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    #76
    McKay, neurotic? Surely not!
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    My LJ & Fics * Proud Member of W.A.S.P. * Pay It Forward

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      #77
      Sonny makes some good points upthread about the science & mythology stuff. For me, what I've always liked about the SG saga is the way the two collide to create a great backdrop for cool action-adventure SF.

      Originally posted by nell
      My question to all authors (and please excuse me if this is a repeat cause I did not scroll through all previous posts) how do you meet the challenge of writing dialogue that is "American English" for the SGC characters? I find that to be an important detail in maintaining the character's verbal expressions. Do you rely on your Beta?
      I'm not an American, but I once played one on TV...
      I don't use a beta reader - my stuff goes straight to the editor - and I think the challenge of writing "American English" is no different from the challenge of writing dialogue for any character that isn't from the same part of the world as I am. As an author, you develop an ear for the poetry of speech and apply it in your work where it's needed, On the most basic level, you can flip your wordchecker over to English (U.S.) and catch most of the spelling errors, but what makes the speech seem 'right' is the flow and music of it - and I think that comes more from an understanding of the characters you're writing.

      Originally posted by Skydiver
      i didn't know who y ou were
      Bwah. Should I be insulted? Thanks for fixing it for me!

      Out Now:
      Stargate Universe: Air, Stargate Atlantis: Nightfall, Stargate SG-1: Relativity and Stargate Atlantis: Halcyon (from Fandemonium Books)
      Stargate SG-1: Half Life, Stargate SG-1: First Prime, Stargate Atlantis: Zero Point and Stargate SG-1: Shell Game (from Big Finish Productions)
      "Outsiders" (Stargate: The Official Magazine #20), "Choices" (Stargate: The Official Magazine #10)
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        #78
        Originally posted by JMSwallow
        Bwah. Should I be insulted? Thanks for fixing it for me!
        LOL

        no, i hope not at least.

        I just, as an american, the books are so expensive that i really haven't gotten into them much. I've read all but the last stargate one, but as much as i like atlantis as a show, just can't get into any of the characters to read fanfic - or pro books. (or write fanfic for that matter)

        The atlantis ones also aren't readily available here yet. The last time we looked in a book store they didn't have them so it's kinda hard to read what you can't get.

        And i'll second the Jonas question. I know the first books were going to stick with the 'original' team, but any chance of Jonas getting a story or being in one?
        Where in the World is George Hammond?


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          #79
          Originally posted by Skydiver
          I know the first books were going to stick with the 'original' team, but any chance of Jonas getting a story or being in one?
          Or anything set in season 9?

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            #80
            I'm re-reading Martha's Reliquary and I was wondering, how do you authors decide what name to call the characters? She calls Sheppard John, which I couldn't get used to while in Chosen, you pair called him Sheppard. Is it just personal preference?
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            Stargate Destiny - Coming Again Soon

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              #81
              Originally posted by nell
              how do you meet the challenge of writing dialogue that is "American English" for the SGC characters?
              Jeez, I guess, with the exception of Holly and Julie, Beth is the only American in the gang. How difficult is it to write American English? As James said, the US spell check takes care of a lot of it. Phrases are more difficult, and yes, what Karen and James pointed out about ‘hearing’—and understanding—the characters helps; much less of a likelihood of having them sound ‘wrong.’

              And then I walk in and it’s round the world in a sentence… English isn’t my first language, but I seem to have this knack of ‘adapting’ reasonably quickly, both to accents and idiom. Which can be a problem, because half the time I don’t notice, and if I happen to reside in the wrong country, I have Jack talk about things going pear-shaped. The good news is, I now live in Canada, so there’s an above-average chance of my getting Rodney right. Skookum, eh?

              Actually, I find that the cultural quirks are even more difficult to nail than turns of phrase, because there are a lot of things, especially in pop culture and pertaining to anything from drinks to television shows to music, that are quite subtle. Normally you learn them by actually living—ideally growing up—in a given country or culture. If you don’t have that advantage, it takes a hell of a lot of research (also known as watching TV ) and kind people like Beth who will correct screwy phrases and explain to you what a unit coin is.

              Originally posted by AmberLM
              Which relationship(s) between the members of SG-1 do you particularly enjoy writing for and why?
              Jack and Thor?

              Siler and his wrench? (I note a distinct lack of Siler & Wrench smilies)

              Okay. Seriously. I do enjoy Sam and Jack’s ongoing walk on eggshells, and yes, I do see the tension there and I do enjoy throwing it in here and there, because—apart from my being a soppy cow at heart—their tightrope act is psychologically fascinating. Having said that, I’m in total agreement with Karen as regards the four-way dynamic within the team. Each one of these relationships is fun to write, because they’re all subtly different. The relationship between Jack and Teal’c is really cool, I think. In some respects they’re probably closer than anyone else on the team, but it very rarely rises to the surface, because of who they are—but when it does, it leaves you slack-jawed, going, ‘Wow!’ To me, one of the most stunning moments, perhaps in the entire show, is Jack’s farewell to Teal’c in Lost City.

              Originally posted by Elite Anubis Guard
              When do we get to see Jonas? You guys aren't those folk who went back to rewrite S6 are you, because I really loved Jonas and was excited at the possibility of getting some novels with him in.
              No, no rewriting of S6, at least on my part—I'm with you on Jonas and I loved that whole season. At some point I'd really like to do something with both Daniel and Jonas, because I thought their relationship was really interesting, just a little prickly and great fun. However, it's not going to happen at any time in the near future

              On a more general note, the fact that Jonas hasn't shown up in the books so far really was in response to what folks wanted—i.e. the original team.

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                #82
                Originally posted by Sabine Bauer

                Having said that, I’m in total agreement with Karen as regards the four-way dynamic within the team.
                When I asked if we could expect Sam or Teal'c-centric novels in the future I didn't mean Sam or Teal'c outside of the team. From what I've read, the novels so far have been somewhat Jack or Daniel centric team stories - stories centered around Jack's past or Daniel's field of expertise.

                Hope that clarifies things.

                Sonny1 said:
                For example, from a character POV, Sam is a scientist. There's a small paragraph in CotG about the physics of crystal skulls as a transport system. That took me a solid two weeks of research and several questions to a physicist about particle accelerators and muon colliders to get the theory down and then explained in non-mathematical terms. It was in-character to portray Sam as spouting off this (accurate in theory) stuff, just as it was in character for Jack’s focus to slip during the scene. Some readers grabbed that scene and said wow, that nails it, and explains the whole thing perfectly. Nobody else noticed, which is also good, because it’s like a special effect. You want the science to be so much a part of the scenery that you don't see it; you see the story instead, while those who do ‘get it’ really appreciate the attention to detail.
                Yes! Absolutely! I really appreciate a writer who has the ability and the patience to distill huge quantities of mind-numbing fact from any specialized field of knowledge into sweet, succinct prose.
                Gracie

                A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them,
                "In every life there is a terrible fight – a fight between two wolves.
                One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
                resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility,
                confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."
                A child asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
                The elder looked the child in the eye. "The one you feed."


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                  #83
                  Originally posted by Elite Anubis Guard
                  I'm re-reading Martha's Reliquary and I was wondering, how do you authors decide what name to call the characters? She calls Sheppard John, which I couldn't get used to while in Chosen, you pair called him Sheppard. Is it just personal preference?
                  Interesting question!

                  For me, it's a question of point of view (POV) and my 'feeling' as to how a character would think of him/herself and the other characters in the scene.

                  I use multiple povs in my narrative, ie each scene/series of scenes is told from the pov of a specific character. If I'm in Sam's pov, I tag her as Sam because I feel that vibe from her ... and her tag for Jack is O'Neill or the Colonel. For me, she internalises him formally.

                  Daniel, otoh, always thinks of him as Jack, so if I'm in Daniel's pov he's referred to as Daniel and Jack is always Jack, Sam's Sam and so forth.

                  I tried tagging Jack as Jack when I was in his pov, but I couldn't make it feel right -- for me. So he's O'Neill, Sam is Carter, Daniel is Daniel, Teal'c is Teal'c.

                  I hope that makes some kind of sense!

                  I hasten to add that this is what works for me. I know other authors tag Jack as Jack because that feels right for them, and course that's their choice. There isn't a right or wrong on it, it comes down to personal writer preference.
                  http://www.karenmiller.net
                  http://karenmiller.livejournal.com

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                    #84
                    Originally posted by Tok'Ra Hostess
                    When I asked if we could expect Sam or Teal'c-centric novels in the future I didn't mean Sam or Teal'c outside of the team. From what I've read, the novels so far have been somewhat Jack or Daniel centric team stories - stories centered around Jack's past or Daniel's field of expertise.
                    Hi TH,

                    Some have noted that City of the Gods is very Sam centric. In fact in terms of word count/POV it’s about even between Sam and Daniel because the mythology/science components are about even, although Jack only has a smidgeon less in terms of POV wordage.

                    Because fandom is so wide, and because each of us brings certain perceptions and needs to a story, I suspect that those who perceive that Sam dominates CotG are those who are not happy unless a story is entirely Daniel-Jack oriented. CotG was released at a time when television episodes were very Sam centric, and she was not making the best decisions (which makes for great storytelling!) A body of fandom indulged in what I can only refer to as Sam-hatred. Lastly…or firstly the prologue of CotG is from Sam's POV – for a very good reason. Of the many things I teach in writing fiction, (and many, many others teach): as a rule of thumb try and tell a scene from the POV of the person with the most to lose.
                    Spoiler:
                    In this instance, the story is set up with Sam believing the rest of SG-1 are dead, and that it's her fault. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c in turn believe that Sam is dead. In terms of emotional impact, Jack, Daniel and Teal’c still have each other, whereas Sam is isolated, physically and emotionally in her apparent loss. From a storytelling POV, having this at the outset sets up the very dark thematic structure of the story, and also acts as a hook. What happened to create this situation?
                    I also find it relatively easy to get inside Sam's head. As Sabine said in a post above, there’s an emotional minefield in the Sam and Jack dynamic. Although this is not something that should be belaboured, it adds a dimensionality and reality to characters, preventing them from falling into stereotype cardboard military cut-outs, while highlighting their professionalism. I think we certainly saw this in Threads.

                    As to next stories
                    Spoiler:
                    I’m currently working on an SG-1 proposal to Fandemonium, set in Season 10, and took a few minutes to answer this. By the time you read this, I’ll be toying with some scenes between Sam and Vala, which, when you think about what they’ve both experienced as hosts to symbiotes, makes for a potentially very interesting dynamic. If this story goes ahead - and that's a big if, as I may go off on another tangent next week - these scenes may be cut, or only be small snippets scattered throughout, but Vala offers a wealth of material to work with in terms of emotional baggage.
                    Sonny
                    www.sonnywhitelaw.com

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                      #85
                      Originally posted by Elite Anubis Guard
                      I'm re-reading Martha's Reliquary and I was wondering, how do you authors decide what name to call the characters? She calls Sheppard John, which I couldn't get used to while in Chosen, you pair called him Sheppard. Is it just personal preference?
                      Hi Elite,

                      When writing from the POV of a person, they are generally not going to think of themselves in terms of their last name. So, although there are instances when they may do so in terms of, for eg, making a major blunder and castigating themselves as a superior officer might, John Sheppard will generally think of himself as John. Elizabeth Weir often calls John by his first name in casual situation, but even this, at the outset, was, I felt, a deliberate professional intimacy, call it a professional friendliness commonly employed by diplomats to put people at ease. In professional, particularly military instances she will call him Major. Teyla's use of names has shifted over time, from Dr Weir to Elizabeth in Season 3, and Dr McKay to Rodney in season 2. So a large part of what names are used will depend on whose POV the scene is being told from, what season the story is set, and the circumstances in which the name is being used. Thus, you'll see a slight shift in those dynamics in Exogenesis, which is set towards the end of season 2.
                      Sonny
                      www.sonnywhitelaw.com

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                        #86
                        Originally posted by Sabine Bauer
                        , and if I happen to reside in the wrong country, I have Jack talk about things going pear-shaped.

                        The relationship between Jack and Teal’c is really cool, I think. In some respects they’re probably closer than anyone else on the team, but it very rarely rises to the surface, because of who they are—but when it does, it leaves you slack-jawed, going, ‘Wow!’
                        Have to confess I fell into the pear shaped trap too -- but luckily it was picked up and I fixed it!!!! That must be a British one that hasn't translated.

                        Excellent point about Jack and Teal'c, Sabine. I have always been particularly struck by that little moment in One False Step, where Jack's going under with the headache, and he says to Teal'c, Hey, do you mind if we don't talk but just walk quietly for a while? I honestly don't think he was being snarky at that point (given we've never seen Teal'c garrulous), I think those two talk a lot about stuff. They are the only two 'equals' on the team, really, in terms of function and life experiences, they understand things that Sam and Daniel never will. He and Teal'c made that really important connection on Chulak, and it's only strengthened. I think also of Cor Ai, where Jack was so determined Teal'c wasn't going down for being a good soldier. He's a bit in denial about Teal'c I think, because they're friends and have so much in common. And then of course that lovely declaration in Tangent.

                        Sigh.
                        http://www.karenmiller.net
                        http://karenmiller.livejournal.com

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                          #87
                          First, thank you to all of the authors for generously giving of their time to participate in these discussions – I find that “knowing” you all truly enhances my enjoyment of the books and stories.

                          I would be interested in hearing more about any short stories in upcoming issues of Stargate SG-1/Atlantis The Official Magazine. Issue # 11 teased that there would be an Atlantis story available August 22, 2006 in issue # 12. Who’s the author and can you tell us any more about the story? How about future short stories? Are any of you working on some and could you share any hints? (What’s the story about? When is it scheduled to be published?)

                          Thanks again!

                          ~ Mike

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                            #88
                            Originally posted by KarenMiller
                            Have to confess I fell into the pear shaped trap too -- but luckily it was picked up and I fixed it!!!! That must be a British one that hasn't translated.
                            Damn Americans. We invented the language, if they hadn't gone and changed it you guys wouldn't be having language problems.
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                            Stargate Destiny - Coming Again Soon

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                              #89
                              I am an American. Having only read the SGA books (Absolutlely LOVE them BTW) I must say, that I have not noticed any language problems what so ever. Either you all are very good at getting Americanized or I'm just getting way to used to chatting with the rest of the world.

                              Are there any new Atlantis stories in the works? I know Halcyon is due out any day now and Exogenesis should be published sometime thereafter. But I have not seen anything beyond that.

                              Thanks!
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                                #90
                                Originally posted by KarenMiller
                                Have to confess I fell into the pear shaped trap too -- but luckily it was picked up and I fixed it!!!! That must be a British one that hasn't translated.
                                All I can say is I'm relieved I'm not the only one! Punch line is, though, it was Tom who did the line edit on Trial. Now, he is American, but he's also the first to admit that he's been living in the UK for so long that half the time he can't tell anymore what's what—so it slipped straight past him.

                                Originally posted by Elite Anubis Guard
                                Damn Americans. We invented the language, if they hadn't gone and changed it you guys wouldn't be having language problems.
                                You know what's scary, though? Some scholar or other did a study on Shakespearean rhymes to trace the way pronunciation of certain words has changed. What s/he came up with showed that, in the majority of cases, the changes were in the UK variant, while US English largely retained Elizabethan pronunciation.

                                Originally posted by KarenMiller
                                Excellent point about Jack and Teal'c, Sabine. I have always been particularly struck by that little moment in One False Step...
                                Hey, I think you're right... though I confess, I never twigged on to that one, 'cos I'm usually way too fascinated by what Jack's feet are doing at that moment It's one hell of a rubber toy impersonation.

                                Originally posted by Elite Anubis Guard
                                I'm re-reading Martha's Reliquary and I was wondering, how do you authors decide what name to call the characters?
                                Actually I've got the weirdest blind spot with Hammond. Don't know why, but I just can't see—hear—him refer to himself as plain 'George.' I'm sure his mother never called him 'General Hammond,' then again, I'm not his mother... For me, he thinks of himself as 'Hammond' or 'George Hammond' ::shrugs::

                                Originally posted by Cinc1
                                I would be interested in hearing more about any short stories in upcoming issues of Stargate SG-1/Atlantis The Official Magazine. Issue # 11 teased that there would be an Atlantis story available August 22, 2006 in issue # 12. Who’s the author and can you tell us any more about the story? How about future short stories? Are any of you working on some and could you share any hints? (What’s the story about? When is it scheduled to be published?)
                                Hi, Cinc1. Well, it wasn't me for issue #12, but I've got an SG-1 short story coming up in the October issue. It's a little tag for Meridian, which came about because Survival of the Fittest is set immediately prior to Meridian, and I thought it might be fun trying to tie the book in with the episode.

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