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Post by lass on Apr 3, 2011 8:06:38 GMT -8
Rookie here ~
So . . . just HOW do you guys write??? Do you get a scene in your head & then the rest just comes?? Or does dialogue come 1st??? Does watching the episodes help for keeping the characters fresh in your brain??
I have one scene I've written but there isn't a story to go w/it.
I have part of a story all mapped out but no dialogue yet.
Just wondering HOW to keep myself motivated to finish these so I can post them for all of you. ~ Lass
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 3, 2011 8:51:53 GMT -8
Good question....I can only answer for myself but usually I see a story in my head and I just try to get my fingers to keep up lol. Watching the eps helps me sometimes when I need to get into the right mood. Or I read some of these guys stories when I'm stuck on one of mine. Keeping motivated can be easy just get one of the greedy gus's around here to crack their whip. Some of them are VERY good at it I'd love to see some stories from you.
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Paradox Eyes
Cadet
"Hmmmm......Which guns and gadgets today??
Posts: 1,123
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Apr 3, 2011 15:51:07 GMT -8
It is a good question and one that everyone will answer differently... I started the same way lass. I wrote a scene but had no story to go with it. It was my very first attempt and I ended up putting that first one aside for another time. Then I started studying the structure of the episode stories and how other people structured their stories. I also remembered the old 5 W’s from old writing classes. Who, what, when, where and why. We already know the ‘who’ is Jim and Artie. Add whoever they are going to interact with, bad or good. ‘What’ is going to happen that brings them together? ‘When’ in the story is it going to happen ? ‘Where’ does it happen and of course ‘why‘? Then you have to resolve it. There are times when I write a story from the middle out. I start with that one scene and look at a way to get my story to lead up to it. Or I can see the story resolving itself after that scene and I’ll go ahead and write the ending first. I’ve done that a couple of times. A lot of my writing is done in notes. I’ll be doing something else and think of some bit of dialogue or details for the story and jot it down and stuff it my purse or pocket for later. You may find yourself starting several different stories and only finishing a few of them. I have quite a few started. I have the entire story start to finish in my head for several of them and find that real life keeps me from writing right now but I always “write” in my head or on scraps of paper for later. Early on, a reader and fellow writer suggested that I get a copy of “Robert’s Rules of Writing” by Robert Masello. It was incredibly easy to read and understand and I think it was very helpful in getting me organized. I would highly recommend it. That very first scene I ever wrote, never became a story until I’d completed a few others first. But I kept it and eventually it became the opening scene in “Red Dune Death” so don’t throw anything away, even if you get frustrated….just keep writing, it will come! ;D BTW, Pet is a most excellent whip cracker, she got me through Red Dune Death beginning to end with her encouragement. I highly recommend her as a beta too!
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Post by California gal on Apr 3, 2011 17:17:04 GMT -8
I think my methods are similar to both Pet and Paradox. A scene pops into my head. Once in a while it's actually the beginning of a story and then I have to figure out where to take it, but more often than not, it's something in the middle, so that I have to write UP to it and then finish it. For me, sometimes, the finishing is the most difficult part. More than one story I ended up completely changing the ending because it just wasn't working. And of course, that often requires going back and changing something in the earlier part of the story. (So one big tip: don't post any part of the story until the entire thing is finished! How many unfinished chapter stories have you encountered on fanfiction.net?) I have scads of unfinished stories, and even more ideas that I've never even started. I keep an "idea" file so that when a scene comes to mind, I put it in the file so that I can go back to it one day if I get so inspired. Some "ideas" are pretty old and I've never followed up on. Others I have actually gone back and written the story. The other thing I do is read and re-read my stories as I'm typing them and also once I'm finished. Having a beta reader (or two or four) is a good idea too. It's amazing how things can slip by, from typos to points that make no sense in the story. I tend to write rather long stories, so sometimes I have to remind myself what I wrote before--and not duplicate. Some people like to make outlines. I've never done that, but if I have an idea for later in the story, I will sometimes write it out so that I don't forget. Occasionally I start a story and it flows right through to the end without a hitch. Occasionally. Jim and Artie are such great characters to write for. As I always say, I write to entertain myself. If others are entertained by reading them, that's a bonus. Thing to do is to just dive in. I know you can find help and advice here any time. Pet has this habit of neglecting her own writing to read others' stories.
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Post by lass on Apr 4, 2011 5:07:39 GMT -8
Thanks for all your help everyone. Glad to know that I'm not the only one w/slips of paper all over the house w/dialogue & story ideas on them. WHY do I get inspired @ work when I can't do anything about it? I have a few days off this week so maybe I'll be able to get something written. Thanks again ~ Lass
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Post by Kit on Apr 4, 2011 7:02:18 GMT -8
Welcome Lass, I look forward to reading your stories...
I am a bit different than these ladies... Something or someone in my real life usually inspires a character and then I try and develop a story around them.... Sometimes it works other times not so much.... I also find that I tend to listen to music when I write and depending on the scene I am looking for depends on the music choice.
I tend to write at work when I get a few mins but shhh don't tell the boss lol
Also I do suggest a Beta min has saved my bacon on more than one occasion ;D
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 4, 2011 8:29:34 GMT -8
Pet has this habit of neglecting her own writing to read others' stories. Uhm er well yeah! If I need motivation or inspiration for my own stories reading other peoples usually helps put my brain back into gear
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 4, 2011 8:31:50 GMT -8
Thanks for all your help everyone. Glad to know that I'm not the only one w/slips of paper all over the house w/dialogue & story ideas on them. WHY do I get inspired @ work when I can't do anything about it? I have a few days off this week so maybe I'll be able to get something written. Thanks again ~ Lass I wrote some of my best (and scariest) stories while I was at work lol. Nightmare jobs tend to lend themselves to helping produce some good angst lol
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 4, 2011 8:33:24 GMT -8
Welcome Lass, I look forward to reading your stories... I am a bit different than these ladies... Something or someone in my real life usually inspires a character and then I try and develop a story around them.... Sometimes it works other times not so much.... I also find that I tend to listen to music when I write and depending on the scene I am looking for depends on the music choice. I tend to write at work when I get a few mins but shhh don't tell the boss lol Also I do suggest a Beta min has saved my bacon on more than one occasion ;D You have a Beta reader??? I'm pretty sure you haven't given her anything to beta in some time ;D
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Post by lass on Apr 4, 2011 8:50:54 GMT -8
The hard part is getting the scene I have in my head down on paper before it either disappears or I get distracted & lose the whole thing.
I've had this one scene running in my head, keeping me up @ night . . . . but now that I'm trying to get it written out the "feeling" of it is gone. GGGRRRR
I'll keep working @ it. ~ Lass
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 4, 2011 9:20:41 GMT -8
Please do...sometimes just a word or a sound or something will trigger your memory. CG once told me about a dream she had all she could remember was "something happened on the train" and all of a sudden I saw a whole story lol.
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Post by lass on Apr 4, 2011 10:41:15 GMT -8
If anyone wants to PRE-read my stories please let me know. I'd like some feedback before I "let them loose" on everyone.
Any pointers would be helpful too . . . ~ Lass
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 4, 2011 13:44:44 GMT -8
Consider this your notice..... SEND THEM TO ME NOW!!!! Please
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rielle
Book Worm
yeah, THAT smile.
Posts: 497
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Post by rielle on Apr 4, 2011 16:19:22 GMT -8
First of all, Lass, welcome! So glad to have another writer here!
I'm Rielle and I write VERY VERY long stories! So what I do is keep notes... whole, huge .doc files full of story notes [regional or ethnic character names, info about various horrible injuries, info about languages, info about places, or at least figures of speech from different places. And I tend to 'cast' my stories [the villains, and the other original characters... as that always helps me see the scenes even more clearly.
But what starts me writing time and again is when I hear a line of dialogue in my head or I hear the first line of a story and that gets my engine going. What stalls my engine is well, RL distractions of course, but other than that, I find I really need readers... during the process to keep me going or better still tell me when I've gone off the track!
Then I need beta readers, but thats when a first draft is done. In the middle of the process, someone who just gives a quick look often proves the most helpful... I guess I thrive on feedback, good or bad, it fuels that old engine. I guess we all do.
I've been trying to work on two stories just lately [2 Wild, Wild West stories] and that's usually not the best idea ... so I'm letting one 'sleep' and turning my focus on the other. Watching the eps can be a great help... especially if you're taking a story off on a tangent from something that happened onscreen. And that's exactly what my current story is doing... I just have to keep it from flying completely off the rails! LOL
Artie and Jim are to say the least highly inspiring characters and very helpful... [mild sarcasm] what I mean is you may find the fellows have a mind of their own as to where the story is ultimately going. But hey, it's their world, right?
So, please do share your stories with us. We're all avid readers here and love to have new material to relax with.
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Post by California gal on Apr 4, 2011 17:34:33 GMT -8
I wrote my story TNOT Snake in the Grass based on a bit of "dialogue" I heard in my head. Artie said, "Not on your life, pal!" And Jim responded, "Yes, on my life!" So I worked out the plot where that could be used!
But many, many times I have the scene but cannot build the story. At least not right away. Which is why I make notes!
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Post by lass on Apr 5, 2011 5:01:40 GMT -8
Finally finished reading all the stories on FanFict . . . now time to tackle all the stories here . .
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Post by Kit on Apr 5, 2011 9:05:29 GMT -8
Hey I sent you something last week not my fault it wasn't WWW or that the last Section of WWW you saw was not pretty lol ;D
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 5, 2011 10:37:30 GMT -8
Hey I sent you something last week not my fault it wasn't WWW or that the last Section of WWW you saw was not pretty lol ;D It wasn't that the last section wasn't pretty it was the fact that there wasn't MORE and you know it lol
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Post by nwheaton on Apr 5, 2011 14:20:57 GMT -8
Keeping motivated can be easy just get one of the greedy gus's around here to crack their whip. Some of them are VERY good at it I wonder which one you're talking about? Couldn't possibly be........ Ummmm let me think.......PET likes to crack the whip ALOT. LOL. By the way. Welcome to our little group.
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Post by nwheaton on Apr 5, 2011 14:26:17 GMT -8
The hard part is getting the scene I have in my head down on paper before it either disappears or I get distracted & lose the whole thing. I've had this one scene running in my head, keeping me up @ night . . . . but now that I'm trying to get it written out the "feeling" of it is gone. GGGRRRR I'll keep working @ it. ~ Lass I have the same problem. I'll get an idea and get busy doing something else and then the story idea is gone. What I've gotten started doing is writing the idea down. I guess kind of like brain storming.
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Post by lass on Apr 5, 2011 14:45:05 GMT -8
Has anyone ever written the final story??? Where the guys either retire or quit the Service??
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Paradox Eyes
Cadet
"Hmmmm......Which guns and gadgets today??
Posts: 1,123
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Apr 5, 2011 16:41:00 GMT -8
Has anyone ever written the final story??? Where the guys either retire or quit the Service?? For me personally it would just be too sad to write the end of their WWW adventures. The closest I ever came was a short story that I never posted. It's just them in their golden years, still buddies and still enjoying each other's company.
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Post by California gal on Apr 5, 2011 17:29:13 GMT -8
The closest I've come to a "final" story was TNOT Devil's Reunion in which the guys are retired with their families--but still in peril. I want to write another one from that stage, but the inspiration has not come yet. I do have a "death bed" scene in my head but it always makes me cry so I haven't written it.
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rielle
Book Worm
yeah, THAT smile.
Posts: 497
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Post by rielle on Apr 5, 2011 20:14:17 GMT -8
Has anyone ever written the final story??? Where the guys either retire or quit the Service?? I have written something like that but it's never been posted or published and I don't think it will be... not as a story for Jim and Artie anyhow, that would be too sad to take, imho. But I kept 'getting' a scene where both are much older, I think I set it at the beginning of World War 1 when they'd be ... seventy+, yes, it was 1914, cause I had Jim talking about going to the 50th anniversary gathering of veterans at Gettysburg the year before. And I was bad, giving Jim a heart murmur that eventually got worse, and he passed on... MUCH ANGST. On a lighter note I've also written a couple of partial stories where Artie in one of them and Jim in another pulls that old 'Huckleberry Finn' trick... a false funeral, to fake out the bad guys. Those were a lot easier and more fun, cause nobody ended up dead. I think most of us want the boys to go on riding forever and ever so... we keep them that way.
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Post by Artiespet on Apr 6, 2011 9:05:52 GMT -8
The closest I've come to a "final" story was TNOT Devil's Reunion in which the guys are retired with their families--but still in peril. I want to write another one from that stage, but the inspiration has not come yet. I do have a "death bed" scene in my head but it always makes me cry so I haven't written it. Oh I tried the old writing main characters death story for another fandom...did NOT go over well so I decided not to even think about doing that again LOL. I have a few final stories type scenes in my head but I think for now at least they will stay there. Too dark adn scary even for me
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Post by MissRedhead on Apr 7, 2011 17:17:51 GMT -8
Howdy lass! I typically have a scene pop into my head or a bit of dialogue and then have to go from there you could find a TON of little scenes throughout my college notebooks lol (actually probably the only reason why I kept those notebooks ) Looking forward to seeing your first posted piece!!
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Post by lass on Apr 12, 2011 17:44:37 GMT -8
Is there a way I can keep myself focused on ONE story? . . . I have about 4 going @ one time right now I feel CRAZY !!!! I just want to finish ONE . . . . then I can post it for all of you. ~ Lass p.s. ~ thanks pet for the input
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Post by California gal on Apr 12, 2011 18:14:24 GMT -8
The answer--as far as I'm concerned--is... NO! I have the same problem. I'll be in the midst of one and have a fabulous idea for another. I really, really have to concentrate hard sometimes to make myself ignore those ideas (other than writing them down) and keep at the one I am on. I'm currently finishing a story that's been laying around for almost 2 years, and have another that's been around over a year that I'm hoping to finish up. Occasionally I stop working on a story because I've run into a block--it's not going the way I thought it would. Sometimes these characters just take over the story and run away with it. That's when I put it aside for awhile, then go back and read it, and often get inspired anew. I have the worst time ending a story. Just coming up with an ending that is satisfying and sensible. I tend to write long stories and I think one reason is I'm avoiding the ending! I don't have any advice except keep at it.
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Post by lass on Apr 12, 2011 18:19:38 GMT -8
I wrote a story once that took about 5 yrs to write. (the last time I was inpired like this ) It was a basic soap opera story . . . .boy meets girl/loses girl/back together & then EVERYTHING under the sun happens to them . . . . car accidents/illnesses/jealousy . . . . . finally I couldn't figure out how to end it & just killed off the main character. End of story . . .
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Post by Double Take on Apr 12, 2011 18:33:25 GMT -8
I wrote a story once that took about 5 yrs to write. (the last time I was inpired like this ) It was a basic soap opera story . . . .boy meets girl/loses girl/back together & then EVERYTHING under the sun happens to them . . . . car accidents/illnesses/jealousy . . . . . finally I couldn't figure out how to end it & just killed off the main character. End of story . . . That does sound like the typical soap opera! My biggest problem is finding a block of time to write. I don't like to work 15 minutes here and there. Like others, I write mostly when I am at work (fewer distractions), but they don't pay me to write fanfic. Lucky for me, if no one looks too closely you can't tell if I am writing reports or WWW. Your tax dollars at work (I do make sure all my real work is done).
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