A mashup of Tinkerbell and Alice by Mysticfae Art and Costumes and Princess Mononoke.
Top 5 Lazy Writing Sins
Anything can be done well. All these sins could be done in a funny or inventive way, but on average they are signs that the writers are being lazy.
5. Genre Blindness
Any writing set in modern day should not only be aware of its predecessors but so should its characters.
If a character is about to fight a vampire, they don’t need ancient texts, wise masters, etc etc etc to figure out how to kill them. One of your characters will have heard of vampires and has an idea how to kill them. Even if you are writing a different version of the monster there should be a character that has at least heard of them from pop culture.
Not all characters have to be genre savvy but one or two should have a passing knowledge of the immense cultural background of most stories.
Why is this lazy?
This is a way for authors not to have to do research on what a character would know based on their culture, age, and geographical area. It means you can make up the rules and pretend the game is brand new. It avoids the, “But I thought werewolves couldn’t control themselves and hated silver” discussion.
It can be done well but only if the world is different enough from ours to make sense.
4. Nice and Boring VS Dangerous and Exciting
Good is bland, the nice guy best friend is the safe choice, and everyone prefers Spike. The decision to go for the “bad boy” over the best friend / boy next door is ubiquitous in 90’s movies and TV.
It’s not only lazy, it’s dumb. It either ends with the main character hurting and brooding over their lost love, or the bad boy having a heart of gold.
It makes the main character either dangerously naïve, suicidal, or dumb; while making the love interests boring stereotypes.
Why is this lazy?
It’s been done, it relies on stereotypes that are so overused they’re clichéd, and it’s needlessly angsty.
I can be done well if you’re trying to show a flaw in the main character, however you have to follow through with that flaw.
3. I’ll tell you later
The character has suddenly gotten super strength and their friend asks them how it happened. They’re in a big battle so the hero says. “I’ll tell you later.” And they never do.
If a power, machine, etc is worth having in the story and the characters know, it’s worth explaining.
Why is this lazy?
It’s a short and quick response to avoid telling something that has been, or will be, shown to the audience. But Peter Parker saying, “I’ll tell you later” can just as easily be done with him saying, “I was bit by a genetically altered /radioactive / alien spider. Crazy eh?”
This is extra lazy when the audience doesn’t know the answer. It’s used to build tension and mystery but rarely does it ever get explained. Maybe hand waved with a mention of Magic or Clark’s Third law.
This can be done well if the characters and the audience are told at a later, or earlier, point in the story.
2. Dangling Plot / Forgotten Backstory
This is really two annoyances in one but they both have the same reasoning, convenience. A dangling plot could be something as simple as a voice taking control of a space/time ship saying, “The Silence will fall” and then exploding that ship and never explaining who that voice is or why they could control and destroy something that no one else has been able to do.
A forgotten backstory could be a sister that disappears and is never mentioned before or a magic item that the main characters have but would make life too easy for this story so they’ve forgotten. Same with the rules of magic.
The best stories wrap up all their plot points, Chekhov’s guns, and work around the rules they’ve set for themselves.
Why is this lazy?
Both of these are ways for a writer to force the world and characters to fit the story they are building. Sometimes working with a large amount of history is daunting, but weaving the story into the world and characters makes it richer and much more interesting.
1. I’m not broken I’m super
Wanting to explore and represent a disability, social class, physical illness, or mental illness is a laudable goal. Unfortunately a lot of writers seem to want to portray these states of humanity without wanting to learn about them.
The character is autistic but they have savant syndrome. The character is blind but they sonar vision. The character is poor but has an incredible talent.
The root of this sin is not doing enough research or not knowing the people a writer is trying to portray. It is also a sign that the writer thinks these characters are lesser or broken as opposed to just different.
Why is this lazy?
Writing about people you don’t understand beyond the surface level is a quick way to misrepresent them. Just because you’ve seen Rain Man and Adam doesn’t mean you understand anything about autism.
If you’re not willing to put aside your prejudice and learn all you can about the characters you’re writing, then you shouldn’t be writing those characters.
Did I miss any, do you disagree?
Éric
The Story Museum
If I hadn’t wanted to visit Oxford, England before, I want to go there even more now!
The museum itself is planning a renovation, which will make it 100% wheelchair accessible by Summer 2019.
Geared towards children and exploration, The Story Museum features the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Wardrobe and Beaver’s Den from Narnia, and many other iconic scenes.
They also host events and week long courses for children and adults alike.
Are you interested in travelling to England? Jen has retired from working as a travel agent. Hope you’ve enjoyed Fandom Travel.
I Have a Hole and I’m Leaking
Hello My Imaginary Friends,
Over the past year I’ve been extremely lucky. I’ve had 9 months off with my wonderful wife and the adorable baby Dragon. I’ve finished a book, started two, and finalized one that will be published in early September. A lot of other awesome things have happened.
Unfortunately, I’m currently struggling with some issues. Mostly anxiety and stress. I hurt my neck in June and even though I’m getting treated and it’s getting better, I’ve been in near constant pain for two and a half months. It’s made it hard to sleep and concentrate.
Work has been extra stressful. I was hoping that coming back in summer would mean a slow readjustment period. That wasn’t the case; there were some issues while I was gone and I’ve been thrown into some intense work. It’s work that I have little control over and that has to be done quick which makes me extremely uncomfortable.
So the combination of anxiety, stress, lack of sleep, pain, and work has caused a few issues (current events aren’t helping much). At the worst, I feel trapped that causes mini panic attacks; at best I’m completely wiped.
It feels like I am a cup and I hold all my creative energy and motivation inside, but lately I’ve felt like my cup has a hole and every time I try to tap into that energy and motivation, it drains away too fast. I fill it up by gaming, reading, watching TV, and dreaming but it still drains away faster than I’d like.
I’m dealing with it and doing my best to try and get stuff done despite the lack of motivation, but it’s not always easy. Wife and Dragon cuddles help a lot. Same with taking time to do things that I find fun.
Please be patient with me as I work this out. I might be a little bit hermit-like and grumpy.
Thank you for reading,
Éric
Epic
This cosplay is incredible…but I have no idea who it is! Please help!
Update: it’s Fang, from Final Fantasy XIII!
Frustration, Sadness, and Anger
Dear Imaginary Friends,
I was going to make this a Dear Dragon but what I have to say is for you.
As I’m typing, I’m vibrating with anger. I’m going to structure this into three parts to avoid it devolving into a curse filled rant.
Background (This isn’t new)
South of the border, or in Canada’s Pants, we’ve been seeing increasing acts of violence and hate. The Google Manifesto and the atrocious events in Virginia are only the newest in a long line of hateful, vile, putrescent evil. However they’re not new. Nor are they worse than what we’ve seen.
Two years ago just as many horrifying things were happening, but the political climate, news, and public were less informed. It was still happening, it was just as horrific, and it was just as open.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy that these things are being noticed and people are speaking out about them, but they are not new. It might have gotten worse, but it’s not new.
Canadians: wipe that smug smile off your faces. We have all the same issues here as they do in the states. Just look into some of our CPC candidates and you’ll get the idea that maybe we aren’t as progressive as we think. We have as much hatred and racism here. Expect the white nationalists, nazis, white supremacists, anti-minority, and canadian values crowds to start protesting more and more openly.
Don’t believe me? Ask a minority or look up the debate on Bill C-16 that extended basic human rights to Transgender people.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or shut the hell up about Free Speech
Calling for the mass killing of an entire demographic of people is not Free Speech. It is Hate Speech. NO ONE has the right to spew hate.
Unfortunately, yelling and saying that one kind of person is better than another isn’t hate speech.
Free Speech means you can’t be prosecuted for your opinion. It controls what the government can and will do in response to what you say. It doesn’t protect you from your employer, friends, family, or media’s judgement. Eg; You can say nasty things about a subset of people in the comments of this post and the government won’t arrest you. I, however, can delete the comment or send it to your mother.
Your Rights and Freedoms should only extend to the point where they infringe on someone else’s health and safety.
You’re human beings, start acting like it!
This is for all those who agree with Trump, Kellie Leitch, and Pauline Marois; that some people are better than others.
Ignorance is not an excuse for hatred! Get the fuck over yourselves and start trying to understand how your problems are of your own making and all people are the same.
It is our responsibility to help our fellow humans and to stop hate when we see it.
Be better, act better, and stop others when they aren’t.
Éric
Blush: Period Blood Colours
If you feel that your period is not your normal, it is recommended to see your doctor. You know your body best!
The colours you are most likely to see during your period are:
Bright red – this shows up for the longest amount of time during most people’s periods.
Dark red – this colour is associated with heavy days, first thing in the morning, and clots. This colour will only be seen at some points during the period, not the whole time. If this colour is the dominant one, get it checked out. Heavy periods might indicate anemia.
Brown or black – this colour is usually at the beginning or end of the period, and it’s just the old blood that has been oxidized the longest. If this colour is the dominant one, get it checked out.
Pink – this colour is mildly unusual. It might mean the flow is very light, that estrogen levels are low, an unbalanced diet, or that a high level of exercise is shortening the period. Not all of this is bad! However, if this colour is the dominant one, get it checked out.
Any other colour (in my research for this, blue, purple, orange, and grey have all been mentioned) should be seen by a doctor asap, as they indicate some health issues.
Any bleeding in between periods should be checked out asap as well, as that could indicate other health problems.
References
Trying to find good, sourced references on this topic was very difficult. I’d find an article that told me all about the colours of the blood, but then there’d be no references in the article, and I’d have to start all over again. Very frustrating!
http://www.webmd.boots.com/women/guide/menstrual-blood-problems-clots-colour-and-thickness
http://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/why-is-my-period-brown#1
http://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/period-blood-colors-what-they-mean
If you’re enjoying the Blush blogs, consider learning more with Blush: The Card Game from Renaissance Press.
Database of the Ageless Kings (Serial Story) Part 8
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 3.5 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Part 8: An Emu is Smitten and Completely Useless
“How did you get here?” Sophia asked Dove while eying Hagrid suspiciously.
“Oh my! Philly, her accent is so cute.” She moved towards Phil and ran her hand through his hair. He, unlike the traitorous Emu, had the decency to look embarrassed. “I was in the ship with Princess Samantha when it crashed.”
“That was SpaceForce One?” Phil blanched as he said it.
“Yeah, but don’t worry sweetie.” She emphasised the last word with a soft slap on his cheek. Every move she made looked sexual and Sophia hated it; it made her feel clumsy and ugly. “Most of the crew got off before we crashed. We were on separate ships to escape. With royals dropping like flies, your sister didn’t want to risk both of us in the same shuttle. I’m now sixth in line you know.”
“Sixth?” Phil asked incredulously and Sophia saw his eyes darting from side to side calculating how many people must have died. “Oh wow.”
Grabbing him and pulling him into a hug, Dove cooed, “Oh. Poor you. It’s ok.” He was still sitting and she was standing next to him, but in this position she was only half a head taller than him. She started petting him and he seemed to get calmer every time she touched him.
Sophia didn’t like Dove. “You’ve been trapped on the planet this whole time?”
“Isn’t terrible? At least I had a lot of food and was able to film the whole thing.” Dove ran her nails gently over Phil’s back and moved away. She pouted and then gave a big smile before throwing her arms around Sophia. The moment the other woman touched her skin, Sophia felt tingles of pleasure. “Thank you so much for taking care of my little Philly.” Her breathy voice in Sophia’s ear made legs weak.
With great effort, Sophia stepped out of the hug and asked, “Great. So where can we drop you off?
“Actually…” Dove scrunched her face adorably and said, “I found the black box from the ship and watched it. It shows who tried to kill us and I need to bring it to Queen Samantha.”
“Who was it?” Sophia expected Phil to ask the same thing, but he seemed to enraptured by Dove.
“I don’t know. I didn’t recognize the ship but it had a serial number and if I can get the black box to Samantha, she’ll know what to do.”
“It’s on your ship. Isn’t it?”
Looking embarrassed Dove said, “Yes.”
“We’ll get it for you,” volunteered Phil.
For the first time during the conversation, Dove looked flustered, “Oh. Does it take two of you?”
Bouncing up, Phil said, “We’ll get it. You just wait here.”
Once again, they were outside in suits heading towards a crashed ship. Sophia was pretty sure this was a bad idea and she said so.
“Dove is a little flirty and likes to act incompetent but she’s an accomplished pilot and soldier.”
“Then why are we out here instead of her?” Sophia was tired of walking and just wanted to this over with and set up the gravity generator.
He opened his mouth to speak a few times, making a popping noise through the coms. Eventually he said, “It seemed like what she wanted.”
He looked confused and Sophia suddenly had a bad feeling. “Did you tell her about the Database?”
“Maybe,” he said sheepily.
She cursed, turned around, and ran back towards the ship. They didn’t go far before they saw the ship taking off.
Out of breath and confused, Phil asked, “She took our ship… Why did she take the ship?”
“Oh. I really don’t like her.”
“But… Why?”
“I don’t know, but we need to hurry if we’re going to get the ship, and my emu, back.”
Remembering the fighter ships that were left in the Imperial Battleship, Sophia started to run. She hoped and trusted that Phil would follow. If he didn’t, she’d have to waste time picking him up.
At the Imperial Battleship, it took her longer to find the fighter bay then she’d hoped. There were shuttles that were designed for longer travel but they weren’t as fast and they needed to get to their ship before Dove went to hyperspace.
The bay was in surprisingly good condition. She picked a ship that looked in good condition and activated it. The entrance flashed a message that said, “Access Denied.”
“Overwrite lockout, Prince Phillip access code Delta Pie Donut.” The ship took a second to think and then opened to let them in.
The ship was designed for a pilot and a gunner and was not spacious. Once inside they took off their suits and Sophia asked, “Can you fly this thing?”
Phil snorted and replied, “Hells no.”
Sighing, Sophia sat in the fighter’s cockpit and hoped it wasn’t a big difference from Phil’s ship. The main ship still had enough power to open the bay doors and they were gone. Sophia had a little trouble driving to start with and almost hit a mountain but she got the hang of it eventually.
Their sensors found Phil’s ship and they flew towards it. “Why hasn’t she gone to hyperspace yet?” Wondered Phil aloud.
“Maybe we’re just lucky?” suggested Sophia and she hailed the ship, “Hey jerkface! Give us back our ship and emu.” It was the only thing she could think of in the moment.
A few seconds passed and they were starting to catch up with the ship when they received a reply to their hail. There was no visual and no words, only a loud scream of pain and terror.
If you’re enjoying this year’s serial story why not check out those from past years?
