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@devastate-lasting Wow that’s amazing! Kudos to you for keeping at such a huge project like that!
@devastate-lasting That’s interesting about series fantasy, because just from reading the description I wouldn’t really call it a “genre,” more like a…structure? Like any genre can have the same structure as a series fantasy, right? What about your story makes it so?
I’m the same way for coming up with the ideas. I remember at one point years ago I thought to myself–“I want to write a steampunk story,” just because I was obsessed with the aesthetic. My current WIP evolved so much over time to include elements of my upbringing, things that were familiar to me, which I added in to the existing story.
@r-m-archer I like that about using genres to subvert expectations. People begin to expect a certain thing over time with different genres, so stories start to be predictable. Sometimes people take this to the opposite extreme though, and constantly try to do the unexpected, and as a reader I just get whiplash trying to keep up with the twists and turns. But then again, some writers have established that as their thing, and it can work so well in the right context. Terry Pratchett for instance. I don’t think there’s a single predictable thing about his books, because he plays with your expectations. I also couldn’t tell you what genre his books are because they don’t seem to fit into any genre (maybe satire?)@epicaddie2 You know I can’t say I’ve ever read any historical fantasy, at least not that I remember. But that’s really cool, especially because at the moment the medieval aesthetic is so heavily drawn upon. I’d love to read something that’s based more on a victorian-era style. What specifically makes your setting victorian, like is it the technology, society, style, etc?
@godlyfantasy12 Yep it’s a lot for sure! And a lot of them overlap too, which makes it even harder to decide which your story is. As far as readers go, it can be a blessing and a curse. As a reader, I know I like to know what I’m getting into. But sometimes I’ll limit myself too much and refuse to read anything of a certain genre, even if it might end up having a lot of similarities with something I like. As for publishing, it’s more political/strategic than anything. Maybe your book is the next big thing, but it might be passed over if it’s labelled as an unpopular genre.@lewilliams Oh yeah the mind palace, that was something else I thought was a little far-fetched, even though it does have roots in actual memory processes some people use. I’ve seen the whole thing, I definitely think the first season was the best, and then it kind of devolved into a larger, crazier plot. I was pretty happy with how they adapted the Hound of the Baskervilles, that’s always been my favourite of conan doyle’s stories.
@lewilliams You’re right about Sherlock. I did love it but as the show went on, it’s like the writers got tired of explaining his thought process. Episode one, he’s making deductions and it’s clever because he explains why he came to that conclusion, but then later episodes it’s just “I know this and this and this because I’m smart, trust me.” A redeeming quality of his character was how his mind worked, and after we lost that thought process we lost that redeeming quality to an otherwise insufferable character.
@gracie-j Absolutely on the red herrings. I love reading them and I love writing them. The way I see it, especially with the Nancy Drew books, mysteries are like a staircase of rising tension. With a lot of mysteries, each chapter climaxes at some sort of cliffhanger (“Bess turned the corner and screamed!” End Chapter 1.) What can annoy me is when an author relies too much on cliffhangers and so some of them are just end up being mundane and anticlimactic.
There’s also a number of beats your story should hit to be recognized as a mystery, but it’s a fine line between following conventions and straight up recycling plot after plot with the same suspects with mysterious backstories. After a point, you can start to predict that the over-the-top creepy guy they introduce in chapter one is very much *not* the culprit.
I like it when non-mysteries incorporate mystery elements as part of a larger story, so they’re not forced to rely on those old tropes. Anyways, I’ve been up since 4 am so I might not be making much sense.
@ugroza Ooh one of my favourite things is talking about characters. There’s no way I can limit it to one, mostly because each character is influenced so much by the others. So the top two at the moment (though I love them all) is the protagonist of my WIP and his twin brother, Camrien. Camrien’s always been the funnier of the two in the sense that he’s the type to speak his mind, and he does say whatever comes to mind, but I wanted to add more depth to him so he’s not just a stereotype that tells jokes. He simultaneously excels at mathematics and astronomy, yet is a foreigner and has to speak in a language he’s not comfortable in yet, and so has to work harder at expressing himself. Ultimately, he’s someone who has to find self worth outside of the abilities he’s honed and relied on over the years.
There we go! I was trying to post a reply but it wouldn’t go through. It looks like I work if I don’t activate the link, so I have to do the two playlists separately:
@writerlexi1216 I grew up with the Chronicles of Narnia, those books are the best 😀 If you love dragons, you’ve probably already read Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle (if not, definitely check it out!) Otherwise, you might also like Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. It’s like a fantasy cop thriller, if you could put it in a genre. It’s been a few years but I remember it was really good, also has dragons in it (tiny little ones that people breed as pets).
@writerlexi1216 Ah yes coffee fuels my soul 🙂 Thanks for the welcome! I’ll probably echo a lot of people here if I say my favourite fantasy book is the Silmarillion by Tolkien. Definitely no other book has touched me in the way that one has. Oh yes, I have always loved dragons, still do. My old sketchbooks are filled with drawings of different kinds of dragons. What’s your favourite book?
Hey, I love this idea! I love making playlists and finding new music. I have tons of different playlists based on different scenarios/aesthetics within my WIP, so I’m trying to find a one-size-fits-all playlist that’s good to share. If anyone’s looking for a type of music in particular I might also be able to give you recommendations!
@lewilliams Hey Elizabeth, thank you for the welcome and the recs! I haven’t heard of ND Wilson so I’ll be sure to check him out. It’s a shame my local bookstore is closed for browsing otherwise I’d love to go in with a huge list and come out with a stack of new books.
Kudos to you for taking English! I’ve always been amazed by the amount of theory my english friends always had to take, there’s definitely a lot of work involved with that kind degree!
I’d say the process of writing the script is different because it’s heavy on the dialogue and visuals. This means that I don’t have to polish the prose for readers, but I have to be able to clearly convey what I want to show so I can go in later and be able to draw the scene based on these cues. Coming up with interesting details to add to the background is something I love. Dialogue is also something I can’t get enough of, but it’s sometimes hard to try and convey what a more stoic character is feeling just based on what they say, because I can’t rely on an internal monologue to reveal it to readers. I also love being clever with wordplay and working in each character’s heritage and background based on the idioms/syntax/pronunciation they use.
@seekjustice Wow thank you for all the recommendations!! I definitely love Harry Potter and the Night Circus, and I’ve heard of a couple others on your list but I’d love to read them! You’re right, that era is so fantastic and diverse, no wonder so much fantasy is influenced by it.