Search where?

This Portfolio (stevengepp)

All of Writing.Com

◄ September ►
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30
Archive				RSS

Create New Item

Read & Review

Community

Browse By Type

Browse By Genre

Writing Resources

Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024

1:32pm EST

Members: 816

Guests: 2,265

Total Online: 3,081

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.

September 8, 2024 at 8:33pm

#1076496

20240909 Monster Dictionary Update

Monster Dictionary Update

I have not been posting much in my blog lately because it seems I might finally - finally! - have finished the monster dictionary I have been working on for the past 15+ years.

Yes, this started as something for me to collate the information I wanted for writing in one place, became a labour of love, and then devolved into a complete obsession.

What it was was simple - I wanted to have the creatures and names of creatures from all folklores, legends and mythologies from around the world, nothing created for literature, and nothing from pop culture, with the original stories and myths and maybe some developments. Then I decided to separate a section at the end for cryptids, those creatures that could possibly exist, based on biological science, and that people do think exist.

Then... then it grew. What I thought would be maybe a thousand animals and humanoids and gods which were not depicted as humans sort of grew. Almost 7 thousand names have now been collated for over 5 thousand beings.

So, in February, this was where I stood, thinking I was close to the end:
A screen cap of progress on the monster dictionary

A screen cap of progress on the monster dictionary

Well, it is now September 9 as I type this, and after going through 2 books that added around 150 new creatures (!) to the list (mainly from Lapland, Finland, Australia and south-east Asia) and more words, we are now at:
Screenshot of the monster dictionary

You can see the pages, the word count, and it also shows I used 10-point Times New Roman font in two columns per page. Also, this is from near the end, showing I have included references, though there are no in-text citations. It's not an academic piece; it is something that should never have blown up quite like this...

My list of names is at:
Screenshot of the monster dictionary

,
showing all names. 1360 of these names are alternate names or spellings of the various creatures, meaning we have 5617 individual creatures.

AT THE MOMENT!

Is it over? I hope so. But there will surely be a creature somewhere from sometime that I've missed. I have asked many people to give me ideas for monster I might have missed. This year, I have received a number of suggestions. Sorry, but no-one has found one I haven't got. Three quarters were beings I already had, and the rest were creatures from literature/pop culture, creatures from RPGs, or scarypasta/ SCP creations from online sources. The last books I have read (around 7 of them) were all written before the Internet corrupted and distorted what people think is the "reality" of these myths.

Anyway, I am strange... and does anyone know a publisher who wants a 460-plus page book (before I even add the Index, which I will do once I am sure I have finished!) with over quarter of a million words?

2 Like • Comment

© Copyright 2024 Santeven Quokklaus (UN: stevengepp at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Santeven Quokklaus has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/stevengepp/day/9-8-2024