Fiction writing support group

Welcome to the Wikiversity Fiction writing support group. This is a "learn by doing" project in which participants share ideas and information about writing fiction.

Kellyv2. I am interested in fiction writing of the interraction of biological tissue and electronic devices in creating a super human, who hitherto has had mutation of his genes. Resulting in a special human species with a hiden powers whose full potential is revealed by the electronic devices. And the functioning of the device is possible only when individuals with same bloodline wore such device. Findout the mysteries behind the most gifted scientist and their beliefs and the outcome.

Reading and discussion

Reading about writing.

Advice to authors

There is no shortage of published authors willing to share advice about writing, but do they agree on anything?

If you are working towards the publication of a commercial novel, whether genre or literary upmarket, you have to understand your market and how to write for that market. Mysteries, thrillers, SF/F, etc., all have their foundational tropes while demanding of the new author the creation of high-concept premise within the parameters formed by those tropes.

Reading

Read: Writing advice by Chris Moriarty.

Discussion

This "rule" makes me think that we should start a series of "book reports".....I'm thinking of short accounts of why we like particular works of fiction.
True, but it may be a warning of, "You are what you read." For instance, if you devour romantic comedies like a starving child would devour a ton of green-iced donuts (as I do- the books, not the donuts), sooner or later, that child will start to turn green, and you find all of your work being tainted by romance and comedy.
Read but also do hook, scene, and character arc analysis of your favorite authors, perhaps authors you might wish to emulate in some manner. Devour the mechanics and artistry of scene development as much as possible.
It makes me sad to think about "successful writers" who have to force themselves to write. Too bad there are not more writers who struggle to set a regular living schedule in order to keep from writing when they know they should be doing all the other things that make a complete life.
I struggle to set a regular living schedule so that I don't go blind!
The key to successful writing is also looking five years into the future and asking yourself where you want to be. Set a firm goal. Learn all you can and press forward.
Another sad aspect of the writing world: that writers have to be reminded to have fun. Maybe for many professional writers it is important to be able to force yourself to write what sells even when you do not really enjoy doing it. Ick.
Yes, that is sad. Reminds me of the bad old days, during my time in the HM fandom, where I'd force myself to update every friday.
If you don't have passion for your genre, or the subject matter of the novel you are writing (or even short story or screenplay), you will never be a success because you won't have the stamina for rejection and multiple rewrites.
I like the idea of "studying" the work of other writers and learning from what others have written. I also like to imagine that after a certain amount of such "studying", every writer can reach the point where they create their own solutions to problems without having to copy what someone else did before.
See comment on Step 1.
Consider it rather like learning from the masters so that you can stand on their shoulders.

Rewriting

Advice on rewriting and the value of multiple versions of a story.

Reading

Jeremy Jones: "Would you agree that encountering multiple versions of the same story lends a particular vitality to the story?"
Dot Jackson: "Your perceptions are right on."

Discussion

Can you really understand a fictional character unless you know multiple ways of thinking about the character?
I think there is truth to this. You can try to be sly and make a major transformation of a character without doing a major re-write of the existing version of the story the character is in.....this is tempting....rewriting can be painful. However, rewriting can also be rewarding. Ludwig Wittgenstein, in describing what must be done to accomplish a complex task, wrote about the need to, "travel over a wide field of thought criss-cross in every direction". During such a process he found that, "the same points were always being approached afresh from new directions, and new sketches made." Eventually, after taking the time to explore the subject from several different perspectives you truly understand the landscape and can efficiently provide others with a well-crafted account.
I love the ways that computer technology empowers writers to go in directions that were not really possible before computers. Why does a story have to have one beginning, one middle and one end? Why not a couple of each? Even if in the end just one version that is the "best", the process of making multiple versions can be useful for developing a character.

You can be as unconventional with your style as you like..as long as it is not done out of ignorance.

Related resources

External resources

This article is issued from Wikiversity - version of the Monday, July 28, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.