Title says it all. It can be attitude, aptitude, what-have-you about how you write. Whar arwa do you feel needs improvement?
I’ll start: on top of actually writing (depression has been kicking my butt for over a year now), I feel like I need to work on fleshing out my prose where appropriate. Sometimes I write a line and think, “That’s pretty underwhelming,” but then I have trouble actually thinking of what to add to make it have some kind of flair.
I have the exact same problem! First draft of a fight scene for me sometimes reads like a police report by Joe Friday (just the facts, ma’am). I typically need to make several passes tweaking language to get it to flow. Worst part is I can see it taking place in my head, but translating that image for the reader is challenging.
You don’t have to write it strike-by-strike if you put more focus on the feelings of the characters at hand, but else, there’s a copious amount of ways to replace the word strike.
I definitely have a problem with commas, this might sound weird but hear me out. For some reason, I sometime use TOO MUCH commas. When I write, so many things come to my head and I want to link them all together in a sentence, but sometimes I can’t put them all together. So, I use commas. I also can’t plan for too long or else I lose my flame, my inspiration can only last for so long. I think that’s all I need to improve on a a pretty normal writer.
Grapples. Dodges. Locks. Feints. Kicks. Even biting, scratching and strangling, depending on the intensity of the fight and how committed (or not) the participants are to fair play.
Fight choreography is hard to get right in writing, but there’s a diverse amount of things you can put in besides simple strikes.
@N1GHTMAR3 also has a good point: the intensity of a fight often comes more from internal conflict, than it does from external action.
Semicolons are a wonderful thing. They work as the completion of a full thought, but still allow the continuation of a sentence; they truly are a remarkable punctuation.
Maintaining a sense of place, describing the environment without bogging down the flow of events. Also I have a pretty bad habit of pausing the action for lengthy conversations; I like the conversations but want to have more going on while characters talk.
Character dialogue is something I struggle with. As someone who is quite socially awkward, coming up with charming, intimidating, witty comments for instance is challenging as none of these come naturally for me.
@Camille622 no you aren’t! Winter of Witches is a wonderful WiP with a lovely plot, so don’t discount your writing like that!
Focus on planning and grammar and pace in English basically. But I have lot of issues lol. But i am improving and that’s what is important for me improving with time and Constance
I’ve never found overarching plot easy; individual scenes are OK, but for a long project or game, it’s very challenging to figure out. Which is one reason why I like outlining, even though it’s hard work - it’s so helpful to lay all the pieces out and see how they’re going to fit together!
I guess I like stories that are all over the place with tone, reflecting silliness one day, and tragedy the next. I struggled with CCH as I went from silly scenes where the students play football and go to slumber parties, and then I end up blowing up a 13-year-old kid.
And with StarStreakers!, I’m like “Okay, I want the comedy and charm of GoTG, with the space opera aspects and pitched battles of Star Wars, but then I want to toss in some philosophical and scientific conundrums like Star Trek! Make it so!”