Calling All Writers!

Well, that definitely answered my question, thanks guys now encouraged to consider trying to write fanfic myself.

 

Glad I could help!

 

Wow that's a long time for both of those stories! What sort of details did you build off of to help you?

 

For one of my stories, I started by creating a character that I liked a lot. All of the details started revolving around her to the point I ended up with more characters who had some connection to her. I developed her whole life story first, and since I was dealing with depression at the time, she ended up having a negative past and mental illness as "therapy" for me. In the end though, it ended up forming the basic plot for the story, which became a drama story about a character uncovering who she is and looking to heal. The universe part was easier for me since I decided to not add any worldbuilding/fantasy elements this time. It ended up as a realistic fiction story taking place in an existing country, so all I had to do was research how that area worked and what the cultural norms there were.

The other one took an opposite direction- complete fantasy story with worldbuilding techniques that were needed. I started this story off by being inspired by RPG type video games. I wanted a fantasy war story, and studied how a lot of different authors and games did fantasy things before I just decided to put my own spin on it. I created my own species (that were somewhat inspired off of elves), their own story and lore. Then I created the characters, their past history, and role in the story. Once I learned about each character, it was a bit easier to figure out their motivations and how it would integrate in the plot. Once I found out something small, larger details kept expanding.

I also find it helpful to figure out the first and last chapter of the story first. Once you know that, you can start integrating the other story plots that lead to that point.

 

That's why I said for that genre ( a.k.a. horrible fantasy romance novels that were possibly inspired by twilight or maybe existed before it, but god are they bad)
I say that because I am annoyed at the Mary sue kind of protagonist that is totally overpowered but somehow still has to be saved all the time and somehow even more popular the protagonist that does seemingly absolutely nothing.
Bella at least has the guts to jump off that cliff (despite pathetic motivations) and mouth off to some vampires every once in a while ( even though Edward does all the actual fights) and she at least tries to become a vampire and contribute a bit and sort of decides to keep her baby despite what Edwards says ( even though the anti abortion and no sex before marriage messages hidden in there are maddening).

Would cardboard make a more interesting protagonist than bella? Absolutely.
But then you just look at garbage like fifty shades and think "oh god, it could be so much worse"


I guess some part of me just wants to defend twilight because I can kind of understand why someone that age could like it and I don't want to mock these people when mocking the book.

Either way: Best portrayal of vampires in books/ comics/ movies / etc. in your opinion?

 

This happens to me all the time. What I usually do in this situation is put the idea to one side, and wait until I stumble across another idea that I can splice in to make a complete story.

 

what i like to do for that is build the main character(s) completely (backstory, appearance, idiosyncrasies, beliefs, family and friends, etc.) i have found that giving characters idiosyncrasies like biting their nails or messing with their hair makes them more realistic and relatable.

 

I use to write stories and share them with friend's all the time in school. They all use to really enjoy them. I would write poetry to girl's I was into. (While listening to classical music. fancy right?) Most of the stories I created were within a short period of a class period. (that's all math class was good for to me.) They were usually very dark and twisted; and rather graphic. And yet somehow lot's of people laughed and really enjoyed them. It made me realize; how lot's of people had their own issues deep inside them as well. The way they laughed at the graphic stories I created. It showed something deep inside them.

I liked the feeling of creating works of literature for people to enjoy. And when you are creative; you can even vent through the stories you create. Naming a character a differen't name when it's actually you.

I encourage anyone to write. Whether it be stories, or even writing in a journal. It help's you release what you can't in your day to day life.

 

The fact that Bella is somehow immune to Edward's mind reading and is for some reason that is never explained extra tasty to vampires is a pretty Mary Sue trait. Not to mention that once she actually became a vampire, she just flat out gained immunity to all vampire powers. She's got plenty of Mary Sue traits not to mention that just because she's not as bad as another protagonist does not magically make her a better protagonist.

And you shouldn't defend Twilight and especially not to young people, because when reading this kind of stuff, they can sometimes get it in their heads that this is a good relationship and something to strive for when there are so many red flags in it. It's dangerous. Even if you enjoy it, you have to be made aware that "this is not healthy and should not be strived for."

 

How much do you guys write per day?

 

I'm sort of in the midst of my first serious attempt to write a fiction novel at the moment. I have the very bare bones of the plot and some characters that seem to be sticking around and developing quite well. The part I'm struggling with at the moment is world building. I'm writing an Urban Fantasy, so I need to set it in a realistic town, but I can't pinpoint WHERE exactly. I'm pretty sure it's going to end up a fictional place (or at the very least a fictional version of an existing town, but I just can't seem to find a location or even region that makes me go THAT's where I need my story set.

 

I don't write everyday, but I talk about my writing and characters almost every day.

 

Not anywhere near as much as I should (considering how many different projects I am working on). In theory I'd write a bit every day, but that's not really what ends up happening.

 

Has anyone else had a problem with the idea that, You have plenty of muse and know what you feel like writing about, but as you aren't a standard writer (Like wattpad or just typing them personally or whatever), for example a roleplayer of any sort... but you dont have acess to, and cannot seem to get access to your medium (In my case... a roleplaying forum that isn't strict, but it can be anything)

Just eondering as of course... in this condundrum as we speak.

 

I always write on a Saturday if I'm not otherwise engaged. There is a coffee shop near me. I like to have a pot of tea and spend a few hours writing. I use to aim for at least 500 words but I find I can usually do 1500 - 2000 words so nearly a whole chapter. I might finish a chapter or edit chapters during other times in the week.

 

I don't always write 2000 words but when I do I generally feel like that is the perfect amount--if I'm keeping track of word count on that day. If I'm really into writing whatever it is that I'm writing I can do around 3,000-5,000 without noticing though. I focus more on word count when I'm writing a first draft because that is when I'm worried about making sure I set out all of the scenes, but on the rewrite I generally write more because I already have a general idea of how everything fits together.

 

How does the prospect of trying to get published make you feel?
To me it makes me feel like I'm staring into a black hole of dread. All that business stuff, and money stuff, and trying to find an agent you can trust stuff, and trying to not get conned stuff. It's just all so horrible. It's the quickest way for me to get to the point where I feel like I can't write another word.