[stylist] questions
vejas
brlsurfer at gmail.com
Fri Dec 28 21:19:58 UTC 2012
Hi,
Another interesting thing that comes to me too is when I'm
creating a story, parts of it appear in my dreams. These dreams
give me new ideas for scenes that I can add to the story. (Of
course, I can always change what I want-it doesn't have to be
exact.) But I love that ability.
I agree that you don't really know your character until you're
well into the story.
Vejas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:26:04 -0500
Subject: Re: [stylist] questions
Lynda,
My pleasure; I'm glad you liked it. You're right; there is some
sense in
which we find the creation by pursuing the craft. I've heard
many writers
say that their characters seem to take on a life of their own and
dictate to
the writer what they will and won't do.
Donna
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Lynda Lambert
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 1:23 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] questions
Donna,
This is absolutely excellent. I have copied it and put it in my
word
document file so I can look it over again and again as time
passes. You have
given us all an "end of the year" gift. Thank you.
So often, I have found the beginning of the story as I was
writing the end
of the story. In fact, we really find the "story" as we write,
usually. I
may begin with an initial idea and theme, then as I get into the
writing it
takes on a life of it's own and takes me on a journey I never
anticipated
when I began. This is true of all of the arts, when the
perceptual passes
into the conceptual.
Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 12:05 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] questions
Hi Wallace,
I'm not much of a poet, but have written many articles and one
novel. I
believe that an extensive thought process/fantasy is the best
ground-work,
which it sounds like you have already tackled. In terms of
translating
your
ideas into an actual work of fiction, I would recommend that
you just sit
down at your computer and start a document. Don't worry about
anything
just
write down your ideas. You can start with "In this story, ..."
and say
what
happens or "My main character is ... " and get a character
profile going.
It's really important to just write, let the thoughts come, even
if you
start thinking "hey that can't be right because ..." just write
that down
too. The important thing is to keep going and don't go back to
correct
anything. It can take the form of an outline, if you're more
comfortable
with that. It can even start with you talking your ideas into a
recorder.
If
you start with an outline and then sense yourself going into a
different
form like maybe writing out a conversation, just go with it; get
it all
out
into a form you can revisit.
Once you're done with that, save it as is. Then, go back and
edit it for
clarity. Always use the "save as" function to save your work,
and do
something different in the title to differentiate the new draft
from the
last one. I date mine, but you could have them numbered. This
becomes more
important as you go, since you may include a scene or plot
thread in one
version, and then you think that maybe you don't want to use it.
The thing
is, though, you may change your mind. It's more liberating if
you know you
can change things totally around and still go back, if you think
there was
something in an earlier version that worked better.
In order to make things easier to find, I created a folder for
"stray
scenes" where I kept all the little scenes I didn't think I
needed. Some
of
them were re inserted; others are sitting there waiting for a
possible
place
in the next book. I have eliminated things only to realize
later that I
was
right at the time that the scene or thread didn't belong where
it was, but
now that I'm further along, I realize that it does have a place
-- just
not
what I had originally thought.
The beginning of a story is so important that I advise not
stressing over
it
till you're really a lot further along. Just start with
something.
Remember
that every story starts in the middle. Even the Bible -- what
was God
doing
before creating the universe? The trick in fiction is to find
that perfect
point to begin writing, and that often presents itself down the
road.
Since we both write articles, I'm thinking that some of what I
do in that
area has spilled over into my fiction writing and it might be
useful to
you.
The basic questions that a fiction writer has to answer are
exactly the
same
as those a journalist must answer -- who, what, when, where, why
and how.
In
fact, my mind-set for the two forms doesn't differ much, except
that in
journalism, I look for the answers outside myself.
As an article writer, I have often interviewed subjects and
typed out what
they are saying as the conversation proceeds. I like to go over
it right
after the interview, so I can flesh out my shorthand. I add
things that
clarify what I asked and add some context that didn't make it
onto the
page.
Then I start writing around the notes, putting the information
into the
kinds of sentences that will eventually be in the article. I
don't worry
about order until I have everything I want to include in the
article in
one
document. Then, I start moving things around by cutting and
pasting and
grouping information into sections.
This same process can be applied to what you write up during
your original
brainstorming. You might, for instance, end up with several
things -- an
outline, one or more character profiles, a description of the
surroundings
and a bunch of thoughts and ideas that you don't really know how
to
categorize. As they start to come into focus, create separate
documents
for
them -- always keeping the original, of course.
Most of the work I did on my novel was editing. I find that
liberating as
well. Once you have the idea in your mind down on paper, the
rest of the
process is to put it into a form that will best communicate that
idea with
the reader. It's not like it won't require some creative
thought, but your
analytical brain can aid you greatly by pointing out what is
either
missing
or what is necessary to move the story forward and keep the
reader's
attention. You might look over your notes and think, "I don't
really have
much here about the physical surroundings," or "I'd like to get
some of
the
character's background in here, but I don't want to just say
what he went
through 20 years ago." In those cases, I like to go for a walk
and just
look
around for the scene in my mind. Once you've thought it
through, getting
it
on paper is simply a matter of style.
One thing I was particularly conscious of as I did my many
revisions
concerns the timing of and the way in which information is
parceled out to
the reader. Deliberateness in this area can create and sustain
the tension
of a mystery. Do you really want to let the reader know, for
instance,
that
your hero has already decided not to load the gun? Information
does two
things beyond that; it educates the reader, and it limits the
writer. You
may say something that you feel is completely immaterial to the
plot or
character development in the beginning of the book only to
realize that
you
may have boxed yourself into a corner later. Some of those
well-crafted
descriptions that get you going in the writing process are the
very things
that need cutting or revising later on. But, you don't want to
try to
figure
all of that out in the first draft.
HTH,
Donna
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Kyle
woodard
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2012 7:27 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: [stylist] questions
Hey all Wallace Kyle Woodard here just had a few questions for
you wanting
to get some peoples advice and opinions from those of you who
may have
some
advice to share. I have always been a poet and a writer of
articles and
have
had some success in these areas as shows my job and my book,
however I
have
always wanted to write fiction and stories and have some really
great
ideas
however am struggling to form those ideas and scene images into
words on
paper. I was looking for advice on processes and techniques
that work for
you as well as any other advice you may have thanks in advance.
Wallace Kyle Woodard
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