Honestly, I just stumbled across these forums today, and I’ve already picked up some very useful info. So I figured if I was going to take, I should probably give, so I signed in. It feels weird to critique someone else’s work before I’ve put my stuff out there, but rules are rules, as they say. I’m looking forward to some useful convos. I’ve been lucky enough to have some non fiction published, but I’ve been kicking around the idea of making the scary leap into fiction, and hopefully this will give me the impetus to finish a WIP. Or two.
I knew someone would appreciate my tips on how to pickle vegetables! That was what swayed you, wasn't it Jlivy? On a more serious note, it's natural to feel a bit of imposter syndrome when critting someone's work. But at the end of the day, it's all about the writer needing feedback from readers. So if you read, you have a valid opinion that might help them out. Even if a certain someone around here will quickly pounce and tell you what opinions are most like.... Can I be cheeky and ask what the non-fiction stuff you got published was about? Welcome to the forums!
I completely agree! This place really is a gold mine! I just joined recently myself. Nonfiction scares me because it unleashes that Perfectionism Monster I've stuffed into a tight corner (it likes to growl at me about how things must be perfectly correct or it's not nonfiction), so I tend to stick with fiction. What's scary about fiction for you?
Thanks for the advice. I'm looking forward to learning all kinds of things, but I also really want to know what people think as readers as well as writers. Like; "Is this something you would like to read more of, or am I way off?" I very occasionally wrote some things for Renaissance Magazine (sadly now defunct). Something about pirates, a glance at early pistols, a peek at plague doctors and just to have something that didn't start with "p", an article about that crazy Frenchman trying to build a castle in the Ozarks. Just fun in my spare time. Also got an article on the website for Feast, a regional food magazine. The editor was actually apologetic about how little that paid, but I got free pastries and coffee. I just have to reiterate-this place is great, a ton of useful info (pickling included), and I'm sure it must be a ton of work. Thanks for doing it.
I know it's kind of backwards thinking, but non fiction has all the various facts there like building blocks and you just have to pick what to start with, what to leave out, and how to get to the end. There's actually lots of different ways you can approach it, you just have to make sure there's nothing untrue there, but the presentation and emphasis is up to you. I guess it's just what I'm used to. Fiction...well, sheesh, you can do anything, right? So where do you start? What if they don't like the stuff you made up? It's pretty personal. And I'm still not sure how to handle dialogue well, and characters, and plot... you get the idea.
Oh, you mean Passepartout? No, wait, that's somebody else... Stake your claim pardner, thar's more'n enuff ta go 'round!
Yes! That's scary to me. What if I accidentally invent something? Or misrepresent? In my day job, I deal with numbers -- it's hard to invent things there. Language, however, is a different matter. I love language. It's a living organism, really -- it changes and adapts; the same words can mean drastically different things to different people. It's mesmerizing. Because language is so fluid, I don't trust it with nonfiction as I do with fiction. We're in a complicated relationship - language and I.
Well, it does drip lots of slime... It's from the Stephen King showcase called Creep Show made in the 80's, a movie based on a horror comic of the same name. Or did it go the other way, movie and then comic book? It was 4 or 5 stories all penned by the maestro, and one included a cameo by him as well. This little beauty is called the Crate Monster, kept in a crate under some basement stairs and discovered there by Adrienne Barbeau.* Here's the scene, from the good old days of pre-CGI animatronic monsters: I guess I owe myself a hundred points now... I didn't realize it was age restricted . Well worth the click though I promise, if you don't mind a little devouring (and then there's the part where the monster eats the woman too ). And don't worry, it's a comedy, no gore at all. * For some reason I always remember it as being under basement stairs, but it's actually in a lab. Weird.
Hi Jlivy3 and Welcome Definitely an avid reader but like to write in private. Writing for me, is more in the research field so there is very little that I've published. As for reading itself, LOVE it in general but more so, started reading fiction. Now leaning towards non-fiction and memoirs. Lucky but also fortunate with the "fiction" I've come across, their works have required research. Some COULD say that it is non-fiction but is correct to note it as fiction. As for the "fiction" books and wanting something light to read, these are good too . . . for a change
More than a cameo... he got a whole vignette. Not a half bad actor, too. I still occassionally yell, "Meteor shit!" when we come across an unidentified substance at work.
Lol! It's been too long since I've seen Stevie in the overalls and doing the southern accent. Another movie I need to get.
Ah, I have heard of it, but never got around to watching Creep Show. I should watch it. Ok, I am convinced now. I must watch it.
It's very cheesy but doesn't pretend not to be. And it's got quite a few random 80s stars in off beat roles. Worth a watch. Hal Holbrook, Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Ed Harris.... Each vignette is like 15 - 20 mins, so it's economical and noncommittal, too. Creepshow 2 isn't horrible either.
If you read a lot, and I mean a LOT of fiction, you'll already be familiar with how dialogue, characters and plot get handled. You might not be able to cite the actual methods the writers have used to get there, but you'll be aware of what works ...and maybe what doesn't. Have faith that you're already more skilled than you realise. You may not know exactly how to get it right, but you will know when something is 'off.' If you don't read much fiction, I'd say that's the first thing you need to do. Reading fiction should become part of what you do. Your subconscious is more powerful than you realise. As you read, you are subliminally aware that fiction isn't just a series of plot points and character sheets. It's a journey the writer organises for the reader. The difference between books and movies is simply that movies create the journey visually, while a writer has to create that journey with words. But it's a journey, and all journeys take time. The more details the traveller notices during the journey, the more interesting the journey is. If the only thing that matters to the traveller is getting to THE END, the journey itself will be boring.
Small world. The cardboard sign I hold at the freeway exit says, "will write for pastries and coffee".
Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Funny, I was just thinking how much of what I've tried to write has come from accumulated experience-both real life and reading, and how I was attracted to certain types of tales before I had even heard of anything like a genre. Well, looks like I'm off to read, pickle vegetables, and watch Creepshow...
