The Writers' Corner

[elliotcat]

I got it, in light of the fact that we have some really cool new writers 'round here that I don't really know I'll go with an oldie but a goodie-

 

Question!

 

What does writing mean for you?

 

I've been writing since I was really young. When I was 14 I actually got my first novel published! So, I've been writing for a long time. But after I wrote the book, I felt so disillusioned. It stopped being fun to write. It was something that people around me expected and that they pressured me to do. I got labeled as a "creative type", and that really bothered me, because I wanted a career in science. So for a long time, I stopped writing.

 

I went through a lot of things in my early 20s and I kind of stopped struggling over being "creative" vs. "analytical". I don't really think you have to divide down those lines anymore. I like to be creative just as much as I like to do math problems! But I'm still nervous about my writing. It's been a long time and I'm really scared that I'm out of practice.

 

For me, writing means telling a great story and creating awesome characters. It also means developing a skill that has meant a lot to me over my life. I have family members that like to read what I write and I really love being able o share something with them that makes them happy. If my work makes somebody smile, I'm happy, and I think it was worth doing.

[Angedechu]

I finallly got my hands upon writing a good story, mixing the setting of TOR with the world of Hapes. I think it's have promise.

[NatashaTerenzio]

I got it, in light of the fact that we have some really cool new writers 'round here that I don't really know I'll go with an oldie but a goodie-

 

Question!

 

What does writing mean for you?

 

Since I'm a new writer round these parts thought I'd chime in. Writing is the awesome. To me it means world building, utter imagination at it's finest. It's how I show fellow readers how I translate the world, or rather how I see what the world could be at times. And it's just an insane amount of fun. Super exciting fun. Way too many voices in my head not to write. Happy to meet and converse with everyone!

[Magdalane]

I am an absolute novice, only writing my first story a few weeks ago, but I didn't have a choice, really....The stories just keep building in my head, forcing me to write them down so they'll leave me alone! They wake me up in the middle of the night, begging to be put on a Word document. I've very much enjoyed the fill and continuation of the companion stories the most and have never played Empire side, so most of the info I've gotten so far has been from fan fiction.

[NatashaTerenzio]

I am an absolute novice, only writing my first story a few weeks ago, but I didn't have a choice, really....The stories just keep building in my head, forcing me to write them down so they'll leave me alone! They wake me up in the middle of the night, begging to be put on a Word document. I've very much enjoyed the fill and continuation of the companion stories the most and have never played Empire side, so most of the info I've gotten so far has been from fan fiction.

 

The writing force is strong no? So understand this!

[Earthmama]

I'm a bit like Magdalene, in that the stories mill about in my head until I have to put them down somewhere. I'm shy about my writing, but I figure what better place to share my thoughts and characters then on the TOR forums. Haven't actually put anything down on these boards yet, just a couple little vignettes on the "head canon" thread in the Story and lore boards.

[Eanelinea]

I've been writing fanfic since 2000. I do it as a way to tell a story. Most times I use characters already in the world I enjoy, or I'll add my own. With Legacy, I have my characters all related by blood except for two.

 

Otherwise, I just write because a story HAS to come out no matter what the genre or subject matter. I once wrote a fanfic with one main plot and about 5 subplots all woven in to the main plot. (Let me tell you, it's a pain trying to keep so many plots/characters unique and to themselves while weaving them to make sense).

[bright_ephemera]

Um, so...hi, everybody! I'm new in these parts.

 

Question!

 

What does writing mean for you?

 

 

Writing is the intersection of playgrounds: Words, concepts, worlds, characters. Which means it's an awesome complicated jungle gym where some days you're just slinging along the funny-sounding-words bars and other days you're struggling up the scene-building so you can go shooting down the character slide and some days you're perched at the very top of the conceptual swingset, taking in the possibilities around you and waiting for the one wandering notion that will get your fingers moving again.

 

I don't publish, and prior to about two weeks ago I didn't so much as post fanfic. I like reading. I like dumping words on pages. But I'm never happy with the result of my own efforts, so I usually satisfy myself with the process followed by <delete>. But it's a good release, you know? I can't not write for more than a day or two at a time.

[Magdalane]

Self doubt is killer. I am prone to posting my fanfic, then pacing around, wondering if I should go delete it all. Then I get one positive comment, and it all seems worthwhile. I hadn't written a word since college until a few weeks ago, but it's been very nice to work ideas through in my head and see them written. I haven't put them here, due to space issues, but I have one that's 13k words now. This is such a great place, and I love hearing how you all do this!

[Eanelinea]

Self doubt is killer. I am prone to posting my fanfic, then pacing around, wondering if I should go delete it all. Then I get one positive comment, and it all seems worthwhile. I hadn't written a word since college until a few weeks ago, but it's been very nice to work ideas through in my head and see them written. I haven't put them here, due to space issues, but I have one that's 13k words now. This is such a great place, and I love hearing how you all do this!

 

I haven't checked yet, but if the story you're writing gets too big, have you tried fanfiction.net (if it's not gratuitous smut) or adultfanfiction.net (if it IS gratuitous smut). I've posted stories to both before. Course, I don't trust ff.net aka pit of voles too much, they're deleting alot of stories suddenly since there's some with just a hint of sexual innuendo. I'd say aff.net if it's an R rating fic. Violence, sex, etc.

[Magdalane]

That's where they are, fanfiction.net

[Shadow_Talon]

I'm quite the same. I've been interested in writing for years and it's only been late last year since I actually started publishing my writing. In fact my story here (before the forum wipe) Voyage for the Force was my first venture out in making my writing public. Much like Magdalene and Earthmama I just have ideas upon ideas upon ideas that will just sit in my head aging. It doesn't help that I only have to watch something like a TV show to start creating ideas.

 

In terms of "What does writing mean to me," I find that for me writing is a way to express emotions and escape. Usually if I want to express a certain emotion that I can't do verbally then I find myself at my desk just typing whatever rolls out of my head infusing it with said emotion. With escape, well sometimes if I just want to temporary forget what's going on around me, I'll sit down at my computer and focus on a particular story and can just sit there for hours writing.

[Angedechu]

I'm making a TOR fic....you can see it here.

 

http://boards.theforce.net/xentemp/index.php?threads/hapes.1057/

 

It's a relatively serious work, but I'm trying to put some sarcasm into it...

 

EXAMPLE ONE

The Sith chased those charming thoughts. She had to focus. To take one of the aphorisms she often heard her teacher says, the important was not the starting point, but the arrival. (Some said similar sounding platitudes, such as the journey don’t matter, only the end does, although others offered the quite «deep» saying that the end is not what matters, the only thing that really count is the journey toward it. With aphorisms that could have been lifted from fortune cookies offered as valid and coherent strategies, the attrition raids of squads assigned for newly minted Siths was phenomenal…)

 

EXAMPLE TWO

Using old ships for low priority duties was of course pretty universal. The shuttles linking Imperial orbital space stations to the planets below them were often cranky and slow, making travels from space docks to the planets a chore.

[Darth_Slaine]

Good to see this thread is still kicking along.

[Kelzack]

Yo folks. I need your help. I'm new to the writing scene and was wondering how I should start off.

 

I can tell story with pictures, but when it comes to words. I'm so lost.

 

Any general tips to writing fanfic?

[Darth_Slaine]

Yo folks. I need your help. I'm new to the writing scene and was wondering how I should start off.

 

I can tell story with pictures, but when it comes to words. I'm so lost.

 

Any general tips to writing fanfic?

 

My first TOR fanfiction was meant to be a webcomic but I couldn't get anyone to draw it. I still tried to preserve the feel of a visual medium by using a minimalist style. I tried to describe only that which would have been apparent within a comic strip frame -- there was little internal monologue and I tried to write the appearance of actions rather than the meanings of actions... if that makes sense.

 

So my advice is to use words in the same way you might a brush.

[Osetto]

Yo folks. I need your help. I'm new to the writing scene and was wondering how I should start off.

 

I can tell story with pictures, but when it comes to words. I'm so lost.

 

Any general tips to writing fanfic?

 

For anyone trying to to start writing anything, the two things I believe they should discover/develop/realize are style and intention.

 

Under "style" falls writing structure, type of narration, and everything mechanical about a work. If you excel in telling a story through visuals, write a visual story. Actions, scenery, descriptions, movements, interactions, dialogue. There are many avenues for a visual storyteller in purely written fiction. Decide on narrative structure. With 1st person, you can insert the narrator's perceptions and feelings in relation to the world unfolding around them. With 3rd person, you can keep things as simple or as detailed as you'd like. You could have every detail delivered as pure information or with enough flair that the narration could be described as its own character. Find out what works for you.

 

Under "intention" falls every personal or interpersonal facet of writing. Who are you writing for? Yourself, the audience, or both. What are your goals? What do you hope to accomplish? What is it that you want to see developed? Do you seek a finished work, or do you want it to continue to unfold until time and space themselves collapse? Realize what it is that you want, and what it takes to see those wants realized.

 

Answering the "how" is difficult. But dwell on the "what" and the "who" within your mind and you should find a sufficient answer.

[Osetto]

I suppose it's time for a new question to discuss.

 

How do you write?

 

This can be as mechanical or as philosophical a question as you'd like. Is there a strict process you try to adhere to? Do you type everything? Do you jot down notes as they pop into your head? Do you establish a framework or allow things to organically grow? Do you have to enter a 'writing mode'? Do you sit down and refuse to leave until you've finished a chapter, or do you tackle things in snippets?

 

----------

 

Also, I was thinking of starting a new thread called the "The Writers' Workshop", where writer's could seek help or insight from their fellow writers concerning matters they feel might not need their own thread. Quick lore questions, coming up with character names, miscellaneous advice, the like. Less a place for reviews and extended discussion, more a place for hammering out handy details. Would anyone be interested in that sort of thing?

[kabeone]

 

Also, I was thinking of starting a new thread called the "The Writers' Workshop", where writer's could seek help or insight from their fellow writers concerning matters they feel might not need their own thread. Quick lore questions, coming up with character names, miscellaneous advice, the like. Less a place for reviews and extended discussion, more a place for hammering out handy details. Would anyone be interested in that sort of thing?

 

That would be cool, though I would have nothing to add to a discussion about writing I would totally fill it with dumb questions if you want that kind of thing.

[bright_ephemera]

I suppose it's time for a new question to discuss.

 

How do you write?

 

This can be as mechanical or as philosophical a question as you'd like. Is there a strict process you try to adhere to? Do you type everything? Do you jot down notes as they pop into your head? Do you establish a framework or allow things to organically grow? Do you have to enter a 'writing mode'? Do you sit down and refuse to leave until you've finished a chapter, or do you tackle things in snippets?

 

How don't I write? I try to have a pen on me at all times. (No smartphone, so, analog it is for me.) I've been known to fill receipts, notebooks (when I remember to have them), event program booklets, event tickets, my arm...I have to be careful *not* to write all over legal documentation or money orders when they pass through my hands. I keep works-in-progress in my email draft folder, my Gdocs account, a thumb drive I carry with me, a dedicated writing folder at home...now that I list this I realize this is a rather ridiculous non-system to be using. In short, thought -> hand -> nearest available medium. Later if my mind brings the idea up again as a worthwhile thing I'll retrieve the scribble from chaos storage and place it in a Word document at home.

 

Once I have a scene or a phrase in mind, I *must* get to a place to write and I *must* go at it uninterrupted. I am forever terrified I'll lose a good turn of phrase if I let myself get distracted between thinking it and writing it.

 

For a long time I tried to structure, outline, and move from the broad elements down into individual scenes. I never finished much that way. I just recently finished a 60,000 word fanfic that came from, well, sitting down one day and spitting out a fun-sounding scene. So perhaps a more organic style would work for me in the future?

 

Love the Writers' Workshop idea. I would certainly monitor it and chime in as the spirit moves me.

[bright_ephemera]

This seems like a more or less appropriate thread for me to throw some thoughts into, since I mentioned it briefly in the post just preceding this one.

 

Yesterday I finished posting a 28-day, 67,000-word writing binge, posted in serial format over thataway. And it was one of the most enjoyable writing experiences of my life.

 

I've been writing since I was three years old. All that time I've trained to write more or less serious original stuff, decide on a beginning and an ending, determine the arc in advance, lay out detailed scene plans with progression notes, and never show a word until I'm "finished". Every word I scribble anywhere gets slotted into the Plan somewhere. It is worth noting that I have never (before yesterday) finished any long work.

 

In the case of this fanfic I had an idea, figured after checking out the weekly challenge thread and some Story and Lore threads that maybe I could throw a couple of sketches out there...and then it just exploded. Pew, pew pew pew, pew pew go the little standalone scenes. At some point I arbitrarily chose a length (100 sketches) and just drew towards that. The way elements started suggesting themselves based on a) supposedly one-shot details from earlier and b) the natural progression from recent events was just really cool. Who knew I wanted to state that theme? I sure didn't, but the opportunity is coming up based on this convergence of factors...

 

The process was opposite to anything I have ever written in my life. I don't do fanfic, I don't do humor, I don't start a path if I don't know where it ends, I don't show people an unfinished work, and I certainly don't post things without an exhaustive, extremely critical editing process.

 

Whoops.

 

In conclusion...I don't have a pithy conclusion. Just saying, first, this is a really enjoyable community to read with and write for, and second, the surprise total rejection of every writing habit I've ever had turned out to be a blast. I'm looking forward to seeing what else comes up as I play. (And write!)

[kalenath]

Writing here is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.

 

Since we are all - SURPRISE- Star Wars fans, if we get any of the lore wrong, people are usually quick to correct us. But most of the time, people are at least reasonably polite about it.

 

I have had a lot of fun writing here. I am glad to be back.

[elliotcat]

I've been wanting to write a longer story about my main character for a long time now, and finally I got the guts and time to start writing it. Unfortunately, I can never apparently be happy with my own work and I feel like I berate myself a lot for not living up to my own standards. I really want to post it when I finish the first chapter (it's almost done!), but I'm too nervous.

 

I might end up mixing up a drink later and then posting it. Liquid courage, like on karaoke night!

[kabeone]

I really want to post it when I finish the first chapter (it's almost done!), but I'm too nervous.

 

I might end up mixing up a drink later and then posting it. Liquid courage, like on karaoke night!

 

Do it! I've enjoyed reading your other stuff.

[NatashaTerenzio]

I suppose it's time for a new question to discuss.

 

How do you write?

 

This can be as mechanical or as philosophical a question as you'd like. Is there a strict process you try to adhere to? Do you type everything? Do you jot down notes as they pop into your head? Do you establish a framework or allow things to organically grow? Do you have to enter a 'writing mode'? Do you sit down and refuse to leave until you've finished a chapter, or do you tackle things in snippets?

 

I'm a bit of a rule breaker when it comes to my writing. I aboustely despise routine so I tend to write when the mood strikes me. Luckily it strikes me daily. I should take pictures of all the notes I've got lying around. When I wrote my first two novels, I literally have two cartons worth of research and notes I gathered before the product was finished. I also write in scenes, a great example is my current fan fiction here. I've already written the ending because it popped into my head and refused to leave. I've also got parts of the middle done. I find that so far, I'll have to go back and tweak things as the project comes together but I don't end up having to change too much.

 

 

Also, I was thinking of starting a new thread called the "The Writers' Workshop", where writer's could seek help or insight from their fellow writers concerning matters they feel might not need their own thread. Quick lore questions, coming up with character names, miscellaneous advice, the like. Less a place for reviews and extended discussion, more a place for hammering out handy details. Would anyone be interested in that sort of thing?

 

Awesome idea. I'm down.