is it ok if i have it in by Tuesday sir? I've got history home work this weekend :Þ
is it ok if i have it in by Tuesday sir? I've got history home work this weekend :Þ
a bit of advice i don't see in this thread is one my aunt is always reminding me of; don't ever nail a piece of text in place when you write it.
always be prepared and willing to move sentences paragraphs and even whole chapters around your book as something you wrote for chapter five may find a better home snuggled up in chapter two.
the other bit of advice my aunt is always giving me is never go anywhere without a notepad and a pen; ideas can hit you at any time and although we would all like to think we will remember them too many good plot ideas and story lines are lost for want of a simple note taking device being handy.
in fact take two pens and a pencil with you, as has been mentioned earlier in the thread you should always have a couple of backups
always be prepared and willing to move sentences paragraphs and even whole chapters around your book as something you wrote for chapter five may find a better home snuggled up in chapter two.
the other bit of advice my aunt is always giving me is never go anywhere without a notepad and a pen; ideas can hit you at any time and although we would all like to think we will remember them too many good plot ideas and story lines are lost for want of a simple note taking device being handy.
in fact take two pens and a pencil with you, as has been mentioned earlier in the thread you should always have a couple of backups
I e-mail myself notes. It's rare to be away from an e-mail capable device, and it's less hassle than having disjointed pieces of paper everywhere. I'm also less likely to doodle on the device.
Regarding moving things, be prepared to completely remove text, whole chapters even. It's easy to fall in love with your own writing (I know I do!) but there are times when all of your beautifully written prose must be stripped completely. However it can still be good to keep a copy of that text somewhere, which is where version control comes in handy.
Also, never go near your writing when drunk :-/
Regarding moving things, be prepared to completely remove text, whole chapters even. It's easy to fall in love with your own writing (I know I do!) but there are times when all of your beautifully written prose must be stripped completely. However it can still be good to keep a copy of that text somewhere, which is where version control comes in handy.
Also, never go near your writing when drunk :-/
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well, she is my aged aunt as she refers to herself; she can just about use a PC but even email attachments are beyond her. a published writer in her own right (her poem's have been seen on the side of buses in Sunderland) she cant at her age get used to reading from a screen so prints out everything i send before reading.
with that in mind it no hard to see why a pad and pen were her chosen implements
had a bit of a writers epiphany today i thought I'd share.
I came to the realization that in writing a book i wasn't just writing one story.
for example you could write about someone going to buy a pint of milk, but within it is the story of them surviving a crash that happened on the way and within that is the story of the nurse they were chatting up, and within it is the story of the nurse who let a patient die as she was over worked and within it is the story of the repair guy who was incompetent and within it is the story of the life support system that he worked on that has killed four people that all relates to the main story of buying a pint of milk because:
after the accident he ended up with that overworked nurse, and that life support machine that killed this patient for that reason and that patient for this reason and as his car was a right off and he couldn't claim on the insurance to replace it he could no longer afford the pint of milk.
his claim was refused cause the assessor had just been divorced by his wife and was feeling kinda angry; but that's another story
Thanks for this Drew.
With all the excitement of ED being made and me starting playing Oolite. Topped off with reading a number of fan fiction stories, I thought I'd have a bash.
Going down the Google Docs route too, so that I can add Ideas to notes as I have them from my phone, well not while driving obviously
I've opeted for a set of notes with just a few words or sentence to outline each paragraph for the idea in mind. Then to write the story around that, adding and changing as I see fit at the time and adding character idiosynchrasies etc. Then self proof read and embellish and change as I go, before asking others to then read it. Does that sound like good planning? I figured editing would take twice or thrice the time of original writing.
One thing not mentioned is obtaining permission for use of ideas and maybe some plagarism, etc. So to mention Rebecca Tyley and Jim Feynmann, I'd be free under your bit about share alike under identical license.
However, if I were to use D-dd-aa-aa-dd-dd-ee-ee-hooooooooo-keeeeeeeeeeeee(couldn't resist), Hesperus or Coyote. Would I need prior permission for the Character use, and even ships created in Oolite OXP's by the author or just publish in the acknowledgements? Bearing in mind I'll not be selling.
With all the excitement of ED being made and me starting playing Oolite. Topped off with reading a number of fan fiction stories, I thought I'd have a bash.
Going down the Google Docs route too, so that I can add Ideas to notes as I have them from my phone, well not while driving obviously
I've opeted for a set of notes with just a few words or sentence to outline each paragraph for the idea in mind. Then to write the story around that, adding and changing as I see fit at the time and adding character idiosynchrasies etc. Then self proof read and embellish and change as I go, before asking others to then read it. Does that sound like good planning? I figured editing would take twice or thrice the time of original writing.
One thing not mentioned is obtaining permission for use of ideas and maybe some plagarism, etc. So to mention Rebecca Tyley and Jim Feynmann, I'd be free under your bit about share alike under identical license.
However, if I were to use D-dd-aa-aa-dd-dd-ee-ee-hooooooooo-keeeeeeeeeeeee(couldn't resist), Hesperus or Coyote. Would I need prior permission for the Character use, and even ships created in Oolite OXP's by the author or just publish in the acknowledgements? Bearing in mind I'll not be selling.
... except you would have to reference them under their assumed names ...
Depending on which universe the story is written in.
..... Oh crap, I've just seen a flaw
google docs here we come for notes again 
I don't know about the 'legal' side of things, but if you wanted to use a character such as Coyote, I think you should ask the character's creator for permission (which you may or may not get), purely as a matter of courtesy.
<chortles>
Yeah, disregarding the unenforceable rights issue, it's just generally considered rude to use someone else's character without permission. It tends to happen all the time in fanfics, mind, but this is part of why fanfics often get disregarded as trash. If you have a story to tell you should have your own characters to tell it with!
<has a quick word with Coyote - nods in agreement>
I have no problem if somebody wants to use my fanfic characters in their stories as long as they adhere to the CC license. I do agree it is best to come up with your own though' it is great fun after all.
Do bear in mind that Rebecca was born around the year 3112, so giving her an active role in the year 3300 may be a bit of an ask. I'm planning a very brief cameo in Elite Reclamation as a 'very' old lady...
Cheers,
Drew.
Do bear in mind that Rebecca was born around the year 3112, so giving her an active role in the year 3300 may be a bit of an ask. I'm planning a very brief cameo in Elite Reclamation as a 'very' old lady...
Cheers,
Drew.
Cheers. I wasn't so much using Rebecca Par-se, It was more a comment on someone remembering her and commenting about her. My year was going to be set roughly 3200
Oh eck, that means 7 chapters per description
Cheers. I wasn't so much using Rebecca Par-se, It was more a comment on someone remembering her and commenting about her. My year was going to be set roughly 3200
Oh eck, that means 7 chapters per description
7 chapters? big cake!
my big issue right now with names is trying to come up with a last name that doesn't sound naff or scream 'Copied!'
its almost as hard as trying to find a good url for a site, all the good ones are taken and all the alternatives sound a bit weak
Yeah, Names is probably the hardest part for me.
Heh... I have no problems dreaming up character names (or ship names).
spill me a few then, I'm fairly happy with 'Harry Kepler' as my male lead but I still need a surname for Cassiopeia or Cassie to her friends, if it helps she has 2 brothers, also named after constellations (her old mans an astro-navigator and a star nut)
Can I also suggest one of the mods take a hatchet to this thread and split it off into a writers guide and a linked discussion thread?
that way we can keep the wheat of the thread stored safely in its silo without contaminating it with the chaff of off topic discussion or any well meaning but counter productive posts by hacks like myself
Having now spoken with a few people who want to write fiction set in the Elite/Frontierverse, I would strongly recommend giving Youwriteon a go. It'll likely be a brutal experience at first (it was for me) but you do learn so much from the exposure and the critical feedback is away from potential readers that would be on here.
Certainly with my work, I'd happily share samples of things I'd write in the Elite/Frontierverse on here, but I wouldn't want you poor folk to be subjected to the rubbish early drafts. That's what a writing website is for.
I stress that's my view, no criticism intended.
Certainly with my work, I'd happily share samples of things I'd write in the Elite/Frontierverse on here, but I wouldn't want you poor folk to be subjected to the rubbish early drafts. That's what a writing website is for.
I stress that's my view, no criticism intended.