Everyone has their own forte I guess. A good fic that has great examples of dialogue is Make a Wish by Rosarch\'s blot. Most of the story is filled with dialogue. For the ones who arent as skilled in that area they can really learn a lot from this fic.

A good novel which has loads of description is The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. It becomes a pain in the ass after a while though.

I googled writing dialogue and I found an interesting article for it.

Link: http://www.scribesworld.com/writersniche/articles/WritingDialogue1ER.html

I know that we are just discussing what we are good with but I hope this helps a bit.

 

Randeemy:
As an author, i have to admit that i DO take reviews from other authors more seriously, good authors that is, than reviews from people who only read. Its half because an experienced, skilled author is exactly that, and half because i feel that people who simply read do not identify entirely with how hard it is to write.

Not moaning/bitching, but writing is hard, and a positive review from a good author means more than the typical "update" or "nice chapter". I value each review, but i do put some ahead of others in importance.

Still, from a reader with brains, which is usually evident through the quality of the review (constructive criticism, perhaps ideas, pointing out flaws, etc), a review does become more valuable. When i check my mail and see a 5k review, i get excited, because it probably means that the reader has something valuable to say.

So, as long as you write more than simply "update quick" or "this fic sucks", your criticism is fine. If i got flamed by someone who is only a reader, then i'd appreciate the person pointing out a problem rather than just blasting my work.

 

I used to flame the cliched stories on ff.net until I decided to write mine. Now I have trouble thinking of how to write the fic. I have some of the same problems as others as in I have a lot of ideas in my head but dont know how to organize them.

 

I can plan and see what I want to write easily, it keeps me entertained. Writing it however, never pans out. I never create a satisfactory ending and it enrages me to the point of not writing.

 

Hey,
Well, straight from the start I can easily agree with what Nonjon was saying before. An unplanned story will inevitably get scrapped......and I can state that with certainty from past expeirence.
My strengths....Well, back when I was writing constantly, I would admit modestly that I always loved doing battle scenes. For me, it was like visualising a really cool movie in my head and then writing it out on paper.

Unfortuantely, this meant that the more...boring...parts of the 'movie' were a little lacking, because honestly, when you go an see a movie, it's not the dialogue that you replay in your head, it's the really flashy special effects that stick with you.

So my weaknesses were easily dialouge for starters. I tried...and failed quite horribly in all of my stories....to write romance. Needless to say, when...and I say when, not if....when I start writing again, it'll be without any romance...at least, between Harry and somebody.

Plot....well, that was a big whopper for me as well. I never really planned any of my stories...sure, in my head I sometimes had a general idea of what I wanted to happen. The general idea was usually a battle...and afterwards, when I had posted the chapter, I would think 'Now, since this battle has finished, I should probably write another one in...let's say...four...chapters'
Which meant that anything in between battles was written on the fly. I'll admit...again modestly, that I think some interesting ideas came out of the stuff in between the battles. Because of some realiable and guenine reveiwers who liked going deep into my stories and saying 'Shezza...you fucked up here...and here...and a little bit over here...and what the hell is this?, I was able to map out a lot of my stories on the responses I gave back, which resembled something like 'Hey, hey, hey! It may look liked I fucked up...but you see...I...I...was going to write about it in another chapter...yes...Yes! That's what I was going to do! You see, that plothole you pointed out was actually a hidden part of the plot that would be revealed later on....yes, that's some believable bullshit right there!

Damn, this is turning into a monologue like that from the Ancient Greeks...accept I use itallics and they don't....to sum it all up, I was strong in action scenes and some dialogue when it was pretty confronting........and weak in plot, romance, day-to-day dialogue and everything else.

Sincerely,
Shezza88

 

Modesty to a ridiculous degree. You weren't weak at everything else. If all you were good at were battles, I, and many others, wouldn't read your fics.

You are the leader of abandoned fics =) At the time you were writing continuously I kept wondering why I was reading as each time I was seduced into reading one of your fics, you stopped writing

 

Personally, I think Shezza should add to his list of strengths excellent sense of humor, nice dialogues and good writing skills in general (descriptions, plot flow and dynamics and other related stuff).

His only failings seems to be lack of planning and perseverance.

 

Oh that's so lovely to hear. Both the firm "when, not if" but also that it'll be without any romance. Romanceless fic takes away my reasons to skim sections. It's so nice to imagine.

And I agree with IP in that Shezza's humor and dialogue is a strength. As much as anything else, when I remember "Future Remapped", I think of the quirky Headmaster and the Harry/Albus sort of relationship those two had. The Harry/Blaise stuff in Cell Block D/Revelations was fantastic stuff. When Shezza's muse threw in Snape's sister, it sorta took some of the fun out the Harry/Blaise dynamic. I don't think you treated romance poorly in any way, as much as it is, you write the playful flirting between those two in a much better way than fluffy gag-inducing young love, taking it to the next step, etc... And we just need to break the mindset that it *has* to be taken to the next step.

The "lack of planning" was both a strength and a weakness. A strength in that he was able to crank out compelling, interesting work with absurd speed and ease. A weakness in that eventually, he'd just about hump that muse to death, leaving all of us wanting to read more, and him at a loss on what more to write.

But true, your enjoyment of writing battle scenes came through, and was probably the reason those were so successful. I'd say when (not if) you get around to writing HP fanfic again, you unabashedly make it very action and battle heavy. You sound like you enjoy writing those scenes as much as we all like reading them. No reason not to play to your strengths. (I've tried taking the "humor" out of my fics and it never works as well, nor is it as satisfying to write. So I just take my label of being a "humor" writer and work it as best I can.)

I can't think of any story I read where people reviewed complaining about their being too much action.

I'd like to see you pull that one off.