#sundaylitq — Public Fediverse posts

@Emmacox

Benefits:

1. It's much more economical to explore an idea (or part of an idea) through a short story than through longer forms.

2. You can churn them out if you need to.

Drawbacks:

1. The idea might be too big to properly explore.

2. A lot of people hate reading short stories - even when they're provided gratis.

#SundayLit #SundayLitQ

@Emmacox I do both, although they're not my preferred format.

I write short stories to scratch itches or to fill out gaps in my world building or character development. Sometimes I write fanfic, but that's usually to scratch the aforementioned itches.

I read them to see how the market is - what's being published - and to gauge trends. It's rare that I find anything especially engaging (anyone seeing my reviews on my blog or bookwyrm will quickly discover how picky I am) , but it has been known to happen. I almost never read fanfic, mostly because it's nearly always a first (only) draft and fucking awful. I've been banned from fanfic channels for mentioning writing is rewriting.

#SundayLit #SundayLitQ

@Emmacox #SundayLit

#SundayLitQ 6. How does your characters aspirations and fears affect the conflict in the novel?

Character aspirations and fears *create* the conflict. If they desired nothing and feared nothing, all the background conflict in the world means nothing.

@Emmacox #SundayLit

#SundayLitQ 3 Do all stories need conflict to work?

Well I typed out a long answer and then the page refreshed and lost it all, so I’ll just say:

To me, brought up in the western storytelling perspective, yes. Even in cosy slice-of-life (though conflict in those is often so low as to be utterly boring to me).

A perspective that suggests that while conflict is baked into western storytelling structure, it can be absent from the storytelling structures of other cultures:
https://artofnarrative.com/2020/07/08/kishotenketsu-exploring-the-four-act-story-structure/

And a rebuttal:
https://mythcreants.com/blog/the-myth-of-conflict-free-story-structures/

@Emmacox #SundayLit

#SundayLitQ 2. How do you strike a balance when writing conflict? How do you ensure the conflict isn’t too easily overcome/too insurmountable/a relentless barrage?

I…don’t know. I think I’ve just read so many books that I’ve internalised the rhythms of stories that appeal to me, so I have a sense of when things are too flat/easy/drawn-out etc.

I’m also a character-first writer, and I feel like they tell me when I’ve made something too much, and need to tone it down.

@Emmacox #SundayLit

#SundayLitQ 1. How does conflict appear in your work?

For my work there’s usually interpersonal conflicts and internal conflicts. There is traditional type conflict between protagonist and antagonist too, but I don’t go in for grand battles or good-vs-evil type stuff, or physical conflict.