I'm saying believe in magic, you muggle
1.
Harry Potter! I am going to rewatch all the previous films in honor of the release. Am pumped, y'all.
2. Some TED talks I really enjoyed: Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man, Itay Talgam: Lead like the great conductors and Dan Ariely on our buggy moral code.
3. More questions from the 30 days fanfic meme:
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
I must admit that I used to prefer male simply because I would get stressed out about how my portrayal of 'women' was coming across in my female characters--was she strong enough? smart enough? interesting enough? too much of those things? too stereotypical?
But for me, the key that I've realized is just to create as many different female characters as I can and treat them all as individual characters rather than some kind of monolithic symbol for womanhood. That way some can be craven and cruel, others generous and kind, some witty, some dull--just as they are in real life. It's helped a lot, and now I feel equally comfortable writing both.
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Yes. There have been some writers that have turned me onto whole pairings and characters just through the power of their stories and nuanced treatment of the characters. It's a rare writer, however.
8 - Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I am the poster girl for creating OC's. All my longer stories are chock full of them so yeah, I love them.
The key to making sure they're not awkward authorial self-inserts (Mary or Marty Stu) is to think of them as people, separate and distinct from myself. I tend to give each of my OC's at least some small aspect of me--ranging from favorite color to hobbies to language capabilities, so I can find something to hook onto and relate to in that way. But mostly they end up being amalgamations of people I've met or known--a good friend's sense of humor crossed with an aquaintence's stature crossed with a guy I dated's fashion sense.
Except for the most minor OC's (and sometimes, even them, time allowing) I try to develop a brief biography of them in my head: what is their life story? What brought them to this place, to being in my story? What are their dreams and goals? What are their obstacles? What are their flaws, and what are their strengths? What was their childhood like, their family? Were they ever married and do they have kids? All of these are the basic questions I try to get some sense of an answer to so that I can understand what motivates them as a character; every character in a story should serve the greater function of the narrative, but at the same time, they have to possess their own independent motivations and desires not to ring hollow as characters. This is why characters as plot devices such as a yenta/matchmaker or sassy yet supportive friend can be so profoundly dissatisfying: these character exist only in relation to the protagonist and have no internal life of their own. In certain genres, you can get away with it and likely none of your readers will call you on it. But just because you can get away with something doesn't make it good writing, nor does it mean your audience will enjoy reading it.
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Already did this for Day 3.
10 - Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
I have written pairings I have zero interest in (reading or writing), and have come across pairings I do like reading but have no interest in writing.
Click to viewHarry Potter! I am going to rewatch all the previous films in honor of the release. Am pumped, y'all.
2. Some TED talks I really enjoyed: Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man, Itay Talgam: Lead like the great conductors and Dan Ariely on our buggy moral code.
3. More questions from the 30 days fanfic meme:
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
I must admit that I used to prefer male simply because I would get stressed out about how my portrayal of 'women' was coming across in my female characters--was she strong enough? smart enough? interesting enough? too much of those things? too stereotypical?
But for me, the key that I've realized is just to create as many different female characters as I can and treat them all as individual characters rather than some kind of monolithic symbol for womanhood. That way some can be craven and cruel, others generous and kind, some witty, some dull--just as they are in real life. It's helped a lot, and now I feel equally comfortable writing both.
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Yes. There have been some writers that have turned me onto whole pairings and characters just through the power of their stories and nuanced treatment of the characters. It's a rare writer, however.
8 - Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I am the poster girl for creating OC's. All my longer stories are chock full of them so yeah, I love them.
The key to making sure they're not awkward authorial self-inserts (Mary or Marty Stu) is to think of them as people, separate and distinct from myself. I tend to give each of my OC's at least some small aspect of me--ranging from favorite color to hobbies to language capabilities, so I can find something to hook onto and relate to in that way. But mostly they end up being amalgamations of people I've met or known--a good friend's sense of humor crossed with an aquaintence's stature crossed with a guy I dated's fashion sense.
Except for the most minor OC's (and sometimes, even them, time allowing) I try to develop a brief biography of them in my head: what is their life story? What brought them to this place, to being in my story? What are their dreams and goals? What are their obstacles? What are their flaws, and what are their strengths? What was their childhood like, their family? Were they ever married and do they have kids? All of these are the basic questions I try to get some sense of an answer to so that I can understand what motivates them as a character; every character in a story should serve the greater function of the narrative, but at the same time, they have to possess their own independent motivations and desires not to ring hollow as characters. This is why characters as plot devices such as a yenta/matchmaker or sassy yet supportive friend can be so profoundly dissatisfying: these character exist only in relation to the protagonist and have no internal life of their own. In certain genres, you can get away with it and likely none of your readers will call you on it. But just because you can get away with something doesn't make it good writing, nor does it mean your audience will enjoy reading it.
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Already did this for Day 3.
10 - Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
I have written pairings I have zero interest in (reading or writing), and have come across pairings I do like reading but have no interest in writing.