/lit/ - Literature

>>16663119
>What are good methods on how to naturally expand on the foundations of how this world works without
Just don't?

>>16663172
>I'm trying to explain how a magic system works,
Just don't. Magical jargon in particular is distasteful. I was watching an episode of Mahouka yesterday with a friend and we both groaned at the protag explaining some stupid shit for several minutes. Imagine if JK Rowling explained how Wingardium Leviosa worked or something, it'd just be simpler to just describe the effects/actions of the spells instead.

IE: >"Wingardium Leviosa!" The well-endowed boomer bimbo shouts. At once, the phallic-shaped object starts to seemingly float. With an inward flick of her wand, she propelss it towards her exposed hairy snatch.

How do you write convincing dialogue? I have tried a few times and it turns out like complete shit.

>>16665256
just be yourself

>>16665278
Yea thats my problem. All the characters I write sound like me. None of them has their own voice

what exactly interests a reader the most and quickest? no matter what i write i feel its just boring to anyone reading it

>>16665292
>what exactly interests a reader the most and quickest?
Motocross and porn

>>16665292
>what exactly interests a reader the most and quickest?
Numbers that go up and sometimes down, borderline excel charts of player stats, level growth, you know, the garbage can stuff that caters to the lowest denominator.

I've been thinking alot about dimensions recently, and it has inspired me. What would a five dimensional being, one that can see every single facet of our entire universe do if he suddenly took an interest in us? How would he percieve us and how could he even interact with us without destroying our universe? I think I'll write about it.

>>16665203
This only really works if you're using magic as an "it just works" type of thing instead of a science with exact properties and limitations

>>16665452
I think 'it just works' works better than spending paragraphs explaining the logic behind magic properties. If you're really inclined to explain magic bullshit, make a glossary or something so it's not bogging down the story. Basically, just keep it simple, and if this is something that's being serialized and allows for reader comments on individual chapters then that's another one of spoonfeeding readers directly.

>>16665256
Talk to more people. Make sure to pay attention to word choice, sentence structure, intonation, etc. Get a feel for the personality of the character you're writing and write their dialogue in a way that they would feasibly speak. People can say the exact same thing in very different ways, which in turn colors their personalities.

>>16665483
>Talk to more people
Ahh so here is my problem

>>16665566
Failing that, listen to more people talk, like podcasts or streamers. The less rehearsed, the better.

>>16665452
Going into depth about systems is a waste of the reader's time. Only show limitations of a magic system if those very limitations are a central plot point
e.g. mana type system
>mention someone running out, not enough mana for their daily tasks etc, introduced in a non-threatening way
>off handed mention of a mana pot in a potion store/magic market
>MC later runs out of mana in big battle, chugs a semen flavoured mana potion to save the dildo day

>>16665256
It depends on what you mean by convincing anon. If your goal is to create 'good' dialogue then your effort is not going to be on making fancy dialogue, but dialogue that serves its purpose. I've said this before but dialogue is a non-physical confrontation between characters. One person wants something from another person and they will try to get it through speech. There are a lot of ways this can manifest. A friend wants to tell his friend about a game, but the friend wants to tell him about a movie, the dialogue might realistically go something this.
"I finally got around to playing (game), its really good man."
"Yeah. Have you seen (movie)?"
"It's pretty good. What was your favorite part of (game)?"
And so on. Notice that neither really wants to talk about the other's subject, but they are friends so they dismiss rather than reject. This is dependent on context and familiarity. At some point they may have a long discussion about the quality of (movie/game) or relate their experiences with either in more depth. This too depends on the time available to either character. The amount of determiners which compose a given dialogue interaction are too many to number here, but the external factors which compose the action and reaction of two individuals verbal confrontation is an important part of selling dialogue. The easiest and most common advice relating to this deals in the single prime mover of dialogue; motivation. Why are these characters talking to each other. Without this context it becomes more difficult to rate an interaction because it obscures characterizing details. Is this person mean because they are mean or are they under duress not related in dialogue? This is one example.

As you can see, this level of analysis and coordination of dialogue based choices can be strung out for pages and pages. If you have a certain interaction in mind or an excerpt of dialogue you would like me to help you process or to critique I'm willing to help. You can post it here. If you cannot you could post more context about the specific interaction you would like to make more convincing and I can write up some examples for you or work through it with you. Dialogue isn't as hard as it seems, but it is complicated. Also, ignore calls to "realistic" dialogue most of the time. Real people speak poorly more often than not and use massive amounts of filler words, broken sentences, strung out thoughts. If you've transcribed raw interview footage or done oral history oral text study you know what I mean. It isn't entertaining and you will cut tons of material. In writing we want the essential, the characterizing, and the conflicting. Good luck anon, and keep writing.

>>16665333
I'm writing a litrpg book for shekels, but I'm planning on only giving the protag a level at the end of the first book. How fucked am I? Will readers even get past the first ten pages if they don't see a table indicating that the Helicopter Dick skill has improved by 2%?

>writing sci-fi series
>am confident in my skills, know my plots, characters, themes etc.
>but I've always been bored with the standard way of presenting stories, especially in the way you'd find in SFF
>Stylistically I'm more inspired by literary fiction, prose poetry, surrealism, magical realism, etc.
>but the stories I wrote in a much more standard way always got the best responses
>feel stuck and limited between how I actually want to write and what readers respond to

This is probably why I haven't written in such a long time and picked up music instead.

>>16665182
Are /crit/ threads not allowed? The one I made got deleted.

>>16666384
Just post what you want critiqued here anon.

>>16666394
I was offering critiques, provided the text was under 300 words. Thought I'd volunteer my opinions. I'm confident enough in my own writing for the moment that I don't want to share it.

>>16665256
just make it funny lol

>>16665182
Can't help but feel like my writing reads extremely ordinary. Like somehtign a high schooler would write for a creative. This passage I found particularly like this. Kill for anyones thoughts.

"Can now but dream"
Would this imply:
>Can now do nothing but dream
>Can now do anything but dream

>>16666510
That last paragraph is good though. Very clear picture of a personality (possibly because it is so very recognizable from the internet).

>>16666529
I and another anon answered this is the other thread. They can now only dream relative to whatever they were capable of previously.

>>16666564
Thanks. That was me in the other thread too, but it got axed before I could check the replies.

>>16664576
write something about a black person overcoming a white person being discriminatory

I've been promoted to the next level on Royal Road

>>16666695
Good job anon you did it

daily reminder that you shouldn't write something that isn't worth being written

you should throw away 95% of what you write and constantly consider/revise the other 5%

>>16666928
I hope you do this anon. I look forward to your book in 2080.

>>16665376

I like to write a prompt for reddit in the morning before doing real things, and I think of it like clearing my bowels, get out the inhibition. Perhaps I should graduate to royal road and do it in a serial for characters I don't care about in some world that's interesting but not fleshed out enough to pour myself over.

So close bros, one chapter away from yuri bait. I'm so excited. I was looking forward to doing this chapter for the whole year.

>>16667735
What do you mean, write a prompt for Reddit? Do you mean make up a post on r/AmIAnAsshole or r/relationships?

>keep starting sentences with But
FUCK

>>16667807
>keep overusing the word 'feel' to describe a feeling or sensation
I hate it so much. More English words when?

>>16667786
unfortunately nothing so literary, just the first writing prompt that isn't anime or video games. Usually that takes a few minutes of scrolling

>>16665452
I agree with the other people that say it's a waste of time boring but I'm thinking about it for my own stuff currently. I intend to have it explained a bit through other people but not in great detail since while I'm fine with infodumping I doubt other people are interested. I might do a glossary but I don't know if I want people referring to it partway through the book since that might be offputting, but I also wouldn't want people looking at it and then spoiling themselves on stuff that comes up later.

>>16667816
>He felt the sizzling heat of the desert sun.
>The desert sun was sizzling on the back of his neck.

>He felt a jolt from his little finger.
>A jolt struck his little finger.

these are bad examples but im sure we have enough words in english to lay off the 'feel' for a bit

>>16667868
>the desert sun sizzling on the back of his neck COMMA next action

>>16667880
the em dash is the thinking man's comma -- prove me wrong

>>16665376
Go for it. Not exactly the same but Lovecraft might be similar to what you're thinking of.

>>16667854
How many words do you typically write? I can't imagine having too much to say after seeing a deformed cat from r/aww or people fighting on /r/publicfreakouts or orange man bad on any political subreddit

>>16667931
normally just about 600 words, and I have new bookmarked for r/writingprompts rather than ever seeing reddit proper. When I wake up, I drink some coffee and see how well yesterdays diarrhea was received, and feel content

>>16667888
inexplicably—and dare I say it?—BASED.

>>16667888
>em dash
You're not right; this argument lacks in sophistication.

hooray! I've written 4 pages in my non-fiction book

I have started writing sonnets, what way should I approach rhyme? Do you guys come up with a list of rhymes first? Or write a line and then brainstorm rhyming words for a while? My rhymes are stilted.

>>16668109
What are you writing sonnets for?

I've officially made more than $20 this month from my writing. That covers the tip for a grocery delivery

>>16668667
Sounds like you can officially call yourself a writer.

>>16668701
Oh boy, I can't wait to publish a new novel. Then maybe my income can rise to $25 a month

>>16668736
Now let's not be hasty, don't forget taxes and your agent's fee.

>>16668736
Heblo yes I am ur agent gib $30/mo agents fee kthx

>>16668744
Jokes on you, my income is so low that I only pay sales tax.

God damn it. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be making mid 5 figures at a new job at the hospital. But now I'm too scared to leave my house and it looks like it'll be like that until summer 2021, at least. I was this close to leaving neetdom

>>16668780
NEETdom gives you time to write. Make use of this time, for the freedom will never return once you're in your wagie-cagie.

>>16668803
Yeah, when I was doing my internship training, my writing ground to a halt. I was only writing on the weekends and I didn't have as much concentration. Monday-Friday was work, home, sleep. But I was making progress with being able to provide for myself. And I told myself that my exhaustion was because I was transitioning from neet to 40-hour-work week. Once I built up my stamina, I could write in the evenings. Or get a gf.

I told my parents about the money that I made. My father didn't respond and my mother said that the magical vaccine is coming right after the election so I'll soon be able to go to real work

>>16668847
>Or get a gf
Women have nothing to offer except their holes and those holes do nothing your hands can't. Do not throw your life away.

>>16668771
> implying I'd bother with (((traditional))) publishing

>>16668857
Yeah, and if I really want a family, I can adopt one of those lolis who were orphaned by covid

>>16665203
But the main draw of Mahouka is the author (who has engineering background) explaining magic as a hard science with very specific functionality and applications. Granted, it doesn't work very well on TV and the anime skipped a LOT of theory.

>>16669279
Tfw stemfags earn more money than me even in my hobbies. Soon, modern novels will be written in excel spreadsheets

I was lying awake for hours in bed last night and the entire story and all the sentences were flowing through my head and I had it all worked out and now it's the next day and I can't write more than 2 damn sentences goddamn.

Is it okay to write fanfiction as practice? I don't have any original ideas.

>>16669726
Vergil, Dante and John Milton are remember specifically for the fanfics they wrote.

>>16669732
remembered*

I'm not a writer but I enjoy writing. Is this a sign of the early onset of a mental disorder? Tell me what you ...people... are diagnosed with so I have somewhat of a clue as to what's wrong with me.

>>16669745
Severe Depression and Anxiety is my 'official diagnosis'.
Mainly though, I am just an anti-social bore who doesn't do anything but wait for my life to change with no personal input.

How do i lead up to a flashback chapter?

>>16669745
are you stupid?

How do I translate Tarantino with a hint of Big Lebowski into prose. I mainly read classics like every other litfag here but I want my writing to feel like a blockbuster movie. And before you judge I'm not looking to be a big author or anything maybe find a small following through selfpublishing that gives me like a 100 dollars every year

Is focuswriter any good/worth using? I use google docs for notes but in my experience it doesn't handle longer stuff well

>>16665566
You can also just watch videos of people talking to each other.

>>16667868
>>16667880
It's
>the desert sun SIZZLED on the back of his neck
You passive voice using fags

Jk i love you guys

>>16669897
I just don't want to associate with degenerate folk like [you] who call themselves 'writers'. Wasting your time on writing stories that won't have any impact on society in any way whatsoever or jerking some dead philosophers dick over aesthetic bullshit. I really don't care what your excuse is for not making a valid contribution to society, you're all mentally deficit scum in my opinion. Sucks that I still enjoy writing garbage and by default have to be associated with you fucks.

>>16665182
How do you guys write dreams? Writing dreams is hard.

I write them by using more and more run-on sentences as the dream goes on, and by blatantly using contradictions in actions or scenes without addressing them.

I'm usually happy with the results, but I'm curious as how other anons handle the issue?

>>16670377
so you are, ok have fun

>>16670399
I use run on sentences too for dreams too, as it's the main theme of what I'm writing. But isn't contradiction scenes have the opposition effects? Dreams are supposed to make sense when you are dreaming, and while not addressing the contradictions can distract readers from them, readers who pay attention to the scenes will have their immersion broken.

>>16669873
Create a plothole that will be filled by the flashback.

>>16670420
Oh I'm so very sorry your feelings are hurt over me calling you a degenerate, I'm sure that's completely my fault and not a lack of spine on your department. How about a compromise: You mouthbreathers sacrifice half of your population through ritualistic suicide and I'll stop being a dick about your pathetic excuse for a hobby. Do we have a deal?

>>16670454
The dreams make sense yeah, but often there's a real shifting quality to the surroundings, as least for me. So, for example, I (or a character) will be outside, in the sunlight, but suddenly find myself walking down a set of stairs, and find myself in the upper floors of a skyscraper. This isn't something that's the focus of the dream, but something that's happening in the background.

So, I'll write something like,
>I followed the frog through the lush pine woods, and when I finally caught up with it, I scooped it off the grey carpet. "You are a very silly frog," I said, and turned around to show my friend.

It's supposed to be disorientating, but does it automatically break immersion?

>>16670514
First day on 4chan, Buster?

>>16670521
I'll quit being a buster when you lay off the water Ryder. I'm well convinced I've been here for longer than you have newfag. When did you decide to join the cess pit, when you heard about 4chan on the news and felt like being part of the edgy-cool-kids-club? Been here when puppies were being thrown into a river, boxxy got famous, people fought the powah, pools were closed and millhouse became a meme. But you'll probably google all of those things to pretend to have any knowledge about them like the little shithead you are. Worst of all you're in the writers-sanctuary-for-mentally-degenerate-cucks thread which I have now officially designated as my personal shitting grounds. Give me a few minutes so I can nut to the idea of raping your man-pussy and I'll write you guys something proper.

>>16670519
No, not in my opinion

>>16670294
Yes many people here use focuswriter and I use jotterpad.

>>16670519
Nope. I thought by contradiction you meant inconsistencies like having one character doing one thing then suddenly he was doing something else, like holding a beer in his hand then in the next scene bashes another guy with a glass of wine

>>16668320
Because I reject free verse and the sonnet is the most beautiful of all the poetic forms, just read Shakespeare and Donne.

More personally, I am in love. My favourite love poems are all sonnets and I want to express these feelings. Maybe even give her one.

I have gotten stuck just writing the outline for the first chapter. I can't believe how frustrated I felt because of that.

How do you remain creative while becoming more technically sound?

give me some ideas for a short story about piano
i want to win a contest

>>16670103
FRead Chris Fox's Writing to Market. It's a primer for the hack writer ethos. Be sure to steal it off the internet so that the lazy fuck doesn't get a cent, though.
And then read Techniques of the Selling Writer. I have no clue why that isn't in the sticky, because it is the best book on writing I've ever read. Everything that can be taught about the craft is in that book, and everything that can't be taught is left out (steal that one too, though, the author is dead and the only version available is like $15)

>>16670377
Why are you worried about what people think of you, you faggot? Just write if you like to write. I promise no one will ever get you confused with a writer even if you do call yourself that, so you have literally nothing to lose except your time

>>16670591
I'll be very impressed if you can reach the lofty levels of fanfiction, fellow writer :^)

>>16672310
everyone who writes is a writer though
even an 8 yo kid who writes stories about his parents

>>16665182
Any recommendations on some light (as in low weight) affordable netbooks/notebooks for comfy writing around the house? I know I could get the shittiest machine for a 100 bucks as long as it can run a word processor but do you have some more subjective tips? Favorite screen size? Practical keyboard layouts etc.

>>16672289
Not that anon, but I've also read Swain's book and have been wanting to discuss it with someone for a while now. What parts of it did you find most enlightening? What do you think about his characterization of story structure (the scene-sequel model and then the further breakdown of that into goal-conflict-disaster and reaction-dilemma-decision)? I still don't fully understand how you're supposed to put all of that together (his "starting lineup" idea while neat, seems to be something I can't come up with a priori.) I've been toying with the idea of just cranking out a test novel following his method to a tee (including the initial brainstorm session followed by separating everything to scenes and sequels and characters). I'm conflicted between the method here and the one in Story Genius.

What's your language of choice when writing?

>>16672382
I don't understand your question, what do you mean by that?

>get an idea
>want to write a nice story
>realise you're shit and it looks like written by a teenager
What should I do?

>>16672394
What language do you use to write? Is it English, Spanish, Hungarian, etc? I'd like to know how multicultural /wg/ is.

>>16672437
just write it, you'll get other ideas, it's not like you'll run out

I give up. I thought I was good at writing when I was younger but now I realise it was just people in my hick hometown who don't write or read at all telling me I was good because they had no frame of reference. Damn shame.

>>16672528
>people in my hick hometown who don't write or read at all telling me I was good because they had no frame of reference
I know this feel

>>16672528
I wish I could quit. This shit is a disease, it lives in my skin and marrow. It's as irresistible as the urge to cough.

>>16672069
>Outline
Don't need it

>>16672437
Unfortunately, if you aren't a rare prodigy, writing is like any other form of art. It takes practice like learning the guitar or how to paint properly. You might have this cool idea for a painting but your skills might not match your vision. Would you stop and never bring it to the canvas? No you would paint like a 12 year old and it would look like shit but your next one will be better. 10 years later you revisit the idea and bring your Michelangelo to the bare white. Don't get caught up in visions of grandeur and trying to transform this one special idea into a work of art. Just write the nice story and if it's shit do it again. Do it 10 times. Do 10 other stories. Come back and do it again. Rinse and repeat. Don't even stop and think what Hemmingway or Tolkien or Your Favorite Author© would do.

Just write.

>>16672528
>>16672542
>>16672550
>character growth can be one of the most important aspects of a story

You guys are halfway there. The amount of skill it requires to see your own flaws. The leaping ahead of your uninitialized community. The NEED to write in your heart. I want you to write about something you never did before this weekend and I promise you on monday you will feel better.

>>16672437
There's a reason why most author's only "make it" late in life, that's because they've been working their asses off for decades, unrecognized, tossed aside, etc. It's probably going to take a while to get novels published by publishers like Penguin. If you're lucky, it'll happen soon, but most likely, you're looking at 15 years from this point if you work at it everyday. Just how it is, keep writing, write a bunch of shit every day, next year it'll be a little better, the year after that will be a bit better.

>>16672382
>>16672453
Polish

>>16672668
Do there exist any famous child writing prodigies? The only ones I know about are that Eragon kid. Maybe Mary Shelley if you consider 19 still a kid

>>16672622
What if your paintings still look like a 12 year old's after 10 years of practice, and you're not trying to make it look like a 12 year old's, either?

I tend to enjoy the process of writing, but being in the middle of a project causes me great levels of stress long term, and I even start analyzing my usage of the language even when I'm not writing. Eventually I feel so pressured that I end up quitting. Is there hope for me, or will this keep me from writing altogether?

Is writing capable of describing beauty? Written word, as distinct from spoken word.

>>16672789
Eragon's author wasn't really a prodigy like they hyped him up to be. His parents owned a publishing company, who then published his book for him.

>>16672875
Yeah, I’ve jacked in to tons of written word.

>>16672991
And he rightly suffered years of mockery for it, the bunch of twats

>>16673010
I see the artistic merit of erotica but I'm not sure it's the same thing as beauty. I've coomed to many things, of which I imagine very few could be described as beautiful.

>>16672991
The sequels fragon and gragon were massive flops
I have high hopes for hragon

I have a question.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/10949760/The-Eyes-By-Jesus-Ignacio-Aldapuerta

How did this become popular on here? Thank you.

>>16673326
Heheh you got me with that

I'm in a 400 level CW class where we critique everyone's work, what the fuck do you want me to actually say? I'm sure half of you have been in a CW class in HS/CS/UNI, what the fuck kind of feedback do you actually want?

>>16672340
In the sense that everyone who goes out clubbing is a dancer, sure.

>>16672376
I thought it was pretty clear in terms of lining out for you what works and what doesn't and why. The scene-sequel model has since evolved (today 'scene' is an essential part narrative while 'sequel' has fallen out of fashion), but it still holds true instinctively. Hero wants Job, but Job is beyond his reach. Hero attempts Bold Maneuver, which fails disastrously and puts him further than he's ever been from Job. So Hero goes on a Bender where he considers abandoning it all and just going to work for his dad's toilet paper company. He decides to go on all in on his dream and sets off to achieve Job once again. Whether he gets it or not depends on whether he sticks to his values or not, and the resolution is contingent on how happy he feels with what he's achieved.
I wouldn't worry too much with his idea gathering process, which is different for every writer. I'd heartily recommend going ahead with that project and posting your thoughts here.
Never read Story Genius, so I can't comment on that.

>>16673810
>What I want
Constructive feedback by an expert aimed at addressing my weaknesses and helping me improve.
>What you can give me
Your best shot. At least read the damn thing and be honest
>What you should give me in a public context
Probably a pat on the back and telling me my story is very 'interesting' and 'relatable'

Depends on the pair of balls you're carrying, really.

>>16673810
First I recommend reading this: http://critters.org/c/whathow.ht and this: http://critters.org/c/diplomacy.ht

Pay special attention to the part where he says that critiquing in a way that's "brutally honest" is waste of everyone's time because the writer isn't going to listen to what you have to say, they'll be too focused on the way you said it.

As for content, I recommend using some kind of template to keep things quick and simple. A good one is to start with a paragraph summary of the story--this lets the writer know if their plot was clear.

Then go into the structure, focusing on the most common mistakes--which in my experience are:
1. Main character doesn't have a flaw, and/or isn't sufficiently different from the other characters, and/or doesn't behave consistently and/or doesn't want anything very strongly, and/or doesn't have adequate opposition to his goals.
2. Plot doesn't have enough/has too obvious foreshadowing, making the story either incoherent or predictable.
3. Plot hits the same beat over and over (most common is two characters bickering) to the point where it's predictable and boring.
4. Plot doesn't account for obvious alternatives ("why doesn't he just call her on his cellphone?", "why don't they call the police?", "why don't they take this safer route?" etc.) this makes the plot feel contrived and sometimes nonsensical.
5. Rules are established which are broken inadvertently or without reason, or mentioned once and never again. This is especially true in the SF and fantasy genres, where writers will namedrop stuff to "worldbuild" but it is never actually relevant to the plot.

Finish off with any specific lines that were distracting, grammatically incorrect, confusing, excessively abstract etc. I find it's helpful to start with this part first, noting things down while you're doing your initial read-through. This is also the least important section in my experience. If there are problems with structure, the story will likely need a major rewrite anyway, so the little grammatical details are irrelevant.

Finally, it's nice to end with one thing in the story that you wouldn't change.

I hope your class is large enough that you're getting 5+ critiques per piece. Critique is really only useful in the aggregate.

>>16672840
I solved this temporarily by writing short stories/novellas that are connected to each other. Those are attainable goals, so I can write each one at a time, with the prospect of completing them all and having something the length of a novel.
Because of this I've written about 70+ pages, where I never could if I was writing just a novel.

>write 10k words in a day
>brain is mush and I'll have to edit a lot of it.
Damn does it not feel good though.

>>16674166
fuck I can only do 1-2k a day

What the fuck is a Royal Road? Should I put my shit on it?
It looks fun for my monkey brain.

>>16674175
I had the day off
That's the only reason I could do it. Also 2k a day is fine for finishing a book in like 3 months or a novella in just a month, including some time for editing.

>>16668082
NICE JOB

>>16672269
local mom forces child to practice by nailing his fingers to the keys

>>16673928
The values and its relationship to the resolution is something I had forgotten about so thanks for that.

Story Genius takes a more methodical "internal" approach. I think it would result in the same kind of stories as Swain's though. You come up with some theme, the underlying point of your story, coupled with a situation. Then you think about a character whose "misbelief" illustrates the theme. In a story about how power corrupts for example, the main character's misbelief might be that power doesn't corrupt or that it won't corrupt him. Then there's a lot of prewriting. You come up with scenes leading up to the beginning of the story establishing how the main character fell into that misbelief. Every time he gets an opportunity to change that belief, he only falls into it deeper. Then you come up with the ending--does he change the misbelief or not? And at what cost? Finally there's a whole section about outlining scene cards which casually link plot events and thematic events together and how to weave in subplots.

I think I'll try Swain's method first and see what happens.

>>16674166
>>16674175
I can do sub1000 a day if I'm feeling lucky. The time will be tough; the times will be overwhelming, and at times it may seem we will perish, but we will all make it bros.

A friend of a friend published her novel, a real novel by a real publisher. She's got everyone in her social group reading it, including outliers like me. After I'm done reading this, I have to say I like it, regardless of my actual opinion

am I boring? that's all I want to know
otherwise I think I'm okay. I haven't worked on this dumb project in a while. Write for fun and fun to write and all that nonsense.
(you) for your thoughts
https://pastebin.com/vYhdySgZ

>>16665256
Write independently two essays of contradicting opinion and then try to mesh them together. Make a storyboard of key points to argue.

I am trying to write at least 500 words a day but I feel like a narcissist piece of shit because the only think I can write this much about is my childhood and basically my autobiography. Anybody know this feel? I'm trying to not think too hard about it and get those 500 words done, but eventually I would like to write about other things. Where do you guys get your ideas from?

>>16674728
hitting the wall until it sticks honestly
dare to think autistically if you are a perfectionistic shit. come up with YA tier ideas and mold them into something that you can live with. ect ect

>>16673336
not as popular as the nigger novella

>>16674728
I know it sounds gay but I’m writing a space opera and all my ideas have come from custom Stellaris empires I made

>>16674744
>ect ect
Etc. etc.

>>16674782

>>16674798

>>16674822

My arms are healing from the rash. I can get in about 10 minutes of writing before the pain and exhaustion set in

>too old for the vast majority of writing contests in my country (they focus on young people)
>have zero interest in poetry so that cuts down the number of possible avenues even more
Is there some way to get published without winning at some contest as a teenager?

>>16676264
Submission Grinder
Duotrope
Google
.
.
.
.
Fur Affinity

Quick question. What font size should I be using to have my pages the right size? How many words for 10 pages?

I had three stories in the top 200 of all time best rated fictions on RR. This week, the admins "tweaked the ranking equation" which sent all my stories plummeting a good 100 spots down. Can't say I care much, but funny how that works...

What was the nanowrimo /lit/ discord?

>>16676264
*plays classical music*
May I introduce you to Amazon KDP, sire?

>>16677438
You may give your spiel, Hawthorne.

>>16677443
Sir! Think of it as a literary contest that you always win. No matter what you submit to it, you win first prize and publication in Lord Bezos's magazine. Even the wise and aged can partake in this literary competition

>>16677477
>Even the wise and aged can partake in this literary competition
Wizened.

>>16677483
> shriveled or wrinkled with age
I like that. It sounds like a noble word but actually it isn't

>>16677477
Speak you truly o r are you a knave? What's the catch?

>>16677505
No catch whatsoever! Err, well, my liege, perhaps there is a little, tiny catch. You might hear from the gentry, although not from me, that this is "vanity publishing."

>>16677585
Vanity. Definitely my favorite sin.

Should I be concerned with introducing themes into my narrative, or will they manifest themselves naturally into my work? I'm a little concerned about writing something that's considered superficial or vacuous, but the insertion of themes is something I am not confident at.

What principles should the first line/paragraph adhere to? I'm trying to leave an impression on the reader, but anything I write feels either tryhard or too weak. I want to make sure that whomever is reading will want to stick around.

>>16677706
Don't worry about it, just write it last.

>>16677713
That's just kicking the can down the road, isn't it? Eventually I'll run into the same problem.

>>16677740
By the time your story is actually more complete, you'll know what's the most important thing about it. You'll know where to start for realsies.

>>16677713

this.

and this:
>>16677745

>>16677669
Write the full story without letting it bother you. Reread with an eye for the main themes and motifs you introduced naturally. When editing, reinforce those themes and motifs.

>>16672289
Im not that anon, but thanks for the recommendation, Im looking to up My writing so My professors Arent bored with my assignments

>>16674054
Damn, good post. Im saving these tips, they All make sense.

>>16677038
Prove yourself by hitting 200 again

I...I did it guys. I pressed the submit button on royal road. It's not the most respectable start but it would be the first time my work is officially seen by other people.

>>16678286
Eggsculent. Now post it here when it gets approved to receive very gentle bullying.

>>16678286
>>16678295
Do people actually read things on that website? How does it work?

>>16678336
Yes. You just read, nigga.

>>16678295
I'm not a very good writer anon, my prose is as simple as it gets, but at least I don't do spreadsheets or litrpg, so that's a good thing right?

I mean even the setting is not terribly original. Just a medieval fantasy with sword and sorcery, creation myths and the basic world building. It fits my aim though, which is to write an exciting adventure.

>>16678286
One day you may be so accomplished that you'll be in the top 200 stories like that other RRfaggot

How do I not edit as I go?

>>16677880
Thanks; that sounds like very good advice.

how much should a novice faggot like me write every day to gradually get better? I'm not looking to become a writer per se, but I want to have above average skill when it comes to getting ideas across through text.

>>16678588
Stephen King writes 2000 words a day. That's a good number. A really good number.

>>16678601
He claims he does anyway

>>16678601
4 pages single spaced? What in the fuck?
I dont want to be a Stephen King, but at least be able to write decent papers and make my points clear and interesting to read. Unlike some of the autistic professors, whose books I read for class in university. Some of them are smart, but write in a very obfuscated way, sometimes unnecessarily so.

>>16665256
There is no one method. As long as it flows well and tells the story how you want it to. Some authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez almost never use spoken dialogue and just describe interactions. On the other hand some authors make a bullet list of quotes with no narration in-between. Just start with something that feels simple and natural. If you're actually writing consistently you'll eventually hone your style to what you need.

>>16678609
All those books sure don't write themselves. Or maybe they do, I don't know

>>16665376
>If he took interest in us
You fool. Beings don't exist exclusively in one dimension. Its about how they're perceived. A 5 dimensional being is just a human perceived from the 5th dimension.

>>16678618
If I were James Patterson, Dan Brown, Stephen King, I would outsource stuff to English lit grad students. Big name painters and composers do it, farm out the grunt work while keeping all the credit themselves, why not writers

>>16678613
I think the number is 3000, but that's really not a lot when you're writing a plot-heavy narrative. You just get the reader to the thing that happens next, successively.

>>16678653
Im talking about daily exercises here, that are meant to form a small and daily habit.
Im not going to write a fantasy novel about feet obsessed hobbits and their quest for the finest pair of feet in the kingdom.
Cant something like 500 words or less do it? Some anon talked about going on r/ writingprompts everyday and writing something, is that something that helps?

>>16678674
Of course. Anything helps. If you can sit your ass down and write for 20 minutes without distractions every day for a year you're well on your way.
But what do you want to write?

>>16678712
I want to do it for two reasons:
1. I am interested in philosophy, but some of these guys writing is.. complex to say it mildly, but sometimes it feels obfuscated on purpose.
I get that complex ideas may need complex language, but I believe there comes a point, where an author is just obfuscating for the sake of obfuscating. I think Kant said he didnt think he was a very good writer, and some say thats why his critiques are hard to get through.

2. I am learning to code also in university, and might want to be a hobby / professional game dev. I have already tinkered in an engine I like, and found it amusing. I havent done any serious projects however, but I think it would benefit my ability to make interesting and fun games a lot if I am able to write decent dialogue and characters.

>>16678761
Me again, just wanted to say that in point 1, I dont believe all of these authors obfuscate on purpose.
many of them are probably smart philosophers, but simply bad writers.
I think this is sad, as great philosophy and great writing can go hand in hand, at least I think so.

I don't want any judgments, only criticism.

https://pastebin.com/11VJiKe3

>>16678983
Different people speaking in the same paragraph is extremely jarring

Commas when the dialogue starts and ends if it's not the end of a paragraph but that's just a personal preference. I didn't expect cunny so that was kinda, uh, interesting subject matter.

>>16679045
thanks.

Just found out that one of the pro quality submissions in my critique group was written by a complete beginner. Talent is real bros and it is crushing.

Can someone give me a functional definition of underwriting and ways I can fix this if I'm doing it?

>live miserably
>try to write whimsical fantasy for escapism
>ends up being miserable grim-dark edgy shit

Am I doing something wrong?
Every time I write, my story always steers off the tracks, almost like everything I do becomes miserable.

Guys can you critique my isekai story? Pic related is an excerpt from it.

>>16679288
Embrace your natural proclivity towards pessimism and write something authentic. Perhaps you'll be able to steer your writing towards something more uplifting at the end, but it will come naturally to you, if it does. Just let your works carry themselves.

>>16679288
take a note from fairy tales: describe the miserable parts of the story briefly, in a deadpan way.

>>16679291
Seems pretty derivative.

>>16679291
smooth

>>16679246
Assuming you're not talking about the financial term, underwriting refers to writing that's too spare or has too little information. Most commonly this error arises from not utilizing internal monologue enough, so that you just have a journalistic report of a sequence of events. Often this also results in dialogue being too direct, where characters say things that they should have thought instead. One solution is to overwrite then cut. That is, write down all the thoughts of the characters--however trivial--then go back and tighten up. Making thoughts contradict dialogue is also a commonly used technique for maintaining dramatic irony and tension.

Another common issue is excessive abstraction, aka the "show, don't tell" rule. This comes in two flavors: declarative ("Jim was virile") or cliched ("Jim was a tiger in bed"). The solution is to render the abstraction in some snippet--a memory or a scene. It can help to think about the details as "evidence" to support the abstraction. In order for the evidence to be convincing and interesting, it has to be oblique in some way, odd, or uncommon. Jim picking up women at a local bar is too easy. Jim sneaking into business conferences to pick up office women, because he has a fetish, is weird and (if it's rendered well) intriguing.

>>16676603
times new roman 12pt 0.5 first line indent double spaced -- for agent submission

>finally hit on a meaty idea for a sequel
>it benches most of my main characters
>including my protagonist

what do i do?

WHAT THE FUCK IS A ROYAL ROAD
IS IT FUN
WHAT'S THE POINT?

>>16680399
Have it bench most of your main characters but not the protagonist, your readers will think the first book was a total waste of time and stop reading

>>16679108
Short excerpt of the best part of the writing?

>>16680413
It's a site where you can post your original fiction. It's mostly used for isekai but some of the stuff on it is pretty good.

>>16680413
Join. They all do, eventually.

> writer on RR

>>16680442
>>16680452
What makes it different from wattfag
Can it house fanfucktion

>>16679108
What made it good? What did they do right?

>>16680472
Imagine that the world of writing sites is the earth. Wattpad is India while Royalroad is Canada.

>>16680526
Where is engladamerica

>>16680472
It's just like Wattpad except it's so small that even if you do no advertising or social interaction, your story still gets attention. On WP and FF, your work gets drowned out by the crowd. And yes, you can also write fanfiction

>>16680399
I actually disagree with >>16680422 and think it could work. If you can pull it off, of course. I've definitely read books that switch protags and bench a lot of characters in a sequel and enjoyed them.

>>16679636
I svaed your advice in a note on My Phone.

>>16680539
Fanfiction.net, it came first and got dibs on the best domain which it uses to get by despite the millions of flaws it has.

>>16680399
>>16680422
stop making personal attacks on me I don't like it

>>16680422
the problem with this is the plot pretty much demands that the other main characters aren't around. I can change it so that my other main characters are involved in their own subplots, but then the story would have too much going on

>>16680399
Were the major conflicts of the first story resolved? If yes, the sequel continues with the main characters far in the background, their actions were still valid but they are in the past now.

If not, make it clear that the main characters haven't gone anywhere, this is just another story happening concurrently in the same world.

>>16680954
I left a lot of plot threads loose to be picked up on, but I'm not confident in my ability to weave them together in a way that's cohesive.

>100,000 words into novel
>suddenly feel like it's absolute shit and I should just abandon it, or at the very least do significant rewrites
>starting to feel like what's it's becoming is too convoluted, and what it was at the beginning is too slow and boring, even though there is a natural progression from one state to the other

fuck my life.

>>16680441
>>16680525
Can't post here since the group forbids cross posting (and its printed so I don't want to bother with camera or typing it out).

The work isn't Melville or Tolstoy or anything, just your garden variety genre fic but it has a level of polish that's head and shoulders above the rest of the group. As for what it does right: the dialogue was really good. In particular the way the thoughts of the main character was balanced by what she said and the way all the description was filtered through the main character's eyes made it enjoyable to read. That and there's a certain overall flow to the prose (broken in only a few places).

Anyway, it turns out that, although its the authors first novel, he had rewritten the section he presented (the opening two chapters) eight times. So there might be hope for us untalented after all.

>>16681151
Do it faggot. I rewrote my story at 50k words, then another one at 100k before finish my first draft at 130k words. I'm currently working on my second draft which replaces every other word of the first one.

Put in effort, nigger

Do you all ever feel moved by your own writing?

I am editing a major work of mine that I finished last month. I'm going back through some of the earlier parts of it, parts of it that I hadn't properly laid eyes on in months because the work is big and progress writing it was slow. I'm actually extremely happy with how so much of it turned out. In particular, I seem to have developed some really powerful main characters. They're great on their own but as a group they're even better, their interactions are the beating heart of the story.

I have a good feeling about this thing, it's great to feel. Do you all ever get good feelings reading your own writing?

>>16679636
My problem is usually not describing things that aren't relevant to the story. I'll breeze through something and never describe anything that didn't absolutely have to be. Part of me hates it because I know that's bad, but another part of me really likes it because there's no distractions; you're only getting what you need and nothing else.

>>16681915
Grug has often felt that way about his own writing. Grug has equally felt incorrigible about his own writing. Grug find the hardest part for any artist, whether cave painter, throat singer, or rock writer is to convey the head paintings they feel in head into material.
So Grug think if you feel that good about rock writing entirely, then it must be good rock. Grug hopes you shill it one day on 4rock and Grug read it. Grug particularly likes strong character interaction.

>>16681915
I'm interested in what kinds of books you read that have good characters. Care to reccommend any?

>>16682469
stacy grugette and chad grug say grug talk bad

>>16669279
So how then is that magic

>>16682619
The Book of the New Sun
Moby-Dick
The Sound & The Fury
Dubliners
The Scarlet Letter
A Brief History of Seven Killings

All books that habitually make lists on /lit/. But they show up on the lists, over and over, for a reason.

>>16674704
>https://pastebin.com/vYhdySgZ
Am I boring?
I’m bored and have lost interest after the lady is shot. I’ve tried to read more, but I’m just not hooked.

How do I take the first step? I know what I want to write, and I have no problem writing out scenes, but I can never puzzle out how to get started on the first few paragraphs.

>>16683236
just shart some words out onto a page and get going. The first paragraph is always troubling to write when it looks like it might ruin a perfectly good piece of paper

I write a lot of short fiction on prompts but want to start doing some blog content and the like, nothing about me, just a few essays here and there. What's the go with making a blog these days? I would google but everyones an SEO bugman these days, especially on the top of google. I just want to make it somewhere relatively private and where I can make the page look the way I want. I've made sites off hosted server plugins before but I don't want anything high maintenance

>>16683363
you need an actual theme for your blog. You're not some stay at home mother who can simply blog about every thing her child does and still have thousands of viewers

>>16674704
I got distracted by the ESLness of the prose. Didn't finish.

I wrote 1.5 pages of non-fiction today. Arms feel stronger, can use mouse intermittently

>>16666384

What's with the Naruto bandana

>>16666384
jannie must not like /crit/. Usually those exist side by side with /wg/

>>16683390
I don't care about getting a wide readership, I just want somewhere I can link to and tinker with

>>16674704
>https://pastebin.com/vYhdySgZ

i'd say it's a bit hard to get into and i have some suggestions (and suspicions).
First off, i don't think you're a musician, or if you are you're self taught or haven't taken many classes. Teachers always tell you what to do and how, even if they're mad. So it would be more like. "the THUMB on the C not on the C sharp!". Also the breathing part between the notes.... makes it seem strange to read as a person that plays piano. Breathing is the one part that musicians don't think about, just look at Glenn Gould, he breathes and moans and humms like a fucking retard when he plays (but that's where the retardation ends).

Now for the text and exposition part.... i'd start off with perhaps "music filled the [insert room]". Or perhaps start with the piercing of the hand or something else that makes us want to understand "why?". The first sentence threw me off because it's very long, has lots of describing in it but none of the things described are actually something i as a reader know of. And yes, i want to know why things are happening in your story but there's not enough of "not why" for me that makes me want to read on. And by "not why" i mean relatable things. We need to know that even if we don't know what the automations are we have to be able to relate to them. Does the automation want out? Does it hate the looming figure/teacher? Does it hate playing or love playing? Give us something relatable. And not only about the characters but i feel that the story's buildup is so avant garde-ish that it makes the mind slip. There's simply no places to hold on to.

tl; dr - make it a bit more normal. It's ok to write something that looks normal. After all, if we want to communicate something we have to compromise our ideas down to the most suitable words. If you want to be interesting you have to serve the reader. Oh fuck i can't go on anymore, you get it!

>>16681915

i feel it depends. Sometimes when i re-read stuff i can really get into what i wanted to convey, sometimes the same thing just doesn't speak to me.
I'd say it's a great thing you feel it's good, that's the best indication of it actually being good. Now let someone else read some of it and ask them if they experienced it in the same way.

Of course for someone to be able to understand what's good about the interactions between characters in a book/story there needs to be build up and everything so... What i'm trying to say is: the big test is whether this is inflated by the things you know in your head that you perhaps haven't managed to convey in the story, or if you have successfully done so.

I'm so excited for nanowrimo

>>16684004
Why?

>>16681915
>Do you all ever get good feelings reading your own writing?

Strange question. Why write at all if you don't?

>>16681151
This happened to me once. I had 100k words down when I started rereading and it was such cringey, preachy, infantile garbage, I couldn't even think of any way to rewrite it better. There was no other way but to abandon ship.

Do stimulants help or hinder you? For me I think strong coffee kind of works but it just makes me super jittery so I don't know if what I'm writing is actually sensible

>>16684091
Whiskey is writing fuel.

How do you make a good protagonist? I find that mine are too boring and flat.

>>16684294
Big tits, and a limp.

>>16684091
I go for a walk in the cold to gather ideas, then come back and have some tea to write them down.

>>16684294
Explore a few different dimensions of their character and stick with those, make them believable (not realistic), and make sure that their struggle is compelling. The last one is especially important, as a compelling protagonist has a strong, broad goal that they won't let go of.

I can only phone post right now so my ability to convey this is a bit limited but hope it's getting through.

>>16684004
tits or gtfo

>>16684091
idk if it's the stimulant that helps me or if it actually does work as a Pavlovian response now like I intended, but I drink Earl Grey tea while writing. Usually a cup an hour/1000 words.

When fantasy world-building, is it ever okay to use real world examples or sayings?
Or does it pull the reader out of the experience?

How would an orc know what a menu is?

>>16684294
According to Aristotle, characters should be virtuous, appropriate, believable, and consistent. This may seem antiquated at first, but in fact most stories use this formulation. Some of the characteristics have broadened in scope since Aristotle's time but they haven't changed. For instance, virtue is probably better thought of now as some kind of code (moral or otherwise) from which the character's actions derive. Sherlock Holmes's code compels him to take cases on the basis of what best interests him, not what pays best. Ahab's code compels him to take revenge on Moby Dick. Macbeth's code compels him to regicide and tyranny.

Propriety is probably better thought of now in terms of social circle rather than social rank. A tech billionaire acts and speaks differently from a Saudi prince. A tennis pro and an NBA player move in different circles. The tribes the character belongs to determine his action as much as his code.

Believability and consistency are self-explanatory, basically the character adheres to his code and to the behaviors expected of his social circles. Playing around with this without breaking it is, I believe, the secret to good characterization because it creates novelty and surprise. You'd expect that Sherlock Holmes, whose code trusts absolutely in cold logic, and who is part of the upper-middle class, to not be a drug addict. But the author takes pains to ensure that his opiate addiction is believable and consistent with what has already been established, thereby deepening the character.

>>16684831
For comedy its OK. Otherwise look up the etymology of the word to figure out if it's appropriate to the analogous time period.

Does anyone ever write poetry for Nanowrimo?

>>16684831
Just pretend you are a scholar translating a mysterious script - the Cervantes method

How would I go on about introducing countries/events of an alt-universe when the main character is the narrator of the story?

>>16685037
Whatever you do, do not EVER under ANY circumstances use the phrase "as you know" and then proceed to explain how something is.

Scott was standing on the ledge of the roof of his building. His phone was in hand. The clock read eleven fifty-eight. He wanted to call his recently married, potentially former, best friend, Jane. He knew she was on her honeymooon and he should respect that, but he needed to hear her voice, one last time.
Jane was already thinking about Scott, but maybe not the way he would've liked. She was arguing with her new husband. Scott had gotten drunk enough to not care on the night of her wedding and kissed her. He'd been hiding it out of fear of losing her friendship. She made the mistake of telling Curtis about it.
Curtis, her new husband, was angry about the whole thing. Not because Scott kissed his wife, but because he knew she kissed him back. She was denying it, of course, but he knew. All he could think about was how his friend, Reggie, was right. Reggie had mentioned to Curtis a couple times that Scott had a thing for Jane. Curtis chose to trust Jane instead.
Reggie wasn't thinking about any of them, though. Instead, Reggie was nursing a bottle of vodka, thinking about the sister he hadn't spoken to in years. Something about the wedding made him realize how important family was. It had been so long he didn't even remember what the fight was about, which made it even more tragic to him. He didn't know if he even had Abby's number anymore.
Abby never talked about her brother, and tried not to think about him. She did carry a locket with a picture of the two of them inside around her neck. It hurt to remember, but she didn't want to forget. She had given up hope that Reggie would ever reach out, and didn't know how to herself. What was worrying Abby that night was her boyfriend, Rudy.
Rudy was a teacher. He had been drifting off away from date night, and Abby asked him where he was going. Rudy explained that one of his students made a comment and he didn't know how to handle it. It was just cryptic enough in that way kids say things that it could be nothing or it could be everything. Mary had said something about how her uncle was really sad and said goodbye to her, but he never said goodbye before.
Mary wasn't thinking about Mr. Taylor. She was laying in bed, wondering why her mom didn't pay her much attention that night. Mary didn't always have to be the center of attention, but she had a story to tell her mom about what happened at lunch she was really excited to tell. She wondered if mom was worrying about Uncle Scott.
Sara was worrying about her brother. She was the one who walked in on Scott and Jane at the wedding. She always thought the two should be together, but it was too late. She was already married, and that should mean something. That was exactly what she told her brother the next day after he sobered up. Scott had his chance for years, and he let her slip away. But Sara was worried because she had never seen the look Scott had in his eyes before. She grabbed her phone and saw it was almost midnight, and called him.

So far I'm sitting on about 80,000 words for the year. Not bad considering I only started to take writing seriously this year, and didn't write anything all summer.

>>16685069
I feel like I am both rambling but also not being descriptive enough. Any advice anon?

>>16685173

I really like your style and tempo. I'm not sure about the changing of character so many times in such a short text, and i get that's kinda the point, but... it kinda shines through. If you were, however, to just keep the pacing and write a normal text i'd say i'd read your shit.

>>16685415
>in the year 9
Change it to "in year nine".
>many of whom had retained
many of who had retained
>neither he nor his family
That's a double negative. Neither he or his family.
>Our two nations were nothing a like
alike
>However the kings luck would soon run out for in the year
However, the king's luck would soon run out, for in the year

All in all you should proofread. This is too short to feel like a ramble.

>>16685471
>kinda the point
Yeah, Idk, I just had the idea and liked it. Turned out the way I wanted.
>I'd read your shit
Thanks, Anon. I haven't really shared dick all with anyone, so it's good to get some feedback.

>>16685546

keep at it!

>>16685569

Thoughts on head-hopping in fiction? Yay or nay? What's the difference between that and third-person omniscient?

Is this true /lit/?
>>>/tv/141451993

>>16685827

>>16685870
There's a lot less than 500. I'd say like, 10 tops.
Of course, I'm one of them.

>>16685870
Even if it is true, no one knows who they are anyway. It will only become apparent decades or centuries after their death. Creative pursuits are fine, they are life-blood, but not a living.

>>16685772
That's one hell of a cosplay, getting mad undead asylum vibes. The knight next to her is cool too.

>got my first commission to write smut today

Odd feel. On the one hand it's easy money, as writing smut comes as easy as breathing to me at this point. On the other it means I'm someone who accepts payment to write smut.

>>16685772
I wrote a sci-fi horror story that shifts perspective as characters are killed off. I don't know if that works better than simply keeping it as a single perspective, and having people get killed in the background.

>>16685870
>not welding while endeavoring in creative pursuits
Never gonna make it.

>>16686056
>not welding creatively

>>16685827
>>16685870
Depends on his criteria for "worth reading". Actually good writers? Probably. However there are way more than 500 writers who make a living writing.

Do you really care if you are "worth reading" or not when people are reading your stuff, and reading it so much you can live off of it?

>>16685968
Give us a taste then.

>>16685986
King does it okay by going in and out of points of view. So you can kill someone and go back to an already established character. Might be a frustrating read if characters are murdered linearly each chapter.

What do you guys think about amphetamine use to help with writing? My novel is half finished but I kind of want to buy some meth to help knock it out faster.

>>16686145
Worth a try.
Go for it.

Just wrote 1500 hours today

>>16686071
this man gets it

>>16686222
but there's only 24 hours in a day...

>>16686238
I don’t know why I typed hours instead of words. Maybe I thought “today” and wrote “hours” because of it. I’m a retard

Do you ever feel like you're not well read enough to write a decent book?

>>16686245
>I’m a retard
we all are. Congrats on the 1500 words tho. Consistency is better than volume. 500 words a day is better than 2500 words a week.

>>16686264
I know I haven't read enough, and if I end up writing something people like I'll feel like a fraud atm. However, most anons agree that reading is more for learning how story/plot works and less about anything else, so I have hope. I've learned about the mechanics of story and feel I know how they work. Probably should've been a screenwriter with how many movies I've seen, but fuck Hollywood.

>>16686279
> 500 words a day is better than 2500 words a week

Obviously.
It's 3500 words a week if you are doing 500 words a day.

How to write middles? I know the beggining and the end of my story, but I don't know what to put in the middle without seeming boring.

>>16685827
>>16685870
But I am exceptionally gifted. Everyone has always told me that.

If you don't have people telling you that you're a good writer, you suck.

>>16686355
Introduce conflict. Something needs to happen to propel the action forward. Maybe someone dies, or someone falls in love, or anything. After you've established the status quo you need to shake things up and see how the characters react. And after that, do it again, as many times as it takes.

>>16686306
>tfw low key do 3000 words a day(assuming I know where the story's going and I don't waste time trying to figure that out)

>>16686394
I actually have already introduced conflict in my story, I don't know how exactly it will unfold or if unfold it'll reach the ending I've planned. But I think I understanding what you're saying. Basically, I should let chaos ensue in the characters life, and see what happens?

My personal problem with this approach is that I don't have control on what happens then. I have an ending and I want to reach it, but how would I reach it if I do like this?

English isn't my first language so sorry for any grammar error.

>>16685415
I think it is a little rambling. I can't really see where it's going and it doesn't make me care about the guy so I'd be lost pretty quick. He seems a little bit whiney, especially the born guilty/crime of being alive schtick. But maybe that's what you're going for.
Overall I would say some of that info should be cut, details like exact years usually aren't relevant and the background politics of revolution and war should maybe be more drip fed.

>>16686439
You have more control than you think. Consider the beginning and the end. Say, the MC at the beginning is a wimp, as an example, and at the end he's supposed to be a hero. Well, how does that happen? What would it take? You'd need to steer him towards that goal either through his interactions with other characters, or with events. If you have a clear end point already you just need to consider what little changes would lead to the large change at the conclusion. Unless nothing is supposed to change, in which case you'd have to confine your action so that it has no consequences. "Eyes Wide Shut" kind of did that.

Is starting your story with an inner monologue a bad move that amateurs should avoid?

>>16686563
It's harder to pull off but that doesn't mean you should avoid it. Write what you want and if it doesn't work then cut it. By the time you get round to editing you'll be better at seeing what works and what doesn't.

Wrote 2k so far today, was aiming for 5k, I'll end at 3k if I'm lucky

>>16686563
If you have flow and tension and character it's probably good

Has anyone tried to write something so obviously pandering and dogshit just to see if people like it? I'm imagining somebody writing their own Normal People rip-off as a pisstake just to see it become successful.

Is "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" from King a good read?

>>16686813
Yes, and that's from someone who can't stand King's writing. His stories are good, but I just can't stand his writing. On Writing is an exception though. Absolutely worth the time, especially if you're new and need some guidance.

>>16685173
>His phone was in hand.
You can merge this to the previous clause "Scott...building, his phone clutched in his hand"

>He wanted to call his recently married, potentially former, best friend, Jane.
Dont tell, show me. "The screen-light illuminated the sweat that trickled down his forehead and pooled itself on the glass panel, obscuring the letters and digits where he fixated his glare: Jane White (nee Murphy)"

>Jane was already thinking about Scott, but maybe not the way he would've liked. She was arguing with her new husband. Scott had gotten drunk enough to not care on the night of her wedding and kissed her. He'd been hiding it out of fear of losing her friendship. She made the mistake of telling Curtis about it.
Lots of work could be done here. How does Scott know she was 'arguing'? It should be 'She had argued' and maybe something to let know how Scott knows. "Scott had gotten drunk enough to not care" should be "Scott had gotten too drunk to care", and "He'd been hiding it", hiding what? A kiss? Show me his feelings, maybe tell me how nervous he was to peck her on the lips.

> Not because Scott kissed his wife
As stupid as it is, IRL guys will get angry at the other guy, unless he had some noble reason for kissing, like the dude on /fit/ that banged a whale and sent screenshots to the husband who was mid-divorce proceedings.

> All he could think about was how his friend, Reggie, was right. Reggie had mentioned to Curtis a couple times that Scott had a thing for Jane. Curtis chose to trust Jane instead.
Weird, abrubt jump to Curtis' POV here, and why the "instead"? I dont see anything mentioning Jane's view or that it conflicted with Reggie's.

>Reggie wasn't thinking about any of them, though.
I don't give a fuck about Reggie, though.

>Abby never talked about her brother,
From the rest of this I glanced a ton of shifting POVs, which should be the first thing you clean up

>>16686953
>shifting POVs
literally the whole point of the bit.

>>16686944
>>16686813
I also liked it a lot. Should we include it in the OP?

>>16686971
Yes but you're just jumping from character to character with no transition in between. You need to have a transition or eyes will just glaze over characters they dont know and have no reason to care about

>>16686992
couldn't hurt

>>16686994
>writing for anyone other than yourself
pleb

>>16687006
>making trash then eating it

>>16687009
obligatory
>that's just like... your opinion, man.

>all my protagonists either end up dead or in jail
Why do I keep doing this

>>16687062
> Not starting off with your protagonist in jail
Pathetic

I'm a fucking retarded individual who's written almost nothing in his life, but I now have a project I'm really interested in. Problem is, I don't want to spoil this idea with my (presently) shit writing skills
Do you recommend writing other stuff until I'm confident enough in my skills to actually do my idea justice, write things adjacent to this idea to expand on it but again only really start the thing itself when I'm more experienced, or just fucking jump into it, get better as I go and re-write a shit-ton once I'm better?

>>16687062
Who hurt you, anon?

>>16687161
My mom, my dad, my brother, the only girl I ever asked out, my drama teacher, and my lack of friends

>>16687176
we're your friends, anon!

>>16687176
>>16687194
We're all going to make it, frens.

>>16687176
We're here for you anon.
Probably doing more harm than good, but we're here

>>16687113
If you have something you really wanna write and can't stop thinking about it, then start writing it. You can always stop and come back to it later if you feel you aren't up to the task right then and there.

>Why yes, I do include a minimum of one em dash per page.