Background

[demonlord-lover.livejournal.com]

I'm just curious how everyone else is working on writing technique.  

Coming off of one year in college and  6 more as a mom, I indulged in fanfiction to 'learn the ropes' in terms of balancing dialogue and action, not to mention the mechanics of grammar.  I've found that, while it can sometimes be negative, overall, the feedback I got from writing for an audience has helped me improve by leaps and bounds.             

Now that I'm branching out into original work, it's very fulfilling, but I am also eternally grateful for the opportunities to improve that fanfiction gave me.  I'd also be interested in learning a bit more about  how others improve original story skills.  (Character development seems to be the most lacking in fanfiction.  Everyone already knows said characters,  so  authors tend to leave it to the wayside.)

Comments

[aeriedraconia.livejournal.com]

I was never taught how to write a novel, it never came up in high school or college (a source of great frustration for me too). Creative writing classes always focused on poetry. *gags*

Some of the things that have been helping learn are:
Reading some of the How To Write Novels books. Don't cringe, I'm not a dummy and I know to take things with a grain of salt and not believe that one way is the right way and all. I learned some things about scene, structure and conflict by reading those books.

Playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons with my best friend over many years was really wonderful for teaching me some things about character development and world building.

Discovering LJ a few years ago allowed me to ask question and listen to what the pros (writers and agents) said about their writing process and what made good writing.

And lastly, the practical application. Putting the things I've learned and am learning into my writing. Too bad it doesn't all go down on paper as well or as easily as I picture it in my head but hey, I'm still learning. ;-)

[demonlord-lover.livejournal.com]

Practical application seems to be the best way to go. I've read my grammar books, I go over books that I like to read and dissected them, but it seems that the special something that makes one book different than another can 't be captured or duplicated. It's a matter of getting it out of yourself, but first we have to learn how to express it.

Practice makes perfect

[artsyprincess.livejournal.com]

I think I just get better through practice. I have a BA in English, but I never took any creative writing as part of that...it was all literary analysis. Of course, I think analyzing books of the style you want to write is one of the best ways to get started. I pick apart everything I read. I can't help that, it's just a quirk of my personality, and mentally I keep track of different writing techniques that I like or that bother me. I also read a lot of how to books. The Marshall Plan books as well as the Writer's Digest Books on Plot, Setting and Description, Dialogue, etc. have been helpful to me. I take what I like out of those books, and ignore what I don't. :)

Re: Practice makes perfect

[demonlord-lover.livejournal.com]

One of the ladies that had helped me with grammar and the like for my fanfiction had said the same thing. She has a Masters in English, but she said all it's good for is spotting mistakes, not in how to write.

I, too, dissect my favorite stories. I've come to realize, however, that it's a futile endeavour. I love to read their stories, but I don't want to write like them. I want to be different.

Re: Practice makes perfect

[artsyprincess.livejournal.com]

"I don't want to write like them. I want to be different."

Oh I totally agree that you don't want to try and mimic anybody's style. I don't either. Although I do have to say that I think I tend to do that subconsciously. I listen to a lot of audio books while I commute of all styles and generes. After listening for an hour or so (Or reading a paper copy for that matter--it's just that it's less likely for me to read a novel right before sitting down to write), if I sit down to write, I find myself writing my own ideas in a style very similar to what I just listened to. Then when I edit, I have to make sure the voice of the piece is consistent all the way through. I don't know if that makes any sense at all...if not, just ignore me. :) I do think you can learn a lot about crafting great dialogue or using description effectively for your genere by studying the way others do it though.

Re: Practice makes perfect

[demonlord-lover.livejournal.com]

*winces* I've done the unconsious thing before too. One reason that I have learned to give up my books while I'm writing. I recently gave up writing on the computer, also. Using a pen, for whatever reason, makes the process smoother and keeps me honest and in-line with my own voice.

[nathaliia.livejournal.com]

Hi! At first I wanted to say I'm new to livejournal and very happy to find a group like this, I'd be glad to read about some tips regarding writing! I actually created an account here because I want to write a novel for my best friend, and it's handy to give links to few other friends. It's gonna be tough, I've written only one novel before, it was in my native language (Polish) for a messageboard community and they loved it, so forced on me a sequel, but I haven't finished it :(. It's also the first time I'll write in English (arghhh!). I study something totally not related to creative writing, practically my only preparation is finishing a humanistic profiled class at highschool, where I was a headjournalist of a magazine, and in general, I have more experience in journalism (I've worked a few times at press offices at tennis tournaments).

Funny, because I have also discovered the copying feature, so I haven't read most of the required books at school for the sake of not losing my style hahaha...