New Chapter Is Up! · 9:47pm Oct 13th, 2014
That's right folks, a new chapter of Burn The Fallow Land is up and running! Initial release is kind of moot, but hey, it was fun to write. What I'd really appreciate is any feedback you awesome folks can give me! Comments are my bread and butter, so really, anything would help, since this was a different experience with me trying something out new other than comedies or oneshots.
Y'see, tragedy has always inspired me in some shape or form. Not particularly the genre, but how the story works. From Greek plays to Shakespearean novels and then the great American tragedies thrown up in modern plays, I've found myself oddly compelled to learn more of ans study these types of stories. Tragedy is much more different than any typical story you see, because normally in a story you have the protagonist and antagonist. But for a tragedy, that very protagonist could be their own antagonist themselves. Its their fatal heroic flaw (or really, any flaw) that leads to their downfall. They are the ones that hammer in the final nail in their coffin, the last rose over their grave, the final handful of dirt in the hole. While a villain can destroy or even kill the hero that could lead to a downer ending, that hero ending themselves is a much worse type of ending in terms of emotional audience response. We all feel some type of sympathy for this type of character. We all have flaws, whether we want to admit it or not. But for the tragedy story, we see the character's flaws as clearly as snow in a blizzard. The character could admit to them or hide them, but for us, the audience, we know what causes their downfall. What is their flaw that ultimately dooms them. I think the reason we're all so interested in this is because, deep down, we're jealous. A lot of us would love to know what our inner most flaw is so that we could change it. Or at least avoid it. But we are not characters in stories, and so we must live with this flaw. Whether it becomes our downfall lies in the ending, which I'm pretty sure no one wants to see anytime soon.
Tragedy is still my favorite genre, but I feel bad that the tag itself gets such a bad rep. People think really sad endings deserve the tag, but no, they don't. I think a drama tag would actually be a better replacement for sad/tragedy, but we're dealt the cards we live with on this site. Tragedy is the downfall of the hero (or villain, if that's your type of story point of view). It always involves their downfall because of a specific flaw they have. Excessive pride, vanity, greed, hubris, anything at all could be the one flaw that tears them apart. Or several, actually. While a tragedy often does end in the hero dying/worse than dying, it doesn't always call for a downer ending. A villain's tragedy could very well be the hero's triumph that leads to a happy ending. Heck, the downfall could even become a life lesson in a way. But always, no matter what, the hero shall be their own undoing.
Please.
Remember this.
Please treat the tragedy tag with respect and DON'T mistag.
And... uh... please read the new chapter! Only a little bit more until it's over! Thanks for reading!
>is working on a tragedy
I shall take note, Blessed Sponge.
Congratulations on passing 3k, m8.
I hope you get a sack of dildos for christmasIt's been a fun little trip, you know. Also nice new avatar.On an unrelated note: our special project has just been submitted.
Hmm... and now I've read this, and I wonder what you'd think of Twilight's Inferno. Mistagged or no? I suppose it does fit the bill in a way...
Good thing I don't write tragedy, eh?
I did comment
A rather large one, actually. I'll comment again once I read the update.