Author:
Deadly Ernest
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Date Posted: 18:13:21 04/19/10 Mon
>>3. Sex and violence are allowable but must move the
>>story along. No sex or violence for the sake of sex or
>>violence.
>>
>>4. Stories should be something that at least possibly
>>could have happened in the real world, either
>>historical or contemporary. This obviously rules out
>>most fantasy, magic-based, vampire or similar novels.
>>Some mild science fiction may be acceptable if the
>>story doesn't hinge on it.
>
>Wes, your rules #3 and 4 above bother
>me a bit. You've got sex and violence in very limited
>amounts in many of your stories. I'm not gonna harp
>on them, though, as I really would like both kept to a
>minimum.
>
>I would like to question the SF and fantasy
>limitations. With the SF limitation, you'd be knocking
>out great stories like all of Heinlein's juvenile
>novels, as well as most of his other ones, not to
>mention those of other great writers. Writing like
>that is too good to pass up. Where do you draw the
>line? I dislike "that Buck Rogers stuff" like "Star
>Trek Wars" and other "wow-factor" special-effects
>stories not based on what we know as real physics.
>Yeah, some of Heinlein's older stories are outdated,
>like the ones set on Venus, where it's too hot for
>life as we know it, but they're great stories if you
>discount that.
>
>I don't mind messing maybe with one little thing. For
>instance, I happen to like a lot of time travel
>stories. Not all. They're based usually on the
>premise that someone travels in time and now has a
>total change in his life. Most go back where the hero
>lives part of his life over, but not all. As long as
>that TT aspect is the only scientific gaffe, I don't
>mind it. When the author doesn't plot the story out,
>forgets something, has the hero telepathize a buddy,
>and tells him to send him a gross of widgets to get
>him out of a jam and they magically appear, that's too
>much of a stretch for me (sorry cement mixer 6).
>
>I also don't like a lot of fantasy, but I could see
>having some limited amounts of fantasy allowed.
>Again, it's a matter of where to draw the line. I
>especially don't like the sort with the Yellow
>magician battling the Pink magician, while dodging
>spells of the Chartreuse magician, and the trolls and
>elves and faeries and rocs are all wreaking havoc in
>the background. It ain't real to anyone. I also
>don't like vampire or "furry" stories. I've never
>seen any of those "Puffy the Vampire Squisher" flicks.
>That doesn't mean that some other people might not be
>able to hack some of it. Hairy Pottymouth sells
>shiploads of unbelieveable books.
>
>You might have trouble finding authors with stories
>suitable for your site if you disallow major genres
>like these.
>
>Dmitri
G'day Dimitri,
I think you misunderstand what Wes is saying or getting at.
Rule 3 - says no gratuitous sex or violence - ie no sex or violence just for the sex or violence, it must relate to the plot or sub-plot of the story. So the the guy seducing the girl in the bar to while away time is out, while the guy seducing the other guy's wife as part of his revenge is in. get it?
Rule 4 - is not against science Fiction as such, but Wes does support Beyond the Far Horizon as would prefer you send that stuff there.
On a side issue - I see no reason to limit the science fiction to the current theories, you mention Heinlien getting the Venus aspects wrong, but he was writing within the science theories of the day. A lot of early science fiction used nuclear power, written at a time when such a thing was seen as impossible, ditto all those death rays - care for a maser or laser shoot out in space today? Time Travel, hell there's a number of scientific theories that hold up under mathematical analysis that says you can do it, we just don't have a power source good enough - yet.
Fantasy is another issue, such as Buffy and the Sword and Sorcery stuff - and I won't touch on that.
Wes wants what he likes, and he's entitled to limit it to that, if he wants.
Ernest
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