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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: MiracleSleeper on October 07, 2014, 03:30:27 PM
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(https://www.lynnegolodner.com/wp-content/uploads/writing.jpg)
This a thread for anyone who has a passion for writing. Whether it be lyrics, poetry, novels, stage plays, or screenplays.
As for me, writing has been a passion of mine since I was about seven years old. I got into screenwriting about four years ago, and I'll be trying to get a degree in education and screenwriting so I can be a professor one day.
If anyone has any material of projects they're working on, feel free to share them or talk about them!
"Past every tragedy is a miracle. All it takes is the faith to bring it to life."
^^A quote from a story I've been most serious about these past few years, that depicts the main theme of what it's about.
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Writer here. Been writing since I was eight. On the last of September, I finished the first draft of my second novel. Still looking for an agent so I can get my first novel published.
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Once wrote constantly.....poems and have kept a journal for the past few years. Sadly, I haven't wrote a poem or anything creative in a good while and the last entry in my journal was in January the night my Grandmother died. Having moved and with life getting more chaotic with three growing kiddos....I just find that all I do is 'tell' myself I need to write or start the journal again and yet never do......
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"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway
I like writing.
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I'm something of a writer. :tup :yarr
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Writer here. Been writing since I was eight. On the last of September, I finished the first draft of my second novel. Still looking for an agent so I can get my first novel published.
What is your first and second novel about? And best of luck to you with it!
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway
I like writing.
Beautiful quote.
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I started writing when I about 10 years old and I've loved it ever since. Its lets me escape to a world of justice, a world where the good guy can win and there's always a happy ending. I went to film school specially with the goal of being a screenwriter, but decided to keep doing school after graduation to have something else to fall back on. I plan on continuing writing when done.
And Amen to this:
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway
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I generally enjoy writing. I write and record music, and lyrics are an important part of that. I like the idea of knowing exactly what I'm talking about, but wording it in a way that shrouds it in mystery for anyone but me. oooooh.
I'm currently working towards a degree in English Lit and Media Studies, and I quite enjoy writing academic essays.
Yesterday I got my mark back for a personal essay we had to write on the topic of a musical experience. I thought I was handing in shit, but I got an A+ and the tutor wrote 'to say this is an excellent essay does not do it justice'. I was floored. This was a media studies paper, but I think my English Lit study helped with the 'personal essay' thing, I was able to be a bit more creative with it, and use narrative techniques and provide a loose narrative structure over the essay, which is totally different from the academic style essay you'd expect.
By the way, does anyone get that 'icky' kinda feeling when you know something you've written that is deeply personal is being read by someone else? I got that feeling when I handed that paper in, and I get it when I share my music with other people. That feeling of leaving yourself completely vulnerable. Its weird.
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By the way, does anyone get that 'icky' kinda feeling when you know something you've written that is deeply personal is being read by someone else? I got that feeling when I handed that paper in, and I get it when I share my music with other people. That feeling of leaving yourself completely vulnerable. Its weird.
Oh yeah, I know 'exactly' what you mean. I always get the feeling that they'll think I'm strange, so I get pretty nervous. On an external level, I'm a very outgoing, humorous guy, but internally I'm very serious, emotional, and spiritual, and my writing really reflects that. So I'm very hesitant to show my work to people, because they're really getting a glimpse into the 'looking glass' of who I truly am inside, and I feel they'll be extremely surprised of who that person in me really is.
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By the way, does anyone get that 'icky' kinda feeling when you know something you've written that is deeply personal is being read by someone else? I got that feeling when I handed that paper in, and I get it when I share my music with other people. That feeling of leaving yourself completely vulnerable. Its weird.
Oh yeah, I know 'exactly' what you mean. I always get the feeling that they'll think I'm strange, so I get pretty nervous. On an external level, I'm a very outgoing, humorous guy, but internally I'm very serious, emotional, and spiritual, and my writing really reflects that. So I'm very hesitant to show my work to people, because they're really getting a glimpse into the 'looking glass' of who I truly am inside, and I feel they'll be extremely surprised of who that person in me really is.
Yeah, I get that. I think for me it stems from like, showing my brother's the first ever song I recorded, which lyrically was pretty dark. They listened, and... nothing. Haha. Crushing defeat.
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Somewhat of a writer. I'm 160 000 words into a story, but I haven't picked it up in many months.
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Somewhat of a writer. I'm 160 000 words into a story, but I haven't picked it up in many months.
Care to share a plot synopsis?
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I have ideas all the time and I'm always trying to get myself to sit down and write more often. I don't write nearly enough, but I do have a bunch of ideas. I have it all set up in my noggin like a massive Stephen King type multi-verse, where all/most of my stories co-exist to some sort of degree. My main project is a four book long series that involves traveling between multiple worlds, the Five Stages of Grief and a deconstruction of the Hero's Journey.
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Writer here. Been writing since I was eight. On the last of September, I finished the first draft of my second novel. Still looking for an agent so I can get my first novel published.
If I were just starting out today, I would try to self-publish first. Unless you've written "creative non-fiction" like a memoir, you may not need an agent. Many houses will take submissions without an agent. Go online and check their rules to submit. If you really feel you need an agent, start by going to someplace like Query Tracker. They vet their agents, so they should be legit. https://www.querytracker.net/
There are more scammers, thieves, con men and scalawags in that line of work than you can shake a stick at. Be very careful. Any idiot with a computer these days can tell you they're an agent; and there are even some groups that play the numbers game and get lucky by throwing out tons of manuscripts and hoping something sticks. These fucktard bastards don't want to steal your work, only your money. There are two professional types that are destined to spend eternity in Hell...agents, and editors. No amount of atonement can ever alter that fact.
But try to self publish if you can. Any agent worth his/her salt is going to take 15% of anything you earn. First novels won't usually earn much.
I got lucky. My agent found me about the same time I found her. We've been together ever since. She only represents a handful of us. I don't think she's taken anyone new in probably 4 or 5 years. I trust her with my life. That's hard to find.
Good luck.
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Somewhat of a writer. I'm 160 000 words into a story, but I haven't picked it up in many months.
Care to share a plot synopsis?
It's a fantasy novel, has kind of your standard good guy bad guy thing, but lots of other moving pieces. The reason I haven't touched it in so long is because my main story isn't as interesting as I thought it would be, but the side plots have turned out to be very interesting to me, so I might restart/restructure the whole piece.
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I write quite a bit of poetry, check the official poetry thread.
I also write music, if that counts.
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I'm more ashamed than you can imagine that I've been hitting a dry spell for some nine or ten months now. I used to write a decent amount, be it poetry or short story drafts. I both have had a lack of motivation and a lack of actual ideas to build off of to really write anything worthwhile. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's holding me back. I really need to get back to it, yet I haven't a clue as to where to start.
I started when I was real young, probably around when I was 7 or 8, and something about it was so fulfilling and satisfying for me. At times I would have nothing to go off of and other times, way too much that I wouldn't know how to organize and make sense of it all.
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I'm more ashamed than you can imagine that I've been hitting a dry spell for some nine or ten months now. I used to write a decent amount, be it poetry or short story drafts. I both have had a lack of motivation and a lack of actual ideas to build off of to really write anything worthwhile. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's holding me back. I really need to get back to it, yet I haven't a clue as to where to start.
Maybe you just need something to inspire you? Try to check out some movies you haven't seen, or music you haven't heard. I often do that as a source of inspiration.
Or you can go inward for inspiration. I often reflect back on my life, and I use some of the more important experiences I've went through as inspiration for my stories.
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I'm more ashamed than you can imagine that I've been hitting a dry spell for some nine or ten months now. I used to write a decent amount, be it poetry or short story drafts. I both have had a lack of motivation and a lack of actual ideas to build off of to really write anything worthwhile. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's holding me back. I really need to get back to it, yet I haven't a clue as to where to start.
Maybe you just need something to inspire you? Try to check out some movies you haven't seen, or music you haven't heard. I often do that as a source of inspiration.
Or you can go inward for inspiration. I often reflect back on my life, and I use some of the more important experiences I've went through as inspiration for my stories.
I suspect both might help remedy my issue here. I also just really need to stop making excuses for "not having time" to write. :lol
Anyways, thanks for the advice! I have a couple DVD's sitting on my shelf that I haven't watched yet, so I might start there.
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If I were just starting out today, I would try to self-publish first.
Oh, man, you have no idea how good it is to hear that from an established writer!
I've "self-published" two novels through Amazon and I'm in the midst of a particularly grueling revision process on a third. Writing is really the only thing I've ever wanted to do with my life, but I've only been working diligently on it during the last several years.
I would like to get away from Amazon at some point, because they like being the big name in indie ebook publishing, and they make it difficult for me to publish across multiple stores (like iTunes, Google Play, Nook, etc.). But I'm still starting out, so for now I'm mostly focusing on getting my material finished and out in the world.
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Anyone care to share a bit about some of the projects they're working on? I always love to hear what stories other fellow writers are working on, because I feel like a story is a little gateway into the author's mind almost. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone through their writing.
For me, I'm currently working a lot of stories, but the one I'm most passionate about is a 'somewhat' Romance script. The script revolves around two best friends who are in love, but are too afraid to reveal their feelings for each other. The first half deals with their life as adults while the second half focuses on their adolescence when they first fell in love.
I think what I like most about this script is the narrative structure. I can't recall a film which is structured into two parts, with the first being the present and the second being the past. (if someone knows of such a film, tell me! lol) The second half takes place within the male protagonist's mind after the female protagonist's death, as he reflects on his memories of himself and his best friend, in an effort to come to terms with her death, his past, and his own life.
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Doesn't the Notebook go back and forth from the past to the present .... but every story is original ....your premise sounds interesting.
I write but at this point it is one of those things that until I think it is ready to be published no one will even know what it is about.
I shared it with my younger brother but as he is not a reader he had a hard time following the narrative structure.....maybe when it is 90% complete I will share.
But as writers often say people say they're a writer, but they never take the time to put the words on the page....at the moment I am in that boat.....
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Doesn't the Notebook go back and forth from the past to the present...
Yeah it does. Quite a few films go back and forth between past and present. In the script I'm working on, it doesn't continuously go back and forth like they do, it's strictly divided between the first half which is the present, and the second half being the past. I wrote it in a way in which the first half builds up to the mid-point, where the Protagonist realizes he ultimately can't keep running from his past, but instead has to finally face it. It's centered around one of the main themes of the story: "Only by facing the past can one face the future"
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First novel: A Shared Madness---A horror/dark fantasy novel that deals with a secret society whose goal is to stand guard and ensure that an ancient evil known as the Schism remains trapped in art-forms. Three friends stay in a relative's cabin---a relative who is a member of this society---and are now snowed-in with the Schism. It's up to the main character, an asipiring novelist (no, the character is not a stand-in for me), to capture it and find a way to destroy it.
Second novel: Primordial---A former child star comes back to his hometown after the tenth anniversary of the sitcom that made him famous. After a night on the town with a girl with demons of her own, he discovers her son has gone missing. When he finds the boy on the front stoop of the biggest house in town (and is supposedly haunted), the boy is frantic and has bite marks on his neck. What follows is a tale of vampires, time travel, personal healing, and the innocence of children.
If you can't tell, I'm really not that great at giving the synopses of novels/stories. Of course, what I've revealed is merely the tips of the icebergs when it comes to both novels. I spent a year and a half writing A Shared Madness, and while it's not the best, I'm proud of it mostly because it's the first one; the first novel I really got my shit together with and completed. This second novel, Primordial, is certainly the better of the two and I had a much larger playground than three friends in a cabin. The first draft took just a little over three months to write (the first draft of Madness took over eight months because I had no fucking clue what I was doing), and editing begins in a couple weeks.
EDIT: And thank you, TempusVox, for your advice. It's certainly something I'm looking into if I can't get my foot in the door any other way.
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I'm more ashamed than you can imagine that I've been hitting a dry spell for some nine or ten months now. I used to write a decent amount, be it poetry or short story drafts. I both have had a lack of motivation and a lack of actual ideas to build off of to really write anything worthwhile. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's holding me back. I really need to get back to it, yet I haven't a clue as to where to start.
I've been in that situation for the past year almost. I took a month break from writing in general at the end of 2013 and I have had a very difficult time getting back into the swing of things. It's been very disheartening to say the least.
One thing I have learned is to maybe try and mix up where and how you write. I did all of on my computer but I've just tried doing it the old fashioned way, with a simple pen and pad of paper and I've found it to be... well, maybe not inspiring, but it does help me to just keep going when I don't have the ability to instantly rearrange or edit what I've just written which is my major problem. I always tinker, never finish.
Getting away from the internet also helps majorly. :p
Anyone care to share a bit about some of the projects they're working on? I always love to hear what stories other fellow writers are working on, because I feel like a story is a little gateway into the author's mind almost. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone through their writing.
The one I've been working on forever is a sci-fi/fantasy novel set in what would be the fantasy equivalent of the late 1800's or early 1900's. It's set in a country currently occupied by foreign armies and riven with violence. The lives of soldiers, nurses, politicians, spies, and corporate agents all converge in the capital city of Iov, driven to the heart of a split nation by their own doubts, dreams, and personal demons. When an ancient power is accidentally unleashed, will they fight, flee, or take advantage of the chaos for their own personal benefits?
I also have a couple of other ideas on ice, including a straight up sci-fi novel, a fairy tale-esque novel about a man who wakes up in a mysterious forest with no memory of how he arrived or why he is there, and a novel that I recently got an idea for which could be described as an urban fantasy version of Grapes of Wrath meets The Gunslinger set in the Great Depression, more specifically the dust bowl area of the United States. I think I'm going to work on that one for this years NaNoWriMo but I have to do a bit of research first.
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As I mentioned in the NaNoWriMo thread I have about 30k words of a novel written (but being that it is a fantasy novel the story is not even like 1/4 done).
I also have a few short stories in the editing phase. One is technically a novelette I guess? Also fantasy, set in the same world.
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Have you ever had a brilliant idea, that is truly original, then find out many years later that it has already been done?
4-5 years ago while creating the bulk of my fantasy world I had the idea to have a northern section of land, a land that is undeveloped, teeming with monsters and is winter all year round. This land would be seperated from the rest of the world by 3 walls to keep the monsters beyond at bay. I thought this was a fantastic idea and could not wait to use it.
Jump ahead to 4-5 months ago. I pick up A Game of Thrones and begin reading it. I had never heard anything about GRRM's world other than "man, you gotta read it and watch the show, it's right up your alley." I honestly had never heard anything about GOT, so there was no way for me to have copied this idea, but now I cannot use it because it will always make people certain that I poached it from Martin.
It is very frustrating, especially how much I like The Wall in ASOIAF, and I am trying to create an alternative to my original idea that screams less of plagiarism.
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Jim Butcher's Codex Alera world also features a big wall separating the main empire from a wintery area labelled on the map as "Icemen".
Also there is this wall in China you may have heard of, one between England and Scotland, too. Not like Martin came up with the idea out of nowhere.
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I'm more ashamed than you can imagine that I've been hitting a dry spell for some nine or ten months now. I used to write a decent amount, be it poetry or short story drafts. I both have had a lack of motivation and a lack of actual ideas to build off of to really write anything worthwhile. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's holding me back. I really need to get back to it, yet I haven't a clue as to where to start.
I've been in that situation for the past year almost. I took a month break from writing in general at the end of 2013 and I have had a very difficult time getting back into the swing of things. It's been very disheartening to say the least.
One thing I have learned is to maybe try and mix up where and how you write. I did all of on my computer but I've just tried doing it the old fashioned way, with a simple pen and pad of paper and I've found it to be... well, maybe not inspiring, but it does help me to just keep going when I don't have the ability to instantly rearrange or edit what I've just written which is my major problem. I always tinker, never finish.
Getting away from the internet also helps majorly. :p
I've realized that procrastination is a serious problem for us writers, and have read lots of articles on how to go and work on your thing. One important tip I read from a quote of a famous writer, is that inspiration is for amateurs, all you have to do is just to sit down and write, instead of wandering about writing.
Another really useful thing I learned, was from Steal Like An Artist (one of the most inspiring books on creativity, works either you're a musician or a writer or a painter or whatever). One of the 10 big tips the author gave was: "In the digital era, don't forget to use your digits!". He means using analogic materials like pen and paper or a tipewriter to work on your stuff, to free your creativity; and then use a digital environment (like your PC) to edit and analyze what you have done. I have found that this really helps me to focus, since I have less distractions than in my computer.
And something that really helped me with creative block (and will use it during November to writer my first novel) is to write three pages every morning - it's probably the most useful tip from The Artist's Way. Or you can just write 750 words, which is the equivalent to 3 pages. There's even a wonderful page called 750Words (https://750words.com/) which lets you register and keep track of what you write. But... what should you write about? Nothing particular. The idea is to get used to free-writing, to just put whatever you're thinking at the moment in words, without censure. It really helps to make my ideas flow better during the day and it helps to establish the habit of writing everyday.
I'm currently working on a fantasy novel. Well, I'm just in the world-building stage by now, and I'm close to finish most of it to start writing for the NaNoWriMo this year. The magic system is still in development and I haven't found my characters yet, but will do that one week before November. I've got some seriously cool ideas I haven't seen in fantasy (yet) that I brough from some videogames I love, and luckily they aren't known enough to somebody notice :neverusethis: . Will share a brief synopsis with you guys, and maybe an excerpt (although I'd have to translate it since it's written in spanish :lol ) when I finish it.
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Second novel: Primordial---A former child star comes back to his hometown after the tenth anniversary of the sitcom that made him famous. After a night on the town with a girl with demons of her own, he discovers her son has gone missing. When he finds the boy on the front stoop of the biggest house in town (and is supposedly haunted), the boy is frantic and has bite marks on his neck. What follows is a tale of vampires, time travel, personal healing, and the innocence of children.
That sounded pretty cool to begin with, but the unexpected inclusion of time travel is what really piqued my interest.
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Regarding inspiration...
When it comes to writing, do you guys search for inspiration outwards or inwards? For me, I've found the best source of inspiration comes from reflecting on my past, and it's relationship to how I felt and what it lead to in the present. I feel like we as people hold this whole other world inside our minds, and it's such a useful tool to create rich, meaningful stories.
Usually a story revolves around one or a set of particular themes, and it's amazing to look back on my life experiences to reflect on the themes of my life, as in the morals and lessons I've learned as a result of what I've been through, the desires I've held, and the mindsets I've been in. They always provide a path to a good idea for a story.
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I find myself much more inspired by history and current events rather than anything personal.
Actually, that's not quite right, history and current events tends to inspire the 'big picture' of the story, the setting, the background details, the themes, the sorts of things that are supposed to give stories a feeling of depth. Personal stuff inspires the details, the characters and the emotions. Well, tends to really, but if it really came down to picking one or the other for primary inspiration, I'd probably have to give it to history. History is full of so many wondrous and terrible events, events that we can learn from, events that are relevant still today, and events that continue to affect us. History has tragedy, love, loss, life, heroes, villains, winners, losers, fools, and geniuses aplenty. What more could you ask for for inspiration?
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To motivate us more guys, they're giving a 40% off discount on Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/nanowrimo.php) for those who accomplish this year's NaNoWriMo. There's also a special trial edition for this and a novel template.
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I find myself much more inspired by history and current events rather than anything personal.
Actually, that's not quite right, history and current events tends to inspire the 'big picture' of the story, the setting, the background details, the themes, the sorts of things that are supposed to give stories a feeling of depth. Personal stuff inspires the details, the characters and the emotions. Well, tends to really, but if it really came down to picking one or the other for primary inspiration, I'd probably have to give it to history. History is full of so many wondrous and terrible events, events that we can learn from, events that are relevant still today, and events that continue to affect us. History has tragedy, love, loss, life, heroes, villains, winners, losers, fools, and geniuses aplenty. What more could you ask for for inspiration?
Actually, I'm the same now that I think of it. I tend to draw from history/society/religions/etc for the external world of my stories, but I draw inward for the characters.
To motivate us more guys, they're giving a 40% off discount on Scrivener for those who accomplish this year's NaNoWriMo. There's also a special trial edition for this and a novel template.
My friends in a writing group that I participate in are going crazy over Nano, lol.
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Have you ever had a brilliant idea, that is truly original, then find out many years later that it has already been done?
4-5 years ago while creating the bulk of my fantasy world I had the idea to have a northern section of land, a land that is undeveloped, teeming with monsters and is winter all year round. This land would be seperated from the rest of the world by 3 walls to keep the monsters beyond at bay. I thought this was a fantastic idea and could not wait to use it.
Jump ahead to 4-5 months ago. I pick up A Game of Thrones and begin reading it. I had never heard anything about GRRM's world other than "man, you gotta read it and watch the show, it's right up your alley." I honestly had never heard anything about GOT, so there was no way for me to have copied this idea, but now I cannot use it because it will always make people certain that I poached it from Martin.
It is very frustrating, especially how much I like The Wall in ASOIAF, and I am trying to create an alternative to my original idea that screams less of plagiarism.
Yes. God yes. This has happened more times than I care to admit. But 6 at last count. It stands to reason that if you write enough sometimes you'll come up with something that's similar. Its happened three times where I've had an idea amd maybe started playing around with the story, only to find the same idea turned into a motion picture. But at any given time I probably have about 8-10 projects I'm tossing around and dabbling with, and after they "percolate" for a while may wind up an official project, or maybe wind up on the scrap heap. But the last time it happened with a novel was Lionel (Maggie) Shrivers, "We Need To Talk About Kevin". I had about 6,000 words of a story written that was very similar when that came out. I shared it with a friend after (never share your work with anyone while you're writing it. Everyone's opinion will derail you), and he swore she must have shared the details with me somehow. I quickly pointed out that was impossible because no one really knew of Maggie's work until that novel; and I certainly had no idea who the hell she was. Those moments make me down a large glass of scotch, stand in the middle of my library and scream like a Looney-Tunes character, and then I'm USUALLY over it.
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Finally got around to nosing around the site and was delighted to find a writer's forum. I've published three novels, each in different genres, and am working on a fourth. My first Cemetery Street is a coming-of-age tearjerker; Shangri-La Trailer Park is a dark 'dramady', and Nightwatching is a ghost story. A common thread to each novel is I listen to Dream Theater when writing.
1) Cemetery Street: In a world where dreams are possible and nightmares come true, can you romance a memory? James Morrison thinks so. In a snowy cemetery, James reenacts a childhood ritual unleashing an avalanche of memories. Laugh, cry and blush with James as he recounts a late 20th century American life.
2) Shangri-La Trailer Park: If an Indian falls in the woods, can you hear him scream? Dora Shear did, and her life was about to get interesting. After Maistoinna Standing Bear tackles a tree, Dog Shear Dora - as she’s known in the trailer park - is left to pick up the pieces. Only she’s up to no good.
Uncover the secrets of a Jewish love triangle, why the IGA checkout lady trashes a car, why a trip over the coffee table is better than Novocain, and more importantly, the difference between a Canadian Passport and a Kentucky Waterfall. Hop on board with Maistoinna for a crazy forty-eight hour ride through the world’s most dysfunctional trailer park.
WARNING! Don’t read if your are: A) easily offended B) politically correct C) like everything nice or D) believe in the Easter Bunny!
3) Nightwatching: On the fringe of civilization, something sinister lurks within moonlit shadows. Feel a grieving mother’s isolation in a mountain cabin, the torment of a schizophrenic shut-in, and the desperation of a broken hearted musician as they struggle to overcome both personal demons and the diabolical being feeding upon their souls.
Disclaimer: The author does not accept responsibility for fear - temporary or permanent - any neurosis or psychosis brought about by its reading, nor does he accept responsibility for phobias related to this or future full moons. Read at your own risk! You have been warned!
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Finally got around to nosing around the site and was delighted to find a writer's forum. I've published three novels, each in different genres, and am working on a fourth. My first Cemetery Street is a coming-of-age tearjerker; Shangri-La Trailer Park is a dark 'dramady', and Nightwatching is a ghost story. A common thread to each novel is I listen to Dream Theater when writing.
1) Cemetery Street: In a world where dreams are possible and nightmares come true, can you romance a memory? James Morrison thinks so. In a snowy cemetery, James reenacts a childhood ritual unleashing an avalanche of memories. Laugh, cry and blush with James as he recounts a late 20th century American life.
2) Shangri-La Trailer Park: If an Indian falls in the woods, can you hear him scream? Dora Shear did, and her life was about to get interesting. After Maistoinna Standing Bear tackles a tree, Dog Shear Dora - as she’s known in the trailer park - is left to pick up the pieces. Only she’s up to no good.
Uncover the secrets of a Jewish love triangle, why the IGA checkout lady trashes a car, why a trip over the coffee table is better than Novocain, and more importantly, the difference between a Canadian Passport and a Kentucky Waterfall. Hop on board with Maistoinna for a crazy forty-eight hour ride through the world’s most dysfunctional trailer park.
WARNING! Don’t read if your are: A) easily offended B) politically correct C) like everything nice or D) believe in the Easter Bunny!
3) Nightwatching: On the fringe of civilization, something sinister lurks within moonlit shadows. Feel a grieving mother’s isolation in a mountain cabin, the torment of a schizophrenic shut-in, and the desperation of a broken hearted musician as they struggle to overcome both personal demons and the diabolical being feeding upon their souls.
Disclaimer: The author does not accept responsibility for fear - temporary or permanent - any neurosis or psychosis brought about by its reading, nor does he accept responsibility for phobias related to this or future full moons. Read at your own risk! You have been warned!
Interesting subject matters. How exactly did you come up with them?
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Interesting subject matters. How exactly did you come up with them?
If I knew I would bottle the formula and sell it to the highest bidder. Kidding aside, and depending on what mood you catch me in, I would say that writers, whether we know it or not, simply channel stories that are already there. It's just a matter of getting out of the way of our own ego/identity. In my heart of hearts, I don't really believe that, but it is a strategy for absolving ourselves of the burden of creativity. That being said, the deeper I fall into this endeavor, the formula that works for me working/developing the empathy muscle, the discipline muscle - forcing yourself to write even when it seems you're spreading shit on the page, and the forgiveness muscle - forgiving yourself for spreading said shit.
I also believe the only horrible first draft is the one not finished.
But that really doesn't answer your question, does it? I think it's sub-conscious and a result of the empathy muscle. For me ideas percolate. Then I have a premise. They percolate more and then characters develop. I'm not really a plotter, though I know how I want to start a story and where/how to end it. Then it's a matter of building a bridge from start to finish. That's where I trust experience and allow the story to take me where it 'needs' to go.
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Interesting subject matters. How exactly did you come up with them?
If I knew I would bottle the formula and sell it to the highest bidder. Kidding aside, and depending on what mood you catch me in, I would say that writers, whether we know it or not, simply channel stories that are already there. It's just a matter of getting out of the way of our own ego/identity. In my heart of hearts, I don't really believe that, but it is a strategy for absolving ourselves of the burden of creativity. That being said, the deeper I fall into this endeavor, the formula that works for me working/developing the empathy muscle, the discipline muscle - forcing yourself to write even when it seems you're spreading shit on the page, and the forgiveness muscle - forgiving yourself for spreading said shit.
I also believe the only horrible first draft is the one not finished.
But that really doesn't answer your question, does it? I think it's sub-conscious and a result of the empathy muscle. For me ideas percolate. Then I have a premise. They percolate more and then characters develop. I'm not really a plotter, though I know how I want to start a story and where/how to end it. Then it's a matter of building a bridge from start to finish. That's where I trust experience and allow the story to take me where it 'needs' to go.
That's a hell of a response! I'm looking forward to hearing more from you in this thread. ;)
Also, since my style of choice is screenwriting, I'm genuinely curious as to what you're favorite films are. You seem like you'd have some interesting picks.
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NaNoWriMo it's here, so...
.(https://www.quickmeme.com/img/51/5149e6e1432b01c8a354d016ddc5b2deadd019c33127a89c75d3b275a9a05331.jpg)
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NaNoWriMo it's here, so...
.(https://www.quickmeme.com/img/51/5149e6e1432b01c8a354d016ddc5b2deadd019c33127a89c75d3b275a9a05331.jpg)
haha, I just met up with a group of friends last night who just started on it as well. Idk how they do it, I'd go crazy.
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haha, I just met up with a group of friends last night who just started on it as well. Idk how they do it, I'd go crazy.
I'm just 3k words in, and I'm slowly becoming insane.
Edit: Reached 4k words yesterday. I'm feeling a bit sick :| .
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Would anybody be interested in a little writing group? Say each month we submit a bit of our work to the group, we all read over everyone's work and give our thoughts on it? I don't have anybody other than my girlfriend to show work to, and I know if I did I wouldn't be sure
If I was getting an honest opinion.
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I've actually posted some of my writing in one of the other threads in this forum. If I can find it, I'll link it here. My short attention span as of late has prevented me from writing anything too long so I'm usually writing short stories. I need to de-stress and find the ability to focus more.
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What if we set up a DTF dropbox account, or something similar? Anybody interested in partcipating would be given the email and password, and they could go online to read or to post new material.
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What about a group on Goodreads?
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I've never used goodreads for any reason other than to track my books.
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What if we set up a DTF dropbox account, or something similar? Anybody interested in partcipating would be given the email and password, and they could go online to read or to post new material.
A DTF writing group sounds like an excellent idea! Since I started this thread, I feel like I owe a responsibility to getting it accomplished. ;)
I'll PM you shortly regarding how we can set it up!
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Would anybody be interested in a little writing group? Say each month we submit a bit of our work to the group, we all read over everyone's work and give our thoughts on it? I don't have anybody other than my girlfriend to show work to, and I know if I did I wouldn't be sure
If I was getting an honest opinion.
I'm in... be it dropbox or Goodreads. It would be great to get and give fresh input.
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I haven't written a real story in... More than 2 years. I will definitely try this though.
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I'm not sure if my english is varied enough to write a story, but will try this for sure.
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Hey everyone, I just started up a new email account and signed up for dropbox with the email. I chose dropbox to give a little added privacy to our work, and I think it will be an easy way for everyone to get involved. The email login for dropbox is "dtfwritinggroup@gmail.com," and the password is "johnmyung."
I am open to everyone's ideas to make this better, but here is how I envision this working:
On a set date, either monthly or biweekly, anybody can upload a piece of their work to the dropbox. To make it clear who's work it is, please have your DTF screen name in the title of the document (Jarlaxle-Nov18). Then, everybody can go through and read all the submissions and can express their thoughts on it. We can either post our thoughts to this thread, or else take the original document and make notes on it or whatever you want to do, and re-upload it to dropbox with an altered title (Jarlaxle-Nov18-Ed.Miracle Sleeper), or something to that effect. Personally, I think posting what you think on everyones submissions to this thread would be the cleanest, but again, I'm open to suggestions.
Feel free to pass the login information to anybody not on DTF, we might as well try and grow this group as much as possible. I think it would be awesome if everybody could upload a little writing history of themselves so we can all get to know each other a bit more. Nothing long, but when I write mine I will probably include why I started writing, inspirations and aspirations, influences, and maybe even a brief summary of the different works in progress.
Hopefully this works, and I look forward to reading whatever people post to the dropbox account.
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Good idea. I was thinking on submitting our writings here after being revised by everybody on the Dropbox. I don't know about the short biography, since I'm really new to writing, but will do it anyways.
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I uploaded my DT Writer's group Profile to Dropbox. It's in the folder entitled Dirty30. I will also submit current writing in the same folder. I'm looking forward to reading other member's work and giving and receiving honest feedback.
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As soon as I get a chance I'll upload a couple of the shorts I wrote. Hopefully I can put my mind to something newer and share that as well.
Dirty30, I started following your page on Facebook and 'Liked' your author page as well.
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Awesome, guys! I just uploaded my profile, will hopefully be adding some of my work soon.
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I'm a little behind NanaWriMo's schedule, and thus I have to type around 17k words in just this week if I want to win. These last days have been easy, mainly because I spend lots of time with my characters having internal dialogues and thinking about their relation with another characters. But it always happens that I reach a point where I could just easily continue writing, because I know what will happen next. But my mind kind of pushes the brakes and rejects to continue. A little break is the message I get, but getting to continue writing it's nearly impossible after that. Procrastination it's so powerful that I find myself wondering around here in DTF (and I should be writing now!) or watching stupid gifs. It's not a creative block, because I know exactly what I want to write and how - but my mind refuses to keep writing. Weird thing. Any advice? 'Cause those words won't write by themselves.
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I've got no advice, since I'm the kind of person that waits until I'm motivated and have the time to write, the latter being the big issue. I have never tried NaNoWriMo because of it, but I should give it a try.
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How are you NaNoWriMo'ers doing?
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Bad. I reached 39K just before reaching an impasse: the MC and his sister started to learn magic. The thing is, I didn't develop any magic system, and couldn't figure out one. Also, I had like 4 days to finish, and got so overwhelmed by both facts that just quited. But I plan to finish the story, mainly to shape my characters, for I intend to use them in another novels set in the same world. This was just a kind of "prequel" that will never see daylight ;D .
Anyways, it was a great experience - I learned a lot about writing and my habits. I'll try to make a convincing magic systems these days and continue with the story. And start another novel, some years in the future. Although I didn't manage to win NaNoWriMo (November is a hectic month here - there should be another event in April/May), I gained a lot of experience, and hopefully leveled up. Now I feel more confident about my writing skills - thus will collaborate with this small writing group soon.
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Started the second draft of the new book last night.
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My dreams have been rather strange for the past few nights. I really need to start writing this stuff down.
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My dreams have been rather strange for the past few nights. I really need to start writing this stuff down.
You should! I read some of your things in the other writer's thread and was extremely impressed.
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I have been very immersed in my writing the past week. I set aside a project I have been working on for 3-4 years for a fresh subject that interested me greatly, and the results have been exciting, both in terms of productivity and quality of the work. I'm going to roll with this for now, what started as a short story with a word count estimation at 10-15K has now ballooned to a novella with upwards of 50K words. Nearly 8000 words in and so many avenues have opened themselves up to me, so I'm going to enjoy the creative process while it's flooding into me!
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Does anybody in here have a background or knowledge in psychological impairments, such as PTSD?
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Does anybody in here have a background or knowledge in psychological impairments, such as PTSD?
I may be able to help you... I have a character that is struggling with it. You can send me an E-mail JZunski@yahoo.com
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Hey guys, considering Camp Nano is near (starts in April), I was wondering if you'd like to participate on it with me. It works like this: there are these cabins, which are small groups (either public, random or criteria generated, or private) of 12 mates who can chat, pretty much like this thread, but only its members can see what's posted. Unlike NaNoWriMo, you can set your own goal, be it finish revision of a draft, or starting a brand new project - it doesn't even need to be a novel.
I'm up for a 10k words goals. It's not that much, but I really want to set the foundations for my new fantasy novel - this time, I will avoid all the clichés I had included on the previous one :lol . If I can reach the goal, I'm pretty sure I'll manage to continue working on the project.
If you'd love to write along with some fellow DTFers, just tell me your Camp Nano username, which usually is the same for the NaNoWriMo site. In that case, your first have to sign in on the site, and complete some profile info, and data bout your project and how would you like to be assigned on a cabin (just leave the first option marked so the system doesn't put you to a random group). So, you tell me your username on the site, and I'll send you an invitation to join. I hope to gather some people from here - it'd be nuts :hat .
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Hey guys, considering Camp Nano is near (starts in April), I was wondering if you'd like to participate on it with me. It works like this: there are these cabins, which are small groups (either public, random or criteria generated, or private) of 12 mates who can chat, pretty much like this thread, but only its members can see what's posted. Unlike NaNoWriMo, you can set your own goal, be it finish revision of a draft, or starting a brand new project - it doesn't even need to be a novel.
I'm up for a 10k words goals. It's not that much, but I really want to set the foundations for my new fantasy novel - this time, I will avoid all the clichés I had included on the previous one :lol . If I can reach the goal, I'm pretty sure I'll manage to continue working on the project.
If you'd love to write along with some fellow DTFers, just tell me your Camp Nano username, which usually is the same for the NaNoWriMo site. In that case, your first have to sign in on the site, and complete some profile info, and data bout your project and how would you like to be assigned on a cabin (just leave the first option marked so the system doesn't put you to a random group). So, you tell me your username on the site, and I'll send you an invitation to join. I hope to gather some people from here - it'd be nuts :hat .
Hmmm... Very interesting...
(https://sentinelorder.com/emotes/hmm.gif)
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Damn, I'd love to but I'm still going to be travelling around New Zealand then.
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It sounds interesting.
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I would be up for it any other time. I've never done a nano, but would a site like that work outside the "camp dates?" As in, could we set up our own group on there whenever we wanted?
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I think not, although they have another date for July. But I can let you come in if you just want to chat and give some moral support ;D .
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I would consider that, and if I do get any progress I could post it.
Sacul, care to share a little about your fantasy world, either on here or as a private message? I'm in the midst of developing my own, like 8-10 years in the making. I find that I continually go more and more in depth the further along I get. At first I just made a map, then as I wrote I wanted more, so I expanded about 10x. Then I realized I wanted history for it, so while I was making Bries history points I was like "well shit, I need languages to explain how things were named." Ive created the barebones of one language (very basic), and have gone into much more depth with history than I was planning too. All this planning will pay off in the end, but its a little overwhelming now, especially since I've basically stopped all "actual writing" while this is an ongoing process.
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I am currently working on the first book in a six-part fantasy book series. It's a story that has been with me for many years, and has evolved from a bunch of goofy child-friendly short stories into a massive, serious, and quite complex story. I'm predicting that I'll end up with maybe 800 pages or more per book, with the first one containing maybe 70 chapters or so. It will probably take most of my life to finish, but it's great fun.
I generally enjoy writing. I write and record music, and lyrics are an important part of that. I like the idea of knowing exactly what I'm talking about, but wording it in a way that shrouds it in mystery for anyone but me. oooooh.
Also, this. This is pretty much exactly how I write my song lyrics. I write all the lyrics for the music that I do for my own solo stuff, and I am also so far the "main lyrical contributor" of the band I'm in.
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Sacul, care to share a little about your fantasy world, either on here or as a private message? I'm in the midst of developing my own, like 8-10 years in the making. I find that I continually go more and more in depth the further along I get. At first I just made a map, then as I wrote I wanted more, so I expanded about 10x. Then I realized I wanted history for it, so while I was making Bries history points I was like "well shit, I need languages to explain how things were named." Ive created the barebones of one language (very basic), and have gone into much more depth with history than I was planning too. All this planning will pay off in the end, but its a little overwhelming now, especially since I've basically stopped all "actual writing" while this is an ongoing process.
Yeez, that's really impressive. I just hope you manage to pour it all into a novel someday ;D .
My world has gone trough some serious transformations on the last year or so, because I wanted to do something really different to what has been done out there. But this is how it looks like now. The technology level is similar to Steampunk, with machines and inventions from the 18th-19th century, fueled with Crystal Refractors, a rare, expensive, but extremely efficient source of energy. There are big cities, trains, proto-cars, flying boats, and lots of crazy stuff. But isn't victorian, nor it has any of its stylistic features. There are still kings, and the social system is pretty much feudal, because capitalism was never created nor big merchants have powerful positions (with a few exceptions).
Thus, the division from countryside and city is huge - nobles that feed into self-indulgence, and rural people, who aren't exactly poor, but fear cities, for they seem from other world. Religion isn't as widespread as in usually fantasy, and there are 4 main religions, but there's also a huge amount of atheists, mainly citizens.
And the Diggers. A quite selective Guild that looks for refractors on old ruins, and keep these safe from raiders and fortune-seekers. Although independent, they're associated with the Academy, the main center for science and magic. 'Cause just kings and Queens can afford the Refractors, the Academy produces and sells expensive imitations, intended for the high society, and cheap ones,for those small rural towns that understand the value of this technology on the long term.
I'm still not sure about the magic system. By one hand, I could perfectly manage a world without magic at all, but on the other, there's some great stuff magic allows me to do. What I wrote for the last NaNo was something like in Avatar (the animated series), which people who can use nature elements, but more than the 4 basics, and can only manage those around them - they can't "channel" nor create fire for instance. But can move fire from a hearth or a candle.
And that's the short version - I could go on and on :lol .
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That's interesting, I would definitely check that out.
in my world, magic is fairly unimportant (at this time). It is controlled by gemstones that are tied into a persons life force, and someone can only use one type of magic (eg: ruby for attacking magic). Initially, magic was more widespread but was then harnessed to try to minimize the worldwide affect, so only those who go to a "college" can learn to use magic, but they must stay at the college too because it acts as the main defensive point from a bad part of the world. So magic is basically nonexistent outside of the college, aside from magical items which are exported out. I think having it that way gives me a potential plot arc in the future, since releasing magic would be a world changing event.
One idea I have been kicking around lately, is to get someone on board with me to be co-creators of this world. There's so much work to be done with the histories of all the people and all the corners of the land, that I think it would be nice to have someone to split it with. Not to mention, the world I've created is so big i could easily never write in certain parts because my characters just don't get there, so to have another author on board to flesh those areas out and write in them is intriguing. The problem with this, however, is im not one to easily give up credit for something I've spent nearly half my life working on. That may sound petty, but a big part of me wants to ask people to come on board with me, but the smaller part that doesn't want to give up my world is much more stubborn. :lol
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Thanks! At some pointI thought something similar: what if someday, somebody discovers a source of magic? Will he use it to rule? To spread justice around the world? Or what if she just studied and experimented with it? What if somehow lots of people gain these magic powers from one day to other? It should be intereting to write something like that :P .
And about your fantasy world, I get that feeling. You want to share it and let people play with it, but at the same time keep a part for yourself, because of all the efforts you put in and how much it means to you. If you join us in April and/or July, I'd be pleased to work on some characters or whatever you need.
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Unfortunately I haven't got much actual writing done since my last post in this thread, due to some various events including the laptop I use crapping out on me (thankfully I use a backup service, and the harddrive was salvageable anyway).
I have done a lot of work developing my world though... I wish I was a better cartographer :lol. I've got a set of maps right now that I'm fairly comfortable with but they're not extremely detailed. I've also written some more historical information mostly for my own benefit.
Recently I started reworking the whole beginning of the novel though, since it was pretty bad and confusing. The overall structure of the story I had envisioned has had a few changes, too.
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Are you guys okay with showing your fantasy maps? I always think that is really interesting to see how people have formed their worlds, and fictional geography has always fascinated me. If you prefer to keep them to yourselves that's fine too, and I can understand that.
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After the death of my mother, I've taken a few months off to grieve, to provide support to my family, and to generally sort things out.
After having a really cool/weird dream involving Dean Koontz and Stephen King, I woke with two paragraphs for my fifth novel, Proximity. I know the general plot and a few sub-plots, but that's about it. The characters and the main theme pretty much write themselves.
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Are you guys okay with showing your fantasy maps? I always think that is really interesting to see how people have formed their worlds, and fictional geography has always fascinated me. If you prefer to keep them to yourselves that's fine too, and I can understand that.
I will post mine when i get a chance.
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I have a nice map on paper, but don't know how to digitalise it :lol . So guys, are you up to Camp NaNo? I've already set a private cabin for us DTFers, so if you wanna join, please post (or send me in a PM) your Camp NaNo usernames so I can add you ;D.
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So, you tell me your username on the site, and I'll send you an invitation to join. I hope to gather some people from here - it'd be nuts :hat .
Blackavar
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I have a nice map on paper, but don't know how to digitalise it :lol . So guys, are you up to Camp NaNo? I've already set a private cabin for us DTFers, so if you wanna join, please post (or send me in a PM) your Camp NaNo usernames so I can add you ;D.
Come on guys, this will be fun!
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Join us, whether you're finishing your thesis, or writing an extensive review for an obscure prog blog, or if you just want to write a cheesy 20-page poem for your gf - anything counts :coolio !
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kenny0491. I'll try my hardest to participate.
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Cool (I sent you a PM, please check it). Anyone else? :)
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What even is Camp Nano?
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Hey guys, considering Camp Nano is near (starts in April), I was wondering if you'd like to participate on it with me. It works like this: there are these cabins, which are small groups (either public, random or criteria generated, or private) of 12 mates who can chat, pretty much like this thread, but only its members can see what's posted. Unlike NaNoWriMo, you can set your own goal, be it finish revision of a draft, or starting a brand new project - it doesn't even need to be a novel.
It's also a way to encourage writing while waiting for NaNoWrimo. Because I really want to return to writing (something I've barely done this year), I thought this was a nice opportunity for us DTF writers to encourage each other, and give us tips and that kind of stuff :)
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There are still spots for everyone ;) .
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Sacul, what's happened to ya man? Missing ya in the NaNo, our cabin is falling way behind it's goal, and a miracle has happened because I'm way ahead of schedule! Get your ass writing! :lol
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Starting a video games list along with this NaNo hasn't helped :lol . But I should get in the pace again soon.
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Started the first draft of my third novel yesterday. Already over three thousand words in. Waiting for replies to queries for the second novel, which I finished last month. I've sent out abbout twenty queries and I've only received five or so rejection e-mails. Waiting to see if I get more replies before sending out more queries. In the meantime, I'm just gonna keep writing this new one.
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Felt like sharing the map I have made for my fantasy series. It's still very much unfinished, as I have a lot left to name and some adjustments to make, but overall I think it turned out pretty well. The series I'm writing takes places mostly on the middle continent and small parts of the western one, but the story never goes to the east.
Thousands of years of backstory/history/mythology existing all over as this has been a world I have lived with for many years, as it usually is with fantasy writers and their worlds.
(https://imageshack.com/a/img661/5249/rfUeyZ.png)
I'm also still interested to see you guys' worlds, if anyone would like.
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I love maps in general, but I especially love when a book series provides you with a map. :metal I used to draw up maps for my eventual fantasy novel but I think I threw them all away.
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Wow, that's pretty amazing. I have outline a map too, but don't know how to digitalize it. How did you do yours?
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Wow, that's pretty amazing. I have outline a map too, but don't know how to digitalize it. How did you do yours?
Thanks! Just MS Paint, and lots of time.
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I've been trying to figure out how Campaign Cartographer works these days, and mapped out one of the main countries. It's still pretty much unfinished, but I wanted to share it with you ;D .
(https://i57.tinypic.com/104kt51.png)
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Looks good, is it easy? What about price?
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Nice, maps are always cool.
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I wrote 400+ words for the 16th chapter of the first book in my series. It's not very much, but I consider it a win since I haven't written anything at all in quite some time. People are about to die.
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Sorry for spamming this thread, but I tried for fun to make a wikia page for the world of my story. I made a page about something random and thought it turned out pretty cool, so I thought I'd share it with you guys:
https://the-rain.wikia.com/wiki/Arregda%27s_Wall (https://the-rain.wikia.com/wiki/Arregda%27s_Wall)
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Looks good, is it easy? What about price?
It's fairly easy to use, and it actually has lots of options htat make it *very* customizable. The strongest point is that the "drawing" is done by vectors, like Adobe's Illustrator. And the program includes lots of symbols for mountains, vegetation, roads, rivers, signs, castles, etc. Its really complete. Just see this cool demo (https://vimeo.com/86698853).
But it can be a bit expensive. They sell a bundle that includes it along with the City Designer and the Dungeon Designer add-ons, for £69. But you cant get the Campaign Cartographer just for £30. I think its worth it, specially if you love making maps. Just looks at this wonderful creations:
(https://forum.profantasy.com/extensions/InlineImages/image.php?AttachmentID=125)
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xfkKkt4juGk/VQgLcegB3HI/AAAAAAAAASI/S-Yqmu_KWNE/s1600/the_realm_of_camulus_by_seraphine_harmonium-d59i43b.png)
(https://secure.profantasy.com/images/cc3/gallery/gallery01.jpg)
I'm a total noob as you can see :lol .
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Sorry for spamming this thread, but I tried for fun to make a wikia page for the world of my story. I made a page about something random and thought it turned out pretty cool, so I thought I'd share it with you guys:
https://the-rain.wikia.com/wiki/Arregda%27s_Wall (https://the-rain.wikia.com/wiki/Arregda%27s_Wall)
It looks really nice, specially with the map showing the location of the wall. I might try making a wikia sometime in the future. Once I'm somehow done with worldbuilding ;D .
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Phew! Just finished the 16th chapter. My biggest one so far, more than 9'700 words. And also biggest in terms of what happens in it. Now it's just on to the next one.
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So I've finally started scanning my hand-drawn maps and doing them digitally. Now, I am no cartographer nor am I a graphic artist (I am, in fact, a writer :lol) so these aren't the prettiest. So far I've completed one for the more southerly content of Alvia.
You won't find a scale, because I'm not a cartographer so nothing is to scale (case in point Belhaus SHOULD be larger than Arl but clearly is not, Palakandria is also way larger on this map than it should be). Most islands are not labelled. You'll also note the inconsistent application of Drop Shadows so that's how you know I'm not a graphic designer either. (updated with a missing city, mountains, major rivers labelled)
(https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/Genowyn/alviafinal_1.jpg) (https://s3.photobucket.com/user/Genowyn/media/alviafinal_1.jpg.html)
You can click on the map to go to the Photobucket page, then click the magnifying glass there to see the full size one.
The reason I've started doing this now is because I'm running an interactive story here on this forum: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43963.0 . If anyone in this thread wants to participate/PM me any constructive criticism on the writing found therein please do so.
Also if people are still reading this thread I may post a short story I wrote for your enjoyment/criticism.
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Looks nice ;D . I posted about an excellent mapping software in the previous page if you're interested. I'd like to point out a little constructive criticism to the map: it feels unnatural. Looks like a tree log with a huge tumour on the back or something like that :lol .
Some rivers seems to come out of nowhere - remember they all originate in mountains, or at least in high attitudes. Making maps it's an art itself so I don't claim to be an expert or anything. Maybe you could try making the shores a bit more accident - I think that would work.
Anyways it looks like you've spent a lot of time on creating that part of the world, so props for that :tup .
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The rivers do all start either from mountains or higher elevations. I just don't have a way of indicating higher elevations that aren't mountains.
Hopefully you will find the other regions better along the lines of naturalness:
Here is a map of The Bridge Islands, much less detailed than the other maps because, as mentioned in my story thread, most people know far less about this region than either continent. The scale is also much smaller, the Bridge Islands make up a little less than half the size of either continent.
(https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/Genowyn/bridgefinal.jpg) (https://s3.photobucket.com/user/Genowyn/media/bridgefinal.jpg.html)
Finally we have the northern continent, Cavia:
(https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/Genowyn/caviafinal.jpg) (https://s3.photobucket.com/user/Genowyn/media/caviafinal.jpg.html)
Alvia has been with me for longer and is fairly well set in my mind, so I'm unlikely to change it.
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Cavia looks the coolest. And I have no real problem with the shape of Alvia. If Italy didn't exist and someone made up that map everyone would say 'that's not natural, it looks just like a boot'. Although the northern tip of Alvia reminded me very much of the northern tip of 'Sothoryos' from the Game of Thrones books. But Cavia looks very good.
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Almost three hundred pages into the first draft. Over 1,400 words written today.
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A productive day for both of us then. I started rewriting my prologue, as the first one was really jumbled and unfocused. I think I wrote over 2000 words, which is more than I have written in a day since last summer.
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Did some writing yesterday...didn't track the exact number today but now past 40000 for the first draft. Long way to go :lol
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Been writing a bit lately. It's hard while travelling but I manage to get anywhere from 3-5 thousand words a week. I just started a new book after trashing (not actually trashing, but my thoughts on it changed so much, but hopefully I'm able to use chunks of it) a 170,000 first draft.
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I was thinking about posting my re-written prologue somewhere when I'm done with it. And post a link to it here. It'd be interesting to hear some impartial opinions that isn't my dad's (even though I appreciate his support, of course). It might be a few days, but I'll post the link when I'm done and if anyone's interested, whoever wants to can say what they think.
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I'd like to read it ;D . You can create an account on Wattpad and post it - you'd gain a few followers as well.
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Thanks for the interest!
I had already created an account on WritersCafe before I read your post, so I'll be posting it there. Additionally, the formatting was easier there, as it looed better when I tested to copy/paste it from my word documents.
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Apparently I was feeling creative today, as I actually managed to finish the re-writing of my prologue.
What anyone reading should know is that I'm not a native english speaking. My vocabulary might be a bit limited.
Anyways, here it is, the prologue to the first book, In the Rain, in my series:
https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/ (https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/)
What changed with the re-write was that the characters were a lot more loose and there was basically no focus in terms of a PoV character, even though it was written in that style. So now it is focused up, and with some actual background to at least the PoV character.
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A while back I tried setting up a dropbox account to have a DTF writing group, and it didn't pan out. Is there still any interest in creating a group? With those of us in here and Genowyn's thread we could have a nice little group.
Instead of the dropbox account thing, I was thinking if we could get enough interested, and permission of the mods of course, I thought it would be interesting if we could get our own private board, similar to what the mods have, that way we wouldn't have to worry about lurkers stealing our ideas (if that is a thing people are worried about). It would be so much easier to have the group on here where we all spend a lot of time anyway, and if we were looking for people outside our group to comment there are numerous veteran posters around here that we could trust to let in, view, and comment on our writing.
I don't know if this is possible or if the mods would be interested, or any of you for that matter, but it was just a thought I had the other night while trying to fall asleep.
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Anyways, here it is, the prologue to the first book, In the Rain, in my series:
https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/ (https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/)
Didn't finish to read it (damn it's long :lol ), so when I do I'll let you know my thoughts on it.
A while back I tried setting up a dropbox account to have a DTF writing group, and it didn't pan out. Is there still any interest in creating a group? With those of us in here and Genowyn's thread we could have a nice little group.
Instead of the dropbox account thing, I was thinking if we could get enough interested, and permission of the mods of course, I thought it would be interesting if we could get our own private board, similar to what the mods have, that way we wouldn't have to worry about lurkers stealing our ideas (if that is a thing people are worried about). It would be so much easier to have the group on here where we all spend a lot of time anyway, and if we were looking for people outside our group to comment there are numerous veteran posters around here that we could trust to let in, view, and comment on our writing.
I don't know if this is possible or if the mods would be interested, or any of you for that matter, but it was just a thought I had the other night while trying to fall asleep.
I'd be up for it. Don't know if a board could be possible, but maybe a FB group, or one somewhere else :D .
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So, in the dim, distant past I was an aspiring writer. As a big fantasy fan (but a hater of many of the standard tropes- magic, dragons etc) I had a story all planned out, characterised etc, but then life got in the way. Well, I got a job.
I had an in depth synopsis written and stored on floppy discs (I did say it was in the dim, distant past!), so all that's left to do is write the thing. When I have the time I seem to lack the motivation.
I'm feeling motivated by reading this thread.
I started writing about the same age as many of you. A friend and I would swap he book each night and continue the story. I often wonder what happened to that book.
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Good that this thread is getting you motivated, keep it up! I think it's really interesting when I think about the fact that pretty much every one in this thread each have their own story, with characters and twists and all, just waiting to be told.
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I'd like to read it ;D . You can create an account on Wattpad and post it - you'd gain a few followers as well.
Thanks for the interest!
I had already created an account on WritersCafe before I read your post, so I'll be posting it there. Additionally, the formatting was easier there, as it looed better when I tested to copy/paste it from my word documents.
I'm a little familiar with Writer's Cafe since I've looked through it a bit in the past, but not Wattpad. So I downloaded it and have been perusing it for a couple days, looks really neat! I think I'm going to post some stuff on there soon and see how it goes, maybe if I'm lucky I'll get a couple people following so it would give me a bit more motivation me.
For anybody who has done it, do you just post your first/rough drafts on there, or do you polish it? I think if I am to do it I will just do rough drafts and then if anybody comments on it I can use their criticism to edit it, and if I was to ever get it published or self-published it would give those that followed a reason to buy the actual product since it will no doubt change.
What are your guys' accounts on those sights? Mine is skenny04.
Anyways, here it is, the prologue to the first book, In the Rain, in my series:
https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/ (https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/)
Didn't finish to read it (damn it's long :lol ), so when I do I'll let you know my thoughts on it.
A while back I tried setting up a dropbox account to have a DTF writing group, and it didn't pan out. Is there still any interest in creating a group? With those of us in here and Genowyn's thread we could have a nice little group.
Instead of the dropbox account thing, I was thinking if we could get enough interested, and permission of the mods of course, I thought it would be interesting if we could get our own private board, similar to what the mods have, that way we wouldn't have to worry about lurkers stealing our ideas (if that is a thing people are worried about). It would be so much easier to have the group on here where we all spend a lot of time anyway, and if we were looking for people outside our group to comment there are numerous veteran posters around here that we could trust to let in, view, and comment on our writing.
I don't know if this is possible or if the mods would be interested, or any of you for that matter, but it was just a thought I had the other night while trying to fall asleep.
I'd be up for it. Don't know if a board could be possible, but maybe a FB group, or one somewhere else :D .
I don't have FB anymore, but if a group was organized on there I would sign up again and join.
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For anybody who has done it, do you just post your first/rough drafts on there, or do you polish it? I think if I am to do it I will just do rough drafts and then if anybody comments on it I can use their criticism to edit it, and if I was to ever get it published or self-published it would give those that followed a reason to buy the actual product since it will no doubt change.
What are your guys' accounts on those sights? Mine is skenny04.
DanielLarnhem on Writer's Cafe, and DanielLarnhem on Wattpad.
The prologue is the only thing I've posted, and I posted immediately after finishing the first draft. I've gone back and edited it several times, sometimes just changed a word or added a sentence. So that's how I do it.
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For anybody who has done it, do you just post your first/rough drafts on there, or do you polish it? I think if I am to do it I will just do rough drafts and then if anybody comments on it I can use their criticism to edit it, and if I was to ever get it published or self-published it would give those that followed a reason to buy the actual product since it will no doubt change.
What are your guys' accounts on those sights? Mine is skenny04.
DanielLarnhem on Writer's Cafe, and DanielLarnhem on Wattpad.
The prologue is the only thing I've posted, and I posted immediately after finishing the first draft. I've gone back and edited it several times, sometimes just changed a word or added a sentence. So that's how I do it.
Awesome, got you and Sacul on Wattpad now. I'm going to stick with it for now, it's nice and shiny on my iPad, but I haven't tried posting anything yet. Do you guys have intentions of posting on there, or just sticking to Writer's Cafe? I read a few paragraphs of your prologue, but I was heading out and haven't gotten around to it since.
I've been spending the past couple days outlining for the first time in my life. :lol Before, I had a very vague idea of what I wanted to get accompliished with a piece and then just went at it. Every single time it ended up with me meandering and adding so much stuff (which is much easier for me than being conccise, but has also caused me to never really finish anything because I tend to get a little lost and overwhelmed) that I thought it would be nice to try my hand at laying things out step by step. I enjoy it so far, it's nice to have things on a page and be able to think of ways to go about getting to that point in the book and then deciding which of those ways works best in the context of the story.
Unrelated; do you guys write short stories? For a couple years now I've been doing small amounts of dabbling, and as is my tendancy, I blow them up into much larger works and then discard them. Take for example the story I wrote for Camp NaNo...I had an idea that I thought I could get to and wrap up with my 10,000 word goal, but by the end of the month I had like 13,000 words and was halfway to what I wanted the end to be.
Since self-publishing seems to be the way to go for writer's trying to break through I thought it would be a good idea to try to get as many shorter works out as possible to try and build my "brand" but I am not good at that length of story. However, I'm going to give it a shot and split time between my major fantasy work and shorter works of whatever genre I'm feeling at that time (I have an interest in sci-fi, crime and a little horror as well). I've also been doing 100 words stories lately, which to me is much easier than the short story form. I have an idea to make a book with a bunch of 100 word stories and a handful of >10,000 word stories and then sell it in my community just for fun.
Anyway, I feel like I am rambling now, imagine that. I'm going to try my hand at posting the proloogue to my book on Wattpad soon. I don't think I'll go through and edit it, definitely not extensively since it is a bit of an info dump, which I will get around to changing in the future, and besides, because of the way I write I'll probably be changing it frequently, but hey, at least it's a start!
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When you outline your story, how do you do that? I have like 50 pages of notes and stuff, but in terms of specific chapters I usually have only something simple like for example,
4. Osmol
Discovering the fire
Talking to Dannel
Talking to Pelíbnoh
so that when I actually comes to writing that chapter, there's a lot to add and fun details to make up along the way. I also don't do it too far ahead, since the future chapters will surely have changed by the time I get to them. Do you do something similar or do you do more detailed outlines?
I used to write short stories back in school, I wasn't very good at writing, but the stories themselves actually turned out pretty cool. I don't anymore though, I have enough work on my hands with my fantasy series, which will be six books, and I'm already expecting the first one to be more than 400'000 words, and I'm only at 90'000 right now.
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Every time I see this thread i think I should go back to writing but i dunno what and when or anything :(
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When you outline your story, how do you do that? I have like 50 pages of notes and stuff, but in terms of specific chapters I usually have only something simple like for example,
4. Osmol
Discovering the fire
Talking to Dannel
Talking to Pelíbnoh
so that when I actually comes to writing that chapter, there's a lot to add and fun details to make up along the way. I also don't do it too far ahead, since the future chapters will surely have changed by the time I get to them. Do you do something similar or do you do more detailed outlines?
I used to write short stories back in school, I wasn't very good at writing, but the stories themselves actually turned out pretty cool. I don't anymore though, I have enough work on my hands with my fantasy series, which will be six books, and I'm already expecting the first one to be more than 400'000 words, and I'm only at 90'000 right now.
Since I'm new to outlining, and only a few days into it at that, I've just been jotting down major plot points. Once I feel im done with that I will do smaller points for each of the major ones to decide what needs to happen to get to that point and so own, so I guess it will become some sort of a web. I'm hoping it keeps me focused and on a straight path because I need that little bit of direction, I think.
For example, I've now got the "climaxes" plotted out for the first three books. Once I figure them out for as many books as I think necessary I'll tie in all the smaller sub plots that I've jotted down sporadically to make it cohesive. Say one characters death is the climax of a book, Ive got all the events that both foreshadow it and build up his character to make the death very impactful written beneath it, so as I check off those points I know when I'm ready to make the death happen. Hopefully it works.
Every time I see this thread i think I should go back to writing but i dunno what and when or anything :(
What kind of stories do you write? If you'd like we've been trying to drum up interest in a writing group here, you're more than welcome to join.
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Awesome, got you and Sacul on Wattpad now. I'm going to stick with it for now, it's nice and shiny on my iPad, but I haven't tried posting anything yet. Do you guys have intentions of posting on there, or just sticking to Writer's Cafe? I read a few paragraphs of your prologue, but I was heading out and haven't gotten around to it since.
[...]
Unrelated; do you guys write short stories? For a couple years now I've been doing small amounts of dabbling, and as is my tendancy, I blow them up into much larger works and then discard them. Take for example the story I wrote for Camp NaNo...I had an idea that I thought I could get to and wrap up with my 10,000 word goal, but by the end of the month I had like 13,000 words and was halfway to what I wanted the end to be.
Wattpad is the best place to gain a following audience because 1) is the biggest platform for new authors, and 2) big editorials have an eye there, with agents often seeking for new writers. It sadly doesn't allow to create a private group. But Goodreads does, so I went and created it - click here (https://www.goodreads.com/group/invite/168663-dtf-writing-group?invite_key=8320050bf3d020c7e323faf4aa85a822b3fd5639&utm_medium=email&utm_source=copypastegroup) to join. We can share tips, some stories and stuff there, and then publish them on Wattpad ;D .
I once tried writing them, but found that they were either too boring or the ideas way too good to leave them on just a "short story" format and not expand them on a novel.
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Joined Goodreads as well.
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I used to enjoy writing very short fiction. like two sides of A4. I've not written anything in a long time. Like 12 years.
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I was on an unemployment course in 2003. Basically you sit in a room with other slackers and discuss topics. It was for 6 months and I went there every day.
One day the topic was what you should do if you have noisy neighbours. They told us all to go and write a short piece on the do's and don'ts of dealing with them.
Being me, I couldn't just write a side of A4 of bullet points and dry PSA style information.
I had to get creative. I would have been 24 at the time if you are wondering !
https://www.wattpad.com/151549302-the-war-on-decibels < - - - - Read it or don't.
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^ That's a pretty funny story. The lockheeds through the bedroom made me chuckle.
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That's the kind of style I usually write in. It's got a touch of Chuck Palahniuk as I went through a phase of reading all of his books.
I once tried to read " Great Apes " by Will Self and that was some tough going :lol
EDIT : Where I used to live ( and My Dad still lives ) - used to be right next door to an airfield - so any air show they put on - we could basically sit on top of one of our barns and watch for free :biggrin:.
Also - we regularly used to get Hercules flying *REALLY LOW* over our house. It was awesome. Sigh. Memories :).
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Finished the first draft on Saturday. Now the fun really begins :mehlin
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About seven years ago, I started writing a first draft of my biography/memoires/acounts of my first forage into the local rock scene. Plus stories about some ex-girlfriends. I used all real names.
It also had a failry large acount of my military service and the dying of my father in there, plus some of the bands I played in and sang in. So it was pretty much a mess, totally sprawling and way too personal. It came out about 150 pages A4 and I sent a couple of manuscripts to some publishers to see if there would be any interest for this kind of book. Turned out, there was ZILCH. No interest at all, unless you're a famous name or suffering from an uncurable disease or something.
A while ago I started releasing/publishing fragments and chapters on Facebook, most to some mild appraise, until someone (not even a 'principal character') accosted me in a personal message to remove the chapters, because he 'was a different person then' and 'he had grew up, bettered his life and became a dad since' so please stop publishing these childish stories. Other then the fact that the story was really about an ex- of mine and he was just a bit player in it, I thought, 'he's actually right, I have no right to publish these things using their real names without their consent ' and so I took them off.
Now I'm sort of considering to do a massive edit and rewrite using fictional names and all, to rework the whole thing and see if I can still get it published. But it just seems like a daunting task, to be honest.
I've also got some ideas for fictional suspense/horror stories, which would be way easier to achieve, I think. Btw, nice to have a writer's thread. :tup
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All you guys, join the good reads writing group posted above!
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All you guys, join the good reads writing group posted above!
What he said - come here (https://www.goodreads.com/group/invite/168663-dtf-writing-group?invite_key=8320050bf3d020c7e323faf4aa85a822b3fd5639&utm_medium=email&utm_source=copypastegroup).
So I got my grandfather's typewriter, and while transcripting some notes, I got inspired and filled two full pages, expanding on what I had written and changing some details. I may still have about half of notes to transcript, but I haven't had such a wonderful time writing in a long time.
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Posted a short story up there for you all. Technically a novelette I guess.
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I have a strange infatuation with typewriters. They feel so much cooler than using a computer. It's like a fuckin' weapon or something. But I know I wouldn't be able to write a five-hundred-page novel on one today. Maybe if I ever get one, I'll write a first draft of a short story on one, or something. Other than that, I'd like to have oe just for decoration because they look so cool.
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Well I've used mine to transcript some worldbuilding notes, and it's been a blast - completed a page and a half so far, and even expanded on some details. I know it's not a lot, but after some long time without writing anything at all, this is so refreshing.
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So these days I've been writing a lot. Well, at least more than I used to some weeks ago - which was exactly nothing :lol . I think it's the typewriter which has kind of inspired me - since I can't go back and delete what I'd just written, I keep writing. And there are no distractions like in my computer, that's the best part. I can actually focus.
I've also found the writing group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/168663-dtf-writing-group) inspiring - loving the feedback and activity it has, even if it has been a bit calmer these last days. Feel free to start your own threads there ;D
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Just getting caught up on the writing group now! Just got back to Canada from my vacation in New Zealand so it has been hectic getting my life back together and catching up with friends and family.
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Finished chapter 15, and with that have what I expect to be one quarter of the first draft, which is 100'000 words. Or 100'123 to be exact. One quarter done of the first of six books... This is quite a project I have taken on. With this pace it'll take me close to 30 years to complete the series. But hopefully I'll manage to speed up the process a bit, since I barely wrote a thing all winter.
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Hopefully you won't die before finishing it :lol
Although I'm still into worldbuilding phase, and kind of want to undertake some stories now, I don't feel ready for it. Like, each time I write something, no matter if it is a small detail or a complete page, I find so many possibilities for future plots and stories that I don't really want to stop doing this. College has been crazy for me as a freshman, but hopefully I'll have all of summer free - then is when I'll tackle writing with a more serious approach. By now I'm comfortable writing around a half/complete page on my typewriter everyday, feels so good to have the habit. Also, writing this way truly shows me how much process I've made - 20 pages and counting!
PS: Posted a new topic in the Writing group - hoping to revilatise it or something ;D
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I actually took the advice Sheldon gave me in the Goodreads writing group and cut my prologue down by more than 2'000 words. It hurts a little, since there were things in there I liked and details about the world I wanted in there, but it works better now in terms of story and leaves what actually happened a mystery. It'll now be fun to make vague references to the event throughout the rest of the series.
New shorter version here: https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/ (https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DanielLarnhem/1578840/)
PS: Posted a new topic in the Writing group - hoping to revilatise it or something ;D
Posted too, but it seems like it's dead now. Too bad, I liked it.