Ever try your hand at writing fiction?

[Flyback]

Where do you get the talent from?

Many suggest that you read a lot and write even more (practice, practice, and practice). Yet so many bookworms out there that read plenty and write often can't put out anything of quality. At the same time, some writers produce amazing work their first time out of the gate and/or with little formal background in English (no major focus on it in university).

I'm not looking to have anything published. Far from it. The same goes for money (I expect the process to cost money, rather than make it). I just want to write something I can stand back and be proud of. I'm particularly fond of the novella format.

There are a few common books I found on Amazon's listmania, such as The Elements of Style that seem somewhat universal as to make a better writer of you.
Beyond the few books on writing well, does it just come down to plenty of practice and life experience? Writing circles and coffeehouse get-togethers come across as pure BS--many many great writers work in isolation.

Additionally, how do you steer the creative process? How do you know, for example, when to stop writing? When does the work become complete? I've been working on something on and off over the past ~9 months but it grows and grows. So I trim it back. Then I'll turn around and want to add something, or change something until a piece of it looks totally different, at which point I second guess myself and tear it out.

Just looking for your experiences, advice, and to hear your stories. Thanks!

 

[puffff]

I'm not a professional writer, but I can tell you, from my travelogue experience, you get better at writing by writing more. I look back at my entries and can see how my wording and sentence structure improved over time. It came with forcing myself to write almost every single day for a year.

Reading books by good authors helps too. A good author doesn't need a gripping plot to make a story compelling. Look at how an author uses transitions and dialogue to make paragraphs flow. You'll eventually come up with your own style, but since most of us aren't born literary geniuses, we're probably better served drawing on others instead of isolating ourselves.

 

[nageov3t]

at least in my experience, fiction requires a lot of discipline, to be able to sit down, craft a plot, plan character development, etc, etc.

 

[Flyback]

Originally posted by: puffff
I'm not a professional writer, but I can tell you, from my travelogue experience, you get better at writing by writing more. I look back at my entries and can see how my wording and sentence structure improved over time. It came with forcing myself to write almost every single day for a year.

Reading books by good authors helps too. A good author doesn't need a gripping plot to make a story compelling. Look at how an author uses transitions and dialogue to make paragraphs flow. You'll eventually come up with your own style, but since most of us aren't born literary geniuses, we're probably better served drawing on others instead of isolating ourselves.

Definitely. I realize you have to consume the works of others to learn. When I mentioned isolation, I meant during the actual process of writing--not the education and experience which makes you into a better writer.

I'm going to do the obvious thing and read the "works of the masters" so to speak. I figure I'll write lots, but also try to read 2-3 books a week if I get serious about this. (When I say book, again, my preference for the novella and short form factor comes into play--I'm not reading 2 or 3 books the size of War and Peace.) I've been building a list of many good books that have high praise.

 

[chrisms]

In the forests of northern Idaho, a dirt road off of Interstate 90 will take you down a rough path into the Granite Lakes. There resides the mansion of Dr. Philo Frankos, where both he and his partner Gregory Yates have been conducting research into the development of a half bird, half man supercreature. What most thought of as insane man's fruitless work turned into reality on one autumn night, as both of the men's dreams were realized by Philo's half-sister Nora giving birth to evolution's newest creation.

The night was a gigantic success for both gentlemen, who had put years of work into the project. They had agreed on every last detail, yet a topic which remained undiscussed previously made its inevitable appearance and spoiled the evening.

Dr. Frankos entered the room with a smile. "The left wing appears to have a light deformation, but in my assessment it will be fully functional by adolescence," he paused and took a few paces closer to his colleague, "Yates, we've sped evolution. The worst of our work is over." Yates grinned the biggest grin that anyone had seen from him since the tedious work began. "He will be called Flyimos."

The nurses, usually reserved and unimpeding of the scientist's work, were now whispering rapidly back and forth into eachother's ears. "It is disgusting. It isn't human!" one remarked, failing in her attempt to keep the ill tempered Dr. Frankos from hearing her. Reaching his large, veiny knuckles across his face and behind his head, Frankos let go with a mighty swoop and landed a blow to the nurse's face. "We have no time for dissent! You were hired to help not to hinder, and this specimen must be washed and made presentable by tomorrow morning for the press!"
"What press?" Yates requested, ignorant to his partner's scheme.
"A notice has been sent to the larger papers and networks," Frankos replied, "They'll be here tomorrow to see the specimen."
"You know we can't do that!"
"And why not?"
"The public outrage will ruin us," he whispered, "Not a man in this world will be understanding to our cause."

Rubbing his beard and pacing slowly around the room, Frankos was slow to respond. "Nonsense! If man's greatest dream is to fly, and it is not possible without the help of machine, then he will hope for the next best thing. And that his for the next generation to have the ability to soar above the clouds."

Yates was always annoyed by his partner's attempts to make an amazing speech out of every phrase he muttered. And now in one of their few moments of disagreement, he let go one of his few moments of anger towards Frankos.
"You will cancel the press conference immediately or I will denounce this project!"
Frankos calmy replied, "I told you Yates, that is nonsense. The public must know our achievement."
"Our achievement? This is a mutant."
"How dare you say such a thing to a boy who you've spent half your life striving to create!"

To be involved his such a project, both men were obviously a bit less than sane. But they weren't stupid, and so when Yates realized the impact his freak creation would have on the world only after its birth, he took the matter of stopping it into his own hands.

Reaching behind him on the surgical desk, Yates picked up a small knife and swung it in front of him. Assuming his partner was out to hill him, Frankos put up his fists in anger and in preperation to defend himself yelled "Yates you bastard I knew you wanted all the glory to yourself!"

In between the two men was Flyimos, the freak baby which had been born only hours earlier. With one fluid, unhesitant motion, Yates slammed the knnife into the top of the creature's skull and into its brain. Its eyes twisted and gleemed upward before disappearing behind their lids, as blood squirted then dripped out of its lips. Yates looked into his lifelong friend's eyes for a moment and simoltaniously twisted the knife a few times for good measure. As he pulled it out, Flyimos dropped limp to the ground in a pool of fresh blood.

 

[txrandom]

I've always wanted to form my own science fiction universe and make an RPG on it. One day...

 

[puffff]

Originally posted by: Flyback

Originally posted by: puffff
I'm not a professional writer, but I can tell you, from my travelogue experience, you get better at writing by writing more. I look back at my entries and can see how my wording and sentence structure improved over time. It came with forcing myself to write almost every single day for a year.

Reading books by good authors helps too. A good author doesn't need a gripping plot to make a story compelling. Look at how an author uses transitions and dialogue to make paragraphs flow. You'll eventually come up with your own style, but since most of us aren't born literary geniuses, we're probably better served drawing on others instead of isolating ourselves.

Definitely. I realize you have to consume the works of others to learn. When I mentioned isolation, I meant during the actual process of writing--not the education and experience which makes you into a better writer.

I'm going to do the obvious thing and read the "works of the masters" so to speak. I figure I'll write lots, but also try to read 2-3 books a week if I get serious about this. (When I say book, again, my preference for the novella and short form factor comes into play--I'm not reading 2 or 3 books the size of War and Peace.) I've been building a list of many good books that have high praise.

I've found that reading the same book multiple times helps too. Reason being, the first time through, I'll be caught up in the plot, and might not pay as much attention to the writing itself. In subsequent readings, I already know what's going to happen, and can slow down and notice more of the details.

Some of my favorite books, I must've read at least two or three dozen times already

 

[chrisms]

Hunter S. Thompson is known to have rewritten his favorite novels over and over to improve his writing style. This really helps you get a feel for the writer's prose and I highly recommend it. After rewriting an entire book you will catch yourself writing just like that author, and of course that fades away with you picking up the best parts of that style.

 

[Preyhunter]

Never written any fiction. Maybe I should try it some day.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Yea, in college. "Dear Penthouse Forum..."

 

[Kadarin]

I wrote this steaming pile of hippo vomit over 20 years ago.

 

[Vegitto]

Currently, I'm trying to write a book.. It's probably shi[/i]t, though..

 

[ATLien247]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
I wrote this steaming pile of hippo vomit over 20 years ago.

Is there a Chapter 2?

 

[mobobuff]

I just finished a small bit of stream-of-consciousness writing, but I suppose that's not fiction.

Writing isn't easy when you don't have inspiration, that's for sure. Reading always helps. I write better in seclusion, but some people need something to build on.

 

[Super56K]

My biggest hurdle was preparation. I would begin writing without any planning, and I always gave up after 10-20 pages. After one too many false starts I decided to map out a story I was working on from start to finish, and after a week of busting my ass I had something solid to work from. After doing this I set attainable goals to reach, and so far it's been going smooth. I also keep a journal with around 3-5 entries a week that I use more or less as an exercise in writing as well (as puffff said, it does help quite a bit). I set my 'big' goal to have my story written by December 14, 2007. The smaller goals vary in what they are, but I always try to keep them doable. I decided that since I was doing all of this for fun I didn't need to punish myself over it. Another thing I've started to do is when I write something I move on to the next scene/chapter without editing it. That was one of my biggest problems before I mapped out the story I'm working on now. I spent more time adding to or editing something I had already written instead of moving forward. I still jot down ideas I have that will change the story, but I'm not going to edit it until I've completed the story and read it through.

The book that inspired me to start writing on a regular basis was Bird by Bird by Anne Lammot. I'd suggest it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

 

[SVT Cobra]

You have it or you do not. I had a couple of short stories published here a while back but I never had the patience to sit down and write a long book, even though I had the whole plot line in my head already. Maybe some day.

 

[Smartazz]

I'm currently writing my first novel and I just sat down for a period of time everyday just to plan how the story is going to look like. It was a long process and recently I just found a draft for my novel ideas from six months ago, that means I've been planning this book for around five months and writing it for only a month. It's coming along, but you have to be really patient. I've never finished a book before, but I do have a plan for how this one is going to end.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: txrandom
I've always wanted to form my own science fiction universe and make an RPG on it. One day...

I started making rpgs before I started writing seriously. I think I have 3 or 4 rpg games, one of them was decent, the others were pretty much just experiments.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: ATLien247

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
I wrote this steaming pile of hippo vomit over 20 years ago.

Is there a Chapter 2?

LOL from what I recall, I was a paragraph or two into it when I just stopped.

 

[Smartazz]

Is there a place you can get your novel copyrighted? Where can you find one?

 

[wheresmybacon]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
You have it or you do not. I had a couple of short stories published here a while back but I never had the patience to sit down and write a long book, even though I had the whole plot line in my head already. Maybe some day.

I agree. Writing fiction is a lot like painting or music or any other art, in my opinion. Of course you can improve, but it's sort of like being fast: eventually you're limited by God-given ability. You have it or you don't.

 

[Flyback]

Originally posted by: Smartazz
Is there a place you can get your novel copyrighted? Where can you find one?

IIRC all works that you produce are copyright by default (at least in North America).

 

[BoomerD]

You mean BESIDES my resume?

 

[Syringer]

It's called YAGTs here on AT.

 

[ThePresence]

I thought about doing it many times but never actually sat down to do it.