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Postby Headmistress » Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:27 am

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Last edited by Headmistress on Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Plueschbabycd » Sun Apr 15, 2012 9:02 am

In my case write most my idea till point where clear basic. Now have learned to write on this point a character description. But could that add something if it become necessary. For my story here I even have make a plan of Andrew House and if would necessary I will draw a plan of Amy´s flat.
Andrew
"Don´t dream it, be it." Dr. Frank N. Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby TUfriend » Sun Apr 15, 2012 10:37 am

Headmistress wrote:The first one said that you should keep writing simple in your style instead of attempting to use affected or flowery language. He said not only does it sound natural, but others will find it easier to understand. This always works for me.


I don't know, I actually prefer flowery language for TUGs, because most of us aren't reading for the plot, or at least I'm not. I'd rather focus on the description of the TUG than everything else and the more descriptive the language, the more effective.

Headmistress wrote:The second said that you need to understand your characters. I agree with this because when I write fictionally, I try to work out what my characters are thinking and feeling and what sort of people they are. This has improved my writing a lot.


I agree, and the best way to do this is to base characters off of real people. This makes it easy to say, well, how would x act in this situation and write.

My writing technique for TUGs stories generally goes like this
  1. Short exposition/introduction to establish characters and setting/scenario
  2. Find a reason to tie someone up
  3. Describe the tie up
  4. Untie(maybe)
  5. conclusion
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:38 pm

Though I tend to use large words sometimes, it's also the way I talk. So I simply write the same way I talk, and try to make it as clear as I can at the same time rather than try anything fancy. Also, when I create characters I simply base them on people I have actually known - especially those who were actually in similar situations. I think it helps make the story more enjoyable all round. Also, if possible stick with what you know well rather than try to create situations you are not familiar with thru practice or careful study.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jay Candice » Sun Apr 15, 2012 4:12 pm

When I'm writing TUGs, I always try to make it so it isn't just a repetition of my previous entries, you know?
In the end, it matters not how many breaths you took, but how many took your breath away.
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby KP Presents » Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:57 am

Technique? You mean there is a technique to this?

More seriously, the two pieces of advice you give are the starting point for my philosophy as well. I'd add two other, more personal things for me.

Firstly, credit the reader with a modicum of intelligence - you don't have to spell out every little excurciating detail., when half the fun of reading these tales can be imagining what else is going on.

Secondly, if you're going to do a historical story, or set a story in the past, do some research and get the facts right. For example, if you do a story set in the 1950's in the UK, it's all right to use scarves as gags, or Elastoplast, but Duct Tape was not commonly available outside the forces or Television/film industry then.

Finally, remember always Chekov's First Rule of Storytelling - If you're going to shoot someone in the final act, show the gun in the first, and if you show a gun in the first act then make sure it's used by the last scene.
Last edited by KP Presents on Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:11 am

KP Presents wrote:Technique? You mean there is a technique to this?

More seriously, the two pieces of advice you give are the startin gpoint for my philosophy as well. I'd add two toher, more personal things for me.

Firstly, credit the reader with a modicum of intelligence - you don't have to spell out every little excurciating detail., when half the fun of reading these tales can be imagining what else is going on.

Secondly, if you're going to do a historical story, or set a story in the past, do some research and get the facts right. For example, if you do a story set in the 1950's in the UK, it's all right to use scarves as gags, or Elastoplast, but Duct Tape was not commonly available outside the forces or Television/film industry then.

Finally, remember always Chakov's First Rule of Storytelling - If you're going to shoot someone in the final act, show the gun in the first, and if you show a gun in the first act then make sure it's used by the last scene.

Although your points are basically correct, I think it's not quite as simple as that.
I have found that - regardless of level of intelligence - whereas some readers like to imagine what else is going on, some others seem to want every last detail spelled right out for them... even minute descriptions of how the tying is done, for instance. Some little a little humor; others do not. Different readers have different expectations, and one of the most fundamental truths of all is: You can't please everyone! You'll only burn yourself out trying! So instead, just aim to please yourself the best you can when you write and let the chips fall as they may.
As for the rule of storytelling you cite, I think you misquoted it slightly. I believe the last part does not mean the gun must be used in the way you expect a gun to be used, but only be a necessary part of the plot (say, as a threat that is not necessarily fulfilled by story's end but still drives the plot onward).
Last edited by Jason Toddman on Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby KP Presents » Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:15 am

Jason Toddman wrote:
KP Presents wrote:Technique? You mean there is a technique to this?

More seriously, the two pieces of advice you give are the starting point for my philosophy as well. I'd add two other, more personal things for me.

Firstly, credit the reader with a modicum of intelligence - you don't have to spell out every little excurciating detail., when half the fun of reading these tales can be imagining what else is going on.

Secondly, if you're going to do a historical story, or set a story in the past, do some research and get the facts right. For example, if you do a story set in the 1950's in the UK, it's all right to use scarves as gags, or Elastoplast, but Duct Tape was not commonly available outside the forces or Television/film industry then.

Finally, remember always Chekov's First Rule of Storytelling - If you're going to shoot someone in the final act, show the gun in the first, and if you show a gun in the first act then make sure it's used by the last scene.


:?:
Read stories of ordinary women in distress at http://www.kppresents.com

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:22 am

My edit got deleted somehow just as I was submitting it and I had to retype it (and you apparently posted as I was doing this); sorry about that.
Recheck my post above this one; it's restored now.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby KP Presents » Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:25 am

Jason Toddman wrote:My edit got deleted somehow just as I was submitting it and I had to retype it; sorry about that. Recheck my post above this one.


I saw it, and you are correct - my statement of the rule did oversimplify, and the intention is that if you do have something been clearly shown early on, it has some role to play in the plot later.

As to trying to please all of the people all of the time - first lesson I ever learnt when I started to do this was that is an impossibility, so enjoy yourself, and if others like it, then good. Having said which, not treating your readers as moronic imbeciles is still a good rule of thumb.
Last edited by KP Presents on Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:30 am

For sure! :big:
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby xtc » Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:31 am

KP Presents wrote:
Firstly, credit the reader with a modicum of intelligence - you don't have to spell out every little excurciating detail., when half the fun of reading these tales can be imagining what else is going on.

Secondly, if you're going to do a historical story, or set a story in the past, do some research and get the facts right. quote]

Jason Toddman wrote:
So instead, just aim to please yourself the best you can when you write and let the chips fall as they may.

Jay Candice wrote:When I'm writing TUGs, I always try to make it so it isn't just a repetition of my previous entries, you know?
quote]

I would add my normal dislike of "stories" which are just boring (and highly implausable) lists of who did what with which and to whom. Limeric lovers will probably recognise that!
Boxer shorts are cool,
but little speedos rule!

More by the same author: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22729

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby drawscore » Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:53 pm

Write to the high school level. If you write above that level, younger readers won't understand it. If you write below that level, the adults will think you are talking down to them.

Drawscore

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby The Black Falcon » Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:04 pm

As a writer and a reader, I would say PLEASE avoid "What do you think? Should I continue it?" after just the introduction.

If you follow the advice given by others on this thread, as well as maintain correct grammar, (and as long as your story's not wildly offensive,) assume that people will obviously want you to continue.
College student by day. Crime-fighting vigilante by night.

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:30 pm

The Black Falcon wrote:As a writer and a reader, I would say PLEASE avoid "What do you think? Should I continue it?" after just the introduction.

OMG YES... that has GOT to be just about the most annoying damned thing some people do here is fish for compliments or encouragement like that before they've really even begun.
Other things to avoid like the plague:
Run-on sentences
too many mis-spelled words
paragraphs that go on practically forever
rushing thru the story like it was something you just wanted to get over and done with
impossible feats of endurance unless it is fiction and clearly depicted as such (hanging by the wrists for hours and not going into shock from the pain in a supposed true story for instance))
racist or sexist slurs
gruesome and graphic depictions of torture or, even worse, rape
too much text-speak like lol, omg, wtf all jammed together; text speak is fine in moderation but not in every sentence!!!
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby xtc » Wed Apr 18, 2012 1:10 am

Sorry Jason,
I disagree: txt spk’s NVR acceptable xept in txts!
The only xeptions r when a txt is being reported or when characterising some1's style of speech.

Whilst agreeing to a certain extent with Drawscore concerning the "sophistication" of writing, I tend to think:
If the youngsters can't read it, that's tough; there are probably more suitable stories for them;
If the adults think it's condescending, that's tough; there are probably more suitable stories for them.

Seriously though, it is condescending to write down to an audeince. I assume that anybody who is kind enough to read my work can actually read!
Boxer shorts are cool,
but little speedos rule!

More by the same author: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22729

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Wed Apr 18, 2012 7:19 am

xtc wrote:Sorry Jason,
I disagree: txt spk’s NVR acceptable xept in txts! !

Perhaps I should have been more precise; I should have said use only when absolutely necessary or (in the case of WTF) to avoid using a swear word. :big:
You'll notice that is about the only use *I* ever make of text speech in my own stories.
As for the sophistication level, I agree with Drawscore to the extent that high-school level is a pretty reasonable compromise between too technical and too dumbed down. Besides, those who can exceed it in their writing are not very common and those who cannot reach it probably shouldn't be writing and probably do not find much enjoyment in reading in the first place; I myself had a high school reading level by the time I was 10 or 11 (because I was already reading and writing a lot by then) and college reading level by the time I was 14 or 15!
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby sarobah » Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:15 pm

My only “rule” (besides a stringent checking of spelling and grammar) is to write solely to please myself (and be happy if other people like it). That way, the words come as much from the heart as from the brain.

But here’s a cautionary note. A favourite quotation amongst aspiring authors is from Aldous Huxley: “A bad book is as much of a labour to write as a good one; it comes as sincerely from the author's soul.”
However, most people miss the next sentence: “But the bad author’s soul being, artistically at any rate, of inferior quality, its sincerities will be, if not always intrinsically uninteresting, at any rate uninterestingly expressed, and the labour expended on the expression will be wasted.”
Translation: Just because it took a lot of work doesn’t make it good.
Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby drawscore » Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:45 pm

SpellChek (or SpellCheck or Spell Check) is your friend. Use it. But be aware that that if you use the wrong word, but spell it correctly, your spelling checker won't catch it. So know the difference between "there," "their," and "they're," and other homonyms like "flak" and "flack;" "to," "too," and "two," etc.

Remember:

"I have a spelling checker;
It came with my PC.
It plainly marques for my revue,
Mistakes eye cannot sea.

I've run this poem threw it,
And I'm sure your please too no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh.
My checker tolled me sew."

My spelling checker gives that little rhyme a clean bill of health. No misspelled words. So after you run your story through SpellCheck, get a trusted friend to proofread it for you. Hopefully, your friend will know the language well enough to spot any remaining errors.

Drawscore

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby sarobah » Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:16 pm

drawscore wrote:So after you run your story through SpellCheck, get a trusted friend to proofread it for you. Hopefully, your friend will know the language well enough to spot any remaining errors.

Being a perfectionist, I never have problems with people (including TUGs readers) pointing out my poor expression. It’s apparently human nature to be somewhat blind to one’s own mistakes. I will read something I’ve written half a dozen times and still miss a glaring error or two.
Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby KP Presents » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:10 am

sarobah wrote:
drawscore wrote:So after you run your story through SpellCheck, get a trusted friend to proofread it for you. Hopefully, your friend will know the language well enough to spot any remaining errors.

Being a perfectionist, I never have problems with people (including TUGs readers) pointing out my poor expression. It’s apparently human nature to be somewhat blind to one’s own mistakes. I will read something I’ve written half a dozen times and still miss a glaring error or two.


I kinda sorta echo these sentiments - I'm a fast typer, and a notroisously bad speller, so I always run SpellCheck and then re-read before I post something. Even then, the mistakes get through.

Also, and it's a niggle point, please remember there are differences between American English and English. You would not believe how many times people tell me that I have misspelt colour.
Read stories of ordinary women in distress at http://www.kppresents.com

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby skybird137 » Thu Apr 19, 2012 3:06 am

I remember that I was once told off for spelling 'defence'

I don't have any good writing techniques, just bad ones. I think people are just too kind when they say that my stories are okay.
Calling Fifty Shades of Grey a Bondage Story is like calling Titanic an Iceberg Movie...

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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby drawscore » Thu Apr 19, 2012 5:17 pm

Writing Tips:

1. Don't use no double negatives.

2. Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.

3. Join clauses correctly, like a conjunction should.

4. About them sentence fragments.

5. When dangling, watch your participles.

6. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

7. Just between you and I, case is important.

8. Don't write run-on sentences they are hard to read.

9. Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.

10. Its important to use apostrophe's correctly.

11. Try not to ever split infinitives.

12. Correct speling is essenshul.

13. Proofread your writing to see if any words out.

14. A preposition is a poor word to end a sentence with.

15. Don't be redundundant.

Drawscore

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:50 pm

drawscore wrote:Writing Tips:

7. Just between you and I, case is important.

Drawscore

Just between You and i :quirk: , I think you forgot to flub this one.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
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Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby sarobah » Fri Apr 20, 2012 4:17 am

7. Just between you and I, case is important.

I think this refers to nominative and objective case - i.e. “I” and “me”.
Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby Jason Toddman » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:00 am

sarobah wrote:
7. Just between you and I, case is important.

I think this refers to nominative and objective case - i.e. “I” and “me”.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh.... in that case, let's just keep it between You and Me! 8)
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...

Re: Good Tug writing techniques?

Postby skybird137 » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:37 am

11. Try not to ever split infinitives.


Unfortunately, the chance to avoid splitting infinitives has 'Boldly Gone'

I remember a tale once about a writer and a proof reader. The writer objected to an alteration of his text, saying "When I spilt an infinitive, I split it so that it stays split!"
Calling Fifty Shades of Grey a Bondage Story is like calling Titanic an Iceberg Movie...

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