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Crimson_daffodils_Layla
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#1
Old 08-25-2010, 12:17 AM

So you like books. So you like to read and write. So what? Here's what: A place for aspiring writers, and bookworms to hang and discuss their favorite books and to get tips on writing from others with similar interests.
Please:
No putting down others with different opinions
No spamming
As little profanity as possible
Respect the others on the thread and
Don't leave anyone out
Try to help them! They're in the same boat :)
To start everyone off:
What books and/or authors do you find yourself going to again and again, even if you've read them a thousand times or more?

Last edited by Crimson_daffodils_Layla; 08-25-2010 at 12:22 AM..

PrincessBane
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#2
Old 08-25-2010, 12:28 AM

Um, I do write- but my writing's not very good. My stories are actually better when they are "word of mouth". It's like...when I write, I don't fully captivate the scenes that play in my head, the vivid imagry that I can see when I close my eyes. Alot of the stories I recite over and over, I've actually never written down. I really don't know why I can't express it on paper when I have so many wonderful tales to spin.

Some authors I find myself returning to is Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I love the way they tell tales, the worlds they fabricate and the characters they bring to life. I never get tired of their work, whether it's in the fabulous Dragonlance Saga or some of their other projects like the DeathGate Cycle(pure genius.) I find the characters the most enjoyable- whether I love them or hate them, I feel like I can relate to them in some way.

Another author is Stephen King. I know, it's cliche, but he's a great writer. Yea, his stories aren't filled with any particularly real monster or something like vampires- but he has a way of creating an absolutely terrifying atmosphere with everyday things. I love how he writes, despite the fact that sometimes it's crude and perverted(All I'm thinking of is books like It and The Dark Tower Series. Lol) Even though I've read most of his books, I can't help but read them over and over again. Some favourites include Tommyknockers, The Shining and Carrie.

Last edited by PrincessBane; 08-25-2010 at 12:32 AM..

Crimson_daffodils_Layla
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#3
Old 08-25-2010, 12:34 AM

I write as well, but I tend to be a very visual person rather than an auditory one. It helps me to see everything laid out on paper.
What Arthur Golden did when he wrote Memoirs of a Geisha (a definite must-read in my book), he used a tape recorder while interviewing the person the book is based off of. If I were you, I would record the story on some recording device and play it and then try to work from there. Sometimes you can think of something you'd like to add in at this part. You could transcribe it all to paper then :)
Thank you for posting by the way! :)
I love the dragonlance chronicles, but I own very few and the library nearest me is lacking too. And I don't have any money to buy books.
I usually return to Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Tithe by Holly Black, and the Elvenbane series that Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey cowrote. Harry Potter I read once a year or so, and the same goes for the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.
I've never read Stephen King, but I get paranoid after reading certain kinds of books or watching certain 'scary' movies, so that might be why. My little brother likes him though.

Last edited by Crimson_daffodils_Layla; 08-25-2010 at 12:56 AM.. Reason: mixed up authors :\

PrincessBane
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#4
Old 08-25-2010, 12:36 AM

Oh, I never thought of that! I just love to tell people stories of my characters- I always make them laugh or cry or tell me that this character or that is cool. But my writing is so lame. T_T I wanna read that book now. And it's no problem, this is a neat thread!

Crimson_daffodils_Layla
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#5
Old 08-25-2010, 12:42 AM

I never would have either if I hadn't read the preface in the front of the book :) But I think it's an interesting technique, even if I might never use it. I think it would depend.
I have books on writing that help me a lot, let me find them and I'll give you the titles and authors. If you go to a public library, the books on writing are usually in the late 800s section in Nonfiction.
I practice writing a lot by writing fanfiction (and that sounds almost unprofessional, but it's more like an exercise so that you learn how to keep people in character, move a story along, etc...). And I have an excess of ideas in my head. The slightest thing that sets me thinking will trigger about three or four different tidbits of ideas.
The books I own:
The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes & Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference (no author, but it's got an introduction by Terry Brooks in it)
The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing by Meg Leder, Jack Heffron, and the editors of Reader's Digest <--That one helped A LOT.

Last edited by Crimson_daffodils_Layla; 08-25-2010 at 12:47 AM..

PrincessBane
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#6
Old 08-25-2010, 12:49 AM

Awwww....That's sad that you can't read more Dragonlance books. Who's your favourite character? I love Dalamar, Raistlin and Tas. Also, if you know who Kith-Kanan is, he's my favourite elf of all time. Close second would be Alhana StarBreeze.

I never really get scared by horror books like King's- but I find a morbid fascination with them. I like psychological horror more than monster horror. To me, the idea of horror is to work beneath the folds of the human psyche and frighten their reasoning away rather than having some monster- some vampire or zombie come and tear apart humans.

I've heard of Anne, but I've never read her books. Are they good?

I would definately appreciate that. My library isn't very good, but I'm sure it has something in there. If not, I can go to Borders. >< The only thing I fear is that I dislike the sound of my own voice...so that might be the only obstacle I might face. I'm not very good at writing fanfiction- lol...I tend to alter the characters' personality just because my mind says "well, what if they say this instead of this? or what if they killed this person instead of saving them?"

Crimson_daffodils_Layla
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#7
Old 08-25-2010, 12:55 AM

Elidor is my favorite :) then Sindri. they're from the new dragonlance chronicles I think.
Ah, I goofed. No wonder I couldn't remember the other author.
Anne McCaffrey writes really good fantasy, but she didn't write the elvenbane series. That was Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey (I think my brain squished Mercedes Lackey's first and last names together).
Normally I'm good with scary--supposedly scary movies don't scare me unless they involve the supernatural. But books and manga, things on the written page, that scares the living daylights out of me.

Last edited by Crimson_daffodils_Layla; 08-26-2010 at 01:28 PM..

PrincessBane
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#8
Old 08-25-2010, 01:04 AM

Ou, they have new books out? What're they called? D:

Ou...I don't care for Mercedes Lackey. I just didn't care for some of the things in her books. D: Have you read R.A. Salvatore before? He's written most of Forgotten Realms, which is a fairly good series.

For me, it's the reverse. I don't care for horror films- they bore me. But I'll read horror all the time.

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#9
Old 08-25-2010, 01:43 AM

The first one in the series with Elidor and Sindri is called The Temple of the Dragonslayer. It's really good. Which is an understatement, but there's really no other word I can think of at the moment.
I've heard of R.A.Salvatore, but I haven't read anything of his yet. Any time I'm lucky enough to go to the library, I reread books I've already read (which doesn't make much sense, but it's mostly because I remember those books because I've read them. I haven't read the others and people haven't recommended many to me)
Tamora Pierce is like the goddess of fiction. She is phenomenal, superb, amazing, and epic all rolled into one package. Philip Pullman is another great one, but his writing can be hard to read if you can't focus all your attention on it.
LOVE your signature by the way. I've read the books, and I think they're mediocre, but the movies are terrible. Vampires Suck was good though (but it's not one of those movies you buy and keep, it's one you rent every so often for a laugh)

Last edited by Crimson_daffodils_Layla; 08-26-2010 at 01:28 PM..

PrincessBane
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#10
Old 08-25-2010, 01:53 PM

Oh, I shall have to look for that series. >> Though it'll just make me miss the companions....like new series always does.

R.A. Salvatore's pretty good, you should look him up. His character's actually fairly popular- Drizzt Do'Urden. He's a drow elf who...fights for justice? Lol. He's cool when he's not being "Drizzt the Emo Drow." My favourite characters though are this assassin named Artemis and Enteri and a drow mercenary leader named Jarlaxle. D: Both of those people are epic. -cough-

Hmmm...I've never heard of that author, but I will look her up!

Thank you, I love my sig too...because I love Blade. <3 And because Twilight is an epic fail and an insult to both literature and vampires. I'm just waiting for Lestat to appear and rip them apart whilest laughing. I'm not much of a vampire person to begin with, but Twilight is just bad. Really, really bad. =/ My sister who's like...12 years old writes better than Meyer.

fairywaif
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#11
Old 08-25-2010, 10:07 PM

I tried making a thread like this, but I did it in hangouts. I think this is probably a better place for it, but I think it might get moved. Not sure though.

I'm an amateur writer myself, but I haven't finished anything yet. I've been competing in NaNoWriMo though. It's pretty fun, trying to hectically finish a novel in a month. I got 50,000 words, but I cut over half of it on rewrite. I'm now stuck half way through. My problem is getting the plot to move smoothly. I know where I start and where I want to finish but I have trouble getting the path in between to make sense.

I love Mercedes Lackey! I'm not so big on Tamora Pierce, but I did enjoy her Tricksters Choice series. Currently I've been trying to read all of Charles De Lint, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's stuff. It's going to take me a while, but it's definitely worth it.

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#12
Old 08-26-2010, 01:40 PM

FairyWaif: You're doing the NaNoWriMo? I prostrate myself before you and your craziness. I'd love to try it though, but it's not for another 2 months or so, which will give me time to prepare myself mentally.
I've heard of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett but not Charles De Lint. I'm not entirely sure what they write because I've only ever heard their names in passing.
I'm sad there isn't any more to the Trickster's Choice Series. I think Aly and Nawat are my favorite characters that she's created. :( I'm reading the Beka Cooper series right now, but the third book isn't out yet and it's killing me.
If you're stuck halfway through, try taking a couple days off from writing it then return to it. That sometimes helps. Something else that helps is to pretend the entire manuscript spontaneously combusted and start all over again (I love doing that one. It makes me feel very liberated). Or, if you've got a lot of time on your hands, sit in the chair/bed/couch/spot where you usually write and make a vow not to get up from that spot until you've written so many words or chapters or paragraphs (you set the criteria). That one works best if you make it a ritual. My favorite method is to give myself a writing exercise. I found some ideas in a book and I try to use them to warm up before I actually begin writing. I try to write a paragraph on some subject/object/imagined character and stop when I feel like it or keep going.
If you're still having trouble, go to the library and see if there are any books on writing that can help (this one's almost a surefire way to get something helpful.
Wow that was long. :/ But I've had experience with writer's block so I've got a lot of ways to get rid of it.

PrincessBane: I read the Twilight series out of curiosity, and I actually own the fourth one because it came out during the summer and I was NOT going to wait to finish the series and see how it ended (I both love and hate the books, which sounds weird but it's true. The movies suck though). I don't mind vampires but this craze that's popped up ever since Stephenie Meyer published Twilight is driving me mad. I HATE the Marked series with a passion.
My older brother recommended this series that now I can't remember the name of (It's something about shadow thieves or something like that).

Last edited by Crimson_daffodils_Layla; 08-26-2010 at 01:49 PM..

PrincessBane
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#13
Old 08-26-2010, 02:22 PM

Ah, well there's nothing wrong with that, my good chap. I agree that the vampire craze has spiraled out of control and it spawns creatures hardly worth being called "vampires". I fully believe that people have forgotten what vampires are supposed to be. I usually don't mind reading vampire books, so long as the book's not about the vampire/the idea of being a vampire. The only vampire series I care for is The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and the only western novel I truly love is Bram Stoker's Dracula. But there are a couple manwhas(Korean-styled comic books or "manga) that I really love that involve vampires and maybe one or two animes. But nothing stupid like Vampire Knight or some bullcrap like that. I like stuff like Hellsing and Vampire Hunter D or Vampire Princess Miyu..<3

fairywaif
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#14
Old 08-26-2010, 09:20 PM

Yeah. Right now I now what I want to write, it's just I'm a little nervous about writing it, I guess, since it's a part that I'm not an expert on, which is being a soldier in a war overseas (specifically China). I'm trying to figure out if I should focus on the character in that unfamiliar situation or whether I should focus on my other main character. And then I have to decide what SHE'S going to be doing, besides waiting for my other character to come home. I should probably just start writing and see how I like it. I'm actually rewriting my NaNo story from last year. I finished it, but unfortunately I've ended up throwing out over half of what I wrote. It's a lot better story now, at least.I would like to finish it before November, but I don't think that'll happen. :lol:

NaNo isn't so hard once you get in the flow of it, but you do have to really push yourself when you feel yourself flagging. I spent several days writing silly little passages, just to get something on the screen.

I agree, the vampire madness is crazy. I read Twilight (before the madness actually started) and I thought it was okay. Not particularly memorable, although I did think Alice was a cool character. It had a lot of plot holes, and was certainly not worth a second read. I like vampires, but I usually like "quirky" vampires, as opposed to the seducing kind. Although shiny skin is a little bit of a stretch.

PrincessBane
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#15
Old 08-27-2010, 12:04 AM

What I would suggest for you, fairywaif, would be to do research in that particular area. Learn about the soldiers that go overseas, about the wars and such. That'll give you a better understanding of what you're writing about. As for where the focus should be, I would suggest thinking about which direction you want the story to take. Whether you want to focus on the idea of being overseas in a war or perhaps a plot within that idea. >> Just an idea. I know you must be a fabulous writer to be able to enter that contest, so I know you can do it.

The shiny skin made me want to..well...vomit. c.c Vampires don't sparkle, they burn. Unless you're Akasha. Then you just get a really bad tan. Lulz. I just didn't like Twilight at all. Even before the crazy. It just seemed to...ridiculous to me.

Crimson_daffodils_Layla
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#16
Old 08-27-2010, 02:59 AM

fairywaif: I agree with PrincessBane's idea, and I've got a small tip: Hiromu Arakawa, the manga-ka of Fullmetal Alchemist, interviewed war veterans on their experiences during WWII, and used the information she learned from them and from books in volume 15 of the manga.
As far as vampires go: Nothing weird or outlandish like Stephenie Meyer did with the "LOLOL I SPARKLE IN THE SUN!" thing or what P.C.Cast did (Vampires are caused by mutated genes or some crap like that >|. Not only that, but things were WAY too easy for her main character. Listen. The being marked thing had an interesting idea behind it. And then she ruined it). Seductive? Sure. Quirky? Great. Rich? Definitely. Make it believable people!
I didn't catch any plotholes when I read the series.... but I tend to miss things like that. Ask me about theme or symbols or other things like that and for me it's like "...What?" Because I focus on just reading and seeing how things turn out. Which sounds like I should know what those are but I don't really get them unless someone tells me.

fairywaif
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#17
Old 08-27-2010, 09:33 PM

I usually only get symbols if I'm reading it for English, because then I know to look for them. I recently read a book, Of Bees and Mist where you couldn't avoid reading further into it.

There's some veterans in my American Government class. I'm kind of nervous about asking them, but it seems like my teacher wants to coax some words on it out of them for class. So maybe it'll work out.

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#18
Old 08-28-2010, 04:17 AM

lol I have a hard time finding them even when I know they're supposed to be there :/ Lord of the Flies: I just liked the book. And THEN my teacher had to ruin it by making us find symbols and the theme. I definitely enjoy the book less now.
I hope you can get some interviews; they'll help you a lot :)
I'm trying to crack down on myself and get writing. It's proving to be an arduous task. :/

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#19
Old 08-29-2010, 06:00 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by fairywaif View Post
I love Mercedes Lackey! I'm not so big on Tamora Pierce, but I did enjoy her Tricksters Choice series. Currently I've been trying to read all of Charles De Lint, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's stuff. It's going to take me a while, but it's definitely worth it.
I love Mercedes Lackey too!! <3 I recently got into her books, for a friend of mine went away to school and let me go through her shelves and closet and things and pick what I wanted as long as it wasn't too inappropriate.

I've the last book I read by her was The Black Swan. I enjoyed it immensely.

fairywaif
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#20
Old 08-29-2010, 09:13 PM

I am actually writing! And it's going fairly smoothly. and the internets is helping with research. I just hope it sounds real enough.

I love Mercedes Lackey also. I'll probably try reading the rest of her books next. i tend to go on author binges.

Oh, did you guys know Diana Wynne Jones has cancer? :'( I love her books! She wrote Howl's Moving Castle, amongst many other things.

PrincessBane
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#21
Old 08-30-2010, 01:21 AM

I love the book Lord of the Flies. D: I remember when we read that in class, I was so far ahead of everyone. I love love love the symbolism in that book. >< My brother found it boring...he just didn't understand it. =/

c.c...I don't care for Mercedes Lackey...

I'm sure they won't be offended or upset if you ask about it in a polite way. Sometimes, they may even like to talk about it since they might not have anyone to tell it to.

fairywaif
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#22
Old 08-30-2010, 08:57 PM

That's true. My government teacher seems to want to get some stories out of them, so if they don't give enough I guess I'll ask then.

I thought the Lord of the Flies was too creepy to enjoy the symbolism. I really liked the Great Gatsby, though.

PrincessBane
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#23
Old 08-31-2010, 02:00 PM

>< Well...I think the best approach would be to engage them in a normal conversation, then make a smooth transition into that topic. Not just going up to them and saying, "Tell me your war stories, please.<3?" Just a thought.

D: Lol, aw...Did you read the whole thing?

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#24
Old 08-31-2010, 04:00 PM

The Great Gatsby is definitely one of my favorite books that I had to read in English. My little sister hated it though, but she's not really big on books (she refuses to read anything twice, and she is picky about what she does read).
Wow, looks like everyone's been conversating while I've been busy :)
And Diana Wynne Jones has cancer??!! TT^TT That's terrible! I loved Howl's Moving Castle!

fairywaif
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#25
Old 09-01-2010, 09:57 PM

Yeah, I think I'll wait for my teacher to bring it up first. *is a wimp* Maybe that'll work. If not, maybe I can find something online or in print? I hope so.


I know! I hope she gets through it! I'm worried though, because she's quitting chemotherapy because of how sick it's making her feel. :(

 



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