Fic Talk > General Discussion
Question of the day part 10
Carter-Orange:
I'm way behind on here, will have to catch up :)
mare:
Time for another question because we know what happens when school starts LOL
I was talking to Tracy about this last night, but what do you find the most complicated thing to describe when writing?
For me, it has been the small actions you wouldn't otherwise have to really describe to people. My new story has a lot of action going on and some of the stuff has come very naturally to me but it's the smaller things, like subtle movements etc... that sometimes stump me. Things I can picture in my head but then can't find the proper words to describe what I want to say!
mare:
Another question
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
RokofAges75:
What do you find the most complicated thing to describe when writing?
As Mare said, I do think subtle movements, facial expressions, and body language can be hard to describe. In real life, those are nonverbal cues that we interpret without needing words, so trying to put them into words can be difficult.
I also find it challenging to describe performances - any scene that involves singing, dancing, or playing instruments. It's hard to find the words to describe something that is really meant to be heard or visualized. That is why if I'm writing about a real performance or song, I will often include a link to YouTube. It's like, "Okay, here is my interpretation of this performance... now go and watch the real thing so you get it." That happened a lot in Curtain Call.
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
I don't do this very often. Actually, I think the last and only story I've used song lyrics as a header for every chapter was Years of Grace back in 2001. For that one, I came up with what the chapter was going to be about first, then picked song lyrics that would fit it.
For Song for the Undead, Rose and I start each chapter with an excerpt of a journal entry written by whichever character the chapter centers on, and it's funny because the way we go about writing those is completely opposite. Rose usually writes the journal entry first, knowing what the chapter following it is going to be about, and then writes the chapter to fit the tone of the journal entry. I almost always write my journal entries last, after finishing the chapter. I usually don't have an idea for the journal entry before I write the chapter, but when the chapter is done, I can go back and mine it for ideas and find some theme I can write about in the journal entry.
mare:
I did the same thing as Rose for my journal entries for Mel's.
The very first thing I ever did for that story before even writing the actual story was come up with the journal entry it was all going to be based on and then I dissected it and fit each person with that part of the journal. LOL
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