Somebody 'round here recently posted about a highly-recommended book they'd read and really liked, until they got to the end and realized the author had killed all the queers, and I can't find the post again and wish I could, because I'm wondering if they read the book I just read...

It did get me thinking, though, about Kill Your Queers as a story formula, and why I was so surprised when this book did it, even though this book basically telegraphed from beginning to end that a certain character was going to be toast. And I realized that the first time I ever encountered that as any kind of a story element (really, the first time I ever encountered explicitly non-het canon characters) was in Diane Duane's Tale of the Five, where the founding myth of the culture is the story of Lion and Eagle, a pair of male lovers who take up divine power to defeat the Shadow, even though they know they will die of it, and they do. ( Major ending spoilers for Door into Sunset under cut )

...So anyway. Other than reading the novels you all recommended I have still been trying to figure out how to write original stuff, and as part of that I'm reading a how-to-write book, which I picked up solely because it was the only one available at my library that was supposed to be focused on revision, since when I asked y'all for 'how to revision' recs I got no bites. :P

Anyway, spoilers: 3/4 of the book is just a retread of dude's previous 'how to write a saleable novel' book, and only the very end is about revision. But! Tying back into the bit above about killing your characters! I got to the chapter on characters, and the section where he was pushing very hard on how you have to make sure your reader is invested in your characters, all your characters, make them care! make them care a lot! Even if it's just a minor walk-on who will be killed two chapters later!

And I legit recoiled, and it took me a bit to figure out why, but, okay: ( Read more... )

..and speaking of two-and-a-half novelettes, which is really one novelette, 60% of a novelette, and 90% of a novelette, let's talk about endings.

The orig story I'm currently trying to finish is nearly finished, and has been stuck at nearly finished for a very, very long time. I just keep writing stuff and hoping the ending will come and it doesn't. I know where the plot finishes - the POV character comes to a decision, or rather decides not to decide - but I don't know how to make that an ending that'll actually make the story feel finished.

With fanfic - as you have probably noticed if you've been reading me for awhile - I usually just go 'eh, I'm tired of messing with this, so I will tack on a final reaction shot, call that a denoument, and post it' but I am well aware that is lazy as anything and, judging by the comments I get assuming there will be more, really unsatisfying.

( Endings: even this post will have to have one sooner or later )

...so I don't know if that actually solved my 'how do endings' problems but at least it helped me figure out what I like in an ending. (which basically comes down to 'do what Ann Leckie and/or Diane Duane did', which probably shouldn't be a shock...)

In conclusion, writing is hard. Revising is hard. Reading is fun but makes me think too much. The end.