Vermin Badger series discussions

[cairn destop]

Let me open this segment with a bit of background about myself.  I'm by no means an accomplished or expert writer.  What I have learned has been in the school of hard knocks.  Some of the things I learned, I'm still doing wrong, but I do try incorporating the lessons into whatever story I'm doing.  Like most writers, I sometimes tweak those rules.

My works are an outlet, a hobby I enjoy.  It does not mean I don't want to present the best possible story, but the technical merits become less important.  The story is the prime thing.  If anyone else enjoys what I do, then I've accomplished something.

I'm quite envious of writers who sit down and come up with their story on the first try without the need for major rewrites.  That isn't what happens when I write.  I'll spend as much time devising an outline as I do writing longer stories.  (Long stories are anything over a single chapter or 2,000 words)  Then the real work starts as I go into revisions and edits.  My best ratio is ten minutes writing equals one hour of edits.

If anyone expresses interest in the technical lessons, I'll share them.  Here are a few to spark a bit of interest and debate.  I'll be the first to disagree with some of these by saying all things in moderation.

1 -----  Never use adverbs; they must be purged.  Elimination forces a writer to use stronger verbs.  My first writing effort averaged one ly-adverb per thirty words; it's about one per three hundred words in my more recent postings.

2 ----- The words "start," "begin," and "suddenly," and all similar words, must be eliminated since few things ever start, begin, (unless mechanical) or are sudden.

3 ----- If the first sentence doesn't identify the POV character, the story is worthless.  Scrap it.

4 ----- Never describe the weather in your story.

5 ----- People have an average reading speed of 200 words a minute.  Consider 3,000 words the maximum length for online writings.  Anything more and readers skim.  Best size is between 2,000 and 2.700 words.

6 ----- Avoid prepositions before any verb.

7 ----- Eliminate all forms of the verb "is" since it will make your writings passive.

8 ----- Variety is best.  I don't mean in words, but in your writing styles.  Most people write stories in a very structured way.  Description, dialogue, and drama, and presented in that order.  Mix it up and keep your reader's attention.

9 ----- Edits must end.  The smart writer marks his work finished and never reads it again.  I'm not smart.  I keep tweaking things to improve or correct.  My misfortune, knowing only the kind of writers that do it right the first time. 


Alright, I've wasted enough time on generalities, let me get to the specifics of my series.

Purpose:

Though I welcome any comments or questions regarding the stories, or its characters, my primary purpose for this thread is to provide a forum for discussing the technical aspects of the series.  This does not mean I'll not answer questions regarding the characters and the story, but sometimes the answer is a simple "wait until a later chapter."

Origins:

An interviewer once asked Brian Jaques why vermin were evil.  The author responded by saying his target audience lacked the mental sophistication to understand grey characters, thus woodlanders were always good and vermin always evil.  Brian Jaques forgot how he violated his own rule a few times.

I didn't like his answer.  That left me with three possibilities.  My story could center on a good vermin, an evil woodlander, or a grey character that blended the two. 

The series title should clue you in as to which I chose.  However, I am never so obvious.  I maintained a twist by making the supposed evil character grey. 

Main character:

If there is any Redwall character that comes close to godhood, it has to be the badger.  Males are not only rulers but the ultimate warrior.  Females share these same traits, and represent the perfect mother.  I had to upset that image.  Though Tassel will appear in every story, she is not always the central character.

Story Synopsis:

The series consist of five novels and two related stories.  Each story is independent.  You need not read one to understand the other.  Events and characters are reintroduced if it is necessary. 


More to come in mid August.

[winifred]

Thanks for the writing tips!

[cairn destop]

I'll be the first to say I find some of these out of dumb, but when some successfully published author say such things, you wonder which of you is wrong.  Another example of some of these "rules."

1 ----- dialogue tags.  The only (add emphasis) dialogue tag allowed is "said."  Anything else equals inept writing.

2 ---- If you use (character name) (sensory verb), it is telling.  Never do.  An example.  John smelled his wife's cooking.  "Smelled" is a sensory verb, which changes the story to tell, which seems to be the boogy man these days in writing.

3 ---- Never use a prologue.  It is nothing but backstory and of no valid use as a stand alone.  If the information is needed, provide it in the appropriate chapter.

I would love to know who some of these "experts" are.  Whenever I questioned this advice on another writing site, I'm treated like a religious heritic.

[Redwaller]

Most of the rules are dumb... The title of your serie seems awesome!

[cairn destop]

Thanks to another member, I can now link.  The first story will be uploaded here first week of August.  That is a a10K story.  The next one will start after Labor Day and is 103K words, 45 chapters.  I'll be uploading three chapters each week.

[Tiria Wildlough]

Looking forward to it. Though I disagree about the prologue rule.

[W0NWILL]

/\ I agree, er, I disagree, er, y'know what I mean!

Prologues are backstory, backstory is important, how else do you get to know your characters? BJ used prologues!

[cairn destop]

/\ I agree, er, I disagree, er, y'know what I mean!

Prologues are backstory, backstory is important, how else do you get to know your characters? BJ used prologues!

And I'll be the first to admit to using the prologue.  The concensus in the writing world seems to be if the information given in the prologue, the backstory, is that important, work it into the main story.  I'm thinking the idea is that a prologue tells the reader things, which seems to be the thing to avoid if you are seeking publication.

I like the prologue, such as BJ uses.  His didn't reveal much, but acted as an enticment to the upcoming adventure.

[Flandor]

I find your guidelines mostly the same as the ones I try to use in my writing, but I disagree with how absolute you worded them to be.  Never say never, y'know? Occasionally an adverb is just the right word, sometimes a tag other than said is appropriate, sometimes the weather can be an effective say of setting the tone (Poe, anyone?).  But those are generally good suggestions.  

I think the very best way to become better at writing is to analyze what makes good stories good and bad stories bad.  I do this often and take notes, and utilize the techniques I like best in my own stories.  For example, one of my favorite parts of Redwall was how Mr. Jacques structured his stories.  Switching between two intertwined plots alway kept my attention and kept the story from being dull and boring.  Thus, I use the same sort of structure in my current novel.  

I generally stay away from writing tip sites that try to set such absolute rules.  Most of my favorite stories break many of the so-called rules.  I think writing is such a fluid craft that there are a million ways to do it "correctly."  I look forward to reading your story though, it sounds like you're putting a lot of care into it.

[cairn destop]

I so agree with you.  Like anything else that is subjective, one must use moderation.  Somebody tells me neve, and I have to do.  But let me give you an example.  When I started writing, I used one adverb per 30 words.  That got me into trouble.  With some heavy edits, I changed it to one in about 500 words.  The purest still say way too many, I'm thinking reasonable.


As to "care" for my upcoming series, that is an understatement.  Would you believe ten years?  Lots of edits and there is still room for improvement.  I understand now why many authors never read their works once published.  You're always finding better wording.

[Flandor]

Moderation is my mantra Everything in moderation, in everything I do.

I agree that tips like this can be exceptionally helpful, however.  I own several books on creative writing and I've learned a lot from them.  You simply have to take the information provided to you and work it into your own writing without taking away from your own voice and style.

I find that people whole balk over the use of one adverb are the same who's writing is pretentious, boring, and "holier-than-thou." In the end, my favorite tales are the children's stories I read growing up, because they were about telling a wonderful story rather than impressing adults.  Roald Dahl, Brian Jacques, Kenneth Graham, Jack London, Daniel Defoe, Hayao Miyazaki (a filmmaker but with such wonderful stories in his movies), Richard Addams, Edgar Allan Poe, CS Lewis, Robert C. O'Brien, theirs were the stories that had me engrossed for my entire childhood.  I bet that they did not count adverbs and scorn people for writing for story rather than for "literature."  I ever aspire to do it what they did in terms of telling stories and bringing characters and settings to life.

Ten years? That is dedication now I definitely can't wait to read it and feel inspired to edit my work and post it here.

[cairn destop]

Story Synopsis:

The Vermin Badger series consist of five novels and two related stories.  Each story is independent.  You need not read one to understand the other.  Events and characters are reintroduced if it is necessary.  There is no definitive timeline to reading these.  

Links will be offered once the first installment is uploaded.  The first story goes up within the next few days.  Taking time doing the HTML coding.

In the order I intend releasing them on this site, they are:






1 ---- Tassel's Tribulations
This is a stream of consciousness styled story representing a day in the life of Badgermom Tassel.  As mentioned in the story's thread, it came about due to a contest on another site.  Approximate length is 10,500 words.  I'll be uploading this in one day, in three segments.  At 200 words a minute, this will take approximately one hour to read from start to end.  The first installment will be a background history that is for your amusement and has nothing to do with the story.  (I promise everything else will be under 3,500 words.)

2 ---- Price of Defeat
This is the first novel of the series.  The story has two primary adventures that will intermix.  Approximate length is 104,000 words, in 45 chapters.  (Due after Labor Day 2012)

3 ---- The Greatest Gift
This is a holiday story, inspired by a contest on another writing site.  I liked the concept so much that I used this holiday in a later story.  Since this is a winter holiday story, I'll release it on December 21, assuming the Mayan calendar is inaccurate.  This one-chapter story is 1,700 words in length.

4 ---- The New Arrivals
This story involves the rescue of a child and the arrival of two more.  The story originated from my participation in NaNoWriMo back in 2003.  This fifteen-chapter story is 34,000 words in length.  

5 ---- Youthful Disclosure
This story investigates the lives of the orphans living with Tassel.  Three of them embark on a quest and a fourth joins them.  The journey has its dangers, but success is the biggest one of all.  This seven-chapter story is 16,000 words in length.  

6 ---- Invaders of Redwall
A wise man once said that every story about life must end in death.  This story explores the death of the series main character.  Undergoing revisions, so if you have read this on another site, expect changes.  

7 ---- Tribunal of Redwall
Those who have read the previous stories might wonder how it all began.  In the tradition of J. R. R. Tolkein, I present the prologue to the series.  This book answers two questions that remained unanswered – how Tassel earned the title vermin, and how she became Redwall's Badgermom.  Undergoing revisions, so if you have read this on another site, expect changes.  


Deviation from Canon

One of the liberties of a fan fiction is tweaking the originator's rules.  I already discussed the primary one, grey characters.  Here are some of the others.

1 ---- I have eliminated accented speech.  Such things as moles, hares, and dibbuns, are difficult writing and a real pain reading.  I'll not inflict such things on my readers.

2 ---- My story has woodchucks.  Too many tell me no such creature existed in the Redwall universe.  The same is true of hamsters until Triss.  Consider this how I exercised my literary license.

3 ---- Character ages are in human terms.  I always found the aging process in the Redwall novels confusing.  Some characters went from nappies (diapers) to elder in the span of two seasons, or less.  To add to the confusion, some characters aged at a faster rate.  All of mine will age in years, not seasons.

4 ---- My stories are not obsessed with food.  You will find feasting and meals, but I'll not slow the adventure for an over-descriptive account of the food offered.  

[Myrkin]

This sounds interesting. I look forward to reading your stories.

[cairn destop]

I wanted to add the new link, but the computer refuses to allow edits if the item is larger than the message box.  Go figure.




1 ---- Tassel's Tribulations
This is a stream of consciousness styled story representing a day in the life of Badgermom Tassel.  As mentioned in the story's thread, it came about due to a contest on another site.  Approximate length is 10,500 words.  I'll be uploading this in one day, in three segments.  At 200 words a minute, this will take approximately one hour to read from start to end.  The first installment will be a background history that is for your amusement and has nothing to do with the story.  (I promise everything else will be under 3,500 words.)

2 ---- Price of Defeat
This is the first novel of the series.  The story has two primary adventures that will intermix.  Approximate length is 104,000 words, in 45 chapters.  (Due after Labor Day 2012)

3 ---- The Greatest Gift
This is a holiday story, inspired by a contest on another writing site.  I liked the concept so much that I used this holiday in a later story.  Since this is a winter holiday story, I'll release it on December 21, assuming the Mayan calendar is inaccurate.  This one-chapter story is 1,700 words in length.

4 ---- The New Arrivals
This story involves the rescue of a child and the arrival of two more.  The story originated from my participation in NaNoWriMo back in 2003.  This fifteen-chapter story is 34,000 words in length. 

5 ---- Youthful Disclosure
This story investigates the lives of the orphans living with Tassel.  Three of them embark on a quest and a fourth joins them.  The journey has its dangers, but success is the biggest one of all.  This seven-chapter story is 16,000 words in length. 

6 ---- Invaders of Redwall
A wise man once said that every story about life must end in death.  This story explores the death of the series main character.  Undergoing revisions, so if you have read this on another site, expect changes. 

7 ---- Tribunal of Redwall
Those who have read the previous stories might wonder how it all began.  In the tradition of J. R. R. Tolkein, I present the prologue to the series.  This book answers two questions that remained unanswered – how Tassel earned the title vermin, and how she became Redwall's Badgermom.  Undergoing revisions, so if you have read this on another site, expect changes. 

[cairn destop]

Nobody seems too interested in the technical points, so I'll bring up what I considered the biggest change from the earlier versions.

Bruno just popped onto the scene in the earlier versions.  Yes, he went to the witch, but nothing is said about why he visited the witch.  This version spent four chapters establishing his character and motivations.  I'm hoping it worked.

Let that be a lesson to all writers.  Give your characters a reason for doing what they do.  You just might be surprised by how they'll react to the situation if you give them the verbage to mature.