martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Nov 10, 2006 13:38:50 GMT -5
Here is a brand new shiny thread, all for discussing creative troubles.... ready? GO!!
So I also have trouble drawing guys - they're much more difficult to do, girls are so easy! Maybe it's the curvy shape versus the rectangular, but yes, this is a terrible problem when it comes to doing character sketches.
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Post by Poofiemus on Nov 10, 2006 16:38:48 GMT -5
Yes, I have trouble drawing guys too! When drawing random doodles of the characters in my novel, I've successfully drawn all the women, but only just now got a working design of just one out of about six male characters. >.<
Also, speaking of said novel, I've been having trouble finding the motivation to connect the dots into the next plot point, so now I'm a bit behind. ^^;
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martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Nov 10, 2006 16:59:21 GMT -5
This is your novel for that NaNoWriMo thing? How'd you start? Did you do an outline, or just have a general idea of where things are going? (I'm curious about other people's techniques)
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Post by madsniper on Nov 11, 2006 0:49:32 GMT -5
(About the "drawing the opposite gender" thing, I was told once that one tends to be better at drawing what they see in the mirror everyday.^^) *2 cents* Yes, Poofie, I am curious about your technique as well!
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Post by Poofiemus on Nov 11, 2006 16:16:27 GMT -5
Well...I've actually had this plotbunny for two and a half years, and so have already worked out most of the major plot points. So, when I heard about NaNoWriMo from a girl I watch on Deviant in December last year, I knew that NaNo would be the best way to get me to finally actually write the thing. But I've found that connecting plot points is kind of like crossing an unfamilliar creek with a whole gang of 4-year-olds. You can see where you're trying to go, but you just can't figure out how to get there without getting wet, and without the group you're chaparoning going off on random diversions or just sitting on one of the rocks and refusing to move. Yet somehow, it's still fun and your characters surprise you on a regular basis. (Hell, I didn't know until a few days ago that my villain was a slow eater, or that my protagonist hates peanut butter!)
As for the writing itself, I've calculated that you have to average 1,667 words a day to stay on schedule, though getting ahead is preferable. So that means you have to hit 10K on the 6th, and 20K on the 12th. I have to hit 18K today. ^^; You can post an in-progress wordcount in your NaNoWriMo profile by using a mini-version of the official verification process, where you send in your novel in .txt format. Then other people can see where you're at relative to them and vice versa. There are some people who b roke 50K by day 6; I wanted to strangle them! XD
So, yeah...Next year, though, I'm going to take a much underformed sci-fi plotbunny, launch into it, and just let it go wherever it takes me. XD
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kaertos
Deadlander
I love my d12!
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Post by kaertos on Nov 29, 2006 13:08:52 GMT -5
I write incredibly general outlines before I start writing if it is something I know I want to write. I have found that just sitting down and writing the first couple of pages, then outlining from there, that I am far more likely to abandon the project as something I thought I wanted to write, but actually don't. I usually take those "seeds" and plant them somewhere else to see if they grow. This goes for both my writing and GMing (I run RPGs constantly and am usually in development on the next one as I am running the current one.)
I've been trying some writing experiments lately. I'll work for a week or two on perfecting just the right first line of a story, then write the whole thing in less than an hour. They are usually very short, more a tone poem than a real story, but I have liked the results so far (and so has the sniper, she was kind enough to read the first one "April" for me).
Usually though, I am very free form as a writer. Too much planning makes me uncreative with words and I get too attached to ideas and lines and words that I know I will need to change. You all know how hard self-editing is, imagine trying to get rid of something that's been with the story since the outline phase...
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martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Dec 11, 2006 12:33:31 GMT -5
I think that comes down to the quesiton of how do you balance structure and freedom... on the one hand, without an outline stuff just falls apart, and you lose direction (okay, that's how I work, anyway), but on the other, too much structure and you lose flexibility, like if you come up with better ideas, you have to work them into an existing framework...
I still think the outline is the way to go, though... you just have to be willing to make alterations to the plot as you go (I still haven't figured out if one of my characters is going to be a traitor or not, for instance...)
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Post by Poofiemus on Dec 14, 2006 13:37:06 GMT -5
I think the key to good outlining is fermentation. You get your plotbunny, and you let it sit for a while while you figure out a few major events for it. You get those absolutely nailed, and in the process usually develop your main characters quite well. You don't actually write anything except for very fragmentary notes, and then finally you say, "This is as good as the outline's going to get! Time to WRITE the sucker!" Then you launch in headfirst and connect the dots.
At least, that's how I seem to work. ^^; I discovered this method quite by accident, but it works quite well. Though just like Sushi said, you still need to be flexible, especially in the more minor plot points. You know which points need to be hit to make your plot still be your plot and which ones can be dropped or changed.
I think I need to alter my method slightly, though. I don't seem to get a story down on paper unless I've had it in my head for at least two years. ^^;
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martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Dec 14, 2006 16:28:53 GMT -5
see - as I said, it's all about balance. the drawback to the fermentation method is 'lengthy process'
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Post by Poofiemus on Dec 14, 2006 17:28:24 GMT -5
It also lets you get really attatched to and sometimes downright posessive of your characters too. Maybe even too much so.
*sees someone slinking over to take a look at her characters and plot* *Pulls out a cattle prod* BACK OFF! *zap*
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martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Jan 20, 2007 14:37:45 GMT -5
Right, so I've been doing lots of drawing, now that I'm back in classes (so I draw in class, so ), and I've realized that the hairstyles on two of my fairly important characters are almost identical... changing either of them means redoing a significant amount of (good and inked) drawings from my prologue (er, this is for a comic, btw), which I would be willing to do... but I'm not really sure WHAT to do... I was going for a short but attractive semi-military hair, and it's kind of just become a general "hey, this is a hairstyle I know how to draw"... so help, anybody? I should note, these are male characters, so I feel like there's a lot less flexibility with their hair than there is with the girls', especially since I need to keep it short. Hmm, and I've realized this isn't terribly useful without a picture, but it's a sort of shaggy on top, but short on the sides and back style.
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Post by madsniper on Jan 20, 2007 14:44:21 GMT -5
If it's a milatary style, I think it's fine to leave it the way it, maybe just change the color of one? As long as you can tell they are different people from the facial structure, clothing, or colors, then you're fine.^^
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martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Jan 20, 2007 16:43:02 GMT -5
true... though they're in two different militaries... heh, I think I'll leave it to coloring to differentiate them, and try to make them more different in other ways
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Post by Poofiemus on Jan 22, 2007 21:38:21 GMT -5
Yeah, if they're military, you can make their uniforms different colors. That would even go towards visual world building, which is a pretty nice bonus.
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martiansushi
GECOW experiment
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Post by martiansushi on Jan 23, 2007 22:15:39 GMT -5
Oh, the uniforms are already pretty different stylistically, and will definitely be different colors... so I think I'll just have to leave it at that . Thanks for all the input!
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