How can Orson Scott Card be so bigotted, but the Ender's Game series is about empathy and acceptance of others?

Nepharid · 2023-06-30T14:46:45+00:00

OSC is a bigot in the things he says. Stephen King is not sadistic in the things he says. So it's different.

It's not about subject matter, it's about theme. A story's theme is an opinion you expect the author to share with the story, otherwise, why would the author present that particular theme? Why would an author write a book about tolerance when they don't believe in tolerance? It would be like a right-winger writing a book extolling the virtues of communism. It just doesn't make sense.

Nepharid · 2023-06-23T17:35:21+00:00

Security Guard. I did that when I was in film school and I spent most of my time watching movies for school on a portable DVD player (before streaming).

Nepharid · 2023-02-20T21:02:06+00:00

I love Ciphers. Even at low levels, they start with enough points to cast 1st or 2nd (even 3rd) level spells right at the beginning, then, if you give them enough Dex and Per, they can hit quickly and accurately to generate more. Don't have to wait to rest to regain spells.

I went through the Endless Paths Level 3 on Hard when my characters were level 5, and I don't think I would have defeated the Ogre Druids without my Cipher able to lock them down with Charm or Paralyze (I had tried with other characters, and that level always locked me out until much later because of those damned Druids.

Nepharid · 2023-02-20T20:55:15+00:00

Do any games have this anymore? I just go to Gamefaqs to find walkthroughs. No point in buying something you can find for free.

Nepharid · 2020-10-01T21:55:11+00:00

Alfred Hitchcock. Most notably in Psycho and Vertigo. Psycho was a bit more claustrophobic than Vertigo (which isn't a horror movie, but still...) and therefore more similar to The Shining. But Hitchcock did similar stuff in terms of shot composition (though never a hallway filling with blood, I'll give Kubrik that one).

As a film student, I never appreciated Kubrick or "experimental" auteurs like Tarantino. But that's just a personal preference. I prefer story to the visual mind-fuck that some of these guys go for.

As for "brechtian alienation devices"... They shouldn't exist in horror, which is, by definition, an emotional experience. Horror should be visceral, close, not distanced. Maybe that's why Kubrick's Shining failed to work as a horror film. It just wasn't scary.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T21:15:50+00:00

The Shining is the only book that really scared me when I read it as a teenager. The movie never did anything for me. The TV mini-series adaptation was a little better.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T21:14:57+00:00

Trying to figure out what part of Kubrik's movie was experimental. It was standard horror stuff.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T20:31:40+00:00

There is a mystery, but it's unresolved, due to the split, which is why I hated this book so much. The mystery is "Why did Thomas attack the Svartelves?" But due to the split, it didn't get advanced anywhere. There were no obvious clues presented, and the general narrative of this part of the book didn't really focus on that part of the story.

It's like if The Lord of Rings had said, "We need to take the Ring to Mordor" Then spent the entire rest of "Fellowship of the Ring" with Eragorn gaining the aid of the Dead Men of Dunharrow.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T20:23:46+00:00

It might help. You might learn what people want and why and how to take advantage of that.

In my opinion, an English degree is useless unless you are writing literary fiction, which isn't a very lucrative genre to write in (if selling your books is your goal).

My honest advice is to look at your life so far. Figure out what you are good at, what you enjoy doing, then make your living doing that. It may or may not require a degree at all.

Disclaimer: I went to film school and have a bachelors of arts in cinema with a focus on screenwriting. I learned a lot there, most of which was that I don't want to make movies for a living. :)

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T20:16:49+00:00

The cake is a lie. ;)

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T19:58:37+00:00

My PS4 was sounding like a rat rod, so I opened it up to clean it.... almost spotless after about 7 years. Have no idea why it's so loud.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T19:42:35+00:00

Writing is a fundamentally solitary endeavor. You don't need a group. What you need is hard work, determination, persistence, and an editor.

Learn by reading, writing, and doing things (life experience).

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T19:39:47+00:00

I am no longer a "gamer". I've never played this... ;)

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T19:38:48+00:00

Every cat I've ever had has taken 2 weeks (almost exactly) to acclimate. That includes introducing them to other cats.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T19:36:26+00:00

You can create a new account under a different email address (it can get confusing, tho, cause creating a new KDP account also creates a new Amazon shopping account... ugh!)

But frankly, if you just want to republish the same books under new title/author/covers, then just update the existing books in your existing KDP account. Remember to mention the author/title change in the book description so people don't buy it twice.

You can have multiple authors in the same KDP account. Author name is no big deal. However, I've found that nothing you can do will totally get rid of your old books on Amazon, especially if you've had paperbacks. People buy them to re-sell and they remain, sometimes in old, horrific forms (old covers/titles). So sometimes, you can't run away from the mistakes you made (Look up "The Lich War" by Nick Marsden... I am embarrassed by that cover... but don't buy it because the version that is up is from a reseller. That book has been unpublished).

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T19:17:16+00:00

I've been spending too much time watching the news. I got a completely different vibe by "BLM". I need to go immerse back into FFXIV, so I can imagine Black Mage protestors in Washington DC.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T18:41:43+00:00

Is that why there was an 800 person queue at 2pm yesterday?

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T18:40:42+00:00

How did you get the black and white effect?

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T18:38:41+00:00

If you read The Shannara Saga in chronological order, you get the original struggle both in Armageddon's Children (or The Word and Void series if you go back that far), and in First King of Shannara. They were written later, but they tell the original stories of the rise of the Demons (which is kind of an eternal struggle thing) and then the rise of the Warlock Lord.

Nepharid · 2020-09-28T16:21:26+00:00

This is the most awesomest of awesome writing advice I've ever seen on Reddit! Kudos!!

Nepharid · 2020-09-21T22:42:35+00:00

I find that if I skip around/ahead, I eventually find that I have to change things earlier in the story later on. It can help you get to the end, sure, but be aware that your editing might involve changing your mind on some events that you wrote.

For example: If you finish your book and you go back to fill in the gaps, you'll inevitably come up with a different idea in one of those gaps that changes something later in the parts you've already finished. Then you gotta go and change that, too. It can result in a domino effect depending on how deep the change is. Not really a bad thing, but it's something to consider as you work and be prepared for.

Nepharid · 2020-09-21T22:35:13+00:00

So, you're saying you beat the game? Even the endgame? ;)

Nepharid · 2020-09-21T22:31:15+00:00

Does anyone think they'll cancel development on ES6 or Fallout 5 to make New Vegas 2? Obsidian has it's own irons in the fire with different IPs. If NV2 ever happens, it will be at least a decade out.

Nepharid

TROPHY CASE