Writing a book

[Midnight Panda]

I am going to be writing a book but i don't know what the plot should be, who the characters are but i would like to base it on ff. So please post help.

[DragonHeart]

Well, what exactly would you like help with? Characters are my strong point, as is character description. I can work out plots well enough but I'm having trouble with subplots and working with large casts, probably a consequence of all my RP/Bing heh.

Also, what do you mean by based on FF? Do you mean a pure fanfic or just taking elements of the series and adapting them to your own use? Depending on what you want to use it may be difficult to work it into an actual novel, as visual media tends not to translate well to the page (and vice versa).

~DragonHeart~

[Midnight Panda]

no like i will be taking items and maybe some weapons from the ff series. I need custom names for my characters, and i already pretty much have an idead of what is going to happen. ill pm u the details later on today. and can you give me ideas on names? i need one for the main character he is a 17 year old boy. and his girlfriend, 16 year old. and the villain, an evil warlord who wants to take control of something.

[DragonHeart]

Well first off I would avoid the good and evil labels. If you want to have realistic characters, anyways. It's also far more interesting as far as character dynamics when no one is purely "good" or "evil" but rather in that hazy area in between. Think more in terms of their motivations and how the conflict may cause one (or multiple) characters to be obstacles for each other.

As far as names, it depends on what kind of setting you want. An Eastern-style world will have very different names from a more traditional European setting, as would a blend of cultural elements or even coming up with your own. There's no hard and fast rules for naming characters, but do try to keep them pronounceable by the average reader. =P

~DragonHeart~

[Midnight Panda]

I am writing a mostly fantasy medievil kind of book, i have a rough idea of the continent's name. I have thought about what you told me and i will probably have the "king" control one cCountry (well call that one C1 for now) then have one the the east (C2) one to the south (C3) and one across a major river. Then have rebellions from C1 join rebellions from the other 2 Countries and they will attack the king.

The King will not necessarilly be "evil" he will just be trying to unite all continents under one ruler but the rebellions don't understand what he is trying to do so they defy him.

Book 1 will be about the rebellion From C1 (well say RC1 = Renellion Country 1) , book 2 will be about RC1 joining RC2 and they will attack the king, Fail then join up with RC3. They will travel to a neighboring Continent and learn skills. They will have been gone for seven years and when they return their old continent is now completely overrun by the king.

[DragonHeart]

Hmm...that doesn't really sound like a good motivation to me. It depends on how the king is going about uniting all these countries (and why aren't their rulers doing anything about it?), but in that case it would either end up with a very political storyline or all-out warfare. If you just want a regular quest type story I'd go with a smaller, though perhaps no less important goal.

I guess I'm just failing to see how a king uniting several smaller countries/kingdoms is "evil". I would think the citizens would be happy since there'd be less risk of war and more opportunities for travel, trade and the exchange of new ideas and knowledge, thereby improving the entire society as a whole.

If he's taking them over by hostile means and committing atrocities against the conquered citizens then it would make more sense. In that case however there wouldn't be rebellions as much as actual war, especially if the smaller countries have alliances with each other. A story like this could get complicated very quickly as it's important to factor in all possible angles. Otherwise it just won't be very believable.

~DragonHeart~

[Midnight Panda]

yeah... idk.... i might go with a different idea. Do you have any ideas?

[DragonHeart]

Unfortunately I can't do much to help you there. All I can advise is to write the kind of story you'd like to read. I can come up with all kinds of ideas on the spot but they'll only be based on the kind of writing I already do. I can imitate someone's writing style but not their thought processes. /shrug

If you want to write this story then go ahead, don't let me stop you. I occasionally write at a professional level so I really have to think things out before I put anything on the page. As a result I tend to be very critical of all writing, not just my own. Writing for fun is something else entirely. As long as you're happy with what you're writing, no one else's opinions really matter. I can help you out if you want but I can't do the work for you, basically.

~DragonHeart~

[Midnight Panda]

do you have any published books yet? all i need help with is to find out names for the countries and for the people. i am going to roughly follow the outline i gave you a couple posts up. If you can help me with names that will be great.

[DragonHeart]

No novels yet, just a few short stories published in ezines and contests. I'd probably have more if I was more proactive about it but right now it's more a side hobby than an actual career.

Anyways, for names I generally use either real ones or altered versions of real ones. There are many sites out there, but I tend to use these two the most: 20000 Names and Baby Names World. If you want to pull something from mythology wiki is a decent place to start, I prefer Encyclopedia Mythica myself.

Also, one trick I learned for coming up with place names that aren't recognizable but are sufficiently realistic, try googling for old/ancient maps. You can find some pretty neat stuff that way.

~DragonHeart~

[Midnight Panda]

ok. sweet thnx 4 ur help

[Megidolaon]

I am going to be writing a book but i don't know what the plot should be, who the characters are but i would like to base it on ff. So please post help.

Stop now, it can never be anything other than ****.

[Victoria]

Stop now, it can never be anything other than ****.

As much as I want to agree with you, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from talking like that to someone who at least is willing to want to do something.

I don't care if you have the mindset of everything good is already done so there's no point in making anymore books because they'll all be shit, just keep it to yourself.

Hell, even I'm currently working on some fiction. Then again, I already know what the plots and characters are. XD

Bottomline of my post is; that was uncalled for and kind of mean. Don't do that anymore unless you want to offend someone.

[Padraic]

Stop now, it can never be anything other than ****.

Those who think it is impossible should not interrupt those doing it.

This person is trying to do something, if you think that tell them next time.

NeXtadi: there are actually sites based on that purpose. Google "Random name generator" and all the possibilities should line up

[Midnight Panda]

ok well i have started writing it and am on page 10

[Psiko]

No novels yet, just a few short stories published in ezines and contests. I'd probably have more if I was more proactive about it but right now it's more a side hobby than an actual career.

What she said, only minus anything published as of yet. I'm sitting on at WORST one story and two poems I could get published if I would just send them out, but I am just so busy with real life at the moment that the research needed to find the right market appears daunting.

It sounds to me like you at least have a vague idea of plot. I am a firm believer in developing dynamic characters and letting the story build itself as you write it. Many of my RP/RPB posts, and short stories, have started with little more than a character idea. I'd be interested to see how you progress.

[Megidolaon]

As much as I want to agree with you, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from talking like that to someone who at least is willing to want to do something.

I don't care if you have the mindset of everything good is already done so there's no point in making anymore books because they'll all be shit, just keep it to yourself.

Hell, even I'm currently working on some fiction. Then again, I already know what the plots and characters are. XD

Bottomline of my post is; that was uncalled for and kind of mean. Don't do that anymore unless you want to offend someone.

I'm not being mean, I'm being realistic.
I don't care about everything been done before or other crap. The point is he doesn't even know what he wants to write.
What good could possibly come out of writing something you have no idea about that is based on a few halfassed forum posts?

TC, sit down, get some ideas and when you have at least a basic premise, start writing.
Don't start when you have no idea what the **** you are doing.

[Victoria]

Okay. Now that makes a lot more sense. When you explained your reasoning like that, now I'm going to have to agree with you.

Although I have written some pretty nice stuff from impromptu writing prompts, but then again I've been writing for years.

This kid is just starting out. He's like 12 or something, cut him a bit of slack. Although I do agree that planning a little bit of the plot and such is a good thing to do.

A good thing to do is to write the end first. And by that, I mean like the outline for the end, or something to that effect.

[Midnight Panda]

He's like 12 or something,

by the way its 14. lol but yeah. i have started to plan out what is going to happen i have the characters and where it takes place now and everything.

[Meier Link]

Good, well I am glad you have found some direction to start with. Proper planning is key. It can make or break you in a story.

If I may I would like to make a suggestion, you don't have to take it if you don't want to. Grammer is a must when writing, you should start practicing using good grammar at all times, it will transverse over into anything you write. If you are trying to use good grammer at all times then you will more then likely catch it if you mess up in your writing and will also make it easier on yourself to sit down and write out a story with out having to go back and spell check every word and recalculate sentance structure.

Remember: Detail is very key in all good literature.