The Creative Writer's Guild

[Sassy_Cat]

I love the Colonists one. But I'd like to make some comments on the wording in the beginning of it(not as an insult, as a critique). It is the Sassy way. One thing I want to say is that instead of 'The ground was lower here, and it looked like maybe a river used to go through here.', why not 'The ground was lower here, and it looked like maybe a river used to go through it.'? (My hatred of words longer than three letters being used twice in the same sentence is catching up to me. ) Then instead of 'the ground was lower here' in the next paragraph, why not add an 'even' between 'was' and 'lower'? Then there's a random apostrophe by 'trench' a few sentences later. 'In a shadow' instead of 'in shadow'?

Overall, I love it. I love it I love it I love it. I hope it's published, because I want a copy.

[capnnerefir]

I'm currently going through a final edit (or two) of Colonists now. I'll probably change that wording when I get to it.

I've finished editing the Six Towers story and am currently seeking an agent.

Wish me luck guys.

[BabelFish42]

Nice! Congrats and good luck! Hope to see your books in print some day soon

[Sassy_Cat]

Hey, here's something. Anyone write something that involves something a bit controversial? Or if not controversial, just something that might bother people? I'm writing something involved WW2, and it makes me feel sticky inside. I love it, it's doing great, but I just get this feeling like maybe it's a bad idea.

[capnnerefir]

There's nothing wrong with writing something controversial.

That said, there's a difference between something that is controversial and something that is inherently offensive.

Now, granted, some people are going to get offended no matter what you say or how you say it. I know a lot of religious folks who will throw a fit if you suggest that their religion might be false; I know a lot of pro-choice folks who will get just as offended if you suggest that a fetus might count as a human being (or the other way around). There's really nothing you can do about that. I've heard of people saying that Harry Potter is clearly an attempt to turn kids towards Satan; I've read book reviews that call Michael Grant a sexist. You've just got to let those people go, they're just looking for reasons to be offended.

So, disregarding those, When writing something controversial, it's important to stick to a couple of ground rules:
1.) Don't be insulting. You can say (or better, illustrate) that one side of an argument is wrong without calling them idiots or homophobes or racists or anything else. Even if that's what you think, insulting your detractors is childish and makes it difficult to take your work seriously.
2.) Both sides are flawed. No argument is perfect and no one is absolutely correct. It's important to acknowledge the failings on both sides - ignoring the faults with your own factions argument makes you seem ignorant. In the case of WWII, for example, it is important to acknowledge that while the Nazis ha death camps, the U.S. kidnapped an "interred" hundreds of thousands of its own citizens because they were (or their parents were or they just happened to look) Japanese. While the Japanese massacred thousands of Chinese civilians, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on non-military targets. While the French Army surrendered to Germany, the underground resistance made victory in Europe possible. The Soviet Union liberated half of Europe from Nazi control - only to put it in Stalin's hands instead. Just for examples.
3.) Be educate. If you're going to talk about a controversial subject, be damn sure you know what you're talking about.

[BabelFish42]

Hey, here's something. Anyone write something that involves something a bit controversial? Or if not controversial, just something that might bother people? I'm writing something involved WW2, and it makes me feel sticky inside. I love it, it's doing great, but I just get this feeling like maybe it's a bad idea.

What's your story about, if you don't mind me asking?

Capn brings up a lot of excellent points. I think we need people to write about controversial topics; they're things we need to be thinking about and talking about. That being said, you're not winning any points if you just insult one side. Like he said, you win credibility by showing rather than telling to make your points, by acknowledging the flaws on both sides, and being well informed on the topic.

I'd add one other thing: if this is story-writing you're talking about, not just a persuasive essay, then make sure you don't lose sight of the actual story. No one likes to be preached to. The story you're telling is the most important thing. Don't let it turn into a morality play where you're clearly trying to make some point, at the expense of the storytelling itself. Sometimes authors *coughaynrandcough* are so focused on making a point that their characters become nothing more than mouthpieces for the author to spout his/her views, and the whole plot is shaped so that everything that happens supports the author's points. That's not storytelling. A good story will draw readers in just because it's a good story in its own right; it might make readers start thinking about controversial issues in a new light, which is great, but that was never the author's main purpose. The author was, first and foremost, trying to tell a good story.

I guess you can get away with that type of writing if you want. I mean, Animal Farm and Atlas Shrugged are nothing but political essays thinly disguised as allegories, and they're considered classics. But those are not the type of stories I (and most people) enjoy reading. Books like Animorphs, on the other hand, got me thinking about a ton of controversial issues, but all in the context of some excellent storytelling. So my advice is, if you want to write about controversial topics, that's great. Just make sure you never sacrifice the story itself for the sake of building an argument. If making an argument is your main goal, you're better off sticking to persuasive writing, not storytelling.

[Sassy_Cat]

What's your story about, if you don't mind me asking?

I don't mind at all, but first I need to explain that anything involving WW2 is controversial in my town. I'm not sure if it could be defined as controversial in other places.

I managed to give a character every single reason for Nazis to hate him (I wasn't trying to, he's just one of those characters that what you write about them just comes to you), you know, the works. Polish, Jewish (don't ask), etc. The story is just working on his background but BAM, I feel all weird inside.

And now I'm writing a story that involves a gay man to which I am submitting to a contest run by an extremely anti-gay state. I'm either gonna make a difference or get shot by tomorrow.

Also, high five, Capn, you be awesome. o/

[BSerAkafanofblake]

Though I do not suppose I could write an animorphs hp crossover with a Harry/severous pairing.
Edit if Ieave out the sex scenes.

[BabelFish42]

What's your story about, if you don't mind me asking?

I don't mind at all, but first I need to explain that anything involving WW2 is controversial in my town. I'm not sure if it could be defined as controversial in other places.

I managed to give a character every single reason for Nazis to hate him (I wasn't trying to, he's just one of those characters that what you write about them just comes to you), you know, the works. Polish, Jewish (don't ask), etc. The story is just working on his background but BAM, I feel all weird inside.

And now I'm writing a story that involves a gay man to which I am submitting to a contest run by an extremely anti-gay state. I'm either gonna make a difference or get shot by tomorrow.

So what happened? I'm assuming you weren't shot. Still working on these stories?

[capnnerefir]

I've been working on a historical-fiction book lately.

It's a biographical, telling the story of Sima Shi, a politician and general in the Wei dynasty. Since the major events of his life are easy to research (and, thus, not surprising), I decided to focus the story on the personal conflicts in his life - in particular, his falling out with his brother-in-law and a group of scholars with whom he was once friends. It's a more sympathetic view of the man that many historians usually take, but I also think it is a more accurate view.