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At 7/17/09 08:16 PM, Slinging-Blood wrote: Hook, Line, and Sinker

Pudge, Lina Inverse and Dark Seer? I don't get it.

Also, the best insult you can come up with involves halo and doritos? Really? I thought good writers were witty. Enjoy your shitty book sales.

At 7/17/09 08:03 PM, FBIpolux wrote: My first published novel should be out around November in English (original language being French).

I would like to read your novel. I understand French perfectly and would purchase it in that language.

What is the title and where might I find this novel to purchase?

At 7/17/09 08:22 PM, Slinging-Blood wrote: Also, the best insult you can come up with involves halo and doritos? Really? I thought good writers were witty. Enjoy your shitty book sales.

Meh, I thought it described you well enough. That's what you're worth, and my talent shall not be wasted on a waste of oxygen like you.

At 7/17/09 08:22 PM, Piss wrote:

At 7/17/09 08:03 PM, FBIpolux wrote: My first published novel should be out around November in English (original language being French).

I would like to read your novel. I understand French perfectly and would purchase it in that language.

What is the title and where might I find this novel to purchase?

Hell if i know :P Do you have Chapters in the States? XD

The name of my novel (which isn't final) may be Fog Angels.

Double-dy-post.

At 7/17/09 08:27 PM, FBIpolux wrote:

At 7/17/09 08:22 PM, Piss wrote:

At 7/17/09 08:03 PM, FBIpolux wrote: My first published novel should be out around November in English (original language being French).

I would like to read your novel. I understand French perfectly and would purchase it in that language.

What is the title and where might I find this novel to purchase?

Hell if i know :P Do you have Chapters in the States? XD

I live in Ontario, bro. Though I live in a small town, so I doubt it.

I'd probably have to order it or something.

At 7/17/09 08:26 PM, FBIpolux wrote: Meh, I thought it described you well enough. That's what you're worth, and my talent shall not be wasted on a waste of oxygen like you.

Hahaha, oh wow.

At 7/17/09 08:29 PM, Piss wrote: I live in Ontario, bro. Though I live in a small town, so I doubt it.

I'd probably have to order it or something.

Who knows... maybe it'll be popular enough to be in every random small book shops everywhere around Canada :)

Wonder if Bob will put it in the NG Shop :D

I said I'd post here, and I think have something that might be a little useful. I've read the whole thing so far, and this has come up a little bit before already but it wouldn't hurt to just post it here. I took a considerable amount of knowledge on the technical development of writing from my old writing teacher. He taught me different ways of mixing ideas through basic exercises, which might be good ideas if you just need a bit of a push. What I took from him the most though, is that a good piece of creative fiction will have its fair share of drama. The actual word drama is a bit sticky itself, because we're probably too quick to associate it with the possibly more negative things about it: overdramatising, etc. I found he was telling the truth though, because drama can be manipulated in a million different ways to put all sorts of ideas, emotions, attitudes and values across, amongst other things.

I haven't really got much more to add, though I think this might be a decent resource if you're stuck for some ideas. I know what TacticalShoe means by being told what to do though. I think general tips and advice are probably more suited to the "science" of writing that might be a bit more objectifiable (?). I like to live, see or have an active interest in the themes I'm going to use, whether or not I'm directly taking from another writer. Otherwise, I might struggle to keep myself going at this stage. I don't know if I'm making any sense here though, heh.

At 7/19/09 09:51 AM, Scarab wrote: blah

Yeah, drama overall is a really important part of a novel.

It makes you feel directly linked with the protagonist and it makes you want to read more, and hope for a happy ending.

I love when writers torture their characters. That's why I loved the Fool's Fate series.

Sorry about this, but there's another point I feel like adding that I feel hasn't come up as much as I might've thought. It's not a technique related point, so writers don't need to worry about changing their style for success, or however it might be seen. Instead, my point is about the atmosphere or environment you write in. It might sound stupid to some, but I've found this can really help in how you feel about something you've created. If you're writng in an environment you find favourable, then I think the chances of you writing something that's better than otherwise are higher.

The best thing is that this is really a personal thing. Your best environment might not be easily set-up, but if you want to write frequently, then you can try. You might even want to go to your local library to write, with whatever help you might need while you're there. It might sound like a cliche, but I've found jazz music running in the background to be a real help as I've been writing, over the past few days in particular. I personally prefer to listen to music with fewer lyrics and with more of an emphasis on long instrument playing while I write/plan. You might be very different to me, I don't know.

Apart from the music, try to sit and write in a place you feel comfortable. Sure, the computer is great. You have instant Internet access where you can double-check your facts and references, and posting your stuff on a website is a few clicks away. However, I like to get my writing done in hard-copy first: I like to move around in a nicely-lit room with only a few things around, and on a piece of paper I can easily make adjustments to my ideas (in note-taking) with my pen that take a little longer on the computer. Maybe I'm soft, I don't know. I need opinions really.

I'm not a professional writer. In fact, I'm probably far from it, but it's what has worked for me recently. I feel like passing it on. Get a dictionary and thesaurus, sit down somewhere. Cross-reference them for the best effects and pour your thoughts out. Try to have fun with it!

Much love, John Coltrane.

I'm a writer specializing in inter-species erotica. Any tips?

Is it better to create a piece in a seemingly neutral timeline and not mention issues in the world and express your opinions implicitly or mention current issues and comment on them within a story? This point being in a subplot, obviously

At 7/21/09 09:18 PM, OneLastCaress wrote: I'm a writer specializing in inter-species erotica. Any tips?

Suicide.

No actually, keep going, just don't write crap.

And since it's probably crap you write, improve or change subject :D

At 7/21/09 09:15 PM, Scarab wrote:

Much love, John Coltrane.

Enthronement and atmosphere... yes those are really important points. But most importantly is the transition in between atmospheres, following the story or the characters' feelings and such.

For example, in my novel, weather has a lot to do with what's happening in the book, with the characters' mood and else.

Good point.

My biggest tip: Don't try to please anyone.

If you worry about people enjoying your writing, you're doing it wrong, in my opinion. When I write, I never think about what other people will think of my writing.

Write for yourself, kids.

It may sound cliche, but I can't tell you how many times a good idea has come up in my mind, a story playing out exactly as I would want it to, then by the time I'm able to record my idea, it's become this feeble little synopsis. Always have a way of recording what you're thinking for ideas about plot, dialogue, whatever. Use a pen and paper or just jot it into your cell. It's that easy but can save your story.

At 7/29/09 10:01 PM, EKublai wrote: It may sound cliche, but I can't tell you how many times a good idea has come up in my mind, a story playing out exactly as I would want it to, then by the time I'm able to record my idea, it's become this feeble little synopsis. Always have a way of recording what you're thinking for ideas about plot, dialogue, whatever. Use a pen and paper or just jot it into your cell. It's that easy but can save your story.

Just like when you have a dream, heh. I know that feeling. That's why I carry a notepad with me.

I forgot a really important point: Dialogues.

It's important to have good dialogues in your novel. Some writers are especially competent at writing perfect dialogues in between two characters. I believe I'm part of those so I'll tell you what I do: I actually have the dialogue with myself, a bit like Gollum. Try to be all the characters at once, how they react, what they think, how they react, how they sound like (do they have an accent? if yes, make sure you make it sound like it when you they speak), etc.

I don't know any other way to make a good dialogue or a good conversation, since I never really had problems with that. Actually some of my first texts had too many dialogues in them and not enough description. Now I try to balance everything :)

Do you have any idea what J.K Rowling did right to create a time less classic that will very likely stay in history? Her ideas are not the most original ideas in the world, in fact I think some of my doodlings from my kindergarten years was something of a similar plot line, what exactly did she do?

At 8/1/09 04:26 PM, Frank-The-Hedgehog wrote: Do you have any idea what J.K Rowling did right to create a time less classic that will very likely stay in history? Her ideas are not the most original ideas in the world, in fact I think some of my doodlings from my kindergarten years was something of a similar plot line, what exactly did she do?

Write the right thing at the right moment, I guess. Or simply write exactly what people wanted to read. A book about magic, written in a way it's accessible to anyone, addicting and also in a way very deep.

I didn't read her bio, but that's the conclusion I came to after reading all of her book a couple of times. Harry Potter isn't any great literature; in fact, I don't like her style and find it to be really poor, but hey, like I said, she made it accessible to everyone in the world. Her first book just worked so well all the rest went by itself. I guess in 1996 or whenever she released her first book, everything in library was boring.

At 8/1/09 04:04 PM, FBIpolux wrote: I forgot a really important point: Dialogues.

Speaking on that subject, have you read any of Orson Scott Card's books, especially the Ender's Game Series? When I read the shadow books, I felt as if the dialog was so rich and comforting that I actually began to care more for the dialog. When key moments of the story came along, the wordplay that was involved was amazing. That's my opinion of course.

I want to ask, is it appropriate to write out dialog then come back to it later and improve upon it? I find myself doing that more and more.

I really disagree with this whole concept... You make it seem so, scientific. Writing is an art-form to me. You mention all these technicalities, such as grammar, syntax, and what have you. There are plenty of ground-breaking books out there which don't abide by standard english in the slightest. I just hate the idea of you spewing out a formula on how to write well. It doesn't work like that...

At 8/1/09 07:10 PM, Reaperyami wrote: I want to ask, is it appropriate to write out dialog then come back to it later and improve upon it? I find myself doing that more and more.

Yes, I highly suggest people re-read what they write. Like Funk said, depending on your mood you might change a lot of stuff out of your first draft.

At 8/1/09 07:19 PM, PinkBeer wrote: I really disagree with this whole concept... You make it seem so, scientific. Writing is an art-form to me. You mention all these technicalities, such as grammar, syntax, and what have you. There are plenty of ground-breaking books out there which don't abide by standard english in the slightest. I just hate the idea of you spewing out a formula on how to write well. It doesn't work like that...

I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. What I'm telling is that there's people that DO need guidance. Don't you hate reading all those crappy submissions that float in the Writing contests? I do. And I suggest anyone in need of help should at least take a look at this thread. But yeah, writing is art, and you should do it the way you feel the most comfortable with. A thing is though, most publishers these days will want you to follow a certain guideline and a certain method, and you can't really afford to say no to a publisher if you're a new writer.

Colour.

A little strange I know but colour can add a lot to an environment, or tone. Darker colours pertain a darker mood, greens for something lush, red for anger/lust, browns for decay. Colour can be used in a lot of ways, and helps 'paint the picture' so to speak, to the reader.

I'm also one of the writers who just writes for fun. I see no career in it for me, I just like to put my stories down and share them across the internet. Unfortunately I keep breaking one of your rules. Dedication. Between work and real life drama I don't always get my fingers to the keyboard or pen to paper. However, I do enjoy writing, have a story running in my blog at the moment, and some others at other sites. I always write by the seat of my pants. I have a basic idea, then fly with it. It's worked so far. With my current blog story, I completely changed the setting and one of the main characters when I just sat down and looked at it. It was fun.

Also J.K. Rowling became so popular partially due to controversy. The Catholics didn't like the way she portrayed witches and wizards as good guys, and that riled a lot of people up. Especially considering that the book was initially meant for children (albiet the series got a littler darker along the way... still meant for young readers though). People hear about this controversy and want to know what its all about. That's how it got so popular. Same thing happened with Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. Controversy, people wanted to know what was going on. There are quite a few examples of that happening.

As for violence, and sex, and all that fun taboo stuff, like FBI has been saying, write it in context. If its just thrown in for shits and giggles, then it doesn't fit the mood. I write a fair bit of violence into my stories, but I see the world as a violent place and so are my own little worlds because of that. A lot of my characters swear a fair bit, I actually cut down the swearing in my writing from what I hear people I hear on the street, at work etc. using in regular conversation.

Something that helps me when I'm writing long stories/novels (None of which I've finished; I lose motivation very easily, but that's beside the point) is to create character bios. I'll write down all of the details and characteristics that make up that character and build on it as I develop the plot. I'll also write down the characters' histories as I think of them (Like, what happened to them before the story?) and I'll write up a plot summary as I write the story. This helps me avoid factual inaccuracies. For instance, if I can't remember a character's eye color or origin of birth (that I've already mentioned somewhere back in the story) I can look at the bio for reference so I don't have to sift through 30 pages of text to find one sentence.

Another thing that I find helpful for me is to, while I'm writing, not worry about the quality of what's coming out. I just write to get the ideas out onto the paper so I can move forward. This helps me not get caught in a cycle of writers block where I'm writing and rewriting the same sentence until I get demotivated without getting any new ideas out. I'll still do the obsessing over perfection process, but not until at least the chapter is finished.

I'm far from being a professional writer, but these are two things that help me.

have fun and enjoy the process of sculpting language

/advice

At 11/17/09 10:35 AM, Earfetish wrote: have fun and enjoy the process of sculpting language

/advice

This.

My dad always asks me how I'm going to make a living from writing. I tell him I don't know, and I just keep on writing.

I'm always fond of challenging myself. Writing stories in different styles. Writing fewer words, writing more words, really pushing myself and seeing what I can come up with. If you don't set goals for yourself, how will you know what you've achieved?

This is a cool post, I'm a writer myself. I've just finished an action novel, currently working on a dive novel and am writing seven different series for Newgrounds and writing a movie.