A Thread for Writers to talk about Writing

[KSK]

Hey, hey - don't be like that.  I'm just one person - my opinion is worth no more or less than anyone else's. Besides - it doesn't matter what level you're writing at - you're never going to make everyone happy all the time. It's impossible, even for published and respected writers.

I can't speak for anyone else but there are authors for whom I'll queue up to buy their latest book. Or, more likely these days, buy the Kindle edition at full price on release day.  Other authors - I might buy their stuff if I'm out of stuff to read or if it happens to catch my eye. Still other authors - well given the choice between their stuff and reading the back of a cereal packet, all I can say is 'pass the cornflakes please'. And this is for writers that make a living from what they do.

[CatastrophicFailure]

@DarkOwl57 Since I haven't seen it mentioned lately, I'll lay down the most important part here:

Write for you.

Don't write to please others, or for upvotes, or to start a career. Write because it pleases you, because it makes you happy, because somehow your mind has encountered the Story, and you feel that if you do not tell the Story somehow that somehow you will go quite mad. All the other stuff, the intricacies of language, how to find an audience, all this can be learned, and sometimes takes quite a bit of effort on its own, but should always be secondary to the Story. It's a pretty small audience here on the KSP forum, but a great place to learn that which need be learnt. 

[DarkOwl57]

2 hours ago, KSK said:

Hey @DarkOwl57.

Well first off - and I say this in total seriousness - congratulations! You finished your war story and I can tell you right now that that puts you way ahead of most writers on this forum, myself included. And it was a pretty substantial piece of work too. If you ever feel inclined, check out the Fan Works Library. As the person who compiled and maintains (sporadically  ) that thread, I can tell you that finished works of any length are a rare thing indeed.

So try not to get too downhearted. You got followers and they kept coming back for more. So you must have been doing something right, yes?

Next - war stories aren't really my thing, so I confess that I didn't follow yours past the first couple of chapters. But Cross Kountry looks very interesting indeed - speaking personally, I hope you find the inspiration to continue with that because I see lots of potential there!

 

1 hour ago, KSK said:

Hey, hey - don't be like that.  I'm just one person - my opinion is worth no more or less than anyone else's. Besides - it doesn't matter what level you're writing at - you're never going to make everyone happy all the time. It's impossible, even for published and respected writers.

I can't speak for anyone else but there are authors for whom I'll queue up to buy their latest book. Or, more likely these days, buy the Kindle edition at full price on release day.  Other authors - I might buy their stuff if I'm out of stuff to read or if it happens to catch my eye. Still other authors - well given the choice between their stuff and reading the back of a cereal packet, all I can say is 'pass the cornflakes please'. And this is for writers that make a living from what they do.

 

50 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

@DarkOwl57 Since I haven't seen it mentioned lately, I'll lay down the most important part here:

Write for you.

Don't write to please others, or for upvotes, or to start a career. Write because it pleases you, because it makes you happy, because somehow your mind has encountered the Story, and you feel that if you do not tell the Story somehow that somehow you will go quite mad. All the other stuff, the intricacies of language, how to find an audience, all this can be learned, and sometimes takes quite a bit of effort on its own, but should always be secondary to the Story. It's a pretty small audience here on the KSP forum, but a great place to learn that which need be learnt. 

Oh my gosh you guys are going to make me cry!

First, to @KSK: Thank you for the support; I'm just really out-going and I want everyone to like me or at least the work I'm doing. In my mind I'm just like "I can't please everyone," But then my personality's like "MUST BE LOVED!!!!!" I guess I need to work on that a little

And, to @CatastrophicFailure: Well that is sort of a pickle. I mainly started writing it for myself, but over time, people actually paid attention to my worthless junk.

Writing does really really please me; I consider it one of the long-lost arts, now with the younger generation (Which I am sadly part of) Preferring Twitter or Facebook posts to a good old-fashioned book.

I mainly started writing/posting because 1, Accomplished writers like Kuzzter and Just Jim really inspired me, 2, because yes, Not knowing what the publics reaction would be did drive me mad, but also 3, because I wanted to see how people would react. 

What are you talking about "Small audience"? Even if this is a small community, you guys make it feel like it's 100 times as big. Thank you guys for steering me out of my little emotional pothole.

With care and love,

DarkOwl

[adsii1970]

 

@KSK: Do you have that link available? Also, what does one have to do to be listed in your Great Library of Forum Links?

Edited January 6, 2017 by adsii1970

[KSK]

21 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

 

@KSK: Do you have that link available? Also, what does one have to do to be listed in your Great Library of Forum Links?

Link is in my signature but here it is again for convenience.  I started a companion thread here for comments and suggestions but that gets largely ignored.

To be listed, one simply has to write something and (ideally) post a request to either of the above threads with a link to the story to be included. I do trawl the FanWorks forums periodically and add anything new I find to the library but if you want something included quickly, posting a request is the best way. Giving the librarian an occasional boot up the backside can work wonders too.  

Edited January 6, 2017 by KSK

[adsii1970]

43 minutes ago, KSK said:

Link is in my signature but here it is again for convenience.  I started a companion thread here for comments and suggestions but that gets largely ignored.

To be listed, one simply has to write something and (ideally) post a request to either of the above threads with a link to the story to be included. I do trawl the FanWorks forums periodically and add anything new I find to the library but if you want something included quickly, posting a request is the best way. Giving the librarian an occasional boot up the backside can work wonders too.  

I was on mobile at the time and could not see your signature... I will go and put in a couple of threads on the comments and suggestions thread.

[SaturnianBlue]

For The Asteroid Sentinels i've managed to write the past few episodes without too much trouble; the problem is that I've sort of run out of ideas of what to write. I've got ideas for when the spacecraft nears the asteroid, but there seems to be a point from now to that point. Of course the third backup is worth mentioning but work on it probably isn't going to be much.

One problem is that I've wondered where to take the KSP/KNN vs RDF conflict. I would also like put more detail and information about the RDF. The KSP decided what to do with how to try to get Walt, but I feel like there should be more than just that. Another problem is with the kerbals in space; I think there should be more interaction and talking, but I don't know what. Basically, I want to develop their character.

I also want to cover the perspective of the kerbals in general, and not just the RDF, that is.

Edited January 10, 2017 by SaturnianBlue

[steuben]

Chandler's Law is a good tool in a case like this. Even if you don't use it, sometimes you get something worth filing for later use.

Something else to try is to take a step back, and focus on something else. Just sit down and do up some "sketches", pick a trope and write something quick for it, either in-verse or out. I can pull out some of mine if people are interested.

Third thing to try is to delve to omake territory, for example Nadia's Omake Theater and the interstials of David Drake's "Hammers Slammers", the book rather than the verse. Talk about the specs of the equipment, some brackground element of the verse, have the antagonists go shopping, the heroes go fishing, or maybe go Go Karting with each other, run up pieces of deep background on the characters. These don't have to be big pieces just quick little pieces of colour.

 

 

[Ten Key]

On 1/9/2017 at 4:20 PM, SaturnianBlue said:

Another problem is with the kerbals in space; I think there should be more interaction and talking, but I don't know what. Basically, I want to develop their character.

Several years ago now some friends and I decided to all try out Bioware's The Old Republic as a group, and while the gameplay was pretty bad, the conversation portions of the game were rather interesting. Conversations in The Old Republic work very similarly to Mass Effect, with the exception that grouped players go into the conversation together. Each player makes a dialog choice at the appropriate times, and whomever "rolls" the highest number wins and their character says their line. Losing a roll (or opting out) gives you points that increase your odds of winning the next roll. 

The conversations were "on rails" of course-- each decision point normally offered one stereotypical "light side" and one stereotypical "dark side" choice, with a few "neutral" options spread throughout. Given that we were all playing Republic characters, our conversations were almost universally one "light side" response after another. The quality of the writing and voice acting kept it from being boring. But what was fascinating to me was that, even with such a restrictive system, you could still get some very dramatic, player driven character development. Periodically, someone would break ranks and select the "dark side" choice, and it was in those moments that you'd start to feel the characters emerge from what was otherwise a very controlled experience.

Character development doesn't come from dialog. It comes from choices. Put meaningful and difficult decisions in front of your characters, and they will tell you who they are. 

[SaturnianBlue]

3 hours ago, Ten Key said:

Character development doesn't come from dialog. It comes from choices. Put meaningful and difficult decisions in front of your characters, and they will tell you who they are. 

What do you think of the meeting parts where all the KSC crew get together for some choices (like in the newest episode)? Does that sort of help who the characters are?

[Kerbinchaser]

I just released this: 

 

As an upgrade from this: 

What do you guys think? Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome.

 

[0111narwhalz]

Looks pretty good. Haven't seen tragedy in the first chapter for a long while, save for "revenge stories."

Meanwhile, I'd like to present YAMR! I'm trying a new thing: starting with a backlog. Perhaps it'll help mitigate the clash between the impatient readers and my unreliable writing. My first first-person story, YAMR is written in a journal form. I'd really like some feedback on this; it's not a format with which I'm familiar.

[KSK]

On 1/13/2017 at 4:43 AM, 0111narwhalz said:

Looks pretty good. Haven't seen tragedy in the first chapter for a long while, save for "revenge stories."

Meanwhile, I'd like to present YAMR! I'm trying a new thing: starting with a backlog. Perhaps it'll help mitigate the clash between the impatient readers and my unreliable writing. My first first-person story, YAMR is written in a journal form. I'd really like some feedback on this; it's not a format with which I'm familiar.

It's working well so far - I like the journal form.  

[KSK]

OK, this has nothing to do with KSP, or even terribly much to do with the nuts-and-bolts of the craft. But it's a) hilarious and b) comes from a site called 'Writing about Writing' which is close enough to this thread for me.

Enjoy. I don't recommend drinking hot drinks whilst reading.

[SaturnianBlue]

I'd like some more thoughts and ideas for The Asteroid Sentinels, such as tying up loose ends and answering unanswered questions. Again, I've sort of got an idea for how to progress the things on Kerbin but on the Asteroid Destroyer I'm still a bit stuck. I want the crew to do something, but I don't know what that is. I also want to give Valentina's thoughts out like I did with Bill and Jeb but I don't have a good idea for what those might be... I feel like she doesn't have much motive/complexity as well...

Edited January 17, 2017 by SaturnianBlue

[CatastrophicFailure]

1 hour ago, KSK said:

OK, this has nothing to do with KSP, or even terribly much to do with the nuts-and-bolts of the craft. But it's a) hilarious and b) comes from a site called 'Writing about Writing' which is close enough to this thread for me.

Enjoy. I don't recommend drinking hot drinks whilst reading.

Hah, that was great! Having recently acquired exactly that sort of furry bipolar viscuously clawed ball of floof and death, can confirm. 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by CatastrophicFailure

[Spaceception]

I'm working on a new project, along with TCBW, The Void is cancelled, no ideas or anything.

 

[steuben]

I'm going a fair ways off the prairie with "Ready for Their Closeup".  I don't know if it works or not... or even how well it fits. Any comments?

And I'm going to chuck this out as well. If you want to comment on anything in the "Tales of the Groundbound", feel free. Just be sure to quote the chapter number so I know which one it is.

Edited February 3, 2017 by steuben
silly software do what i want not what i tell you to do

[0111narwhalz]

1 hour ago, steuben said:

I'm going a fair ways off the prairie with "Ready for Their Closeup".  I don't know if it works or not... or even how well it fits. Any comments?

My comment: That link just links here. I'd love to read it (you write good-like), but I don't know where it is.

[steuben]

fixed it. bad c&p as always.

[SaturnianBlue]

I've found some things i'm not sure about/unsatisfied about in The Asteroid Sentinels; the first problem is that I sort of have an idea for beginning Series 8, and of course the ending, but I don't know what to do in between.  I feel like it would be somewhat abrupt and improper to just cut to the end from the beginning either. On character development/building/anything that has to do with characters: I kind of want feedback on how that has been going in the most recent episodes, because I feel it's decent but I feel like it could do with some more work... Except I don't know what that is, so It would be nice to know what that thing may be.

[steuben]

Try writing it backwards, start with the ending and write the scene before. eventually you'll get near the beginning and can knit the two together. You might have to do a pass running from the beginning to the end to smooth out any bumps.

[Ten Key]

On 2/3/2017 at 8:25 AM, steuben said:

And I'm going to chuck this out as well. If you want to comment on anything in the "Tales of the Groundbound", feel free.

Have you thought about maybe collating these into a single thread? When I click on the link in your signature, it takes me to a search page that lists chapters 1, 12, 15, 6, 7, 8, 4, 3, 10, 20 and 18. In that order. 

[steuben]

I had thought about a collected thread, at least initially. But when I started publishing out of order, that would have been interesting in the reading and any comments in there. Another though I had would be creating a master index thread... but it would get lost and buried.

What I'll probably end up doing is squeezing the chapter number in the subject line.

[0111narwhalz]

Index thread doesn't need to stay on the front page. If you link to it from all the chapters, and from it to the chapters, it could be in the Add-On Releases and it wouldn't change a thing.