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Young Writers Society


How DO you write?



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Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:21 am
Tessitore says...



Do you define your work as, say... suspence... horror... fantasy? And not just your genre's but... what do you do to PREPARE?? Outline? Brainstorm? Notes? Nothing? Does the mood just strike you or does it have to gradually build? How do your characters become yours? Have you ever taken a character, or a bit of a characters personality out of another book, a movie, real life or another source such as? What makes them yours?

And, above all... How deep do you go?
I'm not even angry... I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me... And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
-"Still Alive"- GLaDOS
  





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Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:47 pm
Chevy says...



i write mostly realistic fiction...
when i start to writing a story, i just start. i dont think about the plot or even where the story may be going...i just write and keep going and going from there. then, after ive run out ideas, i go back and read what i wrote and see where direction the story could possibly go in. after which, i create a plot and a descriptive idea of the characters and where and when the story takes place and i began writing it.
ive always done it this way and i dont think i could ever change the way i do it either.
when there's nowhere to go, it's time to grow up.
  





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Mon Nov 29, 2004 4:22 pm
Firestarter says...



To prepare, I generally do nothing. It's usually a flash idea, and I quickly start writing from there and see where it goes. That's for short stories.

If I'm writing something longer, like a novel, I do LOTS of preparation. Otherwise I lose direction, so I do my end first. I usually do fantasy novels, so I create a map with countries, capitals and natural features. I describe the features of each country etc etc. And then I outline the plot.

My characters are usually part of me because I either try and base the hero off me, because then I can write his emotins more truly, or they are based off my friends, so I can do the same. I take bits of characters from other places all the time - consciously, or perhaps, unconsciously.

I used to dit CarsandGuitars way. But I never get anywhere past about Chapter 4 when I do that, and the ideas fizzle out. So I write them down, and work through them, checking them, changing them, feeding off them.

I define my work usually as fantasy.
Nate wrote:And if YWS ever does become a company, Jack will be the President of European Operations. In fact, I'm just going to call him that anyways.
  





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Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:38 am
Elelel says...



I write fantasy.
When I write a story, I usually get a spark of inspiration, and I take it from there. For the story I'm working on at the moment, I wrote the first scene as it appered in my head, then I stoped and prepared. While I was preparing, I got new ideas, so it's completely different from how it started now. I even had to do away with that first scene it changed so much.
I do piles and piles of preparation, otherwise the story gets very very LOST in the tangle of I-know-not-what-because-it's-so-lost. I draw maps, list of gods/godesses (if nessacery) character stuff, writing about every chapter, history, you name it, I do it (if it involves the story). My characters are usually based on my moods, my main character especially. SOmetimes they're based on how I see others, but not so you'd reconises them in real life (I hope) even if I do that, they're still mine because that's just my opinion of that person. Plus they're not always human, so their outwards apperance is my creation too.
Oh, you're angry! Click your pen.
--Music and Lyrics
  





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Tue Nov 30, 2004 7:41 am
WinterGrimm says...



I've written quite a bit of fantasy. But reading Charles de Lint I've become increasinly interested in bringing fantasy elements into a realistic, modern setting. It's a genre he calls Mythic Fiction. I'd like to try my hand at that. Mostlly I like writing for and about teens whether its realistic or fantasy.
That love is suffering is easy to see, for before the love becomes equally balanced on both sides there is no torment greater, since the lover is always in fear that his love may not gain its desire and that he is wasting his efforts.
Andreas Cappelanus, The Art of Courtly Love
  





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Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:32 pm
Tessitore says...



Wow, I never realized how many people outline.

I'm lucky, I suppose. I've never really needed an outline. I usually write fantasy/sci-fi stuff, and sometimes if I'm working on, say, my "Annie of the Haven" series or "The Dark", I write down random facts like... where the main character used to work when she was still working in her home town, or everyone's birthday (My head vampire, Antonio, turned 182 on November 23rd). But that's just so I don't have to ruffle through previous manuscripts.

And the mood does just STRIKE me. If I try and force a story... it's kind of like loving someone... you can't force it on someone, you have to work up to it. At least that's how my stories have it.

And Annie, my main character, is a pseudo-alter-ego. She's kind of a gray version of myself. She's a little dumbed down (She does have her moments, however), but she definatley has my personality.

...and I've taken so many ideas out of other books, movies, and people that its shameful. Like a YuGiOh (thank god I'm out of that phase now) character with black hair and turquoise eyes and I was all, "Hey, that's a neat combination. Now who would have turquoise eyes?" Ended up being Adrian, a sorcerer. He's fun.

My characters like talking to me. Not in a way that I can explain without me sounding completley off the wall crazy, but they do speak in some ways. It's like uncovering something. Like... say, looking at a Rembrant. You can't really hear anything, but the painting will SPEAK to you. That's how most of my characters are created.
I'm not even angry... I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me... And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
-"Still Alive"- GLaDOS
  





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Wed Dec 01, 2004 1:26 am
dele24 says...



I have been known to do no preparation at all for stories and my characters and stories have just sprung from a line I think up or an idea. Mostly with short stories I just write, even with my first novel-length story I didn't do any prepartion, I just wrote. However I have recently been introduced to the benefits of preparing outlines and other prepartion before I write and now I intend to do that, but in some cases I will still just write and see what comes of that.

I used to write fantasy all the time but now I'm really into reality based stuff
  





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Wed Dec 01, 2004 2:08 am
Tessitore says...



Dele, what made you go from fantasy to reality-like stuff? I'm curious.
I'm not even angry... I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me... And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
-"Still Alive"- GLaDOS
  





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Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:27 am
Elelel says...



My characters speak to me too!
Oh, you're angry! Click your pen.
--Music and Lyrics
  





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Wed Dec 01, 2004 2:18 pm
Skye says...



I write YA fantasy (ironic, no?).
I don't necessarily do an outline, or at least not on paper. As soon as I get an idea (and it is usually for a scence in the first stages) I elaborate on it in my head. I keep doing this for several weeks until I have a storyline. Then I begin to write.
"A poet in love is best encouraged in both capacities or neither." ~ Jane Austen, Emma.
  





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Wed Dec 01, 2004 4:14 pm
Tessitore says...



I'm in that middle ground between Young Adult and Adult. Stradling the fence, you could say. I sometimes hint at things or else blatantly have... things... which are "not appropriate" (I personally don't agree with our rating system) for children under 18. Unfortunatley if I give off that I HAVE knowledge of these things, it wouldn't look too good. Looks like I have to wait another two years. *sigh*...
I'm not even angry... I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me... And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
-"Still Alive"- GLaDOS
  





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Wed Dec 01, 2004 4:36 pm
WinterGrimm says...



i'm not sure what you mean by inappropriate. there are alot of young adult books that have swearing, not only talk about sex but describe sex (such as in Forever by Judy Blume). i think its better not to sencor your work or talk down just because you're writing to a younger audience. i mean you might not want to overload the language if you're writing for eight year olds. but for teens i think its better to not hold anything back. this reality is somtimes dark, evil, and unpleasent. and i think that teenagers respect something that they believe isn't watered down or that the author is talking down to them as an authority figure.
That love is suffering is easy to see, for before the love becomes equally balanced on both sides there is no torment greater, since the lover is always in fear that his love may not gain its desire and that he is wasting his efforts.
Andreas Cappelanus, The Art of Courtly Love
  





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Thu Dec 02, 2004 4:15 am
Tessitore says...



I have very strong sexual themes in some of my (shorter) stories. I'm a very sexual person, and that's usually what "inappropriate material" I'm talking about. Face it, all teenagers swear, or have heard people swear, so it's not a big deal anymore. Sex still is. I still have a lot of violence, but I can't get into my kinkier stuff since it would be just TOO much...

Anyway, I don't want to be pegged as a "romance" writer. I'm not. I write stories where people sometimes have sex with each other, but there's still a story. It's better just to hint at it, I found (but then it's no fun, since I can't describe some of the more interesting contraptions found in my characters bedrooms...
I'm not even angry... I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me... And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
-"Still Alive"- GLaDOS
  





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Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:22 pm
-KayJuran- says...



i don't generally start 2 outline unless i realise
that the idea is gunna turn out 2 b an ok story.
then i do tons of work - mostly languages!

w poems tho i dont plan at all it just comes...
"There you go - sausages à la bread!" - Blue.
  





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Thu Dec 02, 2004 8:12 pm
dele24 says...



I switched from fantasy cause it just wasn't my thing to speacialize in, I deal better with 'real' situations and 'real' people. I kinda want to concentrate on developing my characters and not creating worlds and other creatures. Its not as though I will never write another fantasy story again, I just want to concentrate on reality type stuff at least for the moment.
  








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