{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ v.4 } A Thread For Writers

[lucas.]

what's your opinion on stereotypes and cliches?
if they're well-made, i'd probably love them a lot. i'm a sucker for cliches and stereotypes, if they're put together properly to be honest. if anyone would ever want me to read a cliche story they wrote i'd totally be up for it, they're normally super fun to read.

(@lucas specifically:) i think i saw a couple of your entries for that challenge? (and they're great!) so if you're interested in continuing just know that there's still a glimmer of life left and you're more than welcome in continuing it and helping to resuscitate it!

awh thank you for the lovely comment, you're so sweet! i may consider continuing that again, but it'll probably all be depressing stuff like it was last time. i feel like that's something that is fun for me to write, for some reason? maybe that's a weird thing that i enjoy writing sad stuff, whoops.

[blackbird.]

what are your tips for writing good character motivations?
i guess for me i try to root character motivations in struggle/turmoil. character motivations are the weakest when they're doing something for the sake of doing something, in my opinion. even the traditional "trying to take over the world" thing can be a very complex motivation if there's a history behind it, like the character has something to prove or is just a very broken person who tries so hard to be perfect or is so tired of being invisible. especially evil villains - there are so many reasons for a person to be evil so why not explain it rather than making them just a generic villain? it's one of my pet peeves in stories. i love morally grey characters. the villain who is just going down a road paved with good intentions, the hero who's so completely flawed it's hard to believe they're a hero. so yeah, kinda went off-track a bit, when it comes to motivations, it's a lot more believable and relatable when the motivation comes from pain and suffering.

what is your opinion on stereotypes and cliches?
i always prefer it when writers defy stereotypes rather than conform to them, but i suppose it's very difficult to defy every stereotype. personally i hate stereotypes which are derogatory (there's been a huge debate in my country about the way a certain race has been stereotyped in movies and it's because there's a lot of negative stereotypes that are brushed aside "just for laughs"). a lot of the time stereotypes are used for humour and comedy but there's the danger of thinking stereotypes=truth, especially when there's a lack of exposure to the stereotype group in question. i generally dislike labels on people too, like the "jock" or the "nerd" and while these labels are created to simplify things, people shouldn't write people off as their label because their label isn't who they are. i'm just ticked off when people pretend to know other people based on their label rather than who they are.
with cliches, i'm alright with them. a lot of the time they're necessary when linked to structure, like writers starting out are usually introduced to the 5 parts or 3 parts of a basic story and that's helpful when writers are writing their first few novels, but after that it's good to break out and experiment. even with music, musicians generally use natural chords and chord progressions to start off, then they experiment with different instruments and scales. but the starting out part and conforming to the "accepted" way is important when starting out.

awh thank you for the lovely comment, you're so sweet! i may consider continuing that again, but it'll probably all be depressing stuff like it was last time. i feel like that's something that is fun for me to write, for some reason? maybe that's a weird thing that i enjoy writing sad stuff, whoops.

haha i get it! i love putting my characters into soul-crushing situations too!
i guess if you feel like you're in a rut, it's good to find something to write about and just write (even if you think it's bad, at least you're writing something). but that's just my two penny worth - whatever works for you!
(though i'm not-so low-key interested in reading more of your works cx)

So!
I've just finished reading 1984

Along with Animal Farm, The Road and The Handmaid's Tale under my belt and a lot more to be read (Fatherland, Rendezvous with Rama, No Country for Old Men and a couple more), I'm apparently wayy above my reading level with all these A-level books!

I was hoping to discuss 1984 with some other people who've read and enjoyed/disliked it! Especially your interpretations on the ending.

don't even get me started on 1984. orwell is a life-ruiner i have so much to hold against him really like i get his books are great and thought-provoking and whatever but he messed with my mind and i wasn't ready for it so i guess it was my fault but also not because my school made animal farm my lit text when we were like thirteen and our precious innocent brains weren't ready so why?? and ugh when i read 1984 i just wanted to burn the book and remove it from existence or at least put a ban on it or some sort of warning!

okay but for real - i thought it was a brilliantly-written book but i wouldn't say i enjoyed it. i believe that the person who said they enjoyed it should get a psych-eval because it's not a book to be "enjoyed". it's depressing, but that was the point, wasn't it? it was revolutionary and so iconic and eye-opening for its time, and social scientists love to quote it because of how scary it is, or rather, how scarily accurate it is. to think that it could be a reality is a terrifying thought, and it's effective as it plants that fear in the minds of people, and makes them do whatever it takes to ensure it doesn't become a reality. so in that sense, it's very effective.

but even with all that typical-orwell political discourse i felt it was very one-sided. it was very easy to paint the picture of an "evil"
government which abuses power and oppresses people. the government in itself lacked depth and (like one question asked above) motive.

i thought this was a similar problem with the handmaid's tale, but at least in the handmaid's tale it was discussed why the government became like that and it got the reader to think that the regime actually started out with good intentions, what with that "freedom to and freedom from" and "no more rape culture" and "society dying of too much choice" stuff. sure, it might have been propaganda, but how reliable is Offred as a narrator anyway? how one-sided is her story rather than gilead's?

but back to 1984 - the ending especially, since you asked. (head's up - going to make this transparent so there are no spoilers for those who haven't read it) SPOILERS - please highlight if you want to read: the ending killed me, to be honest. i was rooting for winston so hard and it was so painful to see that he lost the battle. and honestly, i felt that if he had died still questioning "big brother" and being tortured to death, it would have been better. but no. they broke him, and that was the saddest part. the lack of hope in a better tomorrow. because martyrs hold power. to die a martyr is to be fuel for a cause, but big brother ensured that wasn't the case. in so many ways, big brother won, and the most crushing part is the utter hopelessness and despair the reader feels, even if winston doesn't feel it anymore. and in the end, the reader is left to question whether it's true - whether ignorance really means freedom, and whether it's better to know and be tortured, or to be ignorant and live in a false imitation of happiness.

also, on the topic of dystopian novels, i would recommend fahrenheit 451 and a brave new world and v for vendetta (the graphic novel)! it's pretty interesting to compare different dystopian novels imo (not sure if animal farm counts because it's more a historical retelling?)
ack! there i go doing lit analyses again - if you've read until here you're amazing and i appreciate it!

[minimire]

hey guys i have a quick question here, do you think it's good to start writing two different books together?
like i'm currently in the middle of writing one, but i'm thinking of starting another, i already have a few things like plot planned out

[Pyjaks]

hey guys i have a quick question here, do you think it's good to start writing two different books together?
like i'm currently in the middle of writing one, but i'm thinking of starting another, i already have a few things like plot planned out

If you want to, sure! Some people can handle working on multiple projects and some can't. I think it's just a matter of personal preference.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

hey guys i have a quick question here, do you think it's good to start writing two different books together?
like i'm currently in the middle of writing one, but i'm thinking of starting another, i already have a few things like plot planned out

Depends on what you can take on. Personally, I focus better when I only work on one at a time, but try it and find out how it goes for you!

[watermelon.]

What are your tips for writing good character motivations?
i think you have to have a clear objective, and a reason for reaching that objective. i mean, that sounds pretty obvious but sometimes you forget the whole reason you're writing something, and to have it well clarified makes things simpler.

What is your opinion on stereotypes and cliches?
i think pretty much everything you read/watch is going to have a cliche somewhere in there, if you strip it down far enough. even the most unique stories started with a cliche of some sort. but that doesn't mean they're bad. i mean, things like the hunger games, the matched series, and divergent all have a similar underlying theme (female role who rebels against the govt.), but they're completely different stories in the end.
as for stereotypes, they're also hard to avoid. somewhere in your story you're bound to have a quiet, shy, book lover. and just the same as you're probably going to have some outgoing person with a deep dark secret. but they're not always bad and/or offensive.sometimes stereotypical characters can be well developed. as long as they aren't offensive things, i think they're fine. plus - a stereotype had to originate somewhere, which means that there is truth in it. it's just not the entire truth of that group of people. (ex. not all jocks are going to be jerks, but some might be)
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hey hey i finally judged the contests and added a new one over at the contest thread so be sure to go check it out
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as for my question today, it's kind of a broad one and we have probably asked it before, but oh well. i'm interested in seeing your answers


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[b]Why do you write? (to escape, future career plan, etc.)[/b]

[Klain]

Why do you write? (to escape, future career plan, etc.)
To escape the reality. Also to understand what I feel.

[Livini]

Do you think it's good to start writing two different books together?
Depends on your own preferences, of course. It has some big advantages as well as disadvantages. Personally, I never work on strictly one book at a time: sometimes, I focus mainly on one book for a while unless I get really inspired for something else, and other times, I work on multiple books at a time.

Advantages of writing multiple books at a time:
- When you're inspired to write something new, you can just write it. You don't have to delay it with the danger of no longer being inspired later.
- You can work on whichever book you have the most inspiration for. If you get stuck, you can switch to a different book.

Disadvantages:
- It might be harder to focus on a book (and finish it), or to decide which one to work on next.
- You might start to mix up your books' styles, or reuse similar plot elements (though this should be avoidable if you pay attention to it).
- If you let a book sit for really long, you might forget where you were heading. (On the bright side, if you let a book sit for really long and reread it, you can more easily find mistakes/plotholes/Mary Sues/clichés, and you may also enjoy rereading it and notice the good parts more if you don't remember it as well.)

[TheSongOfTheStars]

Why do you write? (to escape, future career plan, etc.)
I do hope to write as a career, but I also write cause I love these darn characters so much, I just don't want to forget all this stuff about them.

[Pyjaks]

Why do you write? (to escape, future career plan, etc.)

For fun :>