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Word on the street is that EVO is branching into creative writing for some.
I think this is kind of cool.
Here are some tips that people have given me over the years which have helped me. Might be kind of nice if others offered their tips on this thread.
i) KISS! (Stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid). This is an acronym that professional writers use. In writing, complicated is almost always wrong.
ii) (Apparently) most writers drastically under-rate the intelligence of their readers and over-rate their factual background.
iii) A good way to get around writers block is to start in the second paragraph (no, seriously). Apparently most of us spend far more time on the first paragraph of a story or a chapter than on any other part and often they end up being over-written. Starting on the second paragraph is a good way of diving into the story.
iv) Joan Aiken, who is a children's author I like, suggested that you have to write six pages a day just to keep the 'voice' of the narrator
v) If you are stuck for plot, it's often good to work out the ending, and then the beginning. The stuff in between sorts itself out. (But lots of writers do it differently from this).
vi) The key to powerful prose is rhythmic writing.
Just some stuff that's helped me.
Any others?
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M A R T I N T U R N E R
My three tips from experience are these: 1. Don't rush. I find that thinking about my story over several days helps me refine it by the time I am ready to write it.
2. Some people find it helpful to organize the story, I prefer to just let it flow. The catch is that if you don't plan it out, you should read it over at least once; I have often needed to go back and clarify or add to the plot so that it makes sense.
3. Don't be discouraged. One bad story is no reason to stop writing.
(This message has been edited by Nathaniel (edited 05-09-2000).)
In my experience I tend to write better about things I didn't start off knowing about. I tended to get better information and have less personal beliefs about things I didn't know much about. This almost always culminated in a better paper.
------------------ One cannot walk down an avenue, converse with a friend, enter a building, browse beneath the sandstone arches of old towns without meeting with an instrument of time.
Time is visible in all places.
Clock towers, wristwatches, church bells divide years into months, months into days, days into hours, hours into seconds, each increment of time marching after the other in perfect succession. And beyond any particular clock, a vast scaffold of time, stretching across the universe, lays down the law of time equally for all.
In this world, a second is a second is a second.
Time moves forward with unwavering regularity.
Time is an infinite ruler.
Time is absolute.
Remember to submit your stories, poetry, essays, etc. about EV and EVO to the Chronicles at: (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/games/ev/chronicles.html")www.AmbrosiaSW.com/games/ev/chronicles.html(/url) Also, check out the EV/EVO Chronicles too read stuff that other people have written and post comments. Jude editor of the EV/EVO Chronicles
I'm writing a book on the EV theme myself. I've only done 164 pages, but in a few months it will be finished, I'm sure. I have only one tip. Keep at it. If you feel the story is too boring, complicated, tedious or there is something wrong but you can't figure out what it is, then change it a little. If it's still no good, then change it again. Never start again. Don't be a perfectionist. What's not so good to you may be great to some other people. Remember: NEVER GIVE UP! Remember that, and you'll do fine.
Don't start making it pornographic--if the movie on HBO is making you hot, turn off the TV (Captain Kickass probably has problems with that :))
------------------ ---<< Ą Secret Chimp ! >>---
You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' noses.
"HYOOOOOOHHH! You are correct sir!"-Lucky Bob/Ed McMahon
One other thing: As Martin said, writer's block can be stopped by not starting at the beginning. Another thing is to start at whichever point has the mood your in. If your in a happy mood, start on a happy part, no matter where in the story it is.
This makes the story seem more lively.