Author Topic: A tip to writers  (Read 6296 times)

Truthordeal

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #30 on: July 08, 2009, 03:43:02 pm »
First of all....HAHA! I don't mean to be meanspirted, but it was freaking hilarious. Add in a tawdry sex scene and it'll be the quintessential Fanfic.net piece.

I'd like to think that we gents over at Fictionpress do a bit better, seeing as how all of our fiction is our original ideas(which, I guess means they're not technically fanfics) but a lot of times users degenerate to the same.

As for script writing, mine is deplorable if you mean it to be fiction. But it serves its purpose for what I use it.

Shee

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #31 on: July 08, 2009, 07:04:54 pm »
So......it was Professor Plum.......in the Truce Dome...... with the candlestick?

I still can't get past "Oh, come on." if I'm focusing hard.  By that point my eyes are already bleeding.  I wonder if the recpetion would be better if it was just spaced out a little more?  But I've never written a fanfic, and this person has...so points there for them?

ZeaLitY

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #32 on: September 21, 2009, 03:42:59 am »
Hah. Looking back, this captured the essence of DBZ at its worst.

Prince Janus

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #33 on: September 22, 2009, 01:15:05 am »
 where's the part where Magus runs up and says "I'm Janus Dalton - :kz-Jesus Batman and Schala's like "OMG SOMEHOW I KNEW ALL ALONG THAT I TOO WAS A SKYWALKER" and they start hugging?
« Last Edit: September 22, 2009, 01:16:43 am by Captain B »

Sajainta

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #34 on: September 22, 2009, 01:59:38 am »
where's the part where Magus runs up and says "I'm Janus Dalton - :kz-Jesus Batman and Schala's like "OMG SOMEHOW I KNEW ALL ALONG THAT I TOO WAS A SKYWALKER" and they start hugging?

Along the Star Wars line...

Lynx::  "No, Serge.  I AM your father!"
Serge::  "That's not true!  That's IMPOSSIBLE!  ...Oh shit.  Wait.  I'm a silent protagonist."

REDO!

Lynx::  "No, Serge.  I AM your father!"
Serge::  "...!!!!..."

GenesisOne

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #35 on: September 22, 2009, 01:52:25 pm »

Really.  I thought it was:

Lynx::  "No, Serge.  I AM your father!"
Sege::  "...(Nothing saying I can't think out my lines.  NOOOOOOO!!)...."

Mr Bekkler

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #36 on: September 22, 2009, 05:46:53 pm »
Lynx: Serge, I AM your FATHER!
Serge: Fine. But Kid's not my sister is she?
Lynx: I don't get what you're referencing.
Serge: Well that would just be like "worst-case scenario" right now, ya know?
Lynx: But why would that be the one thought that...forget it, I'm your dad. Doesn't that BLOW your MIND?

Serge licks himself. Then finds string to chase.

Serge: Not really. It kind of explains a lot.

desrever2

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #37 on: September 28, 2009, 04:12:49 am »
Lynx: "I AM your father!"

(Serge searches his head for cat ears)

Kid: "That ain't how ya do it!"

Caramelldansen starts playing, and she gets everyone to do the dance. FATE spontaneously combusts, the Frozen Flame shatters into pieces, and the Time Devourer kills itself, releasing Schala from it's grasp.

They all live happily ever after. THE END

Lennis

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #38 on: November 26, 2009, 06:51:23 am »
Yeah, that "story" at the top was pretty painful.  There are many lessons to be learned here, but the most important one is this: to be an effective writer, you must also be an avid reader.  It is difficult to learn how a story is put together without reading stories published by other people.  That is why they give out reading assignments in English and creative writing courses.  If you enjoy reading, then learning story structure will come natrually over time.  It's not that hard.  But if you don't enjoy reading, then you are not going to get that valuable experience - and you will end up writing passages like the one above. :shock:  Writing fiction is not a race to the finish line.

Aside from reading published authors, the best advice I can give is that fiction is fundamentally about character.  Every type of story has been done before, but character has no boundaries.  A time-travelling epic can, by its nature, become very convoluted and hard to follow.  It is a mistake to think that Chrono Trigger's success is due to a time-travelling storyline and cutting-edge (for the time) graphics.  "Back to the Future" also had a time-travelling storyline and great special effects for its day.  But that is not why we remember the film so fondly.  We love it because of Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and George McFly.  Those characters radiated a life of their own.  Who could forget Marty's heavy metal performance in front of his incredulous audience, or George balling up his fist to slug Biff?  Just the same, we love CT because of Crono, Marle, Lucca, Glenn, Robo, Ayla, and Magus.  Without them, there would be no fan community.  Chrono Trigger would have just been another game, quickly forgotten with the next generation of hardware.  Much of the fan-fiction I read online just concentrates on plot, combat, and special powers - or just repeating existing dialogue from the game.  This does the Chrono franchise a disservice.  The original game already gave us plenty of plot twists and battles.  What we should be doing is expanding on the characters in a way the games could not.  By necessity, the games must move at a brisk pace to keep the player engaged.  That limits character development.  Fiction does not play by the same rules.  It's okay to slow things down a little.  Readers are most engaged when they care about the characters.  Keep the characters interesting, and you will find success regardless of your level of writing experience.

FaustWolf

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #39 on: November 26, 2009, 03:02:46 pm »
Excellent words of wisdom, Lennis. I would add that to be an effective writer, one must not only read widely, but also pay extreme attention to his or her own surroundings, and even his or her internal state of mind.  If you've got a story that takes place in the wilderness, spend some time outdoors hiking (preferably in a safe location that doesn't feature wolves and stuff) and pay attention to the sights, smells, and sounds you hear. When you experience a powerful emotion, probe it, its causes, and its effects on you mercilessly. Bring a notebook with you and try to capture these little glimpses of nature and humanity while you're still witnessing them in realtime.
« Last Edit: November 26, 2009, 03:04:32 pm by FaustWolf »

GenesisOne

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #40 on: November 26, 2009, 05:52:56 pm »

Here's some words of wisdom for writers out there:

- Learn the rules of good writing.  Then, learn how to break them. If you're a good writer, you won't get caught.  A good breaking of the rule will enhance the reading experience, while a bad one will simply draw attention to the fact that it's been broken.

- Read your work out loud.  Not only will it bring clarity to your story structure, but it's a really great way to sharpen up and bring realism to your dialogue.

- Write as if you had a deadline to make.  Time is a great element not only to exploit in fiction, but also in real life. Just convincing yourself that you have a "deadline" to meet can help bring out your best writing ability.  But be careful, because it can also cause you to stumble.  Use conservatively.

Truthordeal

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #41 on: November 26, 2009, 08:49:04 pm »
- Learn the rules of good writing.  Then, learn how to break them. If you're a good writer, you won't get caught.  A good breaking of the rule will enhance the reading experience, while a bad one will simply draw attention to the fact that it's been broken.

Ahahahahaha! Yes, thank you Genesis! The greatest flaw of most would-be authors is that they try to find the magical formula that yields great fiction.

Listen well, true believers: It cannot be done. More importantly, it should not be done. This is one of the main reasons that Twilight author Stephenie Meyer was criticized so harshly by author-emeritus Stephen King. It was a formulaic book, following basically the same patterns as fiction before it. Her writing style is more or less an amalgamation of J.K. Rowling, James Patterson and Daniel Steele, targeted at teenage females.

No, the greatest writers are those who break the rules of the previous generation, or do something that rebels against authorial dogmas.

If you're someone that takes an active interest in writing, and wishes to pursue it, learn this lesson. If you're a casual writer of slash fanfics, then keep walking.

Crono666

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #42 on: November 27, 2009, 05:17:27 am »
Wow! That was pretty bad. But I have seen worse fanfiction.

It certainly did not do the Chrono series justice.

GenesisOne

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #43 on: November 27, 2009, 01:57:52 pm »

Oh, I almost forgot a most important piece of advice:

- Keep a log of overheard dialogue.  Do you know why screenwriters down in Tinsel Town carry tape recorders with them?  Not just because they had a brilliant idea at the time, but because they're looking for some real-life dialogue.  By learning how people talk in real life, you'll imbue more realism into your dialogue.  Believe me, there are few things worse than artificial dialogue.

Try this website on for size to see what I mean:

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/


Thought

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Re: A tip to writers
« Reply #44 on: December 01, 2009, 02:36:31 pm »
No, the greatest writers are those who break the rules of the previous generation, or do something that rebels against authorial dogmas.

Explain the Faerie Queen, then. It was the culmination of an entire genre that came before it.

"Don't try to be a great man. Just be a man, and let history make its own judgements."

The greatest writers are those who write works that are significant to humans over long periods of time. They may break the rules, they may not. They may follow formulas, they may not.

One should be willing to break a rule when needed, but also one should be willing to keep a rule when needed, and one should be able to write absolutely brilliantly regardless of the rules.

The key is to write, and to keep writing. An amazing amount of everything else will work itself out in the process.