Okay fellas. Let me bring you up to speed on things: writing is confusing. There are characters and dialogue and dramatic irony and scene visualization... you get it, the list goes on and on. Even the professionals don't know where to begin. Now that's where I come in. Critics help authors improve and reach out to their readers with brand spanking new stories. Tonight (Saturday, September 28). I will be answering any and all question coming my way on writing on this forum. Ready? Set! Ask away!

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1843898
I've been annoying the fuck out of a couple of important contributors here over this.

They tell me that erratic, impulsive characters lack cohesion but I know that in real life, people aren't as easy as to follow their values all the time and some just don't think twice about every action they take.

What do with unstable/impulsive/self-contradictory characters?
Do they throw off readers?
Would that be a problem of the reader for expecting everyone to be completely rational or of the writer for lacking consistency?

1843898 If someone is writing a tragic ending to a story, would they need to pay more attention to the ending details, or simply shift focus on detail attention?

It's been bugging me for a while, and now that I'm swaying between ideas for my ending, I need to know whether or not I'm able to adequately portray some of my ideas for it. I'm not sure that I'll be writing a tragic ending yet, but it may help me to decide which way to go with it.

Before any assumptions are made, I'm not asking which is the easier way out so I can take it. I'm asking because I want my stories to be good, so if I can handle a tragic ending well or not is kind of a big thing. It may mean putting my story on hold until I'm able, or it may mean a challenge I need to take on.

I know this is terribly long, but I wanted to be clear that I am not simply asking as a way of trying to take the easiest path. I just don't want to walk blindly into something I've little direct experience with.

1843932
I understand. It's hard to keep characters realistic and surprising at the same time. The first step is to lay out your character. Find his/her character traits and make sure they don't interfere with each other. An impulsive is not exactly hard to follow, however.

The reader should be able to see that the character is making decisions on a whim: out of emotions. Sort of like a lover is quick to protect their partner. You don't think things through or weigh the odds of engagement, you jump. It's the same with values. Impulsive persons don't weigh the odds, they jump without looking.

Avoid contradictory character traits however! That will confuse the reader and create a barrier between him/her and the reader. Remember impulsive and contradictory are the same thing! However, character can be confused on where they stand on a topic: internal conflict.

1843958
I'm sorry, I don't exactly understand what you're trying to ask. What do you mean by details? Do you need help on wrapping up characters or plot holes or the likes? Maybe scene visuals? Please clarify.

1844043 My latest story is a dark one, dealing with a bit of an insanity trip. Basically, it can end along one of two branches: good or bad.

I've got ideas for both, but my question, more or less is this: If I go with the bad branch and write a tragic end for my protagonist, in general, what would I need to pay attention to as far as details in comparison to writing a 'good' ending. I say 'good' because with the story I mean now, good is a very context-sensitive term.

Does that help any?

1843898

I really only have one question for you that branches out into numerous others.
Just answer them systematically; read everything over, then go back, and answer them one by one based on which group is applicable to you.

Here you go.

What literary experience do you, as a critic and reviewer, possess?

Are you a published author of any piece of literature or fanfiction? If so, is there any way you could share it with me, or simply elaborate on it here? What was the name, how long ago did you write it, how many works have you written, how long were they each in terms of word count, how successful or popular did they become, and are you working on anything personally right now?

If you aren't an author of any literature or fanfiction, why not? What excuse do you have for titling yourself as a "FIM fiction enthusiast" and "reviewer" while having no officiated works of your own (and only being registered on FimFiction for several months)? How can you say you have the required intellect and experience with literature as a reviewer while having never written something for personal enjoyment yourself? Do you have any legitimate college or university education in fields of literature, English, or journalism? If so, what are the specificities of it? Why did you decide to acquire it in the first place?

Thanks.

1844084 Ah! I see now.

Before writing any ending it's important to weigh out the consequences of the earlier plot points of the story and ask yourself "Does it make sense?" Assuming you've done this and all points converge on these endings, choose.

Now, when writing a 'bad' ending it's too easy to trip and distance the reader from your character. Especially in tragedies, the reader needs to relate with the character for them to really get choked up due to their tragic fate. If you really want to make a 'bad' ending a good ending, set out to leave a mark on the reader.

On the same note, the reader needs to be invested into the conflict as well. I hate to bring up this comparison, but the reason Fallout: Equestria's ending was a very emotional one for a lot of readers was that they showed investment in Little Pip as well as the restoration of the Equestria we know and love. Emotional connections to the character? Check! Investment in the story's conflict? Check! This adds up into an ending that truly leaves a mark on the reader.

1844222 Thank you so much. I'll keep this in mind as I approach the end of my story. I guess my choice then will be ore or less over how well I feel the others lead up. Back to step one, but now I at least know why. Again, thank you for your time.

1843898

I plan to write a large story that contains many fight scenes, world-building, and many things I could ramble off about. I really want to begin to write this story in the beginning of November but I have a few things I think I would like to improve on before beginning it.

Questions:

How can I improve on scene visuals? People mentioned I have a problem in scene visuals and I'd like to know how I could improve writing details.

I have problems with making my sentences flow. Every time I read a good book or story on this site. I love the flow of the sentences, paragraphs, and whole story. Yet, I don't exactly know how to begin to hassle this. Can you explain how I could practice this?

What do I do to write good pacing? I don't want to irritate my readers by making the scenes come and go like a lightning bolt or continue on like in the speed of a turtle.

Lastly, how do you write first-person? The story is going to be in first-person and I know that it's going to be a hassle. But I don't think the story would be interesting if it were third-person. How exactly do you write in this perspective? Also, it isn't any of the Mane 6...

1844148
I'll gladly answer these. No, I do not have any professional experience in writing at this point. While I've only been registered in FiM Fiction for a few months, I've been writing for at least eight years now. I have written several short stories and I have written a science fiction story (about novel length) (both not published). I am currently working on a piece of pony fan fiction but I unfortunately don't have a word count I can give you.

So you could say that yes, I write for personal pleasure more than anything and I am not novice writer. But at the same time, I am far from a professional.

1844316

Ah, okay. I appreciate an honest answer like that.

You'll have to forgive me for prejudicially and pessimistically assuming you were synonymous with Trixie.

1844454
I understand. I would be pretty curious if I were in the same situation.

The Great and Powerful ADMUJICA!!!

No? ... Okay....

1844314
If you look closely, you can see every single one of these issues are intertwined. What do I mean? Think about it this way: First person is a very difficult perspective to write in - at least for me. This limited point of view might force you to put your scene visualization in uncomfortable places - making the story choppy and therefore pushing the story pace off-balance. I'm speaking from experience. Writing in first person could be tricky to start out in.

How can I improve on scene visuals? People mentioned I have a problem in scene visuals and I'd like to know how I could improve writing details.

As said above, all these problems come down to one issue: writing in first person. Firstly, first person scene visualization is not too different from third person scene visualization. Before starting a new scene, try writing the scene visuals out in third person. After you're finished, trim the fat. What can the character see and what does the character notice? This filter really helps.

I have problems with making my sentences flow. Every time I read a good book or story on this site. I love the flow of the sentences, paragraphs, and whole story. Yet, I don't exactly know how to begin to hassle this. Can you explain how I could practice this?

You know labels that say "do not try to force the charger into this socket! Permanent damage may occur!"? Stories are very similar. You might want to try addressing things as they come. For example:

I entered the Library in a hurry, briefly pausing in horror at the maze of books and papers scattered throughout the room. "Uhh," I said hesitantly before finding the purple mare, "I found something Twi!" Twilight looked up from her book with messy hair and deep circles under her eyes - not that I look any better.

I made that of the top off my head so it might not be the best example ever, but you get the point. Write passively, only subtly and progressively describing the scene to the reader.

What do I do to write good pacing? I don't want to irritate my readers by making the scenes come and go like a lightning bolt or continue on like in the speed of a turtle.

The whole point behind pacing, at least at the scene level, is that a scene is driven by the writer's intentions.

I really want you to be stressed.

You feel the sentences getting shorter. Line breaks are appearing more often.

No ands and buts are showing up.

Just reading is stressing you out. Make sure to set up the scene first because you won't have much room to do that once a fast paced moment begins. Other than that, dictate how fast you want the reader to read by forcing his/her eyes to move fast. It's really down to a technical level beyond scene visualization.

Lastly, how do you write first-person? The story is going to be in first-person and I know that it's going to be a hassle. But I don't think the story would be interesting if it were third-person. How exactly do you write in this perspective?

The best advice I can give you on this question is use 'I,''me,' or 'we.' Refer to the advice and example above. Hint: I wrote the example in third person before trimming out the other person's thought and filling in 'I' and 'me'.

1844640

Thanks, the advice helped me a lot and I'll be keeping them in mind. Also, they do seem to all lead to writing in first-person.

Closing Statements

This episode was definitely shorter be no less great! I hope you were able to get some good advice. Thanks for tuning in tonight and I hope to see you at the next Q&A next Friday! Be sure to follow Admujica or this blog for the when and where of the next one! This has been Admujica, have a great weekend everypony!