In addition to the Dramatica publication from yesterday, I discovered "yWriter 5" (http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5_Download.html) which is a valuable (and *free*) tool for organizing your story. Just putting characters into the organizer gave me ideas I hadn't quite worked out before.
I also dug some old floppy disks from an oft-ignored box in the backroom, and found some old stories I'd written that not only had I forgotten about, but some that I can't even remember writing to begin with...what a delight. And...what a curious trip into a past mindset.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Getting at it
My main problem, I have worked out, is that I've let my writing muscles atrophy. So, one might say, just "get at it." Do the writing, and it'll come back.
Problem is, I was never entirely satisfied with my fiction product. I can write light travel fare easily, because it's all fact with some personal observations. But creating someone from notion to fight against fictional forces in a fictional world... well, there's a whole other dynamic at play. You have to know the new world. Breathe it. You need to understand your characters inside and out; you have to write them from their own moral perspectives, not your own, and do so without judging them. Yet, of course, there's got to be something the reader can identify with, or your character is beyond their ability to empathize. Etc. Etc.
While absently looking online for writer software, I found this "graphic novel" (http://dramatica.com/resources/assets/dramatica-comic-book-2004.pdf) which, of course, is intended to get you to buy their software. Even if you don't, though, this is a very worthwhile publication to read. It eased me toward a better approach to my characters and story. Check it out if you're trying to get your work out of the peanut-buttery muck of writer's block.
Problem is, I was never entirely satisfied with my fiction product. I can write light travel fare easily, because it's all fact with some personal observations. But creating someone from notion to fight against fictional forces in a fictional world... well, there's a whole other dynamic at play. You have to know the new world. Breathe it. You need to understand your characters inside and out; you have to write them from their own moral perspectives, not your own, and do so without judging them. Yet, of course, there's got to be something the reader can identify with, or your character is beyond their ability to empathize. Etc. Etc.
While absently looking online for writer software, I found this "graphic novel" (http://dramatica.com/resources/assets/dramatica-comic-book-2004.pdf) which, of course, is intended to get you to buy their software. Even if you don't, though, this is a very worthwhile publication to read. It eased me toward a better approach to my characters and story. Check it out if you're trying to get your work out of the peanut-buttery muck of writer's block.
Friday, June 28, 2013
What's going to happen?
The plot thickens.
Of course, any increase from zero words is a thickening. It's slow, but it's burgeoning. Imagine whatever metaphors you will.
The main impedance (or impotence, I suppose) is the writing of story with only a vague knowledge of the players. Like writing the life story of a guy you never met in Walla Walla, it requires more than a thesaurus and a free afternoon.
So, I'm off to meet my players. Be back later.
Of course, any increase from zero words is a thickening. It's slow, but it's burgeoning. Imagine whatever metaphors you will.
The main impedance (or impotence, I suppose) is the writing of story with only a vague knowledge of the players. Like writing the life story of a guy you never met in Walla Walla, it requires more than a thesaurus and a free afternoon.
So, I'm off to meet my players. Be back later.
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