Imagine if I'd sold more of the approved sorts of stories as a desperate 20-something. I could've ended up stuck writing stories I didn't believe in, unhappy, twisted endings that crushed readers' hopes at the resolution, or hollow, unnatural characters with pathological streaks.
-
Show this thread
-
There's so much to unlearn. So I was happy to find these reviews that clarify what I hadn't been able to pinpoint before in certain story tropes. I do want to write excellent female characters to lead in my stories, but not at the expense of the male characters.
1 reply 0 retweets 3 likesShow this thread -
In one of my stories, I do touch on supplanting a male leader with a female one, but she doesn't get there by being a better man than a man can be, and ultimately she isn't happy there. It's stressful and lonely, and there's no end of people with unreasonable demands.
1 reply 0 retweets 3 likesShow this thread -
It isn't that she's incapable of making tough decisions, but she'd prefer a smaller focus for her loyalty. Her major strengths don't serve this role, so she's stifled & lacks support. When the original leader is healed, she gladly returns his power & gets on with her own goals.
1 reply 0 retweets 3 likesShow this thread -
In other stories, I feature both a male lead and a female lead, who work together to restore each other to their potential. This is a satisfying sort of story for me. I don't see it often in contemporary stories. Going solo against all odds is sometimes noble, but also sad.
1 reply 1 retweet 4 likesShow this thread -
The expectation that the only way to do things is completely alone is downright depressing. But the popular culture drives us increasingly apart from extended family & permanent relationships. We *can* survive alone - it's just not optimal & we should stop pretending it is.
1 reply 0 retweets 5 likesShow this thread -
I think the near-mandatory tropes of dysfunctional families and unhappy relationships are hurting young readers' perception of the world, so I try to look elsewhere for conflicts to drive my stories. So far, I think I'm doing well.
0 replies 1 retweet 7 likesShow this thread -
This Tweet is unavailable.
-
Replying to @gailfinke @TheBrometheus
I've been following him awhile so I probably have
though periodically I go back and refresh my memory with the good posts so I can finish breaking out of Writing Major brainwashing
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes -
I *really* hope he reads my novel when it comes out. I had some tricky stuff in there dealing with an oppressive alien culture that used a caste system & conditioning to warp masculinity to serve certain ends, and now I have a character to rehabilitate from that in the sequel
1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

