Full Games List
Featured Games
New Games
Reviews
Media
Images
Blogs
Game Updates
Images Feedback Summary
Game Design Highlights
Tutorials
Articles
Scripts
Utilities / Plugins
Resources
Engines
Engine Bulletins
What is Makerscore?
Past Events
Achievements
Misaos
Forums
Post History
Chat
New to RMN?
Full Store List
RMN Music Pack (free)
Locker
Play ListsSTATUS
I try writing stories but I don't get past a couple of pages, usually.
CashmereCat- 05/28/2015 11:33 PM
Posts 
Pages:
1
CloseI want to write something substantial, like a novella, but I end up getting caught up in my own planning. For anyone who's written a story that's long, how do you practice writing? I don't think I've written a long story and I want practice so that when it comes to making a story I really like I'll be ready.
Edit: Hmm. This post by unity seems really helpful. I'm going to try using it. Also, Housekeeping's, Red_Nova's, Luchino's, Marrend's and others' posts on there are helpful too. I'm so grateful to have veterans giving advice out like pearls to swine.
Edit: Hmm. This post by unity seems really helpful. I'm going to try using it. Also, Housekeeping's, Red_Nova's, Luchino's, Marrend's and others' posts on there are helpful too. I'm so grateful to have veterans giving advice out like pearls to swine.
Write. Write a sentence. Write a paragraph. Write a page. Don't worry about how much you write or what you write about, just write. Write every day. Writers write. Write in multiple mediums. Don't just use a computer. Use a typewriter. Use a pencil. Use a pen. And your well-laid plans...hmm. There's a saying: it goes "Your plans are God's funniest joke."
That's good advice, piano man. I write tons, but they're so bitsy. I always type little conversations into my notepad. I'm a man of atmosphere more than character arcs at the moment, so I want to be able to know how to tell a real story that feels complete front-to-back. I think stylistically, my writing is fine. I've learned to be compact, only trying to say words that I think add meaning. I used to blabber a lot, saying not much at all, but now I like to think I've improved. I wrote about a paragraph this morning on my phone; it was extremely stylish, and I loved it. But I didn't know how to continue. I was thinking about continuing and just making it up as I went along. Maybe I'll do that.
I've noticed something about my own writing. I'm a dreamer, and I'll dwell on a story for months or even years before I start to write. By the time I do, I already know everything that's going to happen from start to finish, and I know what's happened that I'm not going to write about, and I know what other stories I write are interrelated, but it doesn't just happen. It develops. I find that if I try writing the story before I ready, I do poorly.
I'm not really good at writing and all, but here's a random share:
I once wrote this large 100-page "epic" a few years back with absolutely no planning at all. It all seemed fine, until I stopped working for a month or so, then went back to review it from the start. Turns out, it was too top-heavy; the plot too raw; the setting too bland; the characters too unmemorable. Point is, take breaks every now and then. If you've been working on a piece for a month or so, it's about time to step back and give it a temporary rest. Use that time to collect your thoughts, maybe. Or you may even work on a smaller piece in the mean time. After your break, go back to your original project. Now that you've taken a break, you'll start seeing your own writing in a different, disillusioned perspective. That way, you'll be able to thoroughly scrub your work to a polish. Most of the time, at least.
Pianotm's advice is also well-proven by numerous writers and "writers". Writing is a skill, so continuously exercising in it will improve it; much like how one learns how to use a bike by riding one everyday.
I once wrote this large 100-page "epic" a few years back with absolutely no planning at all. It all seemed fine, until I stopped working for a month or so, then went back to review it from the start. Turns out, it was too top-heavy; the plot too raw; the setting too bland; the characters too unmemorable. Point is, take breaks every now and then. If you've been working on a piece for a month or so, it's about time to step back and give it a temporary rest. Use that time to collect your thoughts, maybe. Or you may even work on a smaller piece in the mean time. After your break, go back to your original project. Now that you've taken a break, you'll start seeing your own writing in a different, disillusioned perspective. That way, you'll be able to thoroughly scrub your work to a polish. Most of the time, at least.
Pianotm's advice is also well-proven by numerous writers and "writers". Writing is a skill, so continuously exercising in it will improve it; much like how one learns how to use a bike by riding one everyday.
I think I'm going to write a quick 100-page "epic" just to see what it feels like to have a completed story. I feel the need to do it even if it's bad just to see what writing a long story feels like. Then I don't need to show it to anybody and can say that I've written a 100-page novel. If they ask, I won't show.
Okay, here's a share of my own.
There's a rule in writing that's very important: Show; don't tell. In the current book I'm writing, I break that very rule at the very open of the book. It's a science fiction set in the distant future where Earth is a frozen wasteland. The focus is a matriarchal cult that has developed psychic powers and has become an oppressive, authoritarian force in society. I've been writing it for years, have enough material for three full-length novels, but only have enough continuity for about 200 pages of story. The problem is that I haven't been pleased with the direction it goes. I literally keep changing my mind. It's become a rather nasty case of writers block that's starting to affect my other projects.
In the very first chapter, in the first few pages, I describe a religious ceremony that essentially takes place every morning. It's like a morning prayer. That's the thing: I describe it. I didn't actually write the ceremony, and I write in such a way that the main character is bored with it, so even knowing the particulars, you don't actually know what's taking place. The other day I started playing with some graphics packs I bought from Pioneer Valley Games, and I decided that I would start making my book into a game to see if that shook anything loose in my addled brain.
Can you guess what I did? I wrote the ceremony, and when I played the cutscene back, it gave me chills. The cutscene I wrote sounded like the typical insane religious cult stuff you hear about on the news, but when I applied that concept to the story, it changed everything. It cast a new light on my characters, on the plot, on the very concept of what I was writing. You might call it a full spectrum shift.
It made me realize that I've neglected important parts of my story. I've focused too much on developing my characters and not enough on explaining the environment they live in.
There's a rule in writing that's very important: Show; don't tell. In the current book I'm writing, I break that very rule at the very open of the book. It's a science fiction set in the distant future where Earth is a frozen wasteland. The focus is a matriarchal cult that has developed psychic powers and has become an oppressive, authoritarian force in society. I've been writing it for years, have enough material for three full-length novels, but only have enough continuity for about 200 pages of story. The problem is that I haven't been pleased with the direction it goes. I literally keep changing my mind. It's become a rather nasty case of writers block that's starting to affect my other projects.
In the very first chapter, in the first few pages, I describe a religious ceremony that essentially takes place every morning. It's like a morning prayer. That's the thing: I describe it. I didn't actually write the ceremony, and I write in such a way that the main character is bored with it, so even knowing the particulars, you don't actually know what's taking place. The other day I started playing with some graphics packs I bought from Pioneer Valley Games, and I decided that I would start making my book into a game to see if that shook anything loose in my addled brain.
Can you guess what I did? I wrote the ceremony, and when I played the cutscene back, it gave me chills. The cutscene I wrote sounded like the typical insane religious cult stuff you hear about on the news, but when I applied that concept to the story, it changed everything. It cast a new light on my characters, on the plot, on the very concept of what I was writing. You might call it a full spectrum shift.
It made me realize that I've neglected important parts of my story. I've focused too much on developing my characters and not enough on explaining the environment they live in.
It was nowhere near complete though, and it took me more or less a year to get there. Felt terrible to scrap such a thick pile of ideas. Though I *have* been picking on it's pieces regularly, when I'm out of things to add in my stories (which were also eventually scrapped themselves after a month or so).
Go for it, if you feel like it. You *could* use it as an exercise of sorts. Still, it would be great if it actually becomes an epic (w/o quotes)!
Go for it, if you feel like it. You *could* use it as an exercise of sorts. Still, it would be great if it actually becomes an epic (w/o quotes)!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Cash, that is a bad idea. Take from me: a guy who has done exactly what you are doing for exactly the same reason. That took me 4 years of constant work throughout high school to do. I enjoyed what I wrote, but after page 50 or so, I started cutting and rewriting and eventually the story became a convoluted mess.
Instead, write a 10 page short story. Have only one, maybe two main characters. Focus more intently on them. Train yourself to develop characters in a more meaningful way and your bigger stories will come naturally.
Instead, write a 10 page short story. Have only one, maybe two main characters. Focus more intently on them. Train yourself to develop characters in a more meaningful way and your bigger stories will come naturally.
It's not enough to want to write a 100-page story. You have to want to write what you're writing. My first book was 484 pages, wasn't great, but wasn't bad. That's because I enjoyed the story. It was a children's story full of wizards, fairies, and even had a dragon that was too lazy to guard a keep. It was also bloated and badly needed editing for pacing and continuity, but I digress. I was able to quickly get through it because I enjoyed it, it incorporated many of the things I like. More importantly, I was ready to write it. I had been writing fan fiction for years, had been writing poetry and short stories. When I realized I had 2000 pages of stories I couldn't make money on because someone else owned the characters, it occurred to me that writing a story I had been daydreaming for years of my own characters would be a breeze. If you're having trouble getting past two pages, you're going to be pulling your hair out. Practice. Write. Write every day. By all means, write your 100 page story, but pace yourself slowly at first, and make sure you want to write what you're writing about.
The "Write off the Bat" threads that Liberty makes every once-and-again have served me as a platform for writing. The most recent version was sort of a flop, but, I doubt that's going to stop them from coming.
If nothing else, you can try making your own creative writing thread? I mean, they don't typically generate responses, and you can always use a hide-tagfor everything if you're shy.
If nothing else, you can try making your own creative writing thread? I mean, they don't typically generate responses, and you can always use a hide-tag
Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll probably write a short story.
I keep going to write one for the Torture thread, but I don't complete it. I will though.
I keep going to write one for the Torture thread, but I don't complete it. I will though.
Pages:
1
