Actually there is one excerpt in the Novels-section: Solus. My female MC was partly inspired by Samus, especially the fact that in the first game, the players had no idea she was a human, much less a woman, which gave me the idea to armor up the MC and send her off to jaunt through space, end up in abandoned space stations, tough battles etc... and knowing how Samus looks prompted me to steer clear from writing a big boobed hottie. When I'm inspired by something, I always like to toy around with the idea in my version, change lots of details, really mold it into something that's mine. In the end, most wouldn't pick up on what inspired the idea unless I tell them (and in some cases even then they fail to make the connection if I've really gone out of my way to "customize" the source of the inspiration). This actually reminds me of a funny way to come up with new riffs and melodies that I discovered by accident: I was vacuuming the house and I had music playing in the background, but the damn vacuum cleaner was so loud I couldn't make out which song was playing. I just heard a cool riff or a chord progression etc. quickly wrote it down, and then went to check which song was playing and then realized it was some song I knew and that what I had heard was completely wrong, but the result was an original riff that had nothing to do with the song coming from the stereo.
Maybe they just want to sound like "unique writers", but they don't realize themselves that they are taking elements from mainstream media. I wouldn't listen to them, just follow your own instincts. I think you know where to draw the line between recreation and plagiarism. edit: of course going wild with plot and character to stray from mainstream ideas can be good at times, but you should blend the "original" with the "unfamiliar" or else--like you said--the reader is just going to say "the fuck did I just read?"
All of my works have been inspired by other media in some way or another. Heroes and X-Men both gave me a good amount of inspiration for my current project along with my own life experiences. They sort of kick started it then it took on a life of it's own. There are now very small similarities and it veers off into it's own territory pretty quickly. Ooohhh I like that quote! I do love Dali.
I am a blues guitarist and my friends and I play riffs and bounce and borrow Ideas we have off of each other. As an author, if you have any Ideas you feel are good and will not use, feel free to share them here. keep in mind, share only those you would give permission for another author to publish maybe it is an Idea that you tried out and for whatever reason, it did not work out. keep it rather brief, but long enough to get the whole idea across. again, don't use anything you might use or will regret not using. I think this practice will bring better stories out altogether and also create a sense of continuity with our community and kinship with fellow writers (MC) has taken down a corrupt presidency affecting the entire whitehouse like a virus. His name is everywhere and now he must go into hiding, a skill he is VERY good at. He had thought that most everything had gone back to normal when an old friend from the agency contacts him and confirms the old symptoms of the same corruption is there. But what he finds is that this was just the beginning of layer after layer after layer of an evil plot that was made thousands of years ago. a plot so large, That its depths of corruption may transcend the human race itself.
Writers come up with their own ideas. Also, your imagination will serve you better whe n you rely on it, and not on others to feed you ideas.
I can assure you I have my own ideas. But I do advocate the free exchange of ideas to those stuck in a rut. If you did not have an Idea you wished to share, you are not obligated to post one. I have no problem helping anyone with ideas they may turn to their own if it helps to kick start other Ideas.
I also think that even when you ignore Cogito's point (which does still stand), most, if not all, writers don't want to share their ideas: I certainly wouldn't. It doesn't matter if you think an idea you write down isn't for you; maybe five years down the line you'll be able to use it, or fuse it with another idea. It's a nice concept, but it just won't work.
You're missing the point. Feeding you ideas would be doing you no favor. It would hold you back. Depend on your own imagination and no one else's. That is how you develop imagination and confidence.
Ever heard of a prompt? Maybe it's not the best way to write something you truly care about, but it's a good way to keep yourself sharp if you can't think of anything to write about.
While I do not think anyone should take someone else's idea and use it as their own, I believe ideas from other people can be a source of inspiration for creating your own.
Could you expand on that prompt idea? English is not my first language, so I am not familiar with the concept.
Pretty sure that kumbaya feeling you're writing about works best if everyone sings in their own pants. At least that's my two-cent idea so feel free to use it.
Writing prompts are websites, books, or even people that give you quick story ideas so you can write everyday, even if your mind is blank. These ideas can turn into something larger like a full-blown novel, or you may write a paragraph and feel it's not for you. Something like this: http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-writ.php
I started rewriting one of my stories. I thought of turning into another direction or evolving my story. After I had a friend read the first chapter. I got this response. "I think you should take the idea of the 'people living lives without sleep' part and make it into a story if it's own." I said I would take it into consideration however I do find it an insult. Especially when the reader could not understand why the character cannot sleep. I guess the main problem is my description of writing. If I write too much, the reader gets trailed off and confused. If I use just the initial description necessary, readers say they want more. It frustrates me to find the balance between the two and honestly it makes me feel like I should give up on writing. Yes I understand that criticism is great and all but how do I break out of this mentality that everything I write is going to be a failure to the audience anyways. I do post some of my scratch stories and it does make me happy that somebody likes it and then tells me it needs a different voice, different wording, grammar corrections, plot corrects etc. Even if somebody hates it and sees what needs to be fixed it makes me happy. I am just tired of people reading it and then refusing to offer suggestions. I tried asking people who read the type of genre and they just say "it is okay" or "it needs work" What should I do! I am taking into consideration using the dream drug story but how I do tell the reader that it is only part of the character not the main story.
My best advice is to see how authors you liked convey what they want to the reader. I like Tim O'Brien,Raymond Carver, and Anton Chekhov, so I strive to write similar to them. If the reader cant understand why your character cant sleep, then put more emphasis/give more clues as to why the character cant sleep. If you want, there's a story by Raymond Carver called 'The Student's Wife' that's about a woman who cant sleep. See if that helps you. And if I wanted to show why a character cant sleep, I would a lot of soda cans in a waste basket(caffeine) Noise from a neighbor's party, a nightmare,etc.
It seems that you're asking several questions, and not very clearly. But I think the first thing you need to understand is that one reader does not speak for everyone. One reader didn't understand where you were going with your story; so what? Maybe they're not part of your audience. The audience is not one big, monolithic thing that thinks with one mind and speaks with one voice. Find the readers who understand you - or, rather, let them find you.
This.^ In my writer's critique group I used to get my cockles up at people whose comments centered around changing the story. "It's my story, not yours!" were my thoughts about their comments. Eventually I learned, they were not skilled critiquers. It wasn't my problem as long as I didn't let it be. There's a difference between saying something could be written better and saying, "you should change your story." Your post sounds like you had a similar gut reaction to the critique as I did to people suggesting ways to change my story. It's personal.
What minstrel said. I also wouldn't be so quick to seek opinions of my writing until I had it as well-scrubbed and complete as I could make it.
Remember the phrase "You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but never all of the people all of the time" is always true. Basically it's fine to get input from friends but don't constantly change your work based on their views. Who knows maybe da Vinci's friends told him he should get a better looking muse, or paint her topless, but look who’s laughing now. Writing is no different and so while you can listen to opinions and maybe take on board some of them you should still stick to your guns in the end. You'll always get some that would do it differently, will hate it or love it, but that’s the price of expressing yourself to the public.
Blackstar is spot-on with this advice. If the sleeplessness is a mystery to your readers—and you don't intend it to be—then more clues earlier on will certainly create a stronger focus, and let your readers move forward, rather than leafing backwards, wondering what they've missed. Minstrel, and the others posted above, got that point across very well. One of the tricks of being a writer, I've discovered, is identifying your target audience. Hard to do that till you've written, and let people read what you've written. Then gauge the reaction. Let lots of people read your stuff. Concentrate on the people who 'get' your story. Push them for critical advice. They are the people who would buy your book, if it gets published. (Just thank the others for their effort and time, keep smiling, and don't throw crockery at the walls!) If you can be specific in your request for help, so much the better. Some people are avid readers, but don't understand squat about the writing process, and will need your help to focus on what actually needs work. Ask them if there was any spot in the story that confused them. Were there any spots they wanted to (or did) skip over. Did they see plot point A coming, or was it a surprise? Did they like character B, dislike character C. Can they tell you why? This kind of direction from you, the author, should produce the results you're after. Don't worry about turning yourself inside out to please people who don't really like, or get, the kind of story you're writing. But DO pay attention to the people who do like your story, and give serious thought to making any changes they suggest. I've always counted my writing a success when the people who are my target audience want to discuss my characters! When he did this or that, I was really upset. I was hoping this or that would happen, because she's the kind of person who needs a person like that in her life. Or whatever. Specifics. These people 'get' your characters, and that's so satisfying! (Hug them, if you must...) Think of it like this, if you will : you go into a large bookstore—are you going to WANT to read all the books in there? Probably not. Well, they've all been written and published, but you aren't the target audience for a large number of them. But other people are. I feel it's extremely important that you write the story YOU want to write, and get it into shape so that the people who want to read that kind of story will enjoy it! Incidentally, I still remember lots of details about your Amber story, and am eager to read more. I AM your target audience! So much going on, even in that short thread you posted a while back. I was very intrigued. Amber's strange, possibly prophetic dreams, and her reliance on prescribed drugs to keep her from dreaming, the odd, possibly toxic relationships within her family ...and now they are under attack from outside... hey. Cliffhanger. Can't wait for the next installment.
Everybody made great valid points. I think you are all right about my target audience. When I think about it, people are telling me what they want to read not what they think of my stories. For now I am going to set it aside until I am completely satisfied with the story. This has become a huge bump in the road with writing stories that are not considered the mainstream genres. I am going back into the drawing board to see what I can do to fix some of the plot holes and some of the gray areas in the characters. It is a challenge for a writer to please an audience. Looking at it now, I am going to the wrong audience.
So in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole books (which I should probably get around to re-reading), the best way for the heroes to avoid brainwashing is by re-telling legends. Would it be okay to use this concept in a story of my own, or would that be plagiarism or something? Thanks!
