Stories
12-03-2017, 12:37 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-03-2017, 08:32 AM by MetalRenard.)
What's your favorite type of character?
An anti-hero who struggles with moral decisions or a normal person who has to make decisions with real consequences.
I've recently finished reading Pandora's Star which is full of "normal people" who make lots of small choices but they build up to a massive plot point.
What are your favorite genres? (Or should I say which?
)
Science-fiction. Aliens, Virtual reality (Ready Player One was amazing), space-ships, an in-depth study of the human condition.
What would you think if the protagonist dies at any point before reaching two thirds of the whole story?
Go for it. Stephen King kills all his characters eventually.
What would you say if your favorite character dies too soon in your own opinion?
Author's choice. I respect it. It has to be justified though!
What do you think about conlangs? (Fake languages created by the authors for some specific purpose like describing a whole fake culture.)
Despite being a linguist, I dislike conlangs. I feel the major problem with them is that they often come from the perspective of someone who doesn't understand the true origin of languages. Language is culture is language. You can't have one unless the other is fully developed too, which includes thousands of years of history. You can't separate the two - Tolkein understood this perfectly!
What do you think about monsters and aliens?
Love 'em!
Should we include them in our stories?
If it makes sense. I've recently finished watching season 1 of "Colony" in which the Earth is colonised by an alien species but we never see them, only the effects of their influence via politics.
Or should we lean more on human beings than monsters or aliens?
This depends on your story. Back to Pandora's Star, there's a fascinating alien who communicats with infrared light signals but the human who meets him only realises this thanks to retinal inserts which store the patterns and a very advanced AI which helps translate after many months of trial and error.
Do you like to meet unknown, mysterious characters that never reveal themselves (completely)?
Sure, why not? It has to have a reason for this though.
Do you prefer to read stories full of drama or packed with lots of action instead?
Both are fine. I like political drama and space ship battles equally!
Do you prefer to take a look at stories that reflect reality as much as possible or not?
Not necessarily. I like to philosophise about the human condition... This doesn't require a life-like setting or reality.
Should stories end with a happy ending, an ill fate or just leave you hanging?
Do you want me to feel happy or get me to buy the sequal too?
Should a story include lots of heroes and NPC?
Sorry to repeat myself but Pandora's Star does this brilliantly. I lost count of the number of characters whose 1st person perspective we see the story through, including the hugely dangerous and completely alien species we lowly humans encounter. They experiment on us without even understaning our physiology which leads to a gruesome result (they don't understand that screams mean fear or pain... or that the red stuff in our bodies is vital to our survival).
Or should we rely on villains and defective heroes that end up being pretty much helpless instead?
Whatever advances the plot and gets your message across.
Do you think it is really necessary to describe characters in detail? (Including those like the shopkeeper you will only meet once)
Again... If it serves the plot. Just enough detail so I can picture it but not so much as to distract from the point of your visit to the shop.
An anti-hero who struggles with moral decisions or a normal person who has to make decisions with real consequences.
I've recently finished reading Pandora's Star which is full of "normal people" who make lots of small choices but they build up to a massive plot point.
What are your favorite genres? (Or should I say which?
)Science-fiction. Aliens, Virtual reality (Ready Player One was amazing), space-ships, an in-depth study of the human condition.
What would you think if the protagonist dies at any point before reaching two thirds of the whole story?
Go for it. Stephen King kills all his characters eventually.
What would you say if your favorite character dies too soon in your own opinion?
Author's choice. I respect it. It has to be justified though!
What do you think about conlangs? (Fake languages created by the authors for some specific purpose like describing a whole fake culture.)
Despite being a linguist, I dislike conlangs. I feel the major problem with them is that they often come from the perspective of someone who doesn't understand the true origin of languages. Language is culture is language. You can't have one unless the other is fully developed too, which includes thousands of years of history. You can't separate the two - Tolkein understood this perfectly!
What do you think about monsters and aliens?
Love 'em!
Should we include them in our stories?
If it makes sense. I've recently finished watching season 1 of "Colony" in which the Earth is colonised by an alien species but we never see them, only the effects of their influence via politics.
Or should we lean more on human beings than monsters or aliens?
This depends on your story. Back to Pandora's Star, there's a fascinating alien who communicats with infrared light signals but the human who meets him only realises this thanks to retinal inserts which store the patterns and a very advanced AI which helps translate after many months of trial and error.
Do you like to meet unknown, mysterious characters that never reveal themselves (completely)?
Sure, why not? It has to have a reason for this though.
Do you prefer to read stories full of drama or packed with lots of action instead?
Both are fine. I like political drama and space ship battles equally!
Do you prefer to take a look at stories that reflect reality as much as possible or not?
Not necessarily. I like to philosophise about the human condition... This doesn't require a life-like setting or reality.
Should stories end with a happy ending, an ill fate or just leave you hanging?
Do you want me to feel happy or get me to buy the sequal too?
Should a story include lots of heroes and NPC?
Sorry to repeat myself but Pandora's Star does this brilliantly. I lost count of the number of characters whose 1st person perspective we see the story through, including the hugely dangerous and completely alien species we lowly humans encounter. They experiment on us without even understaning our physiology which leads to a gruesome result (they don't understand that screams mean fear or pain... or that the red stuff in our bodies is vital to our survival).
Or should we rely on villains and defective heroes that end up being pretty much helpless instead?
Whatever advances the plot and gets your message across.
Do you think it is really necessary to describe characters in detail? (Including those like the shopkeeper you will only meet once)
Again... If it serves the plot. Just enough detail so I can picture it but not so much as to distract from the point of your visit to the shop.
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