I FINALLY WROTE SOMETHING OF MY STORY (only 200 words but still)
5 Likes
Ey that’s awesome! Congratulations! Good for you 
2 Likes
That’s 200 more words 
2 Likes
I am still not over watching the White Raven yesterday and seeing that they called Nureyev’s portrayal in the movie unsympathetic/unlikable. I applaud them trying to create a different protagonist, driven, unapologetic, not openly flamboyant, but deep into himself charismatic. Like, seriously, that push for copy-cut relate-ableness is tiring. The movie is called the White Crow, it specifically means someone who is not jiving with the rest of the society. They delivered on the premise, showing him living pretty much to his own rules, and, like, he wasn’t humble, why should they gloss over it? anyway. That’s my rant.
Haven’t done any writing today yet, but hope to catch up later on after work.
2 Likes
Could you expound on this more? Do you mean like the classic “not like other boys/girls?”
Was he narcissistic or just very proud of his abilities and achievements?
2 Likes
I mean, relatable, like the suffering kind of the protagonist, with vulnerabilities, in love with a standard tragic background to cry over or cheap speeches about needing freedom, etc.
The way they portrayed Nureyev, was as aloof and demanding, definitely taking far more than giving, doing what he wanted, staying away from anything that mattered to him (like he comes to a graduation party, and all he wants is to talk to the hostess’ brother about Rembrandt, then, later looks at for a long time at Prodigal Son in Hermitage, that echoes his inverse childhood memory of his father coming back from war). He blows up a couple of times, and they don’t explain why, you kindda have to think it through. Overall, it feels like you can’t read his emotions very well/they feel unusual, but consistent and purposeful. Which I liked about it the most.
2 Likes
Ah, so a character who wasn’t spoonfed to you. Fair enough.
Do you feel like tragic backstories cheapen a character overall? Or is it that a tragic backstory is often a standardized requisite for characters nowadays?
2 Likes
That are so repetitive that I am at the point of playing a guessing game whenever I open the next Wattpad book. So, what’s it gonna be to make me ‘connect’ to the protagonist and her sufferings… the way my kid put it, ‘in Naruto, evenly potato has a tragic backstory’
2 Likes
Fair enough. If it was something other than the standard ex, abusive home, or toxic drug-dealing bff, would it be more meaningful to read? I don’t really write YA or female protags, but asking for reference and advice.
2 Likes
The dead relatives (with or without exile and finding poverty/living on the streets afterward) and evil controlling or promiscuous mothers who might or might not stick the poor dear with caring for her other relative and overall just being responsible… god forbid.
Male variant is dead wife or mother… god forbid. Just say no to that one.
I dunno, I read more than other people because I’m in the book club, and book clubs tend to cycle you through lots of first chapters, so I probably have far more tragic backstory fatigue than most people.
1 Like
lol you’re right this one happens a lot in fantasy stories.
As someone who has massive caretaker syndorme and social developmental issues from having to parent my own parents and siblings who were much older than me, I don’t like how it gets simplified but I don’t disagree with how damaging that can be to you.
What about someone whose wife gets caught in deal gone wrong and takes her to the ER against the mob leaders orders, and then as punishment has to watch his toddler be tortured and the only to get them to stop is to tell them to kill the child?
Nah that’s totally fair. So many people use a backstory as a way to generate sympathy without actually integrating it into the character would act and behave.
1 Like
I don’t like women dying and tortured for male character development, personally. Or being villanized as evil mothers. Call it a pet peeve.
2 Likes
Fair enough. So if it was just the kid that’d be okay?
Accepted. I hate the bland/supportive mother trope, so it’s even 
2 Likes
For context, the sotry where the kid would would die-- the story revolves around a lot of massively violent and gritty environments and the 4 MCs are very damaged, morally grey individuals. Each of their backstories details how they got to the state where they’re okay with killing and torturing people on a regular basis. It isn’t just a YA drama or something lol 
2 Likes
Everything can be done if it’s done well, but, well, we’ve seen it before & we’ll see it again, so fresher approaches are just more interesting when you read a lot 
Anyway, I did quite a bit of editing (yay!) and also poked around a little more in the story I have no intention of finishing, but might try on Tapas if I get like 20 chapters worth of it. I kindda just like the setting and the characters so far.
2 Likes
I prefer mothers who are protagonists of the books.
1 Like
True, true. That particular backstory was kind of flash made, so I’m partial to it. But I hope to figure out a balance between making something fresh and feeling out what makes the characters tick.
and congrats on the editing, woot! I get about just playing around with characters and settings.
2 Likes
I feel pretty excited that I’ve posted the first chapter of my book. I took this thing down last year (or early this year?) to work on it more when I realized it wasn’t actually done and I feel like a weight has been lifted. I’m still going to proofread chapters before they go up every week, but the whole ordeal is so much less stressful now that it’s out there in the work and I feel really good about it.
New cover. A banner. And I’ve improved with my writing? Is this what living is? 
5 Likes
Oh, it’s fun, don’t worry so much.
2 Likes
Pretty happy with how much editing I got done today. I think I should be able to finish the entire editing run this weeknd, and then take a week off only working on the Raised the Mafia 3x a week updates.
Then I’ll probably be ready to rewrite my Regency novella into a novel. After I finish that, I will still need two 500 words summaries for Watty if it runs this year, for the Raised and for the Regency story.
Obviously, if I get mentorship for Lone Werewolf, that means that a lot of work will go into another rewrite, so I’ll leave Regency rewrite for after Watty closes, since it’s going to be eligible next year as well.
2 Likes