Writer's lounge

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A casual space for writers to talk, post, or discuss anything.

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I actually think I've figured this out but would love to hear yalls thoughts here too.

At first I was against the idea of writing a character smarter than myself since it was a rather intimidating idea. I had seen and read terrible smart characters which felt omnipotent and made nearly no sense to me. On the other hand I read characters who were just genuinely well written and smart and I couldn't realise why.

Recently I came to the conclusion that the answer is simpler than I thought. Not just that it's a rather universal feeling. The feeling of being unable to express an idea you know well but can't seem to explain out loud. All you need for a smart character is perfect recall. To remember everything all the time.

Not knowing, not deducing, remembering and communicating.

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Hello, I've been preparing for years to write a dark phantasy world, and I planned my entire lore, from the begining of everything to the end of everything. Maybe this is too much, but I have the ages figured out, the rise and fall of empires, and entire sagas dedicated to war conflicts. However, Now I'm wondering where should I begin. Started with the story of a bunch of protagonist but now they seem as a small part of this world and I think some things wouldn't feel as important without having the full context of the damage the army they are a part of has done to the world, seeing it from other perspectives in other time periods.

I wonder if I should start in chronologycal order or continue on the order I originally planned and then realize the prequels.

For example, would be like starting the Star Wars Universe by Dawn of the Jedi, continuing through Nights of the Old Republic, and then reach the original story, that would be when Luke appears.

Where should I start?

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Hi. Im a trans writer doing my lore for writing dark phantasy. I am inspired by many dark phantasy like Berserk and A Song of Ice and Fire, but mostly from real world history and in many parts of the world is very horrible to live as a women. How ever SA is part of some characters background but I I dont feel good actually writing it. Can I just skip it and be vague about it or there are workarounds? I dont wanna trigger survivors or make people drop it because if it.

Is not like im mentioning it all the time, my work is more like a collection of stories in the same universe that take place in different time periods and some dont have it at all, but it will be important in some.

Thank you in advance.

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submitted 10 months ago by Lacanoodle to c/writing_lounge
 
 

While literary characters often adhere to consistent traits and behaviors, humans exhibit a complexity that defies strict characterization. Characters aren't supposed to be human like, they are not supposed to capture human complexity but the complexity of the work they build upon.

Characters can navigate intricate emotions, internal conflicts, and layers of psychological depth but only in a limited frame. It's why slice of life stories thrive on portraying the everyday experiences and emotions of people. Mundane acts are more predictable and too low stake to matter being out of character.

Unlike fictional figures designed with specific traits, humans do not serve a story, humans do not neatly tie up their arcs or have any meaning to their lives as stories do.

The unpredictability of real-life situations and external influences challenges the notion of consistent character.

Just a quick thought I wanted to type out. Will get back to think about this. Would love to hear what all yall think about it.

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I really enjoyed stoner and the simplistic prose and it has been my favorite book for a while. But on the other hand I really love lolita and lotr style of poetic sounding prose and is the kind of style I like to write.

Examples from my own writing:

"The emptiness of exclusion looms like a shadow, constantly reminding me of my fragile place in the world."

"Savory scents swirl in the air, nourishing both the tongue and the soul with every bite of culinary delight."

"Grief whispers in the wind, a haunting melody of what once was and what will never be again."

"She loved him with all her heart. She fought for him with all her might. She lost him to the shadows of his mind." This ones a non poetic example.

I'd love to hear some of your favorite written sentences and preffered style while writing or what you enjoy reading most.

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Recently I just wrote a characters physical appearance and started jotting down points about the character, I've done a few of these before but never have I started off with the appearance.

The initial note I wrote: A Greyhound-like character with a sleek and slender build, long, narrow face, pointed ears, deep chest, wearing a short, smooth coat, graceful gait, athletic movements.

I normally write with a theme in mind not a character, so the characters I write often feel forced into the story.

I'd love to hear what you feel makes a character apt for a story and what order you tend to build a story in.

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I'm curious to see what others think.

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Do you have any tricks to keep up motivation when writing?

As an example, one thing I do is write whatever I have an idea for at the moment, regardless of whether I've written any of the text before or after.

I used to believe I had to figure out a lot more stuff before I could start writing "properly", but it caused me to lose the motivation since I never got to that point.

Writing whatever is in my head at the moment allows me to get going, and fuels me to keep going even after the immediate idea has been brought to paper.

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I dislike coffee for some reason, but I'm more than happy with a pearl milk tea.