Originally posted by Tommo:
Quote:
I think another good point would be to get yourself a good beta reader.... Usually turns out that a really good fanfic has a really good beta reader.
This is so true. Look for someone whose work you like and who seems to have at least as good a grasp of the basics as you do. If you're new to writing look for a beta who has some technical know-how. No matter how talented you are, to become good at it
writing needs to be studied and practiced just like music or cooking or architecture. There are a number of people posting here with loads of talent (like the fore-mentioned Tommo, for instance) and excellent technical skills. (Form, usage, pacing, vocabulary, etc.) But do them and yourself a favor- don't just fire off a first draft. Put some effort into your work before you ask for help or feedback.
A good beta reader shouldn't be counted on to fix your spelling or to just tell you how much she loves your story. She should offer actual helpful, critical advice, and suggestions on direction when you get stuck or on ways to improve your writing. It always amazes me when a writer starts off with effusive thanks to a beta reader then I begin reading the story and find it's a mess. I can only assume that the blind are leading the blind.
A lot of inexperienced writers write their first fic as a screenplay. The problem with this should be obvious: since it isn't going to be staged or filmed all the missing parts- the action, facial expressions, the characters' thoughts and emotions, the sets and settings, etc. - are forever going to be missing. A screenplay isn't a story, it's half a story. It's just dialog without any context. (It's an okay way to write a first draft; just don't leave it that way.)
Screenwriting is a very specialized craft. Stories written for publication (as opposed to production) are NEVER written this way. It's kind of like trying to prepare an entire meal using nothing but asparagus. It's hard enough to write a good story without trying to do it standing on your head and blindfolded.
Keep it simple: Write in the third person, in simple past tense. Stick with either one person's point of view (per chapter, anyway), describing all their feelings and reactions, or use an omniscient POV, where you can be inside anyone's head.
There's a basic formula for a short story called Conflict, Complication, Climax. Every Buffy ep is built on this basic pattern:
1. Start with a conflict- a problem or mystery or foe to deal with.
2. Things get more complicated, often through unintended consequences of the actions of the protagonists.
3. Events build to a climax and the conflict is resolved.
No one cares what happens after the problem is solved (unless you're writing smut, in which case you're on your own). Even lengthy novels usually end within a page or two of the final climactic moment.
Good stories always relate the action and its resolution- the plot- to the main character's emotional journey. Typically the resolution involves an epiphany. Every episode of BtVS uses this storytelling formula. The conflict is a metaphor for Buffy's (or whoever) emotional struggle. It works because it makes us care about the characters and their problems.
Oh, and while I'm at it, a word from the homonynm nazi:
They're taking
their places over
there. Who's going to find out
whose turn it is?
It's
your turn next if
you're ready.
I'm ready
togo
too, if you
two are.
Edited by: fell at: 4/19/02 10:01:36 am
) and ehm I would like to know what it is you put in the beginning.......like disclaimer and rating etc.......
at: 4/21/02 3:18:07 pm