got an idea for a story

[kortick]

i came up with a new idea for a storyline
i have been working on a long story for a long time
it is almost done
part 3 the climax is what is giving me trouble

but i then started to wander and i came up
with 2 concepts that i wanted to use
for a whole different shorter story
one involves a zombie with a unique skill
and the other involves a scientific experiment done
on a man

but i can approach the story in 2 different ways
one having the man be a victim/non responsible for
what he does
the other making him totally responsible

the story is meant to be completely different
from other "standard" stories

so I ask you writers
how do you make these decisions as to
how to go about the final way
as to how to proceed

should i write it both ways
and see which works better?

what do you guys do

i have a lot of respect for the work
that the writers here have produced

guys like deadman for example
you make it look easy
and it definitely isnt

what approach do you take
when you are developing a tale?

any advice would be greatly appreciated

[rightwing401]

I'll give you what advice I can on this matter Kortick. In reguards to your delema with what to write, you don't need to write out both concepts to make your decision. What you should do is think about each concept and how it relates to the tale, and decide which one will not only make it better, what you are most satisfied and comfortable with putting out.
Ultimately, as the writer, if you are not happy with what you're writing, your work will suffer because of it. I hope that this helps you.

[kortick]

thanks for the advice
i appreciate it

this leads me to a more important topic

what had happened here at HPOTD?

this fic section used ot be alive
the "living dead " fic section used to be
the best on the site

i posted a similar post asking for help onanother forum i belong to

i got lots of responses
just like i used to get here before

HOPTD has changed
and not at all for the better
and it makes me very very sad

it is no longer a fan fic site
it is only a general forum and an aracde

such a sad change from what it used to be in its
glory days

the "living dead " fic forum is now just a "dead" forum
i cant say how bad this makes me feel

what has happened to HOPTD?

[Arcades057]

I already answered the second post in general so let me answer the first.

The way I go about it is simple. I mean waaaaay simple. Remember when you were a kid and you'd play with GI Joes or Ninja Turtles or whatever? Well you'd act out scenes with those toys and do the voices and all that. Make little motorcycle sounds, the whole nine yards.

Do that again, but without the toys. Go outside and smoke (or not, if you don't) and picture yourself as the characters in the story. Say the lines you want to write to yourself and see how they sound. If it sounds right, write it down. Remember that people don't speak perfect, grammatically correct english, and your characters shouldn't, not unless they're English majors.

Make your story like a TV show or a movie. That's how I do it. F*** the imagination, I don't WANT the reader to think. As a writer my job is to SHOW you what I want you to see, not leave it up to your imagination. Leaving it to the reader is like me sending you a pizza with no cheese and no sauce, uncooked. WTF did you just pay me for? I make you see what I want. You do the same. Make it like a movie. Descriptive, flowing, character-driven, low on the narration, visible character arcs, and above all meaningful, believable dialogue. Will a 13-year-old kid suddenly know how to drive a car, shoot while moving (accurately), and know where a Marine depot is? Probably not. Could he learn to drive after a fashion, miss a whole bunch of times until he learns to let the zombie get closer, and run across something that leads him to the depot? Yes. Now you have the beginning of a story.

As to your idea for a story. I touched upon the idea of skilled zombies in Valley of the Living and I really like the idea. A zombie who was a soldier in real life would still recall a bit of his training; a firefighter zombie might not be as frightened of flames as his brethren. Toss it around and see what you can come up with.

As to the experiment... I see it as a good idea, but not quite sure what you can do with it. A few ideas popped into my head but I won't talk about them here. If you want you could fire off an email to me at Incognito057@aol.com (mention the idea in the email, cuz I had too much fun when I was younger) and I'll pool ideas with you.

Keep your head up man. The writers will be back or new ones will take their place.