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Post by gluey on Mar 22, 2009 22:28:11 GMT -5
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Post by Rowenna on Mar 23, 2009 0:42:15 GMT -5
You know, I feel you're very cruel to me sometimes.
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Post by gluey on Mar 23, 2009 5:57:39 GMT -5
I know.
It's not that I don't like to read your stuff!
I do!
There is just so much of it....
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Post by Rowenna on May 27, 2009 23:44:48 GMT -5
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Post by gluey on Jul 10, 2009 12:41:29 GMT -5
Interesting message. It brings to mind one of the rhetorical questions I posed in "Fade to Black": "For who are we to know all?" Knowledge is not, perhaps, absolute, and this must disrupt the comfort of mankind. Distortion of faith into knowing - they KNOW the River God exists, there is no aspect of faith or believing about it.
Let me know if I'm wrong. Hahaha
I like it.
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 13, 2009 0:46:23 GMT -5
Thanks, Glue--and, no, you're not wrong. I was playing with a few concepts here. One was the concept of secureness--society can only function if we have a foundation. We accept day-to-day that the sun must rise, that time is linear, and such and such, but when we realize that all of that may not be the case, it's intimidating. You picked up on the concept of reality verses belief--it's the change of reality that can break a person. God plays into it--for some people, myself included, the realization that God may not exist removes a huge security blanket. In that way, people need some kind of foundation with which to function. Even realizing that there is no such thing as a fact, at most instances, we have to ignore it to live our lives. One idea represented in the story is the concept of multiple realities. It's not belief--it's their reality that the River God exists. It's other people's reality that spirits roam on the planet. I wouldn't say that it's a distortion so much as a way of viewing the world, but you still picked up on the concept.
My primary goal was to describe a society that collapsed because they thought they knew everything. I designed it specifically so that what they believed would be their undoing--the River God must have sacrifices. These sacrifices create a sanitation problem in Omnilocia (Latin="all places"). Pesticides must work--they use them in spite of obvious evidence the vermin have adapted and all the crops are destroyed. So on, and so on.
It is speculated that all great empires collapse because they reach a point they are no longer innovative in thought; some say the same thing is happening in the States. We find an awful lot of things ridiculous without taking the time to examine it. Our scientists are essentially not allowed to test anything unless they know, or have a pretty good idea, of what the result will be.
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Post by gluey on Jul 13, 2009 11:31:41 GMT -5
Hurray!
Good stuff. Clever indeed.
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 13, 2009 14:36:03 GMT -5
Thanks. I was also going for a black humor approach, so hopefully that came across.
Anyway, did you see my suggestion (on one of these threads, somewhere) on making the Rohirrim American-Indian inspired? Seemed like a thought to further break off from Middle Earth. Let me know what you think.
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Post by gluey on Jul 14, 2009 1:25:20 GMT -5
I'm not sure if I saw it, but then again, the College Board says I am only "qualified" when it comes to interpreting English Literature.
Ehh...I somewhat see the nature of which you are basing that from but I still think we ought to change more of the basic essentials of this "world" we're creating. Like, I dunno how but if we just change names and places everyone who reads our stuff and has a knowledge of Tolkien will see right through it.
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 14, 2009 20:43:00 GMT -5
On my story, it's really my failure or success if the black comedy part came through or not--ei, whether or not it came across as funny. It takes a particular kind of humor, though.
Anyway, honestly, I think we've made a great start on removing LotR from the story. In a lot of ways, we bypassed a lot from the start. The elves are completely different (long-lived, but just as human in many ways), there are no hobbits, no wizards, a scanty amount of magic, and the central focus of the story is people, not wars. My focus right now is changing certain pivotal parts of the story we have--Kyle and I have already talked about completely forgetting about the elves leaving on a boat, and then to make the human territories distinct. You're right that people will probably notice, but in the end, most scifi fantasy authors are accused of ripping off LotR. It's unavoidable. What you come to realize, as an author, is that everything is a rip-off of a rip-off of a rip-off, but if the suit won't stand trial, I call it a good day.
Anyway. That was a big ramble. That's my view, but we still need to move to change things. We have a thread for ideas on making the world unique (and I am utterly open to suggestions ;D) . I will be rewriting THotW (COUGHsomedayCOUGH), and I was going to try to include a demonic element (with a physical wolf following Rowen, I never revealing if she's crazy or there's a wolf), and I was also thinking of infesting the ocean with some kind of presence to help explain how someone could survive being cast overboard when they are wounded.
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Post by gluey on Jul 15, 2009 11:37:23 GMT -5
...are you still taking stabs at me?
Besides the fundamental rule of roleplay is that you can't kill others' characters off!
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 16, 2009 9:12:20 GMT -5
Taking stabs, my dear gluey?
No, no... just trying to atone for interesting times. Interesting, interesting times.
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Post by gluey on Jul 17, 2009 0:39:46 GMT -5
YOU KNOW, I FEEL YOU'RE VERY CRUEL TO ME SOMETIMES.
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 17, 2009 22:48:07 GMT -5
Karma's a b*tch ;D
Thank you, Gluey. It's great when I can sit back and realize I don't even have to try anymore. It was the best birthday present you could have ever given me.
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Post by gluey on Jul 18, 2009 0:37:22 GMT -5
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