I'm always terrified of reading writing books.
And you're sure this isn't just some fanboy thing? 'Cause I've fought more than a couple pimply, overweight vamps that called themselves Lestat.
Buffy ,'Lessons'
The Great Write Way
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
Liese S. - Feb 16, 2005 6:55:07 am PST #9959 of 10001
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."
erikaj - Feb 16, 2005 7:03:38 am PST #9960 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
Really? Why? Are you Doing it Wrong? Although one I did have to give up on because it asked me not to give a character anything physically insurmountable, and even then I knew that would dent my ouevre, and I couldn't have that.
Jesse - Feb 16, 2005 7:06:16 am PST #9961 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
I think any kind of advice book has stuff to take and stuff to leave. I mean, I don't write fiction, but every grant writing guide has a section that says YOU MUST ARRANGE IT IN THIS ORDER, but each guide gives a different order. So obviously, no one can follow all the books. You take what works for you/your situation and leave the rest. I mean, right?
Amy - Feb 16, 2005 7:06:17 am PST #9962 of 10001
Because books.
Debra Dixon's Goal, Motivation and Conflict
I just had to ask someone the other day what GMC meant, because I had no idea what they were talking about.
Connie Neil - Feb 16, 2005 7:06:38 am PST #9963 of 10001
brillig
it asked me not to give a character anything physically insurmountable
Because heaven knows no one ever has situations that simply must be coped with and aren't going to go away, because that's just silly and Everything Always Ends Well.
Feh.
Connie Neil - Feb 16, 2005 7:10:59 am PST #9964 of 10001
brillig
My least favorite bit of advice is "What's your theme? You've got to have a premise!" "Uh, OK, my theme is life is hard." "All right, does each and every scene promote that theme?" "Look, I'm just trying to get the silly fool to go kiss the guy, OK? Higher truth is just going to have to wait a bit."
erikaj - Feb 16, 2005 7:14:03 am PST #9965 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
I know, Connie. Tell God that, right? She did not get that memo, obviously.
Beverly - Feb 16, 2005 7:15:47 am PST #9966 of 10001
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Liese, I love more than is probably healthy the line
all your emotion safely shuttered/behind that smile like missile silos
Susan W. - Feb 16, 2005 7:20:54 am PST #9967 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
I just had to ask someone the other day what GMC meant, because I had no idea what they were talking about.
Glad to know I'm not the only one out there! I mean, I'm sure it's a fine book, helpful to more people than not, but it's not The Only True Way.
Though I do sometimes ask myself AFTER I've written a scene what a character's goal and motivation are, and if I'm doing enough to bring them out. It's just using GMC as a building block that bugs me, because it feels way too mechanical WRT the way I write.
Scrappy - Feb 16, 2005 7:26:43 am PST #9968 of 10001
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
There is no Only True Way. Anyone who tells you there is is selling you a bill of goods. There are methods for approaching the forbidding task of writing which some folks have developed which may be of use to you, or bits of them might be, or none of them at all. Really, look on writing books as your minions--they are there for you to use for your own purposes and only if you want to. If not, ignore them. They are there to do what you want, you are not there to do what they want.