Writing Discussion
Aug. 30th, 2012 05:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseThere's a great entry by layla, Writing Your Best Ideas - it's short but thought provoking, go read it!
It got me thinking about how I do this, the holding back of certain character names or plot points – more and discussion topics under the cut.
In my comment to the aforementioned entry I said that
(a) have you ever done this? Held back on an idea or a name because it seemed 'too good to waste'?
If so, was it the right decision or not?
If you've never held back on using something, have you later regretted it?
(b) names. This is tough one for me, and finding the right name is a challenge. Fanfic can be easier because as I said above, even if I hate the names, they're there and have to be used (slight alterations for AU's aside).
How important is finding the right name when you create an OC for any type of fiction?
If they're a throwaway OC in a fanfic, do you spend less time choosing the name then if the character is a protagonist in an original work?
(c) names, part two. Suppose you're writing a fanfic* that's gone completely AU and you realise this would work better as an original fic since you'd have complete freedom to ignore aspects of canon and alter the characters to your liking.
How would this change the naming process? Would you try to keep the names similar in style or meaning, or try hard to make them very different?
Would the fact that in tv/movie fandoms you have a particular actor associated with the character make it easier or hard (eg I want to call him Richard but he doesn't look like a Richard to me ; I can't image her being anything but Xena).
*If you don't write fanfic/write it often, maybe you nonetheless have actors in mind when you create a character, so you probably still have insight here.
(d) themes. If we think about ideas that you hold back on, is it because you don't want to write the same thing over and over?
Is it okay for an author to revisit favourite themes? Under what circumstances? (For example most of my heroines are never going to end up in conventional marriages or have children, but given that almost Every. Single. Female Character. in mainstream media ends up Wife and Mother, I don't feel bad for repeating this characterisation.)
Is it possible to re-use ideas in new ways? (I'm leaning yes, because tropes evolve for a reason, and there's a difference between a trope and a cliché)
Discuss away, I'd love to hear any ideas, tips, or get links to other articles of interest around any of these themes!
layla, Writing Your Best Ideas - it's short but thought provoking, go read it!It got me thinking about how I do this, the holding back of certain character names or plot points – more and discussion topics under the cut.
In my comment to the aforementioned entry I said that
I strongly identify with this. Although sometimes I think it's justified - no use using a great name on a throwaway 'extra' in a scene when it might be a great primary character in a later work. Names have to be right for me which often stymies me (and makes fanfic easier to work with! I might hate the names but they're there, and that's all there is to it) so if I do love one, I might hold it 'in reserve'.
But sometimes, yes, I hoard things, worried that I'll only get to use them once
(a) have you ever done this? Held back on an idea or a name because it seemed 'too good to waste'?
If so, was it the right decision or not?
If you've never held back on using something, have you later regretted it?
(b) names. This is tough one for me, and finding the right name is a challenge. Fanfic can be easier because as I said above, even if I hate the names, they're there and have to be used (slight alterations for AU's aside).
How important is finding the right name when you create an OC for any type of fiction?
If they're a throwaway OC in a fanfic, do you spend less time choosing the name then if the character is a protagonist in an original work?
(c) names, part two. Suppose you're writing a fanfic* that's gone completely AU and you realise this would work better as an original fic since you'd have complete freedom to ignore aspects of canon and alter the characters to your liking.
How would this change the naming process? Would you try to keep the names similar in style or meaning, or try hard to make them very different?
Would the fact that in tv/movie fandoms you have a particular actor associated with the character make it easier or hard (eg I want to call him Richard but he doesn't look like a Richard to me ; I can't image her being anything but Xena).
*If you don't write fanfic/write it often, maybe you nonetheless have actors in mind when you create a character, so you probably still have insight here.
(d) themes. If we think about ideas that you hold back on, is it because you don't want to write the same thing over and over?
Is it okay for an author to revisit favourite themes? Under what circumstances? (For example most of my heroines are never going to end up in conventional marriages or have children, but given that almost Every. Single. Female Character. in mainstream media ends up Wife and Mother, I don't feel bad for repeating this characterisation.)
Is it possible to re-use ideas in new ways? (I'm leaning yes, because tropes evolve for a reason, and there's a difference between a trope and a cliché)
Discuss away, I'd love to hear any ideas, tips, or get links to other articles of interest around any of these themes!
no subject
Date: 2012-09-02 12:44 am (UTC)I prefer Darken and Richard as brothers. As you say, it's a richer and less often explored relationship. I feel like stories and popular media often focus on parent-child or romantic partners relationships, rather than friends or siblings. My theory is that those (parent-child, lovers) are either simpler, or else people think they are.
That's one reason I love that Richard has so many Sibling Issues ;)