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General writing discussion.
Comments
I'm so laaaaaaazy...
I mean, my story is planned in detail up to the 18th chapter and I've written down the entire bare-bones plot but I've barely started on chapter Episode 9.
^ Have you got anything to motivate you? Any sort of reward you've promised yourself when you finish? I understand that can help.
No. But it's an interesting idea... What kind of reward?
So I had an idea for a story I've been bouncing around in my head.
'The Miskatonic Reform School for Wayward Girls'
Basically the concept would be a bunch of girls who had, for some reason, come in contact with the mystic aspects of lovecraft and be put in a reform school for their 'lies'.
Ideally it'd be a moody meeting of Lovecraft and Indiana Jones with highschool girls.
Quick question: How much research (being neither female nor a member of a reform school) do you think I should do?
I know some of the reports of sexual abuse in such schools, but I'd rather not focus on that (though I don't want to completely ignore it)
Also if anyone knows of historical resources I'd appreciate them.
^^ That depends on what you normally do instead of writing. (In general, most "rewards" of this nature are really of the form "I'll abstain from doing X until after I've done a certain amount of writing for the day"--though some can be of the form "I'll do X after I've completed this amount of writing," particularly if X represents eating some manner of treat.)
Hmmm, that might work...
A short summary I just worked on:
well, whatever. this does really need to go here. i'll just like... hide.
Honestly, that's amazing Nova. I loved it.
I'm willing to second that.
Thanks, guys. It is... good to hear people like it.
Uh, if it's not too much bother to people, could anyone tell me where they think it's a bit rough, so I can improve it a bit? :V
Ugh, I've been having a recent desire to write something involving a big cast, but all I can think of is "Avengers (Or Justice League) fanfictions" and oh my god that is definetly a pitfall i don't wanna fall in.
Make your own Avenging League, then.
No Amalgams, though. That sort of shit be dumb. No, what I mean is make your own team of superheroes.
See updates Kraken.
I know, I know.
My writing suddenly got kinda gory.
There goes the idea that this was going to be a fun magical girl story with a little teen drama thrown in.
POST IT NIGGZ
Hrm... Not sure what to think. I was actually more shaken up by just how much the heal spell was healing.
They're supposed to be overpowered, it's something that'll come up later.
First, try to say what you need to say with as few words as possible. Don't use twelve words in a sentence when five will do. Hone this skill before you move on to pastiche other styles of prose, utilizing narrative conceits, and suchlike.
Secondly, there's too much telling, not enough showing. An action sequence like this, it is especially important to focus on describing what one can immediately see, hear, touch, and smell. There's little room for someone to think things or notice subtleties. Write viscerally. Describe vividly every pain, rush of power, and sensation.
Thirdly, viewpoint. Once you've picked a pair of eyes for seeing through to witness this part of the story, stick with it. Don't wander off to peer through someone else's eyes because it looks more interesting. What you "see" is what you get.
Fourth, use more evocative words, and more accurate terms. In this case, the monster isn't "punching back" because at that moment, Bria isn't returning the blows. More likely, the monster is "hammering her broken body like it was so much grapes."
Finally, pay attention to the beginning of each sentence's letter. Just as the repeitition of any task creates monotony, so does the repeitition of similar sounds make reading a chore.
Thanks! But I need a little more detail before I start working on it...
Alright, here's a little elaboration.
1) Less is more. "...Wade had ducked further into the backseat and was sitting in the fetal position." Too many words saying the exact same thing.
There's a time and a place for repetition, but here is not it.
Better: "...while Wade was cradling his knees in the backseat."
----
2) Show, don't tell. “Fuck this, Heart OPEN!” without further thought she felt her anger build as she summoned the water from the air particles around her and formed them into a gigantic football, it was all she could think of."
At a time like this, showing is so much more important than telling. The rush of power and the spark of creation: that requires much more showing than telling.
Better: “..."Fuck this," she cried, raising her hands above her head. "Heart OPEN!" Feeling her anger build, Bria reached into the air around her, pulling water particles from the surroundings into her hands, molding liquid into the shape of a gigantic football."
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3) Keep the viewpoint strong in mind. "She was losing a lot of blood and knew she couldn’t last much longer. Even without any mode of sight it took advantage of her being on the ground to begin punching her with its massive fists. She couldn’t help but scream as the monster continued to punch her back."
Now, Bria's on the ground, being crushed like so much cakes. She wouldn't form the words in her mind that it's taking the advantage to do something.
Better: "Bria felt the world spin as her blood drained away, dimly realizing that she couldn't last much longer. The sightless monster relentlessly pounded upon her slight form, breaking bone and grazing flesh. She couldn't help but scream."
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4) Evocation. "Before she could launch it, one of the monsters charged at her and hit her square in the jaw. She bit into her tongue harder than she ever had on the football field and flew across the road, the water that she’d collected crashed to the earth in a huge whoosh. The monster ran at inhuman speed towards her on foot and she knew she had to do something."
It's kind of dry. Here, how's this?
Better: "As one of the monsters charged, Bria braced to launch the water-ball. But the monster was too fast, its paw smashing across her jaw before she could think, knocking her across the road. Magical water splashed to earth in a thunderous sound. Relentless, the monster bolted towards her again."
----
5) Repetition. "Her stomach turned when she realized that her backbone was continuously contorting, causing her entire body to spasm. Her entire spine was twisting, first out of place and then it seemed to mend itself back into place."
It's a chore to read.
Better: "Her stomach turned when she felt her backbone turn, horrified at the realization that her spine was twisting itself wrong. Bria's entire body shook with spasm in an eerie lack of sensation, before her spine twisted itself right."
Thank you.
OK, so I need to write a character monologue for scripting class, but I have no subject.
Gimme something interesting for my character to blabber about for page and a half.
Hmmm...maybe your character is looking at a wall, and there's this mark on it, and your character starts talking about it but winds up going into a stream-of-consciousness tangent and...
What? That's already been done? Aw :c
I would say "Internet drama. No, really," but I'm basically already doing that for a personal essay.
Uh . . . something interesting to blabber about . . .
rabbits, i guess, man
Philosophy.
Politics.
His neighbours, who are having troubles in their life, and he muses about stranger's lives.
A busker on the street, and he ruminates on what could have lead to the busker performing there.
A woman visiting the grave of a high school friend.
A man being fired from his job for incompetence that was partially his fault, partially his co-worker's fault.
A woman wondering what to have for lunch.
Gonna be posting in this thread a lot more soon, because writing has become the most important thing to me right now, and I have been working on the scripts that I think and hope will give me my shot and help me break into the great wall of hollywood.