My top tip for aspiring writers: Use paragraphs. ;)

>.<

Ugh... just started rewritting my old Odd-Fic.
Any ideas on how to write about something gory without writing the details?
Before it didn't matter, I wanted the gore there. But now, I want the PLOT there.

'Use paragraphs.'

I never do that...hmmm...

Adder, emphasise the sounds: screaming, yelling, begging for mercy. Focus on small things like blood bubbling on a persons lips. Focus on pain, agony. Write the result, not the cause (think about it, it makes sense!)
"No, please! Don't!" screams echoed around the room. Then all of a sudden the sound of something swishing through the air, a crack, splatter, and the screaming stopped; a stunned silence drifted like fog around the horrified prisoners.
Words are all you've got to work with so use them to there fullest.

I find the three main things you need to think about in writing are character, plot and writing. I've sometimes found books with brilliant ideas and plots but the writings so bad i literally find it depressing.
On the other hand, you can have every aspect of the plot mapped out to the last word of every sentence but the characters need to be realistic: someone you can believe in, someone who you can really build in your mind. Possibly the best way to get good characters is to base them on real people. Think of your friends, family and most of all yourself. What are you like? Base characters on aspects of your personality. Write about your own experiences through someone elses eyes. Picture what's happening to a character and imagine how that would effect you. Base an early character on yourself: its the best way to create someone real: if they are real: people you know well make great frames

Get ideas from other peoples books: don't go flat out and nick it all your ideas but pick out small things that you like and develope that into a whole new plot. Think about it from an outsiders view. If you were reading that, what would you think of it? Would you like it? What do you not like? The most harsh judge is yourself. Read other books before sitting down to write yourself and think about what works for the author and what doesn't work. Best of all, get a friend to read it for you: someone who doesn't know about the story, and get them to tell you what they like and dislike. Then change it.
Most importantly of all: know where the story's going. You can have a great idea for one scene that you can build on but if you get a really great thing going and you can't think of an ending then the story is gonna end up rubbish. You don't have to plan the story word for word but at least know what's gonna happen. Know were its going. Sometimes you can sit down and write and it all flows through and everything is great. Don't rely on that happening cause it doesn't happen much.
Lastly, if your stuck for an idea, don't sit staring at a blank sheet hoping something to claw into your head. Leave and come back to it. Read a book, play a game, inspiration can come from anywhere. Think about it whenever you're not doing anything else: when you finish an exam with an hour to spare, think of the story. When you're waiting at the bus stop, lying in bed when you can't sleep, remember what happened last and develope it from there. Think about it when you have some time that you can't fill with anything else. Not when you're sitting in front of a blank sheet ready to write.


One last thing: life isn't prancing through a field of flowers. Bad things happen and its bad things that are interesting: struggles, problems. People like hearing about other people struggling. Like Homer Simpson once said: "Anything to get my mind off my life."

The thesaurus is your friend. Learn to love it.

When you first write something out, don't mull over some details that your having trouble with. Put something out there and keep on moving. That way, you'll have a skeleton to work with when your done, and by that time your thoughts will be flowing better.

Here are a few pointers from me:

-Carry around a pocket-sized notebook to write down ideas for stories
-Take your time to think about the story
-Before you move on to another paragraph, think what'll happen in your story
-Remember not to add so much disney words
-Put some pizzaz into your writing
-Make the story interesting so that other people will read it

A few pointers to all'ya from me.

Cheers,
sliguy101

What do you mean?

What I mean is:

If you add too much long words, your story won't get paid much once it's published.

The thread lives! Again! :cheer:

Keep a pen and a notebook or some paper close to hand at all times, you never know when you'll need it. Last night I was just lying in bed half asleep when BAM-the Plot I had been needing for months appeared. Out of nowhere. If I hadn't had a notebook on the bedside table that miraculous plot might have been lost for ever. Like I said, you never know when you'll need one.

And characters. They don't need to be people you know, you'll be surprised where they can come from. One of my favourites is my Morrowind char who I've transfered to my world(not the plot of the game and what role she plays in it, just her attitute and personality). I spent time playing as her, and as a result of going through so many experiances with her, I know her inside out and top to bottom. I know what sends her into a sulk and I know what sends her skpping down the street. Know your characters, if you don't know exactly what they'd do in a situation, you can't expect to be able to tell your readers. Talk to your characters, think about what they would do if they walked down a street, if someone asked them a question, what would they say back, heck, take them to the pub if they're that kind of person! (obviously you should do these things mentaly, you'll get some funny looks if you walk down a street staring into space or talking to someone who isn't there:p ).

sliguy101, do you have anything to back that up?

Obviously, it's a bad idea to use words you don't quite understand or got straight from the thesaurus. YOu need to be able to read what you write. But if dubious, stoic, or defenrasation come up, you don't need to change them just to make them smaller.

Big words are okay if you're targeting people who know these big words. Don't go balistic and creat a story that requires an 800 in english on the S.A.T. to understand, but don't reduce it all to 3rd grade english either.

I'll agree on that one. Sliguy101... What ARE you on about? ;) If you talk in monosyllables, you probably won't even get as far as getting published, unless you're writing for a four-year-old. The length of word you use doesn't govern the saleability of your book - the story, the grammar, and the style all count. If you can't use grammar for beans, and a person really has to WORK to understand the story, the publisher/agent won't even LOOK at it until you've got it cracked, even if you have to fork out a few thousand and get it properly proofed. Don't say "but it's my styyyyleee!" because that's pretty much kiss-of-death, like in art: "you need to work on your anatomy" - "but it's my styyyyleee!". "Style" is not an excuse to be crap.

But then you can go the other way - people try and be "clever" and use "alternative words" for things, like instead of "ears" write "auricles", and instead of "black" write "ebon". Now, if you're Poe, it can work, but if you aren't, why not just call an ear an ear?

I know exactly how helpful this idea is, and I fully recommend it. One of the best ways for understanding and expanding your characters is to become them. I'm currebtly playing 2 sepreate characters in "Dungeons & Dragons". If I wasn't doing this, I wouldn't have a clue of their true personality!
-Start with a rough sketch or concept of your character.
-Put them into any RPG environment.
-Spend time working out exactly what your character is like. Create their personality and abilities as you'd expect. Mould them through the game's interface.
-Use your now complete character in a story / plot line / random event.

But I learned that from an author...
...okay, an old, retired author.

This isn't exactly a writing thing, but, here goes.

I have an anthro character who will be referred to as 'Bob', is it possible to set Bob's fur on fire and then push him into some water so that he will be traumatised but not harmed(with not harmed I'm thinking still able to move heavy loads)(I am also going to hold his head underwater for a while. Evil, I know, but I have to make him nice and timid and compliant :fuzvamp:)?

Soo... what are you trying to ask, ScrabWatcher? I mean, if it's fiction, you can do pretty much exactly what the hell you like - so long as (if it's intended as serious fiction) you take into account biological capabilities. *eyebrow*

Sounds like you're wondering if it's scientificaly possible, or plausible, for this to work.

I don't know many people who would know first hand if it's possible for some furry thing to be caught on fire, then extinguished unharmed... unless it was really quick.

I guess it depends on what you use as a fuel. If you were to cover Bob in pitch, then light it, there would be SEVER damage to muscle tissue as the pitch wouldn't really stop burning.

A lighter fuel that doesn't explode (probably like lamp oil) should be able to burn the fur (and damamge the skin) while still leaving Bob physicaly able to exert himself after a little healing time. He mightn't be able to run a marathon, but he'd be able to hoist himself out of harms way, or push a heavy wagon.

How long do you think this healing time would be if I used lamp oil? I'm not to concerned about him being able to haul himself out of harms way for a while, but I need to know when he can push that heavy wagon you mentioned(note: this may affect the speed of healing, but Bob is very fit and healthy, or at least before the burning).

When you say "healing time" you have to decide if you just singed off some guard-hairs off his coat (I mean, it's not rare for PEOPLE to accidentally set their hair on fire and wander around oblivious for some seconds before anyone notices and puts the fire out) or burned his fur right off and given him third-degree burns. *shrugs* Mind you, full-body third-degree burns would probably kill him; setting the fur on fire and just letting him notice it, then putting it out, would probably be psychological torture enough. I mean, I'D be fairly shaken up if someone threatened to set MY hair on fire, yaknow?

Morbid individual, aren't you? ;)

It's really hard to guess how long it'd take to heal.

It would be 1 month for any noticible burns to stop being a hinderence... unless there are bad scars.
If you need him to be mobile, say the fur burned away, leaving blisters over most of his body. That way, he should be able to move, and possible push a heavy load if desperate, but it'd be at least a week or two before he can comfortaly move, and may take a month or two for most of the fur to grow back. Badly chared areas or areas scared from the fire probably won't get fur growing on them again.

...and Adder proves he's never been on a burns ward... ;)

If you want a character to be mobile, then rely on psychological 'persuasion'. If he's so burned there's raw skin and blisters over his body, he'll lose the ability to properly thermoregulate, his organs will fail and he'll die - if infection doesn't set in first and he dies of blood poisoning. That's why burns victims have to go to hospital, yaknow? ;)

I meant limited (and above all) small areas of blistering. Obviously, you've got huge problems if about 10% of your skin is damamged from fire, probably less.
I've also said "I don't know many people who would know first hand if it's possible"... exept you, of course, Teal.

...Just pyrophobic, is all. The idea of burns just fills me with horror, whether they're real, implied or just fictional. *shrugs* :P

AAAAAAA I'M BURNING!

Sorry, i just accidently touched the radiator. owch.

Any of you written a story and then sent it to important people? I have!

Well basically I just need to ask a question about good ways to start off a story. Like something a little more in depth than "Once Upon a Time" or "A long long time ago in a galaxy far away"

I'm just staring at a blank screen word document but I'm having the hardest time in the world just putting down the first few sentences. I know that If I trudge through the first few paragrahs then I'll be set into smoother motion but as of now....I'm stuck x.x

I can't think of an easy way to start anything, and it's almost always the part you get stuck on for longest.

All I can think of is to be a little bit into the story when you start. That way, you can give a view of what's going on, then back-track to let people know why it's going on. (I've never played FF VII, but if I remember correctly it starts with something that you've got very little idea WHY you're doing it. Later in the game, you find out)

It's a pretty good way to grip the reader, since they start off with a little action and a few questions. They'll normaly keep reading to find out exactly what's happening... I hope.

*nods* Yeah, actually STARTING something can be a nightmare. What I often do is "start" from a little way in, just to get the creative juices going and actually get something onto paper, and a suitable "start" usually comes along after a while.

I used to just invent the scenario, the workld, the stuff, that kibnd of thing...only one probelm, I didn't have a story. S I basically invent a world where I can fit a story into wothout it going kaboom witht he complications.

That's a problem a lot of people have. I find you need a story to begin with, then you form your creation around the story.
It's much harder otherwise.

If you're really struggling to think of a story, go for something generic, then alter it. Or get an 'old' story (shakespeare, frankenstein, or older, like Beowulf) and base your story upon that, changing and altering to make it original.

Know where your story is going before you begin writing it. Making it up as you go along isn't particularly brilliant.

After trying to write about a character I didn't really know, then trying to make that character into a D&D character, then trying to control a D&D game, I ended up with a rough idea for a small section of a world.

And I can use this as a base. It's always good to know everything about the planet/reality your story is based in. Failing that, use earth. Go back in time if you need to, but use earth

Why the hell can't I write a good story?

You'll have to give a sample so that people can tell where you're going wrong. YOu can't expect us to know everything about you, Metroixer. We're not all god.

Hmm well you can read my devil's city story below this topic.

I skimmed over your story a bit, and two things that stand out like a tree are:

1. You're dialogs. Their way to close to each other without anything inbetween.

That makes me stop reading in an instant. Not to mention it doesn't even say who says what, or what kind of emotion the characters are saying it with.

2. BORING and fast scenes...

This makes me think... okay? So what she died? I don't care.
I think that, becouse you never described in what kind of pain she is. What goes trough her. I hear people being in horrific pain and dieing on the news every day. Doesn't do much to me anymore.

Thats just two things you might want to fix before even attempting another story. Expand your scenes a bit. Give details! Detail details details! It's the key to a good store. Even the color of socks he's wearing (as a figure of speeh...). You know what I mean. Good luck!

When two people are talking, you should start a new paragraph every time the other one starts talking.

i.e.:
(also, run it through MSWord or anything with a spell-check. Mistakes are underlined)

You can add little things to make the dialog a bit more gripping like... "Why wouldn't he?", he said, still with his back to the messenger.

This is a little off topic, but what's with all of these devil oriented stories? I'm even thinking of writing one.

Well, Devil May Cry fan-fics would be a reasonable share of it, "Goth" being another reason.

Of course, it may just be that devils are the new cool (like robots, ninjas, pirates, etc.)

I am no Devil May Cry fan, hell I dopn't even know what that is. But I am slightly on the "goth" side, sort of being really interested in Hell, Daemons, other planar activities. I also just posted my work in progress, Far Far Away, don't be fooled that it is like When We Were the Molvenie, it will change directions quite fast.

As someone who is currentley writing a Sc-Fi novel,and an expierenced writter in general, here are some tips I can throw out to you guys:

Villians - Give them a misson In the day of Tolkien (may-he-rest-in-pace-God-bless-him) it was allright to have a villian be pure evil, with his/her only motive being to take over the world.But DO NOT godown that route, I beg of you! Instead, give them a reason. Instead of making them go 'Ooooo,I'm evil!' go 'This is what's right!'. Make them complexing villians, with a personality, a history, likes and dislikes, etc. In short terms, make them realistic.

Give Heroes Flaws As much as we would like it, there is no such thing as a perfect hero. Even in Marvel Comics, their superheroes have flaws. So, give you're heroes flaws. One example is a character in my novel: he's the leader of the Resistance, and general cliche would make you think he's a wise man. Well...he's not! He dosen't know combat tactics...his robotic hand isn't made of chrome,isn't all shiny and crap. It's rusted, dirty and oily, and keeps falling apart. He's addicted to drugs too. But he has heart, wants to help people, and that is why he's a hero...with a hell lot of flaws.

To anyone writing poetry:

If you're trying to write a poem in a fixed form (like making the lines rhyme, or something daring like a Sonnet), do not let the form ruin the poem.
I have actualy become frustrated with my own poems because I tried giving them a structure, or tried "fixing" the structure, only to destroy the poem.

Also, for end rhyme to work the lines need to be the same length (in sylables or "beats"). You can get a rhythm going (maybe one line of 8 sylables, the next of 10, the next of 8), but try to stick to it. Poems that just have line returns thrown in where words rhyme really don't work.

Hey, Metroixer. Perhaps you've heard this before, but a very important rule to avoid uninvolved scenes can be SHOW don't TELL. Of course, this doesn't have to apply in every scene, but it's something nice to keep in mind. For example, instead of saying 'he was angry with her', you could say something like 'he grated his teeth and glared at her'. Not the best example ever, -_-;, but I hope it helps.
Keep it up.