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Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:33 pm
RedLeader115 says...



Hmm, where do I begin?

I'll get right to the point. I'm trying to write a book, and yet have no idea where or how to start.

The only thing I have right now is a character, who's name is Lucas Steele.

I've spent about two months fleshing him out in my head. And frankly, I've gone crazy about this character. It might sound strange but, I just thought of him one day and I wrote down everything I could about him.

He's about six feet tall, so he isn't short, and yet not above average height either. He's seventeen, so he's still in his parent's house and still in high school. He isn't incredibly popular, and doesn't really wish to be. Lucas, it seems, is more independent. He enjoys working on cars, and playing guitar. As a habit, he never really gives girls a second glance. A bi-product of his absent-mindedness. He has sandy-blond hair which he usually keeps at average length, and deep green eyes. His eyes are what he thinks give himself his own personality. People always tell him that even when he looks at them, it really appears that he's looking beyond them.

He lives in a small suburb, where the local high school is the focus of the town. He's lived there all his life, like most kids at his high school. Very few people have been outside of the town, and even less have been beyond the city that the town is closest to.

He's a logical person, who usually never takes risks even though he is certainly capable.

I really want to establish for the reader that he is a self-sufficient, and independent person. One who relies on no one, and needs no one.



The reason being, is that once I establish this in the readers eyes, I want to have him give it all away for: Natalie

Natalie is the newest edition to my imagination.

My image of Natalie is the exact same as Lucas.

She must be independent, and she must be reserved. I imagined her as being a person who is friendly to people, but those people never, ever, figure out anything about her. She's the person who is always asking questions, never answering. She keeps the focus of the conversation away from herself. She has a distrust of people.

I want to expand on that with details from her past; reasons for her to guard herself.

She is intended to be the new girl in school. I want her to be used to city life. Spending time indoors, not used to small towns.

Here's my problem: PLOT

I always have trouble establishing one.

I've not even really written the story out, just the characters.

For right now, I just want to get the first chapter done. Yet, I can't seem to get over that first page. Any sort of tips would be appreciated.
  





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Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:41 pm
Anijumper says...



Frankly, you have me pretty crazy about your characters too! I love the sound of them, and now I really want to read this book-to-be.

So my advice:
One thing that usually works for me, especially when my stories are character driven (which is nearly always), is to just imagine them doing things in their setting. Think up the craziest, weirdest, most dramatic things to happen to them as possible, and then just think of normal things to happen to them. It's not exactly a proven method or anything, and you might not get the whole plot. But your characters might be having a conversation (or avoiding one...) and then you suddenly get this idea for where they're going to go, and you start figuring out how they get there. Just spend as much time as possible living in your characters' world and something might come about. Write out scenes even if you think you'll never use them.

Let me know if this works for you at all, since I've never actually given this advice to anyone else and I'm wondering if it would work somewhere other than in my weird brain.
  





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Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:37 pm
scribblingquill says...



already from your characters you've got some plot.


Natalie moving to this small town place, Lucas' normal day to day life. You say he gives it all up for her? Why? How? If he's giving up being quiet and reserved that must mean he's starting to live a bit more, be a bit more outgoing, which I think is a great direction to go in as a developement. So now you need to figure out HOW this happened. If Natalie is just as quiet as Lucas then what would drive him to drop it and loosen up? Does he have to prove himself? To who, and why? Is he doing it to get noticed by her? Because he thinks she will like him if he's more colourful? Or does she love him for what he is already?

Basically, I really love this premise, you've just got to go through the possibilities. And if you know you're characters as well as it seems you do, then they should show you whats naturally going to happen anyway.


...If that made sense. Hope I helped.
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Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:22 pm
yoha_ahoy says...



A plot will develop eventually. Listen to jumper and quill, they have good advice. Here's what I'd do though.

Since you are so character-driven, just start playing with them. It doesn't have to end up in your book, but often times, some of these exercises will. You have them set on looks and personality right now, but we haven't experienced that yet. They're still in your head. Put them into different situations, some everyday situations (how do they wake up and get ready each morning?) and some out of the ordinary. (Strand them alone on a desert island?)

Basically, you need to see how they act now. Get specifics. Find out their little idiosyncrasies in speech and movement. Do they walk funny, or confident, or do they have a little limp from a childhood injury? DETAILS!!!

So yeah, sorry if that was kind of ranty, but I think you get the idea. SHOW us their personalities. Good luck! ;)

~Yoyo 8)
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Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:20 pm
KailaMarie says...



i suggest just start writing. Maybe think about how they meet. Natalie is new to the school, so is Lucas in one of her classes? do they bump into each other in the hall? maybe just think about a conversation they might have, either when they first meet or after they establish a relationship.

My sugesstion is just start writing. Whatever you think of. I personally listen to music when I need inspiration. I don't know if there is any kind of music in particular you like, or gives you a good feeling, but I'd just suggest something you like.

even if you take inspiration from a conversation you've heard, or a random idea you had, or even some dialogue that you've had with someone else.

I don't know. I would just say set aside a time to write and go for it. =D
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Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:16 am
dreaming_in_poetry says...



My suggestion is nearly identical to KailaMarie's. Just start writing. Write about perhaps the first time Lucas sees Natalie. What does he feel, what thoughts go through his mind? If that seems cliched, write about the first time they talk. Or write about the school day from both of their perspectives.

I often times take inspiration from song lyrics. I come up with a scene for which the lyrics would apply, and work backwards from there. If it's a break-up scene, or perhaps a fight, or anything really, I try to figure out how my characters would have gotten there.
  





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Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:22 am
Snoink says...



Lucas sounds slightly sociopathic and it seems unlikely that he would give a second glance at Natalie, especially if they are the same temperament. You need to tweak the characters if you want conflict to appear.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

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