09-19-2016, 10:44 PM
Ayyyyyyyy all.
As I may or may not have said countless times in the cbox, I've had ideas as to how to better improve other people's writing on the site for quite a while already. I'm a critic at heart (in fact, before I decided I would much rather become a full-fledged novelist as I age, I thought my writing was going to be in game journalism in the review business,) and thus feel the need to assist others in their attempts at creating something truly unique by pointing out the positives and the negatives of said creation. However, I have found that a lot of what I have said about various things should be listed in a general go-to guide for writers to follow, since I like to think that a lot of what I have to say can be very useful. And thus, Sans' Silly Writing Guide 4 Future Writers was born.
Now, before we really get the ball rolling, I don't really have a format for this. I'm only really starting out on one particular subject that I feel deserves its own section. So, if this thing takes off, I'll likely just have people ask questions on various broad subjects (genres of writing, characterization, descriptions, etc.) and have it go from there if I can't do it myself.
SO, without further bullshit, here is the semi-official start to this guide, with the first section belonging to a topic that I think is severely underrated, underappreciated, and two things that I think all writers should know, first and foremost, before applying the pen to the papyrus.
#1: Tropes Are Not Bad.
No, seriously. Take any idea you can think of, and chances are, with the right amount of talent and patience, you can make it into something awesome. An RPG where you don't have to kill your enemies? That's absurd! That's something fundamental to gaming! You can't just do away with that! A book about a young boy who is part of a prophecy who learns about magic? Nah! That shit's too long and complicated for children! Ditch it! A musical about the goddamn Founding Fathers that is played by primarily non-white actors and actresses where the music is pretty much rap/hip-hop? You might as well shut down the project now; it ain't ever getting off the ground.
For the unenlightened, the creations in question are as follows: Undertale, Harry Potter, and Hamilton. All three of these have since gone on to become commercial and critical successes and have arguably helped shape the very culture we know about today. All three of these were ideas that didn't seem possible at first, but the ideas were executed to perfection, leading to their popularity.
This is the ultimate lesson that I think one can be taught. Often times, it isn't the idea that is bad, it's the execution. Sure, the idea may seem odd, but that's it. It's only the idea that seems odd. The way the creator/creators execute the idea is what makes it good. This is why cliches are a thing. They are overused, but they are overused for a reason, and using them isn't really bad (though cliches are a story for another section.) This is why games like The Last Of Us, books like The Lord of The Rings, and movies like Deadpool are such critical darlings despite their arguably tired and true plot formula. The way the plot was executed, as well as large degree of other factors in each respective creation to make up for it, helped elevate the cliches into something unique and made us, the viewers, care about it. This is why old classics are considered classics; they are no less entertaining today than they were centuries earlier even with the overusage of the cliches they originated. They are JUST, THAT, GOOD.
But, oftentimes, we as writers like to think of tropes and our general tools of the trade as strict rules we must follow. This leads me to the second most important thing to learn.
#2: When You Know The Rules, You Can Break Them.
The truth of the matter is, these "rules" are not rules. They are guidelines. Things you can rely on when you are stuck. Points to fall back on when in need. They are not as rigid as one may think. If they were, then there would be no such thing as "creative writing." It would all be stale. It would be boring. We NEED rule-breakers just as much as we need the rules in the first place. Because without rule-breakers, how would we know where our boundaries are? How would we know how far we can truly go in our collective creative genius?
Because of this, I must inform you that, for every point that I may make in this guide, understand that there is always an appropriate time and place for when to break it. If making a fragment makes something sound cooler, then add the fragment! But just understand that there are rules for a REASON, and breaking every single one you see isn't always the best option. You can't have every single sentence in your book or whatever be a damn fragment (unless you're trying to do something with that,) or else I'll just say you have bad grammar. On the contrary, if the rule-breaking has a purpose, then by all means, add it in!
As an example (and a bit of horn-tooting on my part,) take my character, Sans. I always strive for accuracy in my IC posts when I RP as him, so for its sake, I always write his dialogue like this:
"heya. i bet you saw this dialogue box in bold and drew your eyes to it immediately, eh? i don't blame you. i didn't read the whole thing either."
Bold. Lowercase letters. Comic Sans. All of this, in both Undertale and here, shows us Sans' character. Due to Comic Sans being associated with laziness, combined with the lowercase spelling, shows us that Sans is pretty damn lazy. The way he talks further supports this as well, giving off a carefree, jolly, overall laid-back aura. Technically, every sentence in there is grammatically incorrect, but it was for a good cause: to show off character.
That's all I really have to say about that. Stay tuned!
As I may or may not have said countless times in the cbox, I've had ideas as to how to better improve other people's writing on the site for quite a while already. I'm a critic at heart (in fact, before I decided I would much rather become a full-fledged novelist as I age, I thought my writing was going to be in game journalism in the review business,) and thus feel the need to assist others in their attempts at creating something truly unique by pointing out the positives and the negatives of said creation. However, I have found that a lot of what I have said about various things should be listed in a general go-to guide for writers to follow, since I like to think that a lot of what I have to say can be very useful. And thus, Sans' Silly Writing Guide 4 Future Writers was born.
Now, before we really get the ball rolling, I don't really have a format for this. I'm only really starting out on one particular subject that I feel deserves its own section. So, if this thing takes off, I'll likely just have people ask questions on various broad subjects (genres of writing, characterization, descriptions, etc.) and have it go from there if I can't do it myself.
SO, without further bullshit, here is the semi-official start to this guide, with the first section belonging to a topic that I think is severely underrated, underappreciated, and two things that I think all writers should know, first and foremost, before applying the pen to the papyrus.
#1: Tropes Are Not Bad.
No, seriously. Take any idea you can think of, and chances are, with the right amount of talent and patience, you can make it into something awesome. An RPG where you don't have to kill your enemies? That's absurd! That's something fundamental to gaming! You can't just do away with that! A book about a young boy who is part of a prophecy who learns about magic? Nah! That shit's too long and complicated for children! Ditch it! A musical about the goddamn Founding Fathers that is played by primarily non-white actors and actresses where the music is pretty much rap/hip-hop? You might as well shut down the project now; it ain't ever getting off the ground.
For the unenlightened, the creations in question are as follows: Undertale, Harry Potter, and Hamilton. All three of these have since gone on to become commercial and critical successes and have arguably helped shape the very culture we know about today. All three of these were ideas that didn't seem possible at first, but the ideas were executed to perfection, leading to their popularity.
This is the ultimate lesson that I think one can be taught. Often times, it isn't the idea that is bad, it's the execution. Sure, the idea may seem odd, but that's it. It's only the idea that seems odd. The way the creator/creators execute the idea is what makes it good. This is why cliches are a thing. They are overused, but they are overused for a reason, and using them isn't really bad (though cliches are a story for another section.) This is why games like The Last Of Us, books like The Lord of The Rings, and movies like Deadpool are such critical darlings despite their arguably tired and true plot formula. The way the plot was executed, as well as large degree of other factors in each respective creation to make up for it, helped elevate the cliches into something unique and made us, the viewers, care about it. This is why old classics are considered classics; they are no less entertaining today than they were centuries earlier even with the overusage of the cliches they originated. They are JUST, THAT, GOOD.
But, oftentimes, we as writers like to think of tropes and our general tools of the trade as strict rules we must follow. This leads me to the second most important thing to learn.
#2: When You Know The Rules, You Can Break Them.
The truth of the matter is, these "rules" are not rules. They are guidelines. Things you can rely on when you are stuck. Points to fall back on when in need. They are not as rigid as one may think. If they were, then there would be no such thing as "creative writing." It would all be stale. It would be boring. We NEED rule-breakers just as much as we need the rules in the first place. Because without rule-breakers, how would we know where our boundaries are? How would we know how far we can truly go in our collective creative genius?
Because of this, I must inform you that, for every point that I may make in this guide, understand that there is always an appropriate time and place for when to break it. If making a fragment makes something sound cooler, then add the fragment! But just understand that there are rules for a REASON, and breaking every single one you see isn't always the best option. You can't have every single sentence in your book or whatever be a damn fragment (unless you're trying to do something with that,) or else I'll just say you have bad grammar. On the contrary, if the rule-breaking has a purpose, then by all means, add it in!
As an example (and a bit of horn-tooting on my part,) take my character, Sans. I always strive for accuracy in my IC posts when I RP as him, so for its sake, I always write his dialogue like this:
"heya. i bet you saw this dialogue box in bold and drew your eyes to it immediately, eh? i don't blame you. i didn't read the whole thing either."
Bold. Lowercase letters. Comic Sans. All of this, in both Undertale and here, shows us Sans' character. Due to Comic Sans being associated with laziness, combined with the lowercase spelling, shows us that Sans is pretty damn lazy. The way he talks further supports this as well, giving off a carefree, jolly, overall laid-back aura. Technically, every sentence in there is grammatically incorrect, but it was for a good cause: to show off character.
That's all I really have to say about that. Stay tuned!
![[Image: sanssig.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/369919416432984079/371386052931485708/sanssig.png)
i may be all alone
but i'm here to tell ya honey
that i'm bad to the bone
B-B-B-Bad to the bone
New to the Omniverse? Need a question answered? Want a C&C of your work? Send a PM to me and I will assist you in any way I can!
