# What sets your writing apart?



## Black Dragon (Aug 18, 2011)

What makes your writing different than that of other fantasy authors?  Is there something that sets you apart from the rest of the pack?


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## Ravana (Aug 18, 2011)

Understatement, sardonic humor, and lengthy, convoluted syntax.


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## Ophiucha (Aug 19, 2011)

I tend to focus on rather odd parts of the worldbuilding. I rarely focus on politics or religion - and if there are politics, they are something strange for the setting. My current will-be project is about coffee.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Aug 19, 2011)

It isn't as good...yet, although Ravana says it much better.


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 19, 2011)

I've thought a bit about this question and, as an author, it's kind of hard to say. Readers might have a better handle on this. (Just as we perceive ourselves as one way, but the world perceives us another)

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say action and dialogue and sometimes the complexity of a storyline.


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## Ravana (Aug 19, 2011)

Lord Darkstorm said:


> It isn't as good...yet, although Ravana says it much better.



Thank you. (Though please, for the love of anything you consider holy, _don't_ use me as a model for syntax!  )


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## Kaellpae (Aug 20, 2011)

I'm hoping the setting and story I want to write will set my writing apart. Otherwise, maybe creatures that populate the stories and hopefully the ability to give my characters a real feel.

Let the practice begin!


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## sashamerideth (Aug 20, 2011)

I am hoping that it will be my world and an unashamed exploration of humanity. It will probably be my lack of decent vocabulary and never using a thesaurus to sound clever.


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## Codey Amprim (Aug 20, 2011)

Well I truly do not know because I haven't really been criticized!


My feelings are that when I write, I want the reader to feel connected with my world and characters. I want them to keep guessing about who they are and what they've been through. I love keeping mystery floating around in the midst of the conflict... although sometimes I think that may be my downfall. I don't know how I really feel about the way I write. I want the common man to be able to understand what I'm telling, even if a few words or situations are confusing at first, so I tell my stories from a middle-class, average person's tone.

I hate talking about myself. : )


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## Map the Dragon (Aug 20, 2011)

Like Terry, I wanted to take some time before answering this question. Here are some of my ideas.

I know my talents, and I know that right now, I write much better in the realm of creative non-fiction than I do in the fantasy genre. Hopefully, my next peice (due for release in March) will prove me right here. Another thing that sets my writing apart from others is that I have been published. This might mean very little in terms of talent or ability, but it still is cool to me that I had a publisher pick up my novel, say they want it, and now I can hold it in my hands. I would like to think that I have a knack for great syntax. Fragment.   I love my abilities with imagery and comfort with dialogue, but I need more time to develop the same expertise with plot structure. Outside of fantasy, my best writing skills exist in the realm of persuasion and purpose.


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## Ark1117 (Aug 21, 2011)

Creativity on a whole, i think, and pressing in large amounts of back-story throughout the entire story without it clunking any paragraphs. I've been told I'm pretty good at that, but then just genre-wise, I think my ability to combine different aspects of horror and fantasy to make something unique to my style.


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## UnionJane (Aug 21, 2011)

I think perhaps I am following a rather traditional route: taking the familiar and making it new in some way. Or the classic Goethe quote about finding the universal in the ordinary. Right now I'm trying to revisit the trope of dragons as beasts, when current trend has them as geniuses just _slightly_ more intelligent than men (thinking of _Eragon,_ Naomi Novik, etc.). I think it would be fun and new to tinker with a cross-section of the ordinary and fantastic--what's family life and dynamic like when everyone is a wizard? What sorts of adventures would this family experience, and what new problems arise when everyone can use magic? In "ordinary" literature, we know of divorce, feuds, favoritism, and other family ills. How would this play out with wizards? I haven't really seen anything on the fantasy book shelf about this particular idea, so I'm hoping it's distinctive (but I'm definitely not ruling out that it's been done before).


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## Helbrecht (Aug 22, 2011)

What sets my writing apart? At the moment, very little indeed. I'm basically crap, but I'm working on it. 

I guess I like to use punchy, concise descriptions with a visceral focus on my viewpoint characters' senses, along with decidedly snarky and self-conscious (third-person limited) narration. I like the idea of giving my readers a clear image of what's going on with as few words as possible so I can pack in the humour, philosophical tangents, or whatever else. 

In terms of the actual content of my stories, I shy away from your traditional High Medieval western European setting (for example - I'm currently writing something set in its own world's equivalent of late Antiquity, in a setting that is equal parts Persian and Roman empires in terms of influence). I also like hybridising elements from all across the genre scale (thanks, China!), complex rule-based magic systems (thanks, Brandon!) and a sort-of-emphasis on the political side of things (thanks, George!).


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## Digital_Fey (Aug 22, 2011)

Generally speaking, very little except my dislike of predictable love stories and a tendency towards archaic sentence structure... but ultimately I hope that I'll be able to write stories which put the 'human' back in fantasy. I don't want to examine the trials of the newly born vampire or the girl who discovers she's the descendant of an angel, a devil and three werewolves p) - instead I hope to use fantasy/magical realism to create scenarios in which I can examine what it means to be human.

Which is probably why I haven't been able to finish even one story this year >.>


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## CicadaGrrl (Aug 22, 2011)

Mine's fusion fantasy.  An element of that, for instance, is that from my work in film, my work tends to rely heavily on dialogue.


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## Misusscarlet (Sep 9, 2011)

My main character and her background is the only thing that came from me. Other things from other authors I thought were cool are Dragon Riders and Shapeshifters they're in my story. Basically my story gets to the end of the story with a bang, that leaves you coming back for more just because you purely enjoy reading it, regardless of syntax or structure. My story is going to go on forever since my main character can live forever, and my mind is so full of ideas that I can continue writing about her forever.


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## Sinitar (Sep 13, 2011)

I'm really not sure. I am a fledgling writer, and while my inner author instinct tells me that every author is different and has something else to offer, I'll probably go with...I really don't know. I'm not a special snowflake, so to speak.


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## mythique890 (Sep 13, 2011)

I don't know what actually sets me apart, but I know what I'd like it to be: First, strong storytelling, where each character does things that make sense within their experience and the plot is good.  Second, invisible prose, so that the reader feels like they're looking through a book-shaped window instead of reading words.

Right now I feel like my strength is characters, my weakness is plot, and my prose is somewhere in between.


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## Bass_Thunder37 (Sep 14, 2011)

Well, this is simple

Strengths: Dialogue, Overall plot, Humor
Weaknesses: Detail, Using a Thesaurus, I tend to have strange word choice at times
Distinction: My characters constantly poke fun at all of the fantasy tropes, make slight nods and parodies of classic fantasy, and one of them tries to find every character's DND alignment.(Doesn't actually mention DND)

(This is a highly shortened version of the scene. There would be much more description of Diamonvale. But I just wanna get the joke out.)
"Oh thank Gravton!" Victor dropped his bags and shouted! "We've finally made it to Diamonvale!" He ran his hand over the diamond walls of the city. 
"Umm..." His face filled with curiosity. "Where is the gate? No doors, no windows... How the Hell are we supposed to get in?!" Ronin wagged his finger at Victor.
"Hmph. One does not simply _walk_ into Diamonvale."


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## Johnny Cosmo (Sep 14, 2011)

I'm neither confident nor experienced enough to really know my strengths, but I know what I'd like to say; setting the tone, achieving plot structure somewhere between familiar and unique, and believable characters. At the moment, I'd say my weaknesses are organisation, motivation, vocabulary (although it's nothing a dictionary and thesaurus can't fix), and unwillingness to make bold decisions (for example, scrapping sections of a story, completely re-writing, etc).


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## Aegle (Sep 14, 2011)

My main weakness is minmaxing. There is also the issue with letting things just rest. I have a tendency of being relentless with a story, and show no signs of ending it at any point in time. ;x


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## Trayvian James (Sep 18, 2011)

I would say the thing I am best at is action and humor. Those are the parts that come most natural to me. 

I struggle with finding unique voices for different characters. I also struggle with being redundant or apologetic because I don't put enough trust in my readers. I think I make excuses for this because I write YA, but I also teach high school, so I am well aware that teenagers can be very smart and perceptive beings. I am working on trusting my reader more.


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## EParadise (Sep 25, 2011)

Drive. Determination. Obsessive Compulsiveness in its mild form.


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## Garren Jacobsen (Sep 26, 2011)

I would say my biggest difference from other fantasy writers is the fact that I am trying to turn it into a political/societal commentary.


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## SeverinR (Sep 30, 2011)

Ravana said:


> Thank you. (Though please, for the love of anything you consider holy, _don't_ use me as a model for syntax!  )


Politicians love syntax...or wait, is that sin tax?

What sets me apart?
I think that I provide reasons for things in my world. Even if I don't write it, I have reasoned out the rules and process for things to work.  
Mage lights, for example, any wizard trainee can make them, the higher the cost of base material the longer they will last and how bright they would be. Quartz less bright and doesn't last as long compared to a diamond.(cost or density?) 

I try to have a reason for any strength or weakness.

The number one anti-fantasy people dislike fantasy was expressed in one sentence.
Talking of the sacred Lord of the rings, "the ring wraths can't cross water, what kind of crap is that?"
The mc's are about to become Wrath toast and all of the sudden they are helpless against mass H2O, the most abundent material on earth.
I also try to prepare the reader with the weakness before the weakness saves the day, to avoid the "unbelievable luck" or script ruling. (It is that way because the script says so.)

I also like to take the mundane and make it interesting.  How many people even in the most interesting of times ever saved the world from world domination or destruction?  I believe in Fantasy there is room for non-epic stories.  IMHO epic has become cliche'.


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## DameiThiessen (Oct 9, 2011)

I care a lot about adding different layers of interpretation to a story. And a crapstorm of symbolism. I'm not sure if many other people are like this, but I like to add in layers like "he could have died in the beginning of the story and this whole novel symbolizes one man's search for salvation" or "this character symbolizes the main character's perversion of love and her transformation from sinner to saint evokes a similar transformation in the main character, so by the end of the story he is a complete person". Stuff like that. I over analyze, but in ways that may be different that other fantasy writers. 

If anybody else does this please let me know. xD


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## Elder the Dwarf (Oct 19, 2011)

I've never really considered myself an overly creative person before, but in writing I have plenty of ideas.  I'm very schizo with my ideas though, and I'll go back and forth for hours before deciding on a tiny detail... it's very annoying.  Too many ideas and not enough space.  Also, I think I want too much out of my characters.  I try to fit so many traits, stories, etc. into a character and I'm honestly not sure if it works.  When I'm finished I'd love to get a critique by some of the people here and see if it turned out well in the end.


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## Sparkie (Nov 20, 2011)

I'm not sure if any of this is good, but what makes my writing distinct is the ability to show how characters display immaturity no matter what their age, the gratuitous use of big words, and the strange penchant to allow sentences to grow to lengths wothy of ridicule, much like this one.


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## Sheilawisz (Nov 20, 2011)

I am not sure what Fantasy sub genre my stories would belong to, I just call it Surreal Fantasy and what sets my writing apart is that I write about twisted worlds, very unusual universes and evil super mages that fight each other =)


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## Devor (Nov 21, 2011)

I think the thing which most sets my writing apart is my style.  I learned to write by playing D&D games online, but we played in a way that avoided the tedium which that image just invoked.   I write scenes which are always moving forward with a progressive interplay between action and dialogue, and I'm constantly obsessed with how to keep interest as things progress.  My strength is in dialogue and action, and I get frustrated writing blocks of text or internal drama.  I try and find ways to avoid the text blocks and incorporate bits and pieces as I go, and I often find subtle ways to show or invoke a character's angst without directly opening up his head.  Sometimes that's a problem for me.

In terms of the world, I write scenes and characters which play to my strengths as a writer.


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## lawrence (Nov 24, 2011)

I too like to weave in layers of meaning, Damei.  But I am trying to do what Mr King told me ! (been reading Stephen King's 'On Writing') ...which is, look for themes after you've written a cracking story, rather than make your story march to the beat of your wonderfully profound messages. Not easy, but I think that the whole _'put your characters - personalities and all - into a situation and see how they react, think, move, and generate consequences'_ is one of the keys to producing engaging writing.


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