Story Trends

You prove really good points there, Pickle.

But there's also another problem to this whole popular and crappy stories and not popular great stories, and that is that you get a lot of beautiful written stories with a crappy story line. Then, you also get a lot of stories that don't show many writing skills at all, but yet, have a great plot that just needs to "exploted". It's hard to find a well-written story with a good plot, at least for me it is. And therefore, for some people it's hard to "judge" on which story is good and which isn't. Sometimes, some of those stories that are popular on the site are beautiful written, but their plot is just crap.

Pickle:

Hand, it is a pleasure talking to you.
Samp, why didn't you make this connection earlier?

I was planning on Talking to Hand eariler today after reading your posts yesterday, but she beat me to the punch...

Hand's a youngen, but you would never know by her maturity level

She's a good egg

I know that between the two of your, the threads can get some good discussion going


BTW, Please call me Michelle

Kimberlane:

Another thing about story writing which kind of relates to people writing about what they don't know. I treat each story like it's a term paper or somthing that you would write for school: Sometimes you have to do research For example, when I was writing the beginning of Senior Slumps, I knew it was taking place in the early nineties and i wanted to write in a scene where she listens to her CD player but i couldn't remember for the life of me what kind of Walkman they had back then. So i read up on the time line of them to find out how developed they were.

As nerdy as it sounds, knowing about the time in which your story takes place can seriously make a difference between a good and bad story.

I agree with that. I think the thing that makes some stories better than others is how realistic they are. Good fanfiction is usually believable, not so far out there that it's just ridiculous.

sampalletband:

Pickle:

Hand, it is a pleasure talking to you.
Samp, why didn't you make this connection earlier?

I was planning on Talking to Hand eariler today after reading your posts yesterday, but she beat me to the punch...

Hand's a youngen, but you would never know by her maturity level

She's a good egg

I know that between the two of your, the threads can get some good discussion going


BTW, Please call me Michelle

I'm a good egg.

CristhyneS:

You prove really good points there, Pickle.

But there's also another problem to this whole popular and crappy stories and not popular great stories, and that is that you get a lot of beautiful written stories with a crappy story line. Then, you also get a lot of stories that don't show many writing skills at all, but yet, have a great plot that just needs to "exploted". It's hard to find a well-written story with a good plot, at least for me it is. And therefore, for some people it's hard to "judge" on which story is good and which isn't. Sometimes, some of those stories that are popular on the site are beautiful written, but their plot is just crap.

Will do Michelle.

Well, I think that storylines in their selves are kind of an opinion. Some people like the whole 'Mike is a vampire' thing and with good writing, it can make up for a weak plotline because it will give it depth that the reader can flesh it out on their own if they needed to.

However, again in my opinion, a good, unique plot but with poor writing behind it is a waste. I've seen those and I can't get past the retched writing in order to enjoy the plot. You know, though, every story has room for improvement. Every single, stinking one.

You made an excellent point, by the way.

I still disagree on the "popular" stories. A lot of them have crappy writing and crappy plots. Not all of them, but a majority.

Being the minority is so fun.

You know what else I see?

OVER DRAMATICS!

Okay, it's wonderful when it's got thrilling twists and inescapable tragedy, but when it's poorly written and over-done, it turns me off. Although this is 'Made Up Storie's' we still have to remain realistic enough for it not to be put in Aesopes Fables, UNLESS you enjoy writing storie's like that.

IMO: Some people are too immature to grasp a concept such as writing a decent story.

And what happened to originality?! When it's the same ol' story, it get's boring. EX: A girl becomes the object of one of the three members of GD, of which he's in married. They sneak around, she get's knocked up, then eventually his wife hits the ground like a safe and they run away to get married and live by a rainbow in the wonderful sunshine. I figured most of those storie's similiar to that are poorly executed journal of ones' fantasies.

Pickle:

Very much so. When I go into a story and the first thing I see is this:

Hi! My name is Lola. I have dreadlocked hair and I luv to wear black! I'm in a band and we do Green Day covers because they're my favorite band!

Oh fuck! Can that be Billie Joe sitting over there listening to my band and watching me?

Eeehhh! Turn off! Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars but please, press the back button for sanity.

You're right. Twists and turns are fabulous. It's what keeps everyone, writer included, interested. I'll admit, I got a big one for both My Fair Lady and Warning but it's not going to be off the wall like Adrienne's impregnanted by aliens and Billie Joe is really a woman and the sky is falling on top of them.

There is a subtle art to writing that takes time and, dare I say it, dedication and passion in order to pull it off. I have the distinct impression that people on here are here just to look cool and that is so not cool.

I agree with you completely,Pickle!I see that in a lot of stories and I just stop reading then and there.Fan-fiction is supposed to be realistic.

My story started off sort of like a cliche but over the course of a year I've grown to dedicate as much time as I can to my story and am planning to put in some twists and turns wherever I can.The reason I even started a story and really want to pursue a career having to do with writing was because of the great stories on this site.

There ARE some story writers on this site that I've seen start off with so-so material and grow into some really talented writers.

The people who don't dedicate time or aren't passionate enough will eventually grow out of this "phase" and move on to something else.

You're right about that too.I wasn't expecting the first couple of chapters of the first Green Day fanfic I had ever written to be the absolute best.I learned that it takes time to think up what I'm going to write and how it's going to affect the story.

The titles are definitely some sort of trend too.I knew when I had to come up for a title like 'Life As It Is' I had to really come up with something that wouldn't give away anything I was planning to write over the course of the chapters.

Definitely.

An example of a good title would actually be your story "Feels Like Home".You could've never guessed what was coming.

Yea that's the hard part sometimes.Which is why I think that that's why there's that trend where the titles are stating the obviousness of the story.

Reality Is Due:

You're right about that too.I wasn't expecting the first couple of chapters of the first Green Day fanfic I had ever written to be the absolute best.I learned that it takes time to think up what I'm going to write and how it's going to affect the story.

I agree with that... I can see in my own writing where I have 'grown' into my series. I see the subtle differences from the beginning chapters of The Fire to the middle and then end of the story. I think if you are a talented writer to begin with, you'll grow... if your not, then well...

Pickle:

Yeah. You don't want to blow the surprise and plot with the title. The title is like the icing. It's sweet and inticing, but there's something more to it underneath.

And don't even get me started on titles...

sampalletband:

Reality Is Due:

You're right about that too.I wasn't expecting the first couple of chapters of the first Green Day fanfic I had ever written to be the absolute best.I learned that it takes time to think up what I'm going to write and how it's going to affect the story.

I agree with that... I can see in my own writing where I have 'grown' into my series. I see the subtle differences from the beginning chapters of The Fire to the middle and then end of the story. I think if you are a talented writer to begin with, you'll grow... if your not, then well...

Yea,definitely true.I've seen a BIG improvement from the beginning of my story up until now.

I do have faith in myself sometimes,but there are those days where I think I'm just not good enough or I put myself down,maybe because of a bad day.

On the subject of titles...

I see alot with no capitalization. To me, it looks really bad. I also see titles that give it away. I see some that give more away than the blurb on the back of a DVD!

I'm going to use my story, The Other Side Of Heaven. The title doesn't make sense with the existing chapters, but I've already written the very last chapter, and that's the chapter that gives the connection away. The title should make sense to the story.

Off the subject of titles...


I deleted quite a few of my old storie's I guess because, erm..I was 'less than proud of' them. I got tired of not feeling good about anything I did, so I tried harder. Just keep writing, just keep writing... Finding Nemo...

I got alot better. Alot better. Shockingly better.

But, I still get those feelings where I don't think I'm good enough, and never will be. Who doesn't?

Oh yeah, I BADLY want to create a thread that's more along the lines of....brainstorming. You know, help each other out, give each other tips, exchange story ideas.

But, I'm afraid to. Most threads I make get locked and/or no attention.