Deciding what to write...?

vicky271 · Jun 2, 2017

Hello,
I use to believe that writers are supposed to write what they want to write. But, I discovered recently that this is false. We're supposed to write what we want to read. I've been working on this project for two years, but i'm unfazed by it. I discovered i didn't care about the project, and wouldn't read the story if it had been released.

I've been reading a lot recently. Trying to get a feel for the market and my preferences. Problem is, I haven't figured out what i'd like to read.

How do you decide what to write based on what you would read? Is there another way to do it? Would anyone care to share stories? How did you discover your story idea?

Thanks,
Victoria

p.s If I email someone something (lets say, i'm sending a friend a expanded idea, or a copy of a manuscript because i want their opinion) to someone, does it count as copyright infringement? Or anything else i should know about?

mccardey · Jun 2, 2017

vicky271 said:
Hello,
I use to believe that writers are supposed to write what they want to write. But, I discovered recently that this is false. We're supposed to write what we want to read. I've been working on this project for two years, but i'm unfazed by it. I discovered i didn't care about the project, and wouldn't read the story if it had been released.

There are no rules about what or why writers write. Don't worry about this.

vicky271 said:
p.s If I email someone something (lets say, i'm sending a friend a expanded idea, or a copy of a manuscript because i want their opinion) to someone, does it count as copyright infringement? Or anything else i should know about?

No, it's just sharing your writing.

Helix · Jun 2, 2017

Read widely. You're bound to find something that clicks with you.

Cindyt · Jun 2, 2017

While my reading influences my writing, I write what I want.

Ari Meermans · Jun 2, 2017

What mccardey, Helix, and Cindyt said.

"Write what you want to read" is a suggestion for someone who is blocked or doesn't know what to write about. A suggestion, not a must-do. It's a suggestion that will work for some, but not for others. It doesn't work for me. There are other ways to find something to write about. You could write about an event or moment that touched you deeply. You could write about a particular injustice and how it can make someone feel. Something that matters to you about the environment. There are many ways to find what resonates with you.

There never has been nor ever will be another you. Your view of the world is yours. Your view of human relationships is yours. You have stories to tell that are yours alone to tell and they are stories worth telling.

Beanie5 · Jun 2, 2017

Writing is just living the dream.

cornflake · Jun 2, 2017

I think that's meant more in the vein of 'write what you're comfortable with/interested in.' Like most people who love high fantasy don't turn around and write a hardboiled detective novel.

What do you like to read?

vicky271 · Jun 4, 2017

mccardey said:
There are no rules about what or why writers write. Don't worry about this.

No, it's just sharing your writing.

Thank you. This takes a load off the shoulders.

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Helix said:
Read widely. You're bound to find something that clicks with you.

What a exceptional idea. Thank you!

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Cindyt said:
While my reading influences my writing, I write what I want.

Good to know! Thank you!

vicky271 · Jun 4, 2017

Ari Meermans said:
What mccardey, Helix, and Cindyt said.

"Write what you want to read" is a suggestion for someone who is blocked or doesn't know what to write about. A suggestion, not a must-do. It's a suggestion that will work for some, but not for others. It doesn't work for me. There are other ways to find something to write about. You could write about an event or moment that touched you deeply. You could write about a particular injustice and how it can make someone feel. Something that matters to you about the environment. There are many ways to find what resonates with you.

There never has been nor ever will be another you. Your view of the world is yours. Your view of human relationships is yours. You have stories to tell that are yours alone to tell and they are stories worth telling.

Thank you. The current project is taking a long time. I was worried that, of course, this was because i had chosen the wrong approach. I'm writing what i want to write. I'm not writing what i want to read. Both statements separate what ideas i would pursue.

I appreciate your response!

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Beanie5 said:
Writing is just living the dream.

How true this is! Thank you! This sentence has offered a great amount of motivation!

vicky271 · Jun 4, 2017

cornflake said:
I think that's meant more in the vein of 'write what you're comfortable with/interested in.' Like most people who love high fantasy don't turn around and write a hardboiled detective novel.

What do you like to read?

I love all genres. But, unfortunately, my preferance is a mix and match. I will gladly read a detective story. But there has to be a hint or two of other genres. Otherwise, the story will feel very 2D. I grew up on Nancy drew. I daresay i don't like writing style, but i play the computer games. I'm still engaged in the storyline. I love fantasy. Children's fantasy is great! As is Dystopia. Anything. The only stories i stay away from fall under the erotica category.

My current project reflects this. As of this moment, it's got a mix and match. A combination of genres i grew up with, and genres i enjoy today.

Snitchcat · Jun 4, 2017

vicky271 said:
My current project reflects this. As of this moment, it's got a mix and match. A combination of genres i grew up with, and genres i enjoy today.

It sounds to me like you already know what you like, and want, to write: cross-genre stories.

PeteMC · Jun 5, 2017

vicky271 said:
I love all genres. But, unfortunately, my preferance is a mix and match. I will gladly read a detective story. But there has to be a hint or two of other genres. Otherwise, the story will feel very 2D. I grew up on Nancy drew. I daresay i don't like writing style, but i play the computer games. I'm still engaged in the storyline. I love fantasy. Children's fantasy is great! As is Dystopia. Anything. The only stories i stay away from fall under the erotica category.

My current project reflects this. As of this moment, it's got a mix and match. A combination of genres i grew up with, and genres i enjoy today.

Heh, you sound like me.

I seem unable to stay within just one genre too - the three published books in my sig are hardboiled noir gangster stories mashed with occult fantasy. The new series my agent has just sold to Ace/ROC is swords-and-horses fantasy mashed with a Godfather-esque crime thriller. Don't worry about it

_lvbl · Jun 29, 2017

My writing mentor used to say that when you write a novel, you finish it twice: once is when you get over the idea and once is when you've actually finished. Once you get what you need out of the novel you're writing (which he says happens about 75% of the way through) it's a race against the clock to actually complete it!

AnthonyDavid11 · Jul 15, 2017

If you write something and go back and read it and don't like it(we've all been there), then get to work rewriting it until you do like it. I don't like most things I write very much until I rewrite. This is where the magic happens. I do think a writer should enjoy reading it if they expect others to do the same, but I'm sure it isn't always true. I know musicians who have told me that after playing a gig members from the audience would walk up and tell them they did a great job and meanwhile the musicians are thinking they did a terrible job, but either way, they did get paid. I'd recommend rewriting your other WIP. It will make you stronger. In the meantime write some short stories for fun as well and don't worry about the first draft. Just write away. Some of this stuff is actually meant to be fun.

ironmikezero · Jul 15, 2017

Here's a little trick to prime the old inspiration pump . . .

For a given period of time (say a month or so) record your ideas (be they for a character, a scene, or an entire plot line) in a notebook, file, or whatever. The point is to create a physical record (documentation) lest something of potential brilliance slips away forgotten. At the end of the time period, review your notes and pick out three (or more) items that really appeal to you. Rewrite them on a fresh page and see what tale they collectively suggest to you (yes, try to envision them all in the same tale). Let your imagination soar!

Would you want to read it? If so, why not write it?

Extra credit if a genre mash-up rears its mercurial head(s?) . . . Mash-ups have a particular appeal for many (myself included).

weekendwarrior · Jul 15, 2017

Maybe it's a little naive but for me, some concept or character gets stuck in my head and waits there, changing and morphing until it shapes itself into a narrative. At that point I don't worry so much about the genre, more whether there's enough tension/conflict in there to keep somebody turning the pages. Then it changes for every rewrite when I start seeing what works about it and what doesn't.
I read an author once describe their novels as psychological experiments - if I figure out that the question I want the experiment to ask is (and it's interesting enough), the rest seems to sort itself out.

Al X. · Jul 16, 2017

I'm of the camp that likes to write what I like to read. It is difficult for me to fathom the concept of separating 'writing what I like to read' from 'writing what I like to write' as they are one in the same for me.

WeaselFire · Jul 16, 2017

I write the stories in my head. I do no market research for fiction, by the time you publish the market has changed and your research is useless (different from non-fiction, where you have to do the market analysis...).

I get stories everywhere. Characters I see in the street or a grocery store, articles in the news, strange posts on forums, etc.

By the way, whenever you "discover" something about writing, you're usually wrong.

Jeff

Deciding what to write...?

vicky271

mccardey

Helix

socially distancing

Cindyt

Gettin wiggy wit it

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter

Beanie5

Live a poem...Or die a fool. \/

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

vicky271

vicky271

vicky271

Snitchcat

Dragon-kitty.

PeteMC

@PeteMC666

_lvbl

AnthonyDavid11

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW

weekendwarrior

Al X.

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member