1. AlphaAce

    AlphaAce New Member

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    Greetings with a question

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by AlphaAce, Jun 21, 2013.

    First of all,
    Hey everyone! Im new here. I'm 19 years old.

    I have a problem, I'ts a bit to tell so I'll begin.
    Im 19 years old guy, and I'm in love with great stories. Any GOOD story, brough as a book - a Video game, a movie or a TV Show, Id get into it.
    Do you know that feeling? when you connect with the characters, Try to understand them, feel them and follow them, and every time when the story gets to an end,
    you feel so empty inside? Well I'm used to it. I wont lie and tell you I've read many books, nor seen every movie nor played every video game, But Those that I read, watched and played, some of them were soo good that that feeling stayed for even a week.
    The problem with me is, well, since Ive been a kid every time I had to sit in class, or wait or even do a walk outside, Ide run those little stories in my head, those wich I made up, and even today, Many of those stories get me wired up, The adrenalin kicks in and I just wish There was a way to demonstrate those. And the is not the problem, the problem is, infact , That I have no idea how to bring these stories to life.
    So, Here I come to you guys, as a new-comer in this pretty large forum,
    to ask you for advice. How can I write? How can I start, and learn? should I just write everything and then make an order out of it or what?
    I really want to write stories and hopefully bring those someday on a theater screen, or a computer screen.
    So friends, can anyone share some thoughts?
     
  2. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Hi. I can relate to what you're saying. I often get to the end of a book and experience sadness that the story is over. I'm also living within the story I'm writing. It helps me figure out where the next chapter needs to go.

    First, if you want to write, you have to pay more attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation. I don't know if English is a second language for you or you are texting on some phone or IPod device, or you are just used to being a bit sloppy, but that's the first thing you need to attend to. If that bothers you or you don't see the need, then it suggests you want to tell a story but you aren't willing to do the work.

    Then I'd suggest writing out one or more of the stories that are now only in your head, even if you don't know some part of it like the ending or some other thing the piece needs. From there you edit and re-write and fix the holes and learn how to write as you go.

    That's what worked for me. Other styles work for other people so you may find a different option works for you.

    I'd also get some books on creative writing from the library, scan through the books and find one or two that you can relate to. I looked at a dozen and only found a couple that had what I needed. Other people had different choices, the point being there's a lot of variety within the writing community.
     
  3. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    First of all, welcome to the forum. A couple of things caught my attention, so let me take them in order of importance.

    First:
    I'm going to take you at your word, that you would like some advice on creating work that is of sufficient quality to be sold. The first thing that caught my attention was:
    That does not sound as if the main problem is an inability to write down what is in your head. It strikes me as though you were/are highly distractible. So was I as a boy (still am, too, sometimes). My 26-year-old son was diagnosed with a form of ADHD, and I often wonder if that applies to me, too. Rhetorical question: has anyone ever looked into your apparent distractibility? Because if this is a legitimate medical issue (it isn't always), that can be addressed, and then your writing issues may be less daunting. You mentioned that you are 19. Are you still in school? If so, and if you still find being distracted a problem, you might want to speak to a teacher about it. They can point you in the right direction to get help. Do you read much? Do you have difficulty concentrating when you read?

    Looking at your post, I see poor sentence structure and very poor punctuation, as well as a couple of misspellings. Now, you may say (as others sometimes do), "what difference does that make? You got the drift of what I meant, didn't you?" But if you really want to be a writer, the answer is that it makes all the difference in the world because a writer is judged by what he writes and how he writes it. The written word is everything to us, and the best approach is to always take it seriously enough to do it right.

    My advice is to start small. Take one of those scenes you have in mind and write it out. Write out what you see, what happens, who it happens to. When you have that, write what happened just before it. Then write what happened after it.

    Read a lot. All kinds of books. That will give you exposure to a wide variety of story types and writing styles.

    Best of luck. If you want to discuss further, PM me.
     
  4. AlphaAce

    AlphaAce New Member

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    I had my issues in school thats true, I'm in college now, English is my second language, and dont get me wrong, I really do want to learn and to fix those spelling issues and grammar mistakes I'm having. I've been top in my class in english though, and I was'nt bad at school, I had my problems, but it did'nt really affected my study.
    No, I dont get distrscted or having a hard time to focus on what I read. Im currently reading the "Dance of Ice and Fire", all five of them.
    I'll try to write them down, but honestly the problem is I have no idea how to orgenize the details.
    Well, I'll do my try, and hope to post some soon.

    Thanks for the comment.
     
  5. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    if you read well written fiction constantly, you'll SEE and thus learn how to organize the details...

    but if you want to be a screenwriter, you'll need to read well-written scripts and then learn the difference between those and a 'spec script' which is what you, as a new and unknown screenwriter need to learn how to write... i mentor many aspiring screenwriters as well as all other breeds of writer, so if you need tips on how to write screenplays, or any help along the way beyond what you can find here on the site, i'm only a mouse-click away...

    love and hugs, maia
    maia3maia@hotmail.com
     
  6. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I see you have free services and professional services on your web link. What's the difference, if I may ask? You can answer in a PM if you think that's beyond what should be discussed in the forum.
     
  7. AlphaAce

    AlphaAce New Member

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    Thank you very much. Will do.
     
  8. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    i mentor aspiring writers full time, for free, ginger... i'll pm you about the other, which i do only occasionally...
     
  9. Vault

    Vault New Member

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    You want the best advice? Just write. It doesn't matter if they're snippets of ideas, paragraphs, full-on tales, outlines, character descriptions, or just one or two word ideas, just get them down. Trust me, it helps because now they won't be forgotten. And then, if you feel like you can, expand them. It's very easy to get overwhelmed, but the writing should come first and foremost. Editing, spellcheck, etc can all come later, just get your ideas out. I know it's tougher than it sounds, but I hope it helps.
     
  10. Kathrin Doelle

    Kathrin Doelle New Member

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    Hi Alpha! Welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new here as well, but I've been writing for a considerable time - no fancy stuff, just ... things. Diaries. Reviews. Far too long emails at work. And I'm writing a book now.

    I see a certain passion in your entry, and that's generally a good thing. You need passion to be a good writer. Writing is something that comes from the heart - like everything else that makes you successful. You ever wondered why some people are good at what they are doing and other people aren't? It's because those who make it love their jobs. They don't just do it for fame and money, they do it because it genuinely gives them pleasure. Right, that leaves the question whether something can ungenuinely give you pleasure, but hey, this thread is too short for linguistic analysis.

    Having said this, you say English is your second language, as you might have guessed - well, English couldn't possibly my first language with a name like that ... Actually, English isn't even my second language but my third, and if you asked me now if I could write a novel in my native language, I'd say I couldn't. It just doesn't have the same linguistic potential. I think in English, I function in English, and I think that's the crucial point here. To be a good writer you need a good command of the language and it takes years to learn a language. It's not just grammar and spelling. When I first came to the UK my English was excellent. It still wasn't "English English". It wasn't conversational English. It lacked the fine tuning, the slang, those things you don't learn at school or at uni, those things you pick up in conversations, on telly, in books. And that aside, what would be so wrong with writing in your native language?

    As for the what - what do you like? Write about things that you like. Write the genres that you like. Me, I'm a big fan of Raymond Chandler, David Wishart, Lindsay Davis, Carl Hiaasen, P G Wodehouse. I couldn't write a Mills and Boon or a Science Fiction novel. I'd probably piss myself laughing if I had to. But when you write about something that you like, the ideas just keep coming in like a gift that keeps on giving.

    Yes, and read a lot. Reading is the key. When I was at university, one of my tutors, a very wise lady, said that you need to read in order to be able to write. I didn't believe her. I didn't like reading very much. Then I moved to the UK and was suddenly faced with a 2 hour commute every day. Man, you do start reading quite a lot, and if it's only to avoid staring at the crotch of the bloke who's standing in front of you in a packed train for the best part of an hour on your way from Finchley to Vauxhall! And I think that's contributed to making me what I consider to be a good writer. Reading that is ... not staring at other guys crotches.

    Good luck with your endeavours!
     

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