Author Topic: Weaknesses  (Read 1648 times)

Ruthie

  • Level 3
  • ***
  • Posts: 46
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Weaknesses
« on: July 31, 2010, 02:30:18 PM »
What's the hardest thing for you as a writer? Is it writing convincing dialogue? Making sure your characters are round and dynamic? Getting the ending right?

For me it's detail. I get so wrapped up in telling the story I want to tell that I don't even stop to describe the scene adequately, let alone clothing, facial expressions, specific movements in a fight scene, etc. To me, thoughts, feelings, dialogue and large-scale actions are the most interesting, so that's what I write.

On the one hand, there are (good) published authors who have this weakness. Orson Scott Card comes immediately to mind. His characters are interesting and their personalities complex, but are any of them described in any sort of detail? Some scenes are described in detail; for instance, I think I have a pretty good mental picture of Battle School. But Lusitania? No way.

On the other hand, I love it when authors do a good job of creating worlds and characters in such vivid detail that I feel like I've been there and met those people. I love when I'm reading a series and will walk down the street and think, "That guy looks a lot like how I imagine Mat Cauthon looking." I want to write like that, and when I work on it, hard, I can.

At this point I'm wondering if it's a bad idea to just focus on getting the story out in the first draft and then work on fleshing out details in the second. My only worry is that writing this way will add 50 pages or more by the time I finish the second draft. Hahaha.

What are some of your weaknesses, and how are you working on making them strengths?

rasen

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 7
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Weaknesses
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2010, 12:59:13 AM »
Ah, Ruthie I'd say I'm just the opposite from you.  My weakness is over analyzing my writing, its sentence structure,  details, etc.  I get caught up on making one scene that I completely fall off track on the bigger picture.  This is probably why it takes me forever and a day to finish anything.

Personally, I look at you, and consider your weakness as a definite strength! A lot of times too many details bog down the story and are unnecessary.  I really admire the ability of an author to just get completely wrapped up in their tale.  It sounds like your stories would be fun, fast paced reading!  I'd read that any day over meticulous and droning description of a city for example.  In my opinion, it's better to rough out the details of landscape through the character's interaction with it.  Describe it as they would see it.  In that way you can add dimension to your world through the varied perspectives of your characters (that is if you are using multiple POVs). 

On the note of Orson Scott Card, I think that it was intentional on his part to leave the descriptions as bare as possible.  He trusts the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks of the tangible detail, and instead focuses his attention on personalities of his characters.  I may not know the character's eye color, but I know what drives them and at the end of the day, I think that's a sign of a stronger author. 

So yeah, obviously I haven't read any of your work, but it sounds like you have a love for writing.  I'd say just keep writing with what is natural for you, and then, when you go back to do the second draft add detail only where you think it is necessary.  If you go overboard, you might lose that original flow you started with.  I don't know, what do you think?
Willow: See this acorn? I'll throw it at you and turn you to stone!
Madmartigan: Ooh, I'm really scared. No! Don't! There's a- a peck here with an acorn pointed at me!