No. Seriously. I'm lucky I can plot my way from one room to the next. Without hitting the wall. Repeatedly. Don't get me wrong, I'll paint you a beautiful landscape with lavish scenery. I'll crank out a dozen characters to populate this pretty place. Then they mostly hang out, sipping coffee and waiting for me, while I lord over them crying "DO Something! Interesting! Please?!" Oh wait, this is an introduction. I'm twenty-blahblahblah years old, and live in America's Mitten because I like complaining about weather more than I like moving. I'm kind of a big ol' gamer nerd. Fall Out, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Skyrim, Dragon Age... The list goes on. Expect shameless fanfictions. You have been warned. I have very good intentions when it comes to writing, and almost no follow through. I get ideas, mull them over for weeks, and once I attempt to commit them to paper pretty much lose steam. I figured joining a forum would we a good way to test my assimilation into human society---uh. Um. I mean.... Test my... Voice! Yeah, that's it. See if I can muster up some inspiration, and churn out something that passes as readable. Maybe even learn something. Anyway, expect to see me lurking around, inserting my snarky commentary hither and thither like an Easter Bunny of Sass. P.S: Hours for plot navigator are constantly in flux and inconvenient. No previous experience required, but that defeats the purpose of me hiring you. No health benefits, but first aid kit on site. Pay is non-negotiable and will be distributed in bottle caps. You'll thank me after the nuclear fallout.
Welcome, Spenser Rose. Maybe you could find an exchange of services with another writer. There are many for example that need assistance editing, if your skills in that area are strong. Good luck as you move forward and work to forge a good story from beginning to end.
Hiya Spencer, from your confession you do what I do. Big on ambition and intention; a soon thereafter falling out of love with whatever journey has been embarked upon, subsequently followed by abandonment < which is disguised as a pledge to complete it later. I'm a bit older than you and on my circles around the block the best remedy I've managed is to go for the short story over the magnum opus. Yes, short stories with each new one longer than the last which will hopefully have you stretch your boundary. That's my tip. Realising your limitations and this request for a 'plot navigator' mind, is a good start.
I know a few characters in my novel who would use those bottlecaps. And you live in the mitten too huh? Maybe we'll meet after the apocalypse and have a beer if they aren't too irradiated. Have you tried outlining your novel? Or tried following a beat sheet? The beat sheet is somewhat disliked by some (I'm not sure how significant that some is) because its fairly mainstream (especially in movies), but it could just help guide you in the outlining process. I know what you mean though. I could go on forever about the locations, and fleshing out the character with meaningless information. It can be difficult at first just getting things down and progressing. If you have a vague idea for the outline, that's somewhat better for me personally than pantsing.
@SethLoki I'm so glad I'm not alone!!! I often dream of multi book series and my name in lights, but the most I've ever written was 115 pages, and it was not... Real gooder. And thank you for the advice! I've recently started writing flash fiction and short stories, I see that this forum has bi-weekly contests, I think I'll start there. @J.C Adkins Mittenites unite! I've got about 300 caps saved up (just in case) so the first beer is on me, irradiated or otherwise. I'm such a detail junkie, especially with colors. I could write pages and pages describing a room down to the last detail. Nice to find a kindred detailer. I've never heard of a beat sheet? I'll have to check it out! My big problem is I wanted to write a fantasy, but don't have a knack for it. I have the people and places, but have a hard time moving them through a story aside from start/finish. I'm better with "urban" fantasy and Scifi, that stuff just comes to me, but I don't enjoy it as much? Dilemma.
Where approx on the mitten? I'm on the west central-ish side. Also, typically first drafts aren't that great. It usually takes a crappy first draft, then a second to polish it followed by beta readers, then more polishing, then editors, then more polishing, etc. Usually also the first drafts aren't the most detailed. You're just getting the plot down then adding detail and prose in the second draft. Personally I love creating characters moreso than environment, but I'm not bad at environments. I'm typically a drama/horror/sci fi writer myself. So you prefer fantasy that takes place in a much more recognizable area? As opposed to a high fantasy with fantastic scenery and different races? As far as setting, I actually much prefer rural settings over urban. Beat sheet might help you even if you tend to go by the seat of your pants. It helps you get a rough potential outline.
I'm a thumb dweller, right on the knuckle. Canada is literally across the street/River. I can sit only porch and watch the freighters go down the Black River. I'm stronger with small, intimate groups of characters. The more I spiral outward from that, the less convincing they become. Environments are just easier for me to conceive. I like urban fantasy, real world settings wih surreal elements. Everyday magic. Whenever I try writing fantasy I find myself trying desperately to rationalize my world before I write. Perfect example: I had a story that I was really in to writing for a minute, a high fantasy. Got about 30 pages in just chugging right along.... And then I started thinking. Politics, religion, magic system. All vital parts of what I had intended to write, but the more I explored those aspects, the less my story fit. So I cut and trimmed and when I was done I didn't like any of it. Writing became a chore. Now it's indeffinately back burnered. I'm not against world building--far from it--but total world creation is a bit much for me yet. I'll stick with what I know and branch out as I go.
Hi @Spencer Rose ! Welcome to the forums. I love details too and can fuss over them for hours because it has to be/happen the same way I see it in my head. As a result, my story goes to crap. I'm learning to be a little more flexible with the details in the beginning stage. I like that beat sheet that you've posted, @J.C Adkins. Will have to download and see what I can do with it with my constantly-in-progress novel. Y'all enjoy your stay here; the coffee's in the corner, and it's your turn to bring cake on Tuesday.
@molliemoogle You're a Kiwi?! I love Kiwis! I will bring you SO MUCH CAKE. It's not that I mind detailing a story. I try to make sure that for every chunk of description I have, there's at least another chunk of dialogue or action. Without name dropping I have read plenty of works where every blade of grass in a field is painstakingly described. It's decribed beautifully, and I can picture it exactly, but that was 25 pages of my time/life I'll never get back. I just don't wanna be that writer.
