how do you learn to write stories WELL?

Chaotic Descent

I've had an interest in learning to write for a while now. I've always had SOME interest, but I rarely pursued it other than in childhood. I picked up some scanned books recently, (Frey, James N. - How to Write a Damn Good Novel) except they were on writing ... what was the label? Dramatic fiction? Very comic-book style, with very bland layouts. Protagonist must be larger than life, follow a classic story model where he overcomes an evil. Beginning, middle, end. Emotional drama, sex and violence a must.

Where can I learn what writing is REALLY about? All the methods to manipulate the reader, not just the classic ones. Ideally, in a form easily accessible to me, like a scanned book or website. ;> (I mean, I'm open to the idea of taking classes, but that gets into the complication of making sure it's a good class, and a teacher that's a good fit with me. I'm likely to just get discouraged by a lack of progress if I get the wrong one(s).)

I witness some interesting stories. Like the Babylon 5 show. It had flaws, but it also had things that I hadn't seen that often. But I don't actually UNDERSTAND what I saw that made it great, so I can't even recreate that same level of great story-telling. I want to. I want to build a story like a Lego building, meticulously and logically. I want to be able to find all the things I like in story-telling and put them together. (well, hopefully I have something to offer, but then what's really new in story-telling?)

necroSYS

The writers who are able to do what you're trying to learn spend years honing their craft (or they are very very talented out of the gate). There's no way to learn it from a book or a class. If there was, the class would cost thousands of dollars.

Plus, the fact that you seem to want this information for free leads me to believe you wouldn't deserve the knowledge even if it was out there.

Chaotic Descent

necroSYS wrote: »

The writers who are able to do what you're trying to learn spend years honing their craft (or they are very very talented out of the gate). There's no way to learn it from a book or a class. If there was, the class would cost thousands of dollars.

uhhhh... yeah... ok. so there's nothing to learn about writing that's formalized. That's good to know. You sure about that?

Plus, the fact that you seem to want this information for free leads me to believe you wouldn't deserve the knowledge even if it was out there.

*chuckle* Maybe if we were talking time and effort rather than money, you'd be on to something. You found me out, comrade.

Space Pickle

I think the main thing is to read a lot and write a lot. You improve over a long period of time.

edit - I mean, you read good books and cop the style, you read bad books and see what not to do, and try to put those things to use in your own stories.

Burnage

Maybe all the writers I know have been going about it the wrong way, but writing isn't a purely logical process. You're not going to be able to find the "Lego blocks" that will enable to you write a good story, no matter how hard you search.

You learn to write stories well by writing a lot of stories badly.

Chaotic Descent

Burnage wrote: »

Maybe all the writers I know have been going about it the wrong way, but writing isn't a purely logical process. You're not going to be able to find the "Lego blocks" that will enable to you write a good story, no matter how hard you search.

You learn to write stories well by writing a lot of stories badly.

Is there anything a little more motivational? I'm not really sure I'm interested in writing horrible fanfic for 10 years. I mean, there's nothing that will inherently teach me to write better JUST by writing. There's people who write bad fanfic for 10 years and they still write bad fanfic at the end of 10 years.
There must be something I can learn about writing that's been studied. I mean, visual ART has formalized processes! Childrens' games have formalized processes.

For example, on wikipedia I found more than a couple pages on theories of all the possible stories you could tell. There's no agreed-upon standard for this.
The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations
Of course those are DRAMATIC ones, mostly from classic Greek (and French) stories.


I think I've read more than once that a lot of authors re-used the same concepts in their books. Probably because they're trying to get that one story right. Even if there were some kind of "Lego blocks" of writing (and I think there is), I don't expect it to make writing perfect. but I'd rather build a good foundation and skeleton to build my delicious cake on. (I'm mixing architecture and cooking analogies. This is horrible. )

Inquisitor77

1. Read a lot.

2. Write a lot.

3. Constantly proof and edit your own writing.

4. Wash, rinse, repeat.


After a while, you can move on to the following list:

1. Read a lot.

2. Write a lot.

3. Constantly proof and edit your own writing.

4. Find people whose opinions you trust to proof your writing and provide feedback.

5. Edit your writing based on their feedback.

4. Wash, rinse, repeat.


Every writer I've seen who has been asked this question always answers it with some variation on the above. You can play around with writing classes to maybe help you "hone" your craft, force you out of the box, get more varied feedback, etc. But at the end of the day, the keys are to read a lot and write a lot.

bsjezz

having studied creative writing academically for 5 years, i can promise you that you won't find a book that'll tell you all the little secrets in one go. i could give you a list of resources that have helped me - on writing by stephen king, making shapely fiction by jerome stern, writing true by perl & schwarz are some of the notable ones - but it takes more than that, and i don't just mean the hundreds of other excerpts and essays i've read over the years. you have to write a lot, and you have to get people who know about the craft to read your stuff

join a community. post in the writer's block, down there. there are a lot of good writers hanging around and they're always happy to give advice, especially if you ask specific questions. other than that, there are thousands of other writing communities online, and all sorts of real-life writing workshops going on in every city

anyway. beyond general writing advice, i think you're looking for a failsafe way to create the perfect story. it's not going to happen. the story of a novel is its root, its heart, and the one thing you can't create succesfully through technique alone, unless you're happy with being formulaic. it's the most creative part of composing a novel, and you're simply going to have to stew long and hard about putting together characters, plot, themes and denoument in a really meaningful way if you want to pull it off

Hahnsoo1

I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree. First of all, you are in Help and Advice rather than The Writer's Block. Second, you are conflating taxonomy of writing with good writing, which certainly isn't the case. There's a huge difference between learning about writing and actually being a writer. It is much in the same way that a good historian of war is often not a successful warrior. You can analyze it, dissect it, recognize elements of it, but at the end of the day, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. You have to write a lot. There are no shortcuts for it.

The big question is "What are you writing for?" That's not a real question, but a rhetorical one (I'm obviously not invested in your ability to write). It's a question you should ask yourself every day and every time you sit down and write. Do you write because you want to manipulate people? Because you actually have a story to tell? Because you have demons that you need to quell inside of you? Because you want to make fat sacks of cash?

noir_blood

Like others have said, the best thing to honestly do is write and read. Be prepare to struggle a bit, and more importantly, not always be happy with what you write, but always continue. Out of 1000 words you write, you might end up writing one really good line.

On Writing by King is a good book, and most will tell you that E.B Strunk and White's Elements of Style is also a neccesity. Story by Robert Mckee has also a wealth of info.

But never get too caught up on reading "how to books". Those wont' subsitute practice.

TychoCelchuuu

Writing is not "about" anything except what you're writing about. The only way to write is to write. The only way to get better at writing is to write more, and to read better writing. There is no right way to write, because once you're past grammar there are no rules. No writer looks at a list of 36 dramatic situations and picks the correct one for the chapter he is about to write. No writer picks up a "how to write better" book and writes hostage situations or descriptions of trees over and over until they've mastered that aspect of writing before moving to the next. The way to get better is to read and write. The only "LEGO blocks" of writing are whatever things happen to be most numerous, and unless your objective is to ape everyone else and churn out stories that have been written only with different names, you're going to need to think your own things up, not try to figure out how to adapt generic building blocks to your own objectives.

Chaotic Descent

Hahnsoo1 wrote: »

I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree. First of all, you are in Help and Advice rather than The Writer's Block.

Oh man, thanks. I generally assume it's all in this forum, but there's some juicy stuff in that sticky that makes my mouth water. Words like "anaphora", which I've never heard before.

Second, you are conflating taxonomy of writing with good writing, which certainly isn't the case. There's a huge difference between learning about writing and actually being a writer. It is much in the same way that a good historian of war is often not a successful warrior. You can analyze it, dissect it, recognize elements of it, but at the end of the day, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. You have to write a lot. There are no shortcuts for it.

And yet, unless you're gifted with a wise teacher, merely practicing something is not going to be the best method of learning how to do it well. Likewise, being completely ignorant of something will surely make you worse at it if you don't have a good teacher. (unless you're some kind of prodigy)

The big question is "What are you writing for?" That's not a real question, but a rhetorical one (I'm obviously not invested in your ability to write). It's a question you should ask yourself every day and every time you sit down and write. Do you write because you want to manipulate people? Because you actually have a story to tell? Because you have demons that you need to quell inside of you? Because you want to make fat sacks of cash?

I don't understand. It's rhetorical because it should instantly be answered when I ask it of myself, but without asking it I may lose my way?

Jason Todd

Chaotic Descent wrote: »

Hahnsoo1 wrote: »

I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree. First of all, you are in Help and Advice rather than The Writer's Block.

Oh man, thanks. I generally assume it's all in this forum, but there's some juicy stuff in that sticky that makes my mouth water. Words like "anaphora", which I've never heard before.

Second, you are conflating taxonomy of writing with good writing, which certainly isn't the case. There's a huge difference between learning about writing and actually being a writer. It is much in the same way that a good historian of war is often not a successful warrior. You can analyze it, dissect it, recognize elements of it, but at the end of the day, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. You have to write a lot. There are no shortcuts for it.

And yet, unless you're gifted with a wise teacher, merely practicing something is not going to be the best method of learning how to do it well. Likewise, being completely ignorant of something will surely make you worse at it if you don't have a good teacher. (unless you're some kind of prodigy)

The big question is "What are you writing for?" That's not a real question, but a rhetorical one (I'm obviously not invested in your ability to write). It's a question you should ask yourself every day and every time you sit down and write. Do you write because you want to manipulate people? Because you actually have a story to tell? Because you have demons that you need to quell inside of you? Because you want to make fat sacks of cash?

I don't understand. It's rhetorical because it should instantly be answered when I ask it of myself, but without asking it I may lose my way?

It's rhetorical because he doesn't care about your answer.

Chaotic Descent

bsjezz wrote: »

having studied creative writing academically for 5 years, i can promise you that you won't find a book that'll tell you all the little secrets in one go. i could give you a list of resources that have helped me - on writing by stephen king, making shapely fiction by jerome stern, writing true by perl & schwarz are some of the notable ones - but it takes more than that, and i don't just mean the hundreds of other excerpts and essays i've read over the years. you have to write a lot, and you have to get people who know about the craft to read your stuff

Thanks. I'll try and find those. At least you said "it takes more than that" and not "you shouldn't try and learn about writing".

anyway. beyond general writing advice, i think you're looking for a failsafe way to create the perfect story. it's not going to happen. the story of a novel is its root, its heart, and the one thing you can't create succesfully through technique alone, unless you're happy with being formulaic. it's the most creative part of composing a novel, and you're simply going to have to stew long and hard about putting together characters, plot, themes and denoument in a really meaningful way if you want to pull it off

Nah. Like I said, I just want to get some fundamentals to the structure of a story rather than "It was a dark and stormy night. I had been taking a creative writing class!" -MST3K

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

The only "LEGO blocks" of writing are whatever things happen to be most numerous, and unless your objective is to ape everyone else and churn out stories that have been written only with different names, you're going to need to think your own things up, not try to figure out how to adapt generic building blocks to your own objectives.

I'm not looking to do that. I read enough David Eddings to make me realize what kind of fluff writing makes me groan in agony. (although, hey, it's one way to do things. :> )

I still disagree that learning about literary techniques is absolutely pointless, and that I should only learn them through reverse-engineering them by reading stories. I mean, maybe it's best if you experience them before you learn how they work, but unless there's a reading list that exposes you to them before you learn what they are, there's no way to efficiently do that. And even a formalized system can have examples. Does it not count as reading when they're cut out of the body of a novel like an inactive organ? (hey, I hear that's still a good way to learn biology)

Hahnsoo1

Chaotic Descent wrote: »

(hey, I hear that's still a good way to learn biology)

You heard wrong. :-P

Besides, learning about literary techniques only gives you a lot of practice at... learning literary techniques. It doesn't teach you how to be a better writer, as millions of liberal arts majors out there can tell you (only a fraction that become writers as a career). It's like learning all the intricacies of various bow techniques for the violin... you can't cultivate a good spiccato without actually practicing a spiccato, even if you have no idea what in the hell a spiccato is (as is the case with many self-made violin players).

Find a good critique group. It will help you a lot. It should consist of folks who belong to your target audience (no one out there is a universal critic, and there's also no such thing as a universal writer, either), enjoy reading, and honest enough to tell you how much you suck.

TychoCelchuuu

Literary techniques mean basically nothing in terms of being a writer. No writer sits down at his keyboard, stuck about what to write next, and decides to mentally go through his list of literary techniques in order to find out what to write. Literary techniques are used by other people to describe what a writer has already created, not by writers to do the actual creating. Architectural critics have all sorts of words to describe a building (and I'm blanking on all of them), but no architect keeps a list of these terms beside his desk and tries to get his building to embody them. These are all a posteriori things that give us tons of detail when talking about writing but are next to useless in the actual craft of writing. It doesn't matter if you can identify a literary technique, and I'd bet you 99% of writers have no idea when they use anaphora or whatever how to describe what they're doing. They simply DO it.

Charles Kinbote

As someone who is studying creative writing at a very good creative writing school and who has been writing for years and years, you're being goofy.

You keep refusing perfectly good advice based on mistaken opinions and beliefs that you hold. Understand that I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, but I don't care if you disagree with what people have been saying in this thread, because they know more about the subject than you do. It shouldn't be too hard to believe; you made a thread asking for more information!

The only way to become a better writer is to start writing more. If you wanted to become adept at deconstructing and analyzing the base materials of literature, that would be one thing, but you want to learn to write.

You say that visual arts can be broken down into formalized processes. Ok, sure. However, you can learn those processes all you want, but you'll still be a shit painter if you never pick up a brush. It doesn't matter how much you know about "gesture" in art and the genealogy of styles in painting through the last few millennia if you never refine your technique.

Stop arguing with people who are giving you perfectly good advice and decide what you want to do. If you want to learn about deconstructing writing, there are books and classes. If you want to learn to write, start writing. Fiction, non-fiction, flash-fiction, six word stories, novellas, novels, poems, songs, doesn't matter. If you don't write, you're not going to become a better writer.

bsjezz

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Literary techniques are used by other people to describe what a writer has already created, not by writers to do the actual creating.

no offence, but that's bullshit. if you want to write really good fiction, you absolutely must know literary technique. it's not all technique - there's a hell of a lot of plain old creativity and inspiration involved, sure - but you could argue the nuts-and-bolts craft of it is even more important than spewing forth whatever great stroke has come to you most recently.

you may be right that a great writer doesn't work with a checklist of techniques by their side when they're trying to best articulate a story or vignette. but that doesn't mean the theory hasn't been previously absorbed and understood - it's always at work, even if only on a subconcious level

Iriah

Chaotic Descent wrote: »

I still disagree that learning about literary techniques is absolutely pointless, and that I should only learn them through reverse-engineering them by reading stories.

why are you arguing about things you admit you know nothing about? jezz is giving solid advice here. write something and get a feel for how these 'literary techniques' (washing my mouth out now) actually play out.

JaysonFour

The key to writing is to:

A) Read an absolute shitload of stuff. Get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

2) Experience as much as you can. Experiencing some things can help you more clearly express what it's like to your readers. Example: John Grisham used to camp out in courtrooms when he was writing The Firm and other court stories. There's a reason you should start writing about stuff you know.

C) Be prepared to write lots of stuff. The only way you get better is through experience.

Chaotic Descent

JaysonFour wrote: »

The key to writing is to:

A) Read an absolute shitload of stuff. Get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

I used to read a lot. Hardly at all any more. Did all that reading so long ago really do anything?
Even if I get a feel for what works and what doesn't (not that I'm really sure how I am to "get a feel"), how do I actually know what it is and how to avoid what doesn't work and do what does work?

Whatever. I'm reading Stephen King's book right now. Just got through that whole bloody story about his early life. I'm not really sure that was necessary... oh well.

bsjezz

Chaotic Descent wrote: »

Whatever. I'm reading Stephen King's book right now. Just got through that whole bloody story about his early life. I'm not really sure that was necessary... oh well.

you realise it's an autobiography, right?

Darkewolfe

I'm pretty sure you have to be a troll, just because you're being so dense.

However, because I feel like arguing I will submit this:

A big part of practicing writing is learning to revisit what you've produced, edit it, improve it and learn from it. In many instances, the difference between a successful author and a terrible short story blogger is that the author has the self-discipline to keep returning to his work and tearing it apart. So much work goes into revising and editing, and very few people appreciate that.

Writing is unlike other things you've brought up which you learn more systematically, in that the art of story-telling has its basic skills at the heart of all communication. People learn to tell a good story by reading good stories, hearing good stories and being in good stories. You gain the building blocks of creative writing in everything you do in life. Reading so much gives you access to evaluating other writing; you can consume their storytelling methods and add what you've read to your list of ideas.

Sarcastro

Chaotic Descent wrote: »

Even if I get a feel for what works and what doesn't (not that I'm really sure how I am to "get a feel"), how do I actually know what it is and how to avoid what doesn't work and do what does work?

Whatever. I'm reading Stephen King's book right now. Just got through that whole bloody story about his early life. I'm not really sure that was necessary... oh well.

You're one step off from trolling.

Technique is valuable, but not as much as discernment, and the ability to share that understanding with others in way that allows them to understand as well.

Part of that is cultivating the right attitude within yourself so that people will listen. If you want people to listen, you need something valuable to say. Something meaningful, something true, and something useful.

Get to step one first. Then maybe go for step two.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

The secret to writing fiction is that it's about volume. You produce piles and piles of meaningless garbage for the sake of producing some good things that you can refine and develop. Stephen King supposedly writes 10,000 words or more every day, and even though the man seeming craps novels, most of those words wind up in the trash.

Only a vanishingly small number of fiction writers in history were brilliant, inspired and lucky enough to sit down and write a great work from nothing.

Once you're doing the writing you also need to seek criticism. Fortunately this forum has a board that is pretty good for that.

Inquisitor77

I don't know about you guys, but I always find it amusing when people ask questions, then refuse to listen to the answer because it's doesn't fit neatly into the little box they made for themselves to carry it.

Also, considering that good writing requires the assimilation and discernment of large amounts of criticism, I have no problem saying that, should things continue as they are, someone is going to turn out to be a lousy writer.

necroSYS

Well, given that the OP boils down to "I wanna do this without expending the time, effort, or resources necessary to learn it," it was pretty much doomed from the start.

poshniallo

Writing lots is the main thing, of course. You need to write.

But study and knowledge of techniques can help. This book taught me some interesting things, though it does contain some academic language that you may or may not struggle with.

A Dictionary of Stylistics

Chaotic Descent

bsjezz wrote: »

Chaotic Descent wrote: »

Whatever. I'm reading Stephen King's book right now. Just got through that whole bloody story about his early life. I'm not really sure that was necessary... oh well.

you realise it's an autobiography, right?

well maybe I'm taking it too literally, but he said:
"This is not an autobiography. It is, rather, a kind of curriculum vitae—my attempt to show how one writer was formed."
and I'm assuming that the quote from the book as well as what you are referring to are only one section of the book, and not the entire book.

I mean, I should have maybe elaborated instead of cutting short at my usual gloomy remarks. While I questioned it's use in teaching me how to write, I figured it was at least good as an example of the craft.
(I mean, what educational texts aren't better when started with a good story? )

Darkewolfe wrote: »

I'm pretty sure you have to be a troll, just because you're being so dense.

Great, now I feel like I have to state a case of defense that I'm really just stupid. Why, between the choice of the two, I gladly take the label. *sigh*
Dude, the last time I wrote a story was in grade-school, which was... I don't even know. 20 years ago? It's not like they taught me anything about this in high school. The level of education there is really primitive. That I don't know how to... wait, I have a scanned book here... what's the title. "Foster Thomas - How to Read Literature Like a Professor". I wonder if that would help me understand how to gain anything from reading towards learning how to write.
I mean... if it's not... if it's just something you ONLY gain by reading and reading alone, then even if it faded in all the years I stopped, I would have had skills during the period of time I was reading a lot.

However, because I feel like arguing I will submit this:

A big part of practicing writing is learning to revisit what you've produced, edit it, improve it and learn from it. In many instances, the difference between a successful author and a terrible short story blogger is that the author has the self-discipline to keep returning to his work and tearing it apart. So much work goes into revising and editing, and very few people appreciate that.

Ok.

I don't think I'm afraid of revising.
I have old concepts from my childhood I still revise, but other than some bit of descriptive Mary-Sue crap I typed up recently, none of it's actually written. (and I only know what a Mary-Sue is because of the internet)

Writing is unlike other things you've brought up which you learn more systematically, in that the art of story-telling has its basic skills at the heart of all communication. People learn to tell a good story by reading good stories, hearing good stories and being in good stories. You gain the building blocks of creative writing in everything you do in life. Reading so much gives you access to evaluating other writing; you can consume their storytelling methods and add what you've read to your list of ideas.

Well... I've HEARD that art (not just writing, but visual art as well) is dependent on the experiences of a normal, healthy life, but I've sort of ignored that for a while, and it's a tall order, but that does reverberate with more sense than I've felt before.

Inquisitor77 wrote: »

I don't know about you guys, but I always find it amusing when people ask questions, then refuse to listen to the answer because it's doesn't fit neatly into the little box they made for themselves to carry it.

Also, considering that good writing requires the assimilation and discernment of large amounts of criticism, I have no problem saying that, should things continue as they are, someone is going to turn out to be a lousy writer.

I'm sorry. Could you direct me to the standards for education recipient, at least with some specifics on it being in an internet setting?
I'm not joking either. I don't know how I'm supposed to learn things, but apparently I'm "doing it wrong" (and I'm not being sarcastic about that either, even if I do take offense to it), so please direct me to some kind of authority on the subject.
since, while I don't know much, I won't take at face value from someone on the internet, even if it is a very nice forum compared to some. I don't know. Perhaps while my skepticism might be a good basis, that at least outwardly, if not inwardly but temporarily, I am to unguardedly accept (I suppose at first-come-first-serve basis) concepts as truth, and only later question them.
I dunno... am I over-thinking this? Because I can go back to my traditional skepticism if that's easier for you.

Heheheh. I can just imagine the fallout from the polite reception of conflicting concepts from two people. "Boys! BOYS! You can BOTH have me!"

necroSYS wrote: »

Well, given that the OP boils down to "I wanna do this without expending the time, effort, or resources necessary to learn it," it was pretty much doomed from the start.

... I said that?? I'm biased, but I think I look sane in comparison to you.

MKR

You learn by writing a lot, editing it, and by getting and implementing quality feedback from others.

noir_blood

I think part of the issue is that you feel that writing can be learn by anyone and improved by anyone, sorta like math and science. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I think King even mentions in his book how reading it could possibly help turn and average writer into a good writer, a good writer into a better one, but it won't turn a crappy writer into a good one.

This might sound like a douche thing to say, but writing involves an artistic slant and creativity that no one can teach you.

This is not to try to stop you from writing. I (and am sure I'm not the only one) started off writing fan fiction, and then moved on. A lot of my earlier work I can't even look at anymore, at it just reads amateurish, but the upside is that I can see improvement.

The reason people are beginning to have an issue with your attitude is because you're adamant in the belief that you'll be able to pick up some books and be done with it. We already given you a good list to start off. But the more important thing is to WRITE AND READ

P.S- King's first half of the book is meant to show how his experience molded him as a writer, the second half is more of the technical advice, so keep reading.

EggyToast

The most important part of being a good writer is to have a good story. Without a story, you don't have anything to write. At least, nothing worthwhile.

Writing is an art form but it's also an activity like any other that requires skill. You don't start cooking by making elaborate dishes; you start small and get better. You don't suddenly wake up and have 20 years of carpentry experience. You can't suddenly speak French. You can't pick up a violin and play a solo. Why would writing be any different? You need to write, and then read what you write, and then read what someone else wrote, and get better.

It's passe now for anyone to talk about writing the Great American Novel when they get out of college, but I think there's a reason that most authors of renown are old. Even popular writers like Rowling didn't get started until she was older and had a major life change. But none of them wrote because they wanted a job, per se (those people become journalists) -- they wrote because they had a story to tell.

The simple way to learn to write is the same way you learn any other activity -- by copying. You learn guitar by playing popular guitar songs. You learn a language by speaking some basic words and carrying on a simple conversation (rather than trying to give a speech). You learn carpentry by designing something basic and boxy, following instructions. With writing, take a crack at some cliche storylines. A decent exercise would be to go through the 36 dramatic situations and write a short story for each of them, just to see how they turn out.

Raziel

Write and get feedback. Even if you get raked over a barbecue, you smile and accept the criticism. Then you go and make your story better.

Write something and post it in the writer board on this forum. Then we'll see.

Pheezer

necroSYS wrote: »

Well, given that the OP boils down to "I wanna do this without expending the time, effort, or resources necessary to learn it," it was pretty much doomed from the start.

I'm pretty sure this is as close to the mark as we're likely to get in this thread.

This is over because it's obnoxious and silly and the OP's dogged insistence on not taking anyone's advice or criticism seriously pretty much guarantees to which degree he will ever be successful as a writer.

The only way to get better at writing is to stop talking about it and just do it. Go write something. Somewhere other than in H/A, all of your work here so far sucks.