Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Beth Pavell]

Entirely unrelated to the current discussion - since I'm not about to write a lemon - how do people feel about one-shots that don't particularly go anywhere? I'm having trouble with The Long Walk and I'm considering maybe writing a short one-shot featuring one of the protagonists as a sort of character piece. Oops! I should mention that I do want to publish this piece rather than use it purely for practice

 

[Caite-chan]

Sometimes you just need to write one shots just to get an idea out of your head. I tend to write quite a few one shots that I know won't fit into the story I'm writing but their just cute ideas that just need writing.

 

[Dorothy]

Entirely unrelated to the current discussion - since I'm not about to write a lemon - how do people feel about one-shots that don't particularly go anywhere? I'm having trouble with The Long Walk and I'm considering maybe writing a short one-shot featuring one of the protagonists as a sort of character piece. Oops! I should mention that I do want to publish this piece rather than use it purely for practice

You could publish it within The Long Walk as a sort of side story or interlude, perhaps.

Also, is double posting in the announcement thread kosher, or no? Cuz The Scales of Astrea just updated, but I'm the last poster in the announcement thread. @AceTrainer14;?

 

[Misfit Angel]

I've double posted in it before (though with days of time between) without being yelled at. I think it's fine.

 

[Persephone]

My current fic actually started as one-shots I was working on for a planned story to make sure I could get characterization and back story down. I've found them to be helpful to varying degrees, but it really depends what you're going to use it for. I mainly use them to test out the voices of different narrators or central characters and get a little more into their head. I (ironically) have not found back story one-shots to be a whole lot more helpful than just having an idea of what happened since, well, I already know what happens.

In terms of publication, if it's an interesting story you have that just happens to take place in the universe of your main fic go ahead. If it kind of exists just as some pointless fluff without a lot of intrinsic value, just don't expect much positive reaction from people who don't read A Long Walk. (Not saying you would do that; it's just how a lot of ff.net spin-off one shots go.) If you still get enjoyment out of it, though, there's no reason not to go ahead and do it.

 

[Flaze]

I don't see a problem with you posting a one shot that comes off from that fic, as long as you don't necissarily need to read the fic in question I think you'll be safe.

 

[AetherX]

@Beth Pavell; I've always been a firm believer that character development and/or insight doesn't count as filler. I'd love to read it.

 

[AceTrainer14]

@Jimmy95: Hey there, welcome to the forums. If you wanted a comprehensive guide to how to get around the Forums, which includes links to the directories, then the Welcome Hub over in the Fairground is the place to look first
@Beth Pavell: I do not know if you'd want to take this into consideration, but if it was an entirely separate one shot from The Long Walk you wouldn't be able to enter it with TLW in the Awards.
@Beausoleil: I am not a big worryer about double posting; if no one else has posted than feel free. However if you are concerned you could just edit it into your last post?

 

[Caite-chan]

I want to try and get into the habit of reading other people's stories but I just can't seem to get into it. I know some I look at and think that's just way to long and it turns me off. I just I dono...I need help.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Try just reading a chapter of a story at any one time. I tend to read at least chapter of one of the stories I follow a day, which given the average length of chapters isn't too difficult. It's a good break from studying French, actually xD

 

[Legacy]

I think a lot of people feel the way you do, Caite-Chan. Not even just on this forum, but everywhere. TV and Internet have sort of killed our attention spans and willingness to read, which is a shame. There are so many great stories on here, it's actually really fun to read them!

Perhaps adjust your computer or device so that the font size of the fics text is larger, that helps me not get so overwhelmed by huge blocks of text.

 

[Akari]

Reading is great! I've missed this place. It's fun to read stuff about Pokèmon especially since there are only so many media outlets for Pokèmon aside from the anime.

 

[FullMoon]

What is a good way to motivate yourself to write? I have a lot of ideas I would love to write down, but I can never find the motivation to do so and usually just end up getting distracted.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Just write--it doesn't have to make sense or be Shakespeare caliber.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Writing requires two basic attitudes, in my opinion. First, you have to enjoy the process of writing. More than anything else, you need to enjoy writing, telling stories. Then when you want to write the best story you can, you need discipline to carry on editing and fiddling with what you've written

 

[ShinyFlareon]

Manhood is a good term for when you're trying to portray innocence, shyness, a tender mood, etc. It has its specific uses, though. You don't want to throw it in willy-nilly.

And I'll see what I can do about a lesson in that regard.

(insert obligatory "hehe, you said willy" joke here)

I can make an attempt at the lesson if you really don't want to. I wrote/read many the terrible lemon back in the day, but I've definitely learned a lot since then. At the very least I've gathered an extensive vocabulary of increasingly ridiculous synonyms for "penis" that should be amusing if nothing else.

 

[AetherX]

What is a good way to motivate yourself to write? I have a lot of ideas I would love to write down, but I can never find the motivation to do so and usually just end up getting distracted.

If you sit around waiting for motivation to come to you, you aren't going to get much done. When I want to eliminate distractions, I like to take my laptop out somewhere without easily accessible wifi. That way I don't get distracted by the internet and the fact that I'm somewhere besides my desk is a constant reminder as to what I should be doing (if I need the internet for references or stuff, I open those pages up before I leave).

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The best way to get some writing done is to just sit your ass down and write. No excuses.

This philosophy works for literally everything that requires motivation.

 

[Dorothy]

I write in bursts. I can't stay focused for too long most of the time because of my ADHD, and so writing in bursts works for me.

At the very least I've gathered an extensive vocabulary of increasingly ridiculous synonyms for "penis" that should be amusing if nothing else.

meat pistol

 

[Misfit Angel]

Perhaps adjust your computer or device so that the font size of the fics text is larger, that helps me not get so overwhelmed by huge blocks of text.

Ain't that the truth. I'll walk into a story because its title interests me, the background information seems good... And then I see a paragraph that's literally 14 lines of text, followed by several more of the same length. And I'm using size 18 font, too! This is why I always break up paragraphs when the subject changes slightly. Back story driven parts of stories are generally culprits of this, as they don't have dialogue or action to break them up, but it's still possible to do.

I've found that the only way to read stuff like that without feeling like a blind person with size 36 font is to copy and paste it into notepad and break it up myself into four sentence chunks. Sometimes the flow goes wonky, but at least wonky flow is better than not reading something.

 

[Flaze]

I write in bursts. I can't stay focused for too long most of the time because of my ADHD, and so writing in bursts works for me.

Yay we're ADHD buddies : D