Magna Carta I & the Evil Twin of Manga Carta I

(idea taken from Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! A Low-stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days)*

Step #1: Write a list of things that you think made a novel good or enjoyable. (Be sure to include some or all of them in your novel.)

Step #2: Write a list of things that you think make a novel bad or boring. (Be extra sure not to include these in your novel.

Step #3: (optional) Post those lists here.

Step #4: (optional, must have completed Step #3) Discuss.

We often put things we don't enjoy into our novels for the same reason we read classics that we don't enjoy: we think it's good for us. This is supposed to be fun. If deep, introspective stories about race, class and gender inequity are your thing, go for it. If you'd rather write a trashy romance novel, that's cool too!

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*Steps #3 & 4 were added by myself for the sake of facilitating discussion.
(I realize I'm starting to talk like my professors. I apologize.)

Good thing I looked down the list!

This is an idea that I've done the last two times for NaNo (including this one). A very good friend of mine sent me the book "No Plot? No Problem!" for Christmas last year. I've read through it about three times, four including this one! But I stopped at the weekly readings. I'm at the start of my planning stage!

Magna Carta I should be framed! Hang it above your writing space so you're sure to see it all the time.

Magna Carta II should also be framed! Hang it next to I. They really truly and certainly DO help!

I'll actually post mine in an edit as soon as I run off and do a few things.

Good job, Meep!


Magna Carta I

3rd person narrative
male main character
exceptional turning points
true love
improbable romances
charismatic villains
damsel in distress
bad good guy
elves
magic & high sorcery
close friendships
prophecy fulfilled
heavy strife and doubt
cliff hanger chapter endings
moments of great strength
good guys who turn coats
villains redeemed
symbolism in food
grave torment and emotional torture for protagonist
charismatic & charming protagonist
romance
coming-of-age
books set in schools
chapters starting with dialogue



Magna Carta II

1st person
unhappy endings
bad things happening constantly to protagonist w/o any sprinkled good
adultery
excessive use of unnecessary vulgarity (swear words)
cliches done badly
Mary-Sue main characters
irredeemable protagonist
female main character
badly done accents
westerns
overly erotic novels
murder mysteries
woman bonding stories


An example of constantly bad is HP5. An example of cliches done badly is Eragon's main character, Eragon. Badly done accents? "Wi' yer consen', lassie, I woul' gi'e ye a slap i' yer fa'e." What? Woman bonding? Ya Ya Sisterhood. Traveling Pants... I can't take those kinds of stories. I dunno why. Or maybe I do and I don't want to admit it.

Ah, yes...*hugs No Plot? No Problem!*

MAGNA CARTA I

- Likeable villains
- Quirky characters
- Improbable romances
- Social satire
- A little dark humor
- Classical voice (if in first person, no 'OMG' and the like)
- Clever characters (but not immaculate geniuses)
- Boy characters that actually behave like boys
- Girl characters that actually behave like girls
- A dash of scandal
- Observational humor
- "Dry" prose- that is, plain, but beautiful.

EVIL TWIN OF MAGNA CARTA I

- Truly 'evil' characters
- Stories where everyone is mentally ill
- Stories where everyone is angsty
- Stories where nothing good happens to the characters
- Stories that are neither sad nor funny
- Stories that attempt to be funny but actually aren't
- Stories with vampires, dhampirs...anything that drinks blood
- Fantasy stories that use pre-defined monsters and creatures (elves, orcs, etc)
- Stories with names that bug me [Contemporary: Trisha, Mick, etc. They 'stick' in your mouth] [Fantasy: Names I can neither spell properly nor pronounce]
- Quest stories, if unoriginal (looking at you, LotR)
- 'Sensational' modern sci fi (Meaning all the modern-day rip offs of Fahrenheit 451 and 1984) where the society is completely restrictive without backstory.
- Stories where the characters are completely involved in themselves*
- Stories where no sex is mentioned, because that simply doesn't ever happen in the real world, no sir.

* Unless we are discussing Georgia Nicolson, who can get away with pretty much everything because those books mock themselves. I love them.

Stories where no sex is mentioned, because that simply doesn't ever happen in the real world, no sir.

XD Sam, you're just a hoot. So blatantly honest.

*does this instead of school work*

MAGNA CARTA I


-Tragic endings with a meaning
-symbolism
-things that make me think inwardly or outwardly
-Romances that are reasonable, and not completely impossible
-twists and surprises
-characters struggling with their emotions
-evil people, only not evil, but mean people who are very mean to people. XD [Because Sam says no one can be evil.]
-beautiful, poetic prose that I can actually understand
-Thoughtfulness, without my brain exploding.
-Characters that allow me to feel with them, and to feel for them


EVIL TWIN

-impossible romances
-sappy love
-bad logic that defies the real world
-annoying characters
-bad dialogue that is useless and does nothing for the story
-plot points that seem to happen simply for the sake of happening, without any reason behind them or sense.


You know, this is a bit harder than I thought it would be. I need No plot? No problem!...

Magna Carta I:
- High fantasy
- Victorian settings
- Steampunk
- Characters who turn coats
- Especially if their coats are well-tailored frock coats with polished little cufflinks. And cravats.
- Magic – especially if it's more global. That is, it's learned/usable by everyone, not a “gift”.
- Plot twists that mess with your mind.
- When lots of supposedly insignificant things end up being important later... and you wonder why you didn't realize it at the time.
- Books that make you think
- Lush descriptions of color, clothes, rooms, fabric, food
- Humor, especially dark humor or Horatian satire
- Asian influences
- “Villains” who make sense (see Claudius in Hamlet) or shouldn't make sense... but do (see Iago in Othello).
- Surprise endings that actually surprise me.
- Clever/witty characters
- Classical influences – drawing things from Greek or Roman mythology/history/literature.
- “Psychological thrillers”
- Urban fantasy that doesn't suck
- Narrator with a heavy sense of voice. Lemony Snicket's books are a good example.

Anti Magna Carta:
- Annoying female characters – see Julia from 1984.
- Characters who are all white, middle class twenty-somethings
- Characters who are special because they are “chosen” by some deity or endowed with special powers in order to save the world.
- Angsty teenage novels, especially when written in verse. Like, gag me with a spoon.
- Deaths that you can see coming from a mile away.
- When the book sympathizes with cheating or adultery and expects me to as well... this applies a lot more in modern books. I'm not talking about courtier romances, I'm talking about Jimmy having a fling with Tina after the homecoming dance when he's supposed to be dating Millie.
- Deus Ex Machina – it worked in Medea, but NEVER AGAIN.
- Pretty much any book that revolves around “typical teenagers”. Why do I want to read books about something I see and experience every day – especially when it's rarely realistic?
- Teen romance novels – they tend to have “the emotional range of a teaspoon.”
- When the narrator talks down to the reader. I won't mention names, initials, or Herman Melville.
- Everyone dies because it seems like the author thought that would be the most tragic ending possible or couldn't think of anything else to do.
- Romances that spring out of nowhere.

The Right Stuff

Sex
Violence
Alcohol
Drugs

Bad Stuff

Postmodernist Bull*
Cheap Sentimentality

* Make sure to check the ratings on posts before you post in them. Thanks! ^_^

MAGNA CARTA I: DO

• pretty gay boys
• tattered velvet jackets
• lacy cravats
• gay boy-gay boy-straight girl
• faeries
• strict faerie laws
• seventh sons of seventh sons
• mysterious antiques
• pocket watches
• dolls
• non-religious/religious friendships
• daring escapes
• twins
• blind, pale siblings
• fluffy bunnies
• lockets
• purple eyes
• pointy ears
• goggles
• girl mechanics
• angels
• frail boys
• scholarly boys
• æther
• doppelgangers
• steampunky technologyp

MAGNA CARTA II: DON'T

• real-life problems
• unexplained plot devices
• stereotypical bad guys
• public school settings
• weak female characters
• cars
• country stuff (farms, &c.)
• rednecks
• vampires that walk in daylight
• werewolves that can control their transformations
• morals
• actual science
• historically correct-ness