Subject: On the Art of Creating Original Characters in Fanfic + 20 (blacklist 8 (needles) inside)
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Posted on: 2022-08-27 12:47:16 UTC

I'm going a bit out of order due to time constraints!

Architeuthis makes a lot of interesting observations, and I have a feeling we have fairly similar writing styles: heavily focused on setting the scene before we commit to letting anyone talk to each other. But it's also a very . . . chore-ish, I guess? way of writing, and while it's what works for me, I think that outlook definitely overlooks the fun of just doing some casual writing for experimentation's sake. The whole point of fanfic is to tell a new story, and while I can see the logic behind Archie's argument that Tenth Walkers fail because they're rehashing the Fellowship's story, there are still plenty of spaces in Middle-earth for unfamiliar faces to do something interesting!

Oh yeah, unfamiliar foods . . . that's one of the sticking points for transdimensional fantasies, for me. I actually don't really enjoy eating; I would rather not do it at all, but unfortunately, it is one of the drawbacks of being an organism that I must continue supplying my cells with nutrients! But one side effect of not enjoying food is that there are very few foods I actually find appetizing/worth tasting, so the thought of getting trapped in a society that doesn't put its food in nice, safe plastic is . . . I might literally starve myself just to avoid it!

The immune system question is one I think about a lot. The topic tends to get avoided, even in the PPC. I figure new recruits must get one absolute monster of a booster shot . . . but then, it feels mean to put kids through that, and they certainly get exposed to an array in the Nursery . . . maybe the Law of Narrative Comedy is the real safeguard there? It certainly wouldn't be very funny for most of HQ to get wiped out because a new recruit from an unnamed continent on the far side from Narnia brought some waterfowl virus in. Archie also didn't cover the reverse problem, of a Tenth Walker exposing Hobbits to the common cold, in a world where that cold isn't common at all . . .

Hm. I might have said something about romance not always coming down to shared interests, and sometimes being about plain chemistry . . . but I'm not qualified to talk about romance.

—doctorlit has a box of copies of Iximaz's book behind him!

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