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Author Craft / Re: What do you think?
« on: November 27, 2008, 05:53:13 PM »Beckett would have liked it.
Perhaps ranch has written in the ultimate, dignified, Hemingway style, where ten tenths of the iceberg is under water.
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Perhaps ranch has written in the ultimate, dignified, Hemingway style, where ten tenths of the iceberg is under water.
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Author Craft / Re: Author In Progress
« on: November 19, 2008, 03:53:53 AM »
My name is Robert, or crihavoc.
I have a great life. Family, home, career - check, check, check. I'm a lucky sonfagun, and no mistake.
My muse, poor girl, is suffering from a wasting disease.
Once upon a time: every SNIKT of razor sharp adamantium, every POOM from the gauntlets of Baron Karza, each diagonal carom of Daredevil's baton, every moan from the bloody length of rune-etched Stormbringer, each fish-scaled shadow at Innsmouth, every heart-busting push through the pattern of Amber, the thunderous cyan volleys from squads of fan-skirted, mercenary tanks, and the click-clock death-knell sound of a run-down pair of cowboy boots on the cracked asphalt trail of virus-wracked American damnation...
... once apon a time, my muse gorged herself silly. And, I wrote and wrote and wrote. Junior high creative writing, high school literary magazines, college literary magazines, post-matriculation rejection letters galore.
I have a great life, and no mistake. But, every project charter and spend justification and statement of work and Return on Net Assets evaluation graph and knowledge article and training document... they grow like nightmare stop-motion anemones in the marble-carved catacombs of my imagination and clamp spear-tipped extrusions on to her stringy limbs and rubbery torso and drink deep, deep, deep...
I have a plan, to save her life. I can't rescue my stringy muse yet, but I can keep her on life support. So, I join websites where stories are told. And, I force her to eat and eat and then I write! Nothing huge - short stories, vignettes, descriptive paragraphs, some world-building input - whatever she and I can craft between the 2 AM feeding and the 6 AM alarm.
I have a plan. It proceeds slowly. But, each story is another rod removed from the reactor core, another fragment of dilithium crystal added, another glyph locked in on the Stargate. I have a plan.
My name is Robert, or crihavoc.
I have a great life. Family, home, career - check, check, check. I'm a lucky sonfagun, and no mistake.
My muse, poor girl, is suffering from a wasting disease.
Once upon a time: every SNIKT of razor sharp adamantium, every POOM from the gauntlets of Baron Karza, each diagonal carom of Daredevil's baton, every moan from the bloody length of rune-etched Stormbringer, each fish-scaled shadow at Innsmouth, every heart-busting push through the pattern of Amber, the thunderous cyan volleys from squads of fan-skirted, mercenary tanks, and the click-clock death-knell sound of a run-down pair of cowboy boots on the cracked asphalt trail of virus-wracked American damnation...
... once apon a time, my muse gorged herself silly. And, I wrote and wrote and wrote. Junior high creative writing, high school literary magazines, college literary magazines, post-matriculation rejection letters galore.
I have a great life, and no mistake. But, every project charter and spend justification and statement of work and Return on Net Assets evaluation graph and knowledge article and training document... they grow like nightmare stop-motion anemones in the marble-carved catacombs of my imagination and clamp spear-tipped extrusions on to her stringy limbs and rubbery torso and drink deep, deep, deep...
I have a plan, to save her life. I can't rescue my stringy muse yet, but I can keep her on life support. So, I join websites where stories are told. And, I force her to eat and eat and then I write! Nothing huge - short stories, vignettes, descriptive paragraphs, some world-building input - whatever she and I can craft between the 2 AM feeding and the 6 AM alarm.
I have a plan. It proceeds slowly. But, each story is another rod removed from the reactor core, another fragment of dilithium crystal added, another glyph locked in on the Stargate. I have a plan.
My name is Robert, or crihavoc.
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Author Craft / Re: Rules of The World You Create: Need Assistance
« on: November 06, 2008, 01:16:44 AM »
Uilos,
Circling back. hope you don't mind -
Another area that needs further definition (at least for me) would be the relationship between Alts and regular humans. There seem to be some contradictions in what the laws, as written, state and the clarifications you responded to me with.
- As written, the First Law states: "Normal Humans can never know of our existence," which all Alts can agree on. And, all other Laws are waived if the first is threatened (the "clear and present danger" clause in Alt society, I take it...). However, you speak to how "incidents do happen, and human (those that do know) and alt agencies try to spin control. Also, alot of artists, writers and celebrities throughout history either were, knew about or had help from Alts." If the first Law is absolute across the entirety of Alt society, then no human recognizing the existence of Alts could live, right? What about parents of Alts? How do they reproduce... are Alts only born of two other Alts, or can a human and an Alt reproduce? What is the ability of an Alt that is the product of such a union, and what happens to the human parent?
-I feel that you would be well served to further delineate the line between "human" and home sapien. There is something in the Alts that makes them different then the majority of the earth, whatever allows them to focus their superior, manifested soul. Do they really consider themselves biologically human, or a race apart? The 2nd and 3rd Laws contain the phrase "another human..." Does that refer to just Alts as the only "humans," or is it everyone? If it is every homo sapien on earth, then why are they safeguarded, is there some role they play in the future of the Alt race the requires them to remain on the earth? Have the Alts been made caretakers by some even more powerful being?
- Finally, speaking to the "soul sense" of Alts, where they're able to determine "wrongness in a peer," I wonder if that sense is as strong if the Alt is only thinking/planning evil? What happens if an Alt kills a human for some reason, perhaps being careless with their powers, or in an accident... is their soul stained the same way?
- And, actually, what is the metric for "evil," in Alt culture... how is it defined? Because they are so different, can they be expected to follow the same moral compass as a Norm?
Circling back. hope you don't mind -
Another area that needs further definition (at least for me) would be the relationship between Alts and regular humans. There seem to be some contradictions in what the laws, as written, state and the clarifications you responded to me with.
- As written, the First Law states: "Normal Humans can never know of our existence," which all Alts can agree on. And, all other Laws are waived if the first is threatened (the "clear and present danger" clause in Alt society, I take it...). However, you speak to how "incidents do happen, and human (those that do know) and alt agencies try to spin control. Also, alot of artists, writers and celebrities throughout history either were, knew about or had help from Alts." If the first Law is absolute across the entirety of Alt society, then no human recognizing the existence of Alts could live, right? What about parents of Alts? How do they reproduce... are Alts only born of two other Alts, or can a human and an Alt reproduce? What is the ability of an Alt that is the product of such a union, and what happens to the human parent?
-I feel that you would be well served to further delineate the line between "human" and home sapien. There is something in the Alts that makes them different then the majority of the earth, whatever allows them to focus their superior, manifested soul. Do they really consider themselves biologically human, or a race apart? The 2nd and 3rd Laws contain the phrase "another human..." Does that refer to just Alts as the only "humans," or is it everyone? If it is every homo sapien on earth, then why are they safeguarded, is there some role they play in the future of the Alt race the requires them to remain on the earth? Have the Alts been made caretakers by some even more powerful being?
- Finally, speaking to the "soul sense" of Alts, where they're able to determine "wrongness in a peer," I wonder if that sense is as strong if the Alt is only thinking/planning evil? What happens if an Alt kills a human for some reason, perhaps being careless with their powers, or in an accident... is their soul stained the same way?
- And, actually, what is the metric for "evil," in Alt culture... how is it defined? Because they are so different, can they be expected to follow the same moral compass as a Norm?
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Author Craft / Re: Rules of The World You Create: Need Assistance
« on: November 05, 2008, 03:07:49 AM »
Uilos, if you don't mind, I'd like to throw in some thoughts -
Based upon your initial post, I think there are some specific points about the Alts that you need to further define before this supernatural addition to our world gains real coherence:
- You state that Alts are "side-type humans... a race that's been around as long as man." I'd say the first thing you need to define is, what makes Alts different from human kind? What is the supernatural ability that allows them to masquerade as gods? Does each Alt have the same type of power, but in varying degrees of strength? Or, does this power manifest itself in different ways, due to differences unique to each Alt?
- Based on your description, it seems that the Alts are pretty well dispersed across the face of the world. But, the four laws are immutable and concrete, identically, for every Alt, no matter what country or continent? So, how does this work? The inference is that all the Alts can communicate with each other, effortlessly in real time, in order for them to function as a society across these broad distances. Each Alt must blend into their "home" culture... does that culture influence their world view, or are they so detached that the identities they occupy as they live in Africa or Japan or Norway, etc. are fully a disguise? I guess what I'm trying to ask is, can you define how do the Alts interact, and just how much of humanity has each individual Alt allowed to gain root inside themselves... and, how much of this splinter of humanity are they forced to hide from their peers?
- Finally, the younger generation of Alts... have they reached this disconnection point with the previous generation through some physical malady? If the Alt can communicate across differences, they must rely on this skill to initiate new Alts, and school their progeny on their powers and responsibilities in Alt society so that every Alt has the same shared history/point of reference. What has caused the disconnect... if you have stated that some younger Alts "are not completly aware" of the four Laws, the implication is that either something natural, or someone devious, is interfering with the indoctrination process. Which further implies that there is a power struggle within the Alt hierarchical structure, or regular humans have figured out that Alts exist and have implemented a plan to disrupt their society (in either case, this might involve the drug issue you speak to).
To neurovore's point, the level of enforcement of the four laws is also vital to consider. Is there the equivalent of an Alt "sheriff" who's role is to make sure the all generations of Alts adhere to the laws. That might be an interesting character to have as the lead as you explore this world... by implication, this being would travel across the world, allowing for an interesting, fast paced narrative. And, by the nature of the sherrif job, there would be rising action and conflict to hold the reader and push the storyline.
Obviously, these are my own thinking points on what you've laid out... they certainly might not match your thoughts on the world of the Alts. But, I wish you the best.
crihavoc
Based upon your initial post, I think there are some specific points about the Alts that you need to further define before this supernatural addition to our world gains real coherence:
- You state that Alts are "side-type humans... a race that's been around as long as man." I'd say the first thing you need to define is, what makes Alts different from human kind? What is the supernatural ability that allows them to masquerade as gods? Does each Alt have the same type of power, but in varying degrees of strength? Or, does this power manifest itself in different ways, due to differences unique to each Alt?
- Based on your description, it seems that the Alts are pretty well dispersed across the face of the world. But, the four laws are immutable and concrete, identically, for every Alt, no matter what country or continent? So, how does this work? The inference is that all the Alts can communicate with each other, effortlessly in real time, in order for them to function as a society across these broad distances. Each Alt must blend into their "home" culture... does that culture influence their world view, or are they so detached that the identities they occupy as they live in Africa or Japan or Norway, etc. are fully a disguise? I guess what I'm trying to ask is, can you define how do the Alts interact, and just how much of humanity has each individual Alt allowed to gain root inside themselves... and, how much of this splinter of humanity are they forced to hide from their peers?
- Finally, the younger generation of Alts... have they reached this disconnection point with the previous generation through some physical malady? If the Alt can communicate across differences, they must rely on this skill to initiate new Alts, and school their progeny on their powers and responsibilities in Alt society so that every Alt has the same shared history/point of reference. What has caused the disconnect... if you have stated that some younger Alts "are not completly aware" of the four Laws, the implication is that either something natural, or someone devious, is interfering with the indoctrination process. Which further implies that there is a power struggle within the Alt hierarchical structure, or regular humans have figured out that Alts exist and have implemented a plan to disrupt their society (in either case, this might involve the drug issue you speak to).
To neurovore's point, the level of enforcement of the four laws is also vital to consider. Is there the equivalent of an Alt "sheriff" who's role is to make sure the all generations of Alts adhere to the laws. That might be an interesting character to have as the lead as you explore this world... by implication, this being would travel across the world, allowing for an interesting, fast paced narrative. And, by the nature of the sherrif job, there would be rising action and conflict to hold the reader and push the storyline.
Obviously, these are my own thinking points on what you've laid out... they certainly might not match your thoughts on the world of the Alts. But, I wish you the best.
crihavoc
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