The Writers' Room

[Abel.]

Completed the first draft of my novel. Going right onto writing the sequel. I have three stories I want to tell with characters I absolutely f*cking adore. It's hard to properly articulate just how good these characters have made me feel and the slump they've pulled me out of.

My only hope is that one day everyone else can enjoy them, because I'd love to use my writing to make people smile and really stop them turning into me.

 

I like all of your stuff, Typhus, and would love to read your novel.

 

I'm not much of a writer at all. I can come up with the ideas, but writing them is a different story. I have a synopsis written for the first in a fantasy trilogy, and have the story for the whole thing mapped out in my head, but I'll probably never actually write the thing. However, I've been writing a short story which shouldn't take to long to finish, which is set in the same universe but a century before the events of the trilogy. I'll post it here soon and if it's any good, maybe I'll give the trilogy another look.

[MacAshford]

Hey guys How are you all lately?

 

The new forum style is kinda over-complicated but it's still an improvement. I love that centering options have been simplified, that should really make posting scripts less of a huge task. A youtube button would have been nice though.

 

@Typhus - Are you going upload your novels onto iBookstore or Kindle store etc. ?

@elanman - You could post the synopsis up here and you'd probably get some feedback for it

 

 

 

 

 

[Vercetti21]

I like the new format quite a bit. Should make editing stories and other mundane but neccesary tasks a lot easier. I went back to my old avatar from a few years ago since images have been reset.

 

Also, hey WD! Quick update on my life: I'm less than a year away from getting my dual major in world literature and creative writing. I got some writing coming this way soon, though I will have to reserve my special projects for classes so I can't post them online. I've been getting into timed writing excercises to shake my writer's block. Basically, I just sit down with a good ol' fashioned pen and paper and start writing, THEN I don't stop until ten minutes are up. I've got the strict editing part down to a tee, I just need to let the "free spirit" side of my writing out now and save all proofreading and corrections for the second draft. That has always been the most difficult aspect for me.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Vercetti21

[Typhus]

@Typhus - Are you going upload your novels onto iBookstore or Kindle store etc. ?

Nope. I want to go for real publishing. I can't settle for second best, you know?

[MacAshford]

Yeah but books are getting less and less popular now, like just this year, Tesco had a huge aisle full of books but now its stuffed onto the same aisle as the magazines and cards etc. Whereas, digital books are becoming more and more popular by the day.

 

What's your favourite publisher?

[universetwisters]

My deepest apologies if this sounds like an advertisement, but did any of you guys get around to reading me, Trinette, and VF94's collab story "We Are The Ravers"? If you like stuff like "New Kids", "The Young Ones", and anything by Robert/Trey Hamburger, you might like it.

[MacAshford]

I think advertisements are allowed here, if not then I'm prolly in deep sh*t.

 

Anyway, I'll check your story out

[universetwisters]

I think advertisements are allowed here, if not then I'm prolly in deep sh*t.

 

Anyway, I'll check your story out

Thanks dude, I appreciate it.

 

I wasn't sure if advertising was allowed here, seeing as what happened with GTAKing. But then again, he sent random PMs rather than posting here

[Ziggy455]

There's nothing wrong with asking people to read your story. PM spamming people to vote for your story is a completely different thing altogether.

[Mokrie Dela]

It's all about respect. If you show people due respect, you shall recieve (I am not talking about the button you click)


I'm working on my story - a spy/special forces thing as Ziggy correctly guessed - but have hit a problem. It's set in the modern era, and as such includes modern weapons and tools. One of them is night vision and I've hit my first obstacle.

Splinter Cell..

I'm concerned it'll be or seem like a rip-off, as it has many similarites. My question is: how do I proceed and avoid making it seem like a rip-off? Would proceeding be a good idea or should I forget about it?

[Typhus]

The key is the protagonist, Mokrie.

If your main man is a gruff loner who has a problem with authority - you're not only treading on Sam Fisher's toes, but the toes of almost every supposedly edgy and dark hero out there.

Trust me, if you have a well rounded protagonist with nuances and neurosis and true layers, a little thing like night vision goggles won't be able to stop you from telling a great story.

 

When you make a great character, they turn into a great friend and I find their stories just kind of write themselves.

[universetwisters]

Splinter Cell..

 

I'm concerned it'll be or seem like a rip-off, as it has many similarites. My question is: how do I proceed and avoid making it seem like a rip-off? Would proceeding be a good idea or should I forget about it?

If you wanna do it, go for it, regardless of how rip-offey it sounds. I remember reading that the creator of Breaking Bad (or someone like that) would've never made the show if he knew "Weeds" was around, which basically features drugs too. Hell, my story has a lot of references to "New Kids" and "Fear & Loating in Las Vegas", but that doesn't stop us

[Ziggy455]

Mokrie, if you believe such features as nightvision is going to make people go 'This is a Splinter Cell rip-off' then you must not think highly of your audience. Everything is relative. If you want a story of espionage, then go ahead and do it. It is your own story, and as long as you don't call your agency Echelon or have your character called Sam Fisher then we're looking at your own story.

 

It's the same with most shows, like Set' has said, Breaking Bad wouldn't have been around without Weeds. There's homage in there, for most shows and stories. But as long as you keep your mind in the frame of wanting to tell your own story, regardless of the content and parameters, then people will want to read your stuff. Don't sweat the small stuff.

 

Espionage is espionage, and it's such a big genre that you can do what you like without stepping on a few toes, as long as you make the characters your own.

[Typhus]

Espionage is espionage, and it's such a big genre that you can do what you like without stepping on a few toes, as long as you make the characters your own.

Spot on

And, to add to that, I would advise you not to obsess too stringently over realism. As writers, don't you ever feel that the narrow rules of reality and logic constrict us? I do, I feel that research and accuracy to this dull planet of ours do nothing but take away what makes literature so great.

 

It's why I'd rather read a Stephen King book than the best Tom Clancy novel. But let's say you could approach a spy story from a fantastical, deeply personal and creative standpoint - well, I think that would be something incredible.

[Ziggy455]

Robert Ludlum wrote brilliant espionage tales. It was extremely over the top stuff, but it was amazing nonetheless.

[Tycek]

Just saying after Ziggy, everything is relative.

 

If James Sallis can write a book, which is almost a copy in terms of story and characters of movie from '70 and convince people to turn it into a movie, you can write story about espionage with nightvision, dropping on lines and many different tricks used by spies without being accused of ripping Splinter Cell.

[Ziggy455]

I mean look at Fifth Shades of Grey! That's essentially a Twilight fan-fiction with name-changes. Do you see what a little bit of synonymy-work can do? I'm not saying just change names but you can pretty much replicate something and have it pass off as something else easily. In simple terms, you can write whatever you like, and nobody will question what it's stepping on because you can make it your own.

 

In other news, Innocence and Loneliness is underway. Currently digging into the writing as I've got the characters down as much as I want. I'm also thinking of writing a short story about a care-worker and a mentally disabled man who he must deliver to his 'relatives' but something doesn't feel right and he discovers that the disabled man is much more than just a burden. It's more of a story about acceptance and judgment, but I'm still toying around with the idea.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Ziggy455

[Vercetti21]

Yeah but books are getting less and less popular now, like just this year, Tesco had a huge aisle full of books but now its stuffed onto the same aisle as the magazines and cards etc. Whereas, digital books are becoming more and more popular by the day.

 

What's your favourite publisher?

 

I do not know if people will still be using iPads 500 years from now, but I'd be willing to bet that they'll still be reading Shakespeare, Chaucer and Milton.

[Ziggy455]

 

Yeah but books are getting less and less popular now, like just this year, Tesco had a huge aisle full of books but now its stuffed onto the same aisle as the magazines and cards etc. Whereas, digital books are becoming more and more popular by the day.

 

What's your favourite publisher?

 

I do not know if people will still be using iPads 500 years from now, but I'd be willing to bet that they'll still be reading Shakespeare, Chaucer and Milton.

 

 

Books will always, always be around even two hundred years from now. Books are still brilliant and no amount of e-books or stored data will change the delivery system being one that has stood the test of time for over thousands of years.

[Mokrie Dela]

You know, I'm considering changing the setting. NOT do it TODAY, but set it in the cold war. Lots of opurtunity there - for both HUMINT infiltration and dead drops etc.

Character development is something i've always struggled with.

Food for thought!!!

[Typhus]

I can't consider myself an author unless I am properly published in a real book. I tried Kindle and it meant nothing, LESS than nothing.

I'm going to fine tune my story and take my chances. We all have our dreams, and I have had the benefit of knowing what my dream was since childhood. Saves a lot of needless hassle.

I'll never be a Shakespeare or a Chaucer, but I think I can make people happy, which is all I really want.

[Ziggy455]

I can't consider myself an author unless I am properly published in a real book. I tried Kindle and it meant nothing, LESS than nothing.

I'm going to fine tune my story and take my chances. We all have our dreams, and I have had the benefit of knowing what my dream was since childhood. Saves a lot of needless hassle.

I'll never be a Shakespeare or a Chaucer, but I think I can make people happy, which is all I really want.

 

Very honest.

 

I don't mind either. I'm happy with just writing things that people like to read. If I could ever do that as a profession, I'd probably die a happy guy.

[MacAshford]

Guys, I wanted to keep this a secret until it got closer to the release date, I'll start slow....

 

You might have noticed that I requested my topic name to be changed (thanks Eminence ), that's because the gamescript is set in Avalon. Just as 18 Months was and my next project will be. What I'm trying to get at is everything that almost everything I wrote is in the same universe. But what holds the stories apart? Nothing. Who's to say that they aren't all part of each other. I've been so stupid not to see this and how it makes sense. All of my fiction is linked, they happen around about the same time, so what's to stop them from being part of each other. Just like in GTAIV and EFLC with the episodes that had certain parts that collided and you got to see the protags from the other game/episode in a different game/episode.

 

I think I'm making this a bit over-complicated, the main point is that The Diamond Prime Alliance and 18 Months and PBR (future project) are all set in the same place and soon, I'll make them overlap....

 

 

Meaning that I now have three projects:

The Diamond Prime Alliance Gamescript (main priority)

18 Months Gamescript Remake ( sticking with it this time)

Powerbass Records TV Script ( which features new characters among the characters from 18M and TDPA)

 

Maybe I'll also throw in a few short stories to fix up any plotholes.

 

So there it is, my idea, hopefully this will keep me occupied for a LONG LONG LONG time. I can't wait to write it all up and show you what I mean.

 

So United States of Avalon is no longer my setting, it's my universe.

 

Could anyone give any feedback on the idea?

 

 

 

[Eminence]

Feedback? Your enthusiasm is awesome, but you're getting ahead of yourself, haha.

[MacAshford]

Thanks . Yeah, I totally agree, I'm getting way ahead of myself but I totally understand my style now and I've messed around with a lot of secret projects with completely different genres than the normal crime genre and I've merged about a dozen genres together to make something I hope will be totally unique.

 

 

I also noticed something, the United States of Avalon is made up of music. Music inspired most of the locations. Like country music inspired the trailer parks and countryside. Like rave, dance and dubstep inspired most of the locations of Ibarazi City.

 

Anyway, enough about my projects, how are everyone else's projects doing?

[Lethal Nizzle]

Got a sudden rush of inspiration on the plane back from Germany the other day, still in the early stages of developing the idea though. Expect something from me by the end of the week.

[MacAshford]

Cool, any hints of the genre?

 

 

 

Also, I found a massive group on Facebook for the appreciation of creepypasta and other forms of creative horror stories. I wasn't sure to tell them to post them here in WD for some feedback. Should I? It could be a good thing, more writers and more new stories to read. But at the same time it could be a bad thing if a troll finds out and destroys WD. Eminence, you're the leader, what do you think?

 

Also, I forgot to mention the number of people who want to get their stories some feedback, it's around 100 people who want a nice place to write and make friends and develop etc.

[Lethal Nizzle]

I'd rather not give too much away but I've been reading a lot of Irvine Welsh recently. I have a feeling that it will be influenced by Trainspotting, in particular the stream of consciousness style of narration that features heavily in the book. I did a piece a few years back in a similar vein but the tone in this one will be a lot different.

 

I can say that it'll probably take place on a plane then in the airport the plane lands at. It'll make sense if the idea comes together fruitfully.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Lethal Nizzle

[Vercetti42]

Anyone else interested in knowing how V's story would pan out? We are just five days away!

 

I like the idea R* have. Michael, a guy who has problems with his family, Franklin, a gangbanging guy who thinks he is surrounded by morons and Trevor the crazy weirdo.

 

Also has anyone heard of David Cage? He's a great writer and he wrote the plot for the game Beyond: Two Souls, the way he talks about writing is really great and worth listening to.

[Mokrie Dela]

Trevor will surprise you, mark my words

Michael is not the cool pro we think he is

Franklin will step up and be the new cj

 

I'm curious but I can wait; I actually partially dread it, as I'm concerned it'll not be up to expectations.

Still...