MithLuin Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) Don't worry, Audrey, I didn't write *anything* that wasn't for a school assignment until I was...23 years old. And my first story was terrible and had no plot. *grin* I think it's okay to wait until you have something to say, and don't expect your first attempt to be a masterpiece. If you can only write one isolated scene that doesn't go anywhere....write it. Who knows what you will write later? My first story: [url=http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterAllview.asp?SID=4609]Deeper than the Darkness[/url] Sometimes, it will be reading something someone else wrote and saying 'I can do better!' that will drive you to write your own story. I'm pretty sure that was James Fenimore Cooper's motivation to write [i]The Last of the Mohicans[/i], and I know it was why C. S. Lewis wrote his Space Trilogy: [i]Out of the Silent Planet[/i], [i]Perelandra[/i] and [i]That Hideous Strength[/i]. Readers make the best writers, so keep reading! Edited June 20, 2011 by MithLuin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG45 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='Feriku' timestamp='1308531339' post='2256160'] I do NaNo, too! I try to find time to write during the rest of the year, too. Unfortunately, sometimes I find myself opening the story to write, looking at the page...and closing the story to do something else. [/quote] Amen!! And don't you hate when you do manage the motivation and find yourself going "oh yeah...I've changed my mind on the story I wanna do now."? But it's definitely a fun endeavor when you can start putting words to page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feriku Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 [quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1308532667' post='2256166'] [url="http://www.amazon.com/Tune-Him-Turn-Intuition-Dreams/dp/0738715603/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308532553&sr=1-9"]As a published author [/url]I find this thread interesting. [/quote] We've got a published author with us, nice! [quote name='MithLuin' timestamp='1308536618' post='2256185'] I write fanfiction, so I get to enjoy feedback from my audience without any of the trials and tribulations of trying to get published (as that's not even an option). I don't consider myself to be a 'real' writer, but I do enjoy it as a hobby. I'm a very amateur storyteller and rely heavily on the original work to make my own interesting. If anyone would like to check out my stories, feel free: [url="http://www.fanfiction.net/~mithluin"]http://www.fanfiction.net/~mithluin[/url] [/quote] Hey, nothing's wrong with fanfiction! Just look at the people who write for the Extended Universes of some series; that's almost fanfiction...published fanfiction kept rigidly in canon! I write fanfics on occasion, too: [url="http://www.fanfiction.net/~feriku"]http://www.fanfiction.net/~feriku[/url] [quote name='CatherineM' timestamp='1308536739' post='2256186'] It was 450 rejections for the same book, about his experiences at the South Pole. Guinness rejected him because it would be too easy to contrive. Too objective as to what is a legitimate submission, and what is just being submitted to get the record. [/quote] Ah, yes. [quote name='ThePenciledOne' timestamp='1308537509' post='2256191'] Journalists aren't writers....... Yeah I got that a lot too, along with "let me be in it!!!!" You'd be surprised, I didn't think I was that good in coaching kids in writing but I still did and I felt great afterwards. [/quote] I teased my friend the one day, telling him that if he didn't watch out, he'd end up as a character in one of my stories. He started offering to pay me if I'd put him in a story...I'd never heard that one before! 0_0 Well, I've helped classmates in the past, and, at least with math and science, it would end up with me frustrated and/or yelling. XD I'd probably scare the kids. [quote name='AudreyGrace' timestamp='1308537950' post='2256193'] I have always been so envious of writers (which probably isn't a good thing.. lol). I have a ton of respect for them. My friends and teachers have told me I'm a good writer and I should pursue it, but idk. I wouldn't even know WHAT to write. [/quote] Maybe you could find some people who have great ideas but can't write, and team up with them! Have you heard of Erin Hunter, the author of the Warriors series? That's a pseudonym for a team of writers, with one mainly coming up with the plotlines and others doing the actual writing. [quote name='Luigi' timestamp='1308540651' post='2256205'] I write as necessary, and I can do a creditable job, but yo' homey don't DO fiction! [/quote] Nonfiction, then, or technical writing? Or, just necessary writing? [quote name='MithLuin' timestamp='1308546865' post='2256254'] Don't worry, Audrey, I didn't write *anything* that wasn't for a school assignment until I was...23 years old. And my first story was terrible and had no plot. *grin* I think it's okay to wait until you have something to say, and don't expect your first attempt to be a masterpiece. If you can only write one isolated scene that doesn't go anywhere....write it. Who knows what you will write later? My first story: [url="http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterAllview.asp?SID=4609"]Deeper than the Darkness[/url] Sometimes, it will be reading something someone else wrote and saying 'I can do better!' that will drive you to write your own story. I'm pretty sure that was James Fenimore Cooper's motivation to write [i]The Last of the Mohicans[/i], and I know it was why C. S. Lewis wrote his Space Trilogy: [i]Out of the Silent Planet[/i], [i]Perelandra[/i] and [i]That Hideous Strength[/i]. Readers make the best writers, so keep reading! [/quote] :D Some of my stories have come about because I'd seen or read something and have decided to write how it [i]should [/i]have been. I read the Space Trilogy. What was it C.S. Lewis read that motivated him to write that? [quote name='BG45' timestamp='1308547063' post='2256256'] Amen!! And don't you hate when you do manage the motivation and find yourself going "oh yeah...I've changed my mind on the story I wanna do now."? But it's definitely a fun endeavor when you can start putting words to page. [/quote] Well, I have the problem of having a few different story ideas in mind at the same time... trying to focus on one while not forgetting/losing interest in the others... XD Then, of course, my characters like the run off with the story in a new direction on occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare~Therese Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I write sometimes, but not as often as I did at one time. I usually have issues when it comes to thinking of/deciding on the plot and characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MithLuin Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 [quote name='Feriku' timestamp='1308616069' post='2256580'] Some of my stories have come about because I'd seen or read something and have decided to write how it [i]should [/i]have been. I read the Space Trilogy. What was it C.S. Lewis read that motivated him to write that? [/quote] He and Tolkien were sitting around complaining about the state of sci-fi (I think) and basically came to the conclusion that no one was writing the types of stories they'd enjoy reading. So...they decided to write their own. Lewis had the 'space-travel' one and Tolkien had the 'time-travel' story. The character Ransom from the Space Trilogy is essentially Tolkien, btw - a few of his quirks are def. based on Tolkien! The references to 'Numinor' in [i]That Hideous Strength[/i] were meant to tie in with Tolkien's time-travel Atlantis-esque story. But....Tolkien never wrote his. He started 'The Lost Road', which was to be about pairs of fathers and sons throughout history - starting with a modern autobiographical pair and working their way back through history and legend to his invented land of Numenor. He didn't get very far with it, and eventually started from scratch with 'The Notion Club Papers'. Here, a group very similar to the Inklings found a copy of [i]The Silmarillion[/i] in a bookshop in Oxford and the adventures go from there - not surprisingly, Tolkien included many of his friends from real life in this one! This, too, was never finished. Instead, Tolkien wrote 'The Lord of the Rings,' and used Numenor as the backstory for Aragorn's people, giving Gondor's history it's added depth with the ancient character of Isildur, son of Elendil. Oh, and C.S. Lewis' booming voice was given to Treebeard the Ent . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG45 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 [quote name='Feriku' timestamp='1308616069' post='2256580'] Well, I have the problem of having a few different story ideas in mind at the same time... trying to focus on one while not forgetting/losing interest in the others... XD Then, of course, my characters like the run off with the story in a new direction on occasion. [/quote] Oh gotcha! And I think some of the best writing is when the muses take over and write themselves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feriku Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Hehe, my mom always thought I was crazy when I'd talk about the characters writing the story themselves. Then she wrote a book for NaNoWriMo...and one of her characters started taking over whole sections. xD Now she understands what I meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissyP89 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 A writing tip from a professor-friend that was extremely helpful to me in college and still works wonders in the newsroom: In an article, the hardest part to write is the lede, the beginning. And I'd sit for a half an hour and sweat over the perfect lede. You have 40 words max to grab onto your reader and get them to keep reading, so it's got to be perfectly informative and concise... When you get stuck, save time and write "This is a story about..." and fill it in as a placeholder. Move on to the parts that are simple. And you can apply that to fiction, especially during NaNo...instead of slogging through and wasting time, write those scenes that are begging to be written -- that compelling bit of dialogue or a romantic moment. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MithLuin Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Hehe, yes, when I first started writing, I wrote everything completely out of order. I would be amazed at authors who could begin with chapter one and go from there. I do find that you can achieve a narrative flow by going in order - much of my writing is disjointed 'in media res' on account of the out-of-order composition. But....it's a great way to get started. Maybe later, you'll begin a story that will grow organically from chapter one. One of mine did. I started it out as a short one-shot, and it took on a life of it's own....stretching to about 16 chapters + epilogue. [url=http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/archive/home/viewstory.php?sid=282]Lessons from the Mountain[/url] I should really finish it one of these days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG45 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 amesome that you got your mom doing it! And like the others have said, placeholders are good for when you can't get started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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