I'm in need of some help, please. I have a Left 4 Dead-esque story, if you will, that I'm trying to write. I can't figure out how to start it. I've been sitting in my room, reading the first pages of every book I have, and nothing strikes me as something I like. Stephen King, Rick Riordan, Colfer, Funke, and there's nothing that strikes me as something I'd use. If I could have some help, I would love that.
One that I thought of was:
An empty city, at eight o'clock. It's just never natural, especially in Colorado. A lone man sprints down the street, and......That's where I scrapped it.
Me characters are:
PFC. Edmond Monson
Thomas Rodriguez
Leon Kennedy
Ellen Harley
My starting point for the story is probably Colorado Springs.
Any help, or suggestions, would be loved so much. Sorry if it seems disorganized or messy, I'm tired as hell right now.
Don't write when tired.
Just sayin'. (It doesn't work.)
I think PFC. Thomas Monson and Edmon Rodriguez sounds cooler. I'd suggest more but I'm tired as hell right now.
"an empty city, at eight o'clock" isn't a first sentence that makes me want to read the second sentence. also, leon kennedy. is this a resident evil fanfic? whatever.
but yeah, if you think its a good idea, just write it down. dont worry about making it look pretty. anne lamott says in bird by bird (one of the best books on how to write there is, i highly recommend you buy it if you care about writing) that the first thing you should write is the "childs draft", where you get all your ideas on paper and let them run around like children. they dont have to be good, they dont have to make any sense to anybody but you, but once theyre on paper, they can start taking shape. dont worry about the sentence-level stuff until you have a framework for the whole story.
then, once youre done with that, go back and reread all your ideas, throw out the ones that dont work, expand on the ones that do, and then throw out the childs draft altogether. then, the real work can begin.
what im saying is keep at it.
and for a little more specific advice, start by giving your characters more than just names. who are they? how do their pasts shape their reactions to events? imagine a story as you, living through the character, dealing with problems. thats the best way to go about it.
So what you're saying is that I need to sort of put down a short biography of each character to refer to while writing the story?
P.S. This isn't a Resident Evil fanfic. Blame FakeNameGenerator for the name. I might get a different name, I don't know yet.
well, not necessarily. but just keep in the back of your mind the important stuff about the character when youre deciding what happens next.
i guess most of what i said applies more to if youre writing a novel, but if its just for fun sorta stuff, you dont really have to bother with that so much
isn't Colorado Springs a town, not a city
[editline]23rd October 2010[/editline]
fucking justin bieber avatars
[editline]23rd October 2010[/editline]
that opening sentence was terrible. Don't start like that. I believe it is not even grammatically correct, but I'll have to check on that. Try to go for something that will really capture your reader's attention.
Yes, Colorado Springs is a town. Wait.....Shit. I can't think of anything that would have that effect. I've tried a lot, and none work. They all lie somewhere in my computer, thinking about how to improve themselves while I sit here pondering the same.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.