The Social Club

[poikly]

Just wanna tell the people that remember and recognise me, that I'm still alive.

 

Although, I don't recognise half the people here.

[Vercetti27]

has anyone here any experience writing an noir/ dark atmospheric scene, like in taxi driver? I'm sorta giving it a go atm.

[Tyler]

I've dabbled with some writing on drug users, usually in a dark atmosphere. The best advice I could give you is keep the narrative strong and descriptive. Usually that genre is reliant on what the protagonist is thinking.

[The Unvirginiser]

Writing the Dracula/Devil dude, and the Nazi, wacked up sniff head who unleashes his own war on terror, gets aids, can't satisfy his wife because of sexaphobia, then gets his misses shagged by the Devil. Hell follows...

[Ziggy455]

 

has anyone here any experience writing an noir/ dark atmospheric scene, like in taxi driver? I'm sorta giving it a go atm.

Check out one of my old Onesies. It's called 'This City is a Gaping Hole'. I tried to give off a dark atmospheric mood in that and I believe I achieved it.

 

I'd give you the link but I'm a lazy f*cker!

 

This City is a Gaping Hole..

 

On another note.

 

I've tried hundreds of ways to try and plan 'Friday My Day' and after getting 'Writing Fiction for Dummies' I started doing that Snowflake method which is really helping. I've got the main plot planned, the characters and such.

 

How do you guys plan? Or do you all just let the words flow out like a bukkakefest?

 

Unvirginiser! I scanned back to one of your old pieces called 'I did not kill her, they did!' and I thought It was f*cking brilliant! I died a little inside when I saw that it ended. But I must say - I jizzed rapidly upon reading it.

Edited November 9, 2010 by Ziggy455

[Tyler]

That was a good read Ziggy. I really don't have much experience with writing a clean well finished piece, but usually I let my imagination run over a paper. I hear it's not a good idea at all, and that you should develop the characters and what-not, but when you're writing a more poetic driven story, the character development isn't as big of an issue to me. That snowflake method works from what I hear, and you should keep to it and pursue your goal however you find fit.

 

Been thinking about a story in my mind for some time, hopefully I'll get to writing it through my now hectic days, I haven't sat down and just let my thoughts run free in some time. Good luck on your stuff Zig.

[Ziggy455]

That was a good read Ziggy. I really don't have much experience with writing a clean well finished piece, but usually I let my imagination run over a paper. I hear it's not a good idea at all, and that you should develop the characters and what-not, but when you're writing a more poetic driven story, the character development isn't as big of an issue to me. That snowflake method works from what I hear, and you should keep to it and pursue your goal however you find fit.

 

Been thinking about a story in my mind for some time, hopefully I'll get to writing it through my now hectic days, I haven't sat down and just let my thoughts run free in some time. Good luck on your stuff Zig.

Thanks Uno.

 

I'm just f*cking around with stuff How's your writing going so far?

[Tyler]

Blah! Whenever I feel out I write a random thing and post it, or just scrap it. I decided to post something just for the sake of being active. I liked it, but I don't know where I'll go with it. The main thing I've been doing is reading up on some theories of the future, since I'm sort of planning on writing a science-fiction story. It's incredibly tough to get plot pieces that are original, though.

 

So how far are you on your piece man?

[Ziggy455]

 

Blah! Whenever I feel out I write a random thing and post it, or just scrap it. I decided to post something just for the sake of being active. I liked it, but I don't know where I'll go with it. The main thing I've been doing is reading up on some theories of the future, since I'm sort of planning on writing a science-fiction story. It's incredibly tough to get plot pieces that are original, though.

 

So how far are you on your piece man?

The plotting is coming along - I've got the main story dialed down and as 'Writing Fiction for Dummies' says I have to give a one sentence description of it, I decided I'd post it.

 

A fostered English teen spends the day sorting out issues in the American suburban seaside town of Getsville, but is sidetracked when the news of his foster sister's rape forces him on a journey to find the culprit, getting sidetracked on the way by drug dealers, racist jocks, permiscuous girls and many other obstacles.

 

The plot is easy to figure out, the only issue with me is writing itself! I can't seem to get the tense right, or the descriptions right. My punctuation and grammar is just sh*t, that's my problem.

 

I love science fiction, I just ordered the first three Star Wars novels. What's the story on it Bra'?

[Tyler]

As of right now, it's looking to be a pretty gloomy story. The world it's set in is a world where humanity is lazy, degrading in the gene pool. Thanks to the advent of 'Clone-Donation' people don't have the need for reproduction, and as a bi-product, can live up to two-hundred years. The factions of the Biological Rights (Pro-clone safety) think that it's unjust that clones are just torn apart and thrown into the trash can. But with the new surge of 'Synthetic Pharmaceuticals' coming along, no one is sure what is to come.

 

I like the sound of your story, sounds like something l'd like to read, actually. You know, when first writing a story you need not worry about conjunction and grammar, that will be fixed in the revise stage. Just write your story and don't like the language get in the way of your imagination. You can easily get stunted by fixing two words in your paper.

[Ziggy455]

Well, I never thought of it like that.

 

Your story gives me a kind of 'Surrogates' vibe. Although this is more in another direction, I'd be interested in reading it, PM me the first chapters draft.

[Oxidizer]

How do you pronounce the surname 'Quintela'? Is it Quinteela or Quintella (the latter being a different last name)? It's Hispanic in origin if that helps.

[Tyler]

Used to know a girl named Quintana, and it was pronounced (Kwin - Tana). I think the proper pronunciation you're looking for is 'Kwin-Tela'... but here's a pronouncer right here. Click the bottom left blue speaker for the English speaking pronunciation.

 

Here

 

Of course, you're British, so I wouldn't doubt it that you might not be used to the Spanish language, unless you're an avid studier of the culture.

[Oxidizer]

Oh, thanks! You're wicked. Are you Spanish/Hispanic BTW??

 

And one of those soundbites sound mega chinkeh. The one that sounds like 'kingtilla', whereas the other one sounds more like 'queentilla'.

[Tyler]

Yeah, I know it's pretty darn horrible, but google translate was the first thing I could find with voice pronunciation. The one on the left is far more accurate, the right being a very heavily accented Hispanic woman. Spanish doesn't sound right when spoken slowly, and because it's only a single word, she cannot speak fast (That, and for the sake of understanding her), so it ends up sounding pretty weird.

 

So what exactly is the name for man, are you reading a book, and just happened to come across it. I'm imagining an extremely British person reading in a house with rain outside, coming across the surname and saying 'what the bollocks is this?'

[Oxidizer]

 

So what exactly is the name for man, are you reading a book, and just happened to come across it. I'm imagining an extremely British person reading in a house with rain outside, coming across the surname and saying 'what the bollocks is this?'

I was looking up Hispanic surnames beginning with Q for a character I'm creating (and will probably never write). I'm plotting something called Juárez, about a Mexican drug cartel operating in the city in question. I'm a little concerned by how violent and red my ideas are getting lately - I used to hate gore, now I... really, really dig it.

[Eminence]

I wouldn't think it'd be so much 'kwin' as just 'kin', i.e. 'kintela'. The 'w' sound isn't really pronounced, so the 'kwin' is well off.

 

Also, if it were 'Quintella', the two 'l's would make a 'y' sound. So, 'kinteya'.

[Tyler]

Damned if I forgot to say that Thank you for the correction Em, I didn't realise what I had told him there.

[Oxidizer]

Oh, my brainbox! Perhaps 'Quintino' instead? Only, I'm not sure how to pronounce that either now (hopefully it's as it looks) - or whether it's even Mexican.

[Eminence]

Quintino sounds like an entirely plausible name, in fact it's a given name deriving from Latin.

 

There's two possible ways you'd pronounce it I think. The way it is now, you could just go for 'kintino', straight up. A slight variation that makes it sound cooler to pronounce, in my opinion, would be if it were 'Quintiño', note the 'ñ'. This would again bring out that 'y' sound, so it would be more like 'kinteenyo'.

 

But why all the fuss on how it's pronounced anyway? Just so that you have an idea in your head?

[nerner]

I think that Quintino and Quintiño would both be pronounced with a little bit of a y in there. But because the accent stresses the ino ending much more, there would be much more emphasis on the last three letters, thus making the nyo sound much more pronounced. This coming from someone who is currently doing Spanish at a reasonably high level. However sometimes my pronunciation lets down my knowledge of the subject.

[Ziggy455]

Y'know, that's prolly' the worst thing for me. I can't seem to ever think of characters names, and if the characters names refer to name of people I know, they just flash straight into my head and then I can't develop the character because I just keep referring back to the person I know.

 

So, Emmy my boy. Planning anything writing wise?

[Osric]

Well, I can't seem to think of anything for my dinosaur concept, at least ones that don't rip-off Jurassic Park.

 

Maybe I should try something else. Vampires could work, at least in a World of Darkness fanfic. Or maybe I could revisit that Army Men-inspired idea.

[Tyla]

I have the name problem too with my characters. It takes me ages to come up with catchy sounding names that I'll probably end up changing at the last minute anyway. The characters I have down for my London GTA took me ages to christen. Writing their back stories was the easy part.

 

'Quintella', 'Quintino', they both sound pretty damn cool.

[Tyler]

Random name generators help if you come across name troubles. Or, what I do is just constantly look at names. Look at the credits on a movie or game. Take names and mess around with them, replace C's with K's if you can. Anything like that will make the name unique, and stand out more.

[Tyla]

Thanks for that mate, thats actually pretty helpful. I have a handful of main characters and a few more as the supporting cast so far.

 

Would anybody be interested in me making a script of my idea and posting it here when it is complete? The idea at the moment is just to make the game with features and missions and so forth but I would be keen on making something more out of them.

[Ziggy455]

I have the name problem too with my characters. It takes me ages to come up with catchy sounding names that I'll probably end up changing at the last minute anyway. The characters I have down for my London GTA took me ages to christen. Writing their back stories was the easy part.

 

'Quintella', 'Quintino', they both sound pretty damn cool.

Yeah, the snowflake method helps with the backstory itself, which I find easy to do and to link this with their values, goals and ambitions.

 

We're on the same page Ty'

[Osric]

You know, I have an idea for a narrative that stemmed from a BUYG idea I had a while back. It was BUYG in NYC with real gangs such as the Five Families and the Crips and Bloods, Since non-GTA BUYG games are out, and probably won't be back in, I may do it as a series of intertwining narratives set in modern-day New York.

 

It'd be a crime drama, and it would all revolve around one thing: What if John Gotti's coup failed against Paulie Castellano? Paulie Castellano was really the last old-school gangster, as he and his regime held true to Omerta and didn't involve themselves in the drug trade. In fact, during Castellano's reign, to deal drugs was a death sentence.

 

When Gotti took over the Gambino Family, he plunged them into the drug trade and essentially ruined the last powerful Italian Mafia Family in America. After all, with the heavy penalties for drug charges that stemmed from the War on Drugs, many mobsters flipped on each other and ruined the Mafia's power structure.

 

But this would be an alternate universe.....

 

1985. John Gotti sleeps with the fishes, and Paulie Castellano is still Don of the Gambino Family.(Do note that him and Mafia capo-turned-federal witness Thomas Gambino are the only real-life people in the story, but real gangs are present). Then comes the Mafia crackdown in the 80's and 90's, and the other Commission Families are eventually destroyed by the drug trade, and the few mobsters of the other five families that aren't dead, imprisoned, or in federal protection have joined the Gambino Family.

 

But various street gangs and a growing Russian Mafiya are threatening the Gambino Family's power. Paulie Castellano dies of a heart attack in 1992, and Sergio Gambino, Carlo Gambino's Sicilian-born nephew, becomes Don of the Family.

 

The story begins in 1993 and ends in 2001, just before 9/11. It is told from various points of view, including Don Sergio, a Gambino Associate named Johnny Mello, a bumbling FBI agent, a Bloods gangbanger, and an escaped sex slave trying to find sanctuary.

[LittleMiss17]

I can't think of things to write to be honest.

[Eminence]

Hit Google and search for writing prompts and exercises. Do a freewrite and just jot down anything that comes to mind. Force yourself to write and ideas will come from it. And hell, if you can't think of anything else, take pre-existing characters and ideas and do some fan fiction.