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[norcumi]

So... I have a writing problem. Quindar equates it to Unbreakable - I write the first 1/3 of a story, and send it out into the ether, and consider that a whole work. Now, in Unbreakable, that works (please, leave the M. Night Mumblewon'tbothertolookupthespellingrightnow bashing for another time). But all the time? On everything? Not really cool.

For once, however, I know this limitation is there, since I've got a bundle of snippets, and there's a theme, and someone pointed out that a little ficlet scene I did about Mel and co could be part of something more.

Hmm. I now want to write about mine guild. Now, the hardest part - getting permission from folks - is easy, since it's me, my alts, Sozur and his alts, and Sozur's brother, and I don't have a good feel for any of the latter's characters, so the last bit is moot as well. However, there's a bucket load of problems here.

1. What do I have?

A Stitch in Time - or, how Mel met Sozur and got recruited.
Thawing - How Kharisa Died and Then Got Recruited
The Gnome Who Cried Wolf - or, Prudance and Kharisa have a Heart to Heart
Carapace - Hepzibet, the crashing of the Exodar (and since we have a trend, how she got recruited? meeeeh)
Diplomacy - the snippet mentioned above

....yeeeeaaah, we've got a bit of a problem here.

2. What, aside from the obvious, is wrong?

Stitch in Time indicates 9 is a significant number - should consider alternate titles that include sewing/tailoring as a theme that don't have that. If nothing else, 9 is too high a number for anything I'd like to do. Carapace is a neat title, but the fragment I have isn't necessarily relevant. Might be beating a dead horse. Also? Sozur is the only guy, which gives it that vaguely squicky Charlie's Angels vibe.

3. The obvious

No antagonist. No movement - at least, not TOWARDS something. No goal. Hurm.

Well. Something along faction lines irks me, but there might be fodder if it's someone who shouldn't ought to be doing that sort of thing - hey, Garrosh bashing is always in season, right? In faction - I'm at a loss without making up some ex guildy, or perhaps create several new characters with different goals (see the lack of male characters thing). I suppose an opposing guild might work if finagled somehow, but that starts to smack of something from - well, The Guild (after a bewildered and disgusted viewing of the first episode, I went to the internets to see if it got any better, since I seem to know a lot of folks who dig this show. From all I could find, it did not - so either way, if my information is inaccurate, I'm surprisingly ok with that). Strongly disinclined towards that. That leaves obvious world enemies, particularly the Scarlet Crusade, who both Pru and Kharisa have major beef with.

Let's see. There's the classic Hobbit thing; fetch/send/travel across the world with/for some item - ehhh. With this large a group, even if the membership fluctuates? I don't think so. Unknown meta enemy? Maybe, though finding more connections between the characters makes the whole thing feel highly contrived.

Hmm. Something other than vignettes is hard. Well! Hopefully putting this all down helps me work towards it. Any commentary is welcome!

Comments

[gre7g.livejournal.com]

The simplest form of a story is always:

1. Create one or two really likable characters.
2. Hurt them terribly. HURT THEM! Take away things that they care about. Torture them. Kill their families. Piss in their breakfast cereal. Etc.
3. Set them on an adventure in hopes of regaining closure or something they lost.
4. Give them something back (if you hurt them by taking something away, then give them something else back).

The cool thing about this story design is that #3 is actually minor. It doesn't really matter what the quest is, as long as it's engaging and believable. The important thing is that the reader cheers for the main character, frets over whether he will fail, and that the character gets a chance to grow.

So, don't worry about the snippets you have. Ask yourself who you want to be likable and how you want to hurt them. Everything else will fall out from there.

[norcumi.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Brutal, yet efficient. Thank you! This is definitely something to work with!

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

There doesn't have to be an antagonist... the characters growing on their own is a pretty significant plot device (the traditional "coming of age" story fits this model sometimes). People getting thrown together and having to figure out how to work around each other's flaws and irritating behaviors can make for humor and angst on its own, or half the web comics in the world would suddenly cease to exist, and a lot of the sitcoms also. :)

(Sitcoms are a good model, actually. There's no antagonist in Friends or the IT Crowd, it's just people being goofy/normal/human and having to deal with it).

I would pick one character as central and identify something about them that needs to change: they're immature, they're dissatisfied with a boring life, they want to learn something, etc. And then figure out how to get them from point A (immature, dissatisfied, ignorant) to point B (wise in the ways of the world, satisfied with their destiny, powerfully learned!) in a way that interests you. :)

[norcumi.livejournal.com]

Innnteresting. Thank you; this provides a lot of fodder for direction!

[(Anonymous)]

Also, if you're suffering from a writing version of alt-itis, you could always write "Node Tap: Adventures of Melnessness" Which would be short stories/snippets centered around the trials and tribulations of being a professional grinding and resource collecting master (as you are :) ). No giant over arching plots, limited use of flashbacks and each one could be from the perspective of a different melness toon with guildie guest appearances. Think weekly web comic length/ news paper comic length or shorter. Nothing really big and stories don't even have to relate to one another (though they could and if they do, I would suggest no more than a trilogy). It might help with eventually crafting larger stories with characters and situations you've developed in the snippets as well as allow you to use/keep these "incomplete" stories you've mentioned.

I'm no english major but if I had to guess; I'm sure chaucer did something similar in writing the canterbury tales, tolkein with LOTR, gene roddenberry with star trek... just take your time and do a little bit at a time :-)

On an unrelated note, I'm sorry Nzri hasn't been around to fuel/perpetuate the alt-itis. Hopefully I'll be back soon!!! take care melness!

[norcumi.livejournal.com]

Node Tap - ::starts snickering uncontrollably:: Dunno if I can use it, but blast it all I will be retaining that!

No worries about Nzri - you have an actual life and the like; I get that! ;) You take care yourself, sir!