Limyaael

09:27 pm: Rant on technology in fantasy
Right, this is technology in fantasy.

( Why magic can’t always take its place )

Next time: those pesky families, probably in a two-part post.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, worldbuilding: culture

04:43 pm: Rant on amnesia/amnesiac characters
The amnesia rant won (by one vote) so here it is.

( Some weird things the brains of amnesiac characters get up to—a lot of them imposed by the author )

The technology rant is next.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on character types

07:24 pm: 'How to avoid making spunkiness obnoxious' rant
The most people voted for the spunky character rant, so that goes first.

( Spunky characters don’t need to be banished, just toned down )

Next rant will be on either technology or amnesia, since those two currently have equal numbers of votes.

Tags: characterization: protagonists, fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on character types

08:16 pm: Feral child rant
Finally, another rant.

( All those abandoned children, with not a scrap of charity (or reality) )

Think I know which rant I want to do next, but I’m not sure. I’ll consider it.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on character types, rants on nature

02:58 pm: Rant on relationship of fantasy and nature
Just one I wanted to do.

( Ooh, the pretty trees! Ooh, the nasty orcs! Ooh, the frying pan coming at the hero’s head! )

Why would a wolf care about who sits on the throne, really? Still trying to figure that out.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on nature

05:47 pm: Rant on slippery-slope plotting.
I’m taking this term from the slippery slope fallacy. Briefly (if you don’t want to click the link, which has several examples) it involves making an argument of the form, “If this event happens, then that event will happen,” which conflates a whole bunch of small steps into one huge one. Usually, the second result is extreme, and the author does not bother to provide any evidence to show that the second event would actually follow on the first one.

( Which is exactly what happens with slippery-slope plotting )

Is it really that hard for people to make sense?

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on plotting

11:31 pm: Plotting in peacetime
I was going to do a non-journey rant, and somehow it evolved into a non-war one.

Oh, well.

( Big dramatic battles? Oh, sure. But what happened before and after? )

I deliberately didn’t mention romance or mystery in there, because those were the two that immediately sprang to mind. I wanted more difficult ones. There is so, so much that can be done.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on plotting

04:11 pm: Rant on balancing dialogue, description, and action
Exactly what it says. However, if anyone is interested in it, I should mention that I’m definitely writing about the balance in novel-length fantasy works here, rather than in short stories.

( Balancing dialogue, description, and action )

Rant on non-journey fantasies next.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on story structure

02:58 pm: Rant on creating non-Dark Lord villains.
For readerravenclaw, a rant on creating villains that aren’t Dark Lords—or aren’t even designated villains, really.

( Fantasy doesn’t need capitalized Good and Evil. Really. )

Rant on balancing description, dialogue, and action next.

Tags: characterization: villains, fantasy rants autumn 2004

09:41 am: Magical object rant
For zekk_skywalk, who asked about magical objects. I did a quest rant, but not all magical objects are Quest Objects.

( Which doesn’t stop them from being annoying )

Hee. That was fun.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, stupid clichés rants, worldbuilding: magic

12:12 am: Advice on writing short stories
A couple people asked for advice on writing fantasy short stories. So here it is.

( A lot of fantasy short stories would be improved by authors remembering that they are writing actual short stories )

Again, not sure which one to do next.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on story structure

09:36 am: Introduction rant
A few people asked for advice on introducing characters/revelations/new situations/themes. For some reason, this one appealed to me the most, so here we go.

( Many fantasy authors have a problem with the beginning—anywhere in the book )

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on story structure

07:43 pm: Comic relief rant
Yes, so, I lied about what the next rant was going to be about. I wanted to do this one instead.

( On—not eradicating it, not encouraging it, but managing humor )

Suggestions for next rant welcome.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on character types

07:25 pm: Demon rant
This is the demon rant, asked for by maureenlycaon and several other people.

( Why I shudder whenever I see a story with a demon in it )

I think the next rant will be advice on writing a fantasy short story as opposed to a novel.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on nonhumans

11:59 pm: Fantasy of excess: Rant on Jordan and Goodkind
Well, a lot of people seemed awfully enthusiastic for a rant about Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind.

Never let it be said that I would pass up a chance to explain, in detail, why I don’t like these authors wouldn't give people what they want.

( There are tons and tons of better role models out there )

All right, so that got rid of some of the anger.

Tags: author-specific rants, fantasy rants autumn 2004

10:54 pm: Rant on slavery
This is the rant on slavery.

( Some things that might be useful/some things that I wish more authors remembered )

Not sure what rant should be next, really.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, pay attention to: class, pay attention to: race, rants on power dynamics, rants on war

09:45 pm: Ghost rant
Happy Halloween, everyone.

Here, have a rant.

( Ghosts—not just for horror anymore )

Next rant’s on slavery.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on nonhumans

03:48 pm: Rant on necromancy
This deals mostly with clichés of fantasy, as usual, rather than individual things that authors have done or what necromancy was originally.

( Are you a good necromancer, or a bad necromancer? )

Rant the next shall concern ghosts.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, worldbuilding: magic

12:01 pm: Servant rant
The rant on servant characters- something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately, since I have a main character in one of my stories who's a servant.

( Authors should more often put their money where their mouth is )

Rant on the dead and necromancy is next.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, pay attention to: class, rants on character types, rants on power dynamics

09:59 pm: Vampire rant
The rant on vampires. This is focused on vampires in fantasy, not horror fiction, as I read very little horror compared to fantasy.

That means that this rant concentrates on the really, really annoying vampires.

( The masters of the night who want to feed on energy and whine until the sun comes up )

Servant characters shall be next.

Tags: fantasy rants autumn 2004, rants on nonhumans