Seeking wisdom

[Tomas]

I know that this subject has probably been broached and probably discussed to death in the past, but one more once.

 

For the past 18 months or more, I don

[Mark Arbour]

I can only tell you what I'd do. I'd play the scene in my mind, then get inside the head of Boy A or Boy B. It sounds to me like you're trying to write from outside looking in. That's why all you see are the outlines of the people, not the whole person. If you jump inside one of them, you'll have to deal with his flaws and strengths, and see the world through his eyes.

[Tipdin]

I often don't know how to write stories that occur to me. A friend of mine came up with a winning idea (for me) that works every time.

 

Don't tell the story.

 

Tell someone ABOUT the story.

 

I used to talk to my friend and explain what I was trying to do. Eventually, I cut him out and simply wrote what I would have said to him.

 

I often find that I have to write ABOUT a story before I can actually write the story, itself. It's sort of a form of thinking out loud - on paper, well, thinking on computer, but you get the idea.

[Hamen Cheese]

In my case, I welcome the countless hours of imagining what happens next. Maybe try not being too descriptive? Maybe you could try writing first what happens rather than how it looks, feels, etc.?

 

I find that that helps me anyway.

[Graeme]

It's not quite the same thing, but when I started writing I had one scene that I wanted in the story. That was the first scene I wrote, and I told myself if I couldn't make a decent attempt at capturing the emotions of the scene, then I wasn't going to try to write the story. I ended up being happy with how I wrote that scene, so I worked on the story, and any time I got a little stuck, I went back to that scene to see if I could make it better.

 

You have a scene in your mind. The first thing is to convert that scene into words. You're not going anywhere until you do that. Mark has suggested how to improve the scene, and help you with the before and after parts, but just start with the scene itself. If you can't put it into words, you're not going anywhere.

 

Don't be concerned if it doesn't match what you visualised. The key is just to start. Stories can have a way of evolving as you write them, so start by writing what you visualise, and don't be worried if what you write diverges from that visualisation.

[Tomas]

Thanks, guys. Those are some great suggestions and I'll be trying each of them. Maybe one will fit or maybe a combination or they may possibly lead to one of my own.

 

Hopefully, I'll be able to kick-start this story and get on with it or kick it to the curb and let it go. If it turns out to be the latter, then it there evidently wasn't a story to be written.

 

The best to all of you and thanks again.

 

Tomas

 

[Mark Arbour]

Thanks, guys. Those are some great suggestions and I'll be trying each of them. Maybe one will fit or maybe a combination or they may possibly lead to one of my own.

 

Hopefully, I'll be able to kick-start this story and get on with it or kick it to the curb and let it go. If it turns out to be the latter, then it there evidently wasn't a story to be written.

 

The best to all of you and thanks again.

 

Tomas

 

 

 

That's a really smart approach. You need to find what works for you. If you try a bunch of different things, you'll find it.

 

 

[Former Member]

I've also done this, and I keep a computer folder with ideas or scenes alone, separate from completed story outlines or other synopsis. Each idea or scene I give a descriptive name.

 

Usually every couple of days I read/look through that special computer folder. I may not open each file individually but I do peruse the titles, let myself have the opportunity for a stronger urge to enable me to expand that creation. I bring the events back into my mind, the characters and let them begin their conversation again with me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't, I don't try to force it. I wait for another day.

 

I found that dwelling on lack of ability to produce often "pushed away" a fuller feeling of needing to finish a story. It's like my mind became so focused on creating, it give me a kind of anxiety, which naturally caused me to avoid the story. Also I've found personally when I read updates or news from other writers about their completion of a story or a new publications, it could sometimes make me frustrated with myself that I don't produce more, even when the stories are in my head. I took some moments to calm that feeling.

[brosentha21]

I am new to writing. I have always had good ideas but never knew how to turn them into stories. I am partly autistic so that makes it difficult for me to put my ideas on paper. I have been working on a story. Trying at least... I noticed that I keep going from past tense to present tense and also from like a first person story to third and bad again. My story is extremely complex but again due to my autistic side, it makes sense and I can keep track of everything in my head. I just don't know hot to structure it into the story so others will understand. What are some good ways to get better at writing. I am also AHDH so my thoughts go everywhere. My story is basicall the main character finds true love and through that love discovers himself. He descovers powers that he never understood or even realized. He never had control and his love becomes the control for his powers. His love is also in danger from a very organized, funded, and powerful group that wants him dead. The story is the main character becomes his protector and succeeds where the US Martials fail. The rest is really complex. If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. I am looking for story structuring, organization, and help with writing styles and figuring out what mine is.

[Hylas]

I avoid expanding on a single scene idea outright. I start with one scene (as we all do), usually at the most traumatic moments of the story-to-be. I write it down (just a brief summary of what happens, including dialogue that I think is most effective at capturing the intended emotions) and I archive it. When another idea comes up that fits the scene, I write that down to, when I have enough to have the most basic seed ideas for a story, it's when I start looking online or my surroundings for more conflict ideas. Then I string them all up together, double check the order of stuff happening, and I haz a plot.

 

But I still do have orphan 'ideas'. Scenes or ideas that don't fit in anywhere. They may still prove useful for future stories though.

 

Fiction is very different from non-fiction. There is structure for one. It helps if you know what you NEED to make a story - basically characters, background, conflict, climax, resolution, and (optional) romance. Without the said structure, you don't have a story (though you may get away with it if you're really good, like some avant-garde works). You can easily find examples and suggestions for making these parts of the story online. There are also plot suggestions online, which you can mix and match if you want. But you can get the same ideas elsewhere as well, like from movies, books, people you know, even children's stories (a lot of stories are basically fairytales dressed up to other genres).

 

Remember that a scene is just that - a scene. Like a movie. Stories don't go on uninterrupted, so don't expect a single scene to lead unto the next seamlessly. It's better if you think of your story as a movie. With the boring 'filler' parts (like the main characters eating or sleeping or having small talk with a neighbor that is not significant to the story) cut out. It leaves you with a series of interconnected scenes, each with a definite start and end point.

 

Even if the scene that you currently have doesn't seem to have a point, their interactions in that scene might lead to, hint to, cause, or otherwise affect other more important scenes.

 

Again, think of the story as a movie. A series of 'snapshots' of moments in your characters' lives.

[Tomas]

Thanks again. Using a combination of the techniques that each of you have provided, I've been able to put down on paper (virtual paper of course) some of the scene and the action that is taking place within at least part of the scene. Also, more of whats happening seems to be trying to get out.

 

I was able to come up with a working title. At least a name that I can use to save what I've written.

 

And names for two of the characters.

 

Perhaps there is a story to tell after all.

 

Thanks again.

Take care

Tomas

 

[Tomas]

Never mind

Edited October 10, 2010 by Tomas