This is a casual variation on a reading circle. There is no real obligation to read each others' stories (although many of us do read each others' work already anyway), and no structured weekly discussions. Just a simlit chit-chat thread for a group of friends to discuss topics like approaches to writing, story themes, character archetypes, and essential stuff such as undead gnome army world domination, all accompanied by a(n un)healthy side of pancakes.
This not-a-circle (pentagon?) is currently full.
Members:@_sims_Yimi@mercuryfoam@SnuffyBucket@lone_cat@ThePlumbob
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Game Travelling Tea Parties:
1. Mad Hatter Tea Party (Hosts: @SnuffyBucket and Caleb):
2. Camelot Tea Party AKA the Medieval Boogaloo (Hosts: @_sims_Yimi and Lancelot)
3. Selvadorada Tea Party (Hosts: @ThePlumbob and Morgyn)
4. Sulani Tea Party (Hosts: @lone_cat and Vern & Ian)
5. Um... B2W Universe Insanity? (Hosts: @mercuryfoam and Curtis & Grim)
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We had way too much food for dinner tonight, so I'm not sure how many of the baked goods I can handle, but I'll get Dandy to fry up some pancakes just in case.
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Baumkuchen is chosen more for its layers than its taste. Especially when it's the kind sold in Plumbob's Boodbath Bakery.
I doubt Alba's bakery has that wide of a selection. Or indeed, much of a selection at all
But yeah, Snuffy likes to use the baumkuchen analogy to imply a story has many layers. I would say all of the stories written by the people in this thread have a serving of baumkuchen in them Onions would do the trick too of course, but they really wouldn't go with what everyone else brought
Ooh, blueberries. I love berries on my pancakes! Plus, now that the feast involves fruit, we can claim that it's all healthy and nutritious food haha.
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I need me a Dandy *Looks around for Dandy* Regardless of where I am in your story, Dandy always makes me smile.
@lone_cat I didn't know what a baumkuchen is until I googled it either. Looks heavenly sinful! Sinfully heavenly? My pastry world has expanded! This reminds me of a potluck party heh! My favourite type!
@SnuffyBucket The homemade rendition reminds me of mille-crepes. OOf.. I cannot. My weakness! I assume it comes in many flavours and not simply a butter cake? What's a good flavour?
@ThePlumbob Oh yes of course. Healthy tea party. Love me one of those. Pass the chocolate syrup please thank you. Let me just quietly pour it into a cup here..
@_sims_Yimi Sorry I'm late! I went on this huge jungle adventure through some medieval ruins, found a man in a ravine, wrestled with some tree vines that tried to make me fertiliser. Dem treelings and I had THE battle of the century, then they catapulted me through the air into the ocean where a bunch of creepy mer people invited me to a karaoke performance of an odd man singing on the beach and other various human entertainment. That's why I'm late. Really! TRUTH!
UGH TAKE MY MONEH!
Your excuse sounds legit. Haven't we all been there? I know I have Besides, knowing you and your karaoke affinity, I'd hazard to guess you didn't take too much convincing to join in on the beach party...
And OMG, that crepe looks divine. Afraid that kind of haute cuisine is out of Dandy's league... May I supplement with silly gummy bear pancakes?
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I bet the one with theme songs per chapter will be right there with me.
I bet it's tasty. The Germans know their dessert. Like strudel, yum. I have a feeling this group's not going to be good for my waistline *she says, digging into the chocolate fondue*
Like I'd expose people to my singing haha.
Ok, since we have the full group together now, I have a question for the group!
Lately, (for no reason in particular ) I have been thinking about villains. So many different ways to approach them, so many different kinds - @_sims_Yimi has so many different villain types in her story, for instance. So tell me, what's your take on villains, do you enjoy writing them, is it difficult for you and how do you approach it? And what makes for a good villain in your eyes?
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You've been thinking about villains? I am surprised.
Everyone loves a villain. Best kind of villain for me is one that hides in plain sight. I don't think I'm good at writing them because I'm too wholesome. Heavy metal helps.
A villain hiding in plain sight? You do realise how suspicious I'm going to be of all of your characters now, yes?
Edit: Although I already am suspicious of them all anyway, so I guess it makes no difference
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I don't believe in villains. Personally, I put a lot of weight into environmental influences and circumstance. I know genetic-wise, some people have particular inborn traits that make them more susceptible to becoming the 'bad guy', but even then, the label depends on whose perspective we choose to adopt and whose motivations resonate with us the most.
Reee......... I'm an amateur in writing so I'm feeling all shy answering this question but here's my take. I think they're normal people like you and me but their motives, employed tactics and methods are in opposition with the protag's code or morals/something. Villains are not all good or bad so have positive and negative qualities (again up to us to interpret), and are likeable or at least respectable in some way. I personally think they should have power or some edge over the protag because I like to see the protag overcome adversaries (hopefully ). I'd be interested in how you guys approach writing villians. I try to put myself in their shoes and see through their eyes, but I sometimes struggle since I don't naturally think that way. I rely a bit on irl inspirations, characters I've come across. But most of the time, I'm pretty much a bumbleheaded fool.
I agree with @mercuryfoam here, in that villains don’t have to be evil as long as they’re in opposition to the main character. Actually - I’m going to go out on a limb here and speculate, but the way I see “villains” is probably a little different from the majority here. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, though!
I actually think of them as antagonists – it’s largely a semantic difference, but it’s a big one. I don’t like the idea of “good” and “evil” as objective traits in my stories, and instead think of motivations and desires that can naturally bring characters into conflict with each other. Not because they're good and evil, but because they want opposing things. In my head, there’s three types of antagonists: obstacles, enemies and villains.
Obstacles are just roadblocks on the way of your character getting something they want. Their motivations oppose the protagonist by accident/circumstance. It’s the grumpy bouncer that won’t let you in, or the pack of wolves on the road, or a robber trying to take the protagonists’s things. It’s a temporary thing.
An enemy is an antagonist whose motivations oppose the protagonist on purpose. If the robber is just a roadblock, the robber turned murderer to take revenge on the protagonist for hurting his friend is an enemy. They cannot achieve their goals without depriving the protagonist of their goals (or, in this case, their life).
But a villain is the most interesting one. To me, a villain is to a protagonist what a protagonist is to an enemy. Er, lemme explain that. If you have a situation where your main character’s motivation is to thwart the goals of another person in the story, that person is a villain. If the robber whose friend got hurt is your main character, the protagonist that hurt his friend is the villain. But it doesn’t have to be an “evil” person. Anyone with motivations that your main character has to oppose (“stop the necromancer’s dark ritual”, “save my kidnapped friend from the spaghetti monster”, “hide successfully from the janitor until school ends”, “defeat my mom in a debate about healthy food”, etc) is a proper villain.
That’s how I see it, at least. Just my 2 cents.
Can I has pancakes and baumkuchen and blueberries now please? I'm starving.
Haha! I see what you did there, lol. Now I have to get caught up on everyone's stories because I didn't catch all the references. And that crepe cake looks amazing.
@SnuffyBucket I definitely agree the ones that hide in plain sight are some of the best villains. I always love a good plot twist that I didn't see coming, but where I can go back and see clues to who the villain was.
I think villains can come in all shapes and sizes depending on the story you are trying to write. I agree with @mercuryfoam, villains are just real people that made some poor decisions in life, and/or they have a faulty thought process. I think most people consider themselves the hero of their own story, and that's true for the villain as well. I write them just like I would write my protagonist. I give them backstories, good and bad qualities, and their own unique personality. I try to put myself in their shoes and write them from their perspective as best as I can. Villains are really just the opposing force to the protagonist. I like smart villains that are two steps ahead of the protagonist. Or a protagonist that turns into a villain.
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I actually completely agree with all of this - which is exactly why I said that I don't consider anyone in my story a villain. I think the matter of perspective is key in storytelling, and you can really influence how the readers perceive different characters just by shifting perspective. It always fascinates me how different the same story could look if you were to flip it on its head and tell it through someone else's eyes.
Definitely! I doubt anyone wakes up in the morning thinking "wow, I'm such a villain, got a busy day of villaining ahead" (Ok, maybe villain Yimi thinks that as she commands her gnome army, but that's beside the point here ). We all frame our experiences a certain way and tell ourselves stories to justify every action - it's those self-justifying stories that I'm interested in, both in my antagonists and in my protagonists (although who am I kidding, I can't even tell the difference between them ).
Oh gosh yeah, please dig in guys! I'm sorry I went off the deep end here, don't keep yourselves from the feast on my account! Maybe I'm the actual villain here, distracting people from pancake-y goodness
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Aaaahh, how I wish I could actually have sugar. Dandy's pancakes with chocolate-fondue covered blueberries, baumkuchen and cookies sounds like pure heaven.
*Edit: even villain Yimi starts her day with petting cute cats. She may be laughing maniacally while doing so, though.
Lol I wonder what that says about us...
Aww man, I hope this virtual feast is at least somewhat hitting the spot.
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I will dream of sugary goodness. I think. I hope. Will report back to you on that.
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I have an idea about the reserved second post, guys. It's just a suggestion, but what if we use it as a list of topics we've discussed and where to find them? I enjoy reading back on discussions sometimes, and it would be very helpful.
What do you all think?