theirsbailiff
School Idol
20thCenturyBoy said:
Planning, mainly. I'm trying to work out this script and figure out what to plan and whether or not I should be doing some research. It's driving my head in.
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Planning, mainly. I'm trying to work out this script and figure out what to plan and whether or not I should be doing some research. It's driving my head in.
20thCenturyBoy
Thousand Master
theirsbailiff said:
How much research you do is entirely dependant on your subject matter and approach. If you're wanting to portray elements of the story to their most accurate details then a lot of research is likely needed, I always prefer to take creative license though. I make it a point not to set anything in a determined/real place or time, I try and give my stories as few real world connections as possible in that aspect. The setting may feel and look like a particular time in our own history, but I never specifically date it within the story thereby allowing myself to insert elements that were not around in that particular time, or not portrayed entirely accurately, into the story without any historical/factual error.
A bit of research will be required regardless of what subject you're taking on though, if only to give yourself a better understanding of elements that you do and don't like and you can pick to use or not. I like doing research in terms of names and things so that I can use that as little references to tie in themes in stories.
That's pretty much what I do in regards to setting. I will never say that something is directly set in [X] city or town because frankly, I don't want to have a city map in front of me all the time as I write, just in case I get one little detail wrong (and I'd feel guilty if something became a tourist trap like the Lucky Star shrine xD). Also, I don't want to feel like I'm alienating readers who come from a different area (which is why with the book I've recently finished, I've just said the story is set in Europe - not even a specific country, because it has a pro-European core).20thCenturyBoy said:
In terms of year setting, I like to be very loose, because I feel disconnected from a show if I find out that it occurred during a year that has already happened and some things aren't right (like world events that didn't happen but were predicted when it was originally written, or technology that isn't available). I like to write in a modern time, but with a very loose "give or take a few years" attitude, so I can use my creative license in regards to some things.
With the next book I will soon begin planning, I have been faced with the dilemma of how much research to do, as the story will have quite a political backdrop and I have thought about setting the majority of the story in London. With that, I recently concluded to keep locations vague, because I don't really want to have to look up whether there's a bloody chip shop on [X] street in [Y] part of London for a brief scene. I'll probably keep it very loose with the odd reference or allusion to more memorable parts of the city.
With research, the majority of what I do is looking up name meanings (because naming characters is very important) and other things related to that character. Recently, with the planning of my next book, I even found myself researching fashion trends of the last twenty years to try and piece together what my lead character would wear (I felt like the characterisation in my first book wasn't its best, so I'm trying to make my next one incredibly character focused). I've also found myself looking up things like the symbolism of different hair and eye colours and whatnot. As 20thCenturyBoy said, the amount of research you do depends entirely on the work itself; like whether its tied to a real world location or not, or a time that has already happened or not.
Hey look, a family member of mine (my sister-in-law) is in the news! For what you ask? For being considered "too fat" to work in a designer store, despite only being a size 12!
Naming characters certainly is a tough one. See, it's finding a mix of all of those. What I generally do is, I go on a website like behindthename.com and search for names by their meaning, as well as choosing an origin matching the character (for example, I wouldn't give a French character a name from Hindi origin). That way, I can get a realistic sounding name (because well, the names are real) but it also has a matching meaning (or one that totally contrasts, which I like to do sometimes depending on the character).Lawrence said:
20thCenturyBoy
Thousand Master
That's absolutely ridiculous! For all the talk in recent years of "no more size 0" models, it seems people are still just as ridiculously prejudiced when it comes to everyday situations/people.
ayase
State Alchemist
Given that she had already been offered the job, it sounds to me rather like the store manager took exception for whatever reason and got ideas above her station with regards to her say in who is employed by the company - I wouldn't be at all surprised if she ended up being hauled over the coals for this, especially given the far more reasonable reaction of the big boss. I would laugh heartily if he ended up offering her a better job as a result (replacement store manager)? Failing that, I hope she takes them for all they're worth Josh.
Despite telling them not to take the story further, the Evening Standard have posted their own, which the Daily Mail copied.
The comments on both have been...appalling, to say the least.
EDIT:
Okay, so Mum phoned the Daily Mail and made it clear that they gave no right for the Evening Standard to publish it, never mind sell the story on. After a long discussion, they decided to pull the story.
Admittedly, I tried to speak to them but Mum slammed the receiver down when I started the conversation by referring to them as "Papafucksos" (hey, I guess I have phone confidence now?!). Shame. I really wanted to talk down to those media vermin...
The comments on both have been...appalling, to say the least.
EDIT:
Okay, so Mum phoned the Daily Mail and made it clear that they gave no right for the Evening Standard to publish it, never mind sell the story on. After a long discussion, they decided to pull the story.
Admittedly, I tried to speak to them but Mum slammed the receiver down when I started the conversation by referring to them as "Papafucksos" (hey, I guess I have phone confidence now?!). Shame. I really wanted to talk down to those media vermin...
st_owly (witch)
Time-Traveller
Sucks for your sister in law, Josh. She's gorgeous.
ayase
State Alchemist
Hmm. Once you've sold / given a story to a news agency, I'm fairly sure they can pass / sell that story on to whoever they like without requiring your permission. Someone in my family was in that situation once and their story went from local newspaper to national TV, but then they loved the publicity anyway.Joshawott said:
Yeah. I was told that "If it was in the public interest" they didn't have to contact anyone. Which is where I contested about what is defined as public interest.ayase said:
One case Mum kept on bringing up was the recent one of the nurse who was subjected to a prank by those two Australian DJs and how, a simple prank that would probably have been forgotten about in a few days, was blown out of such proportion by the press so much that the poor woman ended up committing suicide. Obviously, Natasha didn't kill herself, but she was left very distraught about it (and the comments from people insulting her didn't help one bit).
Yesterday, she was invited to appear on a radio show to give her side of the story. Before that, I was allowed to talk to a journalist from that radio station and I pretty much said that to him and that I do understand that in cases of major scandal (like say, the expenses scandal) that not telling someone before a story goes to print is justified, but not in something like this where ultimately, it becomes nothing but entertainment at the detriment of someone else.
I fully support the need to have a press that is free from any kind of state censorship and whatever, but I also think that the freedom of the press has been taken way too far in the last few years.
Zin5ki
Railgun
The Heart of Darkness, by which I refer to the press facility in which the Mail is printed, is located not far from my current whereabouts. I am hence in a position to investigate their heinous iniquity further, though pedestrian access by means of their car park is hindered by a brutish bulwark in the form of a bacon-roll vending van (festooned aptly with a tattered St. George's Cross).
20thCenturyBoy
Thousand Master
The last couple days have been quite stressful as I've been trying to get my friends to organise for a holiday this year, and to say they are unorganised is an understatement. I've actually been trying to get them to do this since September, but they tend not to think about things that are more than 5 minutes ahead of them. I was forced into playing my hand though as I was told by the work on Thursday that holidays for this year needed to be in by today, of course I've been telling my friends for months that they need to decide what they want to do because I (and most likely they too) will have to have holidays for the year put in by January as that's typically when it is, but it's not like any of them bother to listen to me or care really. After 2 days of me chairing meetings, explaining, re-explaining, being the diplomat, being the only one to read up on things and basically treating them like children we've almost decided on a holiday. Today I managed to get them (bar one who was working) to go to the travel agents so we could price it up (a quick and painless process that took all of 15 minutes because I knew what I was doing). Still no decision has been made of course, but due to the fact I've pushed the pencilled dates for the holiday to the end of Summer it should give me a bit more leeway with work since it'll be the 2nd half of the year. The whole thing hasn't been helped by the fact that one of my friends just is so outright immature in his approach to things it's beyond belief, when discussing how he would pay for a holiday the conversation went thusly:
Me: Do you want to go on holiday?
Him: Yes, but I don't know if I can afford it. I only make X amount.
Me: You can if you just cut back a little, maybe don't go out quite as much as you do.
Him: Can't do that.
Me: Yes you can.
Him: It's impossible.
Me: It's not 'impossible'! You don't need to go out every single time someone asks you to, you can say 'no'. You went out 3 times in the space of 6 days, were they all really necessary? What do you think will happen if you don't go out one time?
Him: I'm popular, I have a lot of friends [implying that he's better than me because he has more 'friends' than me, as he often does].
This frustrating line of dialogue continued on for another 10 minutes or so. This guy is my oldest friend, and I always said best, but recently I've wondered if we would actually be friends if we hadn't grown up together. We've never really had an argument, not since we were kids, but in the last year we've come awfully close to it, I'd never say a bad word to him because I don't like upsetting my friends (also I'm passive agressive rather than directly).
Me: Do you want to go on holiday?
Him: Yes, but I don't know if I can afford it. I only make X amount.
Me: You can if you just cut back a little, maybe don't go out quite as much as you do.
Him: Can't do that.
Me: Yes you can.
Him: It's impossible.
Me: It's not 'impossible'! You don't need to go out every single time someone asks you to, you can say 'no'. You went out 3 times in the space of 6 days, were they all really necessary? What do you think will happen if you don't go out one time?
Him: I'm popular, I have a lot of friends [implying that he's better than me because he has more 'friends' than me, as he often does].
This frustrating line of dialogue continued on for another 10 minutes or so. This guy is my oldest friend, and I always said best, but recently I've wondered if we would actually be friends if we hadn't grown up together. We've never really had an argument, not since we were kids, but in the last year we've come awfully close to it, I'd never say a bad word to him because I don't like upsetting my friends (also I'm passive agressive rather than directly).
GolGotha
Death Scythe
Sadly I know exactly where your coming from!
I gave up after years of trying to get everyone to book a holiday somewhere, but atlas they all just want to get **** faced every weekend instead and moan about how they have no money. So, I decided I had given up of waiting and I cut back on going out so I could afford to go travelling.
They know moan that I go abroad without them.... :roll:
I gave up after years of trying to get everyone to book a holiday somewhere, but atlas they all just want to get **** faced every weekend instead and moan about how they have no money. So, I decided I had given up of waiting and I cut back on going out so I could afford to go travelling.
They know moan that I go abroad without them.... :roll: