id love to write my story

[madman60632]

ive never written anything but would love to write about my adventures from the last 5 yrs. i think it would make a great story. however, every time i start it sounds stupid. how the heck do i make great storys sound good? just dont know how to put everything into words, any suggestions?

 

[SweetErika]

I've yet to see a story that was completely based on reality turn out well, so I think getting the right mix of fantasy and reality is important. Base your story off of real life events, but embellish with really good characters and a real plot.

I'd suggest writing an outline of the main events you want your story to include.

Do the same for your characters; envision who they really are, and jot it down.

Then put the story together, and make liberal use of a volunteer editor and beta reader(s).

There are some fantastic articles in the Writers Resources section on the main site, so maybe check those out first. Several of them should help you get direction in terms of plot, characters, what to avoid, etc.

 

[Vixandra]

Just start. Even if it sounds corny, hokey, silly or just plain idiotic, start.

Getting something down on paper is the biggest initial step in writing a story, at least for me. I may go back and edit the hell out of later but have to start somewhere.

The finished versions of my stories often start out differently then the rough drafts.

Another tactic is to not start at the beginning or the first chapter. Start where your mind starts flowing and run from there.

 

[BertrandRussell]

We don't want to hear about it. Well, most of it,anyway. And I don't mean that personally - it is the nature of storytelling. Even the great stories trim out vast portions of the character's life.

I recall the cave-man comic strip 'B.C.', in which the title character is watching Thor as he carves a realistic statue of Peter. B.C. is amazed at the skillful sculpting, and asks Thor how he does it. Thor replies: "It's easy: I just cut away everything that doesn't look like Peter."

You know all the details of your life. The trick will be now what to say, but what to get rid of. Start with the simple truth, and then get rid of all but the important parts.