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

Characters ♡ The OTP & Pairing Thread ♡ | Challenge #33 is up: How They Met! (1/28, p. 90, #2231)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Captain Rakkaus, Oct 5, 2015.

  1. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    1. How much does romance really matter to you in a story? Why?
    I really like romantic relationships in fic, and read them a lot, but it's not absolutely necessary. I tend to like stories that are character driven more than battle or fight dominate stories, and while those character driven stories don't have to have an relationships, it tends to give you more about them be it platonic or romantic. I do read romance, but I read a lot of other stuff as well.


    2. Do you consider yourself a romance writer alone? If yes, do you focus on your set pairing(s)?
    Hmm... not really. I'm not very good at writing romance, it tends to feel awkward when I write it (even though it doesn't when I read it) I'm much better at the angst. When I have, yeah it probably sticks to the pairings I'm most comfortable writing, or an OC.


    3. Do you read stories with only your pairing(s) or do you read anything? Does the genre make a difference?
    No, I don't stick to just the pairings that are my favorites, though I certainly do favor them. I'm always willing to give a new pairing a go, I've certainly found a love for pairing I've never thought about before that way. But for the most part I do stick to the characters I love, I don't tend to read OC driven stories because I read fanfic to read about the characters I already know. If there are OCs with them, that's perfectly fine, I've come to love a lot of OCs that way. The genre doesn't really effect what I read, I've been known to read a bit of everything.
     
  2. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Thanks to the above, I am checking what Female Gaze means on TVTropes, and it it something I should think about including, if I re-visit my pairing.
    Plus I write and play plenty of female characters, and just never noticed this stuff.

    Thank you two for mentioning it.
     
  3. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Makes sense. Most other folks' female characters kind of act like tsundere-meets-sadist (guess that's normal), yours are somewhat robotic.
     
  4. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Whose are you referring to?



    1. How much does romance really matter to you in a story? Why?

    Doesn't matter to me at all. If it occurs while I am reading a story, so be it. In the EU, I liked Lando flirting with Mara Jade, but I cannot recall any other times I had positive or negative feelings towards romance.

    2. Do you consider yourself a romance writer alone? If yes, do you focus on your set pairing(s)?

    Nope. Before roleplaying, my fic explored ideas. Eg. Mitch Nifesta was borne out of a conviction that there should be Force Sensetives without necessarily being Jedi or Sith.

    Now my writing is led by the games that I am in. If a player's character or npc shows romantic feelings towards one of mine, I will happily reciprocate and explore, but my pairing is the one and only that I have initiated myself.

    3. Do you read stories with only your pairing(s) or do you read anything? Does the genre make a difference?

    Thus far, my pair have only appeared in role-playing games. No fanfic exists for them, far as I know.

    *Googles*

    Nope. No fanfic. Found their origin story in two parts, affected by the truncation issue. :(

    Not sure if I still would, but I might target Buffy and Angel pairings, or a crossover, if I knew both properties.
     
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  5. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Yours. They obviously have bodies and some minor characteristic of women, but in every story I read, they were sort of robotic. Then again, I understand that they are mostly game characters who jump worlds on regular basis. :) I said what I said just in case you would ever want to make them into actual women. And kill me if this made sense. *shrug*
     
  6. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    A list of ten commonly used descriptions would be handy, since my descriptive lexicon work like Dragnet - "Just the facts, Ma'am."

    I have no data on how to describe either gender. I have no idea how to describe a face. Little idea how to describe hair.

    My afternoon has been spent exploring the concepts and visuals of female gaze and male gaze on TVTropes and Youtube.
     
    Chyntuck likes this.
  7. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I write my male and female characters pretty much the same. To me, gender isn't a character. A character is a character.

    "Oh my god, it has boobs, how does it talk?"

    Uh, like a person?
     
  8. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Of course that gender isn't a character, but when a person is - say - determined to write a straight cis woman and it turns into SHOESARECUTEOMGHANDBAGSMYGODIAMSOFAT, there is a problem.

    That NotLikeOtherGirls trope may be slightly problematic in that way, too.
     
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  9. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Indeed, it's a fine line to tread.

    What I usually do is throw all my gender identifiers into the description and perhaps some character development dialogue; but for the most part, their dialogue will reflect their personality and mannerisms more than a gender.
     
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  10. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Same here. But stereotypes pop in pretty much everywhere in all stories. Even when the authors claim they don't. And it can work only when the character really means it.
     
  11. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Another thing that helps me is method acting when writing dialogue. I get into my character's head and their dialogue usually comes naturally.
     
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  12. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    I think I'm the same as TrakNar.
     
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  13. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    I actually *learned* that from Trak. Ever since she'd said it somewhere about a year ago, I've been having way too much fun with it. :)
     
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  14. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Indeed, gender is only a part of what makes a character a character, and a small part at that. What makes a character truly interesting lies in their origin, upbringing, circumstances at the start of their story, personality, and talents. Not what's between their legs.
     
    whiskers likes this.
  15. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Unless they have, say, two or three ducks. Morbidly curious if such a species exists in GFFA. O_O
     
  16. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Just to be clear, stereotypes aren't always bad, and the vast majority of them exist for a reason—they represent broadly-shared trends and habits, and as often as not are neither positive nor negative (or at least aren't intended to be). Certainly, overuse of stereotypes can be seen as hackneyed and may result in a boring story, but creative use of them can lead to interesting results (playing with tropes can result in unique and entertaining situations, to be sure). Knee-jerk reactions aside, one shouldn't put a stereotype down just because it exists or is referred to; indeed, referencing stereotypes can be a shortcut to conveying complex ideas, without the potential of losing the reader underneath piles of expositional detail.
     
    Sith-I-5 likes this.
  17. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    So, back to writing ships.... Can anyone who enjoys writing romance/shipping give some advice on writing better ships? Lik Briannakin, I feel really awkward writing romance. Raissa and Doran are are still in the early stages of their relationship, but since the long term plans call for them to have at least one child, eventually they're going to have to do...something. I really want to avoid pulling a Luke and Mara: "We make a great team...OMG, I've always loved you; let's get married!" Part of my problem is that most of what's in the romance genre in books or movies just isn't that interesting to me (not meant as a put down, it's just a personal preference).

    How do you avoid cliches, and how do you write description/action without making your readers either throw up a little or wonder if your story was written by a robot?
     
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  18. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    I think this is why L/M fanfic is popular. When I read TTT I thought a romance was in store for those two. I bought book after book only to be disappointed. When it finally did happen there was no romance, no courting, nothing. It was like a Force arranged marriage. I don't know a L/M fan that wasn't disappointed. I agree with you, it is a lame way to get two people together.
     
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  19. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    What kind of relationship are they in now, a working relationship or a friendship that is irrespective of their careers? Whichever is the case, the best way I can think of to give the romance a chance to blossom, given how you describe things, is to conjure up some sort of bonding event, where something happens to one of them and the other is there to help see them through it. This can be anything, really, as long as it impacts how the characters see one another—so it doesn't necessarily have to involve death or grievous bodily harm. From there, you can describe the development of a mutual attraction as you feel it would best work given the two characters' personalities. It doesn't have to be perfect; in fact, the more "awkward" it might seem to you as it plays out, the better it'll likely turn out both in your own head and in the reader's.

    This is basically how the only OC fanfic ship I've ever written happened, and speaking for myself, I think it worked out pretty well.
     
  20. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014

    We might be on the same wavelength. :)

    I...I did write some PG-13 love scenes for my characters, but they're nothing, absolutely NOTHING like the usual. I tried to read a couple of romance novels and fanfics that focus on romance, but it left me feeling the same as educational videos did when I was seven or eight - terrified. And yeah, robots came to my mind, too. Once again, this is nothing against people who like fluids, ducks, cantos...but since that stuff is happening either way, I just don't see the reason to describe it. It's like mentioning that a person living on the fifth floor had to take stairs or an elevator to get to the ground floor. Ummm, yeah, I know they didn't jump through the window...?! Cool. On the other hand, fluffy, completely G-rated romance is weird as well.

    If you want, we can continue in PM.

    Also, I recommend this blog called Uncle Walter's Bad Romance Novel Quotes. I cannot link to that because the quotes are absolutely err, out there, but my rule of thumb is that, if my writing ever looks any similar to that, I'm throwing myself in the beautiful blue Danube.
     
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  21. JadeLotus

    JadeLotus Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2005
    When it comes to romance, it's important to remember that it has to make sense for the characters as well - much like one would write a fighting style differently depending on the characters involved, the romance is different for every pairing.

    Using my OTP as an example, Mara is a character who is severely emotionally repressed based on her life experiences, and so she's rarely going to sprout romantic dialogue or talk about her feelings (this was even a major plot point in one of my fics). So the romance comes in other ways - through actions and deeds, and even in her overcoming those difficulties somewhat. So if the characters aren't romantic, don't try and shoehorn in "I love yous" or swooning, but let your characters react naturally to the situation.

    As for showing a growing romance, think about how your pairings feelings for one another are growing or changing - do they think about the other during their everyday, do they smile when someone mentions the other, do they try and deny their feelings and act out ("the lady doth protest too much"), do they do little favours for each other, buy each other gifts, get annoyed for no reason at all?

    Increased physical intimacy is a good way of showing rather than telling - are they affectionate with one another, if not, why not, and does this change as their relationship develops. Do they stare at each other a second too long, what happens when one brushes past the other accidentally or touches their hand?

    And talking to each other is a big thing, for me. I love nothing more than my OTP having deep and meaningfuls, helping each other through whatever issues they have, sharing their pasts and secrets, etc.

    As for the actual action, a fade to black moment usually covers it and let's your reader use their imagination to fill in the blanks.
     
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  22. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Also, like Goodwood says, keep in mind what stage of the relationship they are in. Are they in the "sparks flying" stage, where there's attraction but they haven't really acted on it yet? Are they in the first stages where they can't keep their eyes (and hands) off each other? Have they been together for a long time and are so comfortable with each other that they almost act as one? That will make a difference in how you write them.

    A lot of L/M has that easy banter of a long-term relationship. In earlier stages there's often a lot of awkwardness, fear of being misunderstood or doing something dumb.
     
  23. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    How much does romance matter?
    It matters a lot - I love it to be given strong attention if the story calls for it. I.e., if I know that's going to be part of the storyline, I don't like it when the romance is rushed or given little attention. In short, I love it when that gets center stage. But I will read other genres: introspection, drama, humor, but I love it when romance is in the mix.

    Do I just read my pairing?

    No, besides L/M, I'll read Jag/Jaina, Han/Leia, and Kyp/insert a wonderfully compelling OC. And oh yes, now I have another OTP in SW, Thrawn/Ayesha. [face_dancing] [face_love]

    Do I consider myself a romance writer? I do concentrate heavily on that process of developing friendships that turn into loveships. :D And the growing/learning curves that comes with the territory. I like JadeLotus and divapilot concentrate on the subtle nuances as the characters grow into a deeper love and trust and feeling of safety with one another. :) Showing love and consideration in small gestures. :cool:

    An example would be little notes they send to each other throughout their work day or spontaneous just-because gifts. :)
     
  24. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Tried to include some female gaze in my latest update.
     
  25. Admiral Volshe

    Admiral Volshe Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I'm going to answer some questions! :)

    1. How much does romance really matter to you in a story? Why?

    Romance doesn't matter to me very much. I'll read it if it's there (so long as it isn't over the top), but I don't need it to be in a story.

    2. Do you consider yourself a romance writer alone? If yes, do you focus on your set pairing(s)?

    I am definitely NOT a romance writer alone. I have my set characters, though (Darth Vader/Anakin, Padmé, Firmus, my OCs), and thus will usually write stories involving them, pairings or no.

    3. Do you read stories with only your pairing(s) or do you read anything? Does the genre make a difference?

    I read pretty much anything. The genre does make a difference. I prefer to read full stories that include elements of many genres, versus stories that are exclusively one genre. So I prefer adventure, romance, and drama together instead of separately.









    And I must confess, that Palpasard is truly my OTP right now. Yes, I gave it a name. And yes, it is the most fun I've ever had writing a pairing. :p
     
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