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Monday, Dec. 23, 2024

3:19pm EST

Members: 919

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Total Online: 2,992

Writing Blog Number 2

by Santeven Quokklaus

Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #2311764

This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC

This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario.

An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"

Feel free to comment and interact.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 21, 2024 at 12:34am
In response to "20241221 Kudzu Plotting"

IMO Anne McCaffrey does this well with the parallel Dragonriders of Pern and Harper Hall trilogies. Adults-with-dragons; youth with fire-dragons. Memorable world building. Wonderful characters.

Kudzu the plant... only a curse for those who don't know its uses: forage, food, fiber.

Santeven Quokklaus

Dec 19, 2024 at 7:09pm
In response to "20241219 'Misogyny' In Writing"

🐕GeminiGem🎁 - I chose Grease because it is so egregious and goes against everything Sandy had demonstrated up to that point. Dirty Dancing was set a few years later (early 60s), and, though Baby changes, it is gradual and is more a change of growing up, being true to herself. So, I think the time period can be used effectively without being so demeaning. As I see it.

🐕GeminiGem🎁

Dec 19, 2024 at 6:58pm
In response to "20241219 'Misogyny' In Writing"

I agree that when a woman changes herself to attract a man shows misogyny and is annoying...but...using the movie Grease as an example it an interesting choice. Yes, the lead female changes her appearance to appeal to the male. I think it was more because of peer pressure, but the peer pressure happened because of the pervasive misogyny of the peers. Interestingly, the male character does the exact same thing for the same reasons.

The movie is set in the 1950's, a time where the misogyny we see now is even waaaay worse. So, here is a thought. If you are writing about a time period like that and are showing social interactions of the characters, something like the pervasive misogyny is going to be true to the time and place the story takes place. Does that excuse it? No, of course not, but having present-day sensibilities in an era like that would make the story seem really off.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 19, 2024 at 3:57am
In response to "20241219 'Misogyny' In Writing"

In my travels I try to connect with most everyone. I wonder what my stats would be... but many contacts have names whether human or not, whether the boss or 'servant' or guest.

In my writings...

thinking.

I do have characters without names.

SAD Holiday Potato

Dec 18, 2024 at 3:54pm
In response to "20241218 Children Characters"

As someone who is an Aunt to two children who have an age difference of four years, I can definitely tell you that they act completely different. Even though one of them is neurodivergent, the older one definitely acts more mature than the younger one.(also the older one has never tried to lick my feet.)

With very few exceptions, I've never had to tell an adult "stop eating my dress," "please don't lick me" or "stop pulling my hair," to anyone over the age of six. Yet within the last year or so I've had to tell my five year old niece these things repeatedly. She thinks this is hilarious.

Anyways, thanks for pointing out that kids aren't just miniature adults! I'll try to keep that in mind while writing.

Santeven Quokklaus

Dec 18, 2024 at 6:44am
In response to "20241218 Children Characters"

Elisa: Snowman Stik - Writing about those who are neurodivergent is not something I feel I can talk about comfortably. I am trained as a teacher of those on the spectrum, and so I would not write a character in that regard because I do not feel it is my story to tell. But, yes, that last point may not apply to a child with developmental issues.

1 Like

Elisa: Snowman Stik

Dec 18, 2024 at 6:28am
In response to "20241218 Children Characters"

I am curious if there is wiggle room for the last point for child characters with developmental disabilities. (I do recognize this kind of character presents its own set of development pitfalls in terms of depicting the disability without stereotyping. That said, I think this can be a reasonable exception to the rule when done with care.)

1 Like

Once in Ryan David's City

Dec 16, 2024 at 1:26am
In response to "20241216 Poor Characterisation"

There was once a variation of "compressed vice" in an original episode of Star Trek ("Who Mourns for Adonais?"), where a landing party of the usual suspects + one random never-seen-before-or-since female crew member are captured by the god Apollo and they turn the usually gruff Scotty into a simpering, love-struck puppy to try to introduce some conflict when Apollo puts the moves on her. Why they didn't just have Kirk horndogging it as usual I do not know - at least then everybody would have remained consistently in character. It looks like Scotty, it sounds like Scotty, but WTF?

1 Like

SAD Holiday Potato

Dec 14, 2024 at 3:41pm
In response to "20241214 Punk Genres"

This is interesting yet confusing. So basically it's like world building but with the word "punk" in there to make it sound cooler.
Maybe I misunderstand.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 7, 2024 at 2:55am
In response to "20241207 Problems With Using Reality"

That or "to-ell-wit-it" and suffer the consequences.

Every society draws the lines differently. A traveler needs to be aware. Even words matter. The British and Thais are strict when it comes to slander.

November 11, 2024 at 2:39am

#1079795

20241111 - NaNo-11

NaNoWriMo #11

Day 11.

Had some jobs to do this morning… which took a lot longer than I had hoped they would take… As such, I didn’t get down to writing until just before lunch (had a Remembrance Day thing to go to).

Then I wrote, and the fairy story went into a tense section. The step-uncle tried to cut down the tree that was the entrance of the fairy sidhe, the narrator/kid (yes, 1st person PoV) tried to stop him and his chainsaw, and then they were both drawn into the sidhe.

Then the kid left, leaving the fairies to decide his fate and went to be with his aunt. 3916 words.

Doesn’t seem like much, I know, but it was a lot of writing. I really tried to up the emotion in the tale, to get the kid terrified, and make the step-uncle menacing, while the fairies remain mysterious. However, I had to stop there. Not because I ran out of time, as I had many writing hours left, but because I have no idea how to finish it. What are the fairies going to do to the step-uncle? Will the kid be involved? If so, how? I have a couple of ideas:
he escapes the sidhe but has aged and withered;
he dies in the sidhe;
there can be no death in the sidhe, so he has an eternity of torment;
he comes out with his mind gone.
I don’t like any of them, not really, to be honest.

So… I let my brain have fun and wrote a quick-fire 273 word poem about the “news” on Facebook. I might submit it to the local paper or read it on the radio (got to get it approved; I abuse Musk and Trump in it). It’s a weird little poem, rhyming, AABBCC etc rhyme scheme, 11-13 syllable rhythm, repeated ending refrain with a twist in the last (fourth) stanza… Exactly the sot of poetry modern poets and poetry critics (including here on WdC) hate.

So, how do I write a poem like this? I have an idea – in this case that Facebook is rubbish, after a woman in Sydney created a panic by being an absolute numpty – and then I write lines that relate to it, focusing on the rhyme first and foremost. I go through it a couple of times to make sure it makes sense and as few of the rhymes as possible are forced.

Next, I go through and add or subtract syllables to give it a more constant rhythm, based on the average length of line I already have. So, in this case, the shortest line was 8 syllables and the longest was 14; turning that into 12 ±1 to give a more constant rhythm.

Finally, I go through to make sure that the emphasis and breathing fits and is as consistent as I can get it. I am not a strict iambic pentameter sort of writer – I’m not that good (not good at all, really) – but it does need to sound right when I read it out loud. So, a good 2 hours and 273 words later… I poemed!

And, for what it’s worth, the cryptid story seems to have woken up and is stirring in the back of my mind. I have seen the ending, I think, now I have to get there… I’ll finish the fairy story tomorrow and then ignore the demon woman story and hit the cryptid story and let that go without any other story distractions. I have a feeling that while the others were fine working in concert with others, the cryptid story, because of the intensity of the scenes and the deaths, needs to be on its own. I have encountered that before, and am trusting my instincts in this one.

Finish the fairy story tomorrow (I hope!) and then rest and the next day (Wednesday) tackle the cryptid tale.

The demon woman story can hang around in the background for a while yet.

So: 4189 words today
Total words: 60248

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