Hello all, I joined on Monday but couldn't find time to post until now. I'm a subpar writer that's been writing on and off for a few years now, mostly fanfiction, but this year I'm hoping to write some original content and I wanted to find a place where I can learn to develop plot and characters on my own. My goal is to have a first draft of a novel by the end of the year. Wish me luck!
Hi Lili I'm one of the forum moderators, and I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the forum. You are in good company here, as many of us are people who have just dabbled in writing for a while, but are now taking a serious shot at it. I expect if you've been writing fanfic, you'll have a good idea of how characters 'work' in a story. Even though you are using characters somebody else thought up, you will be familiar with keeping them in character. Fanfic doesn't work if you change the characters a lot, so you'll be familiar with giving them new plots, but keeping their personalities—and perhaps the personalities of the other characters associated with them—intact. So I'd say you're ahead of the game a bit. You already know how to convey personality. In fact, it might even be the personality of the characters themselves that inspired you to write more in that world, so see if you can hang on to how that's done. Only difference is, this time you'll be doing it with your own characters. Anyway, if you've been browsing the forum, you'll know that we have a section for Fan Fiction, and sections specifically for Plot Development and Character Development. So feel free to ask questions there, if any come to mind. However, beware of feeling like you need to write by committee, because the committee will never totally agree! You can end up with so many conflicting ideas coming from so many directions that you can lose your own sense of direction. Try to develop your own characters and plot if you can. But don't hesitate to use those sections if you run into serious snags you can't seem to find a way out of by yourself. That's what we're here for. Anyway, while you're getting settled, please read these two sections. New Member Quick Start and Forum Rules These outline the forum's operating procedures and will help keep you on track. You also might want to take a look in our Workshop area. This is where our members (after qualifying to do so—see the New Member Quick Start guide) post samples of their work for critique. Constructive critiques from members like yourself are most welcome. As you may want to use The Workshop yourself at some point, it's a good idea to get a few critiques under your belt right away. You are required to do two critiques for each piece of your own that you post—this 2:1 requirement lasts for the duration of your membership—so it's good to get a head start. If you're not sure what we mean by 'constructive critique,' this should help. https://www.writingforums.org/threads/constructive-critiques.20627/ Anyway, I hope you enjoy getting to know us and letting us get to know you. If you encounter any difficulties getting settled in, don't hesitate to contact me (via a 'conversation') and I'll do what I can to help. Cheers for now, and see you around the threads. Jan
