One of my favourite things about writing is the fact that 100 years from now some Russian guy might go into a hotel after a drugdeal gone bad and find a old dusty copy of my book and read it to forget his troubles. things like that inspire me to become a author
Creating a character that you fall in love with is a good idea. Let that person dance around all the ideas you have. No matter how crazy, you want to see what happens to them.
Can you to be too in love with them, though, to the point of wanting to use them as the main star of a story and never being able to find a story for that character in particular? And thus being trapped by your idea that you must make a story for them in which they are the main character?
@@Luka1180 Damn. Lucas, that is a good observation. I certainly find this to be a problem. Creating a side character that is diverting from the main narrative, is in my case a bit of a dilemma. My solution is that my main character is in every scene, the side characters are only seen through his eyes. I once tried to have side stories removed from the main story, but they got too involved. What is your solution? It was so nice to hear from you!
@@Luka1180 If the supporting character is better than your main, you may have to think twice. I actually did that. I guest in a story became the one I wanted to explore more. Our brains let ideas flow in unexpected ways. Lukas, just have fun! Never feel restricted by anything!
I always fall n love with my characters. After all, they are our creations and, accordingly are a part of us no less than a wife, lover, parent, or child.
Good advice. Some teachers and writers of 'how to' books I have read emphasise the importance of a rigid plan. I like the idea of this almost musical, improvisational approach to writing.
I don't agree that that's always the case. You can intend a scene to unfold in a certain way that will be surprising and exciting to the reading. Having control over your novel isn't damning, it just means that that's how you work. Not everyone has the same mindset or strategy for writing. Gardeners or Architects, do you plant the seed, water it and let it grow, or build brick by brick until it's finished? No one writer writes the same.
One this I've learned about writing is that you are always your own worst enemy. The worst of the mistake you can make is to procrastinate. If you have an idea, write it down. If you get interrupted by another idea, make a note, but don't let your momentum stop. OCD sent me into an endless editing loop where I only got my book half done. I still can't seem to move past it, either. So, if you want to write, heed the warning. Don't let your momentum stop!
I swear I can draw similarities between art and writing (no pun intended) I prefer writing over drawing, but somehow look at drawing tips anyway because why not. Lots of people say with drawing, your style will improve and become more individualized the more you draw, and I believe that's the same with writing. I looked back at pieces I wrote in February and wonder why I thought it was quality writing while writing things that I think is quality while I'll cringe at it in about 8 more months. So I would say use many of the tips seen in drawing tips videos, though not really, I'm not even a professional with a degree, so idk :/
Pia Nystrom commented: "The best characters are the ones that we fail to control." My reply to Pia is: Well, "control" has many meanings; however, the best ones truly do often influence us to a great degree. While recently writing I would occasionally "speak" to a character or two and ask them how they were feeling and thinking about what was happening at the moment and what happened next, as if I was a reporter inquiring of a witness, which, of course, I was. They invariably answered me, and what they told me appears in the story. As I have said before, the story tells the writer.
For me, as a nobody amateur, the hardest thing about writing is quitting it. Ultimately, everytime I try to abandon my stories and distract myself with other interests, it's the "life" of my characters that keep calling me back to write them into some semblance of existence outside my head. I don't really even enjoy writing that much, and I loathe the snobbery of the writing community, but I love bringing my characters to life. I love seeing them develop and interact. I love that their lives culminate in some kind of meaning or point, even if no one else but me will ever care.
I would venture to say that Tarantino's screenplay's attempt to answer that question for writing, as comedians have for comedy with "was it funny"? They seem to have it all. Humor, sadness, happiness, a moral imagination, pure entertainment. Shakespeare was brilliant in his works for the simple realization of "Dramedy" in them. Stories that implore a huge amount of drama, intermixed with lighter comedy, visceral entertainment, and a lesson in the end to take away from the story, giving it a "point" or "meaning" as nonfiction has inherently. I would say as a writer your goal is try and get it all in there. Star Wars is regarded as the 'greatest story ever told' by some, because simply, it has it all. And because it is carefully based upon the classic human story telling 'pieces' that we have gathered up over time, greatly inspired by Greek classics. But to conclude, the stories I find myself reading, or watching over, and over again, are those which at least seem to encompass every aspect of the human experience. Shows like The Wire and movies like Stand by Me.
Great comment. I would add to Shakespeare / Tarantino: Bromance / Romance - i.e. Samuel L. Jackson & John Travolta & Uma Thurman. Hence the genre of Romantic Comedy, which includes _Lethal Weapon_ movies as Bromances.
If you know neither yourself or your enemy, you will succumb in every battle. - The Art of War The answer to your question of "What questions might I ask?" or, "What makes a story good?" is, "Whatever you're attempting to achieve."
Foer is obviously a pantser (an author who writes fiction without an outline). If you prepare in advance with a compelling outline, you will have a sense of how good (or not good) a story is before committing long term to getting it out. But this does not constrain you from making radical changes in plot or direction. A well-constructed outline will tell you whether wandering off the original path is doable without the hazard of painting yourself into a literary corner.
Summarize my friend, break up your story into chapters so you have a solid base and then begin expanding. Once you start writing spontaneous ideas will begin forming in your head and you won't be able to write fast enough to get it all down, if you have a creative mind this should set in fairly quickly. The important part is not giving up, just keep writing.
Same, although sometimes I like to plan out little things, just so I don't forget them. But I know what you mean- whenever I tell someone I'm having trouble writing, their suggestion is almost always to sit down and make a plan of EVERYTHING in the story.
Writing is a release. Characters tell the writer their story. Writers need to listen to those characters and by doing so the story will pretty much write itself. Writers are the "Mediums" that release it to the page. Listening to the characters, from their minds, (not the writers mind) is what makes a good read.
Writing fiction is only free when contemplating the story. Once you begin you are in it and it will pull you along in ways you cannot imagine. If it's any good, your story and the characters you create will take on intrinsic integrity. If you can easily make wild changes to it, it's probably not worth continuing to write it. The story tells the writer.
He's answering every question and at the end he says the hardest thing about writing is not knowing if your writing is good or not. He explains it through his interpretation of the Zadie Smith article.
I know I can write DARK stuff. The problem I have is writing about LIGHT, INSPIRING stuff. My characters always have to die. Why can't they live, fall in love, be happy?
@Old Blood thats true! I write fiction based on reality so im with you there when writing about certain subjects you can go so many ways.. - bullying either the person that is getting bully beats up the bully , or goes crazy , or the bully is backed into a corner and he gets beat up by the victim or other kids or something did he kills himself, etc... - a woman in domestic violence- she can go crazy and kill the man, kill herself, kill the man, the kids, and herself, the man can kill her and the kids, she gets bold and calls the police and he doesnr want to give her back and he kills her and police kill him. - gang voilence prison or dead the storys gonna have a lot of violence, choas, and drama PEOPLE ARE GONNA DIE!! It's usually what happens in real life some of those guys plan their own funerals You definitely got to think about the emotions and how somebody feels and certain situations nobody's going to get bullied or go through domestic violence without responding either in a homicidal way or a suicidal way or if you want to make it inspirational she finds a way out are the bully finds a way out you can just go in so many different directions but nine times out of 10 in those type of situations it's never good so I'm definitely that you would see there you at least got to try to be as real as possible when writing about certain situations
+Tonton G 2 tips: 1. Write what excites you. 2. Finish your first draft before doing any editing or revising. Are you completing your novels/stories? Remember that the more you revise, the better the finished product.
I am from the UK, Black I write as a hobby for myself mostly I like to read my stories when the Internet is down or simply for fun, I live in Africa sometimes I take famous genres like Star Trek, GOT and write stories around the characters. Sometimes I make the characters biracial or Black, other times I write completely different fantasy or futuristic stories where in the very distant future Black people are powerful not begging for aid, thugs, whores, disdainful of knowledge. Or overly religious I like writing because you can create worlds and people from nothing without some pimple head looking over your shoulder pointing the finger.
I saw a Twitter screencap a few weeks ago where a scientist was grousing that one can go through years of graduate, post-graduate, and doctoral work, then be in charge of a carefully controlled and peer-vetted experiment, only to have some dude on the Internet say, "This is bullshit." With writing something similar can happen to you, only *they might be right*.
I think I have the opposite problem. I have a topic ( vampires ) I know is popular but I am such a procrastinater and want it to be good so badly that I feel failure when I try to write it as it's just not coming out right. This book ( goal and the world and escaping reality ) was my escape from aforementioned abuse.
I tend to find that anything which is "critically acclaimed" is probably crap. This applies to films and music as well. I've always believed book critics to be failed authors, those who can, do, those who can't are critics. I don't much care for Jeffrey Archer as a politician and I consider him a sort of poor Frederick Forsyth, but his books are actually entertaining and that's what it's all about. I believe you should write because you need to write, not because you want to sell books. Good books will eventually sell, a lot of highly publicised books sell because of publicitiy and are often rubbish. I believe the 50 Shades of Grey book was known for being the book most likely to be left behind in hotels and waiting rooms. I haven't read it but people who have, told me it wasn't worth the effort, just poorly written porn and basically about domestic violence.
Fiction writing isn't always as difficult but every time when I write a fiction relating to the story it sometimes doesn't exactly make sense when I write it so Instead I repeat my mistake
Oh I assumed you meant that. I am not very religious so it was natural for me to not assume you meant abuse in religion! I think it sounds confronting but the victims of sexual abuse sometimes can find it therapeutic, if even it's painful to see sexual abuse portrayed in art, as it's a taboo subject. I was abused. I want to write a book too, not about sexual abuse, but as a victim of it I have felt a weird kind of relief from reading about others' experiences. I believe in God, and it has helped
Well, writing isn't that hard of a task to even get into. It's just that usually, at the early stages of development, people forget that kids have this great imagination, and artful creativity in how they present views. Usually we skip over that part in their lives, and start making them do fiction, and telling them that there is a right and wrong answer in writing, and that's why fiction and non-fiction should be developed earlier for kids. People focus too much on the realistic nonfiction side
How would I find a writer who may be interested in my fiction story.....do not want to go into to much here but basically have a story/case in which it is still sited today and helps thousands of people. Do you have any suggestions. I am willing to split profits fairly.
+n4ktz If it's worth writing. write it, if it isn't worth writing then don't expect someone else to do the donkey work for you. A writer who is short of ideas isn't a writer. If you want a ghost writer I believe you pay up front. Promising to split potentially nothing is no great incentive.
I murdered a phrase to describe why. It's you (the writer) sitting in a vacuum, trying to squeeze stones from blood. Whenever I write, the opposite seems much more attainable.
I call bullshit on that. Saying "the characters talk to the writer" is either a cop-out by a bad writer, or it just means you know your setting and character enough you can perfectly envision how they'd react in any given situation. A good writer does not listen to their character, it works with them like a painter uses colour composition.
It's kind of hard to explain, but I dare you to take out a piece of paper and draw in front of your friends. I can't do it, because I've grown up in such a way that things had to look realistic. I was taught that this looks like this and that looks like that; and that stomped my artistic, pencil to paper knowledge. Picasso will draw in the same attitude as a kindergartener, because they know that art is something that naturally flows onto a page. It's just that picasso's art is more refined.
"Is a good book an entertaining one? Probably not alone." I disagree; you read (fiction) to be entertained. So, yes, a good book is one that entertains. A GREAT book, on the other hand, is one that entertains you and more.
naw, the characters will fit themselves to the story. if they were different characters, you wouldn't be writing that story. you just kinda discover who the characters are as you go along.
Attempting to manipulate a character's actions will only lead to forced dialogue, predictable situations, and a terrible ending. If the reader knows the writer forced a situation to come about, it will be painfully obvious. If it happens naturally, the reader will be genuinely surprised by the outcome. You, my friend, are what I call a "Writer For Profit". You write something you know others will enjoy for the praise you will receive. I write because I have to, despite the opinions of others.
I thought this was supposed to be about Ducks. In any case, since we are now on the subject of Ducks, I have a few words. What is up with those stinking, disease ridden little bastards? All they do all day is quack and waddle, quack and waddle. What self respecting animal would accept that existence? Not me, that's for sure. From my experience I know that you should never lend money to a Duck. He will never pay you back. No Duck will ever amount to anything. Except maybe, Scrooge McDuck but he was only fictional.
wow... I knew that my characters seemed to take a life of their own :/ although now they seemed to have been given free will and now they won't stop :/
I disagree. Writers work in different ways. Not that what you say is wrong, because it isn't. There are many factors that make a good read. I'd never consider any of that to be fundamental to it. But to each their own. *grins*
It's not the mechanics of writing that are scary. Its the content, because writing done right unzips the soul. It's looking inside the soul that's scary.
Before hand, you will have to purchase a few items: Anhydrous Ethanol: Pickering Vinegar: and an Ear Syringe bulb. In a measuring cup, prepare 250 milliliters of a 50-50 mixture. The clear liquid should be warmed to just above body temperature before it is squirted in the ear hole. Who says there is no art to writing non-fiction?
