Life
Who says you're everything your character does has to be out-of-this-world? Trust me, it doesn't make for relatable characters. Part of the fun of reading books is looking at a character and thinking "Hey, I've done something similar to this." or "This sounds like a problem I would be going through if I was in their shoes." That's why characters can't be too perfect. Sometimes the protagonist will kill in cold blood or seek revenge. Sometimes the antagonist will have mercy and let the protagonist have another chance.
But, what if you live a boring life? Well, if you live a completely boring life I hope the History Channel documents it, because I am shocked. No one lives a boring life, just a seemingly boring life. How about the time you went on a one day road trip and your parents weren't exactly sure how to get back home so they kept looking for places to spend the night "just in case"? How about that family meeting where that one family member wouldn't stop making snide remarks? Interesting things happen in our lives often, they just seem so small that you forget.
Leave me a comment telling me some interesting things from your life and how you're going to relate them to your main character.
Thanks for reading,
Chris P.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Fanfiction
Here's the definition of fanfiction- Unofficial, unlicensed fictional stories about celebrities or fictional characters, written by fans
Now, I know what you're thinking. "I want to write an original story that I can publish, not something that is basically useless." But fanfiction isn't useless. It can help you improve your writing by a lot. Without the worry of realistic characters, strong backstories and relationships, etc. it's a lot more fun to write. Experience makes you better.
Half of you are looking at the 'cons'-
1. The characters are already made so you don't have to worry about them.
2. You get no practice in making realistic childhoods and relationships.
3. The plot's already there so you get no practice in that.
4. I can do all of this in original writing.
What do I have to say about this?
1. The character has been made for you , yes, but it is your job to keep them in character. You can't write a Harry Potter story and make Harry evil without any good reason. You could do something like that, but you have to explain why.
2. You have to work on making realistic futures and keeping the relationships realistic (arguments, crushes other than their boy/girlfriend, etc.)
3. You're not going to rewrite the story, are you? No, you're going to make Gale the male tribute, Henri a spy, Percy the son of Apollo, etc. The story is always going to change and you have to make sure it's not an overused plot. (Neville being the Chosen One instead of Harry is EXTREMELY overused)
4. In original writing when you take one of your own ideas and write it badly you will shy away from the story, The story will never reach it full potential because you got mad that it was written badly. In fanfiction it's easier to accept that your story is bad.
Fanfiction is great for improving your writing and I definitely recommend it to anyone.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "I want to write an original story that I can publish, not something that is basically useless." But fanfiction isn't useless. It can help you improve your writing by a lot. Without the worry of realistic characters, strong backstories and relationships, etc. it's a lot more fun to write. Experience makes you better.
Half of you are looking at the 'cons'-
1. The characters are already made so you don't have to worry about them.
2. You get no practice in making realistic childhoods and relationships.
3. The plot's already there so you get no practice in that.
4. I can do all of this in original writing.
What do I have to say about this?
1. The character has been made for you , yes, but it is your job to keep them in character. You can't write a Harry Potter story and make Harry evil without any good reason. You could do something like that, but you have to explain why.
2. You have to work on making realistic futures and keeping the relationships realistic (arguments, crushes other than their boy/girlfriend, etc.)
3. You're not going to rewrite the story, are you? No, you're going to make Gale the male tribute, Henri a spy, Percy the son of Apollo, etc. The story is always going to change and you have to make sure it's not an overused plot. (Neville being the Chosen One instead of Harry is EXTREMELY overused)
4. In original writing when you take one of your own ideas and write it badly you will shy away from the story, The story will never reach it full potential because you got mad that it was written badly. In fanfiction it's easier to accept that your story is bad.
Fanfiction is great for improving your writing and I definitely recommend it to anyone.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Determination, Passion, and Fun
An important part of writing is passion. If you don't have determination and passion, you're writing will most likely fail. If you're not passionate about what you're writing you're story lines, characters, events, and fictional places will be bland and boring. If you are passionate about what you write spending a month developing characters and story lines won't seem too bad, because you love the story enough to go through the trouble of making it the best you can manage. And also, if you don't care for your story, writing it won't be fun. Without fun, you'll be bored and your story will be boring.
Determination is right up there with passion when it comes to writing. I wouldn't say it was more important than passion - if you love your story you'll probably finish it even if it takes you a decade -, but it does help in the process. Maybe you're determined, but you're too easily distracted. That's fine, just go at a slow pace. This week I was writing the third chapter of my story and everyday I said I was going to finish the chapter that day. On those days I wound up writing about three words. Yesterday I told myself I wasn't going to finish the chapter, but I was going to work on it a little bit more than the other days. Guess what? I finished and couldn't wait to do more. Sometimes you want to do something, but forcing yourself to do it isn't going to be fun and if you don't finish your goal the disappointment at the end of the day is a big turn off. Sometimes you just need the determination to finish someday, not today.
Fun- This is, in my humble opinion, the most important part of writing. When you're at school and the teachers make you write an essay about why you love school, what's your reaction? For most of you it was an unpleasant emotion. Why? Because you don't find the assignments at school fun. If you're teachers gave you an assignment on why Disney is fun and enjoyable, chances are you'll do better in that essay than the one about school. You enjoyed writing about why you like Disney, so you put more work into it. My teacher this year gave us an essay to review any movie we'd seen. Everyone got excited because we all liked movies. No one got under an B and we had fun while doing it. You're story will be better quality and more enjoyable if you have fun.
To me, those are the most important qualities of an author. You might have some different ones. Leave a comment telling me you're most important qualities in writers.
- Chris P.
Determination is right up there with passion when it comes to writing. I wouldn't say it was more important than passion - if you love your story you'll probably finish it even if it takes you a decade -, but it does help in the process. Maybe you're determined, but you're too easily distracted. That's fine, just go at a slow pace. This week I was writing the third chapter of my story and everyday I said I was going to finish the chapter that day. On those days I wound up writing about three words. Yesterday I told myself I wasn't going to finish the chapter, but I was going to work on it a little bit more than the other days. Guess what? I finished and couldn't wait to do more. Sometimes you want to do something, but forcing yourself to do it isn't going to be fun and if you don't finish your goal the disappointment at the end of the day is a big turn off. Sometimes you just need the determination to finish someday, not today.
Fun- This is, in my humble opinion, the most important part of writing. When you're at school and the teachers make you write an essay about why you love school, what's your reaction? For most of you it was an unpleasant emotion. Why? Because you don't find the assignments at school fun. If you're teachers gave you an assignment on why Disney is fun and enjoyable, chances are you'll do better in that essay than the one about school. You enjoyed writing about why you like Disney, so you put more work into it. My teacher this year gave us an essay to review any movie we'd seen. Everyone got excited because we all liked movies. No one got under an B and we had fun while doing it. You're story will be better quality and more enjoyable if you have fun.
To me, those are the most important qualities of an author. You might have some different ones. Leave a comment telling me you're most important qualities in writers.
- Chris P.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)