Writing Tips and Reviews

Understanding Why Something Works

There have been many times I've seen writers make a joke or quote a line that they thought was funny but ends up backfiring on them. Why? They know what they like, but they don't know why they like it. And I think it all comes down to context.

Without Context:

There was a time I used to role play with public groups, and there was someone I met who would quote Star Wars and thought he was the smartest person in the group for it. But it never worked. When he called other people stupid for not understanding the line, he wasn't seeing that they did understand the line, they just didn't understand why it was placed in such an awkward sentence. He would say "everything you just said was wrong" to someone who was right. He would try to manipulate a character into joining his team the same way Star Wars made Anakin join the dark side, but completely miss whenever he used Palpatine's lines. And he would make his character act like he won the war against the rebellion without there being a war.  

He knew that he liked Star Wars and those lines were effective, but he had no idea WHY they were effective. He didn't see that the characters his partners made WEREN'T the same people as the Star Wars characters who were told those lines. Instead of understanding the characters his partners made and weaving their information so that the line did work, he pulled bullshit out of his ass and expected it to work. Because, clearly, if it works in Star Wars, it'll work with everything else.

I want you to read this and tell me how effective the "Star Wars manipulation" tactic works.

X: So, who are you?
Y: Well, why would I tell?
X: Because you're the reason I'm in this mess. (He reached for his sword.)
Andrew: (He shot it.)
X: What is wrong with you?
Y: Nothing.
X: You're not my ally.
Y: Every single word in that sentence was wrong.
X: Then what are you? I've never met you before in my life, and I'm thousands of years old. So how about you explain?
Y: I want you to join me.
X: Join you? What do you mean?
Andrew: You have so much untamed power...
X: You're mistaking me for someone else. I used up most of my power, but I'm not a weakling.
Y: Oh, did you?
X: I don't know what you think I am, but it's an untrained kid then you're wrong.
Y: Look, here is what I want from you. Your powers. I do things that mess with your brain, you also do that. Let us work together.

Not only does X not know who Y is, but Y makes guesses as to X is and then uses that as "manipulation." When Palpatine told Anakin about the dark side and the strange powers to manipulate Anakin into joining the dark side, he didn't pull something out of his ass and pretend Anakin cared. He didn't say "Your father is going to die without these powers," because Anakin would have got up and walked away with how stupid it was.

I won't go further into what happened in that role play, as it boils down to "I'm not lying" and then five seconds later "I was lying the whole time and you were stupid enough to fall for it." And I don't think I need to tell you how dumb that is. Imagine a character who wants to be a master manipulator, fails so hard because they're stupid as rocks, and it's acknowledged by the story that it's funny. It might not be the same feel as Palpatine, but it at least doesn't butcher the threatening atmosphere he had with incompetence.

Remakes and Live Action:

Another example of knowing what people like but not knowing why they like it would be remakes. Look at any remake and tell me it has the same effect as the original. Most of the time the answer is "no." The creators retell the story without the message behind it. Or, the message  is so terribly delivered that it's lost in the pop culture references. They try to "fix" mistakes from the original, but end up creating more. The prince's age in Beauty and the Beast was a good math joke, but it didn't take away from the theme of "Don't judge people on looks alone." The remake decided to fix the age problem and lost the theme from how little Bell and the Beast interacted.

The 2018 Grinch movie lost the theme that Christmas wasn't about material goods by making it a slapstick comedy and making the grinch a funny character. And ever Dr. Seuss story was butchered so horrible by padding out the screen time with bullshit and nothing that mattered to the original theme. They focus on what the demographic wants instead of sticking to the timeless emotional impact the original had.

Even many fan fiction writers get it wrong when they do an oc insert or a "rewrite." You can add as many new elements to a story that you want, but when they don't fit the theme, they're not going to be recognized.

Making characters "based off":

One the most common ways to make a character is to base it off another. While some people take from multiple sources, others stick to one and use their imagination for the rest. But some people only know what they like about a character and not why they like it.

When you like a dark and edgy character, you should know why you like it before you make your character based off them. Screaming about being "broke on the inside" or "I'm a serial killer" isn't how you do it. Instead of having a mysterious or dangerous presence, they're ignored for how pretentious they sound. They're said to be just like the character they're based off but they do nothing that's similar. "This character is based off Luke Skywalker" doesn't mean people will enjoy reading about them when they do nothing that's similar.

Let's look at Twisted Wonderland, because I love that game. Jamil is based off Jafar, from his role in the game, to how he acts, and how he looks. He's not a carbon copy, as he's got many traits that are unique and his development with Kalim is different than Jafar and the sultan's relationship after the movie. It was obvious Disney knew what people liked from Aladdin and placed those features into Sacarabia while adding new details that didn't take away from the central theme. There's no commoner pretending to be a prince, but there is a theme of being open about who you are. Aladdin opens up about being a street rat and is accepted, while Jamil opens up about his feelings and he's accepted.

Disney knew that the theme of being yourself was what people liked and delivered. Much better than the Aladdin remake, which they also made. Disney is complicated. And it might also be due to the fact Twisted Wonderland doesn't copy the script and only uses the same idea.

Understanding the Themes:

I think that's what it all boils down to. Don't look at what happens, look at why it happens. See why the theme of being open about who you are doesn't work in the Aladdin remake but works for Jamil. See why you can't copy a script with the mindset of "it worked there, so it'll work here." And see why characters, stories, etc. are beloved before you take Elements from them. Because when you don't, you end up with bad remakes and stories/characters who are incompetent instead of cleverly written as their originals were.  

In other words, put some damn effort into your work and stop copying people's stuff without knowing why it works.