[SURVEY] Writing Habits

[Mehmani]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
Since the age of five.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
Something in between on the internet, but when writing for fun it's always original.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
Mary Sue-checking characters. It's easy but tedious.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]
Writing the story itself is the most frustrating and time-consuming thing in Literature.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
I think of their traits and personalities first, meticulously doing everything in my head. I then write a paragraph or two summarizing each character. Finally, I turn to the right and look at my bookshelf to find a name. I look at the spines and use author's names.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
Other books that were particularly memorable. Real people are things I base my characters on a lot of the time.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
I listen to Chopin, Debussy and Joplin (I have a one-hour playlist ready-made for the purpose of writing). I will eat something stimulating and then burn off the calories through thinking.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
All at once - there is no other way in my opinion. If I find myself on a roll, then I keep writing until I fall asleep or get bad cramp. When on a roll I eat and drink stimulating foodstuffs and have a bowl of warm water next to me to dip my fingers in (helps get rid of cramp) so I can keep writing for as long as possible.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
I have two different "fortes" - Flawed Heroes that monologue and Mentally Damaged Heroes that are prone to fits and such. I hate Mary Sues.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
Borderline schizophrenics with sanity problems. Tragic Villains are common too.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
Terrible Past, Insanity, etc. The most common theme is Death of the Hero/Villain and/or his/her friends.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
I roughly plot out the entire story right to the end in my head and improvise detail.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
Two answers - Feedback from others or I don't. Most of the time it's the latter.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]
I could profile characters subtlety without doing big info dumps.

[Catterjune]

1: How long have you been writing stories?
Since I was like... 13 I think... 7 years, on and off.

2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?
I used to perfer fanworks, but I'm leaning more towards original ideas lately.

3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?
I think the hardest part is coming up with a name and getting the personality of the characters down.

4: How about writing a story?
Actually writing it. I dunno, I can easily expand about you at a length exactly what happens for the entireity of Joe Goes To Duel Academy (which I quit after the second chapter) but to actually write it... I can't manage it.

5: How do you go about designing your characters?
I usually begin by looking at images, and then work like that. I have to see them on a screen or on paper before I can see them in my mind and get them down on paper.

6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?
Probably whatever I read recently, or television shows.

7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)
Not much. Pretty normal. I think I usually keep the TV on.

8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?
All at once. If I suddenly stop reading it, I get taken out of the mood of the story, and I can't get back into it.

9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?
Naive and child-like. Like a fish out of water.

10: What about antagonists?
Smug, snarky, sarcastic types. Though they are almost never evil for the sake of evil. Deluded, perhaps. Palindrome was in it for the money. Dante was in it for self-esteem. Eurryval was a little bit of both.

11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?
I dunno. Too much dialogue? I'm terrible at writing action sequences.

12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?
Typically both. I start with a Point A, and a Point Z, and Points B through Y as "acceptable detours".

The writing portion is me trying to get from point A to Point Z while hitting as many of Points B through Y as possible. I typically end up completely changing Points B through Y though once I start.

13: How do you get motivation to continue something?
Honestly, I wish I knew. I can get really, REALLY unmotivated and absolutely nothing can get me to finish a story. I could have the entirety of the fanfiction section asking me to continue Joe Goes to Duel Academy or all of fanfiction.net asking me to hurry up with Legendary Michu and I still probably wouldn't.

14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?
More descriptive.

[Vector Nightmare]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]

I've been writing since I can remember myself. More accurately speaking, just about 15 years or so now.

Writing stories... the first real "story" one came around 8 years ago, I'd say. I still have the original manuscript *tears flowing*. Of course, it was rather crap.


[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]

I've taken to fanfiction, more or less, for whatever reason, though I started off original and I always try to devote time to original projects.


[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

Creating a setting and characters that do not feel totally boring, and yet do not immediately remind me of something I read / heard / watched recently. Generally, detaching myself from recent experiences.


[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

Right now, probably the lack of time, and the vast amount of distractions that prevent me from focusing my mind and energy on writing it. When I did actually set writing as a priority, one of the most difficult challenges was sticking to my plot and characters, and not branching off to directions unknown just because I had a sudden inspiration that just had to be written out (not that that's a bad thing, but sometimes it completely destroys your story).


[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]

My usual method is that I think about the role they will play in my story, and the "peak" of their plot thread, their "big moment", so to speak, and then build them up so they can believably achieve that end. But I usually follow various techniques, sometimes even designing templates and profiles, depending on how I feel I should approach my characters.


[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

Everything. From everyday events to stuff I read or watch, to just random crap that pops up through a googlesearch.


[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

Not many habits, I'd say. I write almost anywhere, anytime, including the bus, train, in-between studying, while talking on the phone, while playing some game, while eating... it's writing that's the actual habit that I tend to do while doing anything else.


[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]

In chunks. Sometimes really, really small chunks. Even a single paragraph can be quite a writing accomplishment, depending on its difficulty. Other times I just sit down and get 30000 words done in a night (that was a fun night).


[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]

The dark, anti-hero types with questionable motives and obscure goals. The ones you can't even tell if they're actually good or evil, not even you (the author).


[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]

Same as above. Generally, I like all my characters twisty - one minute they're this, the other things are just upside down.


[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]

I generally don't pay attention to such things, as I tend to write what comes naturally. Can't say I've noticed anything recurrent, in particular.


[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]

It depends. Sometimes I plan a story for months before actually working on it - it often enough happens that a story remains in the planning stage because of lack of interest. Otherwise, I might just come up with an idea on the spot and start it right away.


[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]

Usually, I don't, which is why most of my stories remain unfinished... heh. What I usually must do is keep in touch with my story... if I allow myself to be distracted, start writing something else for example, or just get caught up in random other activities, it's very hard to get back on track.


[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

Probably make it a little less extreme. I usually like to overdo it with tragedy and grimdark themes to the point where it gets kind of repetitive. I also tend to get rather gory and graphic when it comes to violence. I'd try to cut down on those aspects and make my writing appropriate to be posted in this forum =S.

[CrabHelmet]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]

Since I was little.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]

Original ideas; even my fanfics are invariably far from the actual characters and storyline.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

Probably deciding which ideas to cut and which to include and how to arrange the included ones.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

Writing it.

Seriously, the hardest part is just sitting down and forcing myself to put words on the page.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]

Generally, I'll build the characters alongside the plot; I'll give a character a trait that they need to make the plot move in a certain direction, and then I'll move the plot in some direction based on what another character's traits, and so on. It's a bit of a feedback loop. Of course, sometimes I'll focus entirely on plot and build the characters purely to satisfy it, while other times I'll make something character-driven and have the plot simply arise naturally from what the characters would do. It depends on what I'm writing.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

Daydreaming. Oh, and TvTropes.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

Not writing.

I'm REALLY bad at sitting down and actually typing up the ideas I've planned out in meticulous detail.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]

All at once. If I try to write a chapter in chunks, the chapter is never finished. (Obviously, I then revise.)

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]

Cautious; bookish; not to brave but curious. Basically, myself. Most of my characters are actually different aspects of myself; this makes it easiest for me to understand their motivations and thus easiest to write. (It also leads to an unusually low number of jocks being present.) Fortunately, avoiding creating a Mary Sue is easy.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]

Chessmasters, usually.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]

Chessmasters, usually.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]

I always plan out my entire story before I begin writing. Even Foe Fiction's ridiculous meta-story was fully planned out from before I even killed Captain R off.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]

I don't. It's rather a problem.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

I would actually finish the projects I start.

[Nazryl]

[quote name='Airspace' timestamp='1286590579' post='4689709']
Yo. Rinne here. I've been thinking up a few ideas for a new story, and it got me to thinking on how the rest of YCM preps and writes their stuff out. Therefore, I wrote up a quick 14-piece questionnaire that address topics I see rather often in our little section of the forum. All the questions are freeform, so put down as much or as little as you like. You can expand on anything you like: these are just guidelines.

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]

Not that long. I've been Role-playing for much longer and writing fiction seemed to be the natural change.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]

Original Ideas

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

As I tend to make quite elaborate and complex characters and storylines, I have to make sure very small detail is correct and doesn't create contradictions, holes ect.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

The difference between 'Too' and 'To', I can never seem to get it right.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]

I don't design them as such. Usually, a character will just pop into my head and the story will evolve around them.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

My imagination, other works of fiction, movies, games

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

Music, can't write without music.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]

In chunks. I have to stop every so often to go over notes and other small bits to keep myself on track.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]

I can write any with little or no problems.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]

Same as Protag'

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]

One power threatening the end of the world. I also tend to use very dramatic separations of the MC and love interest.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]

Looooooong in advance. The story I'm working on now has been in planning stages for around a year or so.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]

Think about the story and how it could evolve.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

To have my brain work out the difference between 'Too' and 'To'
[/quote]

[FrogNinga]

1: How long have you been writing stories?
Since I started school

2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?
In between

3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?
The first chapter

4: How about writing a story?
The first chapter

5: How do you go about designing your characters?
Well I put up a forum. But my friend just made 3 people and then made up the rest as he went along

6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?
My heart

7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)
Listening to music, eating snacks and Drinking (either water or if im in a good mood diet coke)

8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?
All at once

9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?
I dunno

10: What about antagonists?
I dunno

11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?
The school being taken over.

12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?
I go straight from the heart

13: How do you get motivation to continue something?
Reading My and other peoples fan-fics/Cross-fics.

14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?
I wouldn't change my style.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

To hell with it, I'll take the survey

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]

Since I started intermediate school. I've been on and off writing between the years though.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]

Probably fanfics, since they're much easier to write and draw inspiration from. I usually make my own events within the story though, so I don't completely screw up the story in case I get pieces of canon wrong.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

Deciding what part of the action to place in which part of the story. I can usually get the first few chapters and the last few chapters, but the rest is all up in the air.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

See Question 3.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]

I don't, I just throw them in there. If they don't work, I scratch the whole story and make a new one.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

What I've written so far. This helps me remember where I'm up to and helps me decide where I want to put things.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

Suddenly stopping after a few sentences. However, if I listen to some music, this happens much less often.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]

In varyingly-sized chunks. Sometimes I might even only manage to write a sentence or two.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]

Brave, noble heroes. IMO they're easy to write about.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]

Probably the kind of antagonist that simply wants to destroy everything.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]

If I had a list of plot tropes, I could 'check the boxes', but right now I can't think of anything.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]

Neither... I just write a bit more on my works whenever I feel like writing a bit more on my works.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]

See Question 12

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

Research the thing that I'm planning to write a fanfic of before I even start writing a word on it. It's surprising how much stuff you actually get wrong when you don't know it all by heart, which is why I make my own events within the story.

[Kuri]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b] 3 years
[b]
2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b] Original ideas.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b] Developing a reasonable plot.
[b]
4: How about writing a story?[/b] Making sure it doesn't have any/much references to shows I've seen

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b] Making abnormal-like characters that seem to fit the style of the story.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b] Animes, Famous writers, anything inspirational really.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b] I listen to music and draw sometimes as I write.
[b]
8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b] I write it all at once, if not then I'll leave a little preview.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b] Truthfully, I normally develop personalities as my story goes on.
[b]
10: What about antagonists?[/b] Same as protagonists
[b]
11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b] Constant training = strong person(s). Someone who starts off with nothing ends up big.
[b]
12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b] Normally plot it 2 weeks in advance and see how good it turns out.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b] Normally I prefer to write 1-3 chapter stories, but if I am requested to continue I may create a small arc.
[b]
14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b] Having the ability to create longer chapters. Preferably 50 paragraph chapters, since I normally end up having 15-20 (which includes dialogue).

[Space Ranger Gold]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
About 4 or 5 years

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
Usually original, but sometimes Fan stuff

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
Trying to think of conflicts

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]
Keeping it going when I'm halfway through the story

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
I take the characteristics of people I know in real life, and exagerate them

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
T.V, other authors

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
I need to listen to music that fits the mood of the part I'm working on

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
I try to write all at once, but it doesn't always happen

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]Usually the quiet, shy, or nerdy kid with a short temper

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
They're usually very VERY flamboyant

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
The chosen one is the bad guy

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
Very Very VERY long in advance

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
I don't know, I just do

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be? [/b]
I would like to write dialogue better

[Haku Yowane]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
Probably since second grade, when I found out that I had somewhat of a "talent" for it.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
Usually both. I may mention what I'm into in my writing, or I might just leave it out. I don't do too much all-out fan work.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

I think the hardest part of preparing a story is probably tying it all together. I mean, you can write note and summaries about what you want your story to be about, but then you have to connect the whole thing together.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

Adjectives. I can never think of good adjectives. Of course, that's why the thesaurus exists.

5: How do you go about designing your characters?

First, I write down what I want my characters to be like. Describe their looks, hair color, clothes, so on and so on. Then, I draw then for visual aids, because it's hard for me to picture my own characters when I write the events in the story. Don't ask. Then, I imagine personalities and imply then to the given character.
[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

Personal experience (a little) and information I've already read. I draw upon that especially when creating style.
7[b]: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

Listening to music and eating posicles. Usually when I write, the way I write a section is based on the mood of the song. (For example, while listening to a certain remake of the Song of Storms, I write an actiony-like chapter.) The popsicle thing is just... out there.

8[b]: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
Usually in chunks, because I have to get off, or I run out of inspiration, or I just need a break.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
Characters with funny personalities and heart.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
Dark, bitter, and motivated, thinking they're doing the right thing.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
Not off the top of my head.

12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?
Both, kind of. I do some parts from planning, and then I just write off of it.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
Personally, my parents claim that I'm "good" at writing and, well, they're parents, so, I know they're the most biased people in the world, so I try to make stories that truly [i]are[/i] good.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

hmm... Probably how I describe things.

[Kagamine]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
Since I was seven, I thought stories in my head before then though.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas or something in between?[/b]
You can say I am somewhat inspired by other writing, but I don't really write a lot of fanfic.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
Thinking other the opening sentence.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
In my head the characters are anime, but when I describe them on paper, they look like real people.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
My mind of course, all my stories take plae on a different planet in another made up galaxy.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
I listen to Pandora, either Trans-Siberian Orcherstra radio or Paper Wngs

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
I don't have time to write a whole chapter at once, so in big chunks

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
I cannot answer this question on account of me not knowing that word.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
Heh heh *gglances around the room nervously* Of course I know what this word means *side glances*

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
Strike three I'm out, what does 'plot tropes' mean?

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
I hate planning so I go with whatever I can come up with

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
I read pep talks on NaNoWriMo.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]
That I could actually make the adults talk in my stories, I don't know adult dialoug, it's really annoying.
If that's not the right answer, then I would like to change the way that I go from scene to scene, it happenes to quickly when I write :/

[DARKPLANT RISING]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
For 7 years, since I was 5. Of course back then it was horrid.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
Original ideas.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
Organizing the ending so it actually makes sense.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]
i dun get it

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
I jot down ideas I find awesome from other books, and mix them together to create a character I can cope with writing.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
Of course the books I read often. NOTE: Bartimaeus affected me a lot.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
I often move my fingers across the keyboard when I'm not writing.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
I first make the structure and then add the flesh.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
Characters who are both witty and stupid.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
As long as they have their own unique way of thinking that makes sense, I'm ok.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
[s]The main character can use magical powers[/s] The main character and enemy used to be good friends. And that stuff. Though I suck at making people cry using stories.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
I write whenever I feel like it, mainly after exams are over.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
I don't have a motivation except "just for fun".

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be? [/b]
I'd want to be more descriptive.

[Quiksilver]

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
Ehh. Don't really remember that far back...maybe since I was 7 or 8?

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
Something in-between. I adore writing Pokemon and YuGiOh fanfics, but sometimes I just wanna write whatever comes to my mind at the time.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
THE BEGINNING. I can never think of a good way to introduce the characters, themes, plotline, etc.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]
Putting the thoughts that are in my head into coherent, understandable sentences.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
Strangely enough, I just think of a couple things that define the character (motives, history, etc.) and then just let the characters grow.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
Pokemon and YuGiOh, as said above. I'm also draw upon interesting ideas I hear in music, pop culture, and movies to write my stories, so I guess I would say my sources are wide and varied.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
Listen to music, for sure. I generally chose a song that relates to the theme of the passage I'm writing, also.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
All at once. Once I get the idea for the chapter in my head, it all comes out in one fell swoop.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
People who are a little bad, a little edgy, but ultimately good on the inside. Nobody's perfect, so I find it easiest to relate to characters who are like this.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
Hmm...I would have to say the easiest type of antagonists to write are ones who are complex. I loathe writing stories with shallow, easily-defined bad guys. It's weird, I know, but that's how I roll.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
[url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MeaningfulName"]Meaningful Names[/url] and [url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeelFaceTurn"]Heel Face Turn[/url].

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
Seat of my pants, baby...I generally have the basic beginning and ending set out, but anything in-between I make up as I go.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
Fans. I wanted to end my fanfic Zero Chance many times through it's career, but the fans of the story kept giving me motivation to keep writing. However, love of a subject will also keep me going, too.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]
Hmm...how I describe things, most likely.

[Anbu-of-Sand]

[quote name='Airspace' timestamp='1286590579' post='4689709']
[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
I dabble here and there.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
Something in between. Or at least adding a bit of flare to an unoriginal idea.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
Good character design / plot for me. You want the plot to be exciting, so the reader will want to continue reading and not yawn in the middle of your first paragraph, and at the same time, want the characters to have a personality, instead of having them act like they have no souls and emotions.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]
Being descriptive. And detail. Both of these two things really separate your average, somewhat crappy story from the real stories.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
To be honest, most of the time I base them off of people I know in real life, and sometimes take their designs from average things you would see in T.V. shows and such, so stereotypes in a sort of way if you will.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
Pretty much anything.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
Listening to music, or just when I find any spare time really.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
In chunks. It puts less pressure, even if there is no deadline to posting up a new chapter.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
Not entirely sure on the question here, but it varies upon the plot / story if your talking about their personality. Sometimes the protagonists is your brave, macho looking guy, and other times, the protagonist can be shy, smart, etc.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
Like the above, not entirely sure what the question is asking. But most of the time for me, the antagonist is your average "Take over ____" kind of guy.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
So and so tries to take over something, so and so('s) try to stop him / her.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
It varies really. Most of the time though it just comes to me right when I feel like making a story.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
Boredom really. Sounds odd, but it works. When I'm bored, I start to write a chapter / paragraph for my story, and before you know it, you have a few chapters already done for the story that are pretty darn good.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]
I'm really good at details / descriptions, one of the two, but the other one I lack in, which is the one I want to change / improve.
[/quote]

[-Griffin]

[quote name='Airspace' timestamp='1286590579' post='4689709']

[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]

No idea, probably seriously for like, 4 years?

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]

Original works.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

Getting a strong start to things.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

Managing to motivate myself to continue.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]

I don't. Not much anyway. I usually pick some animal whose general associated traits sum up what a character 'has to be' for a plot, then I write the story and let the characters develop throughout it, before going back and re-writing some parts with the characters I've had a story to think about.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

I usually get inspiration for specific scenes, usually not even with the same characters, which I then find ways to interweave and find characters similar enough to be the same, although it can be a while from getting an idea to incorporating it anywhere.. Music is quite good for getting these initial ideas.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

Between 7pm and 10pm in the rain on the steps to a closed art centre in tattered jeans, a duffel coat and a fishing hat with a wind-up radio/torch playing Classic FM. No other conditions work.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]

All at once, often, although it's not a rule.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]

Haven't thought about it much. I try not to restrict myself, but probably the more shy/timid ones.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]

The insane :3

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]

Not that I'm aware of.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]

Some scenes are pictured years ahead, but many inter-connecting ones are made up off the cuff.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]

Please, you tell me.

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

That it actually happens more.
[/quote]

[Emperor Watari]

1: How long have you been writing stories?

~ I've been writing stories since I was 8, but only found my stories to be acceptable when I was 14. That's the same year I started taking it seriously.

2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?

~ I usually like to make my own "original" works, but with the creation of my private novel series, "Legends of the D.E.", I've incorporated some ideas from other sources such as my roleplaying buddies. (I've gotten permission to use any characters I haven't created myself, of course.)

3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?

~ Personally, the hardest thing about preparing a story is trying to make sure it's original and doesn't somehow break any copyright laws (even if it isn't being used for monetary gain) and won't be confused as something from another person's work.

4: How about writing a story?

~ The hardest thing about writing a story... well, when you're trying to get readers, it would be trying to get the idea and format it into something interesting to the target audience. If that didn't matter, I'd say that the most difficult thing (at least, for me) is trying to make sure everything in the story makes sense and ties in well with the other events of the story.

5: How do you go about designing your characters?

~ My character designs usually start in a RP character profile format. From there, I build upon them until they meet my specifications. Once these profiles are completed, I add them into my profile booklet and send my characters into a new adventure.

6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?

~ Whatever idea that my pot-luck imagination decides. Who knows what's inside there...

7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)

~ Primarily, I am... : dream recording, listening to music, watching anime on the internet, snacking, and/or roleplaying

8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?

~ I write as long as my brain keeps spewing ideas. Then I would revise it and see if I can nicely divide the information into chapters.

9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?

~ Hard to say. I've dived into many different personalities with ease which are well-liked among my few readers that I really can't tell what kind of character I can write better. All I can say is that I like to make complex (albeit with occasional cliche's) protagonists.

10: What about antagonists?

~ I believe I treat the antagonists the same way I treat protagonists, only add a bit more evil to their mixture... most of the time...

11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?

~ Probably, but I just don't know it. I don't watch too much TV, I rarely watch movies, and I have a bad memory (which makes it difficult to remember all the languages I create)

12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?

~ Both. I have a general idea of where I want to go with my ideas, but the minor details are done by whatever flies out of my head, along with whatever comes out of my team's heads.

13: How do you get motivation to continue something?

~ No idea. Things just happen for me. One could say my motivation is like a time-bomb without a visible timer- almost impossible to tell when it'll go off, but sure makes a bang when it does. It also helps to have assistance and nothing else to do.

14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?

~ My perfectionist attitude toward my stories. I don't believe my stories are worthy enough to go out into public, but for all I know, there might be a possibility (albeit extremely slim) that my series could become something popular.

[Shalltear Bloodfallen]

[quote name='Airspace' timestamp='1286590579' post='4689709']
[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]

Can´t remember exactly but I think I began writing about a year ago.
I wrote a few short stories before that but I started taking it more seriously about a year ago.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]

In between, since I often draw a lot of inspiration from existing stories

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]

Coming up with a working plot and eliminating plotholes, also to make the material interesting for your intended readers

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]

Keeping it interesting and preventing it from getting stale or silly (if it´s not intended to be silly)

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]

Most often start out simmilar to most character applications for RP´s.
From there, I improve their character through their actions in the story.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]

For the more intense scenes, I tend to listen to a lot of music but in general, I get inspiration from most things, be it a story, music, movie etc.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]

As mentioned under question six, I often listen to music for inspiration but also since it often helps me to get in a certain mood and it helps me a lot with writing certain scenes or events.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]

Mostly, I write untill I´m out of ideas.
I then go back and read it through, polishing it (this include trying to eliminate or fix strange parts, dividing parts into new chapters or chunks, also the often very needed spell-check)

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]

When it comes to protagonists, I tend to stic to the more calm and serious ones.
I often have problems writing for the other types.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]

Whatever my twisted mind can pump out.

Certain details may differ but they teare often downright sadists, ice-cold hearted and borderlining insane, bastards.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]

Probably a lot of things but not any I can recall right now.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]

I often have certain events planned out in rough details, or a very rough version of most of the story.

When fleshing it out (writing details), things can go wherever my mind leads me.

A few stories I write from time to time though are not planned out in advance and I redirect the story on certain paths as I go along.
These tend to be easier for me to write but littered with plotholes or just being plain uninteresting for anyone except me.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]

As long as something is funny to write and I´m doing it because I want to, not because I need to.

If something stops being funny or I´m doing it for someone else, the quality tends to drop a lot and often leads to me canceling the whole thing.
[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]

Mainly that I stop being such a perfectionist regarding my writing.
I´m juding my stories VERY harshly and consider most unworthy of being posted here on YCM when I´ve seen posted stories that are far worse.

Another Thing I would like to improve is my plots and protagonists since they tend to be somewhat unoriginal or stereotypical[/quote]

[Twig]

[quote name='Airspace' timestamp='1286590579' post='4689709']
[b]1: How long have you been writing stories?[/b]
I started writing in 6th grade(two years from 2010), but I wrote horribly. I can write fine now, but I still need improvement.

[b]2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/b]
All of the above.

[b]3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/b]
I don't think I understand this well. Like coming up with ideas/drafts/outlines? I think the hardest would be making the outline.

[b]4: How about writing a story?[/b]
Hardest part of writing a story? That editing phase.

[b]5: How do you go about designing your characters?[/b]
I look at the beginning and the end, decide if the characters are dynamic and static, and plan how they become what they are in the end.

[b]6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/b]
What do I use? Pencil and paper for outline and draft phase. Computer for final drafts.

[b]7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)[/b]
I like being alone in a quiet room when I write. I have snack and rest breaks if I'm writing in a long period of time.

[b]8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/b]
Chunks.

[b]9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/b]
I...don't know. I think I'm fine with all kinds of protagonists.

[b]10: What about antagonists?[/b]
Same as above.

[b]11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?[/b]
Not that I know of.

[b]12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?[/b]
Long in advance.

[b]13: How do you get motivation to continue something?[/b]
Reading YCM fanfics and saying, "I can do better than that!"

[b]14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/b]
I wish I can quickly make up my mind on what POV to use. I like using First Person, but I really want to learn how to write well with all point of views.
[/quote]

[Skyfi]

1: How long have you been writing stories? [b]2 Years maybe?[/b]
2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between? [b]I do a bit each.[/b]
3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story? [b]Honestly? Coming up with characters. [/b]
4: How about writing a story? [b]I have trouble preparing the speed of the story.[/b]
5: How do you go about designing your characters? [b]Thinking about my own life, basing characters off some of my hardships and friends.[/b]
6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing? [b]My life, and music[/b]
7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? [b]Listening to music[/b]
8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks? [b]I write it parts at a time.[/b]
9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise? [b]Strategic characters.[/b]
10: What about antagonists? [b]That's a bit hard, I'm not great with antagonist.[/b]
11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing? [b]Betrayal[/b]
12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants? [b]I think a bit in advance, concepts I'd like to use, but for the most part I write as I go along.[/b]
13: How do you get motivation to continue something? [b]Reading and watching certain things.[/b]
14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be? [b]I'd pace my stories correctly.[/b]

[b]I'm working on a New Digimon fic so I hope people will like it,[/b]

[PikMan]

1. For 2 years, I think
2. Mostly fan works
3. The personalities of the characters
4. Descriptions
5. Not sure
6. Disney Movies, video games, etc.
7. While watching movies for inspiration
8. All at once
9. The streetwise kind
10. Complete monsters
11. Not that I know of
12. I wing it
13. Input from readers
14. I'd make the characters more fleshed out

[Cthonian]

1: For as long as I can remember

2: something in between

3: How to move foward with our idea with the existing plot.

4: same

5: People or personalities I know and can relate with.

6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?

7: Pure silence, I like to be alone so I can think out loud.

8: It all depends on how my thoughts are flowing.

9: Depends on what I'm writing about or what I'm trying to touch on.

10: Those come easy to me because I always pictured telling stories from the villian's POV

11: I don't know.

12: I'm always thinking about it but it's never finalized until I sit down.

13: Fans

14: My timing with certain things

[supershade]

1: How long have you been writing stories?
Since I was 6 I loved a good story, but my word choice and formation of sentences only improved when i entered 6th grade at 10.

2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?
Something of my own with little bits of fan works is my liking

3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?
Setting and how it will affect your characters.

5: How do you go about designing your characters?
Deep emotions that show how they look the way they do.

6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?
Reading other fics.

7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)
Watching youtube.

8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?
In chuncks.

9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?
Hot-headed heroes that rush into things, people who start out weak and slowly become more powerful.

10: What about antagonists?
Friends that turn evil and end up as main antagonists. I also like a good wavering of the sides. Not to mention my love for writing about an insane person.

11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?
Friends are sent to a new world, one goes insane{Main antagonist} Special powers, Trying to get home, ect.

12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?
Seat of my pants.

13.I leave this blank as an explanation for how i motivate myself.

14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?
That i could continually write and finish more than 5 chapters before i get bored and move onto a new story.

[.Rai]

1. A year or so.
2. Anything. I quite like doing fan-fics but sometimes do original ideas.
3. Getting one idea to stick to. It's really easy to let your imagination be too ambitious and add too many things at once, especially if they don't necessarily work.
4. Motivation and finding enough ideas. I have various unfinished stories that are lying in a so-called graveyard because I don't know what to do.
5. Visualise them.
6. Mainly my own head. Sometimes look at other books, fan-fics etc.
7. Listening to music, it can be inspirational.
8. All at once.
9. Tragic backstory is a personal favourite but often it can be hard to work with. There are so many compromises that you have to make so important points fit.
10. I have a list. There's always the one that goes to the good side, the one who has their own purposes, the one who's psychotic and scary and makes great suspenseful parts. Then I remove and add extras as I go.
11. Sometimes anti-hero conventions but otherwise not much.
12. Half-half here. I plan out general ideas but I make up quite a lot on the spot. It can lead to interesting results.
13. Criticism and praise is great. If I know someone is going to read if I improve or if they want more, I'll give more.
14. Being descriptive effectively. Not being really in-your-face when it comes to describing, more concise and smooth.

[xNightshadex]

I decided to check this section out since I love writing and I thought I might do this.

[B]1. How long have you been writing stories?[/B] I'm 14 now, and I've been writing ever since I can remember. Maybe ten years, give or take a few. However, it wasn't until around eleven when I started taking writing seriously, meaning fan-fics, book-length stories, etc. I mostly wrote short stories or just write random stuff when I was a kid.

[B]2. Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?[/B] In between, I guess.

[B]3. In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?[/B] Defiantly working on a plot that both the readers and I find interesting. I have a ton of ideas, but only a handful of them are ones I find "interesting". I don't want the readers to get bored of the plot after a few chapters, and I don't want to lose interest in a plot after a few of them.

[B]4. How about writing a story?[/B] Hm, tough one. I find introducing the characters tough, and getting the story itself going I find tough as well. Also, finding the motivation of writing.

[B]5. How do you go about designing your characters?[/B] I have a weird way of designing characters. First, I'll write what characters will be in the story, their roles in the story, and their names. I then decide what their personality is depending on what their role in the story is. I'll then make a backstory for that character and write down their plot in the story. I'll then finish it with filling up anything I miss. Yes, I spend a lot of time on designing characters, but I personally think characters are almost as big as the plot. Even if you have the greatest plot ever, if you don't have good, realistic characters, I'm not to attractive to it. (My opinion, anyway.)

[B]6. What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?[/B] Mostly other works I did and books I've read.

[B]7. What kinds of writing habits do you have?[/B] I listen to music most of the time, or just sit there doing nothing but writing. But I listen to music 90% of the time.

[B]8. Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?[/B] Depends. I sometimes write a chapter all at once, sometimes I write it in chunks. If I know what I want to write in that chapter, it'll take me hardly any time. The opposite if I have no idea what I want to write in that chapter.

[B]9. What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?[/B] I usually experiment each story with a different main character, personality-wise. However, I always find them turning into that main character that isn't very confident with himself yet others have confindence in him/her.

[B]10. What about antagonists?[/B] I usually end up writing the antagonist(s) as the type of bad guy that doesn't wreck havoc directly, but by making others trust him and get them on his side. Ya know, mentally/influencing.

[B]11. Any plot tropes that you have a a habit of abusing?[/B] The Anti-Hero. There's always a character in my stories that's a anti-hero. Oh, and to a lesser extent, the love interest of the protagonist dying. At least 50% of my stories have that.

[B]12. Do you plan a story out long in advance, or go by the seats of your pants?[/B] Long out in advance. I usually plan it out from beginning to end.

[B]13. How do you get motivation to continue something?[/B] I don't touch it, or even think about it, for a extending amount of times. It could be later that day, a few days, weeks, or months. I usually have enough motivation to continue it after letting it sit there and coming back and reading it.

[B]14. If you could change one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?[/B] Probably being able to stay on plot better. I usually start writing about random stuff if I go off-topic just for a whole paragraph.

[Hellequin]

1: How long have you been writing stories?
-About two years.

2: Do you prefer to write fan works, original ideas, or something in between?
-Original ideas usually.

3: In your personal opinion, what is the hardest thing about preparing a story?
-Initial Concept and Finding/dealing with plot holes.

4: How about writing a story?
-Finishing it.

5: How do you go about designing your characters?
-I start by giving them a motivation in the story, and then determine how they gained this motivation. Their personality forms around that.

6: What sources do you draw upon the most for your writing?
-Probably any published work I'm reading at the time.

7: What kinds of writing habits do you have? (Listening to music, eating snacks during, etc.)
-Must be silent when I write. Can't really be doing anything else.

8: Do you write a chapter all at once, or in chunks?
-Chunks usually.

9: What kinds of protagonists do you write the easiest, personality-wise?
-Those who are trying to fill in something that is missing from their lives.

10: What about antagonists?
-The absolutely crazy types. I just have to make it so they don't make a whole lot of sense but the reader can still see where they are coming from.

11: Any plot tropes that you have a habit of abusing?
-Not to my knowledge. If anything flashbacks (if that's a trope?)

12: Do you plot a story out long in advance, or go by the seat of your pants?
-I plan out most if not all in advance.

13: How do you get motivation to continue something?
-Rea/watch a good story.

14: If you could change one and only one thing about your style of writing, what would it be?
-Stronger diction.