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Messages - beccentric

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Site News / Re: Introduce yourself - right on!
« on: May 25, 2011, 03:43:18 AM »
I'm Bec. I'm from the UK, I'll be twenty in about a week and with a little luck, I'll be at university studying English Literature and Philosophy & Ethics starting September.

I like all sorts of things, but Greek, Roman and Norse mythology, folklore, politics, philosophy, reading, writing, ukulele-playing, history, classic rock and sitcoms are all major areas of interest.

I'm not sure if I stumbled onto Writing Excuses first or Brandon Sanderson's writing via Wheel of Time. The two happened more or less simultaneously, but entirely coincidentally, if I remember correctly. In any case, Brandon became one of my favourite authors after reading the Mistborn Trilogy, I really enjoyed the I Am Not A Serial Killer books by Dan Wells, and I listen to Writing Excuses on a regular basis. I don't actually write all that much because I'm a complete and utter procrastinator, but the theory of writing fascinates me.

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Writing Group / Re: What is Civilisation?
« on: May 25, 2011, 03:00:42 AM »
Quote from: Stormblessed on October 10, 2010, 04:35:25 AM
I'm dealing with some issues here like religion, law and order. I want to create a society that believes they're civilised, but may just not be as civilised as they believe.

I suppose what you're questioning here is what we mean by 'civilisation'? It's certainly more than just a technology level. I think you can basically either draw comparisons between the supposedly civilised and uncivilised cultures, or show that the 'civilised' society is fragile and could easily topple and revert, given the right pressures. Questions you might want to think about (bear in mind these are no doubt influenced by my own political, religious and philosophical leanings, etc):

-How do they treat their criminals/enemies? Is an eye for an eye fair or does it make the punisher no better than the criminal? Is executing a murderer intrinsically hypocritical?

-How does the civilisation function under stress? Does it fall apart if there's shortage of resources like food?

-Why are their rulers still ruling? What lends them authority? Fear? Respect? Trust? Were they born to the role, elected or 'chosen' in some other way?

-How do they treat their minorities? Women? The sick? Disabled?

-How open minded are they to other cultures? Do they try to enforce their own ideologies on them, where that might not be best for them? Are your 'barbarians' really barbarians, or do your 'civilised' group just see them that way because they're different to them?

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Writing Group / Re: Best. Word. Ever.
« on: May 25, 2011, 02:09:40 AM »
Quote from: Meanas on May 23, 2011, 08:17:41 AM
Fantasticate has already been said.
Not that there is anything wrong with it, it is a pretty awesome word.

I pick CHEESE

(My brother is saying egad. I'm not sure if he's surprised, or if he is trying to submit it)

Perhaps he's being economical with his words, and doing both simultaneously?

Ooh, simultaneously. I like that word. At the risk of sounding morbid, though, my favourite word is probably anguish. I just love the sound of it, particularly the "gwish" bit at the end. Hubris is another of my favourites, but I blame that on classical civilisation A-level.

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Don't listen to the jerks
« on: May 25, 2011, 01:43:06 AM »
My kneejerk reaction is; shouldn't WoT fans be thrilled that the series will be finished at all?

At the end of the day, I know I'd prefer a book that took as much time as it needed to be finished, and was the best it could be. That said, at almost 20 I know some people have waited my whole lifetime for this, so a little impatience is understandable. I sometimes wish I could just read it now, but it's not something I'd go saying all over the Internet.

We don't always think before we type. Should they pause to think about it, I'm sure the 'jerks' in question would realise Brandon's been almost superhuman in finding a balance between the two, putting a phenomenal amount of  hard work into very little time. I don't see how anyone could ask more from the guy! The sheer scope of WoT is incredible. I wouldn't have a clue where to start in Brandon's shoes.  :-\

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