Thanks for your support, and I'm so sorry for the late reply. I'm working on this fic, having decided to use switches of viewpoint to help it along and it seems to be working. The emotional shift ended up opening a whole new issue in the way these two relate to each other, whee! As an added bonus, one of them is garrulous, while the other doesn't talk much, so I have to deal with how to get him to tell me what he's thinking. He doesn't really want to.
Yeah, I'm one of those crazy writers that treats characters as real people. I've never been able to make stories happen; they happen without me, and I have to find out what's going on, usually either by watching and listening, or by conversing with the characters. It's strange, but I enjoy it, far more than writing where I'm actively making things up. This feels more alive.
Finding your voice is the main craft in writing, I think, the one you're learning all your life. I always tell new writers that in order to do this, at whatever level, you have to be a reader. A writer's style doesn't appear out of thin air; you have to learn from those who've been at it longer. The more you read, and the more widely you read, the better you'll be when you write, because you'll start out by imitating what you've read, and then work towards your own insights. Reading widely, in many different fields and genres, is especially helpful, and not something everybody does, but it can bring unexpected spice in that won't be available if you limit your reading to only your favorite stuff.
Also, the ending - no, there's more. In fact, now that I've figured out the key to bridging in this thing, the ending I had may turn around and have its tone changed by what comes next. I'm having fun. Can you tell?
no subject
Yeah, I'm one of those crazy writers that treats characters as real people. I've never been able to make stories happen; they happen without me, and I have to find out what's going on, usually either by watching and listening, or by conversing with the characters. It's strange, but I enjoy it, far more than writing where I'm actively making things up. This feels more alive.
Finding your voice is the main craft in writing, I think, the one you're learning all your life. I always tell new writers that in order to do this, at whatever level, you have to be a reader. A writer's style doesn't appear out of thin air; you have to learn from those who've been at it longer. The more you read, and the more widely you read, the better you'll be when you write, because you'll start out by imitating what you've read, and then work towards your own insights. Reading widely, in many different fields and genres, is especially helpful, and not something everybody does, but it can bring unexpected spice in that won't be available if you limit your reading to only your favorite stuff.
Also, the ending - no, there's more. In fact, now that I've figured out the key to bridging in this thing, the ending I had may turn around and have its tone changed by what comes next. I'm having fun. Can you tell?