|
|
Post by cloudmonet on Feb 18, 2006 23:05:52 GMT -5
I've written five novels (three of them published) and started three others which will probably never get finished. I wouldn't want to subject my readers to works that might be abandoned. Plus, I've never written anything as long and tightly linked as a novel that I didn't have to go back to the start and change everything to make it work.
My stories are like the episodes, in that at the end of each one, at least the immediate problem's been solved, though life does go on. A lot of you guys are really writing novels or novellas in serial form. It takes a well-structured unity to hold my attention that long.
My writing methods just don't allow an incremental approach. I experiment too much with cause and effect to follow an outline, trusting my trained subconscious to shuffle it all together. This doesn't always work.
I don't read it unless it's finished, unless someone specifically requests this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ezbok58a on Feb 18, 2006 23:11:51 GMT -5
okay, then... for the WIP writers: do you plot things out ahead of time or just wing it as the story takes you? and have you ever regretted it?  (yes, I DO have too much time on my hands...)  I usually have the important points of my stories planned out way before I even know I have a story on my hands, then what leads up to the points is usually off the top of my head. I never write any of my plots down, it all stays in my head, and that has proven to be problematic with one story already (The way of the Badge is on Hiatus because I ran myself into a wall. I know the story but the next section of writting drew a blank for me). Alot of times I have the story all planned out from beginning to end, and along the ways of writting it I add some new stuff that seems right for the time (the showdown in The cars Strike back in the Museum was a last minute addition). I work better when I don't have the entire story written out, I did that with my first two stories and those completely sucked compared to the ones I'm putting out now. |
|
|
|
Post by surforst on Feb 19, 2006 0:10:32 GMT -5
okay, then... for the WIP writers: do you plot things out ahead of time or just wing it as the story takes you? and have you ever regretted it? Depends on the story for me. 'Heart and Mind' is finished in my head I just need to put it on paper. The war story I got is following a carefully planned series of events because that's what it calls for. Granted it can change on the fly (Yori was added in at a later date for example) but it is all flowing towards one ending. 'No Need for Ron' changes like crazy. I base some of the plot off the series it's a fusion with while other stuff just happens. Heck chapter 2 and 3 were suppose to be one chapter but I decided to expand on certain elements. Now that story isn't designed to be flowing towards one end but instead to hit a few plot points and just evolve the way it does. It's a test of that. Have I ever regretted the way a story has come about? Yeah that's why I killed one. If you ever read 'Mommy Ron and Daddy Kim' (not a Surforst suggested read by the way) you'll notice Kim is a jerk in it. It just happened and I decided that I screwed up. Like any good fanfiction writer should I admitted I'm new to this and killed the stupid story. Not like I'm a professional after all and I am going to make mistakes. This isn't my day job after all. Well I must confess I'm one of those writers. I base what I should concentrate on by looking at reviews. It doesn't always matters (My Gundam and Tenchi fusion stories got pitiful review response last chapter and I'm still continuing those) but it does help me decide if something is worth reading. I don't write in a vacuum after all those writers who do will never get better. Instead I try to learn what readers want. If a story gains no response that means it wasn't good and I should reconsider it. Number one reason why I like one-shots though is I can just throw them out there. Learn from the reviews and not worry about anyone accusing me of abandoning a story from lack of response. I'm in this to learn not satisfy some ego I have that says I should subject you all to badly written stories that no one really wants to read. If a story isn't being read then it doesn't get continued. I have other works to write that would probably get a lot more feedback and be a better use of my time. Heck if I didn't use this system I'd still be writing 'Price of defeat' and that story stunk. Too dark and people just didn't want to read it. Plain and simple. Anyway to sum up I write only what gets read. Simple as that. After all if I didn't care about reviews you'd never see my stories. I'd get as much joy out of it as I would just leaving it on the computer. We all post on-line because we want feedback in some form or another. |
|
|
|
Post by Nightspade on Feb 19, 2006 0:32:24 GMT -5
I'll keep my answer brief. Video games have shot my attention span. WIPs are very hard for me to stick with.
|
|
|
|
Post by cloudmonet on Feb 19, 2006 0:43:26 GMT -5
You can also go to stats and count story hits. That may be statistically more reliable.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nightspade on Feb 19, 2006 0:44:19 GMT -5
Altering your story just to please your reviewers can often be disasterous.
|
|
|
|
Post by RavenStar on Feb 19, 2006 1:10:56 GMT -5
I like writing chapter by chapter. To me, it helps a story evolve a lot more easily. i mean, I'll have a set outline of the beginning and the end for the most part, but I find the fun in writing is filling the path in-between. I only finish a story completely before posting it if it's a one-shot.
|
|
|
|
Post by surforst on Feb 19, 2006 2:19:20 GMT -5
Altering your story just to please your reviewers can often be disasterous. True and I don't do this. I take advice which is a fully different thing. If a reviewers demands I make the story a non-K/R bit or kill of a character to make it a K/R bit it won't affect me. When a reviewer though makes a comment that Ron comes off as a selfish little man then I'm going to take notice. Just dismissing reviewers as idiots does not work after all the act of writing is to make a story the readers enjoy. If the readers don't like it then the story fails and it doesn't matter how much you enjoyed it. The professional writers can testify to the fact that you write what you think readers will read. They may not enjoy every part of the story (like the main character dieing) but if it keeps them hooked then your good. If it doesn't then you shouldn't even have posted/published it in the first place. As I said before my goal is to learn how to entertain and write good stories. Not stroke my ego by saying I'm a 'writer' look at me!. I use both to judge a story. Problem with hits is that its not a count of readers but the amount of times someone checked out the story. Theoretically it could just be one reader who clicked on the story a thousand times for example. Reviews is a better determinate if a story is good. Personally I actually aim to get those high review stories after all I like setting goals for myself. Its sort of a competition I have with the other writers which I'm losing horribly. Still trying though and I think that'll help me write better in the long run. Anyway just my thoughts on this. |
|
|
|
Post by Nightspade on Feb 19, 2006 3:19:43 GMT -5
Surforst sure is smart for someone who likes to speak like a caveman. Or a Far-Right Conservative.
|
|
|
|
Post by RavenStar on Feb 19, 2006 3:32:49 GMT -5
Sometimes I take what everybody says I need to do and do it - but completely opposite of what the majority of reviewers are all nagging me about. It's arseholeish, yeah, but sometimes I just get annoyed when people constantly tell me in reviews that "you should do this!" "You need to explain this!" "You can't keep this person alive!" and whatnot. I dunno, I guess it's partially a sadistic streak in me that likes to toy with readers...
However, I usually take good advice about characterzation most of the time and ignore the "OMG YOU SHOULD DO THIS" reviews...
|
|
|
|
Post by Nightspade on Feb 19, 2006 3:35:05 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with being sadistic.
|
|
|
|
Post by surforst on Feb 19, 2006 3:48:32 GMT -5
Surforst sure is smart for someone who likes to speak like a caveman. Or a Far-Right Conservative. Hm...well Surforst found a large black tablet one day. It was shiny and the shininess apparently caused my brain to evolve. It also gave me super strength and flight but the 'left' said it was an unfair advantage and assigned me a flight/lift tax. That's life I guess. Yeah I got a lot of people who want Bonnie dead in one of my stories. Even willing to kill Barkin, Felix, and a lot of other people to get it done. All so Ron and Kim can get together. As if I couldn't do it without that all I'd have to do is end the war, keep the loser alive, have the winning side convinced to spare the loser, and have the loser forgive the winner. Then Bonnie of course trips down a flight of stairs and we're good to go. See Surforst can solve problems. |
|
|
|
Post by Nightspade on Feb 19, 2006 3:59:14 GMT -5
An elevator shaft would have been cooler. Sorry. I couldn't resist. That won't ever happen again... today.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince Sky on Feb 19, 2006 5:12:15 GMT -5
i read most of the fics chapter by chapter because most of the fics aren't finished so i haven't got a choice but to wait
|
|
|
|
Post by SonicElectronic on Feb 19, 2006 5:52:45 GMT -5
I'm a WIP writer. Mainly because mine are so long, it gives people time to read them while I work on the next. I think people would be more angry with me if I posted it all at once and then they had to wait a million years until the next story comes out, plus it's a series too. It may even be too daunting for people to read if the entire story came out at once. I actually write, about... four-five instalments ahead of what I post online. which I find very helpful. If often find myself going back, editing, adding more, upping the emotions, or downing them. Also I may write something in some instalments ahead that needs to be referred to in an earlier one and I can make that edit. I think it's the best way to work, imo.
I enjoy reading WIP stories too, it's fun for me to bounce and wait for the next one, I remember doing that to Maya's fic; she's the best fanfic writer out there. It kinda reminds me of the old tv watching days, like ReBoot when you had to wait for the next episode where the last left you at a cliffhanger. It's stressful and fun at the same time x9 Gives you time to think the story over and guess what might come next!
[EDIT]
In response to a question, I always have mine entirely planned out, all three right from the get-go. I admit, small things change. Say I know what I want to happen, a general area where they should be, but details come in later. Like the Tower thing coming up, I needed the security cameras and what comes after. It was originally a lair and at one point early on which changed to a construction site with Ron at the top of those construction-cranes, but I went with a tower because it made better sense. There were things in there that I KNOW needed to happen but details came later. Things like that :9
|
|
|
|
Post by JuPMod on Feb 19, 2006 10:27:30 GMT -5
Well, it's good to read that most WIP writers here do plot out their stories in their heads (or paper) instead of writing on the spur of the moment. Oneshots are good, IMO, for writing on the go, but for a long plot, it's good to have a outline in one's head to know where the story is going. Unlike surfost and G-Go, who are seeking to become professional writers, I don't depend on reviews to tell me whether I should continue writing or not. I'm doing this for fun, not to become a professional writer. I understand reviews are needed to determine how a writer is doing and to determine the direction a writer should go to satisfy his/her audience. Yet again that is for professional writers. For me, it's nice to get advice/suggestions on my stories, but I will not ever force *anyone* to review my stories. It's a choice for the readers to decide. It's one thing to ask kindly "Please read & review my stories. I need the feedback to know how I'm doing." It's another to say "Write or I don't write the next chapter!" That's quite rude and insulting. So as a fan writer, who is not seeking to go professional, the number of reviews do not faze me one bit to continue writing or not. I write for fun and because I want to write down these ideas in my head. I don't need hundreds of reviews to decide whether to continue or not. As long as I know there are people who want to read my stories, I'm satisfied. For example, the other day I received a private message from a reader of my stories. The person enjoys my TUY series and was wondering when the next TUY story was going to come out. I don't have an ego to inflat, yet it brought a warm, good feeling to know the person enjoys my stories. I might not have a huge number of readers say like G-Go or others, but I don't care for that, for it's just the warm feelings of knowing there are some who enjoyed my stories is all I need. |
|
|
|
Post by Aers (That Writer Chick) on Feb 19, 2006 11:34:54 GMT -5
*scratches head*
well, as a professional writer I can tell you that I don't really worry about reviews at all.
and here's why.
the "problem" (for lack of a better word) with fanfiction is that it's free and it's easily available - you don't have to pay a cent for it and it's found pretty darned easily within seconds of hitting Google. That means that you will find fanfiction across the spectrum from good to bad and everything inbetween. Which is great, IMO.
BUT people, IMO, tend to be more generous when they're not paying for it. I received tons of good feedback from my stories for years and thrived on it, until I went "pro" and started getting paid for it. Suddenly it's a whole different ball of wax when people are paying for your work and they expect a certain standard. As well they should; since they're paying for it.
reviews from fanfiction and reviews from original writing are two totally different creatures - and if it's paid original writing (like a book or having it purchased by a 'zine for their audience) it's even more different. If I pay $20 for a new King book I can send him a scathing email and feel that I'm justified, since I paid for it - but if I dislike a KP fanfiction I can either email the author or just shrug it off, since I'm not out of pocket a single dime.
you have to listen to the reviews in any case, but don't change yourself for the reviews. Your voice as an author cannot be dependent on satisifying the ones who actually LEAVE a review, or you'll be drifting with the tide and whoever slams a review into your box quickly enough to change your mind.
I thrill to get reviews on my KP fanfic. I love them. I also love the odd time when I get a review for my original material - but it's not the same thing; nor should it be.
but I enjoy them both.
darn, that's confusing...
oh, look... Crunchwrap Supreme time!
*wanders off*
|
|
|
|
Post by Commander Argus on Feb 19, 2006 11:44:06 GMT -5
Well, in case it wasn't utterly obvious, I'm not a professional writer and really don't want to be. I don't like that kind of pressure and that's why I went in a whole other direction after college despite some folks trying to push me this way. I do this for fun and because I've got something to say. Yes, I'm something of a review addict. I like seeing the nice comments roll in after posting something. It does make me feel warm inside watching the number of people who look at my work. I certainly do like the larger audience I have here compared the people who've read my original fiction on my website (I don't pay for search engine listings and such)
|
|
|
|
Post by surforst on Feb 19, 2006 17:55:14 GMT -5
Unlike surfost and G-Go, who are seeking to become professional writers, Don't get me wrong I have no desire to be a professional writer. I just feel I should attempt to excel in everything I try and that means learning how to write better. Heck now that I've done this for a while I've got friends asking me for advice on their stories. Again I do this for fun myself, after all I gain no money from this, but like any good hobby I'm trying to get better. You don't build a model and not get anyones feed back. Same principal applies you learn from what people say. If the paint is done wrong you change it and if people say that Kim would never put on a sailor hat and sing 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' then you have to take that to heart too. I figure even professional writers learn from story to story and that's what I'm attempting to do. I agree you can't allow yourself to be swayed by every review. I once had one reviewer who loved a story till it hit its twist. I didn't change it because of that but it was interesting to see. Again reviewers mostly mean interest and thats what I weigh my stories on. Also reviews can be helpful after all as a reviewer I try to help people. One of my reviews once changed a story after all. ;D A lot of authors also admit they enjoy reading reviews. I do too and it makes my day when I see them rolling in. Granted I don't get a lot after all I'm not one of the better authors. My goal is to become one of them at a later date but for now I content myself with what I get and try to learn from there. As with all fanfictions the authors learn as they go along and since this is my first series to ever write fanfiction for I'm picking it up as I go. |
|
|
|
Post by fieryfalcon on Feb 19, 2006 18:20:12 GMT -5
I'm not one to do a lot of writing fanfiction wise mainly because I have such limited time. However, if I'm angered or disappointed enough by a series I'll write my own "how it should be" version, mainly for my own enjoyment, and then post it since I figure I might as well if I've already written it. I wrote a few KP fics originally because I thought the series was cancelled. I wrote a Harry Potter fic at first to see how closely the real storyline would mirror my own, and now because I'm disappointed by the real storyline  I've found that it really is necessary to plan everything out ahead of time to keep from contradicting yourself in mid-story. At least I need to. Reviews are great, but I wouldn't let myself be swayed by one unless if it pointed out logical\consistancy\mechanical flaws. |
|
I've found that it really is necessary to plan everything out ahead of time to keep from contradicting yourself in mid-story. At least I need to. Reviews are great, but I wouldn't let myself be swayed by one unless if it pointed out logical\consistancy\mechanical flaws.