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Writers! Come and Talk About Writing!

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by 101DeadRoses, Mar 5, 2015.

  1. galaxygia

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    Wow, thanks! :slight_smile: I love writing these characters so it's good to hear you say that.
     
  2. DougTheBicycle

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    @ConnectedToWall

    I would first off recommend starting another project immediately. Focusing on one project alone can exhaust your brain, and make you hate what you're working on.

    At all times, I attempt to have at least three projects going at once. One that I'm passionate about, and really want to get done.

    One for when I need a break from that one, give my brain a chance to refresh.

    And a third to distract me from my distraction.

    And then the cycle begins anew! Something else you might want to try is shutting off your phone, and getting it away from you. Same goes for internet. Just turn off the wifi on your computer and forget it exists. It helps me quite a bit when I can't focus on anything.
     
    #382 DougTheBicycle, Jan 17, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2016
  3. ConnectedToWall

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    That's really good advice, thanks!
     
  4. KyleD

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    You're welcome. :slight_smile: Characters are the most important part of a story. Without good characters the plot won't mean a s much. :wink:
     
    #384 KyleD, Jan 17, 2016
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  5. BornAnew

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    Anyone write childrens stories? Any advice on how to effectively do it? I get a bit confused with the style that should be used and the vocabulary
     
  6. DougTheBicycle

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    Depends. What's the demographic, age wise, and how long are you looking for it to be?
     
  7. BornAnew

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    It's gonna be a collection of 10 short stories (in the style of fables/fairytales) set in the human body. I want anyone over the age of 5 to be able to read them.
     
  8. DougTheBicycle

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    Sounds interesting!

    I'd say make sure you use smallish words. And subject matter that can easily be explained by an adult. Think of it from the point of view of an adult reading to a child. Will they both be able to understand it? If the kid picked it up and started reading it, how much would they need explained to them? And of course, silly names. All the way.
     
  9. BornAnew

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    Thanks! Haha plenty of silly names have already been thought up of :roflmao: . Thanks for the advice, you make a really pertinent point regarding the adults point of view whilst reading it!
     
  10. EnchanterForest

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    Hey!
    I am trying to write a fantasy novel but I am worried. Can you spend to much time on developing characters before you actually write the story?

    Forest
     
  11. Argentwing

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    I'll put my answer as a cautious "Yes." Spend too much time on characters and you may become too fond of them in the story, sending them towards Mary-Sue status. But if you are aware of what kind of character would enhance the story and what traits should be avoided, then by all means, ponder away and flesh out your creations. :slight_smile: The only other pitfall of having very complete characters is that you might be tempted to show the results of your effort where they are unnecessary. Revealing that your character has a cousin with dyslexia or really loves cookie dough ice cream should only be considered if it advances the plot or enriches the story otherwise. If it's too heavy on fluff, the reader may lose interest.
     
  12. 101DeadRoses

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    Not really, in my opinion. It helps a lot in keeping the story flowing, and your characters can never be too well-developed. Of course, if you spend too much time on characters, you might get old and die before your novel's done LOL.

    But what I would suggest is getting a good foundation on your characters, then planning your story out, then maybe re-evaluating your characters to see if their reactions/backstories/relationships with others should be changed and tweaking them accordingly, then developing them more as you (and they) progress in your story.

    But remember: Characters > Plot.
    While this doesn't make your plot completely unimportant, having dry, unbelievable, boring, or infuriating (in the bad-character way, not the bad-guy way) characters will hit your story, and hit it HARD.
    I love Terry Brook's Shannara series, but what really irritated me was the lack of character development. They were dry, dialogue had very little variance from character to character, and it was over-all frustrating. If they were even a little richer, it would make the books perfect! Sure, there were interesting characters who had depth and realism, but these were few and far between, and it was only in the later books that seeing well-developed characters became more frequent.
    It irritated me so badly that I just didn't want to read them for a while. Reading the books not just from the perspective of a reader, but that of a writer made it worse.

    All of the facets of your stories should receive as much attention as you can spare, but characters deserve a special place in your writing schedule, because good characters need to resemble, as closely as possible, actual PEOPLE. Only then will people be able to relate to and like them.

    If that makes any sense.

    I'm very tired. :/
     
  13. KyleD

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    The first 25% of your story needs to be devoted to developing characters. During that time you need to create a bond between the audience and your main character. For example, in the Hunger Games Katniss volunteers to take the place of her sister which is an act of selflessness and courage. Developing characters doesn't have to be boring and it is vital to writing an emotionally engaging story.
     
  14. ThatBorussenGuy

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    I know this advice is five days old, but I can back this up. I do this, too, and it works well for me when I really want to write but I don't want to work on this one story right now. :thumbsup:
     
    #394 ThatBorussenGuy, Jan 22, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2016
  15. 101DeadRoses

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    Saved the thread! YAAAAYYY!

    Does anyone want me to post some of my updated character development sheets and questionnaires? They are seriously heavy-duty and meant for developing pretty much everything about characters. But they can also easily be shortened if that's not your thing.

    Also, I have links to resources, etc, that I can post.

    Let me know!





    BTW, if you need help with anything writing-related, message me! :slight_smile: I can help with pretty much everything.
     
  16. HunterRaven

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    That'd be awesome.
     
  17. DemiGrrl

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    Hi, everyone. I'm a newbie to Open Closets. I'm a writer (novel-length fiction), and it's nice to see other writers on the site. :smilewave
     
  18. Vega222

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    I had a friend, a professional writer. he wants me to write a short story about my life that related to homosexuality. i tried but i can't.
    so he cut off his friendship with me. :|
     
  19. DougTheBicycle

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    Clearly, he is not a friend.
     
  20. Argentwing

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    This makes zero sense to me. He's the writer, so why should he expect you to pop out something that's literally what he does for a living? I would have told him I'd be happy to give him an interview so he may get some facts for his own project. As I understand it that's generally how research goes. "Write what you know" so know as much as you can. :wink:
     
    #400 Argentwing, Feb 1, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2016