Poll!

[ladylight]

Eureka! I have it! In the interests of self-betterment and advancement, cleverly disguised beneath a veneer of apparent procrastination, I'd like you lot to set me a fearsome challenge (because let's be honest, I'm getting damn lazy with what I turn out lately XD) ...

Poll Faster, Higher, Spammier

I make no promises for a readable outcome, but I shall do my best! Faito!!

Comments

[nihiriki]

Oh, oh! A poll! A poll! (And don't you mean 'procrastination disguised beneath a veneer of apparent interest in self-betterment, etc, etc?' ;D)

*is wavering between blank verse poem and fully self-contained short* Are you talking about a fantasy short here? Because that would be terribly difficult! Especially if new settings are involved. Hm...must ponder some more...

[ladylight]

No, I mean that even though this looks like sheer procrastination, it is in fact a highly pertinent and valuable exercise. *solemn nod* Really. Promise.

Hmm, I didn't even consider an alternative to fantasy. By all means make it sci-fi or something, because I suck at that, too. XD Ponder away!

[nihiriki]

Actually, I wasn’t really considering an alternative to fantasy. I was just thinking that writing contained fantasy shorts and still slipping in a new (and alien) setting is so hard! They always (even when the plots are self-contained) read like vignettes. Something about not knowing the world and then suddenly getting a taste of it, I guess, but people rarely seem to have the same problems writing a non-fantasy/sci-fi self-contained short. Even if you forbid yourself from fleshing out the setting and asking yourself ‘what if?’ afterwards, you still get this story that feels incomplete.

...Geez. No wonder fantasy books always end up multiplying into ten-book series 6_9

I'm still tempted to pick blank verse, though ;)

[ladylight]

That's a good point, actually. I guess with real-world shorts, people already know the real world, so they don't need a lot of deeper explaining XD

*hollow laugh* Go ahead and choose whichever of those options you like - they're all going to give me an equally massive headache ... (mm, yeah ... why did I ask for this poll again?)

[tasllyn]

I went for the self-contained short mostly because I haven't had a chance to actually sit and READ any of your work yet, and I want to, and I think a self-contained short without my worrying about needing (or wanting) to read something else related to it etc. etc. would be a good place for me to start. Forgive the lack of punctuation. We celebrated my mom's birthday today, and I ended up being expected to finish my mother's wine as well as my own. Alcohol makes me do funny things and wine gets me there faster than most other alcohol.

Anyway, on nihiriki's point, I think it is harder to do a fantasy short than with other genres, but it is possible. I took a Creating Short Stories class (which I soon dropped out of due to a personality conflict between me and my teacher. He was not very open to fantasy stories. We had an argument about whether faery was a proper, accepting spelling for the word fairy until I pulled out a book I brought with me just for that purpose to show him), where I was supposed to write a short story within 3 pages (also

[ladylight]

*snerk* Ah, familial duty.

I hated every (supposedly) Creative Writing class I ever took. Since when was there a rule in writing that you couldn't write about what wasn't real? :P (And my own teachers' grammar/spelling was rubbish. Absolutely appalling. It still makes me angry for all the kids who take that subject and expect to LEARN something.)

Thanks for the vote, hon ... let's see how I go ... ;D

[shanra]

*points at the poll and gasps*

Yes! I did! Seriously! The world is ending!

I want to see a Lyssa monologue. (;p)

Our main contestants today are Cochalyon, Arathalian and Schiri, for the curious, but no need to involve any or all of them is required. ;p

[ladylight]

*cackles* You did what? Voted? XD

It's pretty close at the moment ... you may see it yet ...

[shanra]

Nuu... I voted for the monologue. Despite my inherent dislike for them.

I don't know what I want to see anymore. Thaliany's parents would be lovely to see. *beams*

Vonre: Shall I just gag her?

[ladylight]

You must be exhausted, man. *shakes head*

[ladylight]

At least it wasn't a scary answer ;D

[saltnester]

...although I nearly checked "romance", out of sheer curiosity to see if any of your charaters would react better than Schiri at the prospect of a mate, but that's so hard that I'd cop out by writing the meeting of an established couple like someone's parents, so.

Short stories can be fun. You could always opt for modern fantasy.

[ladylight]

I think that's the hardest option there, actually. For me, anyway. History teaches us that Lissy is a shocking writer of romance (fish, bicycles, etc.). *nervous sidesteps*

I like the occasional short story, and modern fantasy's all right, though it's easier for residents of the UK who have a few preexisting mythological traditions to pick from and a few zillion believable locations. *pictures a dragon in Hobart, Tasmania*

... yeah. No.

[saltnester]

Even a very very small dragon? A baby taniwha carried off-course by icecap-melt-changed currents?

...and may I draw Mogant? [big kitten eyes]

[ladylight]

There's something about Australia as a fantasy setting which usually even makes Australians wince. I don't know if it's cultural cringe or whatever, but it's like that stuff just doesn't belong here. That's why Australians come up with Australia-like settings more often than not, but rarely spend time in Sydney ... ;D