settingquietpagesfree
settingquietpagesfree
'Buddy, you just gotta fucking write'
88 posts
Eliot, they/them. Genre Fluid on Substack. Ogre barely literate.
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settingquietpagesfree · 1 month ago
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fascinating that when you tell people "you have to learn the rules to break them" when talking about drawing/painting etc everyone nods and agrees but the second you say "you have to read books if you want to write better" there's a horde of contrarians begging to be the wrongest people ever all of a sudden
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settingquietpagesfree · 2 months ago
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My feelings about queernormative worlds in SFF is that I can often enjoy it, but I rarely believe it.
Almost everything surrounding gender, sex, and sexuality, and all the different social norms and expectations that different cultures build up around them, derive ultimately from the various realities of sexual activity and pregnancy: who can have it, who can’t, for how long, who does have it, who doesn’t, and what that means for society. I’m not being bioessentialist here, because human bodies are all quite different and different cultures develop different ways to react to that, and rates of and reactions to fertility can be different, and what different sexual and gender roles mean in different cultures and who can and can’t embody them can get extremely different. (Hell, how pregnancy itself even works can be different depending on where you live, what your lifestyle is like, and what your diet consists of!) But like, the reason gender even matters, historically, has been because of reproduction. And the reason reproduction matters, in agricultural societies anyway, has very often been because of property ownership and the need to work on farms.
So I’m totally here for queernormative worlds. But to interest me you have to answer the questions of: okay, but how does your culture work though, and how is kinship structured, and how is reproduction seen, and how is property inheritance understood, and how does gender fit into all this, for me to feel like you’ve actually tried. (And don’t say that there ARE no norms, so no one falls outside of them. There’s no culture where that’s true.)
Sci-fi worlds can get away with this easier than fantasy worlds, imo. Partially because they can posit that it is our future but we’ve gone through all of the Social Justice Struggles already and solved them, but also because technology can really alter all of these topics. The Vorkosigan Saga, for instance, makes it clear that Beta Colony is as gender-egalitarian and free-love as it is because of contraception and uterine replicators, which FULLY decouple “the ability to have children” from “the need for anyone to be pregnant.” This is huge, and the Vorkosigan Saga treats it as appropriately so! Ancillary Justice is another one that thinks a lot about how the genderless culture that decenters romance as a core social organizing principle works. But I read so many low-ish-tech fantasy worlds that are happily queernormative and gender doesn’t matter and they just feel shallow. I don’t believe this world. I don’t dislike it, exactly, I just don’t believe it, I don’t believe people would be like this because you’ve put no effort into imagining a world that works like this makes any sense.
Which is totally fine for people’s D&D games and cute oneshot comics and personal works and such, but when you want me to take your worldbuilding seriously, you’re going to have to convince me! And a lot of it is not convincing.
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settingquietpagesfree · 2 months ago
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settingquietpagesfree · 3 months ago
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your dark fantasy novel doesn't need a logic-based magic system it needs a bear with a human face
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settingquietpagesfree · 3 months ago
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world-building... hard
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settingquietpagesfree · 3 months ago
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i think one of the reasons i get mildly annoyed about worldbuilding threads that are 200 tweets of why you should care about where blue dye comes from in your world before saying someone is wearing blue is that so few of them go up to the second level of "and that should impact your characters somehow" - i don't care that blue dye comes from pressing berries that only grow in one kingdom a thousand miles away if people are casually wearing blue
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settingquietpagesfree · 3 months ago
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Hi, I'm Eliot!
You can attend my thesis presentations on Substack at Genre Fluid, subscribe if you'd like to have said thesis presentations delivered to your inbox, or hang out here at my house where it is 3 am and I am sitting on the counter in my jammies, gesturing madly with a piece of cold pizza.
If you think my work is neat and would like to bestow a little walkin' around money, you can buy me a coffee!
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settingquietpagesfree · 2 years ago
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What able bodied authors think I, an amputee and a wheelchair user, would want in a scifi setting:
Tech that can regenerate my old meat legs.
Robot legs that work just like meat legs and are functionally just meat legs but robot
Literally anything that would mean I don't have to use a wheelchair.
If I do need to use a wheelchair, make it fly or able to "walk me" upstairs
What I actually want:
Prosthetic covers that can change colour because I'm too indecisive to pick one colour/pattern for the next 5+ years.
A leg that I can turn off (seriously, my above knee prosthetic has no off switch... just... why?)
A leg that won't have to get refitted every time I gain or loose weight.
A wheelchair that I can teleport to me and legs I can teleport away when I'm too tierd to keep walking. And vice versa.
In that same vein, legs I can teleport on instead of having to fiddle around with the sockets for half an hour.
Prosthetic feet that don't require me to wear shoes. F*ck shoes.
Actually accessible architecture, which means when I do want to use my wheelchair, it's not an issue.
Prosthetic legs with dragon-claw feet instead of boring human feet or just digigrade prosthetics that are just as functional as normal human-shaped ones.
A manual wheelchair with the option to lift my seat up like those scissor-lift things so I'm not eye-level with everyone's butt on public transport/so I can reach the top shelf by myself.
A prosthetic foot that lights up when it hits the ground like those children's shoes.
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settingquietpagesfree · 2 years ago
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stop using hospitals as horror settings
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settingquietpagesfree · 3 years ago
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settingquietpagesfree · 4 years ago
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Hot take: Actual literary analysis requires at least as much skill as writing itself, with less obvious measures of whether or not you’re shit at it, and nobody is allowed to do any more god damn litcrit until they learn what the terms “show, don’t tell” and “pacing” mean.
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settingquietpagesfree · 6 years ago
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another absolutely fantastic trope is when a scifi/fantasy character calls the oblivious object of their affections a term of endearment in their fictional first language during an emotional moment which they refuse to translate, and their love interest assumes due to the unresolved sexual tension fuelled rivalry aspect of their relationship that it's an insult, only to have their world absolutely rocked to its core when they finally manage to get a translation and realize that the other person has been pining for them the entire goddamn time
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settingquietpagesfree · 6 years ago
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a massively extended version of ruthlesscalculus’ post
General Tips
Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
34 Writing Tips that will make you a Better Writer
50 Free resources that will improve your writing skills
5 ways to get out of the comfort zone and become a stronger writer
10 ways to avoid Writing Insecurity
The Writer’s Guide to Overcoming Insecurity
The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers
You’re Not Hemingway - Developing Your Own Style
7 Ways to use Brain Science to Hook Readers and Reel them In
8 Short Story Tips from Kurt Vonnegut
How to Show, Not Tell
5 Essential Story Ingredients
How to Write Fiction that grabs your readers from page one
Why research is important in writing
Make Your Reader Root for Your Main Character
Writing Ergonomics (Staying Comfortable Whilst Writing)
The Importance of Body Language
Character Development
10 days of Character Building
Name Generators
Name Playground
Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test
Seven Common Character Types
Handling a Cast of Thousands Part 1 - Getting To Know Your Characters
Web Resources for Developing Characters
Building Fictional Characters
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Character Building Workshop
Tips for Characterization
Character Chart for Fiction Writers
Villains are people too but…
How to Write a Character Bible
Character Development Exercises
All Your Characters Talk the Same - And They’re Not A Hivemind!
Medieval Names Archive
Sympathy Without Saintliness
Family Echo (Family Tree Maker)
Behind The Name
100 Character Development Questions for Writers
Aether’s Character Development Worksheet
The 12 Common Archetypes
Six Types of Courageous Characters
Kazza’s List of Character Secrets - Part 1, Part 2
Creating Believable Characters With Personality
Body Language Cheat Sheet
Creating Fictional Characters Series
Three Ways to Avoid Lazy Character Description
7 Rules for Picking Names for Fictional Characters
Character Development Questionnaire
How to Create Fictional Characters
Character Name Resources
Character Development Template
Character Development Through Hobbies
Character Flaws List
10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters
Ari’s Archetype Series
How to Craft Compelling Characters
List of 200 Character Traits
Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex
Making Your Characters Likable
Do you really know your characters?
Character Development: Virtues
Character Development: Vices
Character Morality Alignment
List of Negative Personality Traits
List of Positive Personality Traits
List of Emotions - Positive
List of Emotions - Negative
Loon’s Character Development Series - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Phobia List A-L (Part 1), M-Z (Part 2)
30 Day In Depth Character Development Meme
Words for Emotions based on Severity
Eight Bad Characters
High Level Description of the Sixteen Personality Types
Female Characters
How Not to Write Female Characters
Writing Female Characters
How to write empowering female characters
Why I write strong female characters
Red Flags for Female Characters Written by Men
Writing strong female characters
The Female Character Flowchart
Eight Heroine Archetypes
Male Characters
Eight Hero Archetypes
Tips for Specific Characters
Writing A Vampire
Writing Pansexual Characters
Writing Characters on the Police Force
Writing Drunk Characters
Writing A Manipulative Character
Writing A Friends With Benefits Relationship
Writing A Natural Born Leader
Writing A Flirtatious Character
Writing A Nice Character
Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains
Five Traits to Contribute to an Epic Villain
Writing Villains that Rock
Writing British Characters
How To Write A Character With A Baby
On Assassin Characters
Dialogue
It’s Not What They Say…
Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue
Speaking of Dialogue
The Great Said Debate
He Said, She Said, Who Said What?
How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters
Writing Dialogue: Go for Realistic, Not Real-Life
Point of View
Establishing The Right Point of View
How to Start Writing in the Third Person
The I Problem
Plot, Conflict, Structure and Outline
Writing A Novel Using the Snowflake Method
Effectively Outlining Your Novel
Conflict and Character Within Story Structure
Outlining Your Plot
Ideas, Plots and Using the Premise Sheets
How To Write A Novel
Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense
Plunge Right In…Into Your Story, That Is
Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot
36 (plus one) Dramatic Situations
The Evil Overlord Devises A Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plot Tricks
Conflict Test
What is Conflict?
Monomyth
The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes
Plotting Without Fears
Novel Outlining 101
Writing The Perfect Scene
One-Page Plotting
The Great Swampy Middle
How Can You Know What Belongs In Your Book?
Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps
How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel
Create Structure in your novel using index cards
Choosing the best outline method for you
Hatch’s Plot Bank
Setting & Worldbuilding
Magical Word Builder’s Guide
I Love The End Of The World
World Building 101
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help Bring Your Settings to Life
Creating the Perfect Setting - Part 1
Creating a Believable World
Setting
Character and Setting Interactions
Maps Workshop - Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping
World Builders Project
How To Create Fantasy Worlds
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Creativity Boosters* denotes prompts
*Creative Writing Prompts
*Ink Provoking
*Story Starter
*Story Spinner
*Story Kitchen
*Language is a Virus
*The Dabbling Mum
Quick Story Idea Generator
Solve Your Problems By Simply Saying Them Out Loud
Busting Your Writing Rut
Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips To Engineer A Productive Flow
Writing Inspiration, Or Sex on a Bicycle
The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits
Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging
Random Book Title Generator
Finishing Your Novel
Story Starters & Idea Generators
Words to Use More Often
Revision & Grammar
How To Rewrite
Editing Recipe
Cliche Finder
Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written
Writing 101: Revising A Novel
20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes
Synonyms for the Most Commonly Used Words of the English Language
Grammar Urban Legends
Tools & Software
Tip Of My Tongue - Find the word you’re looking for
Write or Die - Stay motivated
Stay Focused - Tool for Chrome, lock yourself out of distracting websites
My Writing Nook - Online Text Editor, Free
Bubbl.us - Online Mind Map Application, Free
Family Echo - Online Family Tree Maker, Free
Freemind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable
Xmind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable
Liquid Story Binder - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $45.95; Windows, Portable
Scrivener - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $39.95; Mac
SuperNotecard - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable
yWriter - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free; Windows, Linux, portable
JDarkRoom - Minimalist Text Editing Application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable
AutoRealm - Map Creation Application; free; Windows, Linux with Wine
Specific Help
Fashion Terminology
All About Kissing
Genre Help: Romance
187 Mental Illnesses
Types of Mental Illness
Eye Color List
Spectral Groupings
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settingquietpagesfree · 6 years ago
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More favourite tropes:
A bureaucratic institution has established forms and procedures for an extraordinarily unlikely event
A character saves the day using a skill they have no excuse for knowing, which they claim to have learned through a mundane hobby or profession
Explaining something patently absurd in a very matter-of-fact way, particularly while referring to the person receiving the explanation as “sir”
A specific object or substance that’s needed to overcome a great danger proves to have been on hand all along in an unrecognised form
A janitor, plumber, or other tradesperson reveals that they’re already aware of some esoteric threat and have dealt with it before
An existential threat is accidentally averted in the course of dealing with an unrelated and much less serious problem
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settingquietpagesfree · 6 years ago
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I still think that my favorite urban legend/folklore fact is that there are certain areas in New Orleans where you cannot get a taxi late at night not because it isn’t safe, but because taxi companies have had recurring problems of picking up ghosts in those areas who are not aware that they are dead and disappearing from the cab before reaching the destination and therefore stiffing the driver on the fare causing a loss for the company.
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settingquietpagesfree · 6 years ago
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I've just been rereading some of your wonderful longfic and you write such good action i'm so envious, especially Don't Wait Up for Me. Someone said it was cinematic and I think thats a good description. Whenever I try to write action I just can't or it doesn't seem very good, and I wonder if you have any advice as a writer and editor about how to write action scenes, or just any writing advice in general.
First, I have to apologize for taking so long to respond; it’s been hard to get back in the swing of things after surgery. Second, thank you so much for the lovely compliment, and I’m so glad you liked Don’t Wait Up for Me, because that’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.
To your question: I sometimes feel like I could write a book, just based on the sheer volume of crap I read for my job and the way all these things pile up for me, but there are hundreds of writing advice books out there, and some of them are even actually good so no one needs another one. :-D But I think there are some specifics to writing action, and in particular action within fanfiction, that are fairly unique and not always addressed in tutorials.
When I’m copyediting fiction especially, I often find my attention wanders or my eyes glaze over because of flabby or weak writing, and that’s just death for a scene where people are supposed to be doing stuff and hooking the reader. The same mistakes kind of pile up and up, and this is pro published stuff. Fan readers are pretty forgiving mostly, but a lot of these issues have an unconscious effect on us, we forget fics that could be memorable because we skimmed over stuff that should engage us.
Years ago at Slate, I copyedited a book review that made me laugh, because it was a lot of these problems in a nutshell:
His writing is riddled with clichés that are daily struck down by conscientious high-school teachers. The characters always think “for a moment,” as if a sustained thought is impossible in the Wagnerian world. “Silence” plagues the pages, and it often “follows” speech. The thunder claps “Whrromp!” Every glance is recorded, for no discernable reason—everyone is “looking” or “focusing” all the time. The faces repeatedly “light up.” People don’t smile—they “start to smile"—and they do things “a little,” even if much happens “all of a sudden.” Here is a typical passage: “Liz started to smile, then started to say something, then thought better of it. Her smile faded for a moment, while she seemed to concentrate on a thought.”
That’s the kind of writing that can just utterly kill action scenes. So what would I tell you to avoid that kind of stuff? :
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settingquietpagesfree · 6 years ago
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every culture has their ethnic donut and every culture has their ethnic dumpling… humans be frying dough
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