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Post by darthgall on May 5, 2021 16:07:08 GMT -5
Dog Brothers,
I thought this forum could use some space dedicated to the Art & Craft of writing Sword & Sorcery fiction.
General writing advice is easy enough to come by on the interwebz, but discussions of this particular subgenre are few and far between.
What better place than here?
I have some more ideas of stuff to post which will come soon, but thought I’d start the thread first and see what the response is.
-Mick
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Post by themirrorthief on May 5, 2021 16:56:35 GMT -5
should be educational
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Post by scottoden on May 6, 2021 8:25:02 GMT -5
Following . . .
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Owen
Wanderer
Posts: 24
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Post by Owen on May 6, 2021 10:17:49 GMT -5
I have some more ideas of stuff to post which will come soon, but thought I’d start the thread first and see what the response is. I think it's a great idea, thank you for putting it out there. I'm very interested to see what you're thinking of!
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Post by darthgall on May 6, 2021 12:24:13 GMT -5
Dog Brothers,
Glad there’s some enthusiasm out there for the topic, but by no means am I an expert. Part of my goal starting this thread was to learn from (i.e. “steal”) good ideas from other writers.
But here’s a recent experience: I have a setup for a pair of adventurers that I want to use repeatedly. One thing I’ve come to realize about myself is I can get “analysis paralysis” and the result is not writing anything. (“I have this awesome scene idea in my head, but I’d better figure out everything else before I draft it…”) So I have to kick myself and say “just get something down!” and tell myself I’ll polish later.
One shortcut/trick I’ve been relying on is using RPG adventure generators. I have my characters in hand, so with a few rolls of the dice (or selections off the chart) I can get a location, complication, villain, etc.; it’s usually a pretty good start for me to frame out a story.
The problem I have is this: the result is just a chain of events; there’s not usually much emotional heft to it b/c I haven’t figured out how to attach that random item/monster/plot event to the characters’ emotional arcs.
(Does someone out there have a “random emotional event” table I could roll on lol…)
Thoughts? Tips? Tricks?
-Mick.
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Post by Char-Vell on May 6, 2021 13:13:13 GMT -5
I usually start with a concept or question I want to explore. I'm often triggered by something I read or see in the media, then I build a chain of events around that. For example a viewing of this YouTube video resulted in one of my favorite post-apocalyptic tales more on the subject: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink
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Post by Von K on May 6, 2021 18:53:37 GMT -5
Dog Brothers, Glad there’s some enthusiasm out there for the topic, but by no means am I an expert. Part of my goal starting this thread was to learn from (i.e. “steal”) good ideas from other writers. But here’s a recent experience: I have a setup for a pair of adventurers that I want to use repeatedly. One thing I’ve come to realize about myself is I can get “analysis paralysis” and the result is not writing anything. (“I have this awesome scene idea in my head, but I’d better figure out everything else before I draft it…”) So I have to kick myself and say “just get something down!” and tell myself I’ll polish later. One shortcut/trick I’ve been relying on is using RPG adventure generators. I have my characters in hand, so with a few rolls of the dice (or selections off the chart) I can get a location, complication, villain, etc.; it’s usually a pretty good start for me to frame out a story. The problem I have is this: the result is just a chain of events; there’s not usually much emotional heft to it b/c I haven’t figured out how to attach that random item/monster/plot event to the characters’ emotional arcs. (Does someone out there have a “random emotional event” table I could roll on lol…) Thoughts? Tips? Tricks? -Mick. Jim Butcher (author of the Dresden Files series) explains some techniques regarding how to attach the external action to the characters internal motivation on his livejournal: jimbutcher.livejournal.com/2880.htmlIf you find the above techniques useful you may also be interested in reading through the rest of Jim Butcher's advice to get the larger context of how this relates to the action scenes: jimbutcher.livejournal.com/The posts are in reverse order so it's best to scroll to the bottom and work up. It's not genre specific but is some of the best condensed writing craft advice you'll find this side of Cimmeria imho - if it suits your nature. REH knew and practiced this stuff instinctively and naturalistically.
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Post by robp on May 7, 2021 7:26:51 GMT -5
Great idea!
The challenge for me is to hit all those S&S tropes yet try and bring something fresh to the table too. So spider-haunted tombs, battles in the frozen north, etc but how to make that something more than a rehash of previous works?
The main character for my Wolf books has been very much a Conan analogue - northern barbarian wanders south. But I'm now finding that other characters are popping up who I'll use for other stories. A member of the "Tibetan" Imperial Guard, for example, or a "Mongolian" steppe warrior, or a Queen under threat of assassination. So perhaps that is an answer - the familiar tropes with new types of character?
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Post by headlessvulture on May 7, 2021 16:13:08 GMT -5
How did I not see this thread before?
Well, by Crom, I'm following it now!
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Post by headlessvulture on May 7, 2021 16:18:34 GMT -5
The main character for my Wolf books has been very much a Conan analogue - northern barbarian wanders south. But I'm now finding that other characters are popping up who I'll use for other stories. A member of the "Tibetan" Imperial Guard, for example, or a "Mongolian" steppe warrior, or a Queen under threat of assassination. So perhaps that is an answer - the familiar tropes with new types of character?Same here with my Hero in Progress. As a concept, he began as Conan with blonde hair: a huge, muscular Northern swordsmen. He's still Northern, but I decided somewhere along the way to make him a knife-fighter. Then I thought "If he's going to favor knives, why does he need all that size?" So, I scaled him down and I think I'm going to pay tribute to my profession by having him sort of invent journalism for his world.
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Post by thedarkman on May 10, 2021 6:33:19 GMT -5
Great idea! The challenge for me is to hit all those S&S tropes yet try and bring something fresh to the table too. So spider-haunted tombs, battles in the frozen north, etc but how to make that something more than a rehash of previous works? The main character for my Wolf books has been very much a Conan analogue - northern barbarian wanders south. But I'm now finding that other characters are popping up who I'll use for other stories. A member of the "Tibetan" Imperial Guard, for example, or a "Mongolian" steppe warrior, or a Queen under threat of assassination. So perhaps that is an answer - the familiar tropes with new types of character? I’m in the same sort of boat; my character Gunnolf is also a northern wanderer, an amalgamation of Conan, Wagner’s Kane and a dash of Brak. Being from Canada, I felt I could write from a ‘northern’ perspective better than if my character was from a tropical clime, so that’s where I started. But it’s pretty hard to do it with a different spin on it, to stand out from the formula of traditional S&S without becoming something else altogether. I’ve stuck very close to the familiar tropes while I try to develop my skills and style. I aspire to write like Howard, but with my own flavor integrated into the mix. I’m not there yet, but I’ll keep plugging along; it’s pretty fun pounding the keys and creating a “world undreamed of!”
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Post by darthgall on May 10, 2021 10:22:15 GMT -5
Great idea! The challenge for me is to hit all those S&S tropes yet try and bring something fresh to the table too. So spider-haunted tombs, battles in the frozen north, etc but how to make that something more than a rehash of previous works? The main character for my Wolf books has been very much a Conan analogue - northern barbarian wanders south. But I'm now finding that other characters are popping up who I'll use for other stories. A member of the "Tibetan" Imperial Guard, for example, or a "Mongolian" steppe warrior, or a Queen under threat of assassination. So perhaps that is an answer - the familiar tropes with new types of character? That's definitely a challenge. For me I'm realizing more and more that a main character I connect with emotionally makes a HUGE difference. Typical spider-haunted tombs but with a character you like or empathize with easily is still pretty darn enjoyable to me. So I still come back to the emotional motivation. I'm trying to figure out new ways to spin "revenge" or "saving a loved one" which are well-worn tropes...
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Post by Char-Vell on May 10, 2021 10:31:51 GMT -5
Lately, I have been contemplating the "facing consequences for past indiscretions" trope
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Post by robp on May 11, 2021 9:12:55 GMT -5
Lately, I have been contemplating the "facing consequences for past indiscretions" trope Always enjoy your work, sir, has a distinct CAS tinge to it which I love! It's good to see other writers too developing S&S in new directions. It's a bit like surf music - you need those drums and that reverb guitar but it doesn't mean you have to play round the same three riffs all the time
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Post by Von K on May 11, 2021 14:27:36 GMT -5
I've gotten a Vancian vibe from some of Char Vell's writing, in addition to REH and CAS.
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