Fiction writing support group

Welcome to the Wikiversity Fiction writing support group. This is a "learn by doing" project in which participants share ideas and information about writing fiction.

Kellyv2. I am interested in fiction writing of the interraction of biological tissue and electronic devices in creating a super human, who hitherto has had mutation of his genes. Resulting in a special human species with a hiden powers whose full potential is revealed by the electronic devices. And the functioning of the device is possible only when individuals with same bloodline wore such device. Findout the mysteries behind the most gifted scientist and their beliefs and the outcome.

Reading and discussion

Reading about writing.

Advice to authors

There is no shortage of published authors willing to share advice about writing, but do they agree on anything?

If you are working towards the publication of a commercial novel, whether genre or literary upmarket, you have to understand your market and how to write for that market. Mysteries, thrillers, SF/F, etc., all have their foundational tropes while demanding of the new author the creation of high-concept premise within the parameters formed by those tropes.

Reading

Read: Writing advice by Chris Moriarty.

red comments by JWSchmidt
pink comments by Angelica Klosky
black comments by Michael Neff

Discussion

"Step 1: Read".

This "rule" makes me think that we should start a series of "book reports".....I'm thinking of short accounts of why we like particular works of fiction.

True, but it may be a warning of, "You are what you read." For instance, if you devour romantic comedies like a starving child would devour a ton of green-iced donuts (as I do- the books, not the donuts), sooner or later, that child will start to turn green, and you find all of your work being tainted by romance and comedy.

Read but also do hook, scene, and character arc analysis of your favorite authors, perhaps authors you might wish to emulate in some manner. Devour the mechanics and artistry of scene development as much as possible.

"Step 2: the key to successful writing is setting a regular writing schedule and sticking to it".

It makes me sad to think about "successful writers" who have to force themselves to write. Too bad there are not more writers who struggle to set a regular living schedule in order to keep from writing when they know they should be doing all the other things that make a complete life.

I struggle to set a regular living schedule so that I don't go blind!

The key to successful writing is also looking five years into the future and asking yourself where you want to be. Set a firm goal. Learn all you can and press forward.

"Step 3: Write what you love".

Another sad aspect of the writing world: that writers have to be reminded to have fun. Maybe for many professional writers it is important to be able to force yourself to write what sells even when you do not really enjoy doing it. Ick.

Yes, that is sad. Reminds me of the bad old days, during my time in the HM fandom, where I'd force myself to update every friday.

If you don't have passion for your genre, or the subject matter of the novel you are writing (or even short story or screenplay), you will never be a success because you won't have the stamina for rejection and multiple rewrites.

"Step 4: Imitation".

I like the idea of "studying" the work of other writers and learning from what others have written. I also like to imagine that after a certain amount of such "studying", every writer can reach the point where they create their own solutions to problems without having to copy what someone else did before.

See comment on Step 1.

Consider it rather like learning from the masters so that you can stand on their shoulders.

Rewriting

Advice on rewriting and the value of multiple versions of a story.

Reading

Falling In Love With a Serial Killer! by Evelyn David. "....it's fine to fall in love with one of your characters, enough to save her or him from the gallows, there are some pitfalls to these transformations. Here are some tips to consider before you start any revisions...."

Never a Dearer Friend: a Conversation with Dot Jackson

Jeremy Jones: "Would you agree that encountering multiple versions of the same story lends a particular vitality to the story?"

Dot Jackson: "Your perceptions are right on."

red comments by JWSchmidt

Discussion

Can you really understand a fictional character unless you know multiple ways of thinking about the character?

"if you decide to fundamentally change a character, you've got to make sure that you go whole hog".

I think there is truth to this. You can try to be sly and make a major transformation of a character without doing a major re-write of the existing version of the story the character is in.....this is tempting....rewriting can be painful. However, rewriting can also be rewarding. Ludwig Wittgenstein, in describing what must be done to accomplish a complex task, wrote about the need to, "travel over a wide field of thought criss-cross in every direction". During such a process he found that, "the same points were always being approached afresh from new directions, and new sketches made." Eventually, after taking the time to explore the subject from several different perspectives you truly understand the landscape and can efficiently provide others with a well-crafted account.

"One of the many advantages of using a computer to write fiction is that you can work with multiple versions of a book at the same time. You can try a character 'on-for-size' and if the change doesn't work, you can hit the delete key".

I love the ways that computer technology empowers writers to go in directions that were not really possible before computers. Why does a story have to have one beginning, one middle and one end? Why not a couple of each? Even if in the end just one version that is the "best", the process of making multiple versions can be useful for developing a character.

You can be as unconventional with your style as you like..as long as it is not done out of ignorance.

Related resources

External resources

Creative Writing/Novels at Wikibooks.
Novelas - The fiction wikia. Collaborative fiction.
Advanced Novel and Fiction Craft from Author Salon by Michael Neff.
Young Writers Program - National Novel Writing Month
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers - A "support group for writers of novel length fiction" with "more than 400 members, including more than 50 published novelists".
Writing fiction blog by Crawford Kilian.
The First Novelists' Handbook by Allen Meece.
Writing a novel - "Mini-course", includes, "finding the right ideas for a novel; fleshing the story out; creating reasons for readers to stick with your book; writing your first chapter". Links to h2g2; you need to create a free account before you can view the course.

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