I’m trying to nail the non-sensical but dark style that some FL/SS snippets have. Have FBG ever published writing tips for that? If not, does anyone have any advice of their own?
Thanks in advance.
Also, I wasn’t sure if I should post this here or on StoryNexus, so sorry if it’s the wrong subforum!
edited by Vincent Asmund on 8/20/2017
I have an advice of my own, but you’re not going to like it (I know I don’t like it); singularly best method on how to nail almost anything is to just start doing it, and keep doing it. Whether it’s writing, drawing, knife-fighting Bolivian mercenaries or knitting or whatever else kids are up to these days.
More specifically, you might wanna take a look at "bizzaro fiction" genre, the classics of it, (being a FL player, you’ve already got the headstart on "reading the classics"), choose whichever writer you like the most and find what makes their mood so delicious, keep a google doc with your most favourite quotes, (like artists keep folders with their favourite art to inspire them), google the genre-related writing tips (they’re specific. you’ll be looking for bizarro or lovecraftian writing tips).
Then sit down to write something nice (may I recommend fanfiction? it gives you the advantage of easily finding readers), post it on the internet stating exactly what sort of mood and aesthetics you were going for, wait approximately thirty seconds for the first vultures to start swooping down, let the the venerable vulture critics tear you a new derriere from here to there, (optional steps: cry into your pillow, drink your tears), then separate the bull from the valuable advice, (you’ll know it when you see it. guts to the left, meat to the right) take a critical look at what you wrote yourself, preferably with a fresh eye (so after a few days, if not weeks. Let it breathe for a while.) and being well-armed with the knowledge, repeat the writing, but better.
It might sound flippant, but really, practice joined with critique from another set of eyes is the fastest ways to improve, even those very specific things. Like stylistic. Mood. Quality of your jokes and the hackles-raising…-ness of your horrror. That sort of thing.
I’ve tried to write, at latest count, something like ten different novels, both fanfiction and original, and haven’t made any progress in any of those.
I’m now on the eleventh and it’s going smoothly. But it wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t put in all that practice before.
So, be mentally prepared for the possibility that this delicious idea Just Won’t Work after you’ve written many words and spent many hours on it. It will not have been time wasted.
edit: how does one go about getting another set of eyes? I would appreciate some criticism but my feedback’s been so…er, positive.
edited by Teaspoon on 8/20/2017
[quote=Teaspoon]
edit: how does one go about getting another set of eyes? I would appreciate some criticism but my feedback’s been so…er, positive.
edited by Teaspoon on 8/20/2017[/quote]
Oh, I so know what you mean. I’ve shown people some of my stuff and they tell me "oh it’s so great you’re such a good writer". No I’m not. I’m inexperienced and sloppy, thank you very much.
perhaps your writing warrants such overhwelmingly positive feedback, you thought of that? ;) but there’s always someone ready to ride roughshod over you, just around the corner, I promise.
One of my favourite ways of getting buckets of pigswill poured over myself and my works is mutual exchange of said buckets with friends (but not so close friends that they won’t want to hurt your feelings). they give you critique on your creations, you give them critique on theirs. The more closely your interests align, the better, as their critiques will be more informed, more valuable, and less of a chore for them and you, too, because often they will genuinely care about what is that you’re working on, and you might find yourself caring about their stuff, as well.
I imagine you can flag and meet some of such people during writing events, IRL or online, such as say, nanowrimo, as well as by being active on all sorts of social media, like tumblr or twitter or, if you’re anything like me, kinkmemes. Not gonna lie, it’s significantly more difficult to find people who are willing to invest enough of their time to give a thorough critique of original works (especially as big ones as an entire book) as opposed to smaller or more popular things like fan works. It’s just how internet works. But it’s not impossible, just demands some work put into socialising and (ugh) networking. Networking. I feel like such an adult when I say this.
How seriously do you want it? My students generally tell me I’m the toughest writing instructor they’ve ever had; if you really want an honest and meticulous editor, toss me a line.
The best piece of general writing advice I can give anyone is: Just get it written. Then cut it in half.
Brevity is the soul of more than wit: It’s the soul of eloquence and good writing, too. Every word needs to hold its own weight; as a general rule, if it can be cut without damaging the sentence, it should be. In writing as in programming, the tighter the code, the better it runs.
Ah, geez. Networking. I was afraid of that part.
now now, sounds bad, I know, but don’t knock it ‘till you tried it. Especially IRL networking. I still fondly remember sitting over my friends’ short stories and art in a bar, voicing my critique as I read, or red-lining sketches of friendly artists from a nearby posh art school in some cafe. It can be fun, really.
Online, not nearly as fun, but the bonus is that you get to talk to like-minded people. Creators. Fellow writers. Interesting people. A joy if you’re the companionable sort. A torture, I suppose, if you’re a hardcore introvert ;)
but also, if I were you, I’d jump on Siankan’s offer immediately now that they have revealed themselves a writing instructor (a teacher, then, yes?). I’ve been out of high-school for almost a year now and yet i still lick wounds that my polish/literature teacher left on my ego with her cruel and unkind but strangely on-point commentary on my essays
edit: well, we de-railed a bit. but the original point still stands. practice and critique and steal…- taking inspiration from your betters. the three-pronged basis of many a skill.
edited by gronostaj on 8/21/2017
Lovely Ben Aaronovitch quote about that. “Good writers borrow, great writers steal, Doctor Who writers get theirs off the back of a lorry.”
Of course he’s writing original novels now, so.
"He has revealed himself," thank you. I am not plural, no matter what the clothes colonies say.
(See? Proving it. ;) )
yeah he’s a teacher alright, i’m having vivid high-school flashbacks. torment me no more you distinctly male linguistic fiend, I’m a math major we normally communicate with excited pointing and grunts
Can one tell the gender or facial features of a person underneath a clothes colony?
I always thought it’d just look like a waddling heap of clothing.
Oh wow, I didn’t expect anyone to actually answer!
This is all solid advice actually.
I’ve already started writing a bit, like here: Do you recall how we came here? I do. Do you remember our family? Papa was a fis - Pastebin.com
But unfortunately it seems instead of hitting that FL feel, I kind of missed. I’ll probably get the hang of it eventually though!
Another thing: You improve writing (or any other skill) by continual practice with continual feedback. Practice, on its own, just sets your habits in stone. It doesn’t help you improve them, and in fact can get you set in bad habits. Getting that outside perspective is absolutely critical to improving your own work. So, if you don’t think you’re Londony enough, find some other folk who know your target and show them your work. They’ll give you a better view than you’ll ever get on your own of how close you’ve come, and might give you good pointers on what’s working, what’s not, and how it might be fixed.
If all else fails, read your writing out loud, and not whispery under-breath, out loud. You’ll catch parts that feel unnatural much easier this way. It’s always better if someone beta-reads your things, but no one can always have beta-readers at hand.
It is a writing equivalent of that thing artists do when they hold their drawings up to a mirror (or flip their canvas horizontally, if they work in digital) to see the mistakes more clearly, with a fresh eye.
"He has revealed himself," thank you. I am not plural, no matter what the clothes colonies say.
(See? Proving it. ;) )[/quote]
edited by Sara Hysaro on 8/21/2017
For several years I was fortunate enough to participate in a writing group surrounding a moderately successful playwright (yes, you need to be lucky with location there!). The focus was on learning to write dialogue rather than, say, structure plays. He always had a couple of professional actors on hand to read the efforts (there were around 5 or 6 of us, some working professionally in the field).
There are other groups near where I live now which perform a similar function. Most are free, some have a fee. Joining something like that has the advantage of getting a critique from relative strangers who are also actively writing. You learn a lot, not just from your own work, but also that of others, both good and bad.
(Much in favour of the singular they. What do stuffy grammarians know, eh?)
I did an underprepared talk for Videobrains on showing people your work. Show People Things Before They Are Ready - Olivia Wood - YouTube
Also: FL is a bunch of different authors and we all have distinctive voices; what we go for is an overall feel. It can be hard to see whether or not you hit FL till you put in it context.
I would say here, after a skim read - you are struggling with the nature of linear vs how FL is written. A lot of our style is driven by the medium, context is given by the nature of choices and structured similarly. Fallen London, if written as a linear novel, would be hard work to read. It’s deliberately obtuse: we leave mysteries to be unravelled over time. That’s rarely fun in linear stuff.
Also consider viewpoints: FL offers glimpses into other people’s lives - we rarely tell whole scenes unless you-the-player are participating. The scene you wrote feels like a backstory we’d never spell out, aside from an obscure hint dropped in an appropriate moment. That doesn’t make your scene bad, but it’s a difference between reading as the player-character hero where you are a blank slate to be filled in by choices you participate in; and linear writing, where traditionally the hero knows their own story and the reader just views it.
My suggestion would be - instead of trying to write like Fallen London, find novels which evoke the same sensations and moods as Fallen London, and write like those authors. It’s what I’d do.
edited by babelfishwars on 8/22/2017