/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.1079462]

Hullo, e/lit/ists.

I'm 17. I consider myself a good writer for my age -- apparently others readily agree. My English teacher last year openly referred to me as a wordsmith.

I know in my heart that I want to be a writer for my career. There's one problem -- I have a few short stories, but none are finished. I'm one of those people who sets out on a new project with huge gusto, and then leaves it incomplete for ages before coming back to it. If I declare creative writing as my major, I'll need to have material to back up the claim that I can write. How do I keep the motivation to write all the way through?

It doesn't help that reading professional authors' short stories tends to get me discouraged.

tl;dr, high school potential writefag has motivation issues

[Anonymous No.1079463]

Reported

[Anonymous No.1079469]

Read the fucking rules

[Anonymous No.1079470]

Just keep on writing. There's really nothing we can say or do to help, you're just gonna have to practice some self-discipline here.

ergo don't be a lazy faggot

[Anonymous No.1079477]

>>1079463
>>1079462
Elaborating -- it's not that I don't read; in fact, I try to finish a few books a month.

inb4harrypotter

[Anonymous No.1079486]

>>1079463
>>1079469
Nobody cares brother.

[Anonymous No.1079488]

> I try to finish a few books a month

well congratulations then

[Anonymous No.1079493]

>>1079462
It's like you're really me! I'm now out of high school, and I still have this goddamn problem.

I think it may stem from you reading too many things by authors you find to be professional and great, which causes you to think less of yourself. My wording is shit-tastic since I just woke up, and I'm just finishing my morning coffee so I'll give an example:

>You write your short story, and think it's rather good.
>Everyone you show it to agrees, and your pride swells.
>You go read a few other short stories by fantastic authors who have been writing longer than you've been alive, and see the way their words just leap off of the page and imprint themselves on your mind.
>Self-confidence in your writing decreases.

Pretty much, it looks like you're just setting yourself a lot lower than you really are. Those stories you're reading have been written by people with years more experience than you, and have also been edited, refined, etc.
Don't get discouraged, and just realise that that could be the future you if you keep your chin up, and keep on truckin'.

Also, lets see one of those stories you've written. What kind are they? Fantasy, sci-fi, gritty mystery thrillers, etc ?

[Anonymous No.1079509]

>>1079493
Hey, an actual person.

They're largely fantasy -- thpighI have a few pages of a thriller story that was quickly going nowhere.

Show you what I have? Sadly, I'm out on vacation now, and I keep everything backed up at home (yes, I realize this is dangerous, planning on subscribing to Carbonite or putting a flash drive with everything in a public storage unit soon).

Hell, I'll start writing something now and slap the first paragraph into this thread, if you want to get an idea of how I write. I'm getting that itch to write now anyway.

[Anonymous No.1079520]

>>1079509
though*. Still haven't figured out how this newfangled post editing thing.

[Anonymous No.1079523]

>>1079509
Don't bother with carbonite. Keeping a copy at home, on an external disk (CD, DVD, flash drive, external, etc), and on another computer (maybe your laptop) is plenty of protection. Don't bother with a public storage unit. What the fuck have you got that is so important it deserves its own public storage room?

[Anonymous No.1079529]

>>1079523
I suppose that IS a bit too over-the-top. The idea came to mind since my dad just rented a unit before we left.

brb first paragraph

[Anonymous No.1079532]

>>1079509
So... if we're not just dying to read your work, we're not even... people anymore?

Ps: don't tell anyone I'm 17 too

[Anonymous No.1079550]

>>1079532
I think he meant more along the lines of "What the fuck is this shit, this isn't ________. SAGE shittaste stopruiningmy/lit/withyourbooksthataren'tphilosophical."

[Anonymous No.1079556]

so i herd u liek writing samples

-=-=-=-=-=-

Carth pulled his hood down over his sightless eyes as he passed through the gates. He shuddered, partially from the cowl’s rough fabric against his overly sensitive skin, and partially from the cold and snow. He was glad for the excuse to wear the hooded cloak – it was less conspicuous than a blindfold or shaded spectacles, and didn’t announce him quite so immediately as an Occulus.
It wasn’t that Carth couldn’t see – in fact, he “saw” the world around him much better than most men. The chattering of the townsfolk was as a landscape to him, easy to dissect and focus on a particular feature. The dirt beneath his bare feet felt rich; Oakhaven was known to sit on many mineral deposits and veins of precious metal. Most of all, the faint smell of alcohol told him the village housed an illegal brewery somewhere – that would be his target.

[Anonymous No.1079558]

>>1079557

[Anonymous No.1079559]

>>1079556
What the shit? Indent the first line and the line that starts with "it." Sorry about that.

[Obvious !TrollUUPoA No.1079560]

>>1079558
NICE TRY BUDDY BOY
>>1079560

[Implying !!OwMMiDsuHLo No.1079563]

>I'm 17. I consider myself a good writer for my age -- apparently others readily agree. My English teacher last year openly referred to me as a wordsmith.

Alright, go on.

>They're largely fantasy

Oh no.

[Anonymous No.1079570]

>>1079563
Save it. I've heard it. If I'm going to spend my life writing, I'll write what I want to.

[Anonymous No.1079575]

>>1079556
I liked it, at the very least it got me interested about this occulus thing and the rest of the setting.

[Obvious !TrollUUPoA No.1079584]

>>1079570
>>1079584

[Implying !!OwMMiDsuHLo No.1079588]

>>1079570
Sorry, I was just disappointed. Your first post got me thinking that you were into writing actual literature, and that simply isn't the case.

I get that fantasy has it's place. It's simple escapism, and that's important for people. But at the same time I just think fantasy is simple, and a few rungs below actual literature.

On the bright side, you have a chance at making money.

[Anonymous No.1079586]

>>1079563
Why you gotta hate on fantasy?

[Anonymous No.1079595]

>>1079556

I simply don't like the name 'Carth'
At least use a name everyone can relate to or something.
It got me interested though, it certainly established a plot.

captcha: prefur someone

[Anonymous No.1079599]

>>1079588
Is this something you think is inherit to the fantasy genre or just the way things are today?

[Anonymous No.1079600]

>Hey, an actual person.

>They're largely fantasy

This...This might be the most poetic thing I've read here in a while.

[Anonymous No.1079601]

>>1079595
>At least use a name everyone can relate to or something.

-=-=-=-=-

Ayn Rand pulled his hood down over his sightless eyes as he passed through the gates.

[Anonymous No.1079604]

>>1079595
>At least use a name everyone can relate to or something.

Not OP, but, this statement confuses me. The only way most people could relate to a name was if his name was "John Doe," or "Avery Manever." (Get it?)
Unless I'm missing the point here. Probably the case.

>>1079588
>Your first post got me thinking that you were into writing actual literature, and that simply isn't the case.
>Opinions.jpg
Why is fantasy not considered literature? I could make the same case about, say, adventure books, mystery books, etc.

[Anonymous No.1079607]

>>1079601
Ok, now I'm hooked. Tell me more about this Occulus Ayn Rand!

MOAR.jpg

[Anonymous No.1079642]

Apprentice-level writerfag here. (Creative writing major, anyways.)

Anywhere you go, fantasy will not be respected. Some profs are okay with magical realism, surrealism, speculative fiction and very thoughtful/scientific sci-fi, but high fantasy will get you nowhere in college. That's not to say it doesn't have its place, you can still write it for the cash money if you can produce a lot, but that's not what college writing courses are about. So, since you have about a year until you have to submit portfolios for these colleges, I wouldn't read any fantasy or typical sci-fi in that time. Read mostly literary fiction, short story collections, memoirs, and maybe even some narrative poetry. But not fantasy. And stop writing it, too, since you're probably going to need to write and rewrite several stories to get the amount of material you need to have enough not-shitty stuff, and you are, admittedly, not very good at finishing.

Make sure what you submit is not only well-written and proofread, but it also has a good concept of structure and theme, which are also important elements in college-level writing courses. And, from what I've read of your sample, you seriously need to cut down on adjectives. Say what you mean, without excessive ornamentation. Needlessly flowery language is a chore to read, and they'll call you on it.

[Anonymous No.1079649]

don't fucking major in creative writing, jesus fucking christ

[Anonymous No.1079654]

>>1079649
Also this. At least double major like I do. Depending on where you go, if you decide on this early enough it's not difficult at all to finish on time. There's never a "guaranteed" career in writing, so you're going to have to have other marketable aspects.

[Anonymous No.1079656]

>>1079604
Point is that a lot of people here don't consider literary fiction and "genre fiction" (mysteries, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.) to be in the same group. Sure the definition might be rather subjective but when it comes to books held in high regard, the e/lit/ist nickname might be more accurate than you realize.

[Anonymous No.1079659]

didn't we have a thread about this yesterday? with the nyarlathotep pic?

[Implying !!OwMMiDsuHLo No.1079667]

>>1079642

Please see-

>>1079570

This kid has his heart set on writing fantasy.

>Hooded figures, princesses, dwarves with swords, dragons, and government conspiracies. Now I just gotta mix these together and I got some FANTASY.

Tough stuff.

[Anonymous No.1079671]

>>1079642
Some good advice, IMO. What should take precedence over verbosity or a tendency to be overly descriptive is a genuine creativity to write something people would be interested in. You can spend paragraphs describing a bustling town but it's still a barren wasteland to readers without any action or other incentive to care.

[Anonymous No.1079678]

>>1079667

Not OP, just want to say that I'm not sure I could write something other than fantasy even if I wanted to. Every time I try to think of a story or a setting I find myself getting carried away with images of forests and goblins and trolls and men from a simpler mindset that try to exist in that world. It makes me happy and it gives me peace. I don't ever expect to share what I write or get published, I do it for my own sake.

I hope this gives at least some of you a better understanding of why some of us would prefer to deal with these subjects, even past our adolescent years.

[Anonymous No.1079682]

>>1079667
Well then he shouldn't go to college for it.

I'm going to outright tell you to get a reliable major and write for market in your spare time until you can live off it. A writing program would probably be a waste of time, for you, your classmates, and your professors, if that's your attitude.

>>1079671
I like your last sentence a lot. It's not a new sentiment, but a good way of saying it.

[Anonymous No.1079686]

>>1079678
That's fine, if that's your interest. There's a market for that kind of stuff, people enjoy it, and people can sometimes make a living off it. Good for them. But going to college for writing when you only plan on writing that is a waste. It's like going to medical school and studying up to be a surgeon if you only plan to work as a lifeguard. It's unecessarily rigorous and a waste of money.

[Anonymous No.1079690]

OP here. I'm not an ignorant idealist -- I know college will, at best, only partially teach me what I want to know. I'm double-majoring for certain, either in computer science or journalism.

[Anonymous No.1079692]

>>1079690
OP continued. I realize I need to have something to support myself. I know I'm not going to be the next George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, et al.

[Anonymous No.1079708]

When any professional writer is asked the question, "What does it take to be a professional writer?" There are only one or two answers that are given time and again.

1) An imagination (commonly confused with an intellect)

2) Discipline (This is the real kicker)

Ever read Bryce Courtenay? He spends 12 hours a day at his desk for 8 months of every year, and has done for several decades. This isn't to say he constantly produces genius, but he does know how to write. Discipline is the key.

In short OP, man the fuck up and finish what you start.

[Anonymous No.1079723]

>>1079690
Creative Writing is tricky. Your professors don't "teach" you so much as guide you. There are no lessons; you're expected to come in knowing basic grammar, structure, and so on. There are few instances where you are "prompted" to write a specific scene or topic. You will most likely have to edit and annotate all of your classmates' pieces, or at least write them critique letters. This is almost if not more important than completing your own writings for the class. You will also read published writings, and discuss them in class similar to discussions in literature courses. Your works will be discussed in a large group setting with your peers in which you are not allowed to constantly defend or explain yourself; you simply must listen to the criticism of your work and, hopefully, be open to trying their suggestions even if you don't agree.

It's a great environment to grow in, get feedback, work with other writers, discover what you write and polish your personal style, but if you already think you've decided on that, it might not be good for you. What you want to come out with is direction, a tough skin (experience), and a large portfolio of refined works to start submitting while you work on more.

[wirasdt !9kWQGQyf/E No.1079726]

start writing a diary, it helped me. it's hard at first but after some time you just keep writing and writing and writing. And by doing that you teach your brain how to get new ideas. It basically just starts to flow.

Also it's awesome to be able to read entries from the past, even half a year ago, you wouldn't believe how fast you change. One of my teachers has like a hundred books of diaries going back to the 60's, that's cool too.

tl;dr - write diary, get writing to flow, be awesome.

sorry if my english is bad, not my mother tongue