I like writing. Yeah I do. But I seriously hardly have any ideas. Once I found some plot that I like and type it out the outcome is near to awesome. But then.. that's just about ONE chapter if even that. But .. then I don't know anymore what to add. So that's bad because I once want to write something with a beginning and an end.. But my writings are just some middle parts of something and no one but me would understand them, because I don't write HOW it came to the plot or why some people act like they do. So that's bad, you see the problem? Anyhow, I can write EVERYTHING, I just *points up* that's it.
Stories can be grown in many different ways. Sometimes starting in the middle is how it goes, especially if you have a great idea for a scene and just have to type it out. So then what? Well, you need a beginning and an end. (Really what you need is a grouping of scenes before and a grouping of scenes after, but you already know that, so let's be vague!) Start with whichever feels most natural to you. To craft the beginning, ask yourself: What would have to occur to make this scene I have make sense? What would make it more dramatic? What would increase its impact on my reader? What relationships do I need to develop prior to this moment for it to have any impact at all? What stakes need to raised? What do I need to foreshadow? What promises, made earlier in the story, could this scene fulfill? (If it's a gun fight, you'd better promise a gun fight from the start. Don't promise a gun fight and then give us a tea party. Not unless the tea is served with guns. That might be interesting.) There you have it. Answer all those questions and you're on your way to building a nice beginning. Now all you have to do is craft the end! Ask yourself: What kind of outcome is the reader expecting based on this scene? Can I work in some other outcome without breaking any promises? (Twists are good, incomprehensible "surprises" are not. If the gun fight ends with one or both participants getting abducted by aliens, people are going to be pissed. You said this was going to be a Western!) Can this scene lead to one of even greater tension and suspense, or am I already looking at my climax? (Should it be your climax?) Assuming it is, what loose ends do I need to tie up before the story can really be concluded? Do I want to tie them all up or leave a few strategic ones dangling? Do I want to cop out? (Seriously. Do you? I think some writers forget to ask themselves this one. You know it has only one correct answer, right? Right?) I think if you can answer all these questions you'll be able to build a story around those awesome scenes you craft. Good luck!
Yes. You are writing scenes, but appear not to understand plot. A plot is not the same thing as a storyline. A storyline is a sequence of events. It repeatedly answers the question, "What happened next?" It does not explain why, however. Zero or more plots connect events in a storyline. A plot consists of four components: an actor, an objective or goal, a motivation, and an opposition. The actor is a character, and his (or her) objective or goal is what he attempts to accomplish. The motivation is why he is driven to meet ths goal, and the opposition is fome person, force, or obstacle that resists his progress toward the goal. An opposition is often a competing plot, in which case the two plots form a conflict. If the two plots have the same actor, the conflict is an internal conflict, otherwise it is an external conflict. Plots are the building blocks of fiction. Their focus is on "Why?" Identify the plots, and the storyline will generally fall into place. Please read What is Plot Creation and Development?
Yeah you are true there and I did those things and got to some solutions at my last story.. but then again I had no idea where the story would lead to so I was left with about 80 (handwritten) pages and had no idea where it should lead in the end. And while thinking of the plot for THIS story another scene came into my mind, that wasn't even connected.. so yeah.. another problem I have is that a topic is interesting to me only a short time, until I get a better (another topic) idea that I think is more interesting and awesome at the moment. So yeah, I change my mind quite a lot, and I want to finnish something for once, because I want to publish a book at last . A storyline is an aggregation, pretty rough. A plot is what really happens. No, I don't like stories. I want the reader to UNDERSTAND my characters and want to develop them.
Short stories, novellas or novels (or, even flash fictions), character development is necessary if the story is to be any good IMO.
You could try reading the newspapers and trying to get inspiration from the stories in there. I make sure I read the papers regularly and take note of unusual events, people, happenings or anything that sparks my imagination. Sometimes even the small ads can be really intriguing... It sounds like you need some inspiration. Take train journeys, watch people, try to imagine where they are going, why they are there, what is in their pockets, etc. It might sound a bit strange but if you are a writer, you should always be writing. Observing people - their behaviour, how they interact, etc. - should be a natural part of your craft. Writing just one chapter sounds to me like you are only really at the planning stage, and not fully developing characters and situations. Read every day. Read quality books, short stories (I find it strange that you say you don't like stories and you are a writer!) and try reading some books about writing itself. As YOU are the writer, YOU have to come up with where your stories start and end. If you don't know where your characters come from, then you have to give it some thought. I suggest you start by writing about things you know a lot about, and work from there. There are loads of techniques for developing your imagination, and loads of books that will help you. I wish you luck with it
Oh damn. No I didn't mean.. oh no .. I didn't mean I don't like stories. I meant I don't like to write short stories. For said reasons.
Two things, Core: 1) Nobody said you have to be able to end a story you started right away. Sometimes it takes years to come up with what happens before and after that one scene you crafted. Let that idea sit in your head, mull over it every day, and eventually it'll grow into something you can use. Writing isn't a race unless you have a publisher deadline, and if you have one of those, you already know what happens anyway. 2) I think you need to start reading some different short stories. Short stories are an art in of themselves and, in their own way, are every bit as rich and difficult to craft as novels. They're condensed. A good short story will have as much characterization and plot as a novel but will compress it down into a fraction of the space. It's hard to pull that off well. You don't just shorten everything and call it a day; you have to craft powerful scenes that pull every ounce of their weight and waste no time whatsoever cutting directly to the heart of the conflict. Not easy, but when done correctly, it's a beautiful thing.
