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Article Dumping: Writer's Block Edition

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chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#427: Sep 5th 2012 at 6:46:26 PM

Wednesday:

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#428: Sep 5th 2012 at 7:09:07 PM

An obvious thing was pointed out to me at Worldcon but I hadn’t really realized it before — Young Adult / Teens is frequently uncategorized. And, likely without coincidence, YA tends to be some of the bravest, weirdest fiction out there right now. You go to the shelf inside the bookstore and it’s just a big mash-up of books and genres. (Okay, B&N actually separates them out a bit — Teens to Teens Paranormal Romance to Teens Fantasy / Adventure.) But often, YA is just YA. An age range without genre limitations.

Wut.

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#429: Sep 5th 2012 at 7:11:43 PM

Actually, I was wondering about that passage too.

Hmm...what should I do?

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#430: Sep 5th 2012 at 7:16:27 PM

I actually agree with most of that article - if not the conclusion as to whether this is a good thing - but that paragraph just left me staring blankly.

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#432: Sep 6th 2012 at 3:32:03 PM

I actually clicked that post on my RSS, but I only scanned it the first time. Why don't you agree with it?

It makes sense. Reader peeves can impede our enjoyment, and there are plenty of exceptions. But maybe there should be a little space for peeves, especially when there's a trend?

Thursday:

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#433: Sep 6th 2012 at 3:40:33 PM

Why don't you agree with it?

Short answer: "Try it, you might like it despite yourself" is not a very convincing argument when there are many, many things I know I will like that I haven't tried.

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#434: Sep 6th 2012 at 3:58:43 PM

I would say the natural counter-argument would be "but you might enjoy it more than a safer choice, and there's little harm in trying."

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#435: Sep 6th 2012 at 4:06:36 PM

I've never understood that attitude. It's much more likely that I'd like a work I read that features some pet peeve of mine in spite of the pet peeve then it is that I actually liked the pet peeve itself - and thus, by definition, I liked it less then I would have the "safer" choice.

For instance, I don't particularly care for books written in present tense. Nonetheless, I'm a huge fan of Charles Stross, who writes exclusively in present tense. That doesn't mean that I like present tense in his books, though - rather, it means that I like enough other elements of his style that they outweigh the pet peeve. If I encountered some author whose works were written exactly like those of Charles Stross, except that they were written in past tense, I'd unquestionably prefer him or her.

edited 6th Sep '12 4:06:54 PM by nrjxll

Vyctorian ◥▶◀◤ from Domhain Sceal Since: Mar, 2011
◥▶◀◤
#436: Sep 9th 2012 at 8:43:59 AM

http://www.copyblogger.com/eminem : Very enlightening.

edited 9th Sep '12 8:45:01 AM by Vyctorian

Rarely active, try DA/Tumblr Avatar by pippanaffie.deviantart.com
chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#437: Sep 10th 2012 at 6:34:05 PM

Monday:

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#438: Sep 10th 2012 at 6:36:56 PM

[Insert Title]: [Rant] Don't Judge a Book by Its...: I share many of the opinions here.

While I disagree with some of the specific tastes this guy seems to have, I definitely agree with the overall point. Covers matter.

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#439: Sep 11th 2012 at 3:19:33 PM

Tuesday:

[down][down][down] Fixed.

edited 12th Sep '12 7:04:17 PM by chihuahua0

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#441: Sep 12th 2012 at 6:57:26 PM

Should you write for trends? Should you write only what's popular? YA Indie: Should you write for trends? Should you write only what's popular?: Go ahead. Maybe.

I expected to disagree with this article, but there's not really enough there to disagree with.

Sigh.

SnowyFoxes Drummer Boy from Club Room Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: I know
Drummer Boy
#442: Sep 12th 2012 at 6:59:59 PM

Thanks for linking to me!

But the blog's name ends with "longer," not "through."

-awkwardly shuffles away-

The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#444: Sep 17th 2012 at 5:44:54 PM

It's.

A.

New.

Week!

-kick-

Monday:

By the way, what do you think of this short piece?

edited 17th Sep '12 6:00:03 PM by chihuahua0

EldritchBlueRose The Puzzler from A Really Red Room Since: Apr, 2010
The Puzzler
#445: Sep 17th 2012 at 9:12:02 PM

I walked to the scrapyard with a gun in my hand. Okay starting sentence. I walked through the streets, passing through the lamp lights and avoiding the strong light of the moon. This doesn't make sense, why is he avoiding the moonlight, and not the street lights? Street lights are brighter. No window lights were on and no one stood behind the glass. This could use an apt metaphor. It was only me and the gun.

I didn't hide the gun, instead holding it out for the town to see, react to, and pick up the phone to call the police to take me away before I could make the worst decision of my life. I think this sentence could be split and add the second half to the following sentence. Also a bit more emotion would be nice. That wouldn't happen. No one cared except me and who I was going to meet.

At the scrapyard, I opened the unlocked gate and entered, letting the metal creak. My shoes made prints in the dirt. Why is this here? The metal piles laid everywhere. They were the perfect seers for the body I was going to leave behind. ??? Also I'd combine the two sentences together.

I stepped into the center of the yard and looked right ahead. She stood across from me, gun in hand also, but she held it at me, smiling.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she said.

"I keep my promises." I said.

"If that was the case, we wouldn't be here. We would be...together." I'd use a dash not an ellipsis

She gave me the old wink and fired.

I fired too.

Blood painted the ground.

The above is my thoughts and the below is my rewrite of what you wrote. (I just wanted to tinker around and see how I would reword it.)

I walked to the scrapyard with a gun in my hand. I passed through the street lights undaunted by their condemning glare. No one looked out of the dark houses as I walked down the street. It was only me and the gun.

I didn't hide the gun, instead holding it out for the town to see, to react to. I wanted someone to call the police to take me away before I could do anything foolish, but that wouldn't happen. No one cared except me and the other attendee.

At the scrapyard, I opened the unlocked gate and entered, letting the metal creak. The metal piles scattered about made it the perfect spot to hide a body.

I stepped into the center of the yard and looked right ahead. She stood across from me, gun in hand also, but she held it at me, smiling.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she said.

"I keep my promises." I said.

"If that was the case, we wouldn't be here. We would be — together."

She gave me the old wink and fired.

I fired too.

Blood painted the ground.

edited 17th Sep '12 9:14:37 PM by EldritchBlueRose

Has ADD, plays World of Tanks, thinks up crazy ideas like children making spaceships for Hitler. Occasionally writes them down.
chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#446: Sep 17th 2012 at 9:43:39 PM

[up] Thanks for the feedback.

However, keep in mind that the piece is purposely binge and lacking of internal thoughts. That was the point of the prompt, and if I expand on that piece, I'll keep the same style while playing around with lyrical sentence structure and subtext.

Maybe further revising can bring emotions to the emptiness.

edited 17th Sep '12 9:45:15 PM by chihuahua0

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#450: Sep 18th 2012 at 7:54:55 PM

[up] I think that's one area in which I disagree: While I think that barebones writing can be extremely effective, I think that people use it to create artificial depth in the same way that people accuse unnecessarily flowery writers of doing. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but it is not wit.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

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