Any WRITERS Here on EC?

I love writing. It's so interesting to read about the various processes every uses. In late elementary school, I began writing awful plot driven short stories semi plagiarized from movies I had liked. I love writing fiction -- poetry, short stories, epic poems, novels. I usually don't finish anything because for me it is mostly about the process. They range from the melancholy to the grim. Writing a story with characters roughly based on myself was something that really helped me come to terms with my sexuality. I also write a bit of non-fiction generally using speech and oratory as the medium, since it tends to be very political. We use spoken language so much and it makes me sad that schools do so little to prepare students to speak well and articulately.

 

Absolutely!
I'm currently working on editing my novel, book 1, before I tackle the editing of book 2. I've never published before but I'm very excited about this tale. It's a fantasy, coming-of-age story, of a reluctant queen to be in a time of rebellion instigated by a betrayal.
X3

Although I tell my family I'm an English major because I'd like to get into something more 'practical', like teaching, I secretly aspire to be an author.

 

Yep.

I enjoy text based roleplaying online. I also plan on becoming a published author with several fantasy, science fiction and fiction series.

 

Tips:
As far as how to get goin when you feel there's a dull spot in your book: Characters are key!

1) Conflict.

To create conflict; create characters with conflicting personalities. They want opposite things, and they have sincere motives for having that desire.

Remember: No character should be "Just evil" or "just holy" -it's plain, simple,and a little too boring. I wouldn't buy that as a reader... Give them depth, even your bad guys. (Example: An evil overlord is power hungry because XYZ happened in his life, or he fears ABC)

2) The "Messenger" guy/ girl...

I've used this technique a couple times in my book and it's really helped. You need to get the readers from point A to B....you've run out of things that happen in that day before the "major event".

A character can suddenly burst into view with new info!
A character could start to feel ill while someone, in the background, is smirking..


3) Using the evenings to switch P.O.V

As my main character slips off to sleep, it's easy to start a new chapter with a new point of view. I used this specifically to talk about what's going on with the rebellion army.


-Characters are the central piece, the key to all of this. It's by the characters that your readers become infatuated with your story anyway, so keep using them. X3

-When all else fails, get to know the characters you have better. You can do this by walking around through your day. As you drop your sandwich (--) , receive a text from someone you like (<3) , or drone through classes... imagine how character _X_ would react.... How would they express themselves? Would they use expletives? Would they doodle in class while bored or would they try to pay attention anyway? Why? Why not?

I've learned a lot about my characters that way.

 

I love writing ficiton! I personally enjoy writing horror or mythical and magical stories. Though I start like five stories, get about three Word pages in, and then get lost. I always seem to pick them back up, but sometimes it takes a bit. Most of them are short stories. I switch between my notebooks and the computer, depending on what is available/more convenient.

 

I'm a screenwriter positioned at a top company. Got attention from a script about a famous cartoon/toy property then the VP took me on from there. Working on two projects he's interested in. One based on growing up in a haunted house the other revisiting monster comedy of the 80s. Just writing what I love and what I'd like to watch. Everything comes from my life experiences. The more you write, live, watch, experience the better prepared you'll be as a writer. I stayed away from focusing on adults because I don't understand them thus I minimize their presence to focus on younger protagonists (17-25) because that I do understand. Write what you know. Write what you believe in. Always have a strong connection that will make writing the story and sticking by it for years easy. Try to channel into what mass audiences like. Some scripts that don't make it are just too bizarre, luckily naturally already think big studio and talk "suit" language witout compromising the story I want to tell. Start small then work your way up.NUMEROUS short stories or scripts before tackling bigger challenges, this is where you'll learn your voice and your craft. The more you write, the better you'll get. Hope all this helps.

- at 22, first writer's meeting at a major studio. Now at 23, VP interested in two of my scripts. Prior to I managed a virtual series for four years which accumulated in 40 teleplays each 40-50 pages in length in addition to screenwriting alongside it and managing a core group of writers. Without that experience there would be no way that I could be where I am today.

Small town, came to LA with no connections outside an internship. Basically anyone who works REALLY HARD can make it. It's like a baseball star, all start young and those who make it to the majors are the ones who practiced every day since they were a kid and live & breathe it. With honest hard work, making a living here is relativity easy to come by if it's a passion. So to those aspiring writers who live and breathe it, keep on working - be prepared - eventually someone will give you a chance and if you hit it out of the ball park they will want to take you higher.

 

Wow! I had no idea that there were so many writers here. I was considering trying NaNoWriMo this year but you guys have motivated me to try. I already have the idea and most of the characters planned out. Good luck to everyone that is going to participate in NaNoWriMo. If anyone needs help editing or wants someone to read their stuff let me know. Maybe we could get some mutual editing going on

 

I love writing...I do it pretty much whenever I feel like, even if that's between classes on a slip of paper. That way I can go back to the idea later and expand on it. There's a thing called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It's in November, the idea is that if you have a deadline for a novel, you'll find the motivation to write it. I'm doing that for the first time this year, it seems really great and my friends have done this in years past. I would look into this if you're looking for motivation or anything to write...

 

Yay~ Writing~ I'm in the editing process so I can get my novel published at the moment.
When it comes to creativity, honestly, it depends on what you want to write. If you want to write something sad, tap into every depressing thing that's ever happened to you, if you want to write something happy, tap into the best moments of your life. It works the same for every other emotion.
Now for your questions...
I'm the kind of person who flows better at a keyboard but will write with pencil and paper when I have an idea I just can't let go of and I can't use a computer at the moment. With character development, I usually get a good handle on the character's role, then I think about aspects of their character that could progress the plot. Advice? As you look back on your early, unpublished work, you will inevitably see it as crap. You might even see it halfway through. Just remember that you have to keep trying. If you finish, and see a dramatic increase in quality from start toend, go back and edit. When an idea doesn't flow with you anymore, don't lose sleep over it. If the first is really means that much to, then you will find a way to make it work.
Have fun!

 

I'm a writer. Been published a handful of times for nonfiction pieces, majored in English/American literature (concentrating on post-9/ll fiction and international conflict). I'm currently about 75% through my first book, which I haven't worked on in a few months due to being busy with other things, but I'm hoping to get back into a regular schedule of writing too.

As for how I write, it depends. I've found that usually I end up writing in longhand first on steno pads or in spiral notebooks, then transferring the work over to the computer, which is the point that I usually do most of my revision too.

Characters...I think one of the ways I've learned to develop characters is to a) Read a literal shit-ton of books in every genre you can imagine, especially the genres you want to write in and the genres you know nothing about, and b) do research on how to build well-rounded characters (Google is your friend, there are numberless character study websites out there dedicated to teaching you character dynamics).

One of the most inspiring books I've ever read about writing is Stephen King's book On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft. It's half-autobiography and half-writing text, but it's all-inspiring and I literally read my copy to shreds.

The best advice I have ever received about writing is to do it every day. A thousand words (at least) a day. For the rest of your life. Every major writer I've ever read discuss writing has pretty much given out that same advice.

If you practice every day, you will get better.

Other good writing books:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Wild Mind: Living The Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg
Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight
Escaping Into The Open by Elizabeth Berg
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
Making a Literary Life by Carolyn See
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (which actually isn't a writing book per se, but it's the most influential book about the day-to-day life of a practicing writer that I've ever read outside of the Stephen King one I already mentioned)

^ If you can only choose a few out of this list to begin with, I'd pick Anne Lamott, Sol Stein, and Damon Knight (in no particular order, but you'll get the most practical advice out of Stein, he's one of the most influential editors of the 20th century).

 

Have a bunch of ninjas come and attack everyone.

 

The "bookworm" of my friends, writing is my forte. I read a lot, and try to translate that when I write but writing an actually novel has been unsuccessful;I have far too many ideas to see something through... well, that's my analogy of it.

 

Writer's block from working too long on it...

> Hand it over to someone else to get feedback.
> Take a little time to get past it.

Unsure why something isn't working later on in it...

> Go back to the beginning.
> In screenplays if something doesn't work in a later act - chances are it's not the later act that needs fixing, rather the first act. Odd, but common knowledge in Hollywood.

Unsure what to write?

> Relax, when you don't look for ideas - ideas come to you.

 

I've written a boyxboy narrative short story and passed it to our teacher.

So far so good, my classmates who got the chance read it before I submitted the paper told me they loved it and would be better if the other character is a girl.

---------- Post added 9th Dec 2011 at 08:44 PM ----------

my mind kept on telling me that if I were to compare my work with other writers, I am not as close to good as them.

 

Yes I'm a writer! :smilewave

I mainly write poetry atm, but hope to expand into fiction and drama. I've written one play so far. Some poems of mine can be viewed on my EC blog.

 

That's the most common problem.:icon_bigg

I remind myself these.

"You don't need a god given gift to be a good writer.All you need study and write.Just write."

"You started writing because you like it.Your motive wasn't publishing it.Not money or fame."