Originally posted by jimmyb270I'm a published author, but not of fiction - I guess you could call it creative writing (fMRI experiment write-ups always have an element of the 'creative' about them!)...
Anyone here have any interest in creative writing?
Ever tried to write a book or short stories, or even been published?
Got any advice for an aspiring writer with good ideas (I think so anyway), but who is struggling to squeeze them out of his brain and onto paper?
The only advice I have is to write when you get the urge to. If you don't write stuff down when it's in your head, it won't come around again for a long time and you'll get very frustrated.
Joe 😉
Originally posted by jimmyb270I've written several long stories (fantasy, sci-fi and murder).
Anyone here have any interest in creative writing?
Ever tried to write a book or short stories, or even been published?
Got any advice for an aspiring writer with good ideas (I think so anyway), but who is struggling to squeeze them out of his brain and onto paper?
You can read two of them online (still) at: http://members.rott.chello.nl/mborn
It won't be there for much longer though, 'cause I've changed provider and haven't got around to making a new page yet.
I can give you a few tips which helped me:
1. Get a thesaurus. There's nothing more enjoyable than using different words to define the same thing.
2. Write for yourself short notes on the characters in the story and how you want the story to end.
3. Read what you've written aloud. It has to flow. Sometimes you will notice that you need an extra word here or there, or you might have to drop one, just to get it going!
4. Try to write in the present tense. That makes the story more active.
5. Don't be lazy (like me) and post your stories without a spell check. People will critisise you like crazy...believe me (and I still haven't spell checked them properly).
6. Enjoy writing. If you don't, then it's pointless.
I am a professional writer, though not of fiction. It is certainly a goal of mine to be creatively pulished and I have innumerable short and long stories cluttering my computer's desktop, all in various stages of completion (or disrepair in some cases).
Someone above advises using a thesaurus when you write, but I would strongly advise against that. In my opinion, the thesaurus has been the single greatest detriment to writing in recent memory, with the possible exception of the advent of e-mail. It is painfully apparent when one uses a thesaurus, as the writer's diction and syntax become clumsy when wielding unfamiliar words and concepts. The best way to improve your vocabulary and your word choices in your own writing is to read, read, read! Throw away the damn thesaurus.
Someone above also advises spitting it all out, stressing the importance of getting your ideas on paper, then going back and rewriting. This is the kind of nonsense they teach you in school, and it makes writing seem like an arduous task, rather than a method of expression. Ever wonder why your English teacher is doing that instead of writing for a living?
Good writing isn't really about "getting your ideas on paper." No matter how much you write, or how quickly or slowly you write, you will always have to revise. Always.
Always.
So why not chew over your words, take some time with it, and make your writing as strong as you can at the get-go? You'll save yourself work later, and you'll be more grounded in whatever your idea is, having spent some time mulling it over. Really take the time to enjoy the process of putting words together in a manner that makes the reader want to continue reading. This is the germ that makes for good writing, the intellectual process of eloquently and efficiently expressing a thought or idea.
All the stuff they teach in writing courses is bunk.
Thanks for the advice guys. I've already been doing some of the suggestions, like the character bio thing.
I've also tried the just writing thing, but what tends to happen is either I write a couple of pages, read it back, hate it and bin it, or I just stare at a blank page for an hour and then go read someone elses successfully published book. 🙁
Originally posted by kyngj😀 😀
I'm a published author, but not of fiction - I guess you could call it creative writing (fMRI experiment write-ups always have an element of the 'creative' about them!)...
The only advice I have is to write when you get the urge to. If you don't write stuff down when it's in your head, it won't come around again for a long time and you'll get very frustrated.
Joe 😉
Like you I have written peer reviewed papers. I have written enough, read enough and even reviewed a few to know that sometimes there is more creative writing than facts.
-mike
Originally posted by Poison GodmachineAbout using a thesaurus: on its own it's bad, but what about if you make sure to learn about unfamiliar words from other sources? Eg: one of the words you've used doesn't look quite right, so you look in the thesaurus for synonyms. Hopefully this will simply remind you of more appropriate words that you already knew, but even if it doesn't, you can look up an unfamiliar word in the dictionary to find out what it means, and then Google it to see some examples of its usage in real life.
I am a professional writer, though not of fiction. It is certainly a goal of mine to be creatively pulished and I have innumerable short and long stories cluttering my computer's desktop, all in various stages of completion (or disrepair in some cases).
Someone above advises using a thesaurus when you write, but I would strongly advise against ...[text shortened]... iciently expressing a thought or idea.
All the stuff they teach in writing courses is bunk.
Originally posted by AcolyteWell, if you put all those parameters on it, sure. But I'll tell you something, almost no one does this. They simply look up the synonym and plug it haphazardly into whatever it is that they are writing.
About using a thesaurus: on its own it's bad, but what about if you make sure to learn about unfamiliar words from other sources? Eg: one of the words you've used doesn't look quite right, so you look in the thesaurus for synonyms. Hop ...[text shortened]... and then Google it to see some examples of its usage in real life.
I guess my prejudice against using a thesaurus stems from my irritation that people don't read enough, or don't read the right things. And then there are those who not only don't read, but have the temerity to think that they can be writers by using shortcuts.
So let me revise my blanket statement a bit. Throw away the damn thesaurus unless you are willing to do the required legwork to properly apply unfamiliar words and concepts in every instance that you use the thesaurus.
shavixmir: 😀
EDIT: I'd also advise against googling to research usage. Internet grammar is appalling for the most part. Hell, I'd even advise against using the word "googling!"
I agree that it's better to go without a thesaurus than to use it to haphazardly replace words that you are familiar with with words that sound fancier, but which you don't fully understand. More than likely, you'll end up using words with wrong nuances. This makes your use of a thesaurus painfully transparent for the (well-read) reader, who sees immediately that you are not familiar with the words you use.
I use the thesaurus in two ways:
If I have a word "on the tip of my toungue" but can't just seem to get it out, I might think of another word that's close to what I mean, look it up in a thesaurus, and most often the word I was trying to squeeze out of my disobedient mind will be on the list of synonyms.
Also, I do admit to using it occasionally if I find myself repeating some word, and can't easily come up with an alternative - then I may look it up on a thesaurus. But I NEVER use something suggested as a synonym if I am uncertain of the context in which the word can be used in, and the exact nuance it conveys.
I agree on the advice of reading a lot - you'll find your vocabulary continually expanding. I've always read a lot myself (as an adult mostly in English), and I've found over the years that I need to resort to the thesaurus less and less.
-Jarno
Originally posted by Poison GodmachineAnd what, pray tell, are the ''right things'' 😉?
Well, if you put all those parameters on it, sure. But I'll tell you something, almost no one does this. They simply look up the synonym and plug it haphazardly into whatever it is that they are writing.
I guess my prejudice against using a thesaurus stems from my irritation that people don't read enough, or don't read the right things. And ...[text shortened]... mar is appalling for the most part. Hell, I'd even advise against using the word "googling!"
Originally posted by PyrrhoI've always read a great deal too, I was taught by my mum before I even went to school. That's part of the reason I want to write, I've loved so much of other people's work, that I want to create something of my own.
I agree on the advice of reading a lot - you'll find your vocabulary continually expanding. I've always read a lot myself (as an adult mostly in English), and I've found over the years that I need to resort to the thesaurus less and less.
-Jarno