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Young Writers Society


How DO you write?



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Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:42 pm
Rei says...



I don't think I've ever written anything good for school either. Fictionwise at least. I was writting stories that were an average of fifteen pages, 300 words a page, in middle school, and my English teacher wanted stories that were about three hundred words long,
Please, sit down before you fall down.
Belloq, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
  





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Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:48 pm
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Sam says...



Me too. Last year during tests my teacher had to give me a ream of paper just for that 'cause I get involved with them. I can't stop in the middle and say, "I'm done," which is what they want you do do.
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.

- Demetri Martin
  





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Wed Aug 10, 2005 8:04 pm
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Rei says...



It really is quite frustrating. I mean, if my teacher had recognized that it wasn't lack of disciplin or skill, but rather an above-average talent for writing (compared to all grade eight kids, not kids who like writing) I can only imagine where I would be now. He never let me stretch my wings and do what I wanted. He'd probably never believe that I wrote my first novel by the time I finished grade ten.
Please, sit down before you fall down.
Belloq, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
  





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Wed Aug 10, 2005 11:04 pm
Sam says...



Your school didn't have a G&T program? Huh...people just let me get away with stuff (like skipping english) because of it. 'Twas fun.

You kind of have to wonder though. I'd probably be a lot farther along in my writing if I'd been allowed to improvise earlier on.
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.

- Demetri Martin
  





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Wed Aug 10, 2005 11:13 pm
dreaming_mouse says...



The only fiction I wrote when I was at school that people saw was part of my English coursework. We had to write a short story which I messed up because I knew my teacher was going to read it, I get really self-concious when people I know read my stuff. Its amazing, just when I thought my writing couldn't get any crappier - it did XD! Which is why no one at my college knows I'm a writer...well 6/600 people do but they don't talk about it thank god.

Do you define your work as, say... suspence... horror... fantasy?: I don't stick to a specific genre, I have one fantasy some horror and all of them have an element of romance in them :roll:.

What do you do to PREPARE??: Nothing, I just write what comes into my head and then re-write it god knows how many times. I have written about 7 stories and have at least five completed versions each...I should plan and then get a life. :stare:

Does the mood just strike you or does it have to gradually build?: Usually I want to write in a lesson, some of them are so boring I end up getting ideas in my head and they play out like lil mini movies...how stupid is that :roll:. I know I failed my exams because of this :stare: I will never write again if I did.

How do your characters become yours?: I can relate to them in some way :shock: for one thing they're all under 5'3" XD. I base them on my friends really, the heroin in my Changes story is based around my friend Rowan in some aspects while Robert in my Where I Belong story is based on my friend Ryan in both looks and personality :roll:...I need a life.
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:13 am
Rei says...



Whats a G&T program?
Please, sit down before you fall down.
Belloq, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:21 am
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Sam says...



Gifted and Talented.
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.

- Demetri Martin
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:44 am
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Incandescence says...



GT is a worthless program.

In my opinion.
"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders." -Hal Abelson
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 1:12 am
Sam says...



Hey, you get to skip english. I ain't complaining.
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.

- Demetri Martin
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 1:33 am
Rei says...



What did you get to do instead of going to English?
Please, sit down before you fall down.
Belloq, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:52 pm
Sam says...



Sit in a corner of the library and write.
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.

- Demetri Martin
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 5:25 pm
Areida says...



*is horribly jealous*

I wish we had a creative writing class at my school. But I might sign up for one at the local college next year or something. Maybe over the summer. Anyway.

Do you define your work as, say... suspense... horror... fantasy?: I don't really stick to one genre or another. I write fanfiction, historical, and contemporary stuff. It really just kind of depends on whatever strikes my fancy. I think that my first novel will be contemporary, though.

What do you do to PREPARE??: Depends. Sometimes I just write whatever comes to mind, other times I outline ad nauseum. The majority of the time, however, I'll write about 2000ish words and then start outlining. On a given story, I usually have a folder for it, and I make a separate document for characters, the outline, research, and misc. information. And of course separate documents for chapters, forwards, prologues, etc. Whatever.

Does the mood just strike you or does it have to gradually build?: Both. Sometimes I build up a really strong urge to write and do so for a couple of hours, while at other times I just randomly start writing. A lot of times I force myself to write, even when I don't feel like it.

How do your characters become yours?: They always have some element of me in them, and I try to get and know them as well as I possibly can. Lots of times I'll write them for awhile without working on the plot because I want to make sure I know them well. I make up birthdays and decide their favourite colour, food, song, etc. You know, just little things that end up coming together to make a real personality.

I have one character who is kind of like my adventurous side on steroids. She's fun and wild and impetuous and loves wearing black and dark reds. She loves photography and has a strong dislike for goldfish and snakes.

Stuff like that.
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Thu Aug 11, 2005 5:50 pm
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J. Wilder says...



Genres

I usually write realistic fiction, but sometimes fantasy or science fiction. I will never write horror, romance, or mysteries. I pretty much only write novels, middle-grade or teen. (I don't like the phrase "young adult." We're not adults, so why is it called that?)

Preparation

I don't really prewrite. I occasionally do character sketches, but usually after I've already started writing. I might to an outline for my Firelighters trilogy. I guess I've done a little bit of prewriting for that.

Characters

I don't base them on other people's characters. I do occasionally base them on people I know, or combinations of people I know. Usually I just make them up, though.

Gifted and Talented Education

G&T is fun. You get to skip class. I've only been to one school that had it, though, and it was an elementary school. It's pretty pointless, but since you get to skip class I won't knock it. (I don't get great grades but I test well [I'm good at math] so I did G&T for year or so, but then I switched schools. I've been to a lot of schools.)

Writing for School

I couldn't write well for school, either. I was only once asked to write a story in high school. It had to be five pages or less. I'm used to writing novels. I tried to condense the first book of my Talon Royals trilogy into five pages. By the end of the fourth page, in font size 8, I was still on exposition, so I realized, "This isn't working," and tried to turn one of my sister's teleplays into a short story (in school I had a habit of plagiarizing my sister's work, with permission). I got a C+.

In middle school I sometimes did well, though.

In high school I didn't do many of my writing assignments (senior year I barely did any--somebody volunteered to do one for me for free, though, that was cool).
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:10 pm
Sam says...



*high fives J.Wilder*

So I take it it's a universal writer's problem that we don't have enough space?
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.

- Demetri Martin
  





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Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:23 pm
Rei says...



Basically. I think it was even worse when I got to writer's craft in grade twelve. The stories we were asked to write were generally less than one thousand words, although my teacher accepted a three thousand word story for my final portfolio. By that time I was working on my forth novel. He put so many tight restrictions on what we were doing that I ended up getting a C in that class. (though I might have gotten a little higher if I hadn't had major panic attacks for some of the presentations) It was a good thing he didn't mind the extra long story for the final presentation. Ended up doing pretty well on that, and some of the people in the class even cried.
Please, sit down before you fall down.
Belloq, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
  








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