Writer Discussion Table

[Vacant]

Also....since last time I visited here with a link and it was so popular, here's another one. Ten writing tips from George RR Martin. Now I think its important I add a disclaimer to this.

http://www.talesofsuccess.com/george-rr-martin-writing-tips-18717/

DISCLAIMER

a.) The views and thoughts expressed in this article are not Vacant's but are attributed to George RR Martin. These do not necessarily express or reflect the views of said party (Vacant) and are entirely offered as is.

b.) Said article is offered as an interesting read only. These are not gospel or presented as factual truths on writing.

c.) The client (Vacant) is growing bored of writing T's and C's so he's going to stop now. But this is a legally binding document....Oh yeah if you read this far you're contractually obligated to provide the aforementioned client with alcohol.

[NO1SY]

I would definitely suggest capitalising on any motivation that you get, and if this is a project you feel like you can see through to the end then I'd say go for it.

Last thing you want to do is make writing feel tiresome for you.

No need to drop other projects completely though, just place them on the back burner. Always cool to pick projects back up again after gaining more experience and consuming more media, so could be good for your work in general.

[legomaestro]

I'm surprised George RR Martin subscribes to Stephen Kings' ideology of being a 'gardener'. So appropriate.

Huh, I wouldn't figure him for someone who finds being unpublished okay though. It's always annoyed me that there's such a far distance between writing and getting that goal, but it makes me think.

Spoiler

Hahaha, 'dat disclaimer

[MahluaandMilk]

I've come to realize a little something about my way of writing, and I'm not sure if it's the genre I write or simply that I write in third person very limited perspective that causes it, but I have a very light way of describing things. It seems kind of lazy, because it is, but I'll only write about things that the character whose consciousness I'm writing through would really notice. It's like, I'll be explaining something and the feel of it is like "it's like a ___ or whatever" and instead I cut to the bits that are only important to the point I'm trying to tell.

I've also noticed that I tend to prefer short chapters, between 700 and 2k words, usually, and that I prefer small paragraphs with a dash of setting but primary focus on what's going on. If you've read my workshop stuff or my origin stories that I recently shared, you might see what I'm talking about.

I'm just not sure if that's a weakness or just a "style" point. Any comments on this?

[50 Words for Paipis]

I often skimp on details at first, but then go back and fill them in. Sometimes it's better that way, because a common way to create effective descriptions is to make a parallel for what the characters are thinking or feeling or just the general situation, and doing that after the story is written is easier.

I like reading long chapters if it's engaging prose. You kind of have to ascertain what's best for the story, but it's good to be able to write interesting, visceral prose and to know when and when not to describe in the first place even when describing watching paint dry. Maybe you just don't like your prose and need to do some experimenting. I quite like the prose of David Foster Wallace and Ray Bradbury if you want some reading in that regard.

[MahluaandMilk]

Ironically, I read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 earlier this year, right after reading Orwell's 1984. I've read a lot of prose that you could say has long chapters, but I dunno. I just don't feel a need to describe more than what's important, and I base my structure on what feels like a chapter to me.

I admit, though, that I find pacing to be an issue from time to time, but mostly because I set up a chapter as a two or more "scenes", which may take place some time apart. I'm working on that with a fanfiction I have plotted out where I'm going to try to lengthen the average length of my chapters from 1k to 2k+ words.

[legomaestro]

Hm, unless you really do want to be descriptive in your text, it's like wanting to learn a new art style or handwriting style because yours isn't adequate enough. Other than grammatical and typographical errors I think it's all up to you in how you share your prose, and there have been some weird styles out there, especially with the advent of the internet.

I would love to be as descripting as Tolkien, but that's only something I can develop over time if it suits me. I think so long as you get the idea across you're okay writing as you are.

I'm always encouraged by Light Novels in how little detail they have and how their adaptations blow everything out of the water. It's always impressive to see. Bakemonogatari, Irregular At Magic Highschool and Vampire Hunter D are some prime examples of that.

[50 Words for Paipis]

Ironically, I read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 earlier this year, right after reading Orwell's 1984. I've read a lot of prose that you could say has long chapters, but I dunno. I just don't feel a need to describe more than what's important, and I base my structure on what feels like a chapter to me.

I haven't read your descriptions, so I don't really know what advice to give you. But descriptions seem pretty important to me. They can set the mood, provide a parallel for the situation, foreshadow, help build the world. Also, it's pretty jarring when it's just "He walked in to the room," without any sort of description of the setting that helps readers visualize where they are. Even the non-important stuff can be important in some respect.

They're not the most fun thing to write the first draft through the story, and you don't need to sweat it so early if you don't have any ideas. Also, descriptions still require creativity and inspiration. Details can be made interesting. Also, also, don't forget the characters' response to their environment. Probably, they aren't walking into a room without noticing what it looks like and how it affects their headspace.

Descriptions seem pretty important to me. Without descriptions, it would seem to me a movie with only character shots and dialogue. No images or sounds of rain falling on leaves or the subway train passing by.

[MahluaandMilk]

As far as descriptions go, I think it's quality over quantity. If you can find the right words to simply describe a scene, it's better than painting an image that goes down to the cracks in the floor tiles of a room.

An example of this is that last sentence. I didn't feel the need to actually paint the whole image of someone painting the whole image, and you could feel what I meant with me only stating that it "goes down to the cracks in the floor tiles of a room." It's in the little expressions like that that I find my best descriptions. It's what best gives the feeling, the vibe, and the power of what's being described.

There's certainly nothing wrong with being descriptive if it doesn't take away from anything, such as in those works I mentioned. Rather, the descriptive words themselves are what holds the power.

If you'd like an example of my work, you can check out the MR Story "Hence Tenderly Returned", seeing as I finished it yesterday. You'll probably see what I mean about awkward pacing jumps, though.

[MahluaandMilk]

Doublepost augh. But anyway, I've been working on that somewhat longer fanfiction as I planned and I took that idea of adding a little more detail in mind. Combining that with how I do my plot skeletons, I don't think I'll have any more trouble getting to that 2k word minimum I've set for myself here. I may bump it to 2.5k or even 3k later. Thanks for the idea and discussion, friendo.

[TwilightKing208]

Hey guys, I'm working on my own manga, but unfortunately have nobody that I've met where I live that is interested in this. I've been working on this manga since I was about twelve or thirteen and want to start getting some real work done with it. I'll put up a story summary and if you can let me know if it sounds to much like another anime or manga, or if there's any story premise that I should fix, I'll take any suggestions. The story is called Infinity Flame btw.

To summarize: A boy named Seth has received one of the last sources of magic left in his known world. This source of magic is called the Infinity Flame. It was given to him by his brother, Chris, to keep it out of the hands of the government, who was and still is searching for it. The country's leader, a dictator figure named Garth, has built the Council of Flame (an elite group of five people who are trying to retrieve the Infinity Flame for Garth), and is attempting to use the flame to open a portal to another dimension for reasons unknown to Seth. Seth, who is 17 at the start of the story, has joined a resistance group led by a 23-year-old named Spike. This resistance group is trying to overthrow the terrible dictatorship that Garth has set up, while protecting Seth at the same time. As the story progresses, Seth and the Infinity Flame begin forming together to create one being (not a change in shape or form, but in power), and meanwhile, a mad scientist is working on recreating the power kept in the Infinity Flame for Garth, and has made two attempts: one failed and one partially successful.

That's all I'll go into for now. Again, I'll take any suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to read my story! 

[legomaestro]

Oh, I do love the implications of the last magic and all of that. Is it going to be dystopic in any way? Or is it a shounen?

Stories you've been holding onto forever really are special. All I can say is get to writing it when you feel you have enough details in terms of your main characters and villains. Try to let them surprise you by living out their plot.

The best way to develop these things is to answer questions, I guess.

Why did Chris have the last source of magic? Why are there five people in the council of flame? Is there anything special about these kinds of people?

What kind of technology are we dealing with? Are there computers? Space ships?

What abilities do the Infinity Flame actually bestow, and why should Seth have the magic instead of Chris who already had it?

Anyways, you should introduce yourself to us in the Welcome Center. And you should definitely check out other members stories. Try to mingle a little. It helps quite a bit!

[TwilightKing208]

Thanks a bunch for the ideas. My name is Miles by the way. And I already have most of the story figured out, I just did a skimming of the story. As far as time period and technology, I see it sort of in terms of Final Fantasy, in the past, but with newer age technology. As far as Seth being able to wield the Infinity Flame, it is its own entity, basically starting as an undying flame and is only compatible with a few different people. I do need to figure out exactly how that compatibility works, but again, it's a work in progress. 

[legomaestro]

I feel ashamed to admit it, but I had quite a nasty case of The Block this week due to the usual grand mixture of self deprecation and a very critical Inner Editor. I've been skimming my old projects, reading my old notes, opening notepads, looking for music playlists to finally get a word written down, anything written down. But I did all of the above - Except write.

There have been many rants and dark rumblings that I'd love to dissect one by one, but it all amounts to the same thing: Just write. Just get whatever words you can out there.

I know people recommend breaks for this sort of thing, and I have tried watching something on the side, but seeing as I'm finally writing this I know now why I was so gung-ho about the 1,000 words a day thing. As a writer, it's truly the only way to beat The Block.
 
The hours I spent making coffee and browsing youtube did nothing to put me in the mood. I wrote on my whiteboard to have some sort of flow or organization of thoughts, but the block kept hammering down on my head, along with a nice serving of guilttripsauce.

But with this, I'm out of that rut. Perhaps, until next time, but I can say that I've made some words today. One small step, and that step is much much better than the zero words I was heading for at the end of the day.


Truly, 'Just Doing It' is as real as it gets.

[TwilightKing208]

Whenever I come across a writer's block, writing it out does help, but another thing that I do (and this is probably just me) is draw character sketches of certain scenes that I have plotted out in my head. Yes, getting the writing on paper is a great idea, but I just like to bear in mind that it's going to be in a visual format eventually, so I just write basic plots of scenes with a lot of detail. It's a weird way to write, but it works for me. What kind of story are you writing?