{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ v.4 } A Thread For Writers

[Nitro Indigo]

I don't think I'll be able to use all of those questions for Dragon Flightless, since it seems designed for human characters, but it still might be helpful.
I think the most interesting characters I've ever come up with are Teagan, an OC from my scrapped Legend of Zelda fanfic A Spirit That Shines Forever Bright, and my weird OC Stand-In, (to reference an old meme here) looks-like-could-kill-you-but-is-actually-a-cinnamon-roll version of Siddeley from Cars 2.

Anyhow, how about...
Lightning is a flightless dragon who's best friends with a not-flightless dragon named Sunset, the daughter of the elder of the valley village where they live. When they find an injured griffon, named Anima, they agree to leave the valley to return her home.
There will be a mystery aspect in how Anima ended up there in the first place, but I'm not sure why. Part of the fun is coming up with the story on the way?
I can imagine Dragon Flightless becoming an important historical event in Glory, about how the different species learned to live together.

[Captain Peregrin]

@Ranger of the North: In my experience, you're always borrowing from something or other - the secret is being aware of your influences and doing your best to present it in a unique way.

I'm Captain Peregrin, by the way xD I literally just discovered this forum after about five years on CS and decided to hang out because it looked fun. I studied English and Linguistics in college (although I'm currently on an extended hiatus), and while I'm chipping away at that mountain of debt, I'm maintaining a literary blog which basically amounts to me writing about the stories I love. I haven't actually written much fiction, but my dream is to become some sort of critic.

Huh, that's actually true... "There is nothing new under the sun!" cx
Welcome along, anyway! Ooo a critic, eh? c: What do you use to learn'n' stuff? And like a structure/style critic, or a grammar one? c:

Mainly structure/style, although obviously I know a thing or two about grammar, too. Not really a grammar nazi, though xD It's fun to look at a story and figure out why it succeeds or fails in different ways.

The main way to learn what works and what doesn't is to immerse yourself in good stories! It's shocking how much you can just sort of absorb that way. Aside from some great teachers, Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories" is a must if you want to do anything with fantasy. I've also studied Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle.

I'm not just into literature, either - I love stories of all kinds! Film and animation are of great interest to me, although I've never officially studied them (again, I learn mostly by osmosis). Honestly, on that front, I've learned a ton just by reading good critics. I'm generally drawn most to fantasy, no matter the medium.

[Greenleaf]

Hey! Haven't been on here in awhile, lol. How many people here participated in NaNoWriMo? :3

Also, if it's not too much to ask, could I possibly send a short story to someone over PM for critique? It's only about 2000 words long, genre mild science fiction. I just got it prepped for a competition coming up in some two weeks, and I'd love some feedback before I send it out. Just shoot my a PM/reply below if you're interested, and thanks so much in advance!

[Captain Peregrin]

I've never been a NaNoWriMo kind of person xD The idea of writing 5k a day for a month kind of terrifies me. I'm more of a small, compact story writer.

I could take a look at your story if you'd like (although it might be a few days before I could look at it properly on my laptop).

[TheSongOfTheStars]

*I,666 words a day*

[Greenleaf]

I've never been a NaNoWriMo kind of person xD The idea of writing 5k a day for a month kind of terrifies me. I'm more of a small, compact story writer.

I could take a look at your story if you'd like (although it might be a few days before I could look at it properly on my laptop).

As FiveSecondsToFly said, it's true that you only have to write 1666 words a day to get fifty thousand by the end of the month. :) Though I totally feel you - I 100% thought that a little over 1500 words a day would be easy, but then I actually got around to trying it and effing died on the first day. I'm also very much of a short story writer myself. I highly respect those people that can churn out 15000+ stories regularly. o_o

And thank you so much! I really appreciate it; I'll send it over now, if that's fine with you!

[Nocte Luna]

In the past I've tried NaNo, but it hasn't worked out very well, I didn't have very good plotlines or characters, so it got more and more difficult. Now I feel like I could maybe do it, but only if I could start with what I have done right now, which is currently at ~8000 words and has nine chapters (tenth is in progress).

Speaking of, I've gotten a little farther with the piece that I posted a couple pages back, and it's now an actual story (or part of a real story) with author's notes at the end if you're interested in what goes in my mind. (Click here to read) If you'd like to critique, please send me a PM with your critique, other than that, any questions/comments/concerns can be posted directly to the thread. I'd love to hear what you have to say to help develop up into a better story.

I'd definitely agree with Captain Peregrin, though - good stories help shape your own. You can experiment with different authors' styles and create a style for yourself that is very unique. Reading is the best way to become a better writer.

[Ranger of the North]

@Peregrin that's interesting how you learn stuff! I pick up lots from reading, too Although I more notice grammar, now~

I've never done NaNoWriMo - it'd take a lot of time, plus the thought is really terrifying O.O - but I did Camp NaNo earlier in the year! I set my goal for 12k words and only just made it......

[Captain Peregrin]

Good grammar is important, of course, but it will only get you so far. Studying Linguistics actually cured me of a lot of my grammar nazi ways, as there's much more focus on how people use language, not how it "should" be used.

[joji]

trying to get back into writing, i have a story id like to investigate when i have the time. any good tips on how to ease back into it?