Here’s the second entry in my weekly, alphabetically titled short stories that take place in my science fiction/fantasy universe. Thanks for reading and for any feedback or reactions.
Over the next few months, I’ll be participating in Alphabet Superset and sharing my short stories across the internet. Yesterday marked the end of Week A, and I posted an introduction to my collection of short stories, as well as the first short that I’ve been working on for the past couple years on and off. I would describe...
Many times when writing, I get a very specific image in my head of the way I want something to look, or the way I want something to move. Particularly with actions where objects are moving in a very specific way, I want to describe them accurately so that most readers would see the same thing that I’m seeing in my head. The...
True. I have to remind myself that that’s what’s so great about any art form; the audience’s unique interpretation of it. Everyone is going to see something differently, and each perspective is (in most cases) valid.
I joined Beehaw specifically hoping to get in on the ground floor of the growing writing community here, but I have to admit I haven’t had much to say....
Whatever is going to work for you will probably be specific to you, but I think a good place to start is to read more stories. Try to nail down what it is you want to achieve with your story, and then find other stories that have succeeded at that, at least in your opinion. There are rules and tropes and formulas to storytelling that will make it easier to entertain readers, but at the end of the day, if you don’t like what you wrote, and you didn’t enjoy writing it, then I don’t think it’s worth it.
In my experience, once you start reading a lot, you start thinking more like a writer. You’ll be watching a movie or a show and be thinking “How would I write this scene, how would I describe this to someone who wasn’t watching it, and how would I do that in a way that they got the same feeling I got when I was watching it?” or “How would I improve this story, in what ways did it fail to give me the feeling I was seeking?” or “How could I incorporate some of these same narrative devices in my story, what is it that I like about this and how can I convince people that they like my story for the same reasons?”
You’ll especially start asking yourselves these questions when you know you have a good story, and you’re obsessed with getting your story on to paper. You’ll start filtering everything you experience through the lens of that obsession, and every piece of media you consume will become a piece of the collage you create.
At least that’s how it is for me, maybe you’re completely different.
First of all I’d like to apologize in advance for any insensitive statements I might make (I hope I don’t though), I’m trying my best not to and I was just curious :)...
In that case, I don’t think it’s fair to describe yourself as someone who “doesn’t care”. I think when you say that you don’t care, it can come off as not caring if someone is being a piece of shit towards your gay friends. “I don’t care if you’re gay” can sound like “I don’t care if you get antagonized for being gay”, and I think the fact that you would stand up for your gay friends shows that you do care that they are gay, you care that that is seen as something worth standing up for and protecting. Saying you don’t care is minimizing the extent to which you do care.
Here is my controversial take: if it is true that a cat needs to be let outdoors unsupervised in order to live a happy life full of enrichment, then we should not have pet cats at all....
I’ve heard that putting a bell and a bright, reflective collar on a cat can prevent them from hunting wildlife.
Does anyone know how true this is, or if doing so would negate some of the risks of having an outdoor cat?
I have been on a kick lately with short games. Because I’m a parent with a hectic job, it’s really nice to be able to beat a game in just a few days....
Seconding Oxenfree. It’s one of the few multi-choice/multi-ending games where I was completely content with the ending I got, and didn’t feel like the game ever lied to me or ripped me off for choosing the “wrong” thing. I had stayed away from it for so long because I wasn’t ready to deal with choice anxiety that I get in a lot of games of that type, but for whatever reason, the game never made me feel like that.
So, I will make no secret that I'm rolling my eyes at all of that marketing stuff that goes up every year. But I've been thinking, it doesn't have to be so superficial and pointless. Maybe there's some rare exception out there that took the opportunity to say or do something meaningful....
I think my favorite thing I saw was the Opera GX Twitter account changed their pfp to two men kissing in their logo. On one hand it was just a silly meme, but it also made me think how the rainbow logos have become just a standard thing that no one really cares about after so many years. The rainbow has very little to do with what homosexuality actually is, it's just a flag. I get that the flag holds a lot of meaning, but I'd love it if this caught on and eventually all the logos during pride month featured same-sex couples kissing or hugging or getting married, actual representations of gay people rather than just the rainbow.
I could imagine the sweet and salty goes well together. I like when a charcuterie has a nice jam and brie. A cracker or piece of bread with brie, prosciutto, and jam, I could eat so many of those.
I'm assuming you've had pickled garlic, then? I just picked up 2 jars of it recently. I have to stop myself from eating too much sometimes. Raw garlic is great for me when I have a bad cold and need to clear out my sinuses.
I happen to be suffering from a sore throat right now from horrible allergies, so I'll have to remember to try this as soon as I get home.
As far as other pickled things, I ironically hate pickled cucumbers, but I love pickled eggs and pickled garlic and have been curious to try some other unconventional pickled foods.
this could be a great opportunity to change someone’s outlook in a positive way.
It could, but I don't have the energy to educate people these days. I might send them some links if I really cared about them, but I have too little time and energy to politely explain for the millionth time that sex != gender. Same reason I don't have the energy to educate flat earthers.
Do you set aside a time each day to write? Do you write five pages stream of consciousness then trim it down into something that makes sense? Are you a planner? Do you write in a notebook? Do you write once, edit once? write twice, edit once? Write once, edit thrice?...
In the past, I would have an idea for a story and attempt to start writing it start to finish with barely any notes on where I wanted the story to go or any kind of outlining. I would have it all in my head and try to fool myself into thinking I could finish writing an entire novel just by only writing what needed to be written and not wasting any time anywhere else. This is why I’ve never finished any large writing project, and any writing I’ve considered “finished” is usually under 5,000 words. I would either get bored because I didn’t have a clear goal written down, or I would give up because I decided the story wasn’t good enough.
Now, after becoming obsessed with my latest story idea, and hyping myself up and convincing myself that I WILL finish writing a novel, I’ve learned that in order for that to happen I need a lot more tools and organization than what I was previously trying to do. I’ll start by doing brain dumps any time I have any amount of inspiration, this allows me to quickly put down what I want to happen in the story without needing to describe what is actually happening in the story. It’s fun to go back to these pages after I’ve written a section and see what’s changed from then to now. I now have a lot more appreciation and understanding for why certain Star Wars characters originally had very different concepts and stories (Han Solo/Jaba original concepts).
After getting all of my ideas out, I then like to organize them. I’m currently using Fabula cards on a digital board called miro. Not trying to shill, but just to show you what the cards are, here’s the link: fabuladeck.com It took me a lot of time to understand that using a story formula to write doesn’t necessarily mean your story is formulaic, and if I want to attempt to subvert any expectations while also not upsetting my readers, I first have to understand what people expect in a story. I’ve also been reading “Save the Cat Writes a Novel” to try to get a deeper understanding of storytelling. I’ve always had good instincts when it comes to storytelling, but I’ve learned that I can’t completely rely on my instincts and I have to learn from people who have been doing this much longer and much more successfully than I have. I also have a copy of Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Steering the Craft” which I hope will also give me some more useful tools.
After I have everything organized the way I like, then I feel like I can start actually writing what I want people to read. I try not to think too much about it being perfect and only focus on writing it good enough that I can come back later and edit it to make it perfect. I have to remind myself that the editing process might take just as long as the writing process, so I shouldn’t waste too much time trying to edit while I write.
On top of all of this, I’m constantly filtering anything I consume through the lens of my story. I know that if I stop being obsessed with it, I will give up on it like all of my other projects, and as a result I’m constantly thinking of ways to include themes and character types from other stories that I enjoy.
Tales From The Mortal Conglomerate: Beyza's Balneotherapy (medium.com)
Here’s the second entry in my weekly, alphabetically titled short stories that take place in my science fiction/fantasy universe. Thanks for reading and for any feedback or reactions.
Tales From The Mortal Conglomerate: Anton's Application
Over the next few months, I’ll be participating in Alphabet Superset and sharing my short stories across the internet. Yesterday marked the end of Week A, and I posted an introduction to my collection of short stories, as well as the first short that I’ve been working on for the past couple years on and off. I would describe...
What do you do when trying to describe something very specific?
Many times when writing, I get a very specific image in my head of the way I want something to look, or the way I want something to move. Particularly with actions where objects are moving in a very specific way, I want to describe them accurately so that most readers would see the same thing that I’m seeing in my head. The...
Twitter is now X (www.twitter.com)
Hello Writers!
I joined Beehaw specifically hoping to get in on the ground floor of the growing writing community here, but I have to admit I haven’t had much to say....
Weekly "What are you playing" Thread || Week of July 9th
Hey all!...
How are cishet people viewed in general in the LGBTQ community?
First of all I’d like to apologize in advance for any insensitive statements I might make (I hope I don’t though), I’m trying my best not to and I was just curious :)...
A Rant on Outdoor Cats
Here is my controversial take: if it is true that a cat needs to be let outdoors unsupervised in order to live a happy life full of enrichment, then we should not have pet cats at all....
Best sub-20 hour games?
I have been on a kick lately with short games. Because I’m a parent with a hectic job, it’s really nice to be able to beat a game in just a few days....
Pride Month wrapping up, have you seen any company or organisation do anything remotely meaningful?
So, I will make no secret that I'm rolling my eyes at all of that marketing stuff that goes up every year. But I've been thinking, it doesn't have to be so superficial and pointless. Maybe there's some rare exception out there that took the opportunity to say or do something meaningful....
What do you eat that other people think is odd?
I'll start: pesto as a bagel topping.
My best friend is transphobic
I just found out my best friend of over a decade is transphobic. I don't really have more to say. I'm just devastated and feeling really alone.
What is your process?
Do you set aside a time each day to write? Do you write five pages stream of consciousness then trim it down into something that makes sense? Are you a planner? Do you write in a notebook? Do you write once, edit once? write twice, edit once? Write once, edit thrice?...