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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> The Imamother Writing Club
Fiction versus Nonfiction



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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 02 2014, 8:13 pm
I'm a writer of nonfiction articles, essays and such. I recently tried to expand my horizons and write a story and BOY AM I CLUELESS!!
Seriously. Although factual prose pours from my fingers in a clearly arranged, concise and pleasant manner, writing a story is a completely different endeavor. I'm trying to work on all of the skills involved in fiction writing, but I feel like an engineer at an art gallery. I can't even wrap my head around the concepts, let alone make it sound nice.
What's everyone's experience with this? Is a nonfiction writer a completely different animal than a storyteller? Or does talent in one arena mean talent in the other?
Does anyone here write in both genres in equal measure and feel like they excel at both?
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the world's best mom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 02 2014, 8:48 pm
Writing fiction is much more difficult in my opinion.
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Writergirl




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 02 2014, 9:58 pm
Wow! I am the exact opposite. Fiction flows from my brain to my fingers. I publish my short stories for teens adults and kids constantly bh. When it comes to personal essays though, I'm hopeless!

Still trying though, hope to make it one day!
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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 02 2014, 10:43 pm
Fiction is much, much harder. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of writing stuff that goes straight in the garbage bin. There are great books with writing exercises you work through to help develop as a fiction writer. Also, read fiction not to enjoy, but to watch how they do what they do. Mostly, write, write, and write some more.

I am a professional nonfiction writer, but the only person who has ever seen my fiction is DH, and I have been writing fiction for a few years.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 03 2014, 12:15 am
I don't think there's any hard/easy in life; everyone has different strengths. Writing of either kind can be learned to an extent, but it's normal if one is more natural to you than the other.
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fromthedepths




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 03 2014, 12:35 am
I do both. Very different animals. Sometimes I need a break from one so I do the other Smile. I enjoy them both. Fiction definitely requires a different set of skills, which I'm still learning.
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amother


 

Post Wed, Sep 03 2014, 8:39 pm
OP here, Thanks for everyone's replies.
What I'm taking from this is that I'm normal that I'm finding it so hard, and that I'm going to continue trying to write fiction but not make myself crazy, and do it just for the enjoyment (or at least try!)
Writergirl, that's great that you are such a natural fiction writer. I wonder - have you been writing stories since you were a kid?
I just started a few months ago and I feel like you need years of experience for it to come so easily.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 03 2014, 8:44 pm
Writing is a craft; if you truly want to continue and improve at fiction writing you should join a workshop or get a book that will help you develop your technique.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 03 2014, 8:45 pm
op, why not post an exercise in fiction here? if you're open to constructive criticism (not just the "wow, that's amazing, I love it" variety), you can improve fairly quickly.
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amother


 

Post Thu, Sep 04 2014, 11:46 am
mummiedearest wrote:
op, why not post an exercise in fiction here? if you're open to constructive criticism (not just the "wow, that's amazing, I love it" variety), you can improve fairly quickly.


Thanks that's a great idea. Maybe I will.
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tigerwife




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 04 2014, 2:32 pm
I find it so interesting that most people here find fiction harder to write! I'm with writergirl- I find fiction much easier. It flows out faster and smoother, while non-fiction takes more time to assemble coherently.

What do you find hard about fiction? Coming up with a good storyline? Developing realistic characters?
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amother


 

Post Thu, Sep 04 2014, 7:44 pm
tigerwife wrote:
I find it so interesting that most people here find fiction harder to write! I'm with writergirl- I find fiction much easier. It flows out faster and smoother, while non-fiction takes more time to assemble coherently.

What do you find hard about fiction? Coming up with a good storyline? Developing realistic characters?


Op here.
What do I find hard about fiction? Basically every thing.
1. coming up with an interesting storyline
2. the entire concept of dialogue - making it realistic yet interesting and having it move the story forward
3. the "show don't tell" concept - I understand the meaning but of course no author exclusively shows, there are always descriptions of people's thoughts and actions and appearances. How do you know when to show and when to tell?

There are probably 20 more things I didn't write here, but my main concerns are the first 3. After figuring those out I'll realize how much more I don't know!

Tigerwife, have you been writing fiction for many years?
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 04 2014, 8:21 pm
amother wrote:
Op here.
What do I find hard about fiction? Basically every thing.
1. coming up with an interesting storyline
2. the entire concept of dialogue - making it realistic yet interesting and having it move the story forward
3. the "show don't tell" concept - I understand the meaning but of course no author exclusively shows, there are always descriptions of people's thoughts and actions and appearances. How do you know when to show and when to tell?

There are probably 20 more things I didn't write here, but my main concerns are the first 3. After figuring those out I'll realize how much more I don't know!

Tigerwife, have you been writing fiction for many years?


amother, I'd remove number one. the storyline itself doesn't have to be interesting. it's all in the telling. I am terrible at delivering jokes, so they all sound boring. I just don't have that knack. a skilled writer can make a boring story interesting. don't focus so much on the storyline. you obviously spend too much time on that, it really shouldn't be issue #1.

as for dialogue, start by writing out really long dialogues. then whittle it down. you'll get the knack of it.

"show don't tell" is something to work on with others. let others read what you write and make suggestions. I find this is the best way to improve. I would love to have time to do writing workshops, I find they really do a lot of good. if you can find one near you and have the time, try one out.
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amother


 

Post Sun, Sep 07 2014, 9:03 pm
mummiedearest wrote:
amother, I'd remove number one. the storyline itself doesn't have to be interesting. it's all in the telling. I am terrible at delivering jokes, so they all sound boring. I just don't have that knack. a skilled writer can make a boring story interesting. don't focus so much on the storyline. you obviously spend too much time on that, it really shouldn't be issue #1.

as for dialogue, start by writing out really long dialogues. then whittle it down. you'll get the knack of it.

"show don't tell" is something to work on with others. let others read what you write and make suggestions. I find this is the best way to improve. I would love to have time to do writing workshops, I find they really do a lot of good. if you can find one near you and have the time, try one out.


Thanks for your input, it's very helpful! And that tip for dialogues is great, I plan to try it out. As for a writing workshop, maybe I'll look into that when I have the time (boy would I love the time for that kind of thing!)
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 07 2014, 10:42 pm
well, this forum could be used as a writing workshop. when the writing club started, I gave honest feedback. I found that a lot of people weren't looking for constructive criticism. if you are looking for it, post some work and inform people that you want to be criticized Wink maybe others will start doing the same.
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Writergirl




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 07 2014, 11:04 pm
I do have to say that the first time I attempted a full length adult fiction story for Binah I was in a sorry state putting it together.

I got in touch with a 'famous Jewish author' and I paid her to coach me. She was tough and good! Taught me a lot, reccommended great books for me to read etc. Ever since then I find my fiction getting better and deeper and easier and more enjoyable to write.

And, BH I'm getting published a lot.

Why dont you try that? It really may help!
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 08 2014, 9:49 am
mummiedearest wrote:
well, this forum could be used as a writing workshop. when the writing club started, I gave honest feedback. I found that a lot of people weren't looking for constructive criticism. if you are looking for it, post some work and inform people that you want to be criticized Wink maybe others will start doing the same.


I'm not sure I have a thick enough skin for that, even though I should because I've been rejected plenty!

Writergirl wrote:
I do have to say that the first time I attempted a full length adult fiction story for Binah I was in a sorry state putting it together.

I got in touch with a 'famous Jewish author' and I paid her to coach me. She was tough and good! Taught me a lot, reccommended great books for me to read etc. Ever since then I find my fiction getting better and deeper and easier and more enjoyable to write.

And, BH I'm getting published a lot.

Why dont you try that? It really may help!


Thanks for letting me know how your first story went. That makes me feel a lot better. There's no reason to think I should be good at doing something if I never studied it. Right now I'm trying to read fiction books to get a feel for how they're written (but I keep getting distracted by the stories themselves!)
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