whiteadelphi, fault is yours. enjoy.

[maelorin]

If you happen to be working on some creative writing project, fanfiction or NaNoWriMo or what have you, post one sentence (or more)from each of your current work(s) in progress in your journal. It should probably be your favourite or most intriguing sentence so far, but what you choose is entirely your discretion. Mention the title (and genre) if you like, but don't mention anything else -- this is merely to whet the general appetite for your forthcoming work(s).

solar plexus

The door opened. The sun shone in. Everyone was dead. "So much for the heroic rescue," he muttered. Shutting the door, we walked away.

The Harvest

The funeral would be a long one. All afternoon, at least.

Threshold

“Welcome to Hell,” a woman’s voice called out in French. “And welcome to the blank part of the map.”

yes, i have been working on a novel or two in my spare time. just wish i didn't suck at dialogue.

guess the genre's.

Comments

[whiteadelphi.livejournal.com]

Ouch! That first one is harsh. (And very interesting. ^^)

[maelorin]

it's the opening paragraph at the moment. :D

[whiteadelphi.livejournal.com]

Helluva way to start a story. XD

[maelorin]

thanks.

it's the next part that has me stumped. which is why i've put it aside for now. something will come up and fill in the gaps :D

[maelorin]

by the by: the we in the sentence is deliberate :D

[maelorin]

please do :D

[maelorin]

start by jotting down your ideas. at some point you'll find that characters and suchlike come of their own accord.

getting started is the hardest. followed by keeping going. and then finishing.

:D

that's how/why the fanfic community got started and works ... they egg each other on. ditto for the other forms of amateur publications.

[maelorin]

don;t worry. jot them down. something will happen.

[verdigriis.livejournal.com]

Dialogue is hard. It really pisses me off...

Good opening line BTW.

[maelorin]

which one? the second and third quotes are from key points in the plot. only the first is an opener (at the moment , anyway :D

[verdigriis.livejournal.com]

"only the first is an opener (at the moment , anyway :D"

So I gathered from your comments above.

Is cool, anyway.

thanks :D

[maelorin]

i have been told i should write more. that i am a writer, not should be ...

just, i can't do dialogue so much.

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

The trick is to hide stuff you are not good at. If you can't write dialogue then don't write dialogue. My problem with dialogue is that I get too involved in the conversation and end up writing a screenplay rather than a story. [I say screenplay because when I write plays I tend to write something rather different. Too much Tom Stoppard, The Bard, and Nigel Triffith in my formative years.] So rather than writing dialogue try writing without it. Use cut scenes and the like to end wandering exposition. Remember to avoid the teacher's disease and therefore don't attempt to explain everything. Just because you have a fully-functioning world in your head and notes doesn't mean that you have to show every detail in the story. Leave that for the inevitable RPG supplement. <grin> Try more short forms than a novel. The market is smaller but they are good practice because they are simpler (as they generally revolve around a single idea), and harder (in that it is easy to write verbosely but much harder to write concisely). You have a good turn of phrase. This helps.

[maelorin]

i'm sketching out a collection of short stories, i think. easy isn't the point. practice and immersion is the name of this game.

i need to get hold of a copy of gaiman's latest collection me thinks.

i'm also contemplating tracking down copies of certain author's musings on their art. the first part being to recall who's written decent stuff about their writing. not for 'guidance' as such, but to get my head into the right place.