The hardest subject for you to write?

SpAm · Dec 11, 2005

Either..fantasy..horror..mistery..survival..romance..true stories..historical..life bio..etc...witch is the hardist for you...for me is fantasy i love to read dont get me wrong n i lvoe to read fantasy but to write is realllll hard..i get into it in the begining real excited and i keep writing and dont stop but usually fantasy has the same middle and ending...theres a bad guy and u got to stop him..i dont know what else to write about in it cause plus its hard to pick a subject on what u want to write about cause when u start writing u change it..n its gets annoing cause i change the plot summery alot when u start....

so tell me whats hard for u to write and why...

Maryn · Dec 11, 2005

I couldn't write a biography if my life depended on it. Not even an autobiography. It's odd, because I'm good at character development, but only for people I invent.

I have a suggestion that will help you with your writing here at Absolute Write. Find the google toolbar for whatever internet browser you use (Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) and download it. It's free, no registration required. It includes a spell-check that's more than adequate for all of a person's online business. Go to http://toolbar.google.com

Maryn, glad to meet you

blacbird · Dec 11, 2005

And bin the text-speak. It may be fine for chatrooms with your friends, but around a place like this it's just a pain in the posterior. The word normally used in reference to the person you're addressing is "you", not "u".

caw.

Sage · Dec 11, 2005

I would probably find it hardest to do a historical story, just because the amount of research to get the period right seems insane to me. A biography would also be hard. I tend to write fantasy/sci-fi, with a bunch of elements thrown in - teenage angst, mystery, romance, etc. Also, I would find it hard to go from YA to adult or childrens' writing.

As for your like of reading fantasy but fear of writing it, don't worry about the "standard" plot of a fantasy novel. If you say "fantasy" to anyone, the immediate assumption is something like Lord of the Rings, but Harry Potter is also fantasy, even though it is completely different. You can tell any story with fantastical elements, & that makes it fantasy. If you wanted to write a Pride & Prejudice-like tale where the characters live in a world of magic or where the characters are elves/dwarves/nymphs/fae, this would be both fantasy & romance. No need to destroy the Big Bad, because there doesn't need to be one.

This is just an idea for if you were really wanting to write a fantasy. Since you mentioned in the other post that you wanted hints on how to settle down on one book, maybe you're happy that there's a genre you don't want to jump into, in which case ignore me

scarletpeaches · Dec 11, 2005

SF probably, or Westerns, because those are the genres I never read - they bore the arse off me. Only my personal preference of course. I'd always advise writing in the genre one reads most often, so with me that would be chicklit or women's fiction.

I also read many biographies and a lot of poetry - for me poetry is easy to write but I've never considered writing a bio before...

I'll stick to what works. I'll maybe branch out in the future, though. Doesn't do to stagnate.

Optimus · Dec 11, 2005

"Whats the hardiest subject for u to write?"

I'm gonna guess that yours is spelling.

SpAm · Dec 11, 2005

well i could mix all the things i love to read in one novel...that would be cool/weird at the same time lol ill try it...

scarletpeaches · Dec 11, 2005

I hear capital letters are popular with readers these days.

Sage · Dec 11, 2005

LOL. Well, don't get too many things together. Some things are really hard to work together as concepts (just ask Joss Whedon about his literal sci-fi/western - the concept doesn't appeal to many, but the writing does once it's given the chance). Some things are very logical to integrate. You have a little romance in most genres, as well as mystery. If your characters are teenagers, as mine are, teenage angst comes pretty naturally. Some things are more difficult. My WIP (work in progress) is both sci-fi & fantasy. The main characters are humans living on another planet in the future (obvious sci-fi). There are elements of magic in their world (fantasy). They find out that their planet actually has two different planes of existence - theirs and another one (this is kinda sci-fi-ish, kinda fantasy-ish. Could depend on who you ask). The other world is highly magic-based w/ beings like fairies & little girls who never age & unicorns (definite fantasy). It took some planning to make these two genres mix well. You don't want to string so many genres together that the publisher doesn't know who the target audience should be.

My best advice is to just write the story that wants to come from you, regardless of the genre. But keep going, even if you are at a sticky part, 'cuz you'll get past that & once you get to the ending, it will be such a beautiful thing. You'll look at how everything came together & be happy you stuck with it. On the other hand, if you are absolutely disgusted w/ the story, or you feel it's really not going anywhere & are being bombarded w/ ideas for other novels, take a break from it. If it truly wasn't going anywhere, it never will, & if it was, you can always go back to it.

Okay, that was kind of advice for this post & your first one. Sorry :Shrug:

Sage · Dec 11, 2005

I'm sure her novels have capital letters

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse · Dec 11, 2005

sex
i really, really can't write sex

Cathy C · Dec 11, 2005

Be nice, people. Everybody starts somewhere, so let's lower the snark level, please.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 11, 2005

Reality. Real life. I have a hard time writing about this world you live in. Probably because I've always been so distracted with daydreaming that I've never paid enough attention to what is really going on around me.

DamaNegra · Dec 11, 2005

I can't do sex scenes, and I suck at romance. I mean, I can't write romance without getting all cliché, so I haven't even tried. Anything that needs an extensive amount of research is out of my limits too, because I never know where to start and I don't have the time.

PeeDee · Dec 11, 2005

What DamaNegra said. Yep. That's me.

(I want to do the research,but half the time I'm too shy in real life, and a bit bamboozled on the 'net. But when I need to, I'll do it. The romance, however, is an ongoing war.)

Maryn · Dec 12, 2005

I'm always surprised that people can't write sex scenes. Without hijacking the thread for too long, what problems do those of you who report the inability have with writing them? Are you unsure of how graphic or detailed to make it? How long? Which words to use for what? Trouble with choreography? Difficulty staying true to character? What?

Maryn, quite curious

ChaosTitan · Dec 12, 2005

I'm going to take a stab at this and say that the length/detail of any sex scene is serviced by its purpose in the story. If your story doesn't need ten pages of heavy breathing and button ripping, cool. Don't get yourself into a tizzy about writing it.

I have two completed novels under my belt, each one very different from the other. The first was written several years ago and there is one scene near the middle-end where two adult characters have sex in a hayloft. The purpose of the scene is to show that these characters have found a common need for each other. There is some kissing, some verbal prompts, and then a nice little "fade to black" moment. The rest of it is left to the imagination.

The second novel gave me more trouble. The sex scene that the story demanded was a desperate coupling, where one person needed the physical comfort/connection to try and ease a painful loss.

I was scared as anything to write this scene, and found great advice on a different sort of message board. Read online erotica. There are all sorts of sites out there that aren't porn, persay, but still host erotic stories of all detail levels. It was good advice.

I'm not saying that this tactic is for everyone, but it helped me figure out how to write my scene. The choreography, the euphemisms, ect... It felt no different than researching the pineal gland. The story demanded both things (sex and the pineal gland, although not necessarily in the same scene :ROFL:

), so I researched them.

batgirl · Dec 12, 2005

I would find hard sf the most difficult, I think. Even though I've read quite a bit of it, I don't have the science and math background to feel confident in framing a story and setting. Yep, I could research, but I'd be so aware of the emptiness on which that research was propped, that I'd never feel confident enough to extrapolate.
And extrapolation is kind of vital.

For sex scenes I think my major difficulty would be terminology. Go one way and you get the coy 'lush flower of her womanhood' 'his urgent need' and other cringe-worthy roundaboutations. Using the 'bad words' removes most of the appeal and might sound like something one reads on the wall of a pissoir. Use the clinical terms and it sounds ... clinical. The pr0n euphemisms are no better than the romance euphemisms in avoiding the unintentionally humourous.
There's always the classic "He put his sex in her sex and they had sex."

-Barbara

Celia Cyanide · Dec 12, 2005

Maryn said:
I'm always surprised that people can't write sex scenes. Without hijacking the thread for too long, what problems do those of you who report the inability have with writing them? Are you unsure of how graphic or detailed to make it? How long? Which words to use for what? Trouble with choreography? Difficulty staying true to character? What?

Maryn, quite curious

Well...I guess the way I would explain it would be to say that I think of my characters the same way I think of friends or aquaintances. If they have an SO, I assume they have sex, but I do not imagine what it looks like. So in a story, it seems like an unnecessary detail. If it's not their SO, they might tell me they had sex, but not go into detail. Unless the book is erotica, I don't consider it to be a particularly interesting part of the plot. Any time I write it, I wonder if it even needs to be there.

KelseyF · Dec 12, 2005

Science fiction, definitely. I don't like to read it, and I don't like to write it. I have a hard time with fantasy as well.

The hardest subject for you to write?

SpAm

Maryn

I Tried

blacbird

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

scarletpeaches

Optimus

SpAm

scarletpeaches

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse

swooping after you

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

DamaNegra

Mexican on the loose!

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

Maryn

I Tried

ChaosTitan

Around

batgirl

Writting broad

Celia Cyanide

Joker Groupie

KelseyF