/lit/ - Literature

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
-Calvin Coolidge

No one in /wg/ writes.

>>20625117
I'm writing about a dog and aliens.

Seduce the Captain, poison his drink, escape. The plan was simple enough, yet this was the fortieth attempt. I took another swig of my mead.
"He's going to want to put it in here again," I thought. "It's not like I don't mind, but he could be a bit more gentle. It also helps his member is on the smaller side."
I clenched my buttocks together out of habit or instinct --- I no longer could tell. To my left, a small vial of poison was pocketed inside my pouch wrapped around my waist. To my right, a dagger that immediately would be disarmed the moment I entered the Captain's chamber. It would be a test of endurance. For some reason the Captain enjoyed watching other men molest me before he took his. I never understood it, but it was a small price to pay to get close to him. I pushed my hair back, exposing my neck. My fingers scraped against the bruise I obtained on my latest attempt to take his life. The clothes I wore was perfect for this job, it was easily removable and durable enough it would not tear from the rough grabs and pulls from the soldiers under his command.

I groaned thinking about the wonderous party I will soon participate in. My head lowered on the table as I fiddled around my belt making sure I have all the proper equipment necessary to my plot. It was all there. Perfect. Even the Cloth of Turbins was neatly packed away. I stood up, as the light pink garment draped over my thighs. It was time to celebrate.

I reached the Captain's Quarters twenty minutes early. I watched as his thick brown mustache rustled as his mouth expanded to accommodate his bellowing laugh. His eyelids covered his dark green eyes that I've stared into so many times. The face of my hatred was only twenty feet away. I forced a curtly smile greeting one of his soldiers.

"Esthar, glad you can join us. The captain is with a girl right now."
"A girl?" I asked.
"Yea, he decided he wanted two tonight."

Female. How could he ever contemplate entertaining a female? My blood increased in temperature thinking of this uncertain variable that could derail my plans for death. I never thought of the possibility that the Captain would find pleasure with women. I pondered over the circumstances and realized I was being too harsh. This is merely just a whore to entertain his soldiers. Phillip, the Large One always complained they did all the work and the Captain left them unsatisfied. I scoffed. Besides, I'm the only one the entire regiment knows is able to handle the Captain's fetish. My glutes flexed in anticipation.

"Thank you James. I would like to see Captain Ridley now."
"Right this way."

Captain Ridley saw my face and immediately jumped to his feet. Reassuring. He climbed to the top of his table and gathered the attention of all those around. In his typical roaring voice, he declared for the party to start. Yet, he did not stop. He had one more thing to say.

I know I'm spamming. I genuinely want more feedback. I edited it based on what I got. Protag is now a girl

Has anyone here gotten replies from a query, whether declines or requests or accepts (but not form rejections)?

>>20625117
speak for yourself

>>20625266
"Gentlemen! Our voyage and tribulations have nested us a fine reward. We, the crew of the Lord Vermillion, have reached the town of Powarth. Alas, we are not with all our brothers. Tonight we celebrate in remembrance of those that parted for the skies above. Let us take a moment of silence."

I watched the band of men lower their heads, no doubtlessly many just a facade to mask their true desires and thoughts. Taking a life of another had scarcely crossed their minds, a missing face would soon be forever forgotten by the hours ahead. The smell of the open sea masked the sweat and dirt that emitted from their garments. A disgusting bunch. There Captain Reily spoke once again.

"Men, tonight we have a guest. The beautiful lady Veronica! Of course my good men she is here to please us all! No need for the Cabin Boy tonight --- much apologies Esthar..."

Much apologies? My head cocked to the side deliberating the words that spewed out of that bastards mouth. He dared to replace me with a raven haired whore. I watched as he took her hand and entered his chambers. The door closed. I clasped my dagger tighter, and took a step forward. Stopped. How silly of me. This was not the time. There was no need for such hasty actions that would result in my demise. So I stepped back, adapting to the situation.

The solution was simple. I tapped the top of one of the fifteen casks aboard the ship. I heard a voice erupt amongst the chatter of fools.

"Esthar! You old dog, the mead and wine! Brilliant my boy!"

It was Dorado the Spaniard. Another useless idiot that could not foresee past a single minute of his life. He stood to my side and helped push the cast to the middle of the boat. The cook, Holandu with Moles, equipped with a ladle, poured mugs of mead to us all. I need not tell you about the festivities, it is the same as any celebration we've all experienced.

The nightly hours pressed on as one by one, men took a slumber in any nook or cranny their bodies could lay. Except for two. Myself, and the disgusting Spaniard of rotted teeth and a red patch seared into his scalp. He grabbed my rear. Not pleasurable. I turned toward him and plunged my dagger into his abdomen, never hearing a word he said. He staggered backwards, with eyes awakened by the adrenaline sobering his now dying body. I pulled out the steel and with a swift kick to his fat face, he stumbled backwards and fell overboard. Drips of blood were the only mementos left of Dorado the Spaniard. From there each man would be quickly decapitated by a slice to the neck or disembowment. One by one the gurgle of blood slowed to a single sound coming from the wooden door closed in front of me. My wiped the blood off my hands and turned the brass knob clockwise.

>>20625364
I got one decline that wasn't written by a bot. It came in less than 24 hours from me sending my manuscript and the reason for declining was that my work was the wrong genre.

>>20625117
That's not true since I'm working on my webnovel right now, anon

>>20625117
Then explain F Gardner

>>20625718
That trans NEET with rich parents doesn't write, so much as shit from his fingers.

Day 22 editing
I took the attention deficit pill
Now shitting up chapters into 3-5k word chunks
I feel so intellectually dirty

13th for anime.

>>20625843
What's wrong with short chapters? I don't think it has anything to do with ADHD, since even older books regularly have short/chapters sections. If you've captured the idea of the chapter in one or two thousand words, there's no reason to cram more in there out of a sense of necessity for something needing to be a certain length

One of the biggest challenges with writing - for me at least - is how hard it is to know whether you're on the right track. It's just a hobby for me, so I haven't had the opportunity to go to a university where I get to have classes where I constantly get feedback and direction on what to do better.
I've written on and off for about 6 years for anywhere from 0-2 to 6 hours a week. While I'm certainly much better than when I began, I still get the heavy sensation that I'm just walking in circles and barely improving.
Anyone else feel similarly?

>>20625905
yes it's like lifting, you taper off, law of marginal returns

What do you guys think of the first chapter in my Fantasy story?

https://litter.catbox.moe/mgd0yl.pdf

I had apprehended the bourne of indivisibility's yields. This condition had been presaged a mere month ago. It had come to me by way of my dawn's crepuscular fulgur. Now I lay before the opaque vestiges of a most serene realm. I sought to behold the preternatural symphony as it erupted from the veil's seams. The embers shone resplendent and invited my gaze unto their flaming speckled hues. I took a few cautious steps towards the edge of space and came to know then of the reckless cause which had most recently lead me astray. Fortune had thus dispensed her shares.

R8

>>20626060
Why did you have to plague /wg/ with that horrendous writing

>>20626060
I honestly have no idea what you're writing.

>Catching the ideas that indivisibility broight. I known this a month ago at twilight. Now I see clearly, I sought to find the beauty in the world, as I watched some coals burn. I walked toward a cliff and luckily Fortune saved me.

That's what you wrote in a more workman's prose. And it makes absolutely no sense.

At this point I'm tired of reading litrpg, hard sci-fi, borefests that tries too hard to be deep and anything with western undertones. I just want giant robits at war, real fucking simple.

>>20626131
>im tired of reading hard sci-fi
>please give me a story about giant robots at war

>>20626155
what I meant by that is the very VERY hard scifi that borderlines to 40k and shit like that. It's too boring and had few robot action.

>>20626217
also stories similar to Star Trek are included there. They are just boring. I want robots piloted by child soldiers smashing space colonies with beamspam.

>>20626298
Hello /m/.

Woke up to another 5/5 on my webnovel. Gunna make it, one chapter at a time

Today, I choose writing.

What happened to Buckpseud and Boswell? I miss that rivalry. Every 80 post argument we've had since has been boring.

>>20626729
>Bucksneed
I've been taking a break from /wg/. Still writing. If your arguments are boring lately, it's probably because everyone left to argue with is boring. I may be many things, but being boring and inarticulate isn't a criticism anyone's ever leveled at me. That's why I'm gonna make it, regardless of what the rest of you might think of scattered, hundred-word excerpts from a much, much larger work.

>>20625364
I sent queries out June 1st and mid-June, I haven't received even a rejection from any of them yet. I guess summer really is just extremely slow.

Did any of you guys start out as talentless shit writers but later became good enough to write the premise you wanted in a way you were happy with?

>>20626741
Idk if you've answered this before, but why the name Bucksneed? Whenever I hear that name I picture a brolic gay black man in overalls and a red hat.

>>20626747
No, I became a talented enough writer to realize my initial stories were fucking shit premises.

>>20625905
It can be really hard. Best thing to do is to get beta reader feedback, and even then it's hard. After a while you'll start to notice which readers are braindead ("how can he speak while shoving a chip down his throat") and which are valuable (you're not painting a literal image, the guy is talking with his mouth full, they'll give more meaningful feedback elsewhere). At the end of the day it's an art like any other and so it's subjective, best to just write what you want with confidence. Though, you do switch between crisps and chips so you should just pick one. Otherwise, what you shared is pretty solid. I wonder though if it should actually be said "I'm still a bad person" or if it should be shown elsewhere, it just doesn't feel like natural dialogue to me.

>>20626759
>a brolic gay black man in overalls and a red hat
I might steal this. And nobody ever asks, really. Everyone just assumes. It's mostly a reference to an internal conception of "Sneed" itself, and in the ways it came to be used. I'm pretty fascinated by not the nature of nonsense but the experience thereof—the external appearance of order and structure that drops away to chaos upon examination. The way our little culture grew to use Sneed became to me like a shortcut to a dead end. Sure, ostensibly it's a reference to a Simpsons joke, but its use became an endless obfuscation whose significance was always implied beyond the simple joke, but was always strictly implied. It became to me something like a totem, an attempt to immanentize the unknowable. I love nonsense and unknowability. I'm fascinated by the simultaneity of seeming and being. Intuition over sense; art over reason.
>I can't Sneed
Sneed, to me, is more than just a little in-joke. It's a major apex in this cultural movement of which I've been a part for over half my life now, at 33 years old. It means something to me. Something.

The "buck" part is another can of worms entirely, but it's also tied up in this "fungibility of the unknowable," kind of half-baked epistemological musing I've got brewing around in my creaky old brain.

>>20626795
I regret asking.

>>20626848
I'm sure.

>>20626741
>I may be many things, but being boring and inarticulate isn't a criticism anyone's ever leveled at me.
I wouldn't exactly say either of you are entertaining. It's more the fact that the two of you form this dynamic duo. You act as each others foil and it creates a show that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Boswell is an autistic (in the bad way) brandosando impersonator who word vomits 170 pages per month and still doesn't understand basic grammar rules.
You are an overcompensating pseud who has made every excuse in the book for his own failings. These excuses have run so deep that you genuinely believe that only a hack would even attempt to make money in writing. Every excerpt met with ridicule, even in the one place you feel you can let your eccentricity run free.
Both of you feed off of each others failings and your egos fatten after each exchange.

I mean, look at this >>20626795
I can just imagine Boswell, his hands wrapped in a nest of his own pubic hair as he attempts to pleasure himself to the idea of owning you, something you've made quite easy with such a masturbatory and unaware post. Boswell, would ,of course, screw up this retort. Comedy would ensue.
It writes itself.

>>20625111
What could I use as inspiration for a romance story I'm writing featuring a human male and an alien female?

>>20626795
>tfw same age and thus contemporary with B.Sneed
Best timeline.

>>20626870
>failings
Have I failed in posting a first draft of an in-progress work without context? Even if I have, do these failings imply a future failure? I think the answer to both of these questions is "no." I've never claimed to be anything other than what I am in this precise moment.
>you genuinely believe that only a hack would even attempt to make money in writing
This has never been anything but a reduction I've gotten tired of correcting. One last time, my point has always been about perspective and approach. So much of the time, writing seems to be no more than a means to an end. To the advertise-yourself crew here, it's almost like the writing is a hurdle you have to get past in order to have a product you can then market to become an "entertainer" and have a career.
>something you've made quite easy with such a masturbatory and unaware post
I'm sincere. I don't believe in couching audacious ideas in simpering irony. Every time I confront the ways in which I'm different than others, there comes less and less sensitivity to it.
>Every excerpt met with ridicule
And herein lies the genuine, unintentional irony. Over the years I've posted a bunch of other excerpts, short stories here, that have been complimented. Granted, they have nothing to do with Bucksneed. You have no way of knowing that, of course, and your first instinct will be to deny the possibility. You'll think I'm lying to gain the upper hand in an internet argument.

None of it matters anyway. At the end of the day, I'm going to keep on writing, keep on trusting myself, and I'm gonna make it. Every time I put myself out there and share the pieces of writing I'm least sure of and the pieces in which I have the least confidence, it gets a little easier and hurts a little less. I no longer need praise for parts I'm sure are good. I need attacks on the most objectionably-written sections to see what holds and what doesn't.

>>20626795
That's a far more cogent response than I expected. You've clearly put a lot of thought into the symbolism of your names / writing and the philosophy thereof, and I hope one day it comes to fruition. Godspeed, Bucksneed.

>>20626920
This is exactly what I'm talking about.
All we need is Boswell to turn this into an 80 post argument and I'll have some wonderful background noise for my writing.

>>20626930
>I hope one day it comes to fruition
It probably won't, but thank you fren. I go into this endeavor in full cognizance of the fact that I'll probably fail. Best of luck to you as well, and godspeed.

Now this is one of them peculiuh bucks..

>>20626874
Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars

>>20625905
I don't think that a university education would help necessarily. Even the coveted MFA program where you do nothing else but get together with other leading writers and critique each others work, is pedagogically useless since the instructors have a tremendous incentive (in the form of your tuition) to pull their punches. The truth is that the great writers of the past did not study creative writing in university but rather the humanities (literature or history or philosophy). Yet, in our modern age all the resources for such an education are readily available online. It is not difficult to find entire semesters' worth of recorded lectures on youtube on works of great literature or on philosophy or history. The books they reference are also freely available (even the copyrighted ones, if you're so inclined--though the best books are already in the public domain).

There are basically only two ways to get better at writing: one is effortless but requires time, the other is fast but requires tremendous effort. Neither require a university education. The first way is just to read as many books as you can. This is the way the great majority of the writers of old learned. They read volumes of literature, poetry, drama, history, philosophy etc. and picked up the craft by osmosis. The second way is by dissection and imitation of a few selected masterworks in the genre you wish to write. This is hard work, but I suspect many more authors in the past have done this than are willing to admit. Stevenson wrote about it in one of his essays. DFW talked about it in one of his interviews. Ben Franklin, Hunter S. Thompson, etc. There's a book called "Image Grammar" in which a high school/middle school teacher tries to utilize these imitation techniques to teach his students how to write. The results are staggering. Not only because of the final quality of the writing, but because of just how much the students improve from their initial efforts.

Looking at your pic, I would first ask you to identify a book you have read that most closely resembles the genre and content of your story. If you can't easily answer this, then that's where you should begin. That book will serve as the source of feedback and direction that you're seeking, something far more specific and actionable than anything a university instructor could provide. With some analysis, it will show you exactly how to handle the problems of exposition, dialogue, description, narration, interior monologue, action, structure, etc. specific to your genre. Take a look at this for an (extreme) example: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17ojxsktBZeHhsVUICx01BnneNgP0xySnHqrxldbfygQ/edit

>>20625266
>>20625484
You use "I" too much to start your sentence. It feels like im reading a list of actions.

>>20627108
(even the copyrighted ones, if you're so inclined--though the best books are already in the public domain)
Alt+0151 on the numpad to create an em dash. —

best text to speech platform?

>>20627177
i just use the free one that comes with windows
the best text to speech ap is amazon's, but you'll pay a monthly sub for it

>>20625993
>To my right, a dagger that immediately would be disarmed the moment I entered the Captain's chamber.
Could do without "immediately", and "Captain's" could be simplified to "his".
>I clenched my buttocks together out of habit or instinct ---
Either omit "habit" or "instinct".
>My fingers scraped against the bruise I obtained on my latest attempt to take his life.
"Obtained" seems awkward here. How about succeeding it with sustained, endured, suffered, etc.?
>I groaned thinking about the wondrous party I will soon participate in.
May I suggest supplanting "participate" with partake?
>The clothes I wore were perfect for this job, it was easily removable and durable enough it would not tear from the rough grabs and pulls from the soldiers under his command.
Run-on, and I believe "it" is to be plural in relation to "clothes".
>I watched as his thick brown mustache rustled as his mouth expanded to accommodate his bellowing laugh.
Perhaps replacing "expanded" with widened, creased, or broadened would more suffice. Not entirely sure to be quite honest.
>His eyelids covered his dark green eyes that I've stared into so many times.
Replacing "stared" with either gazed or glared may be more decisive. Just a thought.
>My blood increased in temperature thinking of this uncertain variable that could derail my plans for death.
Sounds rather awkward, particularly the "increased in temperature" part. Perhaps supplanting that part with heated, sweltered, or went feverish would have the sentence flow better. "for death" could be omitted, since the audience is aware beforehand that the protagonist is attempting to assassinate the Captain.
>I never thought of the possibility that the Captain would find pleasure with women.
Remove "of the possibility that".
>I pondered over the circumstances and realized I was being too harsh.
Just a thought. Perhaps embedding a comma between "circumstances" and "realized" would expose the sentence to more tension/dramatic emphasis.
>This is merely just a whore to entertain his soldiers.
Omit "just".
>Thank you James.
Insert comma between "you" and "James".
>Captain Ridley saw my face and immediately jumped to his feet.
How about: "Seeing my face, Captain Ridley jumped to his feet"?
>He climbed to the top of his table and gathered the attention of all those around.
How about: "Him climbing the top of his table gathered the attention of all"?
>In his typical roaring voice, he declared for the party to start.
The "typical roaring voice" part sounds awkward. How about: "In a bellow, he declared initiation"?

Take these with a grain of salt if must, as they may come across as nit-picky. Just helping an anon out with page one.

>>20627230
What the fuck? Grammarly subscription paying ass nigga

>>20627230
Thank you anon. I see the errors. I'm hoping he comes off unhinged.
>>20627262
Not the writer. This is a shit poster trying to cause drama.

>>20626935
Where's the anon reviewing his book. Did he give up?

>>20627108
Effort posts like this are the unsung value of these threads. I agree regarding the learning methods although I certainly fall into the "learn by reading category". But I've found mapping your form to one or two key works just mentally can be a great way to model form.

The only item I would add to this learning model is that both benefit from rewriting/editing some early work to a shine as a learning experience. So many noobies I see here throw up their rushed out first draft, eager to get on with finishing the whole damn book ASAP. When they do take feedback on board they often incorporate it as lightly as possible - tacking updates onto the existing work without considering the piece holistically. At least for me as a beginner, it was through deep edits and rewrites of a single 2k word piece that I learned the most (also applying your earlier principles).

Regarding MFAs I also generally agree they are nice but don't offer irreplaceable value except for the probably large networking benefit for attending.

>>20627331
We may need another anon to undertake the grueling task.

>>20627342
Effort is not quality, you are a pseud.

>Effort is not quality, you are a pseud.

>>20627407
No, but the more effort one puts into something the more it's likely he will improve at it. Writing is no exception. To say effort =/= quality is fine and true when taken at face value, but very short sighted.

>>20626747
I don't think I've ever been a talentless, shit writer. My mom has this massive collection of stories and comics I wrote as a kid, and the stuff I wrote when I was 5 is shit if you compare it to adult writing, obviously, but it's damn good for a five-year-old. Plus, I've received an A+ in literally every single Language Arts, English, Composition, and Creative Writing class I've ever taken, and I've never scored below the 99th percentile on reading comprehension tests. Also got a perfect score on the English portion of the SAT.

As an American how can I write today when women are being oppressed?

I had apprehended indivisibility's bourne. This condition had been presaged a mere month ago. It had come to me by way of my dawn's crepuscular fulgur. Now I lay before the opaque vestiges of a most serene realm. I sought to behold the preternatural symphony as it erupted from the veil's seams. The embers shone resplendent and invited my gaze onto their flaming speckled hues. I took a few cautious steps towards the edge of space and came to know then of the reckless cause which had most recently led me astray. Fortune had thus dispensed its shares.

>>20626729
Bucksneed is the seething schizo pseud?

Finished chapter 15 and an as yet unnumbered chapter. Up to 78k words. One of my test readers was really impressed by the unnumbered chapter, and I'm very proud of it as well.
Some days it feels like I'm going to make it.

>>20627902
What's your story about anon?

>>20627914
Two people with opposite religious beliefs shifting positions. The atheist finds God and is born again, the Christians abandons faith and becomes an atheist.

>>20627896
If you truly think women are being oppressed, then don't write at all.
We're drowning in woke crap as it is.

>>20626742
they usually take up to 3 months, zoomer

Question for a buddy cop dynamic.

I noticed in every scenario with them there's the good cop who's autistically obsessed with the job and his only true weakness is his naivete, and the "bad cop" who has in every aspect in his life given up on the world, either from a traumatic past or he's simply seen too much shit. Is there a way to make this dynamic work if both cops are dedicated to their jobs to an unhealthy degree? Even with different personalities will they still seem too similar?

Any help & other opinions on this, as well as crime lit in general, are greatly appreciated.

>>20627483
You have a point. However, you posted a very unpleasant picture, so you are going to be tormented for eternity in the afterlife. Sorry about that.

>>20627858
>>20627724
>This is easily the most perceptive observation you've made so far.
I'm inexperienced with your style of writing, and considering where we are, forgive my assumption of you being a troll. However, I do stand by that you are playing a character, and doing so very well. Even if it is not too far removed from who you are off the screen, everyone in life is playing a character to some degree.
>>20627731
>This be the gist
>>20627754
>It emulates your existence.

Your vocabulary is astounding, but the piece lacks depth. Contemplating existence ultimately is rather hollow. I don't mean this insultingly, but its the truth that young people (people who are inexperienced with life) are the only ones who find depth in such things. Anyone who has not sheltered themselves with religion or some other lifestyle that keeps their mind comfortable will at some point experience an existential crisis. It can have some meaning, but at least to me it is hollow because there will never be any real answers.

Instead of that, use your vocabulary to express something with true meaning. A real life experience. Have you ever had your heart broken? Lost someone you loved (really loved)? Fallen in love? Been crushed by loneliness? Moved to tears by a stranger talking about their life? Watched a loved one fall to addicting? Experienced addiction yourself?

If you have had such experiences, try writing about those. If not, then wait until you've lived a little more and actually have something to say.

Best of luck to you, you verbose bitch.

What would you say to someone who wants to write but is "too busy" to write?

Martin wiped the sweat from his brow with a blue towel, those generic ones you got in the school toilets that would jab your nostrils if you weren't careful. He slicked it off his skull and threw the towel carelessly in the direction of the bin, it nearly missed.
"Hey, Martin! Hurry the fuck up and move those mattresses!" yelled Stephen Dobberson, the fat owner of the furniture store. He was impatient and annoying. Still, at least he had a job. He was twenty six now and the aches and pains had already began to settle in and make themselves at home. A life time of burrowing into the rows of fat and flesh. He'd had dreams, once. He'd been a big fan of video games and pro wrestling since he'd been a wean, but instead of power slamming an opponent for the title, he was slamming mattresses into the back of a van for minimum wage.
After his shift was over he walked down the road to the bus stop to use his return ticket for the trip home. The bus was almost full and no one wanted to sit beside him because his puffy bouncer jacket took up a seat and a half, and he suspected he stank from moving items of furniture all day. At least the view out the window was good. There was the big tesco and KFC. They'd built a Costa there as well now. Maybe the view wasn't that great but still the sky shone with those soft hues of grey and bright sun after rain.
The bus stopped at the end of the car park. This was the most annoying part of the trip, which made him wish he walked his meaty way home instead of sit on a bus. It was already full and yet the driver insisted filling it up to max capacity. The gas was used up, only fart and BO remained. In the not so great beyond his house lay, in a broken down street full of dust and rubble, bent lamp posts and uprooted hedges. Home sweet home.
"oi" said a female voice, "budge!"

>>20628094
Martin turned his chins up at the voice as it seemed to be directed towards him.
"who, me?" he said abruptly, temporarily pausing his next dip into the doritos he'd been munching.
"who do you think ya gimp? Move, ah need a seat."
It was Stace Spaceraiderson. She had a hand buried deep into her puffer jacket with fake fur rim, and the other carrying a farm foods bag. Martin, the forever consumer of goods from farmfoods, gave it a quick scan from his peripheral. Waffles, Chinese curry sauce, chunky chips, capri sun.
"stoap peeking at my bag you daft cunt" she smiled.
Martin, although a large man, shifted his glance away. Despite his mammoth frame and way of throwing around his weight, women, made him feel timid and weak.
"um.. Um sorry."
"a wis just joking you melt. How's you. Been a while?"
Martin decided to tell her the truth but lie by omission. It was always the same. I'm doing this, I'm doing that. But he'd leave out the rest : depression, fear. Not wanting to wake up in the morning and too scared to go asleep at night. That's not the kind of stuff you tell a lassie on the bus anyway, he'd argue. His life did seem boring without those details though. He'd written down his CV once and it was the grimmest experience he'd ever had, his life reduced to a page.
"I'm working up at the hospital, I've actually got the weekend off" she said, bobbing her head around with wreckless abandon despite not describing in particular depth, yet powered up with enthusiasm and emotion. There was a tendency of girls in this town to act as if they were acting main character in their own stage play, I suppose we all are really. "my stoap is roon the corner, wanna come clubbing tonight, it is Friday you know. Here's ma num."
She hopped off the bus and lit a cigarette, the menthol smoke drafting in through the door flaps and into Martin's nostrils, he wanted a go at her flaps. He glanced around excitedly expecting other people to have noticed and to pat him on his back at his first successful exchange with a female in what must have been five years. All he saw was an elderly man holding his walking stick and staring ahead at the front of the bus, and a coughing wifey.
The afternoon sped up faster than Usain bolt on an airport conveyer belt and soon it was nine pm. Martin had decided not to eat because he wanted to fit into his best pair of trousers, that weren't stained by paint from the work he'd been doing on the kitchen for his mum Kerry. He didn't want people to think it was cum. And he knew that any alcohol he would drink would hit his blood stream faster, so he'd avoid any awkward scenarios.

>>20628050
Tell them to spend less time on image boards and to keep a pen and a notebook in the bathroom so they can jot things down on the john.

>>20628050
I would tell them to improve their time management or give up something they can afford to. I gave up video games and constantly listening to the news (now I only check on news with a limited time frame and slot it into a reading session if it's salient to my writing.)
I have heard some authors spend less time with their family, even their children, their friends, all kinds of things. They may not be easy choices to make. Some burdens you can let down but if you truly care about something, you can't let it go completely especially if you still have to work. It is the same with people who find it to busy to go to the gym. Adults have many responsibilities but you can condition yourself to handle so much more.
Read one short story a day, no more than an hour, then write for an hour or two. Ideally your sessions should go by word count but go easy on yourself if you are pressed for time. Diligence plays a key role. A year or two of consistent reading and writing, even a little bit, will net you something to be proud of I'd hope.

>>20628050
half of writing is thinking about what to write
do the thinking part at work
write it down when you come home

>>20628050
A friend of mine says he has no time to write or read and then smokes a bowl and plays video games every night. So, some people need to adjust their priorities, but if they're genuinely busy they might have to make some sacrifices even if it means they can only write on Sundays at a certain time, or whatever. They might have to schedule it in, tell their family/friends to leave them alone, but make it their Writing Time.

>>20628050
if you want it enough there's always time, unless you work in a chinese sweatshop

>>20628050
It's not about having time it's about making time.

>>20626870
>seething about 2 writers
>hasn't written a line of prose in his life
peak estrogen

I completed three chapters today, each from a different novel project I have going on. This is a stupid goddamn idea to be juggling like this, but hey it's progress.

Tomorrow they all get put on hold to do something properly productive for my webnovel.

>>20628685
Na that's what I do. I usually keep it at 2 projects to be my main focus at any one time and then several others I poke at as often as it feels right.

>>20628119
>says he has no time to write or read and then smokes a bowl and plays video games every night.

Depends on how hard his job is. My old job left me mentally drained enough I couldn't write with any consistency. I could once in a while, but getting into a rhythm where words were coming out every single day was impossible.

>>20625993
>https://litter.catbox.moe/mgd0yl.pdf

Very good first draft anon. Glad you realized the protagonist was the cabin boy.

As the other anon said you have to learn to write without doing everything in terms of "I". For example, you have written, "I watched the band of men lower their heads..."

You don't have to watch anything. It's implied that you are watching, hearing and listening to everything. You should simply say "The band of men lowered their heads."

Simply fixing all the "I" issues in your story will improve it by an order of magnitude, and that should be your first task.

Other feedback can wait.

>>20626060

This text deserves to be immortalized.

I sense that there is a meme here...

>Google a potential title to make sure it isn't taken
>first result is the Wikipedia page of a serial killer who died of autoerotic asphyxiation
Coincidentally I needed a good antagonist for the piece.
Inspiration can come from the strangest places.

>>20628050
you have time to write unless you are poor with 4+ children

>>20628105
>even their children, their friends,
Well I'm in luck then.

>>20625890
i write to convey a point or narrative with underlying themes sprinkled throughout whilst developing characters.
To forcibly halve the chapter in the midst of such pursuit because some misdiagnosed fucktard hasn't had their big pharma fix is degrading.

>>20625111
Are there any books on writing good erotica?

>>20629529
"situations like breeding—in which a male character hopes to impregnate a female character to trap her in a relationship—have seen an increase in popularity recently."

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/69454-the-indie-authors-guide-to-trends-in-erotica-and-erotic-romance.htm

wtf?

Rate this short fiction I wrote which author would you say it is too closest in style?


I'm in a room full of clocks with designs from across all sorts of ages.
The clocks are frozen all on the same time but I hear a ticking somewhere haunting me,
I search through mounds of clocks which are stacked like small mountains but futility I can not find the source of the noise

>>20629714
The house with a clock in its walls.
>>20629709

23k words, aiming to 40k. Gotta start the changing point for the mc and then I'm in strange waters cause I have no idea what's going to happen.

>>20629735
>writing before you know exactly what is going to happen
Can none of you map out the basic structure of a novella in your head before you start writing?

>>20629709
>my fetish is getting popular
>when abortion is banned
>still hate kids and dont want any
forbidden fruit so sweet-smelling, oh apple of eden

>>20629755
I normally have an idea I want to play with and then I make the scenes/characters to go with it. I only planned the first half - Palahniuk said that he only plans until the end of the second act so the readers are just as thrilled as he is by the big reveal. I'm trying that.

>>20629774
That seems like more of a gimmick than a technique.

>look at project for 2 days
>decide it's still too big for me
>might sideline it again and work on something else
ugh

Oh cool, royalroad gives you an achievent when you make it to the top 2500

>>20630079
There's probably one for being in the top ten as well. Keep climbing.

>>20630147
I post regularly and have a backlog to keep interruptions at bay. Unfortunately, twice a week is as much as I can manage while also building up a stock of manuscripts to self-publish to Amazon.

I've got a plan to do a burst week in August, going to add a mini arc to the start of my story to better ease people in and get them hooked. I'm also just a better author than I was a year ago, so my better writing will draw people in better, right?

>>20630175
>I'm also just a better author than I was a year ago, so my better writing will draw people in better, right?
Likely not. The vast majority of people are going to start at the very beginning and will never see the progress you've made.
Maybe contact Boswell or J.K Sama or another RR author here and have them leave you a review that says it improves as it goes along.

>>20630183
Anon, you can change the order of chapters. I mean to spend a week uploading a sort of prologue arc and slotting it to the beginning.

>>20630175
If you've been working on a novel for over a year and it's just now breaking the top 2500, I think I'd advise starting a new project with your improved skills. Moving up in the ranks becomes harder the older your story is. Most readers also aren't going to make it through all of the early chapters to see your improved writing, like the other anon said.

There's no shame in starting a new project. I use RR as more of a practice to get to the point where I can traditionally publish novels, so my view on that may be a little different than other people here.

>>20630203
I sat on the opening for 6 months before I put it up on RR, so it's not THAT bad. I'm also loathe to drop a story that's at 4.91/5

Okay I have drafts of the first few chapters of the book I've been working on. They definitely need to be revisited, and I think the prologue and first chapter are nearly irredeemable dogshit. But I think I might as well see what other people think. It's a low fantasy story about a succession war.
https://litter.catbox.moe/zrwtg6.pdf

>>20630209
Rating is honestly not that significant without a high volume of reviews to back it up, but yeah I understand why you wouldn't want to drop it

>>20630229
16 ratings, a few of which are reviews attesting to the sharp increase in quality. And I got completely burned by writathon, because I did jump genres and did daily uploads for a month and got glossed over by the masses. But again, 4.86/5 ain't bad.

Eventually I'll have to roll the dice with litRPG though.

This is largely about a guy who falls into a sinkhole and has a bunch of weird/absurdist adventures trying to find his way back to the surface world

>>20628756
Thank you anon. I rewrote it by removing a majority of the I did X.

Strange how the story went from a cute girl assassin to a homosexual serial killer. I think I'll try to make the gender ambiguous.

Is an MFA ever worth it? I have professional experience as a magazine editor, I want to know if this will mean absolutely anything.

>>20630244
Not too bad. Have you tried playing the forum game yet? I got a lot of reviews back when I started out just by being active in the community and advertising via my signature.

That said, I haven't been active on RR for the past year due to a lot of stuff in life getting in the way, so I don't know what the current landscape is like. Working on a new project now to get back into things

>>20630280
I started posted there this week again. I was active during writathon, but again it did nothing for me as far as I'm aware.

How do you lads structure your writing when you're not sure how to start a chapter or scene? I usually write the very basic elements down then write three or four times before moving on and saving expansion for after I've finished the chapter, or sometimes even the second draft. Is there a better way of doing this, is this more or less what you do?

>>20625266
>It also helps his member is on the smaller side."

It doesn't help the story that his member is on the smaller side. If it's small, that reduces the tension, the fear, the anticipation.

If the poor lad is going into the scene with his buttocks clenched, the captain had better be huge. It has to be so huge that maybe they decided on that basis alone that he would be the captain of the ship.

You could also mention how the captain makes him climb up the mast to the crow's nest like twenty times a day. This will let the reader imagine how firm and tight those buttocks must be. So when the final scene comes they can imagine how those firm tight buttocks and the captain's huge mast come together for the splitting climax.

>>20630054
It happens anon. I've learnt to combine ideas more to stop producing more projects than I can handle. If that doesn't work I just start writing, getting bogged down in outlining can make you procrastinate more than you should. Even if it's terrible, start writing and once you have words or scenes to play around with you'll have more fun with it.

>>20630320
>If that doesn't work I just start writing, getting bogged down in outlining can make you procrastinate more than you should
Yep, there are countless "writers" who spend years outlining their novel and then never even start it. It's far better to start writing when you have some idea of the structure/characters and where it's going and see where it takes you, rather than keep putting it off and never working on it. There has also been plenty of times where I couldn't figure out how I wanted a particular plot point to go until I was actually working on writing it, or I got to that point and figured out that something I had planned just wasn't going to work anymore.

>>20630333
Personally I've had an outline in my head that I keep going back to and have for years. It's really hampered just writing and I need to take this advice.

>>20630273
Any MFA is helpful or needed if you want to teach.

>>20630339
I think many of us started out that way, who didn't get into writing by first coming up with an idea, then forming somewhat of an outline? If not everyone, it at least plagued me for a while. When you realize that you're not so much writing but rather daydreaming when focused entirely on your outline, you'll quickly see what you need to change. Figure out how to get over that hurdle and you're away. Best of luck anon.

>>20630339
I dated a girl that had been outlining her first novel for 10 years. That was four years ago and I know for certain that she still has not started it. Start working on it today if you can. The first paragraph is always the hardest one to write

>>20630267
>Strange how the story went from a cute girl assassin to a homosexual serial killer.

I think a cute twink assassin is a winning formula. He doesn't have to be entirely homosexual either. Surely there will be cougars and girls after him too and this provides plenty of opportunities for more adventures.

>>20630339
When you've sat down to write something, turn the telly off. Music is alright, but not talk back radio or anything which will grab your attention too much.

>>20630362
>The first paragraph is always the hardest one to write

That's why you should skip it.

I often go back and write the opening of the chapter after the rest is done. Sometimes it turns out that no opening is needed!

>>20630362
>>20630376
>The first paragraph is always the hardest one to write
I don't ever skip it, but rather write something slightly ahead of it, then go back and write a placeholder paragraph unless I spontaneously come up with something quite good. Save the perfectionist for subsequent drafts.

>>20630394
perfectionist mindset*

>>20630376
I've been skipping around through my book writing chapters after I wrote some really bad early ones. I need to come back to those and start making the whole thing more cohesive.

>>20630369

It also inherently has more dramatic potential since he can seduce either male or female victims in order to accomplish his goals.

And everything he went through on the ship, all of that rough treament on a daily basis, means he can stomache quite a bit and could be willing to go all the way with the most disgusting, vile, decrepit villains, outlaws or sheriffs in order to finally put a dagger through their hearts. This kind of situation is full of dramatic tension and should not be dismissed. The reader even while they retch, will not be able to stop reading.

>>20630426
>>20630369
You guys really think this story has potential?

>>20625709
What's the premise, anon?

>>20630451
Sword art online but with more traps.

>>20630451
Apocalyptic fantasy novel where the denizens of the last great bastion of light/humanity have to find a way to turn the tide against a fallen god and his corrupted legion. Loosely Arthurian, and written in a Gothic/Baroque style similar to Gormenghast

Just had the best outlining season I've ever had. This morning I didn't have a single thought related to it and was working on an entirely different book, but two hours ago I was suddenly struck with inspiration and everything started flowing out from beginning to end. Plot, characters, every twist and red herring, every scene transition, and even foreshadowing for parts I didn't know were going to happen at the time. Hell, it sets up character dynamics and an arc for a potential sequel. It's not a bullet point list with scattered notes the way I usually outline either. It was like I was suddenly being compelled to write a wikipedia summary for a movie I'd watched once a week for the past decade and knew by heart. I still feel electrified. It was nearly a religious experience.

>>20630817
Aren't "flow states" great?
They are, indeed, quasi-religious.

how do I write poetry?

How do you guys outline your plot?
I have the premise for a story with a bullet point list of every ideas I want to implement and the very basic plot and setting outline, but I struggle to develop them in detail without being overwhelmed .
I don't really know where to start , like I struggle to make a character sheet because I don't know his backstory or his relation with other characters yet, which in turn need me to expend on the world building to write, worldbuilding who is meaningless if it doesn't have characters to live in...
I don't want to write a first draft blind without having a firm grasp on the setting, but I also don't want to (and most likely can't) write the fucking Silmarillion before I start writing the story

>>20630946

>>20630946
I use an outline editor.
TreeLine is free, open-source, and does everything I want.
As far as being overwhelmed with detail...outline editors for the win again!
I'll develop a point I like, and remove the weaker ideas or whatever and put them into a sub-heading under the ideas I like.
That way, I don't lose them, and can revisit them as other things change.

I'm going to write urban fantasy for teenage girls and you cunts can't stop me.

>>20630892
They are, but what made it even more amazing is this is the first time I've had one at this point in development. I'm used to them coming at a point when I'm in the thick of writing, with all the story's decisions made and only the connective tissue needed. Even then it takes time to work up to it and any small disruption will be the end. I've never been able to just suddenly pick up a pencil and go from nothing to having something that's damn near a first draft in one sitting. And I even got up to make a snack without it slowing me down. And again, the amount of detail in it is unprecedented for me. It would take a month of my regular outlining to get something this useful. I feel like I could write a novel a month if every one started this well, even if every other aspect of the writing was the same as usual.

I wanna ask you guys a question about poetry I've been writing. I've made up a type of verse where the first line has 10 syllables, the second has 9, the third has 8, and so on until the last line only has one syllable. I've written in it both where there are no rhymes and the only structure is the syllabic count, and where every other line rhymes, in ABABCDCD, but then the last two lines don't conform to the rhyme scheme of the rest of the poem, usually with the second to last line not rhyming at all and the last line rhyming with the third to last line. Which one seems better to you, no rhyme scheme or a semi fucked up one

>>20630975
However it happened is awesome.
Hopefully it can keep happening.
I'm trying to get my muse up and running; I have several ideas, but have been really lethargic lately. (Damn day-jobbery.)
I will try to be inspired by your example.

>>20630975
Incidentally, this is a good example of what I mean when I say "never get in the way of your muse".
>[I] was working on an entirely different book, but two hours ago I was suddenly struck with inspiration
I'm thrilled you stopped working on "what you were supposed to work on" to write what you were inspired to write.
The moments when the muse is upon us are precious, and should never be wasted, no matter what you think you "should" be working on.

How can I get better at writing, mostly dialogue, for my attempt at a role playing game?
Should I just churn out short stories as practice?

>>20631136
Talk to people and read

>>20631167
I do read, and talk to people, but unless I go for a complete naturalistic approach, I'm afraid people might call it shit, it is. I'm not confident yet.

>>20631136
There's a fine line between something that 'reads good' and 'sounds good' and if you find that sweet spot, you're golden. I find that reading my dialogue out loud helps me tremendously.

>>20630971
I hope it's about chads a plain Jane and love triangles

>>20630946
>developing your outline
No. Your bullet points are more than sufficient. Don't waste time puffing up your outline, ppend time actually writing, put your character in a room and give him a short term goal which will lead to the rest of your story.

>>20631167
>Talk to people
That's horrible advice that betrays your ignorance of the functions of the human brain.

Day 23 editing
Almost through book one
I hope my reader feels even a iota of my intent

>>20631366
>my reader
>singular
bit generous innit

>>20631309
>put your character in a room and give him a short term goal
I think it's the thing I always struggle the most.
I can build a cohesive world with developed characters and overarching stories, but I always hesitate on what the main character actually DO.
there's always so much possibilities that could fit the themes of the setting I don't know what to pick.
Is he in the military or a mercenary? An adventurer, a bounty hunter, a merchant, a martial artist...?
It's funny because that should be one of the first things to think about

>>20631408
That is literally all that matters - characters with goals trying to achieve them. Everything else is pretty much window dressing.

>>20631219
How did you know?!?!?

What would you do if you met him?

>>20631501
Kiss.

>>20631501
He's already dead inside, there's nothing I can do.

>>20631501
Tap my nose in a conspiratorial gesture.

>>20631501
Probably thank him for all the funny posts we’ve had about his books.

I want to write but I can't stop scrapping my webnmovels

I want to write but I can't stop making fanfiction

I want to write but I can't stop making Isekai

>>20631747
this. that is why I always end up dropping it.

>>20630294
Why abandoned looking, not abandoned? It's a personal peeve of mine because I saying "-looking" all the time. It can be abandoned with people in it

>>20625111
I loved writing this sentence.

>>20631813
I keep saying it myself*

>>20631136
Practice, put it in a drawer, come back to it a day later with a fresh head, ask yourself if it's good. Do this enough times and you'll realise what needs done.

if 50 shades of grey could make it despite being a dumpster fire, so can I

>>20631388
yet here you post...

>>20625117
You get them every time. Do they have memories like gold fish?

>>20625111
Will having a predominantly female cast turn off female readers since they don't have any hot men to thirst over?

>>20632113
What is the magical girl genre and it's target audience?
And I don't mean just magical girl anime I have very fond memories of the Avalon Web of Magic books although when I was in school the covers weren't even this cool
>>20630946
I will have a vision of the beginning, end, and select parts in the middle but I do a combination of being a gardener and a plotter
I don't sit down and instantly know everything about every character including the protagonist
They will reveal themselves to me in snippets and sometimes I will suddenly and randomly know something about them while I'm writing or even just doing my day to day
For example I have a character who has a fear of broken bones and seeing bones at all and then I found out while writing his back story that he had a bone broken in a cruel way as a kid
I wasn't even thinking about his phobia when I wrote it
It just happened and then it clicked "oh that's why he hates bones"

How can my novel be considered as a light novel if I'm a non Japanese resident and I write the novel in English? Also where would I go about publishing my novel?

>>20632292
I fucking hate you people

Just call it YA you insufferable weeb

>>20632298
But if I write one in japanese, will it be considered one?

>>20632301
If I have sex with a dog, does that make me a white woman?

>>20632292
It can't be a light novel, it's literally impossible for it to be a light novel.

>>20632319
so do i need to get it translated into japanese and release the english version later? what about then?

>>20632334
No. You will never be Japanese. Or a woman.

Let's be real light novels are just novels with anime style art on the cover and inside the books
It's about the style of the art

>>20632368
I'm thinking of writing a light novel with an anime setting. The plot's concrete in my head. I could probably put them on light novel translation sites and hope that they see the last page where I shill my patreon. It'll take a month, but I don't want to start if people will just ignore it by saying >>20632347 >>20632319 >>20632298

>>20632387
Stop being obsessed with Japan. You are not Japanese. You will never be Japanese. Or a woman.

I need an idea for a business for a character to run. The character is the sole proprietor of a one-man retail operation who is being extorted for protection money from the local mafia.

The difficulty is this business must be set-up on an asteroid in an asteroid belt, and it can't be a spaceship repair shop or junkyard (because another character already does that), but also my MC -- a wandering lawman -- has to have a reason to shop there.

>>20630932
Read "Poetic Meter" by Paul Fussell. It's not long and even though I don't write poetry, it changed my mind on language. It's really good.

>>20630494
I am literally doing this. Motherfucker.

>>20630946
I don't have an outline as much as another document of to keep track of what I've done without reading the entire story again. So I have information about characters, key events, themes, intertextuality and all that. I also have a simple breakdown of what I set out to do in a scene so I can compare the scenes making sure they are changing in content and temperament.

>>20630975
The first time you experience it is a massive boost in confidence. It's easy to get demoralized when you think others have what you don't, but those moments let you see the potential you have to tell stories.

>>20632421
Gun shop, robot and or drones, alcohol medicine, fuel or ores.

>>20632387
I published a light novel and no one ignored it anon I just didn't say it's a light novel
As long as the story is good
That said the setting isn't Japan or any real world location but the art and the pictures are all anime style
It isn't as big a deal as these other anons would have you think
When people open your book and read they may not even see it as anime that's just the style I see it in and so that's how I prefer my covers

>>20632421
Flower shop

How much incest can I get away with these days? I'm not going to go full Heinlein, just something brief and impulsive between a brother and sister that leads to some consequences.

>>20632479
hell yes

>>20632520
how did you go about publishing it anon? this is the part where i'm stumped/

>>20632542
Surprise incest is still kosher iirc. Like "Oh shit you're my brother lol, well that was fun but fucked up". I think going into full shame about the act is unnecessary

>Feedback for this intro please

Sometimes the cookie crumbles so: Mari had a cat. His name was Jisu. She had found him when he was just a kitten—a one in three thousand tortoiseshell boy—under the honeysuckle vine growing over the walls of her backyard. His mother was nowhere to be seen. So she raised him, taking him on walks, struggling to give him baths in the sink, reading out loud to him from her books and homework… They did many things together, but most important of all, they made music. Mari played the marimba, as well as the glockenspiel and the piano in the living room. She would play an unresolved melody, and Jisu would complete it with a meow. It was musical without a doubt, so Mari didn’t let it go to waste. She would take him after school to the garden outside the town’s pub, and there they would perform to the townsfolk. Mari standing two thirds the length of her marimba tall, next to the singing cat sitting on a stool never failed to gather a crowd. Sometimes even a local group of street musicians would join in, and they would have a backing band of washboard, trumpet, bass and guitar. Then their audience would be filling out the garden, with some picnicking under the paper lanterns hung on the ash trees. Neither Mari nor Jisu suffered any stage fright, but off stage, Mari was very much introverted. In particular, she shied away from classmates who wanted to greet her in between songs, so she kept the breaks as short as she could, hoping that after a while they would give up and go away. Though there were exceptions, namely her two best friends: Lumi and Lorelei, who were both in different classes now in sixth grade. Lumi’s parents were cave explorers, so she was regularly away with them on spelunking trips. Meanwhile Lorelei, who was an aspiring playwright, had just begun directing the rehearsals of a school play she wrote for the semester's end. But when they were free on an afternoon, they would go alongside Mari while helping move the marimba, with Jisu riding on top of the marimba case. After the show at Mari’s house, they would sit on the carpet and play a game of Go Fish, as Jisu watched over Mari’s hand unknowingly from the bed. And once Lumi and Lorelei left, Jisu would sense his bedtime approaching, so he would rabble rouse in protest by wrapping himself around legs or knocking things over. When he tired himself out at last, he would enter Mari’s room through the door always left open for him, and take his place by her feet. Sometimes Mari would wake up in the middle of the night and catch him having a nightmare, so she would take her pillow and move over to the other end of the bed, hugging him while she dozed off again. Things would go this way for the three years that they had each other. All until one Friday during a dry thunderstorm, when Mari came home from school alone and found him spread out fur and flesh in the backyard, with the fire from the lightning strike still burning.

>>20632611
I think people still have to read 1984 in school and that novel has incest vibes because it implies Julia could have been Winston's sister. The way families usually are in the Outer Party there's no way to really know who is related to you, just as Winston got a creepy feeling with the older woman in the Ministry of Love who said "I could be your mother."

>>20632621
You can't immediately misuse a colon and two em dashes and expect me to keep reading.

>>20632621
That's a yikes from me

>>20632621
That's a long paragraph.

>>20632679
Expand please
>>20632660
What dash should i have used?

>>20632608
Amazon
I commissioned an artist friend for the cover and inserts and self published
I'm still experimenting as I'm just now getting back in the game but I got positive reviews
I have mine available as an ebook and also paperback since Amazon offers a paperback service where they do the leg work for you and you can order copies to sell or give away yourself for the cost of printing
Here is my peak ranking when I launched the book for free and the reviews

if isekai is so easy to write then why can't I write one?

>>20632775
This gives me some hope. How many books did you sell anon?

>>20632520
>When people open your picture book and read they may not even see it as anime

r8. This is chapter 1 page 1, paragraph 1

The first tongues of dawn flame had begun to burn the stars from the sky and cast light upon the carnage. Flies, like miniature vultures, flitted from corpse to corpse, finding the blood of men preferable to suckling at the hinds of goats. The future emperor of mankind passed through the blood and the shadows of the well town, each step quicker than the last. The rush of battle was fading from his veins, which transformed the bodies from mere enemies back to the figures of men. This alchemy of ideas transpired entirely within his mind, and without the self-protection of labeling them bandits. He had something more pressing upon his mind.

He needed a suitable place to take a piss.

>>20632816
It isn't a picture book
There are illustrations but most of a light novel is text
How everyone watches the movie in their head that plays when they read is different no matter what the cover has
>>20632795
A few thousand given away a few hundred sold but with this just being volume 1 I haven't aggressively marketed yet

>>20632858
>like miniature vultures
Not a necessary addition, everyone knows what a fly is and why they're attracted to corpses.
>This alchemy of ideas transpired entirely within his mind,
Also unnecessary, he's not speaking his observations so we can assume they're internalized.
There's quite a bit of redundancy here, you can probably halve the word count and not lose any meaning.

Fuck you /wg/ and your "just write shit" I'm not doing that anymore no I'm going to plan the entire story of my novels chapter by chapter and edit my incomplete drafts dozen of time before rewriting yhem over wnd over and it's gonna take me 15 years to complete but It'll be a masterpiece compared to the mindless garbage you shit in 3 months that'll never be good even after 30 drafts

>>20632904
3 months! Rude! It takes me 8 months to complete a 1st draft

>>20632863
>It isn't a picture book
>There are illustrations
Once you have illustrations, it's a picture book. The question is just what kind of picture book it is.

>>20632863
>A few thousand given away
free downloads
>a few hundred sold
to family and friends

>>20632929
I don't have family and the few friends I have don't know the details of my author career yet alone my pen name because I trust no one in the modern times of cancel culture
The free downloads helped build my mailing list and net me reviews which helped with the sales
This was my first book
So what is the problem?

Is it wrong to write just for fun? to vent about the world through writing?

>>20632952
>first book
You mean your first light novel, right? Calling it a "book" is inaccurate. A book is something that relies on words alone. If you use pictures to transmit key details, you are lessening the load on your writing skills. I won't call it a cop-out because we all have different innate talents and ceilings, but it's a little silly to call yourself an author writing books.

any good sites where i can write my novel on (private so no one can read it) with possibility of upgrading it regularly? i want some kind of internet archive, instead of using papers or textfiles on my PC.

>>20632960

>>20632952
>So what is the problem?
He's a crab in the bucket trying to drag you down :-(

What site or system do you use for a mailing list/"reader magnet" whatever that even is? I split my time between a novel I'd like to trad pub and a more lighthearted sci-fi novella series I'll probably just try self pub.

>>20632952
Just ignore him. This place isn’t a place to get proper feedback nor discussions about publishing. It’s a place to vent by shitposting.

>>20632952
just psueds trying to drag you down. If you want, I can add you to the author pastebin if you provide a link to your story.

>>20632964
Jesus, you're a cunt. Are you going to say the book cover shouldn't have an illustration next?

>>20632964
Light novels and even manga volumes are books, because a book is a collection of pages of paper bound together.

>>20632980
Light novels and even manga volumes are books in the same way a can opener is a blade. A can opener might have a sharp edge, but it's not a knife or a machete. Say you're deep in the jungle. You're trying to get to the tranny or hug pillow or dragon dildo or whatever it is that gets you off. You're trying real hard to get there but the vines are heavy and that bussy is getting drier by the minute. You turn to your friend and ask him for a blade and he hands you a can opener. He says, "Bro, it's got a sharp edge, doesn't it? That's a blade!" How would you feel in that moment? Would you be excited to have a contraption which fulfills every broad definition of a cutting implement? What if you were in a blade forum on a Mongolian knitting forum and someone comes in, earnestly displaying his collection of can openers? You'd probably think he was a bit of an idiot, wouldn't you?

QED.

>>20633017
Leave that humour stuff to the professionals.

DOES MOMMY REALLY HAVE TO BREAK IT DOWN INTO PARAGRAPHS FOR YOU?? ALSO NO I DIDNT USE EM DASHES WRONG ALTOUGH GRANTED MY COLON USE WAS UNCONVENTIONAL BUT YOU WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD MY REASONING HAD YOU READ A SINGLE POSTS LENGTH OF SCAAAWY SCAAAAAWY TEXT

>>20633024
The most flaccid insult I've ever had the mild disinterest in receiving.

>>20633028
Double em dashes are never correct. They always read like shit and should be replaced with commas. If it still sounds awkward with commas it should be rewritten with commas in mind.
Unconventional is copespeak for incorrect.
Stop screaming.

>>20633028
P-Put the gun down, mommy.

>>20633028
It's 533 fucking words ya goof. Lacking paragraph breaks is as inexcusable as forgetting periods. And yes your colon use is just wrong and part of a pointless sentence to boot.

Agree the em dashes are not incorrect but they are awkward as usually em dashes are used in favor of commas when there is an element of haste, or final addition to a thought, or when there are already a lot of commas flying around a sentence and you want to pop in an appositive without making it confusing.

The piece had some fun ideas behind it but needs polish. Granted it has a "this is my 13 year old anime dream self - I mean dream crush I am writing about" vibes.

>>20633043
>Double em dashes are never correct
I disagree, published authors use them well.

>>20632495
These are all good idea, but sadly don't work. It can't be alcohol or medicine, since the bar owner and resident doctor are also characters. I like the idea of robots, but I can't see any reason why my MC would need to keep going back to a droid repair shop (also its a little too much overlap with my starship mechanic character). Gun shop would be a really obvious choice, but I find "the guy with a million guns at hand is being extorted" a hard sell.

I found a thread on sci-fi occupations on rpg.net, and I've decided the guy sells habitat engineering supplies -- stuff to maintain your life support systems.

>>20632524
It would take an incredible optimist (with deep pockets) to open a flower shop in an asteroid belt filled mostly with rough and tumble space miners. I'm almost tempted. I mean, you make it some swishy but plucky gay dude who is super-pollyana in his optimism and thinks flowers are even more important when deep in space millions of miles from any living thing, and the reader is going to really be pissed at the villains when he gets curbstomped and his shop blown up because he can't pay. It would also explain why he can't pay.

...maybe I'll make him both. Sells oxygen filters and carbon scrubbers to keep the doors open, but his real passion is being a florist IN SPAAAAAAAAACE!!!!

Thanks, anons!

>He sipped another mouthful from his glass; it was Chivas Regal on the rocks and slightly burned like hot coals in his throat. Wiping away the excess that ran down his lip, he began:
>”And that’s why the ontological argument is sound.”
>The woman, endowed as she was, shifted her weight in her seat and arched her eyebrow.
>”I’m not so convinced,” her ruby lips were like velvet cushions, a perfect comfort. “I’m thinking: fallacious.”
>He knocked back his head and laughed: “It’s a little early for that. We barely know each other. Let’s have a few more drinks before any of that.”
>The soft, perfect cheeks blushed. Did she accidentally say what he thought she said, or was it a quasi-homonym?

>>20633068
>I disagree, published authors use them well.
Perhaps, but it’s very rarely the best option.
In 90% of cases the author would be better off using a double comma. The other 10% would be better served with brackets. Double em dash is this third option that never has a real use case.

>>20632965
google docs is what i use

>>20632904
it took jk rowling 6 years to sell harry potter
during the 6 years she kept editing and revising it

>>20632621

personally I like the double dashes-- they add energy

but

-- = fast
dot after dot = staggered
, = flows

so do

"Mary had a cat, his name was Jisu and she had found him when he was just a kitten-- a one-of-a-kind (specifically, one in three thousand) tortoiseshell male-- playing under the honeysuckle vine that was growing over the garden walls."

one in three thousand is weirdly specific and slightly confusing so i put it between parentheses. now it reads more like a cute nerdy remark.

i made a change from
"walls of her backyard"
to "garden walls"
just sounds cooler

idk how to read or write though

>>20632965
I use scrivener and save everything to my onedrive

>>20633068
OKAY ILL *ahem* okay ill use commas
>needs polish
please name anything, thats all anyone asks
when they ask for feedback.
>Granted it has a "this is my 13 year old anime dream self - I mean dream crush I am writing about" vibes.
its an eleven year old girl who has three friends if you count the cat. she is not my dream self or crush. its upbeat because things go bad from there.

>>20633121
i hate every change youve made

>>20632965
Obsidian
Google Docs
Google Drive
Dropbox (with Word)
One Drive (with Word)
iCloud (with Word/Pages)
Literally any other cloud based storage.

>>20632421
pawn shop

>>20633121
based gmi
>>20633134
loser give up on everything

>>20633134
you've*
fuck you. kill yourself then. fucking learn how to right before you criticize you fucking asshole. you're rude as fuck and i hate you. fuck you and everything that you do. you won't be able to make anything of value anyways because you're fucking retarded im sorry for even trying to believe in you or help. you make me regret trying to contribute anything to anyone, fucking scum of the earth and piece of shit.

>>20633149
An interesting idea, but I find it hard to see a pawn shop owner as sympathetic.

>>20633177
write*
i feel the same way about the other anon, thanks for voicing our opinions.

How do I bullshit my way out of philosophical/metaphysical themes in my story and make it seem I know what I'm talking about?

>>20633121
>just a kitten-- a one-of-a-kind (specifically, one in three thousand) tortoiseshell male-- playing

the "a one-of-a-kind" is an appositive phase that needs a comma
then you could replace the parenthesis, which you rarely see in novels, with em dashes.

How important is it to you to hit every relevant trigger warning for your story so you don’t risk offending or even harming your readers?

>>20633192
you can take a month to write a sentence if you want. that way you can appear a lot smarter than you are.

>>20632967
I've been using Mailchimp which is pretty easy
Reader magnets are just free stories you give away in exchange for joining a mailing list but it has to be something you know they'll want to read such as a standalone with an established character from one of your popular books
>>20632973
Thanks anon. Maybe another time though like I said I'm kinda paranoid...
>>20633120
Didn't she also write them on napkins or did I imagine her saying that forever ago

The world has only humans but I use the color of hair and skin and certain features like pointed ears or equine noses, along with some naming conlang i'm developing to distinguish the ethnic groups. but those differences are never explicitly revealed in the text, the reader should realize them over time.
Wizardy doesn't exist. Gods, mythical creatures and religious figures with odd powers do exist though.
>Protagonist and his family are servants of a lowly lord.
>his culture is slavic-celtic-germanic mix they are(were) concerned with dueling rather than raiding/conquering called "The Forest Dwellers"
>they are subjugated by a culture with pointed ears
>not-elves are horse riders, with scythian and hunnic culture called "The Equestrians"
How could the not-elves use horses in forests? they didn't. they were welcomed to free the forest people from another ethnic group that i didn't develop yet.
>a revenge story that will turn into an ethno-religious uprising and cultural conflict
I'm writing this novel while in the army, and I'm finding plenty of ideas to pick from. The idea that i'm really happy about having in the story, is that there is a set number of gods that all groups worship, but interpret their domains differently depending on their own culture. one of the moons is worshipped as a god, it has what looks like a lyre or a bow on its surface. The third group view that god not as a god of poetry or war, but as a god of visions. Sometimes I feel like the novel can get too big for someone with minimal writing skills like me but I enjoy writing and thinking about that setting and that's what matters tbqh. thanks for reading my first blogpost

>>20633203
shut the fuck up. i don't know what you're fucking talking about FUCKING PROVE IT THEN FIX THE FUCKING THING AND SHOW IT. FUCK YOU.

>>20633100
Overall I agree that double em dash should be used sparingly but just not to the level you seem to. Brackets vs double em dash is a tone thing I think as brackets have a clinical/whispered aside kind of tone in my view that would be awkward in a more tense/actiony scene. See below as an example pulled from my arse how I might use one:

>Fire roared from the barn rooftop as Simon tossed me a water balloon. I threw it, and the next one he tossed me, and the one after, all to no great effect on the roaring blaze until --- like a bolt of lightening --- Maria bent over and blasted it with a wet fart so sopping wet with taquito sludge that it satiated the roaring inferno.

>>20633192
We're already discussing this and it is okay to use em dashes for appositives (though it can be jarring if not done in the right context).

What’s the easiest way to write I’ve read about all this revising and editing and that doesn’t seem fun I want to be a writer but not if it takes too much effort

>>20633177
sorry anon. those were sentences i liked and i disliked your changes. the stacatto is gone, "specifically" hurts the flow, "one in a kind" is immediately undone by the following remark, and its important for it to be her backyard. if you were sincere, i will kill myself.

>>20633235
>revising and editing
But, anon, that IS the fun and satisfying part.

>>20633220
also this isnt me >>20633203

>>20633235
The weak are weeded out.

>Writing is satisfying
Maybe if you’re a dullard and don’t know the pain of being high IQ and locked inside the dungeon of your head.

>>20633235
>I want to be a writer but not if it takes too much effort
Then you shouldn't try to be a writer because clearly you don't enjoy any part of the process if you're looking for an "easy" way to write

Do LGBT+ write differently from normal people? I’ve noticed a lot of forums and Discord servers specific to queer writers and I’m just kind of curious what’s so alien about them that they need to segregate from real writers.

>>20633270
They want attention specifically for their degenerate sexual practices

>>20633270
Suck a dick, fuck an arse, and find out.

>>20633270
different races, black, asian, do it too
it makes sense if they are writing about lgbt communities since they could make the story sound more authentic
a good writer who did some reasearch should be able to fake it, you'd think

>>20633243
YOU CALL THAT A FUCKING STACCATO?

ONE OF A KIND IS A FUCKING SAYING, AND ITS FUNNY IF ITS IMMEDIATELY UNDONE BY THE FOLLOWING REMARK.

FUCK HER BACKYARD. YOUR STORY IS FUCKING BORING AND I WAS CHALLENGING YOU TO DO SOMETHING MORE INTERESTING.

I QUIT. I FUCKING QUIT. YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK THIS. FUCK YOU. FUCK ALL OF YOU STUPID FUCKING IDIOTS WHO CAN'T THINK A SINGLE INTERESTING OR ORIGINAL THOUGHT. I FUCKING HATE THIS BOARD, THIS PLANET, EVERYTHING THAT I COULD POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTE TO THIS FUCKING UNIVERSE. FUCK IT ALL.

>>20633270
There is no need for them to segregate and I guarantee you that 99.99% of those "writers" are talentless and need each other not just for the normal alphabet attention but to convince one another that they're good at writing and anyone who says otherwise is just a bigot
SJWs don't know how to human very well and it reflects in their writing
Not everyone who is gay feels the need to be a part of The Club it's only the insane ones
t.bisexual and doesn't tell people because of these rainbow fags who supplement their lack of personality with flag

Nobody on /wg/ writes well. It’s all just purple prose litRPG harem faggotry rife with spelling errors, incorrect speech tags, telling not showing, and run-on sentences.

>>20633300
ill leave anon. you can stay

>>20633136
>>20633123
>>20633115
thanks will check google docs and scrivener.

>>20633178
>sympathetic
who cares? pawnshop is great because the guy can be used as a source of information for the lawman. the business, as you said, is sort of grey, which makes mafia extortion easy, and would explain why he doesn't go to the authorities right away until the extortion becomes exorbitant.

>>20633301
> SJWs don't know how to human very well and it reflects in their writing
Uhm, actually they human better than any Trump supporter since they’re not filled with hate.

>>20633347
Hate is a human emotion. Hate is what made Ahab an interesting character.

>>20633325
His role in the story is to be a sympathetic victim of the villain, someone the MC likes right away and whose death both raises the stakes and motivates the MC to take action against the villain (which requires him to break the law).

>>20633350
Well I’m going to write my queer coming out story set in a utopia where we’ve killed all of you disgusting white, cis, hetero fucks and the capitalists and so everyone is happy and gay! FUCK YOU!
Captcha: d22g0p … FUCK THE PATRIARCHY!

>>20633270
>lgbt exclusive forums and discord servers
people who go to those have their entire existence fueled by their insatiable homosex desires. just a meth'd out, non stop bender of gay bug chasing ass ramming and look at me! waving dildos in the air on the public streets and molesting children

>>20633371
We all know you're not going to finish it

>>20633362
give him a precocious, pre or mid teens daughter they can kill

>>20633390
>kill
or, taking a page from what that other anon said, kidnap, molest and pimp out. gives a reason for your lawman to go all rebel and an objective, saving the girl. maybe make her a little older if this is the case. maybe make her have a crush on the lawman, but he's known her since she was waist high so he doesn't think of her like that, at first.

why even bother writing when I know I will never reach his level? I feel demoralized brehs.

>>20633347
DAE HATE THE ORANGE MAN

>>20633308
YOU SAY AS YOU ALREADY FUCKING TOOK EVERYTHING
KILL YOURSELF AND TAKE EVERYONE WHO FUCKING MADE YOU WITH YOU

>>20633421
>Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.

>>20633390
I already have the story plotted. He has a female relative, she's the doctor/love interest. I just had him described as a "local business owner" in my outline and was fleshing him out when I was like "I can't figure out what this guy does."

But anon's comment (>>20632524) totally inspired me, so now he's her gay brother who sells life support equipment to support his flower shop.

>>20633454
>he's her gay brother who sells life support equipment to support his flower shop
that's probably one of the gayest things I've ever read. do you really need to fag up your story that much? who would buy life support equipment from a walking disease factory? I'm looking forward to reading it, but man, I don't see how him dying is at all sympathetic. guy's on borrowed time as it is

>>20633507
Yes. See, by including a gay male character, I can demonstrate that my straight male MC is a secure, confident man who isn't plagued by foolish anxieties like homophobia by simply having him not act like you.

Why does everything that come out of my brain sounds bad, Eben when I think some idea could be good it always taste like shit in some way

>>20633519
post one of your shit ideas, maybe they are actually good but you have a bad judgement kek

>>20633518
goodness. you know, there would be a perfectly legitimate reason to sell plants to people on an off planet asteroid belt. improves air quality, brightens up the drab, mechanical surroundings, but rather than making the guy something useful like a botanist you turn him into a mincing faggot. shame on you.

>>20633554
For you to steal it? Don't take me for a fool

>>20633519
Post your ideas anon
You could be hard on yourself which to some extent is a good sign that you aren't egotistical
It's the people who think they're geniuses that are often the most retarded

>>20633573
I already have too many ideas to bother getting others' ideas.

how many of you actually have readers that are not friends or family

>>20633576
The gamer move is to act egotistical to provoke more criticism.

>>20633571
>rather than making the guy something useful like a botanist you turn him into a mincing faggot. shame on you
Shame on me? You're the one who decided those two things are mutually exclusive.

>>20633573
>thinks his ideas are bad
>afraid someone else will steal them
Pick one

>>20633618
>runs flower shop = gay
No, you decided that. That was all you.

>>20633651
>mincing faggot RATHER THAN someone with useful skills
And that was all you.

>>20633576
Well the current idea I'm brainstorming is about a ultra high tech giant space ship stuck in the void or some kind of endless ocean after the apparent death of the universe , humanity managed to survive inside the ship and build civilizations but in reality it's the same "being" that is getting reincarnated over and over, the mc have the power the read the mind of other people but the truth is he's just remembering the memories of all his other incarnations almost live and he slowly realize he's living in some unending hell alone in the universe
But I don't know, I'm scared it's going to get too convoluted unless I'm planning everything in advance which I always struggle to do

>>20633664
a genetic dead end with a side project hobby shop that he needs to support with another business because he exclusively sells flowers and not, say, having it be his primary business and selling something useful like genetically modified fruit producing bushes or algae that purifies the air, in addition to selling flowers.
You decided his hobby was fictionally useless by deciding it was a side project.

>>20633704
*functionally

>>20633685
Anon I really like that, do you have more planned for how he ended up the last human in the universe and why it is he is all of the people on the ship?
Is it that all of humanity is actually one endless soul reincarnating throughout time and space but that being stuck in the void in the ship separated him from the rest of himself?
I ask because this is some stuff I would think up
I'd love to hear anything else you're comfortable with sharing
Your idea isn't bad though don't even worry about that

>>20633704
Those are impressive mental gymnastics.

>>20633720
I'm not the one who made my flower shop owner a fag out of some sort of malformed, reflexive urbanite sensibility. You should take a step back and analyze your thought process, and then reassess.

>>20633302
Wrong. There are good writers here. Also don't bait me with the telling not showing shit. We just had a thread meltdown about that.

>>20633754

>>20633590
I'll tell you next year when I'm published.
I was just going over some of my scientific notes and honestly decided to forgo almost every scientific term in my writing because I don't want my story to feel like scifi. At this point I'm only using it to inform the order of events that technology might have on someone's life. I figured if I didn't focus on the characters I'd just be regurgitating scientific literature and my characters would feel blank.

>>20633714
Thanks I'll try to push through and make a first draft out of it
I have some vague ideas about that but nothing really concrete yet, but my main idead is that the mc is not the only incarnation to retain memories, some of his other incarnations do too but they have different approaches on the issue, some want to keep the statu quo, preferring it to erasing the last bit of existence while others want to commit a mass suicide to end their suffering
My main concern for now though is making a decent story taking place inside the ship with these elements in the background

>>20633204
This is 4chan. We literally have no idea how to avoid triggering people.
Best to trigger everyone about everything, and thus appear even-handed.

>>20633815
>decent story inside the ship
Are they running out of food? If the ship is big enough do they have a self sustaining farm and maybe the animals start to get sick or one of the incarnations leaning towards suicide sabotages it? Perhaps they poison one of their fellow crewmates knowing that if they they will die first since they remember their life as this crewmate in a different timeline murdering them first?
There is so much you can do with this and so many conflicts you can integrate into the relationships between the different members and even the ship itself if it is somehow sentient?
Don't lose faith in your idea anon and when you figure it out I would love to read it even as a beta

>>20633371
>kill anyone who knows how to do things, leave only the parasites
enjoy starving to death

>>20633204
How do you do trigger warnings, anon? So far I don't think I have anything that is really offensive but I am strongly considering my next novel and later ones to have increasingly idiosyncratic characters. I really don't want to warn people so much as show them in the first 13 sentences that there are characters who don't give a fuck about peoples' feelings. I really feel like a have to show the idiosyncrasy of this generation because if I don't it will all be forgotten and people will just imagine everyone was a pearl-clutcher in the earl 21st century.
I start off pretty early in my 2nd novel with the protagonist insisting that all women are fat and while I'm not trying to shovel everything ridiculous onto him I do want him to come off as uncomfortable to readers if not based.

>>20633842
Thanks anon, yeah there's a lot that can be done, the issue as always is choosing which ideas to keep and wich to save for another time.
I'm ESL and I write in my native language but I might translate some passages and post them here that could be an interesting exercise

>>20633871
are you serious? Authors seriously have to put trigger warnings in their story now? What the fuck?

>>20633907
If a person with PTSD is triggered by your work, they can sue you for emotional distress. This is America.

>>20633912
Bullshit. Give me the court case. Sounds like fanfic faggotry

>>20633937
Imagine being this serious on a Melanesian pearl-diving forum

>>20627331
>>20627391
>Imagine being so shit that even Gardner had someone finish his book over yours

>Write scene
>get bored
>skip ahead and write another scene
>Write scene
>get bored
>skip ahead and write another scene
>Write scene
>get bored
>skip ahead and write another scene
>Write scene
>get bored
>skip ahead and write another scene

>>20634065
sounds like a boring book, ngl

>>20634065
Do you think something is missing from your scenes?

>>20634022
It wouldn't be near as bad if he didn't demand we purchase it. The least he could do is throw us an Epub instead of trying to milk us for $8.

>>20634083
>>20634092
I get an idea inside my head and when I try to write it down i simply get bogged down and frustrated

>>20634116
write it anyways and then write it another couple ways. Throw out the bad and keep the good.

>>20634097
I think purchasing it is fine. Even Eggplant and Emily Project we're paid for. But to not have an anon be able to finish it is just pathetic.

>>20633685
sounds based, and I like the Alex Jones "they all live before" webm theme. Don't overplan, just start writing it and let the character develop naturally and add the bits and pieces you planned ahead into the text. start with something simple, like the MC trying to survive in that new civilization, and keep writing about it and slowly add the pieces that make him realize they all are just memories.
I have a similar idea of MC finding some artifact that gives him visions, he think they are about the future but are actually visions of the past of his ,now all dead, tribe. developing it as a novel/story was too hard. So I'm writing a revenge story where he will finally find the artifact and start seeing the visions while going after his loved ones killer, instead of developing the whole story about the discovery itself which would be hard to put into words without a simpler story-line happening at the same time.

>>20634159
I might get it, but my backlog is so retarded lately I may have to wait until next year. I'd rather read another anon story, I have a few in mind.

>>20634159
Providing the book for free is a show of confidence.
Every anon here should be posting their book for free. After all, your book is good enough for each of us to leave a 5* review and then purchase the book as a curtesy for letting us experience it, right?

>>20634225
Your mother's dreadlocked pussyscape is certainly worthy trying for free as a show of confidence.

>>20634164
Yeah I also struggled a bit with making the visions the main plotline, but it should be something in the background of a more straightforward storyline until it has enough build up to shine
Guess outlining a basic plot and structure and write from there is the best thing to do

I've been writing my first publicly available work on royal road and have been having a fun time.

>>20634380
That's great hear, anon. Keep it up.

New thread >>20634479

>>20634097
It's $3, and enough of your samefagging already.

>>20627331
It's listed on his Goodreads page as "reading", as of June 16th.

>>20630438

I think it has tremendous potential. I hope you continue writing it, anon.

>>20634380
I'm curious, do people on RR actually read your stuff just like that or do you have to invest into marketing

>>20634602
I've done like six promotional forum posts. for my three week old story

>>20634823
Why do I hate fantasy names so much? Your blurb is not bad but fuck "Nozokath". What's the etymology of that name? What does it represent other than a brain fart of random letters?