**Over 30 Writers Club ***

It's finally happened. I can take up residence in this thread. I'm just going to need a comfy chair and a blanket to hide the blunderbuss!

 

Welcome!!

 

1) Age- 30 middle something

2) How long have you been writing or reading on these boards? May 2002 is when I discovered fanfiction on these boards. I read one fic based on Jaina Solo and Kyp Durron and read all 90 pages to get caught up on. I love to write and have been dying to write my own stories.

3) Favorite genre, saga of SW? ESB to the extended universe

4) Favorite characters and why? Kyp Durron and Anakin Skywalker. Just have something for Rogue Jedi

5) Why has SW always been so special to you? I remember watching the movies since I was four with my dad

And Finally...

6) Favorite tips or advise for writing.

Allow the characters to take over and write themselves, I find that's a good way to help make each character their own

 

Welcome to Over 30

 

I'm back and actually valid here now!

1) I am now 31

2) How long have you been writing or reading on these boards? Well, I came in mid 2006 aand I think I left around late 2011; I've been back about a month

3) Favorite genre, saga of SW? I like thoughtful character-driven pieces, I used to like the EU a fair bit but that's basically all gone now Gilad's dead. I would say Saga or Beyond

4) Favorite characters and why? Tarkin because he's done by my hero, Sir Peter Cushing and despite what anyone says due to this I cannot blacklist him as a monster, Alderaan or not. Dooku, because like Tarkin he had class and intelligence and he's an elegant elder (so cool Chris and Pete were mates I just learned that in about 2007!), Voss Prack, and Gilad Pellaeon. of the EU because he proves my belief of Imperials and Sith that they are NOT wholly evil and can strive to be just.

5) Why has SW always been so special to you? First because it let me dream and forget for two hours I'm in a chair. Later it's because I value the skills of a few main players in the films

6) Favorite tips or advise for writing.

Go with your heart but strive to respect the original spirit of the work. Thousands of *real* people have contributed to SW they should be remembered as we strive to do our tributes.

 

Welcome Cushing's Admirer -- It takes a writer with a great deal of respect and talent to change a 2-dimensional villain into a 3-dimensional & complex personality. Zahn created Thrawn whom you could admire for his tactical genius and unique style of enemy profiling Gilad was a strong and principled second /XO, not a cookie-cutter type at all. And as for Mara, She is/was it for Luke, 'nuff said.

 

Nyota's Heart: I would agree however personally I don't think Zahn succeeded very well except in the cases I mentioned. I didn't really like Thrawn till Outbound Flight because that's when he finally showed he was a man. I have liked Gilad from the start though I do like he's grey like all of us but strives for principles. Mara I have never liked. I don't really even like Zahn's writing style. To me he's a lesson in be careful how you handle characters--some work, others don't.

Back when I used to read, I actually wanted was her name Callista, the one that got trapped--to be with Luke. I don't like Mara's handling at all. Plus, women on the whole don't speak to me particularly if they're Alpha Females and she is.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

1) In my 40s.

2)How long have you been writing/reading these boards?
Since 2000. I found the boards just after Episode 1 came out during a break from writing my dissertation. A well-written Qui-Gon Jinn story later, I was hooked.

3)Favorite genre, saga of SW?
I like it all at least up to NJO, but my favorites are probably Saga and just prior.

4) Favorite characters and why? Qui-Gon Jinn because he refuses to be a "yes" man but also understands that he may be mistaken and is generally willing to learn from those mistakes. Obi-Wan Kenobi because of his personal growth from impulsive teen years with absolutist visions to the man who comes to understand deeply the gray zone. Luke Skywalker because he is truly motivated by a desire to do good.

5) Why has SW always been special to you?
There were strong female characters who held their own with the guys, and it took place in space. As I've gotten older, it has held its appeal because the story lines are multi-layered and wrestle with fundamental questions about the nature of the universe.

6) Favorite tips or advice for writing?
Write. It doesn't matter what it is or how bad you think it is. Keep writing. You can always revise but first you actually have to have something to revise. Switching genres is a great way to get through writer's block. That is why I started writing fan fiction. I got a bad case of writers block on my dissertation. These days fan fiction gets written when I'm stuck on a grant or paper, but it's the same thing. Details, both in the story and things like grammar and punctuation, matter. If you want your readers to focus on the story, then don't cause them to fall out of it by not checking your spelling, etc. However, too much detail is a bad thing. Tolkien is the only person who can get away with taking three pages to walk ten steps.

 

That last point seems a little harsh. I am very detailed. Being detailed doesn't have to be a bad thing. Why does it bother you? Likewise, I am not a mechanical writer. I do not do commas well. I can understand people have different tastes but for me it's the story that counts not particularly punctuation. I have seen enough typos in SW profic and it didn't stop me from reading. BTW, I am not saying you are wrong I am simply saying our approaches are clearly very different. I would like you to tell me why these bother you so.

 

So long that the detail is interesting and there are other things going on to keep the reader's interest, then go ahead and take ten pages to walk three steps. You'd be surprised how often people will draw out the pacing of a story with the use of a continuous inner monologue. I know I do it. As long as the reader isn't bored out of their skull, then you can pile on all the detail you want.

 

One of my favorite writers is Elmore Leonard (R.I.P.). King of great dialogue. He developed 10 Rules for great writing:

1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

I try to use these as guidelines rather than rules because even I go against a few of them (2. 3, and 4).

 

You are right. Detailed is usually a good thing, and I didn't mean to imply that it was always bad. I generally love well-crafted, detailed writing. But it can be over-done. The first part of the Hobbit, when they are walking through the forest is an example of almost excessive detail. What saves Tolkien is that it is essential to setting the tone of Middle Earth, even though in my opinion, he could have left some of it out and gotten to the action a bit sooner without losing anything. I also know that in the case of Tolkien, I'm in the minority, which is why I said he's one of the few who can get away with it.

Be that as it may, too much (or too little) narrative detail and not enough detail to the mechanics of grammar do the same thing for me: cause me to focus on the writing and not the story. I have to work harder at the mechanics of reading, something I don't like, in part because I do a lot of editing in my professional life. I read fan fiction to relax. When the grammar mistakes become over-whelming or the detail impeeds the story-telling, it reminds me too much of work. So it is a matter of balance for me. I can forgive missed commas, the occasional run-on sentence, typos, and spelling mistakes. I'm likely to miss the occassional lapse because I'm not reading to edit, but for enjoyment. I can also forgive the overly rich detail that might slow the pacing of the story or a lack of detail that makes the story feel under-developed every so often. Lots of detail that does nothing to advance setting, mood, plot, or character (or conversely not enough detail to advance setting, mood, plot, or character) make for difficult reading. My point is that your readers shouldn't have to work too hard to on the mechanics of reading to get through the story, regardless of whether the story is a professional gig or a labor of love by a fan.

 

Thank you for explaining your positions it is well done. However, not all of us are action writers. I certainly am not. I focus on emotion, relationships, often internal struggles. Everything doesn't have to be action, action, action. I like to think about the character's circumstances and consider how I may be in their place. I am very detailed probably beyond what you'd like because for me writing is like painting with my mind via words. I focus on what I want conveyed more than mechanics because it's what speak to me.

 

1) 1) Age - In my profile, for the curious....

2) How long have you been writing or reading on these boards? I have been a member of the Force.net for around ten years. It's a scary prospect, because I was in my early twenties when I first started. I've not always posted here continuously, during that time though, and I had a different user name when I first signed up. (Access to it was lost when I forgot the password and yahoo messed up the e-mail account I had for it, so I decided to make another.)

3) Favorite genre, saga of SW? I tend to like the period just before the Phantom Menace going up to the Yuzzhan Vong era, which covers the films and most of the "important" EU novels. But I like the Rebellion era best and the making of the New Republic.

4) Favorite characters and why? I love Rogue and Wraith Squadron, but I've never really written anything with them, because I mainly write stories with original characters in them. Kyp Durron is also a favourite.

5) Why has SW always been so special to you? I've been a Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember and I write in it because it has been the only fandom which has inspired me to write (apart from Tolkien) and it is the only fandom which I've felt I've known enough about, but had the scope to write new stories in.

6) Favorite tips or advise for writing. Don't waste your words. They are important and should bring the story forward. Anything which doesn't add to something to the story, shouldn't really be there.

Research is good. I've come across many stories which get details wrong and the original source is best (don't make the blunder I did with a short story where I used information from an old RPG, only to find later it would never have happened in the time frame I had the story set in...).

Write what you enjoy or feel that you want to write, and not purely for other people.

Make sure that the ideas you've come up for for the story is plausible and doesn't look silly when it is written down. There are many plots, etc, which may seem like a good idea when you first have them, but aren't when you look at it later.

Don't be afraid to review your work and rewrite it. It may take longer, but it will make you a better writer in the end.

Complete a story before you post it. There are many stories which I have but which are unfinished and that I have posted. It may seem like a good idea to post as you write, but I find you lose readers if you take too long between updates and no one really wants to start to read a story which looks like it will never be finished.

Keep on writing.

 

Hi to all the new members! It's great to meet you.

MM: One of my teachers posted Elmore Leonard's "rules" in class. She especially hated the use of "suddenly" and "desperately."

Space Wolf: Love me some Rogue and Wraith Squadron fics. We used to have a club, but it died out. *heavy sigh*

 

I have noticed that a lot of the old faces aren't around now. I miss the OC crowd we used to have on here, and with the truncation issue, I can't even dig up the old stories to read them. I now wish that I'd saved copies of them to read when I had the chance. I shouldn't complain too much though because I still need to recode a lot of my stories for my site (I had a lot of problems with my old host and still haven't got around to fixing it, yet.)

 

RIP, Aaron Allston, 1960-2014.

What was your favorite AA book?

 

wow... No... That is a shock... I didn't know about that.

For me Wraith Squadron.

And always loved the idea of Han Solo be a full time General in his portion of the X-Wing series.

Another great loss to writting universe. :'(

 

I can't pick a favorite by Allston. But I always liked his Wedge and the blend of action with humor.

 

Agreed. Though I did like Starfighters of Adumar not only for its humor but its characterization. Allston did right by the old hands and the new characters both, and Hallis Saper was my first Featured Article on Wookieepedia.

 

So hard to pick between Rogue and Wraith squadron. AA was my fav SW writer and will be sorely missed.

 

Ok, I am 'over 30' writer who has been around boards some over the years... I have recently discovered an interesting little trick for writing. It only works if you are old enough to remember seeing the OT in the theaters during the original releases - as well as Leave Yesterday Behind, Corvette Summer, and Heroes. Anyway, I have found that listening to 70's music reminds me of the Star Wars feel that surrounded - more like eclipsed - pop culture at the time and my initial instinctive feelings on the whole thing back then. Obviously, this puts me in the way over 30 category these days, but seriously, sometimes I look at pics of the actors from the press tours, etc. and it helps put me right back in that mind set of when I first became interested in what would become known as fanfiction.
Normally, I write with music of some sort playing in the background. It was only recently a popular song from the late 70's came on and brought this into focus.

Also I really like what Space_Wolf had to say about writing. Very good points for anyone interested in improving their fics.

 

I also find music very impactful regarding suiting or achieving/maintaining a mood. It also often helps me focus so I can write.

 

Or you can play this:



Yes, I am old enough to have the 45 of this song.

On the writing to music subject, I can hardly do anyhting without some music in the background. Somehow I don't think as well in silence. Doesn't have to be 70's music. I'm glad I'm into jam bands like Grateful Dead and Phish where jams last as long as 30-60 mins long.

 

I tend to do better with instrumental types. I do most of my writing to trailer music, world music, or film scores.

I actually have a write up on my fave Peter Cushing film I want to do but the words aren't coming yet so I'm listening to music until they become unlocked.