/Writers/

[Anonymous No.11185260]

Did you make progress on writing your novel today?

[Anonymous No.11185372]

>>11185260
I did if you consider 3 AM a part of today. Otherwise, I did not. I plan on continuing once I get home tonight. I'm curious about other novels being written by some writers here.

[Anonymous No.11185373]

Been struggling to squeeze out anything more than one or two paragraphs a day ever since my book shifted perspective away from the main character.

I should've planned more. It's tough because the character in question is from what you could call the "enemy" and had a perspective diametrically opposed to the MC's, but since it's in their perspective, I need to present their point of view as if its correct and rational. Doesn't help that their personalities and genders are opposite as well.

[Anonymous No.11185915]

>>11185260
No I didn't.

I write short stories mostly. One month and two weeks ago I wrote the best story I've ever written. I was on top of the world.

Since then I have written nothing. Meaning I sit down every day for about 2 hours and stare at the screen, write fucking dreadful nonsense, and finish with nothing worth saving. And I'm not exaggerating this has been a daily thing. What the fuck is wrong with me.

[Anonymous No.11185966]

>>11185915
Well, you're melodramatic; that's one thing.

[Anonymous No.11185970]

>>11185260
Hey guys I bullshit my way into an editor position for a local news weekly and I start tomorrow. What do I do?

[Anonymous No.11185974]

>>11185970
Edit, I should think.

[Anonymous No.11185977]

>>11185974
What do editors do?
Also, what makes a good editor?

[Anonymous No.11185984]

I'm thinking about getting a prescription for ritalin or adderol so I can get the motivation. I haven't written anything for months and anytime I have an idea or a desire, the second I take steps to start typing my heart seizes up and my motivation is sucked out.

[Anonymous No.11186010]

Been working on a parody memoir, written from the perspective of Samuel L. Jackson. Incoming dump.

[Anonymous No.11186016]

>>11186010

[Anonymous No.11186022]

>>11186016

[Anonymous No.11186030]

>>11186022

[Anonymous No.11186042]

>>11185260
>that feel when no Yukari gf

[Anonymous No.11186047]

>>11186030

[Anonymous No.11186050]

I worked on my short stories but this is full procrastination mode.

[Anonymous No.11186060]

>>11185977
https://www.amazon.com/What-Editors-Do-Business-Publishing/dp/022629997X/
Discusses both editing in the broad sense and more specialized niches like literary or scholarly publishing.

[Anonymous No.11186073]

61k in. I'm thinking 70-75k is the ceiling. I mean, the likelihood of it being published is minimal but I don't write for any other reason but because I HAVE to write.

[Anonymous No.11186075]

>>11185260
No, but I did yesterday.
Wrote the last chapter. Now I just have to write about 40% of the chapters inside.

[Anonymous No.11186082]

Haven't written anything in so long, don't even know if I can write anything good anymore. I feel like I can't even force myself to write for more than a minute without getting distracted. It just feels hopeless, useless, and too hard at this point.

[Anonymous No.11186088]

I made progress writing poetry.

[Anonymous No.11186093]

I dont usually participate in these threads because I mostly write music and poetry, but I recently got out on some really fucking strong ADHD meds and I can actually focus enough to write (my lifelong passion) and I got about 16ish pages done today. Spent about seven hours writing. I just get perfectionistoc is all and end up putting a shit-ton of effort into a single phrase or stanza

[Anonymous No.11187177]

>>11186073
What's the story about.

[Anonymous No.11187649]

>>11186093
Congratulations.

[Anonymous No.11187770]

>>11186050
Why

[Anonymous No.11188389]

>>11185260
kind of.

[Anonymous No.11188905]

How do I know I'm getting better?

[Anonymous No.11188966]

>>11188905
There's all sorts of things, but it usually boils down to preference, and how well you're portraying things like world-building and dialogue, since that requires you knowing what good dialogue/building/etc sounds like already, it's not exactly something that I can easily express in a few anonymous texts.

The only read surefire method I can give you is to read each paragraph out loud without pausing. Your tongue will end up twisting in many places, and you'll realize it sounds a lot worse than it does just reading it in your head. Fix wherever that happens, and you're off to a good start. That'll at least get your prose to the "readable" stage.

[Anonymous No.11190104]

>>11188905
you don't

[Anonymous No.11190128]

>>11185984
If you can, get some insurance and get checked out for therapy.

[Anonymous No.11190141]

>>11190104
How do I know how to progress then?

[Anonymous No.11190156]

>>11185260
Yeah, I was sitting at a cafe and had some inspiration for a dialogue scene, but I'm gonna flesh it out later, I have good ideas coming to my mind at random, but I'm not usually in the mood to flesh them out so I have a bunch of notes scribbled on whatever I could find at the moment.

[Anonymous No.11190525]

How should I format my dialogue?

[Anonymous No.11190676]

>>11190525
consistently, start a new paragraph after each speaker is finished, try to only use said, or nothing at all.

[Anonymous No.11190713]

>>11190676
>consistently, start a new paragraph after each speaker is finished
But then my paragraphs will look ugly

[Anonymous No.11190747]

>>11190713
no paragraph spaces, only hit enter once and then indent, it looks a lot better actually

[Anonymous No.11190773]

>>11190747
I'm very autistic about my formatting. Unless my paragraphs are all roughly the same size (including the same word count) and the lines are all the same length I get very upset

[Anonymous No.11190803]

>>11186075
you wrote the ending before a large chunk of your novel?

[Anonymous No.11191825]

>>11190773
Not gonna make it, brah.

[Anonymous No.11191833]

>>11190773

is she a crab

[Anonymous No.11191862]

>>11191833
Huh?

[Anonymous No.11191872]

>>11191833
l00l

[Anonymous No.11192217]

wrote 2 pages of a screenplay

[Anonymous No.11192436]

>>11192217
Of what?

[Anonymous No.11192465]

3k words done today, feels good. Total of 11k this week. Feeling a little burnt out, but I know that once you break past the burnt out feeling and keep going it gets better and better.
Also using a typewriter. Heaps more focus with a dedicated writing space.

[Anonymous No.11192669]

>>11185260
I started learning how to play piano recently, so that's taken up most of my writing time.

That said, I've just sat down and opened up the document I was working on so we'll see what happens this evening.

[Anonymous No.11193476]

>>11192465
Using a typewriter seems stupid

[Anonymous No.11193499]

>>11193476
I can understand, considering my greatest obstacle to writing is the sporadic urge to alt-tab and check on 4chan. Just like right now.

[Anonymous No.11193627]

>>11185260
>start taking new meds
>haven't been able to write for like, 4 days
>an hour ago
>realize it's because I feel like I'm about to pass out
>blood pressure is in the goddamn basement
>shaky and anxious
>want to write
>can't
what do I do, guys? either I can't write or I can't sleep.

[Anonymous No.11193638]

>>11193499
Mine too, but I just use a notebook and a pencil since I can take them everywhere.

[Anonymous No.11194568]

>>11193627
Talk to your doctor about adjusting your prescription or changing medications. Sometimes medications have a settling in period where your body has to adjust, but if you're constantly feeling like you're about to pass out and your blood pressure levels are dangerously low, you'd be better off at a lower dosage or on a different medication entirely.

If you can't sleep, you might as well become a Finnish superhero.

[Anonymous No.11194952]

So, while I write novels for pay, and novellas for brief inspiration-driven experimental bursts, I have been working on this story which is sorta endless. It can't be published in novel form because it's not nearly episodic enough and none of the major plotpoints get fully addressed, only slowly hinted at over time. (have about 150k words down)

I'm thinking (because I have no intention of publishing it or editing it (beyond consistency stuff) and because it's pretty anime in concept) I may publish it as a web serial with a weekly or monthly release. I figure that someone out there will be able to enjoy it, instead of just keeping it on my HDD.

Any recommendations for lively writing sites? I'm unfamiliar with web publishing, but the first that comes in web searches is always Wattpad. Anyone have any suggestions or tips?

[Anonymous No.11194964]

>>11185915
Where is it posted, if it is posted somewhere. I'd like to read it.

[Anonymous No.11194981]

>tfw can only focus on writing when I'm writing porn or stuff that is focused around my fetishes
anyone know this feel?

[Anonymous No.11195000]

How do you come up with ideas?

[Anonymous No.11195021]

>>11194568
Holy shit. Well, if I took a recreational dose of chemical stimulants, I'd suffer multiple aneurysms and then die.

I just feel cold and jittery all over, and a sensation like I've got someone's thumb stuck inside my chest. It's extremely uncomfortable, and it reminds me of a much milder version of a tavor withdrawal, but it's not that. I mean, I took a couple alprazolam a couple days ago, but before then, I hadn't taken any for a couple weeks, so it's not that, either.

Dolopram has side effect of "dizziness" but I'm not dizzy. Honestly, I've never taken meds with such a shit listing of side effects before. It's just a fucking sentence. "Dizziness, and oh yeah, some people said they got dry mouth, but whatevs. Call us if you notice anything else, lol!" There isn't even statistic! How did this get to market?

[Anonymous No.11195034]

>>11185260
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcXOZFHURIM

[Anonymous No.11195044]

>>11195021
It's your body's reaction to the drug, not the drug itself. You may have a sensitivity to it, so it's affecting you twice as much as it's meant to. If I were you, depending on the necessity of the drug, I'd stop taking it until I talked to a doctor or at least did a healthy amount of googling.

what type of writing do you usually do?

[Anonymous No.11195074]

>>11195044
Yeah, probably, but I didn't notice it for the first few days, that's why I'm frustrated. I have to take it or I just don't get tired. I won't fall asleep. It's sugar glazed, so I can't half it.

As for my writing, it's nothing impressive, just a stupid fantasy story, but I want to write on it, but I can't, because I can't focus on anything except my bones humming.

[Anonymous No.11195092]

>>11195074
What sort of fantasy? High fantasy sword and sorcery stuff? Or a more modern-blend-of-technology kind? Or something unique/surreal like a Mieville/Sanderson?

[Anonymous No.11195111]

>>11195000
You don't. Ideas come to you.

But there /is/ a barrier that many green writers run up against, and that's not knowing what ideas even are, and shutting down potentials ideas because they don't bother to write them down or don't recognize their potential.

They see these intensely imaginative works, and think "Gosh, I could never think of all that." They think "ideas" are things that just pop into your head, fully fleshed out and ready to use, and skilled """creative""" people can just will them into their heads. Elaborate worlds don't just pop out of thin air. The inspiration that pops into your head are seeds. It's up to you to shape them and let them grow. To get them into your head, you simply need to keep an open mind and immerse yourself in things that inspire you, like, you know, reading books. The real skill is being able to see the potential in your sudden flashes of inspiration and sculpt them into something you can use. Write down literally any flash of inspiration you have even if it seems incredibly insignificant or even stupid. I can't stress this enough. Really.

[Anonymous No.11195202]

>>11195111
I wholeheartedly agree with this anon. It may seem dumb or unreasonable, but I carry around a tiny (3x2 inch spiral) notebook in my back pocket with a pencil in the spine. When I have any small, insignificant idea for writing, I jot it down, usually missing everything unimportant so its not even a sentence, as well as the place I got it, so I can try to relive the feeling.

So, an example: "memories play reader burn wixoss"

It doesn't mean anything to anyone but me, but that way I can scribble things down while at work or while with friends without taking more than a few seconds. Then I can get home and try to refine the concept down. Or sometimes forget about it and then, months later, as I'm halfway through a story and need that one final concept to cinch it all together, see what I've written and have the idea slide perfectly into what I'm currently working on.

Makes no difference if it's big or small, I've scribbled tons of useless things like "world is big" when hit with the tremendous size of the universe. But for every one of those shitty things, there are usually two usable concepts

[Anonymous No.11195282]

>>11190773
is English your 2nd language? read your shit out loud to yourself, BRUh. and then have someone read it out loud to you. also, get over that OCD shit real fast or you're nevar gunnah myke it.

[Anonymous No.11195301]

>>11195282
What do you mean?

[Anonymous No.11195315]

>>11195301
do what i said. that's what i mean.

[Anonymous No.11195318]

>>11195315
And then what?

[Anonymous No.11195331]

>>11195318
well that's up to you--my sweet summer child--isn't it?

[Anonymous No.11195335]

>>11195331
So why did you ask me to read it aloud?

[Anonymous No.11195339]

>>11195318
omg fine i'll elaborate a little. it sounds wooden and performy, with awkward syntax thrown in there. that's all you'll get from me. do what i said.

[Anonymous No.11195342]

>>11195339
So how do I write better?

[Anonymous No.11195343]

>>11195335
so you'll be able to HEAR what's wrong with it. you probably edit a lot and are too close to it in a specific way, blocking out your awareness at the mistakes and badness mixed in there.

this will work 10 times better if you have someone else read it to you, too.

[Anonymous No.11195345]

>>11195343
But I have no friends.

[Anonymous No.11195348]

>>11195342
well fuck me. what's the second to the universe? the fuck do i know? read a lot, research good authors and their daily routines and follow their advice on writing, up to the point that works for you. and set up your life so you can write EVERY SINGLE DAY. GL HF

[Anonymous No.11195353]

>>11195345
kek. it was fun eating the bait. it's all gone now though.

[Anonymous No.11195388]

>>11194952
>Anyone have any suggestions or tips?
Don't use Wattpad, it's only for little girls writing self-insert fanfics. You could try AO3 (which accepts original content) or start a web novel on a Wordpress and shill it on site like that /tg/fag who wrote Worm.

>>11195021
>Dolopram
Do you mean Dolotram? It has a number of severe side effects and reactions w/other medications including the drop in blood pressure. I wouldn't recommend going off cold turkey because that can often result in further severe side effects. Definitely talk to doctor ASAP. If they give you the OK to stop cold turkey, then go ahead and do that.
https://www.practo.com/medicine-info/dolotram-50-mg-capsule-31063

[Anonymous No.11195419]

>>11195353
What do you mean? Do you think I'm lying?

[Anonymous No.11195432]

>>11195419
Go find some books on writing. Read them. Apply tips to your writing. See what works, what doesn't.

[Anonymous No.11195440]

>>11195419
just fucking follow the suggestions. that's it. that's all there is.

[Anonymous No.11196267]

How do I outline a story?

I can come up with a bunch of individual scene ideas but have no idea how to connect them or put then in any kind of coherent order.

[Anonymous No.11196272]

>>11195388
shit, no, I meant Dominal

[Anonymous No.11196297]

>>11193476
It's not

[Anonymous No.11196301]

Yeah!

Hahaha no. At all. Unless you consider writing random shit in the chins and on my job.

[Anonymous No.11196326]

I'm writing one of those degenerate trashy harem fantasy stories. It's been pretty fun since I don't have to worry about being overly serious. Especially after I made the protagonist's own mom part of his harem. Freud would be proud. Though I'm sure I'll probably have to change that eventually. Incest is a touchy subject even in these types of stories.

[Anonymous No.11196334]

>>11185260
Minimally, only working out thoughts. That's ok though; I've already written 5 novels and several novelettes so it's not like I feel any particular pressure that I NEED to get it done. Still, I think it'll be an interesting one.

[Anonymous No.11196335]

>>11196267
I had this problem too. Connect them through smaller scenes. I mean you really connect them, even if it's banal shit, and really vague. Write placeholders, so you can keep writing.

For example:

[really detailed scene where A has a fight with B]
-----
>A stomps out the door
-----
>A goes to the park
-----
>A sees mysterious man
-----
>...
-----
[really detailed scene of A being abducted by weird cult]

So you know what happens, and then how it happens, and you can fill it in, piece by piece, and expand on it as needed. I keep the placeholders highlighted while writing, so I can find them easier while scrolling. If you're not sure how they connect yet, then, as demonstrated, I use (...) to show that there's still shit I need to come up with, and I can fill those in as it comes to me.

Think of it as carving a statue: first you mark key points, then you slowly make a rough shape, then a finer one. You work on certain spots more, so it's done faster, then the rest. You just whittle it down until it's what it's supposed to be.

[Anonymous No.11196371]

>>11192465
That's because this guy is stupid.

[Anonymous No.11196372]

>>11196267
1. decide if you want a story which shows a duality, or the essence of a theme or feeling or idea
2. Turn your idea into a concept
2a. if your concept is about a duality, then you have an ending, do the opposite of this as your starting point, eg and most primitive example boy is depressed, then he ends up happy.
2b. If your story is about essence then there is no state change in the overall concept, it's more about breaking down the theme. You now need a cause to show why this story has x effect eg. boy is depressed, here's why, and also here's why he will never be happy again.
3. now that you have a start and finish, you're job is to show x got to y, or how x concept is, break it down into chapters with 'questions' or 'answers' you want to tell. You now have progression, and a story.
4. start applying this to character arcs
5.01 use tropes as tools, check out tvtropes for ideas, also would recommend the tab 'playing with' on those pages, giving a character or piece of story which is unconventional, subverted expectations ect. is what people want. there are some great ideas there and you can be creative with them
5.02 it doesn't have to be linear
5.03 scenes are cause and effect, in fact, everything is cause and effect, as you've seen, right up to the higher level with 2b.
6. Average scene should be at least 500 words, if you're writing a novel, that's 140 scenes, of course some scenes go for longer, aim to develop a character in that with the exact same structure here
7. once you start writing put in your own artistic devices

[Anonymous No.11196394]

I don't know whether to make it first person from the main characters view, first person from a spectators view, first person from multiple spectators views, or third person.
The story would be about a new buddha, who has come to teach the world by the sword. He doesn't know it himself, he just does he. He is.
What perspective would be best for that type of story, a messiah type?

[Anonymous No.11196399]

>>11185260

Yes, actually, I wrote another ultra short story.

[Anonymous No.11196405]

Trying to figure out how to write a villain protagonist without being too edgy.

[Anonymous No.11196429]

>>11196405
make them sympathetic them

[Anonymous No.11196433]

Which site should I publish to? Wattpad, AO3, or just put it on Kindle amazon?

[Anonymous No.11196452]

>11196372

i have cancer now

[Anonymous No.11196584]

I've made more progress writing on pencil and paper than on a computer. Somehow it feels more engaging now that I'm setting the story and putting ideas into action, and I guess it may have to do with the fact that I know what I'm writing on paper would never ever be final, and I can't fundamentally change it now that I've written it. It's something that has always set me back in writing on my laptop. Opening another tab to look at shit or going back to change something while never ever moving forward to even complete the story and get the entire story out.

>>11196405
Give them a goal and a good motivation to achieve that goal. That usually does it.

[Anonymous No.11196603]

>>11196584

Goodbye dog
Durr hurr
I will miss you poor dog
Herf herf
Im a pussy that slings
Insults over the internet
For attention and money
And i get off on it like
A faggot, protected by
The president
Herf herf derf, goodbye dog
I deserve to get my head bashed in
Like the rapist faggot that i am

[Anonymous No.11196634]

>>11196603
That was beautiful, Anon. Thank you.

[Anonymous No.11196641]

>>11196433
Depends on what you're writing.

[Anonymous No.11196642]

How do I write noir?

[Anonymous No.11196693]

Any good books on how to write better?

[Anonymous No.11197088]

bump

[sneed No.11197130]

>>11196642
withhold details and create suspense, also smoke billows and blinds

[Anonymous No.11197140]

I'm like 15,000 words into my first draft and it's fucking terrible. Haven't written in a few days because I'm starting to wonder if I'm just wasting my time.

How bad can a first draft be before it's beyond redemption?

[sneed No.11197153]

>>11197140
quit bitching and write. youre procrastinating indirectly, by conjuring up some wicked concerns. i know, brother. i do it all the time

[Anonymous No.11197364]

>>11197153
rude

[Anonymous No.11197386]

>>11197153
Based trueposter

[Anonymous No.11197411]

Not today. Took a break because I feel sick.

>>11190803
Not that anon, but that's usually when I have some of my best writing honestly.

I usually get the idea of the ending first, then I have to figure out the why and how, and it get's fun.

I never carve the ending into the pavement, but trying to get there is still a nice way to get some solid writing out.

[Anonymous No.11197418]

I don't know how to pace myself. One part is full of fluff that doesn't move the story along. Hmm.. I better do something about that. Next part rushes by trying to cram in a whole bunch of major exposition that should be saved up for a later part of the story. I just have no restraint.

[Anonymous No.11197443]

>>11185915
Post your best story Anon. Start a blog if you don't have one. Even if it's just for an audience of one, it may give you more motivation to write.

[Anonymous No.11197457]

I think I could write some pretty good erotica. Should I do it? Why not, y'know?

[Anonymous No.11197463]

I'm just here to say I did not work on it today so that I feel bad enough to be motivated in the future.

I did not write in my novel today.

Please ignore me, any (you)s will only make it harder.

[Anonymous No.11197544]

>>11197443
>Start a blog if you don't have one
Not that anon but I've done this recently. I haven't gotten and likes or reblogs or follows. I feel like I'm talking into the ether. It's a little depressing to be honest.

[Anonymous No.11198225]

I want to start writing. Should I attempt a novel or is it recommended to start with short stories?

[Anonymous No.11198229]

>>11198225
Personally, for me, Start writing Short stories, or novellas.

[Anonymous No.11198231]

>>11197140
Bitch, calm the fuck down. First drafts are supposed to be horrid. What you WILL do instead of dropping it, is to finish it, and then write down every single plothole and issue you have with it. Then do a second draft. Then a third. And so on and so on.

[Anonymous No.11198236]

>>11198231
how many drafts for a novel?

[Anonymous No.11198248]

>>11198231
Can't I just sent it to an editor

[Anonymous No.11198273]

>>11198236
Usually few, since the most glaring issues should've been resolved by the second draft.

[Anonymous No.11198315]

>>11198248
It's not an editor's job to write your novel for you

[Anonymous No.11198397]

>>11197140
First drafts are shit and can read like nonsense and be nowhere near the word count you're going for. That's why you're going to finish it and rewrite it. A few days is nothing to worry about. Once you get to a week or two, maybe go on a walk and give yourself time to forcefully think about where the story is going to end, then work backwards towards your current position, and get a general idea where you need to head in the upcoming chapters.

>>11198236
Depends on the book, the genre, and the author's writing habits. I write very fast, 2-4k words a day, and finish books in under a month, but I need to edit a ton. Usually two full rewrites and then one or two passes with comprehensive cohesion edits. My friend who writes a few hundred words a day doesn't actually need to rewrite most of his books, just about a quarter of the scenes. He's also meticulous with his sentences as he's writing them, whereas I'm just scratching stuff out at the speed of sound.

>>11198248
No. Editors are there to literally edit, as in find typos and grammar issues. They're also your gateway to the publishing and marketing worlds, and will tell you if things need to be changed to fit a demographic or audience. They're not going to rewrite your story, fix outstanding inconsistencies or, from my experience, do fuck all except polish things up.