Advice for the New and Uninitiated - Page 3 - Writers Forum

HarryG · 06-26-2008, 04:56 PM

Sorry, OP, I do want to reply to you. I also got the urge to write, just like you. I'm also an avid reader, of everything.

Fire up your word processor and start. Type Chapter one, and page one. Write your story, it's your story, don't be afraid.

When you get to the end, type The End, and get smashed out of your head. You're a writer, an honorable profession.

06-26-2008, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryG

You're a writer, an honorable profession.

He probably read 'horrible'. Poor OP...his front lawn is scattered with bits of H and Lin...like a big dog has been at them both...I wish you boys would play nice.

ash somers · 06-26-2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSFoster

The best advice I ever got about writing:

Write to please yourself. If you don't like what you've written, no one else will either.

heh, that's a good one, i like it

lin · 06-26-2008, 08:56 PM

Quote:

I'm all for it, Lin, but I need to say that waving a white flag at a bully doesn't make sense. However, for me, it's end off.

What a fucking dork. He runs his opinion up against evidence, then replies to my saying we shoudl knock it off by acting like HE made the offer and repeating the silly "bully"shit. Angles for the last word, then end up with a phrase that doesn't make any sense.

You should listen to this exquisite.

The Backward OX · 06-30-2008, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Winchester

I just have a strange sensation not to write.

Back to talking shit again I see.

It is psychologically impossible to not have a particular sensation/notion/idea in your head.

Don’t believe me, try actively not thinking about meat pies for the next thirty seconds. I want you to work really hard at this. Don't think about meat pies! Come on, you're not trying hard enough! Don't think about meat pies!

Can’t be done can it?

And similarly one cannot have a sensation not to write. The harder you try not to think about writing the more you think about it.

Loulou · 06-30-2008, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beaglegod

In all honesty I must say I am a bit confused, confused as to why I have the itch to write in the first place. I tried for a very brief time in high school after reading some fantastic fantasy novels but quickly abandoned the process. Now at 39 with less time and energy than Ive ever had, I suddenly get this unexplainable urge to create, to find a story I can call my own.

I never went to college, never took a course in creative writing, I simply have loved reading from a very early age and admire and envy those who have created unique worlds and characters that others come to enjoy. How should I start out scratching this itch? Should I simply noodle around on paper with scenes that may/may not have any relation to each other?
Do I need to study any particular books on writing or the creative process? What do I need to do in order to get the creative juices flowing, not simply the desire to create and outline a story but to actually gain some momentum ?

Any advice from those with more experience than I (which is probably all of you) is very much appreciated .

Just write. That is my advice. Write. Something, anything. Write.

The Backward OX · 06-30-2008, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starseed

First of all, gather a story within your heart that you not only will be proud of, but you will LOVE to write. This comes from creating interesting characters. Your characters are what you should start with. I spent about a month or two creating my characters before I ever began writing my novel. I "hung out with them", by which I mean, I sort of sat with the idea and let them tell me their life story. Then I wrote out each of their life stories, leading up to the point where their paths all crossed in my story. By the time I was done with this, I knew their little quirks, their mannerisms, their favorite foods, what their parents and grandparents names were, etc. I could go on and on. They WERE real people to me, and I began to desire "hanging with them" (writing about them) as I would hanging with real friends. I probably won't need every detail about their lives in my actual story, but because I know it, even if the reader doesn't, it helps me understand who these people are and how they will react in any given situation.

I’ve read this stuff before, about giving characters a life before inserting them in a story.

Seems to me like a waste of time and energy.

The situations into which you place these characters whose backgrounds you’ve created, the dialogue they speak, it’s all imaginary, right? Anyone could be there, anyone could say it, right?

So why not just use your own real grandpa and your own real neighbour and your own real sister-in-law and your own real whoever, as bases for your characters? You already know them -- in your own words, their quirks, their mannerisms, their foods -- and don’t have to expend effort creating backgrounds. You simply give your real people imaginary names, then put them in imaginary situations and have them use imaginary dialogue – just like you would for your totally imaginary people, hello - and save yourself all that wasted time and effort making up backgrounds.

It’s more than a waste of time and energy; it’s a pose. It’s all crap. You should stop playing with yourself.

RomanticRose · 06-30-2008, 10:54 PM

Ox,

It is entirely possible that not everyone thinks or works the same way you do. Just because it's different from you doesn't make it a pose. Some of us actually like letting our imaginations work, and don't consider it wasted energy.

Just my tuppence,
RR

starseed · 06-30-2008, 11:09 PM

I LIKE creating characters. That's sort of the point.

lin · 07-01-2008, 01:02 AM

God yes. The most fun is when I fall in love with them.

starseed · 07-01-2008, 08:16 PM

How the heck could every character just be a copy of a real life person? Is ox kidding? I can't tell... *confused*

lin · 07-01-2008, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Is ox kidding? I can't tell...

I think he has trouble telling himself, actually.

The Backward OX · 07-01-2008, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RomanticRose

Ox,

Some of us actually like letting our imaginations work, and don't consider it wasted energy.

Just my tuppence,
RR

I think we all of us like letting our imaginations work. I know I do. But what gets up my nose are these people who say they must create a total profile for each character -- a profile that never ever makes it into the story - people who, for example, say they need to “know” what Aunt Emily, residing in East Calais, Vermont, received as a gift last Christmas twelve months from her errant nephew Errol, residing in Devonport,Tasmania -- BEFORE they can dream up, and write, “Emily coughed. Her weak pelvic-floor muscles were not up to the task and simultaneously she wet her pants”.

Sheeesh.

beaglegod · 07-01-2008, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

“Emily coughed. Her weak pelvic-floor muscles were not up to the task and simultaneously she wet her pants”.

ahahahahahaha

too funny

starseed · 07-01-2008, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

I think we all of us like letting our imaginations work. I know I do. But what gets up my nose are these people who say they must create a total profile for each character -- a profile that never ever makes it into the story - people who, for example, say they need to “know” what Aunt Emily, residing in East Calais, Vermont, received as a gift last Christmas twelve months from her errant nephew Errol, residing in Devonport,Tasmania -- BEFORE they can dream up, and write, “Emily coughed. Her weak pelvic-floor muscles were not up to the task and simultaneously she wet her pants”.

Sheeesh.

I think I understand what you are saying. I guess for me, before I write a story I never know what may come up, and I want that information THERE, in case I do need it, so I don't have to worry about figuring it out later and halting my progress with the plot when it's flowing really well.