A Thread About Writing

[Infra-Man]

I'll second this and go you one further--make research part of the creative process. Instead of treating it like homework, really dive into your subject. Chances are you'll come up with a bunch of ideas you might never have considered otherwise. Whenever people talk about how important reading is to a writer's development, we always assume that means reading fiction. But reading non-fiction and doing research can add just as many muscles to your imagination.

That's how Jim Shepard operates these days, and he's one of the best living short stories writers in the US. He often jokes about being the only person who reads about the history of the guillotine at the beach.

[DungeonMasterJim]

I know he's not a favorite but I liked something that Jim Shooter wrote about a bit in his blog. Introducing your characters. I noticed that in my two issue comic story that I hadn't mentioned the names on any of my characters in the first three pages in the second issue. So I made sure to go back and change the dialogue to include names so that a reader picking up the second comic before the first part could at least identify the characters.

[Corrina]

I think writers, especially at the beginning, mimic the styles of writers they've absorbed, especially from childhood. I went back and read some of my favorite chapter books years ago and realized those concepts still show up in my work.

But the more you write, the more your own voice comes out.

I'm not sure who I write like. I tend to be drawn to writers who are great at dialogue and I like to think I'm decent at it as well. I wrote my first mystery trying to be close to Robert B. Parker's sparse style but then things evolved.

[Corrina]

That's how Jim Shepard operates these days, and he's one of the best living short stories writers in the US. He often jokes about being the only person who reads about the history of the guillotine at the beach.

I got the idea for how magic works in my current WIP from watching "How the Earth Was Made" on one of the science/history channels.

[Dragonbat]

That's how Jim Shepard operates these days, and he's one of the best living short stories writers in the US. He often jokes about being the only person who reads about the history of the guillotine at the beach.

For me it was smallpox!

[Benel Germosen]

You know that song you want to write but you think " I don't really write songs "? Bullshit, you write songs. You know what else you write? Poetry. Also: albums reviews. You're a writer. You write everything. Don't limit yourself because you think there's something you " shouldn't " write. if there's something you want to write, write it, even if no one sees it or especially if everyone will.

[ever_seeking]

Gather with fellow writers in a formal meetup, I've been doing that since 2010 and it has helped me a lot.

[sunbird]

Gather with fellow writers in a formal meetup, I've been doing that since 2010 and it has helped me a lot.

I do it too, although our discussions often devolve into ones about Skyrim, socialism or lesbian dolphins.

[ever_seeking]

I do it too, although our discussions often devolve into ones about Skyrim, socialism or lesbian dolphins.

Ours is well run and we talk about issues of the day then read our writing and give each other constructive feedback.

[Shurato2099]

I got the idea for how magic works in my current WIP from watching "How the Earth Was Made" on one of the science/history channels.

I got mine (most recent one) from ... an old RPG campaign, the Dresden Files and Taoist legend. The previous one is kind of home-brew and needs fleshing out; I did more work on how vampires and sleeping immortals worked in that one (and parts of that I got from Edgar Rice Burroughs).