Donisia
Donsie
I have the main moments written down, i only need to link them and think of an ending. I like writing on a whim, i dont really plan, but i find as i get older i don't like my style of writing...
Any other authors lurking around here.
- Thread starter ave
- Start date
I have the main moments written down, i only need to link them and think of an ending. I like writing on a whim, i dont really plan, but i find as i get older i don't like my style of writing...
Spartan
iGame official representative
What works for one person will not always work for another, that is just how it goes. As an organic writer my writing suffers when I force myself to sit and write. I write when the mood strikes me, which is almost every day, but after 7 months of constant writing our brain needs a rest so I take days off at a time to just rest and do other work. I tried to do the 3 hours a day thing for months, ended up almost burned out from it, so the time off method works pretty well. Currently sitting on 70 000 words with the final set pieces kicking off in the next chapter.
We should probably start a writer's showcase or something, here or somewhere.
Spartan
iGame official representative
I have the main moments written down, i only need to link them and think of an ending. I like writing on a whim, i dont really plan, but i find as i get older i don't like my style of writing...
Why do you not like your style of writing? If you do not like your own style, readers will not either. Your passion for writing is what drives you, your love for telling stories is what makes us who we are. Practice your craft, read books by authors whose style you enjoy and use it to train yourself.
Just do not go the Dean Koontz route, his writing style is far too harsh on a reader.
GregRedd
New member
Terrific idea! Sign me up.
Can you expand on this thought a little more please Spartan? Why do you think Koontz's style is "too harsh on a reader"? What's the "Dean Koontz route"?
Spartan
iGame official representative
I know there is a thread somewhere on this site showcasing some people's work. But maybe we should redo it or do it on a personal site were we can create a forum. I would rather stick with it here seeing as people tend to not want to split their time to yet another forum.
Some of my opinion about Koontz is personal, and some others have complained about as well. Every now and again, say 1 out of every 3 books Koontz writes, he alienates the reader with obscure word and phrase usage. Not everyone reading a novel is a master of the English language, and his usage breaks the readers immersion and flow of the story. He uses the strangest words to explain simple tasks, in certain cases they work, but other times they are as if he had the simple version of the word and then searched for the most obscure synonym for that word, thinking it makes him sound more professional. This then filters through to other new authors who do the same thing, they try and make their writing sound more professional by using words the average reader will never have heard or even read. I have a vast vocabulary and many times, during his old and new titles, I was forced to stop and research the word or phrase he dug out of ancient times.
It also comes off as pompous when you try and sound like a master. He is a great story teller, and I hope I can one day reach his level, no doubt he is great at what he does. I just don't agree with the his style all of the time. Why use difficult words when a simple synonym works just as well and means exactly the same thing.
When I edit other author's books I call this very thing the Koontz Trap, don't fall into the habit of over complicating your writing with words and phrases that aren't really that well known.
Another reason why authors do this is because some fool somewhere mentioned that overusing a word is a bad thing, some made up rule if you use a certain verb or noun more than three times in a paragraph then your writing is bad. Utter malarkey if you ask me.
If your story flows and the reader gets immersed in your story telling, then there is no need to worry about pompous rules made up by some putz who thinks he knows everything there is to know about writing.
Spartan
iGame official representative
Wyvern
Khaleesi
Spartan
iGame official representative
Awesome thanks
I might not be a writer, but I am an advid readerSo I will enjoy this
Spread the word. Let's get some people to read that thread that are regulars here. I don't exactly want to PM everyone. [MENTION=15883]GregRedd[/MENTION] [MENTION=14824]Donisia[/MENTION] [MENTION=3505]DarthMol[/MENTION] [MENTION=9056]ave[/MENTION] [MENTION=20]Solitude[/MENTION] Link below
http://mygaming.co.za/forum/showthread.php/46247-Writers-and-Authors-assemble!?p=1135603#post1135603
Solitude
Mr. Nice Guy
GregRedd
New member
Ahh, okay I get what you're saying. I'm an absolutely unashamed lover of words and language, some might say a sesquipedalian even
) see what I did there?) and yet agree totally with you. I've been reading Koontz for years and remember clearly what you're saying happening to me in the days before integrated Kindle dictionaries. I think it was Phantoms where I had to resort to the dictionary on a number of occasions. It was the mid-80s and I was in my teens, so at the time assumed it was just my youthful lack of knowledge that was causing me to stumble. Something else that has long bugged me about some of his writing is the way he sometimes uses (to my mind) strange metaphors. Here's an example of both issues that we're talking about:
There is, however, a counterargument (isn't there always?!) that suggests that as writers we should act as custodians of the language we write in and avoid the temptation to dumb down our language in order to help keep its' nuance and beauty alive, but also to help readers grow their own vocabulary. There's an interesting article here that highlights this concern. The conclusion to that article is where I think we all should be aiming:
GregRedd
New member
Thanks for setting it up Spartan. Looking forward to reading and contributing too.
DarthMol
New member
Now that is a beautiful description. Fortunately I've come across susurration before from other novels so I understood that sentence. Hmmm, I've never read Koontz before, maybe I should check out some of his books.
Admittedly you wouldn't technically need a dictionary in this instance if you didn't know the word, the rest of the description gives you an idea of what it means. I'm all for authors using fancy words but in doing so they must skillfully construct the sentence so that your average reader can gain an approximate idea regarding what the word means.
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Spartan
iGame official representative
Ahh, okay I get what you're saying. I'm an absolutely unashamed lover of words and language, some might say a sesquipedalian even
Something else that has long bugged me about some of his writing is the way he sometimes uses (to my mind) strange metaphors. Here's an example of both issues that we're talking about:
There is, however, a counterargument (isn't there always?!) that suggests that as writers we should act as custodians of the language we write in and avoid the temptation to dumb down our language in order to help keep its' nuance and beauty alive, but also to help readers grow their own vocabulary. There's an interesting article here that highlights this concern. The conclusion to that article is where I think we all should be aiming:
Oh yes. I forgot about his metaphors, they are extremely out there sometimes. And I agree that we need to grow our craft and teach our readers as we tell our story. But not at the expense of your story or immersion. That balance the article mentions is a thin line we need to follow.
ave
New member
Thank you so much then. I really appreciate the support. and look forward to hearing what you think.
That's the kind of Sci-fi I enjoy. I'm pretty new to the genre, but I would rather have a fun, engaging story with great characters, than understand what this particular piece of tech does and why it's scientifically feasible.
Sci-fi sales have suffered in recent years, but I hear it's starting to make a comeback, in a big way- so you're probably getting in at the right time.
The industry had this weird loop going on, where publishers would only look at agented manuscripts, and agents, would only look at manuscripts that they thought publishers would want, based on what was currently popular, so the whole industry was in this weird cycle of stagnation. But as long as books were selling, they didn't care.
Then along came Amazon, and people started discovering books that were different- that pushed the boundaries, and publishers suddenly had to scramble to contain the hemorrhaging sales. I love it. They really don't know how to handle this self publishing revolution.
Thanks for the links, I look forward to reading them.
I can just picture it. The amount of time we spent in the garden playing with our He-man figurines- good memories, I think those years are important for developing your imagination as a writer. I often try to draw on that excitement and sense of wonder about the world, that I had as a kid.
So was your story also set in the garden, or was it completely other-world?
The second serious attempt was kick-started in Grade 11 (or thereabouts) when I heard of some competition where you could win $1000 or something. I had written a couple of chapters based on one of the other fantasy worlds I had constructed as a kid. The only thing was I would be hard pressed to reach the 50 000 word minimum in time so I grafted like crazy, trying to write at least 1 000 words a day. In the end I didn't enter despite achieving the 50 000 mark, essentially my story was just getting going so it was no where near complete.
With the creative writing class I did finish and submit one completed short story. After many revisions I finally had a story worth sending out into the world. Managed to crack a special mention in the Wits creative writing comp (one of the other students in our creative writing group won with a great little story).
I'm not sure why my drive for writing slowed down after that, haven't really written anything decent since. At the moment, work, studies, family etc. occupy most of my time. And the last thing I feel like doing after writing bunches of essays is to sit and write some more stuff (albeit creative). Plus I'm a gamer, struggling to work through my backlog...
Have you ever tried submitting the story again to any print or online magazines?
I know what you mean. The only reason I could finish my book was because I quit my job as a programmer, started doing freelance graphic design to pay the bills, and all but stopped going out. Thank goodness for steam and forums, or I'm sure I would be a little insane by now.
Hahaha, I've also got such a huge backlog- At the moment it's sitting at around 220 titles.
The best advice I can give it to just write without even reading what you've written. Just get it out onto paper, and only once you're finished, then go back and edit. That's the point of NANOWRIMO- national novel writing month that happens every November. They encourage you to write a 50,000 word novel in 1 month, and then they all laugh at how terrible their novels are. But what happens is your story begins to come to life. You get ideas, and a better understanding of your world, and characters, so that when you go back and edit, you can then write with a compete picture.
Another tip is to keep the writing simple. Beginners often try to write beautifully, because we all love language, but very often that can come across as forced, especially when you are still developing your craft. Just say what you want to say without trying to impress. It's quite liberating. And then afterwards you can always pretty it up a bit, but you don't even need to.
Study what other writers are doing. Find someone you admire and literally write out two pages of the book word for word. This gives you a feel for the way they write and how they construct their sentences. when something grabs you in a story, write a page of notes, on why it was so effective for you, and what he/she did to engage you.
Finally I know this doesn't work for everyone, but I found outlining worked very well for me. For my first book I just sat down and wrote, and only came up with a plan half way through, but at times I had to scrap 30,000 words or more. For my second, I didn't really know where I was going with it, but I would get up in the morning, come up with some ideas for the next chapter, and then write. The problem here is that editing took so much time, because I had to correct so much afterwards.
For my third novel, I did an extensive outline, and then, because I knew where the story was going, and what the characters backstories were, I could bring that stuff across in dialogue and could foreshadow events etc.
First drafts always suck, for everyone. Writers often say that's your first draft is vomiting onto the page- Which is quite apt. Editing is where you then go back and clean it all up.
Also remember the rule of thumb is that you have to put in 10,000 hours before you really excel at any craft. Whatever the number is, it takes time and practice to get better. Your skills will improve in steps. For weeks you'll be battling with something and then one day you wake up and all of a sudden you can do it. Writing is no different. Keep practicing and you'll get better.
ave
New member
This works for me as well. I find I work best when I have some momentum going. If I stop writing for a couple of days, I find it really difficult to get back in to it. Mondays are always a grind for me for this very reason.
Like Dickens I also find that it's better to set aside time than to try reach a word goal. So instead of saying I want to reach 2000 words today, I will say I want to write between 10am and 11am, and in that time I wont go on the internet, or do anything else, and If I only write 1 sentence, well that's fine.
I'm in
I've heard with many A-list authors, publishers aren't as strict with the edits- firstly because the books going to sell anyway, and secondly because if the author insists then they don't want to upset him / her, so they often let the little things slide. I loved some of Tom Clancy's books, but they definitely got longer and longer as they years went on.