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Overthinking Things. Yet Again.
May. 4th, 2009 04:16 pmI'm still tinkering away with the unnamed Time Agency thing, building up the setting, sketching the characters. For no very good reason - although I suspect masochism - I'm contemplating it as an audio script.
I had a bit of a wobbly over the weekend about - god help me - species-ism as I outlined the basics for the lead characters. Then again, I dislike SF stories that put one sentient alien in with the otherwise-human crew because at that seems, to me, to be only one small step removed from having a token non-white in amongst the Anglos.
I agonized at my husband about this and he provided an amusing salve for my conscience. You're writing like the BBC, he said. Aliens cost money, especially non-humanoid ones.
It might be a bit sad to admit it, but I think in some ways he was right - although if I went with audio, I suppose I could make half of them multi-legged arachnids if I really wanted to. But there's no story justification, either way. The only two Time Agents we've seen in canon were clearly human/humanoid. There's no compelling reason why I couldn't bring in sentient motile plants if I wanted to, but there's no reason to do so, either.
I've already admitted to the roomie that I'm going to do something fairly horrible: work within a formula, primarily to see if I can make a formula work for me. Something, er, consciously formulaic, I mean. As I said: masochism.
Still, it might all come to naught. I'll be happy if I get a 'show bible' and an outline out of this. Compared to my creative output over the past 12 months, that would be a major step up, indeed. It would be nice if Locusts of Time wasn't followed by another twelve months of sulky silence...
***
I got another costume idea which violates the No Costumes Which Require Explanation rule. Sigh.
I think I just want the excuse to make this coat again. I made it once, but did something horribly (and inadvertently) cruel to the fabric. Sigh.
***
In other news, Alex tells me the latest batch of Doctor Who fan-films have arrived at the house - thank you,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
je_smith!
I had a bit of a wobbly over the weekend about - god help me - species-ism as I outlined the basics for the lead characters. Then again, I dislike SF stories that put one sentient alien in with the otherwise-human crew because at that seems, to me, to be only one small step removed from having a token non-white in amongst the Anglos.
I agonized at my husband about this and he provided an amusing salve for my conscience. You're writing like the BBC, he said. Aliens cost money, especially non-humanoid ones.
It might be a bit sad to admit it, but I think in some ways he was right - although if I went with audio, I suppose I could make half of them multi-legged arachnids if I really wanted to. But there's no story justification, either way. The only two Time Agents we've seen in canon were clearly human/humanoid. There's no compelling reason why I couldn't bring in sentient motile plants if I wanted to, but there's no reason to do so, either.
I've already admitted to the roomie that I'm going to do something fairly horrible: work within a formula, primarily to see if I can make a formula work for me. Something, er, consciously formulaic, I mean. As I said: masochism.
Still, it might all come to naught. I'll be happy if I get a 'show bible' and an outline out of this. Compared to my creative output over the past 12 months, that would be a major step up, indeed. It would be nice if Locusts of Time wasn't followed by another twelve months of sulky silence...
***
I got another costume idea which violates the No Costumes Which Require Explanation rule. Sigh.
I think I just want the excuse to make this coat again. I made it once, but did something horribly (and inadvertently) cruel to the fabric. Sigh.
***
In other news, Alex tells me the latest batch of Doctor Who fan-films have arrived at the house - thank you,
je_smith!
