Ok, I have noticed that more and more of you are starting to write your own fanfics or short stories/novels and I want to be the first to say that I think you all are doing to something that needs to be commended and supported. Writing your own stories is a wonderful way to express your own creativity and let people see a little bit of what is going on in your head.(Or do we really want to know? ;) ) I do have a couple of pieces of advice for the amateur authors out there and keep in kind, I'm hardly Stephen King but I've been doing this for awhile and ALOT of people are reading the Offering right now, even outside the forum, so I figure I must be doing something right. I would also like Wavehawk to post any advice that he can come up with.


ChaosHawks Guide to Writing V1


Step 1: Ok, the first thing that you have to sit down and do is come up with that you are going to write about, the overall plot. While this sounds easy, it can actually get quite difficult. There are a lot of factors that go into your planning phase and I will touch on them here.

I knew that when I started “The Offering” that it was going to be a mecha novel but that’s a horrendously vague concept. Firstly, you have to decide if you are going to make your own reality, or play with one that has already been created. A good example of the difference between the two is the stark contrast between mine and Wavehawks novels. He already has an established universe to work in, the characters have been pre-made and the locations are already there.

Now, the off hand to doing it this way and one of the reasons that I respect Wavehawks writing so much, is that you have to expand on what the author already created without…mucking it up too much. You have to find a balance between the original work and your new one. Wavehawk does this well in his “Basketball Girl in Love, Soccer Girl in Jealousy” and “The Genius and the Shrew” fics. He’s kept the original personalities of the girls that Ken Akamatsu established, as well as the…Negimaesque atmosphere and has added to it with his own characters and ideas. If you should decide that you want to make your own world, then you took a left back there and now we will walk down the other road.

Making your own universe is simultaneously satisfying and frustrating. You are allowed to establish the rules, whatever you say goes and that’s it. Unfortunately, there is a lot of justification that has to go into making your own universe. Who do you have to justify it to? The reader. If the world does not appear to be authentic in their eye, then you have accomplished nothing. What happened in the worlds past? What are its people like? What is the geography like? What is the climate? What is the currency? What do the toilets look like and which way do they flush? A lot of this may seem trivial but it adds to the depth of the world and draws the reader in further. A good part of the reason that most major epics are so satisfying is that they have an erroneous amount of detail packed into the story. Remember, it J.R.R Tolkein made an entire WORLD with “Lord of the Rings”, a language and a hell of a saga…..and it took him 20 years to write it all.

Step 2: Now you have hopefully established your idea, your concept. In painting terms, we still have a blank canvas but we have a vague idea what the picture will look like. Next we need to establish your characters. Again, if you are running in a pre-made world, this is relatively easy, just be sure not to fart around with the pre-made characters too much, it will discourage a reader. I know that if I’m reading a Negima fic and Negi is blowing up the school….major !@#* had better of hit the fan otherwise I’m putting it down because that’s just not Negi. Now, if we are playing in our OWN sandbox, then we have a few more steps ahead of us.

The characters are what drive your story, for the most part. There are novels out there where the environment or circumstances drive the plot but these are relatively difficult to write and in the end, if they are affecting the plot, they almost become a character anyway. You get to make up the people that you are going to work with and you better like them, as you are going to be spending a lot of time with them. Perhaps the best way to explain this, is something that Terry Goodkind says in one of his interviews. The characters were not just words on paper..they were actual people that came to him in his head and told him their story as he was building his house nearly a decade back. While this sounds like sever case of schizophrenia, I find myself “discovering” new aspects of my characters personalities all the time, like they already existed and I was made privy to them, rather than making them up.

Develop these people to their fullest. What do they look like? What are their names? What drives them? What are they afraid of? What do they like to eat? Are they gay? Do they have athletes foot? All these things will add to the dynamics of their personality. Don’t forget your villains either, they are characters as well. Also, a piece of advice. The concept of monolithic, stupid evil is relatively unrealistic. Most evil people have more dynamics to their personalities than just their ambition. Develop that…give them an addiction to chocolate or something…just a quirk that adds to their personality. Once you develop them, to this point, they will most likely take on a life of their own and things will go from there.

Step 3: Ok, we have our overall idea and our characters, seems like we can start writing….right? Not quite..but close. I suggest that at this point, you sit down and plot out your entire story, from beginning to end. Whether you write it down or do it in your head, plan the whole thing out. You might be surprised at what happens to your world, as it will probably change and shift around you as more and more ideas come to you. After you have sat down and plotted the whole thing out, then you can start writing.

Writing tips:

These are just few tips I have for writing and I find that they make my writing better, plus a few other that I have compiled from teachers/authors/literate friends over the years.
Watch your sentences and make sure they stay the appropriate length. If a sentence is too short, it seems abrupt and can neuter a descriptive paragraph, if it is too long, then your dragging a thought out.

Example: The building was red-Too Short
The building was a delicious shade of red, like that of ripe apples, wet lips or a baboons arse.-Too long
The building was red, the color of rusted metal-Just right

Also, avoid combining thoughts that should go into separate sentences. This is known as a “run-on sentence” and you probably learned about this in junior high or high school.

Example: “My friends and I went down to the store yesterday where we bought some mangas like Love Hina, Chobits, XXXholic and Negima and then when we down to the ice cream stand and were abducted by aliens who took us to Uranus.” This is….a bit long and could have been broken up, like this:

“My friends and I went down to the store to buy some mangas yesterday. We bought copies of Love Hina, Chobits, XXXHolic and Negima, then we went to get ice cream. At the ice cream stand, we were abducted by aliens, where I proceeded to KICK SOME ASS!!!…..Oh..wait…wrong channel.

Also and perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can give. Avoid what I call “encyclopediac writing”, which is common among new writers. This when you spend a good part of a chapter, or perhaps an entire chapter, simply telling the reader about what is going in the world, like you were reading them a pamphlet on the story. Most often, the great authors will give no introduction to their world, they simply jump in and the reader is left along for the ride. Remember, you are not writing through YOUR perspective, your writing through the characters. Why would a character take the time to reminisce about what the political situation of the world was if they were baking cookies..probably would not happen.

Now, there is no problem with giving the reader detail about the world, as long as its in the right context. If you will notice, in Chapter 6 of “The Offering” as Grant is walking around Kodiak base, he is telling the reader about the base and recalling his memories of what was going on. That’s fine.. but he is not recalling the political situation in China at that time as it has no bearing on him walking around Kodiak.

Lastly.. keep the world alive. The real world is a vast, multifaceted and complicated place, make your world one as well. Add shops, cities, music and restaurants. It adds to the dynamic of the whole thing.

Well…that’s my advice and I hope that it helps you all get to where you want to be. As I said, I am still learning as well but I figured passing on the knowledge I have will help you all out. Good luck guys and may your novels be wonderful

dude, nice advice. i'll try and put that to good use lol.

Cool writing tips, ChaosHawk...this will be very useful for fanfic writers...

I'll add a Step 0:

READ.

This has been something drilled into my head since grade school--You can't become a halfway decent writer if all your siources are TV/movies/radio et. al. Those are a visual medium of entertainment, and may not be easily translated to text.

And not just read, read critically. Find books by authors. I mean BOOKS, mind you--Although I'm a fanfiction writer myself, I'll also be the first to tell you that well-written fanfiction is very hard to come by. some authors have great ideas, but their delivery falls flat for one reason or other, and some just...write bad. :(

Find books. Don't be limited by genre. If you think reading a romance novel is going to help you write better romance, by jove, read it. Read them, and then find what parts of the book you like, what you don't like, and how you think you can write it better.

For example: Tom Clancy writes great technical detail and combat, but his characters are fairly wooden (except for Jack Ryan, but that's because he's had a dozen books to develop his character). On the other hand, John LeCarre's action might put you to sleep, but his characterizations are pretty good--even the minor ones stand out (I'm going through "The Honorable Schoolboy" right now). And of course, Jaqueline Susann does a very good portrayal of ordinary women characters with strength AND attitude.

I can not believe I forgot that. Yes, in fact George RR Martin, a wonderful fantasy author and presonal favorite of mine, says that as well. Read as much as you can and get your hands on many different genres. Branch out, you might be amazed. Here are some of my recommended authors:

JRR Tolkein-(Duh) Although I dont suggest trying to write like him, his style was.....unique.

George RR Martin-Song of Fire and Ice Saga
Terry Goodkind-Sword of Truth
Dan Brown-Everything by him
Michael Stackpole-X-Wing Saga
J.K Rowling: Harry Potter

Oh and make sure you have commitment. Something in which I lack.

If your going into sci-fi read authors like Frank Herbert(Dune series) and Robert Heinlein(One of the Fathers of the sci-fi genre).

I forgot one as well:

Step 4: KEEP WITH IT! If you are writing something that is of any length, then you are going to be bound to run into dry spells, times when inspiration either runs dry, or you just dont feel like writing. Despite those times, do not let them discourage you into stopping your work. Even if it seems that what you are putting out isnt as good as your previous work, its probably not that bad and as new ideas develop and come along, you will get that "Super motivated, drink a case of Mountain Dew to stay up all night and write this great new idea I just had" vibe back.

Transferring to the fanfic area.

Here's a helpful website to read through before you write, as well. ESPECIALLY fi you're writing fanfiction:

http://www.subreality.com/marysue/explain.htm
http://www.ottawa.net/aldowdall/ld/marysue.html
And AFTER reading that, this would help you even further.

http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/otto/grays...y-sue-test.html

Hmmm, I have a few Mary Sues...but not too bad.

So do I, at least with my previous works.

Tai and Shun, oddly, don't go very high on the Mary Sue scale...

So basically Mary Sue is where you create a fictional character to a fic that was too much centered in that story? and this character was just TOO much perfect? am I right? :huh:

No..its more like if you put YOURSELF in the story. I lose on Grant instantly in that Grant is my middle name..althogh Im nothing like him.

Ohhhh oki doki :) ok that clear things up! :lol:

In other words, Mush...we're Mary Sues. :P

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooo--WAY!!!!! :blink:

Thompson and Sasaki? :D

:blink: *shivers down the spine*.....WAIT!!!! "those" are not perfect!!!! :D I mean Thomspon gets beaten up, butt of all jokes , Sasaki is well NOT really perfect as well he got a curse :D so its safe its NOT totally Mary Sue!

If anyone knows bout this, YOU KNOW how to silence their existence! :ph43r:

- Read the Mary Sue checklist.

*After reading it*


Oh GAWD!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*sink* :(

well..WHO CARES!!!!! :lol: as long as we dont mess up the story :lol:

does anyone want my stratagy?

Any kind of strategy is gladly welcomed. Second, ChaosHawk's tips are awesome. Thanks a lot! ^_^

You guys...are indeed...serious writers...

One of my reasons that I'm not motivated to write well these days is the fact that there are better stories out there that will definitely overshadow your work.

I know, we're not all that good (and some like me will never be), but seeing one's work that's really good just...you know, pounds me more to the ground with inferiority...

-sigh- Well, I don't really make my original characters (I love tweaking other artists' characters...), but I should point out that an element of a good story has balance.

I'm not just talking about the clash between good and evil, but the element of reality in the story.

Take the Iliad/Odyssey for example. They're good IMHO since each character has balance. Hector may be on the wrong side, but he's defending his family and country. Achilles may be the hero of the epic, but his wrathful side lead him to his demise.

Case in point as well are the Mary Sue's in other stories. One reason they're bad enough is that the author tends to sway his/her Mary Sue onto the good side of the balance, because we want our good qualities to be recognized and acknowledged, but our imperfections to remain hidden. Let's face it, we're not perfect, so why should our Mary Sue be as well? ;)

You will also notice this in the stories of many of the good books, and anime series out there. There is always a theory of equivalence somewhere. For every Superman, there's got to be a Lex Luthor. Negi may be a child prodigy when it comes to magic, but the fact remains that he's still a child. There's always an equilibrium somewhere; try to find one yourself! ;)

In the end, the best storyboard's still reality. The best inspirations can also be found in your own experiences.

Not quite right.

• A good writer needn't be a good soldier to write a soldier's life. He just needs to be able to understand the subject. Mark Bowden was no US army Ranger/Delta Force member, but "Black Hawk Down" is probably the best modenr-day real-life Special Ops novel writ to date.
• Write what you know does NOT mean write JUST what you know. It means: What you don't know, make it your job to know.
• Quote from Arthur C Clarke: Good writers borrow. Genius steals outright. I.E. a really good writer will take an old, tried-and-true atory and still manage to make it fresh, new, and intruiging.

I see. Well, thanks. I don't always use my experience as my storyboard...it's just one of my sources of inspirations...^_^

Another tip: Share your stories!

It's usually the point of creating one....well, IMHO that is. Creating a story for one's self-satisfaction tends to be less gratifying than letting the world know the closet genius writer that you may be.

Like ChaosHawk wrote, your standard of your story in which its appeal/greatness is based is usually the readers. Heck, when you create a story and reread it again after 50+ years, you also become part of the "reader" category. ;)

Now, there's also the part of them readers criticizing your work. Don't, I repeat, don't ever retaliate or bear ill feelings against the critic! He/she took the time the read and comment/insult your work; and that's a comment in itself, right?

It's also a test of humility. If you harbor ill feelings against his/her criticism, then it means you need more improvement. The critic's just honest enough to tell that to you. It's also a way of growing --- call it maturity or whatever, but the bottom line is, in the end, you reap what you sow. (You'll improve in no time!)

. . .

Hope that helps. ^_^

If your gonna make a fanfic, just brainstorm about the characters. Make the impossible happen. find a way for it to happen. or let the story go the way you want. imagine a great loss, a crippling somthing, make the character different from everyone else. make them the leader of everyone. make them the kickass heros/heroines. make them the meek people in the crowd. make them the elders. make them the new trainees. make them fall in love. make them hate each other.

In other words, do what you think is a good, unexpected thing to do. that thing that would seem pretty dang awesome, but you know probably would never happen. MAKE it happen.

oh and two more words:

Spelling. Grammar.

I make an effort to use proper grammar and spelling, which is hard in notepad. I dont use word, word takes too long to load. When i need to know how a word is spelled (silhouet <_<) i google it and look for a correction. I try to use quotations correctly. Don't worry though, I'm going to run my fic through word one day.

Don't rush yourself. Only write when you want to, or when you haven't written in about a month.

I might post more later, i g2g t bed. its 12:40 AM here. :D

main points:
Be a kid. Let your imagination go wild.
Be an adult. Use proper grammar and spelling.
Don't put yourself on a strict timetable. it ruins fics.

- (Looks at his negima fics)

She's definitely right there. Remember, you don't get paid to write fics, take time to make them good. Only if you need experience and have plans to be a full-time writer should you go for timetables (because that's what you'll go through in writing).

I myself have redone some chapters in my fic when i rushed them out. <.< (ch 5 and another one)

But don't take too longer......

*Rare Forgot everything about his story because he slacked too long*

If you come up with ideas, write them down before you forget. I've already forgotten some awesome story lines because i left my notebook somewhere.

On the other hand, time digesting your story concepts helps, too. I've killed a lot of story ideas that seemed good the first time I thought of them, but generally sucked when I actually started writing.

Oh yeah, one IMPORTANT thing:

This is YOUR story. Unless you're co-writing with someone, it's yours. Do not let anyone sidetrack you by saying "Oh, I think this character should do this, not what you wrote". That approach has killed stories many times--it's what ruined my tried-and-failed Gundam Wing fic; because I listened to everything my friends told me to change in the story, it came out absolute crap.

You write a story from you, for you. You don't write a story the way someone else tells you to write it. If you do, you have to be capable of sharing ideas with another writer, not become a dictaphone for their ideas and concepts for storytelling.

Same here. I skipped um...2 years to even start on moving on with my story, then the next thing I knew was that I can't remember what was supposed to be the twist in my Ranma fic. (Which prompted me to start the story in the first place)

It's left hanging in the void, wanting to be finished...>_<

Moral: I'm better suited for fluffs and shorts, rather than segmented ones.

(Not to mention sticking to series that people can relate well in these times...)

Let me add another piece of advice after so long.

Judging the length of your story and the amount of work it is going to take to finish it versus the amount of writing time you have is very important indeed. This is an issue that I am having a great deal of difficulty with at the moment. As a full time employee, with nearly full time school and homework, I have very little time to write. Albeit that if I scrapped my social life, I would have more time to sit here but I refuse to do that. If you are taking 18+ credit hours, working or busy with clubs and social activities or any combination of the above, then chances are that you are not going to be able to put out an epic 500 page novel in a couple of months. Give yourself an adequate amount of time to put into your work. It takes most of the "big" writers in the world a year to several to put out a new novel, depending on the length and their schedule and it will be no different with you. The more you do, the more tired you will be. The more tired you are, the more your writing is going to suffer.

^

too true, too true. there was a time when i thought i would actually have to postpone my fic. but, luckily i made it past there ^.^

I'm very impressed with the fiction base in here. Like ChaosHawk, I too am a budding amateur author, who doesn't make a claim to be a Tolkien or Lewis or King. I like the tips ChaosHawk gave, but I feel that what I learned shouldn't be kept to one's self.
Since all authors must unite, I feel that we should all help each other.

Coming up with the plot first is a good idea, but sometimes you're privileged (or not) to have other things come first to you before the plot.
With my first original action fiction, "Far From It", my poems bred my characters, my characters bred their own personalities, and their personalities bred the plotline. However, this is a rare chance, and I do not suggest trying it the way I did. It was only by very lucky instances of inspiration that I managed to do that.
I agree that it's recommended to start off with a plot and work around it, but in case you get other ideas first, I'd like to help with that as well.

Characters:
If you came up with the idea of major characters first, look at what you have. Since this scenario would only happen with original fiction (or OCs), you either came up with their design or their personality.
- If you came up with their design, I think that you shouldn't try to base a story based on their looks, unless you get some huge inspiration. Even then, it's very likely that your plotline doesn't revolve around what they're wearing. Set it aside and implement them in later.
- Personalities say a lot. When you have the characters you want to use, the first thing you want to set in stone is their personality. I've seen stories where one does something one time and then with no explanation do an about-face 5-10 chapters later. Why? Because their personalities weren't set in concrete. I can't stress enough how having rigid characterization will help improve your story-telling, even if it's hard to adjust to them.

However, if you've started with minor characters, immediately find major characters as well, because minor ones aren't minor without major ones.

Characters will always be at least one of Miller's 36 types, so make sure you make your characters unique. Nothing is worse than having "macaroni-type" characters (where all players in your story are essentially the same). Have variety and don't try to stick to one type just because you like it. Exploring different options will help you to be a better writer.

(P.S. That link in the above paragraph is an article focused on GMs of D&D and other D&D-type RPGs. However, it is still a good reference when writing, despite its unorthodox application.)

World:

ChaosHawk pretty much nailed the immediate benefits and drawbacks of making your own universe.
When you imagine a world and its wonders, you may find yourself struggling to find a topic for your story because of the world's broad horizon. If it doesn't bother you, concentrate your focus into one area small enough for you to imagine living in it. Putting yourself into your world, while dangerous to your health if done enough times, can help you write better descriptions, especially if you want to understand what could go on in a certain scenario and the like. You have to watch, though, for assumptions. Your own assumptions. When you view your own world, you may understand some things that you may fail to put on paper. Don't forget, your audience most likely does not have any idea of how your world looks like. If you really want them to be captured by the world, then describe. Don't over-describe, but allow yourself, along with your characters and your audience, to be enraptured by its beauty. If you can do this, you will have conquered the hardest obstacle in the journey to be able to write great stories.

This tip is also strongly encouraged, as when your characters and plotline come together, you, like the characters, want it concrete. If you don't do so, you may have a dynamic ending, and unless that's what you want, it might not be a satisfying ending.
Plan it out, and if you learn kinesthetically, then you must write it out. "The art of planning is half the battle," or so one famous person said. He is right. Once you plan your story and have it plotted from beginning to end, you have written your story without words. Or, in other words, finished half the story. All you need to do now is write it.

This is probably my biggest fault. I feel I want to open up the world to the reader, so that the reader can get an idea for it.
The fact of the matter is, you are not your audience. You don't think the same way they do. Let them figure out things for themselves. The best thing is when you imply something and they think it means something, then you turn around and hit them with a plot shift. Don't overdo those or mess up the timing, or you'll have just wasted words.

I'll also give a tip that ChaosHawk didn't give.
Identify your Audience
Make sure you know who you're writing to. While "Fast Food Nation" is aimed more at the general public, "911" is aimed towards medical staff. Identify your audience, and speak only to them. You'll be surprised at how focused your work is.

Happy Writing, and I look forward to your fictions.

I couldn't agree more. I too am a budding writer, with my first sci-fi/fantasy action adventure 'Legacy'. I've been writing it for...ooh nearly 6 years now (slow, I know! But I can only write when I'm in the mood :lol: ) but the main thing that's kept me going is the characters (whom I love to death, except one bastard who I've grown to loathe). I recommend sitting down and writing out semi-detailed summaries of all your characters (major ones, and most significant minor ones) before you start writing. I found that this helps greatly with framing what you want to do with each of your characters, and it helps keep you focused and consistent when writing long works. For example, I have a document called 'Legacy Chracters' that basically summaries all of the major characters (also some minor ones) including personalities, histories, unique traits, appearance etc, and also detailing major places and a little bit of world lore (mine's a unique setting) to help give you a good grounding.

One other tip that served me well: Make It Personal. This is your work, and I think what helps to really make it original (in truth, there's only so many broad-scope topics to go with when writing) it's that personal touch that comes direct from you that really gives good writing soul and grabs your attention. A lot of my writing is based on my own thoughts, perceptions and feelings, and imo it gives my work much more life.

Happy writing gang! ^_^

PS: Chaoshawk, you appear to be one very serious writer...I will try to read your work when I get some time (stuipd assignments! :angry: ). I fact, I need to try and read more work here when I get more time! Holidays, wherefor art thou holidays!
PPS: Are we allowed to post non-fanfic stuff here? My work's not fanfic (I've never tried, but I don't think i'd do a good job :P) so I'm just curious

Wow, people still look at this, I am very happy after all this time. Perhaps, one of these days, I will actually finish the Offering. If only there were 80 hours in a day...... :(

And another thing, if a fic is based on a world that is more realistic, try not to bend rules of realism too much. But if your world is something like in Negima, you can bend the rules to a certain extent.

People would find it weird if you're writing a fic about a bunch of 'normal kids in the realistic present day, and then suddenly a Titans Gundam Mk.II comes out of nowhere and attack them', but if you pull off the same thing like in Negima, like 'suddenly, Chao appeared with a Titans Gundam Mk.II behind her, and she ordered the Gundam to attack the mages', it wasn't impossible (since robots do exist anyway in that world) and more acceptable.

To some people, kct, it's already innate.
I envy those people.

Basically, whenever something doesn't flow together or if the storytelling suddenly becomes broken-lined, then they immediately recognize it and correct it.

That's something I need.

Maybe I should update "One Chance", "Far From It", "Final Earth", and start up "Path of Chaos" like I had meant to do. Probably a divergence ;)

Although you can insert those elements if you have the stage set for them, like this (this is a very sketchy version).

**********

Suddenly, he chased the other guy into the underground lab. There, he spotted a few giant robots on the side of the wall, probably as tall as a building, or probably taller.

He was surprised to see them. Robots that big, as he thought, only existed in fiction, or Gundam animes.

Yet what his eyes told him are not lies.

In fact he was shocked to see something resembling...The-O.

And all he knew about the lab was that it stored only Tanaka bots and small robots. The-O is an unexpected find.

Before he can make out the next course of action, The-O's monoeyes light up without warning, and the giant gold-coloured robot began making it's way to a hatch. The thrust generated from the thrusters pushed him back, as he falls onto the ground, seeing the giant robot disappearing into the shadows.

It was then he spotted another similarly-sized robot. Something, that resembles a Zeta Gundam.

**********

OK, so basically, if you're to insert something unexpected, do it in a smooth way. And if the new thing is going to be an important plot device, treat it as if it was one of the major characters.