Writer's Block Daily

Relax. No feedback is required in this thread. It's like Troper Updates, but for general writing processes and posting to remind yourself of something and whatnot. I think we need a thread where we actually get to know each other, because it's easier to give feedback to people you know.

Today I wrote maybe a thousand words of a story where a young man fights a dragon for the first time. The most prolific word is probably "fuck". I only stopped because I ran out of ink, and because that gnawing sense of guilt about not working on homework—or more importantly, my actual novel—grew too much to bear.

Okay.

My current project is based off Reunions Dark Summer, an ongoing RP. Its Writer's Block's thread can be found on this sub-forum. When I wrote some during April Fools' Day...

Exploded! Oh, how I like strikethrough.

I'm so glad that's back—when it disappeared I thought it was gone forever and was very sad.

I have so much writing projects at mind, on hold right now. Two of them I have on this forum. Mainly because I'm in the midst of writing a sex scene — which I'm finding a bit difficult not so much because of the mechanics (no duh) but because of all the awkwardness feelings I get knowing I'm going to show off a different, private side of me.

edited 4th Apr '11 6:30:21 PM by QQQQQ

Hmm, yeah. Sex scenes are weird. And uh, I have absolutely no advice on that besides remember that readers don't usually assume what writers write about actually happened to them?

I wrote a sex scene, climax and all, exactly once. It was awkward. As far as I remembered, I hid it.

Your word salad deciphered, I think it good to try experimenting beyond the usual doozies. I would try avoiding any direct references to his wangie or her wongie, as immediately when these body parts are mentioned by name, many people start to think it's full on text pr0n — pull the belt buckle down and start your engines. Or worse, readers feel jarred, lose interest on the characters themselves when the mental images is introduced.

So I instead aim for capturing the intense emotions, which is something you don't usually get in "Do me naow..!" I am just hoping what when I'm finished, people won't start complaining I did this all wrong or it's gone too fast— or that I threw in a flight simulator analogy in the middle.

edited 4th Apr '11 6:41:41 PM by QQQQQ

People have compared sex to less relevant things than flight. xP

edited 4th Apr '11 6:41:33 PM by Leradny

I can imagine as such. Need to get back to writing now.

edited 4th Apr '11 6:46:34 PM by QQQQQ

Other things to compare sex to:

"Sex was like taking a photograph— awkward posing, nervous smiles, and an intense disappointment when the other person asked, 'Did the flash go off?'"

"Sex is like cheese—it's better when it's French."

"Sex with my husband soon became routine, like vacuuming— a chore I did to keep the house in order."

"The sex was like my hair dryer— it blew."

"Sex is the deodorant of life— it covers up the fact that everything stinks."

"Sex is like a wet towel. I don't have a comparison, I just think of wet towels when I have sex."

QQQQQ: Word salad? I totally do not (realizes this is true, shuts mouth stills fingers)

Ronka: Pfffffff.

edited 4th Apr '11 7:02:44 PM by Leradny

I managed to complete Chapter 20: "Behind Enemy Lines" of Endless Conflict today.

I've already begun work on the next chapter affectionately titled "Counterattack! Two Great Armies Clash!" (Bonus points for spoilering the contents of the chapter in part.)

Major Tom: Does your story, by any chance, concern a war of some sort?

No... well yes.

Normally I run on Word Salad-y titles for my chapters.

I like Word Salad titles, but then again I pretty much have Word Salad everything so maybe I'm a tad biased.

I've written sex scenes. Not everyone hates them :) If you're going to write full-on erotica, you should read erotica. At least, generally, avoid overly flowery language for things, especially for body parts; they're more likely to be Narm than fun.

I'm writing a new departure for me; present-day fiction. The idea's about a week or so old; I've spent a few sessions writing down plot points and character sketches, and I'm now a couple of thousand words into the story. We'll see how it goes. It's also at least somewhat a romance, which again .. well, not exactly new, because there are relationships in my fantasy, but it's more so.

It's not a comparison of sex itself, what I wrote, but a rather awkward imagining as she proceeds to..

edited 4th Apr '11 7:22:06 PM by QQQQQ

You mean like drawn sketches or the vague connotation that means "any piece of art"? I do that for my characters too :D

QQQQQ: T'wasn't a bad attempt. I don't think your writing style lends itself particularly well to sex scenes, which may be one of the difficulties.

edited 4th Apr '11 7:16:25 PM by Leradny

My writing style isn't.. what makes you think that? I inserted this random tangent after I've been staring at the word document for minutes and getting distracted. I found it helped lighten the tension in me, though I'm not sure if I'd like to keep it in the final drafts.

edited 4th Apr '11 7:21:16 PM by QQQQQ

It's rather understated and romantic. Sex is only occasionally the latter and definitely not the former. If I were you, I would have just gone for a fade-to-black.

"I am just hoping what when I'm finished, people won't start complaining I did this all wrong or it's gone too fast"

I am immature.

I drew one of my protagonists and finalized his appearance. I'm a pretty mediocre artist, but I find that having an image of my characters on paper really helps me imagine them better.

Also, QQQQQ. You have seen my writing. What do you think of it? How can I put more details into it?

From what I remember seeing, your writing and characters seems heavily shonen-influenced, most likely from Death Note and some other series. It seems good — but I don't think plain good is what you're aiming for. You wish for some suggestion? Try expanding outside your normal comfort zone. Different writing styles. Read innovative things like Snow Crash, and classics like The Great Gatsby. Learn how to write a person, not just a character. Draw on many inspirations, especially from Real Life(TM).

Writing is just like kung-fu, as Jackie Chan put it in the Karate Kid. It's everywhere you see and everywhere you listen. If you learn to open yourself, you'll find yourself on this mind-blowing journey. Like I did.

edited 4th Apr '11 7:48:10 PM by QQQQQ

Posting in the Character Setting threads and Pokemon RPs, I've learned something new about my writing style.

I use a bunch of one-liners, which is not fight scene-friendly.

Which is probably why I changed my story from focusing on an assassin to a government conspiracy. The former would likely contain a lot of fighting, while the latter sounds very mental battle-y.

I think I prefer the latter more.

edited 4th Apr '11 7:49:55 PM by CrystalGlacia