ScienceGirl
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In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. -- Seth Godin
Posts: 248
Custom Title: Idea Girl
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
HARD: 400
MEDIUM: 50
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Post by ScienceGirl on Jun 30, 2021 14:03:36 GMT -6
I don't know if I'll be developing this any further. I've had such a hard time with longer stories lately. I can plot settings until the cows come home, but plots just...elude me. But, I do have a strong conflict right here, a little mystery, and a POV character that is, if not relatable, at least sympathetic. Maybe I'll think about expanding it a bit, and see where it goes. I TOTALLY get this!!! I've started a book study on plot development in the Resources forum. Would love to have your comments as we go through it. Plot is one of the places I've struggled the most over the years in my writing, particularly because I started out as a technical writer which is pretty much throwing quotes and description in boxes and citing it. I always felt compelled to "stick to the plot," but never understood how it was more of a fluid being that rode along through my story instead of a template or format that drove it. I kept entering contests and getting negative comments about "where is the plot" but I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Keep working on it! You'll get there! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2021 17:18:15 GMT -6
I used to be fine with Plot. I wrote a 140k word fantasy novel that had six main characters, and I have the series plotted out to seven books. But I plotted the other books, and figured out how the world works, after writing the book, and so I basically have to rewrite the whole thing to fit the new plot. Which is fine. Except it's really, really not. I've rewritten some, but I can't get myself to continue. Every now and then I get excited and try to dive into it, but it's just...goodness that's a big project.
I have a Sci Fi novel that I absolutely love, and every time I read through it, I'm hooked. Until the 2/3rds mark, where I lost the plot. I kept changing my mind on how to go forward. My MO when that would happen would be to make a note of what changes I wanted to make, then continue like I'd made those changes. But I kept waffling on what I wanted to do, so I did that over and over again as I wrote the last third of the book. Now, I've plotted out what I actually wanted to happen, but I can't get myself to go back and write that last third of the book. It just makes me exhausted thinking about it. Which is sad, because every time I read through the first two thirds, I think it's great! I just need to, you know, finish it.
I've had other stories I've plotted completely. Lately, I've been creating worlds and settings and magic systems. I've got so many of those. And I get SOME characters from them. And sometimes I can figure out a basic plot, or at least a basic conflict. But I can't get myself to write anything.
When I write something like this prompt, I don't have the pressure of a whole story. I can just take a snapshot. A small piece of conflict, and I don't even have to finish it. It's just one scene, or part of a scene, and comes with much less pressure. I've done shorts before, especially my horror shorts, and they're great. Short, compact, a quick conflict and sometimes a resolution, or at least a partial one. Maybe I should just do some short stories for a while, not worrying about the bigger projects. I just need to get writing.
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ScienceGirl
Forum Leader
In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. -- Seth Godin
Posts: 248
Custom Title: Idea Girl
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
HARD: 400
MEDIUM: 50
EASY: 50
|
Post by ScienceGirl on Jun 30, 2021 21:20:04 GMT -6
That happened to me, too. I published the first two books in my series and the third was an election campaign and basically, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stole my plot LOL. I couldn't finish writing it then because it was too close to real life. It is so hard to scrap and rewrite thousands of words. As for the waffling, since you need to get back into writing anyway, maybe play around with your story. Start from the 2/3 mark and go a few different places in short scenes. You'll find your story. I enjoy your writing.  Would love to see you posting more. |
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Post by havekrillwhaletravel on Jul 3, 2021 1:19:35 GMT -6
Congrats on the win! Didn't manage to leave a review before the contest ended, but I love this entry. The short, direct sentences drive home how confused the newborn phoenix must be feeling. Would definitely read more. The idea of a helpless infant phoenix struggling against its captor is such a fresh and interesting take. The only part that I would change is the bit about steel, which feels unnatural and doesn't mesh well with the rest of the piece.
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Post by HDSimplicityy on Sept 11, 2021 14:08:31 GMT -6
Late to this party, but I love this opening. Its vivid, emotional, sad, curious, in a sense of slo motion in the poetic style. Reads like a bird being hunted, becoming a phoenix, yet there is some hazy memory that... makes this a memory instead of a real moment?
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Would love to see you posting more.
