/lit/ - Literature

>>18067621
I see from my spot in the corner his black hips pounding away at her ass like a drill, breaking her, turning her into his property. This is my rightful state as a filthy whiteboi, I think to myself.

>>18067537
I wrote this post amigo. >>18063200 Is it not high-effort enough for you? Do you think you would have found that kind of discussion on google? It's true that posting work for crit here is a stupid idea for at least three great reasons, but I guarantee that you don't have an idea that's so unique and special that someone else can "steal" it from you. At worst, it's piracy - you can both write an idea, and since you came up with the fucking thing and have a head start, your version had better be better.

I just want to write porn.

>>18067644
BBChad...I kneel...

My friends, I have another question about commas. Should I have a comma here:

...Indian-registered actively managed emerging market bond mutual funds...

i.e., something like this:

...Indian-registered, actively managed emerging market bond mutual funds...

Thanks you.

>>18067874
*Thank you

>>18067874
I'm having trouble saying how many you need without the full context, but short answer is yes. Commas go between adjectives. For example, "An itsy bitsy, teenie weenie, yellow polka dot bikini," is acceptable while "An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini," is not.

Furthermore, it should be, "Yellow polka dot bikini," and not "Yellow, polka dot bikini" since in this case, 'yellow' is the only adjective describing the polka dots while everything else is describing the bikini itself.

>>18067919
It's in too many contexts to post, but should it be something like this?

...Indian-registered, actively managed, emerging market, bond mutual funds...

>>18067930
That sounds right to me, yes.

Are all of those phrases describing the mutual fund? Ask yourself "What kind of mutual fund is it?" And if you can answer, "It is a bond mutual fund, it is an emerging market mutual fund..." and so on, then yes, all of those phrases need commas in between them. But if one of those phrases describes another phrase, it doesn't. Like, if 'actively managed' was talking about the 'emerging market' instead of the fund itself, then you wouldn't need the comma there. It's a little tough to explain since I'm not too familiar with what you're talking about, but I think you're correct as it is.

>>18067919
>"An itsy bitsy, teenie weenie, yellow polka dot bikini," is acceptable while "An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini," is not.
>>18067964
>That sounds right to me, yes
Holy commas, Batman, yikes

stop trolling the poor lad

>>18067874
>>18067930
In a list such as this you shouldn't have commas all the way through, the final item on the list should be separated by words or phrases such as "and" , "as well as" or "in addition to".
However, without proper context I'm not sure how it should be phrased. It really depends on how the sentence begins.
>Our company is Indian-registered, actively managed, growing steadily in an emerging market and has clear goals when it comes to bond mutual funds.
Is an example of how the start of a sentence dictates how it should flow and what points need to be addressed. Give us more to work with next time.

>>18067964
Ok, however I see that many don't write the comma there. For example:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Portfolio_Preferences_of_Foreign_Institu/PDoRUOYygXsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22of+actively+managed+emerging+market+mutual+funds%22&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Are they just making a grammatical error? I'm not a native English speaker and find these commas very confusing. Thank you for the help sir.

>>18067964
>>18068003
Who is right?! Please don't troll me sirs.

>>18068020
>However, without proper context I'm not sure how it should be phrased. It really depends on how the sentence begins.
This is bad news, I use this a lot in many different sentences.

>>18068022
Honestly, you should take a course or something if you're going to be writing professionally. I don't see you writing about this sort of thing for fun.

>>18068037
...Indians...

Is there any information on collecting thoughts? I have many but they're scattered and I'd like to connect them.

>>18068003
Learn grammar. Multiple adjectives need commas in between them unless they are adverbs describing one of the other adjectives. The phrase 'That sounds right to me, yes' is correct as it is the phrase 'Yes, that sounds right to me' simply reordered. Which is acceptable. However, your phrase "Holy commas, Batman, yikes" is grammatically incorrect. It should either be "Yikes. Holy commas, Batman," or "Holy commas, Batman. Yikes." In some cases, "Yikes! holy commas, Batman" is also acceptable since expletive phrases do not always need a capital after them even when given proper punctuation.

>>18068022
That might be my lack of knowledge in the field, so I might have to bow out here. Is an "actively managed emerging market bond mutual fund" a single compound noun? Or is it a "mutual fund" and all those other words are simply describing it? Professional/scientific writers aren't always masters of grammar so there is a chance he made a mistake. Or it could be me being wrong.

>>18068064
Write them down or think about them more, I don't really get what you're asking anon.

>>18068037
Native English-speakers often say "Reyansh, you write good English!" (this makes me happy), but these comma rules are a bit confusing for me and I don't want to dishonour my writing by making mistakes. I'm writing a thesis now, so a course will have to wait until later. However, it seems to me that many don't write out the commas, see >>18068022. This is what I have found googling. Maybe all of them just write bad English? Or the rules are not very strict? Please sirs.

>>18068070
>Is an "actively managed emerging market bond mutual fund" a single compound noun?
I think so, it seems to fit the definition of a compound noun, i.e.
>A compound noun is a noun that is formed from two or more words. The meaning of the whole compound is often different from the meaning of the two words on their own.
https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/easy-learning/compound-nouns

>>18068106
Commas are tough. Consider that "A big fire engine" and "A big, fire engine" are both correct, but they're describing different things. The first describes a fire truck, calling it big. (or possibly an engine that uses 'big fire.') The second describes an engine that is made out of fire or controls fire or something, and calls it big.

In your case, after seeing that other paper, I think you did actually have it right the first time and that phrase is one big, long noun instead of a noun being described. Though just to be safe, I'd look up a couple more papers to see what other authors do. Professional writing is a very different thing from fiction.

>>18068106
gl poo

Those of you who write erotica, where do you publish? What kind do you write? What's your current project?

>>18068227
I'm interested in this too.

Sorry, I'm not trying to deliberately hijack your question, but is erotica one of the better ways to make easy money writing?

I'm recently out of a job and I'm going to pursue story writing as a means of living. I don't really care what I'm writing initially, even if it's vile sissy BBC cuckold shit. I just want to develop my writing habit and grind out the mechanics of it whilst surviving on a frugal lifestyle. My goal is to gradually progress from being an ultra-shitter to someone capable of creating something slightly interesting. Is that even realistic?

“She”

Like those great marble statues of Ancient
Greece, your beauty was breath-taking sweetness,
Thine eyes were holier than a plainchant,
An angel perfect in her completeness,
And lucky me, we met in discreetness,
Into mine arms, I need thou, with fleetness,
Who e’er wouldst guesseth at our strange pairing?
I, that mad scoundrel; you were of neatness...
Our lips, should they e’er so touch in sharing,
Would tremble like the leaves, I’d die in your caring.

>>18068064
I used to be really into collecting thoughts when I was younger. My friends and I would play, but they had more money so their thoughts were usually OP, so I’d get demolished. I still had a few good shiny ones I kept in a protective sleeve.

My brother’s friend, Kyle, was a fucking asshole. One day my entire collection of thoughts went missing...after like a week of searching I found out Kyle sold them for meth or some shit. I still played with thoughts sometimes, but i never really got i to collecting them again.

I just looked up a few of the thoughts I can remember, just one of those shiny ones would be worth over $70 today.

Sorry, i guess I didn’t answer the question. There are a bunch of websites out there if you’re new to collecting thoughts. I just kept mine in a metal lunchbox, but i think they make binders with plastic sleeves so you can keep your thoughts in good condition. Personally, i think thoughts are made to be used, so i don’t mind a few dings.

Good luck with the collection, anon, hope it helps!

>>18068723
Sorry anon, I'm not sure about either of your questions.

>>18068920
assuming this isn't a shitpost, what compels people to say this kind of shit
>yeah I can't help and have nothing relevant to say but I just wanted you to acknowledge I exist
I see it all the time among /lit/fags, both on board and off
something about people who read and write man, they just don't feel real unless someone sees or hears them

>>18069056
There are three reasons I wrote that post, none of which are any good mind you.
>to let the anon know he's not being ignored, just that some of us don't have the answers he's looking for
>I started typing, wrote a paragraph trying to answer his second question then deleted it and felt that I should still post something after spending a few minutes thinking about what he'd asked
>to bump the thread

>>18067621
>Any progress on your novels?
Yes, I'm done now. I was never going to become the next Faulkner, the next Nabokov or the next Joyce, but I hid behind the language barrier to avoid criticism for months, maintaining an illusion that was fun to live in while it lasted. I had thought my country's education system was topmost in the world, but this turned out to be utter bollocks.
This will be my final post on /lit/. I've been humiliated and exposed as a fraud. My writing is pretentious, infantile, banal drivel. My observations are dull, my language grade school level. My tenses are mixed up; I use colloquialisms, ellipses and onomatopoeia. I mix tired and trite idioms together to obfuscate their unoriginality with a veneer of irony; I have continued to recite ornate Jewish chimpanzee parables with diminishing returns. The parable seemed very clearly to me to be asking me whether or not the now-grown-adult can choose. I say yes, of course, but that's not my issue.
I was never cut out for writing. I began writing my "book" on January 6th. Since then I've produced 79 thousand words for it. These words are a tide of garbage without value, without insight, without form. The themes of time, space, infinity, memory and pointless duelling are not present in my work. It was never real writing, it was anime and weebshit. Look how many words I wrote, because apparently literature is bodybuilding and just aimlessly typing will somehow improve my writing. I don't even know what genre it is that I'm writing. Is it autofiction? A comedy? A picaresque?
Regardless, I have failed. I have put down my pen. Never again will my fingers click-clack across the keyboard. No more outlines, no more characters. Goodbye

I wrote 5,000 words yesterday and I’m afraid to read them today

>>18068070
>it could be me being wrong
why, don't, you, take, a, guess, numskull

>semicolon dialogue tag
Fucking explain this

>>18069338
Do it, you’re already thinking about it.

>>18067621
>write three sentences
>"Alright, I can go back to dicking around until inspiration forces me to go back."
I'm not even mad at this point, and only two months behind my schedule.
>>18069338
Write 5k more today and go back the the previous 5k.

>>18070146
>Alright, I can go back to dicking around until inspiration forces me to go back.
If this isn't me...

>>18070146
>>18070153
For the past week I've had this thing where I get antsy if I'm not writing. It's weird. I hope it stays this way.

>>18069413
Definitely unconventional, but I'm not entirely sure its incorrect. I think in this case it is wrong since without the tag there would be a period between "english" and "I daresay" but I think it could be doable in general.

>>18069413
I interpret it as her taking some time with the "I daresay..." bit.

>>18069413
Common in older works.

>Be me, 28 year old English teacher
>Student in creative writing club reveals one of his stories has been accepted for publication in a good literary journal that I've been trying to get in for ages
>Read it
>It's far better than any of the short stories I currently have finished

What do I actually do here? This has been a huge paradigm shift for me. At 18 he has more of a gift than I do at 28. I now have indisputable proof that talent does exist in writing to a huge extent. I'm meant to be giving this kid feedback, he sent the story to me and he wants me to critique it. Literally what am I supposed to do here, I feel like a complete fraud

>>18070146
>think about story
>feel like shit
>write two (2) (dos) (due) paragraphs
>feel good
>feel like shit
>think about story
haha...

>>18070759
post it

>https://pastebin.com/vsbnFHsx
Rough draft of a (very) short story I've been working on. If anyone has any input I'd love to hear it.

>>18070759
>he sent the story to me and he wants me to critique it
He probably wants you to have this reaction. Kids are little shitheads, and talented kids even moreso. The chances are pretty high that he's getting a kick out of lording his success over his English teacher. Take a step back from yourself and realize that he's just a kid, and give him your honest assessment. If it's a glowingly positive one, let him have it. Be the kind of person who fosters the talented people of the next generation. Don't be bitter about it.

>>18070799
I don't know, he seemed pretty earnest in the email

>>18070772
OK gimme a sec

>>18070832
Do you think someone with enough talent for language to get published at 18 is incapable of using language to mask or deceive? That said, you obviously know your student better than I ever will. I'm just done turd on 4chan.

>>18068899
Started out really good, but went on too long. Still, underrated.

>>18070759
why are you even asking this question? you're a teacher. you should know better than anyone that understanding theory is very different from putting it into practice. right that's why you went into teaching instead of becoming a famous author.
so teach the kid.

>>18070772
>>18070832
This is an excerpt. If I'd seen it before break I still would've told him it was overwritten and to strip back the sentences, the fact it's been accepted makes me question myself.

>>18070759

Give the kid honest critique. Also chances are he’s here too so you might wanna chill with the sharing of mail info n shit.

>there are few things greater than admitting the greatness of others.

>>18070882
Good point, scrapped the email screenshot.

I'm not bitter by any means, I just feel shook.

>>18070874
Are you absolutely sure he didn't plagiarise that from somewhere?

>>18070874
Maybe people are getting tired of the same, homogenized minimalistic garbage that literally everyone is writing these days.

>>18070777
I don't like this. The prose doesn't work for me. I'm not sure what you were going for with the first half.

>>18070874
This is good, and I refuse to believe that a teenager wrote this. Was he tutored in English literature his whole life? Social media should've corrupted his vocabulary; most of the words used aren't said in real life.

>>18070899
Then be the first person he looks up to who congratulates him. My assumption is that you’re underestimating your own writing, but that’s a whole nother story. Him being good doesn’t make your writing worse etc etc.

Worst case scenario: you’ll have tons of material for your future ”salieri from amadeus POV”-style novel.

>>18070970
Yeah I'm sure, the story was written in response to a stimulus I came up with and set

>>18071006
I guess. I'm not sure I'm the best judge any more. I've always been more of a Hemingway guy

>>18071054
>The prose doesn't work for me
Any chance you could narrow down a little what you disliked about it? It's very far from my usual style in just about every way.

>>18070874
I have to say this reads well. It reminds me of a few other works, stories which make me regret and ponder why I haven't committed myself to writing in that perspective. I've always stuck to third person omniscient like the chump I am.
brb going to read some Lovecraft

>>18070874
How is this considered good writing

>>18071060
Yeah, maybe. I hope I'm underestimating myself. I've had a couple things published, but not for a long while, and in pretty no-name magazines.

>>18071054
He is very strong in English, poor in other subjects. He's an advanced reader and actually reads beyond the set texts. Very good kid. He was one of the first joiners when the writing club got set up.

>>18071089
Yeah I tend to write first person in a more concise style. But his whole short story - it's about 3000 words - is just full of this wistful, melancholy quality that'd just lovely. It makes me a bit jealous if I'm being honest.

>>18071106
It flows beautifully. Try reading it aloud. The placement of punctuation and the sentence lengths come together to make you pause and continue for just the right amount of time in the right places. Coupled with the vocab, which is advanced without being a purple thesaurusy mess, and some evocative imagery, it works really well.

I think I'm probably better at analysing writing than producing it myself. I don't really know what to make of that. Is making peace with your mediocrity a sign of growing up? Am I getting old, /wg/?

>>18071075
I don't want to say too much since you're still working it. It feels like you've mashed a lot of ideas and left them hanging. The first paragraph baits me with some introspective stuff, which abruptly ends with the last sentence. This continues throughout the rest of the writing. It's just a wordy prose with a weak philosophical payoff.

>>18070874
The snippet you posted seems a tad purple. But the story (which we know nothing about) could well fit the gravitas of the language used. I dunno... can't judge

>>18070899
>I just feel shook
Why should you be? Just do your fuckin job and say "right this looks like it's above my pay grade, here's someone else you ought to look up"

>>18070777
I liked it! The 'when he finally flew' line was great.

Ultimately every writing style is going to have people who like it or don't like it. There are people who can't stand Nabokov or Joyce, and people who loathe Stephen King. Ultimately you have to pursue your own artistic vision and attempt to reach your own potential. 4chan isn't really a representative microcosm of the literary world.

>>18071213
>It feels like you've mashed a lot of ideas and left them hanging
Fantastic, thank you. I've put it down for today but tomorrow I'll go back and clarify to myself every point I'm making. I do think it's funny that you see it as wordy though. This entire story started as an exercise in paring back how I normally write. In my eyes the prose reads almost unbearably stark and on-the-nose. But I hear you loud and clear on the lack of payoff. Thanks.

>>18071214
I'm not the teacher-dude, and I also don't read literary works. The writing is very evocative and reminds me of the opening pages of Lolita.

>>18071251
>I liked it! The 'when he finally flew' line was great.
The kid got lynched. That's not great.

>>18071291
More accurately, he stepped on a mine, same as his father. He flew because the blast threw him into the air, and he left his legs behind because, well...
>>18071251
Thank you! Really, thank you. This is the first time anyone has ever said they like something I've written. That actually means a lot to me.

>80k words reached
Our God is an awesome God.

>>18071314
No worries at all. Vaguely reminded me of a gritty Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If that's a path you want to explore a bit more I'd recommend 'chronicle of a death foretold' and 'no one writes to the colonel', as well as Hemingway's 'men without women'. You definitely have some talent and I'd encourage you to persist.

>>18071333
I'm so jealous. This is my writing log since I started a new project. At this rate I won't hit 80k words for months

>>18071192
>It flows beautifully. Try reading it aloud. The placement of punctuation and the sentence lengths come together to make you pause and continue for just the right amount of time in the right places. Coupled with the vocab, which is advanced without being a purple thesaurusy mess, and some evocative imagery, it works really well.
I don't see it, it's clunky and wordy on a pretentious level, that sort of writing stopped being acceptable a couple centuries ago

>>18071380

>>18071384
As someone who teaches literature and writing I can say with confidence that you are wrong, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. These people
>>18071291
>>18071223
>>18071192
>>18071089
>>18071054
>>18071006
>>18070970
Would likewise seem to disagree. Have you read some of the actually good writers today, like Kazuo Ishiguro? Knausgaard? Rushdie? McCarthy? Pynchon?

I've just finished my longest story (8k words) and now I'm feeling empty. I have a list of topics I want to write about next, but I can't choose. And, btw, do you guys edit right after finishing the story or you take some time to see the idea with fresh eyes?

>>18071384
You philistine. If nothing else it's been accepted for publication. Can you say that about any of your work?

>>18071392
Quality over quantity.

>>18071392
That's an average of like 350 words a day. If you got that up to 500 consistently you could have your 80k word novel in like 5 months, which could be worse. 5 months will pass either way.

>>18071407
I don't accept things as good just because others tell me to

>>18071464
Lmao

>>18071407
You quoted me, but I don't "disagree". Anon has a point saying it is a little "pretentious".

1 of the books I like is Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. The language is indeed similarly "pretentious", but just like the unreliable narrator in the story, it's meant to be so. It’s meant to be the voice of the English butler narrating the story, and evocative of the upper-class atmosphere of the story. Now, if your student’s story similarly ‘deserves’ such language, good for him. If not, then other anon is right. Fuck off.

P.s. Nabokov was a fucking pseud.

>>18070874
i don't like it desu
>fundraising events
sticks out like a sore thumb. did you just pick the worst passage?

>>18071528
Out of curiosity what's wrong with fundraising events? I'm another anon who loved the passage

>>18071192
The writing (as others have said) is quite excessive, still very impressive for someone his age. It’s probably much easier to teach him how/when to tone it down than it is to teach someone with really basic prose to be more descriptive.

You’re a teacher, idk why you’re doing all this soul searching...you’ve been handed a golden opportunity to teach...do it.

Also don’t overvalue his work (or undervalue your own first impression) because of the acceptance. Kids respond well to praise, I’m sure if you give him feedback half as enthusiastic as you shared with us, you’ll be reading a draft of his first novella within a month.

>>18070874
I would honestly love to read a whole book, a series of books, written like this. Yeah, the prose is a bit gluttonous, but I fuckin can't get enough. It's decadent. Let's see some actual language for a change instead of fortune cookie length sentences and sterile fables on LGBTQ politics and race issues. Best author I encountered in the last year is Javier Marias, and his sentences run on for like half a page, this is Conservative next to him, or Cormac McCarthy. Hell, dial it up

>>18071552
jerked me right out of the 'wistful' mood. jarring choice of words and change of tone

>>18071526
>>18071559
I'm the original teacher poster. The story is very, very good. The writing is a bit grandiose but like that one anon guessed it's meant to be - the story is written from first person POV of a woman raised in a Manor House and home schooled by her professor father. They lose everything and she is conflicted between upbringing and a desire to belong to the regular working people she now finds herself in, like an identity crisis. I might shill it here when it's published with the students permission

>>18071604
Crack open a Dickens then

>>18071634
Alrighty then

>>18070874
Kino. If an 18 year old really wrote that it's genuinely incredible. It's by far one of the best things I've ever read on this site. He will end up with novels published. Humbling to see.

>>18070874
I had to look up "topiary". My vocabulary is smaller than some kid's.
This is going into the pasta.

>>18067621
>"Describe a barn as seen by a man whose son has just been killed in a war. Do not mention the son, war, or death. Do not mention the man who does the seeing."

How long should this be? Mine's pretty short and I don't have a feel for the right length yet.

>>18070874
>kid who just discovered thesaurus dabs on his 28-year-old English teacher
roflmao he sure pulled the gossamers of fundraiser splendor on you. Thanks for the laugh

Is "head hopping" a legit critique or is it one of those meaningless feedback nuggets like "show, don't tell"?

>>18072054
Yes. Head hopping is shit. It's confusing to read just like exposition is boring to read. If you're going to tell your story in a limited pov, pick a character for your scene and stick with him.
Look at modern anime for example. Constant headhopping. Constant exposition. There is no trust in the audience to figure things out on their own. No wonder it's all shit.
If you want to headhop, learn how to do an omniscient pov so you can write a story in an obscure style that no one wants to read but might win you some awards just for having the balls to try it.

>>18072182
How do you recommend handling something with multiple perspectives then? Splitting by chapters is monotonous.

>>18072232
Don't write it monotonously.

>>18070759
You shouldn't be upset. The great thing about writing, or really any creative pursuit, is that everyone has a unique voice and perspective. That doesn't mean that every voice and perspective is equal, but everyone has a place in the pantheon of literature.

>>18072054
Neither of those is meaningless. It's just advice that's given by people who are not writers and do not know how to express themselves. What people mean when they say "show don't tell" is "your scene does not feature stakes, consequences, mystery, or tension." When people say you're "head hopping," they probably mean that they had trouble remaining invested in the perspective of the story's protagonist because the narrative wandered too far from it. They're just a patient describing symptoms; it's up to you to diagnose the root problem.

>>18071926
Here's my excerpt. I was going to edit more but today's a slow day for me. Too much? Too short? Too clinical? All criticism is appreciated, just be nice if you can too, I know I suck but I wish someone would say things that they really liked about my writing too.

>>18072054
Author of Wish Mountain here. I've been accused of doing it a lot. I aim to cut down some of the head hopping at a later date.

>>18072414
Fuck me, I just posted it and I already see issues:

>hopeless dawn
>the rot brought joy
>that last line needs more context

I felt so clever when I wrote the second one too.

>>18072414
>>18072428
Oh yeah, also recommend some books if you can. I'm going through Gardner's 'Art of Fiction' right now (slowly, college has ramped up this quarter and I can barely find time to breathe.) Some writers that write like me/write in ways I might benefit from would be nice too.

>>18072414
i like the last sentence. couldn't care about everything else. the blood bit is banal.

>>18072454
Anon, thanks for the feedback. I just haven't read that much so I can't tell when I'm being cliche. On the other hand, not having that pressure to be unique makes writing a lot more fun. Everything's a surprise!

Is that a good length for a description?

>>18072478
i have no idea what the context of the prompt is, but sure. i'd expect the story to start right away.

>>18072523
There isn't any context. It's an exercise, the prompt is at the top.

>>18070874
>le weird word therefore good

>>18072634
>>18072024
Can't believe I share a board with plebeian like this. Go back to Dan Brown or Stephen King

>>18072780
>>18071006
>>18071054
>>18071604
>>18071791
>>18071813
When I do it, it's 'purple prose' and 'shitty writing.'

>>18072780
>That first line

>>18072852
Because when it's done poorly, it is. Amateurs can't tell the difference

>>18072780
>tfw you discover semicolons

>>18072915
Post examples with explanations.

>>18071415

I usually go over every chapter a couple of times. The whole thing is appeoaching 75k words now and when i’m done it’ll be another run of editing. But i do like polishing each chapter separately. I also tend to read through what i’ve written on a chapter so far, and some editing comes from that. To me it’s a natural process of going over things and i’m not cursed with self hate and actually like what i write

>>18073032
How about instead you read some actual books? The sense of the aesthetic develops through frequent, sustained reading. Joyce, Conrad, Nabokov, Proust, Waugh, Woolf, Sebald. Read them.

>>18073179
Jokes aside, I think I'm just too stupid to write. I get bored when I read aesthetic writing, which is why I want someone to point out the differences to me.

>>18073230
I think it's different strokes for different folks. Nobody is going to be the same. Tolstoy and Dosto are hailed as geniuses but I find them dull. Same with Proust. I love simple, straightforward stories. For that reason I like For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Farewell to Arms. Steinbeck is about as complicated as I like it. My girlfriend loves deep character studies, philosophical fiction, ornate sentences. Okay, fair enough.

Both have a big market. It's pointless saying one is 'better' than the other. Better at what? Are extracts like

>>18073179
>>18072780
>>18070874

Better at being beautiful, evocative, aesthetically pleasing? Yeah. Are they better at telling a story, grabbing and maintaining the attention of a casual reader? No. There are more of those sorts of readers than there are aesthetes. These sorts of novels will receive higher critical acclaim, while simpler writing will make more money. Graham Greene's 'fun' novels made him a lot more money and gained him more renown than his 'serious' novels did. Yet his serious novels were acclaimed and are better remembered today.

These are literally books, after all. There are more important things in life. Having a preference is fine but claiming one style is innately superior to another is meaningless.

>>18072780
Unreadable trash

>>18073293
He says, of one of the most acclaimed modern novels in the English language

>>18073302
There are thousands of novels out there described as "one of the most acclaimed in the English language". You can leave that phrase for bookstore ads.

>>18073331
Okay. I read that page and I feel pleasure. The same pleasure I feel when listening to music of a certain kind, or reading certain poems. Like an elation. It's aesthetically pleasing for me. It's acclaimed because it's had that effect on a very large number of people. Saying you personally don't connect with it is one thing, but insulting it like that is pure ignorance.

>>18073342
>because it's had that effect on a very large number of pseuds
Fix'd. Most people don't even read. Those who do have a very strong need to be validated by their peers, and they seek this by fellating trending authors.

>>18073393
The author himself was reviled in his lifetime. Who are you to say that writing is bad? You have no more or less evidence than me. We simply disagree on the fundamental point that I believe objective aesthetic beauty exists, and that that page is an example of it.

>>18073434
>author dies
>his work suddenly becomes revered by pseuds who want to latch on to a new "hidden" gem
many such cases

>>18073434
Beauty is always a matter of perspective and affinity, and never objective. Good luck trying to prove otherwise.

>>18073440

>>18073132
I like what I write too much. I think I’m too enamored with my own fantasy worlds

>>18072414
I liked where you were going with the last line or two. For an exercise like this, it might be better to stick with something like metaphors and personification to get the war theme across without the out of place descriptions of the barn walls being red as blood. There were some lines that didn't work for me such as the sunrise being dim like sunset (kind of a pointless comparison, just say it was early morning) and the rot bringing joy, etc. Really try to out yourself in the mindset of an old war vet, maybe read some testimonials or watch interviews with them to get an idea of how they describe the battles they were in or what words they choose. Good luck!

>>18073478
how's your writing going mr pseud? getting out all those words, with those dreadful overly convoluted, long descriptions. Hark, the western wind wound its wavering way o'er weeping willows. Winston wistfully wandered through the weald, woeful and wounded, the world withheld. Oh woe!
plot not necessary of course, you're just enjoying the scent of your purple prose. I'm really looking forward to reading it. One day, right?

>>18073569
>bullying toad anon

>>18073558
>I liked where you were going with the last line or two.
Thanks! I'm glad at least two people liked that line, it's my favorite line too. The other lines were just me failing aimlessly: they kind of felt like warmup.

>metaphors and personification
I feel like I overuse them whenever I use them, so I might have to read more.

>barn walls being red as blood.
That makes sense. I thought of it as the old man being reminded of blood, but if I can't mention the old man, it makes no sense.

>maybe read some testimonials or watch interviews with them to get an idea of how they describe the battles they were in or what words they choose
Great advice, but doesn't it stop being a writing exercise at that point? I thought I was supposed to use the tools I already had.

>>18073623
>Great advice, but doesn't it stop being a writing exercise at that point? I thought I was supposed to use the tools I already had.
If you want to do it that way, but it sounds like this prompt is an exercise not only in description but in getting into character. That advice is just something I would do to help me figure out what a warzone might look like in person and how that could bleed into everyday environments. You obviously don't need to go that deep into it.

>>18073440
Imagine not having read brideshead Revisited you utter feckless dilettante

>>18073569
I'll spit in your fucking eyeball and step on you. You're awful.

>>18073670
that sounds like some girly anime i bet you're an anime writer

>>18073665
>it sounds like this prompt is an exercise not only in description
I think it was specifically for descriptions, it shows up at the start of the book. I do appreciate your advice though, once I get a feel for how writing works, I'll be using it.

Out of curiosity, how would you rate the excerpt out of 10?

>>18072414
Overall i really enjoyed it, the scene it sets is both peaceful and hollow.

Your use of contrasting adjectives could be powerful if done once or twice, but it seems like everything is described somehow by its opposite:
>sunrise-sunset
>soft crimson light - cold
>crisp-rotting
>rot-joy

You could also tighten it up
>The rot brought joy; for once the stains were paint and not blood
>For once, the red stains were merely paint.
>Man did not mind the rot; preferring stains of red paint to the alternative.

>>18072604
Lol, from your post I assumed the prompt was given to /wg/ generally by an anon earlier in the thread so i started writing a version (it is really a great prompt).

>>18073795
I’d put it at a 5/10 now, but i think it can easily be edited/cleaned up to an 7/10.

I think 7/10 is the ceiling at the moment because no matter how great your prose, the scene you’re describing has no life. It is ‘a barn’ but i don't know what the barn did or who used it. It’s a prop. You mention the men, the cattle, the oak, even the wind and sun...i’d like to hear them describe the scene from their eyes rather than a narrator.

Any of you been published?

>>18074244
That depends on what you consider as published.

>>18074268
Does this count?

>>18074236
Oh, well. Thanks.

I've posted my writing here a few times, and every time it's been called a 5/10. I don't know where to improve my writing, apart from maybe actually editing the excerpt - but even the edits seem to be rated the same.

>>18074341
18 years old YA fag here. I love what you wrote. There is no objective rating to literature. e/lit/ists will enjoy stuff like >>18070874 which I find to be putting emphasis on impressing the reader rather than informing them. They will have seen the metaphors you've used many times before. You're trying to find something new and "completely orignal" to please the contrarians. The truth is, all cakes are baked with flour and sugar. Innovation is in the organization of the ideas, not the ideas themselves.

>I don't know how to improve my writing
Get feedback from non-e/lit/ists to get a better balanced critique of your writing that corresponds more faithfully to the average reader.

>>18073287
This is a valuable outlook. Literature is art and like all art, it is subjective. Which is "better", dark ambient music or classical music? One is more complex for sure, just like ornate prose is more complex than straightforward storytelling. That does not mean one is better than the other.

>>18074393
Thanks, but I'm here to get feedback from the e/lit/ists. That's my goal, since I have a WIP that needs me to be able to write that well.

I really appreciate your feedback though, from the bottom of my heart. It's nice to know I could have an actual audience that isn't just my mom.

I hate all the words I wrote yesterday. All 5,000 of them.

>>18074445
now that's the spirit anon

>>18074446
The skeleton is okay, but the prose is shit.

>>18074411
>since I have a WIP that needs me to be able to write that well
nope, you're putting emphasis on the wrong thing. you need a decent plot with well written, complex characters. your goal is both to entertain and get what you want to get across. as far as I'm concerned throwing down a 5 dollar word every other word makes the reading experience tedious and unfun. I don't care how well you write, if your plot sucks or the reader hates your characters - and not in a love to hate sense - you failed.

>>18074454
Anon, I have the plot and characters down already. The WIP needs it because of certain themes I'm dealing with.

It might also be a personal thing, but I'm going to pretend I'm secure in my taste in writing.

>>18074454
This. I personally would much rather prefer a badly expressed but creative idea over a polished but ultimately generic idea. This is exactly why boards like /v/ trash on super squeaky clean but streamlined experiences like Hollow Knight but praises titles that take risks and have flaws in the name of innovation.

Same goes for writing. >>18074411 is prioritizing presentation over substance when the latter is clearly superior.

>>18074276
Can't say I know exact numbers. I'd say there are less than a dozen who shared their work on Amazon at least.

>>18074483
Again, I want to express my good ideas in the best way I can, I'm not choosing one over the other.

>>18074512
Bear in mind a lot of writers who want to write the ornate sentences but are incapable will often have a crab bucket mentality and try to drag you down. You do you man. I think these threads are unhealthy, you should produce your draft in isolation and be as true to your own artistic vision as possible. There will always be people who love it and always be people who hate it. Look how polarising >>18070874 has gone. It has like 20 replies, half absolutely love it and think it's amazing, half hate it and think it's overly verbose. But at the end of the day it's generated an extreme reaction, it's garnered all these replies and conversation, and that's a big marker of success in my book. It's completely different to the majority of stuff that gets put out these days, and at the end of the day, it's been accepted for publication by a good literary journal. The kid will probably write novels in that style, and half of readers will hate them and call them pretentious, and the other half will love them and compare him to Joyce (who the former party also hate), but at the end of the day he'll have a novel out there and he'll be a proper writer, not some milquetoast scribe too afraid to take risks, too sensitive to criticism, self-publishing mediocre work with nothing original to say.

Figure out what you want to say, find your voice, and forget about trying to please anyone other than yourself and your own vision - especially not anonymous people on here with zero credentials. You don't see them posting their writing, do you?

>>18074604
Well said.

>you will never write a timeless, landmark, critically praised novel

Feels less than ideal my niggers

>>18074634
lmao sounds like a you problem dude. im gonna get to work and eventually im going to put out something people are gonna like you can have your pity party by yourself hahaha

>>18070759
You should write a story about an English Teacher who is consumed with rage and envy after being surpassed by a more talented student.

He then sets about trying to destroy the student's life through varying degrees of sabotage.

>>18074604
True, I agree with a lot of what you said. But right now, I'm nowhere, and I feel like posting in these threads could at least teach me the very basics of what I should know. Once I'm a little better than beginner level, I'll work in isolation and according to my own style.

>>18074634
Don’t worry, anon, you’re in good company

I’m sure many of the authors who /have/ written timeless, landmark, critically praised novels have still lived their whole lives thinking they never would, either.

Any other Perma NEETS simply have nothing to write about?

I can't even think up stories. I have no life experience.

>>18074660
You will learn far, far more from frequent reading and actually writing than you will from these threads

>>18074675
Jesus fucking Christ, shut the fuck up and write, how hard can it be, you illiterate piece of shit.

>>18074675
Why do people like you even want to write? The only people who should write are those who feel they have something meaningful to say. Otherwise what's the point?

>>18074684
Why the need to be so abusive to me? Even if you dislike what I said, it didn't warrant a response like that.

>>18074705
You do warrant a response like that for asking such an inane question. Next time, keep it to yourself.

>>18074705
Fucking toads LEAVE

How important do you think stratification of your characters is when writing genre shit? I mentioned this in /sffg/ earlier but nobody there wanted to talk much about it. It seems to me like in a lot of successful genre novels, characters are given very definite roles or labels. Society is very neatly broken up into those groups. You've got the houses in Harry Potter (also students/teachers, wizards/muggles,) the families in ASOIAF, things like that. It seems to me like that more than anything else is what allows people to really get invested in a fantasy (or sci-fi, or horror, or etc.) world. Am I correct in thinking that it's critical to the enjoyment of people among the masses, who are known to put a Harry Potter house in their tinder bios, or is it a side-feature that I'm overthinking?

>>18074759
>stratification
can be useful for making things easier to digest for the reader, but its not truly necessary. it's nice for Team A vs Team B stuff
much more important: hierarchy. the wizards/muggles divide, or leader/follower one within houses or teacher/student or whatever. this is much more important.

>>18074759
>or is it a side-feature that I'm overthinking?
yeah

>>18074604
Utterly and unfathomably based beyond the very essence of basedness incarnate.

>>18074726
toads?

>>18074701
Well I feel like I have the desire to create but struggle every time. I used to be really good at writing back in school and have more of an aptitude for it than most other disciplines.

But it's hard to write when your brain is fried from being a shut-in.

>>18074817
I've thought some more about it and I think they serve different functions. Hierarchy's purpose in a story is to cause conflict along the boundaries and drive the plot and character development forward. The goal of stratification would be to develop aesthetics with which people can identify, and that's really what I was thinking of initially. What I left out of my first post is that all members of the groups tend to act the same, sound the same, dress the same - maybe their rank within the strata separates them, but overall there's an aesthetic for each group that's identifiable and, to some of your readers, relatable. Aesthetic variety and consistency is what I'm going to focus on first.

And before anyone Just Writes me for saying all this bullshit, I've already finished a draft.

>>18074848
>he fell for the write what you know meme
Bullshit. Try science fiction, fantasy or horror if that’s more your speed. Pick some common idea and turn it around. If you play /v/idya or watch /tv/ all day then you should have plenty of inspiration.

How about this bros, a novel titled "The Great American Novel" cool gimmick huh hahaha

>>18074963
What do you gain by doing stupid shit like this?

>>18070874
>>18074604

The only two Chads to ever post in /wg/.

>>18074759
I have this in my school story but it's intended as a "fuck you" to HP's version of this. It's divided along racial lines and the competition eventually escalates to blood feuds. It then leaks out of the school and causes problems in the nation as a whole.

Most of the shit in my novel is intended as a "fuck you" to HP, actually.

>>18074759
It’s lazy, but useful.

A reader only gets to spend a matter of hours in a book’s world, in the case of /sffg/ they need to learn how the whole culture works from scratch. Can you imagine trying to explain current world politics to someone in a few hours? Nope, too messy, too full of special cases and contradictions. And so we get the Harkkonens/Atreides, Ravenclaw/Slitherin, Eloi/Morlocks etc. stratification is a device to simplify something messy that could potentially distract from the true message of the story. You can also hang a hat on it, make each a strawman/archetype, but it’s hard to build on a weak foundation (usually involves assuming two groups never intermarry, keep secret knowledge etc).

Also, then you get to make holocaust allusions, readers love that!

I'm working on a harem-lit book, but I want to keep it more lighthearted than most I've read, in which the main character has a very pressing need to get stronger and fuck as many women as possible or there's an in-universe reason harems are acceptable, like the MC is a unique race or there's a huge gender ratio disparity.

My question is: Would people be okay with there not really being a great reason other than the MC is a pretty cool guy? Or does making it just a normal open relationship sort of thing bring it too close to reality and make it feel odd?

>>18075333
Ask /trash/

>>18075344
Oh. They do just have a general writing thread. Maybe I will.

>>18075346
It's slow but that's the kind of thing they write

>>18074157
>Your use of contrasting adjectives could be powerful if done once or twice, but it seems like everything is described somehow by its opposite:
I didn't pick up on that! Thanks.

>You could also tighten it up
Agreed, this wasn't my best work. I'm going to post an edited version using my judgement and the feedback I get from here.

>>18071926
>>"Describe a barn as seen by a man whose son has just been killed in a war (Do not mention the son, war, or death. Do not mention the man who does the seeing.)"

After a long night running free in the dark, dancing across sunburned skin and winding through thicket beard, his tears stilled at the sight of the dawning sun. They crowded together in his deep crowsfeet and looked in awe upon the land: a field of leaves, from horizon to horizon, reached to the sky from their neat furrows.

They were witness to a rare sight. This particular shade of lightest green - nearly golden - hadn’t been seen in this valley for years. The tears were still new to this land of prosperity, so they hadn’t yet learned what any sensible man could take in at a glance, this beautiful amber sea presaged a true tragedy. The entire expanse, weeks past cropping and showing the first signs of wilt, were unsalvageable. Amidst the ruin, the tobacco shed’s vents opened wide, beckoning her children to seek shelter there from the sun. She too, after years of harvest, knew they belonged nestled within her, curing in neat hung rows, crisping in her shade, swaying their thanks as a fresh breeze from her open walls cuts through the thick, sweet air.

The back of his hand streaked through the salt pool gathered at the corner of his eye. Each passing knuckle wicking away more of the tears. Sandpaper skin, hardened by sun and work, greedy for moisture, reduced the crowsfeet to a dry riverbed. Cold breeze rushed to replace warm tears. Watching the sun rising over the shed, used to make his heart sing with pride. This land - rich with sacrifice, fertile with possibility - was a life’s work; a gift to be passed this year into younger hands and a keener mind.

Young hands and minds, however, were needed in far away places for unfathomable purposes. Tobacco valley’s next crop of men were harvested and bundled, hung to cure in the smoke of distant fires. They were stripped and cut and wrapped in sheets, finally to return home again packed tight in their neat little boxes.

I am glad to be getting off lithium. It's been pretty hard to write lately and I think it might be partly why.

Guys could you please give me some good resources for learning the art of Screenwriting?

I don't have what it takes to write novels, but I feel I could write Screenplays as I believe my strength to be dialogue.

Thank you.

>>18076287
McKee's "Story" (structure substance whatever the fuck) is screenwriting-focused. In fact, most writing resources at this point are screenwriting-focused. Go read any of them and then come back with an actual specific topic to discuss.

>>18076287
>has little innate interest in the medium
>just doing it as a fallback plan
why the fuck would I ever want to help you, you passionless, spineless fuck
ooze your ngmi juices somewhere else

>>18076306
I don't know anon, I'll call a would-be novelist who doesn't read a toad any day of the week, but screenwriting is something that might just be a means to an end. If you have a love of film but aren't physically built to be an actor, often the best way to break in from the creative side is to write a script that hits all of the beats and is very producible. It can be done rather scientifically or cynically for money.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/37998/wish-mountain

New chapter is a bit late. It's a really good one that I think will draw readers in more once the word gets out. Waiting on my editor, she works for free, and she has a full plate of edits to do so it's not something that can be rushed.

>>18076399
>It's a really good one
I don't understand how zoomers can handle this kind of blatant self-promotion. Have some humility, please. This is the critique thread, not the advertising thread.

>>18076703
But anon, /crit/ is dead

>exciting story idea
>all my characters are wooden
Is there anyway to bypass mediocre development at the beginning?

>>18076301
Okay I'll pirate it right now thanks

>>18076306
Damn dude why? I thought this was a community of people trying to help eachother get better.

>>18076716
Write the beginning last.

>>18076725
I kinda already started mid way through but that's not a bad idea. Makes sense really.

where and when did the toad thing come from anyway?

>>18076703
>This is the critique thread
What the fuck no this isn't. Stop projecting your dead crit general onto us, please.

>>18076399
/crit/ nostalgiafag has the right intention
fuck off to social media if you want to shill
there's nothing wrong with wanting to live off this shitty garbage but at least use the services designed for garnering attention

>>18076111
:(

>>18074963
>>18074965
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/146487.The_Great_American_Novel

>>18076938
I don't know why you would assume he was making money off of this.

>>18077087
if not then what's the point of shilling shameful shit like this?

>>18077087
Not that anon, but you can make money off donations on RR if you get popular enough.

But that's beside the point. This is a thread for talking about writing. Wishfag never talks about writing, it's just "read my story read my story read my story" all day long

>>18076711
>>18076765

Who even began /wg/? Was it some redditors? It’s a bunch of losers talking about writing and never doing it.

>>18077152
yeah well it's not a crime to talk about writing, this is a discussion forum where we talk about things. i wouldn't say nobody here writes, i do but i don't post because i don't want my work to be associated with this place, that's all.

>>18077170
Then go hang out at a bar with writers or set up a writing workshop and get critiques there. I really don’t see the utility of boasting about word counts and complaining about writer’s block

>>18077181
>DONT TALK ABOUT WRITING IN THE WRITING GENERAL
bro what's your problem lmao, just like close your eyes?

>>18077122
cus he feels like writing a story? Shit, I don't know senpai. Even if it is mindless shilling at least he's posting actual content unlike 99% of posters.

>>18077135
Well, yes, I'm aware. There's no donation on his fiction at all, which is why I asked.

>>18077152
I write and so do a fair bit of others, so I think you're projecting a fair bit. It just seems like the majority don't write simply because they don't share due to reasons like the other poster stated.

>>18077193
>There's no donation on his fiction at all
Not much point asking for any, when you're as popular as a cockroach.

>>18077181
first of all, last time i checked, all bars were closed. second, i live in a non-english speaking environment, the internet a convenient place for me to discuss writing in the english language. different people have different reasons for using internet spaces in different ways. you can't tell people "just go out!". if you don't like it here or "don't see the utility" then leave.

Jesus fucking Christ, just fucking ignore him. Is it that difficult? Why give him the fucking attention.

>>18077219
*the internet is

>>18077216
y'know I expected him to have a decent view to follow ratio than he has since hes clearly a shameless shill
but it's fucking terrible
maybe anime readers aren't so bad after all if they know to avoid this swill

>>18077152
>It’s a bunch of losers talking about writing and never doing it.
Nobody sane posts their work in these threads anymore after the animefag and other schizoids turned them into the mental ward they are today.

>>18077232
>Blaming the Animefag for something the schizophrenic did.

>>18077219
>he lives in a shithole country with no bars open
Silence, Gypsy.

>>18077192
I’m trying to help you retards.

>>18077193
>I write
Bullshit. I bet it’s schlocky trash or fishermananon tier.
>projecting
Already got three publications with one on the way. I just don’t think it’s useful going here. What will help you as a writer: 1) a literary scene that’s IRL; 2) reading literature; 3) writing a poem, story, or chapter each day, while editing later on. Those are basically the only things you need, and you need all of them to be considered even readable.

>>18077235
>implying the animefag isn't a mentally ill tranny
Birds of a feather flock together

>>18077235
The downward spiral is still a fact, no matter which fool started it. I believe the animefag’s stubbornness in being a fag has contributed to the lower quality but there’s no way of proving that (except for looking at how many posts are about discussing the animefag etc as compared to writing)

>>18077242
>I'm trying to help you retards.
and I'm trying to bully you into leaving somewhere that you don't want to be
fuck off idiot
if you come to the thread and see a bunch of dreamy eyed wannabes believing we're all gonna make it you're outta your mind
it's just nice to hang out and talk about writing, have some fun shitposts, share, /crit/ and engage in what some might call general writing discussion

don't be such a stuck up weirdo with idealizations and standards for peoples behavior
people are gonna want to immerse themselves socially in the hobbies they like

>>18077254
Don't you know any words beside tranny? It’s getting tiresome.

>>18077258
/wg/ went on a downward spiral because one anon or a small group of anons made a non-issue about the OP pic and started calling everyone an anime writers.

>>18077275
>writing is a hobby
Yeah. I will leave. You’re a fucking loser who thinks writing, a tradition spanning the advent of the alphabet, and stretching further back into oral tradition, is a mere hobby. It is an age-old art-form or calling. Literally go read more, you homunculus.

>>18077290

>>18077216
That's an insult to cockroaches though because they're actually infamous :^)

>>18077232
>>18077242
I still don't mind sharing my work here and there. I'm not as inclined to shilling it to the extent that the Erased and Mountain posters do, and share only when asked to.

>JK-Sama reached a year workin him his web novel.
Really wished he comes here more often.

>>18077325
but anon, I've literally always been here.

>>18077329
Oh, congrats on reaching one year. Wished you made a post about it.

>that feel when the webnovel you read went from weekly to monthly over the years and now is in the fifth month of its hiatus

>>18077242
>>he lives in a shithole country with no bars open
>Silence, Gypsy.
shut the fuck up, i live in france. get the fuck out of my thread

>>18077337
this is why I plan to finish writing before I start releasing
I don't see why you wouldn't frontload a serial release

>>18077360
>France
Ok, Abdullah Mwisi.

>>18077335
Thanks! To be honest, until you mentioned it, it slipped my mind on commemorating here. But I guess it's better late than never.

>>18077373
And to make things worse, I can't find anything else like it.

>>18077285
sup OP?

>>18077431
>Still calling anyone who disagrees OP
Somethings never changes.

>>18077393
Wish you luck, JK-Sama.

>>18077373
Agree this is the only way. Otherwise the plot could literally go anywhere. If there are consistent releases, your author is pantsing and you are going to be disappointed

>>18077465
*aren’t consistent

>edit while writing
never finish anything, constantly delete and rewrite the first handful of paragraphs

>"just write"
vomit out thousands of words of overwrought garbage, cringe into oblivion, lose all motivation to continue

how do i reconcile this?

>>18077445
You use the same stock phrases and images every time, so identifying you is pretty damn easy, you dumb autist.

>>18077476
Write about 2500-5000 word blocks at a time, print it out, mark it up with corrections but don’t edit on a word processor. Now take it back to your ‘puter and transcribe the story again. Repeat about 3-12 times until it’s perfect.

>>18077476
Imagine your character and just write about them. Can set some instrumentals that are *their theme*.
Then your overwrought garbage will have a direction that can be given clarity.

>>18077476
>how do i reconcile this?
Your first draft will always be shit and that no matter what you tell yourself, you’re going to have to make a second, third, and fourth draft.

Seriously, what is it with people here trying to make the perfect draft the first time they write.

>>18077491
how do i enjoy writing shit?

>>18077482
This is the second time I ever used that pic. First time I used it is when someone else, or maybe you, called me the OP.

>>18077501
Same way you enjoy shoveling dirt in the spring when you prepare the ground for the vegetable garden.

>>18077506
ah, i see.

welp, looks like i will never be a writer then. i have always hated work.

>>18076765
Didn’t someone make a /crit/ thread and shilled it here?

>>18077503
I don't give a shit dude. If you're not solving the problem, then you're part of the problem.

>>18077589
I ain’t the one trying to start shit. Why don’t you follow your own advice.

>>18077487
I don’t have a printer I just use the Track Changes function in word, or the edit suggestion function in google docs

>>18077582
The /crit/ threads don’t work. No one posted their work except Wish Mountain guy and people barely post their work here anyway. No point in splitting this thread in two.

>>18077661
I posted mine, but only /m/ liked it.

>>18077630
I'm not the one who got triggered at being called a tranny and decided to bravely stand up for OP, despite totally not being OP himself. Why don't you finally just kill yourself?

>>18077661
No one wants to split this thread in two. Except some fag who can’t handle the anime pic. I think he even trick some anon to make it.

guys stop fighting

/wg/- whining general

>>18077671
>Try to revise history despite there being an archive.
>Gets called out
>H-he has to be OP.
It’s all so tiresome at this point.

>>18077723
That's not exactly denying it.

>>18077754
the patterns and justifications you invent are only sensible to you
take your meds

>>18077777

>>18077754
You’re like a broken record.

>>18077763
This is practically a confession at this point.

>>18077777
What a waste of 77777

>>18077777
Oh boy, not only do you shit up the thread, you waste perfectly good 77777

>>18077777
Quads of truth. Game, set, match.

>>18077777
AAAAAAH THE DEMONS
THEY SPEAK TO ME IN NIPPONESE
THEY SCREAM AND CRY FOR ANIME
M-MY HAND! IT MOVES ON ITS OWN! NO, NO — THE ANIME TAKES ME! EVEN NABOKOV CAN'T HELP ME WHERE I'M GOING!

>>18077777
You really are a schizo. I thought they were just bullshitting, but damn, this is just sad.

>>18077775
>>18077723
>>18077763
Oh shut up you spergs, no one fucking cares. Just discuss what you are writing and reply to other people who post about their writing.

If you don't like something - don't reply to it. That is how you fitler opinion on the chan boards.

Sure is lots of trannies on today. Don't you have little girl panties to look at?

>>18072414
It's pretty bad, anon

Do some research and read about how people actually react to getting bad news like this

>>18077818
If this was a one time thing, sure, but this has been spanning for multiple threads already.

>>18077513
Then why become a writer.

>>18077847
i have ideas, stories, characters that i desperately want to realise. but i am cripplingly lazy, probably some undiagnosed executive function disorder.

>>18077770
>quoting before the post
Holy fuck, anon you're cool.

>>18077900
Yeah, you're not going to make it?

Is 'Isekai' a cop-out?

>>18077908
correct.

>>18077909
A cop-out of what? Just write your story on how you want it to be.

>>18077690
(That was me)

>>18077948
That trick the anon, or who was tricked?

>>18077956
The one who was tricked.

anyone here writes scenarios or do you all write novels and short stories? am i the only one who wants to learn screenwriting?

I chew three pieces of 4mg nicotine gum a day. Before this, I used to take a 200mg caffeine tablet and a dose of Primatene.

In the US you can buy ephedrine over the counter. Effectively adderall when paired with the caffeine. They don’t sell ephedrine over the counter in Ireland. I just want to be able to focus without having to see a psych.

>>18078055
I think most people here write short stories and novels, very little else.

Thoughts on my lyric desu??

Can you hear the Big Fat Fellows Fernando
I remember long ago another Dublin night like this
On the jetty Fernando
You were humming to yourself and softly jerking my cock
I could hear the quick little merry cracks
And sounds of long windy one calls were coming from afar

>>18078077
a shame, i was hoping somebody would recommend me good books on how to write screenplays, or resources to learn from. well, still, if anyone has a recommendation on how to get started, i'm all ears.

>>18078117
Check the Op.
https://screenwriting.info/

>>18078128
thank you anon! i am retarded and didn't notice.

>>18078187
Yeah, no problem, this is what /wg/ is for. Good luck on your screenplay.

>>18078187
I was wondering if you could answer a question: where do you make screenplays?

Man some people take criticism really personally.

>>18077909
>Isekai
Is that still a thing? I thought LitRpg was replacing that?

>>18078318
Litrpg, or System, does not replace Isekai, or Transmigration. One serves as character progression, another as a premise.

>>18078382
Apologizes, I'm still new to this whole thing. Didn't mean to offend.

>>18078382
>Litrpg, or System, does not replace Isekai, or Transmigration
I agree. In a similar way that piss could never hope to replace shit or cum, litRPG categorically does not serve as a replacement for isekai.

>>18078411
You don’t have to apologize to strangers on the internet, dummy.

I'm a reader but don't know much about writing, though I'd like to start. I've finished a draft of a very short story (~1000 words) and need to reread it to see what I think.

Do you guys reckon you should try to get a few stories under your belt before you start to read about writing theory? Would the theory be overwhelming at this point and useless until I'm writing regularly enough to make it part of my practice?

Also, do any of you keep a journal? Do you feel that it improves your writing any?

Finally, does anyone have any journaling or writing games/challenges/conditions that are good exercises in writing?

>>18073179
>that excerpt
mishima and flaubert were better desu at giving me a boner

>>18077909
It's fine if you're specifically playing up the self insert, escapism, power fantasy thing. Especially self insert.

Its only a cop out if you're just using it as an easy way go get a fish out of water story.

>>18078055
I dabble, I think novels and short stories are more appealing to me because you have complete control over the outcome of your work. With scriptwriting, whether for television or cinema, there are three major aspects which can impact the final product
>writing (your contribution)
>directing (how somebody else perceives your work)
>acting (how well a group of people can portray somebody's interpretation of your work)
Too many factors imo.

>>18078468
From what I've read, escapism and power fantasy is also a major factor.

>>18074244
short stories. one in a fledgling journal, two others in some obscure boomer sites with terrible UI and one of them don't even publish issues. i think about the pistol a lot.

>>18078487
Why not self-publish?

>>18078448
I think you should just write.

>>18078316
I simply don't understand that mindset? Why do they always get so defensive whenever someone critiques their work?

>>18078448
>few stories under your belt before you start to
at the start, nothing taught me more about writing than writing trash without knowing shit and the hurt from getting shit on. it's a great way to start. post it soon.

>>18078506
that is hollow victory

>>18078529
Everything hollow at this point.

New thread.
>>18078533

>>18078522
Yeah I'll post it after I've reread and tidied it up a bit. I'm very sure its a rambling mess.

>>18078548
as all first attempts should be

>>18078521
He's one of the "important people" on that website, I think he grew to love the smell of his own farts. The irony is that if you go poring through his critique history, you'll see that he isn't exactly a fan of the light touch himself.

>>18078316
I bet this guy self-publishes.

>>18078448
Jump into the theory. The worst that can happen is that you'll begin to notice tropes. And start writing.

>>18078483
One of the reasons why I dislike portal fantasies. I find it really unsatisfying. At least Harry Potter had interesting problems, unlike isekai which aims to reset the protagonist and then challenges them in an unfun way.

>>18078577
It’s always the big fishes in little ponds.

>>18078584
It makes me glad that I'm so used to the tone on 4chan. It's given me some pretty thick skin, and the ability to allow other people to be wrong without letting it break my stride. For the most part, anyway. It never feels good when someone actually has a point and is a dick about it, but that's just the nature of human interaction centered around things you care about I guess.

>>18078483
Both are definitely aspects and both are helped by isekai, but both can be done as well or better without ideas too. The self insert aspect is really the key imwith isekai.

>>18078644
Way of life.

>>18078432
Sorry.

>>18078662
>self insert
This is true for almost every genre.