Writing a book.......

[Curubethion]

Originally Posted by Lief Erikson

How many pages do you think you have written in all, in this book and all your books combined?

Hmm...let me think...I don't have an exact count, since I write them in notebooks and then put them on the computer (although I've really only put part of one on the computer so far...) But I think it's pretty much approaching now about 1,000 pages of actual writing. Which makes me happy.

Aren't snow territories cool? I love them as sets .

They are awesome! I love the idea of a hostile environment, icy and cold, everything against you...plus, you don't have to know a lot about flora! Score one for slackers!

Seriously, though, I love how snow territories...just...feel. The Starks from A Song of Ice and Fire are really cool, and that's one of the reasons-they live in a cold, hostile land, and so their character is shaped by that. Cold, silent, strong, stolid. Very cool.

That's one of the ways that J.K. Rowling managed to create incredibly believable, realistic characters. She modeled Harry Potter in Book 5 on her sister's adolescence. I've never tried doing that, myself, but I bet it helps a lot.

Really...that's interesting! An adolescent girl was the model for Harry? A bit creepy, as well...

But it does help a lot. It's much easier to visualize a character if you can stick your friend in that situation. Just think of what your friend would say-instant, real dialogue! Although if you're in a fantasy world, it might have to be slightly adapted...

When my friend read it, she actually figured out that she was the basis for one of the character. She made a remark like "I like [insert character name]...she's a lot like me." So I'm happy.

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by Curubethion

Hmm...let me think...I don't have an exact count, since I write them in notebooks and then put them on the computer (although I've really only put part of one on the computer so far...) But I think it's pretty much approaching now about 1,000 pages of actual writing. Which makes me happy.

It should. Isn't it great to actually be able to get one's thoughts out on paper? Creating lots of plots and starting lots of stories and not finishing them is a difficulty for many people, but being able to actually just write and enjoy what one is writing is really fun.

Originally Posted by Curubethion

They are awesome! I love the idea of a hostile environment, icy and cold, everything against you...plus, you don't have to know a lot about flora! Score one for slackers!

Lol!

Originally Posted by Curubethion

Seriously, though, I love how snow territories...just...feel.

I love them too. I wrote one into my most recent book also, and a couple of my favorite chapters are my favorites largely because of the scenery.

Originally Posted by Curubethion

The Starks from A Song of Ice and Fire are really cool, and that's one of the reasons-they live in a cold, hostile land, and so their character is shaped by that. Cold, silent, strong, stolid. Very cool.

Ice and fire can both really grab people's imagination, I think. Tessar has written snow terrains before, as did R.A. Salvatore. So have you, and so have I. My most recent book contains one character who is united with the ice and another who is united with fire. That isn't anything new, clearly. George Lucas also has a snow planet and a fire planet in the Star Wars saga. Those kinds of extreme and fascinating elements can make for very neat stories.

Originally Posted by Curubethion

Really...that's interesting! An adolescent girl was the model for Harry? A bit creepy, as well...

I see what you mean. He seems realistic enough as a boy though, to suit me. Except for . . . I think it might have been the second chapter in the book. One line in that chapter destroys the illusion for me to a disproportionately great extent.

You know how girls are often obsessed about their appearance, and what they look like in front of other people or in front of the camera? And boys aren't anywhere near so obsessed with what they look like, overall.

Well, when Harry finds Lupin and the rest of his guard have broken into the Dursleys' house,

one of the very first things that crosses his mind is a wish that he'd combed his hair. Now I cannot imagine any boy having that as his first thought when entering the presence of company. I can very, very easily imagine a woman or a girl thinking of that first thing, though. Girls always care about how they look, and that's an incredibly female kind of thought. And that, of course, is simply because our author is a woman . A bit of J.K. Rowling slipping through.

Originally Posted by Curubethion

But it does help a lot. It's much easier to visualize a character if you can stick your friend in that situation. Just think of what your friend would say-instant, real dialogue! Although if you're in a fantasy world, it might have to be slightly adapted...

Naturally. What do you do when that character encounters dramatic and personality changing situations? People sometimes change a good deal when put through extremely difficult situations. So do you just sort of take your friend's personality as a baseline and move on from there, or do they never really change much?

Originally Posted by Curubethion

When my friend read it, she actually figured out that she was the basis for one of the character. She made a remark like "I like [insert character name]...she's a lot like me." So I'm happy.

That's very well done . Now you're getting me interested in reading your book!

[Tamuril Sirfalas]

Originally Posted by Acalewia

I let a friend read my latest short story. She loved it and recommended I include it in my book of short stories.

That sounds interesting, Tamuril.

well thats good! thanks as well

[Tamuril Sirfalas]

Originally Posted by Lief Erikson

Just don't go overkill on it, you know . Description can make a scene beautiful and make the reader imagine it vividly, but sometimes it can get to be too much. I tend to skip it when it gets long in fantasy books I read . Description can be very lovely sometimes though, so I do somewhat understand where you're coming from.

By the way, are you a man or a woman?

hahah alright.. my friends are hooked on my novel.. they like it.. but i will keep in mind not to kill it..lol

btw..im 16, and a WOMAN lol why do you ask?

[Acalewia]

Lief's comment is prolly the best advice for writers. I have a friend who killed a scene because she went overboard on the discription. And seeing it was the novel we are writing together, i helped her shorten it to keep the reader's attention so that Lief won't skip over it if he reads it

(j/k, Lief)

[Tamuril Sirfalas]

Originally Posted by Acalewia

Lief's comment is prolly the best advice for writers. I have a friend who killed a scene because she went overboard on the discription. And seeing it was the novel we are writing together, i helped her shorten it to keep the reader's attention so that Lief won't skip over it if he reads it

(j/k, Lief)

nice. really. yea you guys have good points but i know that i wont kill it.. but the publishers will lol jk jk
actually they most likely will..
hows everyone?

[Curubethion]

Chapter 17 of my new book finished. That puts it over 100 pages, at least. Not quite to the halfway point, I don't think. I hope not. But the plot is coming together very nicely.

I've got two tale-spreading plots going on, two plots to falsely accuse someone of a crime, a plot to overthrow the government, a planned assassination, and a rogue murderous creature. Fun stuff!

[hectorberlioz]

Tell me when it gets published, I'll buy it

[Tamuril Sirfalas]

oh dear dear im on my second to last page of my plot and im only on chapter six! i have to make chapter six really long and then go back and see what i can add but im afraid it will ruin the story.

and what worse is some on the novel i had on my floppy disc frigging erased so i have to retype some of it
not good not good

[Curubethion]

Advice number one: DO NOT worry about the fact that you're only on Chapter 6. Length is not an issue when speaking of books. True, GRR Martin writes thousand-pagers. But that doesn't mean you have to write thousand-pagers. You're not GRR Martin, you're Tamuril Sirfalas.

On the other hand, you should be thinking about proper rewriting. All stories have to be rewritten. Again, length is not the issue. What is important is whether your story sounds like it should.

[Acalewia]

Originally Posted by Curubethion

I've got two tale-spreading plots going on, two plots to falsely accuse someone of a crime, a plot to overthrow the government, a planned assassination, and a rogue murderous creature. Fun stuff!

All in a day's work.

How are you nowadays?

[Curubethion]

I'm actually only four pages away from filling up one of those 70 page composition notebooks (writing on both sides, so it's more like 140 pages of actual writing). The story's getting to be very nice. One of my characters is becoming very interesting. I really like her.

[Acalewia]

Originally Posted by Curubethion

I'm actually only four pages away from filling up one of those 70 page composition notebooks (writing on both sides, so it's more like 140 pages of actual writing). The story's getting to be very nice. One of my characters is becoming very interesting. I really like her.

I could so make a comment on that but I'll keep my mouth shut

[trolls' bane]

I think that is what has become the biggest problem now that I've read and restructured ZAQ-1: the only characters that don't bore me are the supporting characters and "background".

[Curubethion]

Originally Posted by Acalewia

I could so make a comment on that but I'll keep my mouth shut

I didn't mean it like that, Acally!

[Acalewia]

Originally Posted by Curubethion

I didn't mean it like that, Acally!

What did you think I was thinking!!!

My friend and I are finishing up our book. Now all I got to do is quit getting online so much and get to typing it

[Curubethion]

Originally Posted by Acalewia

What did you think I was thinking!!!

I don't want to think about it any more.

My friend and I are finishing up our book. Now all I got to do is quit getting online so much and get to typing it

Nice job! Which reminds me, I need to finish typing my book.

The Snow-politics book is coming along very nicely. I've finally got a "climax time" set in my mind, a "deadline", if you will. And things are going to come to a head. It'll be awesome.

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by Curubethion

Nice job! Which reminds me, I need to finish typing my book.

Yes indeed, great job, Acalewia!

I assume, since you use the word "typing", that you already had it written in notebooks? If so, you're editing as you type, right? That's what I would do . It would save extra work later.

Originally Posted by Curubethion

The Snow-politics book is coming along very nicely. I've finally got a "climax time" set in my mind, a "deadline", if you will. And things are going to come to a head. It'll be awesome.

I love writing climax sequences . So, so fun. Oh, yes!

Originally Posted by Acalewia

I could so make a comment on that but I'll keep my mouth shut

Originally Posted by Curubethion

I didn't mean it like that, Acally!

Lol!

Isn't it great to love your characters? I mean that in the way you originally meant it, here .

And it's so cool to have characters who are genuinely distinct from one another! I love that.

Originally Posted by Curubethion

Advice number one: DO NOT worry about the fact that you're only on Chapter 6. Length is not an issue when speaking of books.

Very, very good advice, IMO. Your having written a thousand pages shows .

Originally Posted by Curubethion

I've got two tale-spreading plots going on, two plots to falsely accuse someone of a crime, a plot to overthrow the government, a planned assassination, and a rogue murderous creature. Fun stuff!

Sounds like it.

All plot threads will intersect in due course, right?

Several of my books have multiple plot threads. My most recent one has only one single plot thread, though, which is very unusual for me. I just finished the editing and rewriting of Part 2 of the book over spring break, and I'm very, very happy with it, so I'm in a jolly mood. Parts 3 and 4 have yet to be edited.

The primary editing needed is in the personality of one of the main characters. I'm giving him a ton of personality in the course of my editing, and that is rather changing the story, since giving him a different character sometimes changes his behavior in the book. I hope very much that this won't mean I have to rewrite Parts 3 and 4 completely, as that's 200 pages, and that would take a long time.

I'm jazzed today because I'm releasing Part 2 for my siblings to read . So I'm sort of bubbling about it today, and was yesterday too, when I finished it.

My siblings are very into my books and keep badgering me to release them, which is very pleasant for me. I wonder what they'll think of this one. The main character is a real, REAL stinker, very vicious, cruel, arrogant, and he has no respect for any person alive except one. He's the ultimate Selfishness, but he also has some really cool qualities in extreme amounts- insanely great courage, a longing to take on challenges and overcome them no matter how impossible they are, and mighty endurance, which includes willingness to put up with torture even when there's no good reason for him to do so.

He's very dynamic. NOT someone you or I would want to know, but very, very interesting for me to write about. And the best thing about him, from my perspective, is that I think he's very funny. The things he says are sometimes so absurd, and his behavior so . . . I don't know how to describe it, but it's very, very amusing, and that amusement makes me enjoy him a lot in spite of his horrifically negative qualities.

He's a bad guy, I guess, even though he's the main character of Part 2. He couldn't be called a good guy by any stretch. He does some fiendish things, but he's just so funny that I really enjoy writing him and rereading what I've written.

Best to you all, Tamuril, Curubethion and Acalewia, on finishing your books!

[Curubethion]

Originally Posted by Lief Erikson

I assume, since you use the word "typing", that you already had it written in notebooks? If so, you're editing as you type, right? That's what I would do . It would save extra work later.

Yep, exactly. And boy does it ever need revision. I started that book when I was in fifth grade, so the caliber of my writing is...greatly advanced from that period, shall we say? So yes, I'm definitely revising as I type.

I love writing climax sequences . So, so fun. Oh, yes!

*is reminded of the climax sequence out of Alflick*

Isn't it great to love your characters? I mean that in the way you originally meant it, here .

Lol. Indeed, true. My dream is to cry after killing off a character, or something sad like that.

And it's so cool to have characters who are genuinely distinct from one another! I love that.

Oh, yes. I actually made a conscious attempt to really do that this time, by taking one group of four characters and basing each one on one of the four basic humors. (sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, and one other personality type I can't remember right now...)

All plot threads will intersect in due course, right?

Yep...with one exception, since this is book 1 of three. There will be one plot thread that's resolved as part of a setup for the next two books. But pretty much, all the other threads will come to a head. And speaking of head...heads will most certainly roll. (That's the evil author in me)

Several of my books have multiple plot threads. My most recent one has only one single plot thread, though, which is very unusual for me. I just finished the editing and rewriting of Part 2 of the book over spring break, and I'm very, very happy with it, so I'm in a jolly mood. Parts 3 and 4 have yet to be edited.

The primary editing needed is in the personality of one of the main characters. I'm giving him a ton of personality in the course of my editing, and that is rather changing the story, since giving him a different character sometimes changes his behavior in the book. I hope very much that this won't mean I have to rewrite Parts 3 and 4 completely, as that's 200 pages, and that would take a long time.

I'm jazzed today because I'm releasing Part 2 for my siblings to read . So I'm sort of bubbling about it today, and was yesterday too, when I finished it.

Cool stuff! Congrats!

My siblings are very into my books and keep badgering me to release them, which is very pleasant for me. I wonder what they'll think of this one. The main character is a real, REAL stinker, very vicious, cruel, arrogant, and he has no respect for any person alive except one. He's the ultimate Selfishness, but he also has some really cool qualities in extreme amounts- insanely great courage, a longing to take on challenges and overcome them no matter how impossible they are, and mighty endurance, which includes willingness to put up with torture even when there's no good reason for him to do so.

He's very dynamic. NOT someone you or I would want to know, but very, very interesting for me to write about. And the best thing about him, from my perspective, is that I think he's very funny. The things he says are sometimes so absurd, and his behavior so . . . I don't know how to describe it, but it's very, very amusing, and that amusement makes me enjoy him a lot in spite of his horrifically negative qualities.

He's a bad guy, I guess, even though he's the main character of Part 2. He couldn't be called a good guy by any stretch. He does some fiendish things, but he's just so funny that I really enjoy writing him and rereading what I've written.

Wow, interesting. Sounds like a pretty intriguing character.

Best to you all, Tamuril, Curubethion and Acalewia, on finishing your books!

And you too!

[Tamuril Sirfalas]

wow i havent been on here in a while.
sorry guys, and thanks for all the advice