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zarok
Deinonychus
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25 Jun 2013, 12:50 am

So i want to write a book, perhaps become some great novelist i don't know but i hate writing or typing all of it. i always make no since but i have a world i have created and in order to utilize the world i need to have a story. I am sure there a re resources out here to use but i couldn't find any of them.

So im wondering if there are any set story lines you know like boy meets girl. boy falls for girl. girl cant be with guy for some reason. boy has to do something to be with girl. boy gets girl. the end. basic recipes for stores. I keep trying write one but other than a story of survival or using my own life as a starting point (even then i had no where for the story to go). Basically I have the fantasy world, but i have no story to tell. And i like telling storys and making up like history's of things. like a writer but i am kinda like...
I want to write a story but i don't even know where to start because its kind of sudden. i went from hating to write to wanting to write maybe i can learn to love it,

So i need like everything in basics. im not sure where i could find that or if there are writers here who would like to help me or talk to me or mentor me.



MjrMajorMajor
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25 Jun 2013, 1:13 am

I'm not a professional writer, but this has been what I've heard from others and found to be true.

You just need to find the place where the words just flow through you. The stories end up writing themselves. Throw out any ideas of a formula. I know just as a reader I can sense this in play in some books, and it's such a letdown.



redrobin62
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25 Jun 2013, 1:36 am

Also, start small. Write a story that's just 100 words. Then write one that's 1000 words. Somewhere along the way you have to learn about grammar and spelling otherwise your writing won't be taken seriously.

You can find the rules of grammar anywhere on the internet.



MjrMajorMajor
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25 Jun 2013, 5:57 am

redrobin62 wrote:
Also, start small. Write a story that's just 100 words. Then write one that's 1000 words. Somewhere along the way you have to learn about grammar and spelling otherwise your writing won't be taken seriously.

You can find the rules of grammar anywhere on the internet.


or be the next e.e. cummings. :D



zarok
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25 Jun 2013, 8:56 am

See im horrible with writing and grammar but the story's happen in my head but getting them on paper is like impossible. ik i need things like character development and things. I guess I thought i could find a formula or just patterns in books.



3subjectnotebook
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25 Jun 2013, 9:55 am

I have found that the more u read the more u write. Simple

Also starting from ur own life is THE BEST idea
JUst start
And remember there must be love(something, someone etc) Adventure. And I like a lil mystery

My fav right now is 'Scary' flash fiction.

If u have a sample and would like to post it for review ill read it and give my critique. (Smiley face)



zarok
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25 Jun 2013, 11:22 am

Well i mean i have like 4 hours of video in back story. but its more like.... imagine Tolkien creating that whole world but not having the story of the ring to tie it together. or star wars without creating anakin and luke. Narnia without the pevensies Harry potter without harry potter.

I tried writing a book before, it was basically about a ship going through the pacific on some journey. and i had ideas for some dangers they would face but no idea how to tie it all together. I have no characters no solid places.

I am leaning towards a story of a guy crash landing on a planet that has been teraformed by humans but not yet colonized and he gets rescued by aliens. And i have a history of humans and the aleins and all of that but i don't know what i am going to have happen.
Taking your suggestions i guess he will fall in love with one of them or vice versa...



Stargazer43
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25 Jun 2013, 4:07 pm

Well my friend, coming up with a good plot is the second hardest part of writing, so it's natural that you would be having trouble with it. The hardest part is making it sound good while telling it ;).

For the alien thing, some ideas you could do: talk about communication/language barriers and how they are overcome, inter-species hostilities and distrust, logistical challenges for the guy in getting back to Earth, how terraforming affected the alien species (speaking of which, if the aliens already lived on the non-terraformed planet...wouldn't they all be dead after it was terraformed? unless the change wasn't too drastic). Anyways, just a few thoughts to consider.



Erlonman
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25 Jun 2013, 4:23 pm

When in doubt, following Ernest Hemingway's example works

Ray Bradbury is also an author that had a simple philosophy: just write.



zarok
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25 Jun 2013, 5:25 pm

Star gazer the aliens who rescue him are not natives. it was an uninhabited world. They come to his aid because they recive the distress call as they are much more advanced than earth he just happens to crash really close to them, im not sure if it will be first contact or just like his own first experience (like he knows they exist but they just keep to themselves). Perhaps he finds some alien text that gives him some info they need. or are trying to protect from other less cautions races? that sounds good. I have the aliens all planned out i just have like no development.

What is the hardest part of writing if plot is the second?



Robdemanc
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01 Jul 2013, 3:06 pm

You could use the age old "hero's journey" template.

Basically your character needs or wants something, someone stands in their way, but your character devises a plan to obtain what they want, but then it all goes wrong and your character must fight/travel/learn to overcome what has gone wrong. During the story the character changes and grows enough so that by the end he can defeat his opponents/demons and save the day for everyone!

Most stories fall into one or more of seven different categories:

Rags to Riches
Overcoming a Monster
Voyage and Return
Fight for Justice
Comedy/Farce
Birth and Rebirth
Tragedy

You can use any of the seven in your story but make sure your hero learns and changes during the story and give them a clear and vivid enemy to prevent them in whatever quest you decide for them.

But above all the first thing you need is a character. Without a character you have no one to write about.



zarok
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01 Jul 2013, 8:16 pm

Yes my lack of a character is an issue.
or quest.... though im think survival then first contact. Im going to look up sea ship survival story's. basically like a guy getting ship wrecked then picked up by another group of people, perhaps ones he has never heard of. Then he learns their ways but wants to go home and they wont let him? then he realizes that this is his home not the other place he was born...



Beppieiscool
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01 Jul 2013, 8:19 pm

Outlines are the most useful things in regards of longer pieces of writing. Here's a link to some famous writer's outlines.
It helps you keep the story straight in your head, and prevents you from going insane. I have gone through writing a 'book' straight through, and it made absolute zero sense to people. When I reread my work I could see where I went wrong. Outlines helped lessen my mistakes, and keep focused. However this method isn't for everyone.
I have an idea that may work for you. Record yourself telling a story than translate into a written format.


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zarok
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01 Jul 2013, 8:52 pm

I have about 4 hours of notes and videos. possibly 6 hours. though i think what you said makes since and is relevant to me.



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03 Jul 2013, 12:41 pm

Girl starts new career and discovers aspects of the company she wasn't aware of and gets embroiled in a secret plot which reveals an underlying flaw or system in society which she must either expose, defeat, or fix if it is disintegrating.

Boy goes out on simple exploration starting in a familiar area like the woods behind his house and gets lost, and A) must find his way back home or B) gets recruited into a grander adventure to contribute to a cause bigger than himself, or C) it takes a more horror route and he must survive harrowing and unexpected dangers and in the process grows as a person

Those are two ideas.



zarok
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03 Jul 2013, 1:54 pm

C and B sound great to me. Of course my book is science fiction so he crashes on a partially terraformed planet and is rescued by aliens. but its where i got from there. Perhaps 2 books about his journey home?