Writerly Ways

[cornerofmadness]

well since I hadn't had one in two weeks and with the surgery tomorrow, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do any in the near future I thought I'd better tuck one in here.

You've already heard this week's big news about Ghost of Jupiter selling.

As for the writers' group stuff I talked about a couple weeks ago, needless to say I still want to do it but I also will need a few weeks probably to get myself ready for it. Maybe in July. Sorry about that guys.

I have several original fiction projects in mind.

I started Scott Westerfield's Leviathian. Several people recced it as good steampunk but I had been shying away for one reason, I am so tired of the girl dressing as a boy trope. While I know that there have been real world cases of girls dressing as boys (pirates, stagecoach drivers, even Calamity Jane was thought to be male foryears), I just have to wonder how the hell they pull it off. I'm not talking about the boobs. In thirty years, it's a rare occasion when there isn't an accident during my period. Either I'm extremely unlucky (hush it) or these dress as boy girls are lucky (or even a bit odd physiologically, which has been the case that some of them have been intersexed). I'm thinking even with pads that glue to the panties and/or tampons, versus something like rags wadded up/tied down that would have been the available protection in these stories days, this is dicey.

ELD reminded me that periods don't seem to exist in the written world unless it's a plot point.

Anyhow what is the point of period babbling? I was just thinking (since I'm not mentally up for serious writing talk). I'm curious just what tropes you're tired of seeing.

1. girls dressing as boys. I guess I just rather read stories where girls don't have to hide

2. the snarky assed heroine. Okay i like a little bit of snark and it was fun with Buffy and most of my heroines are snarky too but I'm talking about the ones who every word out of her mouth, every thought, is some snarky bullshit. A little snark is good. 300 pages is wearying.

3. zombies. I know I know someone who writes vampires doesn't get to talk about the overuse of zombies. I guess i just don't get why they're the hot new thing.

4. dystopias. I should just avoid them or learn to write them. I like angst right? I should love dystopias. I guess deep down I want happiness in my reading

I'm sure the list could be longer but I have to go get mom so i'll leave you with my yearly word count

36292 / 125000 words. 29% done!

Comments

[rain-oubliette.livejournal.com]

For a real life account of dressed as a boy story, read about Billy (Dorothy) Tipton. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Tipton

Not that I read much fiction, but I really think snark is easily abused. Too much of it and a character comes across as an asshole. This makes it difficult to root/cheer for the character.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

CoM and I were talking last night about the stagecoach driver (I can't remember his name) who was found to be female after his death.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

yes I know about Billy quite well (she was pointed out to me in D.C. when a pro jazz player heard my college's jazz band and I was the sax player

agreed about the snark

[sp23.livejournal.com]

Stupidity as a method of moving the plot along. You know what I mean, when the hero/ine does something incredibly stupid that puts him/her into danger or alerts the bad guys they're onto them, or they insist on trusting someone patently untrustworthy. Gah, makes me insane!

This is prevalent mostly in romance, but I've seen it elsewhere also: The half-overheard conversation that causes the eavesdropper to misunderstand something and causes great - and utterly unnecessary - angst and keeps the hero/heroine apart for the majority of the book. And as a subset of that trope, the believed lie. So very, very overused.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

no argument. Buffy and Angel series both over used this a lot and the incredibly stupid thing, i'm there right now on a very long fantasy story and it's making me nuts knowing it.

[bob_fish.livejournal.com]

First off, good luck with the surgery tomorrow. Will be thinking of you, take care.

Re. girls dressing as boys - I think the period stuff would be an issue for lots of girls, but I do know women who have very light flow who could get away with that aspect of it. One of the cases I know best, James Barry, had a valet who he/she was apparently very emotionally close with, who likely knew his/her secret and may even have helped cover. It doesn't interest me so much as a 'spunky heroine' trope but I quite like it when (much, much more rarely) the hero is transgendered or a butch dyke and living as a man is an end in itself. Tipping the Velvet did that side of it quite well.

I agree about snarky heroines done badly. I think it can be one of those things like female characters who make a big point of how they can do kung fu but are never required to do it by the plot and have no other personality traits. In other words, an unimaginative way to make your girl character 'strong' and/or 'feisty'. Buffy had depth and humanity, that's what made her both an interesting character and a genuine hero.

I love dystopias (and I have a soft spot for 'kill 'em all' AU stories like Days of Future Past in X-Men or The Wish in Buffy) but I do find myself needing a note of hope somewhere. I'm always suspicious of the idea that pessimism is automatically more thoughtful than optimism.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

thanks

well yes, you know if being 'male' and transgendered was the point, I think that could be very interesting. The I want to be a pilot/knight/you name it so I'll dress as a guy thing is so over done I'm just very tired of it. I've not read Tipping the Velvet but heard it was good.

You hit it with the snarky heroines (C J Cherryh was one of the earlier offenders. everyone was like oooo her females are so strong but to me they were bitchy. there's a difference)

I've found more and more as I get older I like dystopias more. maybe because the world around me is getting more dystopic

[bob_fish.livejournal.com]

Yes, sometimes I think it's more interesting to explore a heroine being a female pilot/knight/space cop in a fictional world where the pilots/knights/space cops are overwhelmingly male?

Yes, if your character is just snark on legs, the snark had better be hilarious and charming enough to make them a likeable anti-hero rather than just obnoxious.

I am shallower, I just like to see my favourite characters getting nuked once in a while. XD

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

yes exactly. In the smut i published in the filter yesterday, Ivy is just that sort of heroine as is Melantha. Iknow about being in that position

agreed

snort

[spiderling.livejournal.com]

OMfuckingGAWD. All of the above! Except, if I am honest I do like girl as boy cliche. It can work once in awhile. But yes to the period accidents! If nothing else you have to wash out the undies in the morning once in awhile.

I raged on zombies on my LJ a few days ago too! HAYTE them! SO much! In ALL forms! They are stoopid- and stupid because people try to put a scientific veneer on what is essentially bullshit.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

i like silly zombie things once in awhile but they are everywhere now

[spiderling.livejournal.com]

Sean of the Dead for the WIN!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

i dd adore night of the living trekkies

[lyrangalia]

I wonder if the high stress life some of these girls dressed up as boys ended up living helped the whole period thing by curbing the flow. I think if they were predisposed to light flows, were in a high stress situation, and had low enough body weight to curb it more, it could have been possible without modern pads and tampons.

But of course that would be a pretty perfect storm of factors to work out for it to work flawlessly. Or maybe they did have accidents and just covered them up.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

that is entirely possible