If you could enter one of your own stories...

Being a mortal or ghost in Thilera sucks so I'd hope I wasn't so unfortunate as to be one. On the other hand, if I could be a lesser faerie I'd be ecstatic (when I wasn't furious or miserable that is). I'd keep my not-actually-immortal ass out of Osoeg AND Tiseith because I don't want to disintegrate or become petrified. I'd also steer clear of priests and get real chummy with a shaman or two. If I played my cards right I might actually live long enough to see all of my hundred sons married and in positions of influence (that is before one of my enemies drained me dry and I died).

I would so have sex with my main character. Both of them.

I'm told that's usually a bad sign.

Usually. Depends on your tastes.

^^ Please elaborate why. I've heard similar things but never an explanation why.

I've heard it can lead to favoritism, because it can be easy to idolize someone that you have a sexual attraction to.

Also, sharing it in public generally doesn't do well for your reputation.

Yeah, that kind of statement tends to imply that you are more interested in writing a character that embodies your fantasies than a well-rounded, realistic human being. It's kind of sleazy-sounding, in simpler terms.

Speaking frankly about the matter, however... I have noticed a weird personal habit of mine in that the few characters in my writing that turn up who would be "my type" (as far as I know that I have one) tend to be unstable, unhappy people with very unpleasant secrets. I don't think that what that says about me is necessarily positive, but it does limit my flights of self-indulgence in that particular area.

And it pretty much ensures that were things to go south in my current relationship, my imaginary dating opportunities would be rather limited.

edited 5th Mar '14 11:07:05 PM by JHM

If I were in And I Have Touched The Sky, I'd tell the heroes that I know what the genocidal maniac is going to do next and parlay it into immunization against the human-killing virus.

If I were in The Five of Swords, I would hide until it was all over.

I think calling it "sleazy" is a little harsh, but yeah, it's kind of a warning sign that you may be writing a wish fulfillment character.

I did qualify it with "kind of"...

Run away before my characters figure out who I am and murder me. I'm not a kind parent to my brain children.

The fact that I think of my characters as brain children is also why I feel weird when I find one of them aesthetically attractive, going along with that conversation. Stupid characters, why are some of you so hot? You're not supposed to be. And I think in one particular case, it is favoritism. Because I think she's really attractive and she's also one of my favorite characters in general. Then again I give her the most shit out of any of my characters so hopefully it balances out. But yeah. It's like finding your children hot. I can't do it.

Really, I would take measures to prevent the fact that I'm the author arise in all of my settings. Occupied Space has psychics while Zero Acknowledgement has ubiquitous surveillance, so maybe I should avoid them altogether. I'm pretty sure anyone in Occupied Space would love to end my life.

I'd rather not if given the choice. Lovecraft Lite still contains a fair number of things-that-should-not-be. If I got tossed in, knowing the Trust Passwords for Western Amalgamated's CEO and lieutenants would help on Earth, as long as I managed to avoid Sigmund assuming the worst and throwing me through a window. I might even be able to take advantage of being the only being on Earth who knows anything about the Song and their technology.

As for the other world? In the Uelane wilderness, I'd be fucked. In a Uelane city, I'd also be fucked.

Unlike many other posters above, I would have decent chances to make out alive. Sure my setting has periodical reality and sometimes logic defying catactrophies and people with some pretty frikkin weird powers are lurking here and there. But despite being totally random and potentionally very damaging catastrophies are not much different and frequent than real life disasters. World has kept its stability despite many hits. And powered individuals? Despite being rather dangerous and unstable (they're teenagers) there are not that many of them. And it's not that far future of our own time. As long I don't get cought in some catastrophy or (God forsake) main plot I have pretty normal life in front of me.

So far as being indentified as the author/creator goes, I'd try to avoid that as having to answer "why the fuck did you do this to us?" could range from "embarrassing" to "downright dangerous".

Now imagining having to break out copies of Dracula, Twilight, Anne Rice books and various other "Gothic Horror" books to explain to a bunch of pissed-off vampires and werewolves why I decided to make them as they were and hope that they'd see that, compared with what could've happened, they got the "good options".

And hopefully I turn up after the end of Chapter One when one of the characters has already been killed off because the last thing I'd want to encounter is an ancient lycanthrope warrior who feels cheated by his nature.

Actually, if he were still around, he would most likely be the last thing I encounter...

Speaking more generally, I'm not sure my foreknowledge of the plot could actually be helpful. I could prevent the collapse of MarsGov, but that won't change the outcomes of the First and Second Battles of Mars, the Battle of Phobos, or the Bonde Incident.

Really the only thing I could probably accomplish to alter the plot would be to save the life of the main antagonist at the end, and I don't think anyone would thank me for it.

edited 9th Mar '14 9:11:56 PM by Night

Since many of my stories involve at least one giant cannon used for transport, I think I'll try that out.

Afterwards, I'd do a bit of exploring some of the more interesting places.

My worlds aren't that bad, actually, as long as I can avoid the (usually not world-spanning) plot. I probably wouldn't actually become the greatest of all mages in any of them but that just means I'm more likely to live a long and happy life. The main deciding factor for individual worlds would be "Do they have the internet yet?"