Advice?

Like a story? Need help writing your own? Post your thoughts and ideas here.
jessbbaby
Unfettered Newbie
Posts: 8
Joined: 26 Mar 2010, 10:40

RE: Advice?

Unread post by jessbbaby »

Hi, I'm somewhat new to writing this kind of stuff though I have been reading for a while and fantasizing for even longer. I published a few that you can see here as "cana-tied". I was just having some problems and I was wondering if anyone here could help or relate.

My big thing is I get an idea and before I have written anything I have a whole other world. The problem then is I don't have a story I have a universe, and I never know where I'm going with it so I always feel like there is more to say. Some of the ones I have started (but not published) are so difficult I can't even get to where I think a half sensible end could be. Does anyone else have a problem like this?

Maybe I am making something out of nothing but I never feel like I can get a conclusion like a lot of stories "conclude." But any thoughts?

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Ranai Pahav
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Joined: 26 Feb 2006, 23:34
Location: Southern Germany
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RE: Advice?

Unread post by Ranai Pahav »

One idea:Reverse the process and start at the end.Think up a good, interesting ending to a story. Write it down.Then invent the events leading up to it.If you want to make a short story, stick to this one plot strand only. If subplots should occur to you, don’t use them in this story. Keep them in mind for possible other texts, and stick to your one main plot which leads up to your ending.

pleasewrap
Hopelessly Suspended
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Joined: 09 Oct 2005, 02:58

RE: Advice?

Unread post by pleasewrap »

Build an outline backwards.  Play with the outline where' you're just hitting plot points, scenes, and scenarios.  Then you can replay it running forward and see how you like it, tweak what's not working, and go from there.I did that a number of times for the "Lydia and Me" and "Turn of Events" series.  I knew where I wanted to go, but didn't always know how to get there.   It was particularly true for "Another Turn of Events" - I had the ending, but it was "too easy" to just turn the tables and the way I wrote that one (thoughts mixed with action) came as I was doing the outline.

Lobo
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Posts: 28
Joined: 15 Jan 2008, 01:13
Location: United States

RE: Advice?

Unread post by Lobo »

I have the same problem sometimes with my stories. I start out with a simple, basic idea, but almost as soon as I start writing, I get lost in all the details that pop into my head. My solution is simple, at least for me. I try to look at the story, not as the person writing it, but as someone reading it for the first time. What would I want to see? What details would I consider important, and what would be too much? As to endings, if you do it right, no ending can sometimes be the best kind. Leave the reader wondering what happens next. That way, you can always come back later and expand on the story.

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