Hello everyone..., I'm just someone with something to say, not a brilliant writer yet... but looking for something different. A life long goal of mine is to create an entertaining expirience that is different to all others or just get a good book published (mind you... will probably take until I'm 50 ...lol). But I was wonderin if you could give me ideas on where to start... i.e. Is there something that you have been looking for in stories... something that seems to be missing?? All the ideas people come up with would be great. Thanks, Eagle Spirit.
I think before you start trying to write about something that will really interest people, it's important to flesh out your own style. Once you have a style that appeals to people, which would require an immense amount of writing, then you'll find it easier to write about something. I also believe that if you're a stylish enough of a writer, then you can really write about anything and people will enjoy it.
EagleSpirit, I believe that the majority of writers who write novels, especially aspiring ones, write novels that they're interested in, and would themselves like to see on the shelves (if they didn't write it, than by someone other than themselves--which is where your question comes in.) While there are authors that write and publish just to pay the bills (quite a number for example have written erotica under pen names--while writing SF and working their way into a career), they generally say it was not fulfilling or of great interest to them. There are tons of ideas and themes and characters one could come up with. Writing from your own imagination or ideas would ultimately be more satisfying than writing someone else's novel...kind of along the lines of ghost writing--especially if it's going to take you many years (until you're 50) to accomplish. How many years would you want to focus/spend writing someone else's idea of a good novel? Sometimes writers wonder where to get ideas. They can come from anywhere at any time. Sandra Kring, ( Sandra Kring: Author ) who has had two successful novels with Bantam/Dell and is contracted for a third, told me that the idea for her second novel, The Book of Bright Ideas, came while walking out of a post office and observing two young girls playing. The incident sparked both memories and the idea for a relationship between the protagonist and her best friend to be centered on in her second novel. Maybe not exactly what you were looking for, but I hope it helps. Terry
Yeah..., the advice you both gave me has given me answers, and objects to aspire to.... thank you so much for your help. Eagle Spirit.
From my experiences with writing, the best place to start is with yourself. The point of people reading something worth reading is if what they are reading is credible. So you need to develop your own voice, which isn't something people can help you with. U need a unique point of view on the way you look at things, and portray that on paper. Then you need stories to carry your voice. Creating a resonance between the plot and your voice is what is going to grip the readers, because they are looking for something which connects themselves with the writing. And it isn't the plot or the voice, but the resonance between the two. When you write to the point that you move yourself, like, when what you write makes you laugh out loud, or cry, when you can bring those emotions out of yourself, that's when you know you have something. Because those things are what is going to grip readers in the same way they grip you. I believe that writing is more of an art than a craft. You can study what other people write and study the publishing market, but in the end every writer has a voice, and you have to stay true to yourself. Let the publishing companies worry about the marketing because you are a writer, and you have a story to tell. Don't write for anyone else other than for yourself. Write about what you are interested in, and do it passionately. Then everything else will come naturally.
Have you ever found yourself in a position where you're faced up against something bigger than you could ever hope to be? If so, what kind of thoughts and feelings did you have when you were in that position? You can translate that into a story and add in some swords, maybe change whatever it was you were facing in your own life to a corrupt empire?
You don't have to take down a corrupt empire to have a positive effect in the world. All you gotta do is make it a little bit better, one person at a time. The best way to do this, is write from your own experience. Steinbeck did this. Hemmingway did this. Even Poe did this. All good writing comes from personal experience. Well, maybe not all, but plenty of it does. How do you harvest a forest? One tree at a time.
Edward, A lot of good advice above. When folks write to write from what you know...you know the human condition, stuggles for love, acceptance, rejection. Successes and failures. Friendships and trials. The other 'stuff' is backdrop. The background or the state from which the story is told. That is not to say that writing a SF story, it's okay to muck up the physics or chemistry, but the story--what happens and why. The characters and whether the readers care about them. About the goals and aspirations, whether they succeed or fail. If you look at it from that perspective, it may help. Terry
In my opinion, a writer doesn't have to take on a whole armada of flesh-eating zombies launched by Hell, armed with only a tinsel fork because 1. That would be terrible and 2. The most compelling stories are the simplest ones. Those stories that touch you on such a personal level, you could relate to the characters (even if they're a New York broker or a humble sea slug), and see bits of them in the mirror. A good story gives you a Truth that you've known all your life and twists it into a whole new level of experience. That's what makes a story interesting: Human Conflict. And, there is only ONE condition to be able to do this. You (the writer) have to be human.
