Hi all! I was pondering the psychology of how different types of writers have different questions to ask about writing, and different answers to the standard questions... anyway I realized that I don't really know who some of you are and what your goals in writing are. So, I thought I'd ask. Consider this a forum census, or an introduce yourself thread. Who are you? - Age and gender? What type of writer are you? - Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding? - When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in? - How do you go about turning an idea into a story? - Any tips/tricks you'd like to share? What do you write? - What genre(s) do you write? - What are your goals in writing? Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience. - What examples of others' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated? - What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes, and character dynamics are your favorite? Thank you for responding! [edited by - sunandshadow on January 13, 2003 4:37:39 PM] [edited by - sunandshadow on January 13, 2003 7:28:33 PM]

I suppose I ought to reply to my own survey.

Who are you? Sunandshadow! ^_^ My actual name is Mare, like a horse.
- Age and gender? 22, female


What type of writer are you?
- Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding?

I am a character dynamic writer, which means that when I create a piece of fiction I map out the changing relationships between the characters first, and build everything around that. The thing I have the most difficulty writing is plot.

- When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in?

A story idea may come to me in the form of a visual tableau that clearly illustrates the emotions between two or more characters, or in the form of a scene that illustrates a change in the relationship between two characters, even if this change only happens in the thoughts of one of the characters.

- How do you go about turning an idea into a story?

I work out my characters and worldbuilding, then select the tableau or scene that comes first chronologically and start writing. Usually the first few paragraphs of any story of mine describes a culture and a character living in it. I make up the plot as necessary to drive the story to the next tableau or scene. Usually one theme will be dictated by how the character dynamic changes over the course of the story, and another theme will start to express itself a few chapters in; when I discover it I will go back and edit the first few chapters to work this theme in better. I occasionally am forced to leave holes where a scene or a transition is missing because I don't have an inspiration for writing it; sometimes I can fill these in later but often I can't and I need to ask another writer for help.

- Any tips/tricks you'd like to share?

Well, I have tried to post helpful techniques to this group as I discover them. I find that a 'favorites list' is very helpful - this is just a list of all my favorite situations, settings, motifs, themes, tropes, etc. that I would like to write about. I use this list to add depth and complexity to my original story idea, and I refer to it again after I've written several chapter to help me identify what feels like its missing from my story.


What do you write?
- What genre(s) do you write?

I write social science fiction. Sometimes I write fantasy, but the logical extrapolation of worldbuilding and character abilities from a science fictional conjecture just comes naturally to me, and even in my fantasy I need the magical elements to work in a logical and orderly way. I generally write romance, social comedy, and light angst because these are natural ways to play with character dynamic.

- What are your goals in writing? Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience.

I believe that the only thing in the world worth striving for is human happiness. I believe that there are three ways to help people be happy - by being nice to them, by inventing things that make their lives easier, and by entertaining them. Entertaining people just calls to me - I feel it's the most interesting and fulfilling thing I can do. I choose stories for computer games, graphic novels, and regular novels as the vector for this entertainment because these are the types of entertainment I like to consume. I would also jump at the chance to write a movie script if someone offered it to me, but I like the larger variety of writing that games and novels have room for, and the larger amount of control I have when there's no director or producer who can mess with my creation.

What I want to teach my audience... hmm, well open-mindedness and adaptability are my two favorite virtues. I want to teach people how other people think and feel, because you can do a lot more in life if you can understand your fellow human beings.

- What examples of others' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated?

For humor - _Good Omens_ by Gaiman and Pratchett. There are also some really hilarious Harry Potter fanfics floating around on the net.

For drama - _The Unlimited Dream Company_ by Ballard, _Dhalgren_ by Delany and some brilliant Fushigi Yuugi fics

For character dynamic - practically anything by C. J. Cherryh, and lots of anime. Comics seem to be better at creating strong character dynamic than novels for some reason.

For worldbuilding - The Sugar Trilogy by Park, _Don't Bite the Sun_ by Lee, _Lilith's Brood_ by Butler

- What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes and character dynamics are your favorite?

Well, that would basically be the whole contents of my favorites list. I don't have it typed up... I'll come back and answer this one later.


[edited by - sunandshadow on January 13, 2003 7:34:47 PM]

Who am I?
A newb game developer/programmer and CS student aka Inanis Serpens ( void dragon ). Male - 19

What type of writer am I?
Well...I would like to think a creative one with an eye for detail, but I guess thats for the eye of the beholder to decide right? Other than that...just a hobbiest.
To answer some of the other questions:
I usually get a great idea for a single event, and then build upon that. I usually start the building process with asking myself who the characters are, and why are they are where they are, doing what they're doing. This, basically triggers the entire creation process for me. And although it may seem as though I concentrate on character development, what usually ends up happening is the world and everything in it but the characters gets fleshed out first, then the character development begins.

What do I write when I write?
Science Fiction/Straight Fiction/Fantasy...mostly fantasy though. What can I say? I like writing about demons, dragons, swords, magic, and androids.
As for emulating others writing, I really try to stay clear of that as much as possible. I like writing my own story, with my own style. I would say any SF/F books out there, that I've read, have influenced me in content, and style, but I don't generally like emulating anyone.
I think the most ideal piece of writing for me is one with an ending, but an ending with a twist. I want to write a piece that the audience is glued to. I want to write a piece where anyone who reads it will think they know the outcome of , after some deduction, but then the story unfolds in such a way that the reader gets blind sided by obvious facts, finding out at the end that their suspicions have been completely and uterly wrong, and that they have been misdirected from the beginning. Done probably a thousand times, I know, but when you really don't expect it...thats cool. I guess other than that, the ideal piece for me would be one where the world created can tell a thousand tales, and every one be just as intriguing (or more so) than every other one.


Ack. I better shut up now...probably answered all the questions wrong, and had a hundred spelling errors.



[edited by - Inanis Serpens on January 13, 2003 5:19:37 PM]

quote: Original post by sunandshadow
Who are you?
- Age and gender?

Heh ^-^ I''m Keith. A mysterious fellow from a small town in NJ that no one cares about (I don''t blame them). I''m a male who is about have lived through his fifteenth winter.

quote:
What type of writer are you?
- Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding?
- When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in?
- How do you go about turning an idea into a story?
- Any tips/tricks you''d like to share?

I really don''t have a specific type of writing I am best at or that I enjoy most. I write alot of poetry, and I''ve just been getting into short stories. I''ve taken a classes on journalism, and found that I have a little talent in writing articles but I don''t quite enjoy it.

Generally, I think of dozens of story ideas per day, because I tend to overexamine everything I observe, and I tend to observe everything possible. I feel that if you just sit back and think, allowing your mind to roam free just through observing you will come up with some ideas. Those ideas may or may not be worthy of being written, but when I find one worth writing about I find myself spending alot of time thinking about it and attempting to put it to words (most of it is in poetry).

Usually I take simple ideas and expieriences I have in life and create simple analogies to them to make them seem more serious, and then I write them down in stories, poems, songs, etc. Sometimes I''ll just freewrite them into a journal or blank piece of paper (which I then stuff into one of my journals). As long as the idea is written out, I know it''s always there for me to expand on or maybe when I''m writing another story I can use the entries to add interesting subplots to my stories (which I hope to begin writing more of).

quote:
What do you write?
- What genre(s) do you write?
- What are your goals in writing? Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience.
- What examples of others'' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated?
- What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes, and character dynamics are your favorite?

I always write fiction because I truly don''t enjoy reading or writing anything other than fiction. Most of the time it''s fantasy fiction but I occasionally write in what seems to be a more modern day.

My goals with my writing are to keep the reader hooked, and this can always be done by perfecting word usage. Knowing what adjectives/verbs to put where, and knowing which words to use - this can keep the reader reading for hours. I also like to have a plot that teaches a life lesson or gets a point accross through a hidden message, sometimes I''ll even just blurt out the message through character dialogue.

My favorite pieces of writing, that I consider ideal would have to be The Hobbit by Tolkien, as well as every book in the Drizzt Do''Urden series by R.A. Salvatore, because these books keep readers hooked and sends messages that good readers can pick up that can really help them relate to the world they live in. R.A. Salvatore writes his stories in a fantasy world but through that world he deals with modern issues such as racism, etc.

As for character specifics, I don''t believe I can truly specify. I find characters from Drizzt Do''Urden from Salvatores series, all the way to Holden Claufield from Catcher in the Rye to be very interesting. Any character can be interesting given the appropriate situation, and as a writer you have total control over both the character and the situation he or she is in.

Heh... thanks for asking .

Who are you? entivore
20, Male

What type of writer are you? There are different types?
- Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding?
Well, I suppose with me the most important thing is plot. What happens so to speak. Sometimes I have a particular character in mind that I want to use and work him or her in somehow. I pretty much make up places as I go, taking care not to contradict things written earlier.

- When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in?
In the form of a daydream about something that happened usually. Sometimes as a burst of intuition. I don''t really know the details of a story until I start writing it.

- How do you go about turning an idea into a story?
I don''t. I turn a story into an idea. Hmm, these events would work well in an rpg, or maybe a strategy game would be better etc.

- Any tips/tricks you''d like to share?
Nope



What do you write?
- What genre(s) do you write?
When I write, it''s "stuff that happens". I fill in the stuff needed to fit it into a genre later on. Things like what the characters say and eat and fight comes last.

- What are your goals in writing? Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience.

My only goal in writing is to express myself. My ideal story is one that people will actually pay attention to. For that reason, I always turn my stories into video-game plots. Well that and I like video games. I don''t think I could sell people on my stories just on their own merit.

- What examples of others'' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated?

To tell the truth, I don''t like anyone else''s writing. It''s always so boring. Only when that writing is combined with something else does it become interesting. For example, combine it with images to make a movie, or combine it with a game system to make a video game. Needless to say, I''m not into books.

- What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes, and character dynamics are your favorite?

My favorite has always been the persecuted loner. There are so many ways they can react, and all of them are taboo. Suicide? Ultra Violence? Despair? Hehe.

My favorite theme right now is that light and dark are not good and evil, but everyone thinks they are.

hey everyone...

quote: Who are you?
- Age and gender?

17, male - George (geo)

quote: What type of writer are you?
- Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding?
- When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in?
- How do you go about turning an idea into a story?
- Any tips/tricks you''d like to share?

im going to combine these. i listen to a lot of music, and read a lot. i grab bits and pieces from everything and stuff from my own life and end up with all these little visual clips - i can see it happening like a movie. i gradually work the small bits and forge them into bigger ideas that have some meaning when connected. i usually end up with pages and pages of drawings and notes and writings and thoughts before i can even consider writing anything. i already have my basic thoughts down, so i can safely revise constantly as i write. it takes me a long time, and the hardest part is not to condense things together - i end up with something VERY short. tips? well, i just end up with a feel for what i like and what i want to see or hear by watching or listening or reading and write like that. i tend to write in the style that i have read latest.

quote: What do you write?
- What genre(s) do you write?

i guess you would say scifi. not just that, though, fantasy is included. everything is future-looking and introspective, even if it is based in the past. i also write AP essays. which i am very good at. sometimes i have trouble changing trains of thought and i end up with slightly surreal essays or ennumerating stories. not that thats always a bad thing(s)

quote: - What are your goals in writing? Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience.

my goals are usually to make what i imagine come true. i mean this two ways - 1 - i know what i WANT to read and how i want it to ''look'' and ''feel'' but i often cant quite figure out how to get there - 2 - but i also want to create a world for me alone, or people who have the same kind of problems or loves or hates that i do - i tend to write (and think) dark. i love to read something by another author that i can truly relate to - but i love it more if its something i have written.

quote: - What examples of others'' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated?
- What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes, and character dynamics are your favorite?

im in a hurry - so im going to run through these two. read the nearby tear jerker thread - i like the hero archetype - some poor guy born into a problem, who has been through trauma, who has major issues and has special weapons/powers. i like someone who is rational, but losing his grip because of inner and outer turmoil. someone neglected or disliked, someone who just needs a little help to pull him/her out, but cant get it.

and alan dean foster. my particular favorite scifi. also, though, isaac asimov (esp the foundation 3), and the compilations by donald a wollheim (1990''s worlds best scifi. some really great short stories. different ideas and types, very well picked.)

thats all for now

s/s... i didnt know you were... a ... girl! lol.

Who are you?
44, male

What type of writer are you?

Generally, I am an impressionistic and surrealistic writer, but if I have to write liturature everyone can understand, I''ll do that. I''ve written screenplays and novels and short fiction and poetry since I was 22.

- Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding?
All three are critical to strong story,

- When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in?

Sometimes a dream, sometimes a daydreams, sometimes a flash inspiration, sometimes I can concentrate one up, sometimes something I see or heard or read will make me think, "hmm, that would make a good story." Then I write the elements down in a notebook and go on with my job or coffee, depending on where I''m at.

- How do you go about turning an idea into a story?
I develop the usual stuff, world description, character bio and a basic plot/conflict, then I sit down and immerse myself over time in the world, characters and conflict, and draft the first outline. Then I ponder it and stew upon it until it''s weaknesses and strengths change it''s nature. That can take several drafts. Once it is as good as I can make it, I shelve it until I haven''t thought about it for awhile, then take it down and see if it still rocks, and if so, I send it someplace to sell.


- Any tips/tricks you''d like to share?
The more you realize your characters are aspects of yourself, and the more you analyze the character and give it life, depth and reason to act, the more you will reach others and know yourself better simultaneously.


What do you write?
Anything and everything I can fit into the time I have on this planet.

- What genre(s) do you write?
Science fiction, macabre historical fantasy, contemporary fiction, comedy and dramedy.

- What are your goals in writing?
Personal artistic expression, cash, fame and huge household name awards. Oh, and finding the 96% of plot formats that did not survive the greeks.


Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience.

Whew, tough question. Well, an ideal piece of fiction to me is something I wrote that so much better than the last thing I wrote (yes, even after 22 years you improve with each sortie), satisfies the part of me that motivated me to express it in the first place, taught me just a little bit more about how to be a better writer and/or storyteller, permitted me to personally grow as a result of crafting the work, and visibly moves the reader by comfortably taking them down trails of the soul rarely tread as if they knew that about themselves all along, but just couldn''t put it quite into words, and now that I have done that for them, they look forward to reading me again for the joy that discovery brings to life and mind.


- What examples of others'' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated?
This is kinda sad but true, many great writers insipired me when I was yourg, and almost everyone knows thier names. Now, the only writer that insipires me is myself. Once in awhile, I will see a film where one aspect of the writing, or one particular sequence was brilliant and by default inspiring, but that is rare.


- What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes, and character dynamics are your favorite?

Our favorites are the ones we always use, and express one aspect of ourselves through. Often times we create a narrator character to personally opine in scene, but, unless we ourselves are truly characteristic, it is literary folly.

I focus on characters that are always trying to discover something, as discovery is one of the most demanding, complex, ruled and yet rewarding things we can do. It''s also a great way for a reader trapped in a mundane life to gird the robes of adventure vicariously and escape banal mediocrity, which is out obligation as storytellers to help them to do. Mostly because they live in fear and heirarchical contraints that don''t permit them the liberty creative people know.


Thank you for responding!

William, Male, 21, New York City.

Its difficult describing my stuff. I normally follow a pattern of mystery, in that my characters work towards revealing things about themselves, each other, the situations I throw them into. I try not to make them totally naive, and know at varying degrees when they''ve reached the point where they''d rather not know. I suppose I favor the devices of loss of identity, loss of something important, and loss of self-image (for the characters that don''t know when to stop.) Its my idea that things aren''t interesting without some conflict, so for every set of characters I create, the next set to follow is usually antagonists. Though, I tend to keep it in a low profile, the events create them, and without the characters would probably have no issue with each other.

Of course though, I''ve been told I''m a great comedy writer, which I''ve actually produced some stuff regarding a straight-man being dragged into space by a narcissistic recreation of myself and forced to endure a race of eccentric aliens.

Favorite Movies: Blade Runner, Fight Club, Momento.
Favorite Anime: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star.
Favorite Sitcoms: Everybody Loves Raymond, Titus.

My answers are partially based on your questions, but I figured I'd reply with what I think you're looking for from me.

Male, 35.

I have written a couple of short stories. One about a rose in a garden and another about a soul in the afterlife.

I like to write, or rather have the easiest time writing, symbolic stories about a character's capability regarding their development, where there is some aspect about their physical form or aspect of their environment that gives profound feedback on the success of that development.

I guess I like to think that we get actual cues from what's around us about how well we are doing, and it's tricky to know what to listen to and what not to. Basically, if something that is happening bothers you, it's either something to move away from or an indication of how you need to change.

I like to build a world that cooperates with that concept and limit what is in that world to what is relevent to the story and how the character deals with it, and help make the reader aware of the main character's personality. If I'm lucky, the reader will see parallels with their own life and look at it in a new dimension. Ultimately, at some point, the story is about how something badly affects the main character but ends up not really being that bad, just misinterpreted. Which takes power away from what's around us and gives it to us.

I usually model a story against the kind of feedback I would like to receive from my own attempts to develop. We usually don't get those answers in very obvious forms, but if we did, how would you want that expressed, and what do you want that response to lift you to actually be? And what clues does it provide about what you have really been reaching for all this time?

These are the kinds of questions on my mind. I "feel" the way I would like things to be and the kind of answers I would like to get to help me along in my own development, and what kind of environment, rules and responses would make it easier to understand. Naturally, everyone's version of that is different.


[edited by - Waverider on January 14, 2003 3:59:10 PM]