Nitty Gritty Details

(btw I'm new here, so, uhm... Hi.)

At any rate... I've been an aspiring author for a good 5 to 6 years now. I love writing, and my imagination is constantly overflowing. Sometimes it gets so vivid that I have trouble focusing on everyday tasks, I love it so much. The only problem is, I can't seem to give my stories any kind of flow. I'll start writing on them, and 50 pages later I'll realize that the story usually goes way too fast, with little interpersonal action between characters. and by the time I go in and try to add in all the details, I slowly lose my motivation, having lost either my muse, or my forward moving rythm with that particular storyline.

I need help guys. I desperately wish to succeed in writing at least one book and publishing it. Any tips for keeping motivation, as well as advice for spotting when you're going too fast?

Hi and welcome, I'm pretty new myself.
I would say for you to join a good writing workshop (face to face is good) i believe in seeing the people--
on the other hand, it isn't always possible to find a good local workshop.

How about online critique groups. NO PAYMENT btw.
there are some great ones.

What genre do you write in if you write in one!
there are some great ones for horror and sci fi.

another suggestion (and I have bought and read loads and they help) are good writing books. really well done books that offer suggestions.

look want interpersonal activity with your characters?
think of a really tense situation!

write a short piece with two men stalking one another, they're both armed. they'll interact!

good luck btw!

cc

I kept journals. There are many ways to keep one online. I also took classes at community college and adult education. Adult education has many excellent professionals who enjoy teaching a class or two. They are often associated with critique groups. etc. Find one taught by a published writer with experiences to share.

One of my classes encouraged stream of consciousness writing (with which I started initially). Just getting a lot of words on paper is a start. Refining and edits are the most difficult for many writers.

Some people suggest starting with short stories. Even your novel can be chapters, and work on refinements for one chapter.

There are programs online at no cost (freeware) for writing. They also help sometimes, asking questions along the way as a guide.

learningcurve wrote:

What genre do you write in if you write in one!

Fantasy / Sci fi. I like to mix the two. My current project is a modern, multi-dimensional epic of a villainous young mage who not only ends up slowly falling in love with a certain heroine, but ends up stumbling upon a dark secret hidden by his ancestors, slowly becoming unraveled.

I figured it would make a good story, since the hero / villain game usually keeps both sides stuck to their spectrum. But in this one, the villain is the real hero, and will usually be fighting against his own sense of morality more and more as the book progresses. A lot of character development, the way I see it.

Domenic Pappalardo wrote:

*boat scenario*

That makes a lot of sense! Thanks. Since you put it that way, it really makes it seem like I've been building a house from the top down this whole time. I'll take things more slowly, and gather as much facts about my main characters as possible before starting all the writing.

Writing really is my true passion, but it really stinks when you don't know where you're going... a lot like an adventurer who wants to journey to the ends of the Earth, but starts walking without a compass. Granted, he'll go a lot of places, but he won't accomplish anything.

dkchristi wrote:

Journals / Short Stories

Might give that a try.

Skyrap B: Critters is an excellent workshop for sci fi fiction.
I write sci fi and horror but mainly horror.

Hi Domenic,
For myself I did have an idea for a novel that became my novel--we all work differently. I wrote my novel and am working on the sequel strictly from that idea.
The publisher has high hopes for it and suggested the sequel. I am loving the sequel btw!

Now I don't write with a detailed outline. I have a basic idea where the story is going but that's all.

i have a sense of my characters and start writing. Now for me, and remember this is ME--i don't work with character sheets (i tried)!!! i have a sense of the characters... what i mean by that is--i can see them, hear them. I know instinctively what their voices 'sound' like. In other words I know where they're coming from (to use a phrase we've all heard).

i get a zero draft first which then becomes a good first and a final draft. a writer friend of mine calls his zero draft his outline!

i think actually it is for me.

i have tried outlines and would choose to to write that way but i can't!

I think we have to see which way is the way to go for us.

we're all different. we must find the way that suits us. Skyrap you've had excellent advice from the previous posters so try it their way first.

My way works for me.
best of luck!

cc

I write literary horror, I am not with a big new York press but it's fine for me now.

Didn't care for your statement (which I thought a bit heavy handed) that not all publishers publish good books a bit out of place really.
You sound like you're assuming an awful lot. Like you have some ideas about publishing and anyone that does it differently 'can't be as good' or produce a good book.

Well it's considered to be an exceptionally good, well-written book.

The reviews have been from professional reviewers and publishers. At the moment i am building a fan base.

btw I was originally with a professional playwrighting group (writing, not acting). That was how i came to write fiction in the first place. I prefer to write fiction.

I am widely published.

My novel took a lot of work. I wrote it in about 8 months, but planned it in my head for about a year. the drafts evolved into a book i was proud of. it wasn't cobbled together, it came about after a lot of hard work done in own way in my own style.

I worked on it ten hours a day for months. there were rewrites and considerations and reconsiderations, of course there were.
You're not saying that there aren't seat of the pants writers are you? You can query the members of many professional writers' associations and find many like myself.

There are such diverse ways to write a book, careful copious attention to detail is marvelous but i don't do it that way. I am producing two books a year and don't see any reason to change.

i have a loyal fan base too and intend to increase that.

Sayings with regard to writing are charming and have their place but in the last analysis we must let the art come out as it will.

I prefer to be anonymous for now, thank you.

I gave up on anonymity. I had hoped that D. K. Christi would not indicate gender and then put my picture on the published books ... duh.

In this forum we do like to know a bit about those who post as it just makes it more fun, but of course it's not necessary.

Art is in the eye of the beholder. I consider writing an art. Just the number of rejections received by later famous authors should verify the fickle nature of the industry.

A little book of philosophy that I love is The Four Agreements: Always do your best; be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally; and don't make assumptions. That pretty well covers most important things.

You do your best and hope your product is enjoyed by others. If not, you can at least have the satisfaction that you accomplished your goal.

By the way - I understand some writers put out twelve books a year....I'm a book every two to three years person. Need to speed that up a bit...

cc

I can answer that one. A lot of authors use pen names, do they not?

Skrap Balec is my proposed one, albeit an obvious reversal of my real name, with a few letters mixed around. While it often has no practical use, and some people are just paranoid of placing their name out there (with reason! A poor friend of mine had a photo found of her yesterday by people who didn't like her. They spread it on a certain online forum to be laughed at.)

But, I believe it often adds a sense of mystery. When you read Dr. Suess books as a child, did you ever think of the author as a John, or a Bill, or any other guy? Nah, you thought of him as some incredible otherworldly person, maybe as far off as the crazy stuff he wrote. (at least I did). It doesn't just reach the writing industry.

Buckethead, a famous guitarist, was so shy he wore a mask and a KFC bucket over his head when he played. Funny enough, the ridiculous appearance made him quite famous, and it became a status symbol almost.

I see no problem with anonymity, and I respect it. Although yeah, thick skin and the ability to suck up some criticism, even if it hurts, is a valuable asset.

cc

Wow. How nasty Domenic. The blind leading the blind. Actually i think it's one of my favorite lines from Streecar Named Desire.



Your nastiness is so over the top that I find it humorous.

I see you dropped me from your friends' list too! wow, talk about raw nerves!

Going to talk to DK and Skyrap now to give them the courtesy of saying goodbye.
I honestly don't have time for this board.
Best of luck to you both and DK continued success.

l

learningcurve wrote:

Going to talk to DK and Skyrap now to give them the courtesy of saying goodbye.
I honestly don't have time for this board.
Best of luck to you both and DK continued success.

...well that was awkward. Uhm, thanks... I think. But you really shouldn't let minor conflicts get to you this much. There are going to be a lot of people out there who disagree with your points. Don't take it as arguing, just take it as discussion... even if it does feel mean at times.

But, I wasn't quite saying they were tricks. Pen names and anonymity, to me, are more just things one would do for fun. Pen names can't be relied on in place of good writing, of course, but they can be fun to mess around with as a secondary name. I can also see them helping your name stand above the crowd on a bookshelf if it's different enough. Granted, mine is just odd. My friends and I came up with it 3 years ago when I was still in high school. It's more of a memento to me, as well as something I know is unique in its' awkward spelling.

cc

Domenic,
don't let their response get to you.
How often have we had people come aboard, use fictitious name, create waves and then leave in a huff.

Personally, I like to deal with real people, especially if they want my input. Using a fictitious or pen name in a novel is something different. I toyed with that idea myself, then realized that name recognition is very important.

To be part of a family, such as we have on this forum, means being open and honest, and that includes knowing what the person looks like. Can you imagine a member of your family wearing a mask? I can't.

Domenic, you have a track record on this forum so don't let it get you down.
We all have issues to deal with, and taking on unnecessary ones is of no use.