The Mer-Writers Thread

[Gem Stone]

the mermaid book I'm working on now is my personal favorite out of most of my mermaid ideas. the main character (loosely based of myself) is a natural born swimmer. her dad is a marine biologist and she doesn't know about her mom. never knew her, and never asked about her. just knew she wasn't around. because of her swimming skills, she joined the swim team, but left a few years later when she couldn't explain why she became faster than the coach. as it goes along, she finds out that three boys in her school were mermen sent to land to keep her safe. she distrusts them at first but quickly realizes that the ocean is much bigger than her and she needs their help to understand the merfolk ways. she finally gets to meet her mom, who is a mermaid and broke a law by having a child with a human. then she must decide whether to continue to live with her father on land or join her mother in the sea

[Merman Dan]

Gem, have you ever seen the pilot episode to the Aquaman TV series that never aired? You might enjoy it.

Aquaman (2003) - iTunes

[deepblue]

^THAT pilot is why I am in love with a fictional character.

[deepblue]

@deepblue ,If you're looking for people to edit, why not get someone from the community to edit it for you? or maybe a few people to see what they catch? (a good way to do this is by using google docs and sharing it with other google accounts because the people wan write notes and highlight and you can always see what they're doing or what page they are on.) If you want to go that route, I'd be more than happy to help edit it

Well- it's been in my sig asking for reviews, and there's not a lot else I can do. If you want to go to the site in my sig, and read it, I would love your input!

Well... if anyone is interested I went to school to be an editor, been published once, and worked in two internships that published anthologies, and done some editing work for Fan Fiction Writers.

Do you have a set price for editing?

[coral_sybil]

Do you have a set price for editing?

No, I didn't really think of charging anyone. I think of it as:
1. keeping my skills sharp
and 2. if you really like working with me you might mention me on the dedication page.

Mostly number one.

[deepblue]

The manuscript I would like to see edited is 65 pages long. If you could look it over for me, I would definitely mention you if it goes to 'print'- the thing is, someone with skills could also say, "No, this isn't ready and needs more of this or that" which would be so helpful. Can I email it to you or?

[coral_sybil]

Yeah I'll send you my email in a private message.

[Gem Stone]

Gem, have you ever seen the pilot episode to the Aquaman TV series that never aired? You might enjoy it.

Aquaman (2003) - iTunes

Thank you for that! I would have loved that show! Can I find it anywhere?

[Merman Dan]

Thank you for that! I would have loved that show! Can I find it anywhere?

Alas, they only made the pilot episode.

You might enjoy Surface, though. Granted, that show only lasted a season.

[deepblue]

Speaking of shows, does anyone here write in screenplay format? I've been thinking about that- but I want to focus on bringing my writing skills up before approaching a different kind of writing.

Also- Surface was awesome. I recall reading that it was never planned as more than we saw, the producers knew from the get go it was only a one summer replacement series. Nimrod! So cute.

You can watch Aquaman here, in parts. GAH I can't even watch, he ruins me for all real life men. Justin Hartley is a natural with the swimming... it's so good. And I have a bad enough fangirl crush on that man.

WAIT- It totally skips the entire first few minutes- the don't have the part where AC as a child and his mom are in a plane, crash into the sea and are attacked by a mystery creature, and AC is lifted from the water by humpback whales. I can't believe they left that out. It is how he gets the necklace, how he knows his real name is Orrin... geesh.

So if you don't care about that, you can see the rest here.
http://justinhartleymedia.net/videos...-pilot-part-1/

[deepblue]

In honor of the editors in our lives:

[deepblue]

Triple post! Because I want to share this, I'm finding it helpful at the moment.

Author Chuck Palahniuk writes about 'Thought Verbs'


In fact there are several essays by him at the site: http://litreactor.com/essays/36-writ...huck-palahniuk

[Mermaid Varshana]

That article = win.

[Alveric]

Here's an illustration I commissioned for the second chapter of Spindrift. It's by Gordon Napier and entitled In the Hall of the Keeper.

[deepblue]

Very nice illustration, Alveric. it makes me wonder more about what's going on in the story.

I have a question regarding sexuality in books.

My book is not YA (young adult) fiction, it's for adults. There is sex and sexuality, but I'm wondering about how others feel about sex scenes- when does something go from being a book that includes sex because it's part of life to a book that just became erotica? I know there is a lot of paranormal fiction that discusses a fair degree of sex, but I haven't necessarily read it.

So what do you think, mer-writers? How much sex, detail, etc., is too much in a book for adults? When does it cross over into erotica?

Incidentally, one article I just read made a lot of sense to me. Here are some excerpts from "Writing (and reading) Sex Scenes: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."

By realizing that writing about sex isn’t about insert Tab A into Slot B—it’s about the emotion behind the writhing.

By remembering what Elizabeth Benedict said in her wonderful book, The Joy of Writing Sex:

Benedict: A good sex scene is not always about good sex, but it is always an example of good writing.
It’s easier to write about sex when it’s ‘bad,’ when the character is damaging herself through the act, or using sex as panacea or cover-up, than it is to write about good sex. Perhaps it’s a variation on Tolstoy’s famous aphorism about happy families vs. unhappy families. All fantastic sex is remarkably similar in how it lights up the brain, while “I gotta get through this somehow” sex is a textured way to reveal the problems in a relationship, which leads to Benedict’s next point:

Benedict: A good sex scene should always connect to the larger concerns of the work.
When writing about my main characters, sisters Lulu and Merry, I wanted to show them reacting in wildly divergent ways to the same trauma (the murder of their mother by their father.) Naturally, their experiences of sexuality were defined by that horrendous act. If I wanted to reveal the ways they were affected by witnessing their mother’s death, I needed to go into their bedrooms, and not in a polite manner.

[Alveric]

Thnks, the book should be out in a few months. If you're curious and can't wait, I prereleased the first two chapters on Deviant Art. http://alveric2.deviantart.com/

As for sex scenes, the difference to me is whether the characters are having sex or whether the writer is engaging in some kind of gratuitous literary masturbation.

[mermaidwhisperer]

The Cover for The sequel to The Marked Ones, 'Three Rings' just went live! Out next Friday![ATTACH]13900[/ATTACH

There’s blood in the water. And the sharks are circling now.
A dream can become a nightmare in a matter of moments, and Ivyanne Court is living proof of this. She thought choosing between three potential husbands she was indifferent to was the worst thing that could happen to her, but she was so very wrong. Choosing between two she cares deeply for is that much worse. Especially when there’s a chance that one moment of irresponsibility has already predetermined her future. Hands tied, heart bound, still mourning the loss of her best friend, Ivyanne cannot believe that having her unspoken wish granted could cause so much misery among those closest to her. The mers are no longer looking to the queen for guidance, or the princess for her decision- but the moon, for they believe that what it reveals as it wanes will illuminate Ivyanne’s path, whether she agrees, or not, for as tides sculpt the sand, the moon shapes their kingdom.But is it that simple? Is a heart divided, merely a heart in denial?In the distance, hidden in shadow but forever watching, someone thinks it is. Someone is convinced that the princess has created conflict in her heart, and will find resolution only by stepping into his arms instead. But he knows she will not listen to him and a quest begins, a journey from The Great Barrier Reef to the Antarctic Ocean, seeking allies to assist him, creating division within the kingdom for the first time in one thousand years. He believes that the moon’s power is dwarfed by his own, and if the princess can’t find a way to rule the men she thinks that she loves out of her heart, that he is going to take them out of her life any way he can. His whole life, other people have drawn the lines in the sand, but now, he is carving his own, deep enough to draw blood.Three Rings sees a shift in the mer way of thinking, but for a kingdom that was previously the pinnacle of perfection, this will be a jarring lesson to learn and will resonate from the community they have claimed as their own, to the furthest reaches of the Mediterranean, drawing fresh souls to Seaview, fresh jealousies, fresh insecurities, and fresh wounds. For what lies beneath is power previously unimagined, and one man is about to bend it to his will.

[Mermaid Varshana]

Very nice illustration, Alveric. it makes me wonder more about what's going on in the story.

I have a question regarding sexuality in books.

My book is not YA (young adult) fiction, it's for adults. There is sex and sexuality, but I'm wondering about how others feel about sex scenes- when does something go from being a book that includes sex because it's part of life to a book that just became erotica? I know there is a lot of paranormal fiction that discusses a fair degree of sex, but I haven't necessarily read it.

So what do you think, mer-writers? How much sex, detail, etc., is too much in a book for adults? When does it cross over into erotica?

I don't know. Lots and lots of books manage to have (sometimes very graphic!) sex scenes in them without being erotica, so it doesn't have to be a difficult thing to discern. Also, erotica is not porn. It can be a beautiful writing style.

I'd just go for honest and straight-forward. Write the frickin' scene as it plays out in your head, or start it and fade to black. Benedict is right on the money. We're adults. We know the song and dance by now.

As for one of Benedict's other assertions, I find that negative sex is harder and less satisfying to write for me. I'm fiercely against the common idea that sex often has to be a bad, damaging, destructive act to be interesting in a book. I was raised with the ideology that sex is usually a negative act growing up, and it's contributed to the fact that I will never, ever be able to function that way normally. Additionally, I have friends who continually engage in self-destructive sex and I just see nothing entertaining or engaging about writing it. So, when I write sex, it's usually a cathartic, reaffirming, exploratory scene, because my characters are usually in the process of self-rebuilding or finding themselves. In the process, I find catharsis too Which is cool, because fiction is such a broad swath that not all plot points have to center around doom and gloom.

[Mermaid Varshana]

By the way...

This:



got published. And it was crazy, crazy successful. I don't think you have to worry about anything there.

[mermaidwhisperer]

My first book has one sex scene and two quasi make-out scenes. The book is about breeding, so I can't avoid it and wouldn't want to. I write sex how it is, and I'm pretty sure it's about as erotic as it gets. But I'd like to think that out of 40 chapters, the sex only contributes to the story, not detracts. I don't like hump scenes just sprinkled through for the sake of them. I think if there's a lot of it, and it's not symbolic of anything but sex, then it's closing in on erotic territory. Not that that's a bad thing.