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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Resource Fanfic Writer's Desk: Your Place for Writing Discussion, Questions, and Advice

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Luna_Nightshade, Nov 24, 2011.

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  1. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Not seen The Force Awakens, huh?

    It is not necessary for your readers to possess the same level of knowledge as your characters. You can bring them up to speed with a sentence.

    You are right though, unless Darth Nox turns into a rathtar to eat little boys; is King of the Rathtar and they do his bidding; or is a were-rathtar, it is probably a bit of a stretch.

    The Shadow thingies may be more suitable.

    EDIT: "Bogeyman, pfffft. Those just hide behind doors. The were-rathtar is a family annihilator; you don't know he's there till he's chewing through the bunk bed. And THAT is Darth Nox."
     
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  2. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016
    "You better behave or the rathtars will get you."

    Yup, a rathtar would make a terrific boogeyman.
    Rathtars are terrifying.
     
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  3. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    Speaking of TFA, I'm a little confused about Starkiller base. Draws on the energy of its star to power the weapon, check. Does it damage the star? Does it have hyperdrive to take it to another star? How does the planet hold in its atmosphere and climate if it's traveling around? Going through space without an external star/light source would plunge the temperatures to freezing.
     
  4. Gamiel

    Gamiel Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2012
    PlanetSmasher Just saw this and thougth of your question. Not SW but maybe it could work as inspiration. My bold to mark why I thought of your question

    from http://leadplague.blogspot.se/2013/02/the-lone-wanderer-battle-chaos-part4.html
     
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  5. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Gamiel - I 'liked' your post because that is a great idea, concept, and write-up for such a dark, youngling-scaring, legend, and not because the 'has rejected any other consideration including the laws of nature' bit, must mean that he is desperate for a wee.
     
  6. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

    YES to toilet humour.
     
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  7. Anakin 99

    Anakin 99 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2016
    I need any information can be given about Myrkr During the era of LEGACY Comics Especially where Anakin died
     
  8. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Don't even try. Logic and common sense take seats at the back of the cinema, to allow for a fan-servicing story. The Lucasfilm Story Group took a level in bull crap.
     
  9. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

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    Jul 31, 2014
    Too much logic KILLS the fun, period.
     
  10. Anakin 99

    Anakin 99 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2016
    something not There can not be killed There nothing fun about the Starkiller base to be killed by Too much logic
     
  11. Nehru_Amidala

    Nehru_Amidala Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Hey, how much sexual innuendo is too much for a fanfiction posted to the threads? I just wrote up Thrawn and Minerva's wedding night, and I think I kept it a decent PG-13 (see excerpt below, which I posted under a spoiler tag, just in case).

    Mav Edit: Removed until the mods can discuss it.
     
  12. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    Well, it looks okay to me, but when in doubt you can always PM the mods for a weigh-in, since they are the ultimate judges. I'm terrible at sexy scenes; I usually leave most to the readers' imagination, figuring that what their minds supply will be steamier than anything I put on paper! [face_blush]
     
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  13. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    I write them, but I leave the actual intercourse out, for the reason Renata mentioned, plus it's what makes erotica porn, after all.
     
  14. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Looks great to me, but based on something that I got told to change once, the first half of the second-to-last line, might not be allowed
     
  15. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Just saw what Sith said and I agree... the "pressed hard" bit may be too much.
     
  16. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Nehru_Amidala - I removed your excerpt for now, until Bri and I can discuss it (anything that is close to the rules line, we discuss together).

    I the future, please just PM us with questionable content rather than posting it for two reasons 1) that's one of the things we're here for and are happy to tell you if it's within the rules 2) If you were to post something that was considered over the line it would have to be treated like anything else that is over the line, even if it's a question.
     
  17. Nehru_Amidala

    Nehru_Amidala Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Okay, let me go and edit my story then. Thanks for the heads up!
     
  18. Theodore Hawkwood

    Theodore Hawkwood Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 17, 2014
    Does anyone remember much about the Yuuzhan Vong War? I've got a very recent idea about writing the war from the perspective of mostly OCs with canon characters participating in it.

    My idea basically follows a few New Republic military and civilian types. One of my OCs is a member of the New Republic special operations forces, a unique sort of force that typically operates in small teams built around 2-3 military and a number of indiginous types on different planets. This is an asymmetric strategy I've got the New Republic using to try and delay the Vong. The team of 2-3 New Republic Special Forces soldiers is paired with a number of Noghri warriors fighting behind the Vong lines.

    Another of my OCs I've got in mind is a lawyer (not sure of her specialty yet). She's the wife of the commando OC I've described in the previous paragraph. I'm trying to figure out what sort of useful things lawyers could do in the New Republic in the Vong crisis. Perhaps dealing with things such as refugees and the like?

    On another note, I've got a last name for the lawyer, Borgia, as a tip of the hat to ADA Alexandra Borgia, a character on Law and Order. That's her maiden name and one she goes by at work, perhaps due to her line of it.

    Any feedback would be helpful.
     
  19. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    So your question is what would lawyers do during the Vong War? I would think they would do what lawyers normally do in a war. I guess it would depend on the lawyer's speciality. If she is military she might help draft treaties and oversee court martial proceedings and such, I suppose. She could handle the affairs of people whose businesses and property were affected by the war, renegotiating contracts and settling disputes. There were many, many refugees - in one of my stories I fannoned (yeah that's a word now) a Displaced Persons Agency, run by the GA, which oversaw the transportation and relocation of refugees and ensured that they received humane treatment. A government agency like that would be full of lawyers.
     
  20. Theodore Hawkwood

    Theodore Hawkwood Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 17, 2014
    divapilot, thanks for the insight. I'm debating whether she's a military character or not.

    The Essential Guide to Alien Species had said the Noghri were relocated to different worlds. Has any EU source ever listed the number of Noghri resettlement or anything like that?

    For another aspect of my story I'm thinking that the Noghri, with New Republic Special Forces Soldiers, fought a classic Unconventional Warfare campaign. Basically new republic Special Forces soldiers were sent among the Noghri and other worlds to help civilian resistances fight. This wasn't popular with the Fely'a government.

    One of my other OCs, basically a Star Wars version of Admiral Ross from Deep Space Nine, is the architect of this warplan. The character is General Raas, one of my creations. I'm thinking the asymmetric campaign bought the New Republic time, but it also had its costs.

    My other main OC, the lawyers husband, is one of the team leaders of three New Rpublic SpecForce soldiers and nine or so Noghri. He was selected for that mission for familiarity with the Noghri culture. How can I best portray that without him seeming too Gary-Stu like?
     
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  21. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    My impression of the Yuuzhan Vong war was that we got steam-rolled until the jedi came up with shadow bombs.

    You would lose a lot of OCs and I doubt any would survive long enough to be perceived as Gary or Mary Stus.
     
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  22. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000

    The Hawk is back! I feel as if we haven't heard from you in a while! :)

    I think the way to keep your character from being a Gary Stu is to come up with a plausible reason as to WHY he is so knowledgeable about Noghri culture. It's been a while since I read the original books, but originally they gave allegiance to Vader, then transferred that allegiance to Leia, when they learned she was his daughter. At what point in his life was he exposed to them? How did he acquire his knowledge?

    Also, you can give him a flaw in that perhaps he doesn't know as much about Noghri as he thinks he does. But he knows more than the others, which is the reason he gets the assignment.

    Just a suggestion.
     
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  23. Kurisan

    Kurisan Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2016
    Theodore Hawkwood Knowing a lot about another culture does not maketh a Gary Stu in and of itself. As Mistress Renata says, a simple injection of backstory involving your character, one noghri, a crashed ship, an inhospitable world and eight months of rations will do the trick.
     
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  24. Theodore Hawkwood

    Theodore Hawkwood Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 17, 2014
    Sith-I-5, I've got a mixed cast of OCs some of whom will survive the war.

    Well I've read the original books of the Thrawn Trilogy and the Essential Guide to Alien Species and these two books were helpful as was the Wookiepedia entry on Noghri. It mentioned that to help Honoghr recover some Noghri were resettled on other worlds. One such world was Corellia, which sported a small Noghri enclave on a small island chain.

    My OC's father worked for CorSec and his mother is an anthropologist at a renowned Corellian university. As such they often visited this Noghri enclave on Corellia. His father prevented Human League interference and his mother studied their culture. As such his mother often brought her son among the Noghri over the summers to study their culture.

    In my ficciverse the help the New Republic gave the Noghri causes large contingents of them to fight alongside the New Republic. And the New Republic Special Forces arm and train and fight and live alongside their Noghri fighting in either small reconnaissance teams of three New Republic Special Forces soldiers and five to nine Noghri or in larger strike companies of a dozen or so New Republic Special Forces and nearly a hundred Noghri.

    This asymmetric fighting option isn't popular with conventional New Republic military forces, to say less of Chancellor Fely'a so the plan's architect, a human from Fondor named General Raas, has to fight for every scrap of resource to carry out these missions.

    I've got an opening in mind, set during the Vector Prime novel. My male OC and female OC are celebrating their anniversary somewhere nice. I'm not sure what vacation type destinations were covered in the Star Wars universe, but I'm considering the Mon Calamari and Quarren home planet of Dac could be a destination. Was Dac one of the tourist friendly type planets?
     
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  25. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    So it looks like you are actually asking three questions here.
    1. Has any EU source ever listed the number of Noghri resettlement or anything like that?
    2. How can I write a character without him seeming like a Gary Stu?
    3. Was Dac one of the tourist friendly type planets?

    Let's look at questions 1 and 3 because they are similar.
    1. I don't recall any information dealing with the actual numbers of any particular group that was resetteled after the Vong War. I know that at one point Leia was very active in the refugee issues, and Leia had a Noghri body guard, but I don't remember ever seeing the actual data about how many refugees from which planets were resettled where. Maybe someone else has these numbers for you. A search of "refugees," Yuuzhan Vong War," and "Noghri" on the Wook yielded nothing.

    3. Dac is completely covered in water, but there are complexes and cities on the surface. Most of the economy appears to be industrial; however if there is money to be made through tourism I would expect the inhabitants would give that a go, too. I can't see tourism being a big draw. Tourism seems to be much more prevalent on less extreme planets, such as Corellia and Naboo. Even Coruscant had a resort/beach area (Luke and Mara vacationed there). The Wheel was the GFFA Las Vegas. Honestly, I should think just about every planet had some sort of tourist trade, unless you're talking Mustafar or Hoth.

    2. As for avoiding the writing of a Gary Stu/Mary Sue: This article here identifies the Mary Sue pretty well. Her characteristics are a.) a thinly veiled wish-fulfillment author insert; b.) a character who is disproportionately talented/smart/beautiful, and c.) a backstory that is unrealistic and over-the-top. To avoid the male version of the Mary Sue (i.e., the Gary Stu), you will need to avoid those tropes. I am not sure how you would write your character as a stand-in for yourself. If it is helpful, a general rule is to have every character have some kind of a flaw. Maybe he is overconfident. Maybe he gets a bit arrogant. Maybe he makes a terrible decision and has to deal with the fallout of that. Don't make him a superman. I bet if you dig through some of the older threads here you will find some guidance on writing characters that avoid the Gary Stu/Mary Sue stereotypes.