How You Don't Want To Write

I used to think I never wanted to write without at least a vague idea of what was going to happen in mind, but now I'm not so sure. For some of my favourite things I've written, I had no idea what the story was even about until I finished, and I still don't know what some of my stories are supposed to be. Sometimes, though, sometimes I think it works better that way.

So I suppose I don't ever want to try and force anything, not characters, not plot. I have to let them grow into themselves and tell me what they want to be, not the other way around.

I don't want to write rushed and forced, if I don't want to write I don't want to force myself to write and I don't want to write a lot unless I want too.

I don't want to write like I used to when I began writing years ago. I didn't plan, I didn't think anything out very well, and I hardly ever finished anything I began.

Now that I have learned, I have began planning my stories out from beginning to end, and I have character bios and everything so I know where my stories are going. And if I happen to change something, then fine. I just like knowing where everything is going so I don't forget it.

Mike Dirnt.:

There's a thread on what inspires us to write and styles we like to write so I figured this might fit. But of course, it's gonna be locked if it fits in another thread. But I don't think it does...:shifty:

So, I shall start.

Firstly, I don't ever want to write without a plan. I've seen so many plots made up as the story progresses and its confusing. It goes nowhere, the story never ends, it's shitty. And I learned from my first story that prewriting is a must. For me, at least.

I also don't want to write like Meg Cabot. I do everything in my power to keep my writing as different from her's as possible. Her characters are shallow and predictable and so are her plots. I read a couple of books so I try as much as possible to keep her writing from influencing mine.

Et vous?

This is one of my fears...but the funny thing is I don't plan my stories, I write as I go along. I've tried to plan my stories, the last time I did that I wound up getting tired of it before it even started. What I comfort myself with is there are millions of ways in which a story can go, it's just up to me to sit down gather my ideas and pick the best one. Nothing's wrong with being a free writer is there?

I don't want to write about vampires, zombies, werewolves and any other mythical creatures. And I don't want to write Mary-sue characters.

Saul Hudson:

I don't want to write rushed and forced, if I don't want to write I don't want to force myself to write and I don't want to write a lot unless I want too.

^this.

I always pre-write my full length solos before I post them on Mibba. I tried write-to-post once before, and I ended up deleting the story; I am now reworking it, and plan to write about nine or ten chapters before I start posting. It takes me weeks to write a chapter because I go over it fifty-thousand times before I'm anywhere close to happy with it.

I don't even want to feel pressured to write, because it's supposed to be a hobby for me, not a chore. I could never do this for a living, and I don't want to write like that's what I'm aiming for. I just want people to enjoy reading my stories.

I don't want to write stories full of drama when it's not needed.

I also would never want to write a sequel to any full-length that I do; it's not in my nature. I barely even read sequels. I like an ending to be an ending. I like my characters to be written off in my mind. It's just the way I am :)

I don't want to get to the point where I'm too pretentious about my own writing, get stuck in a rut, and quit trying to continuously improve as a writer.

I agree with the plans and layouts for stories... also with the Meg Cabot thing; but isn't it so hard to follow the layout once you start writing? To me I find this very hard. I always end up changing the plot or a scene and it ends up making my original plan worthless. Would not it be better if you had the general idea of your book and kind of wrote along the genral lines of that idea? I don't know, but I seriously need some good writing tips myself. Everyone has their own opinion.

I need something to save ideas on because when I'm out and about doing stuff, I sometimes get these really great ideas.

I hate putting TOO much detail into my writing. Especially because I'm not writing a book here and with too much detail people can get easily bored. I have a bad habit of skimming through and getting the just of what's happening. Like I'm interested in the story and only sometimes in the artistry of things. So maybe I need a bit more detail..? I don't know haha. But don't have too little or too much.

Writing a plan always sounds good in the beginning, but then I always get off track or I get so excited about something down the road that I dread getting through the part infront of me :-/

i saw sparks:

I don't want to get to the point where I'm too pretentious about my own writing, get stuck in a rut, and quit trying to continuously improve as a writer.

This. I'm so paranoid about how I feel about my writing.

---

I don't want to write like Jules Verne. I just don't like his style at all - it's far too technical and for me, that makes his stories less enjoyable than their film adaptations. Since I like to write sci-fi, this is something I don't want to do, because I feel you should be able to create a believable world without info dumping your scientific theories onto your reader.

I write strictly heavy-handed drama with a tinge of black comedy, and I don't ever want it to seem melodramatic or contrived. I'm also very paranoid about my writing seeming unrealistic because I write about things that I've experienced and about the environment that I've grown up in-- which is very different than what most people have experienced, so I'm afraid of it seeming unrealistic because it's so out of the norm even though for me it is the norm.

I hope that little rant made any sense at all. xD

I'd like to show people how they should be feeling while reading, rather than telling them. For example, I don't want to write a description which says "it was truly terrifying", I want to write a scene that makes the person feel terrified.

I really don't want to write like Suzanne Collins. The sentences are choppy and there are HUGE INFODUMPS IN EVERY OTHER PARAGRAPH. That's the main reason why I couldn't get into THG.

Someone else ... uh, Stephenie Meyer. Yeah, that should be pretty obvious.

I'd like to say that I don't want to write like either P.C. Cast or Kristin Cast, but the thing is, I don't know who's mucking up the writing, so ... yeah.

I don't wanna write anything teenage-ish. I used to do it when I was younger, but I'm 20 now (well I'll be 20 tomorrow :tehe:) so I don't think I should keep writing about boy meets girl and oh the love and some hot bitch wants to steal the guy blah blah blah. Also, I never wanna have all these stupid spelling mistakes like mixing your and you're or to and too. People, if you were born and raised in the USA you have no excuse for making mistakes like these. And I never wanna be as empty as Stephenie Meyer.

I don't want to write as if I'm reading from a diary. I hate stories that sound like: (this is totally made up off the top of my head)
"Rachel is such a bitch. I mean, who does she think she is? Whatever, I'm soooo much hotter than her."

Agreed, Captain! That's why teeny stories annoy the hell out of me, because you're 15 you have to write like that, really? Jeez!

I don't ever want to write the "typical" fanfiction, and when people make assumptions on the quality of my stories based solely on the fandom I write in or the type of stories that I write, I want to blow their minds

@ Captain Mars
What's wrong with stream of consciousness fiction? It's the only thing I feel comfortable writing because the stream of consciousness is so...unpredictable and unreliable, it appeals to me.

I'm just asking what you particularly dislike about it

@ The Master.
I see what you're saying and I'm gonna back pedal a little bit here because, I understand writing with voice if it's from a first person POV but, I've read a lot of stories where it sort of sounds like the main character is 12 years old and it kind of takes away from the story especially when the character is supposed to be an adult. I guess it just takes a really skilled writer to pull it of. Am I even making sense?

@ Captain Mars
I see where you're coming from. If you get the "age" of a character's monologue or dialogue wrong, it does feel...crap. Yeah, you make sense.