/lit/ - Literature

>>16720921
I just realized that the tone of a whole scene is wrong. I'm trying to go for a dreamlike, unreal tone, but I ended up rationalizing my protagonist's actions too much. I always do the same fucking mistake.
I think I'm just going to keep on advancing the story and make a note to edit it later; will probably have to scrape the entire thing later on.

I’m around again, but I’m also a tad sick so I might be slow on replies. If you’ve got any burning questions, I’m someone who’s actually a part of the industry, so I might be able to answer them.

>>16720948
The industry of what?

>>16720975
The publishing industry.

Sometimes after reading a horror story I like to write a four line poem trying to summarize it, are these effective enough?

The Horla

1 fever disturbs me, my nerves are exploding
2 I am enslaved and bound, this invisible threat
3 this evil which rules me, this sense of foreboding
4 HA! I will destroy it, i only must taste death.......

The Willows

1. Surrounded by willows, spirits hiding with blades
2. Myriads of twigs twisting, contorting malefic braids
3. the Ancient moon and roaring river, million hands and golden forms
4. formless shapes surround me, Hamartic willow Shades

>>16721011
Look, faggot, I have tried to be as polite as possible since you took your time to read my shit. But you should get off your high horse. You gave me cristism, I said I appreciated it and asked you to elaborate on some points because I'm not sure what was your problem with it. I even stated clearly why I thought some of what I wrote is fine, and which of your points I think are valid. My fault for not understanding what problems you have when all you gave are question marks?

And how is all that trying to convince you I am a great writer? I already said I know my writing is kinda shit. But am I supposed to take your feedbacks as the words of authority and not making any counterargument?

And yeah "read more to realize your writing is trash" is such an astoundingly constructive feedback you have given me.

We're all gonna make it bros.

My arm is healing. Every day it hurts less and less to type

When Schuyler was fifteen years old she fogged up the windows of a blue, ‘04 Accord by herself, before anybody had even laid a hand on her. The boy was a junior, she a freshman, and although she’d been flirting and girlishly dating since she was in middle-school she had never known this agony before. A nervousness that palled over her existence- the fear that the older boy would exercise the prerogative of the handsome, the matured, the licensed driver; and throw her over for another girl.

She had made up her mind in advance to fool around with him that night as a means of securing her position. However, she had not counted on her racing heart and the shaky quality of her uncertain voice. She had not counted on the self-conscious interval between her acquiescing to the secluded parking spot and the event’s beginning; when all she’d have to do is reflect on how it was too late to turn back. Still, she reached down when they began their kisses and she applied herself to his unfamiliar parts, allowing herself to be guided and managed in the effort. She even leaned back gasping, and moved her hips, when his hand found it’s way down the front of her own pants.

It was her first real sexual experience. She would know boys, later guys, and even later, men who managed things even more maturely than the Junior who would become retrospectively boyish. However she never knew that excitement again. She never had control of her voice taken away in anticipation and she never knew the curious mix of pleasure, shyness and shame that made the thing, if not especially orgastic, then at least exciting. As serious sex in casual settings gave way to sex that was simply casual, Schuyler would, without realizing it, begin the lifelong process of trying to recapture those early experiences.

We join her now, at twenty-seven, while still in the first stage of her journey.

>>16721296
Are we?

>>16721787
Statistically, no

>>16721790
Isn't there a higher chance of becoming an actor than a professional writer?

>>16721796
Probably only after you remove every writer that doesn’t live exclusively off their writing income

>>16721787
We may not all make it, but for those that do; they make it for the ones that didn't.

>>16720948
What's the easiest way to get published as a straight white man?

>>16721832
I was in the industry for about 5 years. If I had something I wanted published I’d spend a couple thousand on phony twitter or ig followers and then look for an agent (every big house does not accept general submissions they only take them from agents, and most books are sold at auction).
I’ve said it before on this board, but all the meetings I was in about acquisitions brought up social media followers because they translate to direct sales. It’s always a topic in the editors pitch to their superiors.
Editorial boards are dominated by ivy-league educated liberals but they don’t seriously sit around talking about the overrepresentation of white men (they’re all white men and women themselves).
A lot of them get excited about marginalized groups but publishing has literally always been like that.

>>16721856
This is somehow more disappointing than if they were just sitting around genuinely excited about people who don't look like them.

>>16721856
What were you trying to publish? A literary novel? Genre fiction? Comics? I wonder how the system looks for quote unquote serious literature that goes through competitions or whatever. I've heard that most poets don't have agents, they just submit to contests.

>>16721114
>am I supposed to take your feedbacks as the words of authority and not making any counterargument?

Nta. Take it from me, a writer. There is no such thing as counterargument in critique. If you think something is good, and someone disagrees, you have a difference of opinion. Ultimately, there is no point trying to convince him to see your ways. You, the writer, have to decide whether or not to heed his advice. Ethos definitely plays a role in that decision, so I understand why you might not trust some internet rando. But even something as sheer and as banal as "I hated it" is useful critique, even if you can't see it right now. There is no authority here--it's all a matter of opinion. And yeah, I haven't read the other thread or your OP. Just some $.02

>>16721981
I agree. Just kinda pissed that something as simple of stating what I intended with a sentence and asking why he thinks it wrong is called "spitting on his kindness" and "trying to convince him I'm a good writer".

>>16721950
I wasn’t publishing I was an employee, but I worked for two of the big four publishers on a few different divisions/imprints/brands.
Sort of like the record industry, it’s a big corporation with a bunch of different brands they put out material under, so that Stephen King doesn’t have to say he has the same publisher as Rush Limbaugh or whoever. So I saw all genres, but I can’t remember a single book of poetry.
Just from what I know about American writers my impression was always that most 20th Century poets wound up teaching at Universities and publishing through University Presses.
But again, i’ve never seen firsthand the part of the process that occurs before the manuscript is acquired by an agent.
Literary novels would come in through an agent and the editor who wants to buy it tries to get everyone excited about it. They make a pitch and sales people try and come up with a realistic sales projection based on similar titles and other factors and a decision is made on how much money we can spend on the book and still have a decent chance of not taking a loss (which happens about 70% of the time anyhow).
That’s for new writers. For old writers it’s more like a routine contract renewal.

>>16722006
thanks for the effortpost

has anyone here written for that Lit Quarterly mag?

>>16722120
I submitted a story once and they never got back to me.

>>16722328
We don’t publish erotica

>>16722341
It was a story about Conquistadors.

>>16722360
I remember, I was just telling you so you know

>>16722367
I wouldn't want to be published by you anymore anyway. I don't care if I'm rejected but I care when people don't have the balls or the time to say so. It's just unprofessional.

>>16722377
It’s just because we do so very few actual rejections we’re not used to it

>>16722388
Then I'm actually glad you didn't publish me desu. Sounds plebeian.

>>16721084
Your poem's pacing is jarring in some cases. It rhymes but breaks rhythm

>>16722419
Based

>>16722453

Really? I thought exploding-foreboding and threat-death was alright.

Unless you mean the third line of the willows, if so that’s intentional because in the willows that part of the Golden beings he sees breaks the rhythm of the horror imo

>>16722458
First line of first poem could read better with an extra syllable in the first half
Apart from that though the lyricism is lacking.

Compare:
>I am enslaved and bound
To:
>I'm enslaved and I'm bound
When continuing from "my nerves are exploding". It just flows better. Like that, there several instances where the word choice grits one's tongue. The second poem has better rhythm, but suffers from the same problem of lyricism

Where can I pirate the Weekend Novelist? It's unavailable in Z Library.

There's a place that is forgotten
When I go there I can see
The birds in the trees, the sweet honey bees
But the eyes in the plants, they can always see me
And I swear, it's so hard to explain
How the forest calls my name

>>16722419
kek

Did anyone buy The Legacy of Totalitarianism in a Tundra? It's 500 pages and $25 and I don't want to spend that money if the book is shit

>>16720987

Hey Roy! (Or anyone who knows)
In your experience... whats the range of editing that has to be done on different books?
I mean, are there authors who basically don’t need editing at all or does everyone go through a serious rework before the final thing goes to print?

>>16722120
Yeah, got published in the one just out. Worth your time to try submit something there.

>>16722856
Do authors get a free copy of the magazine?

>>16722944
yea, mine is still in the mail though I think.

>>16722978
Can you post a picture of it when you get it, and open the pages too. Everytime that guy makes a thread, multiple people complain about the poor binding, pages stuck together, spine falling apart, but nothing is ever done about it. I want to see it for myself

>>16722987
They use some print-on-demand service, don't they? What could they do about it?

>>16722987
sure i'll make sure there's no cum in mine

>>16722992
Reprint and reissue the publication. Maybe also find another printing service if it's an ongoing problem

>>16722704
I read an excerpt(or maybe it was hypersphere?). The point is, is that a novel written by /lit/ reads exactly like a novel written by /lit/. If you can get it for free, it's a nice conversation piece, if you hang around other degenerates, but don't waste your money.

One moment the shoe is just a shoe, interchangeable with other shoes; but then you get to know the shoe like a person, like the plot of a detective story: Clues and hints accumulate, some things are revealed, others remain hidden, history presents itself, red threads stretch out in all directions, which you can follow in your dreams – if you like. The shoe becomes a Freytag's Dramatic Pyramid. The Life of a Shoe. Any object can be interesting; if you treat it like a living being. The Soul between the Leather.

>>16721787
no but what are we gonna do? stop?

Do you change your writing style (its rythm, melody, fluidty and expressive strength) on the editing process? I almost feel like I have to emulate someone else if I do that. Like, as if forcing a voice. Is this normal?

>>16721832
I’m a little late to answer here and I think >>16721856 anon answered it well for the most part.

I wouldn’t buy followers desu. That’s asking to be found out as a fraud and blackballed by a publisher. But you do need to drum up support for your book. So yes, starting up a twitter account and Instagram and tweeting regularly and interacting with the writing community is something that should become a regular habit. Anon is right that they see it as a translation of more sales, but they also see it as less marketing money that they have to put in as well. So a healthy following is good.

As for an agent, don’t just get anybody. Look for someone excited and passionate about your work. Orherwise they will just be shoveling your shit for money and that’s just a waste of your time.

It’s important to note by the way, that many in the industry are passionate about reading and writing, so striking this passion is what you want to go for each time. It’s why I disagree with the whole “Ivy League” thing anon said. (Or maybe it’s that way in America who knows.) but from most of my interactions that I’ve had, it’s people who legit are passionate about the industry that you need to appeal to. If you get an editor on your side, you’ve got a powerful ally.


And finally to address the whole straight white male thing. Just write a good story.

Does anyone here have any decent video series/podcasts/lectures about dissecting books and classic stories?

>>16723848
>Do you change your writing style (its rythm, melody, fluidty and expressive strength) on the editing process?
No, why would I?

>>16724198
But don't you think or realize that in certain states of mind you produce different writing styles? At least speaking for myself, I feel and know that when I write longhand and when I type on the computer I produce two different voices, generally I prefer the longhand voice. Doesn't this happen to you?

>>16724257
No, I write in the style I want to write and adjust my mindset accordingly.

>>16724293
So do you write in a single style for multiple texts, or do you change styles for each text? For example, if you want to write in a style but can't, don't you edit until it looks like the style you wanted? It's a bit inconsistent with what you said before, if you're the quoted ...

>mfw alliterations

>>16724356
>So do you write in a single style for multiple texts, or do you change styles for each text?
I write in the style that best suits the story.
>For example, if you want to write in a style but can't
There's no such a situation. You have to have the voice down before you start writing, not change it on the fly.

>>16724418
>You have to have the voice down before you start writing, not change it on the fly.
This is ideal, but over the course of a long story the voice may change a bit, either because characters evolve or you really discover the character voice like 10k+ words in. Then you have to go back and fix it with an editing pass.

>>16724051
>Or maybe it’s that way in America who knows
Where are you based? Might be helpful to specify that your advice is based on whatever country you're in.

What's the most intense edit you've ever done? I once deleted an entire chapter and started from scratch.

>6 hours
>850 words
thank fuck. can't wait to edit this shit tomorrow and probably delete most of it

>nanowrimo
>have written nothing at all
>any other month
>write loads

Why does the expectation of writing make me want to write less?

>>16725757
I once threw an entire novel I wrote in 2 weeks to the trash can. That thing was filthy.

>>16725768
You edit the day after? I just leave it be, write down a marker to go check on it later and keep developing the story.

>>16725757
I once finished a 400 page novel then threw the final draft down a storm drain.

>>16725850
Jesus Christ.

>>16725820
it's only a short 1,200 word piece and i need to reset my perspective

>>16724978
If the change isn't really dramatic, there's nothing wrong with the character's voice slightly changing as part of their natural growth.

>>16725757
I once deleted my whole identity and started over.

>>16721627
You should probably look up physical therapy exercises for your wrists.

>>16720921
I hear a lot of criticism of Brandon Sanderson on this board but has anyone checked out his 2016 lectures?
https://youtu.be/ATNvOk5rIJA
Are they worth watching?

>>16725989
No, he's a hack.

>>16725941
No, I broke out in hives all over my arms when I went hiking a couple of weeks ago

Never go into nature

>>16725914
Ah, I see. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. Don't feel frustrated by that; it's just a part of the process that sometimes it's more necessary. Considering its length, perhaps you could share it here once it's finished. It sounds intriguing.

>>16726002
Is there someone better? Any lecture series like this that are good or any other formats?

>>16726052
Oh ouch that sounds horrible. Did you find out what you were allergic to or was it poison oak/ivy?

>>16726002
I like how people say a best selling author is a hack, especially when he wrote more than you every will. I guess i don't know that for sure, but it's a fair guess to make given how sour grapes your post seems.
Not a big fan of his work other, but I recognize it's due to my own subjective tastes over anything else.

>>16726204
What kind of advice do you want, exactly? There are a lot of old books that could help you. My personal recomendations would be The Art of Dramatic Writing or The Anatomy of Story. For prose, The Art of Writing in Twenty Lessons, by Antoine Albalat.

>>16726215
I had a telehealth appointment, but the doctor said he could only give me an accurate diagnosis if I came in and he took a biopsy. I told him I wasn't going to risk covid for a skin issue, and he shrugged and gave me some steroidal cream to help with the itching. The best diagnosis he could give me was allergy to something.

I suspect it has something to do with me not getting direct sunlight on my skin for more than 30 seconds a day for the last few years, and then suddenly getting 30-60 minutes of sun all at once. Too much too soon

>>16725757
I opened a chapter with a scene that felt forceful and not natural, so I reedited it so it felt natural for the protag to wonder why her friend's big bum didn't crack her desk in two

>>16726500
Could you post an excerpt? I'm curious.

>>16726662
There are several knocks at my door, and before I even get the chance to tell them to come in before it was busted open by none other than my eccentric green-haired friend Friederika. “Vick!, Vick! Did you get your posted notice yet?!” She beams at me happily and plops herself on my desk that I’m sitting at with such force that I’m shocked it didn’t just break under her fat bum.

>>16726901
oof I just noticed I used before twice, that's what happens when you cram 7 chapters worth of rewrites in one week I guess

what techniques should one practice to improve their writing?

I want to write a cute comfy story for my friend's wedding anniversary to make him happy.
Any ideas, bros?

When brainstorming a story, what's the one key thing one should focus on to discover the right protagonist for said narrative? How are good protagonists crafted?

Am I alright to show off my own work here? I'm on RoyalRoad and wouldn't mind some feedback. At best you might genuinely enjoy my stories and have fun reading them, at worst you can always just laugh at how shit they are.

I have a fantasy story that can be found here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/28325/a-king-of-his-own

And a mystery/cyberpunk story that can be found here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/30764/rend

>>16723122
footfags get the rope

>>16727352
yeah it's fine so long as one isn't obnoxious about it, though we're a baby general so things might be more solid about self-promo in the future. I'll put them on my reader later anywho

>>16727458
Everything is fine, this isn’t your subreddit to mod, there are no rules

>>16727479
I'm not trying to come off as the pope or anything, I'm all up for people doing whatever they want, but you gotta be a little careful about what you ask for. If people want to spam their links every hot minute and it doesn't end up being frowned upon then I have no qualm one way or another. It's better than shitposts and "how to write?" posts I suppose

If you want some inspiration for your space short story, here's a guy talking about going to Mars

https://youtu.be/c_LVgppecRE

>>16727193
- Determine the theme of the story and your personal stance on the theme(your philosophy/morality in relation to it)
- Make a protagonist that would logically have the opposite philosophy/morality of yours and send them on a journey where their philosophy/morality ends up shifting to become the same as yours.

you're welcome

>>16727503
I agree with
>>16727479

If people want to show their work, that's great for this general. Who are you to make rules about who can post their writing, in what amounts, and at which frequency? Stop shitting up this thread

The On the Spot Writing Contest is an opportunity to flex your writing skills and be part of an international community of writers.

Join us for a Zoom call to learn the rules and the prompt, time yourself offline for an hour and then submit your work at the end of the hour.

Registration Required. No Entry Fee ($10 donation recommended, but not required)

Word limit: 200-1000 words, excluding title

Deadline: Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 1 PM (Mountain Standard Time)

One entry per author

Please submit your work to bffnonprofit@gmail.com by the deadline.

Required materials: A fully-charged device to write on, reliable internet connection for video calls, and the ability to enjoy a relaxing and fun writing session.

First Prize: Publication in Brilliant Flash Fiction’s January 2021 Anthology (subject to editing).

*The Editorial Team reserves the right to select additional winners for publication.*

Visit our website to donate or to view our online journal: https://brilliantflashfiction.com

>>16727889
Sat, November 7, 2020
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM CST

> Zoom link
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83891859779?pwd=bjAyTTBNTzlTYjVwYnJ6SFQ3bEx6Zz09

Damn I wanna RIP her out of that unbecoming muumuu; force her into a NEON microbikini and grab her.....MMmMMMMmmhhhhh....sensitive bitch so she start crying tears spilling over that FLAT Asian face.....perfect for dishing MY FAT MOON CREAM LOAD.....slowly humiliate her.....MPHhhmMHHPPhHhhhh....see that vapid restrained smile....I'll giver her something to cry about..........she's the proud and embarrassed type... terrified of vulnerability..........mmMMMHHHm... I'll make her SCREAM like she hasn't since college.....make her lose her ANAL virginity slowly.....first a finger.....then a plug....all day and not allowed to relieve herself...........and she's begging.....eventually ON HER knees pouting on my dick......DAMN I LOVE writer hoes that are a parasite on society... autobiographical long-winded crumbly prose......mMMMMmmPhhHhhh..........NOW I'M ALL THE WAY inside her ass.......her sallow bare face blushing like when she was a SCHOOLGIRL............when it's over she's going to remember that BURNING feeling inside her and bite her lips in shame and depraved pleasure....yeah I'll make her RIM me....WRETCHING and crying ..... wobbling on STRIPPER heels while I hold her down.......MMmppMmpMMHHHhHhHHhhppHhphph.....NOW her face is scrunched up eyebrows thin but mashed like upside down Japanese characters................AHHhhhahhh I'M COOOMINGNGNGGGG coom coagulates on her barren eyebrows, becoming thick milk eyebrows

>>16727989

>Minato is still crying while I roar my satisfaction. I bound off into the tiny toilette. Outside the harried cops chase Muslims, and Paris bellows her latest tune. Sirens wail louder then softer as I feel my vigour return. I peer out the window, it's raining relentlessly onto afternoon Paris. Passing cars slosh rainwater onto the curb. I close the curtains and it sounds like many faucets turning on and off again.

>I look into the mirror. Minato slinks half-covered on the far side of the bed, with her back against the bains. Her anemic body is shuddering from excitement and hurt. I can count the bumps along the ridge of her spine and I feel my cock twinge. It's become habit that she waits for me to finish my cigarette and light a second one. Then I slip behind her and cup her modest bosom, and we pass the lit cigarette back and forth between kissing and biting behind her ears. She is always softly calling my name. Sometimes her cries break between pained gasps, then I press my head against her breast and feel her beating warmth. I can hear her ardour and impatience.

>Women lawyers with attache cases are frigid, and every night dancers tangle in dark barrooms with swimming hosts of men. As a rule these women are not for long. But Minato, earnestly sweatered and scarfed, will in her life remain the jewel of Japanese women writers, as well as my most desperate little pet.

Can someone please explain to me how the fuck you get to 5-6 drafts? Is it just a meme?

0 - Rough Draft
1 - Universal
-basic tweaks-
2 - Majority
3 - Some problems here
4 - Multiple major rewrites
5 - Fundamental issues
6 - Frankensteins monster

>>16720921
the nano discord is filled with degenerate coomers, can someone write a non coomer book in this thread?

>>16728276
The what discord?

>>16728120
Rough draft.
Adding in scenes that you missed.
Rewrite prose.
Cut down prose.
Dialogue.
Final fix up.

>>16728308
Nano, as in NaNoWriMo.
National Novel Writing Month which usually happens in November. An international event where writers write the first draft of a 50K word novel in a month.

>>16727989
"What are you doing?"
"Shut up," I said.
"Sure, but first tell me what you're doing."
Skin began to curdle underneath my fingernails as I clawed my scalp.
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
"You can't do this, man. This ain't you. Stop it."
"Fuck you!"
I gripped my shirt. The beating of my heart synchronized with my other hand.
"I'm gonna- fuck!"
"Stop, man! Listen to me! I know you!"
"Fu- I'm gonna!"
I beat harder!
"Fuck!"
My hand shifted to the seat of the chair. The slicking between my groins was drowned out by the tearing of the polyester fabric. I was close now. And then-
"I'M- I'M GONNA COOM!"
The voice went silent.
"I'M COOOOOOOOOMMMMMIIIIINNNGGG FUUUUUUCK!"
Silence.
Not a sound.
My chest sank once the realization of what I'd done had sunk in. I reached out to the menacing box of Kleenex next to the monitor. I couldn't look anymore. Once my hands were cleaned, I grabbed the mouse and dragged it over to the 'X' in the corner of the browser. I couldn't close it.
*tap* *tap*
The 'Bookmarks' menu had opened and begged me to name my sin. What the fuck have I done? My legs were still trembling, my heart stood still. I knew what I had to do. I knew I would be here again in an hour or two.
My fingers hovered over the keys, as I named my demon.
*Jojo Siwa Nude Leaks 2020*
I cried.

Do any of you write a journal? Starting today, I'm recording the following decades as a bystander trying to survive the madness so historians will have a record.

>>16728365
I laffed but you should've read pt. 2

>>16721627
Glad you feel better.

>>16728382
Yes, my diary desu.

>>16728336
Sounds like a meme event for schoolchildren. Every summer, my local library does a similar thing, where if you read 10 books or something you get a free book, a mug, and a ticket to a raffle. Usually the raffle prize is an e book reader

>>16727889
>Join us for a Zoom call
I'd rather wrestle with bears while smeared in fish oil

>>16727352
There's a few of RR writers in /wg/. It may sound faggy but we should try doing the review/rating swap thing. As long as we don't shit on others without giving any constructive feedback, we can help each other that way. And yeah I know you can always post your link here and ask for crit, but not many wg anon have the time or care for that

>>16729170
I've never done any review swaps because
A) if you read and review something out of obligation, instead of being genuinely interested, your view will be skewed one way or the other.
B) I have pretty high standards for literature and I'd probably just end up being too harsh on the other guy, and they'd lower their rating for me in revenge.

The whole swap practice sucks, really.

>>16729281
On the contrary, if you only review when you really feel like it, the fiction most likely fit nicely to your taste or anger you somehow. Either way you are prone to bias. I think out of obligation and with a bit of sincerity is the best way to review things. I think it's a good idea

>>16729281
>>16729654
Well after some thinking, I withdraw my opinion, out of obligation is bad since people have preferences for genre, so people who like the genre of the story they're reviewing would provide better feedback

>>16729688
That's the thing. Readers already familiar with the genre will be able to provide more relevant and insightful analysis, in constructive spirit. They're also less forgiving towards cliches and worn-out tropes that they've already seen many times before. If you disappoint a reader who normally enjoys the genre, then you know you've fucked up.

Whereas a reviewer who doesn't care about the premise is against you from square one, and might consider simple genre-defining elements as your own fault, while also being blind to the outdated conventions. I've seen stories get praised for plot elements directly ripped off from other books or movies, just because the reviewer doesn't know shit and thought it was original.

Then there's how review swappers rarely bother to read the full story and just review it based on the first 10%, or even just the first chapter, which is sure to give a false impression of the whole. On the other hand, you can't really expect them to read hundreds of chapters of shit for a basic trade either.
It's just not a good idea.

>>16727022
Careful, it sounds like you're doing it for yourself.

I'm writing YA Horror/Suspense with gay protags (publishers [women] love that shit)

I'm trying to be contemporary and highly commercial in order to get this shit sold, anyone want to look over it? first draft isnt done yet, but i have an outline i'm expanding point by point

>>16730251
If you're going to submit this to agents, don't post it on 4chan, you fucking moron.

>>16728718
It's just an easy way to find other people with the same goal and commitment.
Like going to church on Sund-
Maybe it is a meme.

>>16721712
>We join her now, at twenty-seven, while still in the first stage of her journey.
Go on...

>>16730251
What kind of horror? The kind of agent/publisher that wants YA and gay protags is usually not the kind of agent/publisher that wants horror.

>>16730251
Post a short sample (a paragraph or two).

>>16729654
I could never publicly review someone on /lit/ on Amazon or Retard Road, if I had to give a poor review. It would make me feel bad. If their writing is terrible, I just anonymously tell them they're shit on here. They get their feedback but it doesn't affect their writing career, whatever it may be

>>16730251
> gay protags
> publishers love that shit

wot

>>16731994
"""Most""" publishers list that they only read YA Romance shit with 'inclusive and diverse characters'.

>>16730537
the story details meth addiction in the gay community and grooming of young children. it involves body horror like prolapses and such. the story end with them burning in a lake of fire for all eternity. was initially going to be marketed to children but some of the word choices necessarily made it YA

>>16732156
Post one publisher that does this.

>>16732192
No one is going to publish this...

>>16732156
>>16732202
I think he is confusing publishers and literary agents.

>>16732192
Oh, I see, you're an idiot edge lord. Regardless, I stand by what I said. Publishers that want gay YA shit absolutely do not want what you've just described.

>>16732216
>>16732243
I don't know about that. It's a really poignant love story. The climax occurs when they're in the hospital after one of them has been dragged for a good distance by a pickup truck and then ends up dying of the gay plague AIDS. Beta readers have called it a tour de force.

>>16732298
You sound like the Blackula retard. You ARE him, aren't you?

>>16732325
nah I'm not that guy just shitposting friend
I will say, in all seriousness, that the notion of publishers deliberately trying to put out LGBT propaganda specifically aimed at developing minds is revolting

>want to write
>headache

>>16732374
>the notion of publishers deliberately trying to put out LGBT propaganda specifically aimed at developing minds is revolting
They only do it because it's what's selling.
Woke love to buy woke shit, everyone else doesn't care enough to consume.

>>16729170
>>16729281
>>16729654
It's against the ruuruus to be an asshole in reviews anyway, so if you feel inclined to rip anon's asshole clean it'd probably be best to do it here

>>16732374
Honestly, only the gay kids are reading gay YA.

>>16733098
And women.

>>16732156
I used to be a YA book club and all of the main characters were hetero. I only read one book with a gay couple, but they were side characters and they were in the closet the entire time. They only revealed their homo-ness about 10 pages before the end of the book, and they both died right after coming out

>>16721832

You know it's not very hard to get published, I mean, not hard at all. You can always just go on submittable or something and browse around publishers, many of them flat out tell you what they're looking to publish next. So...write that, and submit to them. Or you can just write whatever current topic bullshit is popular, like write about female empowerment through getting raped during the whole me too thing, that was an easy route to go.

Now...not that it's really going to get you anywhere doing this. The first thing you need to learn about publishing, is that it's not very hard to get published, and subsequently, it's also fairly meaningless to be published.

The real trick of it is to not only get publish, but publish something you're proud of, in a reputable place, at the right time, and being able to use this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. That's 99% of the difficulty there. If your problem is you can't figure out a way to get published, then man, i got to say you're one sad sack of shit.

>>16725757
I've been editing the first book I've wrote ever since I finished it about 7 years ago.

How do I into screenwriting? Not actually getting into the business, just writing a screenplay for myself.

>>16733968
scripts have very flexible format, but the main distinction is the both the necessity of labelling everytime you change location, and very very very little action logs. Only write down an action that happens if it is completely vital to the story, like "The car crashes" or "Janice sucks my dick", never anything more.

>>16733886
> female empowerment through getting raped during the whole me too thing

What the hell, I must be really out of the loop in current events. I'm going to check out submittable and see if you're talking out of your ass

>>16734112
well you kind of missed the window on that by about 2 years, dumbass. But look for what's popular in modern media (Hint, one thing starts with black lives matte-) and you could write something about that, if your only goal is to be published.

Or you could write any of the things that many publishers on submittable will flat out tell you that they're looking for, most of all them will have some political bend.

Once again....this isn't going to get you anywhere, but if your only goal is to be published, then there you go.

>>16733071
I'm not advocating for a hug box like reddit or anything, but why do anons feel the need to harass each other's writing so much? We are all beginner and I know some reality check is need to improve ourselves, but the way anons "ripping each other's asshloe" feels like they are in desperate need to put others down instead of offering anything constructive. But maybe I'm wrong and that kind of behavior is essential to the 4chin experience

>>16734266

If you're going on here for serious advice about your writing, then you probably deserve to have it ripped to shreds. Seriously, not only does your writing probably suck, but your whole worldview is vastly flawed. Think about it....you're going on 4chan....for serious advice....yeah...

How the fuck do you even come up with plots?

How do you come up with a protagonist's goal?

>>16728382
I used to keep piles of journals. Then I realized that it did not get me anywhere. It's fun to keep a literary collage of all your thoughts, moods, remembrances, and observations, but if this is taking up too much of your writing energy, it keeps you from making a real product.

Now lately I have sworn to work on nothing except my one main project until it is completed. Even if it drags on and I long to work on something else. You've got to be this way if you ever want to create something real.

>>16733886
I'm looking through Submittable, and I'm starting to think traditional publishing is a meme. One of publishers prints and sells via Amazon's print on demand, and another via Ingram Spark. Both of those services are available to literally anyone.

The majority publishers don't even pay you. Their only """payment""" is a free copy of the book/anthology/magazine or exposure in their exhibition.

wtf, I could get all of this by submitting to myself and publishing via Amazon KDP

>>16734672
When people on /lit/ bitch about how hard it is to get published they are talking about reputable publishers who lend your work legitimacy with the weight of their name. This >>16733886 post just ignores the fact that the word “reputable” is implicit in 99/100 times the word publisher is used. We know what amazon is.
In a perfect world self-published work would have just as much chance of getting attention and praise as work published by major houses but it’s just not true. Most serious amateur writers are smart enough to be resigned to the fact that writing isn’t a cash cow but they still want to legitimize their hobby.
The recording industry is a meme now too but the reason myspace didn’t take over music distribution fifteen years ago is because everyone who got traction online bailed on the platform for a recording contract the first chance they got.

>>16734727
what rubbish. No wonder JK Rowling made her own publishing house.

Hello I’m looking for a writer I’m obviously not cut out for this shit but I’m willing to hire.
Do you guys know a site where I can find someone to write for me?

>>16735016
Fiverr

Anyone find meeting other writers boring or sometimes even repugnant? I know this place isn't the best to meet fellow budding writers, but some of them are turbo autistic.

>>16735300
People who live inside their head, inwardly, will not always promise an interesting interaction

>tfw editing away on my big work

I've reached the point where I am having to switch, rapidly, between editing sentences of prose and editing lines of poetry. It's such a strange sensation because I can FEEL my mind working harder on the poetry than the prose. Editing poetry just takes more brain power than editing prose, I can tell by the contrast that arises in my mental state when I switch between the two, as I'm editing this big work of mine.

I wrote 350 words today, whoo hoo

>>16735300
Why would I want to meet other writers? I know they're insufferable just looking at myself.

>>16735016
>>16735050
There was a pretty interesting magazine article in my country recently, where a reporter posing as a client ordered a manuscript through fiverr.

The sheer amount of desperation and lack of skill in the writers working there is staggering. The assignment was to write a novel based on the synopsis the reporter submitted. There were a lot of sketchy people looking to take up the job, but he picked one who seemed actually interested and was asking clarifying questions. The writer made clever suggestions to improve the concept, but ended up disappearing after half a year, and the commission was cancelled by the service without any explanation.
The next writer pulled through, but begged an extension to the deadline three times with various "dog ate the manuscript"-tier excuses, and the final version barely had anything to do with the synopsis. It was nothing but dialogue without a single line of description.

The pay is fucking laughable too, like $500 for a full length novel, which the top writers boast to finish in two weeks. Most writers are working on multiple books simultaneously to make a living. The whole thing is so soulless and sick.

>>16734266
>I'm not advocating for a hug box like reddit or anything, but why do anons feel the need to harass each other's writing so much?
Nobody's been harassed here, by what I've seen.

Personally, I don't seek to rip anything when I post criticism, but I'm not going to fucking lie either. If I think your story is terrible, I will tell you it's terrible, and I will give you reasons why I think so with citations, based on whatever is posted. I will also try to tell at least one thing that's good about your work at the same time. And everyone here whose work I've commented has taken it like a man.

>>16735416
A few years ago, my neighbor's preteen kid went around advertised her creative writing services. I think she wanted to buy a puppy or something but her parents wanted her to learn the value of a dollar. I paid her $10 and asked for a list of 20 creative winter or Scandinavian-themed character names. She nodded enthusiastically. A few days later, she emailed me with a list of names like
> Snow
> Thursday
> Icicle
> Odin

I sent her an email back saying that I was expecting full character names like Lord Winterfell Danverly Erikson III, son of Lord Erik Stormsleigh Danverly and her list wasn't what I was looking for at all. She seemed upset and never emailed me back again.

>>16732325
Of course that guy wasn't me.

I'm going to attend an online workshop, with my camera and microphone off, called
> Sharing our Dreams and Struggles Within our Black Community

> Systemic and institutional racism along with oppression is and has always been prevalent in the UK regarding our black/brown African Caribbean community residents, this must and has to change now.

> We will be holding regular online sessions and events, a welcoming and much needed digital centre that all our black community residents can attend. Everyone will be free to speak on any topics, issues and any other pressing concerns they wish to discuss. Times were hard before the recent global pandemic and they will only be even more challenging in the coming months ahead.

> This will be a safe space for all whom attend, somewhere we can embrace and celebrate our beautiful culture!

I'm going to listen to them and then write a series of short stories about their experiences. Uh, I mean, our experiences, for I too am Black.

Is there such thing as a side-main character?

The story I am currently writing is a side story for my main characters travels, but isn't a major part of his overall story arc.
I have a 2nd MC in this current story, that will be a POV throughout, but isn't in the main story arc. She is basically just a main character for this one book.
Does this sound terrible?

>>16734295
just be creative bro

A grave reminder of memory that was conceived an aion ago, I visited the empire of agora as Dutchess of La Vain, Jewstinia sent me there. From the instance, agora was no longer Greek in origin, rather, a nation inflicted by the curse of curry. “*RUGGHHHHGHGHHH*” the magnitude reached the outer verse! On the corner of my very pupil—the leftovers of burnt stardust. The ashes of a the corpse of the wretched beast. I gasped “shy—“ the world turned upside down. Out came the showers of pepperoni... I was tempted. My tastebuds were more desperate than Toask in a midnight on typology 4chan. Then the pieces of meat shrank to the sub-atomic level as the beast snarls. Oh the curry breathe...how can man resist?

>>16736152
Yes, I think lots of Pynchon's novels have inverted or negative versions of the main questing protag.

Looking for all feedback

https://www.wattpad.com/929693636-high-school-a-shawn-mendes-story-new-intro

>>16735510
You blew your shot man

>World famous thespian Arnold Schwarzenegger describes how he tricked screenwriter Sylvester Stallone into doing "the worst movie ever"
https://youtu.be/GxYrTe7LDp4
>Stallone's response
http://www.youtube.com/shorts/e0UQyotAVoc
The film they're referring to is Stop, or My Mom Will Shoot! It is written by Blake Snyder, also the writer of "Save the Cat," a terrible screenwriting book inexplicably recommended in the OP.

>>16736335
I just read the book, a lot of it came down to a formula he made for every story. Extremely formulaic and extremely boring.
He gives some "tricks" for writing that are boring and add nothing to the story. He doesn't even help with structure just with creating the same formula he "built". He also focuses on building the entire cast before even starting to write, which is great if your idea works or if you'll just bulldoze it over and over until it does, but if at any point you see something wrong with the original idea, or get bored, then you'll be throwing away a 10,000 word story that you've actually written 20,000 words for.
However it does have that entire 'elitist snobs are so stupid' that 4chan loves, so it has that going for it.
Overall, it was a shit book for people who are actually writing and need help with figure out how to structure a story, how to create tension, how to make a conflict that's realistic, etc.

>>16736335
To add: It is one of only two feature film credits Snyder possesses. The man wrote and sold multitudes of screenplays. Only two of them were produced. The rest are collecting dust on a shelf somewhere in Hollywood, CA. It's incredible that anyone takes screenwriting advise from him.
Much better books on screenwriting are
>Story by Robert McKee
>Screenplay & The Screenwriter's Workbook by Syd Field
But if you're serious, you should only read read
>In The Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing
to get an idea of how your ideas will be butchered and sewn back up into a functional film.
Amoungst directors there as those who say "all screenwriters should be shot"

>>16736382
Story is a much better book that's probably closer to what you're looking for.
What I despise most about Save The Cat is how he'll occasionally drop in stupid little internet acronyms like "lol" or "lmao"
It's a goddamn book, not a blogpost. Get a grip.
By the way, Blake Snyder died a few years back. I found out when I saw his email address at the end of the book and tried to write him up an email. I was going to pitch a "The Aristocrats" joke as a movie.

>>16736242
>Pynchon's novels
Where do I start?
Gravity's Rainbow, or Mason and Dixon?

>>16734672
>The majority publishers don't even pay you. Their only """payment""" is a free copy of the book/anthology/magazine or exposure in their exhibition.

No shit...that's always been true. Getting short stories and essays published has never been profitable, it's all about prestige, and using it to stuff your resume whenever you try to sell a book.

Self publishing is a meme as well, as nobody really makes money doing that either.

>>16734727
>This >>16733886 (You) post just ignores the fact that the word “reputable” is implicit in 99/100 times the word publisher is used. We know what amazon is.

I kind of did mention in my original post that just "getting published' is a pretty stupid goal, as anyone could get published in any of the shit outlets out there, and even some of the reputable ones. A much harder, and much better goal would be getting published in a reputable outlet, with work your proud of putting your name on. Not that even that means all that much ultimately.

>>16736152
That's the MC of the B-story

>>16736312
Can't read without signing up?

>>16736424
Gravity's Rainbow has the characters of Slothrop and Pointsman and Prentice feature as a kind of triumvirate of the narrative flow, splintering off into separate arcs, though bound up in themselves. I suggest trying that.

I'm going through an old journal, and for once I actually like some of the stuff I'm reading:

"You would fall quite flat before her charm and personality, as I did to the eloquence of her hands. I contrast my illiterate writing with her scholarly keens, and I am ashamed; for the roadblocks in-between my brain and wrist make it utterly impossible for my chest to break free; to pour forth the futures I imagine in the wrinkles of the 4AM night sky. The moon was particular haunting last night, and I am anything but surprised its radiance would penetrate the same time I recall the landscape of your face."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOVr3z21P4A

redpill me on litopia

>>16737582
>2 old dudes talk ad nauseam
>girl starts talking for 10 seconds
>"Okay, that's enough"

It's great.

>>16737582
never heard of this but this fantasy schlock is not great

>>16737006
you don't want to read it

>>16737695
Kek
>>16737700
Thoughts on the sci fi one being read now? Embedded chips seem interesting.

>>16737752
Really, really don't like the naming, could be better if the names were better. I just really don't like mash-ups of syllables for names.

>>16737760
>Pereira had a prominent, beaklike nose
Do you think Pereira is a Jew?

>Dear Anon,

>Thank you for letting us consider "Anon's Story" for publication in the Missouri Review. We enjoyed reading it, and though it doesn't quite fit our needs at this time, we hope we will have the chance to read more of your writing in the future.

>Sincerely,

>The Editors

Every time. How many rejections have you gotten through this submission window, bros?

>>16738178
>Submitting stories

>>16738456
As opposed to what? Essays have an even higher barrier to entry and poems aren't getting published unless you're a minority.

Could I get some feedback for this passage?

>>16738479
Better than ai could ever do.

>>16738499
Thanks, anon, even if that doesn't help me at all.

>>16736152
There's a trope for that's this, it's 'Hero of Another Story'

>>16735510
Anon, has it ever occured to you you might be a psycho?

>>16738479
>first person present tense
It's a brave path you have chosen, anon, and the risk of your story ending up reading like "my diary" is great. But it's hard to say anything about such a short passage. It's clear and easy to read, without obvious errors, which is a good job, I suppose.

>>16738178
>How many rejections have you gotten through this submission window, bros?
They nearly all had your kind of "letter" with one telling me to submit again because it "was on the fence for us" but they later rejected two submissions I sent without so much as another "letter" - maybe I overwent their patience.

Typically there are gypsy people sitting in the hostel, who, as soon as they find out about the man's destination, frighten him with terrible transylvanian stories. How could I reshape the scene in the hostel in a surprising way?

>>16738592
Keep at it, anon. On the fence is better than a summary rejection.

What's the best way to write dialog?
Would writing the name of the character before the speech like this,
[Name]"..."
make more sense or would writing the speech like this,
"...", [name] said.
make more sense.

>>16738579
Here's the continuation.

/wg/ your opinion on novelletes? I recently have though about self publishing a novellete a month, or maybe two a month.

>>16738632
I take it there's a reason why the narrator is talking directly to her dead brother? But yeah, it's not half bad so far. Flows nice, you maintain tension and interest. I think it's a good show that being simple and effective pays off over trying to be very flowery and complex, even if it comes at some costs in personality. I wouldn't mind reading more.

>>16738178
>How many rejections have you gotten through this submission window, bros?
None, because I wouldn't know where to submit in the first place.

>>16738767
http://www.erikakrousewriter.com/erika-krouses-ocd-ranking-of-483-literary-magazines-for-short-fiction

>>16738715
>novelets, when will they learn?

>>16738824
I'm 61K, anon.

>>16738615
The Haunting of Hill House inverts this when the autistic lead goes to the diner in the spooky town and weirds everybody out by being socially inept

>>16735871
Fuck fuck fuck, this is a mistake. It's held via Zoom. Even if I turn off my camera, I don't have a black voice and I don't have a convincing imitation of one. I'm going to drop out of this

>>16738916
>61K
you are making me feel bad

>>16738178
>Write two short stories since July
>One is 5k, one is 1.5k
>Polish them again and again
>Submit them anonymously to multiple beta readers
>Rave reviews, urge me to submit for publication
>Send both out to magazines catering for respective word limits, 15 or so magazines
>4 rejections, silence from all the others

Gutting. Think I'm done with short stories for now in any case. Time to crack on with the novel.

>>16739129
I know that feeling anon. We will all have success if we work diligently!

>>16739141
It makes me wonder what exactly they're looking for. In future I might intentionally obfuscate details in my covering letter.

Bros, should I continue? I have at least 1/3 left.

>>16739164
Good luck going back to revise that shit, it takes me about 2x the effort to go back through everything and make it readable

>>16739164
How long did it take you to write that much? It's unironically taken me 3 hours to write 500 words before. Everything has to have the correct rhythm and tone for me or I can't move forwards. But now that I'm writing a novel as opposed to poems and short stories I'm struggling with how long it's taking.

>>16739111
We're all going to make it.

>>16739164
How do you only have 405 pages with over 300k? I have around 300 at 90k.

>>16739270
I currently have 47K and I thought mine was decently long.

>>16739177
That is probably biggest issue. I am not native English speaker so probably only I understand what is going on in the story. I might just translate it to Russian when done if I fail to make it work in English.

>>16739219
About 6 years of inconsistent writing. Like writing for a month and then not for half a year, only writing ideas for future chapters. I think outlining major points in the story and then filling time in between works best for me.

I don't care how it sounds when I am writing, otherwise I would spend lots of time on fixing something that could be removed or rewritten when I am done with first draft and start over. You seems like get used on writing perfect and with big stories it might fail to engage you. Like if I would write everything in a perfect way it would boredom me.

Focusing on telling the whole story that is consistent without plot holes and good ending without leaving obscure bits is my goal for now. Most of the time I skip detailed descriptions as I can add them after draft finished unless they are really important.

>>16739272
A am using Times new roman with font size at 11.

>>16739397
What's your story about?

>>16739297
Oh. I was making a 6'1 joke. One of my projects is 60k, another at 180K, though that's a serial.
I type fast, so it's not really that impressive. I can write 12K a day pretty easily, I haven't really edited anything yet.
Don't worry, just keep writing.

>>16739129
>>Submit them anonymously to multiple beta readers
>>Rave reviews, urge me to submit for publication

Be very careful who you accept feedback from, positive or negative. Unless that person who's reading your stuff has some valuable credentials, or is a writer you admire, or you know in some what they aren't some autistic shutin who gives positive reviews to everything, then don't put much stock in what they think.

>>16738479
>>16738632
Has potential. It needs a real heavy edit - I won't go through line by line unless you want that. But you did well at holding attention and building tension. I'm definitely curious, always a good sign. Post more if you got it.

>>16739431

Story follows a protagonist that had his goal of life to find his father that left their cave city. Dwellers believed that cave was whole world and protag father stories about world beyond shimmering ceiling were considered his imagination. As his father departed on a flying machine and disappeared beyond what was seen they labeled him dead.

Year by year protag restored another flying machine prototype and followed his father. He dived to the unknown, uncovering that stories that his father was telling him are true although less rosy. In event he crashed machine and got rescued by the adopted daughter of his father friend.

After failed attempt to return home and getting involved in events that put him and his mate as outlaw in a still safe part of the world, they were forced to depart on adventure following a letter left by his father. They step deep into the dying world with long lost cities and wild land that occupied with unknown beings consuming all living , slowly stepping deeper and deeper to the last inhabited cities with ultimate goal to find a cure against hostiles in rumbled cities.

>>16739488
That went commpletely over my head. Thanks for the heads up.

>>16738479
>But still
Stop starting sentences with conjunctions, please.
>Something in my coat pocket startles me and I realize my phone is vibrating.
Bad sentence. Feels like the two things are unrelated. Dropping the 'and', and adding a comma could work better, as a suggestion.
>and my head ache
*aches
>bold but dark, nasty light
I don't like this. It's a double negative.
>A little black thing moves
Over descriptive. Just call it a 'niglet' and save us the time.

Overall, it's pretty alright.
Stilted in places, and doesn't really flow well, but a couple of edit passes could fix that up easily.
Keep up the good work.

Becoming: the naked branches of a winter tree clawing for their last gasp of sunlight before hibernation. An intact skeleton in a constant state of shedding its cells: birth, and death. Does true greatness not start with this acceptance? That ultimately all growth is a revitalisation of pain; the Autumn storm knocks the leaves into the soil below and is then fed to its roots. If only the human was born into such a simple condition!

>>16739610
Next time he should choose us to be his beta readers

>>16739610
They were beta readers slash editors who actually charged for their services, and their credentials were pretty legit. They took the effort to type out two sides of a4 completely analysing my piece on the line, paragraph and overall level at least

>>16740066
The ultimate ego shredder lmao. This is an extract from the shorter short story, I submitted it more recently so haven't actually heard back from any magazines on this one yet. What do you think? Tear me a new asshole

The turd in the toilet took two seconds to tear apart. My fingerprints rilled with shit. It was supposed to be inside, but it was all doo doo. I glare at grandma. 'Why?'

Next thing I know, I'm at Romanelli's Scrap Metal arguing with handless cashier over how much grandma's walker is worth. 'Wha? This is aluminium alloy—no, I don't know with what!'

Back at the house grandma beckons. 'It is in my cunt' she whispers against my ear. So I guide her in the bathroom, undo her pants, and help her sit on the toilet. With a breaststroke motion I part her knees, her skin oldwoman soft. I feel my way into her melanin drained bush, of course she's self lubricating, why not? Middle and ring finger, searching. Nothing. Has she been lying? Is she delusional? Insane?

My name is Alex Trebek, I may have all the Answers, but the real Answers are the Questions.

I was in DC all week. I got to sit next to Pope Francis today flying into JFK. Doing the NYT crossword, he turns to me, 'four letter word for a woman, ending in 'u-n-t'?'

'Aunt'

'Do you have an eraser?'

Now, in my voice: The Answers are the Questions.

And you probably don't believe I'm actually Alex Trebek. Which is just as well.

The plane passes through the morning sea mist, the mist silent, all encasing, heatshimmer off the engines. Pope wrote 'cunt' and one of us is an index of magic, tools, functions, gossip, and a nexus of tickles. And one of us lies about kissing babies while going around kissing babies.

An O-ring, also known as a packing, or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus—it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface. And a ring of opinions? Well a pinion: gear with a small number of teeth designed to mesh with a larger wheel. Where do you get yours?

You need to know the Answers to Questions you don't know the Answers to.

Pope wrote 'cunt' and maybe it's C-rings that are the problem. Why do women like being tied up?

My thoughts are like chewing on tinfoil.

>>16740133
Isn't there a tense error in the second sentence

>>16740133
And erotica writers will be the first against the wall

What do you do when you feel a need to write but want to do other things? Cry?
Writing feels so serious to me, momentous and paramount. It is the most important thing I can be doing, and the entire cosmos hinges on me doing it. The fate of the world is decided by my will to do it. At least that how it feels to me, I'm not that conceited.
But John Updike's quip that a writer should be be careful lest he "discover the joys of not writing," comes to mind. I fear for my soul.

>>16740282
It's a memory, the tense is right but I see how it's confusing since you can't see the preceding paragraph

>>16740292
LMAO it's not erotica, just an erotic memory. Can I get away with just having a finger cut off or something rather than the firing squad?

>>16740133
>They were beta readers slash editors who actually charged for their services, and their credentials were pretty legit. They took the effort to type out two sides of a4 completely analyzing my piece on the line, paragraph and overall level at least

Personally I don't really care about credentials, I'd only take criticism from somebody else who's a writer, and I've read their stuff and feel like they know what they're doing. There's mountains of mfa asswipes out there who honestly can't write on the level most 6th graders can.

Not saying writers groups are the best thing in the world, but one thing that is nice about them is you get to actually know the people criticizing you. And if they're somebody who you think is a moron, and they hate your stuff, then you know you're probably on the right track.

So I'd say only take feedback from people you personally respect, in some way or another, meaning you have actual personal knowledge of the person and their qualities.

What's the difference between revision and rewriting? What's "rewriting" exactly? Do you rewrite scenes, and then add/remove details in other scenes to conform to the new rewritten scene? Is that the "2nd draft"? Or is it when I rewrite my 200 page novel again entirely, from scratch?

>>16740310
Yeah, those are good points. It's really hard to find those writer's circles and maintain relationships with them in any meaningful way, though. I'll definitely try to be discerning.

Why doesn't /lit/ start its own publishing house? Could do both ebooks as well as physical books. Crowdfund some cash and get a good editor, wouldn't be too hard.

https://pastebin.com/PDuv6DQB

This is my submission for my creative writing class. My teacher didn't like it, and even went as far as to talk to the dean about my story. I really don't get it. Do you see anything in it that would offend anyone?

1153 words written today in about one hour and 13 minutes. After two days of inactivity this feels like an accomplishment. Thanks a lot /wg/ for keeping me motivated. I'm looking forward to completing this chapter so I can share some excerpts with you and get some feedback to develop the next ones.

>>16740546
It's okay; I think it's really a matter of taste. I wouldn't have talked to the dean about it even if I didn't like it; I would have just called you a faggot for being an attention starved clown trying to make a scene by being an edgy twat.

At 5680 words now, most I’ve ever written before. Story is 2/3 of the way through. Taking longer than I expected, many ideas popping in my head to write. Keeping pace at 500 words a day, becoming consistent. Feeling good. Dreading first edit.

>>16740552
Nice, keep at it!

>>16740546
based

Depression has been ruining my creativity and mental energy, but I'm slowly but surely working on my project. I'm starting to come up with a plot outline I like, and hopefully that will take me somewhere.

Which publishing house will take my 2,000 page novel about a schizopathic shitposter?

>>16740964
Charmin Ultra.

>>16740546
kek

> "What has happened?"
> "Johnny has finally stolen your bidet. He will be murdering your wife at three a.m."
> "Well we had better stop Johnny, and rape him to death."

imagine going to college for this

Me - Write 200 page novel, readers quit the first 50 pages because it's boring

My favorite author - Reader's spend 10 hours going through 700 pages of boring shit to experience the last 150 pages of slightly less boring shit

wew

I feel like I've changed in the last two years /wg/. I'm no longer passionately cresting stories just for the fun of creating stories.

I've had some ideas, but the passion vanishes in days if not hours. I just can't stay excited about anything

>>16741343
your favorite author already has fans. do you?

>>16738715
I’ve written three with a fourth almost done. I like them since I can get more stories out without having to do full on novels

I am finally trying the built-in diction software in Word. This is great, a game changer. I just wrote 2 paragraphs in less than a minute. I'll continue to use this even after my arm heals

>>16735016
I'm on fiver. /fictionwriterb

>>16741607
why is our world like this

>>16741674
Bruh I get extra cash for easy work. Why wouldn't I? There's also a non-smut option too. But smut is where the money is.

>>16741695
ok Schlomo

>>16741674
Man, I wish it were that easy with drawn smut. though I imagine it would be easier if I wasn't a freak

>tfw quit my 100k+/year job so I could write my novel
i'm not going to regret this, right guys?

>>16742061
if your novel fails to sell, there's always Only Fans

>>16741695
How much cash have you made?

>>16742061
yes

>>16742196
$20 for 2k words (that took about 3 hours)

Now have a 10-40k project to write for that's $35 for every 2k words. Not much really, but considering I get to sit on my butt and make money it's not bad.

>>16742210
How do these projects work? Does the client give you a template or a character or something? What kinda stuff do they want you to write?

>>16742242
Well I advertised myself as a smut writer on one 'gig' on fiverr, and I got a reply within 48 hours of that. Btw you need to do an English test that isn't hard if you're a native speaker. Anyway you are auditioning the person contacting you as much as they are auditioning you, so you want to work with people who know what they want. The client I worked with gave me a few paragraphs of what he wanted, then with that I did a test 2k word sample for him, as I didn't have a sample at the time.

After that he's given me his worldbuilding and basic plot points to hit for his smut story he wants me to write for him.

I just ask him to clarify things I'm not sure about, and make it very clear that I will wing it if he doesn't specify exactly what he wants. Working well so far.

>>16742267
Fuck. I might give this a try. Not even just for the money, it sounds kinda interesting.

>>16742267
post part of your sample?

>>16742314
https://pastebin.com/SEx1HhD9

Lupita slept soundly in her hotel bed. She took deep, even breaths. Moesha had moved the writing desk next to her friend's bed so she could both work and keep an eye on her strangely exhausted friend.

The two ladies had taken a vacation to Whitby, Yorkshire to partake in the British Botswana Culture Festival. In addition, the two had visited the Ancient Botswanan History Museum every day of their vacation. The artifacts in the museum were all legitimately borrowed and had non-falsified provenance papers. Black archaeologists and museum curators were known for their exceptional code of ethics.

Lupita’s neck had two small injuries.

“I must have pricked her with my safety pin when I was attaching that shawl,” thought Moesha. “I’m so clumsy.”

Lupita stirred and her eyelids fluttered. She yawned and stretched her arms.

“You're awake!” said Moesha. “You’ve slept almost 14 hours.”

Lupita’s eyes flashed.

“You ain’t gonna be dragging my black ass back to that dusty museum. No ma’am. Mm nmm. I know you think that place lit, but no more for me. Passsss.”

“W-what?”

Lupita shook her head and gently massaged her scalp.

“I’m sorry, Moesha. I don’t know what came over me just then. You know how much I abhor slang!”

“It’s all right. You’ve been weakened by your sleepwalking,” replied Moesha.
She sat down on the bed and pet Lupita’s arm.

“And you have a point,” added Moesha. “I’m an amateur historian of southern Africa, and even I have had quite enough of Bostwana history for one vacation.”

Lupita looked relieved.

“I’m famished. Let’s go downstairs to the restaurant.”

“You stay in bed. I’ll go tell the innkeeper to get us some lunch via room service. Or is it supper by now?”

Moesha smiled and kept her voice light and cheerful. She turned away and walked with a bounce out of their shared room. But as soon as her footsteps were out of earshot, she hurried to the concierge. She needed the telegram number of the local Black doctor … just in case.

>>16740161
palahniuk fan?

>>16740133
It seems kind archaic to me. Publishers want books that are fresh and push the language forward, not something that sounds like it was written a hundred years ago.

my favorite booktuber's book isn't getting a response from publishers. She wrote it in 2018's NaNoWriMo, so this is her 2 year anniversary of the book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RavX8PNLJtA

>>16742794
quit fapping to random thots

>>16742808
she's not a random thot, she's my 3D writing waifu

>>16742863
she's probably getting creampie'd as we speak

>>16742893
why must you ruin my fantasies

>>16742863
Dude, she looks like Shrek with makeup

>>16742902
reality is tough bro

>>16726901
what atmosphere are you going for?
>and before i even
something about that style of writing is something I'd hear from a cool teen

>>16742909
the more videos of her I watched, the more attractive she became to me

Why is my pacing rushed? Can someone take a look and critique? I am looking to sincerely improve. I outline my work but it still reads like one event after another, which is better I suppose than a meandering sequence that plagued me back when I didn't outline.

________________________________
The song stopped and her drive slowly reversed towards the exit. Wiping tears from her soulless eyes, Elizabeth ordered the system to electronically spin and recline her synthetic leather seat to face the panoramic dome, which revealed the boundless blue above. A chrome-plated shell slowly emerged beneath the car and obscured the heat-reflective dome like a gravity-defying liquid, which scorched under the Sun and converted the dire heat into powerful bolts of electric that supplied the motor its blurred rotation. Elizabeth’s heart plummeted into her stomach, “Stop! What are you doing?” She screamed as the darkness transpired. Perhaps spurned by her pleading overtures the car ascended slowly into the bright sky and ballooned into lightspeed. Elizabeth’s consciousness yielded to the intense G-Forces thrusted upon her, and her skin, along with the automobile, melted into the substantial dazzling light of the vortex, leaving a dimensional trail of silver slithering behind.
The car came to a gradual descent as it materialised into a seamless transparent plastic. Elizabeth’s eyes struggled to stay open, “Where are we? You idiot.” She slurred. An enormous black building absorbed the invisible machine into its shade as it slowed to a stop upon the ground. Her iris-less eyes widened, and her hands shook across the blackened window, “Get us out of here!” She told her technological kidnapper. After a few horrifying minutes of deadening silence, the building projected a billboard of bold pink letters that read, “Correctional Facility”. The seat slowly moved into a vertical position. Elizabeth watched aghast as her feet became parallel to the ground, held in place by the seat’s artificial gravity belt; instantly, the car vapourised and joined the rays of pink light, which spilled into the empty street. Shock radiated throughout Elizabeth’s body as her feet landed upon the synthetic concrete, pointing towards the neon complex, which shone bright to her wandering, naked eyes like a hot blast of pink sun in the darkest reaches of space.

Alright bros here's my plan
>start a fiverr account under an assumed identity
>craft a fake character as my pen name
>pretend to be a cute 20-something girl
>use an unsearchable photo as my profile pic
>post up ads saying I'll write lewd fiction
>attract as many coomers as I can to become this girl's beta providers while I write them terrible fiction
what do you think

>>16743003
actually genius

>>16743003
You don't need to pretend to be a girl to sell smut, if you can actually write smut.

>>16743082
I've never had the compulsion to pay someone to write porn, but if I did, I think I'd want it done by a girl

>>16743092
Anon, that is the most pathetic thing I've heard all day.

>>16743105
Who's gonna be laughing when I make ten bucks? huh? huh?

>>16742943
pacing seems fine to me. Maybe describe the vortex thing. Kids TV shows would do a short psychedelic time travel sequence.

I know that people laugh at """reddit spacing""", but you should also break that up into more paragraphs

Creative writing from a schizo. Lately have had OCD issues with childhood trauma. Mostly writing because of an urge to post and feel like I got it out there.

------------------------------------------------

We knew each other in innocence. Neurological predispositions acting in blind faith. We didn't know what the words we used meant but they would always be the same words. Our minds grew around the words, cemented into a patriot. Men of words that kept a tradition alive. Without the men as protectors the lack of respect would have made all of history worthless. But we must save history. Like the memories of your father introducing his mistresses to your mother. Like the memories of you eating out your sister. You're better than me for it. I'm not a man of words but of letters. Rather than put up a front, I'm spineless. Your sister having her pussy eaten telling me that I'm wolf in sheeps clothing. I escaped and took courses in psychology. I went through puberty early but you knew I wasn't mentally well. In the hallway testing my problem solving skills. Looking back I know the answers but in the moment you were the psychologists. It was a mental disorder. "Wolf in sheeps clothing" is an ontological distinction the individual is responsible for existentially validating. I was young but I've never done bad. I've been coerced but when my mind caught on I was righteous. While you were debating the role of Pontius Pilate, I was in church listening so I could be as smart as you. You're still petty and a coward, think you can hide. As true as it is for me. But I still fight. You gave up and thought you could fool people. You still live as a man of words. A man of respect. A man with a spine and a puffed out chest. When it doesn't matter. Everyone sees I'm a sad deformed wolf but I make them hate me before they can pity. It easy to hate a spineless man. All the sheep see a wolf but I still see our innocence.

>>16743168
First 4 lines are brilliant. Everything else is /r9k/-tier

>>16740429
What kind of books would /lit/'s publishing house feature?

>>16737271
I prefer Hemingway's take on it.

>She had a pale, almost olive-coloured skin, a profile that could break your, or anyone else's, heart and her dark hair, of an alive texture, hung down over her shoulders.

>>16739129
>>16738592
>>16738178
how do you write your cover letters, bros?

>how many rejections
around sixty desu, spread over like four short pieces. the fourth got accepted. nothing big, might even be nothing at all, but it was very fucking encouraging.

>lose a contest
>the winner wrote absolute graphomania shit like she's still a teenager
>literally just random pseudointellectual shit full of dumb nonsensical words and retarded teenage style
What the absolute fuck?

>>16743383
>Everything else is /r9k/-tier
I still got it. thx

This is probably a real stupid question, but does being left-handed make you different in anyway (other than being left-handed)?
Does being left-handed mean you have to do things different, or is it just a right-hands mirror?

How’d this poem come out lads?

The Lament of the broken rope

in a desolate landfill sat

a broken rope and rusted lock
the lock would try to start a chat
“broken rope do not curse the clock

time is the slayer of all things
do not cry because we are dead
no matter locks or ropes or Kings
all things shall rot and become dead”

the Rope replied while still wailing
“it is not for myself I cry
I cry for one who was ailing
from his soul he wanted to die

he came to me in that hour
he was my owner and master
he knew he could use my power
he said “now end this disaster”

the dagger of his soul stabbed him
the taunting of his soul mocked him
his soul’s deep darkness blinded him
his soul’s anguish brought him to me

he gave me his trust and last faith
around a gnarled branch he took me
to rescue him, this was his fate
he twisted me into a noose


around his neck I embraced him
I could now finally free him
but his soul would not release him
it shouted “no more! let him go”

I then replied “you killed the man”
my body then stretched, “leave him go!”
I then replied “you killed the man”
and my master gave me a smile

the soul departed from the earth
and my body let itself rest
my master then fell to the dirt
and with him also did I fall

my lament is for my master
no other shall be my master
my soul grieves me for my master
master save me from my own soul

>>16743684
You hold a mouse in left hand. Some musical instruments need to be for left handed people like some guitars.

>>16720921
I need some cool mythological monsters that aren't so, pardon my french, "mainstream" for the story I'm writing. Google only gives me the same three buzzfeed articles, and nothing new or interesting.

Does anyone know any reference materials I could find online? And if any of you could post your favorites, or cool ones you know about, that'd be a great help, too.

>>16743704
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cryptids
Look up the list and get some fun exotic shit from Africa or other uncivilised place

>>16743690
>broken rope do not curse the clock
I really like this line.
It feels very 'said the spider to the fly', strangely.

>4th stanza
Very strong part.
Flow is excellent, and very picturesque.
It's basic, but it doesn't need to be anything more to get the point across.

>Everything else
It's fine. Definitely needs some work, but it's a great start.
The flow and rhythm are a little all over the place. You start with ABAB, but then later you don't follow any rhyming scheme, which is fine but feels very jilted after having started with one.
You have a very good base, you just need to tighten it up and it will be amazing.
Good work, anon.

>>16743700
So it's not a characteristic trait worth mentioning unless you plays a role in the story, i.e. Chekhov's Gun?

>>16743764
Yeah

>>16743764
that depends on why you made the character left-handed.

here's a cool fact:
>Due to cultural and social pressures, many left-handed children were forced to write and perform other activities with their right hands. This conversion can cause multiple problems in the developing left-handed child, including learning disorders, dyslexia,[12] stuttering[13][14][15] and other speech disorders.

>>16743849
>that depends on why you made the character left-handed.

I am debating on having a character without an arm, and was wondering if it mattered which one he was without.
I assumed that lefties were like us normal people, but I didn't want to write ignorantly, just in case.

>>16743982
So his right hand gets amputated? If he's left handed that's easier. If he's right handed, that's harder for him. So yeah, in that situation I'd say it's pretty damn important.

>>16743982
Left handed people are better in martial arts against right handed people.

>>16744023
Isn't this also true with sword fighting on stairs, also?
I remember reading that somewhere.

>>16743684
There's a lot of help for left-handed people (diversely-handed, as they are called nowadays) out there. My friend's cousin is 25 and is left-handed, he has a caretaker mostly free of charge from a charity foundation, and has constant contact with a developmental pediatrician. He also gets help with his medicine etc. Thankfully help is out there and diversely-handed people out there don't have to deal with it alone or burden their relatives anymore, otherwise he might have ended up in some ward as his family can't really take care of his needs or deal with his (sometimes violent) episodes.

The door to the building jolted open. Lost for words, the wet-suited being stared into the infinite dark hallway that had revealed itself. A trail of white overhead lights flickered in a forward arrow signage above the door. Elizabeth winced and caressed her stomach, before staggering forward towards the ancient contraption and staining the glossy door frame in sweat: “I’m sweating!” She cried. “Why am I sweating? I never sweat.” Her face contorted in horror and she ran from the decrepit entrance along the blinding illuminated streets and infinite alley ways decorating the city subsection.

>>16738479
amateurish but not necessarily shit. kinda draggy in the sense that you spell out things that the reader can figure out for themselves. this makes it slow. one such example is of him "relieving" himself. you can just say he got out of the stall, the reader should get the hint. this is only one thing -- there are lots to be desired. but it's not necessarily shit. cut the fat down and it might just have the potential of not being generic.

>>16738632
>I've got to beat the sun.
>I get that feeling a lot, these days.
i like these

>>16739858
>Stop starting sentences with conjunctions, please.
but it's fine occasionally, right?

>>16740580
Keep it up anon; I hope you'll be satisfied with the end product. Daily effort pays off; remember that little things joint together surpass even the big ones.

>>16744086
>but it's fine occasionally, right?
When used as a preposition, yes.
But in your writing, it was a conjunctive.

It really doesn't matter though, there is no hard rule against, it's just that many publishers will mark you down for it.
They are snobs, and are hard to satisfy.

>>16744112
cheers, lad

>>16743704
You could take obscure, weird, but totally real animals that nobody in the mainstream knows about, and make them mythological by exaggerating their traits and describing them with more grandeur

Example:
Bombardier beetle (not very obscure but just to illustrate) a little piece of shit beetle that can piss acid if frightened
Myth: there's a swarm of bugs that breathe fire (while flying) and it looks like all Egyptian plagues joined as one to kill you

Animal kingdom is rich and surreal at times, seek inspiration there! Especially ocean, but on land too

>>16743982
Depends massively on the time period
Left handedness has been traditionally associated with the devil and bad spirits.
Seeing symmetries and spatial reasoning is often better due to learning actions from right handed people then having to mirror it, but like the other anon mentioned, can also lead to second guessing, stuttering and other problems.
Note that some people may use their right or left hand only for certain actions, or may even not have a preferred hand for some things, cutting, catching, throwing racquet sports, bat sports, writing can all have separate handedness
The manner in which the arm is lost will likely make a much bigger impact

>>16744024
>sword fighting on stairs
lmao how oddly specific

>>16744650
Is that fucking flying snail?

>>16744650
Ah, like thorny lizards. They squirt blood out of their eyes.

>>16743700
Even this isn't strictly true. I'm left handed but because everything is set up for right handed people I do a lot of things with my right hand - like holding a mouse or playing instruments right handed. Making handedness even less relevant to any (modern) story.

>>16743849
Another cool fact is that lefties are more likely to be gay so you should probably make him into a giant homo.

How long does it take everyone to edit an 80k word novel? Do you edit a previous one at the same time as writing a new one? I usually just move on to start writing something new as soon as I finish but want to go back and edit them now and also don't want to stop writing new stories. Does anyone struggle to do both at the same time for fear of tainting the voice of either?

>>16744935
Ideally, I'd take at least a month off and write something else, before getting started with editing. Doing something completely different in the meanwhile only helps take distance and see the flaws better.

>>16744023
>Left handed people are better in martial arts against right handed people

It's the opposite. All techniques and training are for right-handed people, against right-handed people, lefties are always at a disadvantage.

>>16744992
nah righties fight against righties majority of the time. lefties fight against righties majority of the time. so when a righty fights a lefty, the lefty has the advantage based on experience vs lack thereof

>>16744992
Bro you have literally no idea what you are talking about.

>Why are left-handed people better fighters?
https://www.itv.com/news/ 2019-02-25/why-are-left-handed-people-better-fighters

>Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159 8-019-51975-3

>4 Advantages Of Being A Left-Handed Orthodox Fighter In Boxing
https://evolve-mma.com/blog/4-advantages-of-being-a-left-handed-orthodox-fighter-in-boxing/

>>16745052
>>16745067
yeah + you have to stretch your hand like a retarded girl instead of making straight proper punches
thus your punches lack power
muay thai fighter here

>>16744971
Taking time off from a project isn't my problem unfortunately. Finished something in March and then another one in July. I want to edit them but I just get distracted writing new things.

>>16744689
It's swimming in the ocean, but yes. Called "sea butterfly"
>>16744721
Yeah, freaky nature

>>16745067
Your links don't even work.
>>16745052
I've actually trained martial arts, and no online blogger or second rate journalist will convince me otherwise. Right-hand techniques have been taught and polished for centuries. Leftie will always be behind, struggling to find his own thing. Nobody teaches him left hand techniques, no instructor will let him experiment, he just can't have the same experience. Either he learns right-hand techniques like everybody else, or gets his ass kicked. It's as simple as that.

>>16744650
>>16744689
>>16745246
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRP4nAGMYCY&ab_channel=zefrank1

>>16745358
epic troll anon :D