Someone please advice me how to write

[Braznor]

Well ,what can I say. I lost most of my work when my hard drive crashed. A few things survived though, a couple of stories and a half finished novel I was lucky enough to archive in my yahoo briefcase account.

I went back to take a look into some of my earlier stuff and I was surprised to find them very good even by the standards I write now. The problem is that i haven't written much for a couple of years between the HDD crash and now. I went through my previous work and though I found it a lot immature, I also found it to be good in certain aspects. So someone please give me more info about the following points.

1. Does the length of writing make a difference to the quality? i.e the longer you write the better it would turn out to be?

2. Does age come to play? i.e an older man can write better than a younger one or vice versa?

Someone please answer me?

Also how do people write?

Do they write the whole thing and then set about to polishing it? or do they keep writing the sections again and again until they get it right before moving on to the next one?


How many rewrites should one attempt on a particular section before abandoning it as a lost cause? I heard 30-40 times? Is this true? :Q

I'm a fair writer and very unsure about my own talent. Someone please help me find the answers to these questions.


Cliffs:
1. Have doubts about writing skills
2. Have questions which are:
a . Does the length of writing make a difference to the quality?
b. Does age come to play?
c. How do people write long novels? rewrite them section by section or all at one go?
d. How many times do people typically rewrite a particular chapter before finalizing the writing?

Thanks

 

[kedlav]

Originally posted by: Braznor

Cliffs:
1. Have doubts about writing skills
2. Have questions which are:
a . Does the length of writing make a difference to the quality?
b. Does age come to play?
c. How do people write long novels? rewrite them section by section or all at one go?
d. How many times do people typically rewrite a particular chapter before finalizing the writing?

Thanks

1.) Using spell-check or learning to spell would probably boost your confidence. Proper grammar probably wouldn't hurt either. (FYI to the grammar nazis - I make no claims to perfect grammar. I'm simply stating that if you want to be a writer, you should practice it at all times)
2.) a.) No. I prefer longer novels myself, but shit by the pound is just a lot of shit.
b.) If you've no experience at living life, you're characters are probably going to be two-dimensional and be as idiotic and archetypical as Terry Goodking.
c.) Being patient. Each writer writes in a different way. Some have the talent and discipline to sit down and churn out a thousand page novel in under a year. Others need to outline, write a chapter, hop forward, write another, hop around more, write more, then revise when stuck until you get the kinks out and can get flowing again.
d.) Good authors rewrite until they're happy with the finished product. Bad writers keep editing until they give up in frustration and take the best of the drafts.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Is English your first language? If so, I'd guess you're like, what? 15? You've got a lot of motivation for a 15 year old, I'll give you that.

 

[Sable]

Originally posted by: Braznor
Someone please advice me how to write

Oh dear.

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: Sable

Originally posted by: Braznor
Someone please advice me how to write

Oh dear.

 

[iamaelephant]

If you want to write well, you should read a lot. I mean a hell of a lot.

 

[Braznor]

Originally posted by: Sable

Originally posted by: Braznor
Someone please advice me how to write

Oh dear.

Ha Ha

No. English isn't my mother tongue.


Sorry

 

[Braznor]

Come on, people!

Please advice me!

 

[imported_LoKe]

My advice to you is to stop using advice improperly. I don't know what kind of inspiration you're trying to find here. How about you re-write a story you enjoyed, but having it play out differently?

 

[hypn0tik]

I would advise you to seek mobobuff for some writing advice here.

 

[yours truly]

i would advise you to go into the mountains and chill with the sadhus

come back down in a couple of years and you're good to go

write any shit, and it's probably makes sense to someone someday

 

[theprodigalrebel]

A good writer is someone who has had an eventful life, has interesting friends and understands human nature well. If you need inspiration for ideas, you will have to look for that in your own life. If you are writing about a drug dealer, it helps to actually know a drug dealer. If you are writing a coming-of-age story about young adults, it helps if you have enough interesting experiences of your own.

The best way to start is to create strong characters, put them in unique situations and ask yourself, "What would Han Solo...err..Character xxx do?" Role-playing helps - talk to yourself and imagine you are in a room with the main characters. How would the scene play out? How important is it? Can the reader skip that portion of the story and not have it affect the outcome?

I've written a few short stories myself and made some pretty crappy short films (that I wrote). If you want to check them out (except the short films - those have worse acting than Silent Night Deadly Night 2), I will PM you the link. It's nothing special but my friends find them amusing.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

There are no answers to your questions. It is different for everyone.

 

[LtPage1]

Take a creative writing class or two at a community college. You'd be surprised how much your writing can improve in peer workshops.