The Overlook Hotel - 2016-03-15

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7:47 AM

0

Q: Would a government care if my novel mentioned their controversial / questionable practices?

I am writing a story about fictional events in several nations all over the world. Much of the plot is influenced by ongoing practices of many nations. (e.g. - torture, extra-judicial killings, big nations bullying smaller ones into economically lopsided treaties, destruction of natural resources...

7 hours later…

2:42 PM

Chat day!

Matt E. Эллен

Hi!

hugs @Matt

Matt E. Эллен

hugs you back

how are you coping under the deluge of primaries propaganda?

I'm trying not to look.

Matt E. Эллен

from outside, it's hard to look away

if only politicians could please all the people all the time

2 hours later…

4:35 PM

why is no one writing?

it's because you all hate me, isn't it.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Ohai

hai

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I forgot it was chat day

I guess arrowfar deleted his account, eh? his writing exercise is now attributed to user116848

Yes, he requested account deletion.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah but I thought he was waffling

4:39 PM

He felt like he needed to get away for a while and maybe come back fresh.

He decided he couldn't keep a cool head.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Taking a break is one thing. Erasing your identity... I have a hard time with that.

But, hey, whatever works.

He explained the situation to me, and I understand why he made that choice.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Are we writing today?

Matt E. Эллен

"today"

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitZ.Fox I'm sure he had his reasons.

4:40 PM

Yes, but I need to take some benadryl first.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattE.Эллен @MattE.Эллен I was just about to ping you.

oh, allergies?

today tomorrow yesterday hello doctor

I don't remember the words from the startup sequence.

Matt E. Эллен

hellooooooooooo nurse!

haha brb

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattE.Эллен once again, you beat me to it.

Matt E. Эллен

4:41 PM

:D

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

what's next, you'll post the link to my writing exercise before I do?

Matt E. Эллен

If I can, I will

much like my view on creating AI

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Much like my view on eating cinnamon rolls

Matt E. Эллен

:D

glazed donuts. shakes fist @Mr.Shiny

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:45 PM

I miss those donuts.

I haven't had one in a while.

pumpkin-spice donuts.

sighs

My ex-gf had her baby finally.

Speaking of donuts.

Matt E. Эллен

unlike a doughnut, you shouldn't pumkin spice babies

So. Writing. Are we or aren't we?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I'm ready.

I've got 4 minutes of tingles left.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:52 PM

I'd like to eat first, then come back later, but I worry we won't all be back at the same time.

Want to go ahead without me?

We can do it asynch too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

can we meet up again in 15-20 minutes...?

ok by me

Matt E. Эллен

that sounds good, I'm just involved in a conversation in the solid world

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

okay. see you then.

Matt E. Эллен

5:08 PM

I'm ready when you guys are

OK. I'm ready.

Matt E. Эллен

5:22 PM

shall we decide on a topic?

0

Q: What to avoid when writing a romantic subplot?

So let's say the story is about a ''anti-hero'' who uses harsh methods to kill/expose corrupt politicians and banksters. Now let's say that I'd want to write a romantic subplot happening between him and another person. What should I avoid, when writing such a subplot in a story that doesn't revol...

That's a strange writing subject, what not to write about.

Matt E. Эллен

today's topic: are you a romantic sub plot?

OK. 10 minutes. Go. Write.

5:40 PM

Are you a romantic sub plot?

Matt E. Эллен

Are you a romantic sub-plot?

@MattE.Эллен hahaha, I like it.

Matt E. Эллен

@KitZ.Fox Nice :D Is it based on a named character, or one you made up?

Ginny.

But I'm not sure I remember the plot.

It's been years since I read the books.

Matt E. Эллен

oh!

5:45 PM

New one this summer though supposedly.

Matt E. Эллен

apparently

That's a loooooong 20 minutes @Mr.ShinyandNew安宇

Maybe he fell asleep.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

hey, I'm back...

I'll write now

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:00 PM

Are you a romantic sub-plot

Matt E. Эллен

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 lol fan-service :D

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Funny that Kit also used HP.

Though Ginny Weasley WAS the romantic sub-plot of book 6, no ands ifs or buts.

Matt E. Эллен

Writing Exercise 2016-03-15: 10 minute flash fiction, topic: "Are you a romantic sub-plot?"

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I thought it was pretty much telegraphed from the beginning though.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 haha

I feel like I missed all of it, except for the Darren reference.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:05 PM

Darren?

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Was there a subplot? I don't remember there being one. I don't think "for a brief second he thought about Ginny" counts.

Matt E. Эллен

I don't think the films make much of deal about it. it is clearer in the books

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 #4 isn't about Darren?

Bewitched?

The Ron-Hermione match up makes me think of me and the nice ex. rolls eyes

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitZ.Fox no, he spends the first half of the book moping that she's dating someone else, then accidentally causes them to break up, then ends up with her, agonizes over whether it's appropriate to kiss Ron's sister, then does so anyway, then breaks up with her to go on his quest.

No way they would have stayed together.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:07 PM

@KitZ.Fox oh, haha, not specifically, but yes. that sort of thing.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Oh. Huh. I guess I forgot.

I liked the part where Ron was fantasizing about Harry and Hermione getting it on. I could have watched more of that.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It wasn't meant to be a list of specific movies or tv shows, just tropes. Except the last one.

It was funny. I liked it. Especially the clickbait title.

Matt E. Эллен

time to go! CU L8R

bai!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:08 PM

After I posted it I realized I should have added some "You might also like" links to the bottom.

oh, and annoying ads between each successive list item.

Placed in such a way that you're not sure where to click to avoid them.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah

sighs frickin' clickbait

There ought to be a law.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

also it was originally titled "13 signs..." but I ran out of steam.

Actually, I think there is a proposed something or other.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:10 PM

There should just be a thing in facebook where it slaps you if you click on crap like that.

Or maybe just a thing you click to hide it forever.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Anyway your short about ginny is actually what I expect a magic high-school would actually be like. black-market polyjuice potion and memory spells.

yeah, I was thinking about that.

even not polyjuice or whatever. make my friend look like Hugh Jackman. Yes, please. Just for five minutes.

Or other kinds of goofing off. The consequences are less serious.

But parents could be more invasive. Literally stealing your thoughts.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah, for goofing off, simpler stuff would work. But imagine a party of drunk teenagers playing spin the love-potion-bottle. Consensual? maybe. mischief? potential for problems? oh yeah.

yep.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:14 PM

@KitZ.Fox Supposedly that's pretty hard. But it's hard to say because lots of spells are said to be hard but then they are pretty common.

potion drinking games.

man, the hijinks.

Still though. memory spells.... so frightening.

You'd think that they'd spend more time developing countermeasures

Also, there's the huge problem of muggles, who are perfect victims.

It'd be so easy to assault them and then either make them disappear or obliviate them.

Or just mess them up for kicks. Make hair grow out of their ears.

Just because it is funny.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Yeah. Curse their appliances so their coffee is always cold and their milk is always hot.

The crap you could do to someone to bully them. The possibilities are endless.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

especially since muggles don't believe in magic.

And you could do permanent damage.

When I think about the stuff we did, all boy-crazied off our butts.

I would have been a lot bolder if I knew I could fall back on an oblivate to cover my embarrassment.

Or better yet, veritaserum to know whether he liked me in the first place.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:21 PM

yeah. Or hell, Felix Felicis ... or whatever... the liquid luck potion. Just drink that, like, all the time.

That was made from rare materials, wasn't it?

Or I could just magic up some friends.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It was never said. just hard to make, long-brewing, disastrous if you get it wrong.

But it'd seem to me that you could use it to, say, ensure that the next batch of felix is brewed properly and in sufficient quantity to sell.

Hell, I'd have loved to have had just a single drop before going to, say, a high-school dance.

I'd love to have a bottle of mojo.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

So I'm trying to fan-theorize an in-universe explanation for what keeps muggles safe from magical sexual assault and I just can't.

Because we don't associate with their kind.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:35 PM

But most wizards live in mixed cities such as London.

So they'd at least see muggles.

And all the bad wizards love hurting muggles.

but seriously. how else are wizards born to muggles?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

not necessarily through assault.

maybe it's just random.

deception. That would be easier.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

well, or maybe just extramarital affairs.

it's not like failing to disclose your magical ability is a crime

I was thinking of the ... imperius curse?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:38 PM

But Crabbe and Goyle would probably have loved nothing better than to capture a bunch of muggle girls and screw around with them, then oblivate them.

jeez, I forgot that one.

that one is easy enough for highschool kids to do.

Yeah, forget I said that out loud.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

But yeah. I was thinking, maybe bad wizards are all ... what's the term. blood purists? And think muggles are literally filth. But that didn't stop Nazis from raping Jews or slave owners from raping slaves.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yeah, I'm not sure why they didn't use that one more.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I know. It makes it more likely because they are de-humanized then.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

And then I recalled that there is a huge problem of sexual assault in the scientific community, where supposedly nice people, "good guys", have a culture of harassing women, and there are no punishments, and the women are forced to put up with it or leave the field.

So given that there are lots of non-death-eater wizards who are basically jerks, there's bound to be some that bewitch their housekeeper or mail-carrier or the cashier at the grocery store and then make them/trick them into doing things they wouldn't otherwise do.

Hell, in the epilogue for the last book, Ron admits to using a Confundus curse to confuse the driving examiner so that he passed his road test.

That is a literal assault, committed by a hero character, for a totally trivial purpose.

Played for laughs.

It would've been better if Ron had ended up with a muggle.

Actually it would've made a good story if Ron had fallen in love with a muggle, then she dumped him because he used magic on her, and then Hermione had to explain what "consent" and "agency" are, and then later Ron could start teaching the rest of the wizards.

It's flaws like this that make me want to write a story about a wizarding school.

You should do it.

I should write one about Draco falling in love with a boy muggle.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:48 PM

I might. There is a story, percolating.

@KitZ.Fox Or Crabbe/Goyle. whichever didn't die.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 But after she had cursed his penis off to teach him a lesson.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 No, it has to be a mudblood.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

The thing is, JKR is pro-gay. But none of her characters are openly gay.

Pretty much all of my characters are gay.

Almost embarrassingly.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitZ.Fox No, I mean, not Draco. He's canonically straight.

Oh.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:49 PM

Granted, in fan-fic you can change whatever you want.

Maybe he's bi or closeted.

Well. As a teenager. Maybe his mind was blown in college.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

But he dates a girl and in the epilogue he is married to one.

After some hijinks with polyjuice potion.

Gives a whole new means of wearing a beard, if you know what I mean.

Although what a blessing magic would be for transgender and gender fluid folks.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

"Drink this, Crabbe. ooh yeah...." one hour later "Mr. Draco, the potion's wearing off!" "Do you want me to stop?" "No..."

hahaha

perv

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:52 PM

I suspect that there is an entire fan-fic category of polyjuice sex, including gender-swaping, etc.

"Drink this. I want you to pretend you're Hermione Granger." "Are we framing her for a crime?" "... No."

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

lol

But yeah, seriously, "Drink this, then take off your clothes, I want to see whoever naked"

Hell. In HP7 A bunch of Harry's friends drink Harry polyjuice to turn into him so that they can be decoys.

Including several women.

Bring your fantasies to life.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Those women, for the next hour, now had Harry's genitals, among other things.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I would have been a terrible decoy.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:55 PM

@KitZ.Fox "I'll be in my bunk." "But the potion only lasts an hour!" "Better keep a second dose handy"

Well, I think I would. Maybe having someone else's body isn't as distracting as it seems.

But also, how can you not be that person? If it remodels your brain and stuff? And if it doesn't, how can you even control your arms and legs?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Man, I'm distracted if I miss a single facial hair when I'm shaving.

@KitZ.Fox magic.

But even if we assume that the spell is advanced enough to compensate for whatever problems would arise. There'd still be some awkwardness. And it's still one of the hugest invasions of bodily autonomy/privacy ever.

I'm getting a bonus in two weeks, and I'm thinking about blowing a considerable portion on a spa day.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

That sounds good. Do they have polyjuice there?

I'd like to take a friend.

Mostly I would like daily massage for ... ever.

Hot rocks or something. I don't even know. I've had two massages ever in my life.

Never a spa day. It seems like the epitome of luxury to me.

Maybe if I luxe, I'll get some mojo back too. Probably not. I think it's gone forever. I am feeling middle aged lately.

That's a genie that's not going back in the bottle.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:59 PM

you might find it luxurious or maybe boring.

I get a massage every two weeks. But it's for treating my headaches. I feel like I've been beaten afterwards.

I hate the idea that I'm going to have to workout every day for the rest of my life or I'm going to be in pain.

Does massage help your headaches?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitZ.Fox yes, sometimes.

What kind of massage is it?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

deep muscle massage

My massage therapist is great at finding muscles I didn't know I had, then pressing on them and revealing how much spasm they're in. It's quite painful at times.

That's what I need.

Ever had hot rocks?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

7:05 PM

no

She doesn't do that, it's too much hassle and not really worth it. It's hard to heat them to the right temp and not have them cool off too fast.

It seems like the kind of thing you do for a relaxing massage anyway, which isn't what I am there for.

Good to know.

Hmm, this place does "out call". Maybe I should see if I can schedule something the next time I spend the night near work.

Frig. Another day of getting very little done.

Screw it. I'm calling it. See you tomorrow.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

7:26 PM

cya

1 hour later…

8:43 PM

0

Q: How do I know whether to revise or submit elsewhere?

I wrote a few short stories of the past few years, and I have shared a few of these with beta readers and asked for feedback. I have one that I decided was ready to go find a home, so I found a journal that I thought was a good match and submitted it. It was rejected. I want to invest my time wi...

publishing short-story revision

1 hour later…

10:11 PM

Hey, that's me!

Yey! [kermitflail]

Hahaha, thanks.

10:38 PM

So in my last rejection, the editor invited me to join their online forum to talk about writing. I told her I'd check it out, and man. It is dead. Like empty. Like three people have posted in the last six years kind of dead.

I'm not sure what that means. She's one of the hosts/moderators, so she must realize there's nothing going on there. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place or don't know how to sort or something.

Wow.

Maybe it is just a standard part of her form rejection that she's never reconsidered?

That seems likely.

ouch.

still. literally years, and no one has mentioned it to her? Maybe I should.

Sounds like a good idea. Maybe frame it as "I think I'm missing something, where do I find the discussion?"

11:02 PM

Good plan.

11:56 PM

0

Q: universal present tense

I have a novel I am working on that opens in present tense narration. At the beginning of chapter two it is reveled that the previous chapter and the rest of the novel will be told as narration from that characters point of view as something he experienced many years ago. Can the rest of the nov...

fiction novel technique viewpoint tenses

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The Overlook Hotel

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