Writer's Workshop

Ahh...the #1 tip...Ass in chair. Fingers on keyboard. Everyday. :-)

Oh, I think I had that wrong....I better get my chair off my keyboard and...well, nevermind!

I think my problem comes in that when I have my ass in my chair and my fingers on the keyboard, my hand wanders to the mouse, which then opens the Internet, and pretty soon I find myself chuckling at LOLcats.

Focus is also important. =)

Also, I spent some time writing fanfic (Okay, stop laughing. STOP LAUGHING!!!) and where I think it helps to do this is that all of the characters and setting have been taken care of for you. This helps you focus on storytelling, and keeping the characters in-character. By using other people's characters, and thinking hard about how that character would react to the situations I put them in, it made me realize that MY characters need to have that same focus on what the person would or would not do.

Also, I spent some time writing fanfic (Okay, stop laughing. STOP LAUGHING!!!) and where I think it helps to do this is that all of the characters and setting have been taken care of for you. This helps you focus on storytelling, and keeping the characters in-character. By using other people's characters, and thinking hard about how that character would react to the situations I put them in, it made me realize that MY characters need to have that same focus on what the person would or would not do.

-radicalx

Fanfic? FANFIC?!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, obligatory mocking over. Now, post-ridicule, I have to admit it's actually a good idea. As any of us who have tried our hand at writing can attest, the hardest part is getting started. Creating a whole world from scratch is difficult, especially when you don't even have your characters or basic plot fleshed out.

In that regard, fanfic (or similar exercises) aren't all that different than trying your hand at the blues -- it's an art form that's not only survived, but thrived, by creating a common framework to riff off of.There's a reason why blues has such a common catalog: It allows performers to focus on their individual performance, without having to create everything from scratch.

So if fanfic works for you, by all means, do it. Nobody's gonna knock you for it, even if it is heavy on crazy hentai tentacle sex =)

I actually know several authors who got their start by writing fanfic....one just sold her first book in a FOUR HOUSE AUCTION...something to think about. :-)

ACtually my biggest problem isn't getting started, usually I can do that just fine. Typically I can write point A just fine and I know that I want to end at point C but muddling through point B just kills me. I've tried getting the story done in my mind, but then I get too bored with it to finish typing it all out and I've tried just writing organically and letting the story live as it wants but then I end up stuck or lost...

ACtually my biggest problem isn't getting started, usually I can do that just fine. Typically I can write point A just fine and I know that I want to end at point C but muddling through point B just kills me. I've tried getting the story done in my mind, but then I get too bored with it to finish typing it all out and I've tried just writing organically and letting the story live as it wants but then I end up stuck or lost...

-drexes

Ahhh, but you run into the other problem of the "from scratch" scenario -- too much freedom. You've never had a problem creating large canvasses to work on, be it an expansive game world or an epic novel concept. You get stuck when it comes narrowing things down, to cutting away the fat until you're left with only what you need for your story to succeed.

You talk about writing organically, and that's a gift you've been blessed with: a fertile imagination that lets ideas grow. But fertile fields are quickly overgrown if you don't tend them. You have to weed out the things that don't belong, to protect the crop you want to grow. A lot of writers refer to it as "killing their babies" -- cutting out good ideas or characters that don't serve the narrative they are trying to create.

I think the quote is "Murder your darlings..." but, yeah . . . I save that for revisions. Though it may depend what kind of writer you are. I like to plow through a messy rough draft and spend a lot of time on revisions. This is partially out of necessity. Because I'm not a planner, things change a lot as I write and I have to rewrite quite a bit. If I revised as I went. . .well, it'd just be silly and wasteful.

I think my problem is in the little things. My desire to write a story is "frittered away by detail." I hate them. I don't want to write a 14 page description of a plow, but when I read I know it's the detail in the minutia of a story that really gives it life. My new method that I am trying is to write the story from start to finish with the major stuff init, and then go back and add more flavor text where I want to and see if that helps. I am trying that with my anthology project short story actually... So far it's been pretty good for me, I've gotten further through it than I have anything in a long time...

I don't want to write a 14 page description of a plow, but when I read I know it's the detail in the minutia of a story that really gives it life.

-drexes

And we don't want to read it!! ;-) But seriously, write the book you'd want to read, not what you think you should write.
The layering you're doing now is a good plan.
I will get around to reading what you posted of your story, btw...I just have to grade about 5 sets of papers and get through an author's letter for my crit partner first.
I'm seriously over committed. Good thing I'm giving that up for the new year.

Lesh

Fan fic sux because it's a mecca of crappy stories built on top of crappier ideas.

Here's a mocking example - the story revolves around a time traveling treasure hunter, we'll call him Colorado Jack. He goes back to find the sword of King Arthur and ends up teaming up with Merlin against Natzis that show up to get the sword for themselves. After some classic Indiana Jo-er-Colordo Jack witty banter, Saruman shows up and attacks Merlin. Battle ensues. Luckily Colorado Jack has his trusty Time Gate and calls in reinforcements. The reinforcements stream through the portal with their trademark battle cry of "Yo Joe!". The Nazi's call in their own reinforcements. A Delorian shows up with Michael J. Fox's head mounted on the hood and out steps Darth Vader. Suddenly, comets streak through the sky and crash near the battlefield. But they're not comets, they're space ships. And out step Optimus Prime and Megatron! Cue The Touch by Stan Bush. Who will win this epic fight?

Actually...that's pretty bad ass.