I'm trying to work on a short story. Anyone here who has done so (and checked back at their work to realize it's crap) knows that this isn't easy. I've written a lot of stories that just didn't live up to the potential of the concept. Some of them are right here on this forum.

Here's how it goes: You get an idea for a story. Maybe it's a plot you want to write about, or a setting you want to stage a story in, or themes you want to reflect. Then you fill in the rest. Then you have to write a first draft that takes what you have and makes the most of it. This is how amazing stories and novels are made. But you have to find the right way to write everything, and the right way to put all of your elements together. The first draft is usually crap. Usually. Some people can just write something awesome the first time through and don't have to do too much editing. But editing must be done. Then you have to look at the final work and try to decide if it's good enough, or if it needs to be redone (and usually you drop the story altogether if you decide the latter, with or without the intention of picking it back up later).

And so have I written several short stories, and later (or instantaneously) rejected them. The problem is that we're very critical of our own work. But then, reading someone else's work, you don't always know what the true potential of a concept is. We can never reach this point. This point is perfection. It's 100%. But in order to come close to 100%, you have to try to reach it.


So of late, I've been thinking about writing a new story: maybe one I can call a success. My first attempt didn't even get to the first draft phase. It was a good concept: the main character is dead and in the afterlife. "Heaven" is enclosed behind walls and guarded by gates, the keepers of which judge you before letting you in or rejecting you. If you didn't get in, you'd have to figure out why and somehow get passed it. Then my character would make it in, and discover that Heaven and Hell are the same place, and...well, I didn't know where to go from there. I had certain themes and ideas in mind, and then I just couldn't figure out how to put it all together.

Attempt #2: I have no clue what the plot should be. I wrote down a list of ideas and themes I'd like to include somewhere.

I don't even know what I'm asking from PTF right now. If I come up with some ideas, I'll run them by you guys (if you're a writer yourself, I'd appreciate some feedback on them).

Do any of our more recent members like to write? I know Tyler does.

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- Ash (This will make a better quote once it's no longer his signature, but until then, I'm doubling the quotational awesomeness of the forum.)

I'm sorry, I won't be helpful for you >.<

I like to write, and I think your idea of Heaven & Hell as a same place is very nice, you should finish it and if you do, I would be honored to read it! (Oh, by the way, do you mind if I write a text based on your "Heaven & Hell" idea? Of course I you want, I will credit you )

I'm not used to writing...I pretty suck at it to be honest but I continue anyway because this is how I will get better.

Most of the time, I write short stories for school (between 500 and 1 000 words) and I find them boring, so I just check the grammar & spelling mistakes and give them out to my teacher. This isn't useful, but sometimes I show them at my friends and ask them what they truly think about it.

I would like to ask you a question (all of the writers) : How do you get inspiration? What do you do when you want to write, but nothing comes up?

Thank you very much!

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Actually, we're very similar writers. This is what I'm having right now: difficulty in getting inspiration. I have an idea (not a creative one, but one that could work) and I'll develop it a bit more today.

As for your question, inspiration can be something that happens to you, something you hear about, or you could just think some up at will. Unfortunately, (and at least I have this problem) inspiration for a story does not always happen while I want to be writing.

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- Ash (This will make a better quote once it's no longer his signature, but until then, I'm doubling the quotational awesomeness of the forum.)

hmm i had an idea for a science-fiction/Fantasy book... lots of magic. Every 1000 years or so people have a chance to change the way magic works and who has it. by a massive set of games and tournaments.

As a great author once told me, "the 3 keys to a good book are revision, revision, revision"
which is to say that your first draft may be crap but you have to pick at it develop the story, history, and characters. And keep changing it until one day you sit down and have a huge stack of paper in front of you that contains a terrific book

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When God Made ME, He had the mold hermetically sealed for future use.
my blog: http://laiam.knotnav.com

As I tend to bounce around a lot, I'm now thinking about my own novel. I've been thinking about a novel for a few years now, and have a lot of failed prologues and chapter 1s, but I might be on to something now. I think the key is that, before, I had no idea where my story was going to go. Now, I still don't know in detail, but I'm going to develop a complete (if basic) outline before I begin, just to make sure everything will work.

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- Ash (This will make a better quote once it's no longer his signature, but until then, I'm doubling the quotational awesomeness of the forum.)

Sounds like a good Strategy Tell me how its working out for you as you go.

I think another author told me that for them the framework or foundation of the story is the important part for the first step. development of detail comes later once you've gotten an idea of the basic parts of the story.

whats really cool is if you can thread a 2nd and 3rd story line into it ones that don't conflict of course and when you can get them to add something to the main one.

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When God Made ME, He had the mold hermetically sealed for future use.
my blog: http://laiam.knotnav.com

lol, i've got one chapter stories and brainstorms all over my apartment from 3 years ago...I think I've got permanent writer's block.

I think it's coming along nicely. My plan: before actually starting chapter 1, I type up notes about the setting, including research and detailed information, and biographies of my major characters (I'll make one for each major character as they appear in the novel), then I'll set up a full outline of everything I want to happen in which chapters. Next, I'll give myself more direction with summaries of each chapter written up before I do my first draft. This way, I know exactly what I want to happen, and what information I want to include, keeping in mind not to put in too much information as one time.

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- Ash (This will make a better quote once it's no longer his signature, but until then, I'm doubling the quotational awesomeness of the forum.)

what's your novel about, Butler?

Shit, lemme work on the details.

I'm thinking it takes place in an imaginary place based on the Renaissance, minus gunpowder, although I'm unsure of the exact year gunpowder was invented. I just don't want to have to deal with it. There's going to be a religion that, in itself, isn't so bad, but goes about making people "good" the wrong way, and the result for my main character is a physical or mental (haven't decided yet) demon that embodies all the traits that the religion discourages.

I don't know much about what else will happen: his wife's going to be dead before the start of the novel, and his daughter's going to die in a fire, but he isn't going to know for sure if she's dead or not and spend some time looking for her.

I'll post each chapter when it's written and edited a little.

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- Ash (This will make a better quote once it's no longer his signature, but until then, I'm doubling the quotational awesomeness of the forum.)