>> Thank you for pointing me where to start! That'll help immensely. <<
I'm glad I could help!
>> I don't even know what article I was trying to read back when you posted part 1 of this story. I think it might have been the comics one. And I tried googling some character names, probably ended up on some comics wiki, and mostly continued to be confused (Because the intended audience for a comics wiki is fans, so of course they don't explain the 1+1=2 stuff). <<
That's okay. This stuff is confusing because there is a lot of canon and it contradicts itself. Frankly much of comiclore is officially sanctioned fanfic after you get past the first author/artist pair and story arc of anything; later users tend to change things. I'm working primarily from the recent movies, some miscellaneous comic bits, and other fragments of canon.
And I disapprove of "about" articles that assume prior knowledge. If people knew the topic they probably wouldn't be reading the article, unless it's meant as a series set to cover multiple levels and you come in at the intermediate one. Sheesh, even my nonfiction book says in the front that it's not meant as a first book on either writing or Paganism.
>>I recognise Asgard from some novel I read about 8 years ago that built on Scandinavian mythology some.<<
Some of the mythology is used in comic canon, some not, so that may help.
>> I recognise the tesseract from A Wrinkle in Time. If this is a completely different tesseract, which it probably is, I'll be lost. okay something about a wormhole, that sounds like the tesseracts i know and love. <<
They're related, though not identical. This Tesseract is a potent and dangerous power source with a lot of applications that frankly nobody understands in full.
>> the name "Bruce Banner" sounds vaguely familiar, and the link goes to the Hulk, who I can visualise but don't know if he's a good guy or a bad guy. <<
Both, actually. Bruce-and-Hulk are a multiple system with a profoundly dysfunctional relationship; they're also survivors of child abuse, and they act like it. That's canon; I play it up in this series because it's relevant here. So they try to do things right, but they make a lot of mistakes, and it's taking them a long time to learn how to deal with each other at all well.
>> paragraph 3 "The Avengers become divided" -- not sure which of the 13 characters named thus far are members of the Avengers. the problem with the cliff notes version is you don't have time to get to know anybody before new people are introduced. <<
In comic canon, the team members vary. In the movies, they are Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Natasha Romanova/Black Widow, and Thor. In my series, I start with those minus Thor (who has gone back to Asgard), plus Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD.
>> I think I'll do better with "Love Is For Children". Especially if it lets me get to know people one at a time and understand who they are. <<
It starts out primarily with the trio of Phil, Clint, and Natasha. Then Tony, Bruce, and Steve come into play one at a time. Betty is the girlfriend of Bruce-and-Hulk; she arrives in "Dolls and Guys." (For best results, read the plot summary of The Incredible Hulk.) Bucky is Steve's brother-by-choice; he arrives in "No Winter Lasts Forever." (Read the plot summary of Captain America.) By adding characters slowly, I have more time to develop the relationships as they grow and change.
>> Interestingly enough, I recognise some of these characters from another work of fanfiction (sort of) I've been enjoying. <<
That's good to hear.
>> So, I already know somebody named Tony Stark, who is a genius and tech wiz and is good at making gadgets, and I know a computer program named JARVIS who keeps Tony Stark company <<
I write Tony as a technogenius with poor emotional skills, and JARVIS as computer-generated assistant. So you'll probably recognize them.
>> Most of the people you're writing to do know the backstory, <<
I often try to describe enough that people new to a story will have something to go on, and people already familiar won't feel that I'm spoon-feeding them ...
>> and I remember how annoyed I used to be as a kid reading the Babysitter's Club books that there was an entire chapter devoted to "what the fuck is the Babysitter's Club?" <<
... which mistake people often make with kids. Though I've seen it even in adult books; James White's "Sector General" stories have whole paragraphs of boilerplate that gets repeated whenever a certain topic comes up.
>> I think an index at the back of the book would have been sufficient for those books: <<
Agreed.
>> Sounds like Bucky's having a rough time. <<
He really is. There's a lot of damage, just not where it shows on the skin. Mental injury gets nasty.
>> I hope things get better for him. <<
They do. One the Avengers get Bucky into their home where they can take care of him properly, they quickly start to figure out ways of dealing with the damage. Some of it is stuff that can be alleviated pretty fast, while some is going to take a lot more time and effort. Among the things that people like about this series is that, no matter how bad things get, the characters help each other over the rough spots and the stories tend to end on an upbeat. The earlier stories are high in fluff content; as the series progresses, more serious topics arise, but there is still fluff for leavening.
>> I do hope I'll be able to read this story. I'll go read Love is for Children. <<
Yay!
>> I could see a Goal-Fish category helping with that. "Stuff I need to remember" (instead of the usual categories of "Stuff to do"). <<
That's a good idea.
*ponder* And there's another expansion option, too: you could watch for people's customized categories to see if there are ones you'd really like to make public versions of; and you could make a list of customized categories that several people have used, to be visible as a donor perk in case other folks want to create their own.
>> I created a Goal-Fish category for Seasonings recently on my personal account. <<
Oh, that's clever!
I have a chart that shows which herbs are good which which other ingredients. There are a few herbs and a few vegetables that will go with almost anything. There are also some that go really well together. So when I don't know what herbs and spices I want to use, I look there for inspiration.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
Re: Okay...
Date: 2013-06-02 12:34 am (UTC)I'm glad I could help!
>> I don't even know what article I was trying to read back when you posted part 1 of this story. I think it might have been the comics one. And I tried googling some character names, probably ended up on some comics wiki, and mostly continued to be confused (Because the intended audience for a comics wiki is fans, so of course they don't explain the 1+1=2 stuff). <<
That's okay. This stuff is confusing because there is a lot of canon and it contradicts itself. Frankly much of comiclore is officially sanctioned fanfic after you get past the first author/artist pair and story arc of anything; later users tend to change things. I'm working primarily from the recent movies, some miscellaneous comic bits, and other fragments of canon.
And I disapprove of "about" articles that assume prior knowledge. If people knew the topic they probably wouldn't be reading the article, unless it's meant as a series set to cover multiple levels and you come in at the intermediate one. Sheesh, even my nonfiction book says in the front that it's not meant as a first book on either writing or Paganism.
>>I recognise Asgard from some novel I read about 8 years ago that built on Scandinavian mythology some.<<
Some of the mythology is used in comic canon, some not, so that may help.
>> I recognise the tesseract from A Wrinkle in Time. If this is a completely different tesseract, which it probably is, I'll be lost. okay something about a wormhole, that sounds like the tesseracts i know and love. <<
They're related, though not identical. This Tesseract is a potent and dangerous power source with a lot of applications that frankly nobody understands in full.
>> the name "Bruce Banner" sounds vaguely familiar, and the link goes to the Hulk, who I can visualise but don't know if he's a good guy or a bad guy. <<
Both, actually. Bruce-and-Hulk are a multiple system with a profoundly dysfunctional relationship; they're also survivors of child abuse, and they act like it. That's canon; I play it up in this series because it's relevant here. So they try to do things right, but they make a lot of mistakes, and it's taking them a long time to learn how to deal with each other at all well.
>> paragraph 3 "The Avengers become divided" -- not sure which of the 13 characters named thus far are members of the Avengers. the problem with the cliff notes version is you don't have time to get to know anybody before new people are introduced. <<
In comic canon, the team members vary. In the movies, they are Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Natasha Romanova/Black Widow, and Thor. In my series, I start with those minus Thor (who has gone back to Asgard), plus Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD.
>> I think I'll do better with "Love Is For Children". Especially if it lets me get to know people one at a time and understand who they are. <<
It starts out primarily with the trio of Phil, Clint, and Natasha. Then Tony, Bruce, and Steve come into play one at a time. Betty is the girlfriend of Bruce-and-Hulk; she arrives in "Dolls and Guys." (For best results, read the plot summary of The Incredible Hulk.) Bucky is Steve's brother-by-choice; he arrives in "No Winter Lasts Forever." (Read the plot summary of Captain America.) By adding characters slowly, I have more time to develop the relationships as they grow and change.
>> Interestingly enough, I recognise some of these characters from another work of fanfiction (sort of) I've been enjoying. <<
That's good to hear.
>> So, I already know somebody named Tony Stark, who is a genius and tech wiz and is good at making gadgets, and I know a computer program named JARVIS who keeps Tony Stark company <<
I write Tony as a technogenius with poor emotional skills, and JARVIS as computer-generated assistant. So you'll probably recognize them.
>> Most of the people you're writing to do know the backstory, <<
I often try to describe enough that people new to a story will have something to go on, and people already familiar won't feel that I'm spoon-feeding them ...
>> and I remember how annoyed I used to be as a kid reading the Babysitter's Club books that there was an entire chapter devoted to "what the fuck is the Babysitter's Club?" <<
... which mistake people often make with kids. Though I've seen it even in adult books; James White's "Sector General" stories have whole paragraphs of boilerplate that gets repeated whenever a certain topic comes up.
>> I think an index at the back of the book would have been sufficient for those books: <<
Agreed.
>> Sounds like Bucky's having a rough time. <<
He really is. There's a lot of damage, just not where it shows on the skin. Mental injury gets nasty.
>> I hope things get better for him. <<
They do. One the Avengers get Bucky into their home where they can take care of him properly, they quickly start to figure out ways of dealing with the damage. Some of it is stuff that can be alleviated pretty fast, while some is going to take a lot more time and effort. Among the things that people like about this series is that, no matter how bad things get, the characters help each other over the rough spots and the stories tend to end on an upbeat. The earlier stories are high in fluff content; as the series progresses, more serious topics arise, but there is still fluff for leavening.
>> I do hope I'll be able to read this story. I'll go read Love is for Children. <<
Yay!
>> I could see a Goal-Fish category helping with that. "Stuff I need to remember" (instead of the usual categories of "Stuff to do"). <<
That's a good idea.
*ponder* And there's another expansion option, too: you could watch for people's customized categories to see if there are ones you'd really like to make public versions of; and you could make a list of customized categories that several people have used, to be visible as a donor perk in case other folks want to create their own.
>> I created a Goal-Fish category for Seasonings recently on my personal account. <<
Oh, that's clever!
I have a chart that shows which herbs are good which which other ingredients. There are a few herbs and a few vegetables that will go with almost anything. There are also some that go really well together. So when I don't know what herbs and spices I want to use, I look there for inspiration.