Concepts that fascinate you?

Arcadia Divine · Nov 15, 2011

Are there any concepts so fascinating to you that it's in everything you write?

For example, life and the universe are so fascinating to me that everything I write has something to do with that.

I'm interested in hearing what other people have to say.

Scribe4264 · Nov 15, 2011

Arcadia Divine said:
Are there any concepts so fascinating to you that it's in everything you write?

For example, life and the universe are so fascinating to me that everything I write has something to do with that.

I'm interested in hearing what other people have to say.

I've got two that seem to crop up in nearly everything.

(1) Time travel. Can't read enough about it, can't seem to write enough about it.

(2) Redemption. I like to take my MC about as close to rock bottom as he/she can get and then see how they react. Can they gather up whatever pieces are left and overcome whatever evil adversity I've dumped on them.

C0g · Nov 15, 2011

Arcadia Divine said:
Are there any concepts so fascinating to you that it's in everything you write?

For example, life and the universe are so fascinating to me that everything I write has something to do with that.

I'm interested in hearing what other people have to say.

Don't all books have to do with life and the universe?

To answer your question, I try and write stuff that deal with A.I. in a clever way. Also, the idea that data collection will one day evolve to the point where we can tell the future. That one's a little bit harder to work into my stories, though.

mirandashell · Nov 15, 2011

I seriously don't understand the question. I mean, life and the universe? How much more encompassing can you get?

Julie Reilly · Nov 15, 2011

From a sci-fi POV I love time travel also - my favourite Star Trek episodes were always those that involved time travel, and/or primitive civilisations.

I also enjoy writing about civilisations in far distant times, which ties in neatly with the time travel thing.

Summonere · Nov 15, 2011

I notice that gods and psychics of one kind or another keep popping up in my stories, and betrayal, and revenge. But there are plenty of other ideas I'm fascinated with, too, but haven't yet dealt with in stories. Alternate realities, for one.

sunandshadow · Nov 15, 2011

Prejudice and closed-mindedness vs. open-mindedness is a strong theme through almost all my writing. Also friendship/love/creating families/having babies. The intersection of these two areas makes for a lot of forbidden romance.

Ardent Kat · Nov 15, 2011

Good thread! I always use:

* Alternative societies (Specifically, cultures that deviate from the status quo of Western traditions and values. Ideally, cultures that never existed on earth but could)

* Non-human protagonists. These go hand-in hand with the alternative societies I want to write. I'm tired of hearing, "Wo/men don't think like that," or "People would never respond that way." I want to explore alternative ways of looking at the world, but human behaviors are usually type-cast. Writing from the "Other" POV of satyrs, aliens, or androids frees me deviate from the social norms many readers think of as "default."

I don't think I've ever written a piece of original fiction that didn't contain social science fiction elements incorporating both of these.

I also like writing charismatic Dominant women characters (cool/tough chick who isn't an asshole) and emotionally competent submissive men characters. Bonus if these two actually end up in a relationship together. :e2kissy:

Since gender role-bending characters aren't always appropriate for the story, I can't say I use this element in everything I write. Just any time I can get away with it. :whip:

MJNL · Nov 15, 2011

Oh man, there are too many for them to pop up repeatedly! At least at this point. Maybe I'll notice an unconscious pattern in the future.

But I also think BIG concepts and questions repeatedly come into play for me. Yeah--life, universe, and everything kind of questions. ;-)

ironmikezero · Nov 15, 2011

Theoretical Physics... specifically String Theory and its offspring Membrane Theory... The subsets of the multiverse and inter-dimensional transfer of energy and/or matter...

I don't always fold it into the writing; it depends upon the genre. Although I must admit it was a cornerstone of our Old Blood series (four volumes, a fifth underway).

DragonBlaze · Nov 15, 2011

The whole notion of prophecy/destiny and being a set predetermined path versus individual free will to control that path myself

maxmordon · Nov 15, 2011

* Languages: The different ways people can communicate or miscommunicate, for example, a religious group that use numbers instead of letters, since numbers are seen more pure and less corrupted. An ethnic group that, for example "What you don't see here?" is rendered as "It is unknown the unseen by you now."

* The balance of Individualism Vs. Society. Or rephrased in another manner, what you want Vs. what is expected or what must be done. This is extended to how media can shape a person and gender expectations.

* Cyclic history. How some things change completely just to remain the same, with some futility. Yet, it has to be done since if someone doesn't do it, nobody else will. This extent to death and rebirth. More than once I have someone who dies at first and someone who dies at the end, passing the torch... speaking of...

* Suicide. There was a time where all my protagonists would commit suicide for one reason or the other at the end, this has been changed now.

* Unusual sexuality. The one time I try to write a regular character he ends up having a superhero fetish. Go figure.

Andain · Nov 15, 2011

Hm, I'm noticing that I like to write about what apocalyptic societies and situations. Sometimes it's the events that lead up the catastrophic event that interest me, and sometimes it's the events directly after. I guess what interests me is the desperation that comes through. Human desperation, I guess that would be a better way of describing the underlying theme.

I generally write about gay/queer characters a lot, too, especially females. Just one of those things I'd like to see become more mainstream.

Dark River · Nov 15, 2011

Hope, friendship, time travel, alternate realities.
I'm also really into evolution and extinction. Writing about worlds where the primary species is going extinct or newly evolving. Reading Micheal Crichton's theories fascinate me. Anthropology and the examination of ancient cultures.
World building in a logical yet mythical sense.
Anything to do with Celtic mytholgy.
Anything to do with New Zealand and it's aboriginal cultures.
Angels, especially archangels. Spirituality.
And too many more to list.

lvae · Nov 16, 2011

I had to think hard about this one. I definitely have tropes I helplessly gravitate towards over and over (I need to stop putting people in disguises. Must. Stop. Also boarding schools.)

Surprisingly, because I confess I'm not a big environmentalist, the idea of man overwhelming and destroying the environment is a recurring theme for most of the stuff I write.

lauralam · Nov 16, 2011

1. Gender and sexual identity

2. Mental health and insanity

3. Coming of age and coming to terms with yourself

areteus · Nov 16, 2011

I play a lot with Clark's law - the one about any sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic. There is a lot of that in the Waypoint stuff (as those who read Dances with Drums may already have spotted. I also did it the other way around in Gods of the Sea where there was a character who was trying to impose a scientific basis onto superstition - assuming magic has laws, can you use science to work out what those laws are and therefore apply magic in a more scientific manner to achieve greater effects?

I've always liked the 'old hero' concept - the aged but still powerful one time great who comes out of retirement for one last shake of the dice and shows the young whippersnappers how it is done. You know the archetype - Druss the Legend, Cohen the Barbarian and, to a lesser extent, occasionally Rupert Giles (I've always liked Giles better when he hints at his darker past...)

Stellan · Nov 16, 2011

1. I write mostly (though not exclusively) queer characters. I guess it's for the same reasons why a straight writer might write mostly straight characters. I also like poking at gender roles.

2. Power dynamics between characters in intense relationships. Doesn't have to be romantic, though I'd be lying if there's not usually that undercurrent to it.

3. I don't quite know how to put this, but...markers of otherness? Espcially on my heroes. Not things like (for example) elves having pointy ears, since that's normal for an elf, but things like a human having pointy ears, marking him as somehow connected to the elves. Or things like scars, deformities, odd psychic resonances, basically anything that makes others mark them as "weird".

mephet · Nov 16, 2011

What it means to be good, honourable and heroic. What these things mean in life. Wether it's possible to be any of these things in certain situations.
What it means to be evil, or rather, do evil deeds, and what drives one to that.
The similarities between the two above - how villains are so often failed heroes, and how a hero can be at risk of becoming a villain. The grey areas.
Responsibility, duty, and the avoidance of both.
Handling judgement and persecution, the issue viewed from both perspectives.
Religion.
The things that fascinate me change with each book and "era" of my life, but these are all things that interest me and that I try to explore in my current WIP.

jjdebenedictis · Nov 16, 2011

Ooh! Ooh!

For about two years now, I've been all rabid over two ideas that are complements to one another.

1) To be human is to be the opposite of a predator. Our capacity to empathize, to sacrifice, and to crave justice is what defines our species.

We are social animals, and the mechanisms needed to maintain societies are built right into our psychology.

2) Vampires are a dream of pure greed--have everything you wish for, hurt people for your own benefit, and never pay for it, never be punished for it, and never feel guilty about it.

Vampires resonate with us because they represent the perfect realization of all our most selfish, evil impulses. They are anti-humans.

Ian Isaro · Nov 16, 2011

There are many, but one in particular sticks out: what the stories that we tell say about us. The monomyth in many forms, with heroes and villains, is something that I believe becomes more disturbing the further you consider it. Good and evil are often critiqued, but I believe the quest and structure (especially the return) are even more problematic.

jjdebenedictis said:
Vampires resonate with us because they represent the perfect realization of all our most selfish, evil impulses. They are anti-humans.

Interesting. This is the kind of theme that I'd find fascinating woven into a novel.

Teinz · Nov 17, 2011

The Divine, God, Gods and everything to do with it. Especially human wishes and reactions in relation to the above.

areteus · Nov 17, 2011

Another one for me (which I have used recently...) is the concept of forcible dogooding. i.e. someone imposing a set of rules and restrictions on someone 'for their own good'. I am thinking Christian Missionaries here and also some of the more sinister aspects of Star Trek's Federation (seriously, that is one hell of a benign facist state, especially with the constant monitoring of everything you do... and anyone who is not part of the Federation is 'bad')

MoLoLu · Nov 17, 2011

I... uh...

Really good question, not so easy to answer.

- Society and how it does or doesn't work, both on an individual level and as a whole.

- The truth. As in the lack thereof and its subjective aspect. Goes a bit into morality too. I especially like twisted settings which explore worlds in a different light than I know or am used to.

Wow, this sounds really vague. Can't seem to put my thoughts in words.

Arcs · Nov 17, 2011

Morality and its inherent subjectivity, how the universe/people operate in a magical setting, and the search for happiness.

Concepts that fascinate you?

Arcadia Divine

Scribe4264

C0g

mirandashell

Julie Reilly

Summonere

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Ardent Kat

Kill your television

MJNL

A Little Lost

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW

DragonBlaze

maxmordon

Penúltimo

Andain

Dark River

lvae

oh so shiny

lauralam

Moonshade

areteus

Stellan

Not that other guy

mephet

jjdebenedictis

is watching you via her avatar

Ian Isaro

New Member

Teinz

Back at it again.

areteus

MoLoLu

Arcs