100% FREE ONLINE DATING
sponsored links
Previous
| Topic: Writing A Book? | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
I too am trying to write a book. This thread is so full of useful information and pointers. Thank you all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I too am trying to write a book. This thread is so full of useful information and pointers. Thank you all.
You're very welcome! That's what we're here for! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am, in all likelihood, going to fall on the " not enough " side of things. I have yet ( 40 thousand words in ) to describe my main characters appearance. People know how old he is..but I have yet to tell them much of anything else. Oddly enough, though, Lex has seen almost everything I have written and not mentioned that. Neither has anyone else that has read what I have in the forums here. I will eventually do a little more description of the main character ( maybe ), but for now, the story itself has made it seem relatively unimportant. Well, that's pretty much the way I do it, too. I may comment on a particular character's clothing on a given day, or if he/she is tall or overweight or young or old, but that's about it. As a reader, I always preferred to imagine a book's characters "on my own," without overly much description from the author. There are exceptions: If I'm using an alien character, I want to be a little more precise and explicit about what this guy looks like. But these, inevitably, are not human. I am relatively certain that any descriptions I do of my characters are going to come when I actually go back to do rewriting. It will mostly wind up being " fill in " type stuff. I agree that, the fact that my main character, as well as one of the secondary characters are both human is going to allow me to let the reader do most of the " work ". |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I too am trying to write a book. This thread is so full of useful information and pointers. Thank you all.
You're very welcome! That's what we're here for! Cool deal. Hey, Lex. That's what YOU are here for. The rest of us are here just to pick your brain...lmfao |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I too am trying to write a book. This thread is so full of useful information and pointers. Thank you all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I too am trying to write a book. This thread is so full of useful information and pointers. Thank you all.
You're very welcome! That's what we're here for! Cool deal. Hey, Lex. That's what YOU are here for. The rest of us are here just to pick your brain...lmfao Well, pick away! -- I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be as a writer. But if I can help somebody out, why the hell not? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am, in all likelihood, going to fall on the " not enough " side of things. I have yet ( 40 thousand words in ) to describe my main characters appearance. People know how old he is..but I have yet to tell them much of anything else. Oddly enough, though, Lex has seen almost everything I have written and not mentioned that. Neither has anyone else that has read what I have in the forums here. I will eventually do a little more description of the main character ( maybe ), but for now, the story itself has made it seem relatively unimportant. Well, that's pretty much the way I do it, too. I may comment on a particular character's clothing on a given day, or if he/she is tall or overweight or young or old, but that's about it. As a reader, I always preferred to imagine a book's characters "on my own," without overly much description from the author. There are exceptions: If I'm using an alien character, I want to be a little more precise and explicit about what this guy looks like. But these, inevitably, are not human. I am relatively certain that any descriptions I do of my characters are going to come when I actually go back to do rewriting. It will mostly wind up being " fill in " type stuff. I agree that, the fact that my main character, as well as one of the secondary characters are both human is going to allow me to let the reader do most of the " work ". It's the same reason I don't like to spend a lot of time on scenery, furniture, etc. This guy has a desk in his office, and there's a chair in front of it for clients, visitors, whatever. Usually, that's all I need to say. Does it matter what the desk looks like, how big it is, what it's made of, how many drawers it has, what color it is? Probably not. The reader can formulate his/her own depiction of a desk to fit the imagery of the scene. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am, in all likelihood, going to fall on the " not enough " side of things. I have yet ( 40 thousand words in ) to describe my main characters appearance. People know how old he is..but I have yet to tell them much of anything else. Oddly enough, though, Lex has seen almost everything I have written and not mentioned that. Neither has anyone else that has read what I have in the forums here. I will eventually do a little more description of the main character ( maybe ), but for now, the story itself has made it seem relatively unimportant. Well, that's pretty much the way I do it, too. I may comment on a particular character's clothing on a given day, or if he/she is tall or overweight or young or old, but that's about it. As a reader, I always preferred to imagine a book's characters "on my own," without overly much description from the author. There are exceptions: If I'm using an alien character, I want to be a little more precise and explicit about what this guy looks like. But these, inevitably, are not human. I am relatively certain that any descriptions I do of my characters are going to come when I actually go back to do rewriting. It will mostly wind up being " fill in " type stuff. I agree that, the fact that my main character, as well as one of the secondary characters are both human is going to allow me to let the reader do most of the " work ". It's the same reason I don't like to spend a lot of time on scenery, furniture, etc. This guy has a desk in his office, and there's a chair in front of it for clients, visitors, whatever. Usually, that's all I need to say. Does it matter what the desk looks like, how big it is, what it's made of, how many drawers it has, what color it is? Probably not. The reader can formulate his/her own depiction of a desk to fit the imagery of the scene. I am currently reading a book called " Void Moon ". There are a lot of, what I consider, extraneous descriptions of some things. Like you have said, if something doesn't have a direct effect on the story, or play a crucial part in the plot, why the need to describe it? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
JustAGuy2112
on
Tue 01/19/10 11:23 PM
|
|
I have a question for you folks.
I am considering setting up a website for new and/or established authors. I know there are a lot of sites out there for support, but my team has a few sub domains available, and a very good webmaster who could build a nice site. We'd be doing some testing there, and when it's right, I'd be buying a domain for it. I am trying to find out what level of interest there would be before I decide to actually pay for a domain. I don't want to divulge all of the details about what would be available, but I want to see if I can gauge the level of interest in something like that. I will say that it will be user friendly. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am, in all likelihood, going to fall on the " not enough " side of things. I have yet ( 40 thousand words in ) to describe my main characters appearance. People know how old he is..but I have yet to tell them much of anything else. Oddly enough, though, Lex has seen almost everything I have written and not mentioned that. Neither has anyone else that has read what I have in the forums here. I will eventually do a little more description of the main character ( maybe ), but for now, the story itself has made it seem relatively unimportant. Well, that's pretty much the way I do it, too. I may comment on a particular character's clothing on a given day, or if he/she is tall or overweight or young or old, but that's about it. As a reader, I always preferred to imagine a book's characters "on my own," without overly much description from the author. There are exceptions: If I'm using an alien character, I want to be a little more precise and explicit about what this guy looks like. But these, inevitably, are not human. I am relatively certain that any descriptions I do of my characters are going to come when I actually go back to do rewriting. It will mostly wind up being " fill in " type stuff. I agree that, the fact that my main character, as well as one of the secondary characters are both human is going to allow me to let the reader do most of the " work ". It's the same reason I don't like to spend a lot of time on scenery, furniture, etc. This guy has a desk in his office, and there's a chair in front of it for clients, visitors, whatever. Usually, that's all I need to say. Does it matter what the desk looks like, how big it is, what it's made of, how many drawers it has, what color it is? Probably not. The reader can formulate his/her own depiction of a desk to fit the imagery of the scene. I am currently reading a book called " Void Moon ". There are a lot of, what I consider, extraneous descriptions of some things. Like you have said, if something doesn't have a direct effect on the story, or play a crucial part in the plot, why the need to describe it? I was thinking about this earlier today -- mulling over the kind of thing I might use as part of a description of a character, for example. ********** Johnny Peraglia reported to work on his first day as an insurance salesman with a new mustache. Apparently, he had stolen it from Stalin. Stalin, being dead, hadn't put up much of a struggle. Johnny's mother didn't like it. "A boy with a big square face like yours shouldn't have a big thick mustache like that, Johnny. It's too straight. Your whole head is all straight lines now. You look like a robot." "Robots don't have mustaches, Ma." "Well, if they did, they'd be all straight lines like the one you've got. You should put some curvature in there, Johnny, something to soften the boxiness." "It's an image, Ma." "Right, like the best image for an insurance salesman is a robot with a square head. Have you seen the Geico commercials, Johnny? What do you see? Lizards and cavemen. The cavemen have mustaches but they look like cavemen, not robots. The lizard doesn't even have a mustache." "Most lizards don't, Ma." "That's beside the point. You'll scare people away. You'll frighten babies." "Babies don't buy insurance, Ma." "No, but their parents do. And those parents are going to be wondering why their baby is screaming while they're talking to you about a new policy." "As long as the kid can't say 'Let's try Allstate instead,' it's not a problem, Ma." "You'll see, Johnny! You'll see! Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but someday you'll come to me and say, 'You were right, Ma, the mustache was a stupid idea.' Just you wait." "If it turns out to be a stupid idea, I'll admit it was a stupid idea. I just don't want to go in my first day looking like some dumb kid with nothing to offer." "Oh, I'm sure they all judge a man by the size of his mustache." "Guy who owns the company has a mustache, Ma." "Like yours?" "No, he's got one of those handlebar jobs, like Rollie Fingers." She shook her head. "Johnny, could you sell me a life insurance policy?" "I suppose. Why do you ask?" "Because I'll die of embarrassment if you go out in public looking like that." He nodded. "OK, I can get you a premium of only $14.95 a month." She threw a spoon at him. ********** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am, in all likelihood, going to fall on the " not enough " side of things. I have yet ( 40 thousand words in ) to describe my main characters appearance. People know how old he is..but I have yet to tell them much of anything else. Oddly enough, though, Lex has seen almost everything I have written and not mentioned that. Neither has anyone else that has read what I have in the forums here. I will eventually do a little more description of the main character ( maybe ), but for now, the story itself has made it seem relatively unimportant. Well, that's pretty much the way I do it, too. I may comment on a particular character's clothing on a given day, or if he/she is tall or overweight or young or old, but that's about it. As a reader, I always preferred to imagine a book's characters "on my own," without overly much description from the author. There are exceptions: If I'm using an alien character, I want to be a little more precise and explicit about what this guy looks like. But these, inevitably, are not human. I am relatively certain that any descriptions I do of my characters are going to come when I actually go back to do rewriting. It will mostly wind up being " fill in " type stuff. I agree that, the fact that my main character, as well as one of the secondary characters are both human is going to allow me to let the reader do most of the " work ". It's the same reason I don't like to spend a lot of time on scenery, furniture, etc. This guy has a desk in his office, and there's a chair in front of it for clients, visitors, whatever. Usually, that's all I need to say. Does it matter what the desk looks like, how big it is, what it's made of, how many drawers it has, what color it is? Probably not. The reader can formulate his/her own depiction of a desk to fit the imagery of the scene. I am currently reading a book called " Void Moon ". There are a lot of, what I consider, extraneous descriptions of some things. Like you have said, if something doesn't have a direct effect on the story, or play a crucial part in the plot, why the need to describe it? I was thinking about this earlier today -- mulling over the kind of thing I might use as part of a description of a character, for example. ********** Johnny Peraglia reported to work on his first day as an insurance salesman with a new mustache. Apparently, he had stolen it from Stalin. Stalin, being dead, hadn't put up much of a struggle. Johnny's mother didn't like it. "A boy with a big square face like yours shouldn't have a big thick mustache like that, Johnny. It's too straight. Your whole head is all straight lines now. You look like a robot." "Robots don't have mustaches, Ma." "Well, if they did, they'd be all straight lines like the one you've got. You should put some curvature in there, Johnny, something to soften the boxiness." "It's an image, Ma." "Right, like the best image for an insurance salesman is a robot with a square head. Have you seen the Geico commercials, Johnny? What do you see? Lizards and cavemen. The cavemen have mustaches but they look like cavemen, not robots. The lizard doesn't even have a mustache." "Most lizards don't, Ma." "That's beside the point. You'll scare people away. You'll frighten babies." "Babies don't buy insurance, Ma." "No, but their parents do. And those parents are going to be wondering why their baby is screaming while they're talking to you about a new policy." "As long as the kid can't say 'Let's try Allstate instead,' it's not a problem, Ma." "You'll see, Johnny! You'll see! Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but someday you'll come to me and say, 'You were right, Ma, the mustache was a stupid idea.' Just you wait." "If it turns out to be a stupid idea, I'll admit it was a stupid idea. I just don't want to go in my first day looking like some dumb kid with nothing to offer." "Oh, I'm sure they all judge a man by the size of his mustache." "Guy who owns the company has a mustache, Ma." "Like yours?" "No, he's got one of those handlebar jobs, like Rollie Fingers." She shook her head. "Johnny, could you sell me a life insurance policy?" "I suppose. Why do you ask?" "Because I'll die of embarrassment if you go out in public looking like that." He nodded. "OK, I can get you a premium of only $14.95 a month." She threw a spoon at him. ********** Hilarious...I liked it!!! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hilarious...I liked it!!! Thank you! I just ad libbed that whole thing in order to make this point: What do we really know about Johnny? Well, he has a mustache and his mother thinks he has a square head. Do we really need to know more about what he looks like? How tall he is, what clothes he's wearing, does he have a watch? I don't think it matters. I get a picture of Johnny in my mind, and, hopefully, anyone who reads this will get a picture, too. They probably won't get the same picture I get, but that's OK. There's no right and wrong. And, if I wanted to, I could spend 35 pages describing the room they're in, and what his mother looks like, and what kind of curtains they have, and the patterns on the tile and the wallpaper and the disconcertingly elaborate umbrella stand in the corner. But for what? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lex, that was GREAT!!!
That's the kind of humor I would LOVE to be able to instill in my characters. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have a question for you folks. I am considering setting up a website for new and/or established authors. I know there are a lot of sites out there for support, but my team has a few sub domains available, and a very good webmaster who could build a nice site. We'd be doing some testing there, and when it's right, I'd be buying a domain for it. I am trying to find out what level of interest there would be before I decide to actually pay for a domain. I don't want to divulge all of the details about what would be available, but I want to see if I can gauge the level of interest in something like that. I will say that it will be user friendly. Hmmm...no interest at all??? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hilarious...I liked it!!! Thank you! I just ad libbed that whole thing in order to make this point: What do we really know about Johnny? Well, he has a mustache and his mother thinks he has a square head. Do we really need to know more about what he looks like? How tall he is, what clothes he's wearing, does he have a watch? I don't think it matters. I get a picture of Johnny in my mind, and, hopefully, anyone who reads this will get a picture, too. They probably won't get the same picture I get, but that's OK. There's no right and wrong. And, if I wanted to, I could spend 35 pages describing the room they're in, and what his mother looks like, and what kind of curtains they have, and the patterns on the tile and the wallpaper and the disconcertingly elaborate umbrella stand in the corner. But for what? We know that Johnny will appear in an upcoming episode of "Lex's newly formed plotline featuring geometrical cranial variations NEW and IMPROVED with facial hair!" We have baited our breath!
pass the herring!! fun thread 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is NOTHING more fun than bouncing thoughts around with other writers/readers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am, in all likelihood, going to fall on the " not enough " side of things. I have yet ( 40 thousand words in ) to describe my main characters appearance. People know how old he is..but I have yet to tell them much of anything else. Oddly enough, though, Lex has seen almost everything I have written and not mentioned that. Neither has anyone else that has read what I have in the forums here. I will eventually do a little more description of the main character ( maybe ), but for now, the story itself has made it seem relatively unimportant. Well, that's pretty much the way I do it, too. I may comment on a particular character's clothing on a given day, or if he/she is tall or overweight or young or old, but that's about it. As a reader, I always preferred to imagine a book's characters "on my own," without overly much description from the author. There are exceptions: If I'm using an alien character, I want to be a little more precise and explicit about what this guy looks like. But these, inevitably, are not human. I am relatively certain that any descriptions I do of my characters are going to come when I actually go back to do rewriting. It will mostly wind up being " fill in " type stuff. I agree that, the fact that my main character, as well as one of the secondary characters are both human is going to allow me to let the reader do most of the " work ". It's the same reason I don't like to spend a lot of time on scenery, furniture, etc. This guy has a desk in his office, and there's a chair in front of it for clients, visitors, whatever. Usually, that's all I need to say. Does it matter what the desk looks like, how big it is, what it's made of, how many drawers it has, what color it is? Probably not. The reader can formulate his/her own depiction of a desk to fit the imagery of the scene. I am currently reading a book called " Void Moon ". There are a lot of, what I consider, extraneous descriptions of some things. Like you have said, if something doesn't have a direct effect on the story, or play a crucial part in the plot, why the need to describe it? I was thinking about this earlier today -- mulling over the kind of thing I might use as part of a description of a character, for example. ********** Johnny Peraglia reported to work on his first day as an insurance salesman with a new mustache. Apparently, he had stolen it from Stalin. Stalin, being dead, hadn't put up much of a struggle. Johnny's mother didn't like it. "A boy with a big square face like yours shouldn't have a big thick mustache like that, Johnny. It's too straight. Your whole head is all straight lines now. You look like a robot." "Robots don't have mustaches, Ma." "Well, if they did, they'd be all straight lines like the one you've got. You should put some curvature in there, Johnny, something to soften the boxiness." "It's an image, Ma." "Right, like the best image for an insurance salesman is a robot with a square head. Have you seen the Geico commercials, Johnny? What do you see? Lizards and cavemen. The cavemen have mustaches but they look like cavemen, not robots. The lizard doesn't even have a mustache." "Most lizards don't, Ma." "That's beside the point. You'll scare people away. You'll frighten babies." "Babies don't buy insurance, Ma." "No, but their parents do. And those parents are going to be wondering why their baby is screaming while they're talking to you about a new policy." "As long as the kid can't say 'Let's try Allstate instead,' it's not a problem, Ma." "You'll see, Johnny! You'll see! Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but someday you'll come to me and say, 'You were right, Ma, the mustache was a stupid idea.' Just you wait." "If it turns out to be a stupid idea, I'll admit it was a stupid idea. I just don't want to go in my first day looking like some dumb kid with nothing to offer." "Oh, I'm sure they all judge a man by the size of his mustache." "Guy who owns the company has a mustache, Ma." "Like yours?" "No, he's got one of those handlebar jobs, like Rollie Fingers." She shook her head. "Johnny, could you sell me a life insurance policy?" "I suppose. Why do you ask?" "Because I'll die of embarrassment if you go out in public looking like that." He nodded. "OK, I can get you a premium of only $14.95 a month." She threw a spoon at him. ********** WHOA 
Did you just make that up as you were posting...It's pure GENIUS!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WHOA
Did you just make that up as you were posting...It's pure GENIUS!
Yeah, that was strictly spur of the moment. Some days it just spews out like that! I just posted one in the Poetry & Creative Writing forum called "The Poodle Conundrum" which I spent about 30 minutes working on ....see the difference a little preparation can make?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My HERO
I want to be just like you when I grow up as an author! 
WOW!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My HERO
I want to be just like you when I grow up as an author!
WOW!
Well, that is quite a compliment! Thanks! It takes time, and a lot of practice, and a lot of work, and a lot of writing, but you can do it! 
|
|
|
|
|
