Why do you write stories?
Two of the fictional stories I wrote recently were about a group of teenagers committing a bank robbery and a teenage boy witnessing the gay bashing of one of his classmates.I explore innocence.In those critical years, the gangling transition between child and adult, what happens when adult experiences are forced on children? How do they cope? In what ways are they transformed afterwards?He’s red down his neck, all over his body, coated in blood. And, and I’m staring at him, at this, all of this, and, I don’t know if I should call the cops, or get an ambulance, because they’ll think I did it. They’ll see me here—someone will see me here—and when the cops get here they’ll think I bashed Stevie’s head in or, or maybe worse, they’ll think I’m a fag like Stevie’s a fag, or everyone thinks he’s a fag, and then tomorrow Al will come out here and he’ll bash my head in with a rock so I run.I don’t know that I’m running until I see home.I throw open the front door and Mom isn’t home yet, and I’m glad because my hands are covered in blood. No, it’s dust. It’s dust and snot and tears but I’m scrubbing my palms in the kitchen sink for what feels like hours but I can’t get all his blood off.I can’t get all his blood off.Mothers take a prominent form.A comfort. A representation of being young and safe and unfettered.The crimes are always violent and leave no room for return. The protagonist is irreparably changed.Fiction is fiction. These stories are not real. I am not a teenage boy, nor have I ever been.But I find it impossible to write anything but the truth.I should think every story is a snippet of an autobiography. We can’t help but leave ourselves behind.Perhaps that’s what I love so much about fiction—you can tell the truth without revealing which part is your truth, and which is your characters’.There’s comfort in that, I think.Unlike many writers, I am not brimming with stories. I write fiction mostly because my classes demand it.But when I do… well, I don’t know how to write anyone but myself.
Does contributing an article to GeeksforGeeks help in getting an internship at GeeksforGeeks?
Yes. It is the criteria to get an opportunity of internship. A word of advice, don’t write articles just for the sake of your name in it. Strive for quality. It took me weeks to write some of the articles that time. Several of them have been asked in interviews since then.You might like my other posts:Journey of a boy from small town to Microsoft – An untold story Part 1How to prepare for top MNCs?Life of a Microsoft EngineerGeek on the top - Aashish Barnwal | Make a habit of writing clean, readable, flexible and robust code - GeeksforGeeksI write about programming and life experiences. If you follow me, I won’t disappoint you. Aashish Barnwal
When writing a screenplay or novel, how do you brainstorm scenes to include in the story?
EVERYTHING matters. Every scene. Every moment. Every line of dialogue. If you go into the process with that attitude, your storytelling instincts will take hold. And then... Geek out*. It's as simple as that. The screenplay is your playground as a story teller and especially as a cinema lover. What makes you geek out? Amazing characters moments of conflict? Emotional scenes? Badass moments? Shocks? Surprises? Twists? Turns? What makes you as a cinema lover geek out? For me, it's about leading me to a place where I think I know where you are going and then f***king flipping it on me. That's what I love. What do you love? What makes you laugh with glee as you sit at the edge of your seat? What makes you cry those tears that you try to hide but can't? What makes you laugh that guttural laugh that you can't control? What makes you scream in fright? That's what you add. That's what you strive for in those scenes between those broad strokes of your story. Here's what I want you to do... and yes... I can guarantee success. Take your character, force them up a tree, set it on fire, through jagged rocks at them, launch pebbles from sling shots and arrows from bows, unleash an exploding volcano a short distance away on the horizon, have their friends appear and turn on them just when it seems they are about to save them, and then show us how despite all of those odds, they manage to get the **** OFF of the tree to safety in the end (or not). THAT'S what you do friend. THAT is great screenwriting.* Geek Out means to embrace your love for cinema and write what excites you as a cinema lover.
I'm writing a teen drama series. What teen drama cliches should I avoid using?
if you can develop some of the characters really well, they could pass the cliché label. i was analyzing brian from family guy yesterday, and noticed that his character is really well developed. he is well versed, intelligent, wise, knows how to have fun, can be technical (usually when with stewie), caring, but has a marijuana issue and drinks quite a bit. if you do use the nerd/geek being a psycho/stalker, you should give the character unusual hobbies, possibly stamp collection, flower or bird lover, something that would set the character apart from the other geeks. as far as pairings, you could pair a not so popular guy best friends with a well-liked girl; an not-so-good athlete with a druggie, or an extremely quiet person with a gangsta (this could also work for relationships). again, if you want to separate them from the cliché, give them characteristics that make them more unique.
Would it be silly to blog short stories if I may want to publish them later to make money?
Andrew covered this about as well as anyone could, but from working with blogs both from a writing and PR standpoint, I thought I'd add a couple of extra points.Based on my experience, the proliferation of blogs has actually decreased the amount of plagiarism across the web, because it is nearly impossible to not get caught. Taking simple steps to secure a Creative Commons license for your blog is a great way to protect the content. The LostArtOfBlogging.com has a great post on this:http://www.lostartofblogging.com...But to answer your question more directly, I agree with Andrew that it isn't silly at all. Quality writing comes with practice, and having a public forum to showcase that writing and get feedback is always a plus!
Writers: are you crazy?
I daydream a lot. Especially when I'm working on a project. I don't talk much about my stories to anyone. I have a lot of friends, some of them think I can be very hyper and childish, but I was like that since I was born. =D I don't know really if I am crazy, I don't do anything weird, except for mutter and act some dialogues from my story. Not in public or anything, not too loud either. But it helps to get the perfect mood to go along with the story. Except for that, I'm pretty much an average person ... =D