Writing Passionates discussion

Got one word for you ... Imagination

Hmm...I can't really tell you how. Sometimes inspiration just comes to me. Then it gets harder comingup with ideas for the whole book, but if you are dedicated to writing that book you should keep writing, even if you get stuck, work on another story. Maybe if you work on a different story ideas will to you for your other book.

It might help to do an outline and keep it nearby.

Well, when I first start writing, I have absoloutly no plan. Then, after a while, I suddenly have an idea and I weave it into the story, or I save it for later. I just have ideas as I go along of those little types of things like putting something seemingly insignificant into a story that will turn out to be a big deal later on. I have never finished a novel, but this is how I write and someday I will finish one.

I do the same thing Veronica. I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen in my book until I write it. My only problem is writers block, I get it a lot of the time if I have no plan. I need to get past that. But how?...

The only solution I can think of is to make a plan or have someone read what you have and give you ideas.

A lot of the time, when they read my writing, they don't have any ideas for me, they just tell me that it's good, or bad, and should be finished.

When I was teaching, a lot of my students asked me that question: I would look at them and ask, "How can you NOT?"

If you have enough depth to your characters, enough of a plot to drive through, and enough ideas to keep people interested, you would have a hard time keeping that until 50,000 words. To go beyond that is not hard, provided you understand character development, pacing, and have a strong desire to communicate a story to your audience. ;)

Writing books is hard. Some people think that they can just sit down and write the whole thing. But it's not that easy. It takes an unbelievable amount of time and patience, and the book doesn't always turn out so great. I've sometimes written half of a book and then realized it was horrible and I have to stop. Of course, I am only fifteen years old and do not have that much experience. But I managed to write an entire book was I was thirteen. (You can read the first chapter on this website; it's called "Destiny".) Coming up with developed characters and a good plot is really difficult. When I had finished the first draft of my book, I had to go back and add a lot more plot and develop the characters more. I also sometimes do "character inventories", which is when you basically focus on a certain character and write down everything you know about them, and fill in the gaps where you don't know things about them. Also, not all stories are meant to be books. You don't want to drag out a potentially good plot just to make it longer. Short stories can be just as hard to write as novels are. Anyway, no matter how many times you edit a book, it will never be perfect. All authors have to realize that. Some people will love your writing, and others will hate it. There really isn't much you can do to change that. Getting praise and criticism from others is useful, but what I think matters, ultimately, is that the author is proud of his or her own work.

I totally agree with you brigid.

Brigid you are so right. Short, long, all stories are good. Having someone read them and like them, now that's just a bonus.

Brigid, you answered AKS's question with more clarity and maturity than anyone else here did. Personally, I do not think AKS's question was stupid, I understand completely how you could start writing something, and some where along the way your brain starts telling you that it is a stupid story, or it will never be as good as you would like it to be, and that starts to eat at you until you put the work down and decide to write something completely different. I think that if you have an idea, you should sick with it. If you feel stuck try different writing styles or writing exercises with the characters that you have. Or go someplace where you do not normally write and try writing there.

I am also curious, Ashley and Kenzie how many books have you each written?
I am not trying to be sarcastic, I am really curious to know.

I've written two books (unpublished) and I'm working on three others. I really hope that I can get one published soon. But I'm only thirteen, so that might not happen.

Have some more self-esteem, Kenzie! I read your writing on this site, and it's really good for someone your age. I also want to get books published and I am only fifteen. Of course, getting published isn't everything. What matters is that you are passionate about your writing...If you don't feel ready to get published, that's okay. You can always start out small, of course--try to get short stories published in magazines or something. Whatever you do, keep writing!

I'm only thirteen too and my dream is to get a book published but I don't think that can ever happen this young...

omigosh--both of you be more confident in yourselves. i have read both of you guys' writing on this site, and you are both amazing writers. getting published is hard. being another teen author, i do not know if i will be able to get published so young either but it is still possible. there are plenty of teen authors out there...christopher paolini, nancy ni fan, s.e. hinton, amelia atwater-rhodes...etc. even though not all of them are great writers, they all got published somehow. you just have to keep spreading the word about your writing and (I know how corny this sounds) believe in yourself.

thanks :)

I went to Borders the other day, and a 12-year old girl had written a book. It was for sale there. I didn't buy it 'cause I'm kinda low on money at the moment, but it didn't sound to bad. It's the second book in the series I think, because on the back it said something about another one.

I'm really bad at the whole confidence thing. Whenever I read my writing I can always find something to pick at. Usually I stuggle to decide whether it's good or not, and then end up changing it drastically. But thanks for your support!

changing things in your writing isn't a problem with confidence... i do it all the time. all writers do. it's a good thing to see errors in your own writing because it shows that you expect the best from yourself and you want your stories to be the best that they can be.

I also mess around and change my writing, it's not just you, Kenzie.

Yeah, but have either you started writing a love story (just an example) and have it turn into a story of murder? That's the type of thing that happens to me. Then my beginning doesn't fit.

Yeah, totally. You may be writing a love story and then realize that it would be better as a murder story. That's perfectly normal. Like one time I started writing what I thought was this realistic fiction story, only halfway through it turned into a fantasy. (i think i told you about this, sella) anyway, it was a really awful story but that's not the point.

oh yeah, the one about the girl's parents divorce and her talking pig. Kenzie, that happens to me all the time. Once I started writing a selkie story and it turned into a complete love story..and, of course, I started writing what I thought was going to be a fairy story but is now going to be a mystery story...the one you helped me on, Brigid.

I guess I'm not the only one. It's just so hard for me to stick to my storyline. It drives me crazy. I get a really good idea, and then it turns into something else. I mean, I do like the new story, but I'm always wondering how it would have turned out if I had stuck to my original idea.

that's totally fine. you can change your story around completely, but the original idea might still have had good elements to it--and you could save some of the details that you didn't end up using for later stories.

that's exactly how I feel, Kenzie!

The first person narative that I posted on here was going to be way different. Joel was going to be the guy's real name. He wasn't going to be locked up. He was just going to be a fellon who escapes from his prison, but it got totally changed when I decided to make Joel a good guy.

I like it.

This one now, or the old one?

this one.

Did you read all three chapters that I have posted?

Yes, and I liked all of them.

Really? Wow. I thought my first person narrative got kind of weird at the end of the third chapter, but it's only a rough draft.

No, I think it's really interesting, especially the whole memory thing. The only thing that's confusing is, does he still have his memory, or did they already take it from him? I want to read more!

You'll have to wait to find out. I already have it planned. If you want to know badly I can tell you, if not I'll be posting.

No, I want to read it. You should post more soon!

It's going to be very long, and I'm kinda writing the chapters out of order, so I'll post the next chapter when I get it hooked to the chapter that's written that comes after. Sorry if I confused you.

Nah, that's okay.

Well, I like to write. That's one factor. Second of all, IMAGINATION! I luv that word!

imagination and inspiration :)

Check list:
1. Imagination
2. Inspiration

Check on imagination. Now where do I pick up inspiration...?

inspiration is hard to get. it just kind of comes out of the blue; you can't really search for it. Or maybe inspiration comes FROM your imagination!!! But a lot of the time, you'll just think some random thought or see something or read something and it just hits you, you know? I like, literally gasp out loud when i get a story idea. it just comes so suddenly. hasn't happened to me in a while, though... but i'm writing so many stories right now so i guess it doesn't matter.

Same here. Inspirations come when you least expect them. You'll just be sitting there, eating your food when BAM! That piece of cantelope falls off the table, and suddenly you've just figured out the perfect way for your character to die. Well, that was a bad example, but you get the point. Anyway, the never come to me when I am sitting around waiting for them.

Inspiration is where you least expect it! I actually have a shirt that says "careful or you'll end up in my novel" because it's totally true! I also think good inspiration comes from good movies like Star Wars.

I don't like getting my ideas from other media. Then it feels like I'm cheating. So, what will happen is I'll see something or hear something and then I suddenly get an idea. For instance, in the discussion post Roses, someone mentioned something about roses symbolizing something in a story and I suddenly got a really good idea. The only time I will take ideas from media is when the inspriation comes from an insignificant detail.

haha. glad to know that i was inspiring to you veronica :)
ephona, i also agree that inspiration can come from other media, but like veronica sort of said, if you make it too much like the movie/tv/show/video game/whatever that inspired you, then it's like "cheating". but i think i get a lot of my ideas when they sort of branch off of other people's ideas, but don't really copy them. and people tell me that my work is original, so i guess it's okay. like, i remember i got my idea for The Chosen One when i was watching someone play some japanese video game, where the people kept talking about "chosen ones", and suddenly this idea popped into my head: why is the main character always the special one, the Chosen One? what if the main character's friend was the Chosen One? how would that change things? and before i knew it, i had written an entire short story, which inspired the novel that i'm working on right now!!! :)

I really like your take on that, Brigid. I was thinking, when I read The Chosen One, that is really is unique. It's almost always the main character who's the "special" one, the one who has the magic powers or gets all the things happening to them or whatever. But yours is unexpected- it's not the main character who's the one, it's his best friend! I like that. It's different, and not what the reader expects.

I just like getting parts. Your right that it's not good to 'cheat' off media.