[ SECRET POST #2667 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2667 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 041 secrets from Secret Submission Post #381.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

03. http://i61.tinypic.com/2cyh284.jpg

[yield]

the times? like...a character looks at a clock and notices the time? i feel like im missing something here because i don't see how you could make that cliche.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe they're saying it's cliche for things to happen at certain times of day...?

They don't want to view their fic in the Times font...?

[dreemyweird]

lmao

I can't figure it out, either. I thought they were talking about a particular fandom that had a character called the Times.

[cushlamochree]

Maybe they have the characters reading The Times?

[dreemyweird]

And are afraid that their fictional copy of The Times is going to be "too cliche"? But what is the "cliche" copy of The Times like?? Man, that's some weird stuff. I wish OP came and explained themselves.

[a_potato]

You know, until this moment, I had never thought about it being cliche for certain things to happen at certain times. But...it kind of is, isn't it? How about that.

[dreemyweird]

Same here.

[loracarol]

That's what I thought to, like, they're afraid of making the times things hsppen being too cliche, like important news coming at dawn, or magic happening at midnight (...in fantasy).

Or maybe they meant time periods?

[(Anonymous)]

Translation (because my eyes went buggy deciphering this): "When I write fic, I always worry about the times being to cliche." Should be "too cliche".

[(Anonymous)]

thank you!

[rubbertea]

relevant ted. or maybe not, idk, i just love that video.

[silverr]

Well, though, even cliches sometimes have some truth: midnight, dawn, sunset are kinda universally accepted as symbolic (they're liminal after all); circadian rhythms make three am an optimal time for sleepless angst, etc.

What cliches are you worried about?

[(Anonymous)]

Assuming this secret means what I think it means: imo you should worry less about times being cliched and more about what degree of precision fits the scene and/or POV character. I remember reading one story in which everything happened at 3:13 or 6:27 or 8:02. And the POV character wasn't a Vulcan or an android, or a person trying to catch several trains, or anything else where it would make sense to specify the exact time like that.

In most instances, I think a simple "noon," or "middle of the night," or "2:30" (in which you're communicating the nearest half hour; could be 2:22, could be 2:40, who cares?) works best.

[caecilia]

it was the best of times, it was the cliche-est of times

[(Anonymous)]

Whaaa???

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not sure what you're saying here OP, but one thing regarding time that really bugs me in fic is when you get something like this:


"'It's in the box,' Vanessa finally admitted.

Fred sat back stared at her for for a full minute."


Even worse if it gets bumped up to "several minutes."

A minute is a really long time to just stare at someone. Realisticslly, Vanessa would have said something to Fred or gone to make a sandwich before a full minute had passed. Substituting "several seconds" or the vague "a moment" woukd be far better.

[(Anonymous)]

LOL! That's a really good point. I think I usually gloss over that, but now I'm imagining the long creepy minute that Fred stared at Vanessa.

[inevitableentresol]

I do this all the time. I write 'five minutes later' and then go back to change it, because five minutes is too cliched or something ridiculous like that.

Aaagh.

And I notice I tell the reader what time it is all the way through the story in a completely unnecessary way. I'm not even that much of a clock watcher in RL.

Is that what the OP meant? If so, I empathise very much.

[(Anonymous)]

I get that the OP didn't specify, but I thought they meant the time periods in time travel fics.

[visp]

If I were you, OP, I'd worry more about writing understandable and well-written fic.

[(Anonymous)]

And secrets.

[visp]

That's what I was basing my assumption that OP doesn't write very good fic on, yes.