Redhot33 1st writing assignment for level 2

The first thing I like and will have to start doing is the cheat sheet for characters. I find that when I go back and do a second chapter I have to go back and quickly review the previous chapter to make sure that I have not messed up on the person or the plot.

My first story or 2 I made the mistake and gave out all the info in the first paragraph instead of having the characters tells it to you.

Not sure what she means by the conflicts. Still trying to figure that one out.

The next section I don’t have a problem with either, the scenes and sequels. I usually let my story tell it self. Most all the time it just writes itself down. There have been many times that my characters went an entirely different direction then were I wanted them to go, if that makes since.

This leads me into the characters section. When I write a character, they usually tell me how they want to go. Their likes and dislikes their wants and needs.

I have never used dialect in my stories. The most I do is tell which country they are from or where they live and leave that up to the readers. Sometimes I do none of these, because even I don’t know.

Lastly the outlining, I don’t use outlines because I never know where my story is going to end up. Every time I have tried, I ended up writing something different as an end. There for I just let the story tells itself. One thing I do when trying to find a name is I look at names books or sites and usually a name will just jump out at me.

I have found many of story idea’s from different places sometimes it is something some one said other times it is a song. Then sometimes it is just an idea or a fantasy of mine. I find what helps me the most is after I write if I wait a few hours or a few days even then go back and reread it I will see things that can or need to be changed. Then before I submit it I will first run it through a grammar and spell checker if I am not using the kind that lets me know as a write that some thing is wrong. That is my favorite kind I have found it helps me write even better if it lets me know as I write that something is wrong. I don’t have as many passive sentences any more. Plus my spelling is very bad. Then after I have done that, I will have Severusmax read it and point out any areas that the checker missed. Like my worse is my tendency do mixed tenses or use the wrong word.

Thank you for that Redhot,

I too tend to not always know where my stories are going, especially when you just get a great idea and want to get started on it! I have found though, that I will sometimes make a few notes once I am a bit more into the story, just so my ending is as strong as my beginning. I also write down any new ideas I have for stories, so I can come back to them at another time.

I agree that the section on conflict is a bit confusing, but I think she is just saying that in a good story, you have events happening outside of the control of the all or some of the central characters. These might bring the characters together so they can interact in some way. I suppose it is just the case of making sure you have some problems and resolutions, to make your story interesting.

I also find the need to check my work many times, and find that re-reading it again after a few days or more, works well.

Thanks so much, you seem to have reflected on the articles very well, and I hope it has given you some ideas to work with.

You can now have a go at the second assignment, good luck and have fun.