[Viv]

Seems to me there are some pretty durned good writers on this archive. Most folks here have obviously spent a lot of time honing this craft, working on intricate things like pacing and dialog and characterization. And I know that sometimes folks are reluctant to leave detailed reviews, even when they'd really like to say something like, "Your transitions were off" or "Your intro paragraph just didn't grab me."

Still, these tips could be very helpful to the rest of us. Care to share some of your wisdom?

[sindohte]

[JennnLee]

I am definitely all for a discussion about different writing tips and tricks, but I have to say that I'm a little confused about the what's being suggested here. Viv, are you suggesting that, say, I post here and say "This is the process I go through when I'm writing dialogue..." Or is this where I say "Hey Scribe, how the heck are you so good at setting a scene?" Or do I say "Hey Ell, the next time you write pointless Legolas smut, you might want to do it THIS way..." I'm confused. But with the week I've had, that's an easy thing to do...

[Roisin]

Another thing that would be helpful for me would be a place I could post and ask a canon question that I can't find the answer to in my own books.

Roisin

[NancyBrooke]

[NancyBrooke]

[Roisin]

[Viv]

Well, what I meant was precisely what you've already pointed out: things that make fic better. For instance, showing the scene, not just the dialog. I've read a bunch of fic (some recently, and some on this archive) that is not much more than glorified dialog.

So, tip: Add scene details.

And just general stuff that good writers assume everyone knows, like don't use the verb "to be" very often, don't use adverbs unless you absolutely have to, try to tie one scene to the next with a transition.

Have a beginning, middle, and end (and, if you really want to impress, include some character development!).

That sort of thing.

[JennnLee]

I get what you're saying, Viv, but I don't understand the context of the discussion. So are you suggesting that I post and say "I read Blah's story called 'Blah Blah Blah' and here's what I think should be done to improve it," or does Blah herself post and say "What can I do to improve my story 'Blah Blah Blah'?" Or should we just have a more free-form discussion?

I'm definitely all for talking about writing. Try and stop me from talking about it, actually. I don't write a lot of fanfic, but I am working on the second draft of what I hope will be my first real novel, so I feel like I eat, sleep, and breathe the written word lately. So bring it on!

[Viv]

[NancyBrooke]

[sindohte]

This is an interesting and useful thread, but I'm a bit confuzalated myself. When it comes to learning about how to improve my writing, I find that reading examples of someone else's work or having someone correct my work to be the best way to figure out how to fix things that I need to brush up on. If something like that was to occur in this forum, it seems to me that writers would have to volunteer their work to be used as a way to illustrate strengths in their writing style or weaknesses which they need to devote some additional attention in order to develop more fully as a writer. Does this seem to be the general direction of this particular discussion or am I way out in left field?

[Maram68]