Novel Writing Workshop

2011-01-27 [Ash]: I think Annie should run it, but if you don't want to I'll volunteer.

2011-01-28 [Annie]: I might do that...let me contemplate this. :)

2011-01-29 [Ash]: I think you'd be good at it. :)

2011-02-06 [Annie]: I think I will take this over! It will take me a little while to either stick with [RiverStar]'s original novel-writing method and figure it out or take my own route and revamp a bit. I'll keep everyone posted. :)

2011-02-06 [Veltzeh]: Yay!

2011-02-06 [Annie]: ^_^ Anyone particularly attached to your work with the previous method?

2011-02-07 [Veltzeh]: What do you mean? :o

2011-02-08 [Annie]: As in...if I choose a new method and the work you've done so far doesn't apply anymore, will you be very disappointed? I'm unfamiliar with [RiverStar]'s method and I'm not sure yet if I'll want to educate myself in hers or find a different one.

2011-02-09 [Veltzeh]: Well, the previous work doesn't just disappear, so no, I don't mind a new method. :)

2011-02-10 [Ash]: New is good every now and again. I think you should look over her stuff though, I find like you need to be in this word count to constricting because YA novels can be 100 or 500 pages with all different word sizes. I think you should base it more upon feeling the writing and if something is bland or not.

2011-02-13 [Annie]: I've started looking over [RiverStar]'s material and I have to say I almost definitely won't use it. The first thing she says is that you need to write "for the reader," but I know that the first rule of writing is to write for yourself. In a workshop aiming at merely finishing a novel, the worst advice I can imagine is telling budding writers to think of the reader and try to please the reader. So I must refute it this moment! Write for yourselves! Don't think about selling the novel.

2011-02-13 [Veltzeh]: I don't think it's wrong or bad to think about the reader either, though. I've been writing just for myself for ages and my writings are... not good because I don't know how to write for anyone but myself.

2011-02-16 [Ash]: When I started writing Fan-Fiction, people started messaging me telling me what they liked and what they were interested in, it really helped me there.

2011-02-16 [Veltzeh]: Hmm, I don't remember getting comments like that... but seeing what I have in my Elfwood library, maybe I should go over the comments with a finer comb and a more mature mind. :D

2011-02-17 [Ash]: I had to do that at some point, with a maturer mind. Some guy started harassing me in comments so I simply blocked him. It's was a lot easier then hosting a flame war.

2011-02-17 [Annie]: I think there's definitely value in constructive criticism and peer review, which is slightly different than writing for the reader. My point was only that, in the case of someone who has trouble finishing a novel or fears/mental blocks with it, it may not be the best advice to tell them they need to think of the reader first. Sometimes in that case it's best to just encourage them to write, give them various helpful tools, and forget about how it looks on the outside until later.

2011-02-17 [Veltzeh]: All right, that makes sense. :)

2011-02-18 [Annie]: ^_^ Whee for getting along

2011-03-04 [Annie]: Just so everyone knows, I updated but it's kind of buried in all the writing -- we have a forum for discussions and activities:  <joinforum:34:NWW> (Novel Writing Workshop)

2011-03-04 [Ash]: Oo... I will join.. :)

2011-07-04 [Annie]: Step 2 finally up :)