Back to Basics: I got this idea for a great story...

[KillerMuffin]

"Well. I've got this great idea for a story. I put it up all over the story ideas board for months and watched the new stories. It never came through. I want to write it myself, just to have it. But, how?"

There are two main elements in any story, a plot and characters. Without these you really don't have a story. There is also theme, equally as important but generally undefined. These things aren't really hard to dream up, they're usually incorporated into an idea for a story. This was lifted directly from the story ideas section "A spring and fall romance of a 50 year old cop with a 21 year old College girl." Plot, characters, and theme all in one sentence.

But that's not a story. What now? How do you go about writing a story?

If you can't answer that, here's a few questions to help.

1) I've got the idea, how do I start?
2) Tense? POV? How do you pick them?
3) How much background do I need on my characters?
4) Where should I start the story? When they meet or what? How do I know?
5) Is there anything I should know about words? Like the good ones to use and the bad ones? How to use them?
6) My grammar is okay, how careful do I need to be with it? Is there anything an average joe needs to know?
7) How long does my story need to be? How can I tell it it's too long or too short?
8) How do I handle it when a character speaks or thinks something?
9) I want to make it interesting to other people, what should I think about to do that?
10) Any advice on writing the sex scene? Some of them are really good, some of them are really bad, how do I write a good one?

Have fun! Remember, you're right and if someone disagrees with you or says something about you, it doesn't matter, it's your right to give advice!

 

[P. B. Walker]

7) How long does my story need to be? How can I tell it it's too long or too short?
8) How do I handle it when a character speaks or thinks something?

A question popped into my brain as I was reading this post. How do you handle when a character thinks to him/herself? I am working on some stories right now, and I just changed one to add some background. In the new part, the character thinks to himself several times. I think I have a handle on the speaking (i.e., dialogue), but I'm not sure about thinking. So far I've been handling it this way:

How I ever let Lynn talk me into going to this Halloween party was beyond me. It might have been because she had been flirting heavily with me since breaking up with her boyfriend and was dropping serious hints that she was interested in taking our friendly relationship to another level. She owns me big, I thought to myself as I completed my authentic golfing outfit with a Scottish tartan wool watch cap. I was thinking it was blowjob time as I pulled out of my parking garage and headed off to the party.

Basically, I just incorporated the thought into the paragraph, I didn't separate it like you do with dialogue. Is this the proper way to have a character think?

Question about length: Is there such a thing as being too short or too long? I would think you as the author decide that. Or rather, the story decides it. It's finished when your done telling the tale. Or are there considerations to make a story longer or shorter?

Thanks in advance for any help someone can provide about the characters thinking,

- PBW

 

[JUDO]

Broad

KM-

I think you're a little too broad in your question here. I mean, there's like a library of information that debates this stuff. (Which always implies to me that the subject matter must be subjective.)

Largely, I think the answer to all of your questions is "Do what your inspiration tells you."

And as far as advice: If you can't think of an original way to approach any of these topics, then write the way your expect something like this would happen; then re-write and take the most un-expecteed way it would happen.

At least, then the story will begin to be a little more original.

 

[Weird Harold]

A question popped into my brain as I was reading this post. How do you handle when a character thinks to him/herself?

First, unless your character is telepathic, "thinks to himself" is redundant. It is a totally unnecessary tag that actually distracts the reader from what you're trying to say.

Second, Thoughts are also referred to as "Internal Dialogue." As you might expect with that label, they are handled exactly like "external Dialogue" (conversations and monologues) except for the punctuation.

Internal dialogue is either puncuated with italics in place of quatation marks, or not highlighted at all. I have seen single quotes used vice double quotes for external dialogue where Italics is not supported, or a slash used to indicate beginning and ending of italics as quotation marks would be used.

In stories where telepathy is involved, asterisks are often used to bracket thoughts transmitted between characters with normal italics used for private thoughts.

In any case, thoughts should be be separated into their own paragraphs, just as words are except for interjections and ejaculations.

 

[Weird Harold]

1) I've got the idea, how do I start?
Let thhe words flow through your fingers to the paper/keyboard until the story is finsihed. Then delte the 2/3 that is total gibberish and edit the remainder into a comprehnsible story.

2) Tense? POV? How do you pick them?
Unless there is something about the story that absolutely demands otherwise, Third person POV/Past tense is the way most people naturally tell stories. First person is more intimate, but alsolimited in what you can legitimately tell the reader.

3) How much background do I need on my characters?
That depends on the character and their importance to the story. As the story begins, the readr is just meeting all of your characters. Reveal what the reader needs to know, when the reader needs to know it without dumping a "wanted poster" into the flow of your story.

4) Where should I start the story? When they meet or what? How do I know?
See "Back to Basics: The Hook" (Killermuffin should start this thread soon although there are several other threads on the topic of "The Hook" already.)

5) Is there anything I should know about words? Like the good ones to use and the bad ones? How to use them?
Use words you are comfortable with and fit the character's presumed educational level. Don't put words like "supercilious" in a street rat's mouth or let a college professor talk ebonics.

6) My grammar is okay, how careful do I need to be with it? Is there anything an average joe needs to know?
See above, RE: Words. Let the grammar fit the narrator/character.

7) How long does my story need to be? How can I tell it it's too long or too short?
If the story doesn't cover everything it needs for the reader to follow along and understand what you're saying, then add words to clarify things until...
If the story feels complete, you've used the right number of words. If the story feels like it wanders all over the place while getting to the point, then you used too many words.

8) How do I handle it when a character speaks or thinks something?
Read Whispersecret's how to essay "Putting Words in You Character's Mouth" (Also look up "Paragraph in your dictionary.)

9) I want to make it interesting to other people, what should I think about to do that?
Make it easy to read. If your reader spends more time deciphering and translating than they do reading, then it's very hard for them to enjoy what they're reading. Spell check, Proofread, and K.I.S.S.

10) Any advice on writing the sex scene? Some of them are really good, some of them are really bad, how do I write a good one?[/QUOTE]
Involve as many senses as you can. Explore the feelings and emotions instead of describing the mechanics. (most of us understand the mechanics of sex.) It's the way your characters feel that make your sex scene different from thousands of others.

 

[poohlive]

How do you go about writing a story?
I would have to agree with Judo in this case, you are asking something too broad. What you give people are the categories for every single aspect of writing, and then ask which is the best?
There is no answer.
This is actually worse than answering a rhetorical question, because at least there people know there's no right answer. I'm afraid people might look at these opinions written here and take them to heart.
First off, if a wriet has an idea, and needs help with things like which POV is the best and how to develop characters, perhaps they shouldn't be writing in the first place? Writing means that the writer has a certain knowledge of what works and what doesn't. There are classes for this, and if a person is tight for money there are books for this, and if a person is tight for money on books, there are libararies where things liek this are free.
Half of writing is reading, people have read the books of others, the ideas, the feelings, the stories. If they have no clue which point of view works best for which, then my only suggestion is to have them go read more.
People read far too less anyway. It's a darn shame too. I just spent the weekend reading Dreamcatcher, the latest novel by Stephen King. It was a wonderful book (I'm probably being biased, after all I am a die hard King fan) and when I got back to writing, I swear everything just went more clear.
As it was said in the book.
"You need to see the line"
See the line of the story, and follow it until the end.

These questions aren't for us to answer, they are simply for the person who has the idea to answer. I would be horrified if anyone of us thought it would be ok to simply answer these questions to newbies. The whole point of writing is to answer these fundamental questions. To have someone answer them for you is like having someone else open up your birthday present for you.
I'm glad you put these questions up Killer Muffin, I just hope you seriously didn't think people would answer them. Well, that is beside the answers that Weird Harold and Walker gave, which is basically just follow your writer's instinct.
Honestly, if you need those questions answered for you, are you really a writer?

 

[Ulyssa]

Really A Writer?

See the line of the story, and follow it until the end.

These questions aren't for us to answer, they are simply for the person who has the idea to answer. I would be horrified if anyone of us thought it would be ok to simply answer these questions to newbies. The whole point of writing is to answer these fundamental questions. To have someone answer them for you is like having someone else open up your birthday present for you.
I'm glad you put these questions up Killer Muffin, I just hope you seriously didn't think people would answer them. Well, that is beside the answers that Weird Harold and Walker gave, which is basically just follow your writer's instinct.
Honestly, if you need those questions answered for you, are you really a writer? [/B]

Don't forget that this is a training area for fiction writers of all kinds. It's like the mythical "Little club in the Catskills" where new writers can go and be bad, while honing their craft. It's where experienced writers can experiment and make structural mistakes. And it's where we can occassionally show-off the good stuff!

Don't knock the newbie too hard. All of us were 19 once. How quickly we turn forty plus without even trying.

 

[SlyFox]

Appreciating this forum

God, I love this site and especially this forum. As a "fresh" (VERY fresh), newbie I am getting more help and inspiration from the posts here than in all the, so-called "Creative Writing" classes and articles I've subjected myself to.

Thanks guys... Your insights, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated - certainly by me!

(btw, I'm working very hard on attaining my "experienced" and "avatar" status )

SlyFox

 

[Never]

I like the idea of talking about these issues but I can't put my experiences into the realm of 'porn' so I'll just stick with the 'basic rules of storytelling' which may or may not work for an erotic piece.

1) I've got the idea, how do I start?
Learn the "depth and breadth of your character." then give them a problem.

Depth: Who is this person? What do they want in the short term? In the long term? What personality do they have? What does the world look like from their perspective?

Breadth: What do they do? Where do they live? When do they live? (Remember to be exact about time and location. There is no Everyville, USA) Who are their friends? What social stratum do they fit into?

Now, what's their problem? What's happening in their life at this specific space and time that makes it interesting to the reader?

2) Tense? POV? How do you pick them?
Past tense. Point-of-view gives you more options. You can have first person when the narrator and the main character become one. You can have third person limited (centered on the main character), multiple limited (centered on several 'main' characters) or omnipotent (just like it sounds).

Most people find third person limited the easiest.

3) How much background do I need on my characters?
On the main, or major, character(s) you need all of it. Paint in broad strokes for most of this and detail in for important and recent events or cultural nuances.

4) Where should I start the story? When they meet or what? How do I know?
You should start the story at the beginning, move to the middle and when you reach the end ? stop. Seriously, you start a story when the character's life becomes interesting. Depending on the length of your work a reader will give you anywhere from three pages to fifteen to tell them that something interesting and important is happening.

5) Is there anything I should know about words? Like the good ones to use and the bad ones? How to use them?
Words are the medium in which story ideas are transmitted and your style should reflect your content. There are no 'bad' words or 'good' words provided they fit the story.

6) My grammar is okay, how careful do I need to be with it? Is there anything an average joe needs to know?
Grammar is one of the last of your worries. I have a 1694 page, excluding Appendix, table of contents and index, Constitutional Law book beside me written in technically perfect English. It is boring. Lavender often opens up her textbooks and falls asleep thirty minutes later while reading them. On the other hand, I've read stories by persons who obviously did not speak English as their first language and have been vastly entertained by them.

Your first job is to write a good story. Then, when you are finished (Re-writes and all), you can do your best to make it grammatically correct or you can have someone else edit it.

7) How long does my story need to be? How can I tell it it's too long or too short?
I've read stories a page long, the book I'm working on at the moment is over seven hundred pages long. As long as the events are compelling and the reader feels forward movement you can keep on writing.

8) How do I handle it when a character speaks or thinks something?
Pick up a book and do what the author does.

9) I want to make it interesting to other people, what should I think about to do that?
Change and forward movement. Wait, make that having an character with something valuable at stake take a risk by acting for a decided upon and worthwhile goal. Oh, and never make it easy.

10) Any advice on writing the sex scene? Some of them are really good, some of them are really bad, how do I write a good one?
I don't know a great deal about sex scenes but it's never a good idea to have your characters get their groove on while an evil wizard is desecrating the spirit of an ancestor by enslaving it with an ancient magic sword.

Definitely in poor taste.

 

[Weird Harold]

...so I'll just stick with the 'basic rules of storytelling' which may or may not work for an erotic piece.

An Erotic Story is first and foremost a story! Anything that applies to any other genre also applies to erotic stories and porn vignettes.