~Just wild beat communication!~
Apr. 17th, 2009 08:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flyboy_fox6th requested blog post! This time from another anonymous. Who, also, cheekily gave me not one but three questions :P Ah well, I don't mind.
I'll tackle them in order:
1. Your philosophy on life.
I'm not sure if I have one. 'Life' is so broad and full of interpretive scope that I don't think it's possible to continuously come at it from any one angle. I don't understand enough about 'life' to have a singular lens to view it through, but I suppose the nearest thing would be to define an approach to one of the more tangible aspects... that is, my approach towards what I choose to do and how I treat others.
It comes from Wicca, although I don't follow any religion personally, but it has always made sense to me. Eight words: If it harms none, do as you will.
It's important to bear the first half of the sentence in mind and not consider the phrase as a mindset for doing whatever one pleases. Actions have consequences; cause and effect. Sometimes it affects other people, even if indirectly, and I take care to remember that before I do anything.
So, that is to say... live life however you choose to do so, but do not let your own choices interfere with the way others choose to live. Do not allow yourself to be a burden, but don't be afraid to be who you are. Be open with your lifestyle if you wish, but never force it upon others. There are always two sides to the coin.
I suppose that about sums up my 'philosophy on life', if such a thing is possible ^^;
Okay, next:
2. Your Otakin identity (careful not to be too provocative and draw trolls to your journal, though).
Hurrrr... how did I know this would come up? That's okay, it's a totally fair question.
I think the main thing I'd like to get across is that I don't believe that I am crazy. I'm sure some people might think that's debatable, but I personally feel that my sanity is, for the most part, intact. Having an unusual belief doesn't mean that I am unstable, crazy, or liable to do anything outrageous or unpredictable. My life is typically much the same as anyone else's - eat, sleep, work, go to uni, spend time with friends, etc. The biggest stigma attached to Otakin is that they are total misfits who can be spotted in a crowd instantly due to their 'different'ness. I am not that remarkable. I'm very normal; boring, in fact :P
Okay, with that out of the way... Otakin believe themselves to be fictional characters, right? Right. I guess that's enough of an umbrella coverage. So, I get to associating myself with Tails, somehow, and I come to believe that I am him. I reach the point where I can't tell the difference between being him and being 'me'. We're the same person. I can see through his eyes as much as my own. I know how he feels about things, about certain people, about life. I know because we're the same person and I've been there before. But why?
Theory 1: I'm a very intense fan. I get drawn into fandoms deeply. I saw things about Tails that mirrored things in my own life. I saw that, to me, we were similar. I envied him, maybe, and I felt so strongly about Sonic and their world that I somehow projected him onto myself (or myself onto him) in my mind, and assimilated the two. I wanted to be him so much that I eventually convinced myself it was true.
Theory 2: False memories. I invented things and my mind turned them into 'real' memories because of how entrenched they became in my subconscious mind. I turned coincidences into more than they were. In essence, I tricked myself into believing in 'proof' that had perfectly reasonable non-kin explanations.
Theory 3: I used this whole Otakin thing as escapism from my real life. I felt like a failure and I needed to believe I was something more. I convinced myself that I could be Tails in order to feel better about myself and less of a loser.
Theory 4: There's something to it. Dreams, memories and feelings actually do mean something. The connection I feel is real, and the things I believe are true. They could easily be written off, but the depth of the feeling and what it means to me are strong enough to be proof enough.
See, I know that there's a good chance that theories 1 - 3 could easily account for everything I've experienced. That's what, I believe, makes me sane. I would be more worried about myself if I believed in such craziness without reservation.
But the point is, I don't care - it's real to me. And if it feels real and it feels good and it doesn't hurt anyone else, then I'm going to keep going at it. I believe that there's something to it. I can't help it. It's just how I feel. I believe I was/will be Tails in another lifetime, and that I am Tails now. But most of all I'm just me, whatever that means. I'm the sum of everything I've experienced in this lifetime far more than anything else.
Maybe I'm wrong. It doesn't matter. I'm willing to concede how possible it is, but that doesn't change how I feel.
Next:
3. Your thoughts on what make good writing.
This is difficult. I can't answer for what I feel is 'universally' good writing, because I can only speak for myself. 'Good' is so subjective. But here goes.
First and foremost, I do not believe that verbosity is the mark of good writing. Long and complicated words do not a great writer make. I'm a firm supporter of the adage that one should never use a long word where a short one willsuffice do. If a word fits, then the more concise the better.
HOWEVER, that does not mean that repetitiveness is an attractive trait. There's nothing more tedious than reading 'he said' 'she said' all through a book. Descriptive terms are great. Did she yell? Whisper? Groan? Descriptive words are like spices; a sprinkling of them does wonders for the flavour of a piece.
Be careful, though, not to fall into the trap of purple prose. Rambling descriptions are not only disorienting, but also tiring and draw attention away to the focal point of a piece. A sharp, concise or even witty piece of descriptive writing sets a scene for me far better than half a page of windy waffling.
Awareness of grammatical rules and correct punctuation is a must for me. The rules can be broken only in exceptional cases - Jamie O'Neill's novel 'At Swim, Two Boys' is a wonderful example of this. Written entirely in a casual turn-of-the-century Irish vernacular, it was an amazing extra layer of depth, setting the mood perfectly. This requires an expert hand!
Metaphor and simile should be used... sparingly. It's also okay to use simple description sometimes. A colour can be just 'red'.
Knowledge of a subject you're writing about is oh-so-important. It's easy to tell when someone is talking out of their rear-end, no matter how 'well' they attempt to cover it up and muster on through by attempting to use intelligent language to pad out severe lack of actual content. Also, for any piece of writing aimed at discussing or debating a point, understanding basic debating flaws (formal fallacy, appeal to authority, straw man etc) is essential. Many pieces that, at a glance, look well-researched and well understood are in fact littered with these.
Finally, for fictional writing, engage me. I don't need to know every single detail about every little thing or every single person... I just need to know what's necessary in order for me to reconstruct the premise in my mind. To me, a good writer is one who can draw a definitive outline, but leaves enough room for the reader to interpret it in a personal way and colour in the picture themselves as they're carried along.
I'm certainly no professional writer, but those are some of the things that I believe are good traits in a piece of writing.
Ta-da! All done.
I'll tackle them in order:
1. Your philosophy on life.
I'm not sure if I have one. 'Life' is so broad and full of interpretive scope that I don't think it's possible to continuously come at it from any one angle. I don't understand enough about 'life' to have a singular lens to view it through, but I suppose the nearest thing would be to define an approach to one of the more tangible aspects... that is, my approach towards what I choose to do and how I treat others.
It comes from Wicca, although I don't follow any religion personally, but it has always made sense to me. Eight words: If it harms none, do as you will.
It's important to bear the first half of the sentence in mind and not consider the phrase as a mindset for doing whatever one pleases. Actions have consequences; cause and effect. Sometimes it affects other people, even if indirectly, and I take care to remember that before I do anything.
So, that is to say... live life however you choose to do so, but do not let your own choices interfere with the way others choose to live. Do not allow yourself to be a burden, but don't be afraid to be who you are. Be open with your lifestyle if you wish, but never force it upon others. There are always two sides to the coin.
I suppose that about sums up my 'philosophy on life', if such a thing is possible ^^;
Okay, next:
2. Your Otakin identity (careful not to be too provocative and draw trolls to your journal, though).
Hurrrr... how did I know this would come up? That's okay, it's a totally fair question.
I think the main thing I'd like to get across is that I don't believe that I am crazy. I'm sure some people might think that's debatable, but I personally feel that my sanity is, for the most part, intact. Having an unusual belief doesn't mean that I am unstable, crazy, or liable to do anything outrageous or unpredictable. My life is typically much the same as anyone else's - eat, sleep, work, go to uni, spend time with friends, etc. The biggest stigma attached to Otakin is that they are total misfits who can be spotted in a crowd instantly due to their 'different'ness. I am not that remarkable. I'm very normal; boring, in fact :P
Okay, with that out of the way... Otakin believe themselves to be fictional characters, right? Right. I guess that's enough of an umbrella coverage. So, I get to associating myself with Tails, somehow, and I come to believe that I am him. I reach the point where I can't tell the difference between being him and being 'me'. We're the same person. I can see through his eyes as much as my own. I know how he feels about things, about certain people, about life. I know because we're the same person and I've been there before. But why?
Theory 1: I'm a very intense fan. I get drawn into fandoms deeply. I saw things about Tails that mirrored things in my own life. I saw that, to me, we were similar. I envied him, maybe, and I felt so strongly about Sonic and their world that I somehow projected him onto myself (or myself onto him) in my mind, and assimilated the two. I wanted to be him so much that I eventually convinced myself it was true.
Theory 2: False memories. I invented things and my mind turned them into 'real' memories because of how entrenched they became in my subconscious mind. I turned coincidences into more than they were. In essence, I tricked myself into believing in 'proof' that had perfectly reasonable non-kin explanations.
Theory 3: I used this whole Otakin thing as escapism from my real life. I felt like a failure and I needed to believe I was something more. I convinced myself that I could be Tails in order to feel better about myself and less of a loser.
Theory 4: There's something to it. Dreams, memories and feelings actually do mean something. The connection I feel is real, and the things I believe are true. They could easily be written off, but the depth of the feeling and what it means to me are strong enough to be proof enough.
See, I know that there's a good chance that theories 1 - 3 could easily account for everything I've experienced. That's what, I believe, makes me sane. I would be more worried about myself if I believed in such craziness without reservation.
But the point is, I don't care - it's real to me. And if it feels real and it feels good and it doesn't hurt anyone else, then I'm going to keep going at it. I believe that there's something to it. I can't help it. It's just how I feel. I believe I was/will be Tails in another lifetime, and that I am Tails now. But most of all I'm just me, whatever that means. I'm the sum of everything I've experienced in this lifetime far more than anything else.
Maybe I'm wrong. It doesn't matter. I'm willing to concede how possible it is, but that doesn't change how I feel.
Next:
3. Your thoughts on what make good writing.
This is difficult. I can't answer for what I feel is 'universally' good writing, because I can only speak for myself. 'Good' is so subjective. But here goes.
First and foremost, I do not believe that verbosity is the mark of good writing. Long and complicated words do not a great writer make. I'm a firm supporter of the adage that one should never use a long word where a short one will
HOWEVER, that does not mean that repetitiveness is an attractive trait. There's nothing more tedious than reading 'he said' 'she said' all through a book. Descriptive terms are great. Did she yell? Whisper? Groan? Descriptive words are like spices; a sprinkling of them does wonders for the flavour of a piece.
Be careful, though, not to fall into the trap of purple prose. Rambling descriptions are not only disorienting, but also tiring and draw attention away to the focal point of a piece. A sharp, concise or even witty piece of descriptive writing sets a scene for me far better than half a page of windy waffling.
Awareness of grammatical rules and correct punctuation is a must for me. The rules can be broken only in exceptional cases - Jamie O'Neill's novel 'At Swim, Two Boys' is a wonderful example of this. Written entirely in a casual turn-of-the-century Irish vernacular, it was an amazing extra layer of depth, setting the mood perfectly. This requires an expert hand!
Metaphor and simile should be used... sparingly. It's also okay to use simple description sometimes. A colour can be just 'red'.
Knowledge of a subject you're writing about is oh-so-important. It's easy to tell when someone is talking out of their rear-end, no matter how 'well' they attempt to cover it up and muster on through by attempting to use intelligent language to pad out severe lack of actual content. Also, for any piece of writing aimed at discussing or debating a point, understanding basic debating flaws (formal fallacy, appeal to authority, straw man etc) is essential. Many pieces that, at a glance, look well-researched and well understood are in fact littered with these.
Finally, for fictional writing, engage me. I don't need to know every single detail about every little thing or every single person... I just need to know what's necessary in order for me to reconstruct the premise in my mind. To me, a good writer is one who can draw a definitive outline, but leaves enough room for the reader to interpret it in a personal way and colour in the picture themselves as they're carried along.
I'm certainly no professional writer, but those are some of the things that I believe are good traits in a piece of writing.
Ta-da! All done.
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Date: 2009-04-20 04:45 pm (UTC)About the writing thing, you know I totally agree with the unnecessary verbosity.. especially in fanfic authors, it seems. I think a lot of it has to do with young writers trying very hard to sound deep and profound through the use of "big words" when a lot of the time, that just muddles the meaning and depth is lost. Some of the most beautiful and deep things can be said with just a few simple words.
And as for the otakin thing, well I totally agree with you, as you know. It could all very well be ridiculousness or a pipe dream. But it feels right, and it's not hurting anyone.