Fic Talk > General Discussion

Question of the day part 10

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julilly:

--- Quote from: mare on July 23, 2013, 01:03:04 PM ---Cool! hopefully it's to write and not just because you forgot what it looked like! LOL

--- End quote ---

I was going to write then I realized I need to do a lot of reading to figure out what the heck I'm writing about LOL

mare:

--- Quote from: julilly on July 23, 2013, 01:05:58 PM ---I was going to write then I realized I need to do a lot of reading to figure out what the heck I'm writing about LOL

--- End quote ---

Well, that's a good start! LOL

mare:
Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?

What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?

Which of the two do you prefer to write?

Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?

RokofAges75:
Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
I always know before I start to write a new story whether it's going to be a one-shot, novella, or novel.  I don't think I've ever switched between a one-shot and a novel.  The most I've done is turn what might have started as a one-shot into a short story with several chapters instead of just one.  My pandaskunk story was like that; I knew it was going to be a short story, but it just worked better in parts, so I broke it up into ten short chapters instead of one long one.

Up until this summer, I had never turned a one-shot into a novel, but the new story I started writing last week is sort of a continuation of the slash one-shot I posted not too long ago.  I got the idea for the novel after I got the idea for the one-shot, and the reason I went ahead and wrote the one-shot was to see how that came out and how it was received before I decided whether or not to proceed with a longer story.  The jury's still out on the novel; I've written three chapters of it, but it's definitely in that "crossing the line" territory I talked about in my answer to the last question, so I'm not sold on it yet.


What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
These days, most of my one-shots are for challenges.  I've never been a big fan of writing them, but occasionally I will get inspired by a song or something (like a random flying pandaskunk in a Christmas music video), or I look at the calendar and realize April Fool's Day is coming up and I have no idea what to do for my site.  Six out of the eight short stories I've written in the last five years have been for challenges or holiday-related jokes.


Which of the two do you prefer to write?
I prefer novels because I like being able to really get into a story and let it develop over time, but it's fun to take a break from them and write a one-shot every now and then.  I love all of the one-shots I've written in recent years.


Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
I don't set limits for myself, although I do like to end stories on nice, round numbers of chapters whenever possible, and I will put pressure on myself to make those goals.

As far as reading goes, I prefer reading novels to short stories for the same reason I prefer writing them - I enjoy being able to get into a good story and see how the characters change from the beginning to the end.  A good, long novel is like an epic, cross-country journey, compared to the trip across town you get with a short story.  Both can be enjoyable, but the payoff of finishing a novel is bigger and more rewarding to me.

Sakabelle:
Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
I was going to answer this as part of my writing process answer but as it's fitting I'll just answer here! Coming up with an idea that I know is going to be a one shot right away is easy - usually my one shots have less plot and are more of a scene. I find that a one shot is easiest to write and makes the most sense when the climax of whatever backstory has happened is the most important part, and the rest can be summed up in one or two paragraphs.

When I get an idea that needs to be a longer story as opposed to a one shot, I just seem to know it. First of all, the idea is really big and requires a lot more thought and exploration than the 2,000ish words that a one shot allows. That, and I get way more excited about big ideas and if I just wrote them as a one shot, I don't think I'd feel satisfied with them. I almost feel like they deserve more than just being a one off, like whatever that idea is deserves more attention than that.

That being said, I'm working on a story right now that feels like it should be a lot longer, but I'm trying it out as a one-shot with short snippets of scenes instead of each scene being longer and warranting the story to be split up into chapters. I'll see how it goes, because it's something really new for me.

What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
Usually my one shot ideas come from something that actually happened. I'll hear or see something in an interview and think "I should write about that!" Like that picture Leighanne randomly tweeted of hers and Brian's wedding a while ago. I think Nick looked really happy in it, and for whatever reason I thought that was weird so I decided to explore that. I don't think I could have turned that into a chaptered story if I had wanted to.

When a big idea comes to me it's usually something that's a bit different, and that I know I want to explore even further. I knew for a long time I wanted to write a soccer AU, and I knew that it would have to be long because I'd have to give more backstory onto the different teams and the character motivations to make it interesting and to make it seem like these people were actually soccer players instead of in a boyband.

Which of the two do you prefer to write?
I honestly like them both equally! I like being able to devote time to an idea, but I like the instant feeling of accomplishment that a one shot brings lol

Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
Not really. I used to try to get my stories finished around 20-35 chapters, but in the past year I've written two stories with 40+ chapters so that's kind of out the window. I just write and the story ends where it ends, I try not to draw it out too long. When I was writing Where You Are I thought it was going to be around 30-35 chapters but it ended up being only 25 because it felt right to end it around there.

Again, not picky with reading one shots or novels. As long as it's good and has a plot/characters I enjoy I'm cool to read either of them.

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