If something affects or disturbs you so much that you want to respond to it through a story that you write, that can be a pretty powerful form of inspiration! But it depends on how you handle it. For example, Stephan King's acclaimed novel Misery was inspired by nasty interactions he had with fans after he published a fantasy novel. This story was very well received and even turned into a popular movie.
And then there are other ways to handle it… Popular fantasy author JK Rowling felt personally attacked by responses to her public stance on social media that transwomen aren't really women, so she incorporated the episode into a fictional story (a detective series she writes), where a creator had to deal with unfair and extreme criticism. This isn't necessarily a bad thing to do, but the way she handled it was less inspiration and more just a rant about her own experiences only slightly fictionalised. It was so poorly done that it even disappointed fans of her detective series that have no stake in her social media battles.
There are good ways to handle rants like this in fiction and bad ways, and we're going to talk about both! Have you ever used a negative real world expereince as inspiration for a story? I know I have, but I always keep it subtle, unlike some.
This week Gunwallace has given us a theme to GOP Nuts - Gunwallace note: “With apologies to Vince Guaraldi” - Why? Because this is such a cool, jazzy “Peanuts” sounding theme and Vince Guaraldi was the master behind the themes for the animated version of Peanuts… which is what the “GOP Nuts” is stylistic parodying in its spoof of the American Republican party!
It’s an easygoing theme driven by the low notes of a piano, a breathy flute, brush tapping on the drums, a cheeky, warbling trumpet, a plucked double bass, and a zoo full of goats!
Topics and shownotes
Links
Tantz's newspost about elegant rants - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2022/sep/02/venting-your-frustrations-needs-elegance/
Featured comic:
Brittany Hyperstyle - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2022/sep/13/featured-comic-brittany-hyperstyle/
Featured music:
GOP Nuts - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/GOP_Nuts/ - by Rawdale, rated E.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
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