Index The Seedy Side V. 2.0 (An Underworld Index/Discussion Thread - disc. crime lords)

Fourth Update

As promised, here's the new update. In keeping with our recent theme, here's a new fic for the index starring the younger of the two Fetts. It's quite good, and done by Bale. Welcome to the index, Bale. The rest of you, read it.

Decoy

Timeline: Intertrilogy; 9 BBY

Genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery, AU

Main characters: Fetts, Vader, Tarkin, OC?s

Summary: He?s the most feared and successful bounty hunter in the galaxy. He is Boba Fett, and even the most hardened criminals tremble at his name. Now he faces the most dangerous bounty of his infamous career?a bounty that will unravel the mysteries of his past and show the truth of his destiny...

Status: Complete

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And, of course, here's a new subject for discussion:

[b][color=teal]?Heroes and Villains?[/color][/b]

These characters are shades of gray, and we all love that. But every story needs a protagonist and some sort of conflict. So let?s talk about how you go about writing a seedy villain. And what should you do to make a good, believable underworld ?hero?. This would also be the time and place to mention shady antiheroes.

 

Fifth Update


Hello all. Some of you may recall that we tried in the old thread to start up author interviews of those users here who write the underworld. DarthIshtar was voted into the hotseat for our first one. Then, partially because I am a fool, and partially because of computer gremlins (don?t even think about getting them wet), we couldn?t work it out. But now it?s finally happened and you get to enjoy the result.

So, without further ado, here it is, unrated, unedited, uncensored, and under-staffed. I present to you the first official Seedy Side Author Interview?, DarthIshtar.




1) What is your name?

My name is DarthIshtar. In real life, it's Kathryn, but people call me a lot of things--Kathryn, Kaki, Kax, Kathy, Ish, Poe, Hermanita, Gordita, etc.

2) What is your quest?

To find the holy...oh, wait, wrong movie. My quest is to find balance in my writing.

3) What is your favorite color?

Green. I love the color of my eyes and it has so many shades to look at!

4) Can you give us some background information on yourself?

Well, let's see. I was born in San Antonio, moved to Portland, then moved to Boston, spent three months in Michigan and 19 months in California, but 15 of my 25 years were spent in Massachusetts. I also go to college in Utah.

I'm the second girl of three girls and one boy in that order.

I've got auburn hair and green eyes and a lot of freckles.

My mom's a piano teacher who only teaches me a piano lesson when she's absolutely fed up with my piano skills. My dad's an investments consultant.

I started writing when I was about 7, but I had never seen Star Wars until I was 13. Actually, I had the opportunity to see Return of the Jedi when I was 8, but I chose to read the Memoirs of Robert E. Lee instead. The Civil War and Star wars are my two great loves, so I'll call myself young and foolish at that point. At 12, I dressed up as Leia for a Halloween-in-July party at Interlochen Center for the Arts, but thought she was British royalty. The following year, I saw all three movies in one day and was instantly hooked. I wrote my first fanfic one day later and haven't stopped since.

I've hit my 5-year anniversary this month on tf.n and spent 19 months out of those 60 as a missionary who couldn't use a computer for anything other than a family email each week. "In my day," there was one fanfic forum, they introduced the new Writers Resource Forum, the awards were once a year and the one mod betaed all 400 pages of my first submissions to the Archive. Coming back to find an explosion of forums and stories and people writing about this guy I'd only remotely remembered name Jag Fel and talking about Kit Fisto was so confusing.

I'm an English major, Spanish minor at Brigham Young University and want to get my Masters of Library Science and be a children's librarian. My major accomplishments of this last year have been writing my first novel, becoming financially independent and getting out of my abusive marriage.

5) What draws you to Star Wars writing ? more specifically the seedy side of the GFFA?

I love writing Star Wars because there are so many levels of intrigue that are already implied even in the most basic of the plot lines. I like writing seedy side because there are such unlikely heroes possible in that.

6) Who or what has influenced/inspired your writing?

In terms of who, my biggest influence has been Arthur C. Clarke. His stories have always been very thought-provoking and slightly unpredictable, but more than that, he wrote a fantastic essay on dialogue that is unforgettable.

I also had a teacher named Mrs. Elliott in 11th and 12th grade for English. In 11th grade, I was in the 12th-grade class and for 6 weeks, I was the

 

Thanks for letting me contribute.

On the topic of writing heroes and villains, I think a major factor is setting up circumstances. For the hero, you don't want people to think of him as a hero just because he'd be Chief of State if his rent weren't too high to stop running a spice ring. Conversely, you can't make a villain just out of the circumstances of him having a tough upbringing.

 

The Interview: Personally, I liked this, and would like to do more, but only if me fellow seedy-siders be interested.

DarthIshtar, thank you for participating.

I can imagine how crazy that would be to come back to the split boards. Heck, it was crazy witnessing it all as it happened.

The seedy stories you mention sound very interesting? *struggles to resist urge to follow yet another fic*

Yes, great points about the usefulness of death. Tell that to my readers.

The Topic: DICLAIMER: Prepare for generalizations and examples gone wild. There are no real absolute laws in art, so there will always be exceptions. I?m just talkin? here.

The thing to remember is that these are not ?pure? heroes and villains. The Seedy Side is not the stage for the epic clashes of noble good and nefarious evil. A good idea is to give your protagonist and antagonist shared traits. Maybe you have an assassin assigned to kill a crime lord. Both of them consider it ?just business.? Maybe your antagonist and protagonist are both motivated by revenge. Then, at some point, they make different decisions on that matter. The difference between a vengeful hero and a vengeful villain is that the hero rises above it. The villain is consumed by it.

More simply you can make one almost completely evil and give the other some sort of code, however flexible or bare-bones.

Ish is right on circumstances. You can?t chalk up a serial killer?s behavior to a bad childhood with the underworld. In the underworld, chances are about 1 in 1.3 that you had a bad childhood. I guess the reaction to the underworld is part of what makes the difference.

Of course, this is assuming you have a seedy hero and a seedy villain. You can also have a fic where the heroes are gray but are actually fighting the underworld; or maybe your hero is the criminal and the law is the ?baddie.?

Just a couple of my cents.

 

Nifty interview! I like the idea of picking the brains of various authors to find out what they're all 'bout. The 'approach' and 'murder' both struck me as very interesting subjects while reading the interview. the latter simply because death is funny. *cough*

Anyway, I vote to keep 'em coming.


For me, when it comes to villians of the Seedy Side (moving on to the Topic at hand), I like 'em evil and amoral. Then again, when it comes to heroes of the Seedy Side, I like 'em evil and amoral. So..really, for me it's more a question of 'is this character useful to the protagonist? then he's a good guy. Is he working against the protagonist? Then he's not. Is he both? Even better.

 

Excellent interview. I'd definitely be happy to see more.

As to the topic, I think it can often come down to methods. Motivation is important, certainly, but we've also pointed out that a lot of seedy characters, on both sides of the coin, are motivated by a degree of selfishness. So some of it is what the character is willing to do to get what they want and to whom. If your hero is willing to cross some lines we wouldn't, well... that can be very interesting storytelling.

 

Okay, I?m back for more. And I?ve brought footnotes. Heck yes.

The interview post has been edited to include a link to DarthIshtar?s well-done time travel fic (oh I said it and I don?t regret it) To Cast Away Stones.

Speaking of which, I?ll get to work on finding a subject ? er, guest ? for our next interview. I?m thinking semi-monthly. Month-and-a-halfly perhaps. I think I?ll post who the next lucky author is ahead of time and find out if anybody wants to submit questions.

Yod: That Death. What a character. [/Mc_Fly]

Your response to the topic makes me smile inside. Interesting approach. Of course, if that?s true, then how do we know who the protagonist is? By whom we spend the most time focused on?* By POV? I think we should probably include some kind of sympathy for the main character; there needs to be at least one half of a redeeming trait to distinguish the hero. One method is just to make everybody else much much worse ? until you throw in a few opponents that have the moral high ground. There?s a recipe for good storytelling and character development. Or maybe he shoots the Jedi and goes on his way, whistling a song.** Depends what theme (or lack thereof) you want to get across.

*This may or may not be an excuse to use the word ?whom?.
**?I Wish I Were in the Land of Dixie?

Forcefire: This brings us to the point of varying degrees of scruples. Robin Hood is a thief. But he only steals from the rich and he gives to the poor. He stands up to The Man and he? gives him what for. Our love for him ain?t hard to explain. The Heeero of C-?

?*ahem* Sorry. I didn?t mean to break out into song, honest. Anyway, he?s got principles ? moreso, in fact, than his foes, which makes him a very light gray-sider. Anyway, in literary land, being a criminal is one thing. Being a jerk about it is another. Killing kittens is a third. The hero, antihero, and villain of the Seedy Side, in an oversimplified nutshell.*

*Why aren?t there nuts in it? I?m being ripped off! I expect nuts next time.

Face

 

Sixth Update

Hey everyone! Here's another update for you that brings three new authors to the index. First there's a collab of Darth_Gangrenous and MsLanna that uses the canon underworld to great effect.

Crossing Jabba

Timeline: 3 years BBY

Genre: Action-adventure

Main characters: Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt and Keila

Summary: When the desperate Keila finally found her escape from Tatooine, she had no idea the ship she chose would put her on the hitlist of Jabba the Hutt, but now she?s being hunted by Boba Fett himself.

Status: In-progress


Next up is a brief but funny vignette about Boba Fett and the bounty hunting gang from TerrorByte.

Any Day But Today

Timeline: Between ANH and ESB

Genre: Humor vignette

Main characters: Boba Fett, Jabba, featuring appearances by: IG-88, Dengar, Zuckuss and 4-LOM

Summary: Boba Fett would rather be just about anywhere else in the galaxy on his birthday

Status: Complete

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Read. Enjoy. Post. Discuss our topic.

Okay, the last was unrelated, but important.

 

Thanks for the addition! Definitely good to have people hopefully enjoying my work.

 

MsLanna and I would like to thank you for the interest in our work, for including us here and for hopefully getting us more readers to hopefull enjoy or story.

 

You're all quite welcome.

Anybody else interested in responding to the topic at hand? I'll be posting an update Friday or Saturday. More fics, a new topic, and (drumroll please) a new challenge.

 

Seventh Update

As promised, here?s the new update. We start by welcoming SakuraTsukikage to the Seedy Side index with her excellent vignette on Booster?s relationship with his grandson. This place could always use some more Booster.

Here's Looking at You, Kid

Timeline: during NJO

Genre: challenge entry

Main characters: Booster Terrik, Valin Horn

Summary: Booster and Valin share a grandfather, grandson moment.

Status: Complete



Next is JediSmuggler, also new to TSS?s humble index. This one is a full-length fic on OC smuggler Kolman Tye, along with some seedy guest stars.

Title: I, Smuggler

Timeline: pre-NJO, circa Planet of Twilight

Genre: action-adventure

Main character: Kolman Tye

Summary: The story of how a sabacc-playing, Force-sensitive smuggler got into the business.

Status: In-progress

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Second order of business; behold the new challenge!

[b][color=teal]?Nothing Personal?[/color][/b]

Write a story about a hired killer (bounty hunter, mercenary, assassin, whatever) being hired to kill someone they know fairly well, but not someone they dislike. Whether they whack the person or not is up to you. Any format?s acceptable ? songfic, vignette, epic series of haikus? All you have to do is write it, post it to the appropriate forum (Before, Saga, or Beyond), and send the link to [b]SeedySider[/b] or [b]The_Face[/b]. It will then be indexed under challenge responses in the first post. And remember, the other two are eternally open for responses, if you?re interested in those.

[hr]

Third order of business. Our first author interview seemed to be a reasonable success (we?re not the biggest thread, y? know, but dang it, we?ve got heart! ?Less thievery.). So, we?re continuing it with an interview of long-time Seedy Side vet [b]Mjsullivan[/b]! I thought I would open up the floor for any questions you guys want to ask him, and see if anybody bites or if I should stick to asking all the questions meself. I?m kind of experimenting with these first few until we can strike a formula that works well.

Here?s what you do: Think of a question or questions that you would like to submit to [b]Mjs[/b] for the interview. Send it via PM to [b]SeedySider[/b] or [b]The_Face[/b] by April 8th. I will add those questions to the list of wherever it makes sense to put ?em and then send the whole shebang off to our vict- er, guest. He responds and [i]boom[/i], we?ve got ourselves an interview.

[hr]

[cliché]And last, but not least[/cliché], behold the new topic of discussion!

[b][color=teal]?A Lasersword to a Gunfight?[/b][/color]

What are your strategies for writing action scenes in the underworld? How are they different (if they are at all) from the traditional space battles and Jedi duels? Where do weapons and combat fit into the Seedy Side anyway? Let?s talk about the violent side of the underworld.

Respond away! Please! I?m not begging! Much!

 

The action scene is quite possibly th most fun part of the Seedy Side. Because 'true' action scenes, with the hero of light and the villain of dark, have been done to death, resurrected, killed again, revived, crushed for bread, turned into Post-somethings, boiled alive, zombified, and shot in the head. So we all know what to expect there. Not that they can't be done well, but when you have two enemies who are basically on the same, or vaguely the same, moral level, things suddenly become interesting.

The great thing about fighting dirty is that it opens the door to vast creative possibilities, and also the chance for a magnificent anticlimax. So between ambushing the ambushers, and getting kicked in the junk, I don't see the down side. They're fun. They're evil. They can make for some absolutely wild twists as all the plans go wrong. They can even flip which characters have the moral high ground, depending on what happens. Which can frankly be anything. And that's what I have to say about that.


Hey, I might actually get around to doing this challenge. I've got just the right guy for the job, and I bunny to boot!
*boots bunny*

 

Yod: Loved your description of what?s happened to the grand conflict of good and evil. Good thoughts on the topic.

I hope you do the challenge. I kind of have to since I came up with it, but it would be nice to have more than one response for once.

Now then, the topic. Violence. Adds to any post, methinks. It?s an extremely effective way to get drama. A blaster to the head provides an immediate conflict that demands resolution. It keeps attention, and it should progress the plot or a character?s arc or something. I?ve been guilty, I know, of sometimes throwing in action sequence filler. I?m addicted to cliffies.

Of course, maybe you?re crazy enough to be writing an over-the-top humor piece like certain people might, were they under the influence.* Then random violence and ?splosions are the goal.

As for how it all pertains specifically to the underworld. Well, these are morbid professions. Killing is often times the business of these people. That or they?re doing things they could easily get killed for, by police, the Empire, or a rival crime lord?s enforcer. One of the themes of the underworld that can be explored nearly endlessly (and we touched on this in the first thread with one of our topics) is, in fact, murder. How does it affect them? What happens, when like the Seedy Siders, you find yourself desensitized to it? When violence is ?only business? as it were. Since these characters are in the gray, they could go any number of directions with their reaction to violence. That uncertainty is a goldmine for ideas.

Now, how do you go about writing an underworld action sequence? I think Yod did a wonderful job addressing that in his post. The double crosses, the uncertainty of it all as far as what these characters will and will not do. As a practical matter, most Seedy Side battles will be blaster fights. These people don?t have lightsabers or mystical quasi-religious superpowers. Usually. There are very few Force-users who can exist in the gray. We talked about that in the first thread, too. These people also don?t have the vast resources of the warring armies. Except maybe the Rebels. The Rebels had some pretty crappy stuff. But the underworld types generally have even crappier stuff. These people drive the Millennium Falcons of the galaxy, that you literally have to punch to start up.

So what are you left with? Maybe some armor, a decent ship (tops), and a whole lot of firepower. Any gunfighting presents its unique problems. One is that when you?re shot, you?re shot. If it?s not fatal, it?s probably still going to take your efficiency way down. Lightsabers have the advantage of blocking blows. You can have long stretches where no one gets hurt, while keeping up the tension. If everyone spends all their time missing their shots, it?s just boring. Or cliché if you?ve got stormtroopers who can?t hit the broad side of the Executor up against The Expert Marksman Hero?.

Forcefire did a nice job, IMHO, compensating for those problems with Selin Glif, his protagonist for New Skin and Make Yourself (in the index). He carries blasters and they?re his main weapons, but he also has amazing regeneration à la Wolverine. So he can get shot; his enemies don?t have to have awful accuracy. And he can survive it, but he still feels it all, so he?s not the Invincible Warrior Hero? either.

That?s all I?ll say for now. I?ve gone on too long already and I want to hear what other people have to add. So add away. Please.

* Of what? The world may never know?

 

When writing "seedy side" action scenes, the two biggest components I like to include are action (obviously), but with my stories featuring Sal Vinz (my featured "Seedy Side" OC), I also like to include a crap ton of wit. Because what separates those in the SW underworld from the main stream population is their mentality. Sal can blast away with the best of them, better even, but he has a very laissez-faire attitude, much like that of Han Solo. He doesn't care, and he doesn't mind letting people know he doesn't care. He's out to make money, and if that means offing countless numbers of people in the process, he's alright with that. So when you put that all together, it turns out to be very witty, and usually pretty entertaining.

 

I definitely agree with that, JMT. Personally, I love throwing in funny quips with just about any scene. Underworld characters, I think, are more likely to do that. Jedi are supposed to be all solemn. Clones and the Empire are less than a barrel of laughs. So on and so forth. But these characters are much more prone to taking the violence less seriously. Possibly because they?re not fighting for anything, really. As you say, they don?t care, and they?ll let you know it.

Of course, pilots are often portrayed as goofballs, too (see username). But whatever.

Another update is coming. Promise.

 

The violence is of course quite important to the underworld equation. Enforcing one's will with it is par for the course. When in a business like that, sometimes the only way to make your point is to meet it with the same, at least, that's how the seedy side character will often see it.

Action scenes are fun. They work best, however, if you earn them. It has to mean something for the characters, or if it doesn't, maybe the story should be conscious of and reflect that, which could be interesting to see.

Yod, we have very different ideas of fun.

In all seriousness, the cheating and the dirty tactics definitely make for some entertaining moments, and also play in to the character comments we've mentioned.

Face, thanks for the kudos. In all honesty, Selin was born from an action scene, or at least the glimmer of one. Then the ideas I had to make it work as it did ended up flipping around and pretty much driving the story. (Ever have an idea for a story long after you finished it? I just did for Make Yourself, and it's an odd sort of sadness when you figure out what you did wrong and say "Of course! He should have been whipped!")

 

Eighth Update


Hey everybody, I?m back with more fics for the index. First, we welcome JediMindTrick000 to the Seedy Side with his tale of mercenary-of-sorts Sal Vinz. Sal?s rude, he?s cynical, he?s hilarious, and he?s armed. He?ll fit right in.

Soldier of Fortune: Finding Paradise

Timeline: Shortly after the events of ROTS

Genre: Action, angst, romance

Main characters: OCs: Sal Vinz, Daniella Hiddyn, and more OC's and George's characters to come

Summary: Sal Vinz is all alone in a huge universe without a real purpose in life. Sal is bound to run into some of George's characters as he finally finds a reason for living, but not after some gunslinging, murder, and betrayal...

Status: Complete


Next up is Caledre with a fic about the people living where the galactic conflict is far from their concern. It?s very well-written, and all the characters are well-defined and interesting.

Ill Met In Anchorhead

Timeline: just prior to ANH

Genre: Action Adventure/Underworld with a little bit of Angst

Main characters: Ben Kenobi, Huff Darklighter, and OCs ? Arkanis Yel, Karron Mongu, Granth Mutari, M3-69O

Summary: Only a few days before the opening crawl of A New Hope, and a motley group of characters arrive on a the planet that is farthest from the bright center of the universe, unaware that their destinies are about to be irreversibly intertwined.

Status: In-progress

Welcome to the Seedy Side?, Caledre!


And to round out this update, we have another good one from GrandAdmiralV, the sequel to her indexed story Blood and Ashes?

Mandalore's Son

Timeline: Eight years post-ROTJ

Genre: Drama, Romance

Main characters: Boba Fett, Miele (OC), and a bunch of other OCs

Summary: What will Boba Fett do when he discovers the existence of a son he never knew he had?

Status: In-progress

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And, we have had two responses to our ?Nothing Personal? challenge! [face_shock] First is [b]JediMindTrick000[/b]?s. He has put his into Chapter 2 of his sequel to the aforementioned Soldier of Fortune, [i]I, Dirtbag.[/i] Check it out here:

[link=http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/23489184/p1/?10]Nothing Personal[/link]

And, of course, [b]The_Face[/b] brings us his effort, an OC vignette about the galaxy?s most polite killer.

[link=http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=23596294&brd=10477]A Gentleman?s Word[/link]

Read ?em, leave their writers a reply, and maybe try the challenge yourself. And, as always, don?t forget to add your thoughts to the topic of discussion.

 

Hooha! bout time Sal got some recognition 'round here...

Doin' a great job here, Face...keep up the good work, my friend.

 

Okay, getting back to the topic at hand. Forcefire?

They work best, however, if you earn them. It has to mean something for the characters, or if it doesn't, maybe the story should be conscious of and reflect that, which could be interesting to see.

See, that?s one of the points I was trying to make, but couldn?t find the words to really make it come across. And then you went and put it together beautifully in the space of, what, two sentences? Thanks. Thanks a lot. Cancel the cobbler. [/Janitor]

"Of course! He should have been whipped!"

Torture, or a monopoly of his time for a relationship? Or am I repeating myself?*

*Just kidding, ladies.

Doin' a great job here, Face...keep up the good work, my friend.

Thanks much, JMT. Props go to you for responding to the challenge.

 

Figuratively whipped. I forgot that this place apparently can have enough proclivity for torture to make a policy for it. That story needed to lighten up a bit.

 

Ninth Update

Hi all! That?s right; it?s time for another update. Quit groaning. You, in the back, if you?re gonna stab someone, do it right!

*sigh* Pirates?

Anyway, we start it off with another fic from JediMindTrick000. This is the sequel to Soldier of Fortune, and it?s just as witty:

I, Dirtbag

Timeline: Shortly after the events of Soldier of Fortune

Genre: A large mound of sarcastic facetiousness (which I didn?t realize was a word, but as it turns out, it really is.)

Main characters: Sal Vinz, Daniella, and lots of other people when I think of them

Summary: The galaxy?s merc with a mouth Sal Vinz continues to go through the galaxy in search of a purpose, or at least enough credits for a really nice detonator, or maybe a crib?

Status: In-progress


Next is a collaboration from Seedy Side vets Mjsullivan and The_Face, which tosses their respective OCs together and displays the chaos that follows for all to enjoy:

For Hire

Timeline: post-ANH

Genre: Action, adventure, humor

Main characters: OCs from the Legitimate Business and Galaxy Noir series: Messuni Roserain, Eva Pah?ker, Craft, and Alias Sibul

Summary: Four guns for hire are brought in on opposing sides of a conflict in the seedy underbelly of Corellia. Neither pair is aware that their enemies have hired their old friends.

Status: In-progress


And then we have another challenge response. This one is from Art_Of_War. The prologue of his story addresses the challenge in a beautiful way:

Atlas Astray

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Now it?s the moment you?ve all been waiting for? maybe. Heck, I dunno what you?ve been waiting for. Christmas, or somethin?? Geez. Anyway, here is the second Seedy Side author interview, with [color=seagreen][b]Mjsullivan[/b][/color]!

[face_applause] [face_applause] [face_applause] [face_applause]


[b][color=CE892F]1) What is your name?[/b][/color]

My name is Mjsullivan! I wish I'd used a pseudonym for my board name, but I haven't - so giving away my first name would be all too revealing *looks left and right suspiciously*. My last name is Sullivan though.

[b][color=CE892F]2) What is your quest?[/b][/color]

Welll, this is a tough one. When I first started out at the boards I wanted to write stories that weren't strictly about Jedi versus Sith. Those have been done. We know who wins. So I thought i'd do something with a bit more edge and uncertainty to it. From that, Floating Fortress was born and I haven't looked back since! Seedy side all the way [face_wink]

Did I mention explosions? That's my side quest.

[b][color=CE892F]3) What is your favorite color? [/b][/color]

I painted my flat this colour solely for the name, I swear - 'Astro-Zinger Purple'. If any of my characters ever use a lightsaber, I will be obliged to make it an Astro-Zinger Purple blade.

[b][color=CE892F]4) Can you give us some background information on yourself?[/b][/color]

Born in 1985, Mjsullivan began life like any other baby....

Ha, or fast forwarding to the relevant things [face_tongue] I first saw star wars when I was 7 years old and loved it from then on out. I saw the trilogy in exact reverse order - RoTJ, ESB and ANH. But I didn't care. There were explosions and lightsabers.

I'm a solid sci-fi fan. I love the scope it can give to writing, and how it can actually provide a brilliant avenue for illustrating and accentuating plot points. That said I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy and would rather see a movie starring two talking heads than a giant ape.

Misc info: Musician by trade, though as with all budding musicians I am fully expecting this to be short-lived. I live in Australia where it is too hot. Look out Canada, I'm moving in whe

 

Ah, you like Jasper Fforde. You're cool in my books, then!
If I was able to make Alias Yodimus Prime half as witty as Thursday Next..


11) What would your advice be to others interested in writing their own underworld OCs?

Along the lines of what I just said - loyalties are everything. The less love they have for both sides of a conflict, the better. A seedy character can be predisposed to good or evil, but that very rarely results in an out-and-out decision to go Rebel or Imperial spy ala Han Solo.
This is, I think, a perfect answer. Because seedy siders can be deeply loyal...but they tend to have a strange definition of 'friend'. And they always have that 'doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons'/'doing the wrong thing for all the right reasons' stigma.

Come on. They're explosions. Does anyone really need a reason?
Never. Bring 'em on!


Great interview!
... And I'm working on that challenge fic, I swear!

 

My last name is Sullivan though.

*points* I knew it!

Astro-Zinger Purple. Awesome.

Canada, mjs? That?s a little extreme. *wishes we had a maple-leaf flag smilie*

Aaron Allston, Jasper Fforde, and Joss Whedon ? superb list.

Mjs, if you want pointers on Lando, I?ll gladly point you to a certain Boushh fic... I do want to write Lando seriously, though.

Flounder is cool as a verb. Use it often.

Ha, okay. To flounder, to flounder, to flounder.

Thanks for the shout-out on underworld scenes!

Heh, good point on the Clone vs. Clone issue, but I?m not so sure that?s how it works.

It would be interesting to see your take on the Force-users beyond the occasional Vader or Luke. And of course, more WiD! Great interview, mjs.

Yod: I hope you do respond to the challenge. I?ve a feeling it?ll be great.

 

mjs, well done. Even calls for the clapping smilie thing.

Your points on loyalty are very well put, and well explored with Clip.

Definitely curious to see what you have planned for the future.