If you would write a timeless literary masterpiece in the likes of Tolstoy or Dickens, about what would your tale be? Would it reflect history with realism, or would it simply be nuanced with recognisable places and references? Would it be enriched with imagery evoking the imagination with every turn of the page, or would it be a simple narrative busied with dialogue and allusion? How much effort would you put into eluding cliché? Perhaps you have a unique euphony you would like to slip in at some profound moment?

Interesting question, will write an answer tomorrow ^^

My book would be reflective and in parts narrative, hopeful about a better future and thankful for the fact that while we often make each other and selves miserable there's always a shimmer of light. I would definately draw inspiration from LGBT issues, knowing they can translate in universal stories of courage, reflection and overcoming pain and fear.

Imagery would be symbolic art I think, more than in the average novel/literature but not on every page...maybe at the ending/start of a chapter.

Its still vague but this would probably the style Id use, and yes there would be cliché's because it would look too forced if someone like me tries not to

PS: I have no aspiration to ever write such a book I think...I stick to simple poetry

Quote from: YinYanga on August 18, 2014, 10:00:40 AM
My book would be reflective and in parts narrative, hopeful about a better future and thankful for the fact that while we often make each other and selves miserable there's always a shimmer of light. I would definately draw inspiration from LGBT issues, knowing they can translate in universal stories of courage, reflection and overcoming pain and fear.

Imagery would be symbolic art I think, more than in the average novel/literature but not on every page...maybe at the ending/start of a chapter.

Its still vague but this would probably the style Id use

That's definitely a good setup. I've never written anything LGBT inspired, but I did recently come up with a story idea. Check the post entitled "a dystopian trans love story".

As far as my "timeless literary masterpiece" goes, I would have to create a massive mosaic of character narratives somewhat in the style of the film Magnolia where all of the characters are connected in ways that seem insignificant upon first glance, but grow more and more profound and influential as their individual stories unfold. I know that I would want one of them to be trans (most likely MTF), but would I want them to be an adult struggling with transition, or a child trying to figure themselves out? Perhaps it begins in childhood and evolves somewhere into their 20s.

The overall theme of the story wouldn't focus on anything LGBT, though. I would want to express how they each deal with their individual issues and how that influences their coming to terms with something that affects them all. It could be the end of the world, the rise and influence of a powerful cult, a religious experience or vision and what it could mean, an act of terror that defies their sense of reality, or maybe a dramatic shift in political power. Whatever the arching theme, it has to be relatable on a deep level; the kind of deep that goes unspoken. And since my mind tends to drift into the fantastic I'd probably incorporate some kind of supernatural element.

Of course, that's not really a new way of writing, but it's a reliable way. What makes the story its own is your writing style, the knowledge you have that gives your story foundation, your vocabulary, how well you convey emotion, and how effective you are at stimulating the reader's imagination so that they can see each character in their heads, as well as their environment.

It's not an easy task, but imagine the satisfaction you will get when you pen that last word. For a writer, the entire creative process is about as engaging and orgasmic as really amazing sex; or, at least, a very appropriate comparison.

I've often been told that I am an excellent writer and that I should write a book. Perhaps that is because I've written some very short stories based on a wealth of past experiences, and I'm sure that the English Comp 101 I took years ago has been a real plus in terms of organizing my thoughts on paper. My problem is that I have an awful time developing my characters sufficiently and I'm impatient and finally just give up in disgust. Someone once said that one has to develop the story in layers starting with the backdrop just like an artist does a nature painting, I lack patience and stick-to-itiveness!

Quote from: Shantel on August 18, 2014, 10:43:55 AM
I've often been told that I am an excellent writer and that I should write a book. Perhaps that is because I've written some very short stories based on a wealth of past experiences, and I'm sure that the English Comp 101 I took years ago has been a real plus in terms of organizing my thoughts on paper. My problem is that I have an awful time developing my characters sufficiently and I'm impatient and finally just give up in disgust. Someone once said that one has to develop the story in layers starting with the backdrop just like an artist does a nature painting, I lack patience and stick-to-itiveness!

Well, it's definitely a good idea to create an extensive outline of your characters, locations, and all the lesser plot points, but sometimes you really won't know for sure what they're going to be until you just start writing. What you think you want your story to be about, or what personality quirks and dilemmas your characters have, could easily change as things begin to flow. I asked my favourite author Clive Barker how organises everything when starting a book, and he told me he doesn't; he just sits down with pen and paper and starts writing. Of course, he could be withdrawing some facts about that, but I've always found him to be excessively honest in everything he does.

You really can wrack your brain trying to put everything into some kind of order, so I think the best route is to just start writing and make notes and outlines as you go along. Everything will most likely begin to just come together naturally. Then you will find that it becomes almost effortless, because you no longer have all the specifics to develop.

I've been writing since I was 12. Maths always eluded me, even when I really wanted to excel at it. For me, language has always been my strongpoint, and I've made it imperative to develop my vocabulary and grammar. The best writing is nearly void of cliché, because the larger your vocabulary becomes the more expressive you can be. You see how I used the word "imperative" rather than "important"? It gives greater nuance to the meaning allowing the reader to get a greater idea of the point being made or the emotion being expressed.

As a kid I started writing stories, but I found poetry/lyrics to be a better outlet for me. They were "little stories" that I could tell to express the various things on my mind or the moods I was in. My biggest influence at the time was the writing of Neil Peart (RUSH). Lately, though, I've slacked considerably, and have been revisiting the idea of writing short stories as well as large novel. I have half a dozen ideas right now, and it's difficult to choose which one to start on. I posted one idea in the Writing forum, and I think it's simple enough that I can probably start with it. Please tell me what you think of it.

I have one short story that was published in the airborne association history book of my former unit. I got letters from several former members from around the US saying that it struck them hard as they had experienced the same feelings. I wrote about my feelings and impressions of a particular event that occurred on an operation in SE Asia. Most guys would have related it differently more like "we went there blew up this and that and ripped off their heads" I wrote about my own emotions and the deep feelings I had when this was going on, kind of female side of brain thing I suppose. I've been moved to a little poetry and won second place in a national contest, beyond that I haven't done anything.

Quote from: sororcaeli on August 16, 2014, 08:10:54 PM
If you would write a timeless literary masterpiece in the likes of Tolstoy or Dickens, about what would your tale be? Would it reflect history with realism, or would it simply be nuanced with recognisable places and references? Would it be enriched with imagery evoking the imagination with every turn of the page, or would it be a simple narrative busied with dialogue and allusion? How much effort would you put into eluding cliché? Perhaps you have a unique euphony you would like to slip in at some profound moment?

I'd want to offer you a person to fall in love with and bleed for. To go on a journey with, and get thrashed by a world out of your control. I'm not sure I'd go for realism or recognizable in that sense. I like to repurpose stories that already exist in our consciousnesses--to reweave a fairytale or retell a legend. I'm less interested in a specific event, a specific reality, than in the gesture towards a more universal narrative: trying to recapture something lost forever; the trauma of being torn between competing needs; or getting broken and patching the shards back together as best you can.

I'm a strong believer that only the words that need to be on the page should be on the page. I prefer underwriting to overwriting. Fewer pages rather than more. To me, cliches are just lazy writing. The inevitably pointless redundancy of "blue sky." They show up in any first draft, but there isn't any particular reason they should stay. As to the description or imagery over action and movement... I suppose I fall in the first camp. Fiction's strength over other formats is it's ability to get inside people's heads, your character's and your reader's. If you could reimagine the thing as a play or a movie, I'm not sure it's really playing to the strengths of the form.

I'm kind of savage in my writing. If it doesn't make you hurt, ache, want, burn, then I didn't do it right.

Quote from: Sarah7 on August 18, 2014, 12:27:35 PM
I'd want to offer you a person to fall in love with and bleed for. To go on a journey with, and get thrashed by a world out of your control. I'm not sure I'd go for realism or recognizable in that sense. I like to repurpose stories that already exist in our consciousnesses--to reweave a fairytale or retell a legend. I'm less interested in a specific event, a specific reality, than in the gesture towards a more universal narrative: trying to recapture something lost forever; the trauma of being torn between competing needs; or getting broken and patching the shards back together as best you can.

I'm a strong believer that only the words that need to be on the page should be on the page. I prefer underwriting to overwriting. Fewer pages rather than more. To me, cliches are just lazy writing. The inevitably pointless redundancy of "blue sky." They show up in any first draft, but there isn't any particular reason they should stay. As to the description or imagery over action and movement... I suppose I fall in the first camp. Fiction's strength over other formats is it's ability to get inside people's heads, your character's and your reader's. If you could reimagine the thing as a play or a movie, I'm not sure it's really playing to the strengths of the form.

I'm kind of savage in my writing. If it doesn't make you hurt, ache, want, burn, then I didn't do it right.

Excellent. You made a portion of my day.

I don't know. I am more of a poet or lyricist when I do write things. And it is always something extremely dark, evil of just plain about bad things that happen in life. I tried writing a novel one time and I could do pretty good with short stories but they were still dark. Oh the novel started out really good and went down from the fourth chapter on. But I'm kind of like Shantel, impatient and have a hard time developing characters and personalities, which you need in a novel. In a short story, just a brief background and hints of the personality of the character.

Literary fiction is the heart of pretentious darkness, though you're free to take this opinion with as big a pinch of salt as you choose.

Quote from: Dread_Faery on September 16, 2014, 12:56:17 PM
Literary fiction is the heart of pretentious darkness, though you're free to take this opinion with as big a pinch of salt as you choose.

Well, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of those "classics". I appreciate their epic format and the social and political commentary many of them make, but as digestible stories? Not so much. That's why I ask what YOU would write about if you were to follow a similar format. How would you improve on it? How would you make it more accessible? Etc.

Most authors write about what they know about. So I seriously doubt I could add to any classic or epic story. I can write my own but much like my life it is all my experience, whether poetry or lyrics. I mean, how can you add anything to the Tell Tell Heart by Poe or Oliver Twist by Dickens. I like Poe. So how can you add or change anything from the Raven or The Cask of Amontillado? I wouldn't change a thing. I mean Edgar Allan Poe died in the gutters of Baltimore under mysterious circumstances, maybe too much opium in an opium den or a mugging gone wrong or just from natural causes or alcohol poisoning. A lover of cats and had plenty of them at his home. How mysterious is that? It lends a sort of darkness to his life which bleeds over to his poems and stories. Way more even if he would have died at the age of 90 of natural causes.

Quote from: Jess42 on September 16, 2014, 03:42:07 PM
Most authors write about what they know about. So I seriously doubt I could add to any classic or epic story. I can write my own but much like my life it is all my experience, whether poetry or lyrics. I mean, how can you add anything to the Tell Tell Heart by Poe or Oliver Twist by Dickens. I like Poe. So how can you add or change anything from the Raven or The Cask of Amontillado? I wouldn't change a thing.

I don't mean changing someone else' work. I mean how would you improve something in similar style and tone that is your own work? What would you do with your own story that other authors failed to explore?

Quote from: sororcaeli on September 16, 2014, 05:31:34 PM
I don't mean changing someone else' work. I mean how would you improve something in similar style and tone that is your own work? What would you do with your own story that other authors failed to explore?

I would have been born the correct gender. That's about it.

I'm a reflective writer who likes characters that are quirky. I'm working on a novella where a person discovers their true self. I have written a couple of stories with LGBT flavor. For anovel I would write about someone who loves life and overcomes obstacles.

Quote from: sororcaeli on September 16, 2014, 03:29:05 PM
Well, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of those "classics". I appreciate their epic format and the social and political commentary many of them make, but as digestible stories? Not so much. That's why I ask what YOU would write about if you were to follow a similar format. How would you improve on it? How would you make it more accessible? Etc.

I wouldn't because I'm happy writing genre fiction, hopefully intelligent and with interesting subtexts but I honestly wouldn't know where to start with literary fiction. Any attempt to write some would almost certainly be subverted into something else entirely... Probably fantasy because that's what I write.

hmmm I'm sort of in the middle of a story right now, sort of science-fiction/fantasy, but very very light on the fantasy. I've got about 18 bare bones chapters done, they all range from 4-12 pages and need a fair bit of fleshing out still, but for the most part its sort of an 'all of the above' type situation, i've taken my ques from authors i admire or enjoy, lovecraft, william goldman, tolkien, robert graves, douglas adams etc. and i developed my over-arching story, filled in some spaces here and there, took my inspiration from the world around me, towns, cities, friends, family and all, tried to imagine the world i know 25-30 years from now (made certain i took notes so i didn't forget any ideas) and then set about writing out the story the way i see it all play out.

And the result so far is slightly wandering i'll admit, though nicely lush, but not flooded, with imagery and fun language (I'm fond of alliteration and occasional verse both of which ive been careful to use only in chapters centered around my central character) the narrative mostly follows him, but shifts around a little as the story progresses for a more well-rounded development and (hopefully) fuller story, i am trying to avoid cliche. Sci-fi is ripe with it, easy enough to avoid those pitfalls, but then when you look at the robot i mean, putting a robot in a sci-fi story is cliche as heck, others would say they're simply a 'mainstay' of the genre but hey, we have robots in real life now, so ah.... what ever, i guess lol.

The most difficult thing for me so far has been dialogue occasionally i get to a conversation or a scene that i've been thinking about for days and i just cant word it properly, characters speak to each other wrong and i just cant find the right vocabulary for them and i'll be awake for hours and hours eh its a process and I'm still working on mine, but i hope if i ever write anything good, it wont be a major departure from my usual lack of style, wit and brevity.

Edit: such poor grammar! i dont even have the energy to correct myself -_-;