What is your toughest challlenge as an author?

[Gamblnluck]

I didn't really make my point very clear. Here's an example of what I mean by brevity: The Ayn Rand novel "Atlas Shrugged," is 645,000 words long. Contained within them is a really neat dystopian sci-fi novel of 135,000 words. Which is damn near lost in the surrounding 510,000 words. Or Bulwer-Lytton, writers famous for long-windedness.

Yeah, I'd read complaints that Atlas Shrugged would put you to sleep. I agree with that. Eliminate the total padding, the seemingly disjointed rants, and get on with the story.

 

[Dearelliot]

I find it hard, explaining to the reader of the second chapter or second story, what I feel is important information, that he would know if he had read part 1..and doing it without sounding like a boring re cap!

 

[Writer61]

I find it hard, explaining to the reader of the second chapter or second story, what I feel is important information, that he would know if he had read part 1..and doing it without sounding like a boring re cap!

My usual preamble is along the lines of "I recommend that you read them in order". That puts the onus on the reader.

 

[old_prof]

In my long series, which I wanted to be partially independent stories, I did add an author's note recommending earlier stories. I also gave a one sentence synopsis about what was happening at the end of the last story and/or what is know to about to happen in this story.

I then gave very minimal details to make the story readable. Think about a TV show. You don't want to explain who each character is each episode, but if a key detail is needed from a previous episode, make sure it is made available in this episode again, somehow. If nothing else, your readers may take a long break between chapters. They will likely remember characters quickly, but forget where the treasure is hidden.

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Yeah, I'd read complaints that Atlas Shrugged would put you to sleep. I agree with that. Eliminate the total padding, the seemingly disjointed rants, and get on with the story.

I should also add that I think Rand was a great writer. But gee whiz! There's a section where the MC hero (John Galt) hijacks a government tv station and talks about why he is fighting against the government. It goes on for 72 freaking pages! I'm sorry, Galt, your revolution failed because most of the audience fell asleep!

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

When writing in third person I feel like I have to much dialogue. If that makes sense or that I use "John said" when describing dialogue to much.

You can always use "John said, ". It immediately identifies the character, and words like "said" are invisible words, i.e., words the reader reads without impacting the story, other than identifiying who is speaking.

Back in the '80's, there were a group of literary writers and sci-fi writers who decided to use any word other than "said." Like, "John replied," "John continued," or even, I kid you not, "John verbalized his thoughts accordingly." Good God, man! Just say, "john said," it keeps the story going.

Of course, all of that is subjective. Some authors (who make damn good money) still insist on replacing "said," whenever possible. And if it's an element of a character's speech, that will help flesh out the character just by how they speak.

I also use ocntext in a conversation to identify the characters. A three or four sentence exchange could go:

"Gilligan said, "Mary Ann, are you going to bake a coconut cream pie*?"
"Yes!"

No need to write "Mary Ann said, "Yes!" because the first line identifies who is talking to who.

*All right! Yes, I wrote cream pie! Wrong room for that example! Quit snickering, out there!

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

You can always use "John said, ". It immediately identifies the character, and words like "said" are invisible words, i.e., words the reader reads without impacting the story, other than identifiying who is speaking.

Back in the '80's, there were a group of literary writers and sci-fi writers who decided to use any word other than "said." Like, "John replied," "John continued," or even, I kid you not, "John verbalized his thoughts accordingly." Good God, man! Just say, "john said," it keeps the story going.

Of course, all of that is subjective. Some authors (who make damn good money) still insist on replacing "said," whenever possible. And if it's an element of a character's speech, that will help flesh out the character just by how they speak.

I also use ocntext in a conversation to identify the characters. A three or four sentence exchange could go:

"Gilligan said, "Mary Ann, are you going to bake a coconut cream pie*?"
"Yes!"

No need to write "Mary Ann said, "Yes!" because the first line identifies who is talking to who.

*All right! Yes, I wrote cream pie! Wrong room for that example! Quit snickering, out there!

Also, personally, I like using dialogue to move a story, rather than narration.

She stood up close to him, her breasts pressing against his arm. "Dave? What? Do I smell so bad I'm driving you away?"

Boom, story moving via dialogue.

 

[filthytrancendence]

I'm sorry, Galt, your revolution failed because most of the audience fell asleep!

Personally I think it fell flat because Rand was projecting the failures of Soviet bureaucracy onto something that was trying to look like post-war America, which is just a hilariously silly misdiagnosis on every level. The fact it's 72 pages is partly a byproduct of the fact that the underlying ideology has no basis in reality and so it has to contort even an already contorted fictional world into knots to even have a hope of making sense of itself.

But getting that far in analyzing it requires not letting it put you to sleep... so really it's just a question of which is the more important failure

 

[old_prof]

If I have only two characters talking, I will leave the tag off altogether frequently.

And I do replace a percentage of says to keep it sounding less repetitive, but dropping the tag altogether feels better if the conversation is still obvious without them.

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Personally I think it fell flat because Rand was projecting the failures of Soviet bureaucracy onto something that was trying to look like post-war America, which is just a hilariously silly misdiagnosis on every level. The fact it's 72 pages is partly a byproduct of the fact that the underlying ideology has no basis in reality and so it has to contort even an already contorted fictional world into knots to even have a hope of making sense of itself.

But getting that far in analyzing it requires not letting it put you to sleep... so really it's just a question of which is the more important failure

Exactly! And if you have to put that much analysis into reading the story, you're probably not enjoying it very much. Pops you right out of the "reader's trance."

 

[NuclearFairy]

"Gilligan said, "Mary Ann, are you going to bake a coconut cream pie*?"
"Yes!"

No need to write "Mary Ann said, "Yes!" because the first line identifies who is talking to who.

I know that it's not important to have the tags, but I can't not put something in because it just feels incomplete without it to me.

 

[old_prof]

I know that it's not important to have the tags, but I can't not put something in because it just feels incomplete without it to me.

Don't ever read any of my stories then. My writing would be downright indecent with all their missing tags.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Don't ever read any of my stories then. My writing would be downright indecent with all their missing tags.

lol doesn't necessarily have to be tags, just something to identify that they're not just standing there spouting their lines like a robot. ;p

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

I know that it's not important to have the tags, but I can't not put something in because it just feels incomplete without it to me.

Yes, that line where personal style blows all the "rules" out of the water. NONE of this is cast in stone! NEVER let any writing instructor* tell you "Never do this ..." no matter what they are talking about. Listen to what they say, but if it conflicts with your style, toss it!

*Including me!

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Yes, that line where personal style blows all the "rules" out of the water. NONE of this is cast in stone! NEVER let any writing instructor* tell you "Never do this ..." no matter what they are talking about. Listen to what they say, but if it conflicts with your style, toss it!

*Including me!

I once had an editor reject a story because it had the word "were" in it. She said it was a "matter of house style to never use the subjunctive mood.*" They insisted I change every sentence that had "were" in it to "Was." In particular, it made dialogue "sound" like all my characters were uneducated!

"Did you know dave and Elise were friends?"

became,

"Do you know Dave and Elise was friends?" I withdrew it and got it published elsewhere. The publisher that rejected it is no longer in business. Probably because all their stories sounded idiotic!

*"House style," how a publisher wants anything they print to "read." If you don't know what "the subjunctive mood" is, do not worry. You absolutely do not need to know what the Subjunctive, Indicative, and Imperative Moods are. Only if you ever encounter a publisher as dumb as this one was. And if you do, just send the story off to another publisher.

 

[TheLobster]

They insisted I change every sentence that had "were" in it to "Was."

Wait, so they weren't (ahem) aware that "were" is completely legal in second / third person plural of the indicative mood? They just blanket banned it altogether? :O

Well, the fact that they went bankrupt is clearly the invisible hand of free market working exactly like it should. Point for Ayn Rand I guess?

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Wait, so they weren't (ahem) aware that "were" is completely legal in second / third person plural of the indicative mood? They just blanket banned it altogether? :O

Well, the fact that they went bankrupt is clearly the invisible hand of free market working exactly like it should. Point for Ayn Rand I guess?

Yes, blanket ban. On something that is grammatically correct. Until e-publishing came along, there were tons of little publishing houses and they all had their idiosyncrasies. But this one was just flat out dumb!

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Yes, blanket ban. On something that is grammatically correct. Until e-publishing came along, there were tons of little publishing houses and they all had their idiosyncrasies. But this one was just flat out dumb!

Another house hated passive voice. Active voice and passive voice are like AC and DC electricity: both do different jobs, neither is best suited for everything. Using both gets the job done best!

 

[DeMont]

As a writer, each of us hits a stumbling block sooner or later. Are you great at writing the beginning of a story, and struggle with it after that? Or the opposite: great at writing an ending, now how do you get it set up for that?

My greatest challenge is keeping the story moving. I tend to get way in to excruciatingly minute detail. Like I don't even understand the concept of brevity. I've got a quote on my desk by Mark Twain: "A story is typically best told in as few words as possible."

I've had to cut bits that I really liked how I wrote them, but they had to go because they were stalling the story. I fight this battle constantly in my writing.

My only solution has been my own ruthless editing. If it isn't serving the story, out it goes. I save those passages, because they might be useful for something else.

Anybody else? Character names, describing outdoor settings (or indoor settings)?

@JenniferSmithJones,
Too many ideas, all whirling around in my head like cake ingredients in a mixer, which one to tackle first? Which one is going to work out to completion, which one is going to stall half way? So, 90% of the time I sit and stare at a blank screen unable to decide what to put on it...!
Deepest respects,
D.

(P.S. I call it writer's glut and it's almost as bad as writer's block...!)

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

@JenniferSmithJones,
Too many ideas, all whirling around in my head like cake ingredients in a mixer, which one to tackle first? Which one is going to work out to completion, which one is going to stall half way? So, 90% of the time I sit and stare at a blank screen unable to decide what to put on it...!
Deepest respects,
D.

(P.S. I call it writer's glut and it's almost as bad as writer's block...!)

I suffer from the same thing. Closest thing I have to a solution is to just write everything. I've got a file called "Ideas," and it's currently at over 150,000 words. They're all the bare bones of a story idea, two or three lines, two or three paragraphs., that's all. When I get hit with the occasional bout of writer's block, I re-read through that file, and almost always there will be something that gets my brain kick-started again.

 

[alohadave]

My toughest challenge is translating from thoughts to words.

I know it's something that every writer deals with, but when I think about people reading what I'm writing, a wall goes up and my creativity shuts down.

Like, I can spout of impromptu speeches alone in the car, but anyone listening, and it's like a valve closes up. Same with my words on paper. As soon as I think anyone might read what I've written, I become much more guarded.

Makes it tough to actually write.

 

[alohadave]

@JenniferSmithJones,
Too many ideas, all whirling around in my head like cake ingredients in a mixer, which one to tackle first? Which one is going to work out to completion, which one is going to stall half way? So, 90% of the time I sit and stare at a blank screen unable to decide what to put on it...!
Deepest respects,
D.

(P.S. I call it writer's glut and it's almost as bad as writer's block...!)

I know this well. Any kind of crafting, I have a hundred different ideas for things to do.

I weave, and every time I look at my yarn stash I think of a different project I could make with whatever my eye lands on.