posted
Hi all, I am new here and am looking for advice on writing fiction. I have no formal writing education or experience to speak of.
My background is in technology and a little business. My schooling and profession have required a lot of left brain thinking and not allowed much creativity.
I feel as though I have this creative writing monster inside of me that spends most of it's time in a deep sleep, barely alive. It wakes up occasionally for short spurts, tries to do something wildly imaginative, fails at it, and crawls back to its cave for another season of hibernation.
Life is short and it's time to let the monster awaken, and be free.
But the monster is young, inexperienced, timid and unskilled. It needs nurturing, direction, discipline, and to acquire a more effective method of expressing emotion and abstract concepts.
I am seeking advice on how to train it. I am looking for specific ideas here.
I have many different ideas and plot lines and have begun to put them down on paper.
I would like to write a few novels, a play, and possibly a sitcom.
That's all for now.
Good night and good luck.
Posts: 20 | Registered: Jan 2007
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posted
Read like a crazy fiend. Read everything you can possibly find and then go find other stuff and read that too.
Posts: 910 | Registered: May 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Fyfe: Read like a crazy fiend.
Like a crazy fiend? As opposed to a perfectly sane, dispassionate, well behaved fiend? Your advice made laugh.
quote:Originally posted by Fyfe: Read like a crazy fiend. Read everything you can possibly find and then go find other stuff and read that too.
Oh I agree. And I am trying to find time to read and write everyday. I have discovered that not all writing is equal. Some writers have a superior ability to describe characters and have them become real to you. They are not just characters but rather real people with hopes and dreams, aspirations, noble desires and faults. And consequently you care for them, no, you love them. You are estatic for their joy and weep for their loss. These are the sort of characters I someday hope create.
Posts: 20 | Registered: Jan 2007
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posted
Ken, here is bit of advice that I have found useful. (Mind you, I’m no expert on the skill of writing. So you can ignore this if you want to - if it does not work for you). Here is the advice:
Rewrite. Rewrite. Then rewrite some more.
What you do is sit down and WRITE. Get your thoughts down on paper. Or into the word processor, whatever. Then set it aside for a while. Oh, I don’t know, overnight, a week, a year - you decide. Then go over it again. If you can read through it without the urge to hurl your cookies, then maybe there are some things worth keeping in there.
So then start rewriting.
There may be some stuff in there that you thought was so brilliantly said that you just have to keep it. Well, that might be true in some cases. But don’t ever be so in love with what you have written that you are not willing to toss it out and start over. One of the great things about the English language is that it is possible to say something in so many interesting ways.
I know of only two brilliantly creative people who never had to rewrite: Rex Stout and W.A. Mozart. Yes they were total geniuses, but I’d be willing to bet that they did all their rewriting in their fantastic brains before they sat down and put it on paper.
Mind you, this is not the only good advice about writing but only one small bit of it.
My best regards to you and may you have loads and loads of success.
And oh yes, what Fyfe said. That's good advice too.
Posts: 631 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
The main bane of writers is inspiration. It is an ingrate; always biding its time, waiting, and to catch it will take a lifetime. No, the main tool of writers is the simple one of chair in front of their computer/typewriter/desk. That, and a good cup of tea, of course.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
I'm no writer, but the advice I've heard from experienced writers on this subject is basically identical to learning any other subject: immersion and practice.
Immerse yourself in writing by reading many different things, by many different people, about many different topics.
Practice by carrying writing materials wherever you go, whenever possible, and write both whenever inspiration strikes you, and whenever you've got time to practice.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
A wise man (OSC) once said, "You want to be a writer? Here's how. Write."
That's all.
Just start writing.
On forums, in journals, in practice, but mostly, for real.
Once you get into the habit, whatever your habit needs to be, of writing, then you can worry about other details like grammar, spelling, selling, and publishing.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
on general tips for professional writing I'd also definately check out OSC's books Character and Viewpoint book as well as the sci-fi/fantasy one (even if you're not writing sci-fi/fantasy) they were both very well done and helpful for me (now to work on the actual writing).
Other ideas that have helped me: Start with outlines and descriptive sections on key facets to your story: i.e. this technology is based on X and works like Y, this character is approximately X years old, has green hair, and is the orphan daughter of famed space pirates blah blah blah.
Find a good friend who is either also a writer or likes to hash over ideas with you. Luckily for me a good friend in school also writes so we would sit down to lunch regularly and each go over aspects of our stories with each other. not only did this help in giving each other ideas/critiques, but it also kept up the enthusiasm for the stories. Make sure however that it is a friend you are trusting enough of that you're not worrying about them taking your ideas.
Also, on one of the other sides of this site is the writer's workshop where you can read other's struggles/ideas on general topics and get others to review your work when you're ready (provided that you are willing to do the same for them)
Posts: 1038 | Registered: Feb 2006
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