What you are doing is a process. The magic isn't going to sparkle from your pen in silver gilt glamour across the page. No. It's more like a smithy at his bench, pounding and reheating the iron uncounted times until the shape is just right.
I think it's okay to be wordy as a beginner, I mean you have to start somewhere. The good news is that you now can identify you are being wordy/purple prosy/whatever, that's improvement. Also, being wordy is much better because you just need trimming, otherwise limited vocab could mean much much more hard work. I know this from experience. English is not my first language so limited vocab sometimes drives me crazy.
The quickest and easiest way to knock this problem on the head is incredibly simple. And it works! When you write, pretend you are telling the story to a specific person you know. Pick a person you think would like the story you're telling, and just pretend it's them in front of you all the time. It really helps. Just be careful to choose the 'right' person, or your prose can take some strange turns. I pretended to tell the story of my novel to my sister, because I used to tell her stories when we were children (I'm 5 years older.) What happened, was my novel started to sound like it was written for a child, or at least in a way that a child could understand! NOT the tone I was looking for. Once I forced myself to write for my sister as an adult, the problem just evaporated. I double-dare you. Try this. It really works. You will not sound arty or pretentious if you're talking to a friend or family member, so your story won't come out sounding that way either.
I do this too. It works for me in science writing because no Harvard professor is going to fault you for sounding turgid and pretentious, but I usually spend a lot of my fiction editing time paring descriptions. It's always been easier for me to trim fat than try to put more in so I wouldn't worry about it.
I agree with this. I'm a little worried that what I grew up thinking was ordinary prose is now being considered "arty." John Updike and Saul Bellow died only fairly recently, and they were both bestsellers in their time; when did that kind of writing start being considered "arty"? There are limits to this idea that the simpler equals the better. Hemingway is usually held up as an example of excellent prose because he was "simple" and "direct." Some of the people who say that about him should read him a little more closely. He was as capable as any "arty" stylist of the 100-word sentence, and he was even known to use (gasp!) semicolons! There is more to being a good stylist than simplicity, and there are times when simplicity is not called for. William Faulkner used a kind of bardic style to elevate his poor Southern white-trash (if you'll pardon the expression) characters into the realm of the mythic. JRR Tolkien's work would be laughed at if he'd written it in the style of a modern gritty noir story. Part of the art of writing is pairing the style with the subject, or, for the ambitious writer, viewing the subject through the lens of an unexpected style.
to come up with a name, use aname you associate with their upbringing or stereotype. IE: a mechanic's name being Roy or Bob or Ed or Bill. I am not saying do a racial profile, but It is a rarity to find an American raised in Oklahoma who works as a welder named "Sven" or "Ivan"
Like some of the others here I find actually sitting down and starting difficult, not when I am preparing material for my writing groups or my blog or short articles but actually working on my own 'to be completed one day' novel. I think it is to do with the sheer size of the project. Sometimes I get a huge burst of creative energy, get lots done with great enthusiasm and then start to doubt myself and feel it is not good enough, very frustrating. As to names, they go in fashions so it depends if you are setting your story 'now'and how old the characters are. A cemetary can be a fascinating source,and often a surprisingly pleasant and interesting stroll. take a note book and jot down names and dates of birth/death. They will give you ideas of the names in fashion at various times.
Typing, drinking and not spilling. A talent that wanes as bottles empty. Start out okay but it's the wine that's a real pain in the arse. The bottles are so tall and beg to be knocked over once close to empty. And while I'm drinking and thinking bout knocking things over...How big a fella are ya Joe? Bet I could send ya outa the ring on ya arse with little more than me breathe. Think about it......Samoa Joe vs The Cowboy Monkey. We could pack the house for this death match perhaps even land a pay per view deal. Seriously...Think names should flow off the tongue. Pay attention to syllables. John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt sings well but John Jacob or John Jacob Astor reads better. It has the flow. Aye! Like wine outa me bottle!
Over analyzing and looking for plot holes. I spend more time looking for every possible angle of escape or impossibility than the chapter itself. Then Logic, I have to see if it is logical or at least plausible. It is easy to create a demon or angel that is too powerful. Okay, i take that back, It is easy to make a demon or angel exhibit less control than my universe allows. Later, these rules will be broken. But at this point in my story, they can not be. so, the mechanics or rules I have set for myself must be followed and I go a long way to follow the unsaid rules.
I really enjoy outlining and drafting. I find editing and revising a lot more hard work. Kick-starting a draft can be problematic, too. Procrastination must be banished!
For me... making things realistic enough that they will be believed. It is such a pain to have to explain the fact that just because some of my characters may look human it does not mean that they are (namely my main guy char who can drop 100 feet easily and with no damage whatsoever, so I have to go into the whole anatomy and everything about the muscles... ugh.)
Getting in the flow, I guess. I have a tendency to stop and re-read and re-write too often; I know I need to just write and then later go back and change things, where necessary. But I'm always doing it as I'm going along, which prevents me from getting into that good writing flow.
Write by the scene: then you can write straight through to the end of the scene, then go back and fiddle with it 'til you are satisfied then, move on to the next scene.
The hardest thing for me in writing is acutally starting the story. I always seem to start from the middle and work from there. Also I do have problems with describing appearances (whether it's people or location). And naming the story is always the hardest bit for me!!
God, are you my clone, or what? With the exception of describing appearances, which I tend to do fairly easily through the eyes of other characters, I totally share the same problems as you, WritingWolf. I'm dreadfully cack-handed with starts. I've tried the trick of starting where 'things change' and working forward, but that never seems to work for me. I guess maybe because I don't like reading stories that start that way. I like to get a sense of what things are like BEFORE the change. I hate having to 'work in the background' as I'm telling the story. This doesn't mean I like info-dumps. It does mean that I'm happy reading scenes that establish setting and character, before the plot action gets underway. I guess I write that way, too, which is so unfashionable these days. I'm pretty comfortable with endings, but beginnings? Aaargh. I'm also dreadful at thinking up titles. Dreadful. They're either flat and boring, or over the top melodrama. I don't seem to have a middle ground. It's the kind of writing task I'd be happy to consign to a minion...if I had a minion. Why don't I get myself a minion...?
I would say what are you trying to represent in the writing are you going to real places is it out of this world new civilization. Is it what names to use. Is it inventing new names.
PLOT! I get great ideas for characters, setting, all that jazz. Yet, I can never figure out why, exactly, I've created what I have. Where is my story going? Whats the issue? Well, buddy, you know just about much as me.
#1: THE OPENING LINE! I cannot find a good opener to save my life. My current piece, I kid you not, has been sans an opener since January. #2: I tend to equate fiction to the real world too much. I/E I have zero suspension of disbelief. If it doesn't exist in our world, then it's incapable of existing. Why I've never tried to write Sci-Fi or fantasy. #3: Male character names. I can generate girls names all day and night, yet my guys end up nameless for months. It actually took me a year to finally give my MC's brother a name. #4 This:
My endings are just as rubbish as my beginnings. Nine times out of ten, I feel like I've rushed my endings.
Currently in the middle of writing a scene that is necessary, but utterly depressing. Despite starting the day upbeat, that feeling is now my own as well. Of course, I'll be fine (I'll pop in a movie later or something), but what are some generalized tips for writing sad and depressing scenes in your story, and most importantly, how do you stave off dipping into melodramatic territory? What mood do you write your saddest (and happiest) moments in yourself? What things, in stories, make you most sad?
I think the best way to avoid melodrama is to have complex characters. The situation itself could be something contrived, or one that seems to lead itself to melodrama and cliche but if the characters are very complex and realistic it will probably keep you from delving into melodrama which is really just drama without any introspection. Weirdly I pretty much only get moved during happy or bittersweet scenes (reunions, goodbyes, stuff like that)
As one who struggles (madly!) with melodrama in my own writing, I can certainly sympathise. For me, the melodrama gets removed when I edit. I find if I am too conscious of it while I'm actually doing the creative part of writing (as opposed to the analytical part) I end up with dry and somewhat lifeless prose. Instead, I just wade in there, flinging melodrama in all directions! As long as the melodrama exists in the WAY you're writing, rather than the plot of the story itself, this works. As far as getting depressed, well yes. You will. If you're doing terrible things to characters you've come to love, it will be very unpleasant. If a movie rescues your mood, by all means go for it! For me, I don't mind being in a depressed mood for a little while afterwards, as a result of my writing (unless it's because my writing is horrible!) It means I've done the trick, I guess. If I can depress myself, I'll probably depress the reader too, and if that's my goal ...bingo.
Just finished writing it, and not really liking what I wrote. Not for how it is written, but the content (effective, but terrible). Off to the movie!
If you thinking writing the scene is hard, just wait until you go back and read it during clean-up and editing. I faced the same thing when I had to write an attempted suicide scene. Yeah it's hard, but if it's hard that's GOOD. If it's affecting you, then it most likely will affect the reader, that's what you want. There's not much to do since, as you aptly noted, you will rebound on your own. My only advice would be to try and get the scene done in full so you don't have to keep going back to it.
