Writers! Come and Talk About Writing!

It counts. Fifty Shades of Grey started out as Twilight fanfic, and now it's a huge mom-porn sensation! LOL :lol:

Patience is... not really that necessary outside of revising and editing, I find. It's the outline that might exhaust you, but it really does help your story write itself, and it can even be worked on while writing the story.
Once you get inspired and develop your idea past the summary of the story and get a basic sketch of your characters, it's pretty easy to keep it flowing, with proper stimuli like music and experiencing other media in the same genre.

In other words, just set up your framework then shoot your story at it, editing and developing until it can see the light of day. That's the basics of writing.

If you want to write a full story or book, but need help with anything at all, message me anytime. I'll help the best I can.

---------- Post added 18th Nov 2015 at 09:24 PM ----------

I thought that it was perfect just the way it was. The way it was said perfectly illustrated how very immersed the lead was in his book. I know that when I'm reading something I love and am startled, I sometimes take quite some time to "wake up".
Many books (some bestselling) have this "Voice-Over" narration or beginning, and they are classics.
It's a beautiful story, but, in the end, it is your choice whether or not you want to change it, though. You ARE the writer, of course.

 

Hi, just want to say that Christmas Miracle on Mars sounds FRICKIN AMAZING and that I would so watch it.

"Jingle bells, oh sh*t an asteroid
Santa saves the daaaayyy"

---------- Post added 10th Dec 2015 at 04:48 PM ----------

I've done something similar myself.
I was writing a book when I was twelve (it was crap) which was essentially ripped off of Bioshock 2 so badly that I just... stopped.
I started writing another around the same time, and it was based in New York, which was being attacked by aliens called "reapers" who essentially took over the iconic taxi cabs of New York and used them to steal babies, children and pregnant women for an Ark-esque escape from Earth.
The non-pregnant adults and teenagers who attempted to intervene were often killed.
Of course, nobody knew about the Ark thingy, so everyone just hid and/or fought.

I had a cool idea about mashing up the hidden-city concept, the New York setting, and a post-apocalyptic world (a common theme in my work) though little else is taken from the New York story.
I use characters (though better developed) from the first story which I called "Them" at the time.... and which will forever sit in a file on my computer as a reminder to never EVER... do anything I did while writing that story. ANYTHING.
It's also a reminder that everyone was crap once, and that people can get better.
But annyyyywaaaaayyyy.....
The mash-up essentially a journey through the post-apocalyptic world as a sanctuary's teenage leader is taken to the same place her twin sister was ten years before (a hidden NEW New York under the ruins of the old, built as a sort of shelter for humanity), and those left behind journey to find her.
The Main Character escapes her kidnappers, and attempts to leave, but can't go back the way she came, so she has to journey further into the city, and in the process learns the true fate of her sister who has been unwillingly recruited as a scientific experiment.
It's like a really really really scary, depressing, underground, post apocalyptic sh*thole version of Rapture. The Splicers of Rapture are upstanding citizens of a united, peaceful society compared to the creatures of the new New York. There's also the view of the outside looking in, provided by the Main Character's friends, searching in vain for her.
The whole thing is also a nostalgia trip, because back in the day, I was blissfully unaware of how very crap I was.... But, yeah, nostalgia.
It's a few projects down the line, but I truly am looking forward to working on it.
It also involves LGBT things, like a wee little love triangle between the Main Character's boyfriend, her, and a human found in the city.
The boy found in the city is openly bisexual, and I sort of make a little point of how bi/pansexuals can still be faithful...

Yeah, I'll shut up now.

Write on!

 

Love isn't cliche, the way it is presented, however, might be. I like using "angry" love or a "love-hate" relationship, that is, being in love but bitterly hating the fact that you are, or both loving and hating the other person. It's a nice way to shake things up, but now that I've said that, other people know about and might use it more.... :/

But love is nice. Don't worry too much about it. While a billion and a half carbon-copy romances get boring after a while, a few more won't really hurt, especially if you sprinkle in something new and fresh!

And I like doing that too.
One of my characters (who sadly has not been used in a story yet) is based off a police officer I saw on "Cops".
And a lot of my characters are based off random names and faces as well. It's one of the reasons I like CoD 4: MW. It shows people in combat, with various appearances, names and voices, and a lot of them are randomized, excepting the main characters, of course.
I enjoy watching and listening to them and thinking about who they might be, and what their lives are like, and gives me a name and voice for the faces. I already have several huge books (in completely different genres) planned out that are inspired by these characters, including my favorite-ever character.
It gives me interesting ideas for soldier characters, which is great because I ADORE soldiers and the military in general.
(And yes, I am aware that there are flaws with the military, good/bad people, etc. That does not change the fact that I respect and care for servicemen and servicewomen from almost every country.)

Anyway, I'll shut up now. About this, at least...

---------- Post added 10th Dec 2015 at 05:11 PM ----------

THIS IS A MEGA LONG POST, HOPEFULLY MY SPOILERS WILL WORK.

---------- Post added 13th Nov 2015 at 09:58 PM ----------

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No. Dialogue's very VERY tricky. It took me forever to get out of the rut of just plain describing something through the words of the character and into the rut of having the character describe something, that is, having them be less of a puppet for words and more of their own person.
I'd explain the ins and outs to you now, but that would be a small book in and of itself and I have no time for that ATM so I'll give you this until I can return and offer more advice:
Know your character, and they will speak, move, act, react and live independently.
Know their age, their generation, their upbringing and background, know as much as you can about them until you understand them as a person (keep digging even deeper if wanted) and they will BECOME a person. Best case scenario, you'll be able to visualize them in their current situation and the world they're in better and better until you no longer NEED to visualize them, and they live in your book's universe like a person in our universe. Worst case scenario... they'll be a little easier to predict and think of as human, so you can visualize the scene and what they say more accurately.
Basically, in practically EVERY aspect of writing, the world revolves around characters. Well and thoroughly developed characters take on a life of their own, and so become the life of the book.


Well, that turned out to be a small book even by itself, but still... :/[/QUOTE]

FINALLY back to dialogue.

Spoiler

Sorry for the long time being away. Hope that what I wrote was helpful, and that what I'm about to write is also helpful.
Also, anyone else reading this who doesn't get any answers to their questions, please message me! I like helping people with writing and talking about writing.

Anyway, one thing that I (or others) may have already gone over in a previous post is to avoid using "said" three billion times in a row.
Sometimes, it can be that invisible tag that nobody cares about, but it adds flavor (and eliminates the need for tagging) if you tell what the person is doing or what they look like while speaking.

For example, I recently wrote a scene in my book about the aftermath of my main character coming out and the ripple effects caused by it.
Now, I don't claim to be the best author in the world, but my dialogue is FAR improved from what it used to be, so hopefully, maybe, you can learn something from this.
Also, "said" IS used in this, but far less than it could have been, thus keeping it from being repetitive and "blah".
This is only a part of what I've written, and I'm replacing the original names with substitutes.

Here it is:

“So, uh… last night…” She began, trailing off and looking away like she didn’t quite know what to say. Honestly, I was right there with her.
“That was…” Weird? Crazy? Stupid? Bold? “…Brave.”
I blinked, my blush intensifying, then returned my attention back to the tips of my toes.
“That was really, really brave.”
I mumbled something that even I didn’t understand, keeping my eyes down.
“I just hope I can be that brave.”
This time, I did lift my gaze, only to find hers still averted.
“You’re….?”
“Yeah. What, you couldn’t tell, stupid?”
She grinned somewhat awkwardly at the floor. 
I was silent for a moment, stunned despite the fact that I’d known for quite some time.
I stared at her, having to concentrate quite hard to keep my jaw from dropping open.
Finally, I said, “Well, you’re out to two, then.”
She lifted her eyes, a slight furrow of confusion between her brows.
“Two?”
“Anna.” I reminded her.
“Oh, right,” She said, dropping her eyes once more. “The traitor.”
The words chilled me a little, thinking not of outing Eve, but of stealing food, until I remembered.
“Yeah. The traitor.” I managed a dull laugh, then we fell silent once more, standing together in awkward silence at the foot of the stairs, not looking at each other or speaking.
It wasn’t until creaking from the top of the stairs made us look up that we moved at all.
“Hey, Maia,” Michael rumbled, giving me his split-face grin.
“Hey, Michael,” Eve and I chorused, giving each other the lightest of awkward glances.
“Cool thing that you did last night,” He said, moving surprisingly quietly down the stairs. “Just want to let you know on Sal's behalf that we both support you, and I’m sure Cas will too.”
I didn’t have too much time to smile at this, joy with a little bit of embarrassment creeping up my face in yet another onset of blushing, before Michael leaned in closer with a conspiratorial whisper;
“In fact, we’ve been thinking about doing a little coming-out ourselves.”
He winked and I blinked rapidly.
Did he just say what I think he said?
“Wait, You’re gay? Sal is gay too?” Eve asked in a whisper, shuffling closer and leaning towards the both of us, looking like she’d been plucked from a gossip circle in one of those teenage drama films.
“Yep. In fact, we’re gay together.”
Tom grinned, and Rita gasped, bringing up a hand to cover her smile.
“I knew it! I shipped it! I shipped it all along!” She giggled.
I finally gained control of my speech and said quietly;
“Hey, that’s awesome! Michael and Sal…. Would that be Mal?” (IT MAKES MORE SENSE WITH ORIGINAL NAMES)
Michael snorted, smirking, though he looked like he wanted to smile much more.
“I don’t think he’d like that.”


Now, notice how you can tell from the order of the dialogue, even if it isn't tagged, who is speaking?
Also, from the flavor, tone, and style of speaking, the speech is easy to identify.
Needless to say, a young african-american woman from the deep South raised in, say, the nineteen-fifties will speak entirely differently than an old white man from northern England, even if they were raised in the same period. Upbringing, accents, influences and diction in dialogue, when used correctly, identify the character without any need of this next trick:
Another of my favorite tricks is using the characters' emotions, facial expressions, habits, and actions to reflect feeling onto the dialogue, and eliminate the need for "said".
Here, in this line, is probably the best example:
"She lifted her eyes, a slight furrow of confusion between her brows. 'Two?' "
Here, you can tell who's talking without a single use of the word "said" and you can also tell a little about what "Eve" (as she is called in this version) is feeling.

And a final word (before the final final word ) is that substitutionary words for "said" should be used sparingly, and please PLEASE don't use crazy ones. "Blurted" is probably much better than "Ejaculated" (and much less likely to set you up for dirty jokes) and "Giggled" is better than "Chortled".
Just think about it: Which line makes the girl saying it sound like she's laughing at something cute, and maybe is kind of cute herself?
"You're so cute!" giggled Eve.
or...
"You're so cute!" chortled Eve.

However, both have their uses, and should be used with caution.

Now, a final word on words and stuff:

I am probably about to annoy the hell out of you, because this is advice you get everywhere, but....
Practice makes perfect.

Over time, if you get the general idea of what's wrong with your dialogue and how to fix it (and if you actually find these tips work), your dialogue can and will improve. DO NOT EVER GIVE UP ON WRITING SIMPLY BECAUSE OF DIALOGUE.
It's deceptively simple once you get the hang of it.
Just keep practicing.
One method I would suggest is to pick a character or make one up, figure out their relationship with another character, then go through a scene with them and that other character. Have them argue, debate politics, plan for the holidays or just chat like ordinary, everyday friends.
If you get a chunk of a story floating through your head (which sometimes happens) write it down, not just a summary.

And remember to hang in there and keep writing, everyone who's reading this!
If you had read my work two years ago, you would be crying from how absolutely horrible it is. And now, it is slightly less disgustingly awful.
Seriously, though. I am proud to say that time, practice, and research has turned me into a pretty good writer. :eusa_danc

Any person with hands and a first-grade reading level can write, and any writer can get better over time, with effort, practice, and a working pen and paper. Not to mention that there are millions of other writers out there all around the world willing to help and guide, including me.

Write (and read) on!

I need a nap after writing all that! Whew!