Forum: Story Discussion and Feedback

There are only 4 fundamental forces:
- Gravity
- Weak nuclear
- Electromagnetic
- Strong nuclear
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

Or maybe 3, if you consider Electroweak as one interaction.

I am not sure I can easily imagine gods of such basic forces. How about gods of basic emotions -- Fear, Anger, Hunger and Lust?

The best thing for a story is simplicity, so your own rules don't trip you up as you forget rule 23 while writing rule 36.

One of the best examples of this are Isaac Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics.
There were only 3 very basic laws, but the interactions & interpretations of those laws have resulted in entire series of stories & other very excellent stand alone stories.

In at least on of DB Story's books there was a list of imperatives that guide a robot's actions. Not sure which book, but they maybe in several. I do know that they are mentioned at some point in all of them.

Cheers, RustyKen

I understand homonym policing gets tiresome, particularly for the one getting the ticket. However, do you mean principals or principles? If the pal principal you are talking about a person. If the ple principle you intend underlying theories or reasons. So are you hiding persons (or gods) or the rules your universe runs by?

I think the God of Atheism is a fascinating concept. I suspect he wouldn't care if he were worshiped or not. Might there also be a God of Agnostics?

One of these days we might discuss the God of Procrastination.

One of these days we might discuss the God of Procrastination.

I sense the God of Temptation is working on you :)

AJ

One of these days we might discuss the God of Procrastination.

What's to discuss? 14 Billion years and he hasn't gotten around to doing anything yet.

What's to discuss? 14 Billion years and he hasn't gotten around to doing anything yet.

Much like it is very difficult to kill something that is already dead... It is very difficult to procrastinate on a project nobody has started to even conceptualize.

So imagine he is busy creating an ever growing to-do list.

Much like it is very difficult to kill something that is already dead... It is very difficult to procrastinate on a project nobody has started to even conceptualize.

Except making a to do list is it's self a project, which the god of procrastination would put off to another day.

Except making a to do list is it's self a project, which the god of procrastination would put off to another day.

Never put off til tomorrow something you can avoid doing altogether.

To stain is to put a mark on something. Or maybe treat wood so it has a different color. To ab stain would be to avoid making a stain. In a sense, abstention is the failure to do things. Sure looks like procrastination to me. Maybe the way Greek and Roman gods have different names but similar natures.

Yes, Abstention was not a good choice of word but it wasn't too far away from the meaning I wanted (an outright refusal to do something) and it ands with 'tion'.

Had a look at the theasaurus - best I could see was "declination" / "declinature" though, whilst having the same effect they do not have the clear and obvious appearance of outright refusal HTH

What could be more important to writers than words?

What could be more important to writers than words?

Ideas
stories

Almost anyone can string a few words together, but without an idea to express or a story to tell, would they be worth reading?

Ouch. Ok, as a reviewer and reader I agree readable stories are the most important thing. However, almost all those stories are made up of words, so words matter too.

words matter too

Alright, kids. Don't forget the ABC's while yer at it. And there's them pesky vowels 'n consonants, too!

Cro Magnon hunter Flark at campfire: "Gronnnkkk!" {{BASH!}} "Unnngghkk!" {{POW!}} "Shghunnggh!" {{CRUNCH!}} whhhiimmphr... (hunting celebration)

ABCs, Vowels, Words, Plot, Grammar, what more could you want?

Next?

And there's them pesky vowels 'n consonants, too!

Unless you're Welsh. Then vowels become optional. :P

owever, almost all those stories are made up of words, so words matter too.

Yes, words matter too, they just don't matter more than the idea or story that inspires you to try to string them together.

Paychecks? Royalties? Sales? Paying the rent?

I have a nice regular (decent sized too) paycheck, it just doesn't come from writing.

No rent here, but I do pay a mortgage.

"Why jump to it?" he said. "Chances are it's going to resolve itself anyway, so there's no point to worrying."

Funny thing is, he was right. Most of the time.

There was an informal survey of relatively junior staff done a decade ago in the City of London about decisions by their bosses.
Some managers make nearly instantaneous decisions whilst others demand the last iota of information before deciding.
Based on hindsight about 48%of the decisions made instantaneously were correct but only about 50%of the decisions made with all the facts turned out right.
The comment was made that those who demanded full information often missed the opportunity available because they took so long.

The comment was made that those who demanded full information often missed the opportunity available because they took so long.

It's long been argued that that's the very reason for demanding every detail: they're hoping the problem will disappear before they have to disappear. It's called being 'passive-aggressive', and it applies equally to both bosses and underlings.

While that CAN be a manifestation of the behavior, usually it isn't the result of someone being passive-aggressive. For it to meet that bar, there has to be a deliberate intention to harm someone or something, and to do so using a "passive" means that can't easily be considered offensive on face value("first glance") alone.

But then, checking wiki, looks like it(passive-aggressive) has undergone yet another redefinition so whatever on that front I guess.

As to demanding every detail hoping the decision will disappear before they do. Yeah, it's a form of "cover-your-ass." If there is a decision that should be made but you think it can endanger your career, you do everything you can to defer responsibility to somebody else(your juniors, there is a reason shit rolls downhill and bureaucracy is ever growing after all. Each new tier of management wants another tier of management below them to protect them from fallout from any "bad decisions" that may occur), and data gathering is the easiest and safest way to do so.

After all, by the time the data gathering is complete, the decision may already have been made for all intents as the opportunity has already come and gone, but if it is still there in some form, you now have cover(in the form of all that data) to use in the event you do make a decision, and it turns out to be a bad one. Either way, you can point the blame towards your subordinates, for failure to provide the requested information in a timely enough manner to act on it, or of failing to provide them with "accurate information" in regards to the current state of the project in question.

In which case, it's not being passive-aggressive, it's called being a Bureaucrat instead of being a Leader. Leaders take risks, and are willing to fail. Bureaucrats simply manage and largely try to maintain a status quo while doing everything possible to make sure that if something goes wrong, blame for failure falls in the lap of somebody that isn't them.

There actually is a legitimate use for both, as bureaucrats are very good at trying to keep things constant and predictable, something that helps leaders and other bureaucrats alike in their own decision making. The problem happens when the bureaucrats manage to make it nearly impossible for the leader types to show their stripes because "they're inconsistent."

Sorry, but I disagree. Very few 'passive-aggressive' individuals I know do it consciously. Instead, they behave like that because they feel powerless, and it's their way of striking back at the world. They're not aware of it, unless called on it, but it still governs their behavior.

This is more a matter of definition ("what's passive-agressive?") rather than a discussion of what's in the current literature on the subject.

It still contains an intent for harm, a deliberate one at that, just on a level they're not consciously aware of. Still doesn't rule out others showing comparable traits, for other reasons that may not include an active harm intent, such as the bureaucrat example where the intent remains almost exclusively self-centered(protection of themselves) rather than anything aimed outward.

I've dealt with the nearly oblivious passive-aggressive(and borderline co-dependent, which is a very nasty pairing) before. I've also been party to deliberate and concerted passive-aggressive behavior at a group level, appropriately enough, while in the military at that as the term originated there. (Dealing with multiple tiers of bad leadership in close proximity to each other in a decision chain that you can't pull a "I quit" on will do that)

One of these days we might discuss the God of Procrastination.

Longest running discussion ever.

In similar vein I thought of a set a little more cerebral; Compulsion, Temptation, Procrastination, Delegation and Abstention.

How about the God of Schadenfreude?

A good question. I like to think there was a common theme to my five candidates but I've been unable to articulate just what it is. Somehow Schadenfreude doesn't seem to fit.

Your set are all motivators for action where as schadenfreude is an emotional reaction to someone else's actions