Hey, everyone, let's give Drew our support. Over the past couple of nights, through MSN, I've gotten to know him (with the help of Amanda).
He's young and learning. He wants to be a screenwriter, and it is in the screenwriting format that his experience lies. It's what he knows. I hope I'm not betraying any confidences when I say that he has little background (almost none) in writing in 3rd person, which is required by this site. When it comes to the first collab., he will need guidance.
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Can I get a hearty "Whoaaaaaaaaa-let's-all-put-Drew-at-ease-about-3rd-person-writing!" from everyone?
It's not as hard as it looks, Drew. Practice, you'll see.
Write that dialogue, as we discussed. Dialogue (both external and internal) is the heart of character. But nearly as important is WHAT A CHARACTER DOES. If you can visualize the scene, you can embellish the dialogue with what is known as "beats."
From the book Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King, beats "are the little bits of action interspersed through a scene, such as a character walking to a window or removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. . ." Ernest Hemmingway wrote many-a-story using almost nothing but dialogue. If you can get something going like Hemmingway meets beats, so to speak, I think you'll do fine. Show us your strength.
Good luck!
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Even screenwriting includes descriptive action as to what a certain character is doing while speaking. Only most script is written in present tense such as:
JACK LOOKS SAD AS HE WALKS OVER TO WINDOW AND LOOKS OUT - HE SEES CHILDREN PLAYING IN THE STREET BELOW, HE STRAIGHTENS UP AND RETURNS HIS GAZE TO MARTHA WHO BY NOW IS SAT BY THE FIRESIDE.
"Martha my darling, it's not that i don't love you..."
MARTHA LOOKS UP
"...but i'm just not ready to get married, not to you, not to anybody..."
*****
This isn't all that different to how we write in game - the same scene would be written as follows:
Jack looked sad as he walked towards the window and looked down to the street below, a small group of children had begun to play a game of stick-ball (EMBELISHMENT, ETC) After a moment had passed he straightened up and returned his gaze to Martha who had already seated herself by the fireplace.
"Martha my darling, it's not that I don't love you.." Jack said his voice sad and weak. As he began to speak Martha looked up into his meloncholy blue eyes. "...but I'm just not ready to get married, not to you, not to anybody..."
*****
See? there you go, narrative writing relies simply upon placing actions in the PAST instead of the PRESENT, also you may find things need to be embelished further in order to set mood and atmosphere.
But don't worry, as Sid said, you'll get used to things - and if you need any help, don't be afraid to ask!! :D
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Man, Louisa, nice example! I said the same thing to Drew last night, but not so clearly.
Well written.
He needs this: repetition of the same ideas from different perspectives.
So, Drew, if it helps, you can take Louisa's cue and write that introductory piece you and I were discussing, but do it first in screenplay format (in a word processing program). Then you can go over it and change it to narrative prose. THEN you can post it.
Just an idea, of course. I've been racking my brain trying to think of ways to help you. But I do know this: if you don't break out of your shell and actually write something (not necessarily on the game board at first), you're going to fret about this process to the point where you'll never want to start. You will improve with time. (No one is here to judge you; we're only interested in you for your gaming potential; we're selfish that way.) 8)
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I too have been working with Andrew over the course of the past few nights and I want to tell you that he has a great sense of character and plot...just bringing those elements into the game may require some help.
I will refer to Hanna and Alice who both recieved a lot of flack for their writing style. We all worked together to help them improve, and Hanna posted (as mantheana) one of the most poignant posts I thing that we've ever had.
It all works if we all work together.
...
Thanks for the HELP!!! I might have not learned or improved right now, but I'll sure try.
Writing things sometimes seems difficult, because I got too much scenes on my head and I got no idea which one to use. I'll try to do what you guys have suggested.. I'll probably have my story up until night in my time???
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I would also like to suggest something about AFTER you've written a piece. This advice is sound, in my opinion, but it won't work very well during a collaboration of two or more players. This is just something to do when you're writing solo:
Step BACK!
Don't write your last word and consider your writing done. Unless you're some kind of genius, you won't get it right the first time. So step back, walk away, check your email, get a soda, take a leak, kiss your dog. . .then return to the computer and read ALOUD what you wrote. If you find yourself getting confused, maybe you need to do some re-writing.
Also, this fresh perspective helps you spot typos, mispellings, comma splices, etc. I recently just reread all of the mid-season posts with certain glee. ..until I came to my own not-so-edited writing, where I discovered all sorts of confusing things, grammar problems, etc. Didn't follow my own advice all that well.
Sometimes it's never going to be perfect. After a few days, maybe it IS time to consider the writing done. :roll:
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Hm, thanks...... :?
My two cents' worth.
To be honest, I have no real system for writing. Apart from High School English, I've had no training or background in creative writing at all.
I simply sort out where I'm going to start and begin writing. Occasionally I even have an idea of where I'd like to finish, but several times Tash has surprised me by doing or saying things that I had no idea she would do until the words hit the screen. Then I have to take it from there. So all my writing is pretty much on the fly, whether it's a collaboration or a solo piece. I call this "channelling Tash".
Now, I really don't recommend this method to anyone - it can be extremely hit and miss. There are days where I just can't seem to get into Tash's head and then this system fails. But the times where she takes over my consciousness I've found myself writing stuff that I would never have come up with in a million years on my own. So a big thanks to Tash for sharing my head. :)
But seriously, if you're at all stuck - whether at the beginning of a piece or in the middle - just start writing. Write whatever comes into your mind. Try to 'feel' as your character would feel. You may find that what you write is complete and utter drivel and you need to start again. But the mere process of putting words down may well shake loose that writer's block and get you going again, even if you don't keep anything you write initially.
Who knows, you may find yourself channelling your character as I channel Tash sometimes. You'll look at the screen and read the words there - and wonder who wrote them, 'cause you don't remember coming up with that. It's a great feeling when that happens, and I wish I could do it more often. *sigh* But when Tash refuses to channel, I still just write what I can and hope for the best. When it comes down to it, that's all that any of us can do. Write something and hope a lot. :)
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Well I HAVE had teaching in creative writing - it's part of my degree course, and i've had a few (small) pieces published by writing magazines (nothing big - so don't expect to see me on the bestsellers lists just yet).
Now i could tell you a lot of tricks for writing about characterisation and how to work a plot to completion, but I don't think either would help you right now. The best piece of advice is what Heather just gave - a truly wonderful piece of writing has to make you BELIEVE in the characters, places, emotions, whatever but it has to be true, it has to make the reader believe that this place/person exists, lives breathes.
The best way you can do that is to 'become' your character - try to step out of yourself and into their shoes. Where are they? How do they feel? What are their fears? Beliefs? Hopes? Dreams?
Once you understand your character you can write from their perspective and make it believable. This isn't as easy as it may seem. You have to push yourself to one side because you AREN'T writing about yourself.
You obviously will draw upon your own experiences but essentially you are writing as another person - so you have to be able to 'become' that person in the same way that an actor assumes his/her role.
it just takes practice
Just take your time and be persistent. If you can write screenplays then you already have the hardest part down, the creative process. The mechanics of what we do here are just that, mechanics. The only tip I can offer that hasn't been covered is outlining. Sometimes it helps to jot down some notes on how things are going to progress before you start writing. This gives you a framework for whatever you are doing. This is especially helpful if you are having trouble channeling.
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Can anyone give me an opinion on my writing & story of my first post in game board? I am kinda new w/ narrative writing. Thanks.
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Fineally got around to reading this post.... and then got angry. DAVE! EVERYONE! MYNAME IS HANNAH! with a H on the end! palindrome (however you spell that.. ooh irony..!) please remember this.. if you can;t then call me booj! please, and trust me a some one who has tow names that no one can either spell ro pronounce, its greatly annoying... this is jsut something I will say now before some one does it again and ends up where i keep all the other bodies, ok? back to the point.. go drew! much with the support, if you could buy it i'd get you a bottle....
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HannaH...I'm sorry and every time I do it you get mad at me.
But I am king mangler when it comes to typing. I am actually a quite good speller, just a terrible typist. I probably intended there to be 2 'H's but only manged to get one into the post.
I rely on things like spell check (in Word) and other people (like Heather) to keep me looking good, but anyone who has done a collab with me will tell you that my typing is the absolute worst.
Worse yet, I almost typed Booj in that post but sisn't becasue I wasn't sure if anyone who had not been here a while would know who I was talking about!
Again, my sincerest apologies and while I cannot guarantee it woun't happen again, hoefully you'll be gentle on me while you are flaying off my flesh.
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I read your post, Andrew. I think your imagination is reaaly great. You didnt do too badly with the mechanics of third person narrative. Keep at it and it will only get better. And if you need any advice, there are plenty of people on the board who are willing to help. Just e-mail us anytime.