/lit/ - Literature

That's four words

>>22714925
uhhhh contractions are one word howbeit

The military maxim

Less is more

>>22714918
>show don't tell
>stop using adverbs
>write "relatable" characters
>your characters need to have flaws
>your story must follow the hero's journey
>you must provide a progressive depiction of women and minorities
>you need to research the things you are using as inspiration
>if you want to write well, you must read a lot
>your story NEEDS to have a plot twist
>do not use passive voice
>your characters NEED quirks that do not involve the plot of the story
>your characters/events need a tragic backstory
Hmmmm... no, I think I will just do whatever I want instead.

>>22714959
Aww hell nah

>>22714989
So a shitty ya coomer novel

>>22715005
Meant for >>22714986

>>22714986
>your characters need to have flaws
>you need to research the things you are using as inspiration
>if you want to write well, you must read a lot
these three are true

>>22714986
>spoiler
do people actually hold this as a rule of (contemporary) writing

>>22715062
Yes. That’s most of what’s published these days. I’ve been in writing groups where I’ve been criticized for having too much heteronormativity in my story.

>>22714986
I do all these things. I try to stick to conventions as much as possible as writing is hard enough. I only sometimes use adverbs

>>22714973
Now these are the three words that actually killed writing (and art in general)

>>22714986
Nothing can ever happen which isn’t directly advancing the plot.
You need to engage in significant world building so the reader can accept the setting as fully fleshed out.
The stakes must be constantly increasing and applying pressure to the characters. A quiet moment is a wasted moment.
Make sure to take time for character development.
Save the cat.

>>22715021
>>22714986
>you need to research the things you are using as inspiration
What the hell does this even mean?

>>22715021
Given certain reservations? Yes, sure. None of them are absolute truths though.
>>22715062
If you live in the hive mind, which most people do, yes. I have a normie writer friend who added a bunch of Arab, African and Jewish characters to his story because he thought that it would be immoral not to add them and because he felt that he would be bullied if he didn't add them. He did this even though the in-story reason for inserting these characters in a setting where they did not fit was necessarily contrived.

>>22714918
More like "brevity is the soul of wit". That way literary structure and visual storytelling become subordinate to the same principle.

>How do I make sure my character isn't a mary sue or gary stu?

TELL DONT OVERANALYSE

Million mom march

>>22715005
A YA coomer novel with 19th century depictions of w*men and m*norities.

AKA a masterpiece.

There is no axiom to writing other than
>make it interesting
Prove me wrong.

>>22714918
I'm okay with this.

>>22716016
>rules were made to be broken

>>22714959

>>22714918
you got them backwards. the biggest problem in modern writing is the lack of show. the prose is all info dumps and very dry.

>>22714959
Lol

>>22714986
based. These are good rules of thumb, but that's all they are. Instructions for vapid people to regurgitate ancient memes in an inoffensive manner.

>>22714918

>>22716489
If you actually think this then you don't actually read.

>>22716592
Here he is

>>22714918
>exposition puppetry

Back to Flaubert.

>>22716612
Based.