Stephen King: A character wonders if, given all the suffering recently endured over the last few hundred pages, life is nonetheless still worth living. This character is killed by an entity which, despite all appearance and reputation, is permanently and inexplicably murderous.
All possible plots by major authors (2020)
81–90 of 143 posts
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
But first - a series of congratulatory online interviews between myself and various creators who do appreciate me and that I, in turn, appreciate.
I have no idea what you're doing here but I am impressed enough to have got to the end. (No meta here, I assure you.)
This is not the end. It is the beginning.
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#83Both articles (there's a sequel) read like not bad flash fiction.
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
A condemning argument against your diatribe, based largely on my personal definition of a loaded term your diatribe used.
A snippy comeback that isn't remotely as clever as I thought it was. I am now quoting every other sentence of your reply as I try to both double down on my point and furiously back-pedal my use of the term.
A performative personal attack, disguised as helpful suggestion; revealing that the purpose of my engagement was never a serious discussion, but only making myself look good. The use of a semicolon tastefully solidifies my position as a very smart commenter.
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#85Brandon Sanderson: scrappy protagonist discovers that they have magical powers, despite struggling from crushing depression and/or trauma. This annoying guy named Hoid smirks at everyone. The next weekend they accidentally trigger the end of the world, which they prevent in the nick of time by becoming a god.
Brandon Sanderson: Spacebar activates your special movement ability, F activates your special attack, watch your power meter--and don't miss the cutscene at the end of the final boss fight!
(From someone who loves Brandon Sanderson)
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#86Andy Weir: Your indomitable human spirit has gotten you far. Now in the face of overwhelming odds, you will need to show resilience and science the shit out of your situation.
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#87Brandon Sanderson: scrappy protagonist discovers that they have magical powers, despite struggling from crushing depression and/or trauma. This annoying guy named Hoid smirks at everyone. The next weekend they accidentally trigger the end of the world, which they prevent in the nick of time by becoming a god.
100% accurate except for the “or.”
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#88Wodehouse: Titanic forces beyond your control such as scheming aunts, accidental engagements, and inability to express your feelings threaten to irrevocably ruin your life forever. It’ll take a Machiavellian mastermind and a series of unlikely coincidences to extricate you from this predicament but you’ll have to pay a price. They really didn’t do Wodehouse justice in the OP
They also restricted themselves to a subset of his stories; branch out beyond Jeeves and you find the school stories, the social commentary, and more.
From 50,000 feet they do look somewhat similar, but they're not.
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#89Michael Crichton: Humanity employs raw hubris and technological advancement for a close-encounter with non-humanity. Chaos ensues.
The above was written by hand. As an experiment, I asked Claude to generate a few dozen more. Most weren't great. Here are the highlights: Michael Crichton: You're a brilliant scientist who's just created something that will revolutionize the world. Congratulations! It's now trying to eat you. Michael Crichton: You've stumbled upon a conspiracy involving [insert scientific field]. Now you're being chased by [insert g…
'I decided to imitate this outburst of human creativity with AI. Wow!' is a great way to stop getting invited to parties (with humans).
Re: All possible plots by major authors (2020)
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Brendan Eich: you take a week-long swing at a problem your employer finds commercially compelling. The result enjoys staggering worldwide success in the ensuing decades, despite being clearly outclassed by the prior art it was supposed to build on. Pretty brilliant, right? Right?
Please forgive my JavaScript joke: it’s really just a poorly-written series of callbacks.
You merely extended the prototype