[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 229 KB, 1199x789, trao.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10041129 No.10041129 [Reply] [Original]

Is a writing style that readers of average or below intelligence will struggle with good, bad, or indifferent?

>> No.10041460

If you're trying to make a work of art then you've already failed by asking the question. If you want to just sell then by all means necessary do what you must

>> No.10041664

>>10041129
>Is a writing style that readers of average or below intelligence will struggle with good, bad, or indifferent?

If you ever want to actually write anything of any station even approaching significance, you must write what you, yourself, believe to be aesthetically pleasing, nothing else.

>> No.10041764

>>10041664
this is precisely what i did and my mostly high IQ friends have all given universal praise.
all the derps on this site:
"to [sic] dry"
"People don't talk like that"
"Dialogue doesn't make sense"
"First sentence is too long"

>> No.10042288

>>10041129
bump

>> No.10042353

>>10041460
Pretty much this, do what you gotta do. If your intended audience is normal people, write in a way that's easily digestible. If it's the people who will understand the artistry intrinsic in the piece you're writing, write it for it's own sake and no one else's and hope that there's someone who will be able to appreciate it when everything is said and done.

>> No.10042421

>>10041129
i hate shit written books desu, i'd rather read a compilation of nonsensical frases written with kewl language than a beautiful story written with average language. i know this from being a spanishfag that has read a lot of shitty uninspired translations; they're the most boring thing in the world. Hell, even normies like them, think of how popular Lovecraft has been to normies worldwide for almost a century and his stories border on "i found a spooky thing, o may gosh"

>> No.10042511

>>10041129
In theory I always like to think that the best books are easy to read, but show a lot of depth and hide meaning under examination. Something you can easily read as a kid then discover new nuances for some decades later.

Not that I have an example. In theory, you know?

>> No.10042521

>>10041129
Its the writers decision. Sometimes you are limited if you try to write simple

>> No.10042534

>>10042511
this strikes me as entirely corrrect.
can i share a sample and see what you people think?

>> No.10042587

>>10042534
you have my consent.

>> No.10042632

>>10042587
this is the opener I posted last night on here. I welcome critiques but please more specific than above>>10041764

>> No.10042649

>>10042632
sounds robotic and like a questionaire, try to either expand the dialogue so as to show characterization or have the narrator describe the expressions of the characters outside of it.

>> No.10042667

>>10042649
the dialogue obviously goes on after this and the characters are fleshed out more as it goes on but i was wondering how this functions as a sort of quickly paced introduction to the central mystery behind the story.

>> No.10042691

>>10042667
It sounds bad in my opinion because they're just one liners. I would make the replies longer and as I said, put more effort into explaining in what mood things are said.

But maybe that's because it fits in better with the rest of the story, but in itself it isn't good.

>> No.10042712

>>10042691
here's some later dialogue, tell me what you think of this

>> No.10042721

>>10042632
Your first sentence really is too long, not necessarily for grammatical reasons though. Your prose does not have enough aesthetic value to justify sentences that break the rules like that. I also dislike the way you've employed adverbs (in particular, l'm looking at "forcefully" and "inherently"); they're cluttersome and should be removed in favor of more precise verbs.

>> No.10042731

>>10042712
is this a dr. strange fanfic?

>> No.10042732

>>10042691
>>10042721
>>10042721
i appreciate your input thank you

>> No.10042735

>>10042731
No the name is pure coincidence. wasn't even aware of that character when i started writing this.

>> No.10042830

>>10042712
I like it much more. I'd start it with this kind of writing style, it really doesn't have the problems I mentioned at all compared to the first fragment you showed.

>> No.10042873

ur just mad rupi has more readers than you fgt

>> No.10042886

>>10041129
I got a 5.5/6 on the writing section of the GRE yet only got a 155 on the verbal section kek.

So, I'm not sure. I enjoy writing complex works mostly because I'm autistic about what I want to say for my papers in grad school. But I absolutely hate reading the intellectual drivel of others.

>> No.10042936

>>10042830
thank you anon. would you consider buying this book if you were going based only on that passage you liked?

>> No.10042943

>>10042873
>rupi
who? i'm new here

>> No.10042994

>>10042936
Probably not. It sounds fun to read but I really only either read classics or non-fiction (or hentai mangas)

>> No.10043386

>>10042994
Peak patrician

>> No.10043419

A common mistake of beginning writers is using a lot of latinate words and/or overly descriptive prose. It's a bad habit that has to be grown out of in order to make stylistic progress.

>> No.10044218

>>10041129
Op isn't a faggot.

Would depend on intention and setting.
Charles Dickens wrote on the land of the Real so his story might seem more basic, tho' he was really crafty at it. Similar also to Tolkien; but his came from the need to speak to a bigger range of people.

Then there are poets who use there great vocabulary; from the old languages of Latin and Greek, and use them for aesthetic reasons.

I think, if you were planning on it, that 'technical' jargon is left for precise field of professional (philosophic, political) discourse; as it aims are to display a view consequential to its own existence.

>> No.10044506

>>10044218
thank you

>> No.10045501

>>10043419
your thoughts?>>10042712

>> No.10046855

bump

>> No.10046970

>>10041764
How do you know that the people who didn't like it had even higher IQs and were even more well-read? It's up to you to disconcert whether the criticism is valid or not since only you know your intentions, and up to each single reader to decide whether your writing is good or not.

>>10042632
>the merchant stated forcefully
Uhh oh. If that shit was the first sentence of the book, I'd bail the fuck out.

>as the words themselves and the subject matter at hand seemed to have that property inherently.
Way too many words that add nothing. Doesn't flow at all. And makes me want to cringe, specially "subject matter at hand" is so painfully overwrought.

> said in reply
Why? It's obvious from the context. Don't treat your readers as idiots. Pick said or replied. Or do something more fancy.

>"Some truth? But not total truth?"
Was the character supposed to sound like an idiot?

>"Well, the legends themselves do not agree. So it is impossible that every story told about the Ancient One is true."
Alright idea, horrible execution that reads so stilted and clunky.

>would this opening make you want to read more?
I am a sucker for dialogue, of any kind, and your writing does have the "so bad, it's almost good" charm actually, so yeah, at least for a little while.

>>10042712
Let's do this!

>to discuss the situation facing them.
Ehhh. Kinda weak.
>I assume to discuss the uh the Ancient One?
The "uh" doesn't fit well into the sentence IMO.
>quite sharply
What is quite sharply? How is it different compared to sharply?
>baseless paranoia
That's like a "young child" or an "old grandpa". Also sounds too modern, for something that felt like a fantasy setting.
>the competing interpretations of the Ancient One are at all correct
Sounds very unnatural in speech.
>"We are sworn not only to protect them, but also to rule them, sir.
Actually like this sentence. My post is focused on all the negatives and is overly critical (and probably sounds pretty harsh) so that's an opportunity to say something positive for a change.
>with a look of defeat in his eyes.
Very cliche, not a fan of it but it's not overly horrible.
>with a strong tinge of contempt
Shit like that shouldn't be necessary. You should be confident enough in your writing, that it gets the point across based on the content on what is said.
>sharply interjected.
Even more pointless. Breaks the flow and pulls the reader out of it.
>intending to do the other violence.
I chuckled. The next two sentences are not funny anymore and read like a police report.

That's about the writing, the content itself had maybe two bits where I was interested before it went back to banality. It's all written after reading it once by a disinterested anon, who'd find things to complain about everywhere, so take it with a grain of salt or two. Take what you can out of it and ignore the rest.


>>10042691
Nothing wrong with one liners, just it's wasteful at start when one wants to get the reader invested.