Dude, writing is hard.....

P

[PCE]el_Prez

Vault Fossil
I've got so many freaking stories but i cant finish them. And every time i read them i have to add something or take something out. Dammit i just want to finish another full story. Here's the prologue to my latest one (of course, its not finished yet).... im also submitting it to the Wastland HL background story (maybe i'll be famous one day) hehehehe. tell me what you think guys.




Prologue


2053

The 2nd Russian Revolution, Determined again to build a world of communism, Russia mobilizes millions of troops and the water in Asia boils. War spread like the plague. Russia allies with China to form the USSA. United States of Soviet Asia. Neutral countries are seen just as easy targets. Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Cambodia, and the rest of Asia are annexed within 2 months. Within a year every Middle Eastern country is under USSA control (with the exception of Afghanistan which has been a wasteland since the U.S. destroyed it in 2005). Japan, the major fighting force in the east is invaded and completely destroyed. While the USSA continues to take over the world, Countries in Europe battle each other. The Prime Minister of Great Britain is assassinated and the Royal Navy retaliates on any non-British vessel that occupies Atlantic waters. By accident one US destroyer was sunk by a Royal Navy sub. The US responded by declaring war on Great Britain and annexing Canada.

No one knows who launched the first missile. Moscow was hit first. Then Baghdad followed by London. Once Washington was disintegrated, the United States executed the file code named “Plan B”. We launched 147 nuclear missiles that killed approximately 35 billion people. Most of the major US cities were retaliated on by warring countries. But the rest of the facts are insignificant. The Apocalypse has come. However some people survived. Over the years, those who weren’t killed by the radiation adapted to live in the extreme condition that was the world. Many groups formed towns and started new communities. Some towns were well-protected metropolises like any other city in the Old World. Other towns were gangland territories that had no rules and no law. But no matter where you went, the world was still a strange, dark place. And who knew what terrifying secrets roamed the wasteland.


2215


Many generations later the U.S was beginning to awaken. A few cities had been partially restored. Most cities and towns functioned on their own laws. Some joined each other’s to make large territories but for the most part everyone got along. However no territories were aware that the United States government had survived war. The once most powerful government in the world was alive and well underground along with a small fraction of the armed forces (which is still a hell of a lot of troops) most of which existed inside Cheyenne mountain. However their state of mind had not changed in the last century and a half. They were still content on ruling the world. They made contact with the territories February 3rd 2215. They forced the territories to surrender control to them. The territories refused but in the end most were forced to surrender. However, the territories located in the area of California and Nevada proved to be exceedingly powerful. They joined forces with smaller territories located in Arizona, Idaho and Oregon. They formed the American Liberation Army. However to the United States Government they were just ‘the rebels’. For 2 years the rebels were overwhelmed by the power of the strong and organized U.S. army. However as time went by more and more civilians began to join the rebel forces. The rebels conquered NORAD November 18th 2219.
 
Well, I don't see myself as knowing all that much about writing, but your problem sounds about the same as the one I've been combatting with my first fanfic, so I guess you'll be interested to hear how I cope with it.

The problem, as I experienced it:

You start off with an interesting idea and run with it. A ways in, you pause for a breather and look back on what you've accomplished so far. All of a sudden, things and ideas you hadn't considered before spring up in your mind. You come up with ways to make the story more interesting, and now that you have these ideas, you feel as though your work won't be all it can be unless you add them in. So you do. You stop the forward momentum of writing and proceed to add in changes to things you've already written. Once that's done (if ever), you step back and, to your horror, suddenly become aware of the general shittiness of just about everything else you have written and/or planned on writing compared to this newest change. So you go about upping the quality of the rest of the story, or -- worse -- totally withdraw from the writing process and go back to the planning stage, once again agonising over the basic outline before you can start realising your ideas again. If you're lucky, you'll come back to continue working on it by the end of the decade.

My solution:

Firstly, don't EVER rewrite your work before you finish the draft you're working on -- don't even go back to read any more than you need to remember where you left off when you come back to write it the next day, otherwise your chances of finishing it are next to nil.

Second, bear in mind the ecology of improvement -- something which I originally heard about during my investigations into the science of game design, but it applies here just as well. Picture this: you just had the leaks in your car's brake system patched, causing such pressure that your whole worn-out brake system blows out on you. Or you just bought a new pair of jogging shoes, which make your previously sufficient blue jeans look plain tacky. Or you just came up with one or more cool new characters or a dramatic set of events of global proportions which, added into the story, totally upstage the original premise and set of characters. "What the fuck?" you blurt out in disbelief. "They all looked great yesterday."

The lesson: nothing is ever perfect -- EVER. No matter how hard you try, there is always a way things could be better. Perfection is unattainable. Like infinity, it's an entity which exists in the ethereal, a concept in our minds, but which has never and will never be able to find an embodiment in the material. To wit, if you keep trying to make your story perfect, you'll never finish it. The only question should be whether your material works. Is it an interesting read? If it isn't, then improve on it until it does work, but once you're there, don't ever question how MUCH it works. That road leads nowhere.

Lastly -- and this I suspect to be a result of my own overflowing optimism, but is worth pointing out nonetheless -- don't EVER get ahead of yourself. Stick to what you're doing now and don't look to the future. Don't ever do shit like assume you'll get married to a fic's characters and still be into them enough after you're done with your current work to write spinoffs. You wouldn't believe where I drifted off into when I got like this. I started coming up with elaborate backstories and whatnot to just about every character of consequence and automatically assuming I'd be writing individual stories for all of them, and I hadn't even finished this first one yet. I even started making decisions as to what I would or wouldn't put in this first fic based on whether I'd be able to make an interesting spinoff about it later! I doubt most fanfic writers go this far, but to anyone reading this who has entertaining such thoughts, stop right now and don't ever look back. Trying to juggle this huge universe I had created in my head got me nothing but migranes, and it took a lot of time, avoidance of my fic and alcohol to forget what I was doing and start from scratch.

My $0.02.
 
RE: DUDE, No One said it was easy......

(On a unrelated note, does anybody recognize the thundercats cartoon ad? Oh, man, that was so long ago...., I feel old.:D)

These are all interesting ideas, but what works for you may not work for another person. Here are some of my suggestion to write better(in no particular order):

1. READ a lot. Read the stuff you are interested in, wether it's sci-fi, fantasy, fiction, horror, literature, non-fiction, essays, news, etc..., whatever you do, never stop reading if you want to be a good writer. Reading good stuff helps you formulate your own ideas better. It teaches you structure, form, class, adjective, sentence flair, and style. Writing is basically a process where your brain reorganizes your thoughts, speech, and what you have read. Reading more helps you write better by giving you a new perspective to describe something/write something you never thought about, so you won't have to use your 1001 line over and over. Try to broaden your horizon.

2. Write a lot. Writing is a practiced art for most people on this planet, unless you are a Mozart, or that kid who was on Oprah which is 8 but already written 3 books using words that has 7 syllibles. A starving writer is expression overused but true. Write when you have a idea, write when you are bored, write when you saw something that touches you, write when you are listening to Mozart, write when you just read something good, etc.., get the point? If reading is what gives your brain ammuntion, writing is what forms the gun. Writing a lot helps you forming your core style, your own values on papers, and the ways in which you write. Keep writing.

3. Organize. This is very important. Never throw away anything you've written, no matter how bad it is. That's one of the reasons that many writer's workshop ask you to keep a Journal. It will keep you posted on your own progress. It's important for your writing ego to see how much farther you have come so far. It was also help recognize where you need to improve and your strong points. This is what usually separate men from the boys.(so to speak) Most writers give up because they get too frustrated to continue writing, so unless you have photographic memory, you'll need to be reminded of how high of the mountain you've already climbed. So remember to keep all your notes, young grass hopper, you just may find your best idea in one of them some day.

4. Find a best place/way to write. If your thoughts are too fast for your pen to follow, you can try typing it, or a speech writing software. Dragon Natural Speaking is one of the best. IBM also has one. Find that special zone for you to best perform, wether it is a quiet corner at StarBucks, at home listening to music, after a work out, in a garden, in a library, in the office, or in the middle of the street, etc.., it doesn't matter. Whatever floats your boat, you need to go for it with 100% of your time and effort. But, you need to find your "zone", because if you are not comfortable spilling your guts out, what's the point? You can write upside down and underwater for all I care, but find your zone.

5. Proof reading & editing. This is very important for a budding young writer, but it's often done in a incorrect way. Proof/read AFTER you are finished, period. Never go back to read what you wrote while you haven't finish this idea just yet. It's better to take a break and go do something distracting(like playing FO2:D), then come back to read what you just wrote. It will give you a more clear perspective on the subject. And please let someone else edit/proof read after the beta phase, because you being the writer are often too subjective about your own writing to make a clear judgement on your own stuff, so let it go. Go call your ex-English teacher/professor, your local writer's club, your local book club, or here, and etc.., for an objective review. Have a discussion with why he/she likes this or that, or why not, then edit with them.

6. Get some support. Like a mental illness, you as a writer needs a support group, because like many things in life, this is a drawn out process that probably(hopefully) never ends. It's better if you have someone to discuss it, debate it, argue it, laugh about it, cry about it, trade it, read it, or promote it, and etc..., because you won't feel alone. We no longer live in a world where the next community is 2 weeks away of horse ride, so use that to your advantage. Join a book club, writer's guild, etc.., and find someone with similar interests to fight alone by your side.

7. Reaserch, reaserch, reaserch. This is very important as well, because there's no way in hell you can write well on something you don't know crap about. If you are that good at BSing, then you should run for 2004 presidential election(hey, bush made it), or the congress, or the UN. Make sure you know what you are talking about before shooting your mouth off. Even the tabloid/gossip writer needs to shit load of reaserch to get their facts straight, otherwise they'll get sued left, right, and center. Internet is one of the greatest creation we ever made, so you better make good use of it. Bookmark national geographic, discovery, Brittianica, oxford, and any other Huge knowledge banks for your use. Being a species that can't transfer our knowledge to our next generatin directly, history is your best friend. You may want to pick up a CD-rom based Encarta/etc.. for faster access. Knowledge is power, so use it.

8. Remember the model for mystery solving - Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why. Any structure is better than no structure, so this is actually an excellent point to start something with. If you can answer these questions in a precise way, you are on your way to be a great writer. Say what you're going to say, say it, then do what you just said, and do it.(not an exact quote, but close enough) Just remember this: if you don't know who the killer is, we won't know either.

I hope I didn't come off sounding too much like a lecture, but these 8 points have help me greatly in the way of serious writing, and that's why I would like to pass it on to a new budding writer who is going through the same thing I am still going through. Never forget that you've already taken the biggest step of them all, you've decided you Want to write. THAT is the most important step of them all, anything after that is just salad dressing.(not quite, but you get my point:D)

Keep writing, my friend.:D

(BTW, I really hope the original poster reads this, since this forum isn't exactly hit of the year, sometimes stuff can get ignored for just poor attendence.)

Starseeker wonders if anyone else wonders why his name is thus, signing off.

"The final price of freedom, is the willingness to face the most frightening being of all, one's own self."
 
RE: DUDE, you want the good news or......

Bad news?:D

Anyway, jokking aside, I am give you my personal opinion, so this in no way shape or form repesent any majority here, ok? I'll give it to you straight :

It's too scrambled for me. If you want to do extensive background info like this, it's better to lay it out in a timeline/table. When, where how, why, what, and who. Lay everything out neatly like Ikea coffee tables would've been a lot easier for the reader to absorb that much info, so unless the reader is quite patient, he/she would lose interest right away. You are writing a story, not a Times headline coverage. Some of the info is too broad to be relevant to the storyline unless you are writing something about future internation politics. Well that is the jest of things, you want advice, start "reading" what we actually wrote, because we already put what we think in it.

Good luck.:D

Starseeker, signing off.

"The final price of freedom, is the willingness to face the most frightening being of all, one's own self."
 
RE: prologue

What did I think of your prologue? Pretty much the same thing I think of just about every fic trying to hypothesize how the third world war comes about. In other words, not much. There is a line in Fallout 2's intro, which says something to the effect of

"The details are trivial and pointless. The reasons, as always, purely human ones."

That, I feel, is the best attitude to take here. If something like what happened in Fallout really did happen, then to most people involved, pre-war history would be the thing of myths and legends, not detailed accounts like you present. Also, I find these kinds of fics rather pretentious. I, personally, wouldn't give a bona-fide fortune teller's take on how the world would end all that much credit, let alone a work of pure fiction. Starseeker said it well. Wnless you're writing some sort of piece on future international politics, you should stay away from the details because each thing you bring up smacks of tokenism. The near-total annihilation of humanity isn't a concept that I enjoy seeing thrown around for entertainment value. Especially if it's just a tacked-on backstory to a first person shooter.

Put simply, I think you're wasting your time creating this elaborate history. In fact, one could go so far as to say that you're doing the game a disservice by being so precise about what (supposedly) happened. If the mappers are doing a decent job, they'll create some interesting locales. IMO, the player would have more fun speculating about where they are and what happened there then they would if you just handed them a load of worthless backstory.
 
RE: prologue

dude what are you talking about? Im talking about the 2nd american civil war. you dont think thats cool? Whatever.

1. listen, let me give YOU guys some advice. next time someone posts something on here, and they ask you what you think of it... It isnt nessasary to give them a freakin term paper on how to write stories. All was asking was how you liked the prologue and if you cant answer in one or less paragraphs, then i dont really care what you think of it.

2. Illiterati, first of all, all you can give us is YOUR oppinion. you cant elaborate on what all the other readers want. 2nd, by your logic writing any fallout fan fiction is just a waste of time because the readers want to make up what 'they think should happen'. I mean i cant even begin to think about where your coming up with this stuff.
 
RE: prologue

I noticed that what you were talking about was not pre war. look at the freaking dates. If you don't want people giving you pointers on how to write, don't wine about how it SO hard. The prologue was good, or at least i liked it. I feel your pain on the matter of super long replies. These people are starting to flood over into the role play board. I miss the days when you didn't write a story there. You role played.

You did ask for our opinnions on your prolauge so don't be bitchin' Illiterati does what you ask. The whole point of this board was for people to share what they think the wastelands would be like. Peole who are crittical about other's stories because they are not what those people think the wastes are like should be booted out. Sometimes i wander if the moniters are watching the boards anymore. Idiots are somehow posting on these boards again.

MIRO WERE ARE YOU! :'(
 
RE: prologue

all right dude. first of all, i wasnt getting mad at you or anyone else on the board except those first 2 chuckle heads.

I know i kind of asked for it with the "writing is hard" part but that wasnt the point of the post. I guess i was trying to chip away at the ice a little and let people know that im just an amateur writer like everyone else. anyway, the main reason i posted that was that i was writing a new story, this was the prologue and i wanted to know if anyone else besides me thought it was intresting. but, instead of getting responses, i get essays on how to write. then illiterati tells me that im "wasting my time". Now what if you were me and he said that to you? would you get a little steamed?
 
RE: prologue

[font size=1" color="#FF0000]LAST EDITED ON Feb-18-02 AT 06:34AM (GMT)[p]Illiterati, first of all, all you can give us is YOUR oppinion. you cant elaborate on what all the other readers want. 2nd, by your logic writing any fallout fan fiction is just a waste of time because the readers want to make up what 'they think should happen'. I mean i cant even begin to think about where your coming up with this stuff.

What else do you suppose I was doing other than giving you my opinion? Sure, I left out Starseeker's "by the way, if you don't like what I'm saying here, feel free to ignore it since it's only my opinion" clause, but only because I felt that that goes without saying. You wanted my opinion, you got it.

All was asking was how you liked the prologue and if you cant answer in one or less paragraphs, then i dont really care what you think of it.

You want to be a writer, but you have an aversion to reading? Good luck, buddy, you're gonna need it. The only reason I wrote so much is to explain my stance. Anyone can have an opinion. The thing you should be after is a good enough reason to value a particular opinion. But since your priorities seem be headed up by how little time you have spend listening to other people's input, I'll do us both a favour and make this the last post where I make an effort to help you understand anything.

this was the prologue and i wanted to know if anyone else besides me thought it was intresting. but, instead of getting responses, i get essays on how to write. then illiterati tells me that im "wasting my time".

dude what are you talking about? Im talking about the 2nd american civil war. you dont think thats cool? Whatever.

No. No, I don't think it's COOL. You may find the mere idea of Americans engaged in combat intrinsically noble or whatever, but I don't. (I'll try to keep the wordcount as low as possible as I explain.)

The world is fucked up. This is a fact. And there is a high chance of it coming to an end in the near future. It is also a near certainty that when that day comes, it will not be for any particularly good reason. The best cause we can hope for is possession of natural resources. There won't be a Hitler or bin Laden to carry the label of arch-villain. We're going to blow ourselves up over oil or uranium, not to stop the extermination of Jews or whoever. And because the third world war is bound to be so petty, I don't want to read about it. I don't want to read about who you think is going to fight with or against whom because it doesn't matter one iota. But what *does* matter, and I *would* consider interesting, is how people will cope after the fact. Write a story about the post-war period, and I might look at it. That's me. If you don't like what I have to say, then, as you yourself said -- whatever. But don't ask for it if you don't want to hear it.
 
RE: prologue

you know the idea of a second civil war is the most probable. This is post war. it is the struggle to rebuild civilization. everyone has their own view of how the new government should be. If you have read lord of the flies or been in a group of people you know how easly people can disagree.

The Crusades were started over religion.

the french and indian war was over land disputes. The US revolution was over rights to land, representation and self government. Farmers bitched about taxes in Shay's rebelion. The Civil war was over form of government.

after world war one, europe was devestated and in economic chaos. several groups rose with different veiws of how things should be run. after many skermishes a few of these groups rose to power. Then came WWII. In the wake of that the US had the cold war with communist. during which we had the korean war and vietnam. and now a cold war with china.

this war on terrorism is over political and social views. One thing leads to a nothere. We consider many of these to be seperate wars when they are just post war skermishes caused by earlier wars.

This is post war!
 
RE: prologue

Your absolutely right. Thats why i came up with the idea. I wanted to do something different. I thought the Civil War was a good topic. Besides everyone knows that a lot of times, history repeats istelf.
 
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
::runs away in fear::
Thats the premise of the P&P adventure im writing! AGHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
::beats head on wall::
::shoots John (Fate Bringer) in the other leg::
JOHN YOU BASTARD! I KNEW YOU'D BE THE END OF ME!

sorry...

Im back and still kicking folks!

::silence::

okay... so um my fan fic wasn't memorable...
go fig...
well im not sure what to write about now but ill be a fan fic groupie
::grabs sticker with "Fan Fic Groupie" on it and applies it to chest::
 
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