9960 réponses à ce sujet

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

absitvely they make a better writer out of you.

[Seracen]

Gamer072196 wrote...

I only have one time where I wanted to do one thing for a scene that resulted in me getting stuck, which I eventually gave up on and the rewrite flowed much, much better.

In chapter 3 to my third DA fanfic, Finding a Home, I originally planned to have Solona (female human mage) being sent to the Circle be somewhat of a secret in the Hawke family, one that Leandra never told Hawke, Carver, and Bethany about. This idea caused me to get completely jammed after a page of it. It took a while, but I eventually decided to abandon that plan, and when I rewrote the scene in my head, I was able to imagine how the whole chapter would play out.

I'm not sure how many of these moments I'll have later on, but I guess they'll only make me a better writer, huh?

Very much so, it took me a while to acknowledge this aspect of the writing process.  I ignored it when writing my first two novels, and the second one suffered for it.  Luckily it didn't affect my short stories, but there aren't as many threads to tangle there.

YurigirlzCrush wrote...

Minor and mostly off-topic rant incoming. *sigh* this semester is driving me insane. midterms next week, tons of papers/assignments due, not enough time to do everything involved, I'm positive my grades over midterms are going to take a huge dip, and I'm stressing over the tiniest things in my day... which I know I shouldn't but can't stop doing. plus, I haven't touched either of my stories in like two solid weeks. I just don't have the time or energy. when I manage to snag an hour of free time, I'd rather just read. *pout* which I guess is my long and unnecessarily whiny way of saying.... I hate school! *glare* /rant


on topic: I have the opposite problem from what you're talking about. when I stopped writing to focus on schoolwork I was into my third rewrite of the beginning of my ME story. and I keep completely changing everything except the basic plot (and characters, of course). every time I write something and move on, two days later I get an idea I love a hundo p more. so I rewrite. I can't stop.

side note, The Walking Dead this past week broke my heart. something they did in that episode, combined with the apparent direction of their new game, totes preempted my TWD story idea. might have to scrap it, otherwise it'll just look like a lame ripoff. *superpout* not that I'd done anything more than outline it, but still. I was looking forward to writing it.

Ah yes, life getting in the way of writing.  Don't I know it!  Oddly enough, I wrote more effortlessly during the weeks leading up to exam week (though not the crunch time week before, not the week of, for obvious reasons).  For me, I think it was my mind demanding some form of release.  You should see some of the messed up stuff I wrote in that state of mind!

(before writing) =, during writing = , after writing = ...

As for the Walking Dead Fiction, I feel that an alternate telling of the story would be just as valid.  I remember I dealt with some of the same emotions when FF7 Advent Children came out.  Oddly enough, I was able to incorporate it into the sequel to my fanfic (so it went FF7 Game -> Fic 1 -> Avent Children Movie -> Fic 2).

Alas, that 2nd fic is still awaiting completion and editing, but I am not really interested in pursuing it.  Moving on, I am totally taking an "alternate reality" approach to my Sword Art Online story.

[Seracen]

So, writing my new stories, I am noticing a desire and hatred for the "in media res" treatment.

On the one hand, I can understand the allure of wanting to start the action in the middle. On the other hand, I generally dislike reading such things, as it doesn't allow me to ease into the story. I like to get a nice background before sinking my teeth into the book.

I don't deny it can be done well, but more often, it strikes me as somewhat lazy. That isn't to say I am opposed to action scenes at the beginning of a story, obviously.

Just curious as to others' thoughts on the matter.

[BronzTrooper]

It depends on the story. If it's executed well, I have no problem with it.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

It depends upon the story. Some stories are good that way. Others need development from the beginning.

I think if you're going to start from the beginning, don't drag out the introduction too long before you get to the action of the story. Get the characters introduced, and the premise of the story established and get on with it. The most important thing to me is establishing why I should care about the characters. I need to give a damn about the characters. Does this require a ton of detail? No.

[fluffywalrus]

Whoo! Welcome to the new board style, all!

 

Here's hoping they patch in another UI style soon for a darker skin, because this white is burning my eyes out (yes, I have f.lux, but it doesn't change that white = strain for me)

[MrStoob]

As a great man once said: "We fear change."

[DesioPL]

I start worked on little crossover between WoW and ME games story. Looking for someone, who can read before i can publish that, and find grammar errors.

[Fatiguesdualism]

Ahh , I thought we had a nice, new and shiny, sub-forum; or are we waiting for the movers to finish unpacking?

Whoo! Welcome to the new board style, all!

 

Here's hoping they patch in another UI style soon for a darker skin, because this white is burning my eyes out (yes, I have f.lux, but it doesn't change that white = strain for me)

 

 Seconded!  (Apart from that bit about f.lux, if someone could explain that I would be grateful)

 

Also, MrStoob, I'm not necessarily feart - just British and cynical .  Change may be good - but rarely as great as the choir sings.

 

[Puts walking stick away and unwraps an Opal Fruits ] 

 

Anyway, on topic, can anyone remember talking to Liara's 'Dad' (Aethyta?) in ME2?  In particular if she mentions ever being a commando or some such.  Just I'm not entirely sure if that's right or if I'm getting her mixed up with someone else.

 

@DesioPL:  I would help, but my approach to grammar is...haphazard...at best .  Good luck though! 

[fluffywalrus]

f.lux is a program that tries to optimize your screen for viewing under different conditions (day and night, mostly), basically. So instead of whites being harsh at night like they usually are, f.lux dims and yellows them a bit to make it easier on the eyes.

 

But it can honestly only do so much.

[MrStoob]

Also, MrStoob, I'm not necessarily feart - just British and cynical .  Change may be good - but rarely as great as the choir sings.

 

[Puts walking stick away and unwraps an Opal Fruits ] 

 

Anyway, on topic, can anyone remember talking to Liara's 'Dad' (Aethyta?) in ME2?  In particular if she mentions ever being a commando or some such.  Just I'm not entirely sure if that's right or if I'm getting her mixed up with someone else.

I don't recall her saying she was a commando herself, only that she was somehow owed one by some Eclipse Sisters who you get War Assets for when you find them on a scan.

 

[Made to make your mouth water.  Plus some gumbling noises about 'Marathon']

 

A new home, as t'were but I'll continue my unofficial tradition.

 

I have absolutely no idea what this was for, I just found it amongst my overly full writing folder and I found it amusing.

 

...

 

“Well, son? Is it a boy or a girl?”

 

“I'm married to an asari, dad. What do you think?”

 

“Oh. Yea. Right. Still. Congratulations, son! What's she called then?”

 

“Aethyta.”

 

“Hm. Well I suppose she is asari.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

At my age, the light gray on white is difficult to read. I have Gunnar amberlens, too. They did this on another board that had been black background with white letters and was very easy to read, and someone in marketing decided looked outdated and didn't look cool so they went to gray on white.

 

They do this crap on electronic gear. Light blue on medium blue background. Light gray on medium gray, and they put it in microfont. I hope there is a special place in Hell for them. But some day they will get old. I send my tech support requests in 2 point font to these companies. People in marketing and decisions with little regard to the end users. At least they could have made it so you could have adjusted the background and the lettering colors. How hard can that be with today's technology? Oh, but they made it "pad friendly." I don't own a pad. I'm not a pad person. I'm 61 and my arms are too short, and the fonts are too small on them.

 

That's another thing, sorry to go off on a rant here, but you know these larger screen monitors? What's the point in getting a large screen monitor if the ideal resolution is for tiny? I keep hearing you can make fonts larger without losing resolution but I've yet to find a place that says how to do it. I'm talking about the ones on your screen. I think they've got some conspiracy going with the eyeglasses companies.

 

The white background hurts my eyes. I will have to darken my screen further. I've already darkened it from 50 (where it came from the factory) to 15.

[teh DRUMPf!!]

So, couple of Qs for you guys...

 

-- How many pages long, on average, are your stories' chapters on Word (or whatever you use)?

-- How long does it take before you publish them online?

 

I'm working on a new 'fic and Chapter 1 looks to be around 12 full pages on Word. It's taking me a long while, though, (I think it's been a week and a half so far) because this is very important background stuff I'm trying to establish. I'd like to think the rest of the writing will get going faster once I get past this one.

 

 

@Julia ... over in the Feedback forum there's a thread on how to set the forum background to black on Firefox and Chrome. You should check it out.

[DesioPL]

@DesioPL:  I would help, but my approach to grammar is...haphazard...at best .  Good luck though! 

 

I understand, and that's why i ask for someone, who can help me with grammar, and find errors.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

 

 

@Julia ... over in the Feedback forum there's a thread on how to set the forum background to black on Firefox and Chrome. You should check it out.

You are a life saver. Thank you.

[hot_heart]

So, writing my new stories, I am noticing a desire and hatred for the "in media res" treatment.

Just curious as to others' thoughts on the matter.

 

In medias res can work well in visual media because there's a lot of extra 'information' that can be absorbed simultaneously without hurting the pace. With books/literature, you've already sat down to take the effort to read through something, so a slower pace isn't such a problem.

 

However, in medias res isn't necessarily 'starting in an action scene', even if that is the most obvious use. Many times it's more about framing the narrative. There are plenty of stories where you get a snapshot of events and then flash back to watch things unfold and discover the real weight behind things. Many times though, it can be used at its worst, when it is pretty much just a tease and certain elements are meant to misdirect or obfuscate. Sometimes, a good writer can get away with it...

 

Also, on another topic, it seems my chapters come together like Frankenstein's monster. I construct the basic framework and then I go back and graft things on and snip here and there, trying to mask the seams as best I can.

 

Either way, I've still created a monster and IT'S ALIIIIIIIVE!

 

(Also, all the pieces are taken from other people)

[YurigirlzCrush]

so are we all planning to keep using this thread here? or are we going over to the new fanfiction subforum thingie? I'm assuming staying here? just curious because the switch messed up my bookmarked pages and now I have to reset them so I can find all my writing friends easy again! *waves* hope everyone's having a good day!

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Perhaps we could get one of the more prolific posters to petition one of the mods to move it to the fan fiction area. Oh crap! I just noticed my post count.

[MrStoob]

Perhaps we could get one of the more prolific posters to petition one of the mods to move it to the fan fiction area. Oh crap! I just noticed my post count.

lol

 

Edit:

 

Having looked at the 'Fan Fiction' forum, and the fact it has only one thread (the one I started when I couldn't find anything), I think the devs need to do at least some housekeeping on our behalf.

[fluffywalrus]

So, couple of Qs for you guys...

 

-- How many pages long, on average, are your stories' chapters on Word (or whatever you use)?

-- How long does it take before you publish them online?

 

I'm working on a new 'fic and Chapter 1 looks to be around 12 full pages on Word. It's taking me a long while, though, (I think it's been a week and a half so far) because this is very important background stuff I'm trying to establish. I'd like to think the rest of the writing will get going faster once I get past this one.

 

My chapters tend to run from 12-16 in word, and I publish after proofreading, usually, sometimes on a schedule if I don't wish for there to be huge gaps in between releases. If I have all the time in the world to write and proofread, I'd say 2 days per chapter. But my ability to make time to sit down and write/proofread has been pretty much demolished by my schedule, so these days it's more like 2 weeks, 3 weeks.

 

@Yuri: I think petitioning a mod to move this to the fanfiction forum would be a good idea. It's better suited for there, and if people see activity in the forum they may be more likely to post.

[MrStoob]

Oh, I didn't mention.  Love the new avatar, fluffy.  ^^

 

And I note under the new era of BSN, I currently have '0 warning points'... whatever that means... 

[enayasoul]

So, couple of Qs for you guys...

 

-- How many pages long, on average, are your stories' chapters on Word (or whatever you use)?

-- How long does it take before you publish them online?

 

I'm working on a new 'fic and Chapter 1 looks to be around 12 full pages on Word. It's taking me a long while, though, (I think it's been a week and a half so far) because this is very important background stuff I'm trying to establish. I'd like to think the rest of the writing will get going faster once I get past this one.

 

 

@Julia ... over in the Feedback forum there's a thread on how to set the forum background to black on Firefox and Chrome. You should check it out.

 

It can be anywhere from 20 to 30 pages or more in word. It depends on the topic and word spacing in between.  I generally like to keep the chapter between 5k-8k worth of words sometimes I go over into the 12-14k range.  I often break up the long winded chapters as separate updates then adding them together a few months later.

 

I've tried to update my story once a month but lately it's been every two months or so because of work, school and getting the time to write and relax.  Basically a month to come up with the overall progession.  Before, I had lots of chapters to buffer with now I don't have that much chapters written so molding them into what is now the current progression can be challenging.  The story has also changed from the original. Good or bad.  It's the journey that counts.   

 

Yes, I do not like the gray on a white background and I'm in the Web Design and Intereactive Media field.  No... no.. I do not like!  It's the new era of accommodating the hand-held devices over the common Web practices at work.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

So, couple of Qs for you guys...

 

-- How many pages long, on average, are your stories' chapters on Word (or whatever you use)?

-- How long does it take before you publish them online?

 

I'm working on a new 'fic and Chapter 1 looks to be around 12 full pages on Word. It's taking me a long while, though, (I think it's been a week and a half so far) because this is very important background stuff I'm trying to establish. I'd like to think the rest of the writing will get going faster once I get past this one.

 

There's really no set rule, but I'm looking for a logical stopping point in a scene. I'm starting to write in 5" x 8" format in 11 pt Georgia with 1/2 in margins all the way around with 13.5 pt between lines and 6 pt between paragraphs with .25" indents for paragraphs. Sort of like a commercial paperback. This ends up at about 250 words per page. Chapters tend to go approximately 10 - 15 pages. A few as short as 6 pages. It depends. I put them on a personal web site in .pdf for people to download and convert to e-book format. But don't go by me, I consider myself more or less a hack. 

 

Try to get your rough draft out, and don't worry so much. Then go back and do your editing. Sure the rough draft will be ugly, but you're not publishing it. It's getting your ideas down. The background stuff? Yes that's important, but it's not as important as you think. You can have your characters release the background information during the story, and if you screw up, have your characters point it out. It gets you off the hook.

[Seracen]

Yeesh, no wonder the other page wasn't getting any new posts.  I left my normal laptop charger at the folks' house, and using the backup.  Just thought it was the laptop.

 

This format hurts my eyes, I am hoping they allow customization of the forum layout for each user.  I prefer dark backgrounds with bright fonts.  Also, I am not opposed to moving threads, but I sort of want to keep the legacy of a 400+ page mammoth of a thread going.

 

As for my chapters, I generally try to keep each chapter to around 10-15 pages in word.  I have given up on chapter-by-chapter posting, preferring to write and edit the whole story before posting.  At least, that's the current plan.  Previous works were updated with a 10 chapter buffer at all times.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

I'm posting my 500 + page behemoth all at once on FF and on my web site. One reason is that I can't figure out how to post chapter by chapter and link them. So up goes the entire work all at once. It'll be about 300 pages at 450 words/page I'm guessing for FanFiction site's format.