❛ the lazy writers ❜ V2

[TheSongOfTheStars]

hmm, it can be pretty hard to force a story to have a certain aspect. How exactly are you having trouble showing the value? And are you having trouble just writing it all in all? Like the writing feels clunky and weird?

[BucketORandomness]

i've never really written on this chat ever but hi! idk if this is the forum for this but i kinda wanted some advice for a story i have to write for my ELA class? i kinda suck at writing stories and i just can't seem to write anything because it all sounds so awkward and bad and either too descriptive or not enough and either too fast or too slow! could anyone help?

if you're talking to me, my story has to be a "hero myth" aka i just have to show a value that i think is important for people to have in 2018, and i already have my plot, it's in the real world but kinda like just a more supernatural version. i'm also having trouble incorporating the value into the story

hmm, it can be pretty hard to force a story to have a certain aspect. How exactly are you having trouble showing the value? And are you having trouble just writing it all in all? Like the writing feels clunky and weird?

First up: Hiya! Welcome to the fam. Watch out for carrots, and let Ranger know what they can stalk for you. Back to the story. You're trying to incorporate a trait, right? Like "This myth is about a dude because Dude has [important trait]" You have the plot and stuff, so you're already doing more work than some of us Let's see. You could always just write in little pockets, if the writing feels too clunky. Write out Event 1 and Event 2, then write Connection A and Connection B, and finish the section off with a transition. If it's descriptions you're struggling with, I have some exercises I worked on to make mine more smooth and easy to read. If it's pacing, remind yourself what you want it to feel like. More description slows down the action. Shorter sentences make the reader move faster. Paragraph breaks make the reader pause for a moment in their inner narrative. My best suggestion is to write a draft, get some peer editing, and write a second draft. It sounds like a lot of work because it is, but it gets the story done pretty well.

[Ranger of the North]

Yess, I seem to be the resident story-stalker here XD But anyway, welcome, new person! I have no idea what advice I can give that could help, but I'll keep an eye on the conversation and chime in if there's any way that I can Good luck!

[birdsarentreal]

First up: Hiya! Welcome to the fam. Watch out for carrots, and let Ranger know what they can stalk for you. Back to the story. You're trying to incorporate a trait, right? Like "This myth is about a dude because Dude has [important trait]" You have the plot and stuff, so you're already doing more work than some of us Let's see. You could always just write in little pockets, if the writing feels too clunky. Write out Event 1 and Event 2, then write Connection A and Connection B, and finish the section off with a transition. If it's descriptions you're struggling with, I have some exercises I worked on to make mine more smooth and easy to read. If it's pacing, remind yourself what you want it to feel like. More description slows down the action. Shorter sentences make the reader move faster. Paragraph breaks make the reader pause for a moment in their inner narrative. My best suggestion is to write a draft, get some peer editing, and write a second draft. It sounds like a lot of work because it is, but it gets the story done pretty well.

well thanks for all the advice! my la teacher hasn't actually taught us anything about writing whatsoever so it's nice to hear someone actually tell me stuff about it. i just feel like my story sounds all awkward and something a 6th grader would write, and i love the idea its just so horribly executed. and i also only have until thursday because my teacher only told us yesterday that the final draft would be due then! so basically all i have is 2 and a half pages of a draft (not even close to done!) and one more day to finish it ;-; and i'm just having trouble incorporating my value into the plot. my story is about a psychic grandma who has to rid her client's house of evil spirits and i wanted to incorporate empathy into it... somehow. and i have to follow the twelve steps of the heroes journey. it's kind of a lot..

[BucketORandomness]

well thanks for all the advice! my la teacher hasn't actually taught us anything about writing whatsoever so it's nice to hear someone actually tell me stuff about it. i just feel like my story sounds all awkward and something a 6th grader would write, and i love the idea its just so horribly executed. and i also only have until thursday because my teacher only told us yesterday that the final draft would be due then! so basically all i have is 2 and a half pages of a draft (not even close to done!) and one more day to finish it ;-; and i'm just having trouble incorporating my value into the plot. my story is about a psychic grandma who has to rid her client's house of evil spirits and i wanted to incorporate empathy into it... somehow. and i have to follow the twelve steps of the heroes journey. it's kind of a lot..

Well, sounds like you got your work cut out for you. Personally, I've never worked specifically with the hero's journey, but I've got a site up. You've got ordinary and special worlds, right? And your G-ma is dealing with spirits and a haunting. My initial thought is that the G-ma actually dies, goes to the spirit world, comes back for a haunting, and then figures out what it's like to be a spectator to the hardships of a loved one's life. You've probably got other ideas, but my understanding of empathy is experiencing or remembering a similar experience as someone else goes through it. You could also try getting your G-ma to talk with the spirits, maybe write their story, and that willingness to understand lets them move on, though I'm not sure that helps with your Other World bit of the Hero's Journey. As for 6th grader quality, writing is just one of those things you gotta work out with practice. The first draft is always the hardest to get through, mainly because of how we feel about our own stuff, but if you can make it through that, it can only get better!

If you can identify what specifically you feel is rough about your work, that can help you improve it. Vocabulary can be helped via thesaurus for a while, but I honestly learned most of mine by reading above my grade level for most of my life. If it's transitions, I can get you a list of transition words and such ((or you can search this thread for my How to Edit post. It's enormous, but it's got all my notes on essays, transitions, verbs, and other important things I needed to look for.)). If it's descriptions, like I said, I have a couple exercises I can share. ((My personal favorite is to take a scene in my head and write out how it looks, then go back and fill in what the scene feels, sounds, smells, and sometimes tastes in their own respective runs. It takes a few runs through each scene, but the final product is what I like.))

[⠀⠀⠀petrova]

hi im petrova & im lazy and I write sometimes?
do any of you have any advice for starting the first chapter of a novel?
I always sit here for hours trying to find the right words and
i'm convinced
they don't exist.

[Ranger of the North]

hi im petrova & im lazy and I write sometimes?
do any of you have any advice for starting the first chapter of a novel?
I always sit here for hours trying to find the right words and
i'm convinced
they don't exist.

Welcome! You're a mood already XD I usually like to begin stories with either speech (easier to get a good hook) or descriptions (easier to immerse myself) c: Of course that might not work for you as well, but that's what I tend to instinctively go for cx

[BucketORandomness]

hi im petrova & im lazy and I write sometimes?
do any of you have any advice for starting the first chapter of a novel?
I always sit here for hours trying to find the right words and
i'm convinced
they don't exist.

Hi! Watch out for carrots and let Ranger stalk your stories! The first chapter has always been what I'm best at, but it's hard to explain. You're right, though. The right words don't exist. You just gotta get close. My tip is to consider what you want your first scene to be. A giant space cat figuring out if it likes cucumbers? Sure! Next, figure out the tone you wanna set at the start. Overly serious, slightly sarcastic, or just plain old joking around? After that, just go. You can always come back and fix it during the second draft if you need to. Once you get the intro, just keep going, and eventually you have a chapter. So, for my example, imma attempt a couple different intros.

Overly Serious
The ground trembled in inconsistent bursts as the creature lept and pawed at something just outside the city limits. Buildings crumbled, and I pushed my way through screaming crowds in an attempt to approach the yowling beast.

Slightly Sarcastic
You'd think space cats might be a little different from normal cats, but apparently not. I mean, the thing's ginormous, and it's currently freaking out over nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. Alex decided it would be fun to see the thing's reaction to cucumbers, so at least I know who to beat up later.

Joking Around
I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing through the tears. Of course the cat didn't like the cucumber, but the way it was reacting just made my stomach hurt. It flopped on one side, yowled, then flipped to the other as if that would make the single slice I'd left go away.

[Aliria]

hi im petrova & im lazy and I write sometimes?
do any of you have any advice for starting the first chapter of a novel?
I always sit here for hours trying to find the right words and
i'm convinced
they don't exist.

Welcome! If you're writing a first draft, it does not matter if you start with the "right words." Even if you somehow do, there's a good chance a later draft will require a completely different beginning. The important thing is to just write something. It doesn't have to be something good. It can be complete garbage. The only thing the beginning has to do in a first draft is exist.

And if that's still difficult, you don't have to start with the beginning! If you have a good idea of where the story is going, you can jump around and write out of order. Many actual published authors write that way. Supposedly it works pretty well.

[ScarDolphin]

hi im petrova & im lazy and I write sometimes?
do any of you have any advice for starting the first chapter of a novel?
I always sit here for hours trying to find the right words and
i'm convinced
they don't exist.

This is such a mood I relate to this 100%

Normally when I have an idea I want to write I just jump straight into it and watch where it goes and then add details and stuff later. For me it's fairly easy starting a chapter because you can just say something like Robert burst through the door, almost pulling it with him as he went to the bar and leaned against it, his breath beating heavily. or sometimes I'll start with someone saying something but I find the difficultest part is the middle because it's like I know where I wanna go but its so far to get there