Thinking Deeper to Develop Writing Skills, Discuss Options

[Guest_Nina_*]

I would like to pick up on a comment Fran made in her Flash thread talking about the character moving from river bank to boat, using the branch of a tree overhanging the water.

The bounce required a bit of planning - needs pace but yet to show readers what is happening very clearly.

Now I'm still very green when it comes to writing prose and have a long way to go in terms of learning and improvement.  How do you learn to get the balance right, becoming more aware of how you are writing?  I tend to just write what I'm thinking or seeing, rather than taking an objective step back to consider the readers. I feel perhaps that my writing is still too distilled, missing out on the little details that bring a picture to life but I just don't think about it when writing. How do I develop that skill?  When does conscious become subconscious or is it a case that you either have the ability or you don't?


Nina

[Guest_Rosemerta_*]

I stumbled on to this tile today and after reading the responses I am convinced I will never be a good writer, not that I hadn't believed that before.

Like many have confessed I too am one who writes from my own mental image. The first time I wrote anything my mind was racing to convey the scenes in my mind. I must have thought faster than I could type because when I was finished the story made little sense. This distraction of misspelled words and poor grammer were frustrating. I dropped so many words it read like I was speaking broken English or strung out on drugs. And what little description I had was pretty boring.

It was sometime later when I read "The Thorn Birds" that I realized how important description was to feed the imagination. I was disappointed when the movie came out as it wasn't nearly as good as the images I formed reading the book.

Now I find myself going overboard in that direction. I became a movie fanatic in the interum and now find myself describing each scene in such detail that the reader finds it too tedious to continue reading after the first few paragraphs.

I go nuts over the flash jams as by the time my thirty minutes are up I've barely described the first scene let alone the whole story I had in mind.

I have been so impressed with the wonderful suggestions MM members make in their responses. I don't know if time is an issue or if I'm just plain lazy but I never seem to get back to putting their suggestions to good use. However, I do think I gain from them in that they have helped me improve on my writings that follow.

I am in awe of those of you who write so diligently and consistantly. Such practice shows in the skill by which you put your thoughts down. I lack that substance that drives one to continue to hone their craft every day. I'll dive into writing for a day or two then find myself distracted by other things and disappear from the writing forum for weeks if not days at a time. What little progress I make during those 'on' days seems lost during the interum.

Yet even if I never master writing I have enjoyed reading the work of others here and have been imprssed with how so many of you grow and hit me with excellent writing time and time again.

IMHO I don't think Nina has anything to worry about. I find her to be one of the most dedicated and talented writers here. Rock on Nina!

[Guest_Toumai_*]

I stumbled on to this tile today and after reading the responses I am convinced I will never be a good writer, not that I hadn't believed that before.

Nooooooooo! Believe in yourself, Jackie - you write beautifully.

Like many have confessed I too am one who writes from my own mental image.

I tried a poll elsewhere and at least 9 out of 10 writers said they visualised scenes. One or two bravely admitted they don't ... but I'm not quite sure how they do so well in that case, lol.

The first time I wrote anything my mind was racing to convey the scenes in my mind. I must have thought faster than I could type because when I was finished the story made little sense. This distraction of misspelled words and poor grammer were frustrating. I dropped so many words it read like I was speaking broken English or strung out on drugs. And what little description I had was pretty boring.

Me too

It was sometime later when I read "The Thorn Birds" that I realized how important description was to feed the imagination. I was disappointed when the movie came out as it wasn't nearly as good as the images I formed reading the book.

Now I find myself going overboard in that direction. I became a movie fanatic in the interum and now find myself describing each scene in such detail that the reader finds it too tedious to continue reading after the first few paragraphs.

Thats' the balance, isn't it? How can you conjure that scene in your reader's head in a minimal description. It's nigh impossible. And what's ok for one genre doesn't work in another *sigh*

I go nuts over the flash jams as by the time my thirty minutes are up I've barely described the first scene let alone the whole story I had in mind.

I know that feeling - except I almost never have a story in mind, lol.

I have been so impressed with the wonderful suggestions MM members make in their responses. I don't know if time is an issue or if I'm just plain lazy but I never seem to get back to putting their suggestions to good use. However, I do think I gain from them in that they have helped me improve on my writings that follow.

I am in awe of those of you who write so diligently and consistantly. Such practice shows in the skill by which you put your thoughts down. I lack that substance that drives one to continue to hone their craft every day. I'll dive into writing for a day or two then find myself distracted by other things and disappear from the writing forum for weeks if not days at a time. What little progress I make during those 'on' days seems lost during the interum.

We're all obsessive

IMHO I don't think Nina has anything to worry about. I find her to be one of the most dedicated and talented writers here. Rock on Nina!

Agreed

Fran

[Guest_Rosemerta_*]

Fran,

It was a pleasure to read your response. Not just your generous compliment but sharing the frustration. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Having others share their thoughts here has left me less intimidated.

Thanks -- Jackie