Other than figuring out whether to get the right eye or hair color, getting actors to truly embody an existing fictional character is challenging and far too underestimated. Sure Zendaya could dye her hair red to appease the over-dramatic fandom but that doesn’t really make her Mary Jane nor does Daniel Radcliffe just having glasses makes him Harry Potter. In the point of view of a reader, I will be talking about three of many elements that aren’t taken into enough consideration when adapting stories.
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Pros & Cons: Original vs Fanfiction
Original and Fan-fiction have always had a clash for many reasons. However as time went on, both mediums are now starting to live together in the entertainment industry. Perhaps not in full harmony but whether each party likes it or not, both mediums now have an interest and use in todays’ market.
This week I wanted to talk about some of the pros and cons of each of these mediums (including the community around them) and how they contribute to entertainment audiences:
How to Destroy a Genre: Vampire Edition
Let’s all be honest. How interested are we in another vampire story being released? This is branching from the plot change my book went through from fully vampire themed to a dark high fantasy. One of the biggest reasons that my sister also pointed out is the mere word ‘vampire’ causes one to cringe so much the book closes on its own. However, in truth Vampires are historically interesting creatures that have just as much depth in their folklore as Faeries or Elves. One would think Vampires would be a highly respected genre like Wizards or even Demons. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t really see it at that level anymore.
Today I will talk about all the ways a genre can be viciously murdered in the storytelling community in any medium. Vampires in particular will be discussed because the theme has become a prime victim to genre death.
Plot Changes while Writing a Book
There’s a million reasons why a book takes a long time to finish. Mostly it’s because the writer wants to provide the best possible story to their audience ensuring everything is interesting, engaging and able to evoke emotions/messages. Sometimes this involves changing the plot altogether for the sake of the story.
I’ve had to go through this recently despite finishing the first draft of the other plot. While it felt kind of disheartening at first, there are a few lessons I learnt throughout this process. This week I will mainly be talking about the main three things!
First Draft Struggles + Personal Lessons
Last Sunday I printed out the rough draft for my book which felt both accomplishing and terrifying at the same time. Something about holding the story in your hand for one thing is really solidifying; a small way to remind yourself that you did a lot of work even though it was hidden in the electronic folders.
Then also the terrifying journey to read what your brain dump looks like. For most people, the first draft is the version no writer wants a reader to see because it’s almost written in their own personal language that no one else will understand. That’s what the second draft is for. To make people understand that weird, personal language swirling around in an authors’ brain.
While I had a few other things to talk about this week, I think this blog is a good place for me to write down some lessons I’ve learnt while writing. Especially since the writing community is all about sharing experiences and learning from one another to develop each other’s style. So here are a couple of things I’ve realized while writing my less than pleasant first draft:
Book Review: Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
This week we have another book review coming for you so it can help you decide whether to add something new to your list or maybe even dive into a unexplored theme! Sword of Shannara has definitely for a long time so some of you might be already familiar with the whole series but this is a first for me and I’ve compiled my thoughts under the read-more. I hope it helps in expanding your reading list!
Book Information:
- Author: Terry Brooks
- Year Published: 1977
- Page Count: 664
- Genre: High Fantasy
- Pacing: Drawling | Slow | Suspenseful Build | Fluctuating | Steady | Fast | Vague
- Type: Fantasy | Mix | Realism
#StayHome Book Recs
For this week, I have collated my Top Five favourite books ranging from fantasy to fashion. If you’re ever looking at your bookshelf and there’s nothing to read, give these selections a go!
4 websites for fanfiction reading (and writing)
Since we are all staying at home (hopefully), it should be a good time to dive into new reading territory. We all see the memes of going ‘insane’ staying inside and social distancing so there should be no reason to discriminate against trying new things in the comforts of your own place. For this week, I have listed four websites best known for fanfiction (and writing if you want to get into it). These are selections from my personal experience with fanfictions so if you have any other suggestions, feel free to put them in the comments below!
This list will also include sites that have original fiction as well if you want more reading material in that area!
Book Review: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
As most of us are now sitting at home and finding ourselves with more free time, books are usually a good way to occupy our minds for a few hours. Maybe even calm us down when the atmosphere gets too stuffy or the thoughts get too troubling. I managed to binge-read the last hundred or so pages for this book because it was hard to put down and honestly there was not much else to do so I hope this review gives good enough insight for you to add it to your reading list!
Book Information:
- Author: Dan Brown
- Year Published: 2000
- Page Count: 615
- Genre: Mystery / Thriller
- Warnings: Blood & Violence, Disturbing Themes, Attempted Sexual Assault (brief).
- Pacing: Drawling | Slow | Suspenseful Build | Fluctuating | Steady | Fast | Vague
- Type: Fantasy | Mix | Realism
“It takes you that long to write a book?”
A question clearly giving away that someone has never written or finished a book in their entire life. Writer whether aspiring or otherwise go through a series of people who love pretending they know what it means to be a writer. Less than pleasant but well-intentioned is usually the nicest way to describe them but this post is not to completely bash this collection of people. Instead I wanted to touch on the three points usually involved in the writing process.
These are obviously based on my experiences and every writer will vary on their process but what you see in print or in online book stories has a gruelling journey that no one sees. Hopefully with a few words on this post, people (especially non-writers) can understand why it takes someone that long to write a book.
