General Writing Discussion Thread | Current Topic: NaNoWriMo

RE: Writer's Lounge

The Yoshi said:
ok now I feel terrible

I didn't think it would make you delete your piece. I mean, I guess I was being a little harsh, but that's how you get better, right? I think you do know what you are doing, but you just rushed the first chapter. That was all I meant, and I didn't want you to delete it. Now I feel like a jerk. :[
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To be honest, you gave me tips for the future. When I re-make it, I'll use what you said. I still need more ideas and stuff. Thanks for the tip! Soon I'll re-make it with your advice.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

@The Yoshi: Don't feel bad. You were just saying what most of us probably would have anyways. Besides, I also explained to Zekrom Black that it's sort of common practice here for people to point out issue, and it's stuff I would have myself if I had gotten to it first.

Edit: Sorry, there's lag on my part because I'm online with my phone's mobile web. If I missed something new that got posted, it's because it takes me a few minutes to write things out and my browser didn't update.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

Zekrom Black, I know you aren't confident in your writing, but it's alright if it's not perfect. We're all here to help each other improve! Just take other people's advice and corrections and use them to make your writing better. If you don't take your writing out to have others tell you how to improve on it, then you're on your own in writing. Deleting the thread just keeps the rest of us from commenting on it.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

I've been doing a little thinking following Zekrom Black's (and others') mishap involving fanfic deletion by their own hand and got to wondering something. How many people here just write their submissions up on the spot as a new thread as opposed to actually taking the time write them up off-the-Internet in word processing programs like MS Word? To me, it's always seemed like a mistake to post anything major online without having a draft of it saved on my hard drive, which is why I sometimes pre-write critiques for people before posting them in stories. Usually this is just common practice for fanfic writers when they've got a story they want to share time and again, but it seems like there's a growing trend here for newcomers to not write things up ahead of time so they can just copy-and-paste their works later.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

I always save my fanfics on MS Word and make several backups upon completion, and I don't even think of posting any of it to the Internet until the fanfic in question is fully complete.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

I save all of my writings as a .txt file so the formatting won't have a chance of screwing everything up. Also, I hate AutoCorrect.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

I use a word processing program called Open Office; it is an open source program available to individuals who cannot afford nor want MS Office. I have never have problems with spacing or formatting when transferring to the web. I always save my files in my computer – well, technically it is saved in Internet storage just in case I play with my HKEY registry entries again. I still have stories and scripts from years ago.

I have learnt how detrimental it can be to strictly type in forum posts. You can accidentally lose data if the website is under maintenance or fails to load properly. A few forum communities have time limits and will automatically log you out if you exceed the permissible time while “inactive” (i.e. staying on the same page). You can also be at risk if your computer has been known to randomly shut itself down. In addition, not every browser has spell check and this can further diminish the quality of your post.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

I save mine on MS word...
The last time I just wrote something on the spot was in English... For all the essays she makes us do *Uhg face*

lol
I spelt English so wrong, and auto correct made said;
Englishmen
Englishwomen
englishstuff

HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

About as much sense as Spellcheck trying to change "Nidoqueen" to "Indosuez".
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

@DNA: Most times spellcheckers will read a fictitious character's name as misspelled and, if it is as jumbled as ones like "Nidoqueen" are, then a bunch of awkward suggestions will pop up. Case in-point, I wrote out "Ampharos" once and immediately my MS Word's spellcheck wanted to change it to "Pharoahs."

@MrGatr: Yeah, when you misspell words that are commonly used in combination with others, all the varying uses pop up as suggestions. So that's not as far-fetched as you'd think.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

You made me imagine an Egyptian Ampharos.
That was awesome, sir.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

DNA said:
You made me imagine an Egyptian Ampharos.
That was awesome, sir.
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That's even better than an Egyptian Lucario. o_o

I add fictitious names into the dictionary so it wouldn't bug me.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

Zyflair said:
That's even better than an Egyptian Lucario. o_o

I add fictitious names into the dictionary so it wouldn't bug me.
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I do this all the time. I kind of have to otherwise my screen is covered in red. Fantasy is hard guys.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

Before my current off-site story, I've always posted first drafts of chapters on the site so I can "collab-edit" (or something). I edit the data after I've gotten some critique or catch mistakes post-update. Now, I save three drafts of each chapter on Wordpad after I type them. But I do all of my draft writing on real paper by pen. It's a tedious process, but my last book is coming out well.

Spell checking fictitious names in the dictionary? Since I haven't been involved in fantasy since my days writing Pokemon fics, I haven't used that tactic at all. I've transitioned to using everyday names with believable plots instead. Quite a turn for me...

So, Apollo, you were saying it was a trend? Even a veteran writer (if I have the right to call myself one) like me continues to do it (until recently).

~AoH
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

My thoughts were mostly geared towards people who were writing things up on the spot and then posting them without having some sort of back-up for it, so I was curious as to who was doing it and that's why I popped the question.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

I don't know how to start the Elemental Fighters. Should I give an introduction that gives details of my Drakorian Warriors or should I just go straight into the story? Also, I was wondering should I start with Aberon's Return or the Graduation Duel between Jacen and Ronar. Not really sure what to do.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

It normally helps to have an explanatory statement in the introduction or prologue when dealing with scenarios that are completely unknown to readers. Also, it helps to chronicle your events as they happen most of the time, not just when they're significant to the plot. I really can't offer up more advice than that without an outline of your story concept or at least a good synopsis of it in general.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

A general rule for inexperienced-intermediate writers is that the more complex or unfamiliar a background is, the more you should spend time explaining it.
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

Just posting a notification that I should have my next chapter up tomorrow. I don't want it to be locked or anything, so I'm just putting this out there. I haven't had time to put a new one up, and it is on my computer, I just have to proofread, and then it'll be done.

Too bad I don't have time to proofread now. D:
 
RE: Writer's Lounge

The Yoshi said:
Just posting a notification that I should have my next chapter up tomorrow. I don't want it to be locked or anything, so I'm just putting this out there. I haven't had time to put a new one up, and it is on my computer, I just have to proofread, and then it'll be done.

Too bad I don't have time to proofread now. D:
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I thought I mentioned this before, but the only times I really close fanfics for being bumped after the two-week revival period are when it's not the author making an update, the poster hasn't made a really worthwhile critique, and/or it's a super-old story the original writer won't likely be coming back to.
 
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