fictiontheory

[fictiontheory]

Followers, please circulate this around (all, like, five of you)

For those who didn't know: https://slate.com/technology/2024/09/national-novel-writing-month-ai-bots-controversy.html

As a disabled person, seeing the "but, but, disabled people" defense of AI is strange to me. Were a lot of disabled people campaigning to have AI?

I'm personally not happy about it. I'm also not convinced that it would really be as useful to disabled writers as some people are saying, especially in this context. I also haven't heard any of the disabled writers I know saying they felt a need for it.

But I don't know every disabled writer in the world, so I'm asking the question.

And if we could keep comments respectful of each other's basic humanity, that'd be great.

[fictiontheory]

hot artists don't gatekeep

I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard

Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.

Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.

Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.

Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.

SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.

SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.

Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.

Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.

Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.

Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.

Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here's a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.

[fictiontheory]

You should never create anything with a wide audience in mind. The so-called "general audience" doesn't exist; it's a fiction made up by advertising executives. Most of the time, great art and literature is made with the intention of pleasing no more than 4 or 5 specific perverts of the author's acquaintance

[fictiontheory]

I used to work for a trade book reviewer where I got paid to review people's books, and one of the rules of that review company is one that I think is just super useful to media analysis as a whole, and that is, we were told never to critique media for what it didn't do but only for what it did.

So, for instance, I couldn't say "this book didn't give its characters strong agency or goals". I instead had to say, "the characters in this book acted in ways that often felt misaligned with their characterization as if they were being pulled by the plot."

I think this is really important because a lot of "critiques" people give, if subverted to address what the book does instead of what it doesn't do, actually read pretty nonsensical. For instance, "none of the characters were unique" becomes "all of the characters read like other characters that exist in other media", which like... okay? That's not really a critique. It's just how fiction works. Or "none of the characters were likeable" becomes "all of the characters, at some point or another, did things that I found disagreeable or annoying" which is literally how every book works?

It also keeps you from holding a book to a standard it never sought to meet. "The world building in this book simply wasn't complex enough" becomes "The world building in this book was very simple", which, yes, good, that can actually be a good thing. Many books aspire to this. It's not actually a negative critique. Or "The stakes weren't very high and the climax didn't really offer any major plot twists or turns" becomes "The stakes were low and and the ending was quite predictable", which, if this is a cute romcom is exactly what I'm looking for.

Not to mention, I think this really helps to deconstruct a lot of the biases we carry into fiction. Characters not having strong agency isn't inherently bad. Characters who react to their surroundings can make a good story, so saying "the characters didn't have enough agency" is kind of weak, but when you flip it to say "the characters acted misaligned from their characterization" we can now see that the *real* problem here isn't that they lacked agency but that this lack of agency is inconsistent with the type of character that they are. a character this strong-willed *should* have more agency even if a weak-willed character might not.

So it's just a really simple way of framing the way I critique books that I think has really helped to show the difference between "this book is bad" and "this book didn't meet my personal preferences", but also, as someone talking about books, I think it helps give other people a clearer idea of what the book actually looks like so they can decide for themselves if it's worth their time.

Update: This is literally just a thought exercise to help you be more intentional with how you critique media. I'm not enforcing this as some divine rule that must be followed any time you have an opinion on fiction, and I'm definitely not saying that you have to structure every single sentence in a review to contain zero negative phrases. I'm just saying that I repurposed a rule we had at that specific reviewer to be a helpful tool to check myself when writing critiques now. If you don't want to use the tool, literally no one (especially not me) can or wants to force you to use it. As with all advice, it is a totally reasonable and normal thing to not have use for every piece of it that exists from random strangers on the internet. Use it to whatever extent it helps you or not at all.

[fictiontheory]

We’re crowdfunding again 🤪

After securing a cheaper apartment & new jobs, our only car was stolen the day we moved in. we have been unable to consistently secure groceries and are hemorrhaging money paying for me to get to work at a job that is deeply affecting my health, keeping me from working regular hours.

please consider helping us buy groceries & pay for transportation!

cash: torkz428

paypal: torkz

[fictiontheory]

Creating Authentic Deaf and Hard of Hearing Characters: A Writer's Journal

Introduction

Creating authentic characters in your writing is essential for engaging storytelling, and this includes characters who are deaf or hard of hearing. To craft a character that accurately represents this community, it's crucial to do your research, gain a deep understanding of their experiences, and portray them with sensitivity and respect. In this journal, we'll explore how to write a deaf or hard of hearing character, including key information and preparation steps.

Understanding Deaf and Hard of Hearing Characters

Research: Start by researching deaf and hard of hearing individuals' experiences, challenges, and culture. Read books, articles, and personal stories, and watch documentaries or interviews featuring members of the Deaf community.

Consult with Experts: Reach out to members of the Deaf community or experts in Deaf studies to gain insights into their experiences. They can provide invaluable guidance and help you avoid common misconceptions.

Diversity Within the Community: Understand that the Deaf and hard of hearing community is diverse. Some individuals communicate using sign language, while others rely on lip-reading, cochlear implants, or hearing aids. Be aware of these differences when creating your character.

Character Development

Backstory and Identity: Consider your character's background. Were they born deaf or did they become deaf later in life? How do they identify within the Deaf community? Understanding their identity and experiences will shape their character.

Language and Communication: Decide how your character communicates. Are they fluent in sign language, or do they primarily rely on lip-reading and spoken language? Their communication style will influence their interactions with other characters.

Cultural Awareness: Explore the cultural aspects of the Deaf community. Understand the importance of Deaf culture, including its history, art, and values. Incorporate these elements into your character's life when relevant.

Writing Tips

Dialogue and Communication: When writing dialogue for a deaf or hard of hearing character, be mindful of their unique communication style. Use visual cues, body language, and facial expressions to convey emotions and context.

Access to Information: Consider the challenges your character may face in accessing information. This could involve issues with closed captioning, subtitles, or accommodations in educational or work settings.

Social Interactions: Depict social interactions realistically. Show how your character navigates conversations, group dynamics, and social events within their community and with hearing individuals.

Preparation

Sensitivity Readers: Consider hiring sensitivity readers who are part of the Deaf or hard of hearing community to review your work and provide feedback. Their insights can help you avoid stereotypes and inaccuracies.

Learn Sign Language: If your character uses sign language, take the time to learn at least basic signs. This will not only enrich your writing but also demonstrate your commitment to accuracy.

Beta Readers: Seek feedback from a diverse group of beta readers who can assess the authenticity of your character and offer constructive criticism.

Engage with the Community: Attend Deaf community events, workshops, or online forums to immerse yourself in the culture and better understand the perspectives and experiences of deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

Creating a deaf or hard-of-hearing character that resonates with readers requires dedication, empathy, and thorough research. By following these steps and embracing the rich culture and diversity of the Deaf community, you can create a character that is not only authentic but also promotes understanding and inclusivity in your writing. In addition—when writing dialogue for your deaf/hard of hearing character, remember:

It's important to clarify why, when writing dialogue for a deaf character, you should continue to use structured English grammar and not Sign Language structured grammar.

Maintaining Structured English Grammar:

Readability: Writing in structured English grammar ensures that the text remains accessible and comprehensible to all readers, including those who may not be familiar with sign language or Deaf culture. It avoids potential confusion that could arise from using sign language grammar in written text.

Universal Understanding: English is a global language, and adhering to its grammar rules allows for a wider audience to understand and engage with your story. Sign language grammar varies between different sign languages, making it less universally applicable in written form.

Respect for the Medium: While sign language is a rich and expressive mode of communication, it is primarily a visual and gestural language. Attempting to replicate sign language grammar in written text can be cumbersome and may not fully capture the nuances of sign language communication.

Balance of Realism and Readability: Striking a balance between authenticity and readability is crucial in storytelling. Maintaining structured English grammar while depicting a deaf character's interactions helps convey the character's experience without compromising the reader's ability to follow the narrative.

In summary, using structured English grammar when writing dialogue for a deaf character is a practical and respectful choice that ensures your writing remains inclusive and accessible to a broad audience while still authentically representing the character's identity and experiences.

As an illustration, consider the following text:

Dialogues with Descriptive Sign Language:

Sarah greeted John with a warm smile, her hands moving gracefully as she signed, "Hi, how are you?"

John returned the greeting in sign language, his expressions mirroring his words. "I'm good, thanks. Did you see the new movie?"

Sarah's eyes lit up as she signed back enthusiastically, "Yes, I loved it!"

[fictiontheory]

i'm AWARE this is a stupid hill to die on, but like. trope vs theme vs cliché vs motif vs archetype MATTERS. it matters to Me and i will die on this hill no matter how much others decide it's pointless. words mean things

[fictiontheory]

Zomg.

I haven't devoured a book this quickly or been so captivated by one since I myself was a confused neurodivergent baby queer dealing with religious abuse. Not as intense as the main character endures, but it was real.

I'd give anything for a time machine to hand this book to my younger self and many others around me at the time who couldn't, at that moment, picture what breaking free and taking ownership of ourselves would even look like.

So:

Amazingly written neurodiverse characters. ✅

Amazingly accurate depictions of what having sensory issues is like. ✅

Amazingly accurate depictions of what it's like when your brain devours facts and loves to share them. ✅

Amazingly written queer characters who get happy endings. ✅

Non-supernatural things done by human beings to other human beings being the real horror. ✅

A main character that drives the story like a freight train because curiosity and the refusal to surrender it is a superpower. ✅

Characters who's acceptance and accommodation of each others needs is a day saver and an underrated miracle. ✅

Best portrayal of the damage done by gaslighting and how it's an insidiously underestimated tool in an abuser's toolbox. ✅

"Because I can" being more than sufficient reason to give a damn about others and help them out. ✅

A character experiencing the roller coaster of learning how much bullshit the world's been full of the whole time and then realizing it's not all bullshit - but that doesn't negate that, yeah, she can be trusted to know when something really actually is bullshit. ✅

A literal liar, liar pants on fire situation. ✅

Best self created scripture since Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler. ✅

Capitalism as the most cursed enabler of evil and inventing work polo gothic as an aesthetic, thus saying so much without having to say anything at all. ✅

Proves Ian Malcolm's entire "Life finds a way" monologue applies equally to love. Because love is real. Not even the most oppressive, brutal, powerful regimes in history have been able to stamp it out. ✅

Leaves me wanting more books like this from Chuck Tingle and hoping us buckaroos won't have to wait too long for more, while being grateful for all the work and bravery it took to get this out into the world. ✅

[fictiontheory]

Writing tip #1: Write what makes YOU so excited that you pee your pants, not what you think will make OTHER people so excited that THEY’LL pee THEIR pants. This is called “The Pee Principle” and is the first and most important rule of writing.

[fictiontheory]

[fictiontheory]

Sorry if you've already covered this! How can you describe related events that have happened offscreen/are happening during the current scene without it becoming an info dump?

I know it's not necessary to actually have all these events as scenes since it would just become a bit tedious and make my plot drag, but I still need to reader to be aware of what's happening.

Working in Backstory & Off-Page Events

The first step is to figure out what information (from these backstory scenes and off-page events) is vital for the characters and/or reader to know. The second step is to work that information into the narrative bit by bit rather than all at once. Sometimes it helps to make a little timeline of your story, then look at all that vital information from the backstory and off-page scenes, and note when it's important for the characters to know that information. For example, if your characters need to know the outcome of an off-page battle right before the story's climax, you would start by marking the battle down on the timeline. If it's a battle that occurs over multiple days, mark the battle's beginning and end and any crucial points in the battle. Now you can look at how that battle plays out in comparison to on-page events, and you can think about how the characters might learn information about what's going on. Maybe a courier is sent from the battlefield to update the other characters, and that is the moment you work in that the battle isn't going very well. Then, later on, maybe the characters hear rumors that the battle has been all but lost, and maybe they hear details about a particularly bad skirmish. Finally, when the battle is over, maybe a survivor shows up to fill the characters in on the important details of what happened. See how this works the details in throughout the important points in the narrative rather than dumping it all at once? :)

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[fictiontheory]

I know adverbs are Controversial, but “said softly” means something different than “whispered” and this is the hill I will die on.

[fictiontheory]

Iiiiiiiiiii'm still standing

For all my tens and tens followers, thanks for still being here. For a while now I've kind of been Going Through It On Beast Mode, but it's slowly getting better.

I've been working on more writing infographics, and I'm also actually making progress on my current novel.

Right now my brain isn't processing long form reading, but it also doesn't want short stories, so I've started downloading lots of samples of books on my kindle again and I'm going to try to regularly post why I either didn't go for the book or why I did just based on that sample.

If anyone has any books they want me to sample - any ADULT genre - let me know. I'll read the sample and give my thoughts. As long as it's an ADULT genre.

[fictiontheory]

🚨 FELLOW WHITE WRITERS: THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

just a reminder:

a black girl character growing her hair out long breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having short hair

a black girl character getting to be soft and fragile breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being strong all the time

a black girl character being protected and comforted by others breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having no one to look out for her but herself

a black girl character being considered pretty or cute by other characters breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being considered unattractive

not everything that is empowering for white girls is empowering for black girls

the sexism we face overlaps, but it is not the same

[fictiontheory]

i hate how you get desensitized to the cool stuff in your WIP if you've been writing it for a long time so when you read back over it you're like "this isn't as cool as i thought :(" but it still is! you just read it too many times

[fictiontheory]

why is there no electricity after the apocalypse?

something people writing post-apocalyptic fiction always seem to forget is how extremely easy basic 20th century technology is to achieve if you have a high school education (or the equivalent books from an abandoned library), a few tools (of the type that take 20 years to rust away even if left out in the elements), and the kind of metal scrap you can strip out of a trashed building.

if you want an 18th century tech level, you really need to somehow explain the total failure of humanity as a whole to rebuild their basic tech infrastructure in the decade after your apocalypse event.

i am not a scientist or an engineer, i’m just a house husband with about the level of tech know-how it takes to troubleshoot a lawn mower engine, but i could set up a series of wind turbines and storage batteries for a survivor compound with a few weeks of trial and error out of the stuff my neighbors could loot from the wreckage of the menards out on highway 3. hell, chances are the menards has a couple roof turbines in stock right now. or you could retrofit some from ceiling fans; electric motors and electric generators are the same thing, basically.

radio is garage-tinkering level tech too. so are electric/mechanical medical devices like ventilators and blood pressure cuffs. internal combustion’s trickiest engineering challenge is maintaining your seals without a good source of replacement parts, so after a few years you’re going to be experimenting with o-rings cut out of hot water bottles, but fuel is nbd. you can use alcohol. you can make bio diesel in your back yard. you can use left-over cooking oil, ffs.

what i’m saying is, we really have to stop doing the thing where after the meteor/zombies/alien invasion/whatever everyone is suddenly doing ‘little house on the prairie’ cosplay. unless every bit of metal or every bit of knowlege is somehow erased, folks are going to get set back to 1950 at the most. and you need to account somehow for stopping them from rebuilding the modern world, because that’s going to be a lot of people’s main life goal from the moment the apocalypse lets them have a minute to breathe.

nobody who remembers flush toilets will ever be content with living the medieval life, is what i’m saying. let’s stop writing the No Tech World scenario.

[fictiontheory]

If the Internet Archive wins this lawsuit, it could be an absolute game-changer for libraries.

Applying the first sale doctrine to digital content could enable libraries to simply buy e-books and lend them on a 1:1 basis rather than having to constantly renew their expensive contracts with vendors. Most public libraries use a huge chunk of their increasingly-limited funds on these licensing agreements, and if some of those funds are freed up they can go towards local communities. This isn’t just about keeping the Wayback Machine. This is about open access to information. This is about ending the artificial scarcity that tech monopolies have created.

Please make an account on Internet Archive, and consider donating.

Please use your local library and check out the FREE events and services they offer.

Please put pressure on the publishing houses involved in this lawsuit.