#story structure is IMPORTANT PEOPLE

[highfantasy-soul]

I think people underestimate the changes that need to be made to stories when adapting them to different mediums/structures and maybe if they understood, they wouldn't have such issues with scenes/character moments not being 1-1 adaptations.

The structure of episodes is really important when considering how the story will unfold and what to include in each episode. Every single episode needs struggles and payoffs, a goal and an accomplishment of that goal - especially in an episodic show like the animated ATLA. By necessity of this, each 20 minute episode is going to have a lot of stuff going on - and tons of issues cropping up where character can be shown. Also, it's common to only have one plotline being followed per episode per group of POV characters - often it's Zuko's plot (much less screen time) and the Gaang (more screentime).

When you only have 8 episodes, cramming all that in would make the episodes feel disjoined and cluttered. It would be a constant whiplash of 'small struggle, overcoming, small struggle, overcoming, small struggle, overcoming' and all those little struggles together might start to feel insignificant and like the plot is just trying to come up with something for the characters to be doing. An example that might have been frustrating is in the first episode of the live action, having Aang and Katara travel to go penguin sledding, then jump to the fire nation ship where they reveal Aang's been gone so long, then back to the village to yet again talk about how long Aang has been gone (to catch everyone up), then Aang leaves, then Aang comes back, then he's off on the ship, then Katara and Sokka have to figure out how to get Appa to work, then they go to the ship, they fight on the ship, Katara struggles to figure out how to waterbend, Aang goes into the Avatar state, they escape, they go to the southern air temple, Aang plays around, they figure out Avatar stuff, they chase Momo, Aang goes into the Avatar state again, Katara talks him down, then the goal of the narrative is introduced.

While that works spread across three whole episodes - episodes not meant to be watched back to back but rather week to week as well as the writers understanding that since this is a kid's show airing, it's possible the watcher has missed the episode before - it would not work for hour-long episodes intended to be binge watched. When the show is episodic and people might not be able to catch all of them, a unique issue needs to be introduced each episode and resolved that same episode (minus the few 2-parter storylines in the OG). It's just the nature of that sort of structure. Just like you wouldn't want a comic structure in a chapter book or a movie structure in a serialized show, different mediums require different structures.

 So how to resolve this? We've got one hour to do all that in - so instead of having all that time traveling (or gods forbid just jumping to the next setting without any establishing shots/travel scenes), things need to be condensed: which means, take several individual actions that share a common theme - say, how a character reacts to certain issues, and combine it into fewer actions that flow in a single sitting rather than three individual ones. Not only condense individual scenes, but also weave together multiple plotlines that might have been in separate episodes, but share a common theme, and have them all occur simultaneously. This means that specific beats from each of the 20 episodes might not all fit in the episodes, but the spirit of those scenes can be adapted to fit with the situation that's at hand - I think episode 3 in the live action does this masterfully.

A specific example is moving Zuko and Aang's first one-on-one fight from his ship in episode 2 of the animated series to episode 3 in Omashu - combining that with the epic fight between them at the perfume place. Episode 1 had already had many fight scenes and one more might have blended in with all the others - setting this big, impactful fight aside for the moment until it could be…well, a moment, I think was a good choice. It was different, an adaptation, but it held true to the significance of the interaction as well as weaving in to the other storylines.

So again, the change of medium is going to necessitate many scenes to be altered to 'fit'. Though many scenes can be translated pretty closely to the animated counterpart, all of them won't be and if you think every single character beat being shown is a must in order to understand character, then just go watch the OG, a different structure just won't work for you point blank no matter how well it's done. Trust me, you do not want to try to just shift a 20 episode season into 8 episodes with no structural changes despite the raw run-times being similar - it would be bad. Like really bad.

#media analysis #story structure #natla #natla spoilers #avatar the last airbender #live action avatar #netflix atla #this argument that 'they had the same amount of time as the cartoon so that means they have no reason not to include every single scene' is #just wild to me #story structure is IMPORTANT PEOPLE #this should be very obvious but apparently it's not #there's not just one way to show specific character traits - the same trait can be shown in a different type of scene just fine

[thelaurenshippen]

the way joel and ellie are perfect unhinged feral soulmates—balls of rage and violence that turn soft for each other and simultaneously would murder the world for each other….I…..

#the last of us spoilers #the last of us #we have reached babygirl and we are NOT okay #I’ve been working on this whole theory about how tlou is structured like a romcom #specifically a will they won’t they #except for deep platonic familial love #and I am FROTHING AT THE MOUTH ABOUT IT #I mean GOD #this game/show just understands love!!! #it’s just about love!! #and for these specific people — love and violence!!! #they are absolute lunatics and I LOVE THEM #WHAT TOWN #THE GIRL WHO BROKE YOUR FUCKING FINGER #THEY ARE BOTH SO TERRIFYING AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!! #platonic love being the center pillar of the story is SO important to me #they are FAMILY

[noveltybee]

Imagine putting your heart and soul into a project because you love the source material, but have to work around certain scenarios because they won’t really translate well to screen, which is fine because you’ve gotten help/blessings from the ORIGINATOR of said source material so you’re feeling really good about everything. Maybe you wish you could change somethings, but you’re proud of the story that you’ve told and how true it is to the HEART OF THE STORY…

Only to then read that some of the fans of said source material think the show is awful and (somehow??) worse than the bad movie adaptations that disregarded the heart of the material (the actually STORY), all because of a casino and either adding or dropping minor story beats.

Wow. Just wow.

#yes this is about the Percy Jackson show #and I know people have valid critiques of the show #BUT SOME OF YALL have criticisms that show that you just wanted and 1:1 #which was never going to happen #the show is good if y’all would get off yall high horses and enjoy the ride #I’ve seen bad shows #this isn’t one of them #some of the scenes y’all call important just aren’t in the grand scheme of the story #the show not having those scenes doesn’t necessarily effected the overall theme and structure of the original work #not to mention #the scenes are still there #just reworked or shifted #y’all just want to complain #imagine thinking an author like RICK RIORDAN #would take this opportunity and squander it by making a bad adaptation of HIS OWN STORY #wild #pjo tv show #pjo series #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson

[dyketubbo]

properly got the chance to read through the statements made by pomme dapper and ramons admins (plus admin 18s and some of the twitter update admins) and jeez i feel so bad for them but especially pommes admin. something incredibly sinister about focusing so much mistreatment on the admin who comes from the country where the union efforts are coming from while making merch of the character they played. capitalism is the enemy of creativity. whoever the people are that are removing admins without notice, theyre the ones that deserve to be removed from the project. not the egg/worker/animal admins that the whole fucking story is built on the backs of

#imagine being so fucking capitalism poisoned #that youd rather mistreat and kick off the people who help make the project what it is #than pay them for WORKING *DAILY* to keep the story going #what a fucking joke #mask mews #qsmp #hardly anyone is getting on the server. bads taking a break. a big part of why tubbos still getting on #is because of the tubbathon + he has to to work on his project #pierres on mostly to be afk and pac and phil get on rarely while other ccs just Arent getting on the server or are doing other things #and even when those who get on the server get on. they talk about missing the eggs. how much they wish they were there #qsmp did good for itself when the eggs werent around dont get me wrong #but the eggs are a GIGANTIC part of its success. it wouldnt be the same without them #you cant downplay how important they are to the very fucking structure of qsmp #especially because the egg admins also play the fed workers and animal characters #refuse to pay your workers what they deserve and eventually itll all fall apart. just because its a slow process with major corporations #doesnt mean itll be slow for smaller projects like this. thats just not how it works

[theprinceandthewitch]

Tbh... I don't think TOH should get a pass for it's shoddy plot just because some of the stuff that happens within the plot invokes an emotional response in people.

First of all, people react to concepts with varying degrees of emotional intensity based on what they like and/or their life experiences. Secondly, you can still create resonate moments with a good plot lmao.

There is no reason TOH should get a pass for making Belos a non threat for most of Season 1 just because people think x, y, z moment is wholesome or whatever.

#toh critical #i really hate this weird trend where people think story structure should be disregarded just because they happened to like an idea #and i guess there is an argument to be had that we shouldn't care about story structure because most people aren't even #aware of it when they start reading or watching something. Like they left everything they learned in literature class after they #graduated high school or college. #but it's like... then why do ppl go online to read negative analyses of their favorite piece of literature or media lmao #because people who write analyses care about story structure and it's important to them. so. #oh right and you know. just because most people aren't aware of story structure doesn't mean you shouldn't write a good story #that's like saying ''well since people don't care about music theory that means I can make a song without using music theory'' like??? #very bizarre tbh

[dallonwrites]

random sunday afternoon thoughts but i think the thing with writing advice isn't only that it's just that -- advice -- but also that most of the time it's really just an intro to some kind of craft theory. like you can see a post about how to write better prose for example and it can give beneficial ideas -- show don't tell, specific language, utilise the senses -- all of these are good as theories on craft but with any theory there are exemptions, there are ways to bend it. you also have to ask why this is a theory in the first place, what idea of good prose does this theory come from? but ultimately the thing is no writing advice can tell you how to work that advice into your writing voice/specific story. so seeing these posts as examples of craft theory rather than advice helped me out a lot because instead of wondering which advice to take on for a story, if i "knew" enough about this writing thing to make that call, i was seeing these posts as an intro to a theory on craft, and then i'm asking myself what i can do with this theory, what can this theory do for my story? where does this theory come from? what kind of story/writer does it consider, what kind does it not?

atm i'm writing a flash in 1st person present which is not a POV i use a lot and before i would read as many resources on 1st person present as possible -- which in itself isn't bad, resources exist for a reason! -- but i'd always get stuck because in my attempt to learn as much about "how to write" something as possible, i would forget the only person who can teach me how to write something in my story is me. those resources do help, but the answer is in my story. and that answer will look different in the next 1st person present story i write. there's a garth greenwell quote i love about drafting that says "if anything i try to forget all considerations of craft or technique, to work from a place as near to ignorance as I can manage". i think part of taking in writing "advice"/craft theory is also understanding the gaps in it that are filled in by your story, what will strengthen and what will weaken it. and understanding writing advice as just craft theory helped me because it's just that -- theory, possibilities with craft -- and isn't meant to answer specific questions about how to write a specific story, and you will also learn a lot more if you let yourself lean into the unknowing that is a natural part of writing. because you don't need to know craft to write, you just need to know what your story needs, and a lot of advice and "rules" are really just intros to craft theory that can help you start to know where to look for your story's answers, rather than giving the answer itself. tldr most writing "advice" and "rules" is just craft theory, and instead of trying to shape your writing to fit "advice/rules" you should be thinking about the ways you can shape theory to fit your writing

#i don't think you need to unpack every piece of advice you read in this theoretical way but i do think its important #when a lot of popular advice does get passed around at what is ultimately an introductory level #for example i see a lot of advice posts on story structure here that are very obviously surface level takes on #western ideas of story structure -- which is why i think its so important to see these things for what they are #which is craft theory. and then thinking okay where does this theory come from who does it benefit who does it not take into consideration #i'm obnoxiously literal about language sometimes but i think advice as a word holds a lot of weight because it kind of suggests that the #person giving it knows something you don't? not that i think people giving out writing advice see themselves that way #but seeing these things as someone sharing writing theory rather than advice/rules makes things feel more balanced to me #and someone may know more about a specific craft thing than you of course. that's why sharing craft and learning from other writers is #such a beautiful thing. but do they really know more about writing than you? #do you know more about writing than them? that's not something you can measure #the person that knows more about a piece of craft theory than you doesn't know how to write your story better than you #i don't know a lot about writing fantasy and someone with more experience will know more about #things like worldbuilding craft etc. building magic systems and lore. #but that doesn't mean they know how to write my fantasy story better than i do. because it's my story. #i can learn from them but what i'm learning is craft theory. not how to write my story. does that make sense #+ i will learn how to write my story by embracing the fact that i do not know how to write fantasy i just know fantasy craft theory #but also im someone who doesnt believe craft rules should exist in the first place lol but that's another post

[thatgirlonstage]

I get that “the family that moves into the haunted house doesn’t trust each other enough to believe each other when one of them starts saying shit is haunted” is one of those genre tropes that’s like, it needs to be that way to make the story go, but I think you could do an interesting subversion/genre bait-and-switch by making a couple that pretty early on goes “no, okay, it doesn’t matter if you’re hallucinating or if the basement really did try to eat you, the person I love doesn’t feel safe so we’re getting the fuck out”. Idk it’s just really rare to see romantic relationships survive horror films and I think you could do something fun with it.

#I am still thinking about burnt offerings after it wrecked my shit last weekend #and like the context of that film is that all those people hated each other’s guts both in the story and irl lmao #so it would never apply there #but it got me thinking bc #‘would you leave for me? even if it was all just in my head?’ #has the potential for incredible romance between characters for whom the answer is an unequivocal YES #I was ALSO thinking about that film #in the context of like. it Seemed Important that it was a nuclear family with a kid #so what happens to that story if the impetus is really #we’re renting this house out in the middle of nowhere in the country #so that when we quietly invite my husband’s FRIEND Dave to come join us #no one needs to know or be asking awkward questions about why Dave is spending the whole summer with us #this is partially me being like. mmm. #I think if I thought about it more you could Say Something Interesting #about the fragility of nuclear families and how the individualist mindset behind them #cuts you off from perspective and support #with this kind of story structure #and partially me being like #I think it would be funny if the house that eats you is defeated bc it doesn’t know what gay people are #just bamboozled. why is there another guy here. get rid of him. why isn’t he leaving #ALSO to be clear #in this scenario the wife is a beard #but that DOESN’T mean she’s expendable #it means she is these two men’s single most trusted friend and confidante #and that they are gonna fight tooth and nail not to let a house eat her #the house trying to sow distrust by manufacturing a scenario where it looks like the wife is cheating: WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING

[halfyearsqueen]

@drakonprince : aegon the dragonbane — [when fear drives destruction.]   what is my muses greatest fear, and why or how has that fear been instilled in them?   how do they react when faced with that fear?how does it impact their daily life?

her greatest fear is ? failure. in so many versions of the word her biggest fear is the idea of failing the people she loves, of failing the people who had given her their loyalty and placed themselves on her side. people she has a duty to, in her eyes ( her mother, her father, her allies, her family as the future head of house targaryen, and no one more then her children. ) she’s afraid of being proven worthless or lacking in someway, that somehow she is replaceable. she’s been given an opportunity that is so unexpected now that she has it, if she’s loses it, she thinks it’s because she didn’t do enough to compensate for the fact she’s not a boy. and that that is going to be the surmountable hurdle that no amount of hard work can possibly overcome. she doesn’t view the societal precedence of male primogeniture as something that is holy impossible to overcome, (it is going to be a long drawn out process and she knows she’s meant to be a trial run, and if she fails, then what ? ) Because she was placed in that role officially, her father opened that door for her, he made it so that hurdle is passable. And he did give her a very massive burden to take up, and it definitely leaves her in a rock and a hard place situations a lot more often than not, but he also has given her a gift that she wants to prove wasn’t a mistake in giving to her. that it wasn’t a wrong choice in keeping her as his heir, even after he had three legitimate sons, she has to remain in his good graces to remain his air because that’s what’s keeping her in her position. But she also wants her father to be proud of her because she loves him and it is an opportunity to prove her worth in such a monumental way.she wants ? to prove to the realm that even though aemma didn’t give viserys a son, she still gave him his rightful heir, and that she did do her duty in that sense, and that even if she didn’t give the realm a son she gave them their first queen regnant and like ? that’s a lot of why she fights as hard as she does early on - because she wants aemma’s pain and suffering to matter. she doesn’t want the people who have supported her and have staunchly backed her claim to feel foolish and having done so by choosing the princess over the prince and siding against the hand in the queen.

and like when she has children ? so much of her fears recenter themselves and refocus on them. like she's afraid during her pregnancies that something could happen and she wouldn't carry the baby to term, or that they would die in the cradle, and very soon after they're born the questions / allegations about their illegitimacy begin. and their illegitimacy is dangerous to them. they could be exiled at best, and then ? her ability to provide for them dwindles. like she is fully aware of the dangers that such a thing would put them through when she conceives them, but she also knows that like ? she has to have heirs, and she has to have them personally, or her position becomes extraordinarily shaky. especially whenever aegon had sons of his own. and like ? we know luke had his own knife at the age of four, in the book. this four year old child was given live steel presumably to defend himself with and again, he's four. there isn't going to be a lot of time that she's away from her children, but she clearly feared for their physical safety enough that she deemed it a necessary choice to make to give it to him. and like whatever prompted that decision, whether it was just the consistency of the rumors that led her to believe that people might believe she was actually placing a pretender who didn't deserve to inherit the throne on the throne - and if that could lead to them being harmed in some way. we know that joffrey was in training circa the age of two. she can ? get incredibly ruthless in defending them from those allegations because in her mind it is that potentially detrimental for them ( see : the vaemond incident ) which was the first instance where she was ever accused overtly in public of harwin being their father ' officially' in the sense of it wasn't just her little brother calling her sons 'strongs'. it was an actual official accusation of treason. and she’s honestly afraid more then anything after the fear for their lives that they are going to grow up and resent her for the fact that they can’t escape the allegations of bastardy either — that they are going to think negatively of her in the long run for not even feeling guilty for having had them.

when it comes to most every other fear, she has a habit of internalizing it. or only really letting it out through her hands whether it be twisting her rings or compulsively adjusting her sleeves. anything to keep her anxieties and fears on the inside so she can curate her reactions to have control over them and so she doesn’t express as much vulnerability to anyone who might be watching her. it was instilled in her through experience, through the fact that she does care so much about being perceived as worthy of her place. and before she accepted the fact some people would never have a nice word to say about her in regards to it like. she had a very bad time grappling with things that her detractors would say about her and how the comments on her worth would almost always center around her purity and how it was wholly irrelevant to her worth as prospective ruler, and how it was staining her reputation, staining her more then anything she said or did. because it felt wholly inescapable . and like honestly when she IS faced with those fears as she ages it does get easier to manage and to respond to without leaving such a diminishing blow on her - because the only criticism she really ? holds in high esteem any longer are the people she knows at least do want to help her and not just take shots at her. but like in her day to day ? she’s mentally keeping track on how she behaves, on how she walks, and how she talks, if she’s being watched, who’s watching and why. dragonstone is the only place where she’s really ? calm and at ease in regards to how she handles things because it is a place that’s wholly under her control she doesn’t have people that constantly combat against her to where every little thing can be used as potential ammunition against her . fears about her kids however, are things that she never really gets better at handling as time goes on. she has a habit of lashing out when she feels they’re threatened by something, or insulted in some way . their worth and how they’re perceived at court is something that is a lot easier to land to generate a reaction from her. because as far as she’s concerned they didn’t do anything to deserve it people whispering about their legitimacy and referring to them as ‘ common’ . they didn’t do anything to deserve the whispers about them the way she did.

#like her confidence and her boldness calcifies as time goes on it it doesn’t erode #because it is very much her own armor #and she was made heir at a point in her life where she never would’ve considered the throne a personal loss if viserys waited until he #remarried to name an heir and replace daemon #and she couldn’t really do anything about it but learn to want it because she doesn’t want to disappoint him #she wanted to be important to the crown before aemma died but even though people were whispering about naming her heir #she didn’t consider it with any degree of seriousness #because daemon existed and surely ? surely her father wouldn’t do something so ultimately polarizing in placing a girl #as his heir and doing so officially #she had a structured comfortable life as a princess and people by and large adored the fact she was so visible to them #but then she actually had to prove herself useful and that was - a different story #she didn’t want it until she does and then failure becomes a singularly impossible concept #infant death / #miscarriage /

[widowshill]

not for nothing that roger and jeff are wearing completely identical suits for vicki's wedding down to the same pearl stick pin and it's roger that is distinguished with the accessory and the visual emphasis. that roger wears the pocket square and jeff goes plain without one, without a boutonnière (as feels the most probable and appropriate; they both wear boutonnières in roger's prophetic dream of the wedding). that not only is he wearing the handkerchief, but it's folded in such a way as so take as much space as possible – straying from accepted formality of a neat TV fold, occupying more room on the screen, drawing more attention, pointing among other things to his heart in bright white.

#i wrote about this in the tags of that gifset but i thought i should accompany commentary with images. #i've... for sure mentioned this scene before but i've read enough tonight that i feel more confident speaking on it more #than only – omg roger is wearing the same clothes. they could switch places. i wish they would switch places. #625. #it's a category of ds analysis where i do hesitate before ascribing importance but it's not going to stop me entirely. #a) davis could have just not put on the pin he was supposed to and that's the end of that story. not unlikely. but b) #the details *matter* in menswear – dark shadows costumes (in the present day) rely heavily on contemporary codes of fashion‚ class‚ leisure #many Many of the male characters mostly or only wear suits – the subtle differences in those suits (between characters; between days #and arcs) are responsible for communicating a great deal to us about who these people are – their place in the structure of things #and what they want right now. #and in costume design – when two characters are wearing an identical costume (a uniform; a wedding suit) the distinguishing features #take on the role of communicating details of character. #in american weddings the groom is dressed much more like his groomsmen than the bride and the bridal party – this is something #the costume team is going to be aware of and be purposeful about. even if they weren't purposeful: assume a 60's viewer who knows the rules #of suits‚ of weddings‚ of pocket squares (who knows much more than i do) #roger and jeff are dressed so much alike for vicki's wedding as to be nigh indistinguishable – it could have‚ #had things played out differently‚ been roger in jeff's place. #both the script and the players elide the two in vicki's perspective (''why hasn't roger come back?'' ''you mean jeff don't you?'') #this being a wedding that he tried to stop – one in which he sensed disaster – one in which you already have the notion that maybe he does #wish it was *him* instead‚ though he won't say that. but his first and foremost priority in 625 and 626 is her happiness. #he takes the responsibility (and the shame) from vicki's shoulders of telling the guests that jeff left and there's no wedding. #he chases jeff down to the cemetary‚ to try to stop him from digging up a grave‚ and *implores* him to focus on offering vicki a life. #he has a large role in these eps perhaps especially because he's the one that had the premonition against the wedding; but also because #vicki is one of the few people he cares about – and he says as much. all this to say. roger is grabbing attention with his extravagant #pocket square – he's pulling focus visually; narratively; from the groom (in terms of vicki/the wedding – jeff has more to do with eve/ #the graveyard/peter) vicki is spending as much time thinking about roger as she does jeff. and the moment where roger comes up to her room #to see her is .... well. there's more shared in the way they look at each other than all v/j's professions of love between them. #(and it's a distant echo of her first night in the house: roger at her bedroom door) #in the ds in my head (my beloved ds in my head) this is where the paths ought to have diverged. that vicki – no matter how much she loves #the past‚ how dearly she remembers the 18th century and peter and their ill-fated jail cell‚ has to choose now. not the grave‚ life.

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

The Free People’s Village

sci-fi set in an alternate 2020, where Gore was elected and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror - but otherwise not much is different, capitalism still reigns and benefits the white and privileged while criminalizing marginalised - especially Black and Indigenous - people

follows a young queer white woman who’s the guitarist in a punk band at a warehouse-turned-housing-and-venue, and who teaches at a predominantly Black school

when she learns that The Lab is going to be torn down for a new electromagnetic hyperway, she gets involved in the movement to stop it - at first just to keep her band, but she gets more involved as she reckons with her privilege and her own anti-racist journey as The Lab becomes the centre of an anti-capitalist revolution during a time of increasing political unrest

#The Free People’s Village #sim kern #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #I thought this was pretty good - interesting premise; some great characters and important conversations #It is definitely a clueless-white-cis-lady-becomes-a-bit-less-clueless kind of story and I think I’d recommend it to fellow white people #but I don’t think non-white reviewers would enjoy this very much. especially the first third or so #with her unconscious racism and bumbling through...a lot of things #But I understand that her being like that is a way to have these discussions in the narrative which ultimately are important conversations #and the revolution depicted here is much more grounded and radical than a lot of white-authored sff revolutions #other than that - the structure was a little strange and sometimes it leaned into the Hey Guys This Is An Alternate Timeline a smidge too #much haha. and also damn pretty depressing in parts. but I guess realistic. p good overall

[musical-chick-13]

The THING is. When people (I am including myself in this) try to talk about how "Why is there overall less of an emphasis on women's stories and female characters and f/f shipping, especially when according to the stats we see being shared, fandom is significantly populated by queer women, hmm this seems a bit strange," there's ALMOST ALWAYS this assumption that it comes from a place of gender essentialism or purity culture or hating every single man for existing or something. ARE there some people who mean that? Yeah, there are going to be people like that in EVERY group of people who try to talk about anything. But when people complain about this, it's most generally because WE EXPERIENCE STRUCTURAL MISOGYNY IRL, AND NOW WE ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME SOCIAL EFFECTS WITHIN SOMETHING THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE "FUN." THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

And this goes for when people try to talk about racism in fandom spaces as well. And ableism. And transphobia. And any other form of prejudice you can think of. Is talking about this in one (1) context that is not directly political going to forever eliminate bigotry? No. Obviously not. But the thing about systemic bias and prejudice is that IT IS PRESENT AT EVERY LEVEL, EVEN THE "FUN" ONES.

#THERE IS NUANCE IN THIS CONVERSATION #fandom misogyny #misogyny in fandom #like...honestly I don't think the Main Problem re: ignoring stories about women or the women in stories is Fetshizing MLM™ actually. #I mean there's some of that that goes on. there's some of that that goes on in regard to characters of color or trans narratives or f/f #media too. there are people who dehumanize people through over-sexualization in EVERY context unfortunately. HOWEVER. I AM #wondering how much of that assumption comes from an attempt to explain the disparity between the focus on queer men #& queer women. personally I think a lot more of it is related to misogyny than we think it is but I'm not omniscient I'm just evaluating #things in accordance to dialogue I've observed and my own personal life experience which is ADMITTEDLY IMPERFECT AND INCOMPLETE #(you have NO IDEA how much shit I've gotten over the years simply for being a woman and no other reason.) #(and if it wasn't for being a woman it was for being disabled) #(and there's a particular intersection of THOSE things I feel like there could be more discussion about too) #and the thing about 'fandom isn't activism' is about how IT SHOULDN'T BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL-WORLD EFFORTS. #it's about how YOU CANNOT ACTUALLY HARM FICTIONAL CHARACTERS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT REAL. #it doesn't mean 'we never examine personal bias at all because this is a hobby'. I played soccer as a hobby once. I danced as a hobby once. #the sports and dance worlds are still affected by bias and prejudice and that should be discussed and evaluated accordingly #fandom is still MADE UP OF real people. and the people who create and/or act in the pieces of media that spawn fandoms #ARE ALSO real people. looking at the effects ON THOSE /REAL PEOPLE/ is still important in understanding structural prejudice and #oppression. (and...lbr. how many actresses and poc have gotten harassment and threats just for playing a character. for having the #audacity to exist in a popular piece of media as a woman or poc. because. the number is. distressingly high.) #(I myself have been the target of shitty forms of harassment just for DRESSING UP AS AN UNPOPULAR FEMALE CHARACTER AT A CONVENTION) #it might be one thing if all of this NEVER translated into how people viewed and affected real life people. if it ALWAYS stayed within the #context of playing around with fictional characters BUT IT RARELY DOES! IF EVER!!! #anyway I say nothing new but I saw something that made me angry. and until people Get It™ I am going to keep screaming about it #y'all knew what you signed up for :) #you know what I'm not even going to tag this with my general conversation tag for this phenomenon because I think people need to #see this occasionally

[creature-once-removed]

.

#I am so tired of people not being able to wrap their head around how dramaturgy works #I am so tired of people jumping to extreme conclusions #as someone who is becoming more and more involved in actually learning how writing in tv and movies works #I am so fucking tired of people mixing fanfic style structure and dramaturgy with original narratives #also I would give a kidney for people to stop judging media through the shipping lense #shipping centric fanfic has done so much damage to the way y'all interact with stories it's unsettling #there's reasons why fanfic is fanfic and original media is not. both are valid both have their niche to exist in #but they do not play by the same rules. that's why they're different from one another #(yeah this is about stranger things but it's not the only instance. this is something that happens more and more and it sucks) #(it makes me furious how many important aspects of storytelling are completely disregarded in fandom discussions) #(a lot of it might be because people don't know? #because it's kinda hard to see the mechanisms when you've never had a look behind the curtain?) #(but that doesn't make it any less frustrating) #(you guys are so hell bent on hating on creators it's terrifying. like do you not realize 'don't put people on pedestals' applies here) #(do content creators make stupid decisions? hell yes! is there some truly awful media out there? definitely!) #(is some of it really harmful? of fucking course!) #(but still these are people writing that and you need to consider not everyone has your brain) #(not everyone comes from the same mental map as you) #(also nothing will ever hold up to the flawless interpretation you have in your head. that's just not how it works) #(and it never will be) #(learn how to critically engage with media you like. that also means considering other nuances you didn't see) #(or didn't want to see) #(you have absolutely every right to be upset and angry and disappointed and all that) #(and of course you should point out dubious choices or tendencies) #(but if media is going to hold any kind of enjoyment for you) #(ESPECIALLY sequels) #(you need to also give benefit of the doubt. suspension of disbelief. 'not what I imagined but Imma read a fix it' mindset) #(especially if the thing you're criticizing /is not finished/) #(almost all of those 'plot hole / everything wrong with' posts about st vol 2 are so so easily rebuffed) #(shit I've run out of tags. whatever I guess you get my point. hopefully)

[celestial-kestrel]

It's that time of year again where Mari Lwyd starts to be talked about and shared around and an INCREDIBLY misleading post gets shared a lot. As someone who grew up with Mari Lwyd I wanted to clear some things up.

Also hello, if you are unaware who Mari Lwyd is. This is about the Welsh tradition of the horse skull who visits houses during the Christmas to New Years period in Wales asking for alcohol.

First off and probably the most important one:

Mari Lwyd is not a cryptid!

I can not emphasise this enough. She. Is. Not. A. Cryptid. There is no story or mystery about a ghost or zombie horse roaming the Welsh valleys. She's not even supposed to be a ghost or a zombie. It's just a horse skull on a stick with a guy under a sheet. She's a hobbyhorse and a folk character used to tell Welsh stories and keep songs alive. When people spread the misinformation that she's a cryptid, it's the equivalent of saying Kermit the Frog is a cryptid.

She is actually only one character in a wider cast of characters who go door to door or, in more modern times, pub to pub. The cast of characters can change town to town and village to village but there are some common ones I see time and time again. The Leader, the Merryman, The Jester and The Lady are just some I see regularly. Punch and Judy used to be more popular a few years ago but I haven't seen them in a while as their tradition has mostly fallen out of popularity. In most cases, almost the whole cast will be played by men. Even the characters are considered and referred to as female. Though this again depends and varies by which group is partaking in the Mari Lwyd tradition.

This point also goes onto my second point,

Mari Lwyd does not rap.

I think this comes from a very common misunderstanding of what rap is vs spoken word. Rap is a very specific style of music originating from the African American communities of the USA and has it's own structure and motifs unique to it. It's a lot more complex than people give it credit for as a style of music and just flippantly assign anything similar to it as being rap. If someone is talking fast or reciting poetry, it is not rap. Or anything that is an exchange of words between two people is not a rap battle. Mari Lwyd does not do rap, actually something that gets left out of these posts is the fact Mari Lwyd does not even speak. It's actually the Leader, who does all the speaking and song based banter between the house/pub owner for entry. Mari Lwyd just clicks her mouth, bites people and bobs her head around.

I think Mari Lwyd is a really beautiful and unique part of Welsh culture. She's not actually as wildly celebrated as a lot of the posts make her out to be. Actually, I think most Welsh people themselves learn about Mari Lwyd through the internet as well. Her popularity is increasing thanks to the drive of local groups wanting to keep the traditions alive and a renewed desire to document Welsh traditions before they're gone. Which is why it's such a shame that she's turned into something she's not to earn horror points on the internet. I think this is why it bothers me so much to see the misunderstandings of the culture and the folk tradition. Mari Lwyd's origin is very hot debated as well as how long it's been going on for. But I think it's thanks to a lot of traditions like this that the Welsh language and our stories weren't lost forever. Welsh culture is recovering as is the language. But it's still in a very fragile place. I think it's why it's important to document and correct information when it's spread.

Anyway, if you want to see the tradition in action, here's a lovely video from the Cwmafan RFC going to one of the pubs for charity. It includes the song exchange with the pub owner for entry and the whole pub singing and joining in once Mari Lwyd and the rest are inside.

As well with another video from St Fagan's showcasing the more traditional and door to door form with the larger cast.

#Mari Lwyd #Wales #Welsh #Welsh culture #Youtube

[emeryleewho]

I used to work for a trade book reviewer where I got paid to review people's books, and one of the rules of that review company is one that I think is just super useful to media analysis as a whole, and that is, we were told never to critique media for what it didn't do but only for what it did.

So, for instance, I couldn't say "this book didn't give its characters strong agency or goals". I instead had to say, "the characters in this book acted in ways that often felt misaligned with their characterization as if they were being pulled by the plot."

I think this is really important because a lot of "critiques" people give, if subverted to address what the book does instead of what it doesn't do, actually read pretty nonsensical. For instance, "none of the characters were unique" becomes "all of the characters read like other characters that exist in other media", which like... okay? That's not really a critique. It's just how fiction works. Or "none of the characters were likeable" becomes "all of the characters, at some point or another, did things that I found disagreeable or annoying" which is literally how every book works?

It also keeps you from holding a book to a standard it never sought to meet. "The world building in this book simply wasn't complex enough" becomes "The world building in this book was very simple", which, yes, good, that can actually be a good thing. Many books aspire to this. It's not actually a negative critique. Or "The stakes weren't very high and the climax didn't really offer any major plot twists or turns" becomes "The stakes were low and and the ending was quite predictable", which, if this is a cute romcom is exactly what I'm looking for.

Not to mention, I think this really helps to deconstruct a lot of the biases we carry into fiction. Characters not having strong agency isn't inherently bad. Characters who react to their surroundings can make a good story, so saying "the characters didn't have enough agency" is kind of weak, but when you flip it to say "the characters acted misaligned from their characterization" we can now see that the *real* problem here isn't that they lacked agency but that this lack of agency is inconsistent with the type of character that they are. a character this strong-willed *should* have more agency even if a weak-willed character might not.

So it's just a really simple way of framing the way I critique books that I think has really helped to show the difference between "this book is bad" and "this book didn't meet my personal preferences", but also, as someone talking about books, I think it helps give other people a clearer idea of what the book actually looks like so they can decide for themselves if it's worth their time.

Update: This is literally just a thought exercise to help you be more intentional with how you critique media. I'm not enforcing this as some divine rule that must be followed any time you have an opinion on fiction, and I'm definitely not saying that you have to structure every single sentence in a review to contain zero negative phrases. I'm just saying that I repurposed a rule we had at that specific reviewer to be a helpful tool to check myself when writing critiques now. If you don't want to use the tool, literally no one (especially not me) can or wants to force you to use it. As with all advice, it is a totally reasonable and normal thing to not have use for every piece of it that exists from random strangers on the internet. Use it to whatever extent it helps you or not at all.

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #am writing #books #booklr #fiction #media analysis

[deception-united]

Let's talk about character voices.

Giving a character a unique voice in your writing involves several elements, including word choice, sentence structure, dialogue quirks, and mannerisms. By incorporating these elements into your writing, you can create characters with distinct voices that resonate with readers and bring your story to life.

Here are some tips to help you create distinctive voices for your characters:

Distinct Vocabulary: Choose words that reflect the character's background, personality, and education level. Consider their profession, interests, and experiences when selecting vocabulary. For example, a well-educated professor would likely use more sophisticated language.

Dialogue Quirks: Give each character specific speech patterns or quirks that set them apart. This could include repeated phrases, stuttering, using or avoiding contractions, or speaking in a particular dialect or accent. Be careful not to overdo it, though, as too much can become distracting.

Sentence Structure: Pay attention to the rhythm and structure of their sentences. Some characters might speak in short, abrupt sentences, while others might use long, flowing ones. This can convey their confidence, hesitation, or urgency.

Internal Monologue: Show the character's unique thought process through their internal monologue. This can help readers understand their motivations, fears, and desires, further distinguishing them from other characters. (This may not necessarily apply to your story if you're writing in a third person omniscient perspective, or if you intend to exclusively follow the internal monologue of the main character.)

Physical Gestures and Actions: Incorporate the character's physical gestures and actions into their dialogue to add depth to their voice. For example, a nervous character might fidget, slouch, or avoid eye contact while speaking, while a confident character might stand tall and make direct eye contact.

Background and History: Consider the character's background and history when crafting their voice. Their upbringing, cultural influences, and past experiences can all shape the way they speak and interact with others.

Consistency: It's important to maintain consistency in the character's voice throughout the story. Pay attention to their speech patterns, vocabulary, and mannerisms to ensure they remain true to their established personality.

Listen to Real Conversations: Pay attention to how people speak in real life, including their tone, vocabulary, and speech patterns. Drawing inspiration from real conversations can help you create authentic and believable dialogue for your characters.

Read Aloud: Reading your dialogue aloud can help you identify areas where the character's voice may not sound authentic. If it doesn't sound like something they would say, revise.

Avoid Stereotypes: While it's okay to draw inspiration from archetypes, be careful not to rely too heavily on stereotypes. Instead, strive to create complex, multidimensional characters with unique voices.

Hope this helps!

#writeblr #writing #writing tips #writing advice #writing help #writing resources #creative writing #character development #deception-united

[tanaor]

Want simple tips to heavily improve your skills with character voice??

(📝Note: character voice is the way you convey your character's personality though their pov or dialogue when you write. No two characters speak the same📝)

I speak from experience when I say character voice is hard to get right. Characters, like people, have lots of layers that affect the way they see the world around them and how they interact with other characters. That's why character voice is so important in stories, and why if you write it in a compelling and effective way it will hook people into your story. I hope you learn something new in this post!!

When writing character voice, there's a list of things that you should take into account:

Where are they from? Their past and what they've lived plays a huge part in character voice. Maybe your character grew by the ocean, and so they compare things from the present to the beach, the rocks or the sea itself. You will rarely read about a sailor that is an expert in pants and compares scents to flowers. They might, instead, talk about how a house smells like the wet wood of a ship.

Think about how their personality shapes their language. If they are insecure, they might end most of their sentences with "isn't it?" or "right?" and ask a lot of questions, whereas if you have a confident character, you might find them saying things like "we should do this" or "that will be fun" instead.

What their "lense" is. This is more of an ethic aspect of the character. What have they learn it's okay, and what do they find uncomfortable? Would they find it gross if their friend left laundry on the floor?

Give them special traits (both for dialogue and narration). Maybe character A quotes a lot when they narrate and uses long paragraphs, or maybe B speaks about their past a lot and uses popular sayings. Personally, one character of mine has the tendency to repeat himself when he speaks, as in "yeah, yeah, I'll do it" or "no, no, no. Never" because he is really enthusiastic, and it fits really well with his character.

Pay attention to how they would talk about themselves. Maybe your character doesn't like people to know they're sad because it makes them feel vulnerable, so they will just say they feel annoyed or don't want to talk in that moment. This also means that they will not tell the reader something they are not comfortable saying in the first place.

How is their education? Education is also very important in this context. Did they went to university and have a rich vocabulary and structured sentences, or where they rised in a little farm far from town? You can also play with both a bit: maybe your character did go to university, but maybe they also came from a low income family, and characteristic of both things merge when they talk. Example: long, structured, sentences but a simple and sight forward vocabulary.

That's all for now and happy writing!!

Other tips for writers: previous | next

#writeblr #writing #writer #writers #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #creative writing #character development #current wip #tips for writers #writing tips #tips #main character #original character #character dynamics #oc #ocs #writing advice