Why do you write?
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Great question!
I wrote a lot as a kid. Tons of random stories. I never got very far with them. Sometimes not even a chapter. I love going through my notebooks (I HAVE TONS!!!) and reading all my “beginnings” of stories… haha
Here’s a couple of titles (or not haha) with small explanations:
The Secret Cave and the Magic Stone: LOL. I actually got through like 7 chapters of this!!! WOW. I was so pumped about it. Then I lost the notebook. Never found it… “slaps forehead”. I’m notorious for losing things. Anyway… It was supposedly about this family who goes on vacation around the US and they go to this cave (I think) and they meet this 2 foot tall man (when I was little I totally remember thinking about that and being really excited haha) and somehow they find this magic stone… yeah it’s great! lol
NO TITLE 1: So it was about this girl with horrible behavior so her parents sent her to this home… yeah. Umm. about a chapter, tho I thought about it and worked on it more than that. I kept changing stuff. But I had like a whole page and more where the head lady is telling her the schedule. I really like being super organized so I had fun planning that. lol. Only now do I realize that my readers would have gotten bored super fast :).
That story believe it or not (and a lot of my childhood ones) were based on dreams (as well as the secret cave one) LOL.
What was gonna happen was that this girl was still super bad so they sent her to a different school a year later and all I remember is that in my dream they slept in these cubicle things with stairs… don’t even ask. I have no idea. =)
(a lot of my stories are named chapter one =)) I’m sure you can understand 🙂
NO TITLE 2: This one was about this girl. She did all these things (I’m being vague… lemme see here). The whole beginning of the second chapter was devoted to what she got for her birthday for like 10 years. My poor readers…
But she had a horse and tons of pets [like a ball python and a lizard (I loved those animals … still do)] and she knew this girl that was homeless and she gave her food in a barn. I dunno how to explain this…
I think I had 3 and a half chapters.
NO TITLE 3: 2 and a half chapters. I really liked this one… It was about this boy who was a servant to a prince but the prince was really mean so he got sent to this other castle to be a messenger. He got training then my story ended. 🙂
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I have SO Many more. It’s just funny to me :). My childhood stories 🙂
But I guess I could just say that I have always written random things. I really enjoy it.
Thankfully I have an awesome friend who introduced me to actually planning my stories!! (novel idea right?) So I”m liking it now 🙂
Someday I wanna right books that will always be remembered. Ya know? I’m sure we all do! I want to write a variety of genres too!
MELODY
Life is short, smile while you still have teeth!
writergirl101 wrote: Can you remember you first story? If so, please elaborate…
Well, according to my mom, I was making up stories with my dolls and stuffed animals when I was like 2-3 yr. old? So I really don’t remember any of that XD But I do remember writing a story about a horse named Thunder. Probably was between 5-7 yr. old? Anyway, it was about a horse who entered a jumping contest. It came complete with illustrations and messy handwriting (so professional XD)
@writergirl101 @arindown @a_nna (and anyone else who wants to answer)Alright, here’s a question for y’all.
What was your first ‘official’ story (that is, your first long story, or the first draft of your first written novel/novella. And it doesn’t have to be published.)
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
Wow! You have great memory. I only know my stories because I have most of the earliest one’s on an old computer.
Actually, some of my best ideas have come from dreams. It’s so crazy! Some characters from books show up occasionally, or people from my school. It’s nice because I don’t have to think about what they’d say–they just say it! 😆
What was your first ‘official’ story (that is, your first long story, or the first draft of your first written novel/novella. And it doesn’t have to be published.)
Ok, so it’s this really bad book about three girls who are brought into a world to save it (of course) from the evil guy who killed the old king… The rest is pretty predictable, except the girls are the keepers of these jewels which contain knowledge, perception, and truth.
How that works, I have no idea. Actually, magic is a pretty good answer. 😋 Those books were rip-offs of pretty much every good book out there! XD
I’m not sure how much of that is the original idea, because it was a collaborative work that took about four years. I finished the first book last year just for kicks. 😂
We had originally planned a trilogy, but I was the only writer and my sister and friend were stubborn about what stayed in and out, even if it didn’t make sense. Oh, the good old days of writing that book…😜
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
Wow! I loved reading through all of those. I have a notebook of half-baked story ideas myself, some with titles and other without, with little descriptions and notes underneath. Most of them are barely filled out. Like this series of random thoughts and points I found:
—MC is an older man making a journey; young companions, but don’t drive the plot
–someone chased shoeless
–in which the author enters his own story
I’ve never done anything with these though, haha.
What was your first ‘official’ story (that is, your first long story, or the first draft of your first written novel/novella.
Great question, Lily!
My first “official” story was about a girl whose family died in the fourth chapter and her faith journey from there. Very dramatic, very angsty, and I pretty much had no idea what I was doing at that point (: However, the next in line would probably have to be a project about a girl–Wonder–suffering from a particular disease that results in hearing loss. Not only was there a subplot about her foster father’s battle to adopt her, but there was also a mystery surrounding his wife’s fifteen-year absence, the loss of Wonder’s own mother, and Wonder’s determination to see and hear as much of the world as she could before she went completely deaf. Big leaps between the two, in my planning/plotting and my understanding of writing.
I would read that! It sounds like you had a lot of fun writing it (:
melodyjoy wrote: I love going through my notebooks (I HAVE TONS!!!)
I hear ya girl! I probably have waaay too many notebooks than is healthy for me 😉
So sorry you lost one of your notebooks!! Maybe it will turn up again? And that is cool that your dreams sparked ideas for stories (I jotted down a couple from my own dreams, but only if they seem like a really good one. I did not jot the one down where a dinosaur laughed in my face…. just don’t ask… just don’t XD)
You gotta lot of intriguing childhood stories; thanks so much for sharing them! It’s a lot of fun to revisit your earlier works (after you finish cringing over plot holes and such!) And I know; I hope too that my stories will be remembered.
Wow. That sounds cool! (and it sounds like you had fun 😉 ). Is it hard to collaborate on a story with several people? Are you going to continue the stories?
Wow, that second story sounds complex and very compelling! (though, for both stories, I think a box of tissues is in order!) Are you going to keep writing about Wonder?
@a_nna @writergirl101 @arindownSo, I noticed that you guys were talking about maintaining innocence and child-like wonder in stories? I can’t remember any stories that I’ve recently read (off the top of my head) that have a protagonist or character with those qualities; except in some movies my family and I recently watched. Namely Paddington 1 and 2, and Disney’s Christoper Robin (not to be confused with Good-Bye Christopher Robin; which was a really interesting movie about A.A. Milne. But I digress). Anyway, what is your favorite story with a protagonist who has a child-like or innocent/hopeful personality?
Ps. Wait, I just remembered a story : Pollyanna! *face palm*
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
Is it hard to collaborate on a story with several people? Are you going to continue the stories?
Not really, if everyone is writing. In that case, my sister and friend wanted to tell me what to write. 😆
I might continue, but probably not. Fun fact: the characters in my WIP are those characters but I’m writing them in a different setting! XD
Anyway, what is your favorite story with a protagonist who has a child-like or innocent/hopeful personality?
Anne of Green Gables always makes me happy. 😊 Pollyanna was too much of a Mary Sue for me…😉
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
writergirl101 wrote : Fun fact: the characters in my WIP are those characters but I’m writing them in a different setting! XD
That’s so funny! I haven’t really tried that with my characters (though, I have thought about changing the plot, not the setting.)
Anyway, my younger sister loves Anne of Green Gables. Have you seen some of the newer tv series? If so, which is your favorite; or which do you think stuck closer to the books? (Personally, I like Sullivan Entertainment’s version with Megan Follows… but then again, I’m kinda old fashion XD)
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
Yes, I just recently saw them! I liked the first one, but the others kinda went downhill. I like the Megan Follows one better, definitely. There can never be another Anne! 😁
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
Are you going to keep writing about Wonder?
Honestly, I’m not sure. I still have everything for that project, and I revisit it every now and then to read through, revise or add to it. But I’ve kind of shifted away from the style I originally wrote it in. Not only is it in first person (something I struggle with now), but it’s very introspective and down-to-earth. My recent WIPs are very different–from their fantasy-world settings to the characters’ POVs and journeys. I’ll definitely find my way back to Wonder at some point. I just don’t know when that is yet.
imwritehere1920 wrote: Anyway, what is your favorite story with a protagonist who has a child-like or innocent/hopeful personality?
There is a little book by Frances Hodgson Burnett called Little Lord Fauntleroy. I love it so much, I might actually like it more than Burnett’s The Secret Garden. The child in question, Lord Fauntleroy, is the most darling character ever. I also really enjoy Polly in Louisa May Alcott’s An Old Fashioned Girl.
Yes, girl!! Anne of Greene Gables with Megan Follows… my sisters and I have an all-night marathon of the whole collection at least once a year ((: Best representation of Montgomery’s story ever! What’s your favorite movie? I like the sequel the best, the one during the war.
Correction, @imwritehere1920 mentioned Anne first, but that’s directed at both of you ^.^
Anna Friend wrote: Correction, @imwritehere1920 mentioned Anne first, but that’s directed at both of you ^.^
No problem! And Megan Follows is the best! (Also, no one does Rachel Lynn like Patricia Hamilton!)
I wish you best of luck with Wonder and all your WIPs. So, do you like writing in third person better?
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
What was your first ‘official’ story (that is, your first long story, or the first draft of your first written novel/novella. And it doesn’t have to be published.)
Hmmm…the one about Ben was probably my first “book,” even though I’ve been telling stories since I was really small.
So, I noticed that you guys were talking about maintaining innocence and child-like wonder in stories?
Frodo in LoTR is probably my favorite. They do him really well in the movies. Also, Wilber in Charlotte’s Web.
@a_nna Yes! Anne of Green Gables is the best!
@melodyjoy Your old stories sound really funny.A new question…what’s your all-time favorite scenes from books or movies?
Not all those who wander are lost.
I forgot to ask you what the premise for Little Lord Fauntleroy was (I haven’t read it yet)
As for my favorite movie… I can’t decide. I think the scene where Anne is clinging to the bridge’s post is my favorite. Then Gilbert comes blithely along, rowing his little boat XD (I have only seen the movies and haven’t read the books *hangs head in shame*)
I love the last scene in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe (Disney’s version of Narnia) where an archer releases an arrow and a phoenix (or firebird) fall from the sky. It then creates a fiery barrier between the White Witch and the Narnians to protect them. It also inspired me for a fantasy story with a phoenix/firebird character.
Also, pretty much any scene from National Treasure that includes Riley Poole XD Gotta love the nerds!
As for books… where do I begin?!! I have too many, and they all contain spoilers, so I won’t post them here 🙂
What is your favorite scene from either a movie or book?
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
Then Gilbert comes blithely along, rowing his little boat
Haha. Pun intended?
Also, pretty much any scene from National Treasure that includes Riley Poole XD Gotta love the nerds!
Yes! Riley Poole! That guy is so funny.😄 I love the part where he can’t think of anything else, so he tells Abigail his name is Bill.
I love the last scene in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe
Ohhh…it’s been way too long since I’ve seen that movie. Last time, I was so little, that I was terrified (I do remember Peter on the rearing horse).
Some of my favorite scenes…
In the Lord of the Rings movie, where Boromir is wounded, and he’s apologizing to Aragorn. *sniffs* So good. I just love how that part really makes you love Aragorn and forgive Boromir all at once.
In Spideman Homecoming when Peter is sitting on the top of billboard, overlooking the city at night…that moment stuck with me for a long time, I think it was just the loneliness of it.
I love the part in Anne of Green Gables (the book) where her and Gilbert finally make up and decide to be friends, and then stand talking for the next half-hour.😊
There’s always more…Rudric at the end of Monster in the Hollows (Wingfeather Saga), and then again at the end of Warden and the Wolf King. Andrew Peterson did an amazing job of that whole part of the story. *wipes eyes*
Not all those who wander are lost.
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