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Messages - Jon Crenshaw

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Author Craft / Re: Favorite Words?
« on: June 29, 2006, 04:09:29 PM »
I've always been fond of defenestration.

I used it frequently during college, dealing with uppity freshmen.  :)

"ostensibly" is another good one to make people go "huh?"

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Author Craft / Re: Use of Have/Has Got in Jim's books
« on: June 28, 2006, 05:34:46 PM »
My mind hurts.

Mickey's right. the (American) English language is constantly evolving new words, phrases, and grammatical rules.

In fact, this almost sounds like the next Fox News special:  When Grammar Collides!

(side note re: throw up: that's a slang replacement for "vomit.'  So trying to dissect the two components is something of a tailchaser. :)

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Author Craft / Re: Beginnings
« on: June 28, 2006, 05:14:07 PM »
Quote from: Mickey Finn on June 27, 2006, 09:48:02 PM
Hell, there's been many, many deaths attributed to mistranslations of holy books.

Hmm...mistranslations, or "creative interpretation to impose one's own shortcomings/neuroses/psychoses" on the minds of others?

Power. Corruption
Absolute Power. Yada, yada yada. ;)

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Author Craft / Re: Fanfiction - Good or Evil?
« on: June 28, 2006, 05:09:04 PM »
Quote from: ethyachk on June 28, 2006, 12:28:37 PM
Quote from: neminem on June 28, 2006, 02:05:26 AM

I have had a distressing number of contacts with fanfic writers who were so proud of what they'd done they were sure that once the author read their fanfic that it would become accepted as a part of the world and would be published. Worse, some fanfic crazies even thought the authors would hand creative control of the world to these fanfic maniacs.

If that sounds unbelieveable, I should mention that I once dated a girl who honestly believed she was a fairy princess, daughter of Oberon and Titania, with her very own angelic guardian who she spoke to frequently. She was one of the fanfic people.

Lesson to be learned: don't date the people I date. Bad idea.

-S
.

QFT.

Sounds like we may have dated the same kinds of people.

Eyaugh, glad I'm over that phase. ;)

But spot on about some of the fanfic crazies out there

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Author Craft / Re: Beginnings
« on: June 27, 2006, 08:51:32 PM »
Quote from: ToddM326 on June 27, 2006, 03:26:32 PM
Quote from: Jon Crenshaw on June 26, 2006, 08:17:39 PM
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Another board that I read is currently debating the "grammatical correctness" of that first line.

They think that better grammar would be "It was the best and the worst of times."

I think they have too much free time.


The thing that they need to consider, is that grammar is constantly changing. What may have been fine two centuries ago, can easily be incorrect by today's standards.

That being said--there's a distinct reason I opted not to finish my M.A. in English--and Another board that I read is currently debating the "grammatical correctness" of that first line. would be indicative of it.

English grad students and PhD's are far too enamored (as a whole) with debating semi-useless arguments to death.

Case in point:  There are whole series of arguments in journals over the tranlation of Two. Freaking. Words. in an old english poem called the Battle of Maldon.

Two.  Words.

The mind boggles.

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Author Craft / Re: Beginnings
« on: June 26, 2006, 08:17:39 PM »
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

"Call me Ishmael."

"The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault."

:)

A good opening sentence can really hook me in as a reader.

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Author Craft / Re: Fanfiction - Good or Evil?
« on: June 26, 2006, 08:05:51 PM »
Quote from: Amber on June 26, 2006, 05:01:54 PM

(I don't like it when bands cover music, either :p )

Ah, but there's a marked difference between a fanfic author and a band that plays covers:

The band pays licensing fees to have the right to play the music.


8
Author Craft / Re: Fanfiction - Good or Evil?
« on: June 26, 2006, 08:00:22 PM »
Personally, with few exceptions, I hate fan-fic. (Some, I must admit, however, is very good--(V. Secret Diaries, for ex.)

Let me ammend that--I do not like fan fic.  Comedic undertakings, however, are another story. (see V. Secret Diaries, above)

That being said, a useful tool in learning your own writing style would be to write similarly to another author, without stealing characters, settings, ideas, etc.  (IE, write a story in the style of King, Butcher, Doyle, etc.)

But fanfic?  yuck.

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Author Craft / Re: Good books on writing
« on: May 31, 2006, 08:49:35 PM »
Elements should be on every writer's shelf. ;)

As much as I'm *not* a bit King fan, his "On Writing" is an excellent resource for writers. (Once you get past the biographical stuff.)

-Jon

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DFRPG / Playtesting?
« on: May 31, 2006, 07:59:31 PM »
Hey,

Any idea when you might be in the playtesting stage?

Thanks,

Jon

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