/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.12494835]

Why haven't you written your novel yet, /lit/?

What possible pretext can you make to justify your inability to write?

[Anonymous No.12494857]

>Why haven't you written your novel yet, /lit/?
I don't want to
>What possible pretext can you make to justify your inability to write?
I'm not interested in learning how to

[Anonymous No.12494867]

>>12494835
>not taking your time
I'm over 600 words wys

[Anonymous No.12494909]

>>12494835
I'm proceeding steadily. Determining the outline is arguably the most difficult and crucial stage, since whatever I actually write will be based around said outline. I need to take my time to ensure I understand what I am going for here. It's also a book on spirituality, so I need to attain to higher states before I can subsequently write of and teach of them to the reader.

[illiterate (www.larthurhunt.co(...) No.12494916]

I'm over 56K words deep, finishing next month

[Anonymous No.12494926]

>>12494835
I'm done outlining and ready to actually start writing my novel. However, whether it's my self-perceived or actual mediocrity as a writer, I cannot go more than a week of writing before I erase it and start all over again. Hoping that the next attempt is more successful than the last, yet always finding myself in the same position no matter what I do.

[Anonymous No.12494966]

>>12494835
>Why haven't you written your novel yet, /lit/?
I have about 30 pages of jokes for one novel about subject matter I know very well; I would like a lot more before beginning, alongside additional observations, allusions, and references done tastefully and subtly.

The second novel requires much more research and world building.

Ultimately, I'm a poet having fun with poetry, while these two works merely simmer on the back-burner.

[Anonymous No.12494967]

>>12494857
this

[Anonymous No.12495831]

>>12494916
What's it about?

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » !mxvabIoSIE No.12495856]

>>12494835
Trials of a lowly prole.
Till I steal some time, it incubates.

[Anonymous No.12495872]

>>12494835
I can't write worth shit, that's why. Besides, all the good ideas have already been had anyway.

[Anonymous No.12496846]

>>12494835
I don't know where to begin

[Anonymous No.12497951]

>>12496846
Nobody does.

[Anonymous No.12497962]

>>12494835
I know three languages, but because of that my grammar/expression of ideas is fucked.

[Anonymous No.12497965]

I want to write a manga in stead

[Anonymous No.12497972]

because i dont have to
i enjoy reading, that doesn't mean i should write as well

[¿ No.12497976]

I basically don't like writing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Preffer to read!

[Anonymous No.12498154]

>>12494835
I’m 27, almost 28. I’m too old to start now.

[Anonymous No.12498159]

I habe to study

[Anonymous No.12498849]

>>12494835
BUMp

[Anonymous No.12499170]

I'm writing it now. 62 pages in. Feels good brah

[Anonymous No.12499173]

>>12498154
Same

[Anonymous No.12499265]

A question to anons who write: did you set up a plot first, or decide that plot doesn't matter and just write and see what happens?
I have no imagination whatsoever, am completely unable to invent a character, a story etc. That's why I haven't written anything yet. But something tells me it's a very bad excuse.

[Anonymous No.12499321]

I'm starting, but it's hard actually setting up a plan.
Usually I'll think of a good conversation in my head, and then try and write characters around that, but then those things die 10 or 15 pages in.
Decided to plan a simple book from start to finish, but christ it's taking time, I just want to start writing, but I know I'll trip over myself if I don't plan.
First time on /lit/ and almost a lot of the threads are /pol/. Is this normal?

[Anonymous No.12499322]

Novels are written by and for halfwits.
Either come up with something important/insightful to say (not happening) or scale back your aspiration to shitposting on an anime imageboard. Anything in between is the epitome of patheticalness.

[Anonymous No.12499327]

>>12499265
Different strokes for different folks, but I get bored with "self-discovery" writing. If I don't plan it out beforehand, then I get bored as soon as I don't know where the story should go.

[Anonymous No.12499330]

>>12498154
Nonsense. Anyone can begin at any time.

[Anonymous No.12499350]

I've written three novels. Problem was they were all shit and impossible to sell. Luckily I write more for a hobby as I have a well paid day job, but would be nice to get one published one day. Life is long, I've plenty of time, maybe the fifth or sixth will get somewhere

[Anonymous No.12499355]

>>12499350
What went wrong with the three novels, if you don't mind me asking?

[Anonymous No.12499365]

>>12499350
if you think they are good enough just self-publish, if they sell well enough it will be published for real

[Anonymous No.12499393]

>>12499355
I'm okay at characters I think, I've a decent grasp of psychology, they think and act like real people
I suck at plot though, can't seem to get it to tie together properly, like a picaresque type thing but unintentionally episodic.
Worst thing is the prose. I can never get above basic bitch prose, just can't do good metaphors etc, and when I try it comes across as forced and artificial.

[Anonymous No.12499473]

>>12499393
Well, you've finished three books, that's more than most manage, god knows I've never even got past 40 pages of anything I've written.
Just keep writing, I'm sure you'll get the hang of your prose eventually.

[Anonymous No.12499566]

>>12499473
>god knows I've never even got past 40 pages of anything I've written.
Keep going dude. It took me a few attempts to get over the very hump you're describing. Once you get past it you'll have my problems of trying to making the narrative and thematic structure work (though hopefully your prose is better than mine).

[Anonymous No.12499571]

>>12494835
I can't think of anything to write anymore, and I certainly don't remember how to write.

[Anonymous No.12500275]

>>12499571
>I certainly don't remember how to write.
???

[Anonymous No.12500284]

>1/3 through novel #6
>only 1, 2, and 3 are actually finished
>can't finish 4 right now, too complicated
>doing research to prepare to actually write 5, just have an outline and some loose scenes that need a ton of fleshing out

[Anonymous No.12500349]

>>12499170
Nice, Im 50pgs in myself. Lets get through this!

[Anonymous No.12500635]

>>12494835
As a Middle School teacher I feel like I'm in a pretty good position to write a YA adventure novel. The only problem is I hate thinking out kids when I'm not at work.

[Anonymous No.12501647]

>>12500284
what're the novels about

[Miloš Honey No.12501718]

Miloš wrote something.
Non linear,has 4 different narrators,wanna hear it?

[Anonymous No.12501737]

I wrote two novels, each of about 250,000 words, while in undergrad and grad school. I have no hope of ever publishing them. The first one is about the diaspora of eastern and central european anti-communists created by the Russian occupation of that part of Europe after WW2. It reflects on it in the context of the mercenary organizations a non-trivial number of Polish, Czech, and Hungarian veterans joined to continue a deeply personal struggle against communism and further, how men can become accustomed and even addicted to warfare. This latter point was influenced by my conversations with modern soldiers that continue to return to combat, either as regular soldiers or contractors, even as they reach middle age and feel uncomfortable at home.

The second is lighter, it's a fantasy story set in around the 1870's but in your bone stock fantastical world so you have wizards and orcs and what-not. The key point is how industrialization would inevitably weaken the authority of those with magical powers and indeed render them nearly irrelevant.

[Anonymous No.12501764]

>>12499322
You're may be going nowhere, pal. I'm going to Oxford next week to study Shakespeare and row for their team, fucking loser.

[Anonymous No.12501768]

>>12499321
Alot of /pol/ has come to /lit/. It's the new regime.

[thiskillsthedarkelf No.12501780]

>>12499571
>tfw you can feel your iq slipping away as you grow older

I can remember a point in my life where I could actually focus on something for longer than five minutes.

>>12494835
I think I might just be retarded.
The speed at which I become mentally exhausted while writing even a rough chapter outline is insane, not to mention trying to edit/ second draft something.

Does anyone know if Ritalin actually works for writers?

[Anonymous No.12501791]

>>12494835
I'm already at 200 words, I'm ready to publish.

[Anonymous No.12502557]

>>12494835
>Want to start my Novel's story In medias res.
>In a narrative already in medias res.
>In which the characters will reference past events with no exposition, thereby making the reader confused.
How fucked am I, /lit/?

[Anonymous No.12502656]

>>12501768
Leave

[Anonymous No.12503309]

>>12501791
Based

[Anonymous No.12503314]

>>12494835
I'm trying to finish my third but fucking video games.

[Gaskun No.12503556]

5/8 finished with the new book, chaps.

[Anonymous No.12503565]

>>12503556
>50,000 words
>exactly
This unnerves me.
But also, well done man, nearly there!
>>12499566
Here's hoping man, and good luck with your writing from this point on

[Anonymous No.12503576]

68,000 words in, if I keep a good pace itll be done by the end of February
Also submitted a short story to a magazine for the first time, itll be a few weeks until I hear back from them

[Anonymous No.12503586]

I'm not proud enough to think that I can write something worth reading.

Maybe I'll get there someday

[Anonymous No.12504393]

>>12494835
My internet is frozen due to the cold weather. I'm on the phone

[Anonymous No.12504429]

>>12501768
Fuck off to your containment board /pol/tards

If the /r/thedonald ledditors ever make it onto the other boards I swear to god I’m permanently leaving for another chan

[Anonymous No.12504516]

>>12502656
>>12504429

>Seething ivory tower teet suckers

[Anonymous No.12504544]

>>12504516
Towers keep the rabble out. Go discuss mayonnaise genders with the retards, fuckwit.

[illiterate (www.larthurhunt.co(...) No.12504586]

>>12495831

my novel's about a former lawyer and family man who is also an alcoholic. It begins with him losing his job and becoming estranged from his young family. While undergoing recovery, he gets a job maintaining a golf course at a country club where he runs into Old Money types who take a liking to him. He wins their trust and joins their inner circle, discovering that they're part of a white collar organized crime kabbal. They drug him and force him to either rape or kill a small child, a child who reminds him of his own. There is an implicit promise that if he fulfills their initiation ritual then he can get his family back. It is told through two timelines, one in the present day at the country club and the other are disjointed non-linear flashbacks into his former family life and how everything fell apart. The final scene is ambiguous as to which timeline it is a part of - if you believe it's Timeline 1 then the protag raped/murdered the child to get his family back, if it's Timeline 2 then it's just a flashback to his former life with his wife and kids.

[Anonymous No.12504771]

>>12504586
Go for it dude. Make the choice today to make this novel a reality and not just a thought in your head. I have every confidence you can do it

[illiterate (www.larthurhunt.co(...) No.12504955]

>>12504771

thanks man. I've got 56K words finished and only 3-4K remaining.

[Anonymous No.12505603]

>>12494835
>Why haven't you written your novel yet, /lit/?
I'm writing it right now, still on the third page though.

[Anonymous No.12505819]

>>12503556
It's shit.

[Anonymous No.12505921]

>>12499322
Jokes on you shitheel, I'm writing a fantasy book for nerds.

[Anonymous No.12506142]

>>12505819
You haven’t read it so you don’t know anything. Go Banepost, whistle dick.

[Anonymous No.12506191]

>>12503556
12 point double spaced?

[Anonymous No.12506714]

>>12506142
>You haven’t read it so you don’t know anything.
That's the joke, you fucking retard. But seeing how dumb you are I think it's safe to say it must indeed be shit.

[Anonymous No.12507217]

I have no idea if it should be a novel, a play or a screenplay, sorry to disappoint you OP.

[Anonymous No.12507419]

Had a rough time in college which did a number on my self confidence. Also world building is easier and more fun then writing the actual story it self.

[Anonymous No.12507460]

>>12494835
I am not good at writing and I dont have anything to write about

[Anonymous No.12508742]

>>12494835
I don't know where to start. The novel I'm writing starts out medias res, this includes narrative-wise as well. And I'm afraid the readers will be turned off by it.

[Anonymous No.12508746]

>>12494835
I am, almost half way now

[Anonymous No.12508953]

>>12508746
What's it about

[Anonymous No.12508955]

I don't have enough experience to write what I want to write

[Anonymous No.12508976]

>>12494835
It’s not about writing a novel

It’s avout writing a good one.
Or a great one.

[Anonymous No.12508993]

I've gotten to the point in the worldbuilding where I have enough outlined to start writing the story.

It's a sci-fi fantasy set in a virtual world.
I plan for this to be a massive story.

[Anonymous No.12509100]

>>12494835
Everything I write reads like cringe. All of my characters are always melodramatic.

[Anonymous No.12509116]

>>12504586
Have the novel end with the mc killing all the fat rich jews

[Anonymous No.12509123]

>>12509100
>always melodramatic
Melodrama isn’t automatically bad. Shakespeare is pure melodrama for instance.

[Anonymous No.12509131]

>>12508955
Just come up with something else you want to write about and then write about it. It will suck, but that is okay, you don't have to publish it. Just let it disappear in a drawer and never look at it again.

You can only get better at writing by writing. Just write a sentence every day and don't worry too much about it being shit. You can rewrite shitty writing, you can't rewrite something you never wrote.

[Anonymous No.12509177]

>>12509123
Shakespeare lived 400 years ago though and he was a poet.

[Anonymous No.12509188]

Halfway done with my corny write-as-it-comes YA fantasy pile of crap. The dream.

[Anonymous No.12509221]

>>12501737
Please post an excerpt from the first one.

[Anonymous No.12509342]

>>12508976
You think you'll do that on the first try?

[Anonymous No.12509603]

>>12506714
Says the guy who isn’t a writer....

[Anonymous No.12510301]

>>12509188
That's nice

[Anonymous No.12510316]

>>12494835
Writing is the only thing I might be remarkably good at but I've been able to never write anything by hiding in an abyss of despondency for a decade

[Anonymous No.12510792]

I'm in the worldbuilding phase and I don't feel like I have enough knowledge in my head yet to start writing. I need to read more mythology and history of the regions I'm interested in before I feel like I could craft something meaningful and authentic.

[Anonymous No.12510973]

I can never stick to an idea. I'll have an idea and get another one mid-way through writing the first one.

[Anonymous No.12512002]

>>12510973
I got this problem as well.

[Anonymous No.12512863]

>>12507460
Write about your insecurity

[Anonymous No.12514050]

>Cyberpunk noir
How fuck am I?

[Anonymous No.12515354]

>>12514050
pretty fucked.

[Anonymous No.12515710]

>>12509177
Doesn't change the facts

[Anonymous No.12515728]

>>12504586
>>12494835

Crossboarder here, I must say every time I visit I'm impressed and warm-hearted seeing how genuinely passionate you guys are for your hobby. It's intimidating looking in a lot of the time but most of you seem to try really hard to find yourselves and create something of worth, and you aren't afraid of sharing ideas even if they're discarded as juvenile or unworthy.
It must be scary actually trying to get far in a field like this but this board is one of the most uplifting ones for sure. I hope all of you can do something with yourselves because I feel extremely motivated everytime I come over and lurk. You guys are very genuine.

[Anonymous No.12516000]

So is BP just "what if wardens bash was invincible"?

[illiterate (www.larthurhunt.co(...) No.12516331]

>>12515728
thanks mate. this place is alright.

[Anonymous No.12516509]

>>12515728
Get fucked and take your Harry Potter erotic fanfiction with you, ya two dollar faggot

[Anonymous No.12516555]

>tfw I am using my ex gf's sad life as the plot for my novel

Is this legal? I even kept her name and the names of her family members

[Anonymous No.12516583]

>>12494835
i hate writing

[Anonymous No.12516588]

>>12499321
>those things die 10 or 15 pages in.
I assume you know the ending and have already written the first chapter. Now how do you fill in all this space, when it's a simple matter of going from point A to B? The answer is, in the beginning of the book have your protagonist (hopefully you have one for your first book) pursue something else entirely, not have all the information, so it's not a mad rush to the finish. Have things unrelated or tangentially related to the ending.

[Anonymous No.12516606]

How do you decide on how long your chapters should be? Just figure it out yourself depending on situation?

[Anonymous No.12516634]

>>12494835
I already finished it. Both of them. Now I don't have any good ideas left

[Anonymous No.12517444]

>>12516634
Have you publish them

[Anonymous No.12518357]

>>12494909
>It's also a book on spirituality
Do you mean spirituality in a general sense, or within the context of a specific religion?

>I need to attain to higher states
What do you intend to do to attain these higher states?

[Anonymous No.12518476]

I write sixteen thousand words a month, and have maybe 260k words total between two projects. I get mocked all the time for my slow writing speed, by friends who are proud, self-proclaimed writers. But, none of them ever seem to have anything to show beyond a few thousand words starting a story and giving up on it the next month for something else.

[Anonymous No.12519496]

>>12516606
depends how many pages you want your novel to be.

[Anonymous No.12519507]

Keep going /lit/ezens make your novel dreams a reality

[Anonymous No.12519516]

>Try writing something
>Brother looks over it
>"That's not realistic, people wouldn't act like this in real life, have you paid attention to real life politics and historical events?"
>Get demoralized

[Anonymous No.12519564]

>>12519516
Ah, fuck him
I mean, don't, that's incestual, but fuck it, your book.
Is it even about current world affairs or based on historical events?

[Anonymous No.12519603]

Why haven't you written your novel yet, /lit/?
Work. I'll find time to write, I swear.
In the meantime I'll try to think of ways how to get that fucking story out of the corner I've written it in.

[Anonymous No.12519617]

My plot is directionless and boring, my characters are one-dimensional and unlikable, my humor falls flat, my prose is dry and juvenile, my major themes are either nonexistent or hamfisted and trite.
Worst of all, I haven't even written anything yet.

[Anonymous No.12519649]

>>12519564
No it's not, the setting is loosely medieval but whenever I try to explain the plot he's quick to reference real world events, or why some things "don't make sense". He's also pretty crazy about geography so I feel dumb when he asks me questions I hadn't considered, or asks questions that I haven't really felt are important to the plot, like a city's realistic population.

[Anonymous No.12519667]

>>12519649
>loosely medieval
Dude, it's your book, sounds like he;s just trying to belittle you on it.

Like, sure, take his advice if it's constructive, but.
Loosely medieval, I assume it's got fantasy elements or isn't based on actual medieval times? Fuck it, your book, you write what you want your characters to say.

A real police force would have fired Lee Carter ten years before Rush Hour, don't get swamped down in pedantics like your brothers got you on.

[Anonymous No.12519717]

>>12516509
who pissed in your cheerios anon? or do you get off on being an aggressive fag?

[Anonymous No.12519739]

>>12519717
anon i know rude comments on the internet can hurt people but i took that anons comment as a joke and actually LOL'd

anyways have a good day friend, we're all gonna make it

[Anonymous No.12519834]

>>12519667
>Fuck it, your book, you write what you want your characters to say.
Not him, but I wish I have your confidence.

[Anonymous No.12519840]

I'm writing a collection of short stories about the moon for my little sister

[Anonymous No.12519841]

>>12519649
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say you should listen to your brother. It might be discouraging to have flaws in your setting pointed out, but quite a lot of "medieval-ish" fantasy is based more on stereotypes than reality, and too much hand-waving can put your readers through suspension of disbelief, "why-don't-they-just...?" type questions, and even blatant plot holes that erode the quality of your story.
Further, history, packed with interesting characters and events, can be an endless source of inspiration, and being accurate in minor technical details, even those as mundane as, say, the prosecution of criminals in one of your cities, or a sailor's method of navigation, can lend a sense of authenticity to your world that is difficult to achieve with imagination alone.
That being said, if you're on a roll and enjoying writing, there's no sense in getting bogged down in research. Save it for editing and fleshing out your story later, when you feel solid about your characters/plot.

[Anonymous No.12519911]

>>12519841
I understand what you're saying and clearly a semblance of realism is required, I just want the story to be more focused on characters rather than the setting or an overarching plot, and so putting that much worry into things like that makes me stress out about how "capable" I am of writing this

[Anonymous No.12520192]

>>12494835
I have a fantasy novel planned out, but my fear is that the premise sounds too generic and that people won't read it as a result, even though I plan to prioritise characters over plot.

Am I worrying over nothing with this?

[Anonymous No.12520249]

>>12520192
Lad everything's been done, literature has existed for thousands of years
You should never not write something because you're worried it's too generic, if anything generic is good because the average reader will know what they're in for

[Anonymous No.12520379]

>>12520249
I know, but my fear is that the generic premise won't be eyecatching enough to distinguish it from the thousands of other fantasy novels on the market. I am doing unique things with it thematically and in terms of character writing, but I'm scared that a generic premise means that people won't even give it a shot.

[Anonymous No.12520392]

>>12520249
>TFW my novel is a deconstruction of Ya post-apocalypse Dystopia.
Kill me

[Anonymous No.12520412]

>>12518357
General sense, my aim is to give a general population of any background of belief an objective framework by which to spiritualize their lives. Spirituality free of religious fetters.

For the second, meditation mainly, and other related exercises which I have to search into myself. I am able to see the incipient glimpses of higher-frequency beings, my intention is to further my levels such that I can see far more of them, and then to write about the nature of these celestial creatures within said book and inform everyone that humans are most certainly not the top of the totem pole and that there are beings far more splendid than we are. I'll compare my own sight of them to the reports of similar beings by DMT, and hopefully they align. I'll combine these two sources of information together and expound on them in said resource.

[Anonymous No.12520432]

Poems are nicer

[Anonymous No.12520440]

>>12494835
I contribute enough to others and myself as-is.

Just because I enjoy good writing doesn't mean that I should have the talent or inclination to create great writing. If anything, me writing would be a loss for myself and society at large, as it would disrupt the progress and contributions that I'm making in other arenas.

[Anonymous No.12520461]

>>12494835
I write a lot of short stories (generally under 10 pages), but don't really have any serious ambitions about writing a full size novel. I have to read quite a lot of academic literature for work/grad school (engineering and mathematics) so by the time I get home during the day I don't have much mental energy left to write or read in any serious sense. Maybe one day I'll have something worthwhile to tell in a more long form fashion, but until then I've been fairly satisfied with my short stories that nobody but myself reads.

[Anonymous No.12520681]

>>12520379
You may be right, but it's far too early to be worried about marketing.
At the very least you should get the full story out on paper, review it, have all your ideas compiled in one place, and see what kind of twists and turns you can add. You can't let a concern like that let you end up with nothing in the end.

[Anonymous No.12520842]

>>12494835
I'm fucking lazy please somebody help me.

[Anonymous No.12521079]

>>12520842
This, everytime I see my document I get filled with apprehension and end up doing nothing

[Anonymous No.12521086]

>>12520842
>>12521079
I'm the opposite, I want to write but I get embarrassed due to my story.

[Anonymous No.12521196]

>>12521086
Nobody has to see it if it's that bad once you finished it.

[Anonymous No.12521308]

>>12514050
please tell me about your idea/concept/WIP
i love cyberpunk, noir, hard scifi, etc.

[Anonymous No.12521316]

>>12501768

[Anonymous No.12521374]

I only this week started systemic study of writing style of best-sellers and comparing it to how complete flops write. Writing book that isn't best-seller material is waste of time. So many books published every year it's actually cringe to say you are author if it isn't known work.

[Anonymous No.12521381]

>>12521374
>pepe60
That's Apu, faggot.

[Anonymous No.12521524]

>>12520412
>General sense, my aim is to give a general population of any background of belief an objective framework by which to spiritualize their lives. Spirituality free of religious fetters.
I'm also interested in this topic. I never thought about writing a book about spirituality as a topic but have thought about writing essays on certain aspects of spirituality.

>For the second, meditation mainly, and other related exercises which I have to search into myself.
This is another topic I'm very interested in. I'm currently busy increasing the overall austerity of my lifestyle, mainly centered around minimalism, non-attachment and promoting physical, mental and psychological well being.

>I am able to see the incipient glimpses of higher-frequency beings, my intention is to further my levels such that I can see far more of them, and then to write about the nature of these celestial creatures within said book and inform everyone that humans are most certainly not the top of the totem pole and that there are beings far more splendid than we are. I'll compare my own sight of them to the reports of similar beings by DMT, and hopefully they align. I'll combine these two sources of information together and expound on them in said resource.
The topic of the existence or the nature of these higher-frequency beings is something I most likely have very differing views on, but regardless their relationship to DMT beings does sound interesting.

Either way, you seem like one of the few people interested enough in this to take it seriously, so if you'd like we could exchange notes and ideas?