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Post by Octagon on Sept 27, 2021 19:00:02 GMT -6
To begin a fictional work tomorrow, that is the goal I have set. But though on the subject I have many books, which render me nothing but boredom, I ask for a brief exposition from you all, concerning the elements of fiction.
Sorry, the writing in this post is very poor. I must be having some sort of verbal block.
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Post by Alatariel on Sept 27, 2021 19:41:54 GMT -6
To begin a fictional work tomorrow, that is the goal I have set. But though on the subject I have many books, which render me nothing but boredom, I ask for a brief exposition from you all, concerning the elements of fiction. Sorry, the writing in this post is very poor. I must be having some sort of verbal block. Ah yea, writing books can be dry or not give the exact information you want. I think these are the things essential for a good story (hope this is what you're looking for): characterFor me, character is even more important than plot. I will follow a book series simply because I adore the characters. Even if the plot is predictable or contrived, I will follow certain characters to the ends of the earth. I love when they are flawed but allowed to grow and evolve. I love when they have a "found family" they trust and rely upon. I love when they have passions and quirks and hobbies. I love being able to pinpoint their defining characteristic and see how that informs all their choices. dialogueEven though there have been plenty of stories without dialogue, I find it necessary. I love reading banter and confessions of love. I love to read what the character is thinking and then see them say something completely different. Communication is a huge part of life, it must be part of your writing. settingWhen the setting is almost like a character itself, the story becomes even more rich and vibrant. Give the setting a personality. Make it real and full of complexity, like your characters. Sometimes we dismiss setting as just an extra detail. But it's so important. themeThis one can make people think too hard sometimes. When I wrote my first draft, I didn't worry about theme. Then Raveneye (the admin of this site and my editor) pointed out 3 themes I should emphasis during edits, ones that were present in my draft but not hit upon enough. Once I edited, it made my story much more focused. Theme doesn't have to be something super poignant (but it can be if you want) it can just be something that's an ever-present strand throughout the story. plotI mean, this one is obvious, right? Like theme, I think a lot of writers spend too much time thinking up twists and turns for their plot. I say, if you create great characters and a unique setting, the plot almost creates itself. I'd also say: READ YOU GENRE. Get to know the tropes and over-used cliches. Go onto reddit forums for book-tok (TikTok) to see what people thought of certain plot twists or plot elements. What made it good or bad? It helps a lot. conflictThis is EXTREMELY important. The conflict should directly impact your protagonist, it should include high stakes for them (doesn't have to be life or death, there are other high stake situations) and a choice between two bad options. This creates a compelling story and an opportunity for character growth. world buildingThis ties into setting, but we can get stuck in world-building mode for too long and delay writing. Some people world-build first, then develop their plot and characters. Some do the opposite. Personally, I come up with the basic story and characters first, then world-build around them. That's just what works for me. Think of world-building like the set for a movie. Everything that's shown on camera is incredibly detailed, but the parts that aren't shown are just scaffolding and a wooden frame. Only world-build what you need. If you run into a hiccup, stop to build a little and then keep going. HOPE THAT HELPS! |
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Post by Octagon on Sept 28, 2021 17:13:24 GMT -6
To begin a fictional work tomorrow, that is the goal I have set. But though on the subject I have many books, which render me nothing but boredom, I ask for a brief exposition from you all, concerning the elements of fiction. Sorry, the writing in this post is very poor. I must be having some sort of verbal block. Ah yea, writing books can be dry or not give the exact information you want. I think these are the things essential for a good story (hope this is what you're looking for): characterFor me, character is even more important than plot. I will follow a book series simply because I adore the characters. Even if the plot is predictable or contrived, I will follow certain characters to the ends of the earth. I love when they are flawed but allowed to grow and evolve. I love when they have a "found family" they trust and rely upon. I love when they have passions and quirks and hobbies. I love being able to pinpoint their defining characteristic and see how that informs all their choices. dialogueEven though there have been plenty of stories without dialogue, I find it necessary. I love reading banter and confessions of love. I love to read what the character is thinking and then see them say something completely different. Communication is a huge part of life, it must be part of your writing. settingWhen the setting is almost like a character itself, the story becomes even more rich and vibrant. Give the setting a personality. Make it real and full of complexity, like your characters. Sometimes we dismiss setting as just an extra detail. But it's so important. themeThis one can make people think too hard sometimes. When I wrote my first draft, I didn't worry about theme. Then Raveneye (the admin of this site and my editor) pointed out 3 themes I should emphasis during edits, ones that were present in my draft but not hit upon enough. Once I edited, it made my story much more focused. Theme doesn't have to be something super poignant (but it can be if you want) it can just be something that's an ever-present strand throughout the story. plotI mean, this one is obvious, right? Like theme, I think a lot of writers spend too much time thinking up twists and turns for their plot. I say, if you create great characters and a unique setting, the plot almost creates itself. I'd also say: READ YOU GENRE. Get to know the tropes and over-used cliches. Go onto reddit forums for book-tok (TikTok) to see what people thought of certain plot twists or plot elements. What made it good or bad? It helps a lot. conflictThis is EXTREMELY important. The conflict should directly impact your protagonist, it should include high stakes for them (doesn't have to be life or death, there are other high stake situations) and a choice between two bad options. This creates a compelling story and an opportunity for character growth. world buildingThis ties into setting, but we can get stuck in world-building mode for too long and delay writing. Some people world-build first, then develop their plot and characters. Some do the opposite. Personally, I come up with the basic story and characters first, then world-build around them. That's just what works for me. Think of world-building like the set for a movie. Everything that's shown on camera is incredibly detailed, but the parts that aren't shown are just scaffolding and a wooden frame. Only world-build what you need. If you run into a hiccup, stop to build a little and then keep going. HOPE THAT HELPS! Yes, that helps. Thank you. Is it true that, in the beginning of the story, that is where you should introduce both the characters and the setting? |
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Post by Alatariel on Sept 28, 2021 18:38:11 GMT -6
Ah yea, writing books can be dry or not give the exact information you want. I think these are the things essential for a good story (hope this is what you're looking for): characterFor me, character is even more important than plot. I will follow a book series simply because I adore the characters. Even if the plot is predictable or contrived, I will follow certain characters to the ends of the earth. I love when they are flawed but allowed to grow and evolve. I love when they have a "found family" they trust and rely upon. I love when they have passions and quirks and hobbies. I love being able to pinpoint their defining characteristic and see how that informs all their choices. dialogueEven though there have been plenty of stories without dialogue, I find it necessary. I love reading banter and confessions of love. I love to read what the character is thinking and then see them say something completely different. Communication is a huge part of life, it must be part of your writing. settingWhen the setting is almost like a character itself, the story becomes even more rich and vibrant. Give the setting a personality. Make it real and full of complexity, like your characters. Sometimes we dismiss setting as just an extra detail. But it's so important. themeThis one can make people think too hard sometimes. When I wrote my first draft, I didn't worry about theme. Then Raveneye (the admin of this site and my editor) pointed out 3 themes I should emphasis during edits, ones that were present in my draft but not hit upon enough. Once I edited, it made my story much more focused. Theme doesn't have to be something super poignant (but it can be if you want) it can just be something that's an ever-present strand throughout the story. plotI mean, this one is obvious, right? Like theme, I think a lot of writers spend too much time thinking up twists and turns for their plot. I say, if you create great characters and a unique setting, the plot almost creates itself. I'd also say: READ YOU GENRE. Get to know the tropes and over-used cliches. Go onto reddit forums for book-tok (TikTok) to see what people thought of certain plot twists or plot elements. What made it good or bad? It helps a lot. conflictThis is EXTREMELY important. The conflict should directly impact your protagonist, it should include high stakes for them (doesn't have to be life or death, there are other high stake situations) and a choice between two bad options. This creates a compelling story and an opportunity for character growth. world buildingThis ties into setting, but we can get stuck in world-building mode for too long and delay writing. Some people world-build first, then develop their plot and characters. Some do the opposite. Personally, I come up with the basic story and characters first, then world-build around them. That's just what works for me. Think of world-building like the set for a movie. Everything that's shown on camera is incredibly detailed, but the parts that aren't shown are just scaffolding and a wooden frame. Only world-build what you need. If you run into a hiccup, stop to build a little and then keep going. HOPE THAT HELPS! Yes, that helps. Thank you. Is it true that, in the beginning of the story, that is where you should introduce both the characters and the setting? Yes, but don't do a bunch of info dumping. The intros should be carefully planned and integrated seamlessly into the story. Make sure you don't do the cliche "looking into a reflective surface" in order to describe your main character. And when introducing the world, give the reader small doses of info rather than large chunks of history. A good way is to choose purposeful moments that weave together character and setting. What character traits are important to show your readers and what type of situation would help show that? And what's important to know about the setting? What makes it unique to this story and how can you show that in the chosen scene? But you should definitely make sure your readers know where your characters are in the beginning of your story. Are they inside or outside? What are some defining features of their surroundings? Give your reader something to picture. There are also subtle ways to give us clues about what your character looks like, but I wouldn't get too deep into describing people. Let your readers fill in the blanks. Only describe the important things. It takes time and practice, but you gotta start somewhere. |
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Post by Octagon on Oct 13, 2021 13:02:48 GMT -6
Unfortunately, I've not been writing any fiction. I'm not sure if I really want to write fiction or if I want to return to computer programming. I wanted to do both, but now I think that developing fiction writing skills would expend much of my time. I still want to write sermons though. I'm just not sure if people would like what my sermons might sound like.
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Post by ScintillaMyntan on Oct 13, 2021 16:49:16 GMT -6
Unfortunately, I've not been writing any fiction. I'm not sure if I really want to write fiction or if I want to return to computer programming. I wanted to do both, but now I think that developing fiction writing skills would expend much of my time. I still want to write sermons though. I'm just not sure if people would like what my sermons might sound like. If writing fiction seems interesting, I'd suggest trying it out. Studying the elements of fiction might make fiction writing seem harder than it is. I think people have an intuitive understanding of stories to the point that many of these elements will come naturally when you set out to write. Even children invent and tell stories, after all. These elements are more something you think about in formal terms when refining your story, not when building it in the first place. |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Oct 15, 2021 10:11:20 GMT -6
Unfortunately, I've not been writing any fiction. I'm not sure if I really want to write fiction or if I want to return to computer programming. I wanted to do both, but now I think that developing fiction writing skills would expend much of my time. I still want to write sermons though. I'm just not sure if people would like what my sermons might sound like. If writing fiction seems interesting, I'd suggest trying it out. Studying the elements of fiction might make fiction writing seem harder than it is. I think people have an intuitive understanding of stories to the point that many of these elements will come naturally when you set out to write. Even children invent and tell stories, after all. These elements are more something you think about in formal terms when refining your story, not when building it in the first place. ^^^ This. Very much this. ^^^ |
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Post by pelwrath on Oct 15, 2021 10:42:01 GMT -6
Try it. Several years ago, I was pushed to trying poetry. I never considered myself even close to a poet.
Yet I did, and enjoyed it. I’ve even had a few satisfying moments. It’s helped me in my writing.
All genres have a few ideosyncristies all there own, that’s why I feel writing in as many genres as possible helps a writer.
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You add them to your profile as you do them around the forum.
