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Hello, fellow writers! Got any question that you can't find answer from Google or Wikipedia, but you don't think it needs a separate thread for? You came to the right place!

Don't be shy, and just ask away. The nice folks here, writers and non-writers, experts and non-experts, will do their best to help you.

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Also take a look at Useful Notes on various topics. They can be pretty useful.

Now, bring on the questions, baby!

edited 11th Apr '18 6:31:51 PM by dRoy

C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#18851: Mar 25th 2021 at 10:33:41 AM

Would she have a reason to disbelieve the actual ghost and think it's that one which is false? Or could she delude herself into thinking so? Prideful people can have a tendency to twist their view of the world as befits them.
This could be a possible way for you to keep this Heel–Face Turn to stick and avoid her being too humiliated by this reveal.

Edited by C105 on Mar 25th 2021 at 6:34:41 PM

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
Swordofknowledge Spreading literacy with book and blade from I like it here... Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Spreading literacy with book and blade
#18852: Mar 25th 2021 at 10:51:50 AM

[up] @ C105:

Would she have a reason to disbelieve the actual ghost and think it's that one which is false? Or could she delude herself into thinking so? Prideful people can have a tendency to twist their view of the world as befits them.

In the context of what's happening during the time of this revelation, no. It's 100 percent guaranteed that this is the soul of her former rival speaking to her. I think ff I do wind up going down the twisting the situation to keep her pride-driven delusion going, it would be less not believing the real ghost and simply thinking that the ghost is the one who is unaware of the truth—-that the ghost's thoughts were "leaking" into her mind and pushing her to do these things, while the ghost was unaware of things.

You're right it would be a neat way to keep her from cracking under shame...although I like to think the Heel–Face Turn would stick regardless.

Edited by Swordofknowledge on Mar 25th 2021 at 2:08:27 PM

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace
ArsThaumaturgis Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: I've been dreaming of True Love's Kiss
#18853: Mar 25th 2021 at 12:37:37 PM

I could see your "I did it all myself" idea following on from the humiliation: I could see it being her way of building up her self-image again, and holding on to what she gained through those thoughts.

My Games and Asset Packs
kinnikuniverse Since: Nov, 2019 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#18854: Mar 25th 2021 at 1:51:35 PM

I came up with an idea for my next "life and times" story. Is it more appropriate to talk about it on the writer's block daily thread?

Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#18855: Mar 25th 2021 at 3:01:57 PM

What kind of an impression does "Teresa's Trinity" give off as a gang name?note 

~*bleh*~
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#18856: Mar 26th 2021 at 6:57:59 AM

" came up with an idea for my next "life and times" story. Is it more appropriate to talk about it on the writer's block daily thread?"

I would think so, as long as you are just discussing the general idea, and any challenges you are facing with it.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Swordofknowledge Spreading literacy with book and blade from I like it here... Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Spreading literacy with book and blade
#18857: Mar 26th 2021 at 8:35:12 AM

How do I prevent or at least avoid my work devolving into an Author Tract? My protagonist (or at least my main protagonist) possesses a certain ideology that I strongly identify with (not a political one, more so certain ideas about one's obligations to one's loved ones/close circle vs the public/world). I confess that I even support some of his darker actions in service to that ideology. However I do not want to present his actions as the "right" way of doing things. The setting is a Morality Kitchen Sink just as much as it is a fantasy one, and so I try to present the actions and viewpoints of many character as "valid" as well.

Still, considering the character who aligns with my personal views the most "wins", at the end, I worry about it seeming like the story purposely endorses one moral view over the others when I'm trying to go for an objective view of everyone's feelings.

TLDR: Character who aligns most closely with my beliefs is triumphant in the end. I am trying to present everyone's viewpoints as at least slightly valid, and I worry this outcome endangers that endeavor.

Edited by Swordofknowledge on Mar 26th 2021 at 11:41:58 AM

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#18858: Mar 26th 2021 at 8:56:03 AM

You probably cant avoid it entirely, many readers will see it almost regardless of what you do. Just try to avoid all the cliches found on the Mary Sue and Marty Sue pages, eliminate any disposable exposition, and make sure that characters who disagree with the author avatar candidate nevertheless have admirable characteristics and/or undergo some form of development. That's about all you can do. Dont let the fear of writing an Author Tract stop you from writing the story.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Swordofknowledge Spreading literacy with book and blade from I like it here... Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Spreading literacy with book and blade
#18859: Mar 26th 2021 at 9:04:58 AM

[up] @ De Marquis: Thanks for the advice. It is definitely a worry of mine, so that helped a lot.

make sure that characters who disagree with the author avatar candidate nevertheless have admirable characteristics and/or undergo some form of development.

This is sort of my "saving grace" where this is concerned; I'm trying to humanize all of the characters (even the most cartoonishly evil villains have some understandable and grounded motivations for their crimes) so I was hoping that this offsets the problem stated in the question.

Dont let the fear of writing an Author Tract stop you from writing the story.

I definitely won't, don't worry. I just have this desire for neutrality/letting the readers decide who is "right", and it really is a big part of this particular story's "theme". I was just worried it might take away from that if the guy I personally root for wins.

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace
TheWhistleTropes janet likes her new icon. Since: Aug, 2015 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
janet likes her new icon.
#18860: Mar 26th 2021 at 11:28:45 AM

What kind of an impression does "Teresa's Trinity" give off as a gang name?

It kind of gives me Mean Girls vibes, if you're going for the pathetic ones. It's so fetch.

she/her/they | wall | sandbox
PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#18861: Mar 26th 2021 at 1:22:58 PM

I have a question about universities. Or... colleges. I'm pretty sure in America a university is just a bigger college, unlike here in the UK where they're two entirely different sorts of institution. :V

Anyway - when I was at university (both times), it was understood that all you needed to do to pass your course was to complete your assignments on time (and get them graded well enough, obviously). They held lectures, seminars etc. and for obvious reasons most of us made an effort to attend these, but they were technically optional - I'm pretty sure there were a handful of people on the course I never met because they never attended any of the lectures, but they still passed because they completed all the assignments. There was at least one who had to miss out on half the lectures because they were also working a job, which I understand isn't unusual.

...Anyway, my question I've taken far too long getting to is: does this also apply to American colleges/universities? Since my experience is only with British ones. I was planning on writing a character who's a university student, but they never attend classes because they're working a full-time job in the same place, forcing them to study on their own and play catch-up in their spare time. Obviously if non-attendance is an actual issue, this could be tricky to write around.

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#18862: Mar 26th 2021 at 1:59:58 PM

It depends on the college or university, but at many places it does not. At the Community College where I teach, attendance at lectures is mandatory, and financial aid can be revoked if a student has too many unexcused absences. The idea being that education is more than the passing of tests, it depends critically on face to face interaction and full mental engagement.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#18863: Mar 26th 2021 at 2:39:51 PM

American college grad here. It depends on the professors and school policies. Mine had mandatory attendance for at least the first few weeks of the semester; if you didn't show up for a certain number of class sessions in that period of time, you'd get automatically dropped from the class (I don't remember if you still had to pay for the class or not); policies may be slightly less stringent at bigger universities. If the goal is to just have a character who is both a full-time student and a full-time worker, they could do what my mom did back in the seventies when she tried that and take night classes- she got through nearly an entire nursing degree on just night classes, even if it left her feeling like a zombie for a few years. (It wasn't even worth it in the end, but that's a different story.) There's also online classes, which in the days before COVID meant no scheduled class meetings, and all work completed on your own time. A community college is more likely to have a bigger variety of night and online classes because they have a higher proportion of nontraditional students like your character who might be older, with families and jobs and other circumstances making it difficult for them to dedicate themselves 100% to getting a degree.

That brings me to colleges versus universities. The two terms overlap depending on context. "College" is the generic term; saying in America that you're "going to university" or that you're "a university student" immediately pegs you as not American; the phrase would be "going to college"/"a college student", even if the school you're going to has "University" in its name, even if it's a very prestigious university. "University" almost exclusively refers to a big school with multiple colleges focused on broad categories of study within it, and graduate-level and doctoral-level degree opportunities. For instance, I went to the University of Toledo in Ohio and got my Bachelor's through the College of Engineering, and I would state that as "I got my engineering degree at the University of Toledo." A college is generally (but not always) smaller and focused on four-year degrees and under. The aforementioned community college is more likely to be focused on vocational-type education as well as serving the local community- at the school my mom went to, you can get a nursing degree, work towards a trade certification in auto mechanics or welding, and take math classes up through multivariable calculus, all at the same school.

Edited by CrystalGlacia on Mar 26th 2021 at 5:43:07 AM

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#18864: Mar 26th 2021 at 2:44:36 PM

Another American college grad. My school had an attendance grade we had to pass. Skipping a certain number of classes gave us a failing participation grade, thus a failing grade overall.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#18865: Mar 26th 2021 at 5:12:24 PM

Also American college grad here.

Imma mirror what people already said and that attendance is more or less mandatory. [lol]

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#18866: Mar 26th 2021 at 6:03:12 PM

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I went to Community College. My school was particularly known for having a good culinary program and a good aviation/aerospace program thanks to being close to the airport. We also had classes on things like brewing beer.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#18867: Mar 26th 2021 at 6:51:58 PM

The premise of my story is this: Person A is fighting against Group 1. Group 2 sends Person B over there to do the mostly same thing to serve their interests. Person A and Person B team up against Group 1, but Person B cares more about Group 2 than about the rest of the world which starts showing through, and when Group 1 is somewhat dealt with, Person B tries to complete Group 2's interests which would endanger the world further, and Person A opposes him, which leads to the actual final battle.

Basically both Group 1 and Person B are the villain (but opposed to each other, and Group 1 blatantly more evil), and regardless of Group 1, Person B technically becomes the Big Bad, and the person-on-person conflict is more between Person A and Person B, while Group 1 is mostly a fighting conflict.

How can i make this work in a way that makes sense?note 

Edited by Nukeli on Mar 26th 2021 at 4:02:08 PM

~*bleh*~
Swordofknowledge Spreading literacy with book and blade from I like it here... Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Spreading literacy with book and blade
#18868: Mar 27th 2021 at 12:29:47 PM

@ Nukeli: [up]To be honest, it makes a lot of sense already actually. The more detailed explanation of the events with the organizations and characters actually fleshed out was perfectly easy to follow and seems like something that would be interesting to read. So...I guess my only advie would be not to worry about it too much? As long as you make sure that each character is clear in who they are and their ideals/goals, then readers shouldn't have any trouble following along.

...of course, it's always nice to leave the readers surprised and maybe scratching their heads a little when a twist comes up or a plot point is left intentionally vague, but that's a whole other matter and does require careful consideration.

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace
Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#18869: Mar 27th 2021 at 1:58:43 PM

I meant how should i deal with having two entirely separate villains in one story, and the american soldier propably becoming or coming off as the Big Bad due to the Ghostapo's and the normal nazi soldiers' general facelessness, without it looking like i'm trying to downplay the ghostapo. Or how to set the american up as a villain before he actively turns against the resistance fighter?note 

Edited by Nukeli on Mar 27th 2021 at 11:27:20 AM

~*bleh*~
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#18870: Mar 27th 2021 at 2:09:20 PM

Why do you think it doesnt work as is?

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#18871: Mar 27th 2021 at 4:44:59 PM

I have an ongoing full throated conflict in my sci-fi story between the national government and a revolutionary opposition. The revolutionaries do get their hands on actual military equipment, but a lot of them make do with everyday items rigged up to help them fight. One such item is hoverboards (think Back to the Future.) and I'm curious what could the revolutionaries do to/with these hoverboards that would help them in say an urban warfare scenario inside a city?

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#18872: Mar 27th 2021 at 5:33:32 PM

[up] If the government has placed mines around the city, a hoverboard could pass over them harmlessly. They can also be used to attack from a "high ground" (Star Wars memes intensify). And if there's a lot of wreckage and debris in the way, hoverboards could help them travel above the roadblocks.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#18873: Mar 27th 2021 at 5:40:25 PM

They would also awe the locals with their incredible coolness factor.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#18874: Mar 27th 2021 at 5:42:36 PM

[up] Which is actually an awesome bonus. The citizens would be more likely to side with them if they realized they'd be able to ride on hoverboards all day if they do. You may even be able to have some characters who joined specifically because the revolutionaries seemed really cool, only to wind up in over their heads.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Merseyuser1 Since: Sep, 2011
#18875: Mar 27th 2021 at 6:02:30 PM

I've been giving my writing a full-on Continuity Reboot and axed ideas that didn't work... my previous ideas mentioned here are now no longer useful to me.

What I've started on is a superhero universe, and the characters themselves are Differently Powered Individual and a Super Team.

So far I've got:

Both are in their mid-20s.

For both, their identities are a Secret Identity, although Julia's known for being The Fashionista so can just about get away with outrageous outfits a la Harley Quinn without compromising her identity.

I've also avoided Most Common Superpower as their outfits are fairly flashy, but not fan-service-y.

With both of them, once they've got their powers, they cannot be removed.

They're their own characters, rather than being a Captain Ersatz.

Both get on well and are good friends.

So far, just those two I'm working on; the setting's possibly an American city, not decided where yet.

There's no Super Registration Act in this setting because it's something the local council can't be bothered with; for them, mundane things like police pursuits and building regulations.

I've decided on having them face an antagonist who's fairly challenging, but won't be an Eldritch Abomination or someone taking A Form You Are Comfortable With. Someone like Lex Luthor - well, similar sort of schtick except perhaps younger and their age.

My biggest problem is how to write it so far and write a good convincing antagonist that could take both of them on.

Also, the setting is Lighter and Softer, but trying not to make it too Darker and Edgier is a problem.

I'm trying to avoid Status Quo Is God, although only some things apply as status quo is god.

Comic-Book Time may be an issue to consider.

Any thoughts on expanding this are appreciated! grin

Edited by Merseyuser1 on Mar 27th 2021 at 1:05:04 PM


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