My obsession with the Twilight novels has made me wish I was a better writer. Well, actually, I have always enjoyed writing... I just have never felt creative enough to write fiction. I think I can write a good story, if given characters, world, etc... The part I stumble on is creating the characters and the world.
So, since many of you are good writers, can you give me any advice on learning to develop ideas? It may just not be a learnable skill, and I may be out of luck, and if that is the case, feel free to tell me...
I know I will probably never do anything except write for fun. Watching![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
fencerm2 's struggles, I am not sure I am up for that situation... But I would love to try writing for fun.
Any advice?
So, since many of you are good writers, can you give me any advice on learning to develop ideas? It may just not be a learnable skill, and I may be out of luck, and if that is the case, feel free to tell me...
I know I will probably never do anything except write for fun. Watching
fencerm2 's struggles, I am not sure I am up for that situation... But I would love to try writing for fun. Any advice?
depressed
That's all I've got. Advice from a non-writer. Worth everything that you paid. :-D
Writing hings
1. Try just writing a journal. Just a paragraph at least once a week - any subject. My journals in school ran from diary, to texture observations, to dreams, to book reviews, a word I ran into that I thought was cool, etc. Just practice writing.
2. Realize that non-fiction is just as important as fiction and eventually will help you with your stories. Writing book reviews for the SCA newsletter is great. Sometimes after reading a book, I would write a book review and a research article. The research article is actually the more helpful longrun for writing fiction. -- A twist on the concept is what you are looking for. For example writing an article on archery I ended up reading about a frozen archer; maybe a short story on how he got frozen in the glacier.
3. Write observation. Good fiction is about making the surroundings feel real too. Just write about a tree, car, how your children acted that day with a rabbit, how the dust dances in the light, whatever strikes your fancy.
4. Write about a situation you just went through from a different point of view. Such as if you just had it out with the twins trying to get them to bed - write it from their point of view. Some of the best stories I have read have been playing the people's perceptions of the world and events against each other. Remember to take into account the difference in their ability to think and their history.
5. Take the observations from (3) and make up a person that this would be important to them. Describe their point of view. Does not have to be fancy.
And remember there are so many different ways to write - fiction covers romance to sci fi; non-fiction includes business writings and articles and newspapers; poetry and other stylized forms; etc. You won't be good at everything, but find out what you are good at and work from there.
Writing is a "muscle". You need to work it just like your children are. Initially they couldn't pick up anything, and they are not up to manipulating needles yet. But they will be. You need both gross and delicate "motor control" for writing, and that only comes with practice.
Although I have been considering this as a jumping off point, something to flex the muscles Prudence mentions above...