End of the day I go with the adage that 'rules are for the guidance of wise men but the blind obedience of fools'
Experimentation is definitely the right word. I think a lot of us are contrarians, and when someone tells us not to push certain buttons, we're going to push them anyway for the express purpose of seeing what happens...and since we're writers rather than nuclear physicists, pushing the red button doesn't actually have that many consequences. Sometimes when you push the red button, you realize that there's a good reason people told you not to push it, and you never do that again. Sometimes, you realize that the only reason they told you not to push it is that their friends told them not to push it, and the button doesn't actually do anything. More often, you figure out that the reason the button is red is that it does something really drastic - and that it can really mess stuff up if you press it at the wrong time....but that it can do some amazing stuff if you learn exactly when to press it. After all, if there was NEVER a reason to press the red button, there wouldn't BE a red button.
Oh dear, has that one made my life hell. When I first started, I rightly got busted for unattributed dialog. Two years later I'm now rightly getting busted for overuse of dialog tags. So now I'm line-editing all of my dialogue to remove about half of the dialog tags and signal who's speaking via action rather than "said" and/or its synonyms.
My advice is what I've learned from my creative writing teacher: "start the book where it gets good." If the story is about a llama's quest to cross Peru in search for its master, start when the llama gets separated in the first place...not months/years earlier.
'He that has saveth sausages,' you said; THE END, 2132 words, A R Fertley That poor boy, I really must not discourage my students, ah what's for supper tonight, sausages, oh yes, oh boy oh boy - ummm. what the hell - A...A plus...A plus plus. That should make somebody's weekend really special eh, maybe the chap'll lose his virginity...ummm, I love my job. ... I like all writers - except the 'observer of people' type writers. They are irritating. Also writers who 'just have a knack' for writing chatty prose/possessing great self-confidence: people who say things like 'anything is possible is you believe in yourself.' They are particularly loathsome, the sort of monsters who end up in government.
I like all writers, except the one/s who take 5+ years to come out with the next book in the series when they make a living off the first 2 books in the series. *Cough* Rothfuss. LOVE his writing. Loathe his writing speed.
This discussion reminds me of what somebody said about craftsmen: "The apprentice does not produce good work, because he does not know the rules. The journeyman produces good work, because he knows and follows the rules. The master produces great work, because he knows which rules to break and which to follow."
Junior dentists give better injections because they are more cautious. The old guys don't care so much, only stick a hairy hand in your mouth - is another one..
Evening all Just a simple question, what do you guys do that helps you get in the zone to focus on a night of writing. Where about do you go to be able to focus on the job ahead. I like sitting in the living room with the 80's music channel on with a cup of tea to hand. Also when it comes to note taking i use a seperate notepad to gather all my character bios and location settings to, helps me remember where people have been etc. What other writing technique advice can you give?
Somewhat to my annoyance, it appears that the very best place for me to write is while sitting in the rocking chair in my vegetable garden, typing on my phone. This is not efficient.
I like white noise generators (usually rain/ocean sounds) or occasionally orchestral music. Pop in the earbuds to block out whatever nonsense my roommates and pets are up to, make sure I have a glass of water. Have you tried a bluetooth keyboard? I know I can't type for shit on a touch screen.
I've considered that, but then I'd need a table, and I'm worried that that might change whatever magic vibe makes the garden work. Right now, the garden is where problems are solved, so I fear to mess with it.
I usually listen to some music before I start writing (Not while I'm writing though). It helps me think and clears my head of what doesn't need to be on my mind.
First, I read over my work so far - aloud! - to get my sense of rhythm and imagery back on course. It puts me back into my world. And I read over my notes, just to fix my brain in the most appropriate portion of my available skullspace. I like silence, or as close to it as I can get. When I can't just bash new text into Scrivener, I write by hand in a notebook. I am very particular about my notebooks. I need hardcovers, numbered pages, bookmark, elastic closure, etc. A Leuchtturm1917 does nicely. I write my text on the right-hand pages, reserving the left-hand pages for notes, trial sentences, experimental flights of wordsmanship, and so on and so forth. This separation of function between left and right pages is important - I write lots and lots of notes. It wouldn't surprise me if, by the time I'm done, I have more words of notes than of actual novel. I find this oddly satisfying.
I write at my kitchen island with tea if I'm day-writing and wine if I'm night-writing. I can't listen to any kind of music at all when writing as I find it completely distracting. I can't even wear earbuds at work!
I currently work in the dining room, not a great place I know. I am going to move me PC to the bedroom. I really need to get a laptop so I can move around. All my novel information by my side like a best friend.
sleep bed I like finding a different word processing software and marvel at all the buttons! It's kinda inspiring. I also like to open a tab with one of those websites that provide nature sounds, fireplace sounds, storm sounds etc. in the background. And that's why voice-to-text was invented. I think it's all the vitamin D one gets from the sun that brings little spurts of creativity.
This part is is how I also work. I have to read over my work to really get back into the story. From there I can take off. And the quieter the better. As for where I work (which doesn't really have anything to do with technique), my lover makes furniture. I have a custom-made desk made of refurbished material. It's really wonderful. Then above my desk I have a magnetic board. I bought it at an antique store. It's made of old ceiling tiles, and it's really cool. My lover is in the process of making a bookshelf out of the same reclaimed wood as the desk. I have a great lover and a great little work station.
Apologies if a thread already exists about this. I couldn't find one that was what I was looking for, but then again the search function on this forum has always proved unreliable to me for some reason. I took a film class and of the many things I learned (most of which I've forgot), one of the concepts I learned about was transitioning from scene to scene using similarly shaped objects. So, cereal bowl to shower-head, eyeball to the bowl of a toilet. The purpose is to create a sense of continuity or to help create a meaningful connection between two objects. Other means of transition include sounds. The siren of an emergency vehicle and the noise of one's alarm clock. Or one more example: I'm by no means a film critic or watch a lot of anime. I imagine what I'm about to explain is common in other entertainment, like sitcoms or The Walking Dead / GoT. A favorite anime series of mine, Fate: stay night, has really good pacing and other well executed aspects. By pacing, I'm talking about how there's either a fight, or a build-up to a fight, or suspense-- and the writer(s?) really know when to give the viewer a break. But the breaks aren't just filler; no time is wasted in further exploring and developing the cast of characters, and their relationships with one another. And the end of each episode isn't always a "cliffhanger" necessarily, but it definitely makes one want to binge the whole series in a single night. Each episode typically resolves the "question" or *a* question, or reveals something important. You get a real sense that things are progressing in a believable and natural way. It would appear to me that this sense or feeling is pretty fragile and requires the hands of an expert surgeon to get right. I'm being slightly hyperbolic, but it's easy to tell when a show is stagnating or wasting time, or alternatively when it is moving too quickly. Undoubtedly the common ground with all this is the subject of storytelling, so much of what I'm saying is true across all forms of media/entertainment as long as what's being told is a story. But the expression of such concepts comes out differently from medium to medium. I for one think it can be really useful to examine scene structure (at a storytelling level) by watching a well-written anime series or television show. Mainly because it might accomplish the key parts of scene structure in a different way. It might also be helpful to have a visualization of the process shown to you as it goes along. And lastly, it may give one some refreshing ways of approaching their writing. What are your thoughts? Are there any techniques from other storytelling mediums that you believe have influenced your writing in a valuable way?
I've been using some "Save the Cat" and "Anatomy of Story" stuff while outlining the book I'm working on, and I've probably watched a solid 20 hours of Film Courage videos on YouTube. I was skeptical of Truby's screenplay writing method because it seemed canned and fake when I started, and I had a hard time coming up with an outline. I've probably rewritten everything from the premise on half a dozen times. But now, I'm really happy with how my outline is turning out. It came together well and I feel really attached to it. The screenwriting style is pretty rigorous, and I'm not good at it yet, but I think it's awesome.
I remember seeing those on Amazon. I took a look at them but I came away with the same skepticism you did and just never looked back. I can appreciate that there are "a pirate's guidelines" to storytelling, and that there *are* things that should be accomplished in the first page for example. But there quickly comes a point for me, personally, where painting-by-numbers sickens me. I guess it's okay if he's not advertising it as "the one and only way", but just one proven way of many. However, I'm just a big fan of having freedom and exploring and experimenting; I'd rather have an Elder Scrolls or a Fallout or a Cyberpunk 2077 than just on-rails experiences like Call of Duty (not that there's anything inherently wrong with the latter). A sandbox needs boundaries but I actually want to have room to be able to play in the sandbox still. And you can make the same thing on a beach as you can in a sandbox, and similarly one can make a snowman with snow as well as sand.
