Advice for fanfic writers from one of the Dragon Age writers

More for my own reference than anything: 

http://blog.bioware.com/2012/02/01/storming-the-sand-castle/

Summary of points: 
1. Don't start with description (yeah, totally agree on this one) 
2. Don't pull your punches (i.e. don't shy away from doing terrible things to your characters) 
3. Do pay attention to flow ("there isn’t a sentence so clever it shouldn’t be cut if it doesn’t assist your purpose")
4. Do pay attention to your scope (this is a tough one for me -_-)
5. Do the unexpected (harder said than done!) 

A little more from scope, since that's a hard one: 
"Don’t introduce any more characters than you require, or even give the ones you do introduce names if those names are extraneous. If you end up writing something too large, consider starting over and cutting your scope rather than cutting– cutting is important, but you run the risk of it making your story choppy rather than lean if you cut too deeply." 

I haven't actually played Dragon Age, but I keep hearing good things about it, and this David Gaider guy sounds cool (plus he's an actual author), so maybe I should. 

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika thoughts part 2!

About a gazillion years ago I said I was going to post something serious about Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika and I never did. This is because I am lazy, and every time I try to think seriously about Madoka--especially Madoka and feminism--my thoughts get all confused and twisted up and I turn into a witch and destroy Tokyo, again.

So, uh, instead of writing something smart, I’m going to write something that is still pretty shallow and silly.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SERIES.

 

( Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika vs. Shoujo Kakumei Utena: FIGHT! (Utena spoilers blacked out) )

 

( Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika and the Male Gaze )

 

( So What Does Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika Actually Say About (Magical) Girls? )

 

[Edit] Check Kyuubei's male gaze! That little rascal.