Don't know what I'm doing... (1 Viewer)

[idling fire]

I have a concept, but no ideas for plot or character. Really it comes down to a decision, but I can't make that decision. Far out! My idea's not even good to start with... at this point everything seems unworkable. Why can't the teachers just tell me what to write? I seriously can't do this independant stuff. It's basically useless asking anyone, because even if I like thier idea, I feel I can't use it because it's THEIR idea, not MINE.

A quick outline is the main character is a scientist, and he does 'thought experiments'. That's all I have. Steal it and I'm going to kill you. ;0
So not joking. That took me forever. And it still sucks.

The first deliberation is whether I make the character a real scientist from history (Einstein etc.) and try to replicate that, someone else in the place of the real scientist (ie same problem, different guy) or a completely new problem with either of those characters. I'm leaning towards option 2, but I don't see it working well. Plot is relatively nonexistant at this point.

So basically, I'm screwed by my lack of direction. Any advice here would be tops.

Thanky's.

 

[alcalder]

Hi there. Don't despair, you will overcome the writer's block - for that is what it is.

First thing to do, maybe, is get to know your character a bit, flesh him out. Here is a template that I use on a Role play website for writing a character. I have also used it to write characters for my own books.


Name: What is your name?

Birthplace: This is going to influence your outlook on life.

Age: I’ll let you guess

Profession: Do you work? What kind of work is it?

Appearance: What do you look like? Got a scar on your left big toe? Tell us about it.

Personality: This is the most important area you can work out. How does this person react to others of the same race/ another race? How do they relate to others in general? The more detail the easier it will be to run this person on the general boards.

Skills: What is you character good at doing?

Intelligence: How smart is your character? Can He/She use more then monosyllables or are they from the stone age level of thinking?

Wisdom: Okay they know how to add 2 and 2, but can they apply this intelligence to buy an apple off the street vendor? How well can your character apply those book smarts.

Possessions: What do you own? Please get into the nitty gritty, even down to that bit of fuzz in the bottom left pocket of your coat.

History: So you were born. What happened after that? If your are a person afflicted with vampirism, were-wolf, or were-cat, you must include how you were bitten and embraced into this sub-race.

MORE TO FOLLOW...

 

[alcalder]

And here some more to get you going:


- I don't know if you would be surprised to know how much back story goes into a good story. So many words are written before the first word of the real story hits the page. Once you know the world in which you are writing, the character and their motivation and HOW they will react to certain situations (and not how you would react) then you are ready to begin.

It sounds like a lot of work, but I'm tipping that for an Extension 2 major work (if that is what this is) this is the sort of thing you should do.

ANYWAY, hope that helps to get you going. Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more.

Character Dossier

Name
Age
Birthday
Physical appearance:
Facial features (eye-brows, eye colour, nose shape and size, mouth, lips, facial hair, hair cut and colour, ears, ear lobes, cranial and jaw shape, cheek bones)
Stature & height: limb and hand descriptions, other details
Movements:
facial, hand gestures, walking, standing, sitting etc.
Dress:
Fashion, neatness, ethnicity, quality, colour and cut, jewellery
Speech:
vocab, accent, complexity of sentence structure, ethnicity, speech patterns mannerisms - colloquial, clipped, drawn out, cautions etc.
voice—loud, soft, high, low, broken etc.
attitude—sarcastic, patronising, superior, self-assured etc.
Background:
address, occupation, class or social background, school, education level, skills, hobbies, interests, recreational activities of any kind, age and gender, family background
Significant experiences
Things that may have helped shape this person
Personality:
Moral and religious beliefs, attitudes to self and the world, to work, likes and dislikes, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses, sub-conscious or psychological features, motivations and aspirations, feelings, emotions, temperament, tastes in music clothes, and people.
Friends
Who are they, does this person relate well to others, what are they likely to say about this person.
What is this person’s current problem(s)?
Why is this character worth writing about?
Why is your reader likely to care about this person?


Storybuilding

Preliminary to Plot/Design

[FONT=&quot]PART 1:[/FONT] CHARACTER ESTABLISHMENT

1. What is your planned opening storyhook? (Are you starting with a situation, an idea, a title, a character, a theme, an image, an atmosphere?)
2. What is your character’s goal?
3. What aspects of setting are essential to the plot?
[FONT=&quot]PART 2:[/FONT] COMPLICATIONS/CONFRONTATION

What obstacles does your protagonist face?
4. Describe the antagonist, if there is one, or tell us a more about the problem.
5. What are the results of his/her initial action?
6. What complications arise from this conflict? (Here, complications should set in - new difficulties that make the main character’s situation worse than before, intensifying the struggles.)
7. Where do these struggles lead? (This is the crisis, the crucial point for the main character. Things just can’t get any worse.)
8. What is the climax? (This is the moment of decision, the point of no return; intensity and interest in the story have reached their highest pitch. The main character must decide which way they will go because of the kind of person you have made them. His/her action now governs the answer to the next question.)
[FONT=&quot]PART 3:[/FONT] RESOLUTION

9. What does the main character do about this ultimate dilemma? (Our heroes, big and little, male and female, must be doers, not people-watchers. They must win through their own power, not through luck or co-incidence. It is their doing something about the situation that starts the story action.)
10. Does the main character accomplish his/her purpose or does s/he abandon it in favour of something else? (This is the story outcome, the resolution or denouement.)
What basic truth have you illustrated through your characters’ action and reaction?
Exactly how do you plan to end?

 

[glitterfairy]

Hear ye, hear ye

I present to you... The First Draft!

It's not uncommon for people to stress about stuff like this. Heck, I even worry about what I'm going to wear on some days. I'll run through stuff in my head, and if none of it works I'll sit on my bed and rock back and forth about the fact that the things I want to work don't seem to, and how I need to buy more clothes, and OMG I don't have any shoes that work, "I'm doomed" etc etc.

In recent times though, I've learnt to actually put the clothes next to each other, or to try them on to get a real idea of whether they work or not. Sometimes they suprise me, and will actually work. Other times I realise 'crap, that was a stupid combination. But oh look, will that top work with this jacket...?'

Hopefully this analogy made sense (I went through this yesterday, waaah only one top goes with my new cream jacket and I'm going to the movies with my girlfriends next week). In literary terms, it's supposed to mean "don't sit there and stress over things you haven't tried out yet - try them out FIRST, then make further decisions"

Things are always so different on paper (or in person) than they are in theory. It's also a hell of a lot easier when you have something - anything! - to work with, because then at least you have an idea of what parts worked and what parts didn't (giving you a direction for your second, and presumably better attempt). If need be, write two completely different drafts that individually look at your two different character bases. After 400 words (if you get that far. I've only written 200 words sometimes, and realised that the initial concept was stupid and not worth continuing) compare them and decide which one you like better, or listen to any new ideas of yours that pop up.

Good luck!

 

[idling fire]

Thanks for your help.

I shall certainly try your suggestions, and hopefully will get somewhere.

At the moment I was thinking that a theme would ease the decision making process, but was unable to come up with one. Seems like a little procrastination trick now that I think about it...

Yep, thanks guys.

 

[glitterfairy]

Mentally, everything will "work out once I know what I'm doing" Maybe it's a carry-on from all the non-creative writing things in our lives, where the general consensus is that if you follow the guidelines/recipe (ie know what you're doing in advance), and have all your ingredients ready, everything goes like clockwork.

Unfortunately, few people know what they're doing before they start. Most will have a rough idea and get more clues as they write, others will have no clue at all to start with, and make it up as they go along

I've gone through this so many times. The only thing that ever works is when I force myself to write - either I like it and it stays, or I hate it and re-work it into something I like. Either of these is vastly preferably to stressing out, and having little to show for it

 

[alcalder]

Indeed, Glitterfairy is right. Very few people write like JK Rowling, who seems to plan out each chapter and knows exactly where she is going. Most authors (including me) have a general idea, but in the end, when you know your characters well enough they do write the story for you, reacting in ways you never expected and taking the story in whole new directions. And ideas develop as you write.

So, just go with the flow and see what develops. Start writing.

Open with an interesting line and go from there.

 

[glitterfairy]

^ I'm sure she says that. She says she writes at a cafe too. Yeah, whatever You know what writing is like, I know what writing is like, unless she parks herself there for like 12 hours at a time, several days a week, I don't think so

To a certain extent all of us CAN "plot out" each chapter ahead of time. You can bet your bottom dollar that there's always a hell of a lot of reworking after that, though. And when do you know what to rework, and how? After writing the first draft

 

[idling fire]

Ok... must... start... Encountered problem 1: I need to choose between two characters (which means scenario 1 and 2 respectively).

1st character has, I feel, a more interesting scenario. However he is much harder to think of anything for. I would prefer this character, if I could construct a decent problem for him to encounter.

Character 2 would be easier in terms of events and theme, but is not as interesting in a literary sense.

Alternatively, I could combine the characters and have a whole lot of scientific explaining to do, which I'm sure no English teacher or marker would honestly give much merit to.

Yes, I would like to start writing, but I'd rather have more of an idea where I'm going. This means beginning for both and wasting a whole lot of time when I eventually reject one, or waste time trying to decide between the two beforehand.

EE2 + indecision = frustration

What really gets me is that I have never had this problem before. Never have I been so totally unable to begin any piece of writing. Then I hear that last year's top student finished at my school in June. Brilliant. At this rate I might have chosen a character by June... if that. *sigh*

Thanks again people.

 

[glitterfairy]

lol.

You seem quite character-based so far, which is somewhat like me. Apply this to yourself as you will.

I like to 'verbalise' what I feel about my characters. I like to 'know' them, and to know what's going to happen to them and why. Sometimes though (several times in the middle, always at the beginning) I can SENSE them, but it's not clear cut. It's frustrating as hell, because you know you have an idea but you can't clarify it in your head, and I'm a damn perfectionist who hates moving on until the previous step is completely finished, etc etc.

Normally I have to talk to a friend, and get them to say "For god's sake, just write something already!" to me

Give yourself a 'reasonable' amount of time to do organising in your head (sometimes the pressure of a time limit can induce divine inspiration). Once several days of thinking have elapsed, force yourself to write. I know you want to go in prepared, but sometimes it's just not going to happen, and it's better having something than continually "not having something" and not having finished at all by the time hand-in date rolls around.

Sometimes we have great ideas, but they don't always work at once. I get GREAT lines in my head sometimes... then I realise that my protagonist couldn't possibly say it, unless he suddenly underwent a sex change or something. So what do you do? It's a good idea, just doesn't work here. That's fine - just shelve it. Write it down in your journal! You'll probably be able to use it later. Don't underestimate the power of story development

For you, I would work with whatever is easiest to write with at the moment. You can ALWAYS reshape it later, or even rework it totally from the top if you need to, including portions of this original piece meshed with new stuff. But for both of these options, an existing draft is required. Get to work!

PS: Screw the person who finished in June. They're them, you're you. Two completely different people. You want to work the way that's best for you, not the way that's best for someone else

 

[wallflower]

I've encountered a problem so far which I think is worthwhile enough to mention.
I do not know if what I write is good. Technicalities aside, even. How does one measure the worthiness of their own writing? Does good writing have to make an author think "wow" and feel all light like I did that time I sat in my garage for 3 hours listening to this one Shins song over and over?

 

[alcalder]

Wallflower, that is a very good point. There are a few things you can do to help:

- do writing workshops that will help you improve your technique (if you are serious about writing try the NSW Writer's Centre, they have lots of workshops)
- let someone else read your stuff and make sure it is someone who knows what they are talking about and what sugar coat what they say but will say it tactfully but straight. Someone independent (there are readers on BOS, like me, who are willing to help out, if you like)
- when you write, let it sit for a while and then come back after a week or so and re-read. The errors are more glaring then.

Improving your writing takes time and know how. You get the know how from experts like other writers. Read what others write (ie published books) and see how their stuff differs from yours. The biggest thing to do is

SHOW DON'T TELL!

eg. Don't tell me someone is tired, describe a yawn and droopy eyelids and slurred speech and so on. Hope that helps