It Had to Happen Sooner or Later...

[earl colby pottinger]

The worse

One of my worst fears (well...kind of, more a behaviour reasoning than an actual keep-me-up-at-night fear) is ending up on TV Tropes' 'Did Not Do The Research' page. Names are just one thing of a character that need a lot of delving. I don't use Japanese much except for a couple who, well, are Japanese; I'm not keen on how it sounds and would rather pinch stuff off Basque culture instead

There is something worse: Getting into TV Tropes ( http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...cRecs/LoveHina ) and then finding that not only do they rate your fiction wrong (It is not a Keitaro/Naru fanfic) but also the review is forcing me to rewrite the story to make it better.

[earl colby pottinger]

You can say that again

Anybody who thinks a writer's characters aren't "real" doesn't know any writers. And probably hasn't read much, either.

The first time I started writing I knew what the characters were going to say, what events would happen and how it would end.

Then I started writing, the characters insisted to saying something different than what I planned, people went where they wanted and the story turned into something I never imagined in the first place.

Writers don't write stories. Stories enslave writers to turn themselves into reality.

[EricKei]

I AM EFFING TIRED OF THESE UNCREATIVE PEEPS NAMING THEIR CHARACTERS "KITSUNE".

It could be worse...They could be using unintentionally misspelled Japanese words as names >_> I've seen a few Kittzunay's and Akeera's and the like floating around (Been a fan of animated works for a loooooong time, back in the "fansub or nothing" era; I've done script editing work for a few fan-translated games, and the guys doing the translating share some of the more egregious things they've seen with me; that, and there are times when you need to come to a consensus about exactly *how* to Romanize a name).

Then again, I'm not sure I can talk -- my handle is <first name> plus <Japanese name that is a homynym for my last initial>, and the latter is pun fodder ---- in my defense, I started using long before I ever took any Japanese classes (or heard of the Chinese soccer player for whom that really IS his name -- he was still in Uni at the time)

[Kisa]

The first time I started writing I knew what the characters were going to say, what events would happen and how it would end.

Then I started writing, the characters insisted to saying something different than what I planned, people went where they wanted and the story turned into something I never imagined in the first place.

Writers don't write stories. Stories enslave writers to turn themselves into reality.

Good god! Someone who underrstands! I recently tried plopping Delilah into a country-style romance novel but I didn't make it past chapter 2 because, well, she didn't want to be there. Kisa is unwritable. She creates scenarios for herself in my mind, but never stays there long enough to create a novel. Rune was born mere months ago when I decided to make a character 99% me. I've written 10 or so books and the characters control it all. They decide what to say, what to do, they evolve on their own, constantly learning and changing to become a stronger and better being. I just get to watch

I'll try to get pictures of all 3 characters but it will take awhile. I haven't drawn Kisa in a few years so she needs to be updated (new haircut and all). Delilah and Rune haven't been around long enough to inspire art, Rune even mor so.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I promise if I ever learn to draw and create a character I won't name it Godzilla (or, more properly, Gojira...)

[Ironclad Alibi]

Writers don't write stories. Stories enslave writers to turn themselves into reality.

Being asked "Why do you write what you write?" Shephen King responded, "What makes you think I have any choice?"

[firecat88]

His answer? "Whoever is sexiest. My computer is busted so I need some material to use."

She basically said I was being stupid and that she isn't real so what does it matter if the part doesn't suit her.

To the first guy- First of all...eww. Also, I'ma take a wild guess and say that 'sitting pretty' meant 'legs spread, going commando, with cleavage if possible'

To the girl who pulled the "she isn't real" crap- These types of people piss me right the frack off. When I create characters, I usually spend anywhere from a week to two weeks plotting and designing them down to the last, weirdest detail like favorite food, color, and flower. So, yes, to me they are very real.

And, yes, I fully agree with y'all that my stories are entirely directed by the characters. I'm just there to jot down what they tell me to.

[morgana]

Writers don't write stories. Stories enslave writers to turn themselves into reality.

Earl, would you possibly allow me to turn this into a tee shirt?

[fireheart]

1. If friend's friend needs to make a deposit to the First National Bank of Spank, he can buy a Playboy or a Maxim like everybody else.

Or walk to the local sex shop, buy a few porn DVDs and keep them on hand for situations like these. (One of my boyfriend's Viking re-enactment folks actually has a whole top shelf just FULL of porn DVDs...and some of them have fetishes...for the record, the top shelf is way way way out of kid viewing height.)

[TheTigress]

Wow, so he was essentially wanting to use your art as fap fodder. That would be extremely insulting to me as well. Reminds me of a very strange commission I was asked to do many years ago. This was before I had a job and I needed some money so I just did it without asking questions. I think the person had a foot tickle fetish because they (don't know the gender of person) wanted a few characters tied up having their feet tickled. The person even emphasized how the feet needed to really be in view. Creepy.......

It's amazing how some non artists think you can make anything on the planet just because you are good at some things. My step mom is on this kick right now where she wants a commission from me that is the complete opposite of what I do. She wants a cityscape when I can't really draw that kind of stuff well. I could technically but it's like trying to pull a semi truck with a rope strapped around my waist. I'm more of an organic artist. (living things, natural environments) I tried explaining to her that just because I'm good at one thing does not mean I'm good at another. She doesn't really get it.

[firecat88]

I tried explaining to her that just because I'm good at one thing does not mean I'm good at another. She doesn't really get it.

I get this all the time. Not for art related things because I can't draw worth a crap, but for computer related stuff. Apparently, knowing how to make websites and how to slowly plug my way through SQL means I know how to operate an iPod, fix the printer when it's being dumb, set the time on the clock in my mom's car without looking at the manual, and all kindsa stuff.

[Kogarashi]

Then again, I'm not sure I can talk -- my handle is <first name> plus <Japanese name that is a homynym for my last initial>, and the latter is pun fodder ---- in my defense, I started using long before I ever took any Japanese classes (or heard of the Chinese soccer player for whom that really IS his name -- he was still in Uni at the time)

Kind of the same here. Though in my own defense, I picked this online handle (as a name for one of my represents-me characters) after I started Japanese classes, and I made sure to actually go through the trouble of looking through dictionaries to find a word that actually fit. I need to figure out where my kanji guide went, though, to see if I'm using the appropriate kanji for it.

Wow, so he was essentially wanting to use your art as fap fodder. That would be extremely insulting to me as well. Reminds me of a very strange commission I was asked to do many years ago. This was before I had a job and I needed some money so I just did it without asking questions. I think the person had a foot tickle fetish because they (don't know the gender of person) wanted a few characters tied up having their feet tickled. The person even emphasized how the feet needed to really be in view. Creepy.......

Count me among those artists who'd also be insulted by the first guy. Ew.

And I had a foot-based commission once, too. I think the guy who paid me also had something of a foot fetish, but he seemed much more tame about it. The commission in question was just two characters from a manga series, one tickling the other's feet, and I only deduced the foot fetish when I saw the guy's other purchases on eBay at the time (a bunch of foot-related things, but all of them fairly innocent).

[Kisa]

Oh jeez I HATE drawing feet! I typically stick socks or shoes on them or use a pose that hides them when I do full-body sketches.

I'm an organic artist as well because I'm a freehand artist. In nature, there is no such thing as a straight line. Man-made items are all about perfection. Perferctly straight lines, perfectly round circles, perfectly symmetrical arcs: all shapes and lines that require a protractor and a ruler to draw right. The only time I use a ruler is when I draw base lines for text (or on the rare occasion when I attempt to draw a wall or a building or the like).

[Bloodsoul]

This thread reminds that I really need to get back into writing and drawing. I started a short story a few months ago that's only four pages in or so, some artwork months (if not years) ago that remains unfinished, and I still haven't polished the series bible for a comic book I want to do. Not to mention the fact that my website is long overdue for an overhaul (I'm getting more and more comfortable with coding PHP, but I'm terrible when it comes to layout).

The SoulCalibur/Pathfinder version of one of my characters sounds a lot like Kisa, now that I think about it. I've been wanting to draw a picture of her sitting on a log in the woods cooking up some stew. Speaking of which, I need to draw more guys. Seriously.

Recently, I was asked by a friend of a friend if I could draw a colored image of my character "sitting pretty" whatever that means.

You ever watch the film adaption of The Lord of the Rings? Gimli claimed he was "sitting pretty" while sitting on an orc with an axe embedded in its central nervous system? Would that work?

I AM EFFING TIRED OF THESE UNCREATIVE PEEPS NAMING THEIR CHARACTERS "KITSUNE".

My Dream World Vulpix in Pokémon Black is named "Mitsune;" how's that? *runs* I honestly can't remember if I grabbed that from Love Hina or Fruits Basket, though, since I know little about both.

[earl colby pottinger]

Yes

Earl, would you possibly allow me to turn this into a tee shirt?

Go for it.