/lit/ - Literature

The thought process of "No matter what idea I write about, there will always be someone that's written about it better than I ever could" stops me from writing a lot, anyone else get fucked with this?

reply to this post if you need a cheap editor or your mother will die in her sleep tonight

>>22407150
I'm not paying you 5 dollars saar.

>>22407144
Nobody else has written your stories.

>>22407144
>there will always be someone that's written about it better than I ever could
Maybe stop having derivative ideas or stop being a fucking cuck that can't write.

I'm genuinely convinced people will love the fucking thing I'm writing if they only give it a chance. The problem is actually finding an audience.

>>22407144
I used to feel this very strongly and the cure was hard data: I looked for these better executions of my ideas and I didn't find them because what's obvious and appealing to me can be very niche indeed.
This is easy with fan fiction. You go to a central database with five gazillion stories, you do a tag search, and you find either no results or two and a half bad ones. But by now I've built enough confidence to stop needing that. I trust that even if someone else tried something similar then there will be more than enough to distinguish my take and give it a right to exist.
This was really just a dumb trick for me to get over the psychological hurdle. Might work for you, or maybe the two cakes comic is what you need, or something else.

>>22407195
>Maybe stop having derivative ideas
So instead of writing the things that people want to read, I should write stories about a police officer that uses an octopus as a gun, yeah, people will want to read that.

>>22407210
>or maybe the two cakes comic is what you need
It helped for like one second until I realised that they're always going to want the better cake.

>>22407231
And what will they do after they finish the better cake?

>>22407235
Sigh and then settle for less while thinking about the better cake with every bite that they take of my cake.

>>22407242
That's not what I do with stories I like a medium amount, but even if it were, it's hard to tell myself that something shouldn't exist if people are willing to read it

Can I post my poetry here?

>>22407258
I think there's a poetry general, if there isn't then one should be made soon but you can always take that into your own hands. But yeah, go ahead.

First page of my genre slop, would you turn the page?

>>22407263
Thanks anon
Their cries are satirical and ironic.
They are never sincere.
Believe my lies.
I saw your future when we met.
Life is bleak and death is a relief
I wanted to be a monk.
Not a Lutheran monk
But a monk on righteous fire with his clenched fist held high.
Somewhere in Saigon
But my groans lament "I've lost my God"

So let's write your story lovely.
I'll be your friend- don't return here.
I came to this degenerate slop house to pursue art.
I thought art was transformative.
I wanted to be someone else.
Better.

There's a lot of societal pressure to be an
Übermensch, but that giant is in despair.
I learned that people don't think so deeply about things.
That things are forgotten before the sun succumbs to shame.
You can flare up like a fox in hunt under the waning moon.

Your life isn't Houellebecqian yet.
You can have it all- a family and good food to feed them with.
Stay clear of resentment and hate.
It will etch a curse into your naive flesh.
Learn to love your wounds and the murky deep.
It's vast and beyond exploration.
But explore anyway.

My chief regret was that in a euphoric state
I believed that conscience was a gift.
That love was our natural state.
I chastised myself for being sentimental.
But that sentiment was a diadem.

If the materialists are right and there is no God, it means we were formed by star dust.
Meaning it can be said we are highly valuable and equal.
So there's no excuse for evil.
The world is cruel and will prey on you like Dostoyevsky's Shatov.
But you will find peace even if it's outside truth.
Even if what devours you laughs mockingly.
It did so because it couldn't understand why it howls within
Like a beast.
Naturally we will transcend the beastly.
This house is full of sin and hostility
But that's just a mere opportunity.
To be. To be.

>>22407274
Give me a second to get all the bad thoughts out of my head and then I'll give it a read.

>>22407223
>I need to write derivative garbage I MUST!
I think you should give up on writing.

>>22407195
>stop having derivative ideas
You know that's impossible right

>>22407330
I certainly don't have the problem of being worried the shit I write has been done before.

>>22407315
I don't need to but people will only read if it is derivative garbage, like I said, no one wants to read the story about the cop that uses an octopus as a gun, people want to read the murder mystery where it turns out that it was someone that was helping them figure it out all along.

>>22407300
I was gonna give it a read but I've come to the realisation that I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to criticising writing and I think that everything that isn't explicitly horrible is good so my opinion isn't worth anything. Sorry, anon.

>>22407274
No, text too tiny

>>22407144
Nah I actually feel way better when I think stuff like that. "What I want to do has already been achieved by people I could never hope to surpass, so I can just have fun doing this now and seeing how far I can go without the fear of failing to scale the peak."

>>22407440
That's a good way to look at it, unfortunately for me, I'm an asshole that wants to be the best and doesn't see the point in investing time into something if I won't be the best at it.

What do you guys do for writing practice? Are there good sites for short story prompts? I find myself only writing when I have good ideas, so long stretches of time pass where nothing gets done.

>>22406929
You guys need to work on brevity, tone, style, and humour. Draw the reader in.
Here's a great opening from Ritualistic Human Sacrifice.

>>22407467
Do you not care about writing at all? You're only interested in being the best and writing is your proxy for that?

>>22407511
>Do you not care about writing at all?
Other than my dogs, I don't know what I care about.

>>22407518
Fair enough. It's not like I am much different.

I am someone who wants to incorporate my culture into a contemporary/urban fantasy novel. However, I have seen many diaspora writers being dragged by other members of their ethnicity for writing something in a disrespectful manner because they didn’t have all the knowledge and background on whatever they incorporated.

I don’t want to offend or disrespect people from my culture. I really don’t know how to go about doing enough research because those authors did do research and they still got dragged.

>>22407534
>diaspora writers being dragged by other members of their ethnicity
What kind of diaspora? First or second generation? Also, do you actually know your culture? 90% of people from any background think they know what their culture is like, simply because they are born in it, but don't actually know anything beyond a tiny sliver of it.
>I really don’t know how to go about doing enough research because those authors did do research and they still got dragged.
This depends on your story, the extent to which you feature the culture, the culture itself, and what you are trying to portray. Also, keep in mind that people love to bitch. As a general rule of thumb, you should ignore the bitching of strangers in all cases UNLESS they are paying you A LOT of money. In that case and only in that case may you consider the bitching of strangers important.

>>22407534
>I don’t want to offend or disrespect people from my culture. I really don’t know how to go about doing enough research because those authors did do research and they still got dragged.
Who gives a shit? If you belong to a small enough Indigenous group like my family, then you can literally make shit up. I was even mocked by someone for trying to rely on "white european sources" for my stories, but I'd felt a strong sense of shame for not knowing the original stories from being told it in the original language.

>>22407345
>people want to read the murder mystery where it turns out that it was someone that was helping them figure it out all along
Hey, that's my story! Except in reverse!

>>22407572
I was born in America and my parents weren’t. I call myself first gen but idk

I think I know bits and pieces. Just not what I need for a fantasy novel. Like how the Greeks have so much out there about their deities and myths to easily search. It’s so hard to butcher that.

It’s just that my ethnic group is so small and barely has any text specific to them. I was logging into my alumni account so I could use my university’s resources for research into like cosmology and myth and there’s barely any. Things are just orally passed down but most of my grandparents are dead and my parents don’t answer any type of “demonic” spirituality questions because Christianity took over when the British came and ugh


I feel doomed to write generic Western fantasy novel #10000000 but with my cultural food and language because that’s all I’m 100% knowledgeable about. I know more about Christianity than my own background.

>>22407581
I feel like I’ll have to make up stuff but I feel like I’ll get judged if I do get published one day and my parents/other people familiar with my culture read it :/


All this headache over a YA novel lol

>>22407274
If you're going to make the protagonist an ASMR freak you've got to sell it. First you should explain what that is for the non internet addicts out there. Then you should describe it from his perspective, especially in a first person pov. 'Tingles of pleasure up the spine' is a lifeless cliche.

Lots of awkward or misused phrases.
>'grab ass'
Grab ass is what kids do goofing off. It is not what pervy old women do.
>took a deep inhale
no
>stared at me with his furrowed brow
Most people use their eyes
>picked out two lock picks
>I giggled
He shouldn't unless you want us to hate him
>shooting off alarm bells
Bells don't shoot, they ring.
>Gee whiz. You ready, bro.
Are these children from today or the 1950s?

>Cold air nipped
>wind at bay
>brow furrowed
>each passing day
cliches

>>22407657
>I feel doomed to write generic Western fantasy novel
You're a generic Westerner. Accept it.

>>22407657
>I was born in America and my parents weren’t.
That's second generation immigrant.
>Like how the Greeks have so much out there about their deities and myths to easily search. It’s so hard to butcher that.
You would be surprised. Actually, the vast majority of readers (and writers) know basically nothing about the Greek pantheon besides the names and domains of the gods (and some of the heroes). Most Greek-themed works you see are basically completely freestyled. Even if the work is set in ancient Greece, typically the author has very little understanding of their setting.
>It’s just that my ethnic group is so small and barely has any text specific to them.
If that's the case, you shouldn't have much to worry about from other people. What evidence are they going to cite against you? Who even will bring accusations against you, if your ethnic group is that small? What are the odds that your co-ethnics will read your story and feel irritated enough to complain en masse in sufficient numbers to make a difference?
The real challenge imo is you trying to write something that you know very little about. If you're okay with just inventing stuff and having a "culturally flavoured" setting without any serious references to the culture, then that's fine too.

>>22407751
Thank you anon, I appreciate the feedback. Have a lot of work ahead of me.

>brainstorming ideas for hair and eye colors for characters
>a LI and antagonist have the same eye color coincidentally
What should I do? I was going to go for different shades.

>>22407469
I wish I was dead

>>22407469
Whenever you see anybody say "you can't do X in writing" try it out for yourself and see if you can make it work. It becomes like a puzzle and you have to draw on your body of knowledge of literary mechanisms to produce the needed effects for it to fit. Anything can work if you understand the unintended effect it's causing and manipulate it.

Going to go for a first contact story but mine takes place over the course of a day showcasing various people's reactions to the visitor's arrival in the form of vignettes. No UFOs or aliens from the ships actually appear and everything focuses on the existential dread that how humanity is going to change now that they are here but there will be one vignette from the POV of the military interrogating an alien already captured asking whether they belong to his species only to answer with "no"

>>22408258
is that fucking comic sans? How do you live with yourself?

>>22408258
This is pretty bad.
- First sentence should be a major hook, but it falls flat with "one day late in the Autumn"
- How can something appear "seemingly" without warning? It either was or wasn't.
-Everyone was "slowly waking up casually"? Come on dude. If the ships are appearing all around the world at once, then not everyone will be waking up at the same time...
- You spelled theatrical wrong
- Don't list all the emotions. Make the reader actually feel something. Now is your time to let your creativity shine.
- Awkward closing sentence, fails to engage further interest in what might follow

You need to inhabit a sense of place and time, making this actually feel real. Talk about how particular nations reacted, crazy headlines that might have happened in the wake of this, how different sectors of society processed this amazing event. Read or watch "Contact" for some further understanding pf how to do this.

When is the best of &amp coming out?

I think it was here somebody rec'd Two Years Before the Mast. Thanks, I heartily enjoyed it, and got a great sense of adventure and tribulations. There's something about passages that come closer to poetry that just make me in awe of the writing standard of the day.

>>22407470
Still no one here can beat this. Says a lot.

The parents of my MC are important characters with heavy dialogue interactions. They have names, but I just keep going "Anon's mother said" or "Anon's father opened the door" and sometimes it feels jarring.
Should I call them by their names after establishing they are MC's parents or should I alternate between using their names and using "MC's parent"? Suddenly using their names also feels wrong somehow.

>>22408506
What's wrong with "Mother/Father" as their names? You can easily reveal the names as they speak to each other in private, keep it a mystery as they use pet names even when together, or simply have a third party use their names, being a jarring sense of switch which could invoke the wrongness you think is an issue from someone outside the familial unit referring to them.

Before the boy was the mountain; barren of humans for a hundred surrounding miles; no soul dare settle near; close to the peak was the cottage of the wizard; not a glimpse of him had been seen in nearly thirty years; not knowing was worse than not trying; the boy set off.

Through the thicket of the aspens and pine he walked; taking in the strange symbols that long ago had been carved; to his left in the distance he caught a glimpse of deer.

His stomach ached; rations were gone yesterday; taking some of the phloem from a freshly fallen pine tree he satiated his stomach; “now you be quiet, I do not need taste, only energy”.

The higher he trekked the colder it became; the forest thinned; the wind began to bite at the boy; he pulled his coat tight to his body.

Sunlight was leaving; the sky dimmed when the boy first saw the cottage; he made his way to the door and knocked three times.

“Come in”; a voice called from inside; the boy opened the door, closing it once he had stepped in; sitting in a chair was a tall man in rags, a large unkempt beard that matched the hair on his head that yet to have vanished.
Both of them shared eye contact for a minute in silence before the boy broke it; “Great wizard, I have come all this way for you to provide guidance and to beg for you to fix my life. Please if you would just hear my story, you can help”.

The wizard began to chuckle; “I am not sure what help I could be, but I will most certainly listen”; the boy filled with excitement began to tell the wizard his tale; one of hardships; one of lasting isolation; one of constant demoralization; one of depression; one life that truly seemed directionless; all the while the wizard listened; “You see, that is why I have come to see you wizard, surely you can solve my problems”.

Stroking his beard the wizard sat in thought; an hour passed before the wizard spoke; “I cannot help you in the way in which you desire, for it is not my life; you come seeking omniscience that I do not have. No more could I help you with these problems, similar to you with mine. We lived two different lives, I offer no expertise in what drives you; you would not be able to follow the road I travelled, simply because you are not me. I offer this advice for free; you have done more than enough to set yourself on the right path. Coming to see me is not a simple task; it took dedication, misplaced dedication; but it remains. You should continue to be yourself.”

The wizard shared his favorite venison and mushroom stew that night and stories from his life; when morning came he gave supplies to the boy and sent him on his way down.

>>22407223
Sounds like High on Life. Derivative.

>>22407144
No, what stops me from trying to write long-form fiction is that I'll go through all that work (and it's a LOT) and at the end, no one will give a shit. Just like my other long-form works.
>>22407223
>police officer that uses an octopus as a gun
You mean like "The Laundry Files"?
>>22408574
You mean like "Moominpapa" and "Moominmana" from "Moomin"?

>published first novel in December
>finally sitting down and compiling, organizing, and writing the next three all at once

Still feel kinda burnt from the last one, but if I don't do this now the buildup of writing will get even more unwieldy to later get organized.

Kiss my arse

1,232 words down today. I feel like I could go on, but I'm too tired and there's too many things I have to do.

>>22409102
>published first novel in December
Do you have a regular job or did you drop it to dedicate your time to writing?

>>22409012
Did you just replace all punctuation with semicolons?

>>22409242
nah, I just really like semicolons. the book I am working on contains a lot of semicolons too. any thoughts on the short story?

>>22409198
Nah I also work a normal career.

>been teasing making baked dessert from prep to cooking
>now that it's done, I totally lose touch with character's mindset so all that I can think is
>it smelled/looked good in simple boring terms not the deeper payoff of the MC
We were so excited and it's like I'm not even hungry now that the meal's ready.

>>22409247
>any thoughts on the short story?
Yeah. It needs fewer semicolons.

>>22409276
You suck at metaphors

>Write 200 words in chunks
>Disorganized, stilted
>Write 1000 words all at once
>Orderly, detailed

Why is this?

>>22407470
tl;dr
use single lines please

>>22409395
>anon is discovering economy of scale

>>22409409
I don't understand why. Even in the same day, if I force myself to write more all at once, it's better than if I space myself out.

>>22409415
It's because there's an overarching vision directing the 1k word block that is lacking in the 200 word blocks, anon. And because you build a flow for working.

Is it a bad thing if i accidently made the first 30 pages of a 180 page novella comfy world building? Book is about a man living in cyberpunk rhode island and i have him going around the city in a self driving car to pick up groceries and fast food.
The rest of the plot is going to be him trying to solve who killed his cybernetic engineer father. [Spoiler]the biotech cell regrowth company did it[/spoiler]

Well, I got a second part on first draft now. I welcome feedback on both parts.

Crimson Dawn
> Prohibition Era, Crime, Supernatural, Action, Thriller

Crimson Dawn Part 1
https://files.catbox.moe/lcpepf.pdf
> 6,511 Words
> ~25 min read

Crimson Dawn Part 2
https://files.catbox.moe/z6j6v5.pdf
> 7,256 words
> ~30 min read

I really fucking wish I could write slop. So many people out there making the laziest, most low effort slop possible, and feeling good about it, feeling invested in it, making money off of it. Meanwhile, I torment myself reflecting on just how much work it would take to make my story good. If only it was slop. If only. Then I could rest easy, and gain fame, and money too.
Woe to the vanquished (by slop).

>>22409799
>Is it a bad thing
Yes.

>>22409849
Your work is already worse than slop. Your crippling autism is the only thing holding you back.

>>22409855
>Your work is already worse than slop.
Slopchads, I kneel... It seems us autistrace bros will forever be oppressed by you...

I got Gulino's book and will read it soon but are there any thoughts on this classic? It comes from the 1970s so surely it comes from a better time for writing. I know that novels are also not exactly the same as screenplays but there ought to be some crossover use.

25k words into my magic school novel and in all 7 chapters so far there has been the total of 1 instance of magic being used. I have a feeling this won't be hit.

>>22409834
I'll read this before I go to sleep, anon

here's a question for you - would you prefer your book be available at 50 libraries across your country or would you rather sell 500 copies to individuals?

>>22407144
It has never stopped me from writing, but I do some precursory google searching now and I also ask friends who actively consume lots of media if they've ever heard of a similar idea. One time I wrote a book and found out there was a popular show with nearly the exact premise from a few years before. There was no way it could be published and not be called a ripoff.

>>22407144
I write BECAUSE no one has done the same before, or they did a terrible job at it. If I find out someone else has already produced what I have in mind, I'm happy to read their work and spare myself the effort. But I usually start writing because I read/watched a book/movie that had good ideas but squandered the potential.

>>22410003
Add some filler in your next draft. Once you've got the whole story down you'll notice, upon reading back, scenes which could be done differently. Alter a few to better highlight character arcs and such, I'm sure you'll find places to throw some magic in here and there.

Fuck it, I know that mainstream ideas are the only ones that get read but I'm gonna write something else, I just wanna write what I wanna write without stressing about whether it'll get read or not.

>>22409399
>use single lines please
Sorry. This isn't a video game with dialogue on the screen underneath the NPC. Fucking retard.

>>22409091
>You mean like "The Laundry Files"?
I googled "Laundry files gun" and they were just regular guns.

>>22407470
How do I funny

>>22410435
If you're not a naturally funny person then I doubt you'll have any success being funny in your writing.

>>22410449
:(

>>22410452
Sorry that I had to be the one to break it to you but comedy can only be forced by naturally funny people.

>>22407470
This is alright. I read all of it so the author did something right. I assume shortly after this excerpt Eve says what's on her mind and it complicates the protagonist's plans, not a bad opening.

>>22410283
I don't care. Format it so it doesn't have these ugly huge paragraphs. Give me some space to breathe.

>>22410537
It reads fine. And he didn't write it, it's probably just a PDF rip, not his job to format it.

>>22410556
>It reads fine.
If you're blind, maybe.
Take a page from the Japanese, please. Single lines with breaks. It's really effective.

>>22410564
>the Japanese
They have won an embarrassingly low amount of Nobel Literature prizes. Westerners have always had massive paragraphs since Defoe.

>>22410537
>>22410564
Lmao do you have some kind of reading disability? Have you ever seen a real book in your life?

>>22410086
500 copies because being in libraries means fuck all. It's like Amazon self pubshit.

>>22407470
What the FUCK is that block of text? Have you ever heard of a paragraph break?

>>22407657
>parents don’t answer any type of “demonic” spirituality questions because Christianity took over when the British came and ugh
Are you a beaner or chink?
>I feel like I’ll get judged if I do get published one day and my parents/other people familiar with my culture read it :/
Tell them to eat a fucking dick. Why would you care?
>ablooblobloo it's misrepresentation of-
>I don't care fucking retard it's a fictional story
Simple as.

>>22407470
I'm unable to appreciate this garbage

>>22410718
You don't read much, do you?
>>22410726
That's because you're barely literate.

>>22410731
Books don't consist of entire tl;dr blocks of fucking text retard. Unless you read shit books by retards like yourself. Practice self-fellating on a fucking noose.

>>22410734
You don't read.

>>22410734
You must know more than Dumas, eh? He used "tl;dr blocks of fucking text"!

>>22410734
When was the last time you read something that wasn't a 280-character Tweet?

>>22410747
>>22410757
>>22410763
Cope of a shit writer.

>>22410765
You can't read. And you pretend to be an authority on the written word. It's hilarious, but also tragic.

>>22410768
>You can't read. And you pretend to be an authority on the written word.
The irony is killing me.

>>22410776
You have autistic rules for writing that don't hold up with the vast sum of writing considered good. List your favourite writers right now. So we can all laugh.

>>22409849
Sloplord here, yes, it's pretty nice. Can I suggest repeated blunt trauma to the head to reduce IQ by 10-20 points? It's your only hope

>>22410779
Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J Maas, Colleen Hoover. You?

>>22410788
>Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J Maas, Colleen Hoover.
Nice one. No one who reads that goyslop frequents here. Their brain would break from the microaggressions.

>>22410790
Well, I actually do read sanderson and maas, but admittedly not hoover. So that's where you're wrong, bucko

>>22410794
My sympathies. You read the safe and banal fantasy from commercial writers.
If you want to branch out, please try H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, William Hope Hodgson, Robert E Howard, Poul Anderson, Tanith Lee, and C.L. Moore. Even reading Mary Shelley or Edgar Allan Poe would help you understand that writing isn't all the same safe milquetoast slop.

>>22410779
I'm not even the same guy that you're replying to, lol, I'm just tryna shit stir. I'm not >>22410788 this guy either, lmao, I don't know what you're mad or nor do I care, I just hope you stay mad.

>>22410806
I like safe and banal fantasy, though.

>>22410808
>I'm just tryna shit stir
Maybe go do something productive. You might learn something about writing if you read.

>>22410813
We're all on four chin, buddy. You can't say 'go do something productive'.

>>22410811
Why? I really doubt you do. Even Sanderson just puts in wimin and brown characters to sell books. It's one step away from Hollywood. When all the Millennial and Gen X fantasy people die, a new wave of fantastical ecstasy shall rise from the ashes.

>>22410818
>hurr we're all retards
Not really. I don't come here as often as most. Most old /lit/ from 2016 left already. Maybe it's time I did the same. Because no one cares about the board topic anymore.

>>22410813
>Maybe go do something productive.
I just called an ambulance, it's official, the irony has finally gotten to me, pray for me, anons.

>>22410826
>Because no one cares about the board topic anymore.
You're certainly helping people care by being an aggressive dick, don't worry, you're not a contributing factor at all.

>>22410820
Gen Z has even trashier reading tastes, what are you talking about?

>>22410826
Please, for the love of god, do leave. The aggressive litsnob anons are by far my least favorite posters.

>>22410780
I am afraid of the pain. But... if it's for the sake of art...

>>22410567
Why would I give a shit about the (((Nobel)))? That, if anything, is a plus. Stop your westoid worship.

>>22410806
>try H.P. Lovecraft
AAAAAAAAAAA IT'S AN OCTOPUS SAVE ME NIGGERMAN!!! THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE HORROR I'M GOING INSANE!!

What is some things to keep in mind when writing a large and varied cast of characters?

>>22410779
Text formatting isn't why they are considered good writers THOUGH.

>>22411297
That you neither go outside and meet people, nor read, so no one will find your "cast of characters" remotely human.

>>22411317
Why are you so upset?

>>22411324
There's either some demoralisation op going on here or a bunch of extremely bitter crabs, possibly both desu. So many people dooming about web serials, about publishing, writing in anno domini 2023 etc and yet the people I know seem to be doing pretty damn well.

>>22406929
>The thick air had given her a headache and she was hungry and tired and tense.
What's the verdict on intentionally using run on sentences as a stylistic decision? I think they can have good rhythm and can emphasize a feeling of haste, pressure, or overwhelmment (overwhelmedness? overwhelmingness? I dunno the noun form of that word). Still, I might just think that because I'm stupid.

>>22411338
>doing pretty damn well.
The guy who wrote the most famous web novel, The Worm, doesn't even have more than 1201 subscribers. Good luck trying to keep an audience that would rather watch TikTok or the latest Black Panther.

>>22411359
>over and over and over
>this and that and one more thing
>and I do not know and I do not care and I wish you would leave me alone
yeah, it's whatever
anything is fine as long as you're conscious of the effect it has

>>22411363
>t. someone who has no clue how web serial monetization works

Worm is the most widely known serial, yes. Wildbow is also a retard when it comes to monetization. Plus, Worm is over, and his other serials are far less popular, so fewer people sub to him.

See: https://graphtreon.com/top-patreon-creators/writing

Several people making >500k a year from just Patreon. Typically they make 1-2x that from KU too.

>>22411402
Top earner is writing Warcraft Logs and not fiction. Tells you that no amount of cope will ever make your time consuming hobby pay off. There's no way out to the top. You are stuck in this thread forever, with a poor to middling wage from you can't get away from and never able to get ahead. The most you can hope for is to become the next Shirtaloon. But that was a lightning in a bottle situation. And he already says he hates writing because publishing a story every 1-2 weeks after the initial grind is probably hell inside your own head. Talking about the same gay shit, over and over.

>after Shirtaloon, there is Maksy
Kek. A cosplaying whore who makes youtube videos is considered a top earner writer on Patreon. You guys would be able to get subscriber simps if you had a vagina and a pair of tits. No one cares about your writing.

>>22411411
This is a blackpill on the same level as the looks blackpill: it’s absolutely deluded.

>>22411425
>looks blackpill
Pirateaba has 1000 less subscribers than a cosplayer who doesn't even write. Even the most famous guys like Shirtaloon, Pirateaba, and Zogarth are poorer than a Warcroft Logs account too. Kek!

>>22406929
God, I'm so lost on what to do for this chapter. I know what comes after it, it's just a matter of getting there. I now understand why so many things have filler, because I literally feel like I'm just writing to fill out pages until I can end the chapter and go to the next. It sucks but whatever. There's some important things happening in it, but I can guarantee 99% of readers will talk about how boring of a chapter it is. I guess you've gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet, better follow this one up with something interesting.

>>22411469
so make something interesting happen, r-tard

>>22411481
I feel like I've got an interesting idea. There's an invasion happening, characters on the road meet a painter and a famous swordmaster. The swordmaster is old and doesn't want to see his home taken over, so he decides he wishes to die in a duel, and the ending is him dying in said duel and being buried on a hill. I think I can do some interesting stuff with that, it's just getting there. I also don't know what else to do with the other characters. I feel like I'm writing a movie script with all this talking. I mean, I enjoy heavy dialogue, but I'm at a point where I don't know how else to display some of these side characters.

>>22411494
so what is your mc doing while you're dicking around with all these side characters?

>>22411297
Don't introduce them all at once.

>>22411359
>run on sentences
That's not a run on sentence. It has a conjunction.

>>22406929
Hi frens!
I have been thinking about making my dream game for a while and started to learn art and code and have been for some time. I sat down a few months ago and actually tried to write out some sort of rough outline of the plot of my game and I realize to me shock and horror that I can't write for shit, and my game should have shitloads of story in it which is a problem.
Actually I failed out of school because I hated it, and although I would say that I know how to speak very fluently, I don't have any idea why or how anything works. Things just "sound right" or they don't to me.
I sort of know that a verb is an action word(?) and a noun is a thing(?), but other than that I know absolutely no theory; like I have no idea what an adverb or an adjective is or what all the punctuation symbols are called or anything.
I checked the recommended books on this thread OP and found pdf's of Garner's Modern English, and Style as Grammar but the first book is incomprehensible to me and the second seems too advanced for me, it doesn’t really explain the basics.
Would you guys have any resources for total beglets like me on the basic actual rules of the English language? Not fancy writing advice type stuff, but like grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, conjugation etc? Website or book suggestion would be super helpful! I just want to learn the foundation! Thank you!

>>22411505
The biggest takeaway from the chapter is establishing her crippling fear and pattern of panic attacks, which becomes the conflict with her throughout the story. She lacks agency so I intend for her to just be around while all these things happen, and they're all seen through her very emotionally unstable eyes. The problem is that it's not fun to write someone who has no agency and has the plot happen TO them. Now I know that's my own problem and if something isn't fun, don't do it, but it's the principle I'm trying to get across. I intend for her to have some character-building interactions with these side characters before they get ferried off the stage and are never heard from again. It's still the beginning of the story, so most of my intentions here are to cement certain themes and symbols that will recur throughout it.
I already figured that I was gonna write my chapters as interconnected "short stories", this one being about the sword master. I suppose, then, I should focus more on telling his story through her interactions with him than mulling about and trying to do systematic things. My excuse is that it's still a first draft, so when I finish the whole thing and make the second draft, I can change it however I like. I just need to get the damn thing written before I go QA reading it.

>>22411553
>her
>She lacks agency
Why?
Simply, why?

>>22411519
No one here reads. Don’t expect them to know what grammar is.

>>22411563
There're two main characters and their POVs are alternated between the chapters, one of them is male and the other is female. Their union in love is an allusion to the union of the divine masculine and feminine in the alchemical magnum opus and also represents the union of all opposite counterparts into a single whole in God. There's a method to such madness, but apparently writing women is for gays or something.
The whole point of her character is to stop being afraid of life and to gain agency.

>>22411583
awful
scrap it and do something else

>>22411590
Your mom should've scrapped you and done something else

>>22411593
not an argument

>>22411598
It is actually an argument

>>22411650
two wrongs don't make a right anon

>>22411402
Why was Worm so popular and why was Wildbow unable to recapture its popularity? My theory is that he tried to be too "literary" in subsequent works (basically got a big head from all the praise he was getting) and lost his core audience that just wanted good genre schlock.

>>22411402
>>22411655
What's worm?

>>22411583
my book I'm working on has a fem mc that is much less forceful than my previous book's male mc. this does not mean she lacks agency, merely that she is generally more avoidant and more prone to seeking compromise, whereas the old mc, in typical male fashion, is more confrontational and directed
in similar fashion your mc shouldn't lack agency, because that makes for a boring, awful mc, she should just act like a female. a normal female, not these boss bitch lesbo females

>>22411662
Capeshit webnovel

>>22411662
The earliest well known fully online web serial. It’s shit. This is the best a loser at a computer can come up with.

>>22411672
Oh, no wonder. I only read peppy asian webnovels.
>>22411677
>gloomy girl
...

>>22411677
It's really no worse than any other YA novel.

>>22411684
>YA novel
Setting the bar high, I see.

>>22411688
That's what it is... otherwise you're just comparing apples and oranges. You can't make a fair comparison between an edgy capeshit webnovel with War and Peace. They have different goals.

but where are the big words?????

>>22411697
Kavalier and Clay is about the same shit but isn’t written as poorly as Worm.

>>22411721
KC isn't YA genre fiction lol. Why are you being so disingenuous?

>>22411743
Wildbow never said he writes YA. You just made up that it’s supposed to be YA, and not just a product of internet dweeb writers being mentally stunted.
>genre fiction
Kavalier and Clay is about superheroes if comics were real. People who dress it up as literary fiction are just stupid.

do you think the average lit writer is actually less successful compared to other sites/forums? It's just bickering, crabbing, and trolling nonstop.

>>22411827
Reddit writers are infinitely worse. They think you can’t even critique someone constructively “because everyone’s right” and can’t have their fee fees hurt.
You’re welcome to leave to go read and write. All you do is bitch and moan.

>>22411677
>Class ended in five minutes and all I could think was, an hour is too long for lunch
I don't know why this opening makes me so pissed off.

>>22411827
lit writers on average are (much) more talented, but also more self destructive so it amounts to less success
most people here refuse to write for the modern audience that actually reads books (redditors and women)

>>22411835
I honestly think the average reddit writer is more successful.

>>22411849
>average Reddit writer
There’s literally THOUSANDS of them. We have never more than 100 in writing threads at a time. Reddit writers dwarf us heaps but name a single successful Reddit writer. There aren’t any.

does anyone else hate 4chan as a site and have no respect for its users, but frequent it anyway? what does it mean for me?

For your reading pleasure: The Love of the Life of Plimpton Billmeyer, Chapter 1

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0v8sbh7mrj8em8y12mwcq/Chapter-I.docx?rlkey=41wieedsr9on3scc5kmxqkg97&dl=0

>>22411849
Is the average better or do they hit upon more successes due to user volume?

>>22411865
brandon sanderson, literally
also plenty others. not sure what you're talking about. normie sci-fi/fantasy authors use reddit

>>22411868
Just because you hate 4chan and its users does not mean that you like anything else much less prefer them. 4chan scratches an itch for many no matter where the fingernails have been.

I had a nice writing moment recently.

I was two-thirds of the way through a first draft. The narrator had up to then been just a blank, no-personality spectator who existed only to passively experience the plot events. It wasn't great, but it was the approach I took so I could start getting the story underway and some words in the file.

Then, at that two-thirds point, a bunch of different threads and ideas in the story all seemed to naturally come together and suggest a driving motivation for this narrator character, a reason for him to actively entangle himself further in the plot and a characterful perspective from which he could respond to what was happening to him. The events around him suddenly stopped being arbitrary external occurrences and became the expression of an internal conflict. It reminded me that theme and characters are rarely something you start off with pre-planned but rather emerge through the story's own organic development.

Anyway, returning to the story a few nights later, I found that I'd lost all motivation to continue it, and it now joins the rest of the two-thirds-complete drafts in my drafts folder. But nevertheless it was a nice moment, and I'm sure it would have been a very nice story, if I'd been a more committed writer.

>>22411880
Brandon Sanderson didn’t start from Reddit. He went to that Mormon university and wrote half a dozen novels before the internet even had Reddit. He’s on Reddit just for outreach.

>>22411865
various subreddits genuinely have dozens of professional working authors frequenting them. wym?

>>22411891
he's spiritually a redditor, even before reddit existed

>>22411891
you're delusional if you don't think modern genre sloppers aren't on reddit

>>22411894
>dozens of professional working authors
Like who? No professional working author I’ve looked at even uses social media that much other than to post their upcoming projects. I doubt someone busy with finishing up book contracts, doing talks, and writing cares about wasting hours on Reddit.

>>22411885
Apologies, by the way, for the vagueness with which I describe the story here. I would have related the actual plot specifics, but as it happens the story was erotica centered on an embarrassing fetish. Yet writing is writing, and the same triumphs and struggles apply to even the humblest smut-artist.

>>22411908
They get told to by their publishers to get people to read them or to discuss them. You’re naive to think them doing AMAs or going on there sometimes is organic. It’s free advertising.

>>22411901
Don't play that game. It has the same energy as homos claiming historical figures as one of their own.

>>22411758
>Kavalier and Clay is about superheroes if comics were real. People who dress it up as literary fiction are just stupid.
I wasn't going to bother replying since you're clearly just being pigheaded for the sake of it, but this is factually wrong. The book is about comic book writers, based mostly off the life of real comic book authors like the jews that created Superman. I have no idea where you got the "comics are real" from. Did you even read the book? And yeah, it absolutely was intended to be literary fiction and is regarded as such by the mainstream (considering it won a Pulitzer and was nominated for the PEN award). Comparing KC to Worm is absolutely ludicrous. A fairer comparison would be something like Soon I Will Be Invincible, which is in the same genre and intended for the same audience (i.e YA).

>>22411960
Learn how to interpret deeper than the surface, retard. But that's what you guys are: NGMIs.

>>22411960
>navelgazing book about jews wins jew awards
I, for one, am shocked.

How do I avoid being an edgelord? I really want to write something similar to Dragon Ball Z or Kingdom Hearts. I want to write some fun, mindless entertainment, like shonen in book form, but my mind keeps going to dark places. And even though in my personal life I'm not political or that much into religion or race theory, I keep thinking about these things and how to incorporate them into a story, which is something a lot of Hollywood writers seem to do. I don't want to be like Bret Easton Ellis, Stephen King, or Lars Von Trier.

How do so many Japanese creators like Tetsuya Nomura and Akira Toriyama do it? How do they avoid talking about race, religion, and politics? How do they create something lighthearted and fun? How do they avoid philosophizing?

Am I gonna make it?

>>22412249
1/10th as much as the average shitty erotica churned out by the week

>>22412249
that is a solid daily word count. do it again tomorrow.

Do any of you grow so attached to your own characters that you write just to "be with them"?

>>22412353
yes this is my primary motivation to write
I just want to see what they do next

>>22412372
I love metaphysical shit tests

>>22412231
They knew what they were making. They knew who they were making it for. Their primary goal was to entertain not to preach.

Do you want to know the fast-track to thinking like a typical Japanese person? Read Confucius, The Way of the Samurai, and about Shintoism. When you comprehend these you will understand how a mangaka who writes action-adventure gag manga for pre-teen boys appeals to universal truths rather than divisive topics that their readers don't care about.

>>22412231
Just be proud of it. Think about those marvel movies which have a formula to do jokes, yeah it may be popular now but it will get old. On the other hand, there was a time the public was not serious enough to something like "Atlanta" but now people see that dead serious thinking it is some kinda of important message. To make things easier
>Treat it as seriously as you want the reader to take
>Don't sugarcoat it or put some light jokes in case they don't like, go all in
>Treat things you don't want to talk about as a basic concept,
Ex. woman and men work together, they never talk about wage gap or anything, be it good or bad - don't ever try to explain it or the reader will think about it.

>>22412403
>Confucius, The Way of the Samurai, and about Shintoism.
Thank you so much

I want to practice crit
Someone post something

>>22412231
On the other side, look at mangaka like Kentaro Miura, who drew the longest, most graphic r*pe I've ever seen in a comic. Look at Hiroya Oku and the depressing Hideaki Anno, and Mohiro Kitoh. A light novelist like Rui Tsukiyo. And then you have guys like Stan Lee, Jim Henson, Walter Disney, etc. who produced family entertainment. Then there are works like Bridge to Terabithia which are fucked.
>>22412403
>They knew what they were making. They knew who they were making it for. Their primary goal was to entertain not to preach.
This is true.
> When you comprehend these you will understand how a mangaka who writes action-adventure gag manga
I've never been to Japan. Are these things really necessary for the country in the 21st century? The country seems secular. Do you really think someone like Tite Kubo or Hajime Isayama has ever read Way of the Samurai? That's like saying a Japanese man must read the Bible and the constitution to understand Star Wars. You could grasp at straws to make that argument (good vs evil), but it's not needed to understand why George Lucas made Star Wars.

I think the real secret is Japanese people don't often think about people outside of Japan. 99.8% of the country is one race and there isn't much diversity of religion. The women are still raised to become good mothers and wives. The mind virus hasn't completely penetrated that little island just yet.
>>22412424
I think he's saying he doesn't want to make edgy shite. He wants to write something families or young audiences can enjoy. His pic included the name Aron Beauregard, a tryhard who attempts to write the irl Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs. I think anon has been poisoned by the current media. So many movies and shows subvert the values that once made people feel moral. It leaves people sick-minded and empty. Stephen King is a good example; they push his content, when it's obvious the man has a very black soul. I'm 90% certain the father in The Black Phone was based on a younger Stephen King.

>>22412500
>Do you really think someone like Tite Kubo or Hajime Isayama has ever read Way of the Samurai? That's like saying a Japanese man must read the Bible and the constitution to understand Star Wars. You could grasp at straws to make that argument (good vs evil), but it's not needed to understand why George Lucas made Star Wars.
I do not believe they read those works any more than most Christians ever actually read the Bible. The Way of the Samurai is a descriptive work as-is. The principles of Shintoism, Zen Buddhism, Bushido, or Confucianism are cultural foundations of Japan. They are intuitively learned and understood by those who grow up in Japanese society, even if broadly, much like language. It's like how Western society is still founded on Christianity despite being outwardly secular. However, if one is a complete foreigner and stranger it can take years to fundamentally understand Japanese society on even a basic level. Reading those kinds of works is a short cut to noticing the underlying logic that the Japanese people know by practice.

>>22412500
>Do you really think someone like Tite Kubo or Hajime Isayama has ever read Way of the Samurai? That's like saying a Japanese man must read the Bible and the constitution to understand Star Wars.
I think the point is that as a foreigner you need to read these things to have the same knowledge that those authors would have picked up by osmosis. Exactly the same way that the Bible and the Constitution are picked up osmosis here in the west.

>>22410299
You apparently didn't read closely enough to learn about the Hand Of Glory.

>>22412482
Fuck I miss the days of /crit/

>>22411590
>>22411672
>>22411758
seethe

Tips for writing a female sword & sorcery protag? I don't want to do the stupid "fit, but lithe female warrior beats up men three times her size" shit that is so common these days. I was thinking that maybe she'd use wits or agility to win fights rather than brute force. Thoughts?

>>22412607
>Tips for writing a female sword & sorcery protag?
ape anime and (good) action movies
>"fit, but lithe female warrior beats up men three times her size"
this is totally possible as long as the writer remembers that, pound for pound, the men are that much stronger and more endurable. the problem kicks in when they don't
>I was thinking that maybe she'd use wits or agility to win fights rather than brute force.
you mean like fucking the guy and killing him when he's passed out from sex? there's your "wits"

>>22412607
>Tips for writing a female protag?
Don't

>>22412607
If you're doing sword and sorcery why not just have her use magic? Realistically it depends on how realistic you're trying to be, if magic is part of the equation then biological differences between men and women need not be an issue at all.
> she'd use wits or agility to win fights
Wits can only go so far against superior opponents, what I've seen a lot of bad writers do when trying to make a protagonist like this is making their antagonists stupid because the plot doesn't work otherwise.

>>22412607
basically the correct character archetype for her would be spy. note I did not say assassin. she can kill here and there, but her primary strength would be collecting and using information to her, or her employer's, or her country's benefit. espionage, lockpicking, seduction, and maybe traps or a dagger or poison in the dark. fitting with the sword and sorcery theme she can use magic that does cool, fun, inventive things. not shooting fireballs willy nilly. that'll help keep your power creep in check. if she needs muscle or raw magic power for a job she can recruit

>>22409849
I have autism and am able to write slop. You have all of this fucking mud in your gullet. Down there in your stomach. You're a bastard and you don't even know it. Do you know how many people want to genocide everyone with autism? Corral your disgust and go get em tiger!

>>22409849
>I'm too good for slop!
You fucking wish.
Post your work, let's see what you got.
Oh right, you don't even write.

>>22412539
>>22412540
Alright. That's fair.

>>22412607
Who cares about realism? You are writing sword and sorcery schlock

>>22412607
You know The Grey Mouser? Make her like that. Magic, even just a little, does wonders for women in fantasy.

>>22412607
necromancer, or less spooky eqivalent
schlocky witch complete with hat and cat and flying broom
maybe borrow a page from the trigun anime and give her a job like insurance adjuster that sends her out into various danger zones in the world

>>22412607
Read the Oathbound series

>>22412231
Write both.

Shit, that motherfucker who keeps posting "you don't read" is right. I've only finished reading 4 books this whole fucking year.
>196 words today
The psyop succeeded... for now.

charles bukowski sounds like an unhinged schizophrenic

>>22412785
>"it's nice to die from alcoholism. it's glorious. but if you write dull shit, it doesn't matter what you die from."

I'll never get to travel the world, I'll be stuck working a 9-5 till the day I die, I'll never experience the Japanese countryside, I'll never sit and breathe in a Mongolian field while the wind rushes over me, I'll never walk the streets of the stuck-in-time Italian villages, I'll never drive along an empty Nevada highway with the top down, life is a cruel mistress.

>>22412850
>>>/r9k/

>>22412850
Shit, I thought I was in /wwoym/, my bad.

>>22412850
delude yourself into making it a reality

>>22412774
>tfw finished 4 this month
It's never too late

>>22412850
Learn to manifest nigga

>>22412403
>The Way of the Samurai,
Which book are you referring to? Nitobe Inazō? HAGAKURE?

>>22412887
This little guy.

>>22412887
>>22412915
This is the same book but the original title as I understand it.

>>22412915
>>22412919
Cheers

>>22412919
Bushido just means "The Way of the Warrior/Samurai"

How do I get any of you to read my first draft and write your thoughts? Word count is 10,223

>>22412959
Right but that distinction can be important regarding book titles.

>>22413016
We cannot read your work without you posting it first.

>>22413030
https://docdro.id/SbOSFkb
The style is inspired by Steinbeck's "playable novel." Much like Tolstoy I have developed a new method of novel storytelling. Feel free to search up the music and play it while you read.

>>22413030
https://docdro.id/mQy0j1c
The style is inspired by Steinbeck's "playable novel." Much like Tolstoy I have developed a new method of novel storytelling. Feel free to search up the music and play it while you read.

>>22412637
Well, you're not long. It's been a long time since I've written. I have several tens of thousands of work laying around but if I post them here I am never going to post them anywhere else, so I'd rather not.
And I didn't say I am too good for slop. I just can't write slop. I am incapable of it. I am a natural born edgelord autist, not a slopchad.

>>22413090
>you're no long
Wrong*. I need to sleep.

>>22411872
Are you the same guy who wrote about the detective clam?

>send in a screenplay for cheap coverage
>"The story's superb storytelling structure, which unfolds in three acts based on a pivotal question, is its most excellent quality. Outstanding acting by the cast helps to highlight the intricacy and depth of the characters."
get what you pay for I guess

>>22409849
Don't worry, in all likelihood you yourself are writing slop, just unsuccessful slop

>>22412084
Don't you talk shit about Jack Kirby, mother fucker. I'll slap the taste from your mouth.

>>22413090
>I have several tens of thousands of works that I could potentially never do anything with
I found the problem. Henry Darger wannabe motherfucker

>>22413097
No, but I would love to read that

>>22413086
No one is going to read something formatted like that.

>>22407470
Starts off pretty good and the title is great, but quickly gets boring. Who gives a fuck about boyfriend girlfriend drama, it's too cliche

>>22413105
Maybe it is slop quality. But it doesn't feel like slop. It's not slop in my mind. I can't content myself with it, I must push higher and higher. And that makes writing a chore for me.
>>22413109
It's because of my autist power level. Everything must be compartmentalised and presented upon completion. And everything has to be done with the right technical process.

>We especially strive to magnify voices that are traditionally and systemically silenced. Writers of color, queer and trans writers, disabled writers, immigrant writers, fat writers and femmes: you are welcome and wanted here.

Getting really fed up with this shit.

>>22413090
>I just can't write slop. I am incapable of it.
I find it very hard to believe that someone who's churned out tens of thousands of works is writing anything other than slop, but maybe I'm wrong. How much time do you put into your writing?

>>22411872
This seems like it was meant to be comedic so it's a problem that I didn't laugh. I did smile when you called the nurse fat but otherwise straight face throughout.
Also I don't get the Santa stuff but I have a feeling it's some indie shit we're I'm not meant to.

>>22413135
Hence why I asked "How do I get any of you to read my first draft"

>>22409107
>>22409392
>>22409855
>>22410731
>>22410765
>>22407315
>>22408483
>>22411317
>>22411421
>>22411590
>>22412637

>>22410734
I'm so glad I read through this thread's old posts and found this gem

>>22413161
The implied answer is 'reformat it.'

>>22413158
Thanks for taking the time to read it! I am pleased to have made you smile at least once

>>22413156
Anon in the past two days I've slept for like 5 hours. My post had several typos. One of them was changing 'words' to 'work'.
>How much time do you put into your writing?
Used to be a lot. I spent 2-3 years writing from dawn to dusk. Since then, I've only written in short bursts. Did 60k around nanowrimo I believe.

>>22413169
OK???
https://docdro.id/TaLYyQm

Something about Steven King rubs me the wrong way and I haven't even read his books.

Just me daily blog update.

>>22413179
bro that's what his kids said except the "something about" part

Besides here, what are good places to get feedback on your writing?

>>22413139
>the right technical process.
This is code for "formula." You are a formulaic writer.
Confirmed for slop.

>>22413193
>IRL writer friends
>Leddit
>Pay money

>>22413193
>ask bing AI what it thinks about my first chapter
>says it's great

I'm gonna make it big.

>>22413161
I can give you my opinion, for whatever little it matters.

It seems like you don't know if you want this to read like a screenplay or an after-action report, the end result being that you've written neither. It lacks the visuals and dialogue of the former and the authenticity of the latter. Most of your characters' speech is summarized which frankly isn't very interesting to read. Your prose lacks the rhythm and flow that would justify its long, unbroken paragraphs so it's visually burdensome to navigate for seemingly no payoff. I get the impressions that you're trying to smuggle in your personal beliefs without committing to them, so you pawn them off on onto a "bad" character in hopes they'll slide (don't think there's anything wrong with that, it's just not very subtle). I admire that you're trying to do something different but merely doing something different isn't enough, it also has to be captivating.

I'd recommend you read the screenplay for Nightcrawler and contrast that with this piece.

>>22413204
That's nice, anon, but you should know it's not allowed to say bad things.

>>22413217
thatwasthejoke.jpeg

>>22412850
What makes you think those places are any different from your own backyard?

>>22413222
This... this can't be...
I'm... stupid?

>>22413151
Welcome to commercial publishing business lmao

In Canada agents will literally put "Only seeking stories from non-white voices" or if they're not feeling that bold they'll say "Seeking non-European stories".

>>22413211
Can understand you having difficulty with the material. It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But your great grandchildren will be reading "novels" like that one in school. Who said anything about screenplays?
>I get the impressions that you're trying to smuggle in your personal beliefs without committing to them, so you pawn them off on onto a "bad" character in hopes they'll slide (don't think there's anything wrong with that, it's just not very subtle)
Elaborate on this please. Not sure what you think I was trying to do.
Also, yes I've read Nightcrawler and obviously it's amazing.

>>22413151
This poster thinks it's a game of musical chairs

>>22413227

Been trying to write this on the road. Currently traveling across Montana on foot because a) I'm a retard, and b) I'm a retard who can't drive.
Chipping away at this between shitting at rest stops and getting harassed by truckers.

If you ever wanted to read the first ten pages of some schmuck's screenplay now's your chance.
https://docdro.id/ggoKCoK

>>22413338
It's neat. Assuming this is from somewhere in the middle. The descriptions remind me of the Gormenghast trilogy. Something about the way they sweep around.
But I bet you used a thesaurus.

>>22411469
This is what the editing phase is for. But it sounds like you're still in the writing phase so you should ignore the intrusive negative thoughts.

>>22413338
Sounds kino. You're just walking down the highways? Where are you sleeping?

>>22413331
There are a limited number of submissions accepted. Are you retarded?

>>22413319
Best of luck.

>>22413374
Actually didn't use a thesaurus, I'm just an asshole. This is (ideally) an early bit, but I'm hoping to balance its sweepy-ness with hard, straightforward detail/context in the following lines. Something to ground the scene quickly after. The "big picture" concept is strange enough, opening this way foreshadows more than should be obvious. Or maybe that's a horrible misjudgement. Either way, it's been sorta fun. And thank you!

>>22413349
This script has an endearing quality to it. Admittedly not the kind of wholesomeness I was expecting, but that's a plus, kinda. Your dialogue and scene transitions have a very uniform, snappy pace, which simultaneously evokes 80s films and kid's movies. Whatever your intentions, I see this as double-edged - the content of your lines tends toward cliche, and your characters feel more like colorful archetypes than fleshy human beings (in both cases comforting and fun, but predictable and somewhat flat). Even the supernatural element has a level of predictability to it. However, it was am oddly touching read and I genuinely enjoyed visualizing your concept. The sweetness of the bullies almost read like a bait-and-switch. If you wanted to remind me of being a small child sick at home, watching insane shit like The Peanut Butter Solution, then you succeeded with flying colors.

>>22413408
Fuck off, don't leave some snarky final (you) if you're not going to elaborate, just don't reply at all. Fucking loser.

>>22413438
>balance its sweepy-ness with hard, straightforward detail/context in the following lines

>>22413396
Sometimes sleeping in a tent, sometimes an underpass. A woman's backyard for a while (she was extremely generous but also thought her bipolar was "actually just chronic Lyme"). In one instance the upper bunk of a semi truck (owned by the aforementioned trucker, who really was a pain in the ass).
The best place I've stayed was on this old hippie dude's land near the border, he let me eat from his community garden and ride his horses around by the river.

>>22413439
gosh, you're such a special, smart little boy. yes you are! don't listen to that mean, nasty person giving you negative feedback. just ignore it, you're great as you are, no improvement necessary. big things. you're destined for big things!

>>22413438
Hella tight take on the script. That's exactly what I'm going for on all counts. That movie is very much not about fleshy people going about their smelly lives but about puppets for ideologies meeting, clashing, and synthesizing. It's very heavy on subtext but I'm rendering it digestible enough for children's palates. Kids might not connect Mosley and Goldman to their real-world fascist and anarchist namesakes, but ideally they'll pick up on the ideas behind it all.
Thanks for your insights. Here's my favorite snippet from the script so far.

>>22413463
Negative feedback is fine. Borderline incomprehensible feedback is not.
How does one "smuggle in personal beliefs without committing to them?" And which character(s) do you consider the "bad" one(s)?

Is it just me or first person is harder to write than third person?

>>22413492
You are probably just not used to it. It comes a lot more easily to me than 3rd person does, simply because I can cram the text with all kinds of extraneous but entertaining information, like a charismatic MC's inner thoughts, emotions, etc etc.

>>22413492
It's more challenging in the sense that you have to constantly stay in character. If the narrator is a straight white man, him describing baby blue curtains and rococo cupboard handles would be heavily out of character, as would be randomly slipping into monotone weather reports. The more distinct the personality the more it limits what you can say through his mouth. You don't have to think about any of that in third person

>>22413477
Assuming you're the smuggler, I'm a few pages in now and already have a few thoughts. Sitting at a gas station now, probably not sleeping tonight, planning on reading the rest unless my eyes turn into jelly.
The "personal beliefs" bit hasn't made itself too apparent to me yet, but I'd imagine your critic was referring to the way an author's worldviews can be projected through their characters with some assumption of the reader's agreeing with them, usually a bit too transparently (for example, referencing "bad guy" beliefs in a way that attempts to succinctly address—and possibly even argue—their standpoint without embracing its depth, origin, or why the author might want the audience to consider its validity). If a text presents statistics correlating race and violent crime, let's say, without an evident purpose in regards to its plot/thesis, it's easy to assume this might BE the thesis at least in part. This isn't something you seem to be doing yet, but it's not exactly uncommon. It depends on how strong these themes come across. If the narrative's central theme isn't more striking than the themes of one character's bigotry, their bigotry reads as the "true" theme (and something the author won't just come out and say).
I'm a little disarmed by your paragraphs as well, but its density doesn't seem unwarranted either. There could probably be a few more gasps of air in there, but generally the tone is set well because of it. The circumstance is claustrophobic and demanding, which your formatting echoes. Your descriptions support this by dressing the set without embellishing too much. When the text nausea subsides, its flow is solid and the subjects are easy to follow. The dialogue isn't bad, either. It's not always the most captivating, but I attribute this almost entirely to your formatting—if you were willing to section things up a bit, the clarity of Who is speaking When about What will likely snap into focus. As it stands now, I'm reminded of overcoming reading difficulties in early grade school, frustrated about my inability to follow a simple conversation in writing.
Also curious about Plasticine Cowboy. Where did you find this music? Are you the Plasticine Cowboy? Whatever your answer is, I'm following the artist now and enjoy their sound.

>>22406929
Tried my hand at writing horror. Thoughts?

>>22407657
What ethnicity? Somebody somewhere is probably doing a thesis on your people. Try to track down somebody with actual knowledge of your peoples culture or who can point you to sources. Your family group doesn't have any old folks around you can ask questions of or interview?

I finished a worthless manuscript and now I'm free to write anything.
I want to write something good, but it appears that I don't have either the technical skills or the profundity of thought or the experiences necessary to do so. What am I left with?
HARDCORE PORNOGRAPHY

>>22413983
>or the profundity of thought or the experiences necessary to do so
Maybe gain some instead of bitching..

>>22413177

Paragraph breaks. You need paragraph breaks. The file type doesn't matter.

>>22414038
No, I want results now! I want validation!

>>22413227
You will never be a writer.

>>22414061
Unfortunately, to make a great work of any kind, generally one must suffer a great deal.

>>22414070
Quite possibly the only good thing about my 10+ years of depression and suicidal ideation.

>>22410734
Try reading Soren Kierkegaard. Talk about blocks of text! I've read single paragraphs of his which have spanned 3-4 pages! Love him though.

>>22410788
>Brandon Sanderson
LOL. LMAO EVEN.

>>22413338
I really like this, anon.

>>22414081
Get to the heart of that. There must be something there.

>>22413338
Felt overwritten to me.

>>22408476
It's a mystery.

At this point it's sitting around ~105 pages (US letter) with most of the pieces formatted, but very few in the order I want, though I've at least started to define what that is. Hopefully ordering the pieces will let me pack it a little tighter and pare down the page count a bit. I'll have to do a final editing pass, which is painful, but I'm pretty confident that I've caught most of the glaring issues at this point.

Major illustrations should be mostly done at this point, with those being perhaps the easiest to lose time to. More clerical sections are still undone---front matter, table of contents, and a references section (for the illustrations)---but should be straightforward. After that I have to check that it's good for print and pray that there are no major issues.

I have some free-ish time soon when I can get more of this done. So let's say it releases at noon today so I can ruin your expectations again.

>>22414104
Already did. Not going to fix 10+ years of depression I went through though.

>>22414114
No, certainly not. Believe me, I know. But it makes for good art.

>>22414112
What exactly is taking you so long? You need to commit to a release date.

>>22413573
>If the narrative's central theme isn't more striking than the themes of one character's bigotry, their bigotry reads as the "true" theme (and something the author won't just come out and say).
But doesn't this depend entirely on the reader? If an obsessive /pol/tard read that then obviously the bigotry themes will be striking, perhaps moreso than the central theme regardless how to "striking" it is.
Thanks for writing some actual feedback and not just spitting something out. For that I'll drop the ironic veneer and admit that that document is not meant to be read and is indeed a screenplay that will be turned into a film.
>Are you the Plasticine Cowboy?
Why would I be any more likely to be Plasticine Cowboy than Komiku, Rabeirior, the Tudor Consort, or the Salakapakka Sound System? Their music is on the internet, so I found it. It's that simple.

>>22414052
But there are paragraph breaks.

>>22414612
*
>perhaps moreso than the central theme ̶r̶e̶g̶a̶r̶d̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶"̶s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶i̶n̶g̶"̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶.̶

>>22413745
Reads like YA fiction. Take that as a compliment or a warning.

Auto delete pastebins wont get caught by plagariasm scrubbers right? If I try to get feedback here, im not fucked if I try to publish am I?

>>22414732
You're fucked bro. Your agent is gonna call you up one night and yell at you, "Why the fuck did you steal all your work from Pastebin?!"

I think the guy writing cheap coverage for my screenplay might be using AI. There's an odd discrepancy between the quality of the prose in his coverage and the quality of his DMs.
Anyone know a good way to check s body of text for AI writing?

>>22414763
If you can't automatically tell AI writing from human, you're probably not cut out to be a writer.

>>22414763
>There's an odd discrepancy between the quality of the prose in his coverage and the quality of his DMs
why would you ever care about the prose in your DMs? In texts and DMs and on 4chan I just write whatever enters my brain and don't bother editing for flow or whatever. because who cares

>>22414769
It's over. I legit can not.

>>22414787
No, everything you write has to be manicured and perfected or else you're not a real writer.

>>22414795
you should try writing and not caring about quality
it's like when I take phone pics of my dog, I'm not putting the same attention to detail as I do when I'm taking film pics of architecture

>>22414744
Shidd :DDD

>>22414803
That's because like Salieri you're a mediocrity. All my pictures of my cats could be hung up in a museum.

>>22414812
my shitty pictures of my dog are hung up in the museum of my wife's heart

>>22414816
D'aww, next you'll be trying to live vicariously through your kids only to realize the darling pumped out a brood of cute lil fellow mediocrities.

>>22414827
>here lies anon... he never felt feminine touch because he was too busy assuming the aesthetics of a tortured genius
>we've buried him alongside his half finished existential novels
>we hope he's not too upset that the stone carvers used am em dash instead of an en dash for the date range on his head stone

>>22414827
How to out yourself as an incel in one simple post.

>>22414787
>why would you ever care about the prose in your DMs?
If someone's goddamn DMs are distinctly better quality than his actual work, then just how terrible can his writing be? Anon's issue sounds pretty absurd

>>22414655
How so? Is it the prose?

>>22413745
Whenever you write something like "became aware" or "seemed to" or "could see" you're kicking the reader in the balls. They're called "filtering words" and you should look up why they're bad and what you can do to remove them.

>>22414850
Gay

>>22414850
Fag

>>22414920
>>22414924
embarrassing

>>22414930
No. Based.

WHERE'S THE NEXT GENERAL FAGGOTS

>>22414850
>here lies anon, beloved literal who lmfao

>>22414890
Yes mainly the prose. Seems like you're describing some pretty horrific body mutilation but the descriptions lack teeth, almost like you're purposefully softening it up.
It's also the subject matter, which seems fairly YA-esque at least from that excerpt. Something about a science fantasy setting with a bestial protagonist I guess.

>>22415051
here
>>22415078

>>22415078

>>22415078

>>22414860
Nice try but my legitimate kids will be privileged and amazing and I've also possibly already got some illegitimate ones.

>>22415080
Thanks bro