TL Fiction Writers - Page 9
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Dark_Chill
Canada3353 Posts
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FoxyMayhem
624 Posts
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zalz
Netherlands3704 Posts
I took a step back and I began to really wonder why it was that I was having so many problems, so soon. Turns out I was just way too enthusiastic. I just rushed into a new story, but I quickly discovered I hadn't given it nearly enough thought, making the whole thing feel incredibly aimless and what few characters had made it onto the page suffered from the same blandness that I was hoping to avoid. I think I will put this one on hold and begin to properly sketch a new story. I need to spend more time on the central characters, deepen their personalities. Right now I suffer too much from making the plot more important than the characters in them. I often catch myself calling them by their roles (protagonist, antagonist, etc) rather than their names. I also barely spend any time on their appearance. It isn't dead in the water, but I doubt I will be returning to my current story any time soon. Wipe the slate clean and begin truly working on a brand new story, and take some extra time out for the characters. | ||
CyDe
United States1010 Posts
On April 12 2012 21:33 zalz wrote: After only 10.000 words I already ran into a wall with my new attempt at a novel sized story. I took a step back and I began to really wonder why it was that I was having so many problems, so soon. Turns out I was just way too enthusiastic. I just rushed into a new story, but I quickly discovered I hadn't given it nearly enough thought, making the whole thing feel incredibly aimless and what few characters had made it onto the page suffered from the same blandness that I was hoping to avoid. I think I will put this one on hold and begin to properly sketch a new story. I need to spend more time on the central characters, deepen their personalities. Right now I suffer too much from making the plot more important than the characters in them. I often catch myself calling them by their roles (protagonist, antagonist, etc) rather than their names. I also barely spend any time on their appearance. It isn't dead in the water, but I doubt I will be returning to my current story any time soon. Wipe the slate clean and begin truly working on a brand new story, and take some extra time out for the characters. You seem to be writing a lot, do you publish? Can we buy your books anywhere? | ||
zalz
Netherlands3704 Posts
On April 12 2012 21:35 CyDe wrote: You seem to be writing a lot, do you publish? Can we buy your books anywhere? Sadly, the answer to both is no. Currently I write as much as I can without chopping into school/work/social time. On average that is about 2-3k per day. For me it was mostly removing the 'magic' of writing. Admitting that you have to write, no matter how you feel about the writing. Now usually, that means writing is a lot of fun, but you just force yourselves to write through the pieces that feel like a drag, but in this case, everything I wrote just felt like a drag, and after 10.000 words of pure struggle, the question begins to dawn, am I just having a bad couple of days, or is this just atrocious? And I came to the conclusion that the later was more likely. A lot of stuff can sound pretty good in your head but end up horrible on paper. The opposite can also be the case. Now, as for being published/being able to buy books. My dream is most certainly to be able to make a living off writing, but right now I still feel like I am figuring out too many things about my own writing. You will always keep getting better at stuff if you keep practicing, but I still feel like my own style is shifting and changing too much to be ready to try and get stuff published or sell stuff over the internet. This might sound like an excuse to put off the point at which I will have to submit my work to critical eyes, and perhaps it is that in part, but I always careful of pitfalls like that and have strict lines at which I consider it time to start moving forward. Like my last novel that I finished a few weeks ago. From the get go, I was intending to write it as practice. I showed it to a few people, but it was never written for anything more than practice. The one I am writing now is what I consider my last attempt at practicing, after this I think it is do-or-die, and I just have to start really trying to write something that could get published, or something I could make money off. So yeah, I write a lot, but so far it is just practice. It might sound futile to some. Why write when you don't aim to publish something? The truth is that I could write even if I was the only person to ever read it. Writing is something that I can enjoy for its own sake. Would I love to make enough money to live off writing? Sure, but right now I am still practicing till I feel I am ready for a serious attempt, a moment I feel is getting closer every day. | ||
FoxyMayhem
624 Posts
I've never much written seemed out of order before, so writing toward something is a new experience. And I'll have to make a bunch of edits to make it fit in right, but right now I'm just enjoying the novelty of it all! ^_^ Yeah, if I do 10K a week I'm doing well. Maybe that will change, but maybe not. | ||
TheQuarryman
11 Posts
Great to hear your passion. 2-3k a day is prolific. How do you feel about the novels you wrote? Could you work them up into something that you could self-publish? If you did, you could offer them for free if you wanted, and/ or under a pen name, to get them out there and see if you get a reaction. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t worry about trying to find/ settle on a style or a voice before you publish. Your voice may change for years. If you publish under a pen name, you can change name for books in a different voice/ style/ genre/ whatever. Lots of authors do this. | ||
zalz
Netherlands3704 Posts
On April 13 2012 21:43 TheQuarryman wrote: Hey Zalz Great to hear your passion. 2-3k a day is prolific. How do you feel about the novels you wrote? Could you work them up into something that you could self-publish? If you did, you could offer them for free if you wanted, and/ or under a pen name, to get them out there and see if you get a reaction. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t worry about trying to find/ settle on a style or a voice before you publish. Your voice may change for years. If you publish under a pen name, you can change name for books in a different voice/ style/ genre/ whatever. Lots of authors do this. I am feeling pretty positive about them. The biggest thing that I am focussing on atm is fixing what I call a lack of personality for my characters. It isn't that my characters don't have growth arcs or backstories, but they just feel a little bland most of the time. I feel that if I can focus on making them feel more like real people, I will have solved the biggest problem that I have atm. Publishing under a pen name could be a pretty good idea, I will have to give that some serious consideration. And like you said, people always evolve as writers, constantly changing their styles. It is important for me to remember that I can't use that as an excuse to always keep writing stuff and never show it. My last book was written without an intent to show it to anyone, but this time I intent to throw it out to the web and some people in RL that I think can give some solid feedback. But thanks for the pen name idea, that migh be a good and safe way to take that next step forward. I think I'll try and do something of the sort with my current novel. Still in the planning phase though, probably gonna start this weekend. | ||
`dunedain
652 Posts
First of, I would suggest you find the style that you want to emulate. One that best suits your story. It's all about understanding your characters. All the best stories are character driven. Plot is super important, but it's inevitably just the vehicle for your characters to tell their own stories. If you really want to get into writing as a hobby or even as a profession down the line, you really need to read a lot. From there you can see how your favorite authors unravel most of the juicy parts of their story through character revelations, or unraveling plot points through circumstances that put your characters in situations where they need to figure a way out. Another very important thing that needs to always be in your mind when writing is the mechanic of "Show, don't tell." This is very very important, because if it seems like you're just info-dumping (rambling on about facts that you want your reader to know, by telling them in exposition), the reader won't enjoy it nearly as much as they would if you actually showed those facts through your characters and/or their adventures. Of course, info-dumping isn't always bad, especially when used sparsely. So you be the judge. The best way to tell is if you/a friend reads your work and gets too much facts too soon into the story, and most of it isn't really relevant to the ongoing plot arc, you've told too much. The more you write, the easier it will be for you to gauge your level of writing. From there you'll start to see where your weak points are and learn to strengthen them. Practice is always the best teacher, just as reading is always the best lesson. My two cents, take from it what you will. | ||
gumshoe
Canada3602 Posts
On April 13 2012 22:15 `dunedain wrote: To all aspiring writers, First of, I would suggest you find the style that you want to emulate. One that best suits your story. It's all about understanding your characters. All the best stories are character driven. Plot is super important, but it's inevitably just the vehicle for your characters to tell their own stories. If you really want to get into writing as a hobby or even as a profession down the line, you really need to read a lot. From there you can see how your favorite authors unravel most of the juicy parts of their story through character revelations, or unraveling plot points through circumstances that put your characters in situations where they need to figure a way out. Another very important thing that needs to always be in your mind when writing is the mechanic of "Show, don't tell." This is very very important, because if it seems like you're just info-dumping (rambling on about facts that you want your reader to know, by telling them in exposition), the reader won't enjoy it nearly as much as they would if you actually showed those facts through your characters and/or their adventures. Of course, info-dumping isn't always bad, especially when used sparsely. So you be the judge. The best way to tell is if you/a friend reads your work and gets too much facts too soon into the story, and most of it isn't really relevant to the ongoing plot arc, you've told too much. The more you write, the easier it will be for you to gauge your level of writing. From there you'll start to see where your weak points are and learn to strengthen them. Practice is always the best teacher, just as reading is always the best lesson. My two cents, take from it what you will. I think we should listen to this guy, I mean he's been around for a looooooong time. | ||
`dunedain
652 Posts
Misunderstanding.. | ||
`dunedain
652 Posts
Misunderstanding.. : ( | ||
fiveop
Germany14 Posts
Close Call (plain html/css page; I hope it is a bit more readable that way compared to pasting it into the post.) It's been through a few revisions, but I do not necessarily deem it done. | ||
gumshoe
Canada3602 Posts
On April 14 2012 01:03 `dunedain wrote: Oh, btw Gumshoe, you spelled the name "Neil" wrong in your NASA story. It's Neil, not Niel. Niel would be pronounced as Ny-el, not Kneel. One of a bunch of mistakes that no one pointed out, since people here are generally nice. See, even though you are somewhat of a douche, I'll still help you out bro. No worries. Writers unite! Why am I a douch ) : | ||
gumshoe
Canada3602 Posts
On April 14 2012 01:03 `dunedain wrote: Oh, btw Gumshoe, you spelled the name "Neil" wrong in your NASA story. It's Neil, not Niel. Niel would be pronounced as Ny-el, not Kneel. One of a bunch of mistakes that no one pointed out, since people here are generally nice. See, even though you are somewhat of a douche, I'll still help you out bro. No worries. Writers unite! I was referring to your name as dunedain ) : | ||
gumshoe
Canada3602 Posts
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gumshoe
Canada3602 Posts
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`dunedain
652 Posts
Seeing how we're on the internet and everything, things can get misunderstood. I thought you were bashing the ideas that I gave in my first post, and discounting them by saying, "I mean he's been around for a looooooong time." <-- I thought by this you meant participating in the thread. I think I just misread your tone. It didn't occur to me that you were speaking about my name, lol. That's what happens when I smoke for the first time in a few weeks. Yet again, my apologies. Will be edited out. | ||
gumshoe
Canada3602 Posts
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TheQuarryman
11 Posts
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