu of balancing audience pleasing vs authorial intent, considering Mass Effect 3's ending and Ninja Turtle's abridgement.

I have to say that as someone who has a deep interest in the subject, and largely agrees with the conclusions reached, I found that article rather disappointing. It seemed like the author was more interested in putting up pretty pictures and quotes then in adding any real insights of their own.

I still don't understand how changing stories to please a mass audience is any different from changing them to please focus groups. (Mind you, I like focus groups, even if they're sometimes badly misused, so that's not an argument against it.)

edited 9th Apr '12 12:31:43 AM by feotakahari

There's something unsettling to me about the idea of writing to the will of one's audience rather than to one's own vision. I am the kind of person who like to see an author break new ground and try new things when they write, whether I like the results or not.

Of course, going too far in the opposite direction is just as cringe-worthy; both are untrue to oneself and ultimately unfair to the audience.

^ I don't think the artist ultimately matters, just the art. (See: AMVs for which the "creator" made neither the clips nor the music, but which are still undeniably art.) Audiences can often point out when an artist did something stupid, and they can make art better for it.

edited 9th Apr '12 12:21:45 PM by feotakahari

Monday:

• A. Victoria Mixon, Editor: 3 More Things to Know About Exposition & Telling: Less editorial assistant a major cause.
• Babbles from Scott Eagan: There Is Unique and There Is Strange: Sometimes, a book needs to be anchored in reality.
• The Write Practice: Why People Like Detective Stories: People love puzzles, and people are puzzles.

That wasn't what I was talking about. For one, there is a difference between working off of constructive criticism regardless of the source and pandering. Also, collage works, readymades and so forth are a different matter entirely: The original work is the medium of the new one, and hence the intent of the original work is not crucial to the final product.

^^ Eagan's article is pretty much useless without solid examples of what he considers to be too strange.

There's also the problem of the fact that he seems to be equating "extremely strange" with "inherently unbelievable." Those are two entirely different things, and though often they can go hand in hand, on an emotional and intellectual level a truly fantastical or bizarre story like Stephan Chapman's "The Revenge of the Calico Cat" can be just as believable as something much more nominally realistic. Furthermore, a "realistic" tale, if not properly written, can be even more unbelievable than something as overtly outrageous as Chapman's.

Tuesday:

• Cheryl Reif Writes: 10 Ways to Spark Creative Connections: I should try out the picture freewrite.
• Jody Hedlund: What to Do When You Offend or Disappoint a Reader: Don't respond to reviews, but do respond to resonable correspondence.
• The Creative Penn: Are Self-Published Authors Happier Than Traditionally Published Authors?: Creativity and fast results go hand-to-hand.
• Veronica Roth: Insurgent Hardcover Sneak Peek (Also: "Author Gets a Little Emotional"): Getting emotional over seeing her sophomore book in finished form.

^ @Offensiveness: I remember a story I wrote in which one of the characters was agender, although the term itself was never used. Another Troper wrote a lengthy criticism of what he saw as my poorly-written portrayal of the "transgender" character. I didn't explain myself at length, but I did admit that I should have used that character as the narrator to avoid some confusion over aspects of his/her personality and issues.

Could you give me some details on the agendered character and the criticism?

By the way, I'll start bolding articles that I believe stand out among the lists.

Wednesday:

• Help! I Need a Publisher!: Publicity or spam?: Don't ask an author to publicize your book for free—or you're request will become an example.
• The Sharp Angle: Believable Young Adult Romance: Love is practically unexplainable, but sub-text can go a farther distance than the monologues found in soap operas. Oh, and this applies to general romance writing too.
• Elle Strauss: Why DO authors drop their prices?: The frustrating situation when an e-book goes on sale right after you bought it.
• The Daily Fig: Eight Protagonists, One Book: Do the Math with Siobhan Vivian: How this author fleshed out the main characters for the trending book The List.

^ Well, one relevant quote (not from the troper, but something someone else said about it, which he used to support his argument):

(That doesn't bear much relation to what I meant to do with the character, but if I screwed up in conveying what I meant, there's no point in trying to explain it afterwards.)

P.S. He wasn't rude, mind you. He clearly thought me ignorant, but he took it upon himself to educate me rather than insult me.

edited 11th Apr '12 3:14:40 PM by feotakahari

Thursday:

...Unfortunately, no blog posts on writing craft and such stood out today.

Perhaps I should start writing the "Post of the Week" section.

Ouch.

It's not as bad as you think. It's just that Thursdays are always the days with the fewest posts on craft and such, and none of the posts I usually put in the round-up hooked and sticked.

Most of them are from the A-Z Blogging Challenge, interviews, giveaways, writing reviews meant for regular readers, non-writing related posts, etc.

I might broaden my range one day, but since most of the stuff I mentioned above are YA...

Bleah.

Now it's time for the round-up--with detailed commentary on one article!

Thank you for taking my suggestion into consideration. I appreciate that.

Monday:

• Mystery Writing is Murder: Want to Write a Best Seller? It’s All In Your Genes by Dr. John Yeoman: ...Or not.
• The Editor's Blog: Include Surprises in Your Stories: "Embarrass a key character" sounds like an intriguing wrench into the clockworks.
• Don't pet me, I'm writing: Alarming things on my bookshelves: "Pure Sex" makes sense in context! I swear!
  • Sm:)e Feel Good: In the Name of Research: Poor husband.
• QueryTracker.net: The Breaking Point...and Beyond: Are you brave enough to bring your character into the hard, dark stuff.

edited 16th Apr '12 2:20:06 PM by chihuahua0

Tuesday:

• YA Highway: Riffing on Scripts: An Exercise: How a West Wing scene is converted into something amusing out of context.
• Jami Gold, Paranormal Author: What Stories Won't You Write?: More of a discussion question than anything.

edited 17th Apr '12 2:05:57 PM by chihuahua0