General Writing Discussion Thread | Current Topic: NaNoWriMo

RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Don't write in any particular form. Write in the way you feel or like. Don't think mainstream. It's your story. You're the boss.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Single best piece of advice I have ever received from anyone about writing my own stories?

Well, it would have to be from my creative writing teacher, I still remember the words exactly. "Now listen here Konnor, I know you love to write, and that is great, but do not ever, and I mean F****** ever, let anyone tell you that you should stop writing. If they read your story and say it is terrible, prove em wrong. Blow them out of the water with the best thing you can think of and make them regret ever doubting you. Now go to lunch."

Still remember it perfectly.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 11​
This question is targeting those that read the more popular novels. Feel free to answer with your own thoughts!

What is your opinion about books being made into movies? Why do you feel this way? Are there exceptions to your opinion?​




I personally don't like it when producers make popular books into movies. It's usually a pathetic adaptation that cuts out important plot details and limits the reader's imagination. For example, when the first Percy Jackson movie came out, I was so excited...until I watched it. The movie skipped tons of important scenes, changed the way I pictured each character, and left plenty of holes that weren't in the books. In a similar situation, the latest The Great Gatsby movie was kind of a flop in my opinion. At the very end, it stated that Gatsby heard a phone ring and expected Daisy ditched her husband for him, but that never happened. He was hoping to hear from his neighbor so they could swim in the pool. This change made a negative impression on Gatsby, making him look more ignorant than he really was, and made my friends (that have only seen the movie) hate him that much more. In other words, I'm saying that some books are too tender for movies, but others had potential that gets ruined by scene cuts. In my opinion, movies based on books takes your opinion on the character and casts it out in favor of the popular one. Movies like The Da Vinci Code, however, are excellent adaptations of the book and are on my good side (in my opinion).

Chaos Jackal said:
Only if you think the Da Vinci Code (hell, Dan Brown) is good.
Click to expand...

I did say opinion :p
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Only if you think the Da Vinci Code (hell, Dan Brown) is good.:p

Generally speaking, I don't have that much of a problem with movies based on books. Sure, they often leave out important plot details, but they also show you what you've often thought about: How would the book events look like in the real word? That pretty girl, that evil genius, what would they look and feel like if they were real? A movie allows you to get closer with the characters and the events... if, of course, it's well made. Movies like Eragon and Percy Jackson are some pretty good examples of how a movie can totally ruin a book. Major plot changes and character differences just don't do.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

I think it's a fine line to walk but can be done well by the right people. Some have turned out excellently; I think LotR is one of the best examples I can think of off the top of my head. The Hunger Games trilogy is pretty decent. For some older ones: Fight Club and Interview with a Vampire (I guess that was my generation's Twilight, though better, I feel anyway). There are likely many more that I'm forgetting, but I'm not a huge movie hound.

That said, one of my biggest pet peeves with books being made into movies is the fans of the books who think EVERY LITTLE THING needs to be included in the movies. Does anyone but me remember the violent uproar when Tom Bombadil was left out of Fellowship? Moves and books are both VERY different mediums and need to be handled in very different ways. They can both tell a good story, but you cannot simply take a book and copy everything over to a movie; movies don't work that way. Pacing in movies and books is totally different, and is methods of sharing information. This disparity is actually why I'm not too fond of the Harry Potter movies; the books have a lot of detail that is told via narration in ways that the movies can't accurate portray, and so the movies end up being a lot more one-dimensional. It's a fine line to walk; trying to create a cinematic experience while staying true to the source material, and it can easily be ruined by going just a bit too far in either direction.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

mm, I have no problem with movies being made into books. If an adaptation fails, so what? There's many more films out there that are awesome, adapted from books. I can name some great films like that off the top of my head: Life of Pi, No Country for Old Men and LOTR (Though I personally dislike LOTR). And if you don't like the idea of a book being adapted into a film, then simply don't watch it.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

I think the problem with movies is that they make too many movies about books in a series. The ones who aren't in a series are much better, like Holes and some others I haven't heard of.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Of course, series are where the money is! Why make profit off of a single movie when you can instead make profits off of 3-8 movies? :D *cough*thehobbit*cough*

Of course, the vast majority of book -> movie translations are one-offs, but most of the big blockbuster-type films are series or trilogies or series, so they're generally what most people think of, at least currently. I can't help but shake the feeling that it was LotR that started this trend, and it still remains the best of the bunch.

Some other excellent book to movie adaptations, by the way: Inception, The Shawshank Redemption, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Silence of the Lambs, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Battle Royale, and Ringu (the original Japanese one, not the American remake).

Also, an EXCELLENT example of a movie that really interpreted the book in a vastly different way and both mediums are amazing: Bladerunner / Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep?
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Another great adaptation from what I've heard is the movie Apocalypse Now, which is an indirect adaptation to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. I've seen bits of it from clips or whatever (I'm probably going to watch it this week) and, based on what I've seen, it portrays the book's themes...but in the eyes and acts of then-modern-day America. I think that movies based on books can result in great interpretations, but there are some producers that drag a movie on just to squeeze all the money out of it.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Turtwig said:
but there are some producers that drag a movie on just to squeeze all the money out of it.
Click to expand...

Athena said:
*cough*thehobbit*cough*
Click to expand...

This is, sadly, true, and is also the case with a lot of remakes and unnecessary sequels, but, well, that's Hollywood for you. So long as things make money, they will continue.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 12​
This question goes out to our PB writers!

How does your writing process start? What is the very first thing you ask yourself when creating a story? Is it about the characters, a specific setting, or just the plot?​
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Usually, it's just the plot. If you have a good idea for your story's plot, eventually the characters will make themselves, as long as you're careful. For me, the plot is the basis of everything I write. I never build a story around a character, I build the characters around the story.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Usually something happens that draws me into a potential story, a character, a scene, a situation. From there on out, I kind of hold onto that thought in the back of my head, processing it, mulling it over. Within a few months, one of three things happen: 1) I forget about it entirely; 2) I remember the initial draw, but can add nothing to it, it's just stagnant; 3) I've developed it further, with little idea added on, or characters, or a story. If an idea get to 3, usually I start jotting down notes and beginning the writing process.

I'll use Crimson Road as an example. The base idea that the story started off with was more or less "how did the fight between Kyogre and Groudon actually affect the environment and the lives of everyday people?" Based on that, I began to formulate theories about heavy tropical storms along the islands and the coastlines, and even made up a fictional island and some characters dealing with the problems. Thinking up the characters the beginnings of a plot that would start towards the end of Emerald and continue onwards, traveling through the land whose disasters I'd already imagined, and within the plot, the characters and their backstory grew. Voilá, a story is born.

There's an original novel I've been mulling over for the past few months that's just not starting to get into the "jotting notes and putting thoughts on paper" phase, but I won't be sharing it here, sorry. :p
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread


  • 1. How does your writing process start?

    It starts with the core idea or concept that interests me. It can be as simple as a character attitude or personality, a what-if series of events, alternative character development, etcetera. Much of the idea generation process takes place subconsciously, and it always happens spontaneously and with little effort. I will become a moderately detached from the external world at this crucial stage as my attention is diverted to the playhouse of ideas in my head. Then slowly and surely, my mind starts taking those generated thoughts and probes around for possible places of connection, and from there, possibilities can emerge. My mind discards irrelevant ideas and possibilities that do not, whatsoever, provide significant potential or support to the key elements of my mental framework. Once I get it organized, I will actively work to find a way to provide it with a rational form. Once that is done, the final product is ready to be translated to the external world.

    2. What is the very first thing you ask yourself when creating a story?

    1. Does my framework do an excellent job of conveying my intended meaning to others?
    2. Are my ideas fleshed out enough that it is capable of supporting other additional ideas/tangents?
    3. Have I reduced or eliminated any excess and unnecessary detail?
    4. Will I be able to dedicate enough time to see it through the end?

    I consider it imperative that I will be able to answer with a 'Yes' to at least two questions. But if I cannot dedicate enough time, then I either choose to discard the whole framework/model, or I produce a hard copy of it and file it away in my personal library.

    3. Is it about the characters, a specific setting, or just the plot?

    All of it, I think. I don't know how character, setting, and plot can be considered separate from one another. All three are inter-related and the writing process will cease to be without consideration for all three.

    My writing process is done both consciously and subconsciously, so it has the tendency to be spontaneous in its generation of ideas and concepts and unrelenting in pushing for the final conclusion and achieving a well established structure. I made it a general rule of thumb to allow for the spontaenous generation of ideas, no matter how relevant or irrelevant they may seem at first glance. I am not very specific in what I require, at least at this stage. Due to the continuous production of so many groups of thoughts, it can be tedious work to try and put them in some sort of order. Generally, after I produced a sufficient amount of ideas, I work and try to find some intuitive connections that I can possibly make and transform them into something more coherent. So, in this way, I can get my thoughts written down as soon as possible, and yet, I am also making myself more open to other possible additions.

    My writing process is a bit of an anomaly. But every writer's process is his own, as they say.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Heh, I wouldn't really consider it an anomaly; it's not all that different from mine. :p
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Turtwig said:
Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 12​
This question goes out to our PokéBeach writers!

How does your writing process start? What is the very first thing you ask yourself when creating a story? Is it about the characters, a specific setting, or just the plot?​
Click to expand...

Writing, for me, is not a process by any means. The artistic visions flow into my mind spontaneously from random sources, and I write them down. I dislike structure very much. Much of my writing is about capturing imagery and human emotions.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 13​
This question is very situational in my opinion. However, there can definitely be favorites.

What endings are better for novels: happy endings, horrific endings…or cliffhangers (yes, I asked that)? Is there an ideal ending for a certain genre? What kind of closure do you require?​
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

I've put some thought into this, and I guess my answer really depends on whether I'm more interested in the characters or the plot. If I'm really attached to the characters, I'm more satisfied with a happier ending, because of course I want everything to work out well for the characters; I've grown fond of them! On the other side, "horrific" endings are the most interesting, and they're the ones that stick with you the most, so I would generally prefer those... but only if I'm more interested in the plot of a story over what happens to the characters. I was going to give some examples, but they're obviously spoilers, so I guess I'll put them in spoiler tags.

One of the most memorable scenes in the entire series is towards the end of the book, when Roland sacrifices Jake to continue on to reach the Man in Black. Purposefully letting a kid die is pretty dark stuff, especially when it comes towards the end when you've already grown fond of him, but it really proves Roland's character and his priorities in life better than anything else said or done in the book. But, to pull what I said earlier back into this, Roland's kind of an asshole, so this really shouldn't have been expected, and even though there's a certain amount of moral outrage, it's importance to the overall story outweighs the harm in the action, and makes this a very good and satisfying climax. This event is also very important in later books of the series as well, so another example of how plot triumphs over characters.

Of course, the fact that Jake is basically revived in the next book does lessen the emotional impact of his death a bit, but the way it influences Jake and Roland's relationship is still very important, for lack of a better term.

The first 2 books of the Nightrunner Series (Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness) kind of make a mini 2-part series of their own, since the first ends in something of a cliffhanger (a minor one) and the main plot carries over both books, before taking a bit of a different turn in the 3rd book, etc. At the grand climax of the 2nd book, one of the main side characters (Nysander) basically forces one of the main characters (Seregil) to kill him and then he's dead.

Wat.

That ^ was more or less my impression on reading the chapter. It sounds kind of blase just reading it as a sentence typed very blandly and literally on a forum, but as a reader, I was seriously hurt. Nysander is introduced as basically this awesome kindly old man that everyone would love to have as a grandfather or uncle; he's Seregil's mentor. Reading over the books again, I can see some slight foreshadowing of what was to come, but the first time I'd read that story, it hit me like a tonne of bricks, not only for the death of Nysander himself, but the emotional toll it put on Seregil, who was forced to kill his best and oldest friend. The ending isn't entirely bad (bad guy is stopped, Alec recognizes his love for Seregil and the two finally become lovers, more happy ending type stuff), but the horrific death of Nysander still casts a pall over the entire ending, something felt strongly by both the readers and the characters themselves.

So, yeah, I really disliked this ending on a personal level, even though I know it was right for the books, and I love the masterful way Lynn told the story and how Nysander's death impacted everyone. But, damnit, it hurt, and it is probably my least favourite book in the series because of that. The first time I read it, I cried, and the 2 or 3 times I've read it since then, I've started crying even before it happened because I knew it was coming.

Going back to what I said at the beginning of this post, it's not as if I dislike the plot of Lynn's book, or this book in particular, just that I felt so strongly attached to the characters that my considerations for them over-weighed the needs of the plot. The Nightrunner series is quite a bit dark with a lot of bittersweet moments, but perhaps that makes my fondness for the characters even stronger.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

Turtwig said:
Questions for Readers and Writers​

Question 13​
This question is very situational in my opinion. However, there can definitely be favorites.

What endings are better for novels: happy endings, horrific endings…or cliffhangers (yes, I asked that)? Is there an ideal ending for a certain genre? What kind of closure do you require?​
Click to expand...

An ambiguous ending is always welcome. On that note, an entirely ambiguous story is welcome in my book (ba dum tss). Concrete endings truly disgust me.
 
RE: Writer's Corner General Discussion Thread

I am trying to write ideas for a Digimon fanfic that would make a good Live-action movie (keeping it about PG-13) based mostly on the fifth season ( Known in Japan as Digimon Savers, which was an awesome anime, AKA Digimon Data Squad in the dub, but the dub was just... Awful).

However, it will not take place in Japan. It will take place in Boston (in my home state of "Mass-Uh-Chew-Sits"), and will be split into two parts, like some movies based on books (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split into two movies, think of it that way)

The protagonist will be named Eric Cohen (equivalent to Masaru in Savers), whose father has been missing for ten years. His Digimon is Agumon (The version with the red armbands). Eric is a new recruit to the Digital Accident Tactics Squad (DATS for short). If you didn't guess by his last name, Eric will be Jewish, mostly because I feel that we need more Jewish main protagonists for some reason.

Kiki Washington (equivalent to Yoshino) will be sent to find Eric and Agumon at the very beginning of Part One of this movie. She is an AGENT at DATS, and her Digimon is Lalamon. Kiki is African-American.

Tim Wu (Equivalent to Tohma) is a highly intelligent transfer from the Hong Kong division of DATS, and is a bit traumatized by the death of his mother. His Digimon is Gaomon.

Later on, a somewhat boy originally from India named Raja Gupta (equivalent to Ikuto), and his Digimon is Falcomon (the version seen in the TV series, not the first design of him), will join them. However, his parents lost him when they went on an expedition with Yosef Powalski (equivalent to Kurata), a major antagonist who wants to "eradicate" the Digimon and conquer Earth by awakening one of the Seven Great Demon Lord Digimon (haven't decided which one yet, feel free to give me suggestions) with the data gathered by his own Digimon creation, Gizmon.

The leader of the Boston DATS division is named Peter Smith (equivalent to Satsuma), his Digimon is Kudamon (see parentheses by "Falcomon").

Megan Weiss and Minnie Schwarz (equivalent to Megumi and Miki respectively) work with Smith, and has a White and Black PawnChessmon respectively.

Bob Brown, an old man who is friends with Smith, is an undercover DATS agent, whose Digimon is Kamemon (not the "Chibi" one from Xros Wars).

I am open to suggestions and critique.
 
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