Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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Unrelated: What do YOU think it takes to be a good writer.
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I would agree, storytelling is more important than technique. Actually, technique is a small *part* of storytelling. More important, readers (or listeners) want an interesting character who they can identify with, a big problem for that character to deal with, and a satisfying resolution. Not asking for much, are we?
The things I prize most in a book:1. Character development
2. Grammar, varying sentence structure
3. Appropriate amount of setting and description
4. CONSISTENCY.
Take Divergent- the tone is different from the beginning to the end. The end got a little depressed and intense while the beginning was lighter and spent more time in descriptions and what Tris was feeling. It's normal for the tone to change a little, but this one case felt inconsistent to me.
I want authors to keep the same things throughout their book- their characters shouldn't act out of character, the writing style should remain consistent, etc. Because I picked up and read the book because of the traits it had at the beginning, right? If it gents changed half-way through, then what kind of consistency is that? A reader should be able to trust that an author will stick with the story and his/her style long enough to finish a book well.
An author who can write a book with...1. Interesting tone that is relevant to the theme of the story (ex. The Book Thief has a very serious and chilling tone).
2. Interesting storyline (obviously!)
3. Characters that are dynamic, thought-provoking etc...
4. A balance between description and dialogue
5. Effective world building
6. An effective amount but not excessive amount of detail
Ruby wrote: "The things I prize most in a book:1. Character development
2. Grammar, varying sentence structure
3. Appropriate amount of setting and description
4. CONSISTENCY.
Take Divergent- the tone is dif..."
Maria wrote: "An author who can write a book with...
1. Interesting tone that is relevant to the theme of the story (ex. The Book Thief has a very serious and chilling tone).
2. Interesting storyline (obviously..."
Maria and Ruby, I agree, but you guys have kind of missed the point... you're telling me what you want in a book and how you want an author to write. But what do you think it takes become a good writer? What do you think it takes to write well? What I'm asking is: how do you think an author can get to the place you want them to (all those examples you two just gave me).
Ah I'm sorry I misunderstood. I think the #1 way to become a good writer is reading. Of course this is the most obvious answer and isn't really anything new but I never fully realized until recently how much reading helps your writing. In the past few years I started reading A LOT more and I could feel it in my writing. When I would write I would try to write in a way I would enjoy reading as the reader or audience (does that make sense?). I think the best writers need to learn from the styles of previous authors.
Reading, and reading good literature, is a excellent beginning to becoming a good writer yourself. But I don't think that's all there is to it. There are skills to develop that never originate in hearing or reading stories.I'm trying to develop my own fiction writing ability. Inventiveness is important (characters, setting, incident), and knowing how to create and sustain suspense is also very important.
Yes. You have to read. You have to read a lot.Part of it is getting confident in your natural style and tone so that you feel good enough to go ahead and write. A lot is just nerves.
The main thing I think is that you have to read and observe enough to be able to think of a whole bunch of perspectives, types of communication, and how writing the dialogue, setting, mood, etc can make or break a scene. So to be aware enough about real life to be able to take what you learn and apply it to your writing. Think: the more you know, then if you write about what you know, you're writing more.
Take photographers, artists. Their best art comes from observation, finding patterns and curiosities in everyday life. Writers are the same, but their work is in black and paper white.
Think of Ernest Hemingway. He lived the life he wrote about. Herman Merville drew on his own experience as a common sailor. To be a great writer, you need conviction about life and what you write about. I imagine there are a few writers of murder mysteries who never have seen a crime scene or met a murderer. It might help their story telling if they did though.
Richard wrote: "Think of Ernest Hemingway. He lived the life he wrote about. Herman Merville drew on his own experience as a common sailor. To be a great writer, you need conviction about life and what you write a..."You're thoughts are my thoughts. :)
Basic morals.Humility, in the way we portray our ideas, especially if we hope for people to see them in a specific way.
Honesty about reality. As with art, we can manipulate it better when we know the rules first.
Courage, to shamelessly use ridiculous ideas without security blankets like sarcasm.
Wisdom, so we have something worth writing about and that our audience can really respect.
And Diligence to work for years and years, and to rewrite even the parts we've worked on for that long.
I would strongly encourage anybody on this thread who's interested in storytelling to read Poetics by Aristotle. He raises very good points about plot being the backbone, and how the plot alone should be captivating without being dependent on the mere spectacle.Also, if you look at successful people like J. K. Rowling, you'll see that they planned meticulously before they wrote anything.
Once you have a plan, I believe character is an art in itself, and I have a few theories about what makes good character, but that's all I'll say for now. (It definitely has to do with sincerity, and knowing what you're talking about. The Ernest Hemingway example is great. Storytelling is about embellishing reality, and it's obvious when this is the case versus someone only failing to understand it).
Fish wrote: "I would strongly encourage anybody on this thread who's interested in storytelling to read Poetics by Aristotle. He raises very good points about plot being the backbone, and how the plot alone sho..."J. R. R. Tolkien didn't plan though. He merely sat down and they came to life as he wrote word by word. That's why I said in my first post that it could different for anyone. People's creative processes are different.
I don't know if that's really the case, because he did take his time. He worked on the Hobbit for seven years, and Lord of the Rings took over a decade.
The language he invented must have taken many years of work on its own. He claimed to have been working on it since boyhood. Out of curiosity, where did you hear that he didn't plan? I'm not sure if he did what might be traditionally considered planning, but I would imagine he must have been planning very much. I really don't think there's a way around it, to write something like that.
Although, if you're talking about characters, that's another thing completely. The best ones do seem to come on the spot.
Fish wrote: "I don't know if that's really the case, because he did take his time. He worked on the Hobbit for seven years, and Lord of the Rings took over a decade.
The language he invented must have taken m..."
I don't know. That's what my dad told me and he's a pretty knowledgeable Tolkienite, not just a Ringer like me.
I think that a being a good writer is, for me, looking over my work, correcting spelling mistakes, take out things I don't need, add in things that just pop into your head.One key to being a good writer is experience, essentially. Debut novels can stink and be very suffocating at times, but as you read more and more of their work, you'll find that their writing gets better, the plots become more complex, the characters become more intriguing and in depth, and the world building improves.
Another is passion. You have to be passionate about your story, or else, what's the point? Write it like you mean it. Write it with whatever emotion a character is feeling, whether it's anger or sadness. Feel it, like you're an actor and playing a character. Because the dialogue needs to be genuine and the emotion coming out of it needs to be real.
You need to do research. Lots and lots of research. Don't half-ass your book; if you're writing a science fiction novel, make sure that all the scientific references are accurate. If it's historical fiction, do research on the time period and major events.
And, finally, you've just got to go with your gut. Don't listen to advice on what to do with a character if you don't feel comfortable about it. Just write the story you yourself want to write, because that's probably the only way you're gonna be happy with it. At least, until you look back and think, Damn, I should've done that instead of this!
It helps to be sensitive. Not sensitive in an emotional way, but sensitive to what's gong on around you. Don't just let your day wash over you, pay attention to details in the places you go: colors, textures, patterns; how tree branches sway in the wind, or certain gestures people make when their talking with one-another. A story's success is intrinsic to how believable it is, and the best way to make a story believable is to inject it with vivid detail. Also, the more observant you are of life, the more ideas you'll get - nothing is ever going to just come to you.Work ethic is important as-well. All the good ideas in the world are worthless if you aren't willing to put in the effort to organize them and make sure they're compatible with what you're trying to achieve. You can't be a writer if you don't actually write. I remember watching J.K. Rowling being interviewed by Charlie Rose, he asked her: 'Do you need to be inspired in order to write?' She responded: 'Of course not, If I did that I'd never get anything done.'
I love to read I've written so many stories (never finished most of them though)
my biggest advice for writing when you get an idea write it down and don't worry about punctuation or grammar till after wards cause when the idea is gone its gone. Yes Reading good books is great.
I would suggest Reading
Will Wilder (if you like Percy Jackson you will like this one)
or just about any book by Rick Riordan
and another author I suggest is Louis L'amour He is very good as well.
And if you read enough and look hard enough you'll start to find certain Authors and books use a bit of the same technique like Divergent, maze runner, and hunger games they all follow a good amount of the same writing style
I agree about reading well written books. I'm sure the fact that I read classics in my youth helped me to develop a reasonable writing style and spelling and grammar were absorbed rather than learned but I believe a good fiction writer must feel their story, get lost in their plot and live with their characters. If you would rather inhabit their world than yours that should mean your readers can feel the same.
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Anyways, I, of course, will start with myself. When it comes to what you should do when writing, I have no real answers. Everyone writes differently. Some people plan, some people go impromptu and spontaneous. Everyone has different techniques, so there's really no right way.
However, I very much believe you can have ways of preparing to write well. Authors always say "read; and read a lot". However, I don't think it comes down to just reading: because then you could read anything. If you want to write well, read good stuff; specifically, I think, the greats. Not crappy YA novels. Unfortunately, young people my age, not to mention older people than me also, can't read "old writing" very well. Still, you won't get anywhere if you're going to read the juvenile crap. Read Dickens, Bronte, Austen, Montgomery, Tolstoy, Tolkien and maybe even Milton and Beowulf. Also, fairytales and Lewis. I think storytelling has become a lost art in writing. I believe book critics sometimes place too much importance on technique and overlook storytelling. But, I think that storytelling is sometimes, if not more, important than technique. A book can be well-written but have no heart. Harry Potter may not have the best writing, but it is a timeless story.
Also, I think you should read these over and over.
However this is just my personal opinion. Some of you may think otherwise. But, I will say that classics are classics for a reason... and I believe reading those classics is a great mark in intelligence.
The main question is this: What do you think it takes become a good writer? What do you think it takes to write well?