How's Your Writing Going Today?
Quote from Heatherlly on October 24, 2024, 12:49 amQuote from mmlf on October 20, 2024, 5:25 amIn 21st century terms, this dude was high on his own supply. I know the quote seems profound, but it strikes me as a.) pretentious nonsense, and b.) a terrible source for inspiration. Everything he created before the age of 65 isn't worth counting? I'm sorry, but that way of thinking is sad and wrong and totally misses the point. So does referring to your own work as "unworthy", for that matter. I don't even know what that means, let alone why you would do that to yourself. 😒
Look, I know you're a perfectionist. I also know that we're our own worst critics, but please listen when I say this…
Everything you've ever written is worthy.
It's not worthy for stylistic reasons. It's not worthy because your grammar or sentence structure were perfect, nor that your character development was 100% on point. It's worthy because it's a part of you, a glimpse of exactly who you were as a writer in that time/space/mindset. Would you write the same today? Of course not, but who you are now doesn't nullify who you were then. There's no "before and after" when it comes to creativity, only steps along a journey. Every one of those steps is equally important/valuable… if you can appreciate them rather than diminishing their worth, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
"high on his own supply"-- LOL! Well, he did say he was "mad about drawing"! 😀
Interestingly, I saw a similar comment made in a biography about Bach. One of his early biographers suggested that Bach saw everything that he had composed before 1725 as 'worthy of improvement'. But the author of the current biography contradicted this, pointing out that he had produced accomplished works beforehand.
So you have a point. But healthy thinking is not my forte, haha.
Also, what about when you read a book that is so perfectly written you want to cry? 😀 I found a 19th century novel quite by accident last week that is totally blowing my mind. There are entire scenes I want to rewrite to study what this guy is doing. I am obsessed with stuff that is vastly superior to mine, possibly to an unhealthy degree!
Quote from Dust Collector on October 28, 2024, 4:51 pmQuote from Dust Collector on June 3, 2024, 12:01 amI've started to write a story in which a freak accident with the Veil in the Department of Mysteries brings five people back to life, which includes the Potters. As a result of said accident, Sirius doesn't die, but Lucius still ends up in Azkaban, and strange things begin to happen as the Netherworld begins to encroach upon the reality.
It was supposed to be just a little distraction, but I'm at 6K words right now, and I've only just started.
The story features a manipulative Dumbledore, Severus who is fed up with everyone and everything, destructive Narcissa, clueless James who assumes things are the way they've been 20yrs ago, alcohol abuse, introspection, signs of the apocalypse and much, much more.
Will I finish it? Will it remain a WIP? Who knows.
Just reached 25K words after finishing a rather ugly argument between Severus and Lily that was Not Supposed To Go That Way. (Supernatural shenanigans are partly to blame.)
I'm juggling several WIPs, as usual. The one I choose to work on is always determined by vibes and vibes alone.
Nice! Whenever you think it's "not supposed to go that way"-- it goes that way!
I think up scenes, then write them down-- and the end result on paper is almost always different.
I think it's the subconscious, right?
I have a bit of a weird writer's block. I got the idea down and a summary, I don't really have much issue writing something down. However, I'm going to start some dialogue heavy chapters and I realllllly don't know how to go about it. I don't want them to sound robotic but I don't want them to sound too...tailored if that makes any sense.
Anyone got tips for writing conversations and dialogue?
One tip I'd give is to say every piece of dialogue out loud so you can hear how it sounds when someone says it
I definitely agree with reading dialogue aloud (or putting it through a text-to-speech program). That should be done during your rewriting and editing, not during the drafting. Along with that (also for the rewriting ad editing stage), remove any place where one character restates something another character said, or refers back to something you've already explained beforehand.
Quote from mmlf on November 6, 2024, 8:14 amI definitely agree with reading dialogue aloud (or putting it through a text-to-speech program). That should be done during your rewriting and editing, not during the drafting. Along with that (also for the rewriting ad editing stage), remove any place where one character restates something another character said, or refers back to something you've already explained beforehand.
I must admit that your idea is brilliant! It's true that I don't write anything myself, but because of my studies, I've often wondered what's in the author's head and how the process of creating a story goes. Indeed, this idea is commendable!
Anyone have any writing tips for someone who is purely art/programming based and doesn't think in words at all? Any artists turned writers on here? I'm trying to build a game and struggling with the planning side. Mainly because I suck at writing, detailed plot, characterisation, and therefore can't decide on pacing, order of events, etc. I love the building part, but get tied up on the planning to the point where I can't go any further.
Quote from Chorus on November 11, 2024, 12:30 pmAnyone have any writing tips for someone who is purely art/programming based and doesn't think in words at all? Any artists turned writers on here? I'm trying to build a game and struggling with the planning side. Mainly because I suck at writing, detailed plot, characterisation, and therefore can't decide on pacing, order of events, etc. I love the building part, but get tied up on the planning to the point where I can't go any further.
Maybe try thinking in pictures? How do you take photos for movies? Arrange them chronologically and think about them hard. Maybe then the plot will come to you. I would probably do that.
Quote from Chorus on November 11, 2024, 12:30 pmAnyone have any writing tips for someone who is purely art/programming based and doesn't think in words at all? Any artists turned writers on here? I'm trying to build a game and struggling with the planning side. Mainly because I suck at writing, detailed plot, characterisation, and therefore can't decide on pacing, order of events, etc. I love the building part, but get tied up on the planning to the point where I can't go any further.
Hmmm. It's hard to say because everybody's brain is different, but as someone who's been doing all three (writing, coding, and visual art) for 20+ years, I can relate to your difficulty switching "modes" so to speak. It's something I had to train myself how to do, and even now, I'm usually much more in one mode than the others. If I'm producing lots of art, chances are that I'm not writing. If I'm in the middle of building a website, the other two things fall by the wayside. I've gotten better in that I can make the switch more quickly than I used to, but it's always a work in progress.
The best thing I can tell you is read. Read the type of stories you want to emulate, read and take notes on various plot elements that you'd want to modify and incorporate. I know reading sounds obvious, but it really is the single most valuable thing a writer can do. Given the medium, you might want to focus in particular on other video games that have really good plots/backstories.
Other than that, try writing in a stream of consciousness style. Don't pay attention to plot, character development, structure or grammar. Just write whatever comes into your head related to the game, no matter how scattered or nonsensical it seems. If you can do this every day at least for a week or two, I promise things will start coming together. You will effectively be training your brain to process and output information in written form, which leads me to my last point...
Writing isn't a talent. It's a skill. Yes, some people have certain brain structures or innate ability that makes it a bit easier, but about 90% of it comes down to practice. It's much like exercise in that way... if you do it consistently, it gets easier and results improve over time. Do it consistently for long enough, and those improvements will be dramatic.
Long story short, you just have to put in the work. If you're willing to do that, there's no reason you can't write just as well as anyone else can.
Quote from Heatherlly on November 12, 2024, 11:54 pmQuote from Chorus on November 11, 2024, 12:30 pmAnyone have any writing tips for someone who is purely art/programming based and doesn't think in words at all? Any artists turned writers on here? I'm trying to build a game and struggling with the planning side. Mainly because I suck at writing, detailed plot, characterisation, and therefore can't decide on pacing, order of events, etc. I love the building part, but get tied up on the planning to the point where I can't go any further.
Hmmm. It's hard to say because everybody's brain is different, but as someone who's been doing all three (writing, coding, and visual art) for 20+ years, I can relate to your difficulty switching "modes" so to speak. It's something I had to train myself how to do, and even now, I'm usually much more in one mode than the others. If I'm producing lots of art, chances are that I'm not writing. If I'm in the middle of building a website, the other two things fall by the wayside. I've gotten better in that I can make the switch more quickly than I used to, but it's always a work in progress.
The best thing I can tell you is read. Read the type of stories you want to emulate, read and take notes on various plot elements that you'd want to modify and incorporate. I know reading sounds obvious, but it really is the single most valuable thing a writer can do. Given the medium, you might want to focus in particular on other video games that have really good plots/backstories.
Other than that, try writing in a stream of consciousness style. Don't pay attention to plot, character development, structure or grammar. Just write whatever comes into your head related to the game, no matter how scattered or nonsensical it seems. If you can do this every day at least for a week or two, I promise things will start coming together. You will effectively be training your brain to process and output information in written form, which leads me to my last point...
Writing isn't a talent. It's a skill. Yes, some people have certain brain structures or innate ability that makes it a bit easier, but about 90% of it comes down to practice. It's much like exercise in that way... if you do it consistently, it gets easier and results improve over time. Do it consistently for long enough, and those improvements will be dramatic.
Long story short, you just have to put in the work. If you're willing to do that, there's no reason you can't write just as well as anyone else can.
I agree that to write well you need to read and practice a lot. But looking at your story, I know that some people just have that spark of a gift. It's like reading poetry - there are people who just don't feel it. However, there are also those who have a lot of emotions in their heads and hearts after reading a poem. Some flap opens inside and you feel it! It's the same with prose. You can be a good craftsman, but to be an artist - you have to be born with something.
