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/lit/ - Literature

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[ERROR] No.6828823 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/, three time self-published author here to share some writing tips. Normally I don't post threads but I felt like giving back to the community and sharing some tips that have helped me along in my own career. So here goes:

1) Craft your characters well. I don't want to see boring, one-dimensional characters, Holden Caulfield types who are obviously author self-inserts that just whine about their misery and alcoholism. I wanna be able to relate with the characters I'm reading about.

2) Diversity: I can't stress this enough. If your book only involves straight, white, male characters, I'm not even gonna bother giving it a fair read. At the very least make sure your book passes the Bechdel test.

3) Three words: Never. Use. The passive voice.

4) Be liberal with your descriptions: The worst mistake even some published authors make is neglecting to describe their characters and environments in detail. I wanna be able to visualize the character, so you should tell me what kind of hair she has, what she's wearing, what color her outfit is, what her sword looks like, et cetera. And don't just dump all that information in one paragraph either, you need to gradually disclose info. A good idea is to combine the description with an "action word" e.g. "Ariel brushed her raven black hair, that was dyed a rosy pink at the tips."

That's all from me for now. If you've got any more tips feel free to comment in this thread!

>> No.6828833

>>6828823
Can't tell if bait anymore. My brain is fried.
I'll say this, though, as somebody who's self-published 50 books, being self-published doesn't you make an authority on literature. Actually, your advice on anything should be avoided like the plague.

>> No.6828834

>>6828833
Fly away, troll.

>> No.6828837

>>6828833
it definitely is bait

>> No.6828885

Bizzump

>> No.6828907

>>6828833
>diversity
OP has been lurking for 2 days, probably frequents /r/books and thinks he can come in here and get a rise out of us.

>> No.6828909

>>6828907
I've been here since 2009 and it literally took me 3 hours to craft that bait

>> No.6828912
File: 463 KB, 1920x1080, 1393091612999.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
[ERROR]

OP, post links to your books & let the work speak for itself.

>> No.6828946

>>6828909
Care to expound on what subtleties made you take 3 hours to develop it? I think they went over my head.

>> No.6829711

>>6828823
>I became an avid reader...

>> No.6829717

>>6828823
Fuck I got baited hard by this

>> No.6829724

>>6828833
Obviously bait.

>> No.6829855
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[ERROR]

>>6828823
>2) Diversity

>> No.6829917
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[ERROR]

>>6828823
>2015
>diversity
>still caring so much about characters' ethnicities

>> No.6829919

>>6828823

>self-published

Woolfe plz go back to drowning

>> No.6830209

OP is giving some pretty legit advice

You can take the diversity section as "have some variety in characterization" , it dosent even need to be a race thing, just make each of your characters actually have their own distinction

>> No.6830218

>>6828823
7/10.
2/10 if Copypasta.

>> No.6830240

>>6830209
That's not what he said, though. What you're saying is true enough but it's at odds with the OP's insistence that superficial qualities like race and sex matter.

>> No.6830242

>>structuring your story such that physical appearance of the characters and their ethnicities matter

>2 0 1 5 and still falling for the PC meme

>> No.6830263

>>6828823
>"Ariel brushed her raven black hair, that was dyed a rosy pink at the tips."
Could this line be anymore dull and generic? Although I can't say I expected more of someone who's self-published.

>> No.6830331

>>6828823
>I don't want to see boring, one-dimensional characters, Holden Caulfield types who are obviously author self-inserts that just whine about their misery and alcoholism. I wanna be able to relate with the characters I'm reading about.

>Claims to be a writer
>Cant relate to misery and alcoholism.

>> No.6831265

>>6830331
Made me lol

>> No.6831274
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[ERROR]

>>6828823
>self-published author

Oxymorons? In my copypasta?

>> No.6833177

bizzump! ^_^

>> No.6833201

>>6831274
shoutout to old centipede meme haha

>> No.6833213

>>6828833
>what her sword looks like
That should have tipped you off, dog

>> No.6833544

Here's my advice as a short story author published by people other than myself:

>git gud