Hey guys... I have this idea...no...an entire plot, complete with the ending figured out in my head. Its a very deep, philosophical subject. I'll be writing about religion, herd mentality, montony of routine, etc. I was wondering what style should i use to write it. I want to do a satire. I have a Joseph Heller kinda satire style, with significant South Park style humor thrown in. But then I think a satire would take away from the depth of the subject. A more straight laced subject, I guess, would sound much better, at least from a publisher's poing of view. What do you guys suggest?
Read Terry Pratchett, and Swift, satire can work for any and all situations. It just has to be done carefully, and those two are/were masters of it.
Repeats above. Also, see Little Miss Sunshine. Not necessarily satire, but gives an education on how to mix skillfully provoking emotions with uproarious humor.
Thats why I wanted to write satire. And the Little Miss Sunshine was a pretty good movie. It was like a tamer version of South Park
what kind of 'publisher' did you have in mind?... magazine, or book?... do you want to write an article or essay?... or a book-length rant on some subject?... what do you want it to do?... make a point?... educate?... or entertain? can't advise you w/o more info...
I have a lot of plots... Some are short stories, merely to entertain. But what I really have in mind, and what I really want to do is work around with this plot I have and turn it into a regular novel. And the primary purpose of the piece would be to make the reader think. Entertainment comes much later. So I guess the kinda publisher I really want would be a regular book publisher.
then you only need to know what it is you want to write... and then write it! we can't tell you what will work best, because we don't know... 1. what you have in mind 2. what you can write if you write it well enough, any of the styles you list above can sell... just not necessarily to the same markets or making the same impact on the readers...
What are some tips for changing the style of a piece? Lately I've noticed that my prose is beginning to sound like a history textbook. I could use a little advice on how to stop this, and maybe a bit on what exactly makes a style "readable." Like, people will read a thriller novel, but are put off by wordy "classical" works. What gives? I know this is an obvious question, and two minutes after I post this I'll come up with an answer on my own, but any thoughts would be appreciated.
I think that people will read Thriller and not wordy classical works because they're well, wordy. Too much detail and not enough action turns readers off sometimes, but some people prefer the classicals to the thrillers. If your writing doesn't appeal to some people, I'm sure it'll appeal to others, so unless you're really concerned about it sounding like a history book, I wouldn't try altering it too much.
Well, you could tell the story from a different point of view. For instance, instead of telling it from the perspective of the person in the middle of the action, tell it from the perspective of a bystander, or a trainee, or a prisoner, etc. Another style is to tell several separate stories that eventually converge, so you show enough of a scene to capture the reader's interest, then swith over to another part of the action. You can see this in J.R.R Tolkein's The Two Towers, You can vary the pace. If you have a lot of long, descriptive sentences in an action sequence, try rewriting it in short, snappy sentences, and forgo all but the most important description. Try matching sentence length to the amount of action. If the characters are resting or exploring, expand the description and lengthen the sentences to reflect that. Do the same thing with the dialog. If a character is slicing enemies while trying to avoid being julienned himselfhave him delivering a lengthy soliloquy about how he will have his revenge for all the misdeeds of his ienemy's inbred ancestors. Hope these ideas help.
Great, thanks. I think working on sentence structure like Cogito suggested will help me out a lot. And, Charlie, I think my problem with the "show don't tell" rule is that I've subconsciously amended it into "Don't tell, show too much and THEN try to tell." I think the reason I sound like a textbook may have to do with my own redundancy. But anyway, thanks everybody.
try writing more like you speak... a more casual 'voice' will appeal more to most readers than a formal one...
I think I'm going through yet another writing change. Have you noticed that over time, your writing style changes, and sometimes improves? Well, mine changed, but it sure isn't improving. In fact, it's duller, and it's boring. Do you think this is just part of a bigger change, and eventually it will improve, if I give it time? I'm worried and confused. Also, has this ever happened to any of you? Please share your experience with me. It would help a lot. Thanks for reading, Charlie/Unicorn.
I think it depends on the nature of the change. If the overall change is large enough, you may have work to do to get it into better shape than the old style. But it's also possible you have picked up some bad habits. In either case, you will need to dissect the new writing to figure out just why it isn't working.
Please note that this not intended to be insulting or condescending to teenagers in general or to you in particular. 1. At your age, you have so many changes and stages to go through before you find your voice. You have the luxury of time, time to experiment and play with what works for you and what doesn't. 2. It very often happens that a writer is not the most accurate critic of his/her/its own work. Show the "new style" to an objective third party, and see what they say.
However, as regards point two, she already recognizes that something in the new style lacks snap. Of course an extra set of eyes always helps, but I believe it's a worthwhile exercise to try to tackle it yourself first.
I've had this happen before, most often in the form of writer's block. Sometimes I can't figure out what to write, but when I go ahead and try to write it without any get-up and go in me, it'll sometimes turn out "boring", and sometimes not even relevant to the story. When you write something, be sure to go back and polish it, change it if need be, or add and remove parts all together. And yes, if you give yourself time and practice (I can't tell you how much I must emphasize the latter) you'll find yourself improving. Hope I was helpful '^^
This happened to me not long ago. You have absolutely no inspiration whatsoever. Or your imagination is dying. To inspire yourself, read something that got you into writing in the first place. For me, it was manga. Or sit there and look at art. To regain imagination, take time off from writing altogether and think about plots, concepts, characters whatever. Just think and go into some sort of zen and tranquility mode and just think about nothing but your art. I do that without writer's block. The only way you can fuel your creative writing is with your imagination. And your imagination must be paid for with clear thinking. That's how I see things. I'm so patenting that last bit. MY QUOTE!
Hi To look at this slightly differently, I think change can be a good thing in any creative endeavour. I would hope that you continue to view things in a new light, trying different approaches and tackling new subject materials. Sometimes one can get to easily stuck into a creative style, or formula that you believe works well. Changing these aspects may not always provide staggering results first off - but they will provide over time a solid understanding of the art you are trying to master, and IMO inspiration can often be link to change All the best Matthew
I would also advise having some time out... stress can affect us in many ways, like do terrible things to our imagination.
ok, so since you asked, mine changes all the time, like every other week or something I am writing slightly different. Just trust your abilities and see where your writing goes. I know it might sound corny and that but things take time, it is all part of developing. And if in a while you still think it is dull or whatever, work on it. At least you know what is wrong with it, which is the first step to improvement.
Thank you all so much, you've really helped. I think I'm going to take a break, think about my plot(s), then go back and look over everything. If this is another change, I'm okay with it. Maybe I just need time to settle into the new style. Well, thanks again. Charlie/Unicorn
