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- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
WARNING: RANT AHEAD
So somehow i've gone from “i HATE planning i will NEVER plan out anything because it's BORING” to “if i don't plan anything out, the entire thing will crash and burn. Or at least just be very boring” so yeah my viewpoint kind of switched
Not exactly, though, because i still hate the idea of planning everything out. I just need… checkpoints. Yeah. Like… ‘key moments that i’m excited about writing.'
The thing is though, most of my ‘checkpoints’ wind up being in the later half of the book, and in between them, i'm like… “WHAT DO I DO???” Yes, once i reach a checkpoint, i ZOOOP through a few pages, maybe 2-6. But then after that i'm like “i'm bored. Shoot.”
For instance, in Firelight, here are some checkpoints (green are the ones i've completed, italics are the most important): Beginning, Clockwork Mansion/Liam gets shot, Aefeld/finding Cerulene, (the rest of these might be out of order) the land of tiny things, finding Qerio/Iannon/Auresce/Argetta/Hireiyo (yes that counts as 5 separate checkpoints), Lake Dauretthos/finding Kytra, Gilded Lake/killing Magnus, rescuing Eric's family and Evlon, End.
I'm actually about 200 pages in though, maybe a bit less.
Scorpio, the first book, was about 400 pages long.
Though i'm thinking of completely changing how the series works if i rewrite it (yes, rewrite, not revise). And by ‘if’ i mean, yes, that is my plan. I want to rewrite it. I just don't know if i'll lose interest before i finish the first draft.
I'm going to write Synchronize (the third and last book) in the ‘style’ that i'll rewrite the whole thing in, i think. No, i'm not going to dramatically change my writing style, of course. But so far, there's only been one narrator for each book. There will still be one main character for each book, but sometimes the POV switches. That's partially because in the final battle, pretty much every major character has their moment to shine. I don't want to write Ada's death scene from Eric's POV. I don't want to write Sygmius vs. Syano from Eric's POV. Same with the first and second book though– i think it would be more interesting if Eric's motorcycle-stealing scheme in book 1 was told live, not as a brief explanation at the end; it would be an interesting plot twist if at the end of Firelight, it suddenly switched to Evlon's POV. Oh and in Synchronize i want the reader to experience Malory's fear of Eric first-hand.
Yah
So somehow i've gone from “i HATE planning i will NEVER plan out anything because it's BORING” to “if i don't plan anything out, the entire thing will crash and burn. Or at least just be very boring” so yeah my viewpoint kind of switched
Not exactly, though, because i still hate the idea of planning everything out. I just need… checkpoints. Yeah. Like… ‘key moments that i’m excited about writing.'
The thing is though, most of my ‘checkpoints’ wind up being in the later half of the book, and in between them, i'm like… “WHAT DO I DO???” Yes, once i reach a checkpoint, i ZOOOP through a few pages, maybe 2-6. But then after that i'm like “i'm bored. Shoot.”
For instance, in Firelight, here are some checkpoints (green are the ones i've completed, italics are the most important): Beginning, Clockwork Mansion/Liam gets shot, Aefeld/finding Cerulene, (the rest of these might be out of order) the land of tiny things, finding Qerio/Iannon/Auresce/Argetta/Hireiyo (yes that counts as 5 separate checkpoints), Lake Dauretthos/finding Kytra, Gilded Lake/killing Magnus, rescuing Eric's family and Evlon, End.
I'm actually about 200 pages in though, maybe a bit less.
Scorpio, the first book, was about 400 pages long.
Though i'm thinking of completely changing how the series works if i rewrite it (yes, rewrite, not revise). And by ‘if’ i mean, yes, that is my plan. I want to rewrite it. I just don't know if i'll lose interest before i finish the first draft.
I'm going to write Synchronize (the third and last book) in the ‘style’ that i'll rewrite the whole thing in, i think. No, i'm not going to dramatically change my writing style, of course. But so far, there's only been one narrator for each book. There will still be one main character for each book, but sometimes the POV switches. That's partially because in the final battle, pretty much every major character has their moment to shine. I don't want to write Ada's death scene from Eric's POV. I don't want to write Sygmius vs. Syano from Eric's POV. Same with the first and second book though– i think it would be more interesting if Eric's motorcycle-stealing scheme in book 1 was told live, not as a brief explanation at the end; it would be an interesting plot twist if at the end of Firelight, it suddenly switched to Evlon's POV. Oh and in Synchronize i want the reader to experience Malory's fear of Eric first-hand.
Yah
- flyingpiearchive
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
give some advice on my story ideas/concepts:
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
- Smiley100P
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
give some advice on my story ideas/concepts:That sounds like a fun series haha
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Writing a comedy is always fun lol
Last edited by Smiley100P (July 2, 2017 11:33:31)
Net Neutrality is done and over with and we still have free speech so yay
And knuckles.
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
give some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
Last edited by cheese-duck (July 2, 2017 12:22:05)
- Smiley100P
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
Mantis Shmantis Lurantisgive some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
Net Neutrality is done and over with and we still have free speech so yay
And knuckles.
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
Fomantis?Mantis Shmantis Lurantisgive some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
- Smiley100P
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
No it is exclusively a lurantis thingFomantis?Mantis Shmantis Lurantisgive some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
Net Neutrality is done and over with and we still have free speech so yay
And knuckles.
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
Fomantis is babbyNo it is exclusively a lurantis thingFomantis?Mantis Shmantis Lurantisgive some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
- Smiley100P
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
Why it is only the lurantisFomantis is babbyNo it is exclusively a lurantis thingFomantis?Mantis Shmantis Lurantisgive some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
fomantis is bab
Net Neutrality is done and over with and we still have free speech so yay
And knuckles.
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
I'm sleepy but i just ate a heck ton of foodWhy it is only the lurantisFomantis is babbyNo it is exclusively a lurantis thingFomantis?Mantis Shmantis Lurantisgive some advice on my story ideas/concepts:Welp
a man who is intended to go to heaven accidentally goes on the train to hell. he escapes the train and ends up in a purgatory town where the backstories of the residents are unveiled.
the production of a play descends into chaos as the lead actor's mental health deteriorates, forcing him to leave the play 2 weeks before opening night. they eventually find a new actor who has a photographic memory, but it turns out that he's the son of a mafia leader in a family that rivals the one producing the play. violence and zany shenanigans follow, along with some subplots.
in WWI, a cowardly 19 year old must marry a girl before his 20th birthday so he won't have to fight in the war.
a delusional man who believes that he's a detective goes around murdering criminals, leading an actual detective to track him down.
a failing writer is influenced by his nihilistic girlfriend to start a service where he writes suicide notes for people.
all of these are comedies
Lol
K that ‘murdering criminals’ thing reminds me of this show (i think it's Japanese??? Which i guess would explain some things??? also it's really old) about a cat police who goes around shooting thieves. Like i watched it today cause i felt like it and there was this episode about two praying mantises who fall in love. Then one of them just drops down dead, and the cat police come to investigate the case and they're like ‘this mantis’s wife ate him' so the female mantis is like ‘he told me to eat him if i love him.’ I mean yeah that's a praying mantis thing but still… what sort of love story is that lol. Then there was this rat who farted sleeping gas
Edit: and then as he was turning around to fart the cat police shot him in the back
fomantis is bab
I don't think that's relevant but i'm really freakin sleepy
Once at a summercamp my roommate had soup at like 11 PM and i wanted some so i drank like an entire bowl and then went to bed. Then i felt like i was gonna throw up. I have a record of that on my phone
I am babby i must sleep
Good nightrogen
- Kitty0730
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
Writing!
So, I'm writing a story, but I haven't got the ending part down, help?
thIS CAN'T BE THE CREDITS YOU WERE THE LIMELIGHT, YOU WERE THE LIMELIGHT GIRL AND I'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER AND I'M NEVER GOING TO RECOVER!!1!!
- Smiley100P
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
So, I'm writing a story, but I haven't got the ending part down, help?If you're good enough, you can discover it by yourself.
All the advice I have on hand! Good day!
Net Neutrality is done and over with and we still have free speech so yay
And knuckles.
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
So, I'm writing a story, but I haven't got the ending part down, help?Hmmm…
just write, i guess.
write.
write.
write.
until eventually you get something???
idk
- Kitty0730
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
Writing!
Yeah, I actually have a couple of ideas down nowSo, I'm writing a story, but I haven't got the ending part down, help?Hmmm…
just write, i guess.
write.
write.
write.
until eventually you get something???
idk
thIS CAN'T BE THE CREDITS YOU WERE THE LIMELIGHT, YOU WERE THE LIMELIGHT GIRL AND I'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER AND I'M NEVER GOING TO RECOVER!!1!!
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
yayYeah, I actually have a couple of ideas down nowSo, I'm writing a story, but I haven't got the ending part down, help?Hmmm…
just write, i guess.
write.
write.
write.
until eventually you get something???
idk
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
hiiiiii people •u•
so i realized something that really helps with villain development
try writing a scene from your villain's POV. dont make them sound too bitter or nasty or arrogant, etc. give them relatable qualities. make them almost a bit like your protagonists. make them sound like protagonists. or like, make them sound like they think theyre protagonists. or something. write like it's from your main character's POV.
not necessarily in first person, actually, though i think first person might help.
tho this is for your typical fantasy/sci-fi novel. otherwise i dont think it works very well.
i wrote some things from magnus quill's POV and gosh. he had no personality except for ‘bad.’ now he's a total skeptic… and renx xaredian is actually a freakishly enthusiastic guy.
idk if that was good advice
yeah
thats it bye
so i realized something that really helps with villain development
try writing a scene from your villain's POV. dont make them sound too bitter or nasty or arrogant, etc. give them relatable qualities. make them almost a bit like your protagonists. make them sound like protagonists. or like, make them sound like they think theyre protagonists. or something. write like it's from your main character's POV.
not necessarily in first person, actually, though i think first person might help.
tho this is for your typical fantasy/sci-fi novel. otherwise i dont think it works very well.
i wrote some things from magnus quill's POV and gosh. he had no personality except for ‘bad.’ now he's a total skeptic… and renx xaredian is actually a freakishly enthusiastic guy.
idk if that was good advice
yeah
thats it bye
- Nettlesplash
-
Scratcher
17 posts
Writing!
hiiiiii people •u•
so i realized something that really helps with villain development
try writing a scene from your villain's POV. dont make them sound too bitter or nasty or arrogant, etc. give them relatable qualities. make them almost a bit like your protagonists. make them sound like protagonists. or like, make them sound like they think theyre protagonists. or something. write like it's from your main character's POV.
not necessarily in first person, actually, though i think first person might help.
tho this is for your typical fantasy/sci-fi novel. otherwise i dont think it works very well.
i wrote some things from magnus quill's POV and gosh. he had no personality except for ‘bad.’ now he's a total skeptic… and renx xaredian is actually a freakishly enthusiastic guy.
idk if that was good advice
yeah
thats it bye
I've also found that that definitely helps with the villain's character. I recently read a book called The Reluctant Assassin where it alternates between the two main characters and the villain. It makes it very interesting.
- cheese-duck
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
hiiiiii people •u•
so i realized something that really helps with villain development
try writing a scene from your villain's POV. dont make them sound too bitter or nasty or arrogant, etc. give them relatable qualities. make them almost a bit like your protagonists. make them sound like protagonists. or like, make them sound like they think theyre protagonists. or something. write like it's from your main character's POV.
not necessarily in first person, actually, though i think first person might help.
tho this is for your typical fantasy/sci-fi novel. otherwise i dont think it works very well.
i wrote some things from magnus quill's POV and gosh. he had no personality except for ‘bad.’ now he's a total skeptic… and renx xaredian is actually a freakishly enthusiastic guy.
idk if that was good advice
yeah
thats it bye
I've also found that that definitely helps with the villain's character. I recently read a book called The Reluctant Assassin where it alternates between the two main characters and the villain. It makes it very interesting.
knowing what the villain is up to can make books interesting… often when the protagonist knows nothing of the villain's plans, because that sets up a lot of suspense/tension.i think the same applies to writing from any character's POV. even a very minor character. i should try that :O
- smartcutecandy
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
hiiiiii people •u•That's really good advice!! I'll definitely have to try that sometime with my antagonist. I really need to work out his personality a ton.
so i realized something that really helps with villain development
try writing a scene from your villain's POV. dont make them sound too bitter or nasty or arrogant, etc. give them relatable qualities. make them almost a bit like your protagonists. make them sound like protagonists. or like, make them sound like they think theyre protagonists. or something. write like it's from your main character's POV.
not necessarily in first person, actually, though i think first person might help.
tho this is for your typical fantasy/sci-fi novel. otherwise i dont think it works very well.
i wrote some things from magnus quill's POV and gosh. he had no personality except for ‘bad.’ now he's a total skeptic… and renx xaredian is actually a freakishly enthusiastic guy.
idk if that was good advice
yeah
thats it bye
- smartcutecandy
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
Writing!
Anyone here ever do NaNoWriMo? My friend and I are looking into it and would love some advice from former NaNoers. Thanks!