Have fun going places!

in #life6 years ago

To write a best seller, you have to live in the story you are writing… another place and in another time.

In your real life, your life maybe humdrum:

The story you want to write about is on another dimension, in different circumstances, beyond your quiet simple lifestyle. How then, do you write about stuff that will thrill other people, when your own life is so boring? 

You have to live in the time-warp of your story. Think and behave like you are actually in those circumstances. 

Considering conditions:

  • First you have to know the theme gentry you want to write about. Is it an adventure story, romantic novel, thriller, etc. What is required of the gentry? What circumstances will the characters be playing in? 
  • What the history, place and conditions would be like on that time line. If it goes back in time your will have to look up the history of that time.  
  • Consider the fashions people wore then and the animals, birds, etc that lived then. What would their transport be like then, and the perils they’re likely to face? 

But what about futuristic stuff?

You have to think up unknown stuff `out of the top of your head’! Things people have never experienced or seen before! Scary way-out stuff! 

This might sound silly, but you can start with what you know, what you desire or intent to write about. Once you have a vague setting in mind, you can elaborate on it and play around with it.  This is how you do that: 

Start writing:

Write anything, even if it’s a lot of trot. Silly weird nonsense can get you started writing. Perhaps it’s an outlandish thought you’ve had for years, that you can now play around with. 

  • And playing around with those words and sentences gets your thoughts moving. This exercise prevents you from having writer’s block. But keep in mind this is just an exercise that you can trash later. 
  • But somewhere in that so-called `trash’, there will be something that sparks off the `true’ story, that you can possibly base your real story on later. 
  • So any time you get stuck in your story and don’t know what next to write, start writing silly-trash again, whatever comes to your mind! You can always eliminate or even use some of it later!  

No bother, you’re the ‘guy’ that’s in control, aren’t you?! 

Picture the place:

You can gather visual-aid pictures from old magazines to give you something to work on. Or do what I do. I paint the scenes (in watercolour) as I think up the story. It confirms the settings of the plot in my mind.  

Watercolours are quicker to do than oil painting. And I love the subtle atmospheric conditions watercolours can produce! The more subtle the blurriness of the washes, the more thought provoking they are for me. The vagueness stirs your imagination… like it could be this or that, whatever the scene suggests. 

Know personality traits:

We discussed in an earlier blog, about creating characters for your stories. So I won’t go into that right now.  

But you have to know your characters and how they would behave in certain conditions and circumstances.  One way is to look up the characteristics of the zodiac, for the possible behaviour of the type of person you have in mind. 

Now live there:

You have to `live’ in your story, in order to feel the emotions and see what your characters going through. 

I paint different types of scenes, like stormy scenes, dark starry nights, rocky shores and mysterious caves, etc. It sets the mood for me. And people respond emotionally to moody dramatic settings. 

There is so much to talk about here. 

So I’ll continue with this topic in my next `Writing Best seller Books’ blog… “Think wild thoughts!” 

Sort:  

Those are great tips for future writers. Like some of the commentators have suggested, I also think that writing in some genres require a special talent. Some people have the ability to reproduce worlds without ever having been even close, others (like myself) have a hard time spinning the tales and the details even when the source material is part of my background.
That being said,it is good to have available some of the steps you have so generously provided, so that whenever the muses come for a visit we can make them stay :)

Thanks for submitting a comment I can relate to. I really nice to get appreciative comments, but I'm really a shy person and not used to praise.
But with your comment it's how you express yourself by adding how you relate to the blog. It makes it easier to reply to your comment. Thank you.
I know exactly how you feel. I've have that problem. That's why I write about it. I'm trying to pass on what I've learnt how to use my imagination and emotions to think up stuff to write. I'm still working at it. So keep trying, in time you will master it.

Thank you very much. I try not to get obssessed with it. I had been trying to work on a long story for Halloween, but it just did not work.
It's like singing. Some people are blesses with a voice for talking, others with a voice for singing. One can learn a thing or two about sol-faing, but we may not be able to sing before an auditorium.

Peace of mind also helps, although I know from the bios of some famous writers that many great works of literature were produced under strenuous circumstances. But those are case where talent (the gift) precluded crises. Chances are that a crisis igntes hidden talents. Despite my current restless state of mind, I have probably noy been facing my greatest crisis yet :)

Excellent writing and excellent. I am very impressed with your writing and books and I will always be happy to read your useful publications in all respects
great post @artguru

But I would like to know what interests you most. This will help me, to help you more effectively in future blogs!

Thank you for the writing tips and tricks of @artguru! But on the other hand, can you share knowledge for me: Why is oil painting more difficult than watercolors? 🙏

Water drys far quicker than oils. Therefore watercolour paintings dry quicker than oil paintings.
And because oils don't dry quickly, you have to wait for each layer of paint to dry before you lay another layer of oil paint over it. And then you may paint more than 2-3 layers of paint, perhaps 4 or 6 layers, in the drying process before your oil painting is complete.
Whereas watercolours usually takes 1-3 layers . I like using a raw sienna undercoat if I want a mellow romantic atmospheric watercolour. And if I use liquid masking before painting the block-in layer stage, that means that the masking and the block-in layer has to dry, before I can remove the masking and fill in the blank spots, for highlights, etc.

Thank you @artguru! Increasing my knowledge today. 🙏

I do not want to comment on your writing.
Because you have always been a good writer. Today, I have taken a different look at your oil painting. I appreciated of your oil painting.taile

The icon image I use for writing best seller books, as above, isn't an oil painting. So I presume you went back to look at my travel log series to look at those paintings. Yes I put a lot of work into painting those paintings and put them in my blogs.

Agreed that

First you have to know the theme gentry you want to write about. Is it an adventure story, romantic novel, thriller, etc. What is required of the gentry? What circumstances will the characters be playing in

I suppose one has to have somewhere to hook your thoughts on. You see, if you have always wanted to write a book, you must have had some idea of what you would have based your story on in the first place. So it's wise to start from that point.

This is very informative post and I gather knowledge about story writing thanks for sharing this your activities..

I appreciate you complements, but what more would you like me to write about?

Visiting different place os such a nice feelings. Writing story or something is a special talent

Yes, in the process of writing stories, we visit places in our mind's eye. Therefore it can be fun to experience what our characters experience in those make-believe scenes.

Do not sad about when you trash in writing.
Try hard and know.the basic skills about writing.

It can be hard-going to write a story if you don't take time to enjoy the experiences and places you are writing about. And adding funny stuff makes it more enjoyable for the reader too!

So very excited post really I happy when read your post ..
Very great post..
Thanks for sharing your valuable story..
I will wait for your next story

Glad you enjoyed it, but I would like to hear how you relate to it? What else would you like me to talk on?

Your are right dear theme is very important writer's tool.your theme impression is too good.Everyone's read and like your books.Really this is very interesting post.I always like your post.Thanks for sharing dear @Artguru.

Yip, if you don't know what type of story you are going to write about, you have no foundation to work on. And even better if you've had some experience in that field of topic. If you don't, your plot will fall flat before you even start.

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