What sets your writing apart?

[Aegle]

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

 

[Trayvian James]

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.

 

[EParadise]

Drive. Determination. Obsessive Compulsiveness in its mild form.

 

[Garren Jacobsen]

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.

 

[SeverinR]

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'.

 

[DameiThiessen]

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

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

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.

 

[Sparkie]

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.

 

[Sheilawisz]

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 =)

 

[Devor]

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.

 

[lawrence]

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.