I need to learn more about proper grammar and writing structures. I constantly mess up paragraphs and tenses

Changing the tense of the sentence is a common curse!

I am writing a sword and sorcery that began as a story tree for a game, and now I am on book 2 but I wish I had not written in in the present active tense, because I think it reads like an RPG!

But now I am commited so there it is.

Now when I write anything else I have to be very careful about mixing up the tense, like using the word 'is' when it should be 'was'.

Sigh. (lays head on desk and pulls hair).

Which is why I'm always so tempted to do stories as comics instead of prose, even though that's like a million times harder work

Hi everyone!

It's that time of the year again! I'm sorry if I've been very quiet for the year -- I totally distanced myself from NaNo-related activities to cure myself from near burn-out last year. But now that October is upon us, and it's 29 days till NaNoWriMo officially starts, I think the fever is back.

We only have 29 DAYS left until November 1. This also means another thing: the NaNoWriMo forums have been relaunched, and the regional forums are clean and shiny, waiting for us to post, post, and post. Panicking with fellow Wrimos is always better than panicking alone, yes? So go to http://www.nanowrimo.org and login again!

How do I describe things in first person without making it seem like the person is stepping out of themselves to explain things? I've been told that if I do that I will disrupt the story's flow. I mean, we're in the character's head. The character already knows what that thing they're using is, but the readers don't. How do I tell the readers what the object is like without disrupting the story's flow?

@ d_a - You have to be really descriptive: "I picked up the hammer. It felt heavy, and the grip fit my hand perfectly. I knew that this hammer would be the perfect tool, for nailing a picture to the wall, or nailing Ivan in the head. Despite my urge to swing it at his head repeatedly, I put the hammer back in the drawer. Ivan was not not worth going to jail for."

It is a difficult way to write, but I have done sevveral first person tales. Right now I am writing a thing that involves a lot of 'he is' and 'they are'. I wish I had not started this in that tense, because to me it reads like a walkthrough for an rpg.

@connie: Thanks, I'll try that. I mean, the thing is something I created and nobody else has ever seen it, so it's gonna be rather tough TT____TT

@ Stardale - you have given us a very valuable resource in the 'Nanowrimo' organization! My eternal gratitude is yours!

It is so perfect to be able to meet with other local writers and to have the opportunity to become better educated about the craft of writing!

I am now a member of my regional (Olympia Wa) group with 400 members (!) YAY!

You're very much welcome, connie. =)

Ohaiii! I'm a writer. I happen to be very lazy, and almost never get a chance to write since I always get inspiration when I should be doing schoolwork/reviewing for exams.

I could help in editing stories though. I'm a Nazi when it comes to grammar. I think I once cried when someone asked me to fix a huge mess of words just pasted together, complete with run-ons and double punctuation.

I'd love to be a member. c: Link to my fic.

Quote:

Bloody hell. This applies to me all the time.

Here's an interesting blog I found bout how to describe items without making it sound like a laundry list. Might be useful for someone I guess:

http://www.heromachine.com/2010/09/03 ... rs-in-words-not-pictures/

@ktc - I just read Ian T Healey's blog about descriptive writing,and that is an excellant resource! Thanks for the link!

I have been to two nanowrimo meetings of my area group, and we are having a kickoff party on Oct-31-10 (Halloween - of course I will be a witch...)I have found an amazing number of good references through the members of that group.

'No Plot No Problem' by Chris Baty is the book that they were recommending most. I have it on order so I will know more about it in a week or so!



I need some input -

I am 3/4 of the way through a story, and am at the 126,000 or so word count stage. It is a good story, a standard hack and slash sword and sorcery sort of a tale, but now I realize that I have mad a major error; one that is so obvious that I am mystified as to why i didn't fix it earlier.

I have written it in the present tense.

I am afraid that it reads like an RPG. I am tempted to go back and try to change it, and hope that the company that i have found to do proofreading will spot any glaring errors.

It seems like so much work to do that.

I am also tempted to scrap it, but it is such a good one,that I don't want to let go of it.

Opinions?


Merged posts.
~Mopiece

@connie: I'd just swallow it and continue doing present tense. You're almost done so I think you should finish the story.


Going back and make it past tense sounds like its going to get really messy soon as it'll be a mixture of past and present tense.

I strongly recommend against scrapping it as you're almost done. Scrapping it would mean all that time you put into the story is wasted.

@ ktc - you do make sense. My husband says he likes it, and there are other stories written in the present tense. I guess I am overthinking it again. I am going to have to set it aside on Nov 1 anyway to the nanowrimo thing.

I will never do present-tense again.

Great, i'm going to participate the NaNoWriMo!!
Thanks KTC for the link..
I might try to learn to make a long story, though...
But again, howcome that we asked to write over 50k within 30 days? It'd be a hard task..

Our Municipal Liaison told us during the kick-off to value quantity over quality during the NaNoWriMo. A week before November 1, you should have come up with a plot (usually through the Pimp-my-Plot activity during the kick-off).

You can describe each and every action the character makes, and try maximizing the use of IDIOMS.

Some things to help a writer (well, for me at least):

Anthologies: http://dft.ba/-pw.08 | http:://dft.ba/-pw.09

Write or Die: (Effective web-based distraction free writing tool):

http://writeordie.drwicked.com


Most of us even want to include Chuck Norris in our plots. :o

@ stardale - The second link is a good link, and I enjoyed it but I could not get the first link to work.

Our final kick-off is today. I have been enjoying this alot, and have my plot, and characters ready to go! Yay!

Gonna fix that tomorrow.

Oh, and btw, they say you'd get a free copy of your book if you win. So make that an inspiration!

Good luck, and November begins....at the cemetery.

thanks Stardale - I will be spending November the rather gloomy town of Limpwater, observing the patrons of the Inn known as 'Billy's Revenge'.