/sffg/ - Science Fiction & Fantasy General

Fantasy
>Selected:
>i.imgur.com/qkz73sR.jpg
>General:
>i.imgur.com/igBYngL.jpg
>Flowchart:
>i.imgur.com/uykqKJn.jpg
>Beginner's Guide to Fantasy:
>i.imgur.com/fOGNfWK.jpg

Science Fiction
>Selected:
>i.imgur.com/A96mTQX.jpg
>i.imgur.com/IBs9KE8.jpg
>General:
>i.imgur.com/r55ODlL.jpg
>i.imgur.com/gNTrDmc.jpg
>NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books:
>i.imgur.com/IJxTQBL.jpg

Previous Thread:

Other urls found in this thread:

pastebin.com/7gcTB8Sn
pastebin.com/sJnpE6Gb
twitter.com/SFWRedditVideos

>Not writing Broken Earth 3
REEEEEEEEEEEE

Favorite and least favorite?

>Shades of Grey (ty user who recced it to me)
>Revelation Space (not bad as such, just didn't click the way the Baxter or Wright did)

/sffg/ what do you do when the story you're most passionate about writing is just pure plagiarism all the way down to the core, stealing plot elements, characters and themes from the same source, but the parts you stole are the ones you like the most?

Original writing is no different to fanfiction, except original writing plagiarises without citing and has had names superficially changed for copyright reasons and sometimes it steals from >1 story.

The only people who shit on fanfiction are insecure and feel that their popularity and profit will be undermined by fans.

I shit on fanfiction for essentially the reasons you list. If they had just changed a couple superficial things they could make money on it.

Seems a waste of economic effort to me.

Same reason that people do fanart: advertisement. When they sell their books it's easier if they have a whole bunch of rabid retards around to buy it.

>spend years world building
>sometimes do it by purposefully sitting down and writing about things and places, while other times just lost in thought daydreaming
>pour love and soul into my characters, places, and world to write a story I've plotted out
>I've become so accustomed to the world that there's no excitement in writing about it and no surprises as I've loved all of it in my mind already
>I lose all drive to write whenever I try to do so because of this

Is this some sort of creative dead end? Have I accidentally locked myself into a corner of boredom brought on by familiarity? How do I overcome this? Am I alone in feeling this?

Aw, why the fuck not.

I got laid off about a month ago and i've been bummin about looking for work. Saw the goblin thread in /aco/, read a story, and accidentally volunteered to start writing.

I'm using a setting I created 10 years ago for a DnD 3.5 campaign that my group wanted. They wanted a politics heavy, combat light system, with 'new' and 'different' versions of the common races so they could feel a sense of wonder as they interacted with the setting and gave me carte blanche to go nuts.

I spent 3 months working on the setting, we did 2 sessions, and they all backed out. To paraphrase their response, they felt it was a bit too magical realm. Well, there might be a market for that it turns out, so here I am now.

This is a pastebin I'm putting together using my old notes. As of this posting, its still missing a lot of the setting (2 races, the politics, this history, and some connective tissue).

pastebin.com/7gcTB8Sn

Here is the first short story i've written using the setting. It is technically fetishist porn, so, yeah, NSFW. Given I've never actually written smut though, I get the feeling its pretty tame.

pastebin.com/sJnpE6Gb

I guess I'm just looking for some responses. Both on my writing style, and on the setting as a whole.

>loved all of it in my mind
Meant to say "lived" there, though the typo is also not inaccurate.

Leaving some things to the imagination is always more interesting than explaining it. It's the same thing that makes it impossible to make a scary sequel to a horror movie.

I'd argue Aliens did pretty good. Even if the rest is a failure.

Are the stories character driven, or plot driven? I find plot driven writing is very boring to sit down and do.

When am I supposed to start enjoying this? 5 chapters in and I'm not engaged in the plot at all.

>I'd argue Aliens did pretty good. Even if the rest is a failure.

Exactly the movie I was thinking of when I made the post. Aliens is great, it's just not remotely scary.

Funny you should mention that. It's strongly plot driven, and I've noticed recently that I actually have a strong disinterest in my character and they're mostly just a vessel to tell the story with. I've come up with another character that's more from my daydreaming thoughts, but they're completely and utterly enjoyable and fun. The whole plot would need to be rewritten, which is to say that I'd give them a drive and have them go about their business, though the core points of the world could stay.

It's just hard trying to admit to myself that I made such a rookie mistake in underestimating the importance of characters. It feels like it sets me back so far.

>boob armor
>with nipples on it

Diaspora and the Malazan series, respectively - I discovered I don't have the patience for 10 book fantasy ""epics"".

By the way, did you also make the Arthurian chart? I noticed Pendragon Protocol is on both; been meaning to get to it as the premise seems interesting.

So don't read it. Why complain about it?

I just checked and 5 chapters in is just when you reach Darujhistan, meaning you've only just been introduced to rest of the cast and the main plot of the book hasn't even gotten underway yet.

>wh..what will it be the next time I die? the... andi.. andiamine heights.. huh ?
God, why is akka such a cuckold

Book 2

this is why epic fantasy will never be proper literature

Because he doesn't have a spine


Remember to always stand up for yourself Veeky Forums

>tfw you will never fuck the unifier's wife's sweet, sweet and super tight wetwalls
Why live? Best I get cored.

t..thanks dad

best i shill mine too

Is sffg now, writer's help general?
This shit is getting out of hand, multiple xbox huge paragraphs on writing... and it's starting up again.

What takes the cake though is the fucking autists who are asking for help (and got help) reposts the same question in the new thread.

If you gonna have 30+ posts talking about your writing go to the critique thread.

you get published

It's something to talk about. If you don't like it get to work filling up the thread with a different conversation.

/sffg/
>An autistic retard feeling insecure about their fetishist porn so they need to shit up the thread with tumblr tier blogging and seems to think that his shit summaries and fapping are literature
>several hypocritical self undermining fags who complain that their wordcount and plot sucks. If they hadn't wasted so much time whinging and shitposting they should have finished a novel right now
>Stevian who unfortunately hasn't committed suicide yet
>spoonfeed me writing ideas along with a brain transplant: The Game: The Story: The Experience
>If you can't get book sales, you might as well sell your body

>we wuz oppressed n shiet: the author

(You)
(You)
Literally complaining about other people complaining.
I've given you your daily dose of attention now how about you fuck off?

Two different ppl you fucktard.
kys

The first one is the tripfag who does book reviews here instead of in goodreads isn't it?

You forgot the autistic trio of Dino user, Women Authors user and R.Scott Bakker.

As much as I disagree with her politics, I have to grudgingly admit she's not a bad author, I went into Fifth Season expecting shit and found a decent novel.

There is more than one of me, if you are speaking of antidino anons.
If you are speaking of Dino user, yea it's only one of him.

actually you are both cancer, him because of "only old books are good" and you because you claim that both can be good but then your "new" suggestions suck ass while you ignore actual new AND good books.

What's next for the fantasy genre?

The way I see it we are going in two different directions. Mainstream fantasy will be Sanderson and GRRM's dominion for the foreseeable future, while the New Weird movement will continue to do their own thing in relative obscurity.

Sanderson's prominence makes me think the genre is getting more influence from anime. I think ten years from now the majority of western fantasy works will have this shit as their protagonist.

Give some "new" suggestions then, I will see if I like it.

Tad Williams

Yes or no?

a whore after all

Are you ever going to finish this?

His books are sloooooooooooowwwwww

If you're fine with that, he's alright

Yeah, 'twas me. Purser-Hallard is a (mostly) undiscovered gem, the man crams more ideas into one book than most fantasy writers have in an entire series. He's kind of like a less edgy and didactic Mieville.

Give me a frame of reference. How new is "new" to you? Last five years? Ten? Fifteen?

Not him but give me five. Just curious

Why is it always set in medieval worlds?

Do you know any books set in a fictional world that mirror the 1800's more?
And I'm not really looking for steampunk stuff, would love it be about royal people and military stuff.

Wheel of Time is set in a renaissance era world that is entering an Industrial Revolution by the end of the series.

Victor Milan's Dinosaur Lords is set in a fictional version of Europe. It's basically historical fiction with dinosaurs used as mounts and siege engines.
I understand it's not exactly what you're looking for, I only recommend it because it puts a heavy focus on military stuff.

The Southern Reach Trilogy
Embassytown
Chasing The Phoenix
The Three Body Problem

These just off the top of my head

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is set in an alternate 19th century England

Newt's Emerald is a combination of Regency romance with YA fantasy which sounds a bit awful but works because Nix is a great author

There also seem to be a lot of dragon fantasy novels set in that era, e.g. the Temeraire series

Knew all of those except Chasing the Phoenix. I see it's by Swanswick. What's it like? I dropped his Iron Daughter book at 100~ pages, could I like this one still?

A conservative fairy tale literary tradition steeped in white supremacy, rigid gender roles and monarchical masturbation can only replicate those things ad nauseam — who knew! Although getting rid of the overt religiosity was a neat trick

Ironic shitposting is still shitposting.

It's nothing like Iron Daughter, in fact it's set in a completely different world. It follows a duo of con artists in a very strange setting where the artificial intelligence revolution has already happened and failed, and humanity had to rebuild some semblance of civilization but this time without computers.

Are pulps dinocore?

Then please recommend some fantasy books that are influenced by Arabic spice merchants or Mongol killer hordes.

>Mongol killer hordes
Elite warrior horsemen is one of the most common fantasy tropes out there

Yea I know, I'm just joking around.

If it is good then it's dinocore.

Arabian Nights and its derivatives (Castle in the Air, Golem and the Jinni, even Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath to an extent) are good

>His books are sloooooooooooowwwwww
I'm kinda loving just how slow dragonbone chair is

Stevian didn't do anything wrong, stop bullying him.

Are YOU self-published???

>when Adolin is getting rekt four against one and motherfucking Kaladin steps into the arena to help

I'm not gonna lie /sffg/. I felt chills and thought "fuck yeah". I accept my pleb status as a consequence of this.

Demon Cycle series

That's not even the best part of the book. Wait for the end. You'll shit goose bumps.

It was great but the mentality of his opponents was retarded. From the "do what we say or we hurt your brother" guy to the last one who called Adolin and Kaladin cowards for winning a 4v2 fight, Sanderson was trying too hard to make them unreasonable villains.

Glen Cook uses Arab or "Generic middle eastern culture" analogues in a couple stories. A supporting character in the Dread Empire series is a military commander/mercenary from the desert, and IIRC the prequel series focuses on him but I haven't read it. In the Instrumentalities series the setting is very much the Mediterranean around 1200AD, but fantasy and with cannons, and the main character is initially sent by not-Saladin to spy in not-Italy but things snowball from there and he ends up involved in much greater things.

It wasn't forged like that, but steel's pretty cold to the touch when you put it on in the morning.

Anyway, people bitching about boobplate are ridiculous. In the first place: absplate. Armor was often shaped in silly, fancy ways, especially for rich people. In the second place: a woman in armor in the real world is cross-dressing or cosplaying.

For an armored woman to be wearing boobplate is a good deal less silly than for a woman to be wearing armor in the first place.

But do we know if the armor was intended to be used on the battlefield or if it was ceremonial stuff?

Is cook's non Black Company non PI stuff worth reading?

Also abs are a far cry from two big titties that have enough curvature to focus a sword blow into the center of the chest... And that in her upper chest is fully exposed, like it's a fullplate tubetop or something. There's also no protection for her inner arms and forearms. Something like that would, at the minimum, be worn over leather and chain.

Asked this last time but didn't get a whole lot of responses: what are some good sci-fi/fantasy books with great, threatening, well-written antagonists?

I kinda liked it from the beginning. It intrigued me.

A female warrior is silly to begin with. She's never going to be realistic, might as well make her sexy.

Anyway, look at the guy. A full set of plate armor and no helmet. Plus that's as close as he's going to get to drawing that sword without unslinging it from his back first.

I would 100% watch a show about people fighting with fantasy arms and armor and having realistic problems with it. "Sir, half the legion is too chafed and infected to fight." "Well, it happens. What do you suppose we should do about it? Wear padding underneath?" [both laugh at the idea]

It depends. Dread Empire really reads like a prototype of The Black Company, it's rough around the edges but has it's own thing going on. More of a traditional fantasy to the "we're the grunts" of Black Company.

Instrumentalities of the Night is good IMO. It's very much Fantasy Europe but the outside world is dying out from the encroachment of supernatural ice and winter. Evil sorcerers, cannons, demons, papal politics, catholic wizards, Cathars, half dead Norse gods, pike and shot mercenaries and so on. I really enjoyed it but it gets cut short because the publisher apparently cancelled a 5th book.

The Dragon Never Sleeps is pretty good and is a short read.

Starfishers is okayish. The first book is a space opera about a family of mercenaries. The second two are espionage novels where a character from the first book becomes a supporting character. The third book is a unconnected prequel and can be read on it's own, and is a Das Boot style story about a stealth ship in space, and is much better than the others.

I haven't read any of his other stand-alone stuff or the Darkwar series yet.

>A female warrior is silly to begin with. She's never going to be realistic
>this triggers the Veeky Forums

Leave him be, he's the resident autist hating on women authors and women in general. His shitposting is more funny than anything.

Name one good

GOOD

(FEMALE) SF/F author

what's even the point? I could name anyone and you're just gonna claim she's shit anyway. Arguing with your kind is useless.

OCTAVIA BUTLER

URSULA LE GUIN

ELIZABETH MOOOOOON

I'm gonna say Elizabeth Moon just because she was a woman in the military so it'll double trigger you

You'd really say that Friedman is bad?

I've never posted anything against women authors.

Being realistic about the differences between men and women isn't misogyny. When it comes to upper body strength, aggression, and general toughness there's such a profound difference that women might as well not show up for any kind of hand-to-hand combat for all the differenc they'll make. And unless you get infant mortality and plagues under control, women need to be very busy producing children.

What people lack proper respect for is the pre-modern role of women in the constant struggle against extinction, and the consequent adaptations to that role. Women make very poor men, but good women.

Modern Western sex equality propaganda is an absurd distortion of reality, and not really a compliment to women at all, rather it implies a denigration of all the things that are good about women, along with a denial of the things that are good about men. It's pure manipulation, and toward no good end.

>defending your identity on an anonymous imageboard because you've been confused with another faggot
>posting three (3) increasingly irrelevant, offtopic paragraphs about how you're mad about female warriors but also mad about being cyberbullied by tumblr


wow thanks for posting

>1 freak means every other female will be as good a warrior as she

definitely

is the world ready for another Harry Potter clone?

I want money and fame too

Just make anime and make sure to have a lot of social commentary about the benefits of feminism, diversity, multiculturalism, open borders, how whites are racist and europeans are colonialists destroying other countries.

I would do it if I could write

Should I alter this meme so outer lit can use it?

Pol doesn't come in here anymore (praise the mods), but they still shit post outside.

Yay or nay?

>Pol doesn't come in here anymore
wrong

Sadly I think the moment is passed on that

No it's not Trump isn't president yet and you can make big bucks if you finish a book in a few months

I need the right meme, like wizard school and assassin's training but new, fresh and relatable to millennials

How are the two things related in any way shape or form?

Just steal some shit from a book written before the 90s

It's not like any of the millenials will have read it, just ask some dinofags

Because he hasn't made America great again yet, so millenials will want

>Because he hasn't made America great again yet

Riiight.

She wasn't a warrior anyway, not in the sense of fighting with her own hands. Joan of Arc was 90% figurehead. Aside from being inspiring her claim to fame is mostly being involved in discussions of strategy and tactics. It's entirely plausible that an exceptional woman would make a significant contribution this way, but it's impossible to know how much her claimed contribution was fictionalized for propaganda purposes.

There have been a few real women warriors here and there, but they're generally only remarkable for being women. About one in a thousand (undrugged) women has the upper body strength of an average man. They generally look more or less like men. A handful of those became soldiers, and gained some small fame as novelties. I know of none who credibly gained fame as champions.

Women have also sometimes had to fight out of desperation, and in some cultures routinely made some preparation for it (notably, women of the samurai class in Japan). There have been a few cases of fortresses being successfully defended by improvised forces of women.

Don't pretend like you're better. You're in the same argument, in the same context, and not on the side supported by evidence.

I'm so fucking tired of hearing about how it's wrong to take actual reality into consideration, but we should be dead serious about our deviations from reality so as to pretend they're realistic.

If you're going to have a slender-armed pretty girl warrior, you're not making her significantly sillier by putting her in a chainmail bikini.

I'm stuck between some Medieval Europe + Warring States Fantasy, Urban Fantasy with Quasi-Harry Potter Wizard/Magic stuff, or Bending Elements kind of deal with heavy inspiration from AtLA and LoK.

Why is everything I come up with so generic, guys? Sigh. I was even halfway into some Witcher-esque idea during the Wild West with swords and Native American Mythology mixed up in it before I gave up on that as well.