Creative Works

[Jingai]

           Welcome to the Writer's Lounge and Resource Thread.

  This is the place to come when you are stuck for an idea, looking for a new idea, want to perhaps bounce

an idea off other people, get some helpful resources, offer some helpful resources, or generally discuss the

frustrating and rewarding process we call writing.

  We have some basic rules here.

• If you have a specific question about content standards, please ask in the Guideline thread.
  
• Please be supportive of your fellow writers. This means no flaming, trolling, harassing, denigrating, being a jerk, or otherwise being disruptive.
• Please post your works in a separate thread from this one. We want to read your works, just not in here, because it would get terribly cluttered in here. If you have poetry you want to share, we strongly encourage you to create a "portfolio" thread for all your poems or short stories.
  
• Have Fun. That is the whole point of this folder, and this thread. This should be a fun environment for everyone to share their thoughts and get some help if needed. If it isn't, then something is amiss.

  Index of Useful Sites and Reference Sources.

Serendipity - This is a great source of generators for names, characters, cities.

Random Name Generator - Exactly what it says, a nice name generator including first and last names, gender and

even how rare a name is.

BMI calculator - A Body Mass Index calculator, this can be helpful in determining how heavy someone should be for

their given body type, thin, stocky etc.

Character profile form - It is extensive, but it is a great tool for really developing a full character. You can save and go back to it at a later date, a nice feature.

Naming Index - Another name generator, this one allows you to sort by geographical region, including fantasy names.

Guides and lessons - By Mae Jay, this is a nice collection of tips for writers of all skill levels. 

Dictionary dot com - A handy reference, it even has a thesaurus function as well. Spelling counts after all.

Goth name generator - For those who need help coming up with darker names for characters. 

Writing tips and tricks by Ookami Kasumi - Pretty much that. 

Writer's packet - A wide variety of tips and helpful items.

Writer's Notes - Self explanatory.

Writing tips poster - A Nice poster of helpful tips for writing, friendly for all levels of writing. There are some good descriptions of terms listed as you scroll down.

Chicago manual of style - The definitive source for creative writing, used by professionals and editors. Used editions are

cheaper.

Strunk's "Elements of Style" is a free online version of the Chicago Manual of Style. It is not as complete, but still a good

free resource. Bonus points for the domain name on this one.

Here is a nice blog full of antique Victorian terms, if you are looking for period language, and don't feel like digging out

David Copperfield.

Useful phrases and idioms can be found here.

"And now I'm going to tell you something cool."

                                                                 
                     -Gene Wolfe

[Jingai]

List of Gratis

• Cidthekittyisfun
• Kohikki/Dangerhikki
• Eyebreel
• Kodai_Okuda
  

Want some gratis of your own, feel free to submit a link to a reference site that you find helpful.

[cidthekittyisfun]

i found a couple more things that might help people with writing.

Guides and Lessons - (by Mae-Jay) These are very useful guides and tips to any writer of any skill level. I'm sure most people can find something useful to help them, or refresh their memory while writing.

Writing Tips Poster - a quick guide/list of things to remember while writing. Even useful for beginers. If you are unsure by anything they list scroll down it goes into a bit more detail.

i hope these are useful, ill look up more once my internet isnt so slow >_<

[THERAPISTWIZARD]

You know, I wasn't sure if you were gonna put a link to a BMI calculator in here, but you did.

Thank you.

[EYEBREEL]

You might want to add simple writer's tools such as Dictionary.com.  The only reason why I posted this is because its simple to use and offers a thesaurus as well as a language translator. 

Goth Name Generator - For those who have trouble coming up with dark names or aliases for characters.  Its pretty cool.  Type in your own name and see what you come up with.

[cidthekittyisfun]

here are a few more links i found while browsing threw DA. btw, i suggest to any writer to search writing tips on DA theres plenty of em, or actually just to google up writing tips! google is your friend so visit it once in awhile <3

writing tips and tricks by OokamiKasumi

Writers Packet - includes a variety of things to help a writer <3

Writers Notes

again, these are all writing with personal opinions and experiences, so dont feel like you HAVE to follow anything anyone says, but its still good to keep an open mind and try to learn from others no matter your skill level.

[Jingai]

  I updated the resource list and Gratis list.

Ciddy, the link for the writing tips poster is broken. As soon as it gets fixed, I'll be sure to add it in, if

a random Helper wanders by and I haven't added it yet, feel free to add it.

 Since I am also a shameless self promoter, I am looking for character submissions for a fantasy project I'm working on.

Thread is here, please feel free to participate.

[cidthekittyisfun]

oh sorry about that hows this?

anywhoo i got a question, i was wondering if anyone has advice on describing stuff? like i have trouble describing....anything really. its very straight forward and sounds more like im giving the police a description of a crime scene rather then you know....something that sounds better?

like if i describe a person ill write it like "this person was tall, had dark reddish brown hair, he was very muscular as well. he gave me an emotionaless look as i bumped into him, geez i thought he was a wall at first!"

or idk a scene "we walked into a fastfood resturant and it was crowded with people probably cuz it was the weekend or something! we looked up at the lit up sign and glanced over deciding what to eat."

yeah soo......i mean when i read stuff im like O_O THIS IS SO WELL DESCRIBED! but i suk at it horribley sooo any advice would be aweome! thx <3

[MegaNaraku]

I don't know if I am that great at describing things as much as some people but do you think this sentence would be good enough as far as description goes?

Describing a Human: She stood at 5"5. Her wavy dirty blonde hair reached just past her shoulders. She always wore a smile wherever she went. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were a beautiful azure color. She wore no shoes; her jeans were black as well as her shirt. She wore a silver cross necklace that dangled around her neck. She had painted her fingernails hot pink as well as her toenails. She sore beautiful cherry red lipstick, which made her smile even more magnificent.

Describing a place: I strolled into the fast food joint and noticed the numerous amounts of people that were already eating. I knew it would be hard to get a seat at this hour. The tables were red, and the seats were a light blue. The menu was made up of mostly hamburgers and other greasy foods. I don't even know why I ever bother coming to this place anyways; it will just get me fat. The tiles were tiny little squares in different colors. In the back they had a playpen for children. The line stretched to the back of the restaurant in a zigzag pattern. I sighed and waited patiently in line as I thought on what to order.

Hey, who knows. That was just an example. I'm sure I could do better if I thought hard enough.

[MegaNaraku]

http://boards.adultswim.com/t5/Creative-Works/FanFic-Writers-REUN
ITE/td-p/40969885/page/26

So this is that new thread. Got it

[cidthekittyisfun]

thats certainly alot better then what i can do! whats your secret?

[MegaNaraku]

I can do better. That was just a sample. But a secret? I actually don't' have one. I just think of the image in my head and start typing. I wish I did have a secret, then I would tell you !^_^

Just try to think of descriptive words, and try to imagine the whole place in detail/scenery. You get better with practice.

[cidthekittyisfun]

ah thats still rly good! okeh ill try! but i have a fuzzy memory sooo i cant rly imagine stuff in very good detail maybe i can just find idk pics online and use those as a basis for describing? that might help....i jus wanna at least write better "and then he was tall and wore a blue shirt and jeans and shoes and stuff..."

[MegaNaraku]

yeah if imagination doesn't really work, pictures should at least help a little.

[cidthekittyisfun]

okeh ill try that thanks <3

[MegaNaraku]

Yeah, and also, please be happy when you are writing. It is a fact that the brain performs better when it is in a positive mood. :3

I might have some questions later on. Good thing this thread is here. Though more ppl should post in it

[Jingai]

I added the poster Cid, the link is fine.

I think the way you describe things is fine honestly. Giving out the basics and letting people fill in the blank isn't always a bad thing, it
can help engage them in the story. Just be sure to describe the things that are important to the scene, that way something doesn't magically appear, unless it is supposed to magically appear.

[MegaNaraku]

This is true

[MechanicalAdvantage7]

I hate editing. How can I overcome my distaste with reading over my crap and making it less crappy?

[-TheUltamiteSwimGod-]

---

Jingai wrote:
I added the poster Cid, the link is fine.

I think the way you describe things is fine honestly. Giving out the basics and letting people fill in the blank isn't always a bad thing, it
can help engage them in the story. Just be sure to describe the things that are important to the scene, that way something doesn't magically appear, unless it is supposed to magically appear.

---

This is very much my opinion. Honestly, you don't have to describe people in that great of depths. The basics are all you need. Narakus description was a bit too much for me. You really don't need to write about her nail polish color. unless it has great significance to the story. 

it is my opinion though. like saying he was tall is better than he was 5'11. like it's just too specific and takes away from the readers part to imagine the story in their head. 5'11 isn't that bad or overly descriptive, but it's just kind of a bit precise. we're not making the reader's do math.

that's another thing, not having the reader guess what were saying. no novel should be accompanied by a dictionary. no need to have over the top words. it just cripples the reader. 

i'm not arguing with any of you. i'm just giving my 2 lousy cents.

[Kodai_Okuda]

This is the bible of writing.

The Chicago Manual of Style.

I suggest getting a used copy 14th or 15th editions are not too expensive, and using it.

It is what my editor uses and it can be a big help to aspiring writers.

Strunk's "The Elements of Style" is also pretty good and is available free online.

Though somewhat obsolete, it still covers all of the basic information for good writing techniques.

[cidthekittyisfun]

for anyone interrested in writing a victorian period piece this blog might help it even has a list of slang/words used during that time.

[Jingai]

Added these to the list, and added Kodai to the list of Gratis.

I'm slipping here it seems, sorry about that.

[Kodai_Okuda]

Here is another useful writing resourse website for phrases, idioms, and the like.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/index.html