Got a question?

[SIC]

Hello all, This is my first time posting in this area and i aint even sure if this is the right place for my question.

Now i have alot of great idea's for storys in my head. I have been told i could be a good writter by most of teachers along my way in school and they have told my mom this aswell. My problem is that i have a hard time bring it down to paper?? There in my head and i could tell someone what to write but when i do it myself it doesnt come out as i would like!?!

I also feel like when i am writting something for myself that i am "DUMB" and i dont know how to get past that. I feel fine when i got to do it for school.

Like there is one good story that i would like to write and i have done some brain storming and scratched it down on paper. But i just cant write it for some reason. Maybe there is some type of mind set i should get myself into? What do you people do when you are about to write?

Any help would be great. Sorry if this isnt the right place to post this!!

 

[flawed_ethics]

I'm not much of an author (just what's posted here), so my advice would best be taken with a grain of salt.

My experience with telling a story is that the art of storytelling is not easy. Some are simply keen at telling stories, they could talk for hours and hours about a trivial matter and it would seem vivaciously spellbinding. Another person could tell the exact same story, verbatim even, and you would count the seconds waiting for them to finish.

That doesn't mean only certian people should tell stories. With time, practice, and a few pointers, anyone can tell a good story (be it orally or written, or hell, played out in scherades).

It is difficult to take what you so easily visualize and transform it into words that, when read, instill the same vision. There will be time when you will fail. That's where practice will refine your skills. Like Homer said to Bart in the Simpsons: "I bet (Albert) Einstein turned himself all sorts of colors when he was a kid." You just got to learn from your previous works and keep at it.

So (long post short), just take a crack at it. It may not be what you hope for but it will be the first, and most necessary, step that you will take in becoming an author.

 

[SIC]

Is it alright if you write a story that is personal but you write as someone else but it hitts so close to home ?

 

[flawed_ethics]

That's a question of ethics. I can't properly answer this, as my experience (as I noted above) as an author is slim. I'll offer my opinion nonetheless.

I would say it depends on the type of story that it is. A humorous story where everyone get's their due and no nerves are stepped on could lighten everyone's mood.

On the other hand, go over to the Loving Wives section here on Lit and read some of the public comments. They should give you an idea of how a re-creation of events, even if it's just a person's fantasy, can illicit scorn from total strangers, much less people in the story.

You could change the names of the characters, a few details and try to pass it as an original story of events. In fact, you might have to in order to weave around unnecessary elements.