Young Writers Society

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??

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Show, don't tell. Oldie but a goodie and one I still have trouble following

Mine would probably be... break the rules. Telling in some cases is better. Who says you can't change viewpoints in the middle of a scene? Follow the rules for a little bit, but writing (especially fantasy) is all about making your own.

The one thing I didn't know as a young writer was that there's this thing called "emotional truth," and it is (or should be) at the core of every script or story you write. The story isn't the plot mechanics, and it isn't the chases and explosions, and it isn't the jokes. It's the change that takes place in a human heart. Everything else is just window dressing. - John Vorhaus, writer of Creativity Rules! ( great book to have)

There is no such thing as bad writing. -?

And those oldies, carry a pen and notebook everywhere you go. ALWAYS!,
Never stop writing.

Don't worry about it...there will always be critics, as long as you like it...who cares what they think?

On writing dialogue: Eavesdrop on as many conversations as you can. Perhaps even take notes as you eavesdrop.

On writing a character: Become the character, and nothing you can do with him/her will be over the top.

On writing description: Describe everything that needs description. Don't describe the stuff that doesn't need description.

On writing in general: Never give up!

Have a good one!