Heyo, I was wondering but how did you start writing? I want to make cool stories and lore for my ocs but I’ve never actually really written anything aside from like, one page documents for school. Sure, I come up with concepts every now and then but I’m not exactly sure how to expand on them character wise and such. Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!
I *might* not be much help, but let's see what we can do.
I literally started writing when I was somewhere around like eight or twelve. A pencil and loose leaf paper and I couldn't even tell you what really caused me to even start, except I had this story in my head and wanted to write it down.
I will say, while it was an impressive 99 pages, it was absolute garbage. But I was like, 12 tops, so no one was expecting a masterpiece.
The issue I'm running into is that I never really took creative writing classes. I took English classes and had to do writing for those, certainly, but I was... well, let me be real:
I was an idiot when I was younger. I didn't want to take Art Classes, despite enjoying art, and I didn't want to take Creative Writing Classes despite enjoying writing, because I RANKLED very hard against being told what to write or draw.
Later on I realized that the good foundation to any creative endeavor are the basics. You know, that stuff they teach you in class.
With practice you learn when to lean into the "rules", when to bend them and when to break them. But there's no real substitute for that other than practice.
Still, I think I can give a few tips:
There's two ways to tell a story, when it comes down to it.
1. Decide what story you want to tell, and let it drive how your characters act.
or
2. Decide what kind of character you want to write, and let them define the world around them.
For example, when I wrote Hey Doll, what I wanted to do was tell a specific STORY. I wanted to write a story where Thatch really got to shine, and I built up everything around that. The reader archetype was chosen to lift up Thatch, the setting, the antagonists, etc. I wanted to write a story where Thatch could be sweet, protective, accepting, defensive, kind and powerful.
I wanted his gentlemanly side to come through, and I wanted him to have opportunity to scare the piss out of people who deserved it.
On the flip side when I wrote Family Ties, what I wanted specifically was to write a certain kind of Reader. I was still new to x readers, and it was my first fic in over ten years, but what drove the story was that I wanted a morally grey reader. Everything was built up around that - Doffy, the Mafia AU, the inclusion of Pops and the Whitebeard Pirates - it was all to provide a playground for the reader and I let that character drive the story.
I have practice enough to use these as starting points and just start writing, but I've literally been writing one way or another for like, 20-25 years, even if you take a ten year hiatus into account.
I recommend outlining to help you get rolling. It doesn't have to be an actual structured outline, it can just be a few bullet points to help you get going.
chapter 1 - the setup
- Traveling to new home
-- note the landscape, hills, cows, trees
- why are we going to a new home?
-- > moving because new job? old house burned down? both?
- if new job: what did we leave?
- if house burned down: why? was it an accident or on purpose? Does the reader/OC even know for sure?
The landscape was going by in a blur as the car moved down the mostly empty highway. Tall pines and brightly colored leafy trees stood tall along the roadside, breaking up the otherwise dull scenery. Occasionally, a break in the trees would spill open wide to big tracts of land, either flush with the last crops of the season, or full of meandering cows and horses. Not the most riveting thing, but after the excitement that had led to this, you were happy for something a little dull.
The family home had gone up in terrible flames, and while it had been some months since the incident, you were only just moving to a new permenant residence. Fortunately no one had been seriously injured, but it had taken time to work through the charred wreckage to salvage what you could. A few precious photographs that survived, some sturdy trinkets, and even a surprising number of pots and pans.
Plenty to help you get settled in a new home, and a new job.
You're welcome to come to me with more details specific to what you're working on, and I'll do my best to help, but hopefully this was something useful ^_^ I made the absolutely wild decision to write this when it was already past my bed time, so something doesn't make sense I'll give it a re-read when I wake up and see if I can clarify anything that might be wonky.
Questions are welcome too =3 I don't know how much help I can be, but I'm happy to try ^_^
