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Topic: A question for writers (Read 4194 times)
Phayre
Exemplar
Posts: 1,089
A question for writers
«
on:
August 02, 2007, 09:27:08 PM »
How do you start your writing works? How do you brew up the opening so that it makes you want to keep writing? Do you start with dialogue, or an event, or what?
Does anyone here write? Not just fantasy or your game as a novel. Any kind of writing. Poetry, shorts, graphic novel, anything. How do you drag yourself back into it after almost two years of inactivity?
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aboutasoandthis
Exemplar
Posts: 1,915
Talking sucks.
I love to write.
«
Reply #1 on:
August 02, 2007, 09:34:11 PM »
I write songs, poetry, short stories, fanfiction, rap lyrics, sermons (family owns a church), etc...
Usually if it is something personal, I write down what I see in my dreams inside a notebook. It helps me get to know myself a little better.
When I try to write a story, I start with a theme and what I want to tell the reader through the story. This goes for my games too.
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HackersTotalMassLaser
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Posts: 2,055
I intercept logs....web not mine
(No subject)
«
Reply #2 on:
August 02, 2007, 09:37:36 PM »
I start thinking of what I am about to write, might mean to other people then me. If its not intresting to me, it might not be interesting to them. A good way to start is just depict and describe what you going to talk about in the first line. Even if it is in metaphor (since poetry can actually be difficult with this train of thought)
For me however starting to write something be it poetry, story or riddle is the most difficult part. Once I do I usually follow what I wrote on the first sentence and branch off from there unless i have a switch of mind.
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Dragonium
Aieee!
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Posts: 3,786
MY PRISON IS SHAME
(No subject)
«
Reply #3 on:
August 02, 2007, 09:42:27 PM »
I write novels/stories on a fantasy theme. I'm hoping to be an author (No other career prospect attracts me), so I'm hoping to get good and be as successful as I can. I've been writing a veeeery long time. I won a prize for best under-twelve story writer in the county when I was about 10 years old. xD
I generally start by introducing one of the characters; not necessarily the main character, it works well if you introduce a secondary character, and then bring in the main character shortly afterwards. Going for a theme to start with is good, but it's difficult to grab the reader's attention with that. If you can pull off dropping the reader immediately into the action, that's great, but it is
very
difficult to get right, so unless you're very good it's generally not worth trying.
Getting back into writing after inactivity is tricky. The best thing to remember is you'll get better by reading and by writing. Read material similar to what you write to give yourself a boost. Write short stories, don't try to launch into something epic.
It's good to see more writers on Charas than just myself. I didn't know you did this sort of thing Phayre. ^_^
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SaiKar
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(No subject)
«
Reply #4 on:
August 02, 2007, 09:43:26 PM »
Usually I don't realize I'm writing something major. I get a few ideas from various places, weave them together, and decide to write down the basics. The bad ideas don't go any farther than that, but the good ones take on a life of their own and develop from brief outline to full story almost by themselves.
That's not very useful, but I don't know how to describe it any other way.
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Phayre
Exemplar
Posts: 1,089
(No subject)
«
Reply #5 on:
August 02, 2007, 09:44:05 PM »
I'm glad there are other writers.
My problem is I have stories bouncing around in my head and no way to start telling them. I hate beginnings. If I write them wrong, the story just gets dropped. Unless I really get on a roll, nothing happens. How do you get past this point? I've been reading fantasy non-stop, everything that used to get me inspired, Garth Nix, Diana Wynne Jones (I write dark, character-oriented fantasy)... reading my favorite fantasy manga (which always helps... o.o)... rereading my old work.
I am, in fact, an avid writer. Before college fell through (I've been deferred a year due to money issues), I was going to Emerson as a creative writing/photography major. RPGmaker and all is a placeholder to keep me creating even with the standstill I've had. A different medium, et cetera, really helped.
The only thing I've been able to stick with, story-wise, for the past 2 years (after writing 2 novels, a professional writers' workshop, a writers' convention, and 2 college-level courses in fiction.... I'm very serious about this) was Ember Sky. However, I don't care about games at this point. In RPGmaker, all maps and coding do is get in the way of the story, which has to be kept short to satisfy gamers. Why make something for a few forums that'll play, comment, forget? So now I need to really start a project.
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Dragoon de Sol
Common sense isn't very common
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Posts: 800
(No subject)
«
Reply #6 on:
August 02, 2007, 10:28:47 PM »
Well, when I start writing, I always consider the goal in mind. If I'm writing a story for a game, I think of something entertaining to others as well as to me, but smething that is not overdone.
Then I think of possible situations that could branch off because of the event/initial situation I peviously thought of. I then think of characters based off of different archetypes or my friends, and I pull it all together by putting this here and that there, kinda like a puzzle.
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Archeia
Chained Exile
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Posts: 24
17 years old :D
(No subject)
«
Reply #7 on:
August 03, 2007, 06:47:54 AM »
Usually, my dreams are the one responsible that makes me start a story, in some cases, whenever I read a very good fanfiction (even though it's not all that good) some ideas will pop up and I will create an entirely new story at that or in many cases, when I was doodling something at a paper and made an interesting sketch, a story for that character will just pop out.
But in most times, I will think of a genre, watch some movie, play a game, read a comic/book/fanfiction that has the same genre as mine and see what they do, doodle the characters, form a quick summary of the whole story (a.k.a Formula [ex. small group battles empire and win]) or something then jot down every single idea that I made =P
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Prpl_Mage
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Posts: 7,644
The Administrator Mage
(No subject)
«
Reply #8 on:
August 03, 2007, 06:51:48 AM »
A good thing is when you introduce the characters in their ordinary lives in the beginning, how they live and the people around them and the culture and the like.
Then when the plot itself begins, when they are forced out into the world. That's when the reader will know much easier what the characters are feeling.
I love a start like this, goes on for about a week or so, bouncing in and between the protagonists and the "villans" so the reader gets to know them, the hatred for the "villans" that the protagonists produce will not feel so justified as you know something they don't.
You as the reader know that his wife was taken away from him as he left the cult, that his kids was taken away from him as well and that he was marked a traitor by the people who were his friends. You know all those people and you know the man's struggle to keep protending that he was a part of the cult and being a faithful member putting all his faith in the one and truly god.
And when the time comes, when he no longer wants to protend, he just wants to get out of it. That's the point when he realises that his kids are already under their influence, that his wife is determined to stay and leave him for it.
Just because he sets out to find a way to kill their leader, by searching for an ancient runic weapon, the same that one of your protagonist's friends need to save his village from getting raided by the increasing centaur attacks. That doesn't make him evil to you does it? Even though he snatches the weaponary right under your nose and the friend pled for help and only get laughter in return, even though the man is willing to unsheath his sword to get his will through. You as a reader will still understand his cause.
In the same way you can portray the ever so silent person, not during his ordinary life as it was to long ago but maybe after this accident that now, lets say... Caused him to lose faith in people and decide to become a bounty hunter as the county is a capitalism. Maybe during a mission of his life, how he spends time in the bars and yet avoid the attention from both males and females. How his life seems meaningless to him because just this accident that the writer still doesn't tell you about but you are given the chance to read about his thoughts.
As the day when things happen occur, this bounty hunter is set out to spy on the protagonist itself and leaves without any objections. But you know that he don't trust either the protagonist nor the client and you know what he would do it if proved neccessary.
Take a third character. The main character, the protagonist himself. He is travelling along with his brother, just a week ago the brother came back from an outgoing war and didn't want to be sent back tehre to the slaughter. The protagnist and everyone else in the village always thought that he was a great and respectable man but as his faith drops they begin to see on him as a coward and a man who doesn't want to fight for them, for his country.
As he tries to escape the protagonist catch up with him and decides to follow him. His own only wish was to become a soldeir like his brother and been living in that illusion for all the years he've been gone. That soldiers was the ultimate duty for everyone, the chance to aid and defend your country. But as he listen to his brothers words and see how the nightmares haunt him this desire fade away quickly. His thoughts of this illusion that the goverment gives teenagers like himself frighten him and he decides to stick with his brother as his parents are patriotic and will not welcome them back if they ever return.
As his brother is a deflect and a traitor of the country they have to make their way into the enemy terratory. But the main part of the road is blocked so they have to go through the forest nearby.
Ok lets create a forth one then...
A man, fully devoted to the religion, his empire is at war and he wishes nothing more but to help the bishop and the king as they rise to power. A holy knight is what he and his people sees him as, a bringer of unrightful justice is what the enemy sees him as.
He live with the words of the enemies and does anything to proe his worth and to bring peace and justice to the country. As the king asks him for a favour, or perhaps gives him an order he gladly accepts it to prove that they can count on him.
As he get the details he is let know that a captain left the battlefield and his entire plutoon and let them get butchered and the entire town behind the pallisade. This story alone is enough to make him want to take him out and he makes his leave.
One who betray not only his own men but also the people who expects him to defend them is a sin that can only be made clean by his purging steel. He wanderers for days and his hatred for the man continues to grow and he see all kinds of acts in unjustice around him. The inquisitors, personal generals of the bishop uses their iron fists to keep the towns under control. The man sees these so-called holy acts as the inquisitors have all the power they want, he begins to question his own faith for the first time as a school is burned down in the purging flames to keep the devil out.
How the church stops knowledge from reaching the minds of the kids and how women and men who tries to learn them about it get beheaded at the point. He ttells himself that it is the wish of teh god and bishop and travels on. But the pictures in his head, the screams from the children sear through his head as he tries to sleep. Still determined to do his duty he finds out that his man, betrayer of his country is heading for the border and he order the road to be blocked. He knows the land well and know that the man will have to travel through the forest and so he makes his leave to wait for him to come, to ambush him and bring justice upon him. But as he is sitting there and waiting, for every day that pass his faith is decreasing as the memories of the injustice happening in the name of the god still haunts him.
And I wrote too much again... Not even getting to the point... But you get the idea I hope.
I create these kinds of things first, havign the basic thought of teh characters themself. After that I play around in my head while writing the actuall thing, I have no problem getting over the point to actually be on a roll as my head is always filled with events and things I've made up during sleep and such to match and strenghten the characters personality and faith. To enchant teh friendship or to take the friendship to the next level.
It all just drops down as I write and I guess that I should be grateful for that.
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GaryCXJk
<strong>Official Charas.EX Team Member</strong>
Exemplar
Posts: 1,586
FOUR OH FOUR'D
(No subject)
«
Reply #9 on:
August 05, 2007, 12:02:06 AM »
What I do is this. I write the story out, when I think one part is utter shiat I rewrite or just remove the whole piece.
I for one can't start a proper intro, but intros just need to come naturally. Don't start with what conventional stories do, with average day life crap and such. Final Fantasy VII didn't start with that. If your story doesn't suit it, don't do it.
Start the story in the style you want the story to begin. If it's about someone average who gets into a fantasy world, start out in the normal world, with a normal setting. If you want it to start as a gangster story, start out with a death. If you want to start with the history or if the story needs an introduction to explain a few things, then just write the history.
For songs, you can start with either a melody or a text suddenly popping into your head. I started with the text for the song "I Know How You Feel" (remember this one, Charas?), and then started to write around it (the first words that popped up were either "Isn't it strange" or "I know how you feel, you need me too").
YummyPoetry
started off with the base melody.
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«
Reply #10 on:
August 05, 2007, 12:26:37 AM »
I come up with a beginning and an ending I think sounds good, then fill in the rest as I go along. That way, you know where you want to end up and begin.
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Grandy
Zombie
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Posts: 4,989
Not actually dead
(No subject)
«
Reply #11 on:
August 05, 2007, 12:28:11 AM »
I have lots of ideas I'd like to write, but it's sooooo tiring to sit down and write them.
As an example, I have complete seven chapters of an fairly good book in my head, but I never got the patience to sit down and write it.
Especially because it'd be a silly book.
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Phayre
Exemplar
Posts: 1,089
(No subject)
«
Reply #12 on:
August 05, 2007, 12:33:52 AM »
Pff, the world needs more silly books. Too many authors take themselves waaaaaaaaaaay too seriously.
I've found that if I think of the end, I get bored getting there. All I want to write is the climax, the aftermath. It's bad juju!
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aboutasoandthis
Exemplar
Posts: 1,915
Talking sucks.
(No subject)
«
Reply #13 on:
August 05, 2007, 12:44:25 AM »
Personally, I stink at written fantasy. I think that's the reason I never read it.
In this case, I'll agree with Prpl_Mage. Focus on the setting of the story in the beginning. I remember reading all four of the Lord of the Rings books. I was bored out of my mind, yes, but I could at least tell what was going on just by the first chapter.
If I had to disagree with him on one thing, it would be the jumping between more than one character. I think it's a matter of opinion, but I usually get confused if the character you're focusing on switches. This happens with fantasy a lot to me.
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Phayre
Exemplar
Posts: 1,089
(No subject)
«
Reply #14 on:
August 05, 2007, 12:53:55 AM »
I like starting away from the main character, or, very rarely, starting at the end and then jumping back and forth. Agian, usually just in short stories, though.
I feel very.... inspired.
Maybe someone should start a massive story that all the charas writers post in. Hmmm.... not like a role play, or something, but.... different.
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