Those that know me well are aware of my biggest dream; being a writer. I have a lot of story ideas that I want to bring to life, one way or another. Everything around me inspires new stories and characters that I am dying to try out, from my friends to even songs and other stories.
But as I have learned from writing my latest story it can be pretty hard.
The biggest difficulty to overcome is personal doubts and insecurities. No matter how solid a story is I always worry if its good enough to be expanded upon. Then there's the issue of how to write it.
Growing up and taking spanish classes they always told us that writers have a strict guideline to follow. How to elaborate sentences, avoiding redundancy, spelling and many more things make it annoying just writing down a basic story element. Yet, I've seen writers who break the rules all the time. So, we are encouraged to follow the rules, yet many writers gain their fame due to their creativity in storytelling. Which is it?
I have my own writing style, one that focuses on emotions and events rather than deep character development, philosophy or even highly elaborate or metaphorical. Its very simple. Yet, I feel the need to adorn a scene with lots of lush details, whether in character interaction or the environment they are in, because I feel the story becomes rather dull. But this would be adding padding to what is essentially a normal scene.
One other issue is believability, or how credible the story's world is. Without giving too much away, one of my stories deals with a main character that is a biker. I know nothing about the biking world (and I am talking about the Harley Davidson kind, not normal cycling), save for the elements sprinkled throughout pop culture. The world is a much deeper one than it seems. I recently saw a video of an old biker ranting about how businessmen with bikes aren't really bikers but yuppies pretending to be bikers. So now I wonder, am I writing a biker from the point of view of a "yuppie"? Can I make a convincing character despite my lack of knowledge?
I'll admit that I focus more on his growth as a character than the hobbies he partakes in. But since biking is such a prominent element in the story I fear it might not be deep enough to engage anyone.
We've been told to stop worrying about the writing style or what people may think. They tell us to focus on the story WE want to tell. I agree with that completely, but when you present the story to the world you do want it to be the best. It can be troubling and drain the creativity out of you.
In fact, its the reason why I haven't been writing as much as I want. I fear that the story might be good in theory, but horrible in execution.
*Sigh...
Hopefully, I'll grow out of this once a story has proven successful.
The difficulties of being a writer
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Disney's Divinity
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Hey--we have something in common! 
I write as a pasttime (I do love it, but I doubt I could make a career out of it), but my stories are mostly fantasy, nearly children's literature. I've been holding off on any attempts to publish until I'm finished with college; partly because I need a reliable job to fall back onto and partly because college does add a lot to your experience (socially and academically).
Anyway, I sympathize with the constant conflict with writing style. One of the hardest things about being a writer is accepting the fact that not everyone who reads what you write is going to like it. In fact, you'll probably meet many people who hate what you write (as do all writers). But you shouldn't worry about that at all. The best way to get around this is to realize that you're really writing for yourself and noone else. And if you're satisfied, that's the best you can do. I don't mean to ignore advice from critics/readers, but that they shouldn't be your first priority (unless you're on a fixed income and this is all you have).
And I don't know if you've ever felt this way, but it seems like I'm constantly editing my stories. I'll like what I've done, but then a month or so later, I'll come up with a new idea to add or a different interpretation of a scene. It's extremely hard for me to decide what should be it. Either way, like you, I focus more on emotion and growth than plot-line, but I'm obsessed with symbols/imagery in my stories. Sometimes, it falls together without my even thinking about it at the time.
I write as a pasttime (I do love it, but I doubt I could make a career out of it), but my stories are mostly fantasy, nearly children's literature. I've been holding off on any attempts to publish until I'm finished with college; partly because I need a reliable job to fall back onto and partly because college does add a lot to your experience (socially and academically).Anyway, I sympathize with the constant conflict with writing style. One of the hardest things about being a writer is accepting the fact that not everyone who reads what you write is going to like it. In fact, you'll probably meet many people who hate what you write (as do all writers). But you shouldn't worry about that at all. The best way to get around this is to realize that you're really writing for yourself and noone else. And if you're satisfied, that's the best you can do. I don't mean to ignore advice from critics/readers, but that they shouldn't be your first priority (unless you're on a fixed income and this is all you have).
And I don't know if you've ever felt this way, but it seems like I'm constantly editing my stories. I'll like what I've done, but then a month or so later, I'll come up with a new idea to add or a different interpretation of a scene. It's extremely hard for me to decide what should be it. Either way, like you, I focus more on emotion and growth than plot-line, but I'm obsessed with symbols/imagery in my stories. Sometimes, it falls together without my even thinking about it at the time.
Listening to most often lately:
Christina Aguilera ~ "Cruz"
Sombr ~ "homewrecker"
Megan Moroney ~ "Beautiful Things"
When I was writing short stories in college I always changed and updated my stories, whether to reduce redundancy, fix grammatical errors or tighten story elements. What I would do is once I finished my story I would print it out then read as if I was discovering the story for the first time. Then I would scribble, make notes and add changes, and would go back to the story and make the changes.
In my honest opinion, I hate it when writers exaggerate with their metaphors, descriptions and confusing character dialogue. Before anyone says I am a shallow reader, what I mean is that at times the writer couldn't focus on the story so he/she added these lenghty descriptions in order to make it "deep". Its even worse when writers use philosophy to the point where the story gets lost.
I try to make things as simple as possible while still feeling deep and lush. It can be hard to do.
In my honest opinion, I hate it when writers exaggerate with their metaphors, descriptions and confusing character dialogue. Before anyone says I am a shallow reader, what I mean is that at times the writer couldn't focus on the story so he/she added these lenghty descriptions in order to make it "deep". Its even worse when writers use philosophy to the point where the story gets lost.
I try to make things as simple as possible while still feeling deep and lush. It can be hard to do.
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PeterPanfan
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Escapay
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Re: The difficulties of being a writer
Rather than quote certain bits of your post, pap, and talking about each little aspect, I'm just gonna take an excerpt from this post I made a year-and-a-half ago.
6. "Spill Your Guts" - the best advice I ever received on writing was that phrase. I have my sixth grade English teacher, Mrs. Underwood, to thank for that. Be honest in your writing, allow yourself to literally spill your guts out in words. Don't be afraid of what comes out of your pen, pencil, marker, keyboard, etc. Write as if your life depended on it. If you feel uncomfortable with a line or a passage, keep it in there, it might be the edginess your script needs. Forget about the "write about what you know" or "write about what you don't know" crap. Just write. Write early. Write often. Write wherever there's a flat surface. Carry around a notebook for random thoughts and spur-of-the-moment scenes. Observe and intricately detail everything around you. Never erase. Never rip out pages and toss them away. Save everything. What looks bad today may seem genius next week. What worked in dialogue yesterday may seem awkward and forced a month from now.
7. Don't fall in love with your work - when you fall in love with your work, you blind yourself to what's really good stuff and what's just really bad shit. Criticize yourself. Look at your work and think, "Okay, would I really want to see this on the screen? Would I want my name on it?" It's hard at first, as you only want to consider your work to be nothing short of spectacular. But always remember, just because you and ten people think it's great, doesn't mean it is. So be harsh to yourself. Say, "oh my god, I actually wrote this? It's trash, pure trash!" and start over if you need to.
8. Don't marry yourself to certain aspects of your writing - a bit complicated but quite simply, don't limit yourself. Write a romantic comedy even if you hate them. Write a slasher film even if you're scared. Adapt Shakespeare into a rock opera. Always look at the other side of your writing. Don't write a comedy because you want to write a comedy. Write a comedy as if you hated them, and if you saw this one in theatres, it'd change your mind. Don't write a serious drama with the mindset of "OMG, if Meryl Streep acted in this, it'd sweep the Oscars!"; write it because you feel strongly about something and want to get your opinion out there in a movie. Or write it to see if you can. It's all really just an empty slate, and you fill it however you want, with no right or wrong way.
9. Dialogue & Characters - separate them - I like to write on UD in a playful and snarky tone half the time. It's not necessarily the way I am in real life (I'm a bit more reserved, though in WDW I still have to use an outgoing they-put-us-on-drugs-to-keep-us-this-happy personality). Likewise, with your characters, they're not all going to talk the same, and they're not all going to have the same mannerisms in their words. You'll have to learn how to listen to their voices. Yes, listen to their voices. They are speaking to you, and it's up to you to separate them, and translate them correctly from your mind to your script. But don't fall into the trap of limiting your characters either. Give them an edge, but don't make it too extreme. Don't slowly start writing them as copycats of what you already know. It's hard, it really is, but once you learn to finally listen to your characters, you'll know how to write for them. And their dialogue will just come through you naturally. Soon you'll reach the point (or you may have already reached it) where you alter the story to fit your character's needs and motives. You'll find yourself saying, "Wait...Mrs. Jenkins would never say that!" and rewrite a whole scene to better suit Mrs. Jenkins.
One of the best examples I can give is a woman named Irna Phillips. She was a writer of radio soaps back in the day, and made an extremely successful transition to television. Three of her soaps are still on the air (Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Days of our Lives -which she co-created with Ted Corday), and she's got a slew of other soaps to her credit. What she would do, what she perfected, was dialogue between her characters. Rather than sit and write, she'd simply turn on a phonograph or other recording device, and talk. She'd say the lines out loud between characters, in the tones and mannerisms necessary. Then she'd take the recording, give it to her secretary, and it was up to the secretary to transcribe it onto paper, and know *which* character she was, and *when* she was another character. Some call it craziness, some considered it genius. But she knew immediately who her characters were, how they spoke, and simply relayed it back out again.
10. Have fun - quite simply, have fun. The best thing about a blank sheet of paper is the infinite possibilities of what you can do with it.
And to add some more...
You're writing for content, not for grammar. When you've got your story and your characters fleshed out, then work out any grammar issues you have. Too much detail, too little detail, extraneous descriptions, etc. Content first, grammar second. Just don't forget the grammar. Too often I've read useless fanfics (or just fiction in general) that is far too wordy and far to disorganized that you spend three pages talking about everything except the action (or except for exposition that helps understand the action).
And writer's block can be a blessing in disguise. It'll allow you to just stop and not think, and you'll get inspiration from the oddest places.
albert
6. "Spill Your Guts" - the best advice I ever received on writing was that phrase. I have my sixth grade English teacher, Mrs. Underwood, to thank for that. Be honest in your writing, allow yourself to literally spill your guts out in words. Don't be afraid of what comes out of your pen, pencil, marker, keyboard, etc. Write as if your life depended on it. If you feel uncomfortable with a line or a passage, keep it in there, it might be the edginess your script needs. Forget about the "write about what you know" or "write about what you don't know" crap. Just write. Write early. Write often. Write wherever there's a flat surface. Carry around a notebook for random thoughts and spur-of-the-moment scenes. Observe and intricately detail everything around you. Never erase. Never rip out pages and toss them away. Save everything. What looks bad today may seem genius next week. What worked in dialogue yesterday may seem awkward and forced a month from now.
7. Don't fall in love with your work - when you fall in love with your work, you blind yourself to what's really good stuff and what's just really bad shit. Criticize yourself. Look at your work and think, "Okay, would I really want to see this on the screen? Would I want my name on it?" It's hard at first, as you only want to consider your work to be nothing short of spectacular. But always remember, just because you and ten people think it's great, doesn't mean it is. So be harsh to yourself. Say, "oh my god, I actually wrote this? It's trash, pure trash!" and start over if you need to.
8. Don't marry yourself to certain aspects of your writing - a bit complicated but quite simply, don't limit yourself. Write a romantic comedy even if you hate them. Write a slasher film even if you're scared. Adapt Shakespeare into a rock opera. Always look at the other side of your writing. Don't write a comedy because you want to write a comedy. Write a comedy as if you hated them, and if you saw this one in theatres, it'd change your mind. Don't write a serious drama with the mindset of "OMG, if Meryl Streep acted in this, it'd sweep the Oscars!"; write it because you feel strongly about something and want to get your opinion out there in a movie. Or write it to see if you can. It's all really just an empty slate, and you fill it however you want, with no right or wrong way.
9. Dialogue & Characters - separate them - I like to write on UD in a playful and snarky tone half the time. It's not necessarily the way I am in real life (I'm a bit more reserved, though in WDW I still have to use an outgoing they-put-us-on-drugs-to-keep-us-this-happy personality). Likewise, with your characters, they're not all going to talk the same, and they're not all going to have the same mannerisms in their words. You'll have to learn how to listen to their voices. Yes, listen to their voices. They are speaking to you, and it's up to you to separate them, and translate them correctly from your mind to your script. But don't fall into the trap of limiting your characters either. Give them an edge, but don't make it too extreme. Don't slowly start writing them as copycats of what you already know. It's hard, it really is, but once you learn to finally listen to your characters, you'll know how to write for them. And their dialogue will just come through you naturally. Soon you'll reach the point (or you may have already reached it) where you alter the story to fit your character's needs and motives. You'll find yourself saying, "Wait...Mrs. Jenkins would never say that!" and rewrite a whole scene to better suit Mrs. Jenkins.
One of the best examples I can give is a woman named Irna Phillips. She was a writer of radio soaps back in the day, and made an extremely successful transition to television. Three of her soaps are still on the air (Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Days of our Lives -which she co-created with Ted Corday), and she's got a slew of other soaps to her credit. What she would do, what she perfected, was dialogue between her characters. Rather than sit and write, she'd simply turn on a phonograph or other recording device, and talk. She'd say the lines out loud between characters, in the tones and mannerisms necessary. Then she'd take the recording, give it to her secretary, and it was up to the secretary to transcribe it onto paper, and know *which* character she was, and *when* she was another character. Some call it craziness, some considered it genius. But she knew immediately who her characters were, how they spoke, and simply relayed it back out again.
10. Have fun - quite simply, have fun. The best thing about a blank sheet of paper is the infinite possibilities of what you can do with it.
And to add some more...
You're writing for content, not for grammar. When you've got your story and your characters fleshed out, then work out any grammar issues you have. Too much detail, too little detail, extraneous descriptions, etc. Content first, grammar second. Just don't forget the grammar. Too often I've read useless fanfics (or just fiction in general) that is far too wordy and far to disorganized that you spend three pages talking about everything except the action (or except for exposition that helps understand the action).
And writer's block can be a blessing in disguise. It'll allow you to just stop and not think, and you'll get inspiration from the oddest places.
albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
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Mayhem
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I have to second what Divinity said: write for yourself, and if anyone else happens to like it, that's a bonus. Get people to proofread, they can often spot or suggest things you've overlooked. Been on both ends of that.
And point #9 from Escapay as well, imagine the characters you have created talking in the mannerisms and style that you are jotting down on paper. It helps to visualise what they would or would not say. This links into point #6 as well, I often write a bunch of stuff that happens at other parts of the story from where I currently sit, awaiting insertion. However I might re-tailor or re-edit it to fit elsewhere, I throw ideas on the notes pages to use at various points because it was good prose; just not appropriate for the time and place I was writing the story at!
I've been a freelance writer for almost 20 years but I haven't written many stories, it's been mostly articles, proposals and long expositions. The transition to fanfic was... interesting to say the least. RESEARCH! Actually there was a good connection to my article work. If you don't know a field that you wish to write about, in or include, then do your research on it to make sure what you use is not factually incorrect.
The story I'm currently finalising has links and references to the diverse nature of The Beatles, Egyptology and quantum theory. A bizarre combination indeed. But I've read and read and made sure that what I'm talking about has a firm grounding in reality, if maybe taking one or two little liberties along the way with unproven hypothesises...
Oh and I get blocked occasionally too. I find a break from writing and the occasional product of the Bulmers company has helped...
And point #9 from Escapay as well, imagine the characters you have created talking in the mannerisms and style that you are jotting down on paper. It helps to visualise what they would or would not say. This links into point #6 as well, I often write a bunch of stuff that happens at other parts of the story from where I currently sit, awaiting insertion. However I might re-tailor or re-edit it to fit elsewhere, I throw ideas on the notes pages to use at various points because it was good prose; just not appropriate for the time and place I was writing the story at!
I've been a freelance writer for almost 20 years but I haven't written many stories, it's been mostly articles, proposals and long expositions. The transition to fanfic was... interesting to say the least. RESEARCH! Actually there was a good connection to my article work. If you don't know a field that you wish to write about, in or include, then do your research on it to make sure what you use is not factually incorrect.
The story I'm currently finalising has links and references to the diverse nature of The Beatles, Egyptology and quantum theory. A bizarre combination indeed. But I've read and read and made sure that what I'm talking about has a firm grounding in reality, if maybe taking one or two little liberties along the way with unproven hypothesises...
Oh and I get blocked occasionally too. I find a break from writing and the occasional product of the Bulmers company has helped...
Lie with passion and be forever damned...
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Chernabog_Rocks
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For all you fellow writers try this site out 
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/writefanfic.htm
Anways here's something I find very important when it comes to writing.
NEVER go into more detail than you need to.
A really good example of someone who OD's on descriptions is Robert Jordan, he spent an entire page and a paragraph describing what two characters were wearing and what they looked like right down to the slashes of colors in one girls dress.
I guess what I"m saying is "Keep it simple stupid" Show them your world how you invision it but also give the readers a chance to see it from their own way as well.
Anways, I'm currently working on 2 fanfictions, one is Disney the other is Power Rangers. As well I'm working on two book ideas, again one is a Disney book, while the other is a retelling of Troy.
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/writefanfic.htm
Anways here's something I find very important when it comes to writing.
NEVER go into more detail than you need to.
A really good example of someone who OD's on descriptions is Robert Jordan, he spent an entire page and a paragraph describing what two characters were wearing and what they looked like right down to the slashes of colors in one girls dress.
I guess what I"m saying is "Keep it simple stupid"
Show them your world how you invision it but also give the readers a chance to see it from their own way as well.Anways, I'm currently working on 2 fanfictions, one is Disney the other is Power Rangers. As well I'm working on two book ideas, again one is a Disney book, while the other is a retelling of Troy.
My Disney focused instagram: disneyeternal
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dvdjunkie
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- Location: Wichita, Kansas
Very good topic. First never give up your goals when you are writing.
It took me 20 years to get my first story published. Okay, it was a short story, but it was based on two incidents in WWII, and I made up the characters, but all the times and dates were spot on. I submitted the story to seven different companies before I got a nibble, and then they directed me to the best place to get it published. My first money earned from writing was $35, but the thrill of it all was to see my story in print, and my name in the by-line.
I am always writing, some things never get finished, but I am always putting thoughts down on paper and I write until I get tired or I draw a complete blank, or if I start to wander off the subject.
Most important is believe in yourself, and set goals. Long-range goals, and little short-range goals that will get you to that long-range goals. Most of all never give up, and never doubt yourself when it comes to subject matter and proper grammar. That will all come about as time goes by. I wish you the best of luck in your writing career.
It took me 20 years to get my first story published. Okay, it was a short story, but it was based on two incidents in WWII, and I made up the characters, but all the times and dates were spot on. I submitted the story to seven different companies before I got a nibble, and then they directed me to the best place to get it published. My first money earned from writing was $35, but the thrill of it all was to see my story in print, and my name in the by-line.
I am always writing, some things never get finished, but I am always putting thoughts down on paper and I write until I get tired or I draw a complete blank, or if I start to wander off the subject.
Most important is believe in yourself, and set goals. Long-range goals, and little short-range goals that will get you to that long-range goals. Most of all never give up, and never doubt yourself when it comes to subject matter and proper grammar. That will all come about as time goes by. I wish you the best of luck in your writing career.
The only way to watch movies - Original Aspect Ratio!!!!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
Hey guys, sorry for not replying sooner, I was distracted by something shiny ...
Thanks guys for all the tips. I am happy to know that many of you share my beliefs when it comes to writing stories.
The reason I sometimes feel so insecure is because I've seen how much of an impact can leave on a reader, and at times it can be intimidating knowing that your story can either be really, really loved or completely loathed.
For example, my best friend absolutely HATES "Eragon" and the kid that wrote it. The reason why is because he believes the kid was all hype as all he did was take the basic Star Wars concept and added dragons to it. Not to mention that he feels jealous that the kid got a story published at such a young age when he has yet to do anything with his own stories.
It really surprised me how even the existence of a story can affect the average reader.
About the grammar, Spanish is my native language, and let me tell you the language is far more demanding than the English one. There are far more rules to follow, like using apostrophes correctly, proper word placement and such.
In the past, I may have written the most amazing essay ever, but would be filled with red marks all over it because of some slight errors.
Would you guys agree that the schools are forcing its kids to follow the rules too much to the point where they are holding the creativity back? I mean, I understand that proper grammar is needed or else you will miss the point of the story. But at times it seems they prefer proper grammar over creativity.
Finally, there's the whole Mary Sue thing. I understand the hate, but at times it can be greatly exaggerated to the point where even writers don't know if their characters are Mary Sues or not.
In the story I am working on I used elements of my personality, as well as the personalities of my friends and people I know to try and make a convincing character you can easily root for. Yet, this can easily be considering part of making a Mary Sue, since the idea behind the character is to include yourself in the story, especially if that character has amazing abilities or great success.
Your thoughts?
Thanks guys for all the tips. I am happy to know that many of you share my beliefs when it comes to writing stories.
The reason I sometimes feel so insecure is because I've seen how much of an impact can leave on a reader, and at times it can be intimidating knowing that your story can either be really, really loved or completely loathed.
For example, my best friend absolutely HATES "Eragon" and the kid that wrote it. The reason why is because he believes the kid was all hype as all he did was take the basic Star Wars concept and added dragons to it. Not to mention that he feels jealous that the kid got a story published at such a young age when he has yet to do anything with his own stories.
It really surprised me how even the existence of a story can affect the average reader.
About the grammar, Spanish is my native language, and let me tell you the language is far more demanding than the English one. There are far more rules to follow, like using apostrophes correctly, proper word placement and such.
In the past, I may have written the most amazing essay ever, but would be filled with red marks all over it because of some slight errors.
Would you guys agree that the schools are forcing its kids to follow the rules too much to the point where they are holding the creativity back? I mean, I understand that proper grammar is needed or else you will miss the point of the story. But at times it seems they prefer proper grammar over creativity.
Finally, there's the whole Mary Sue thing. I understand the hate, but at times it can be greatly exaggerated to the point where even writers don't know if their characters are Mary Sues or not.
In the story I am working on I used elements of my personality, as well as the personalities of my friends and people I know to try and make a convincing character you can easily root for. Yet, this can easily be considering part of making a Mary Sue, since the idea behind the character is to include yourself in the story, especially if that character has amazing abilities or great success.
Your thoughts?