=Mech= need help writing (Full Version)

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MonsterMike9000 -> =Mech= need help writing (10/4/2010 16:24:58)

Im not any good.

Any and all help/advice are welcome.



superjars -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/4/2010 18:06:54)

Well the very first thing to do is to identify what type of writing you want to do.
- Do you want to get better at technical writing - research papers, reports, etc.
- Do you want to get better at fiction writing - short stories, novellas, novels, etc.
- Do you want to get better at poetry writing - lyrics, poems, sonnets, etc.

When you've identified that, the next step is to find out what parts of writing you struggle with.
- Is your grammar poor?
- Do you not know what words to use?
- Do your stories lack depth?
- Do your characters lack depth?
- Are your stories flat and emotional?

Once we've identified some specific areas where you feel your writing falls short, we can do some exercises to help with that area. :D

~superjars



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/6/2010 13:34:05)

I have a story.
I want to make it better.

Can I haz halp? [:)]

Ive never really figured out how to write stories and stuff. But oddly enough I was rather good at creative writing.



superjars -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/6/2010 18:59:18)

Your issue isn't in the creative department. Ideas are there; it's just the execution that you need to work on. Work on your grammar and descriptions and avoid things like repetition. Beyond that, you just want to go more in depth with your characters.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/6/2010 23:56:59)

How do I work on descriptions? Do you have any advice on how I can get better? How do I add depth to my characters?



moneybags -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/7/2010 0:58:59)

It takes practice, you can't expect to perfectly describe a character the first time you try it. Write more, and you'll naturally get more comfortable with it.

Some simple tips: try not to use the same adjectives twice. That's not to say that you can't use it twice throughout the entire story, but just try not to use it more than once in the same paragraph.

Another one is to try and paint the story with words. You gotta make sure the reader can see what you are trying to tell them in their mind. A good way to do this is to describe using the five sense. How does the forest smell like? How does the spaceship look like? Y'know, that stuff. It makes it easier for the reader to imagine.

To put depth in your character, again, it's practice. Try to tell your reader what the character is thinking. I'm sure that if I knew what you are thinking right now, I would know you better already. And again, try describing with the five senses. How does your character look like? How does he sound like? etc.

And yeah. Just keep practicing, and you should do fine. Read some more books, and see how other authors do it. If you find something you can add, you can always edit your piece and improve it. The flow of writing will come along with more practice, and it will eventually sound smooth and fun to listen to. I know this isn't a lot of advice, but hopefully it's helped you a little bit :-)




Eukara Vox -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/7/2010 10:06:45)

One of the ways I have people practice descriptive writing in my writing classes is give them short story assignments using pictures, photographs, artwork. What this does is force the writer to concentrate on only one thing at a time, working on that specific thing. Then we review our work and talk about difficulties, eases, trouble, times when the work was hardest or easiest. This way, you aren't worrying about the whole story yet, just working on tiny sections of your personal development that will help you in the story.



Hmmmm



This gives me an idea...



alexmacf -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/7/2010 12:04:45)

Uh-oh, you gave Euky an idea.... XD

I find that when I have trouble with describing something that's in my head, it usually helps to draw a picture. Not only does this vastly improve my descriptive abilities, but my drawing has gotten a whole lot better too.



Dragonnightwolf -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/7/2010 12:59:26)

Remember that even in story writing, there are certain processes to consider.

Scenery(this includes how to describe backgrounds, foregrounds or the persons viewpoint)

Whos going to say what (This is helpful depending on how many characters are interacting with each other)

How to present the writing to the audience( such as tone, when to change certain things to fit the proper audience etc)

This should give you some idea to assist you in writing.



Xplayer -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/7/2010 16:36:00)

The most helpful tool for helping to improve your writing (besides practice of course), is reading (and I don't mean just the posts on the forums). Great books inspire good writing. Different authors have different styles, and you may or may not want to adapt them into your own. In the end, your style will likely be a summation of all the authors you have read, plus some originality. While this might seem like this results in creating a product that is more "others" than "you" ultimately, that is not the case. It's kind of difficult to explain, but once you've read a lot and written a lot, you'll see what I mean. If you need a good place to get started cracking the books, you should really read through the L&L recommended reading list (I see you've already posted in it. That's a good start. Read through the list and pick a work from a genre you like.) Alternatively, if reading 300 page works is overwhelming (I know that feeling), you can scan Legends and Lore for stories. I highly recommend the stories from the books project as they are written by L&L's finest as well as edited by the AKs to remove any kinks.

If you want help with a specific story, you might want to post a critique request in The Work Table.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/8/2010 0:57:11)

How do I write scenery? I tend to drag on with scenery and character descriptions. I always fall in this info-dump.

EDIT: And could u give me an example of that exercise Vox?

EDIT2: Ugh, why can I only write at 2am in the morning?
What do you guys think of the name "Ser Mhairi Delicatessa Macramé Allwright Warden III Esquire"?

Does that name even make sense?

3 guesses as to what/who this character is. [:D]



alexmacf -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/8/2010 20:01:41)

That's an alright name, so long as you don't call him by that every time you mention him. "Ser" would do just fine.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/10/2010 9:06:45)

How do you make a character lovable and memorable? And how do you make another character earn the hate of the reader?



alexmacf -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/10/2010 14:11:25)

That all comes down to practice and characterization. Sometimes if you aim for lovable, you hit "Mary Sue" and earn the hate. Sometimes when you go for hate, you hit "Awww, the poor kid!" and they earn the love and pity.
That said, the more you practice, the better you'll get.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/10/2010 14:30:48)

In other words, make it up as I go along.

Ok, that works for me. Thats what I had intended to do in the first place. lol



Xirminator -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/11/2010 10:01:10)

quote:

How do you make a character lovable and memorable? And how do you make another character earn the hate of the reader?


This is quite simple.

Think about what happens in real life? Why do people hate people? Why do people love people?

If you have a character - a villain - that you want your readers to dislike, have him hurt someone, lie or go behind people's backs. Or make the character a jealous jerk who wants to ruin it for everybody. You get the idea. Making people like characters, on the other hand, is by having the character do good things. Remember, in both cases, not to overdo it. Don't make a character so completely evil that the reader stops believing that such a character could possibly exist. Don't make a character so good and righteous that he starts getting on people's nerves.

Giving them a few habits or vices could also tip their appeal either way. Let's say you have a character who wakes up every night to have a midnight snack, a towering mountain of sandwiches. This can be endearing. On the other hand, a character who abuses drugs, drinks too much or is generally rude will attract give the readers a reason to complain about him, even if he is one of the good guys.

Remember, putting both good and bad points in characters makes them more realistic too, as no one is completely good or bad.

Just my two cents on the subject. If you need any more help, let me know.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/11/2010 15:05:38)

Do you have any guidelines in building a story up?



Xirminator -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/11/2010 16:17:45)

Not really sure, I just make it up as I go along. But I try from the very beginning to have some sort of outline to build on, like a list of chapters or scenes and what happens in them.

I admit that sometimes I end up not knowing what should happen next or how a story should end. When that happens I turn to my created world or the characters to see what I should do. I ask questions like "What does this certain character want to do here?" and "Why does he or she want to this?" and then figure out the how.

I'm not sure I'm getting the point across here, though, so I'll give you an example from my experience.

I was writing about a character called Ros who was busy researching alien life on a planet, and somehow I needed her to join up my other main characters to go on their journey. I didn't know how to do that and
I didn't know why it should happen either. So, I started out with why Ros was on the planet in the first place.

"To study alien life" is the first answer that popped up. But that seemed too obvious and simple so I tried coming up with a second answer. The second answer is several pages long and tell a lot of Ros's personal history. I decided that she was there because she had no other options, because, through a series of events, she had discredited herself and the military had blacklisted her. I also knew that she would want to get out of here, and because she's good at her job (and had already met the other main characters through the series of events that led to her losing her job) they knew where to find her.

If you a basic idea in the end, you can almost always twist it into a story by asking questions about the characters and the world.

There's a book called Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card. It's an enjoyable read and has a lot of helpful tips that can benefit any writer.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/14/2010 1:23:41)

Can someone give me an example on how they write a story? Like what do you do from beginning to end?



Xirminator -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/14/2010 18:49:53)

quote:

Can someone give me an example on how they write a story? Like what do you do from beginning to end?


The process varies from writer to writer, so there's no right way of building a story. Some people like to plan their stories all the way through before they begin writing, others like to start the story and see where it goes.

I do a little of both. Once I get an idea that I want to write about I usually write a few paragraph or a chapter or two, but end up running into a dead end, not sure where the story should go next. At that point, I see what characters have popped up in the story and try to figure out what they're doing there and what effect they're going to have on the story. Then I rewrite and rewrite until I'm satisfied with the whole thing.

Don't expect a story to be perfect the moment you write/type it. You'll go through it again and again, fixing up the story and the plot, adding or improving description and so on.

What are you trying to write? In many cases, reading stories of the same type or genre as the one you want to write will give you an idea of the structure and so on. I'm not sure what else to say, because I can't tell what exactly you're having difficulty with.



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/14/2010 21:03:05)

^Well I have a little Fanfiction for the WarpForce game. Right now, the entire thing is me introducing the characters and experimenting with ways to write more or less.
Also I have a creative writing thing floating around somewhere out there about the humanity-redeeming attributes of chocolate ice cream..

My difficulty is how to actually "write" a story. Want to see what I know about writing stories? Here:

EXTERIOR - PARK - DAY

Johnny Deep: Why goodness gracious --he fans himself with his hands-- Its very hot out here today!

Sylvester the Stone: I concur Mr. Deep --Shift uncomfortably in his seat, Middle shot/Pan left-- It sure is rather humid today.

Johnny Deep: I know! --Stand up in excitement-- Lets go get ice cream!

-SCENE-

It doesnt translate well to book format. :(

EDIT: Heres a link to the stuff I have: 1/ 2
Feel free to tell me what Im doing wrong.



alexmacf -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/14/2010 21:58:07)

I don't really have the time to go over the links right now, but what you've got looks like a movie script to me - a perfectly fine form of writing, if somewhat difficult to read. If that's the way you roll, then go for it.



superjars -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/15/2010 1:12:31)

Well, if you know how to write scripts, then you've got the first part down. As higher functioning beings, we do this thing called visualization. For some, the scene unfolds in their head like a movie, pictures and characters flitting through the mind's eye. Others, like me, just get these long descriptive passages of text running through our heads, which somehow translates into a visual, even though we can't see the visual entirely (don't know how to explain it, I just have a weird mind). Once you have that set of images, put it in slow motion, press play and try to describe what you see. They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words, but the opposite is also true. It will take 1,000 words to describe a picture. Now, of course, you won't be using all 1,000 of those words for each image, or you'll never finish your story, so the trick is to focus on the important things in the image, the things which draw your attention and keep you rapt in attention to it. Those are what you want your readers to visualize and see when they read your passage. You want to hit the major highlights of the scene and let their imaginations fill in the rest.

As for your above example, this is how I would write that scene:
EXTERIOR - PARK - DAY

Johnny Deep: Why goodness gracious --he fans himself with his hands-- Its very hot out here today!

Sylvester the Stone: I concur Mr. Deep --Shift uncomfortably in his seat, Middle shot/Pan left-- It sure is rather humid today.

Johnny Deep: I know! --Stand up in excitement-- Lets go get ice cream!


The golden rays of the sun poured down through the thick foliage of the trees upon two men, sitting beside each other on a dilapidated park bench. They had just stopped to rest after a lengthy run and were try to cool down from the heat of a humid and scorching summer day.

"Why goodness gracious," Johnny Deep exclaimed, his hand furiously fanning himself, attempting to move the air around him to cool down. "It's very hot out here today!"

"I concur, Mr. Deep," Sylvester the Stone replied matter-of-factly, shifting his body uncomfortably on the bench, not entirely sure how to respond. "It sure is rather humid today."

"I know!" Johnny cried as he bolted to his feet, a look of excitement spread over his jovial features. "Let's go get ice cream!"

Sylvester nodded in agreement and pushed himself ponderously to his feet, and the two men sauntered off to find a vendor who could fill their dessert wishes.


This is but one of the ways in which this could be written, as this is simply the way it appeared in my head.

When you write, you translate the images your mind creates into the words that will spark the mind of your reader to see the very same image (or at least one very similar).



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/15/2010 6:45:55)

^OMG Superjars! Thats it! Thats what Ive been having troubles with! Using a 1000 words to describe a picture. The way you re-wrote what I had put down, its like a magic trick to me, I dont understand how you did it.

If I do that whole replaying thing you mentioned, Id have put down: "Two guys are sit on a bench in a park. Its really sunny and there are trees." Or something like that. Not as 'complete' as yours is. Howd you do that? I want to know!! :O



demolitiondragon -> RE: =Mech= need help writing (10/15/2010 8:12:40)

It sounds like you're trying to write in what's called the "present tense", as if things are happening right at this moment, right now. This uses words like "fans" "shifts" and "stand".

Supes wrote in what's called the "past tense", as if things had already happened in the past. This uses words like "fanned" "shifted" and "stood".

Perhaps if you wrote in script first, then try to rearrange your sentences so they sound like they already happened?



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