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JFW1415
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 Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| italianboyce wrote: |
| I have a question. One of the moderators told me I shouldn't write in school because then, I won't have anything to write about. She said I should just observe the actions and things around me. What does she mean by this?? |
She just meant that you should 'people watch.' How do you know how people speak/interact if you don't watch them? How do you know the common difficulties we have to go through? Also, I get tons of ideas from my classes. Especially History - endless possibilities!
Basically, watch people when you can, write when you're alone. 
~JFW1415 |
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alwaysawriter
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| Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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I love people watching. Last month, after wandering around Union Station by myself on a trip with other teens, I sat down where we were suppossed to meet up and just people watched. I did that when we were waiting to get into the White House (I heard Spanish, English, Chinese, Korean, Indian...) and while I was sitting at the Capital, waiting for the Memorial Day Concert to begin (but, this time, I took pictures of random people)
I guess I have a few things:
Be observant: look around you, watch how people act, eavesdrop or basically, people watch.
Write what you don't know; fill in those things that you made up with the real facts later.
Draw from experiences or your friend's experiences. Meaning, you could be a friend telling a story for your friend. Like right now, my dad is trying to stop using snuff--something he picked up after he stopped smoking when I was little (I bugged him that smoking was bad when I was only 5 years old and didn't stop until he stopped but this time I'm not because he's always in a bad mood and ready to explode at the tiniest thing). I could easily write a story about a girl whose dad has the same problem since I know how it feels.
I think all of those have been said. Opps.  |
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alwaysawriter
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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Don't wait for inspiration to find you: find it!
Yeah, I should really take that advice. I JUST got out of the house yesterday after spending two weeks at home. I haven't written anything (good) since back when school was in session. |
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Need help? PM me or e-mail me! A good artist should be isolated. If he isn't isolated, something is wrong. -Orson Welles. [JabberHut] 4:41 pm: I love how you say you're late when you're not late, Always XD -on me zoning out |
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Antares
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| Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| My English teacher told me a good one: inspiration has nothing to do with writing. If you're low on inspiration just keep writing. Lack of inspiration doesn't prevent you from writing. Basically, I was one of those people that wait until they have a really good idea before they write and she was just trying to explain that if you always wait for inspiration then you'll write nothing. It doesn't matter if it's a load of rubbish - it's something! |
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XtremeDino
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:06 am Post subject: |
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| My writing tip is about dialogue. If you feel iffy about something your character said, say it out loud, acting like you're in the situation. If it doesn't sound natural, come up with something else. Make sure all of your dialogue sounds like something people would actually say. |
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deafwriter_19
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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I have several, ready?
1. LOCK (Lead, Objective, Confrontation, Knockout)
2. Always finish your story with a brief "debriefing" (tie the loose ends up). Harper Lee didn't end her story at Bob Ewell's death.
3. There are 4 things where you have a chance to hook the reader in deeper:
-Opener, like in Hamlet: someone sees a ghost
-Defining Moment, Rebecca in [/i]Rebecca stands up to her nemesis.
-Climax, like in Harry Potter, he sees Voldemort inhabiting a professor at the school
-Closer, read Chuck Palahninuk's Diary[i]
Hope this helps, yes?  |
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ScriboErgoSum
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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I have several.
Probably it's been said already, but here's my favorite writing tip:
If you want to write, just write. The hardest part is getting started. Don't stop, don't second-guess yourself. A lot of what you think is terrible at the time actually turns out to be quite readable later. If you're worried about perfection, you'll never get anything written at all. There's plenty of time for editing later!
Second favorite tip: It's all about CONFLICT. No conflict, no story. Conflict and tension are what make the reader interested.
The best tip about dialogue I've ever heard: Dialogue exists for the purpose of showing conflict, either external or internal, between characters. Keeping that in mind will get rid of most dialogue problems that writers tend to have. |
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Matt Bellamy
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| If your poem has only three good lines in it, then it should only be three lines long. Can't remember where I heard that, though. |
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lukas8u
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| Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:54 am Post subject: |
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Don't try and think what the character would do in a situation, but what YOU would do in said situation.
And build from there. |
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