Oxidizer Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 It is a GTA forum so what do you expect period dramas? One wouldn't go amiss. But seriously, gangsters are so overplayed I literally almost headdesk every time I see yet another story revolving them. It wouldn't be so bad if they were halfway original and the story that they belonged to was original, but they're not; it's the same old stuff over and over again. It gets tedious. /rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnygorgeous Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 That implies that you do actually read them, and to make such bold all encompassing statements infers that you read all of them in their entirety Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxidizer Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 *skeptical eyebrow quirk of snarkiness* Orly? I'd have thought it would've inferred and implied that I only got as far as a quarter of a way into the stories - max - and realised where the rest of the uninspired piece was going without actually having to read on any further. Turning your audience off at the beginning isn't exactly a good start, especially when it's clichéd and has been done before. (By the way, this isn't a personal 'attack' on you, I'm just putting it out there in general and replying to your response(s) seems the most convenient way of doing so. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam33 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 It is a GTA forum so what do you expect period dramas? One wouldn't go amiss. But seriously, gangsters are so overplayed I literally almost headdesk every time I see yet another story revolving them. It wouldn't be so bad if they were halfway original and the story that they belonged to was original, but they're not; it's the same old stuff over and over again. It gets tedious. /rant Eeeugh yeah but then I found most things are overplayed at the moment. The last 3 films I've seen have all had at least one "renegade cop who doesn't play by the rules but still gets the job done" and this isn't even mentioning the amount of books I've got or have read where the plot revolves around one of those stereotypical gangtsers in it with wit charm and a suit. I mean seriously it just gives me headaches. In the end i just gave up on books that are labelled crime fiction and started reading more obscure things like A confederacy of Dunces, now there's a book with originality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confederacy_of_Dunces Doubt anyone here would like it but its worth a go. they were gonna make a film out of it....With Will Farrell *shotgunmouth* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnygorgeous Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 *skeptical eyebrow quirk of snarkiness* Orly? I'd have thought it would've inferred and implied that I only got as far as a quarter of a way into the stories - max - and realised where the rest of the uninspired piece was going without actually having to read on any further. Turning your audience off at the beginning isn't exactly a good start, especially when it's clichéd and has been done before. (By the way, this isn't a personal 'attack' on you, I'm just putting it out there in general and replying to your response(s) seems the most convenient way of doing so. ) if you are only reading the first quarter, you can’t judge the originality, how many stories leave the great twist till the end, to say that someone who pens non crime related stories is somehow more original than those who do is just being pretentious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxidizer Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Of course you can judge the originality of a story by only reading the first quarter of one, especially if it's filled with clichés and the same old, same old. And I'm all for crime stories, it's just the gangster ones that seem to lack creativity; the characters are stereotypical and/or bland and their storylines are predictable. It's just not interesting, hence why I don't leave feedback for those type of mundane stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnygorgeous Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 That maybe because not many people actually converse with gangsters but I take your point I'll leave it alone now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Face McDougal Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 It is a GTA forum so what do you expect period dramas? One wouldn't go amiss. But seriously, gangsters are so overplayed I literally almost headdesk every time I see yet another story revolving them. It wouldn't be so bad if they were halfway original and the story that they belonged to was original, but they're not; it's the same old stuff over and over again. It gets tedious. /rant [shameless self-promotion] Hem... Hem, hem... Errrguhggles-erm.. Fudge. [/shameless self-promotion] In all honesty, originality has little to do with genre and almost everything to do with execution. I don't know if anyone remembers my series Wiseguys about five years ago, at one point they were publishing them weekly on the San Andreas site (which, this is a whole other story, but I had one of the admins completely take all evidence of the stories off the site when I got a call from an ex-gangster who recognized his name and his story). But anyhow, those Wiseguys stories were very classical Mafia type stuff, probably the furthest thing from original you could get. But... yeah never mind, stoned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnygorgeous Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Of course you can judge the originality of a story by only reading the first quarter of one, especially if it's filled with clichés and the same old, same old. And I'm all for crime stories, it's just the gangster ones that seem to lack creativity; the characters are stereotypical and/or bland and their storylines are predictable. It's just not interesting, hence why I don't leave feedback for those type of mundane stories. When I first read this I mistakenly thought you said of course you can't judge............ it's still basically a rash judgement, I'm not saying that it is not what most people do, its human nature but you can't denigrate on mass a whole genre based on a quarter of the facts, that would be like me saying I think British tabloid journalists are all talent less hacks, because I read one issue of the Daily Star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omnia sunt Communia Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Here is an sneak preview of an upcoming project of mine, currently titled "Brighton Beach": Brighton beach; a picturesque slice of the British shore, this pastel coloured coast has witnessed more conflict than the beaches of Normandy, though unlike its French counterpart, Brighton no longer carries the scars of a war gone by. In the 1960s it acted as a battleground for marauding groups of Mods and Rockers – rival groups who had just happened to make the same holiday plans – who could be seen attacking one another with deckchairs and flick knifes for two days straight. Though the Mods and Rockers were long dead, lost in a sea of familiar youth trends, the beach was still home to the occasional clash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxidizer Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 F*cking flawless. I'm looking forward to whatever Brighton Beach may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Face McDougal Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 The next story out from me will be called The Masturbation Theory, featuring Doug and Brian who are a professor of philosophy and a drug dealer respectively. I post this as much to remind myself to write it as to warn you about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronmar The Only Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Man, what is going on with this bickering? Anyways, vinny, I once wrote a period drama/romance that took place in the midst of the Napoleonic wars. Didn't get a lot of feed back on here and I might expand it some day. In addition, I'm still around, and hopefully will start producing and be more productive here on the site. Visit Writers' Discussion Compilation of Works: From a Storyteller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxidizer Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) You must be so sick of getting different variations of the same thing time and again (hell, I'm getting sick of writing the same part over and over ), but here's the opener I'm likely gonna use for AM: “What’s your poison?” Eyeing the time on his chunky white-gold watch, Dean Morgan supplied his boss with an answer. “Tequila.” It was a little past one a.m. and, although his line of work oftentimes mixed business with pleasure, he hadn’t exactly planned on spending his night doing anything other than going out on the pull. But it seemed the universe and Kristy Livingston had other ideas. He watched as the woman in question poured the famously branded spirit into a glass tumbler in front of him, the amber liquid splashing tantalisingly up its sides, before voicing his thoughts. “I take it this ain’t a social call,” he said, resisting the urge to sigh as restlessness took over. This was going to be a long night. “You’re right,” she confirmed, sliding the drink across the black granite surface of her desk towards him before twisting the cap back onto the bottle and setting it aside. Dean caught the drink, nodding his thanks. “What’s the occasion?” Edited July 15, 2009 by Oxidizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omnia sunt Communia Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Defiantly the best piece of writing I've seen come out of you in a long time Andy. Your perfectionism really paid off. Though I think you now need to start working on expanding on the story and letting us, the reader, pick it apart for once instead of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxidizer Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Thank you! I'm glad you think so. And the good thing is that it came so naturally when I was writing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciabatta Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well I have just written a "gangster" story but the focus will shy away from the gangster element from time to time and explain America's leap into the "modern age". I mean I understand that the fact that the 1920s and the element of rum runners is the basis for many stories and famous/infamous films (Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables, Miller's Crossing, so on and so forth) but I kind of wrote mine as a way to be a brainstorming session/writer's block reliever for Remembering Heath Doonan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omnia sunt Communia Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 This has, hands down, got to be the most random non-sensical piece of writing I've done in a long time. I'm really experimenting with breaking down conventions at the moment in order to give the story more of an anarchic, chaotic feel to it: MYXIE: Sup’? As you can probably tell, my name is MYXIE (though my friends call my Myxie). I live in the desert. Why the desert you ask? Because pretty much the entire world is covered in desert, you see. Here’s the sitch. About 20 years ago (or was it 30?) it stopped raining. Nobody knows why. It just did. It hasn’t rained since and to be frank, it sucks. For some reason a shortage of water lead to the eventual downfall of civilized society. I wouldn’t be able to tell you why, though I’d put a large wager on the fact that it had something to do with the fact that nobody likes being in the same room as someone else if they haven’t showered in two decades. Though that’s just my theory; I’m not geologist or anything. The desert air was harsh and unforgiving. Spirals of sand danced in the wind as the ferocious breeze ripped through the mighty dunes. A lone wanderer traversed the waterless sea in search of the smallest drop of liquid to quench her dying thirst. Her antique jeep, modified to the brink of insanity, chugged along at a steady pace. She- MYXIE: Uhm, hello? Hello. MYXIE: Who are you? I’m the narrator. MYXIE: Why do I need a narrator? I’m here to describe the scene to the readers at home. Make it easier for them to imagine the action in their head. MYXIE: I can do that just fine thank you very much. Apparently not, or I wouldn’t be here. MYXIE: Whatever, just don’t get in my way, alright? Alright then. MYXIE: THANK YOU! Now, where was I? Oh right, the downfall of civilization, right. That isn’t that interesting to be honest, so I’ll just tell you more about me. I was born in London in 2013 (at least, that’s what it says on my birth certificate) just before it stopped raining. My earliest childhood memory is standing out in the garden and feeling the wet grass between my toes as the rain ran down my face. It was the best feeling in the world (this was before I discovered alcohol and orgasms, obviously). Now the only type of shower I can get is from my boyfriend and I told him I’m not into that stuff! He doesn’t listen though. I still wake up smelling of week old piss. Though that may be mine. I’m never too sure to be honest. Everybody’s piss sounds the same after a while. You get used to the smell. Oh! You’re probably wondering what I look like, huh? Don’t lie. You are! Here’s a picture for you to drool over: Gorgeous, huh? A misfit if you’d ever saw one. She didn’t cave into the regular conventions set down by society; Pretty and feminine where words that she didn’t recognise. Tufts of blond hair hung from the top of her head like a badly worn toupee. MYXIE: Oi! I’m right here you know? Sorry, I was just doing my job. MYXIE: Well it wouldn’t hurt for you to be a little nicer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Seems very interesting Kaden, probably the most orginal thing on WD that's been posted (if you post it that is). Also, I'd f*ck Myxie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lochie_old Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 It reminds me of that movie Will Ferrell was in where the lady writes a book, and the book becomes his life and she narrates and stuff... Lemme try and remember what it was called! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxidizer Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I love it! You should definitely continue with it, or at least its style, as it's genuinely unique and outlandish and caught my interest in an instant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark-2007 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 It reminds me of that movie Will Ferrell was in where the lady writes a book, and the book becomes his life and she narrates and stuff... Lemme try and remember what it was called! Stranger Than Fiction yo'! I win. I might give that a watch. To make this post worthy: I've been reading some stuff lately. Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. I thought both of them were pretty good. The latter is written almost like a childrens book, through the eyes of the young boy and so, despite the dark realism in it, it's all seen as pretty innocent stuff. Works well. The former was also good, and seems almost dystopic in its portrayal of war. I would recommend 'em both. Gonna get some stuff out of the library and read it. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omnia sunt Communia Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Thank you Matty, Lochie and Andy. I'm considering continuing that story - but it wont remain the same throughout. It will basically be a stream of continous writing/thought as composed by me and will sometimes be written in first person/third person/script/script-narrative hybrid/poems etc. I hope to give it a really anarchic and chaotic feel while still managing to stick to a (rather loose) plot. I'm also considering writing a spy story. Along the veins of early-James Bond with some elements of Austin Powers-themed parody in there for good measure. It will be set in London (and other parts of the world) during 1969 and will be quite the hootenanny should it ever be written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObsydianRaven Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I've been thinking about making my own Star Wars fanfic. The setting will be unique. Basically, it's set in an alternative universe where Emperor Palpatine dies of a heart attack a few years prior to the events of A New Hope, the Galatic Empire comes under the rule of a a Sith Lord known as Darth Tiberious, who banishes Darth Vader, who fears will try to overthrow him, from the Empire. While hiding from both the Rebels and Empire, Vader travels to Kamino and gets the Kaminoians to create an army of clones with Sith powers and in exchange, Vader will free Kamino from the Empire. Years later, Vader's army, now called the Order of Vader, wages war against the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. The plot follows the adventures of three characters, a Jedi exile turned Rebel, an Imperial commando and the first Sith clone created. There will e many of the classic vehicles and starships from the Original Star Wars Trilogy aswell as some new ones. Also, many of the characters we all know and love make apperences and there will be some new faces The story will also have a dark, apocalyptic tone to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy455 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I've been thinking about making my own Star Wars fanfic. The setting will be unique. Basically, it's set in an alternative universe where Emperor Palpatine dies of a heart attack a few years prior to the events of A New Hope, the Galatic Empire comes under the rule of a a Sith Lord known as Darth Tiberious, who banishes Darth Vader, who fears will try to overthrow him, from the Empire. While hiding from both the Rebels and Empire, Vader travels to Kamino and gets the Kaminoians to create an army of clones with Sith powers and in exchange, Vader will free Kamino from the Empire. Years later, Vader's army, now called the Order of Vader, wages war against the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. The plot follows the adventures of three characters, a Jedi exile turned Rebel, an Imperial commando and the first Sith clone created. There will e many of the classic vehicles and starships from the Original Star Wars Trilogy aswell as some new ones. Also, many of the characters we all know and love make apperences and there will be some new faces The story will also have a dark, apocalyptic tone to it. Wow, I wouldn't mind reading that. Hmm, seems quite Original but new in a way. PM when it's up man. "I might have laughed if I'd have remembered how." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObsydianRaven Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Hmm, seems quite Original but new in a way. PM when it's up man. Sure thing. Also some ofyou guys are gona love the new vehicles being made for the story. Some of them are really powerful, like the Goliath, the newst Imperial walker, it makes the AT-AT look very small in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy455 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Hmm, seems quite Original but new in a way. PM when it's up man. Sure thing. Also some ofyou guys are gona love the new vehicles being made for the story. Some of them are really powerful, like the Goliath, the newst Imperial walker, it makes the AT-AT look very small in comparison. Who is going to be the main Antagonist? Vader or Tiberious? Also are any old locations going to make a comeback? Ergo Hoth, Coruscant...? "I might have laughed if I'd have remembered how." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObsydianRaven Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Who is going to be the main Antagonist? Vader or Tiberious? The main atagonist will be Tiberious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy455 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Who is going to be the main Antagonist? Vader or Tiberious? The main atagonist will be Tiberious. Good man, Vader has been used too many times. There are alot of good stories coming up here nowadays. Anyway, off that, Grant Theft Auto's chapter 2 is up. I've frozen my Grand Theft Auto: Undead for the time being, Until I can get feedback when possible. Otherwise this story is keeping me occupied. I'm thinking of making a Old Era story, completely new creating my own biker gang called 'The Sons of Liberty'. "I might have laughed if I'd have remembered how." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObsydianRaven Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) Who is going to be the main Antagonist? Vader or Tiberious? The main atagonist will be Tiberious. Good man, Vader has been used too many times. There are alot of good stories coming up here nowadays. Anyway, off that, Grant Theft Auto's chapter 2 is up. I've frozen my Grand Theft Auto: Undead for the time being, Until I can get feedback when possible. Otherwise this story is keeping me occupied. I'm thinking of making a Old Era story, completely new creating my own biker gang called 'The Sons of Liberty'. Yeah, Vader needs a break. Also as for your other question. Yes there will be returning locations and new ones aswell. Edited July 10, 2009 by sethpenguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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