thatdamhobbit

[thatdamhobbit]

Okay, here’s the thing.

I don’t want the group to get captured by the Knights and dragged off to Glastonbury. That’s just terrible for everyone. However…

*evil mad scientist voice* yeeeess, put the blorbos under the piston, see how they react, feeeed on the angst!

#tormenting your blorbos is good enrichment #if it doesn’t happen maybe I’ll write an au where they do #I already wanted to explore what it was/is like there anyway #camlann podcast #camlann #mabinogi #arthurian legend #arthuriana #welsh folklore #welsh mythology

[thatdamhobbit]

YES SIR!!

🎶Alright my brothers listen closely

tonight we get the new saga

we’ve waited long for this moment

and now we’ll have a full Act 1.

Think of your friends and your family

Who’ll have to hear all the songs

On repeat for the next year

It’s time for the Underworld Saga!🎶

#aaaaaaaa #I can’t wait

[thatdamhobbit]

@camlannpod, saw this and thought of you.

#can you tell I rewatched the ep. 7 live listen recently. #I love the chaos streams #where it’s just everyone laughing hysterically #camlann podcast #camlann

[thatdamhobbit]

Ok so Gwen and Morgan's dynamic is literally "five times when they were interrupted and one time they weren't"

Just waiting for the "they weren't" part...

#pffft #I have a feeling we’re going to be waiting a long time… #camlann podcast #camlann

[thatdamhobbit]

hi I’m the person who asked about character creation advice in the listen along stream. My internet went funny so sorry I couldn’t specify on stream!

I meant characters in general! I really want to get into writing stories (books, podcasts, film, I haven’t really decided yet) but I’m struggling a bit with fleshing out my characters and I often feel like they’re all kind of the same person.

I really love the characters in Camlann so advice would be great!

Hi hello! Thank you so much for joining us for the stream, I'm sorry for your internet difficulties!!

Hm, this is an interesting and tricky question which I want to preface with a quick disclaimer:

Everyone writes differently. There's no one correct way to write, and whilst there are tool sthat you can use for writing - just like there are tools in visual art and music, learning which tools you want to use and how you want to use them is, I think, a big part of learning how to write well and in a way that's enjoyable for you.

This said! People often make jokes / comments about 'plotters vs pantsers' or 'architects vs gardeners'. A lot of writers fall into one of two categories - meticulously plotting detail before writing, or just kind of going with the flow. I personally am very much in the latter category, so I'm afraid I don't have a lot of specific tools or exercises I can give you.

This said, I'm going to do my best. Ursula K Le Guin is, in my opinion, one of the best writers of the 20th century, and she writes a lot of wonderful essays about the imagination and writing which I find really inspiring. I'm paraphrasing because I can't find the quote, but she once said something along the lines of: "If I can't close my eyes and have a conversation with a character, then I'm not ready to write their story yet."

That's a lot how I feel about writing characters. Some of it is conscious. I identify traits - flaws, strengths, quirks - in myself and others, and I give them to my characters. Dai is hyperactive and excitable because I'm hyperactive and excitable. Perry infodumps because I infodump. Morgan is stressed and protective because I am both of those things. But they also all have elements I don't have - Morgan is a lot more understated and pragmatic than I am. Dai is much more confident and reckless. Perry is significantly more organised and self-disciplined.

As a rule, I personally find it best to avoid ever trying to write 1 for 1 either yourself or a friend into a character. That way lies hurt feelings and honestly an inability to see them clearly, because it's very hard to see yourself objectively. Instead, I think of it like putting puzzle pieces together, or a patchwork quilt, or planting seeds. People often say good writers are good eavesdroppers. Phrases that people say on the tram stick with me. Strangers in shops. People dancing. Expressions and ways of speaking that filter through to characters I write.

Once I've identified a small handful of key pieces, I leave them to grow in my subconscious. This normally takes a few months. It's like...moulding a piece of wet clay for a few hours - ok, I don't want them to be X, I do need them to do Y - and once you've got roughly what you want in the right places, putting it in the kiln that is your mind and letting it cook. I just...think about my characters a lot - daydream about them, imagine them in different situations etc. Once I feel they've had enough time to settle, I start writing.

I honestly find one of the best ways to get to know a character is just writing them. For me that always feels like a conversation. And not just writing - editing and rewriting and rewriting - learning what they would or wouldn't say, thinking about how they'd react in different situations etc. There are...minimum 7 drafts of the Camlann scripts? I got to know the gang better just because I spent a lot of time with them.

Finally, for audio specifically, always always read your scripts aloud! If you can, rope in a friend or two. The way people speak out loud and the way they speak in our heads when we're reading is very different. Something that's incredibly moving in prose can feel awkward and stilted in audio. So read it out loud - start getting a sense of your character's vernacular. Do they say 'don't' or 'do not'? Do they swear? Do they use slang? Are they flirty, shy? I always find that my characters start coming to life when I can hear their voices. If I can hear them speaking to me, they're ready to be written.

This is all a little wibbly wobbly, and very personal to me, but I hope it at least helps you think about how you want to write. Good luck, and have fun!

#this is great! thank you

[thatdamhobbit]

Round three, side B

#I’m sorry people are voting for Jan van Eck? #how on earth #six of crows #soc

[thatdamhobbit]

What I learned on Camlann stream today

#how did you make this so quickly #camlann podcast

[thatdamhobbit]

I suppose we can safely assume horses are still a thing, then

#if we don’t laugh we’ll cry #camlann #camlann podcast

[thatdamhobbit]

Y’know, Gwaine and I disagree on many things, but I’m glad we can all recognise that Kay needs to fuck off.

#he’s just so slimy #I hope Dai messes him up #camlann #camlann podcast #mabinogi #arthurian legend #arthuriana #welsh folklore #welsh mythology

[thatdamhobbit]

MEET ME IN THE PIT GWAINE

#same #Gwaine you’re the asshole here #like you severely mess with their best friend #destabilise him so that he nearly gets himself killed #and show up and expect everything to be fine #and act like they’re wrong for being hostile? #dude cmon #camlann #camlann podcast #mabinogi #arthurian legend #arthuriana #welsh folklore #welsh mythology

[thatdamhobbit]

I feel this so much

Aaaa such a good episode

#also shout out to the transcripts for helping me understand that last scene #camlann #camlann podcast #mabinogi #arthurian legend #arthuriana #welsh folklore #welsh mythology

[thatdamhobbit]

I am Not Okay

#camlann #camlann podcast #mabinogi #arthurian legend #arthuriana #welsh folklore #welsh mythology

[thatdamhobbit]

imagine that you meet god and god looks like you when you were 14

#I had a visceral reaction to this #literally curled up like I could protect myself from the emotional damage #oof

[thatdamhobbit]

parallels in epic the cyclops saga and camlann episode 6 the sheep and the goats

#noticed those as well! #I think it’s so fun seeing where interpretations of this kind of thing are the same and where they’re different #but yeah I was like ‘I know this bit!’ #epic the cyclops saga #camlann #mabinogi #camlann pod #camlannpod #camlann podcast #greek mythology #the odyssey

[thatdamhobbit]

And what happens if I pass out bc I can’t talk to anyone about my dnd character.

What happens then.

#I love her so much she’s so angsty #dnd character #dnd oc #dnd #dnd campaign

[thatdamhobbit]

Up at 5am. Thinking about how my dnd character’s party is slowly starting to give her a family again, and how she’s opened up about her problems but still thinks they would leave her behind like everyone else has if she told them about her past. Dying inside.

#last session was devastating #she finally told the party member she trusts most about the weird magic happening with her #and then we were about to head out for a job and that party member did a whole thing of like ‘you are welcome here’ #SOBBING #she’s so aaaaaaaaaaaa #dnd oc #dnd character #dnd #dungeons and dragons #angst

[thatdamhobbit]

I feel like post-Nirnaeth easterling-occupied Dor-Lómin definitely has a lot of songs that are covert allusions to real events they can't speak of out loud? and symbolism?

like there's this song about mourning a great tree that was needlessly cut down, and actually it means the warriors killed in the Nirnaeth. or there's a huge amount of ballads about a man who stole some trinket or other from a variety of increasingly grotesque and unsympathetic figures; for good measure the songs often end with the thief mockingly thanking the previous proprietor for his bride's new dowry. and magpies. nightingales are way too obvious but everyone knows magpies steal jewelry so there's a lot of plausible deniability.

#oh my heart #was not prepared for this #silmarillion