{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ } LOCK! NEW THREAD

[Rolly-chan]

Do you like writing about animals? Why or why not?
[...]
Dogs have great sense of smell, and are color blind.

Just to correct a common misconception - dogs aren't color blind. They see some colours, just not all of them. They perceive the waves for green-yellow-ish colours.

What kinds of things to you look for in an action story?
I presume you mean "action" as in "suspense, explosions and stuff", correct? If so, I'm not really a huge fan of ones that focus on it too much, because they tend to forget about the plot in favour of fighting sequences and said explosions that are actually totally redundant.
What I look for in any story is forward motion. If the story stalls for no apparent reason, that's a sign for me to drop it or at least start to dislike it a little, find it boring. The other main things I look for in any story are well-developed and interesting characters, and a well-developed and interesting plot. Whether or not it's an action story doesn't really matter much to me. I read almost all genres as long as the story is interesting and something that speaks to me.

Do you like writing ABOUT someone, or AS someone more? Why?
I always write as someone. Writing about someone to me is like being disconnected, like looking at a scene from afar and not really understanding. I couldn't possible write a character well if I am not him for the duration I write him. If I don't get into his head, don't feel and think what he feels and thinks, I'll only write him shallowly, and that's something I want to avoid at all cost. I've also noticed that I find characters that are written like that incredibly boring and can't really relate to them. I notice when people write about characters instead of as them *shrugs* But that's me (and my definition, dunno what it's like for others).

What is your favorite genre to read?
Good romance with another genre thrown in that enhances it. Though I pretty much almost only read romance in fanfiction. I have found that it's usually written better than published books (probably also because the characters already exist and already have a backstory and all that, and because it's written for other fans and not cut out for a specific audience so it sells better).
But I also love YA, thriller, some fantasy and comedy. Published books I read most often are thriller and YA.

What is your favorite to write? Why?
Romance with supernatural elements or with thriller elements or with any other plot thrown in where the romance plays a major role. Like, two people being bonded to each other without consent, setting out to get rid of the bond, only to realize at the end that they love each other even without the bond. Stuff like that. You know, not just romance, but supernatural romance, or adventure romance, or thriller romance lol. Though I also love good comedy romance. Especially when it feels real.

Do you like writing about animals? Why or why not?
Only if I humanize them. Like, fantasy wolves or something. They still have some elements of dogs or wolves - like a pack, hierarchy, stuff like that, but they also are more developed, can communicate with each other in some language. Stuff like that. Or stuff like 101 Dalmatians, or Oliver & Co., or Balto. That type of story.
Though I have written about a normal dog once and tried to make him non-human. I don't think I succeeded well, but I think I'll try again sometime.
Why I don't like to write about non-humanized animals... well, I want to write about human conflicts. Can't really do that when it's about animal-animals.

How do you get detail into your stories without boring parts?
Pack it into action. Like, a character walks into a room for the first time and that room will be very important later, as well as some items in there - in that case I, for example, let the character walk through it and touch things, pick them up, stuff like that. Eg:

Alina slowly pushed the door and it opened with a painful screech. Heart thudding noticeably against her chest and her palms feeling warm, she walked across the deep blue carpet, making the floor beneath it creak, over to the wooden cabinets. She hesitated for a bit, unsure whether picking up the various brass figurines would break anything--it all looked so very old, as if it would turn to dust the moment she touched it.

Etc. Then maybe make another character catch her in that room. Or making her hear people approaching and having to get out of there. It'd be full of action and still get the details out there.

[watermelon.]

Thank you all so much for answering these questions! They really did help me And I really did read all of your answers!

We are starting a new contest over here:
viewtopic.php?f=43&t=2408557

so please go check it out! It has an awesome plot chosen by Tesalong, and trust me you're going to love it!

[Silverhart]

What kinds of things to you look for in an action story?
I don't care much for action-for-actions sake. I mean, I love a good action sequence, but I want it to have some bearing on the plot. I also like my action stories to be fun, maybe even a little silly at times. I don't care for characters being all serious and dramatic. It makes me laugh at them when I see characters being overly dramatic, and then I can't take the actual problem seriously. In any story, the characters need to be strong, and interesting. Action stories tend to be more plot driven, and if that's the case you need the plot to be solid. Action should drive the plot, and plot should drive the action.

Do you like writing ABOUT someone, or AS someone more? Why?
As someone. I should think writing 'about' someone makes it sound very much like you're telling the reader about the character, instead of showing them, as you should (I'm noticing people seem to think this question is asking about first person vs. third person, but you can write as someone while in third person and vice versa). Regardless of whether I'm writing in first or third, I want to get into my character's head and see what makes them tick; why he makes the decisions he makes. Even if I don't reveal this internal thinking to my reader, knowing it myself makes my writing stronger.

What is your favorite genre to read?
Adventure, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Classics, occasionally a good sci-fi story

What is your favorite to write? Why?
Historical Fantasy, or else just plain Fantasy, I also love writing Adventure, and anything with a little comedy in it

Do you like writing about animals? Why or why not?
Yes, I do. Animals are just characters. You don't have to make them think and behave like animals. That's impossible because we don't know how animals think and feel. Animal characters are just a means to tell a human story. I don't think it's true that animal characters are less relatable then human ones. Didn't you feel sad for Simba in 'The Lion King'? Didn't you feel worried for the Three Little Pigs when you first read that story? Didn't you feel for the animals in 'Charlotte's Web'? You don't have to know about animals to write goof animal characters. It helps, but essentially you're still a human writing a story for humans. 'Bambi' doesn't teach deer to be afraid of man, 'Bambi' teaches humans that we're small compared to the grand scheme of things, and that life will keep going on.

Knowing the sense animals depend on, looking at the world through their eyes, and ears and noses, doing research on their behavior, and habitat and incorporating it into the story is a part of world building, not character building.

How do you get detail into your stories without boring parts?
I write every detail, and every tangent. I load my stories with more detail then they need. And then I go back and cut out the boring parts, or break up the detail across different parts. It's better to have a lot of detail, and then cut it out later, then to have to go in and add more detail. Not enough detail is probably my biggest critique on a lot of stories I read, on here and other sites. There is never enough of it. Also show detail, and don't tell it. That's what makes detail boring. Lots of detail can be interesting, if it's shown to us, and not told. As people have said, spacing it out throughout the action, or making it a part of the action is a good way to do it.

[watermelon.]

Thank you for answering!
Okay, the contest is up! I'm honestly really excited for this one. I'm trying it out myself- but I won't be part of the judging parts.

[avaria]

Heeeey guys!
I have two small questions for all of you.
First, what writing programs do you use?
And, have you ever looked back at your older stories and just cringed? ( I know I have. )

[watermelon.]

Writing programs... hmm. Does Microsoft word count?

Oh, so many times. I remember for one year I had a teacher who really didn't help you when writing, so you basically just wrote whatever... I found one of those stories and I was like "How did my teacher let this slide??"

[iWonder]

It depends on the device.

I use Microsoft word, Pages (Mac) and watt pad.


And absolutely, though they were imaginative they were poorly constructed and my characters were flimsy. Making for a weak plot. I have re-used my old stories though and am quite happy with it.

[Silverhart]

Heeeey guys!
I have two small questions for all of you.
First, what writing programs do you use?
And, have you ever looked back at your older stories and just cringed? ( I know I have. )

I use two programs called paper and pencil. XD It's still the best way to write in my opinion. I always write everything out longhand first on paper, and then write it into the computer. I don't use anything fancy.

And as for your other question yes, many times. ^^

[avaria]

Haha, I use Microsoft Word, I'm also editing a story I wrote years ago, I really liked the concept of it so I'm rewriting right now, but my choice of words were very funny, I'm pretty sure one of the main characters disappeared and got stranded on a island and then rescued by a giant cat in the first two pages.

[g0ne]

Heeeey guys!
I have two small questions for all of you.
First, what writing programs do you use?
And, have you ever looked back at your older stories and just cringed? ( I know I have. )

I use Scrivener and Aeon Timeline c: they work well for me, as far as planning and writing goes. Though I also use Pages for character sheets.
As far as my older stories go, I do recognize that I wasn't as great a writer then. But my current story has evolved into a storyline I made nine years ago, so I'd say quite a few of my old ideas were not so bad cx