Places to Chat
Fantasy stories are
Chatterbox: Inkwell
Fantasy stories are
Fantasy stories are fun to write. Because I am homeschooled, I have lots of time to write. In a Homeschool Co-op that I do, there is a fun creative writing class. All you do is play a roleplaying game and get xp by writing!
submitted by Sasha B., age 10, Berkeley, CA
(September 6, 2008 - 6:07 pm)
(September 6, 2008 - 6:07 pm)
Yay for uncliched fantasy! *mwah ha ha*
Pity mother doesn't take the same view. I mean, really:
Mom: Haley you should write what you know!
Me: ... I do.
Mom: You write about dragons and magic and THINGS THAT DO NOT EXIST!!!!
Me: That doesn't mean I don't know it. Quite the opposite.
Mom: YOU SHOULD WRITE ABOUT HIGHSCHOOL, and REGULAR KIDS!!!!!
Me: But I don't even like realistic fiction! How can I write in a genre I don't even like?
Mom: YOU NEED TO WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW! *goes off in a huff*
Me: ...
Grr. She should know by now I don't like realistic fiction, unless it's REALLY GOOD realistic fiction. I mean, she's had to live with me for 15 years, give or take.
(September 7, 2008 - 12:11 am)
My parents are teachers, so I may be biased by saying that your mom just is trying to prepare you for college, because students have to learn to develop multiple writing styles. Try talking to your mom about it when you offer to do a chore that she dislikes that you don't often do. It will make her more openminded to your ideas. Also, do not yell at her! State your opinion calmly and diplomaticly; she will be all the more impressed with the level of maturity. Unless, of course, they do not have the same Writng Courses in Deep Space as in Northeastern U.S.A., Planet Earth!
(September 11, 2008 - 10:50 pm)
You may be biased, yes.
But I'm not talking about writing styles, I can do different writing styles. Just compare my NaNo 07 with my essays for English during the same time period, and then compare with my short stories. I can do different styles, promise.
I'm talking about GENRE, which is an entirely different matter. While you could write, say, two science fiction stories with exactly the same plot, characters, setting, etc., but vary your writing style (i.e., word choice, tone, grammar, etc.) you'd have two completely different stories that happen to have the same plot, character, and setting. However, if one person were to write a realistic fiction and a science fiction with the same characters and settings and plot as far as is possible, it wouldn't matter if you wrote them both in exactly the same style, the stories wouldn't be the same, because they aren't of the same genre. They'd be incompatible, so to speak.
Do you see what I'm saying, or is that one of the things that makes sense only to me?
Note: In Deep Space, we have similar classes, with one major exception: Intergalactic Conquest is a core class, and required in high school in order to graduate. Also, we have electives such as Laser Art, Planetary Reformation, Wormhole Studies, and Interstellar Diplomacy and Economy. ;)
...Really though I'm from Wyoming.
(September 16, 2008 - 7:30 pm)
I do understand what you are saying. I personally love writing fantasy or fiction, though science fiction isn't so bad, either. I'm just saying as the daughter of a speech professor and psychology professor (study of the brain, not like a psychiatrist!) that in college, you need to be compatable (not that you aren't) in order to suceed. I know that you hate writing realistic fiction (same here), but again, just hunker down and have a nice long chat with your mom. Ask her why she wants you to write realistic fiction (and hear her out before coming to your own defense!) and then tell her calmly why you enjoy writing science fiction. If you can't discuss the subject with your mom without it turning into an all-out feud, try writing her a letter and sticking it in a place where she--and only she--will find and read it (there's no need for a pesky sibling or a clueless father to be added to the mess!). It may be that she doesn't truly realize that your passion is science fiction, not realistic fiction (I know that you've told her, but maybe she isn't listening). It may be that she enjoyed writing realistic fiction as a teen, or that she doesn't know enough about your life now. Think: Did you like writing realistic fiction before now? If so, your mom may not know your new passion and just be trying to connect with you again. In any case, the only solution is the diplomatic approach: talk to her! (Please excuse me for yelling)
(October 21, 2008 - 6:54 pm)
I see your point. And it's not science fiction, it's fantasy. :)
Anyway, her point is basically "you don't write well unless you write what you know" and my argument is that "it's fantasy, so nobody knows my worlds better than I do" which she disagrees with for some reason. Our personalities are just different that way, I guess. Oil-and-water, in a sense. As to the "clueless dad" thing, dad's very gung-ho for science fiction and enjoys some fantasy, so he gets what I mean about not liking realistic fiction. He just stays out of it through choice.
And Mom didn't write. Never has; like I said, she's not like me personality-wise (hair, on the other hand... *shudder*), she's more like my little sister Quinn, but more down-to-earth and "if it ain't perfect don't do it".
(October 21, 2008 - 11:06 pm)
In that case, just keep doing what you're doing. Keep immersing yourself in your wonderful science fiction and using Cricket to express your feelings to us other writers. Maybe talk to your dad when you need a quick boost. Talk, write, do what ever you do when you need to cheer up, and never forget to laugh. Laughing boosts the brain and keeps you happy. And maybe read some inspiring writings of science fiction writers. What ever you do, just keep being you!
(November 1, 2008 - 12:53 pm)
Oh, I don't get Cricket. Used to, but don't any more.
And as to the cheering up bit, well...
His voice was soft, his manor mild/He seldom laughed but he often smiled/He'd seen how civilized men behaved/He never forgot/And he never forgave
:D
(November 2, 2008 - 1:48 am)
Fantasy is my favorite to write. Realistic fiction is fun, too, but fantasy has positively no limits. You get to make up everything. About the "write what you know" thing...first of all, I totally agree that nobody could know fantasy better than the author, because they made it up! Also, I hate it when people in general say that. You never learn anything through writing if you just write about what you know!
(November 5, 2008 - 4:40 pm)
Hey, Sasha,
You play a roleplaying game, too? I know this is a long way since the first day of school, but my reading teacher started his questing program. It's so much fun! What you do is read a ton of pages, make track of them, and turn it in. The extra pages you read becomes money in the game. (I read 8,000 pages, my team was so happy.) It's funny for the sound effects, and you can die in the game. Not neccessarily die, so you can come back to life. (We already died 2 times. It's funny!)
I so totally agree with you. Fantasy stories are fun for me to write, because I love to read them. The only problem with me is that I sometimes get carried away with the details and not the plot. But right now, I've got a good story story going.
My reading teacher is awesome because not only for the game, he's an author! He writes really good books, trust me. He's written the Door Within series, and The Isle series. He just started a new series, The Sword in the Stars. Stay tuned for that!
(November 22, 2008 - 5:48 pm)
i LOVE fantasy books, and writing fantasy, too. My mom doesn't really care that I read them. But I just can't find anything to write about! Does anybuggy have ideas!!
(March 2, 2009 - 11:49 pm)