Avatar photoSteven Savage

Way With Worlds: Heroes and Villains – Beyond The Planet Of The Morons

by

keys

(Way With Worlds Runs Weekly at MuseHack and Seventh Sanctum)

So last time I noted how David Brin had gotten me discussing the idea of the Idiot Plot or the Planet Of Morons – the idea the hero(es) are the only things saving the world, which is also corrupt and stupid.

The thing with this plot is it degrades society – and degrades the characters and the world. It makes the heroes stupidly unbelievable, it makes the villains shallow or uninteresting, it makes the world improbable.. It’s in short dumb and inaccurate and psychologically toxic when it’s everywhere.

But I’d like to expand on this in what is hopefully my last Heroes and Villains post on worldbuilding. Yeah, I know, unlikely, but still.

Namely, if you don’t resort to the Idiot Plot and the Planet of Morons (and you won’t, right?), here’s my thoughts on how to make the story or game interesting while preserving world integrity. Because you do want to engage the reader, but you also want to have a good, believable world setting.

First, let’s get to the heart of the matter.

Read more

Steve’s Update 10/5/2014

by

Hey everyone, so what’s been up? A LOT.

Last week I did Con-Volution. This is a hardcore, old-school SF con with a big focus on skills, writing, socializing, and development. I was on panels on religion and worldbuilding (amazing, has to be done again), general worldbuilding (very diverse), and general careers(with a focus on professional behavior). Going back next year and I recommend it to others who can make it – though it’s kind of semi-local. However I most strongly recommend looking their schedule over for ideas.

This weekend I did Kraken-Con. Spoke on how to Make Japanese Curry (I’m branching into Geek Cooking and this was successful) and my Fan To Pro panel. Great con and it’s twice a year – only it went from 800 people 6 months ago to about 2K estimated. I’m thinking this thing is gonna have to be one a year. Spectacularly well-run, I’m already planning to go back. Been there since it started.

My latest job series, “The Dark Side Of ‘Do What You Love’” is complete. It was a chance to explore some more negative approaches to my usual career advice. You’ll find it informative.

This week . . . well we’ll see how things go.  But I’m feeling pretty energized.  The cons gave me some great ideas . . . now I just need time to implement them.
– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

The Dark Side Of Do What You Love: Roundup

by

Let’s take a look at the dark side of that bit of advice “Do What You Love?”

  • The Introduction – What’s this all about?
  • Your Situation – Your situation probably is messing up your dreams as is.
  • Psychology – You could well be your own worst enemy.
  • Skills And Abilities – What you need, what you don’t have, and worse, what you don’t know.
  • Breaking In – Knowing what you’re doing doesn’t mean you’ll get into the career you want.
  • The Job – Even if you get the job it won’t be what you expect.
  • The Change – Things will change on you even if you get what you want.
  • When It Works – But there is a reason to take “Do What You Love” to heart . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.