Ryan Mathews wrote:

You wrote:

      I don't write in script for the simple reason that I
can't. My mind does not think of stories in that way.

That's very curious.  As an fan of anime and manga, rather than a fan
of novels, I tend to think in very visual terms.  Thus, writing prose
is much more difficult for me than writing a script, even though I've
done both.

	Actually, you have to think in visual terms to really get the most 
out of prose. Words are just sounds or little combinations of circles and 
lines, it is the visual picture they produce that gives them meaning. To 
write prose you need to visualize the scene first, make it sort of like a 
movie in your head, a movie that you are literally walking in, without 
interacting in it. Then as you visualize the scene the words starting fitting 
it. At first it is just rough description, a room, The characters standing in 
such and such a way, exactly like setting up the scene for a play. But then 
you have to go the step further, take the feel of the air, the smell the 
sounds. Put the actors movements and thoughts into words and explain them so 
the reader can have the same movie within his head. Really if you think about 
it, any novel is in script format before it is written. It has to be done 
this way, because language is a visual concept. I mean when someone says tree 
to you, do you imagine the word tree, or do you see a towering trunk with 
spreading and diverging branches laden with thick green leafs, shading the 
ground around it in a molted pattern. It is all visual, that is why you get 
emotion and character development in anime and manga. You see it. The 
setting, the twist of the face, the actions, the words all combine to develop 
the character. Also anime and manga, as well as grahic novels, deal with 
thoughts. I've seen few plays that have soliques, which is basically a 
character thinking to himself, and reading only found Shakespeare to use them 
regularly, that is probably why his plays are so damn good.  

I deal with deep emotional development in my characters. I want them to be
real. i want the reader to reach out and touch my characters.

Then chew on this.  Wouldn't you say that there is anime with real
characters and deep emotional development?  And yet, it's done from a
screenplay.  Of course, getting the goods from a script takes a
little more work, because, in real life, the director and actors help
to bring the story to life.  You have to use the "director" and
"actors" of your imagination well as a reader to get the full impact
from a script.

If you have read any of my fanfic's you'll realize that I like OOC a lot.

The true measure of a talented writer is his ability to get a
character to do something unexpected while remaining *in character*,
but that's another thread...	

	I guess that depends on your style. I like to write Ranma fanfics 
becasue I find the characters and story fascinating; however, Ranma is a 
comedy, with a love story involved, but its main purpose is comedy. I prefer 
using drama, so I have to take the characters where they were never really 
meant to go. Takahashi never intended Ranma to sit down and seriously discuss 
marriage with Akane, or ever deal seriously with his finacees. So really any 
drama is already OOC, it's a matter of how much so. Each character has 
his/her own motivations and I just find it easier to explain them and develop 
them in prose, mainly because if i did it in script, the dialogues would 
become oversized and meddlesome. Also the action would proceed slowly. This 
is simple because I write too indepth, look at this e-mail for proof.

      Personally I consider script limited in its character
development capability. It is hard to develop characters with digging
into their thoughts and their reactions to a situation.

It is simply more of a challenge.  In a sense, prose is often the
easy way out.  You used the term "rationalization" in a bit I edited
out.  It's a good term, because what you are really doing is
attempting to convince the reader that what happened made sense.
There's nothing wrong with this, but it emphasizes the challenge in
doing the same thing in script format, where everything must happen
"on the screen".

If I may toot my own horn, I got high marks for character development
in a Dirty Pair story I wrote way back when, "The Ballad of Lord
Robin", a story written entirely in script format.

	I have no problem with reading script. I like it actually. It's just 
as a writer I detest it. Some people detest prose because it is difficult to 
describe settings over and over to keep the feel of the story and action. Yet 
I think no one has a problem with reading one or the other, they are both 
viable forms of the Art of Writing. Neither is better. In the end it is the 
author who makes the story work.

      But any amateur can throw a good story in script format. Just
like any begineer can make a good story in prose.

	You're right. This does not speak a truth. I composed it in the wrong 
format, below I explain what I meant.

You couldn't be more wrong.  Anyone can write a story.  A good story
is something else entirely.

	A good story I consider to be the unflushed idea. Is it a good idea 
in the first place? Anyone can have a good idea. I've seen many bad fanfics 
that could've been great if the author had just had a little more talent. 
I've also seen novels and plays that are the same way. Remember the story is 
a sum of its parts plot, character development, setting, conflict, and most 
importantly the author. It takes a lot of work to become a good author, very 
few people are born with the gift to write, most struggle and take years of 
biting criticism before everthing starts falling in place. Many give up 
because of this, and I think it is a shame. That is why I like this ML. It 
encourages authors by praising them for their good points while at the same 
time pointing out their failings, without insults or harsh comments. 

	Well I've really gone off the subject on this one. Forgive me, but it 
really is more important to talk about what makes good writing than to debate 
whether script is better than prose or vice versa. Personally I would love to 
see more ML'ers discuss how to write well and post advice on improving each 
other's writing. Like someone said, this really is not spam. We are a fanfic 
mailing list so these subjects should really be discussed. 

	Ashira

	To write is easy, to write well is difficult,
	To write and inspire is a gift.

		-Words to myself