NaNoWriMo + Romance in Stories + Homosexuality - Comments

GRAMPAA YOU ARE HAVING THE SAME STORY PLOT CRISIS I HAD IN AUGUST
I WISH YOU LUCK
/you'll notice that I haven't really written at all since then, no matter what the genre

(I think being in class again and learning things has helped me though, because I got some ideas from my history and crim lectures so I might possibly start working out some plot things and slowly get to characters and then I might possibly write the thing in like 48579 years )

ALSO UNI'S KILLING ME RN TOO DON'T WORRY QURL
(here's hoping you got some cute TAs)

My NaNo username is FionaGrey.

I'm struggling a lot with my NaNo storyline. I thought I had a kind of basic idea but then stuff wasn't working so I'm throwing it all away and starting my plot from scratch. So now I'm just kind of going on whatever comes to mind but it's hard. It's like this story doesn't want me to write it.

It's an adventure fantasy and it centers around a man named Eric who is in a world set in older times where witches and mystics and warlocks are real. (As well as a few other fairy tale creatures.) I don't have a lot of the plot other than he was saved by a mystic (which is a little bit like a spiritual being but they're not from any religious aspect) from a witch. Witches in this story are evil. They used to be humans who then dabbled in black magic and had their bodies and minds deformed. They bleed black instead of red and are often categorized as insane. Mystics are more earthly beings and use the light side of magic, but they are also feared and discriminated against by humans because they use magic. It's hard to explain this story because I basically have no plot yet, but something happens with Eric and he needs to go on a journey to find something to either get revenge on or just stop, and along the way he meets a fellow named Alec and teams up with him. Later on down the path he also meets a mystic named Ava who agrees to help him. I had toyed with the idea of there being a love connection between Ava and Eric. In my original plot the love story was bigger but now I'm thinking of having it smaller.

That's kind of all I have so far.

I cried watching Brokeback Mountain. It was honestly really sad seeing two people who have to hide who they were and build a life based on lies.

Sorry this was really long.

@ colour me perfect.

People do fall in love. And I noticed in movies they add people who are in love or were in love a bunch too. It bugs me that I can't write a full length story without sexual tension though. The NaNo won't have romance, but the alien one I'm thinking of switching to does.

I really don't see why it's a big deal to be gay. As a kid I was exposed to it, my parents never talked about it, in the movies I thought it was a joke. It wasn't until I went to jr high when I personally dealt with it. The people who were bisexual (which was the sexuality many of them called themselves) were shunned and so where their friends. My parents told me not to go around people like that because it might "rub off" or people would think I was gay too. My parents weren't even that closed minded. My friend who is bisexual her father forced her to read the bible out loud each day to "rid" the gay from her. She couldn't go near anyone because he didn't want her to get "more" gay.

Many parents in Texas are like that. Many people here still think sexual orientation is a choice. Though we don't chose who we love (gender if we are homosexual, bisexual or even pans sexual), many do chose to ignore it. I can't speak for all of America, I haven't left Texas more than a few hours. But in the United States, Texas is known for it extreme views. Actually when I was younger I admitted to a few kids I was gay (I actually told them I was bisexual, in hopes they would leave my friend alone because she was suicidel from all the bullying) and I actually got sent out of class for being disruptive. Because the proclaimed "Christian" girl next to me stood up screaming and ran out the door. Why? She thought she could "catch the gay" and I was so against her morals and suchan abomination she didn't even want to look at me. I had to sit in the hallway for actually admiting my orientation outloud for the rest of the class period. I was called in at the end though.The girl was in another room because she didn't want to go near me, when she was called in to apologize (guess the teacher thought my parents would sue her) the girl wouldn't shake my hand or look at me. She started yelling and the whole thing happened in front of the whole classroom of kids. I was thirteen years old and I had just faced what my state does to "different" people.

So yeah, I hope one day homosexuality isn't looked so down upon. There is laws where people cannot discriminate against someone, but people still are. Kids are still bullied and adults still have to hide who they are. I'm really sorry that was really long to read. My state and it's people just infuriate me sometimes. It doesn't matter if someone is gay or straight, we are all the same. One person shouldn't be shunned for who they love.

@ dougie poynter;
Heeeeey! I still have to reply to your message. I'm glad you like the look of it! Yours looks amazing too. I'm subscribing so November please come more quickly okay.

We're not even close to legalising same-sex marriage. We just got a new Prime Minister and he's going to send us right back into the 1950s from the looks of it. That all sounds very similar to where I am, too. People seem to get less prejudiced as they grow up, and quite a few of my friends are gay. I have met some people who really have a problem with it though (born-again Christians... ugh) but otherwise it's just a way of life. I've never seen it to the extremes that I hear about in novels/movies/journals.

Your NaNo looks so good. I honestly love the idea and I've subscribed already. I have like 6 ideas for NaNo but I think Nuclear is more than likely to end up being the one I choose to write in the end.

I honestly don't think homophobia is a big thing in the U.K, or at least in Scotland. I know that the England and Wales (and probably Northern Ireland, I'm not sure) have same-sex marriage legalised but I think our bill is still going through Scottish Parliament (they haven't properly focused on anything other than gaining independence from Great Britain / the UK for months). I know that quite a few people in our school used to make fun of the LGTB students, but honestly, I don't think it's as big a deal as in other countries. My dad works beside an openly gay person, I work beside several people who are openly LGTB and I go to university with one or two as well. It's one of these things that just seems to be accepted throughout.

@ colour me perfect.
Unfortunately there aren't. Some States have laws protecting sexual orientation and some have laws protecting sexual orientation and gender identity. But the majority of States don't have either. :c Ah don't worry, the U.S isn't even close to it either. We can see which one of our countries stays stuck in the past longest.

I always thought the movie was just another romance without a point so that's why I never really watched it. I'll look it up and see what I can find though. :3

@ Airi.
I winged it last year too. I think that was the fun of it.

Like I said to tonic, I agree with that. When there's little to no plotline besides two people falling in love and getting together I really don't have much interest in the story. Especially if it's just the same thing that you see time and time again -- only with different characters. I like complex plots no matter what the genre is. I get bored easily otherwise, haha.

You can be fired for being gay? That's ridiculous. You'd think that there'd be some kind of low prohibiting that. I've heard that the U.S. is pretty bad in terms of acceptance of homosexuality, but because I've never been there I really had no idea. The U.S. really can be very archaic. I think Australia has the advantage of being much smaller and a lot more confined, if that makes sense. It could just be where I live, though. I know people who have been tormented for being gay during their schooling years, but after that you get your occasional extremists and homophobes and that's it. And yet... we still haven't legalised gay marriage and we're not even close.

I'd really recommend it. It drags a fair bit but the meaning behind it is really moving. I've heard people refer to it as 'a bunch of fags having sex' and that's really upsetting because I think it's so pivotal in terms of breaching the gap between hetero and homosexuality. But I guess you always get those ignorant people.

I haven't started planning a NaNo novel but.... I don't really plan any of my writing so that's not surprising. I think I'll just wing it like last year. Worked out pretty well for me.

Personally, I don't like reading romance. I find most of it to be cliche and boring, so it doesn't really interest me. A slight romance in the story doesn't get to me but if romance is the only thing a story is centered on, chances are that I won't enjoy it very much. I used to write romance but I guess I've gotten bored of it, I don't write or read it as much

The amount of homophobia depends on where you live. I live in a very accepting city which is often considered a safe haven for the LGBTQ community. But when I lived in New Mexico, I was bullied and tormented for being gay. That was almost 3 years ago since I last lived there so... Meh maybe it's changed. I dunno. The U.S still struggles with acceptance for homosexuality and a lot of people struggle through being discriminated again. I mean, in a majority of our States, people can still be fired for just being gay and it happens quite often too. .v. It's ridiculous how backwards and archaic the U.S is when it comes to homosexuality. v.v

But I've never seen Brokeback Mountain so I'm not sure what kind of discrimination you saw in the movie. ^^'

@ tonic
Yeah, I can most definitely agree with that. I don't read too many stories on here either, and I find that some people definitely do struggle to write a realistic story from a man's point of view. I don't like reading stories that are wholly and solely 'romance' -- as in, there is no other plot line, but at the same time I do enjoy an aspect of it if it's done tastefully and fits in with the rest of the story.

I try to remind myself of the Harry Potter series, because I consider J.K. Rowling to be an amazing author despite the popularity. She managed to write a kickass series which just incorporated a tiny bit of romance. I think if I ever tried to write something seriously and not just for fun I'd do it that way.

@ psychotic secrets;
That looks really good!

I'm like that in real life too, and I have the same problem with stories. I think when it comes down to it, romance just interests me. Probably because I've never experienced it and it's interesting to explore the emotions, and as you said, write about how it starts and how it ends and how it develops as well. I wouldn't consider my stories primarily 'romances' but at the same time, it's hard not to incorporate a part of it in there. But the way I see it is that that is real life anyway. People fall in love.

Oh really? That sounds really hard. And I'll be honest: for a while when I was younger I was scared that I was gay. As though it was a way of being punished. But then as I grew I realised how ridiculous it was to be scared of the way you are, and how ridiculous it was to think that it would be such a bad thing to like the same sex. I guess that's why I asked the question, because I've realised that if I was gay, sure I'd get some hostility but I'd have a normal life anyway. It sounds like it's harder there. I'm glad it's a bit more open, but at the same time I wish the word had less stigma around it. I hope homosexuality becomes even more open there.

The primary reason I don’t read many Mibba stories is because romance tends to be central to every plot, and what was originally planned to be the key plot becomes secondary. I find that the men also tend to be very feminized, like women with penises, which in turn becomes unrealistic.

This is the story I'm considering for NaNo. Though, I may use this other idea I'm really fond of about aliens instead.

I like romance for some reason. Even though I'm not romantic and anything romanic in my presence makes me awkward. I love writing about it, how it starts and how it ends. It's really hard NOT to have some kind of romance in a story. So many movies have it and it's just really hard. I've tried before and my story just sucked.

Where I'm at homosexuality is more open than it used to be. But we are always discriminated against. I can't even say the word "gay" in my house without a frenzy happening. I'm on the homosexual scale and it's hard to live like that. I hate hiding who I am.

@ Thylacine
Yours looks amazing. I'm so excited for NaNo!

Your story looks interesting. I'd be interested in reading it. This may or may not be my NaNo.

I don't really have the problem with the romance because I've never written it.