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Post by aoibheni on May 3, 2018 16:25:10 GMT
Ok, so, we've had some truly phenomenal writing around here lately, so I wanna know what tricks, rules, habits you've all developed for improving your... um... wordening... abilities.
Do you have a process? Do you write at a particular time of the day? What do you write on?
Spill the beans, peeps!
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Post by Nola on May 3, 2018 16:59:40 GMT
Alright, here's my ultra-secret tips to doing words good:
- I write whenever I have the energy to do so. - I use Notepad for most things that aren't joints logs, which tend to be done by email. - My process is that I wrap my psyche in the flesh of my characters like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs and then navigate the scene as if I were them.
Super relatable and totally accessible tips all around. I should be charging money.
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Post by Andrew Rice on May 3, 2018 17:37:24 GMT
I talk to myself; as if I'm rehearsing for a play, trying to find the lines. Sometimes, something I'm about to say, doesn't sound right, so I repeat things, changing them up until they do. I basically have to go hide somewhere away from everyone so I can do that in peace, and not look like a complete weirdo. And yes... I do do Hamlet's accent.
And I actually prefer to do joint logs. Its more fun, not knowing how its going to end; cuz the end product is always different from how you planned. And when there's two of you, its harder to go off on massive tangents or completely off the rails.
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Post by CO_Capt_Savage on May 3, 2018 17:51:12 GMT
I always start with an idea, which is usually spawned by something. Be it a conversation with another player, a good or bad dream. I have a tendency to method act my characters as well, I try to get into character and play the part as if I was that person. I'm an emotional writer so what I'm feeling certainly can effect the haste, details, and content of what it is I'm writing. I try not to over think the first things I write. So I kind of do the throw it at the paper, and then go back over it several times to fix it and mold it into something more.
When I write joint logs with others I really enjoy the ability to get onto voice chat with that person or persons, because we can talk through what's flowing onto paper. Sometimes it comes out and works, and other times its not quite right, so having a second set of eyes that can immediately give feedback is very helpful to me. Also usually results in an idea molding into something so much better than it was to start. Or as I stated above, turns into something more interesting over time. The Blonde lady I've referenced is an example of a random idea, that someone kept bringing up that kind of just became more than what it was to begin with.
Dreams for me can be very vivid. They are powerful, and some of my best writing in the past has come from things that happened in my dreams. Sounds funny when I type that honestly, but dreams have a tendency to help me play out a scenario in my head and sometimes its got a mind of its own but helps add to the story, and the feeling. Not sure if that makes sense. I have a very vivid imagination so I don't have problems seeing the big picture in my head especially when I have all the pieces or a large portion of them.
I also have a tendency to talk things out as I build things, but usually all that happens in my head. LOL My roommate gives me a hard time because he catches me doing that 1000 yard stare while I'm playing something out in my head and he knows that I'm chewing on something, but he's not entire certain if its serious or something else.
I love to write, that is another thing that helps me. I feed off of it.
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Post by connorw on May 3, 2018 23:18:33 GMT
I will start writing here as soon as my character is (hopefully) approved! But since I've been doing this for about 20 years, I can tell you what goes behind what I write: honestly, nothing special, because I almost never "force" myself into writing. I do it when I have the inspiration (and the time), and everything becomes much, much easier. It's also easier if I start with an idea that I already developed, at least partly, in my head. Experience is also quite important, so I try when possible to talk about things and elements that I can either relate to or that I somehow experienced in real life. And when I have to write dialogue I always say the words that I write aloud and see if they feel realistic enough and not something blatantly forced.
That said, I can't wait to join you guys! I took a break from "simming" of a couple of years and I'm quite excited to get the imagination engine running again…
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Post by Einar on May 4, 2018 6:38:20 GMT
I think what I do is similar to method acting, just as CJ described. I put my Tony suit on, or my Rome suit. Both fit well as they have grown with me over a decade.
Once I am in their head, I set the scene in my head and act it out on paper.
What I imagine and what I end up with differs greatly every time.
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Post by aoibheni on May 12, 2018 17:27:41 GMT
I realised, I never added my method here. So, it's different depending on the situation, really. If it's a one person log, as a reaction to mission stuff, I just sit down and write it straight, make a few tweaks, and bash it on here. T'ali's logs are like that. Except that I use a loooot of help from a thesaurus to get her dialogue just right. For Danann's logs, since that's a far more open world, and involves a lot of extra characters (which is something I find very challenging, especially in terms of dialogue and keeping the tone of my characters distinct), I tend to take notes as snippets of dialogue occur to me over a few days in Google Docs. I'll dwell on the situation I need to write out during quiet moments, before bed, on the bus, etc, and will make damn sure I record any interesting turns of phrases or the emotions necessary for a scene. Once I've chewed on it a bit, I'll sit down at the computer and patchwork all the notes together and make sure they flow well one into the other, adding and deleting where necessary throughout. After that, phase three consists of re-reading it, and editing whenever I think of a better way to phrase something, or when the flow of a sentence doesn't run smoothly. I usually find reading anything I write on a variety of screens helps a lot. Stuff I miss on my computer's monitor becomes glaringly obvious on my phone, etc. I then usually sacrifice some small animal (a rodent is a good choice, but a gerbil will do in a pinch), to the writing gods, and post it on here. It's a lot of work, but layering my edits, increasing in complexity as I go, really helps me get to the root of any piece of writing.
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Post by CO_Capt_Savage on May 13, 2018 2:23:41 GMT
I knew I've been missing something all these years. Sacrificial Rodents! LOL
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