Teens Writing for Teens, the 5th

Parametric said:

I have a great hatred for retelling the same scene from two different perspectives.

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I don't think I ever actually DO that. So, I should be safe from the wrath...of the Parametric.

Though, I do know I have a scene wherein six teenagers with WWI era rifles hold off an entire regiment of frogs with muskets on a planet they reached through a portal opened by imagination.

So THERE.

Wait, what?

Isn't it now supposed to be LGBTQ? I get a little insistent on that, since I have waltzed around the Q category.

In TRL, one of the biggest differences in that world is that there are no terms for sexualities. When a baby is born, they're assumed to be bi (though it isn't a word there) and nobody ever really thinks about it. Sexual attraction is not at all an issue with my characters. It's the emotions.

My MC, Hailey, associates emotion with vulnerability. She's often called 'tough' or 'strong', and since for a long time she was really confused about who she was, she just adapted to that, to what she thought people wanted her to be. Tough, to her, meant no vulnerability, so she caged up all her feelings for people to try and stay 'strong'.

Including the fact that, though it's not a sexual attraction, she's absolutely in love with her best friend and "sister" in the family she was adopted into at age 5. And the worst part is that said best friend is the only character in the books who is, from the very beginning until the very end, straight.

What I mean by that is she's basically the only person who's never questioned or experimented or even been curious.

Poor Hailey. And it only gets worse for her.

Something I learned this year is that not telling a scene from a particular character's viewpoint can be more powerful and effective. There's a sequence in my novel where a character walks into a bar and shoots the owner in the leg, and since it's shown from somebody else's perspective, the shooter basically comes across as a stone-cold psychopath. The scariness (I hope) comes from not knowing what the hell he's doing and who's getting shot next.

That is truth!

Also, QUILTBAG stands for

Queer
Unsure
Intersex
Lesbian
Transgendered
Bisexual
Allied
Gay

hahahahah! I'd love to go over there again Lisa. I sware i'm going back before i die, because of the breakfast place around the corner from our hostel... Oh my GOD there bacon egg and cheese sandwich was literally to die for, i had one all 7 days... it and burger king were the only things i ate over there

Thalia said:

Isn't it now supposed to be LGBTQ? I get a little insistent on that, since I have waltzed around the Q category.

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There are a lot of different acronyms. I think LGBT is the most common version, but some people add a Q for queer, another Q for questioning, an I for intersex, an A for asexual, another A for allies, etc. Which Q were you thinking of?

Just curious what does Allied and Intersex mean?

My brother is really late, he should have been home by now. I'm starting to get a bit worried.

On the LBGTQ fiction front, I have a plot in my 'Rough Plots' notebook in OneNote that features two couples and a love square that was inspired by, Tally and HR will LOVE this, the video for the Glee version of Teenage Dream. And no, I wasn't thinking of Karla's love square when I came up with it.

Foods time.

ETA: Same question as Ally.

There is something delightfully ironic about this simple fact about the System Shock 2 video game. You can chose to be various military specialists, including the Psi Ops...and...well...

You go to the psi-academy for years. You master your mind, spend years in sense deprivation tanks, expanding your consciousness. You learn to manipulate the very base forces of the universe...

And you are still shown up by a marine with a wrench.

(Seriously, Psi Powers are fucking useless in SS2. A wrench is the most combat effective weapon in the game)

amlptj said:

Just curious what does Allied and Intersex mean?

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Allied are straight peeps who fight the good fight with the rest of us.

Intersex are people who are born hermaphroditic. Though many of them have been modified by surgical treatments when they were born, which pisses me off.

Is this modified for cosmetic reasons or medical reasons, Zoom? If it's the first, I'd understand why you'd be annoyed. The second, not so much.

Oh ok got it, thanks for clearing that up.

amlptj said:

Oh when i was in london i saw a movie over there. I have to say i found the theaters really very differnt. Mostly the food... I kept asking people where the butter was and they looked at me like i was insane!

ETA: yeah i figured i'd stay away from that simply because i'm lazy and once i'm done with a chapter i really just want to move on. I know what i'm going to do now

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We don't have buttered popcorn cos WE'RE HEALTHY! haha well.. healthier. I can never have popcorn in america because it's all butter or salted. Disgusting either way. Our sweet popcorn is SO much better! Butter is worse. Loads worse. And quite frankly, no flavour!

Yeah us americans all so unhealthy but the food tastes soooooooo good! I was in agony while i was watching the movie because the popcorn was so plan... if i knew sweet popcorn = kettle corn popcorn i would have gotten that... but i had no clue.

Hey my motto the more butter or cheese the better! YUMMM!!! (I really should be dead with what i eat, but i'm perfectly healthy and at a completley normal weight, well now)

I don't have popcorn often, as it can be expensive, but when I do I love salted.

Mmmm i can't wait for popcorn tonight. NOM NOM!

I bought a big bag of Haribo earlier and put them in my bag for tomorrow. I'm going to buy a drink there.

I love popcorn! One medium popcorn, an order of pretzle bits and 2 drinks are what me and my bf always get when we go to the movies

Allaboutwords13 said:

We don't have buttered popcorn cos WE'RE HEALTHY! haha well.. healthier. I can never have popcorn in america because it's all butter or salted. Disgusting either way. Our sweet popcorn is SO much better! Butter is worse. Loads worse. And quite frankly, no flavour!

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Oh, you're a fellow Brit! Which part are you from? I'm currently hanging out in sunny Dorset.

Parametric said:

Oh, you're a fellow Brit! Which part are you from? I'm currently hanging out in sunny Dorset.

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I'm from the better part of Essex. Because whenever i say i'm from Essex, people say "Oh so an essex girl, right?" Um.. no. That's SOOO stereotyping lolz. But... anyway. Yeah... That's where i'm from... xD

Is Essex known for something? what's so sterotipical about it?

(coming from the american who was only in london for a week.)

amlptj said:

Is Essex known for something? what's so sterotipical about it?

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Well, originally it had a reputation for blonde (bimbos) and drunks and general people who were loud in holiday resorts. NOW it's known because there's a trashy "reality" show called "The Only Way Is Essex" where a bunch of really chavvy (and really common/trashy/dumb/idiotic) locals (thankfully not in my area) go to bars and sleep with each other and show how they live. Yeah.. because we all live like THAT in Essex. Pfft. Well, there certainly are people like that in our county, but that's mainly South Essex. I'm in the North, so thankfully it's slightly more upmarket 'ere haha I don't watch that show out of principle!

amlptj said:

Is Essex known for something? what's so sterotipical about it?

(coming from the american who was only in london for a week.)

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You know the US TV show Jersey Shore? There's a UK knockoff called The Only Way is Essex.

I've never actually been to Essex, so I'll take Katheryn's word for it that there are nice parts.

There's also a classic stereotype about Essex girls. I have sympathy for actual girls from Essex. The stereotype must be a bit of a millstone.

Parametric said:

You know the US TV show Jersey Shore? There's a UK knockoff called The Only Way is Essex.

I've never actually been to Essex, so I'll take Katheryn's word for it that there are nice parts.

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Oh yeah, there are nice parts. You just have to root around a bit, and try not to drive through either: Romford, Basildon, Billericay, Ilford, Brentwood, Southend, or anywhere else that might sound attractive. LOL it REALLY isn't!

And the show is mainly shot in Brentwood. Which is a shame because the town really isn't that bad.. but it's really put me off now. The club they go to, SugarHut, i went there once for a friends birthday party. Was alright...