/lit/ - Literature

>>16689840
I love the em dash. I try really hard not to overuse it but for every paragraph I've usually got at least one or two. It's just so much more natural feeling and flowy than the ugly, pretentious semicolon. You've gotta keep it real by tossing a semicolon in every once in a while though.

I tried to look more courageous than I felt.

“I want to leave right now,” I said.

“But the carriage won't arrive until tomorrow. You don’t want to leave all your luggage here, do you?” asked the Black Count.

“I don’t care. I’ll buy everything new in England, the homeland of the Black English people.”

I then thought about my poor financial situation. Although all businesses were Black-owned, there still existed Blacks of modest means, such as myself.

“Or I’ll send for it later,” I added.

Count Blackula stood up.

“Of course, if you wish to leave, you can,” he said smoothly. “This isn’t a prison.”

For the first time in a month, he allowed me out of my room. He led me down the stairs and to the main entrance. Once we were in front of the door, the Count smiled, showing his teeth.

Suddenly, Blackula gave a great howl. Outside, I heard the return howling of wolves. Within a few seconds, I heard the sounds of dozens of animals snarling and growling outside the door. Count B made a great show of drawing back the bolts and chains. Then he took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He motioned for me to open the door. I pulled the door open an inch and peeked outside.

On the front steps of the castle were a pack of wolves. Their eyes glowed yellow and their teeth reflected white. One of them lunged forward. I slammed the door shut, catching its limb in the gap. It whimpered and withdrew its leg. I turned my back and put all my weight into keeping the door closed.

“Right,” I said, breathlessly. “Well, I suppose I could wait until tomorrow to go home.”

Count Blackula swept his arm, and the wolves retreated back into their homes in the woods.

I stood by silently as he redid the bolts and chains. Triumph sparkled in his eyes as he took out his key and locked the main door once again.

fuck, I forgot to include On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. The next thread maker, please include it

>>16689840
FAT LARP gets bigger every year.

>>16689840
I fear nothing; you should live in terror.

I wrote 500 words today which basically makes me Hemingway. Gib praise.

>>16689891
good yob, Anon, you will soon get your Nobel Prize

>>16689840

hey, some of us simply prefer the missionary position of semi-colon rather than try to be something we're not. Vanilla, semi-colon and missionary, that's my motto in life; my guiding star.

>>16689840
No.

>>16689840
>> What software should I write with?
Do people really care about this?

>>16689915
Some contrarians don't like Microsoft Word. Vanilla, Word, missionary is my motto

>>16689846
>em dash and semicolon are interchangeable
what is this dumb meme?

>>16689930
LibreOffice is almost exactly like Word, but completely free. Then there's google docs, which is EXACTLY like Word and free.

>>16689930
Yeah but does it really matter what you type your stuff in? If you don't like MS Word you probably already know what alternative to use

>>16689938
If you export between the Libre suite and their Microsoft counterparts, you'll run into formatting issues. Haven't tried the Google suite so can't comment on that

>>16689915
I use and enjoy Scrivener but it's not for people unwilling to spend a few hours on the tutorial.

Most people just want a stripped down word processor (which scrivener can also do) so they can focus but I really enjoy the ability to easily side-by-side my text, make a bulletin board, and move all my bits and pieces of writing into place easily. Feels like having my cake and eating it too.

>>16689966
If you finish NaNoWriMo, they give you a 50% off coupon for Scrivener

>>16689948
>If you export between the Libre suite and their Microsoft counterparts
Why would you do that?

>>16689970
That's nice, probably makes it a lot easier to rework everything into something possibly publishable.

My goal this year is to do 10,000 words because I am in no way capable of turning out over a thousand words per day without becoming utterly mired in revision.

>>16689977
You can't imagine a situation where people use a different computer with differing software?

>>16689982
Yeah, I honestly can't imagine a situation where you wouldn't install the same software on all the devices you use.

Can I write 300k-350k words by April of next year? Whilst having a full-time job?

>>16689993
How should I know what you can do?

>>16689993
Probably not? What happens in April?

>>16689932
You tell me, you're the one who made it up.

>>16689840
I'll always associate the em dash with twitter tryhards who use five of them in a single tweet.

>>16689840
As an ESL, should I write in English or in my native language that less people speak than there are people living in London? English feels comfortably distant in a way, I think I would feel a lot less self-conscious about my writing if I started to write in English, but I also consider my native language to have a higher skill ceiling, and closer to myself as a person.

>>16690024
This is a fair judgement; semicolons tend to be a bit dry whereas the em-dash has a more dynamic nature - good for your punchy tweet.

>>16689840

These threads are my procrastination. 4chan is actually. I'm one fucking scene away from completing the storyline and only have editing left and i keep coming here to do fuck all. I just wanna fight with anons and bitch about things i don't actually care about. Please just save me from having to use my brain for like two more days. Fight me! FIGHT ME!

>>16690036
A semicolon just has so much baggage attached to it. When you use a semicolon you aren't just using punctuation, you are now screaming out to the world that you are the kind of person who uses semicolons in their writing. Then you have two subtypes: the people who use them correctly and the people who don't. It's all just so stuffy and trite -- baggage. It injects a tone of formality which I don't think is almost ever done gracefully. The em dash is much looser and versatile. For people (like myself) who tend to write a little too formally in general, the em dash is a touch of informality you can use to instill a sense of rhythm to a passage without invoking everything associated with a semicolon.

>>16689991
If you don't own the computer, school, library, lab, then you can't just install whatever you want

>>16690046
What happens in 2 days?

>>16690052
This is the common wisdom but to tell the truth I've tired already of the overuse of the em-dash in response to this. The semicolon is not actually difficult to use or to parse - in fact, most readers simply gloss over it. If I seem pretentious using them I really couldn't care less; there are bigger fish to fry.

>>16690081

it's not that anything happens. It's just that i have about two writing days left and then it's just editing, sending it to a proof reader and then... most likely self publishing.

>>16690111
If you're self publishing, then you don't have an externally imposed deadline ... No tsundere editor yelling at you to finish your novel

>>16690119

lol, apparently my writing is so diffuse that i can't even get a single point across. I have about two days of actual writing left. That's the amount of time it will take me to finish this last scene. But i'm procrastinating. But i mean, you're doing a great job keeping me here so thanks!

>>16690128
If it's that bad post 300 words and ill give you my opinion. Make it 301 and I'll kill you though.

>>16690073
You sure are willing to go through some elaborate mental gymnastics to justify paying for a subpar word processor.

>>16690052
But em dash and semicolon do not mean the same thing. Semicolon separates two sentences that are so closely connected in meaning that a full stop would be an inconvenience. Em dash separates another clause, an addition, a thought, that is not strictly part of the original thought. It is almost purely a stylistic thing and hardly ever necessary, whereas semicolon must NEVER be used for a stylistic reason, but only out of necessity.

>>16690152

wow that's a pretty generous offer. Unfortunately i'm writing in my native language so... most prolly it'll not turn out so well if i rewrite it in english. Does the offer still stand? Want an english translation?

>>16690177
Nah. Back to work Ruski.

>>16690193

thanks! (omg everything is spoopy now!)

>>16690160
Now you are just running your mouth, libre is the inferior product. I tried to use it once in an attempt to follow the open source meme, the shitty thing just inconvenienced me in anyway possible. If you absolutely hate microsoft then pirate their shit instead of coping with a shitty meme software

I've been planning my book for 2 years now, almost 20k words worth of just notes on characters, worldbuilding, plot etc. I've made a couple attempts at writing scenes of it but never been happy with any of them, but a couple days ago I finally wrote a bit of the first chapter and actually think it turned out well. I'll try and keep writing, maybe try and get into some kind of routine every day.
Took me about 2 hours to write 500 words but my story's probably gonna end up very long (think harry potter series or even longer). I'm not looking to publish it, just writing it for myself so it doesn't need to be perfect. Does it get easier the more you write? How many words do you write per hour/day?

>only ten views after day 1
It's over bros...

>>16690221
>I tried to use it once

Fortunately, as an open source software, it is continuously improved and updated. Unlike MS Word, which only updates its capacity to spy on its user.

>>16690027
ESL here, I really like writing in English as the language feels more flexible and expressive than my own.

>>16690225
I like to write 500 a day, its a good amount if you write every single day. Sometimes you'll get more, sometimes less, the important thing is to be regular.

Who's writing for Nano here?

I plan on writing my space horror short involving old lesbians.

>>16690225

yes it gets easier. In my experience we all have an easier time writing certain things and harder writing others. For me, dialogue heavy parts are easy and 1k+ words per day are no problem. On the other hand, visual descriptive scenes and other things that take research (like locations) make me drop down to sometimes nothing. It's still work. As long as you keep working (and not just jerking around in your head about your world) you're good.

>>16690225
>Took me about 2 hours to write 500 words
>my story's probably gonna end up very long
You're probably going to die of old age before you finish it

Hey lads I finished writing my first ever ghost story/short story, any critique would be appreciated, I mostly want to know if I even got the vibe/aesthetic I wanted down.

https://pastebin.com/R9fuVAx3

It’s only 5 pages long, but yeah any feedback would be great.

>>16690335
cringe

>>16690606
>https://pastebin.com/R9fuVAx3

first off: proof read. Use proper commatation and punctuation. The thing reads like a mess since some places have commas followed by capital letters.
2. wouldn't the albinoness of the grandmother be the first thing we see of her?

I personally would start the story with the walking to the power plant and having the things written before that part come back as flashbacks or reflections while the story continues.

Honestly your ESL shows a bit too much. I'd write it in my native language and then translate it. But keep at it, the idea is cool and could become a good story if you work out the form/language.

>>16690733
Did you seriously try to seriously critique Mr Frater Asemlen? have you not seen his poetry?

>>16690738

i wanted to be nice. haven't been around for years. Did i dun goofd?

>>16690780

My poetry’s pretty shit but I keep at it, admittedly it comes off rather pretentious and very forced/artificial. I post a lot for critique because I feel a lot of pointers would be helpful.

>>16690288
I'm tempted but I don't really know anything about it.
Is it just a month of writing for the sake of writing, or is there some sort of prize at the end?

>>16690807

ye i didn't notice you were a tripfag thanks to the halloween layout. Nonetheless, keep writing. But like i said, work it out on your own language first.

>>16690820

Problem is English is my first language! Maybe it’s due to me writing these all in one sitting and just trying to put the thought down that they come off so sloppy.

Also apologies for the tripfagging it’s purely for archival purposes so I can save relevant discussions, critique and book recommendations.

>>16690829

as long as you're enjoying yourself!

How worth it is it to read stuff about writing? I've been doing planning stuff for the last few months but still feel kind of unprepared for actually writing something concrete, though I do have a decent outline for a long fantasy-ish novel series.
I know I probably should just put my head down but I wonder if it's worth investing the time into reading stuff about writing, because if I read it after I might think everything I write is shit and/or want to redo it all.

>>16690225
I'm a similar boat actually. I have SHITloads of planning notes, but it's important to remember that you need to write something for that to actually mean anything (though that's probably hypocritical coming from me). If you haven't already I would say writing specific outlines for chapters or storylines or whatever should help. I started doing that a while ago and I think if I didn't I'd just be stuck making notes forever, but that might just be me. I also plan to make my project very long (or at least as long as I can get away with) but I've written very little of the book itself because I'm obsessed with figuring everything out beforehand because I want to make sure I establish stuff for later, have everything in the world consistent, etc. Those are my main hangups but I think I'm going to start by the end of November since it's already taken me too long to get this far.
To answer your question when I wrote my thesis I wrote about 300-500 words per day depending on what I could find (though that might not be comparable since it's not fiction)- as long as you're making time that's fine. I think it will get easier as long as you keep consistent- the main thing is to ACTUALLY WRITE every day so you can keep focused on it.

>>16690931
It's worth a try, I suppose.
You shouldn't rely on others methods too much though.
Finding your own process and refining it is much better than copying someone else, but if you can find some techniques that help you develop then it's worth trying at least.

>>16690160
Noooo you can't pay money for a user friendly and versatile software

>>16691118
We're talking about a text editor, in which case anything that allows text to be produced and edited is good enough, and paying for superfluous features, and making sure everyone knows you're using a paid software, is more for your self-image than work.

Then again, could always be worse. You could be using Scrivener.

>>16691158
>You could be using Scrivener.
Scrivener is good though.
Manuskript is a great free alternative.

>>16691158
You're understating Word's functions, probably on purpose, as if it were nothing more than a 4chan reply box but you can save it to your computer. It's stable, user-friendly, and its features are great for writing most anything. Back when I used Ubuntu, I used OpenOffice and it seemed 80% as good as Word. The features were the same but often included 2-3 extra steps. A bunch of part-time volunteers can't beat an actual dev team.

If you collaborate with others and open up files on OpenCalc or OpenOffice, you run into a lot of problems, despite their claims of inter-compatibility. I've never even tried seeing if programs like Amazon Kindle Create play nice

>>16691222
>You're understating Word's functions, probably on purpose, as if it were nothing more than a 4chan reply box but you can save it to your computer

That's not at all what I'm saying. I'm saying you don't NEED anything else to just write.

Besides, I never once ran into any issues opening OpenOffice documents, doc, or powerpoint shows on MS alternatives back when I had to. You'd need to pull some really obscure shit to get hiccups, which likely has nothing to do with plain writing.

OpenOffice and LibreOffice are different branches of the same source code. The former, as far as I know, hasn't been updated in years, while I switched to the latter some years ago and it's done everything I need.

>>16691158
t. filtered by the scrivener tutorial

>>16689855
>I'm Stephen King. I worked mundane jobs for ten years until my agent got me a $250,000 publishing deal. Just like a fairy tale. It can happen to you too! Avoid adverbs and only use "said" to describe dialogue.
There's the entire book. Don't bother thanking me, you're a retard.

>>16691338
He got his ideas from Ripleys Believe it or Not

>>16689915
Yes, these threads are filled with people looking for physical solutions to their mental impotence.
>what program should I use?
>how many words per day do I need to write?
>how much should i read everyday to get good at writing?
The last one is my favorite. Someone asks how they improve at writing, everyone is super quick to say "read more" but whenever someone asks "what exactly do you mean? how should I be reading?" no one ever responds because "read more" is just a verbal totem they dish out to feel like they're giving advice. I have been following these threads from the beginning and have never seen a single post which demonstrates the slightest ability to think critically as a writer or reader. Which is a shame, when these threads started I had really high hopes.

Something I’ve been wondering, when it comes to writing is it better to read books that help you build up a foundational knowledge of how to write well, or is it better to ignore that and just grind out short stories until you’ve developed your own way of doing things?

One thing I always sort of regretted when I was learning how to draw properly was that even though the tools I was learning to draw were useful they sort of took out the nature of “individuality” in my art. I could draw well, but what I drew never was completely unique to me as what became ingrained in me was a workflow and toolset of other artists. On one hand, I’d like to have a strong start with my short stories in knowing what does and doesn’t work, as well as the pitfalls to avoid, but on the other I wonder if trying to give myself a strong foundation as I start will work out what would make my writing unique.

>>16691367
>whenever someone asks "what exactly do you mean? how should I be reading?"

You like, move your eyes from left to right, one line at a time, and decipher with your brain the meaning of the words.

>>16691374
>what I drew never was completely unique to me as what became ingrained in me was a workflow and toolset of other artists.

You answer your own question. It should go without saying that you gain individuality through practice, and then you'll be glad you based this practice period on a solid foundation rather than aimless trial and error.

>>16691374
There's always going to be compromise between individuality and conformity when it comes to creating art. Even when it comes to "rebelling" against the established method of doing things, you're still essentially reacting to someone else's process and therefore allowing it some control over your creativity. And unless you're some sort of wunderkind, chances are you won't be discovering some profoundly original new method by striking out on your own and ignoring the established techniques of the trade. It's more likely that you'll just be taking a more circuitous, time-consuming route to figuring out things which you could have learned through study.

I believe, in general, that "originality" is a fairly useless standard on which to judge creative endeavors. Worrying about being a copycat is for children, struggling to define yourself by yourself for yourself is for adolescents, appreciating the efforts of your predecessors and building upon the foundations laid before you is for adults.

>>16691367
>have never seen a single post which demonstrates the slightest ability to think critically as a writer or reader
Don't be so dramatic. I've also been following these threads from the start and have definitely seen good posts, good feedback, and good writing. Even so, I consider these threads as just a bit of fun and not really an authority. Maybe you expect too much. Or maybe you should be the change you want to see.

>>16691367
I don't personally bother with asinine questions like that, because everyone should've learned how to read in elementary school, how to analyze what they read in middle school, and how to write fiction and scientific texts in high school, and the default assumption is that everyone posting here is over 18. If you're in college or older, and still need to ask "how do I learn? how do I read?" then you're either raised in the wild by the wolves and only recently rescued, or completely braindead. And in either case, creative fields are simply beyond you.

>>16691362
I don't believe it.

>>16691505
the woes of a public burger education

>>16691505
> telling people to not get training and improve their skills

crab in a bucket, ngmi

>>16691505
I didn't go to school because I was too cool for it.
Now I can't get a job

>>16692178
There's a pretty massive difference between training and improving your skills, and going to a boxing club and asking them which shoe goes on which foot and do you tie them together or separately, which is 80% of these threads.

How common is it for author's to mirror novels/short stories as they write their own? I understand the phrase "great authors steal" - but, I've now met two published authors (both professors) who told me that they literally have a book similar to their own (published crime novel) at their side as they write, and read a line/write a line, copying everything but the actual words themselves. Would this get you in trouble if someone found out?

>>16689840
the emdash is for English majors who can't read in neither French nor Latin.

>>16689993
Yes

>>16692194
So people should never learn to put their shoes on their feet, if they already don't know? You're a crab

>>16692194
Elevate the discourse then.

>>16692283
I'm not your mom, Jimmy. There are better places for learning the basics, like some special needs institute for cripples. Or reddit.

>>16692304
I've been very patiently answering the least painful questions, but it doesn't seem to lead anywhere. Nobody here actually produces results, or finishes anything. Every thread is another set of 50 newfags getting started with their first-ever epic. "Do I need to read if I want to write?" Yes, son, yes, you do. Then they just vanish in the ether, and the same repeats.
Where the fuck is the anon saying, "thank you /wg/, I did it with your tips, here's my story, enjoy!"?

>>16691505
how do you get an internet connection all the way from the top of that horse?

>>16689932
There are no rules for the em dash as far as I'm concerned — use that shit wherever you want

>>16692517
Spamming it at random is no different from italicising or bolding words at random, an ugly sign of an amateur.

I can't bring myself to write this next chapter. I've been fantasizing and envisioning it for half a year, but now that the time has come to write it, it's like, 'damn, i still gotta write this shit,' I'm not too confident I can fully realize it to the vision I have in mind. I'm scared bros...

>>16692450
You're not forced to be here, nor are you entitled to any praise or results.

>>16692919
Just write it out as you envision in now, and then rewrite if it's not good enough, it's not going to get any better just sitting in your head.

>>16692213
> that they literally have a book similar to their own (published crime novel) at their side as they write, and read a line/write a line, copying everything but the actual words themselves

What do you mean, they copy plot beats? Like if you were writing a story about a human boy who discovers that he's a wizard and gets to go to magic school, you would have Harry Potter open next to you the whole time?

>>16690227
My story recently got into the top 15,000 on Royal Road

Anyone writing for NaNoWriMo? How much have how planned out?

>>16691338
The biographical chapters are great desu

>>16693301
Is it still considered NaNoWriMo if you started writing the novel 2 months ago and you want to continue writing throughout November to get the book up to 50,000 words?

Don't call me a retard but I'm looking for a good writing prompt generator.
I remember finding one some time ago but also remember it dying like two weeks after I found it. Just my luck I guess.

>You see, anon, coming up with ideas is easy. First, you have to–
I have plenty of ideas. This is actually part of one of my ideas, where I try to string a coherent story from random prompts I can't completely control.

>>16692450
I don't think you understand. If you are so brilliant, why don't you have a question of your own to ask?

>>16693689
He's so brilliant that he has no questions, he has all the answers

>>16693661
Make a word cloud arranged in a grid of tangentially connected words you find interesting. You can start with opposite corners filled. Fill in the rest of the grid. Draw a diagonal line at random through them.

Should you start by outlining characters or the plot?

Are humans wired for the hero's journey or does it work because audiences like simplicity and its a setup they are comfortable with due to familiarity through overexposure?

>>16689840
For anyone worrying about editing while you write:
What I do is, once a chapter/section is complete, if I feel the need, I'll add notes in the margin, just to soothe the fear of forgetting ideas. The promise to myself that I'll write my notes on the physical manuscript allows me to write without editing.

>>16693878
How much do you spend on printing costs

>>16693936
I mean, 500 sheets of paper are like 10 USD + 30 USD for ink which will usually cover 300 pages or so. I need to print for other things anyway, so it's not a crippling addition.

My novel series will be to Harry Potter what Lord of the Flies is to The Coral Island, just you wait and see.

>>16689840
This is my first writing, I only started reading but I want to try my hands at it.

He observed the gleeful faces of a family unit adhering to their roles like puzzle pieces of a completed picture.
Picturesque quality in their performance describes the exuberance of its reality.

Thus the miniscule atom of warped satisfaction in him was sucked from his ringing throat through osmotic force, ultimately replaced with active malice for he sensed from within him hope, with which his immediate rationale label a malfunction, an internal perception contrasting sharply with the truth. As if the father was a shrewd chess piece actively inserting propaganda in the brains of the observers.
Contempt was placed where contentedness once was.

Hope is for those who are idiotic and naive enough to retain docility and remain sheeps, tools of the powerful.
Wretched beings that clings to niches and degeneracy for sustenance such as himself shall never taste normalcy. But what good is normalcy if it is the attribute of those made ammunition by the powerful?
That implies degeneracy is of a different ilk, those who break the system and pushes through. That would be a comforting thought but even the most delusional dredge of soot can see that the truth is not even within the locus of that insinuation.

They are not sheep. They are disgusting pigs feeding upon excess and filth.

The degenerates are those who have failed to attain the basic primordial needs of the soul. Perhaps even more worn out with how useful they are to idealistic political forces than the normal masses because of their vehemently autistic predisposition and how much of an empty husk they are of which hands of the powerful fit snugly within. they revel in their puppet like quality when their own self control was abandoned to feel fulfillment in a communal and religious sense.

Under that lens, normalcy seems like a dreamlike condition, the closest spiritual state to nirvana.
However the yearning for those empty vessels to be filled within him will never be fulfilled for he lived thinking about the future so far, his past could never catch up.
Despite how intense the thrashing he gave to himself, despite the internal tantrums he had in response to his own impotence, despite the stern scolding he gave to that inner child within him, the absolute improbability and impossibility of emerging through that rotten cocoon is choking and shackling his inner dimensions and stifling his growth without him being made aware.

Thinking back, perhaps these are all nostalgic reflections regarding those unpicked ripe fruits which was the ultimate key to unlocking the moulting belt, to shed the binding shell towards growth. But all those abandoned to pursue flaccid pursuit of media critical speculations and craftsmanship. What is supposed to be passive social cohesion and God consciousness was diverted towards flat empty eyes on screens and masturbatory circle jerk on papers worth three acres of forestry.

>>16694137
Those never amount to anything other than commendations from some other retard inflicted with the same disease. Trees and air wasted for intellectual gymnastics.
Its time to face the fact that he missed the candle when his fire was still about him

>>16693143
>month and a half of uploading chapters
>1 follow, 1 favorite, 1 comment, 0 reviews,
>640 views
Is it over for me?

Anyone try the snowflake method for writing novels/stories? Does it work or is it a bit too complicated?

>>16694199
Was it something other than isekai, LitRPG, or Shonen Jump inspired crap?

>>16694241
It's a hero's journey fantasy/romance

>>16694199
I've got the same timeline as you but 150 views

Any advice on writing stories with multiple POVs?

inb4 "don't"

>>16693871
The Hero's Journey is a vague outline that can easily be manipulated to fit a wide range of stories. After Campbell's book became popular Hollywood and other writers deliberately used it as a lazy writing tool.

>>16694137
>>16694142
I see that someone has read infinite jest

>>16694392
Are there any story structure "formats" that are genuinely useful?

>>16694400
Have never read it. Is it being similar a good or a bad thing?

>>16694406
The Hero's Journey is useful, but I wouldn't get too tied up about checking all the boxes.

I just revealed one of my characters, whom I introduced 100k words ago at the start of my story, as lesbian. I didn't do this out of wokeness or inclusion. I did this because I like yuri.

>>16694378
I'm writing multiple POVs, it can be difficult to pull off I think. One technique you could probably avoid is writing simultaneous PoVs—maybe have one PoV happening a little later after another, but never at the same time.

I don't think readers want to re-read the same thing but from another person, if it doesn't drive the plot forward. This is probably why you might see so many people be put off from multiple PoVs because you want the same exact thing, which you already know what is happening but from another perspective. Also, because you're essentially juggling so many personalities, their speaking and thinking manners, like a total schizo. More characters increase chances of bland cut-out characters if you're not confident of that kind of thing.

I mentioned this last thread, but having one chapter end on a cliffhanger with a PoV presenting a problem for another PoV to try and overcome, and do the same thing next chapter—overcome one problem, and drive the plot forward by presenting something that the previous/other PoVs have to overcome, while still keeping the reader engaged.

Also, I think avoiding multiple PoVs in one chapter is recommended. Unless it's specifically clear that there is a narrative shift to another character, but I think multiple PoVs works better when one chapter is dedicated to one character only. Note, this only matters if you're writing in first person. But even so I still allocate third-person limited for side/etc characters that aren't main characters.

>>16694477
Is the story itself sort of manga-like?

IT'S HERE!

NANOWRIMO IS HERE

>>16693702
I think I might be too autistic for that, anon.

>>16692956
I'll have to write it eventually, by eventually I mean sometime this week. I think I have a good chapter outline for it after big enough thinks.

>>16694477
Pure, unadulterated based

For those of you who have dedicated writing hours, when are they?

>my thread on Xi JInping got pruned
FUCK YOU MODS I WAS HAVING A CIVIL DISCUSSION ON GEOPOLITICAL THEORY IT'S WAY MORE DESERVING TO STAY UP THAN 50% OF THE THREADS HERE

>>16694817
they must've hired chinese jannies

>>16694392
It's more than just a writing tool in the scriptwriting circles, it's like the goddamn Bible. Any divergence from the classic hero's journey formula is considered "bad writing" in and of itself. I had a friend who studied filmmaking and they indoctrinated him so thoroughly to this shit, he can't accept anything that doesn't check all the boxes.

>>16692924
>You're not forced to be here, nor are you entitled to any praise or results.
So you don't even want any results for YOURSELF? Because it's you I'm talking about, dumbass, about everyone posting here. I get my own results and praise elsewhere. I'm here because I want to read something interesting, and to help stories with potential get there. But I guess you're not here because you wanted to write, but because you wanted peer support to echo your inability to.

>>16693689
>If you are so brilliant, why don't you have a question of your own to ask?
I've asked questions here before and have had answers. Then what? Really, don't be such a little bitch.

>>16694893
You're not entitled to any of the things you listed. This isn't a janny position where you have to work 20 hours a week or you're fired. If you're negatively emotionally affected by the content on this general, you're free to ignore it

>>16691338
Thanks. I skimmed it and it seemed like a lot of biography and very little advice which might be interesting for some but not for me.

How long should a chapter outline be? I have mine at a bout 1/3-1/2 a page currently but wonder if I should expand them or just write them out in full

> Royal Road WRITATHON!

Royal Writathon is Royal Road’s writing challenge to our users. To win, you need to write at least 55,555 words in 5 weeks.

You can only participate with an Original novel.

It can be a new story, or you can continue an old one. But the 55,555 words have to be over one story.

First Milestone:

Write at least 25,000 words by November 15th to qualify for the announced participants' list.

The list will be announced to everyone, and it will show the fictions that are seriously participating in this challenge to make it easier for readers to find those stories.

Second Milestone:

Finish writing 55,555 words before December 5th, 2020.

If you complete this milestone by the deadline, you will count as a winner of this challenge (even if you didn’t make it in time for the first Milestone)!


Rewards:

All winners will receive a 1-month author premium (can be used or gifted per request).
All winners will also receive an Achievement!


Extra Rule:

For the duration of the contest, the story can’t include sexual content.

The story can’t be a Fanfiction.

>>16694943
Do you feel personally attacked or something?

>>16695069
>To win, you need to write at least 55,555 words in 5 weeks.
I'm going to be posting way more than that this month, but I wrote it all in advance, so I guess I don't qualify. Once again, I couldn't win.

>>16695084
They go all in with the quantity over quality shit huh? Really make me rethink posting my story on such a banal site

Has anyone read Hemingway's "On writing?" Been thinking about giving it a look-through

>>16695077
I'm not the one reeing about people asking questions or posting material that aren't up to my standards

>>16695094
Not like there are a lot of options. The site has hands down the best text editor, formatting, and chapter management out of the rivals. The alternatives either chink scams or babby's first HTML project. I'd gladly move to a better site if there was one.

>>16695106
Fuck off, this isn't your hugbox. I have very, very low standards, but if you're an idiot being an idiot in public, I'm going to call you an idiot too, and you can only deal with it.

>>16695032

why do you even bother with this? it is of no importance. Just write the chapter. When you start writing it you'll find out how long each one is. Some will be longer, some will be shorter. Stop focusing on the unimportant things. STOP READING THEORY!

>>16695138
Even if people in this general were beholden to whatever standards that you set in your head (they're not btw), no one knew about them. You should've written out your rules and posted them in each thread, or suggested them as an addition to the OP copypasta. Otherwise, you just look like a retard chimping out randomly when you see something you don't like

Is "My windows are starting to clear up" grammatically correct? As in, is it grammatically correct to use "clear up" to say that something is becoming clearer?

>>16695219
Yes.
It's fine.

>>16695151
I do it because if I didn't I would just ramble and not know where I'm going with anything.
I do think not writing longer ones is probably for the best though.

Would it be better to create a completely new religion, while using real religions for reference?
Or would it be alright to just piggyback off of a current religion, but just change the lore to fit the world?

For example, in my world I have 'God' and 'Angels'. Do I call them that, or do I invent some fantastical new naming convention for them?

>>16695241
We still use god and angel to refer to beings from non Christian or Muslim religions, so it's fine to use those terms. Actually, stop being so autistic about those things. Just pretend you are localization the story to english.

>>16695241
Either is completely fine. Just do whichever you actually want to do.

>>16694803
I wake between 7:30AM-9:30AM and write between 10AM and 1PM

Does any advice significantly change when writing erotica novels? Any advice specific to that genre?

Am I boring?
https://pastebin.com/AzR37uGx

>>16696355
"all movement of the music absolute of the piano,"
what the fuck is this.

However I read up to that then skimmed after and I thought it was pretty good

>>16695995
It's erotica dude, so long as it has benis going into bagina, it's a masterpiece.

>>16696355

>>16695995
If you want to sell it read romance trash to understand what the "people" who will buy it like. The tl;dr is rich gigachad sweeps up some nobody becky. The explicit scenes aren't as important as that plotline.

>“Writing long books is a laborious and impoverishing act of foolishness: expanding in five hundred pages an idea that could be perfectly explained in a few minutes. A better procedure is to pretend that those books already exist and to offer a summary, a commentary.” - Borges

>tfw you agree with this but you've been writing novels
A part of me wants to move to shorter, perhaps more experimental forms, but I guess I fear losing the effect I would have of delivering the story in full detail.

I wanted to do Nanowrimo this year but I feel like shit today

Feels real good to write in my own language after a long break. Shame no one will ever read it.

>>16696411
Oof

>>16696639
What language
I write in English and no one will ever read my shit either if it makes you feel better.

>>16696411
In a good way tho?
Maybe?

I wrote 150 words today

>>16696646
Finnish. Writing in English, you at least have billions of potential readers online. But only seniors and nerds read in Funland, there's no web fiction culture I know of, and the chances of getting traditionally published are next to nil.

>>16696641
>>16696658
I'm sorry bro, maybe you were just too deep for me, but this was my actual face reading it

>>16696488
It sounds like you don't actually agree with it. What Borges is saying has some truth, a single idea should definitely be a short story but several ideas chained together is really a novel imo. Besides, writing short stories is aesthetic but rarely rewarding.

I need an idea for a one A4 page story about
>modern heroes of our environment
to get some free money. I have to write and send it until 03.11

Any ideas? pls help

is writing one poem a week and editing it better than writing a poem every day and not editing them?

>>16696691
Care to name a line that was a big what-the-fuck? It would help me out a bunch.

>>16696355
Not boring, just vaguely incoherent. You use a string of metaphors without anything to ground the reader. I could understand it, but you haven't given me (the reader) reason to bother interpreting your metaphor.

>>16696990
Sounds like you don't deserve that money, anon.

>>16697021
Just answer me honestly, were you on drugs when you wrote that?

What author or authors have you noticed to have left an imprint in your style of writing?

>>16697171
Larry McMurty, and Elmore Leonard.

>>16693810
I usually start with characters but have a rough concept of the story at hand so they will have a place to land; though sometimes I feel that depending on how much the plot affects them prior to the actual start of the story I would've preferred to start with the plot, but you can't have a plot that feels organic without characters that take the decisions you want them to.

Uuuuhhh, start with the characters and don't set anything about the plot in stone I guess.

>>16692231
kek

Is it bad that I'm deriving inspiration for my work not from literature, but from other media such as movies or videogames?

>>16697320
Yes, say a hundred hail marys in penance.

>>16697320
Yes. Novels have a different structure than movies. It's fine to lift tropes from other mediums, like mecha from anime, but you need to write it like a novel.

>>16689970
No they don't

>>16694378
Each chapter is from a different perspective. So if you have a cast of characters all working towards the same thing, you could have each one with their own chapter where they solve the problem and the whole group can move forward.

>>16689840
Not so much about the writing as the setting.
With the world as it stands now. Do you imagine that in a apocalyptic future that ideas like women being the equal of men mentally be maintained?
Or would it revert back to the old way along the lines of social power of men due to strength working in reverse to justify itself by saying that women are less intelligent.
As in has there been a real 'shift in reason' for that topic in the West, that can't be reverted.

I've spent a good bit of time considering this, and I figure that there has been enough of a change in the average view that it can't really be reverted, at least not to the old level. Even after societal collapse.
Curious what others think of this.

>>16697533
It depends on the nature of your apocalypse. If there are a lot of guns around and everyone learns how to use them in order to survive, it is likely that women will have a better social standing than if they were helpless. The subjugation of a gender or population is often the result of weakness in the face of a more powerful foe. If you're going for a scenario in which brute force has become more valuable, then it is likely that women will be treated that way. If you're in for a super organized dystopia in which life is worth next to nothing, then men and women should most likely be equally worthless.
You need to go over the thought process and most importantly, how much time has elapsed since the end of the world as we know it. The first generation of women wouldn't be as submissive as the ones who were brought up in their role as the inferior gender, for example. Prejudice won't take a general hold until enough time has passed.
So consider both your story's environment as well as the time distance between us and it and with that measure try to estimate how much social norms have shifted.

>>16697010
100% writing a poem every day. Don't get me wrong, editing of course is worthwhile and important. But outputting the content comes first, and the best way to improve in a craft is practicing it.
Unless you strive to become an editior, but something tells me you'd rather consider yourself a poet than an editor.

>>16697564
Would the same logic apply to short stories/flash fiction (1000 words)? And also, would hiring a developmental editor (because i have no writing friends) to critique my work so that I can improve it efficiently be a smart idea?

>>16697548
I was considering that and you make some good points there, but I'm still trying to think of times that a group that gained respect on the whole, then lost standing in the eyes of the general populace even after societal collapse.
Not just women, but in general.
I suppose something like what I'm talking about happened in Muslim areas, but it wasn't ever like the average woman was considered even close to the average man, just that a few wealthy women managed to find success during times of economic prosperity.
And that was true mostly everywhere over time.

Probably wasting my time here, gives me more cast flexibility to maintain gender equality on the whole, no point in being forced to deal with all the subplots that come with disparate gender roles either.

>>16689930
I use TextEdit on Mac

>>16689993
Yeah

>>16697166
Nope
>>16697104
Understandable

Do you think it's better to handwrite or type? Do you think there's a difference? Personally think there is, and I actually like to write by hand, but am becoming to realize how tiresome it's to transcribe everything to the computer, but can't really put myself to stare at the screen and write in the same rythm I write by hand. I'm slow, and when I type slowly to better formulate my thoughts while in front of a screen, it causes me an agony. I don't know why.

So I used to regularly listen to Writing Excuses, Brandon Sanderson (and two other guys who's names I cannot remember) podcast. I stopped listening mostly because I don't like the personality's of the hosts.
Are there any other podcasts about writing that people here listen to?

>>16697766
A podcast how to write about stuff is probably the most procrastinationist thing I've heard of. I've listened to that one before and it just feels way too short (too short to listen to while writing) and a sales pitch for the guest of the week and their book. A better thing might be to find podcasts that analyze stories in some way.

>>16697623
>I was considering that and you make some good points there, but I'm still trying to think of times that a group that gained respect on the whole, then lost standing in the eyes of the general populace even after societal collapse.
Keep in mind that people gain importance or respect if they can provide something for the community or if they have accomplished goals that are out of most people's reach. In a world of business, where education is easily available, then of course woman can theoretically stand on equal grounds with men for the most part, with most inequalities being either baggage of past times or a different in temperament. If a new society emerges with different priorities, then those new requirements will determine who is successful and who isn't. A guy might be a hick in the middle of nowhere with his farm and his gun, but if the apocalypse comes and he manages to defend his territory, then he's suddenly someone important who owns territory and can defend himself. People might flock to him and he might be able to become a warlord and start a lineage of barbarian kings, for example. Whereas a female judge would be left in the dust in that situation.
Probably wasting my time here, gives me more cast flexibility to maintain gender equality on the whole, no point in being forced to deal with all the subplots that come with disparate gender roles either.
Remember that more often than not there is no need to go into a lot of detail about many aspects of society. The most important intricacies should only be brought up if they play a role in the story, such as a law that authorizes a female to become the first heir to the throne if she leads a successful charge against the enemy and brings back their commander's head with her. If not, you can just show glimpses of "woman may not enter this religious building" or "most women are illiterate" or something like that. General broad strokes that let the reader figure it out.

Is self publishing admitting defeat?

>>16697859
I think yes.

>>16697812
That's partially what made me stop listening to Writing Excuses, it's just a circlejerk between a bunch of writers patting themselves on the back.
Do you have anything in mind when it comes to listening to people analyze stories?

i got so many notes i want to organize to get my writing started. how do you all go about planning your story? i have the basic outline on excel. for my actual lengthy notes i only have word and powerpoint or anything else on google.

>>16697859
>>16697864
Anybody here have any experience with self publishing?

>>16697533
If you think that most of the equality of women to men in western nations is largely cosmetic (it makes women just more like men) and symbolic of affluence, I don't see why it wouldn't "revert." For a real example, I'd look at women's roles before and after the Iranian revolution. I don't think an inversion of today's concept of gender equality would happen in a generation. not even in the event of societal collapse, unless if it was forced.

>he writes in present tense

Am I splitting paragraphs properly and Is my writing engaging enough?

>>16698147
It's passable... this opening makes the narrator seem like a very tedious and rote kind of person though. I am not enthused.

>>16698147
Your writing is ok, but its content is a bit boring. Try to open in media res or something.

>>16698163
>>16698167
Since this is an alt-universe I am consciously trying to introduce the world as the story progresses. I thought of maybe introducing the background to the tensions between not!Corsicans and the not!French later on but since acts of vigilantism and discrimination in the MCs early childhood is supposed to have a strong impact on him, not going into details about it might make the aforementioned discrimination look cartoonishly evil. Is there a better way to go about it?

>>16698163
>>16698167
Well what do you expect from a historyfag? They all suck as writers and want to write Tolstoy knockoffs.

>>16698147
I gave feedback on this in the last thread and think you've addressed every point. It's a lot better. More explicable what's gone on, protag is more agreeable, better written generally. Gone from "probably wouldn't keep reading" to "would give a chance and read the first chapter". Good work anon, nice to see people in these threads actually trying and improving. Would love to see more if you have it.

>>16698236
Try to show (not tell, as you did) the key-event that tells/encapsulates most of what's in risk for the characters. And then you can switch to tell, and go back to show. Don't know. But the important thing is to make the reader "live" the issue.

>>16697677
Someone?

>>16693661
academics?

>>16696617
Follow up, I've written 3000 words so far. All I can say is never give up folks

>>16698265
Thanks, anon.
>>16698266
This is how I decided continue. To spare the readers all the dry details of how the island's industry was destroyed by the industrialization of other nations I thought it was better to sum it up in a single sentence written in verse.

Any text editor in which I can limit the number of words written in the page?

>>16698248
>historyfags write this way
Only the self-taught ones.

>>16698510
Anon, this still reads like reportage. Intersperse this with personal details so it doesn't read like it was written by an early 19th century autist. Develop your narrator alongside the setting.

>>16698572
>Develop your narrator alongside the setting.
How exactly would I go about doing that?

>>16696990
Gaia gives five people five rings. These rings give these six characters the power of fire, wind, water, earth, and ice. They use them to summon a guy called Planet Captain, who takes them on adventures such as cleaning litter from highway ditches and stuff

>>16698596
Maybe start by having him describe himself or what he does or his thoughts about something? I know nothing other than a bunch of genealogical and political crap about him and that's what he thinks is most important he deserves whatever the acrosians have coming to them for being a dry fuck.

>>16697907
I have. Amazon KDP is surprisingly easy. It's like Royal Road except you need to format your text into a book form

>>16698294
You're nuts. No one has handwritten novels since the 1860s

>>16698759
How difficult is it to find an audience there?

>>16698793
Elaborate why.

>>16697677
I like handwriting, but it's a waste of time to transcribe, so I avoid it for longer texts.

HOW DO I FIND THE RIGHT PLOT? I feel stuck in a sea of endless possibilities. No I won't leave it up to trial and error to see what sticks best and I won't settle for something randomly decided.

I need a surefire way to help me make decisions. Give it to me. GIVE IT TO ME NOW!

>>16698902
Write what you want to read.

>>16698902
Write about being stuck in a sea of endless possibilities.

>>16698521
Or how can I do that on Word?

>>16698816
Because that's the last generation of people before the intention of the typewriter

>>16698902
Hey brainlet, why don't you read some of the recommended books in the OP? I know nobody has done that in a hundred years but you might just be the one to benefit.

>>16689840
Can someone give me some tips on how to make my short horror story more atmospheric? Thank you in advance

>>16692544
>>16692517
>>16689932
i dont like it because i dont know how to write it

(1) She thought about...
(2) She seemed to think about...

Why would an all-knowing narrator use (2) after having used (1) several times? Why is he being deliberately unknowledgeable? Is the narrator smiling? "Oh, I really don't know *blink blink*. Maybe, but maybe not." He cackles: Yukyukyukyuk.

>>16699192
It means the writer is bad and can't give solid details.

>iwl.me consistently gives me Agatha Christie and Anne Rice
time to die
haha its just pseudoscientific bullshit, right fellas?

>>16698931
I know this isn't a real solution, but maybe you could write in a big font that limits how much you can write per page. And whenever you get to a new place, use Layout --> Insert --> Page Break or New Section instead of naturally overflowing to the next page. When you're done with the document, then go back to normal font

>>16699216
Why do idiots belabor themselves over this? It's who you write like as determined by a machine, it doesn't mean you are Agatha Christie. Hell, I doubt you will ever be a tenth as successful as her anyway so why not just move on with your life instead of playing with ego stroking toys like a child?

Any pointers on writing an episodic story? Think something like a tv series in literary form.
I guess you could try to equate any book chapter to a tv episode but the reality is that episodes rely far more on being self-contained with a clear beginning, middle and end and everything else entailed on making a (mini)story able to stand on its own.

>>16692517
yikes

>>16699229
you write like Cory Doctorow

Some days I can just feel it and I can crank out some good quality work and some day's I feel like a fraud. How do I get some emotional consistency?

>>16699385
You don't. You just write.

>>16699324
And I can stick plenty of random samples from my writing going back slowly over twenty years and slowly get all of the rest too. It's probably because I used a fraction, the words "toy" and "ego", and I am speaking directly to you as Doctorow typically does (his non-fiction work being his better pieces). It really just draws from the word clouds and sentence length, I'm pretty sure.

Would my story on RR[\spoiler] gather more interest when I have more chapters posted in the future? Seeing the average views of the first few is kinda sad. Though that's to be expected for not writing in the crowd pleaser genre

>>16699654
As in having a backlog to post steadily? That's how the site actually suggests you go about it. So, yes.

>>16699682
I already have a backlog of ten chapters or so, what I'm hoping is that when I have more chapter posted on the site people who binge read will pay more attention to it

>>16699692
This is going to be a fierce month because of NanoWrimo and the contest going on. But normally as long as you have a consistent schedule people will pick it up if they see it in recent updates

>>16698798
I've been """publishing""" for 2.5 years now, and my opinion is that it's about as hard/easy to find an audience via Amazon as it is via Royal Road. You do have to be a little clever and find your niche via the right keywords, but it isn't the quality of your writing that gets you views/purchases -- it's a backlog and regular publishing schedule. Amazon's search algorithm favors authors/pen names that have multiple books and they'll give you a natural promotion for the first 3 months that your book is up. So it's in your best interest to churn out a book every 3 months under the same pen name.

The conventional wisdom is to not even worry about money from selfpublishing until you have 10 books written. Maybe the equivalent is 10 chapters on RR, I'm not as familiar with that site

>>16699654
Whats the point in posting on RR, anon? To try and develop a following before the self-publishing stage?

>>16699956
I'm writing for fun and to give myself purpose

This retarded story I wrote for a literacy contest is actually pretty good. Wish me good luck bros.

>>16700074
Good luck anon!

>>16700074
I hope you win. Was it for the environmental hero contest?

>>16699971
I'm proud of you. Don't let anything hold you back, RR anon.

>>16689840
any bulgarians here i wanna showcase something but its not in english ?

I wrote 200 words today. I don't think things like RR's writing challenge or nanowrimo are for me

>>16700198
I only wrote 197 words yesterday, but I'm still planning to stick with NaNoWriMo. We can make it.

>>16700247
I don't think it'll work out mathematically. On a typical day, I can't get out more than 500 words and now I'm working with an injured arm

>>16700198
>>16700247
200x30 is 6000! You only need to be 8.33 times faster to make it!

>>16700254
Oh well. Have you tried text-to-speech programs? That might help lighten the load on your arm.

>>16700255
The first day is always the hardest. I'm still optimistic. I'm finally going to finish it this year.

>an unlikable character slightly inconveniences the MC
>readers: why doesn't the MC just kill everybody?
I'm starting to think Americans have the right of it and going outside without a gun is a really bad idea.

>>16700263
I actually tried that the other day, when the pain was worse. It's good for just getting words out on the page, stream of consciousness style. I still need my arm for editing and clicking but I'm going to try text to speech tomorrow and try to get more words out

>>16700265
Underage audience maybe? Or it could be they're just plebs shrieking for blood. Do something else anon, something that will really shock them--they're ready to be milked for catharsis.

>>16700278
I'm trying to write a story about finding the value of life and how might doesn't make right, but it seems the audience took it the other way.

>>16700370
You're not done telling the story yet. That is what I'm suggesting, the time has come for a large crisis of some kind.

I wrote the first 500 words today... of my second novel. I haven't started writing the first.

Gonna ask this again: how did you get the confidence to start writing a full length novel? How many short stories have you published before you started on your first book?

>>16700559
I've been posting around the internet forever. Recently I grew so incredibly tired of not making something that I decided to go ahead and do literally anything. So it began, a re-hash of some notes from a walk I had became a first chapter after some thought. I felt pretty happy once I started. I then received some compliments on top of that and my ego exploded briefly. Then I checked myself and now I just habitually tune into the writing, slowly filling out a larger skeleton.

Last night I had a dream where I was crossing some mountains with 15 people and the leader of the group decided we would have to abandon 3 people who weren't going to make it
It was such a real dream even though none of the people were anyone I'd ever seen before. I ate some candy and could taste it. I don't usually taste things in dreams. Or feel the vertigo of the goddamn mountains when looking up at where we needed to go or looking back to where we'd come from.
I want to write about the mountains now.

>>16689891
Another 600 words, boys, written in the early dawn. Join me for a toast.

>>16700648
I've got tea and a red apple. Can I toast with these?

>>16700650
Absolutely. We make do with what we have here at /wg/.

>>16700570
Best of luck you, anon.

>>16700630
fuck i wish i could dream or at least remember my dreams.

>>16700686
I get some really nice ones every once in a while. This dream was unusually vivid. There were these green tents we had and I still remember what the wind sounded like when I went inside one.

>>16700690
I hope you're writing it down anon

>>16700715
I guess I could, but who knows where I should go with it?

>>16698957
But there are still writers today who handwrites. David Foster Wallace wrote Infinite Jest longhand, for example. And some researchs shows that disfluency in writing results in better thoughtful, meaningful, complex) sentences and ideas.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bjop.12177

There's even a quote from Nietzsche in one of his letters after having the first prototype of a typewriter ever, saying that the plataform which we write changes the nature of our thoughts.

>>16701148
>David Foster Wallace wrote Infinite Jest longhand
>the plataform which we write changes the nature of our thoughts.
No wonder he killed himself.

I didn't know 4chan anglos disliked semicolons so heavily. In my native language, the emdash is an inadequate punctuation sign and it would never cross my mind to replace the former for the latter.

>>16701272
I can list other writers who handwrites nowadays:
>J. K. Rowling
>Joyce Carol Oates
>Chuck Palahniuk
>Neil Gaiman
>Clive Barker
>Joe Haldeman
>Paul Auster
>Donna Tartt
>Joe Hill

These are just the ones I remember. Maybe there's more and we don't know.

>>16701294
Both are fine but if you use either in a 4chan post, you look like a pseud.

>>16632751
just a few hundred words more, dragging the story by its ankles

>>16701316
>All the self-important hipster pseuds
checks out

Why are western names so cringe? I see something like Michelle, or Paul, or Chuck in text and I burst laughing immediately.

>>16701607
It's likely just autism, but yeah it takes some heavy malfunction in the brain to refer handwriting to typing. Typing is much faster and easier to edit. Only the genre fiction writers who've already hit it big have the time to deal with handwriting

>>16701629
Example of a good name?

>>16701941
Muhammad
Ali
Abdul
Kareem
Jabbar
Jamal
Mahmoud
Mehmed
Abbas

>>16701629
>>16701950
Only if you're writing pulp literature.

>>16701950
Sup Chuck

>>16701950
>jamal

>>16701504
I like it keep going

Does anyone have a blog? If so please share. Fiction or non-fiction.

>>16692544
The way the em dash is used--generally, it varies--is exactly as I just used it. It's a multi-purpose symbol that can do the duties of parenthesis and even quotation marks situationally.

Mostly I find it useful when writing dialogue because it has a way of helping you convey the way people actually talk.

I.E., people go on sidetracks--like this thing right now--all the time, or they stop to note something in a way that wouldn't naturally be grammatically correct, but people do it all the time in casual speech and writing. The em-dash enables that. It's mostly there to acknowledge the strange patterns of human speech that do not conform to grammatic rigor but which aren't spoken poorly, just organically.

>>16701997
Thanks for reading, I will.

Anybody else write anything mythological or something like it? Thinking I may write some on the origins of people in Ireland but present more like Finnegan's Wake more so than Tolkien an want to hear if any of you lot have done some.

>>16702011
medium.com/@stcleary

Haven't written on it for a while though

I'm going to drive to the strip mall and look at the sad Barnes and Noble and permanently closed Starbucks again. I've never written in their cafe and now I never can

>>16700725
Over the mountains?

>>16699237
Seconding this question
I recently started planning out my first long-running serial, and I'm approaching it as being made up of 5 arcs beneath an overarching plotline. But really I have no clue whether this is the right way to go about it or not, and the amount of POVs that are beginning to pile up feels daunting

I've found very little in the ways of advice for writing this type of story, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places

>>16703193
There's a reason most TV serials are written with teams. Keep a dossier on each character and lots of notes generally. Eventually you will build momentum.

Why does /wg/ have such a collective boner for Royal Road? Why not Wattpad or Penana or even Fanfiction? Is it because someone has a financial stake in RR?

>always desperate for someone to review my writing
>rarely ever write because i know i'll cringe at having my own writing be read and kvetch about how everything is in place and i don't need to change anything
bros...

>>16703256
Thank you for the advice anon, you're very kind

>>16703272
>have such a collective boner
It's unironically an extremely loud and very schizophrenic minority. They're LARPers who probably don't even write themselves. It's part of a broader hateboner for people not trad or self-publishing, but since those often have strict policies (like amazon) on sharing work for free you can't post them for free anyway.

>>16703328
>Amazon
>strict policies
Retard, I literally bought a print copy of My Immortal that someone published on Amazon.

>>16703328
That doesn't make sense because most self-publishing platforms, even Amazon, allow simultaneous publishing, even for free. They might complain and reduce your ebook to $0 but they still allow it to be up. The only exception is Amazon's KDP Select, that's probably what you're referring to, but it's optional

>>16703420
And their print book policies are extremely generous. Once you put a print book up, it's up forever, even if everyone hates it and gives it 1 star ratings

I have never used a semicolon in my writing, what does it add to a story?

>>16703537
Mid-sentence transitions that are smoother than the em-dash or starting a new sentence. You can get by without it but I enjoy them -- provided they're not overused.

>>16703562
Fair enough, but I'll continue to refrain from using them.

What's everyone's thoughts on shifting POV between chapters in a book? What if I take it a bit further and switch between first person for chapters with one character and third with the other character to emphasize their personality differences? Or would that just come off as too on the nose and amateurish?

>>16703420
I think that might be what I was thinking about, but it could've been something else. The basis was a friend of mine who is under a contract doesn't allow him to publish it anywhere for free, so I might've not been thinking of an Amazon case.

I suggested he try putting his completed novel up online as a serial to get a better following since his other story, which has novel-length chapters, didn't fare so well because of the end of weekend releases. But he won't be able to because of the contract, so he's resorted to just doing a rewrite his serial fic.

>>16703766
Gonna sound like a broken record >>16694480 it's not something that—from what I digested in some writer discords—that most are particularly fond of, and it can be hard to pull off if not done right. I'm not exactly an expert on this though, but I feel most people prefer only one point of view.

>What if I take it a bit further and switch between first person for chapters with one character and third with the other character to emphasize their personality differences?
I think this is ok if you maintain a persistent style of limiting perspectives to certain characters; like in my case protags get first-person, and anyone else that isn't considered such will get a limited third person. It just comes down to whatever works for you though.

>>16703895
Yeah, Amazon's exclusivity contact only lasts 90 days, so it's probably not the contract your friend is under, otherwise he'd just wait 3 months and he's free to do what he wants. Trad publishers are such jews

>>16703328
That's some serious projection right their anon. Postd related to RR are less than 5% percent of the thread. Let people write jeez. No one stealing trad publishing houses from you by posting their works online

>>16697859
/lit/ will tell you otherwise but no. The digital market keeps growing, and while I don't think physical books and traditional publishing will ever vanish, we're definitely hitting a point where people will just choose self publishing even if they don't have to just for the advantages it offers.

>>16704218
It is a little bit of projection I admit, but thats coming from those who always bash on serial writers for not sticking to self/trad pubbing. You don't see the bad apples post about it nowadays though. I just want to write for god's sake, not sell my soul to corporate brands, and be expected to shit out 10 books a year.