On the process of story writing

Celebrity Monologues. This base allows guest posting, but please register for the full experience.

Moderators: AArdvark, Ice Cream Jonsey

User avatar
Tdarcos
Posts: 9329
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 9:25 am
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Contact:

On the process of story writing

Post by Tdarcos »

When I didn't have my computer I was able to watch TV in the quarantine room. When I was moved back to Room 330B I still didn't have my computer (and have never had a TV).

What I did have at first was some blank paper I scrounged from the staff and Sharpies I already owned (I need thicker lines to see them than ordinary plain stick ink pens). I had to do something; reading was impossible (using a magnifying lens is a lot of work), my tablets and phone can't be recharged, and I can't just sleep 22 hours a day. I needed something to do so I didn't go crazy staring at the walls.

So I wrote. By hand, printed out longhand. And wrote. For hours at a time. And wrote. Later I found one of my yellow legal pads and wrote some more, but this time it wasn't new material. I copied 25 pages of notes on white unlined paper to 15 pages of lined legal pad paper. And wrote some more, this time on the pad.

As I have mentioned a few times, I am writing a story called "Marnie," about a 15-year-old who has become Empress, through the death of her father, the Emperor, of the Empire of Vicron, three years earlier (he died just 10 days after her 12th birthday.)

The main character, Jim Wilson, who becomes her tutor and has not met her yet, is currently in a relationship/dating one of the other teachers at his current school, whose name is Ann Waters.

I have already written parts of it on the computer going back to when I first got the idea for the story, which was back when I had the original floaters and blur in 2015.

So a piece I am currently transcribing is when Jim and Ann go out on a date.

This part of the story takes place in 2136, during the Centennial of Vicron's founding. Jim is taking Ann to the band concert in the park. One piece I needed to know, which, since I didn't have the computer, was the date of Vicron's founding, the equivalent to Independence Day in the U.S. I had to leave it blank, but I have since written it in, but if you read [url=
https://www.caltrops.com/pointy.php?act ... pid=201053]the chapter[/url] on Caltrops, it's April 8.

So here is a piece of the story as I wrote it in longhand:
"Anyway, here we are."

They had arrived at "Saturday in the Park," a free concert performed live every weekend. Despite the name, it was held Saturday and replayed on Sunday. It opened, of course, with a cover of the eponymous song by the group Chicago. The opening line, "Saturday, in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July" had to be changed as the date of the American Independence wouldn't resonate with the audience. Instead, the date of April 8, Vicron's "Founding Day," (as Ralph had mentioned in his class presentation) was used.


So the line has to be altered to fix this, like, "Saturday, in the park, I think it was the Eighth of April." Thls would need to be added to the story.

Continuing the original material:
This performance was "500 Years of Classics." music from the 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd Centuries. The band played selections from classical, pop, rock, as well as well-known standards, including Beethoven's Fifth, The 1812 Overture (with real cannons!) The Washington Post March, Rhapsody in Blue, Bohemian Rhapsody, Also Sprach Zarathustra (forever known for the film that used it, the “Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey") and among others, the song the last Governor General and first Empress, Mantissa, used to dedicate the new staircase to her building: Stairway to Heaven. Songs from the 21st Century including "I am at the Door," by The Spacers, and ending with a new song, the unofficial anthem, "Here in Vicron," by Chuck Mears, with the final lyrics:

I am here in Vicron
The country that I love
Here in Vicron
With the stars up above
Here in Vicron
I stand here today
Here I am
And here I'll stay.

And with it, thundering applause, as the concert ended.


A couple of things. I probably need to use a few actual well-known 21st Cenury songs, make up another presumably written in the 21st, and maybe two from the 22nd. I'm not sure. But I want to get the flavor of the concert in the description without it being too long.

Also I think putting some song names in quotes and others without them is ok, I'm not sure.

I wanted to show how a story starts, raw and unpolished, then I cut, add and delete to get the final formed story. Sometimes it actually starts out pretty good.

Suggestions / comments / criticism are welcomed.
Evil cannot create anything new
They can only corrupt and ruin
What good forces have invented or made.
- J.R.R. Tolkien

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16107
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: On the process of story writing

Post by AArdvark »

Damn! Longhand story writing....

Well if its good enough for Stephen King it's good enough for you.

I couldn't do it

User avatar
Jizaboz
Posts: 4788
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:00 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: On the process of story writing

Post by Jizaboz »

Writing things down really helps me with many things. Work notes, stupid ideas to be thrown away later, etc. I write a lot of shit down. Song lyrics and rough guitar tabs and notes. Game planning on notebook paper and graph paper.

For writing a story I think there is some advantage though at least for writing outlines and drafts. There is something about physically writing things that make the words stick or fail. However, I am only a graduate of college English III. Mr. "Jonathan" Flack is the expert on this one so I will leave advice up to him.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

User avatar
Tdarcos
Posts: 9329
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 9:25 am
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Contact:

Re: On the process of story writing

Post by Tdarcos »

I look at what is involved in longhand writing and how much easier it is to compose - and edit - on a compter, I wonder how much more some of the most brilliant writers in history - Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dante Alighieri - could have done if they didn't have to write everything out in longhand (and using quill pens with inkwells).
Evil cannot create anything new
They can only corrupt and ruin
What good forces have invented or made.
- J.R.R. Tolkien

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16107
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: On the process of story writing

Post by AArdvark »

If only Ben Johnson had an XT....DAMMIT!

User avatar
Tdarcos
Posts: 9329
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 9:25 am
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Contact:

Re: On the process of story writing

Post by Tdarcos »

AArdvark wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 1:55 pm If only Ben Johnson had an XT....DAMMIT!
Who's Ben Johnson?

Anyway, one of the points of the story is where Jim goes to conferences on petroleum and chemical development. If you've just given a speech on “Effects of polymer chain reaction of 2-methylpropane using alternative non-corrosive catalysts." [1] and someone comes up to you, says your speech was fascinating, they wanted to discuss it further if you have a few minutes, and had research in their room they wanted to discus with you about it, if it's another man, it's almost certainly someone interested in the subject, not a gay guy looking for a liason.

If it's a woman, and she doesn't show you a business card saying she's in the petroleum or chemical business, it's almost certainly some nice lady on the make.



[1] I had to look this up to make sure it's not technobabble and would be a real subject.
Evil cannot create anything new
They can only corrupt and ruin
What good forces have invented or made.
- J.R.R. Tolkien

Post Reply