- 11,197
- Central Coast, NSW
- Com_Fox5
- EelX 5
I guess then, yeah there is though people to leave and enter throughout the plot due to either, conflicts/becoming friends or during the next school year and people graduate and new people come in.
Do you write stories?
- Thread starter Lee
- 351 comments
- 19,246 views
- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
- 6,963
- South Africa
...Sounds good to me, as long as those characters are clearly set apart from one another, and possibly with none of those hard-to-read names that came out of a random page off a Sanskrit dictionary...
- 6,963
- South Africa
...Personalities or quirks that makes them easily identifiable even when they show up later on again without a warning.
Have you ever encountered the so-called "Stereotypical Characters" archetypes while going through different genres?
You know the ones: the sassy best friends who knows everything yet suffering comically in romcoms, wise old beardy wizards that actually didn't know squat and get embarrassed by the MC, space marines with too much bravado and too little common sense - the usual, groan inducing palette-swap characters with no personalities.
Or, the anime/manga tropes of tsundere/yandere/moe etc etc...
That's what I'd try to avoid as much as possible.
- 11,197
- Central Coast, NSW
- Com_Fox5
- EelX 5
Oh, ok, I think I've done the character personalities separate and fine. According to some people that was the strength of my first Fan Fiction....Personalities or quirks that makes them easily identifiable even when they show up later on again without a warning.
Have you ever encountered the so-called "Stereotypical Characters" archetypes while going through different genres?
You know the ones: the sassy best friends who knows everything yet suffering comically in romcoms, wise old beardy wizards that actually didn't know squat and get embarrassed by the MC, space marines with too much bravado and too little common sense - the usual, groan inducing palette-swap characters with no personalities.
Or, the anime/manga tropes of tsundere/yandere/moe etc etc...
That's what I'd try to avoid as much as possible.
Tell me about those anime archetypes. The main male protagonist is either Hot Headed, OP or a Shy Person until he finds something special about him.
- 6,963
- South Africa
...Are these possible directions you're thinking of, for your MC? Hopefully he's not named Tom Ato...
(Yeah I know it's really obscure Pokemon/Ash reference. So sue me.)The anime tropes I mentioned, lemme find a link that can explain far, far better than someone with a limited vocabulary (me).
Found it!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockJapaneseCharacters?from=Main.AnimeCharacterTypes
- 11,197
- Central Coast, NSW
- Com_Fox5
- EelX 5
I got the reference, one of my favourite episodes...Are these possible directions you're thinking of, for your MC? Hopefully he's not named Tom Ato...
The anime tropes I mentioned, lemme find a link that can explain far, far better than someone with a limited vocabulary (me).
Found it!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockJapaneseCharacters?from=Main.AnimeCharacterTypes
My MC thankfully is a femaile so Tom Ato is out of the question
- 8,430
- Auckland
- Lazer0pz
Setting apart my characters is something I've got to work on. My race-fics from GT4 and GT5 (don't look 'em up. Serious.) as well as the Three Wishes story don't really do that.
Found some more stories! They're from the TalesFromRetail subreddit. Some NSFW language in one of them.
Eau de Bitchy and You Want the Receipt for the Stuff I'm Stealing?
Found some more stories! They're from the TalesFromRetail subreddit. Some NSFW language in one of them.
Eau de Bitchy and You Want the Receipt for the Stuff I'm Stealing?
{tries to google} Uhm, what "Search parameters" should I use? I'm kinda stuck...
- 8,430
- Auckland
- Lazer0pz
The Captain.
The Long Road Down.
The problem with my racefics is that there aren't any set plotlines. Additionally, both of these had the main characters moving within the first several chapters to help set the scene and move the story forward which in hindsight is a bit silly.
I've always wanted to write a story with listlessness and melancholy as some underlying tones; the uncertainty one may experience prior to adulthood. The aversion to growing up, and the fear of the banality of the everyday future.
I've discovered a song that sets a similar tone: Depreston by Courtney Barnett.
The Long Road Down.
The problem with my racefics is that there aren't any set plotlines. Additionally, both of these had the main characters moving within the first several chapters to help set the scene and move the story forward which in hindsight is a bit silly.
I've always wanted to write a story with listlessness and melancholy as some underlying tones; the uncertainty one may experience prior to adulthood. The aversion to growing up, and the fear of the banality of the everyday future.
I've discovered a song that sets a similar tone: Depreston by Courtney Barnett.
- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
One of the real challenges in writing and offering your material elsewhere is in trying to gain legal clearance. Like if you tried to come up with a story about Gran Turismo or Minecraft or something, and you try to offer something for sale, you'll have to gain some sort of legal clearance for your fanfiction. Part of me actually thought of working on a story project about a Gran Turismo career based on Gran Turismo 1. But if I tried to come up with such a story, I'd have to add all kinds of disclaimers and stuff about the game and maybe a lot of the represented manufacturers.
These days, I've become a bit more experienced in learning how to create HTML pages and using CSS to try to create an eBook. It is mostly just learning to create an eBook that is taking up my time as opposed to actually compiling material for an eBook for me. I do think I'm making progress.
These days, I've become a bit more experienced in learning how to create HTML pages and using CSS to try to create an eBook. It is mostly just learning to create an eBook that is taking up my time as opposed to actually compiling material for an eBook for me. I do think I'm making progress.
- 11,197
- Central Coast, NSW
- Com_Fox5
- EelX 5
Just some practice ideas to anyone who is struggling with making diverse characters
Try writing a short, Total Drama fan fiction season with your own created characters. You don't need to send it to others.
The whole plot of each real seasons (which is like the Reality Show: Survivor) is a great way to throw random character ideas together, the ones you don't like or have already completed their Story arc can be eliminated early so you can focus on the characters that need to be developed longer. Since a lot of challenges are in Team, it is great practice for Character interactions which is what you need for character and from my experience, once you get to the merge (where there are no more teams), you can still find good ways for Character Interactions.
I hope this helps
Try writing a short, Total Drama fan fiction season with your own created characters. You don't need to send it to others.
The whole plot of each real seasons (which is like the Reality Show: Survivor) is a great way to throw random character ideas together, the ones you don't like or have already completed their Story arc can be eliminated early so you can focus on the characters that need to be developed longer. Since a lot of challenges are in Team, it is great practice for Character interactions which is what you need for character and from my experience, once you get to the merge (where there are no more teams), you can still find good ways for Character Interactions.
I hope this helps
- 5,905
- West Yorkshire
- Katiegan
- KatieB53
Well, I've been writing a lot more now and I can't really believe how much I missed it. I'm hooked all over again.
Instead of trying to format everything into a novel I've decided to just write down ideas and plots as I get them and just sort of collect them. I mainly just post them to Tumblr on a separate account I made there for this kind of stuff. I wrote this earlier today, based on the character I introduced a while back. It's basically just a summary of her childhood from her point of view.
Instead of trying to format everything into a novel I've decided to just write down ideas and plots as I get them and just sort of collect them. I mainly just post them to Tumblr on a separate account I made there for this kind of stuff. I wrote this earlier today, based on the character I introduced a while back. It's basically just a summary of her childhood from her point of view.
“I didn’t choose to be a psychopath. I don’t think anyone does. You don’t get a choice. I didn’t wake up one day and think, “****, I wanna go skin people alive”. Things happen that make you that way.
Looking back, I never had a chance really. I was a bad kid. I couldn’t help it. I’d get sent out of class every day, the teachers would beat me. I went to school in the 50s so nobody thought twice about you whoopin’ a kid’s ass. Nobody gave me a chance. I didn’t behave badly on purpose. I wanted to be a good kid. I just didn’t know how, because all my brain wanted to do was talk, tease another kid, or move around.
British education, especially in wealthy areas, was really strict in the 50s. You couldn’t move in your seat. I need to move all the time. I can’t stay still for long. I couldn’t help moving around and the teachers just didn’t understand that. I hardly learned anything in my short time at school because I just didn’t stay in classes long enough. The rest of my family had nice, polite kids who got good grades and never got sent out of class. My parents saw me as a failure and embarrassment to the family. My mother thought I was an alien. Me being ****ed up put a huge strain on my parents’ relationship. My mother blamed my father, it was his fault for going out and making this stupid drug that created a messed up kid.
Since my parents were wealthy, I often got looked after by ‘nannies’. I went through a lot of those, they couldn’t handle me either. Our small village soon learned that my parents had a badly behaved child and since they didn’t know why I was like that, they just presumed I had bad and unruly parents. My mother didn’t like me. Not at all. I wasn’t the perfect daughter she wanted so she pretended I wasn’t her daughter at all. I have a lot of memories of her telling me how weird I was, how messed up I was, how she wished I could just be normal. And I wished for that too. I wished I was like my cousins. I wished I was like my classmates. I knew I was different and I hated it, and it felt like everyone else did too.
The only person who made me feel normal was my father. He felt bad for me. It was his fault I was like this. He was the most patient with me. He tried to understand me when no one else could. He took his time with me when I was impatient, when I wouldn’t listen, when I’d go and do my own thing. But, my mother didn’t want him to do that. She said I was a lost cause. So it was her, really, who handed me over to the government. I know it hurt my father but he’d been reassured I wouldn’t be exploited. And that’s probably what pissed me off the most about the government. They made my poor dad a promise that his strange little daughter would be okay, but instead they turned me into this. They turned me into a killing machine, because they knew I could do it, they knew I was very vulnerable and impressionable, they knew I was powerful and that’s what they wanted. They wanted power. My power.
I could’ve saved lives, not taken them. I could’ve cured the sick. I bet if I’d been given an education my weird brain would understand **** and come up with the cure for cancer. But instead, they drove me to insanity, and now I could never do anything like that. I don’t think I’ll ever be a normal person. I’ll never stop doing the things I do. I’m a machine, a human machine. They farmed me. Manipulated me into this… beast. This heartless, monstrous beast who just kills and tortures and everything in between. I didn’t want to be known as that. I care about people sometimes. I find it difficult to empathise but deep beneath all of this brutality, I care. I still feel the same things that everyone else does, just in a different way. I still love. I fall in love. I tell people and myself that I don’t but I do. But nobody understands me, you see. They all think I’m just heartless and that I think their head would look better mounted to my wall. Which, granted, for the most part is how I feel. But sometimes, something else makes me feel more… human things.
There’s still a small part of me, a small, tiny part of me, that’s still the kid Elise. The pre-corruption Elise, as I call her. The kid that wasn’t perfect but still stood a small chance. I could’ve done it, you know? I could’ve been good. But I’m too far gone now.”
Looking back, I never had a chance really. I was a bad kid. I couldn’t help it. I’d get sent out of class every day, the teachers would beat me. I went to school in the 50s so nobody thought twice about you whoopin’ a kid’s ass. Nobody gave me a chance. I didn’t behave badly on purpose. I wanted to be a good kid. I just didn’t know how, because all my brain wanted to do was talk, tease another kid, or move around.
British education, especially in wealthy areas, was really strict in the 50s. You couldn’t move in your seat. I need to move all the time. I can’t stay still for long. I couldn’t help moving around and the teachers just didn’t understand that. I hardly learned anything in my short time at school because I just didn’t stay in classes long enough. The rest of my family had nice, polite kids who got good grades and never got sent out of class. My parents saw me as a failure and embarrassment to the family. My mother thought I was an alien. Me being ****ed up put a huge strain on my parents’ relationship. My mother blamed my father, it was his fault for going out and making this stupid drug that created a messed up kid.
Since my parents were wealthy, I often got looked after by ‘nannies’. I went through a lot of those, they couldn’t handle me either. Our small village soon learned that my parents had a badly behaved child and since they didn’t know why I was like that, they just presumed I had bad and unruly parents. My mother didn’t like me. Not at all. I wasn’t the perfect daughter she wanted so she pretended I wasn’t her daughter at all. I have a lot of memories of her telling me how weird I was, how messed up I was, how she wished I could just be normal. And I wished for that too. I wished I was like my cousins. I wished I was like my classmates. I knew I was different and I hated it, and it felt like everyone else did too.
The only person who made me feel normal was my father. He felt bad for me. It was his fault I was like this. He was the most patient with me. He tried to understand me when no one else could. He took his time with me when I was impatient, when I wouldn’t listen, when I’d go and do my own thing. But, my mother didn’t want him to do that. She said I was a lost cause. So it was her, really, who handed me over to the government. I know it hurt my father but he’d been reassured I wouldn’t be exploited. And that’s probably what pissed me off the most about the government. They made my poor dad a promise that his strange little daughter would be okay, but instead they turned me into this. They turned me into a killing machine, because they knew I could do it, they knew I was very vulnerable and impressionable, they knew I was powerful and that’s what they wanted. They wanted power. My power.
I could’ve saved lives, not taken them. I could’ve cured the sick. I bet if I’d been given an education my weird brain would understand **** and come up with the cure for cancer. But instead, they drove me to insanity, and now I could never do anything like that. I don’t think I’ll ever be a normal person. I’ll never stop doing the things I do. I’m a machine, a human machine. They farmed me. Manipulated me into this… beast. This heartless, monstrous beast who just kills and tortures and everything in between. I didn’t want to be known as that. I care about people sometimes. I find it difficult to empathise but deep beneath all of this brutality, I care. I still feel the same things that everyone else does, just in a different way. I still love. I fall in love. I tell people and myself that I don’t but I do. But nobody understands me, you see. They all think I’m just heartless and that I think their head would look better mounted to my wall. Which, granted, for the most part is how I feel. But sometimes, something else makes me feel more… human things.
There’s still a small part of me, a small, tiny part of me, that’s still the kid Elise. The pre-corruption Elise, as I call her. The kid that wasn’t perfect but still stood a small chance. I could’ve done it, you know? I could’ve been good. But I’m too far gone now.”
- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
With this month being November, a number of people are taking part in the National Novel Writing Month challenge, or "NaNoWriMo." I'm not taking part in it, but I have expressed some interest in a number of story ideas for eBooks I hope to work on and complete. I don't think I'd have the endurance and attention to make a very long eBook novel. The NaNoWriMo thing is about trying to come up with a novel of about 50K words. A challenge like for novelists is almost as grueling as gaming jams (like Ludum Dare) for game programmers- and those people have only 48 hours compared to novelists having a full month!
The only story material I have thought of mostly are nonfiction works and mostly a bunch of commentary style material. Most of the work I've been interested on is what you'd see on eBook readers and eBook apps. I mostly believe in material a greater audience can enjoy. I somewhat considered something like an eBook comic, but I also had those plans for YouTube videos. If you're going to make eBook comics or whatever, you have to have a solid story in addition to supplying good artwork to bring the story to life.
Most of what I am doing is mostly just developing content through HTML and putting it all together to form an eBook. Haven't yet concentrated on stories.
The only story material I have thought of mostly are nonfiction works and mostly a bunch of commentary style material. Most of the work I've been interested on is what you'd see on eBook readers and eBook apps. I mostly believe in material a greater audience can enjoy. I somewhat considered something like an eBook comic, but I also had those plans for YouTube videos. If you're going to make eBook comics or whatever, you have to have a solid story in addition to supplying good artwork to bring the story to life.
Most of what I am doing is mostly just developing content through HTML and putting it all together to form an eBook. Haven't yet concentrated on stories.
- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
The next step I've taken towards eBook making was find a distributor. I did sign up for Smashwords, but since it was taking so long to get any kind of confirmation or anything, I found a service called Draft2Digital. D2D doesn't have as many distributors as Smashwords does, but it is pretty good from what I've read. MUCH more responsive than Smashwords. Anyone looking to be an eBook author will need to find a worthy service for which to distribute your material for sale if you intend to offer your eBooks for sale.
I don't have any stories I am working on, but I am still envisioning trying to come up with a series of self-help material. I also have some eBook ideas along the lines of extended commentary. My biggest holdup in all of this is mostly in trying to find a suitable workflow to create my material and having the confidence to release that work to the masses. The next thing I want to try is using a program called Sigil to make an eBook from scratch and go from cover images to text to compiling it all together into an EPUB. I am still exploring my options, but I am confident I will finally produce some content I can be proud releasing.
I don't have any stories I am working on, but I am still envisioning trying to come up with a series of self-help material. I also have some eBook ideas along the lines of extended commentary. My biggest holdup in all of this is mostly in trying to find a suitable workflow to create my material and having the confidence to release that work to the masses. The next thing I want to try is using a program called Sigil to make an eBook from scratch and go from cover images to text to compiling it all together into an EPUB. I am still exploring my options, but I am confident I will finally produce some content I can be proud releasing.
- 4,021
- Null Island
I've got a book that all I need to do to finish it....is actually write the blasted thing.
- 76
- Illinois
I write short stories and monologues in my spare time. However, I have tried my hand at writing a novel, but writer's block and lack of interest ruined any hopes of completing it.
- 798
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Brown352
I write often as an outlet, for fun and to hopefully interest people. In doing so, I post around reddit often, writing prompts. I post on NoSleep more than anything. I'd like to try my hand at writing a graphic novel, or regular novel eventually. I draw a lot of inspiration from fantasy aspects, apocalyptic scenarios, psychological horror, and horror in general.
- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
I think after getting a Kindle e-Reader, I now have less worry about trying to get an eBook to look right. I can kind of focus more on content and then worry about all the formatting and stuff. Trying to nail down a style and a workflow I can be comfortable with have been my two biggest obstacles in making an eBook. It is also the reason why I've taken so long to try to develop my material. Because I've had better luck with the MOBI format, I may work almost exclusively with MOBI to go with my Kindle e-Reader. Work with MOBI and then translate to EPUB. It's sort of a "divide and conquer" approach to boost my profile in being an author.
So my advice- make it work before you try to make it pretty. Then again, that's not a bad life lesson either.
So my advice- make it work before you try to make it pretty. Then again, that's not a bad life lesson either.
- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
By using a project I'm working on, I was able to make another test eBook. The key here was in using a file I had converted from a file in LibreOffice to be converted to EPUB and MOBI thanks to a beta program called Alkinea. This newer test eBook was also the first time I made a test eBook with my new Kindle eReader. For the most part, the conversion process went pretty well. This now gives me a better idea of how my material will be structured once I make a proper final version of my work. There is only one problem with this setup if you plan on offering your work for sale or for possible printing- some distributors require you have your work in DOC format.
About as important as making a story or a book is its length. To me, I am not even considering making any work north of 30K words. I don't think I can focus that long and that hard to make a story of 30K words or more unless I combine several shorter stories into one. As an example, Amazon has their Kindle Singles, where word length is between 5K words and 30K words. The project I am working on is still mostly in a draft, and it is at about 6.8K words on my last check. All I know is that you put in as many words as you can to create a complete book you can be proud of. That is, unless someone has a certain limit he/she is looking for.
So I am now making some progress now.
About as important as making a story or a book is its length. To me, I am not even considering making any work north of 30K words. I don't think I can focus that long and that hard to make a story of 30K words or more unless I combine several shorter stories into one. As an example, Amazon has their Kindle Singles, where word length is between 5K words and 30K words. The project I am working on is still mostly in a draft, and it is at about 6.8K words on my last check. All I know is that you put in as many words as you can to create a complete book you can be proud of. That is, unless someone has a certain limit he/she is looking for.
So I am now making some progress now.
- 11,197
- Central Coast, NSW
- Com_Fox5
- EelX 5
Trying to practice Character back-stories and personality and how they can change or effected in the coarse of the Pokemon fan fiction story:
Razor:
He is the sort of the nerdy character, the MC ends up being his roommate when the MC enters the Pokemon Battle Institute (PBB) (the rooms are co-ed but each person gets their own private bathroom). He was originally from a Successful Rich Business family with 3 brothers but he absolutely hated it, he always wanted to be free and be himself but with all the rules and regulations the family pushes on him, he can't get much out of this. The only thing he had that he enjoyed was his Pokemon, Tynamo he found in a Cave where he got lost and keeps it hidden, he calls the experience in the cave to be one of the best experiences he ever had with the family. Though at the age of 7, his parents found out which caused a massive fight in which he ran away from move with his Tynamo, he tore of his Suit he kept on being forced to wear and now became Homeless. He was found by a farmer family and took him and Tynamo in, he was able to be free at this time living at the farm and was able to wear something more free than a suit being Shorts and a Tank Top, he was able to also develop younger brotherly and younger sisterly relationships with the Daughters and Sons of the family, His Tynamo eventually fully evolved into an Eelektross overtime. Later on, he became into machinery with the families Tractor and even went on to work on it and fix it quite a lot of times. However, due to this rebellious act against his biological family he was given the Symbol of Giratina (2nd Arc main plot stuff) on his back, but he keeps it hidden. At the age of 15 he joined the PBB to find what he truly wants to do with his Eelektross, though he still goes to the farm during weekends. His interesting in Machinery has gotten him to constantly work on anything tech based, even his own little projects and even grows an interest in gaming. He can be a ignorant and since he only really hang out with brothers and sisters can be a joker to people around him even if it is unneeded. He is also pretty chill in most situations and can even calmly do things overs would revolt at which causes a few issues with him and the MC as one plot point the MC tries to teach him "proper manors" but due to his history (which he keeps hidden at the start) he instantly aces it without trying. He is also is a bit protective to the people he cares about and even gets very upset if people do things that they want to do due to his experience. His Eelektross is considered by him to be is heart and soul, Eelektross is more open and smarter and will even correct Razor on mistakes, though he is more Shyer and Innocent in comparison
He is the sort of the nerdy character, the MC ends up being his roommate when the MC enters the Pokemon Battle Institute (PBB) (the rooms are co-ed but each person gets their own private bathroom). He was originally from a Successful Rich Business family with 3 brothers but he absolutely hated it, he always wanted to be free and be himself but with all the rules and regulations the family pushes on him, he can't get much out of this. The only thing he had that he enjoyed was his Pokemon, Tynamo he found in a Cave where he got lost and keeps it hidden, he calls the experience in the cave to be one of the best experiences he ever had with the family. Though at the age of 7, his parents found out which caused a massive fight in which he ran away from move with his Tynamo, he tore of his Suit he kept on being forced to wear and now became Homeless. He was found by a farmer family and took him and Tynamo in, he was able to be free at this time living at the farm and was able to wear something more free than a suit being Shorts and a Tank Top, he was able to also develop younger brotherly and younger sisterly relationships with the Daughters and Sons of the family, His Tynamo eventually fully evolved into an Eelektross overtime. Later on, he became into machinery with the families Tractor and even went on to work on it and fix it quite a lot of times. However, due to this rebellious act against his biological family he was given the Symbol of Giratina (2nd Arc main plot stuff) on his back, but he keeps it hidden. At the age of 15 he joined the PBB to find what he truly wants to do with his Eelektross, though he still goes to the farm during weekends. His interesting in Machinery has gotten him to constantly work on anything tech based, even his own little projects and even grows an interest in gaming. He can be a ignorant and since he only really hang out with brothers and sisters can be a joker to people around him even if it is unneeded. He is also pretty chill in most situations and can even calmly do things overs would revolt at which causes a few issues with him and the MC as one plot point the MC tries to teach him "proper manors" but due to his history (which he keeps hidden at the start) he instantly aces it without trying. He is also is a bit protective to the people he cares about and even gets very upset if people do things that they want to do due to his experience. His Eelektross is considered by him to be is heart and soul, Eelektross is more open and smarter and will even correct Razor on mistakes, though he is more Shyer and Innocent in comparison
- 17,366
- United Kingdom
Well, I've been writing a lot more now and I can't really believe how much I missed it. I'm hooked all over again.
Instead of trying to format everything into a novel I've decided to just write down ideas and plots as I get them and just sort of collect them. I mainly just post them to Tumblr on a separate account I made there for this kind of stuff. I wrote this earlier today, based on the character I introduced a while back. It's basically just a summary of her childhood from her point of view.
“I didn’t choose to be a psychopath. I don’t think anyone does. You don’t get a choice. I didn’t wake up one day and think, “****, I wanna go skin people alive”. Things happen that make you that way.
Looking back, I never had a chance really. I was a bad kid. I couldn’t help it. I’d get sent out of class every day, the teachers would beat me. I went to school in the 50s so nobody thought twice about you whoopin’ a kid’s ass. Nobody gave me a chance. I didn’t behave badly on purpose. I wanted to be a good kid. I just didn’t know how, because all my brain wanted to do was talk, tease another kid, or move around.
British education, especially in wealthy areas, was really strict in the 50s. You couldn’t move in your seat. I need to move all the time. I can’t stay still for long. I couldn’t help moving around and the teachers just didn’t understand that. I hardly learned anything in my short time at school because I just didn’t stay in classes long enough. The rest of my family had nice, polite kids who got good grades and never got sent out of class. My parents saw me as a failure and embarrassment to the family. My mother thought I was an alien. Me being ****ed up put a huge strain on my parents’ relationship. My mother blamed my father, it was his fault for going out and making this stupid drug that created a messed up kid.
Since my parents were wealthy, I often got looked after by ‘nannies’. I went through a lot of those, they couldn’t handle me either. Our small village soon learned that my parents had a badly behaved child and since they didn’t know why I was like that, they just presumed I had bad and unruly parents. My mother didn’t like me. Not at all. I wasn’t the perfect daughter she wanted so she pretended I wasn’t her daughter at all. I have a lot of memories of her telling me how weird I was, how messed up I was, how she wished I could just be normal. And I wished for that too. I wished I was like my cousins. I wished I was like my classmates. I knew I was different and I hated it, and it felt like everyone else did too.
The only person who made me feel normal was my father. He felt bad for me. It was his fault I was like this. He was the most patient with me. He tried to understand me when no one else could. He took his time with me when I was impatient, when I wouldn’t listen, when I’d go and do my own thing. But, my mother didn’t want him to do that. She said I was a lost cause. So it was her, really, who handed me over to the government. I know it hurt my father but he’d been reassured I wouldn’t be exploited. And that’s probably what pissed me off the most about the government. They made my poor dad a promise that his strange little daughter would be okay, but instead they turned me into this. They turned me into a killing machine, because they knew I could do it, they knew I was very vulnerable and impressionable, they knew I was powerful and that’s what they wanted. They wanted power. My power.
I could’ve saved lives, not taken them. I could’ve cured the sick. I bet if I’d been given an education my weird brain would understand **** and come up with the cure for cancer. But instead, they drove me to insanity, and now I could never do anything like that. I don’t think I’ll ever be a normal person. I’ll never stop doing the things I do. I’m a machine, a human machine. They farmed me. Manipulated me into this… beast. This heartless, monstrous beast who just kills and tortures and everything in between. I didn’t want to be known as that. I care about people sometimes. I find it difficult to empathise but deep beneath all of this brutality, I care. I still feel the same things that everyone else does, just in a different way. I still love. I fall in love. I tell people and myself that I don’t but I do. But nobody understands me, you see. They all think I’m just heartless and that I think their head would look better mounted to my wall. Which, granted, for the most part is how I feel. But sometimes, something else makes me feel more… human things.
There’s still a small part of me, a small, tiny part of me, that’s still the kid Elise. The pre-corruption Elise, as I call her. The kid that wasn’t perfect but still stood a small chance. I could’ve done it, you know? I could’ve been good. But I’m too far gone now.”
It can be very interesting building a character around psychopathy, if you chose to develop a character like this I'd recommend reading up about the connected mental illnesses, the personality and character traits, and how they communicate, it's fascinating getting in to the details and it lets you be really creative with building the character.
- 4,089
- Utah
I've been writing a story since the early 2000's. It's a sci-fi novel which features alien anthro dogs that live in a massive space colony, as well as another alien race created by me that travels alongside them. The story is very detailed when it comes to its surroundings and the character's society. It can be very light-hearted, often very warm, but it can be also scary and somewhat violent when they battle their arch nemesis; a race of sentient machines that have been hunting them down for decades.
I am crazy for plot twists. I love detailed character and plot development as well. This story is over 900 pages so far and I wish to someday publish it, even if it's by my own means.
The husky that is often seen as my avatar is the main character. It's also the origin of my user name.
I am crazy for plot twists. I love detailed character and plot development as well. This story is over 900 pages so far and I wish to someday publish it, even if it's by my own means.
The husky that is often seen as my avatar is the main character. It's also the origin of my user name.
- 11,197
- Central Coast, NSW
- Com_Fox5
- EelX 5
Most of the characters I insert in have personalities are based off people and other characters. I sometimes even get character ideas from bad shows as I think they have potential somewhere else.
The character I showed in the spoiler is actually somewhat based on myself and Liam Coll from My Life Me.
I'm actually thinking about a Character based of Gomamon from Digimon.
The character I showed in the spoiler is actually somewhat based on myself and Liam Coll from My Life Me.
I'm actually thinking about a Character based of Gomamon from Digimon.
- 7,436
- Canada
- photonrider
Bottomline is how much you are profiting from it. Say you publish a Gran Turismo - based novel and distribute a hundred copies of it, that's not going to get you into trouble. If you compile data or a list of facts - it's the same - it is your work that compiled that data and even though it is data about a company, you own that work.
For instance, if you compile real data about all the grocery stores and use it in a book of fiction the grocery stores can do nothing about it. Fact can be blended into fiction so as to not cause litigation.
Having said that - I've read Dean Koontz saying that his lawyer is his best friend.
Well, I've been writing a lot more now and I can't really believe how much I missed it. I'm hooked all over again.
Instead of trying to format everything into a novel I've decided to just write down ideas and plots as I get them and just sort of collect them. I mainly just post them to Tumblr on a separate account I made there for this kind of stuff. I wrote this earlier today, based on the character I introduced a while back. It's basically just a summary of her childhood from her point of view.
Clear-minded writing here - I see a writer who is a natural - writing not for fame or money but to capture and express concepts imagined.
There is so much I could do with just that little bit.
These could be just this person's thoughts - interspersed with the action that is taking place around her right now. What is happening? Is she holding a roomful of hostages, even as she has these flashbacks?
Is she hero or villain?
Or twisted protagonist that a part of the reader can identify with? Maybe even make the reader plumb areas of themselves they never knew existed?
You have the power to create that world.
Is this a new story? No. It's old hat. Twisted person, twisted plot, same old catastropes revolving around mortality and lack of resources - originality, as has been said a million times by as many people, is but judicious imitation.
So what difference can you bring to the world of publishing?
Your style. The way you construct that same old story, how you do it as wasn't ever done before.
The Romeo and Juliet plot has been used hundreds of times - and will go on being used as long as people regard each other as different.
So you already are firmly on the path here - it's only passion and hard work needed for you have the talent.
The second part here shows that you are not only thoroughly enjoying creating and writing but that you are truly professional in the way you are approaching your project.
Not much I can say to encourage you - since I see quite a fire lit already but this:
is really good advice. Research is vital to maintaining the credibility of your story. Good writers are always 'eyes-open' soaking up everything about them - even at a bus-halt - the way people dress, how they stand, what they're carrying, the sound the bus makes when it stops, the details of the vehicle - everything gets filed away for use.
And when you're going into complex issues like neurological states, then hard science about it must also be studied - or at least as much as you need to create the environmental ambiance, make the plot lines run true, and have the characters express themselves credibly.
Cops have to talk like cops, doctors like doctors, and lawyers have to know their law when you write about them. This means you have to learn to be them - so you can write them into the story in a fashion that makes them come alive for the reader.
I have a strong feeling that almost everyone feels this way.
There is a book in them, or a painting, or a song - something the whole world will love, something special enough to exist in 3-Dimensional reality that never gets done.
If you read up all Katiegan's recent posts you will see that there is a disciplined approach to hunting the words and getting them down - the same approach to going out and getting that canvas, brushes, and paints - or actually recording the song.
Is this a collective consciousness we are all attached to? Is it the same book inside us that wants to be written, the same song that needs to be sung?
Whatever the answer - some people start with that first step.
A few words in a journal, or notepad on the computer.
Then some sheets typed out or written down. More notes added. More thought given to it. A few more paragraphs added. Then more. And this is how some of us capture those stories hidden in all of us and bring them to light as substantial reality one can hold in their hands - thoughts manifest as that 'book' finally.
As long as you are alive - it hasn't been put away forever. Just don't get rid of it - sometimes many years after you've written something, thought it worthless, and shoved it away, it may be read by you and arouse that spark again.
I've found that the most terrible obstruction to writing is not writing.
I would love to expand on this further - but I'm running out of time.
Writing formats have changed a lot - the younger generation of writers break all the rules, and because they are writing to their peers those broken rules are what attracts that readership.
Get a copy of My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt, for instance, and check out just one of the currently popular formats.
Graphic novels, and heavily illustrated texts are very popular today, too.
While the old 'block-buster' page-turner still exists, new formats that reflect the way we use our present lingua franca on the various communicative devices we're leashed to are also shaping the way writers write, how they block their paras, how they dance around the punctuation, how they present the subtext and undertones.
I would read that book right away.
If you're serious about self-publishing it - start studying up the subject. Not very difficult to do - though marketing the book is another thing altogether.
That's the benefit in hooking up with an agent who can get a big publisher to accept your work - because then they'll do all the work after that to make sure your book gets read.
Let's not forget though that Grisham sold his first book after Mass on Sundays in the churchyard from the trunk of his car.
A good book, once printed, (publishing is another thing altogether
) is alive - and starts to work its magic as it spreads. Every person who reads it adds to the collective consciousness of its existence - and the truth of its beauty.And if it is beautiful enough, it becomes near immortal.
Don't give up on it. Just tell me when you're holding a copy in print.
That way even an EMP strike won't stop me from reading it.
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- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
I think I finally found a workflow I could work with in making eBooks. So when I go to upload my manuscripts to certain services, I now feel a bit more confident that I can make some extra edits and further polish my material before eventually uploading my work to publishers. The base manuscripts I create are through LibreOffice (because I am NOT paying for a Microsoft Office subscription) with ODT text files. Most of my other creations are mostly a combination of various free programs. I've had better luck and conversion using Mobipocket Creator and a beta program called Alkinea. Both of these programs offer saves in the MOBI format. I am doing extra editing through Calibre, especially of metadata and extra HTML tags. I am still using my Kindle eReader to test out files in the Amazon Kindle format. The EPUB material is what I am using for eReaders on Android devices.
Even better for me is that after I make one eBook, I seem confident enough to build another one, because the first one I want to upload is part of a series. The eBook challenge is a unique one for me speaking as a blogging veteran. Making the best possible material is not as hard now that I've found a workflow I am fairly comfortable with. So this is a big step for me as an eBook author.
Even better for me is that after I make one eBook, I seem confident enough to build another one, because the first one I want to upload is part of a series. The eBook challenge is a unique one for me speaking as a blogging veteran. Making the best possible material is not as hard now that I've found a workflow I am fairly comfortable with. So this is a big step for me as an eBook author.
- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
Today, I released my first-ever eBook. So I now have established myself as an author! I now have an idea of what I need to do before publishing any eBook. To avoid being guilty of advertising, I won't post any links to my work, except that I do showcase my material in my blogs and in my creative works site.
My first eBook is in the realm of nonfiction as a self-help series called "Proof Positive." The series is styled as "Proof Posi+ive." It is part of a series in which I will try to take my hand at reducing negativity in life and society. I chose it as a series because I wanted to focus on individual elements to offer advice to various life issues and certain situations. The real challenge for me was to try to make something more than 5K words. I ultimately came up with a piece that somehow came out to a total of 14K words. Since I posted this to Amazon first, this would qualify as one of the "Kindle Singles." These are mostly text between 5K and 30K words and priced cheaply. Most of all, I felt accomplished for what I did and in creating an eBook.
So I'm pretty happy today to finally release an eBook after learning how to make one and then eventually releasing one.
My first eBook is in the realm of nonfiction as a self-help series called "Proof Positive." The series is styled as "Proof Posi+ive." It is part of a series in which I will try to take my hand at reducing negativity in life and society. I chose it as a series because I wanted to focus on individual elements to offer advice to various life issues and certain situations. The real challenge for me was to try to make something more than 5K words. I ultimately came up with a piece that somehow came out to a total of 14K words. Since I posted this to Amazon first, this would qualify as one of the "Kindle Singles." These are mostly text between 5K and 30K words and priced cheaply. Most of all, I felt accomplished for what I did and in creating an eBook.
So I'm pretty happy today to finally release an eBook after learning how to make one and then eventually releasing one.
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