Creative Writing

[Drewbacca]

Hey, I'm going to cut to the chase first so people who might be able to help can do so without reading a shit ton:

What are some good creative writing resources people recommend here on TNL? I know we have some literature junkies and english teachers around so I thought I'd try to pool together the resources I could. I'm not that strong in the writing department, stylistically or formally, so I'm not expecting miracles. Also does anybody know any good resource websites for lore, myth, and legend? I've been using wikipedia to research things like djinn, werewolves and omens. My search results on Google have been scattered, so I was hoping for something a little more centralized than crawling Google, and a little more specialized than Wikipedia.

Here's why, for anybody who's curious:

A couple of months ago I posted a series of posters involving a luchador fighting supernatural enemies (giants, giant blobs, a reaper, a robot and some possessed bunny rabbits). These posters were printed on 15" x 20" sheets and framed in the boardroom of the company I work at. Everyone really likes them and they're often a centrepiece for conversation at meetings with clients of ours that I'm briefing or being briefed by.

A month or so ago (maybe more, now) a client of ours from Mexico came in and completely loved the illustrations. To the point where she demanded that I make up some kind of exposition concerning the character and what he's doing. She approached me several times during her time at our offices and told me she could sell it easily and I should really consider it (she gave me her contact information as well).

I wasn't that interested. Quite frankly both Joystick Adventures and Robobo weren't the successes, creatively, I had hoped for. But I've been kind of brainstorming a bit and researching and I might do one just to see if I like it and have fun with it. I've been reading stuff on wikipedia concerning lore and there is a lot of subtext and meaning to the myths presented in every single culture around the world.

So working some kind of fun story based on real myth and legend in to the stories could be fun for me. I'm naturally interested in it and haven't stopped reading this stuff all week. She's adamant that she can sell the book in Mexico. My boss is spanish, too, so she's helping me out a bit with translating and getting the southern feel right.

I'm not expecting it to work out, but one short story written and drawn up using the luchador character is probably going to be a blast. If any writers want to read the first draft when it's done let me know and I'll PM you.

[Scourge]

Are you asking for something to read to help you be a better writer? I think that's what you're asking...

Anyway, while it's not a pedantic guide per se, read Stephen King's On Writing. It's terriffic and I'd think quite helpful.

[Drewbacca]

Anything that will help. I'm going to keep the stories short and I'm not expecting too much from myself (since it will be graphical). I'm being realistic. But yeah, anything like the Stephen King book you mentioned can help. I just don't really know what's the tops. Stephen King might be a great person to learn from, especially if I plan on doing any ghost stories. Thanks.

There was a style book everyone told Jeremy to read for his reviews. What is that? I'm not planning on doing anything except pure fiction.

[Josh]

centrepiece

nice.

[Drewbacca]

That wasn't a typo.

[Josh]

I know. I meant it.

[Glass Joe]

1. Stephen King - On Writing
2. Elizabeth George - Write Away
3. Judy Reeves - A creative writer's kit

All 3 are good but I really enjoy "A creative writer's kit". It comes with a book that has a years worth of writing prompts. A different subject each day that has a really cool way of making you think in ways that you might not usually. It also has a couple dozen cards that have useful tips on the what to do/don't do.

[jyoung]

Learning to write well is a lot like learning to play an instrument well:

Beginners almost universally suck, but through constant practice and pushing themselves to their limits, their skills gradually mature over time.

Basically, how good you get (and the speed at which you improve) is very closely related to how much you put into the craft.

[Drewbacca]

Okay I've placed orders for these books. I better learn something.

[Scourge]

I should have mentioned... you can get the audio book of On Writing on cd, read by Stephen King and it's really fucking awesome.