General Writing Discussion Thread | Current Topic: NaNoWriMo

We are currently looking for potential writers for CYOA. If you're willing to help contribute to the development of the activity, then please contact either Turtwig or myself. If accepted, you will be added to the CYOA Skype group where you will be able to work alongside the CW staff and other writers.
 
Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 19​

In reading that first paragraph, page, or chapter, what are you looking for? First impressions are everything, but what is the most important factor you analyze to create your first impression of a book?

For me, the importance is in establishing a plot. Many novels start off with a setting and dive into the implications of it, and I just find it somewhat of a "turnoff" for books. I need to know what I'm reading about. While it could feel somewhat premature in certain scenarios, I feel like establishing the problem early on, or at least alluding to it in any which way, can spark my interest into diving deeper in the story. What about you, PB?
 
Good question. I'd like to hear what others think about this as well.

I tend to go through the first few paragraphs, and what will catch my eye are a few things:
-Vivid description (shows maturity and depth)
-An analysis of a concept or view (builds the philosophical layers of the work)
-An unexpected anomaly (we all like exploring oddities)
-A dark setting/event (though I dislike starting off with events for the most part, my fascination with horror and such does lend itself to skipping this rule)

Upon looking over all of these, the openings that interest me the most are unorthodox and thought-provoking. I want my mind to be spurred into action by what I read, be it pondering a world view, taking in a deep setting, glimpsing into a scary something, and so on. With that, I think it comes down to mental stimulation being the most important factor. It can take on various forms, but that it is active or entrancing is what matters.
 
Works of fiction that have themes and ideas that are directly related with events found in the physical world are books of personal interest to me. I am deliberate and critical with my choices, and I enjoy works of literature that are complex and have a profound contribution to the knowledge of the human condition. Stories that tackle various existential questions, controversial philosophy, and science ideals are areas of great interest to me, and if the presence of such a line of inquiry are made apparent from a momentary glance of the book's summary (or first few pages, if you will), I will undoubtedly pick it up.
 
Something I've been meaning to inquire about is personal feelings regarding twisted characters. These are the ones that see the world through such abnormal lenses that the colors seem very foreign, controversial, and/or sometimes unbelievable. They make you think as to how it really is to see things as they do and how they became who they are. They may (ahem, will) also catch you off guard. What are your personal tastes regarding these characters? Do you have limits on how deep you wish to get into them? What purposes might they serve in literature? *stuff like that*
 
To be honest, I'm not getting much from the first paragraph or page. I feel it is a very rash judgment which has a good chance to be flawed (unless the writer is absolutely terrible). You can tell some things from the first chapter at less, and even then, depending on the book, its style, setting, size etc. those things may or may not be indicative of the book. As such, unless something is blatantly obvious I prefer not to assume things from the first few pages.

As for the twisted characters Uralya asked about, I cannot say they fit some specific role in literature except, well, making a difference. I personally like these characters a lot, since if they are well-made they provide for a unique experience. However, overusing or misusing them is more harmful for them than for the typical characters, as a different view of things needs to be properly expressed to have a chance to be tolerable (let alone liked).
 
So guys, I'm back, and have been slowly working on the story that I plan on putting up. Hopefully this time I will be staying around; not disappearing in a month or two.
 
(Personal question) How do you guys maintain interest in writing something? My mind always seems to get ahead of myself and I begin to worry that I won't finish.
 
Turtwig said:
(Personal question) How do you guys maintain interest in writing something? My mind always seems to get ahead of myself and I begin to worry that I won't finish.
Click to expand...

I write with my friends, who encourage me to do more. Stuff like that.
 
Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 20​

We have been taught to have perfect spelling and grammar since the very beginning. Spelling is easily noticeable and obviously justified. Grammar mistakes are not as easy to find. Though we encourage impeccable spelling and grammar here in TWC, we allow a little room to make errors because, well, no one is perfect. In general, how bad do these errors actually affect you? If there are only a few mistakes, are you still annoyed with the work?

Overall, I only mention extreme errors if they take away meaning from the work. If I find myself pinpointing mistakes in the chapter and not digesting the information, then I feel like there is a problem. However, a simple comma or word mistake isn't going to bother me because minute details are so easy to look over.

What about you? Are you a full-fledged Grammar Nazi or a more relaxed writer?
 
I'm usually fine with reading most works of literature; however, consistent grammatical mistakes within a passage can end up derailing my motivation to finish reading the work. Sometimes grammatical errors can unintentionally encrypt the action, the events, and the description the author is trying to convey and builds a linguistic wall between the reader and the author.

That said, only a few mistakes in a passage is actually quite decent in my opinion and will not deter the overall experience provided the rest of the work holds up as well (such as the plot, the writing style, and other things that can hold my interest when reading a book). As the author may miss mistakes when writing his or her chapter, so to may the reader; as long as those mistakes don't hinder the digestion of the interpretation on the reader's behalf, it gets my fancy stamp of approval.

What kind of mistakes can hinder the interpretation? Well...
  • When an author confusingly places a word that sounds the same as the one he intended, but has an entirely different meaning (I.e. A Homonym).
  • When the author switches from his initial past-tense or present-tense frequently can also blur the meaning of action happening within the scene.
  • Finally, when an author uses words contrary to its meaning (without it being a homonym, leaving the reader to cluelessly investigate what the author was trying to say).

There is a good library of stories among the TWC, and some of them actually do commit these grammatical errors that can hinder the reader's interpretation as listed above; but, some of them are still worth reading regardless if you can look past it. I have a tolerance for reading through these grammatical errors and only when it becomes a consistent detail within the chapter or passage will I just consider giving up on reading it altogether; although, we should keep in mind: Unprompted Reading should never be a chore, but rather a fun hobby! A love of reading is more important than a hatred of the mistakes therein.
 
I don't really read much fanfiction and amateur stories, either here or elsewhere, mostly because poor grammar and other similar novice mistakes and stylistic choices are a huge turn-off for me.
 
I have a strict set of expectations when it comes to reading - well, basically everything. I have sharp eyes for spelling errors and although I do agree with the fact that grammatical errors are slightly more difficult to single out, I get remarkably irritated if I spot as so much as a minor error. Call it irrational, if you would like, but it is who I am. For people who apparently hold the view that 'getting the message across is far more important than practicing appropriate language skills', I will not hesitate to be blunt with them if they choose to air their opinions in front of me. You are not a writer if you choose to be ignorant about the proper use of language, be it written or spoken. If your written work does not successfully get past this screening stage, you can be certain of the fact that I will not read your work.
 
Fancy covers a lot of what I consider appropriate. I'm rigorous with my own work's grammatical structure, but the focal point is to get the point of the work across (within moderation). I tend to be much more liberal with others' works, although not quite as much as some, but blatant disregard for syntactical or grammatical etiquette does not appeal to my eyes of course. In other words, feel free to misuse some words or grammar, but don't go up and pole vault over the fine line between mistook and miswutamievndoing.
 
Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 21​

If a writer wants to make you excited for his chapters, what would he need to (or need to purposely not) include in order for your interest to be perked? Is there a certain element that you simply cannot resist? Does it take a lot more than one or two different points, maybe topics or themes suggested in the story, in order for you to keep reading?
 
Announcement: Athena will be helping mod this forum with the rest of the CW staff. Be sure to give her a warm welcome (back) to the team on her profile! :)

Athena is very knowledgeable in writing and has been helping the CW staff for quite some time now, so feel free to contact her if you have any questions/need help with your story.
 
Do all stories posted here have to be Pokémon-related?
I ask because I'm doing a long-term project for my English class and would like to share it here too :D
 
Vom said:
Do all stories posted here have to be Pokémon-related?
I ask because I'm doing a long-term project for my English class and would like to share it here too :D
Click to expand...

Nope, you can have a story in any sort of setting as long as it fits our PG-13 policy discussed in the Rules!
 
Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 22​

Creativity, while a valuable attribute whose applications extend to various aspects of every-day life, problem-solving, and articulation, is also a process that is generally vague and whose definition differs from person-to-person. In Edgar Allan Poe's essay "The Philosophy of Composition" the renown author claims that creativity is instead methodical as opposed to the popular notion that it's spontaneous and free-willed. As writers we all have a unique style or voice that identifies us to our reader due to our own process of thinking, creating, and executing our ideas. Are you more of a methodical writer who engineers their plot carefully to refine the effects that your work has on your audience or do you value the raw creative notion first conceived and refine little or not at all to retain the initial idea and its concept?

I refine upon my ideas to the extent where I'll get new notions or ideas for scenarios while rewriting or revising my rough draft of a chapter; rereading it to address what emotions or feelings that may derive from a certain point in the story or perhaps what lessens the flow or my attention while reading and edit until it's status-quo where it may not even resemble the original idea.

What about you? Do you value your initial idea and dare not trample over its primacy or do you revise, rewrite, and edit in the hopes that the ends will satisfy the means?
 
I am a firm believer in editing. No one's writing is perfect the first time around, whether you're a 10-year-old writing your first essay or a famous author working on your newest NYT Bestseller.

That said, I do find that it's important to separate the writing and editing process. I find that if I start to edit while I'm writing, I get bogged down in minutiae and am less likely to continue work on the project. For serial work, editing is more minor and done on a chapter-by-chapter basis, larger works are generally written as a whole with minor revisions added throughout, followed by large overhauls once the work is completed.
 
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