Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26447851-20160828065326/@comment-28266772-20160902132254

There are a million ways to write and none of them are more right than the others. But to bring up a good metaphor - as an overweight man I could spend the next three weeks planning a strict diet and a strict exercise regime, but it wouldn't be 1/1000th as helpful as if I just got off my fat ass and went for a jog.

"is there a certain way professional authors write their stories?" -> most professional writers will write a lot. It sounds stupid but barring the rare success stories most writers are constantly shitting out work day after day to get as much attention as possible. Outside of that there is no specific right way or wrong way. Some people just sit down and write without thinking, others spend years planning their plots out moment to moment. But most writers will take every opportunity, every competition/collab/etc. to write even if it means writing stories they don't want to.

"What is too cliche of a way for him to be introduced into the story?" --> I assume you're talking about your main character. I don't know. As it is the way you describe his introduction seems fine. It is cliched but every story will have some cliches, they're not inherently bad.

"what is the line between a mary stu and the original character?" -> I've noticed your habit of describing your characters like fan fiction. I'd get rid of that approach asap. Every character is original unless they're spin offs. Mary stu's aren't specific to fan fiction but the general jist is - is the character wish fulfillment? If you would swap your life for the character's life then you're close to a Mary Stu. No one wants to read someone else's wish fulfillment.

"Should this be a short scary story that somehow makes people have empathy for him, or a slightly long book where his past is revealed overtime giving him personality?" -> This is up to you. I don't think anyone can answer this for you, but you.

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As an exercise just pick a scene from your story and write it. I really cannot emphasise this enough but you seem to be placing a lot of significance on this story when, as your first major effort, it'll probably fucking suck. It takes years of practice to be a good writer. No one paints a masterpiece first time, and no one learns to play the piano in a day. Just start writing the damned thing and then get worried about how epic or cliched the story is. Chances are it'll be garbage and you'll need to spend years getting better but if you refuse to take that first step then the journey will never begin.