drillkicker Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Yeah maybe he should start a new genre, one page outlines, otherwise retitled short short stories. Although lazy people of yore already jumped on the back of an existing genre, calling their short descriptive pieces, poetry. So maybe you're a poet but didn't know it. heh .. I do write poetry more often than stories, so maybe that's why I can never get far. I always write my stories as if they're prose poetry, which gets annoying because sometimes all I want to do is write like a normal person (or at least at a normal pace). Drillkicker: Ursula le Guin is offering some writing advice right now, you could even email her and ask her directly for help if you so desire: http://bookviewcafe.com/blog/author/ursulakleguin/ Yeah maybe he should start a new genre, one page outlines, otherwise retitled short short stories. Although lazy people of yore already jumped on the back of an existing genre, calling their short descriptive pieces, poetry. So maybe you're a poet but didn't know it. heh .. Stories two page or less in length are referred to as flash fiction and is indeed a genre Also some poems can be so long as to fill an entire book (or books) by themselves: i.e. Divine Comedy Also you smell Oh yeah I forgot about flash fiction. I guess that's just what I do, then. I can never get past the two page hurdle. Still, I'd like to be able to write a novel or something one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delet... Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Drillkicker: Ursula le Guin is offering some writing advice right now, you could even email her and ask her directly for help if you so desire: http://bookviewcafe.com/blog/author/ursulakleguin/ Yeah maybe he should start a new genre, one page outlines, otherwise retitled short short stories. Although lazy people of yore already jumped on the back of an existing genre, calling their short descriptive pieces, poetry. So maybe you're a poet but didn't know it. heh .. Stories two page or less in length are referred to as flash fiction and is indeed a genre Also some poems can be so long as to fill an entire book (or books) by themselves: i.e. Divine Comedy Also you smell I thought I'd flush out the fantacists, heh, /gets toilet brush to clean sides of bowl (read me with a sense of fun, I mean no harm, you are all my friends, as well as fodder for my fenestration. Also, who was that woman that wrote that you just need to keep on doing to get better, and if you had good taste to begin with, the process of continually working on building your ability will mean that eventually your skill level matches your expectation. So keep at it drillkicker, and at it, nan datit, lan latit, an atit. You'll get their lad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delet... Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Yeah maybe he should start a new genre, one page outlines, otherwise retitled short short stories. Although lazy people of yore already jumped on the back of an existing genre, calling their short descriptive pieces, poetry. So maybe you're a poet but didn't know it. heh .. I do write poetry more often than stories, so maybe that's why I can never get far. I always write my stories as if they're prose poetry, which gets annoying because sometimes all I want to do is write like a normal person (or at least at a normal pace). My grandfather said that its best when writing a story to have a beginning and an end already in place, then you know where you are headed and are working towards that end. So maybe flowery prose is something your should eschew in favour of having a purpose first, then as the idea condenses out of the aether, you may fill it out with finely tuned form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drillkicker Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I think the problem is that I usually don't have an ending, or even a plot, decided when I start writing. I just write out whatever my thoughts are, and they usually don't go anywhere, which I think is probably a reflection of how my life is right now. I have tried writing something that already had an ending in mind, but even that usually fails because I can't figure out how to get from the beginning to the ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delet... Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 stuff happens, heh ..., the end .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I think the problem is that I usually don't have an ending, or even a plot, decided when I start writing. I just write out whatever my thoughts are, and they usually don't go anywhere, which I think is probably a reflection of how my life is right now. I have tried writing something that already had an ending in mind, but even that usually fails because I can't figure out how to get from the beginning to the ending. Use those thoughts you wrote out as your beginning synopsis ('two characters meet over time, eventually end up in love' for eg) and then expand it to flesh out the story, told in whatever style (or styles) feel best. I'm the middle of a huge book and my synopsis was not much more than two paragraphs, which still covers the mass of text I've written since. I think the first synopsis for Infinite Jest by DFW, a 1000 page book, was 'a real sad story'. Having an idea of 'theme' or 'voice' helps. You can make story / plot choices if you know what you want to get through with your writing. Even if it's something like 'a real sad story' or 'uplifting sci-fi with a heart', it can help immensely in deciding what to do next, what characters say and what they don't. And short stories are a perfectly valid form of storytelling. Just ask Alice Munro and her Nobel prize. If it's any consolation, I can't write short stories at all, every idea I have seems to turn out novel sized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drillkicker Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I think part of the problem is that I never have more than one character. Everything I've ever written has only had one central character and their thoughts and perceptions of their surroundings. I just don't know how to introduce a second character and still have it make sense. My antagonist is always just the universe, basically all of the character's surroundings. That makes it kind of hard for a complex plot to develop, I guess. Well, now that I noticed what the problem is, I can start working to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenton Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) mate, plotlines, beginnings ends - wtf - hardly any of my favourite writing [fiction, novels, tv, film, music] has definite plot or characters and if they do they're often just thinly veiled sham ways of offering an explanation for something intangible [like someone pressured them to or they had to use them to make it possible for people to comprehend also lots of good authors never studied and don't have sets of rules just make the words happen man Edited September 11, 2015 by fenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambermonk Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 People on FB whom I PM'd a simple question and never got a reply from. First, it's in English, and second, it's not inflammatory or creepy in any way. Weak shit.Is it too much to ask to have a little class? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweepstakes Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Maybe they're just busy? I replied to some months old PMs the other day. Facebook sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambermonk Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Maybe. And yes it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delet... Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 you're not watmm's sole alaskan you know .. jus sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Sole? Nay, tis a salmon, good fellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drillkicker Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) I still consider myself an Alaskan. Once and Alaskan always an Alaskan. Even if I'm more of a German. Edited September 11, 2015 by drillkicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambermonk Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 you're not watmm's sole alaskan you know .. jus sayin Oh? I realize I'm not the only WATMMer from here, but since I joined up I thought I was the only one currently residing here. Feel free to correct me though if I'm wrong. Sole? Nay, tis a salmon, good fellow. Sockeye is where it's at. BTW been to both Philly & NYC myself back when I lived in Jersey. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghOsty Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I forgot 9/11... I'm sorry guys, I let the terrorists win today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Mughnus Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 you're not watmm's sole alaskan you know .. jus sayin Oh? I realize I'm not the only WATMMer from here, but since I joined up I thought I was the only one currently residing here. Feel free to correct me though if I'm wrong. Sarah Palin has a watmm account Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpyLoo Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Got pinched today for possession. P.S. Cops are fucking assholes...seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadameChaos Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I can't cook rice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) I can't cook rice White rice: wash in water, rinse > put in simmering water (low heat) for 15 mins with lid on, stir once and then leave it > turn off heat and leave to soak with pan lid on for 20 mins or more, depending on how stiff/sticky you like it (I leave it for 25 mins, super soft rice) > drain and serve for cloud-level soft rice Brown rice: wash in water and soak for a few hours before cooking (brown rice takes AGES to become nice and soft) then repeat same process as above, maybe leave soaking in water afterwards a bit longer to make sure it is soft Simplified version: simmer and soak in water to shit. Or buy a rice cooker. Edited September 11, 2015 by Bechuga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I can't cook rice Who are you people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenGOD Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I can't cook rice Buy a rice cooker. Wash rice. Rinse. Put rice in cooker. Put in water at a 1:1 ratio. Press cook. Eat rice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Mughnus Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I can't cook rice Buy a rice cooker. Wash rice. Rinse. Put rice in cooker. Put in water at a 1:1 ratio. Press cook. Eat rice. This! and the cookers are so cheap. I've had a black and decker one I bought from superstore for $15, still works after about 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drillkicker Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Got pinched today for possession. It takes more than a pinch to cure possession. Talk to a priest about having an exorcism. The police wouldn't know anything about it, don't talk to them. You need an expert who knows how to deal with these sorts of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny O Flannagin Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 People on FB whom I PM'd a simple question and never got a reply from. First, it's in English, and second, it's not inflammatory or creepy in any way. Weak shit. Is it too much to ask to have a little class? We're all alone together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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