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  1. TheOtherPromise

    TheOtherPromise Senior Member

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    Wannabe Writer Saying Hello

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by TheOtherPromise, Jan 10, 2020.

    Hello y'all.

    I'm a wannabe writer. As in I want to be a writer, but am not to the point where I feel comfortable calling myself a novice, amateur, or even beginner.

    My hope is that by joining forums like this one and discussing writing with, well, writers. I can improve my craft to the point that one day I become a published author.

    I'm mostly interested in writing speculative fiction (okay, I'm only interested in writing speculative fiction, it is a broad category after all).

    What I am struggling with the most at the moment in regards to writing, is description. So tips on that front is definitely something I will be looking into. (Though in fairness, given my lack of experience, I need help in all aspects. That is just my most noticeable failing).
     
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  2. Some Guy

    Some Guy Manguage Langler Supporter Contributor

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    Welcome! I like your open-minded attitude. Before taking up the 'pen', I share with thee a few thoughts.
    There are no bad stories. 'Bad writing' is a mechanical issue that can be fixed with tools.
    FINISH your story! If you get stuck, put a thought or question at the end, do something else and come back to it. Write anything else and give yourself a small victory, "A man was born. Then, he died." If your story seems played out, write a quick ending to pinch it off - finish it. It may rekindle or be useful, years later! Countless times I just write, "then everyone burst into flames and ran around screaming until a giant Godzilla foot stomped everything flat." :D
    Your finished rough draft should be a mess! It should be riddled with notes, questions, daydreams, opposition points - a journal of your writing experience: "[i'm going to get myself a snack... okay i'm back, what the hell is mr x doing while y and z are talking?]" I once had a ten-page argument with myself in the middle of a chapter. I ended up using nearly all of it in three different parts of the story, one of which I hadn't even written yet!
    Always leave yourself a question or reminder when you stop a session. Never hesitate to jump to the top or bottom of your Doc and write a quick note about any idea, even if it's not relevant to your story at the time. Look at these every beginning of a writing session and follow where your mind takes you, in another Doc. I've gotten several chapters from this.
    Description. Always let the characters be the description, in that you describe what they see and how they react or speak or think or feel in digestible bits. I am heinously guilty on this one!

    I'm happy to answer any questions on the above babble. Good luck! :)
     
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  3. TheOtherPromise

    TheOtherPromise Senior Member

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    @Some Guy Thanks for the advice. Writing notes is something I really should do more often. Writing little bits about what is going to happen next when I finish writing would be very useful in getting rid of those pesky, "Hmm... Where was I going with this?" moments.

    As for descriptions, digestible bits definitely is what I aim to do. Since my main issue with descriptions is a worry that they are slowing down the pacing of the scene too much. Though that results in me just wanting to skip out of them entirely, which I know is a bad plan.
     
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  4. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    Welcome! I'm EFMingo, one of the new moderators here at the forums. Don't be shy about contacting me or one of the other active mods (jannert, big soft moose, and Iain Aschendale at the moment) if you have any questions or problems. Ive placed links here for quick reference if you need it: New Member Quick Start and Forum Rules. We have a policy here that new members will only be able to post their work for review when they have completed 14 days of membership, 20 forum posts, and 2 critiques for every 1 workshop post for review. You will find that the time and posts go by quick, and reviewing others work can be an eye opener to errors you may even find in your own writing.

    Description can be tricky when starting out, and it becomes especially easy to fall into the trap of almost pure dialog when firs writing a story. It's okay, we've all been there. You will find that many many other members struggle with description, and have begun decent thread discussions with how to go about get over difficulties in writing description. My advice would be two-fold. First, never forget you have more than just sight and sound to choose from. Make the reader feel, smell, and immerse themselves within the environment of their work. The other is to not forget about body language. Most communication is actually found in body language, and not just speech. Remember to describe this, sometimes emphasizing it for the quieter characters, and you're characters will come more alive than before.

    Again, welcome to the forums! I'm glad to have you on board here, and hope to see you around helping others on the different sections of this site, as well as getting the help you need through previous discussions, or questions of your own.
     
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  5. Mikelindo

    Mikelindo Member

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    I wanted to add my humble input. That is to say - if you regularly put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) in a creative fashion, then you can absolutely call yourself a writer. Perhaps not an author (most of us are here with that aspiration), but most definitely a writer. Keep pushing on and you'll see your writing improve with every word, sentence, paragraph, and page. Save the manuscripts you're currently working on. After a year of consistently writing, pull them up and you'll see clear developments with your style, word choice, grammar, etc...
     
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  6. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Yeah. You don't have to win the Olympics to call yourself an athlete. You don't have to win a Michelin star to call yourself a chef. All you need to do is work at your chosen endeavour. You are a writer, if you write. That's more than a lot of people do. :)
     
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  7. J.D. Ray

    J.D. Ray Member Supporter Contributor

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    Declaring yourself a writer is the best way to convince yourself and others that you are. If you have any sort of integrity, then saying "I'm a writer" will push you to write things so that your statement is true. And once you've written things, other people will see that you're a writer. So start by identifying yourself. Also, welcome aboard. It's a great place to be.
     
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  8. TheOtherPromise

    TheOtherPromise Senior Member

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    To be honest, I do consider myself a writer, I wast just trying to think of a silly way to say hello. And I have a self-deprecating sense of humor, so...

    But yeah, I've already seen improvements on my writing based off the WIP I started back in October (which was not very good) and gave up on in December, and the one I'm currently working on.
     
    Mikelindo likes this.
  9. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

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    Read. Think. Express both your feelings and emotions in some other way than words. Take care that you understand what is the difference between feelings and emotions. Define familiar things in a new way.
     

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