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I am not talking about not writing funny stuff. I mean taking the craft of writing seriously, trying to improve, trying to reach my full potential as a writer. What would you say I would have to do to achieve that goal?
Hmm, let's see...
First, I guess you need to write. And write some more. Write. Did I mention writing? Oh, and don't forget to do lots of writing! ;)
Seriously, I think just keep writing and you'll keep improving. Comments from readers can be really helpful, too. I also find I get lots of ideas, not just story ideas but ideas about ways to write a story, from the things that I read. So, basically, lots of reading and writing should do it.
Just don't get too hung up on the 'right' way to right. Everybody has a different answer on that one. Besides, I've heard it said that a good writer follows the 'rules', but a great writer knows when to break them! I don't claim to be a great writer, but I've always taken that line to heart, as there are plenty of times when breaking the 'rules' can have a much stronger impact.
Anyway, hope that helps.
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
When you aren't writing...
Read. You want to read books that are in a similar style to what you are writing. If you are writing modern fiction read modern fiction, especially from successful and respected authors. Then you want to match your writing patterns to what you read. It will let you know how dialogue should look, how much background and such to include. Note that that will vary, someone like Tom Clancy includes pages on technical aspects, whereas someone else will say the same thing in paragraph.
Get a good editor and reviewer that you trust.
Well,
First off, you do well with your stories most of the time.
From my own experience, character is very important. Get yourself a character that people can identify with (you do that, but look at that in a more general sense from the standpoint of someone who doesn't necessarily share a lot of the things we do here.) I don't mean a character everyone likes either, just one with motivations, likes, dislikes, feelings, and seems as human as a character in a story or book can. Everyone has thier quirks, and showing that in a character just seems to make her or him more accessable to readers.
Scene is easy, just give the reader enough to let them form the picture in thier own minds. Don't skimp there, show the picture of the location, but don't say so much that it doesn't allow the reader to make thier own pictures of things.
If I haven't overwhelmed you here, or put you off entirely, PM me and I'll send you some things.
Becoming a better writer is mostly a matter of simple things. Just tell the story and make sure the background, and characters help you do that.
Maggie
I'm not sure if it will help
...but I feel an urge to misquote Tom Lehrer! =)
being a "serious" writer
I say write from the Heart! Once you have the story down, then go back over it and make what corrections that you can, then find an editor and proofr to help.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Hmmmmm?
Hmmmmmmm!
Even though true perfection
Even though true perfection is unattainable, making the old adage "Practice makes perfect" inherently as false as a certain sugary confection (CUBE! *sob*), practice does really help a lot. I also tend to spend a lot of time reading style and writing manuals.
I don't believe in the One True Way in writing when it comes to style, but I do see those sources as places to poach ideas that I like, or that sound like things I'd want to use. I'm hesitant to point out specific places because, to be honest, when I first found them they made me feel pretty lousy about myself as a writer until I realized that last part ;-)
Reading helps a lot as well. When you have a book or story that you really like, you can examine it and ask yourself why you like it, and if there are qualities in the writer's style you can use in your own writing.
Character development definitely helps a lot too. I'm always pleasantly surprised when I come across a villain that, no matter how much I hate, I can still understand his or her point of view. One-dimensional characters are fantastic for comedy relief, but if they're a key character they usually need more depth - I say usually because like everything else, there's never a hard-and-fast "Do this all the time or else" rule.
It just depends on what feels right for a particular story; Jafar from Disney's Aladdin comes to mind, his sole purpose being to push the story forward and challenge Al to face and conquer his feelings of inadequacy. *pause* ... yes, I just psychoanalyzed a Disney villain >_>
*ahem* But yeah, the important thing is to improve in a direction that you feel you want to improve toward. Like my problem is conflict. I am terrible at dealing with it, which carries over into being terrible at writing it, so it's something I'm constantly trying to improve in my own writing.
Every writer I think, has something they hate or feel is an absolute weakness in their style. Even Stephen King has, I believe, been known to write under pen names because he felt concerned people only bought his books for the name recognition :-)