Recent content by Amanita

Would you care to elaborate? I meant to convey the idea that making things worse by adding violence to highlight the threat posed by the villains doesn't necessarily lead to a better story, quite the opposite. I'm well aware of the fact that this isn't the only possible definition of the term...

Browsing the forum as I usually do, I’ve noticed the unusual length of this thread and I’ve been wondering how it came about. Please allow me a personal comment before I start with my thoughts on the topic. People’s approaches to the matter of writing and story-telling vary considerably. In...

Disappointed is the right word. It's more like a promotion side for the new movies and stuff now. I also agree that it's pretty confusing now. I did register again and was sorted into Ravenclaw this time, no idea if everyone gets something else. There is an option to get your old account back...

Some good points have already been made. Like a few of the posters above, I can't make a general statement about the leven of violence I can tolerate. The strength of my reactions varies considerably between different forms of violence and injury. For some reason, I'm rather sqeamish about...

In my opinion, the term Mary Sue serves as useful purpose in fanfiction where it originated. People including characters who take away spotlight from the characters actually important in the canon, have powers that don't belong there, replace the canon friends/lover and mess up the rules of the...

Another thought: Reading about a female character who dies simply to serve as motivation for the (male) main character and to get the readers' sympathies happens way too frequently. And finding out that this was her designed fate all along would be extremey disappointing for readers putting...

Concerning writing speed: I think it’s possible to create something well-written from a technical point of view quickly with enough practice. Doing believable world-building and proper research in this amount of time? Not so much. If I only think about the amount of research one is required to...

That’s the first time I hear of anyone being reprimanded for “racial hate speech” against Germans ever. I would have been offended by the comment but not enough to feel the need for a ban. I generally don’t think this is the appropriate way as long as there’s no one overstepping boundaries in a...

I've been rather critical about the measures restricting acceptable discussion topics but reading what's going on at the NaNo fantasy forum at the moment makes me be grateful for it. I really don't like looking through a thread about things people want to see in fantasy stories just to find...

Well, I've never really seen much of problem one, at least not beyond the normal frequency of annoying online behaviour. I did get the impression that the things readers care most about are not the things considered most important by advice in writing forums. Take the Harry Potter-fandom for...

Well, due to the current popularity of works like Game of Thrones many fantasy writers seem to believe that darkness and “grey” characters are necessary for a good and “realistic” fantasy story nowadays. I might be wrong but I’m also getting the impression that there is a significant number of...

Well, maybe I should give this another try. I gave up because the protagonist's attitude at the beginning annoyed me but maybe it's worth reading after all.

Of course, someone visiting a website created by other people is a guest and has to abide by the rules set by the people in charge. I still have to admit that I’ve been slightly taken aback by the new policies and by the swift closure of the thread on slavery. This morning, I decided to post...

I did consider making the mentor non-white of course but I think this would do more harm than good. He is a very ruthless businessman who has been involved in a massacre committed against another (also white majority)-country. (The protag finding out about this hushed up situation was supposed...

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. The general tendency seems to be clear and agree with the choice I'm more drawn to emotionally. I'll keep my protagonist the way she is and I'll try to gather as much information as possible. I'll probably take a break with this story to sort out...