For those interested in the free visual novels I create, I have a new one. Unfortunately, it's is a hair too adult for DA.

It's called the Erotic Story Generator.
-- Game Page with screen caps and download link --> [link]

Anyone familiar with Seventh Sanctum's generators will recognize the "list generated" style immediately. Basically, you click a button and a story happens. What's different about mine isn't merely the the way the words actually fit together to make a coherent story, but the sheer magnitude of the content.

Each story generates from Eleven lists -- with over 50 items per list:

2 Character lists
2 Character description lists
2 locations lists
2 Smut/Action lists
2 Locations lists
1 Conclusion list (the story's End.)

Plus there's Music, and Graphics.
-- Though I'll warn you now, there are only a few PG-16 images and they're only suggestive, not graphic. However it does use Adult language!!!

It's free to download AND free to use! Seriously, if the generator provides inspiration - USE IT! In fact, that's exactly why I made it, to help erotic writers come up with plot-based Adult story ideas.

If you do download it, let me know if you like it.
-- I'm considering making one of the not-so-adult variety -- IF people show interest in something like this.

...I'm at the point where nothing seems right. Everything I write down is cliche, badly written, and has bad pacing. Yet when I was younger I would turn out stories one right after the other like a non-stop machine. But now...thanks to all those instructors and classes, the creative edge is now limping along like a dog with only one leg.
...I don't have an agent or anything published in the first place. So that does paint an extra layer of doubt upon the situation.
...when I discuss this, usually I'm berated with people saying, "Stop being so emo." As if depression were something that one can simply switch on and off.
...I guess what I'm doing here is ... trying to find some kind of sign, revelation or clue that I'm not a bad writer or that I'm just another writing loser.

You're not a bad writer or a loser of any kind.
-- You're NORMAL.

The truth is all artists of every kind have to deal with Doubt -- from the rank beginner to the professional. All of us, without exception.

The dividing line between an artist and a loser is actually simple -- sheer, mule-headed, Stubborness. Losers give up. Artists won't.

Those of us writers (and artists) that actualy make it to publication are monumentally stubborn. We write / create in spite of being less than perfect, in spite of being depressed, or angry, or tired, or blind, or crippled...

The best of us, like Niel Gaimen, (and Stephen King, and Nora Roberts...) USE that doubt and stubborness to improve our skills by refusing to settle for 'good enough'. We dig up every trick we can find and scribble our discoveries into notebooks, on notepads, (or into writing tips,) and Practice them in little stories (or fan-fiction) until we can actually make use of them.

NO ONE is perfect, but that doesn't mean we can't tell a good story -- that we're not Artists.

Be stubborn. Seriously. It will carry you far further than anything else will -- even skill.

Ookami

from: NaNoWriMo.Org --> [link]

Dear Author,

By now you're probably ready to give up. You're past that first fine furious rapture when every character and idea is new and entertaining. You're not yet at the momentous downhill slide to the end, when words and images tumble out of your head sometimes faster than you can get them down on paper. You're in the middle, a little past the half-way point. The glamour has faded, the magic has gone, your back hurts from all the typing, your family, friends and random email acquaintances have gone from being encouraging or at least accepting to now complaining that they never see you any more---and that even when they do you're preoccupied and no fun. You don't know why you started your novel, you no longer remember why you imagined that anyone would want to read it, and you're pretty sure that even if you finish it it won't have been worth the time or energy and every time you stop long enough to compare it to the thing that you had in your head when you began---a glittering, brilliant, wonderful novel, in which every word spits fire and burns, a book as good or better than the best book you ever read---it falls so painfully short that you're pretty sure that it would be a mercy simply to delete the whole thing.

Welcome to the club.

That's how novels get written.

You write. That's the hard bit that nobody sees. You write on the good days and you write on the lousy days. Like a shark, you have to keep moving forward or you die. Writing may or may not be your salvation; it might or might not be your destiny. But that does not matter. What matters right now are the words, one after another. Find the next word. Write it down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

A dry-stone wall is a lovely thing when you see it bordering a field in the middle of nowhere but becomes more impressive when you realise that it was built without mortar, that the builder needed to choose each interlocking stone and fit it in. Writing is like building a wall. It's a continual search for the word that will fit in the text, in your mind, on the page. Plot and character and metaphor and style, all these become secondary to the words. The wall-builder erects her wall one rock at a time until she reaches the far end of the field. If she doesn't build it it won't be there. So she looks down at her pile of rocks, picks the one that looks like it will best suit her purpose, and puts it in.

The search for the word gets no easier but nobody else is going to write your novel for you.

The last novel I wrote (it was ANANSI BOYS, in case you were wondering) when I got three-quarters of the way through I called my agent. I told her how stupid I felt writing something no-one would ever want to read, how thin the characters were, how pointless the plot. I strongly suggested that I was ready to abandon this book and write something else instead, or perhaps I could abandon the book and take up a new life as a landscape gardener, bank-robber, short-order cook or marine biologist. And instead of sympathising or agreeing with me, or blasting me forward with a wave of enthusiasm---or even arguing with me---she simply said, suspiciously cheerfully, "Oh, you're at that part of the book, are you?"

I was shocked. "You mean I've done this before?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not really."

"Oh yes," she said. "You do this every time you write a novel. But so do all my other clients."

I didn't even get to feel unique in my despair.

So I put down the phone and drove down to the coffee house in which I was writing the book, filled my pen and carried on writing.

One word after another.

That's the only way that novels get written and, short of elves coming in the night and turning your jumbled notes into Chapter Nine, it's the only way to do it.

So keep on keeping on. Write another word and then another.

Pretty soon you'll be on the downward slide, and it's not impossible that soon you'll be at the end. Good luck...

Neil Gaiman
[link]

Creative Narrative
-- A Description exercise

For this exercise, you will need the movie Sin City. If you don't have it, The Matrix or Equilibrium will do.

WATCH the movie undisturbed from beginning to end. NO INTERRUPTIONS. This is Important!

Watch where the Camera looks. Sin City in particular is a brilliant example of how to describe using pictures. The movie is filmed in black and white with splashes of color here and there only where the viewer's eye needs to be.

When a character is first introduced, LOOK at how the camera starts in Close Focus on the character's face and then pulls back to reveal the character's body, lovingly showing the viewer exactly what the character looks like AND their distinguishing characteristics from top to bottom. THEN the view expands wider to disclose where that character is and what they are doing at that moment.

After those first few moments of sheer View, you get a narrative from the Point of View character -- which may Not be the character the camera is showing you. You get the narrator's opinions, their feelings, their delusions. THAT is how the viewer (the reader) learns about the character.

Once the movie is over, put on some music that fits the movie. (I actually have the soundtracks, to these.) Next! Break out your remote control and Watch The Same Movie AGAIN -- but this time, with the volume OFF.

Sit on your couch and Out Loud, Narrate what you are looking at. Do NOT write anything. Just talk to the TV screen Out Loud and describe -- in detail what you are looking at as though it was a book you were reading.

Describe the Characters.
Describe the Actions.
Describe the Fight Scenes.
Describe the Kisses.
Describe the Backgrounds and Setting
-- including the rooms and weather conditions!

Use your remote control and STOP the scene where you have difficulty describing what you are seeing. Work at it until the words come to you. They don't have to be perfect -- close IS good enough for this exercise.

Do NOT write anything down.

Keep going until the movie is Over.

This should help loosen up a few things in your writing mind -- and give you some strong visuals to write from later.

Next!
-- Write a 1000 word Scene that introduces a character of YOURS. Make sure you picture the scene in your mind with the same dramatic camera angles and close-ups the movie and Describe it so that anyone Reading it can clearly see it.

Compare that scene with any introductory scene in a story you've already written and SEE the difference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just so you know, this is an exercise I created to make my own writing more Visual back when I first started writing. The movie I used was "The Lost Boys", the original 1984 version. It really helped my ability to describe in my stories. I though other people might find it useful too.

Enjoy!

As writers and artists, all too often we focus so much of our energy on Creating that we forget about the impact it will have on the people who will See it.

Consider: How do we want people to FEEL after they experience our work?

That's why people read stories, view art, and even watch movies--for the Feelings it gives them.

"I could care less about the reader. I'm writing this story strictly for myself!"
-- Oh, really? Then why are you posting it in a public place where people can find it? When "I" write strictly for me, I certainly don't post it where other people will see it--not even on my private, friends-only Live Journal. No one sees it but me.

Tell the truth and shame the devil.
-- If you're posting your work where others can see it--even if it's merely a private art/story site like Deviant Art or Y! Gallery, CLEARLY you want other people to see your work and hopefully, like it. Which means that during the creative process, you really ought to consider what you want your readers to feel when they're done reading it:

Touched - tears of joy
Poignant - tears of heartache
Laughter
Inspired
Horny
Embarrassed
Fear
Anger
Loathing
Disgust

To quote Edgar Allen Poe:
~~~~~~~~~
“In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design. And by such means, with such care and skill, a picture is at length painted which leaves in the mind of him who contemplates it with a kindred art, a sense of the fullest satisfaction.”

Enjoy!

Looking for a cool new way to generate characters?

Character Sheet Generator

"The idea here is to list everything that you can think of about a character and create a printable character sheet. It is unlikely that you will include all of this information in a short story or even a novel. This form will create a character with enough depth that you can pick and choose as you write which characteristics you would like to include. Fill these pages out carefully, copy the results into a document, and refer to the document as you write. Review all your character sheets frequently so you can keep a clear image of your characters and create real three dimensional persons for your story.

The information that you enter here are kept temporarily. The information should be here when you come back, but is not permanent. A future enhancement will be save your character in a database.

The forms here are collections and enhancements of many other forms that I have found. I am always looking for ideas to improve these forms."

From: Resources for Science-Fiction Writers

Enjoy!

"On the one hand you desperately want to write; on the other, you simply don't. … This internal conflict that manifests itself in procrastination may stem from different fears … lurking just below the level of your awareness."

Writing Excercise:
Write down all the reasons WHY you procrastinate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why I procrastinate, (what am I afraid of?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm afraid that I'm lying to myself about being a good writer.
I'm afraid of hate mail.
I'm afraid my characters are too stupid or too strange or too emotionless.
I'm afraid my research isn't good enough.
I'm afraid that my publishers are laughing behind my back. ("You're not going to believe what she wrote this time!")
I'm afraid that I have nothing to say other than "sex is good."
I'm afraid of being mediocre.
I'm afraid that my stories are nothing more than strictly stroke fiction.
I'm afraid that I'll write something nobody likes.
I'm afraid that I'm faking it all.
I'm afraid that nothing I write is worth keeping, or reading a second time.
I'm afraid that I've already used up all my creativity; my best characters, my best plots and it's only a matter of time before somebody spots it.
I'm afraid that I have nothing new to write.

God, this was freaking HARD!

Creative Contemplation:
"Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow." -- Horace

Happy Holidays!
-- As my gift to you, I made a visual novel!

Yaoi Story
An Erotic Kinetic Novel Game
Powered by Ren'Py

Story & Graphics by Me!

Details, Screenshots & Downloads --> [link]

Game Play: This is a Mad-Libs type of game where the user puts in character names, objects, body parts, and perversions that are added to the story. There are 5 locations to choose from that add variations to the plot-line.

How I trained myself to have a Photographic Memory.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after I published my very first story, I was introduced to the phrase: "Write What You Know."

I was horrified.

I was horrified because I was still in high school and living with my Mother in a very small New England town. Other than a few encounters with a couple of ghosts, and what I had looked up in my local library, (keep in mind this was 1980, the internet hadn't been invented yet,) I knew Nothing. Seriously, I had no personal experience doing Anything.

What the heck was I supposed to write if I only wrote what I knew?

I had yet to learn how to drive a car, but that was okay. I was damned good at riding the bus. However, I still hadn't had my first kiss yet so relationship stories of Any kind were right out. Forget stories that had guns or weapons, though I could use a sling-shot and swung a mean baseball bat. (Don't make me break out my pocketbook!) Forget stories with horses in it, though I did know how to feed and train a dog.

I had three younger brothers so I had some experience with childcare, but having learned my techniques from a sociopathic parent (Not a Joke,) writing from those experiences would have landed that character in the villain slot, pronto. (The scary part was that I was aware of this back then!) I sucked at sports and had no friends, so those kinds of stories were out too.

In short, the sum total of my knowledge was strictly from books. Which was to say, Not Useful toward making a story realistic in even the vaguest sense.

Even worse, I discovered that my memory Leaked. I could remember things long enough to pass a test, but that was as far as it got.

Since moving out of my mom's house wasn't looking too close to happening, experiencing new things had to be put on hold. Instead I started working on my memory.

I tried a number of techniques but what worked for me was a type of Image Association.
-- In short, staring hard at something and then later, Drawing it. Or rather, trying to. I was an okay artist, nothing terrific, believe me, but I noticed right away that if I drew a picture whatever I was trying to remember stayed in my head better. Even doodling in the bottom corner of my notebook worked. The really interesting thing was that the picture didn't have to be related at all to what I was trying to remember! Though it worked better if it was.

Strangely enough, cutting pictures out of magazines worked too, though not nearly as well. I had to really stare at the picture and recite out loud what it was I was trying to remember.

This led to the next step: Recitation.
-- This meant quite literally, staring hard at a scene I wanted to write about later, such as the park during the height of autumn, or a thunderstorm, and describing it out loud -- without writing it down. Just spitting out adjectives that described what I was looking at, or what I was Feeling, such as what the brass handrail in school felt like sliding under my hand while walking down the stairs. After only a couple of tries, it didn't even have to be out loud. Saying it in my head or under my breath worked too.

I never did recall exactly what I said, but I recalled the experience Perfectly. In other words, Sensory Association.

By the way, the Schoolhouse Rock multiplication jingles saved my math grade, seriously. If I sang along with the cartoon, I remembered it. ALL of it. In fact, I still remember them. Recitation + Images.

About a month or two after I started doing all that, the flip-side of those exercises suddenly kicked in. I started Picturing what I was reading while I read it. In other words, I was playing a movie in my head of whatever I was reading. Though it was a bit more than that. My memory added the experiences I'd worked to remember. If the writer mentioned 'forest', my memory automatically added the sound of the wind, bird-calls, the smell of moldering earth, the specific colors of the leaves in sunlight, and the chilly brush of a breeze.

That doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it had one hell of a side effect.

I could remember anything I'd read. That included Text Books. If the text books had pictures it was even easier. I was actually able to remember the names and stories of any historical figure simply by picturing that person's portrait.

However, I was not remembering the Words, only the images I'd seen and the Stories that went with it. This actually worked well when I needed to answer essay questions.

However, my ability to remember things in a list; dates, names, phone numbers, groceries I needed to buy...dropped off the face of the earth. If I didn't have a picture to connect with what I was trying to remember, it left my head almost the moment it went in.

My last two years of high school saw a major lift in my grades in every subject except One: Math. I still suck at math. Numbers simply don't bring up images. I could remember my times tables, (thank you Schoolhouse Rock,) but that was IT. Geometry was fine because the formulas were all associated with shapes, but Algebra was right out.

One would think that Grammar would have been difficult to remember, but it wasn't. I was using it almost daily in my story notebooks. (When one is writing a story, one NEEDS punctuation to have it make sense to the reader.) Repetition saved me there.

Later on, I finally left home and gathered a great number of wildly varying experiences. I still can't recall all the names of the people I met, but their faces are all engraved on my mind along with everything I experienced down to the weather conditions on the day it happened.

Picture Association and Sensory Association...
-- Those were the keys to how I trained my memory to recall anything I'd seen or done clearly enough to write it on paper. I'm still amazed by how much I haven't forgotten.  

Enjoy!

My apologies for being gone so long, I was focusing on a rather large project, creating and FINISHING a visual novel.

For more information go here --> [link]

10 Second Tip:
Smex ISN'T Everything.

No matter what you've been told about making your stories popular, Smex isn't everything. People will Fav a damned good story Without smex faster than they will some slap-dash PWP. Believe me, I do it all the time. *grin*

The truth is, people Fav what makes them React. Whether it's getting them hot, laughing out loud, or weeping--they Fav'd it because it made them feel something strong enough to have a reaction. Look at your own Fav's and think back on WHY you Fav'd it. What reactions did you have to those stories? What did they make You feel?

The hard part is that in order to put those feelings on paper, you actually have to feel them while you're doing it--which is why I really hate writing Angst.

Having problems writing a scene?
-- Whether it's angst, crack, or smex, EMBARRASSMENT is normally the culprit behind that form of writer's block.

How do you get past it?
-- Memorize this: You are Not your characters. That this idea came to you is Not because it's something You would do, but because it's something THEY would. You're just following their train of thought to its logical (or illogical) conclusion. See?


DISCLAIMER: As with all advice, take what you can use and throw out the rest. As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ookami Kasumi
[link]

10 Second Tip:
Stuck on a SHORT Story?

Stuck on what to put in your story?
-- This is the list of things I check off when I create a story:

Do you have a Setting in mind?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Sci-fi
- Historical
- Modern day
- Fantasy

Do you have ONE big main event for the story to focus on?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- A battle
- An escape
- A love scene
- An act of revenge
- A sacrifice
- A treasure to claim
- A magic spell
- A transformation

Do you know what you want to SAY with your story?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Love sucks.
- Friendship is forever.
- No good deed goes unpunished.
- A snake can only ever be a snake.
- Sometimes you have to take chances.
- Magic makes things worse, not better.

Do you know where you want to END your story?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- A wedding?
- A funeral?
- A bloody battlefield?
- An empty street?
- The bottom of an ocean?

Do you have your three central characters ready?
-- Just to make things interesting, any one of these three could be the Hero, the Villain, or the Ally.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- A main character that personifies what your story is trying to say?
- A main character that personifies an opposing opinion of the same topic?
- A buddy / friend/ love interest of one or both to personify Joe Normal stuck in the Middle?

Why did I mention Characters last?
-- Instead of making a story for my characters, I do the opposite. I make characters for my story.

Some people can come up with a cool character and then build a story around them. Sadly, I am not one of those. I can build a back-story just fine, but my back-stories are never good enough to be the Main Story. A back-story is how a character GOT his Issues. The main story is how they FIXED those Issues. See the difference?  

Anyway...
-- When I'm stuck on a story, I try thinking on these questions and often, they'll jog something loose.

Enjoy!

A 10 Second Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“The true critic will but demand that the (story’s) design intended be accomplished, to the fullest extent, by the means most advantageously applicable…"
-- Edgar Allen Poe

In other words, not only should every character, object, and event in your tale have a reason to be there, the story itself should have a Purpose -- and a Motive.

Think: What are you trying to SAY with your story?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love Conquers All
Greed makes one Greedier
Love = Insanity
Love doesn't always mean Happiness
Love isn't always Nice
You Reap what you Sow
No good deed goes Unpunished.
You can't escape Yourself
A Snake will always be a Snake
Sometimes, Love means Letting Go
Sometimes, Love means Giving In
Appetites will find a way to be Filled
Revenge only brings Misery

Most of all...

Only put in what you intend to USE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Names, places, actions, and events--every single thing in your story should have a reason to be there, whether it's for emotional impact, symbolism, or to take the characters one step closer to the intended climax. Every element you include should have a Purpose.

To test the importance of an element, ask:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
*   Why this place and not another?
*   Why this name and not another?
*   Why this action, this speech, and not others--or none at all?

The answers should be:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
*   To make each scene Memorable in your Readers' minds.
*   To illustrate the hidden side of your characters' drives and motives.
*   To prepare the characters for their climactic scene.
Also:
*   To frame and/or offset the point you're trying to make.
*   To make your characters come to life on the page.
*   To make the End logical.

In other words, if it's in your story, it should:  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- DO something.
or
-- SHOW something.
or
-- Make something HAPPEN.


In Conclusion...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No matter how short or long, a story should illustrate an idea, a theory, an emotion, an argument or even a pet peeve to the reader. This means everything in your story should be there to do just that -- make your point, even if it's only to deliver the punch-line to a joke.

Enjoy!

"How do I make my stories POPULAR?"

That's easy:
-- Write something everyone wants to read.

"How do you find out what everyone wants to read?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a story site that's even easier:
-- Check out the 20 Most Popular Stories (who has the most Fav's,) and figure out what they have in common. Also, pay attention to the posted comments. The readers will state their likes and dislikes right there.

Begin by making a list of the most common elements:

Types of characters:
-- Not what they LOOK like, their Personality types!

What's the preferred type of Main Character?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ordinary Person
Genius
Moron
Other...?

What type of Heroine?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweet
Sour
Mature
Silly
Sarcastic
Other...?

What type of Hero?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strong & silent
Sweet & caring
Sarcastic & rude
Other...?

What type of Villain?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ordinary Person
Genius
Moron
Strong & silent
Sarcastic & rude
Sweet
Sour
Mature
Silly
Other...?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Character Age?:
Teens
20's
30's
40's
Other...?


Types of STORIES...

Story Genre:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fantasy
Sci-fi
Adventure
Contemporary
Romance
Horror
Gothic
Suspense
Yaoi
Other...?

Setting:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Castle
Forest
Office
Condo
Farm
High School
Other...?

Time Period:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Middle Ages
Modern Era
Ancient times
Other...?

Types of Action Scenes?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One on one fight scenes
Huge epic battles
Grand Chases
Captures
Grand Escapes
Monster Attacks
Smut
Other...?

Love Scenes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Romantic
Rape
Bondage & Kink
Seduction (mild Non-Con)
Just kissing
No love scenes at all.
Other...?

Pairings?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
M/M
F/F
M/F/M
F/M/F
Other...?

Any Other common factors to these popular stories?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?


Once you know all these things, all you have to do is write within these parameters -- and write WELL.

Sometimes the only difference between a Winner and a Dud Is NOT the content, but HOW it's written.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many readers here are forgiving of bad grammar and head-hopping. I am NOT one of them, and I am NOT alone.

When you have a lot of people that write the same thing, someone that takes the time to use their spell-check and proper paragraphing will always pull ahead of those that don't. Someone that's easy to read will always have more readers than someone who writes stuff you have to struggle through just to figure out what the heck is happening.

SKILL counts a hell of a lot more than you think.

Why didn't I bother to list Story Length in my list above?
-- Because when a story is GOOD people will gladly read an Epic. (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings anyone?)  


------Original Message------
Skill doesn't always count, example "Twilight".
-- Disgusted Guy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Actually, Twilight is a prime example of 'writing what the Readers want to Read'. It's a Fantasy about an extremely powerful and inhumanly gorgeous guy that worships the ground his very ordinary and fairly selfish beloved walks on. It's the fantasy of True Love. ("No matter what you do, or how often you walk head-first into danger, I will always drop whatever I am doing and be there to protect you. You will always come First in my life--forever.") This is EXACTLY what teenagers and housewives love to read. That it has absolutely Nothing to do with the realities of love is precisely what makes it so popular.

Yes, the grammar, spelling, and sentence structure sucks, plus it's seriously draggy in places, but there is Nothing out there to compete with it. The only stories that come close to this are childrens' Fairy Tales and the Bodice Ripper romances of the 80's. If someone else were to write a bunch of pure TRUE LOVE fantasies and actually know how to write, they'd put her out of business.

By the way, want to know what Else is just as popular and has exactly the same theme? Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast.


"Does popularity Really matter?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whether or not Popularity matters depends on WHY the writer posts their work.

For someone just writing to be creative and express themselves, popularity isn't all that important. They're writing to please themselves, so if someone else likes it too...? Well, that's just dandy, but that's not why they're writing.

Popularity  = "You actually read my work? Wow, thanks."

A goodly number of writers consider an increasing number of views and comments as a sort of gauge to tell them whether or not their writing skills have improved.

Popularity = "I must be getting Better!"  

Many, many more submitters to story sites post simply to get attention. Ahem, popularity. Just look at all the stories that DEMAND reviews and/or comments before they'll post the next chapter? If that isn't a scream for acknowledgment, I don't know what is.

Popularity = "I am Cool."

Sadly, those writers don't often last long. The first hard critique they get usually breaks them of their delusion that the readers will be satisfied with anything posted in a highly read fandom. Once that delusion of grandeur, that they're SOMEBODY just because they posted, is gone -- so are they.

The ones that do make it past that first hard critique often become dedicated to making their stories worth the praise they originally sought. Those writers also tend to improve fast.

In my case, popularity = PAYCHECK.
-- I'm an author and books that don't sell well--aren't popular with my readers, mean less money in the bank when it comes time to pay my rent. But that's just me.


In Conclusion...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're looking to make your stories popular, there's no getting around the fact that the only way to do it is by writing what the readers want to read and Better than anyone else.

However, if your purpose for writing is merely to please your creative urges -- don't worry about. When you write just to be creative, the only one you really need to please is yourself.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DISCLAIMER: As with all advice, take what you can use and throw out the rest. As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ookami Kasumi
[link]

What's the Difference between SHOWING and TELLING?

From an exercise on writing Action Scenes...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel bent over, groaning in pain. " Damn Blondie why the Hell did you punch me in the stomach like that?"

The next thing Buffy knew, he had his hands around her ankles and she was dangling over the edge of the railing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oopsie ~ we’re TELLING! I can see why you did it. You'd have to add a few more paragraphs just to describe what happened, but Action Scenes should be SHOWN not TOLD.


-----Original Message-----
I see that advice a lot, and the odd time I understand it, but not often enough, or how it’s actually done. How do you SHOW that scene above, not tell it? I get the two confused – to my addled brain sometimes showing seems to be telling…and vice versa. Could you give us an idea of how it could look if shown, not told?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The reason this was TELLING was the fact that she didn’t SHOW us step by step, how Buffy got into that position, she simply TOLD us that it had happened.

When a writer is pressed for word-count and time, Telling happens. TELLING is perfectly okay in a repeated action, but its good manners to detail that action the first time so the reader has a nice clear picture in their mind of what that happening looks like.


SHOWING is about Mind Pictures...
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When you write a story, you are making a MOVIE for the reader. Telling is when you plant a cue – rather than illustrating a scene.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He bent over groaning in pain. "Damn Blondie, why the Hell did you punch me in the stomach like that?"

The next thing she knew, <-- This is a cue!/ he had his hands around her ankles and she was dangling over the edge of the railing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have to guess what happened from the time he was bent over and groaning in pain to her dangling over the railing. If you have to GUESS how a character did something, you’ve been TOLD, not Shown.

Many writers don’t realize that they are writing CUES instead of Pictures, because that's what they see in a lot published mainstream books: "Monkey See - Monkey Do."


"Well if they can do it - why is it Wrong?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A LOT of published authors get away with TELLING through Cues, because they are making up for it by detailing something else instead: Drama, Dialogue, Atmosphere, Science, Magic... Unfortunately, a lot of new writers miss this.

Case in point, most Romance novels TELL -- a Lot. They don't bother with detailed action of any kind because Romances are NOT being read for their ACTION, they’re being read for their EMOTION, their Drama. Romances as a rule, make up for their lack of Action with detailed emotional Drama -- and the Emotional Drama in a Romance is Very detailed.

On the flip-side, readers of Vampire Horror or Vampire Erotica won't touch a mainstream Vampire Romance with a ten-foot pole because there's too much Drama and no real Action in it.

Anyway...
-- If the above scene had been TOLD, it might have looked something like this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He bent over groaning in pain. "Damn Blondie, why the Hell did you punch me in the stomach like that?"

Buffy grinned and spoke in her sweetest voice. “Maybe because you deserved it?”

Angel looked up with his eyes narrowed. “I deserved it?” His lip curled. “Is that so?” His entire body tensed, straining the seams in his coat.

Uh oh… She took a half-step back.

Angel came from his crouch in a rush of hard hot muscle and barreled into her to bear-hug her around the waist in an iron grip, as though she’d been a football player on the opposing team, and shoved her backwards to the wall.

Buffy’s high heels skidded unpleasantly on the stone flags then the back of her knees hit the wall and she tipped backwards. “Oh shit!” She grabbed onto his coat lapels and stared into his face from less than a kiss away.

Angel grinned, showing the curving length of his long incisors. “I deserved it huh?” He shoved.

Buffy tipped back into open space and squealed in surprised. She knew the fall wouldn’t kill her. She’d survived far worse, but God, it was embarrassing.

With faster than human reflexes, Angel caught her around the ankles.

Buffy found herself dangling over the edge of the railing, with her skirt slipping down toward her waist. She groaned. She just knew his eyes were on her pink cotton panties. She just knew it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See?

Only ONE POV...?
From: Randy Ingermanson's Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...When your reader is experiencing your {story}, whatever scene she is reading is the absolute most important scene to her. If that scene is good, then your reader believes the {story} is good. If that scene stinks, then your reader believes the {story} is skank.

The first thing you need to get right when writing a scene is this:

Who is the viewpoint character?

Let me define what I mean by that.

You must choose one character that the reader will identify with throughout the entire scene. That character is called the viewpoint character (or sometimes the point-of-view character, often abbreviated as POV character).

During the course of the scene, a major part of your goal is to persuade your reader that SHE is the POV character.

That is no small trick. Your reader might be a rich, female, teenage Caucasian, while your POV character might be a poor, male, century-old Wookie. How are you going to persuade the reader that she IS the POV character?

More importantly, WHY would you want to do that?

The answer is simple. You want to give your reader ... a "Powerful Emotional Experience." I have long been convinced that this is the main reason your reader reads.

To give your reader this Powerful Emotional Experience, you have to create an emotive context. That means getting inside one character to the exclusion of all others.

Why be exclusive? Why not let your reader share the experience with all the characters in the scene?

Because that's how people experience life.

There are two kinds of people in the world -- you and everyone else. You experience yourself from inside your own skin, inside your eyes, inside your ears. You experience everyone else as outside your skin, outside your eyes, outside your ears.

Your reader knows this perfectly well. When you insert your reader into your Storyworld, there is only one way to do so which will feel natural: Inserting your reader inside the skin and eyes and ears of exactly one of the characters.

The POV character will normally be a person. Rarely, it will be an animal. More rarely a plant. Even more rarely, an inanimate object.

Beginning writers often want to make their POV character some omniscient god-like person who sees into all minds, (Mary Sue / Gary Stu in GodMode.) That's a mistake, because your Reader is NOT omniscient. (I am willing to bet money on this.) Making your POV character omniscient will feel unnatural.

So why do some beginning writers want to use an omniscient point of view? Usually, it's because they have read a good novel that used omniscient POV and assume that the novel was good because it used omniscient POV. In reality, the novel was good EVEN THOUGH it used omniscient POV.

Some writers will even argue, "Charles Dickens wrote in omniscient POV, so I can too."

When someone takes this line with me, I sometimes say, "When you can write fiction one tenth as well as Charlie, then you can use omniscient POV." Which is a little unkind, but it's probably nicer than sticking a fork in their eye.

On days when I'm feeling a bit more patient, I observe that great writers of the past made many stupid mistakes, such as beating their wives, pickling their livers in alcohol, getting killed in duels, and using omniscient POV.

All of these are frowned on today.

Great writers of the past were great writers in spite of the mistakes they made, not because of them. It is widely agreed nowadays that the goal of the fiction writer is to make the reader identify with one particular character in each scene.

It's perfectly fine, of course, to make the reader identify with different characters in different scenes. Most modern novelists have several POV characters in each book, switching to a different one with each new scene. That works very well.

The only hazard is that if your scenes are too short, your reader will start feeling jerked around.

What doesn't work is "head-hopping" -- putting your reader inside the head of first one character, then another, then another, all within the same scene. Then the reader doesn't know whom to identify with.

Yes, there are some writers these days who still practice head-hopping. They get away with it because they are good storytellers whose strengths outweigh their weaknesses. But their editors wish they would stop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted WITH PERMISSION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine. [link]

Writing Adventures ~ A Summery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: This is the summery of a huge article I found about seven years ago on the 'net. Unfortunately, I didn't bother to record the actual name of the article or the author's name. I was more than a little lax about how I collected information back then. Worse still, the bulk of this has been removed, rewritten and/or paraphrased for brevity and easy grasping. If you happen to know where this came from, please let me know!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• The STORY is the single most important thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No one is going to read a book that doesn't have a bold, fast-moving story with a clear course of action that comes to a satisfactory conclusion without too many dangling ends. Any mystery has to be solved; any goals should be achieved; and most characters have to be given what they deserve.


• Don't be BORING - for more than half a page (125 words) at most.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahem... A properly formatted manuscript page is 250 words.

NO: lectures on the rules of magic or astrology - for more than half a page
NO: artistic description  - for more than half a page
NO: descriptions of machinery not necessary for the story - for more than half a page
NO: loving re-creation of how it felt to be in, say, 1920 AD or 2000 BC- for more than half a page. Unless this is demonstrated in narrative, it is just a history lesson.
NO: social documentary lectures - for more than half a page
NO: preaching - for more than half a page
NO: general ranting of any kind - for more than half a page
NO: extensive soul-searching - for more than half a page
NO: long exposition of ANY KIND that is unbroken by action - for more than half a page.

• What interests Kids – STILL Interests Adults
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DO: cars
DO: guns
DO: computers
DO: gadgets
DO: expertise
DO: frightening things
DO: witches, wizards and magic, but don't repeat what has already been done. It's BORING the second or fifth time around.


Give the Reader an experience they can get no other way.

• Offer HOPE.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If your desire is to give a detailed account of bullying, or drug addiction, or parental abuse, fine, but it does no good just to do ONLY that. 'Readers' in these situations know all about them, better than you probably do, and will find such narratives boring, while 'Readers' who don't know are going to find them either glum or repulsive. You have to show someone handling these situations or, better, overcoming them.

We are programmed to like puzzles, and try for solutions. The best plot for (any) book distances the Reader from her or his problems, so that they become puzzles that the Reader can turn this way and that, and follow with the author to the solution. Do that, and you have made a blueprint for living.

• It is very unimaginative to discourage (anyone) from aiming as high as they can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is better to show someone aiming at the moon and only getting halfway than to show them trying to climb to the roof and only getting to the bathroom.


• The PLACES where your story happens are as important as the story itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visualize. See the place in your mind, as wholly and exactly as you can, as if you were standing in the place yourself, and then simply write the story that happens there.


• Don't foist on the Reader a loving description of something that has NOTHING to do with the story.


• Use DYNAMIC Characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The people in your book make the story happen. It follows that they usually have to be fairly strong, dynamic characters, and some of them have to be people that the Reader would follow willingly into the action - likeable, understandable, a loveable rogue and so on.

Before you start writing, you will need to know your characters so well that you can hear their voices - then what they say will come out right without you really trying - and see details that won't get into the book, like the way they walk and what they habitually wear.


• Beware of making absurd random changes.
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Unexplained random changes destroy any feeling of the reality of the story, such as Toad in The Wind in the Willows who is sometimes frog-size and sometimes human-size.


• Make your Villains HATEFUL.
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EVERYONE likes to have a good hate. Understanding the baddies may seem politically correct, but is not recommended. Children, rightly to my mind, regard this sort of milky tolerance with contempt.

You can ache with sympathy for your villain and delicately comprehend exactly what childhood trauma caused her or him to be such a nasty piece of work, so long as you also remind them that they are also really quite hateful.


• Simple Words are NOT always the Better choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is not necessary to limit yourself only to easily-understood words. After all, how else are the Readers going to learn new words unless they read them? On the other hand, almost anything worth saying can be said in short, simple words, and tends to make a greater impact if it is. The advice here is not to start your book with a string of unusual words, which will be off-putting, but to include them by all means when the context makes it clear what the words mean.


• Your sentences must be constructed so that readers will not lose their way in them.
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If you are in any doubt, read the sentence aloud. This will almost infallibly show you if it is right or wrong, because you will get in a muddle if it is wrong.


• Never actually specify the character's actual ages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No one is more humiliated than the 12-year-old who eagerly follows the adventures of a strong character, only to find that this character is five years old.


• Watch for the Inner Squirm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good enough is NEVER Good Enough.


• Don't Leave Anything Out
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every story has to have reasons for the things that happen in it. Make SURE you include the Reasons for those happenings!


• Clichés make your book very Ordinary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clichés are not only found in descriptive passages, but in whole Stories as well, such as when our romantic heroine dislikes a tall dark stranger on sight and then marries him in chapter 30.

Take the time to actually describe the actions and situations. Take the time to make your passages and story DIFFERENT.


• When you End your story, make sure all the important facts are accounted for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like explaining why the villain did what he did, or making sure that Jack is not still buried alive in a mineshaft.


• Finally, Don't end it as a dream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's CHEATING.

The Peculiar Popularity of sparkly vampires, Pokemon, and other fairy-tale Lovers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think I finally figured out why teenagers and housewives loooove the young adult vampire series "Twilight" so damned much. Well, to begin with, it was written by a teenager with blatant teenage (read: immature and childish) views on Love.

The teenage view of love...?

It's ROMANCE with all the hearts, flowers, angst, and over the top statements of eternal devotion that one finds in the most popular of fairy tales -- and romance novels.

Specifically, a handsome and powerful man that sees her as the most beautiful girl in the world ('Cinderella',) who will do anything and everything to win -- and keep -- her love ('Princess on a Glass Hill'.) Add to this mix the Bad Boy image; the Monster who loves only Her and will tear apart any foe simply to see her smile, and you have the world's most beloved fairy tale -- and the blue-print for the only romance novels that actually sell: 'Beauty and the Beast'.

In short, the teenage view of love is a rot-gut fantasy that contains no resemblance to the reality of love what so ever. As in, birth control, morning breath, and hoping he calls you later for an actual date rather than just a quickie after work.

Where does 'Pokemon' come in?

Hmm, a story whose central theme is about adorable little monsters that love only their trainer, and who will attack anyone said trainer asks them to on command? Even I can see the appeal, but beyond that, can you say Pre-Teen 'Beauty and the Beast' for girls -- and boys?

Still not seeing the connection? Think: pet.

A Pokemon is a magical Pet completely devoted to their 'owner'.

Now, consider this.

When one fantasizes about love one thinks in terms of:
- One who loves YOU -- no matter what.
- One who will do whatever it takes to make you happy -- no matter what.
- One who stays at your side at all times simply waiting for you to speak and/or command them -- no matter what.
- One who is so handsome, powerful, clever, etc. that You are the envy of all who see him because he is the BEST.

See it now?

The fantasy of love says: lover = a handsome, adoring pet who will always come to our rescue, fetch us anything we want, and forgive all transgressions, including extreme selfishness.  

*snort* Not even my childhood collie-shepherd dog was that devoted to me. Let me tell you, when danger reared its ugly head she was gone like a shot.

Anyway, I'm sure it's pretty easy to understand why teenagers adore the fantasy of love that is 'Twilight'. Teenagers who've never fallen in love simply don't know any better, but why housewives? Housewives do know better, right?

Yes, the average housewife knows the reality of love very well indeed. They know quite intimately that love isn't when someone falls in love with them. It's when they do. It's the awful reality of finding oneself helplessly devoted to someone else's happiness whether they actually deserve it or not -- and often at the cost of their personal hopes and dreams.

That doesn't mean they Like it.

Knowing the reality of love doesn't mean that they don't wish with every fiber of their being that the fantasy was true and the reality a lie--while washing dishes and changing dirty diapers at top speed so they can get the kids to the daycare/school fast enough to get to their job on time.

Which would you prefer, seriously?

* The fantasy of romantic love with someone utterly fantastic eternally devoted to only you?
* Or the harsh reality of love where You are the one eternally devoted to someone rather ordinary that may not even love you back?  

And now you know why sparkly vampires and other fairy-tale lovers are so very popular -- especially with those who know the reality better than anyone else.

Keep in mind, women aren't the only ones with unrealistic fantasies about love. Guys dream of lover-pets too, but most call that porn or hentai.  

At least, in my opinion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ookami Kasumi