Our Aspiring Writers League (O.A.W.L)

[†♉Ӝ̵̨̄❆Raven❆Ӝ̵̨̄♉†]

just kidding i was being funny

[Silverhart]

Random discussion topic for writers-what do you find easier, the act of writing or coming up with ideas?

Coming up with ideas is easy for me-they're coming out of my ears. Actually sitting down and writing them all, though, is more difficult.

And another random discussion topic-do you have "themes" or things that continuously crop up in your writing?

I have a few-one is artificial limbs/cyborgs. I find them really cool, and the idea of physical enhancement is really neat. Two of my books that are out feature a cyborg character, and two others that are going to come out have a character with an artificial arm. I sometimes wonder if I'm weird.

The other theme is characters that are a great deal weaker than is expected- a fairy who can't fly, a mage who barely has any magic power, a person who comes from a long line of animal tamers who can't tame animals...characters like this crop up in my writing a lot.

Ideas. Ideas are definitly easier. Most of the time. While I enjoy writing, the thing I love most is coming up with ideas, and connecting them.

You're not weird! (Well, maybe you are, but it's in a good way. I think most writers are a little weird) Cyborgs are awesome! I've only had one cyborg character though, mostly because the majority of my stories take place in the past, and cyborgs were pretty hard to find. I also like those unexpected type of characters. A pegasus with a fear of heights, a monster with a heart of gold, a warrior who faints at the sight of blood.

A theme I see cropping up a lot in my stories is fathers. I especially delight in having a big "Luke, I am your Father!" type deals somewhere in the story. And then I like building that relationship with the father and the son. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and sometimes it's ambiguous. It's something I really love doing. Even without that, fathers seem to take a big role in my stories. It's probably because fathers seem like a big part of a lot of books I read. But I really love writing father-son, father-daughter, or mentor-student, type relationships. And I also love surprising my readers with stuff like that.

Another theme of mine; there's always little clues I like to hide. References to other stories, movies, legends, science, historical or mythical figures or events. I love doing that stuff, even if it doesn't have any meaning to the plot. Like when I named a raven character Muinnen after one of Odin's ravens. Usually I have my characters names mean something (not always though). For example I have a character who's name is an anagram revealing who he really is. I have a character who's name means 'seal', who turns out to be a selkie. (Selkies are another thing that show up in my stories a lot.) I love hiding that sort of stuff in stories, because I personally love finding those sorts of things in the stuff I read and watch.

@chibifoxeh Looks great so far! One thing I noticed is you switched from past tense in the second paragraph. And I wouldn't mind more description, but that's just me. I love description. But overall I think it's good. The prince sounds like a real character. Ha ha! I'm curious as to what happens next.

[hirokas]

LukeIAmYourFather is the best kind. Along with you-thought-I-had-a-crush-on-you-but-I'm-your-mom.

[Dr. Paine]

Ideas are SO MUCH EASIER than the actual writing.

Ideas are... there. Even once you get past the 'have everything make logical sense and fits into established canon if necessary' stage, it's so much easier than properly writing it all down. Then, you have to find all the right words, ensure you have proper grammar, ensure characters remain consistent and all have distinct tones of voice. And if you're writing fanfic, you have to ensure you stay true to the characters and write how they would talk/think... and then you fly into a screaming rage because your brain hurts xD

As for recurring themes... one big one I have, in everything I write, is 'life sucks'. A huge number of my characters have been put through the wringer (some highlights, from the top of my head: the girl who was turned into a mutant and nearly killed her boyfriend, slavery was involved once, I'm currently working on a girl who's slowly going insane because she has visions of the future, and it's well established that precognition is one of those freakish, unnatural abominations that should NEVER happen and just make life hell for anyone with it). That said, another major theme is 'earn your happy ending'. These people work hard to overcome their adversities, and even if it doesn't end up as they hoped, they turn out pretty okay.

... inhumanity is also a recurring theme in my work. The main setting I use establishes that a major section of the population is not quite human- for various reasons, the vast majority of humans are 'hybrids', with some strains of dragon DNA in their genetic code. In modern times, this has led to many people developing small dragon-like traits, usually just scales or something similar. There are also unicorns- well, used to be, they were the first to master the magic of shape-shifting, and the actual unicorn has since died out in modern ages. There are a few other shape-shifting races, as well as... a vampire-like family (long story short, don't ever try to harm a phoenix), and though they've never been prominent, there are dragons and phoenixes, both considered equal to or even above humanity.

And I guess, corny as it is, love is another major theme. Romantic, familial, and platonic. I like to explore how love can be so sorely tested, how someone starved of it will react when finally presented with it, how it can be lost and rekindled if one is lucky, that sort of thing. I also make it a point to have relationships develop naturally, rather than just... 'here's character A and character B, NOW KISS'. They have to have real chemistry xD ... this led to finally breaking up a long-running pair I used, because I finally had to acknowledge that A, they didn't work well anymore, and B... one of the characters was just flat out gay (and now has a completely new story, not to mention finally has a girlfriend ).

Anyway... I believe I've lost track of my point, hopefully that rambling up there made sense.

[nutella ♥]

@Silverhart
Oops. XD Silly me. I will fix dat. And yes, the prince is pretty weird.

Thank you for the advice, anyone else?

[hirokas]

I made a family tree, and had to divide it into three seperate parts... one of them specially named because it's mostly non-canon.
Why is it so hard to write in general, yet so easy to plot? >.>

[Emotionless]

I made a family tree, and had to divide it into three seperate parts... one of them specially named because it's mostly non-canon.
Why is it so hard to write in general, yet so easy to plot? >.>

Actually,the writing part is easy for me. And so is creating a plot and characters. o.o

[MusicalMoony]

I'm finally getting around to posting my form! I've been so busy that I saved it as a draft and continued to add bits and pieces until now, when I was satifsied.

Username:
Ultraviolet~
(is subject to change)

What will we call you:
Moony

What are your goals as an author?
- I'd like to put my creativity to good use.
- I'd like to inspire people or even just give them something to read.
- From 'signing up' here, I'd like some constructive critisism as I honestly want to know how I can improve!

Can you give us a sample of your writing?
This is a story I wrote for Chry's Cyber Bunny thread in the hope to adopt a bunny. There was a word limit, so this was all I could write, but I am actually hoping to improve it.
The full moon shone down on the Tallyn's house like the beam of a wide torch... and a tiny one was staring back at it intensely. Young Yue-Tala Tallyn peered through her telescope and up at the perfect pure white sphere, grinning to herself. She was a natural born night owl, not a rise-and-shine early bird like her adoptive parents.
Moony's smile quickly faded as mental images of her real mother and father popped up in her mind's eye and she pulled away from the telescope as a tear slid down her cheek. She brushed it away furiously, thinking hard. Why had she suddenly thought of them? She searched her memories of the past few minutes, trying to pinpoint the reason... There! A noise floated up to her room from the streets below, a vicious murdering sound that chilled her to the bone; dogs. Her father had loved dogs... But this wasn't any average dog bark.
It was a hunting howl.
Moony gasped and leapt up from her seat, grabbing her dressing gown from the hook on the back of her door. She reached under her bed, pulling out the long bed sheet rope she'd used once before to sneak out of her room for a school disco she'd paid for but been forbidden afterwards to go to. It was thick, strong and sturdy, so she threw open the doors to her balcony, secured one end of the 'rope' to a pillar on the side and chucked it over the edge. Moony slipped one leg over the barrier, then the other one before gradually easing her way down the bed sheets.
She dropped to the ground and took off into the streets, racing through the town as fast as her legs would carry her until she came to a construction site. She ducked under the yellow and black striped tape and sprinted towards the dog which was now in her vision. It was barking at a small metal tube the width of a basketball and began throwing itself into the tube up to its back legs which were too tall to fit. There were puddles of drool on the ground; it was obviously dead set on catching whatever it was after.
But the dog wasn't smart enough to simply run over to the other side of the tube and reach in for it there. Moony was, however, and did so quickly. Her fingers stretched towards a dark quivering shape and touched something cold, shaking and metallic. She managed to gently grasp it and pulled it out quickly, out of the dog's reach. It was a little metal bunny, its freezing hide moving like a real rabbit's and coloured the exact same way as one of Moony's favourite sweets... "You remind me of a lolly," she whispered to the small creature, observing its rainbow hide as the bunny burrowed into her hands, terrified out of its tiny mind. "Don't worry," she kissed its cool forehead as she admired the way that the pattern on the poor bunny's coat resembled the effect on water if you threw a stone in it. And so she decided to give it both a name and a home.
"You're safe with me, Gobstopper Ripple, and I'm going to take good care of you. There's no reason to be afraid anymore."
And so the bunny snuggled into her and she began the long walk back to her house, calming the rabbit with her soothing voice all the way.

Are you currently working on any books?
I have two vague plans but they don't seem to be going anywhere
In answer to the previous thread question, I struggle to find ideas and yet I can write to my heart's content for hours! Therefore, writing is easier... but I have almost no plots

Why do you want to join?
- I'd like to meet other writers like me!
- I'd like some constructive critisism as I honestly want to know how I can improve!
- I'm hoping I can be inspired for some more writing!

Do you have published books yet?
No. I consider myself too young to write a novel yet.

Do you wish to find a "writing partner"?
Not at the moment, sorry

What's your favorite genre to read? Write?
Anything fiction/fantasy/sci-fi. I don't like things based on war or real life, or poetry...

Were you a member of the old thread?
Unfortunately, no

[hirokas]

I made a family tree, and had to divide it into three seperate parts... one of them specially named because it's mostly non-canon.
Why is it so hard to write in general, yet so easy to plot? >.>

Actually,the writing part is easy for me. And so is creating a plot and characters. o.o

Lucky.

[Emotionless]

I made a family tree, and had to divide it into three seperate parts... one of them specially named because it's mostly non-canon.
Why is it so hard to write in general, yet so easy to plot? >.>

Actually,the writing part is easy for me. And so is creating a plot and characters. o.o

Lucky.

I don't know why,actually. I just get an idea,and just think it though. It feels...natural. I CANNOT plan it out though. That makes everything bad and all messed up.