/wg/ - Writing General

[Anonymous No.17088944]

prev:>>17061556
Any progress on your novels?

For Prose:
>The Art of Fiction
>On Becoming A Novelist
>Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
>How Fiction Works
>The Rhetoric of Fiction
>Steering the Craft

For Poetry:
>The Poetry Home Repair Manual
>Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry

Related Material:
>What Editors Do
>A Student's Introduction to English Grammar
>Garner's Modern English Usage

Suggested books on storytelling:
>The Weekend Novelist
>Aristotle's Poetics
>Hero With a Thousand Faces
>Romance the Beat

Suggested books on getting your fucking work done you lazy piece of shit:
>Deep Work
>Atomic Habits

Traditional publishing
> Formatting manuscript
https://blog.reedsy.com/manuscript-format/
> Write a query
https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/
> Track your query
https://querytracker.net/


Other Resources
>General grammar/syntax/editing help
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
> When/where/how should I write?
https://jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers
> What software should I write with?
https://self-publishingschool.com/book-writing-software-best/
> Amazon Publishing to make that KDP monie
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200635650
> Be like Charles Dickens and write serially
https://www.royalroad.com/
> Basic overview of the Screenplay format
https://screenwriting.info/

[Anonymous No.17088971]

>>17088944
Is getting traditionally published worth it in this day and age? With the rise of serial web novels, and other alternative publications, I just don’t see why I should see traditional publishing as the be all end all in one’s writing career. Am I overthinking it, or just plain wrong? It all seems so confusing now. Can someone shed any light on the matter?

[Anonymous No.17089057]

>>17088971
Is there something you ain’t telling us that’s bothering you, anon?

[Anonymous No.17089580]

>>17089057
My grandfather recently pass away this weekend and I’m just depressed. He’s the one who pushed me to read when I was young and was supportive when I told him I wanted to write a novel. I don’t know, just why bother at all.

[Anonymous No.17089657]

Hey! Time for a thread survey.

>What genres do you primarily write?
>How long have you been writing?
>Do you read regularly?
>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
>What are your goals as an author?
>What are the main influences on your writing?

[Anonymous No.17089664]

>>17089580
He wouldn't want you to stop, anon. Honor his memory by writing that novel. He'd be proud of you for doing so. Sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous No.17089761]

>>17089664
I know, anon, maybe I should continue, it just seems all bleak right now and I don’t know who to turn to.

[Anonymous No.17089840]

>he publishes serially
>he does this because he wants to imitate isekai garbage WN writers from Japan
>he does this because he has a fantasy where he'll make the American Re:Zero and have it pull him out of NEEThood or his McJob
>he does this because isekai and LitRPG are rightfully seen as a laughing stock by agents, and he doesn't have the literary palate to make anything but that
>he does this because, deep down, he knows that he needs more than a decade's worth of experience before he'll be up to the level of trad publishing
Never gonna make it.

[Anonymous No.17089856]

I'm not a good writer but I would like some critique. First draft of the first "section" of my unfinished short story.
~~~
An order spun the wheel around. It read, “John Tremor, Serial Murder: 1 large bucket of dark
meat chicken, extra crispy breaded potato wedges, and a big ol apple pie, thanks.” It was nice
they let the fellas who come around here write their own orders. They wouldn’t want anything to
be lost in translation. Not like we would the guards couldn’t understand what a bucket of chicken
is, I swear half the inmates want the same exact thing. Not that I could fault them, we make
some of the best chicken in the country.
A dozen or so white clad short order cooks were hustling about friers and griddles as smoke
and steam billowed up into the air. The smell of peanut oil and hamburgers and sizzling chicken
wafted anywhere it could. To many the smell could be quite appetizing but it only made me feel
sick. It was near the end of my shift and I was dreading the massive pile of dishes that built up.
Jay, my manager, had told me that due to some budget related things (he would never specify
on this type of stuff) we had to limit who was staying past order hours. Because I was the
greenest they made me volunteer to do dishes for the rest of the month.
Best I could hope for is some kind of evacuation event like a prisoner going apeshit over a
wrong order. Surprisingly these riots were uncommon considering the volume of people coming
through. Two to three hundred new faces would come through every day, though new is
overselling it because everyone was new. They would come in in shackles but leave in a
dumpster with the rest of the day’s queue. No reason to be friendly, it’s not like we had to worry
about repeat customers.
We did have to be conscious of the quality of the food. Most of the breakouts happened
because some rookie fry cook fucked up one of their orders. We are lenient on a lot of things in
the kitchen, health and safety standards mainly, but we were proud of the food we cooked and
wanted our patrons to be satisfied before heading off into the great unknown.
The day’s bowls and pots and pans and old fry grease was looking over me like It was about to
turn me out. It was a bit slower today so I decided to get cracking. The rubber gloves were wet
on the inside and felt like I was reaching into a muddy hole. It was much preferable to the would
be slop water in the sink.
I tuned out the firing squads’ machine gun like rallies with the sound of Boz Scaggs. Suddenly
the shots stopped. My ears pricked up and so did everyone else’s. It was too early for the
executioners to turn in for the day. Something bad had happened. Alarms started blaring and
the new found relief of going home early had set in among the staff.

[Anonymous No.17089943]

>>17088944
What the fuck, weeb? There's already a thread
>>17087581

[Anonymous No.17090043]

>>17089856
Before, I start, I want to make sure that you take my critique with a grain of salt, I'm under the assumption that this is the beginning of the first chapter, or a chapter, correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll like to start out that it hooked me, It a good beginning section to start out with since it will capture the readers. might want to clarify things a bit though, especially in the beginning, with the guard taking the inmates' orders. You know, I read this

>Not like we would the guards

And I get confused for a moment, and so would others. Put a comma after would,


A bit heavy on the telling than the showing side of things, you might want to describe the workplace/restaurant a bit more, is it trashed, is it tidy, have the riots affected it since apparently they are uncommon with gunfire presumably being the norm, considering the protagonist is desensitized by them.


I also skimmed through it to fix some grammar mistakes, its pic related, which if you're planning on publishing this, you might want to start from now on since posting the text on here can get you in trouble later on. Didn't get all the grammar mistakes, but overall, it's a decent start, fix the grammar, its the thing tying it down for the most part.


And that's all I can give you right now.

[Anonymous No.17090098]

>>17090043
>>Not like we would the guards
I think I just forgot to erase "we would" from that sentence. My bad.

>A bit heavy on the telling than the showing side of things
I agree. I was writing from the perspective of the protags thoughts and didn't break out of it to set a scene, something I need to work on for sure.

>I'm under the assumption that this is the beginning of the first chapter, or a chapter, correct me if I'm wrong.
Yeah kind of. I see in books a lot they separate stuff into sections where they break the narrative into chunks. Stanzas or something I'm really not sure what to call them.. So this is like the first of those.
But I dont think I could write a whole book with this idea so I plan on writing 10 or 15 pages.

Thanks for the critique. I'm glad it hooked you.

[Anonymous No.17090169]

>>17090098
>My bad.
No, problem, anon. It just tripped me for a moment, that's all.

>I was writing from the perspective of the protags thoughts and didn't break out of it to set a scene, something I need to work on for sure.
That's good, I thought you might have been disheartened a bit. If you don't mind me asking, what's the context of the story? It's fine if you don't answer.

>Yeah kind of. I see in books a lot they separate stuff into sections where they break the narrative into chunks. Stanzas or something I'm really not sure what to call them.. So this is like the first of those.
Well, Stanzas are for poems, I think you're looking for the word paragraph.

>But I dont think I could write a whole book with this idea so I plan on writing 10 or 15 pages.
It's doable and viable, you planning on selling this on Amazon?

[Anonymous No.17090211]

>>17090169
>Well, Stanzas are for poems, I think you're looking for the word paragraph.
No not paragraphs, more like small little chapters. Like scene changes in a movie I guess.

>Amazon
No. I mostly plan on either sitting on it for a while or uploading it to my website.

>context
Industrialization of capitol punishment from the perspective of a fry cook who prepares last meals. I kind of want to go into "schizo andrenochrome fueled politcians" type stuff because it sounds fun to write but I'm not sure yet.

[Anonymous No.17090231]

>>17090211
>Industrialization of capitol punishment from the perspective of a fry cook who prepares last meals. I kind of want to go into "schizo andrenochrome fueled politcians" type stuff because it sounds fun to write but I'm not sure yet.

Were you from the last thread? I remember that scenario, glad you're working on it. Hope you succeed with it.

>No. I mostly plan on either sitting on it for a while or uploading it to my website.
Ah, okay, I'll gladly read it once you complete it.

>No not paragraphs, more like small little chapters. Like scene changes in a movie I guess.
Segments?

[Anonymous No.17090271]

>>17090231
>Segments
Yeah that's a word for it.

>Were you from the last thread?
Probably.

>I'll gladly read it once you complete it.
Thanks (:

[Anonymous No.17090347]

Do you guys write every day? I try to, but some days I just want to read or watch a movie instead and cannot be bothered to.

>receive inspiration
>have a general outline in my head for at least the first 2/3rds of a novel
>can't be bothered to sit down every day and transform it into a written work of art

I am filled with guilt. How do I stop procrastinating?

[Anonymous No.17090369]

>>17090347
>Do you guys write every day?
No.
I just tell people I like to write in my free time, despite having written nothing in months.
I do think about what I would write though, if I wrote, which I don't.

[Anonymous No.17090877]

>have a great idea
>don't want to write it because you're too inexperienced and don't want to fuck it up

[Anonymous No.17090918]

>>17090877
write it and then write it again when you're better?

[Anonymous No.17090930]

>>17090877
you're not going to write your shitty idea from when you're 19 when you're in your 30s
unless you're a manchild that grows up to write fantasy and sci-fi, that is
in which case, your ability to write good prose, meaningful stories, and good characters doesn't matter anyway

[Anonymous No.17090950]

But it always comes out like this:

>[Pronoun] looked across the room. [Pronoun] picked up the ball, examining the texture. [Pronoun] threw the ball to the dog, but it didn't react. [Pronoun] scratched [Posessive Pronoun]'s chin.

How do I break out of this repetitive writing style? I'm tired of finding out the paragraphs I write are all the same.

[Anonymous No.17090978]

>>17090950
look at a book and see how other authors do it? try to rewrite what you wrote? what kind of question is this

[Anonymous No.17090989]

>>17090930
i'm 29
and it's not fantasy/sci-fi, it's tragedy about a guy going up and down

[Anonymous No.17091050]

>>17090989
>it's tragedy about a guy going up and down
His life going up and down, right? Not in a literal sense?

[Anonymous No.17091064]

>>17091050
it's actually called The Life and Times of Elevator Man

[Anonymous No.17091067]

>>17091050
Yes.
A few things will happen, he's going to try to find his own place in life, then things happen again. It's fun and smart. A bit like Werter, sometimes.

[Anonymous No.17091076]

>>17091064
what happens if i press all the buttons at once

[Anonymous No.17091108]

opening paragraphs of a short story i'm working on
-------

A few days ago a bump rose on my forehead and it’s been nothing but unnerving since. I thought it was a pimple at first, I tried to squish it but it wouldn’t pop, it felt like some kind of sturdy fruit. It wouldn’t even slightly deform, it just stayed uncaring and bulging. And right now it’s about half the size of a walnut, it even grew a slit across its top like the shell. My roommate, Igor, says it looks like a closed eyelid, he jokes that I'm just opening my third eye and I’ll soon start levitating in bed. But it’s really not funny at all.

It’s the first year I’ve made friends on campus and we only met last month, so I know they’ll just scrunch their faces or vomit once they see me with some swollen cyst poking out of my head. They’ll smile like everythings fine but they’ll wish we never met, they’ll need therapy to process why they ever even talked to me. And music’s out of the question too, Igor will have an easier time branding me as a scientific discovery than a vocalist. So what the hell is there to joke about?

I’ve been living in my mirror so long I should start dating Bloody Mary. I’d rather catch souls in children’s reflections than deal with this anyway. But I can’t stop staring, even now, I might’ve stood entranced all day if Igor hadn’t called me.
“Kiyani how long are you gonna be in the bathroom? Are you fighting an alligator or something? I need to piss!”
“What? Just give me a second, it’s been like 5 minutes.”
But the door was already opening, I felt like a possum caught in a garbage bin.
“Yo what the hell is your problem, didn’t I just say wait?”
“Holy shit you have a literal unicorn horn on your head, it’s like Fooly Cooly. You better start bringing pink haired girls back to the dorm too.”
“Yo please stop, you dead don’t understand simple privacy.”

[Anonymous No.17091111]

>>17091108
the absolute state of writers in 2020

[Anonymous No.17091172]

>>17091111
Like you can do better.

[Anonymous No.17091181]

>>17091111
what don't you like about it exactly?

[Anonymous No.17091227]

>your book is sad as fuck
>makes you depressed every time you write it because the main character suffers
How do I fix this? How could greatest writers write existential books without feeling miserable?

[Anonymous No.17091237]

Chapter 22.

https://awfiction.wordpress.com/2020/12/22/engine-zero-zero-chapter-22/

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17091240]

>>17091227

Who said they don’t feel miserable while doing it?

[Anonymous No.17091244]

>>17091237
Gotta ask, why did you make the character autistic?

[Anonymous No.17091246]

>>17091108
>“Yo please stop, you dead don’t understand simple privacy.”
whoa is the twist that the other guy's a zombie? i get that you're trying to make it all twitter-slangy or something but it's just a real awkward way to use that expression. so's the "nothing but unnerving" in the first line and a bunch of other things. Like. "they’ll need therapy to process why they ever even talked to me" is just overcomplicated.

[Anonymous No.17091268]

>>17091246
>twitter-slangy
A lot of "Twitter slang" comes from where I'm from, New York. This is just how we talk. I can revise the other parts though.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17091290]

>>17091268

I’m also from New York and didn’t really see anything I’d classify as slang or the like, it does come off teenage though, or at least it would if stuff like fooly Cooly and Bloody Mary were still popular teen stuff, are they?

[Anonymous No.17091304]

>>17091290
I grew up with FLCL and Bloody Mary. Also I'm Black, from Brooklyn, so we probably know a different NYC. The characters are meant to be in their early 20s, it's just based on how my friends talk. Zoomer and Millenial slang is shared though so I get why they sound teenage. I don't mind that though.

[Anonymous No.17091317]

>>17091290
Oh also by slang he was referring to "dead" I think, like "you're dead retarded my guy".

[Anonymous No.17091457]

>>17091304
Thanks for the explanation.

[Anonymous No.17091586]

>>17091317
>"you're dead retarded my guy".
That doesn’t make any sense? How are the readers supposed to infer that?

[Anonymous No.17091591]

>>17091317
Bro I'm getting too old for this shit, even light jap novels aren't that childish

[Anonymous No.17091701]

>>17091586
>don't write dialogue in your vernacular, someone might not get the slang!
Ok.
>>17091591
What? I was giving an example of how the phrase can be used. If you're unfamiliar just say that, anything else is dishonest.
>inb4 "anon why are you being defensive"
I don't mind critiquing the story itself, and even THESE gripes will be accounted for. But it's baseless to tell a writer not to use vernacular because YOUR specific background is unfamiliar. Everyone where I'm from is used to talking this way, I'm genuinely surprised people here are so perplexed. I know you're white but even white kids say shit like "dead ass". Are you all from the midwest or something?

[Anonymous No.17091713]

>>17091701
You're dead retarded.

[Anonymous No.17091729]

>>17091713
Lol so it's not that confusing is it? Anyway, where's your work? Do you need crits too?

[Anonymous No.17091733]

>>17091729
>Anyway, where's your work?
In a bookstore, also available on Amazon.
No, thank you. i don't need dead retarded crits.

[Anonymous No.17091747]

>>17091733
What's it called anon? How's it working out for you? I want to make sure I'm being pointed in the right direction by someone with expertise!

[Anonymous No.17091782]

>>17091244
I don't know. I guess I was curious what autism would be like, what the approach to it would be, apart from modernity--without special accommodation or patience or gluten free this or that.

[Anonymous No.17091785]

>>17091701
the problem is that you're failing to account for how the intonation of speech aids in parsing messages, and how the removal of that layer of information makes the same message parse poorly when transcribed. i'm the first guy who complained, and i obviously understood what the "dead" was for, but it reads very awkwardly because you scan "you dead" first and parse it as "you, the dead..." before reading the rest of it and figuring out that it's "dead" as in "dead stupid". it's the second person specifically that causes the issue, i wouldn't have it with "i dead don't understand". it's just a bad choice.

you seem to have little awareness of how what you write actually reads so your output is full of these stumbling blocks of awkward phrasing you really should have caught reading it.

>>17091747
shit i wish i saw this before i typed out the above, i wouldn't be trying to help you if i knew your were such a thin-skinned little cunt

[Anonymous No.17091851]

>>17091785
I get what you're trying to say but you're not accounting for how big our cultural gap is playing here. I never think of myself as writing for an audience unfamiliar with the phrase "dead ass", so the discrepancies you're picking at, at least in my view, are unlikely to occur with the intended audience. Now if you want to say "all writing should be universalized" then I disagree, but that's another talk. At best I can imagine that people who DO say "dead ass" might still read it as "you, the dead" because it's an unexpected phrase in a story, so at beast I can expand it to say "you dead ass don't" which is the most commonly understood rendering of that vernacular. Also, stop playing with me about "thin-skinned", you're weird as hell if you think I shouldn't joke at people who are talking to me spitefully and without sense. I appreciate your consideration but you're talking pure shit if you think someone insulting me directly deserves anything less than dismissal. Say anything about my writing, but you're insane if you think anyone should entertain vitriol.

[Anonymous No.17091864]

Can someone help me decipher what this sentence means? I don't know why but I've become almost obsessed with it and can't just move on. I'm an ESL and I can't for the life of me tell what the logic of the latter part of this phrase is:
>...whereby was formed a magic mist of gloom resembling the smoky pall that drapes a regal dwelling, what time a king at night fall of a winter's day draws near to it.

[Anonymous No.17091884]

>>17091864
lmao every time i laugh at various authors' tryharding prose attempts

[Anonymous No.17091893]

>>17091864
>...whereby was formed a magic mist of gloom resembling the smoky pall that drapes a regal dwelling

I mystical and gloomy mist that looks similar to royal draperies fell.

>what time a king at night fall of a winter's day draws near to it.
Not sure at all honestly, I guess it's a continuation of the "royal" simile, the mist being the "king at night fall" on a winter day? Sorry, it's definitely a weird phrasing, ESL or not.

[Anonymous No.17091916]

>>17091851
the point is that it reads poorly even if you are familiar with such expressions. and what makes you look thin-skinned is going "SHOW ME YOUR WRITING CREDENTIALS NOW" over some random insult.

[Anonymous No.17091954]

>>17091851
Not him but I am familiar with the phrase "dead ass" and even use it myself quite often. I actually did read it the way you intended (didn't even think of the other interpretation until he pointed it out) and still thought that it sounded clunky. It's more important for dialogue to flow than to be completely accurate and that sentence does not flow well at all.

[Anonymous No.17091985]

>>17091893
Thank you! I am also leaning towards this interpretation. Sometimes I get really hung up on small details and feel like I'm the only one who doesn't get it.

[Anonymous No.17092009]

Read pic related.

[Anonymous No.17092044]

>>17092009
why

[Anonymous No.17092188]

>>17091954
Understandable, that's an issue I've had before and will keep in mind.
>>17091916
>Respond to bitchiness how I think you should
What? Like I said, I appreciate your time, but you're a real weirdo if you think there's a protocol on how to tell someone "fuck off'. It's enough that you recognize it as vitriol, it doesn't make sense to tell someone how to respond to it.

[Anonymous No.17092224]

>>17092188
Actually wait, I just realized you think that I was being facetious when I asked if he needed crit. No, I was being sincere. My response to him being weird about it was just me being annoyed.

[Anonymous No.17092244]

>>17091108
What's with those faggot names?

[Anonymous No.17092328]

>>17090950
Write the whole thing like that. Reorganise structure in 2nd draft.
Rewrite boring sentences in 3rd. Try to vary sentence length. Too many short literal sentences make for boring reading.

[Anonymous No.17092377]

How do I write an existential book without feeling like a miserable depressed faggot?
I tried to continue writing my book but it makes me suffer.

[Anonymous No.17092394]

>>17091701
You can use local slang effectively, if it's explained in advance. Stephen King manages this well in pet semetary.

[Anonymous No.17092432]

>>17091864
Any prose this purple, isn't worth understanding.

[Anonymous No.17092433]

>>17092244
So the premise is that the bump is just a psychological manifestation of the alienation Kiyani already feels. It’s not actually there, but Igor corroborates it because he’s actually really spiteful and manipulative towards Kiyani. He’s going to push him away from his friends and his motives will be unclear though ostensibly because Kiyani is more favored in their musical duo and gets attention from a girl he likes. Sorry to give all that background but it gets to the point that Igor is based on Shakespeare’s Iago in Othello, likewise manipulative to extremes without clear motive. Igor and Iago use similar letters in spelling.

As for Kiyani, it means “adventurous traveler” and is a reference to how his alienation leads him to become a wanderer in the world, never settling down with anyone. It’s obviously a run of the mill “anxious student” story that’s been written 1000 times but this is my take on it, an attempted amalgamation of Othello and the Metamorphosis. I don’t really plan on trying to get it published but the ideas been sitting for awhile and I want to get it out.

[Anonymous No.17092496]

>>17092394
Thanks and I will take this into account depending on how deeply vernacular it gets. Although I don’t expect it to be, and mind you, I really didn’t think anyone would be unfamiliar with a phrase like “dead ass”. Lit is I guess particular but not reflective of the culture I’m primarily entrenched in / drawing on.

[Anonymous No.17092548]

>>17091884
>>17092432
It's a quote from an old Irish myth out of The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Perhaps that excuses the clunkiness a bit.

[Anonymous No.17092698]

Lads... I'm a CW major and all of my creative writing professors seem like they want to kill themselves. Why is that?

[Anonymous No.17092712]

>>17089657
>>What genres do you primarily write?
I don't write rn but if I did, it would probably be coming of age or something.
>>How long have you been writing?
I haven't started yet
>>Do you read regularly?
Yes
>>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Actual books. I read one non-fiction and one fiction, and I keep some on my phone, some from my local library, some I bought, etc.
>>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
I think I would leave it unpublished.
>>What are your goals as an author?
None really. I want people who feel the same way I do to read it and understand me.
>>What are the main influences on your writing?
As far as style goes, idk, maybe Salinger or Pynchon or something, I couldn't tell you. But as far as sentiment goes, it varies, like I'll just be thinking about what it's gonna be like when my parents get old and I have to decide whether to put them in a retirement home or what. Or I was just in California recently and I thought about John Muir and Steinbeck and seeing all the railroad tracks everywhere made me think about a lot of stuff. Idk

I know my writing here is real bad and all, but this is just how I communicate things simply. I'm not actually trying or being a tryhard or anything. Just saying whatever comes up right now

[Anonymous No.17092720]

>>17089657
>Mystery, mostly murder mystery
>A few months
>Not regularly, I tend to watch shows first then read the book after and tend to enjoy the book more.
>Don't know yet, I still have to finish my current book
>haven't finished it yet, first book
>Idk, I guess innovating this genre
>NisiOisiN started my love for mystery, then went for classics Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle

[Anonymous No.17092789]

Historical fiction fag here. Decided I have nothing else to do right now (my dayjob is really easy work from home stuff) so I'm doing the background research to properly finish my half-done draft. read 200 pages of academic sources in the last 2 days. Feels learning, man.

[Anonymous No.17092822]

>>17088944
>Any progress on your novels?

yeah. it got published. still waiting for Amazon to get their finger out and send the copies i ordered.

[Anonymous No.17092896]

Folks this is the opening paragraph to a short story I wrote in a frenzy last night. What are your impressions? Would you keep reading?

[Anonymous No.17092951]

>>17092896
No, first sentence would either hook a middling Bukowski fan or be abrasive as hell to anyone else.

[Anonymous No.17092979]

>>17092951
Throughout the short story the narrator refers to this woman exclusively as 'the whore'. It reflects how she views her. But is it excessive? Perhaps I should just change it to 'her' or something.

[Anonymous No.17093070]

>>17092896
>whore three times
I suspect this is intentional but I hate it. No subtlety and just isn't believable. It reads as super edgy autistic teenage boy. There's also no way this narrator is a woman and the 'whore' thing is only one contributing factor to that.

[Anonymous No.17093117]

>>17093070
It is indeed intentional, she's a spiteful upper middle class woman who's found the girl her late husband was having an affair with. I understand it could be a bit aggressive though.

What other factors make you think it isn't a woman narrating?

[Anonymous No.17093125]

>>17092896
Ignore the haters, this is kino. I'd read more anon

[Anonymous No.17093152]

>>17093117
It's far too aggressive for an upper middle class woman.
The pretentiousness and the vitriol. You should read more things written by women. Literally everything about this screams young man.

[Anonymous No.17093159]

>>17092896
>whore! whore! whoooreee!
Instant drop. Are you like 16?

[Anonymous No.17093168]

>>17093152
What if the narrator is herself pretentious and vitriolic though? I've only had 2 short stories published, but they were in semi-decent journals and both from the POV of a woman... They were much more 'normal' characters admittedly

[Anonymous No.17093180]

>>17092896
It's coming off as incel, but I can't say for sure with only one page. Too much repetition. Whore, murder, country, knew. I get some are intentional, but it's all on one page. It definately made me curious though.

[Anonymous No.17093205]

>>17092896
If you changed "whore" to something else it'd raise it by a lot. The writings actually not bad and I've known some real spiteful crones who I could buy thinking in those terms. Reminded me vaguely of addie bundren in as I lay dying.

[Anonymous No.17093207]

>>17093168
That kind of woman doesn't tend to be. At least not in the way you've written here. But honestly, "the character is just like that!" always felt like the most hollow excuse for pretentious writing or unrealistic character voices.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093269]

Posted this in the other thread, reposting here. It’s no where near done the story is going to be much longer, how is it so far?

[Anonymous No.17093288]

Wrote this after reading Palahniuk's Consider This.

[Anonymous No.17093324]

>>17093288
Holy shit why do you people write such a retarded degenerated shit? Are you literal teenagers?
Is everyone on /wg/ like this?

[Anonymous No.17093327]

>>17093269
I have no idea what's going on here but I really like it.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093368]

>>17093324

Eh, even if I tried to write degenerate shit I find it very difficult personally. Closest I ever did was for a written prompt that a friend chose.

I think it’s because people want to write what they know and all they know is, well, degenerate shit.

Here it is.

Night walkers


I like it when it rains, washes away the filth, whenever it rains I make up some excuse to get out of the house and drive, it’s the only time these streets aren’t covered in filth. Dope pushers, prostitutes, addicts, freaks of all kind. They all seem to fade away when it rains.

Just me, the rain and the city lights. Before I came here I used to walk around a lot at night, but doing that here’s a quick way of leaving you robbed and dead in some back alley, I learned that the first night I tried walking these streets.

I just got to the city and wanted to get my bearing, I was near Central Park and thought it would be a perfect walk you know? First thing I see on 6th Avenue is this pack of ghetto punk ass niggers smoking pot while their whore shouted something about her kids, but it wouldn’t be the last bunch of freaks I saw.

Just as I hit West 59th Street you know what I fucking see? A bald woman covered head to toe with piercings and tattoos with a deformed nose, shouting about how we’re in another dimension or some bullshit, she screamed something like “I know you man I know you, you need to help me help me help me” makes my skin crawl scum like that is allowed to walk these streets.

I finally get to Central Park and I walk in, ya know it’s a beautiful scene, the long winding road illuminated by just a few lights and you can see all of the trees and benches, pigeons and squirrels, that kind of crap.

And it’s going good until I see in the corner just barely in the light in between some trees two bums helping each other with their crack or dope I don’t fucking know it was bad man, they were filthy, I could see the nearly toothless smile of the guy holding the pipe when he saw me. I couldn’t take it anymore and just rushed over there and slammed their goddamned heads into the ground and I’m not sorry that I did it either, rat fucking degenerate bastards. So my night is ruined,
I begin to walk home and I hear some kind of yelling from behind me, I see that ugly pack of pot head niggers shouting at me, I’m not a fool so I run out of there, back alley to back alley, past union square and I finally know I’m almost home when I see a mural, I drove past the mural four or five times before but I never much paid it any kind. I usually hate graffiti but sitting here it was something nice to look at.


Cont

[Anonymous No.17093372]

>>17092896
Your writing is actually good and flows well, but as other posters mentioned your use of that word is too jarring to the point it detracts. Change it and I'd read more

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093376]

>>17093368

It was a nice and clean spray painting of a cabin in a dark heavy woods, real lush, real pristine. But something about it was off, I couldn’t tell what, I saw there was the big trees, a little lake in the background, the creeping of a sunrise far off, and the house, that was where the problem was.

The house was always painted as dark, no one living in it I’d guess but I didn’t really think about it before. I guess one of those punks must have painted it over and put some light in and some other details.

Light, everyone should love the light, being clean, people only come out at night because they’re afraid everyone will see what they’re doing in the light, they know they’re wrong. As sick of them as I am they gotta be more sick of themselves, I mean they gotta know the second they become freaks and night walkers their life is over, there’s no getting them back.

But I guess as that thought was in my head I began to wonder why was I always a night walker? What am I after? I mean I look at myself and the only thing I want is to be who I am, a man.

But I mean, what is a man? It’s light, it’s like that light but it’s just just that cabin light or that coming sun rise, it’s both. A real Man’s gotta shine for himself and gotta clean up others.

What’s it mean to be a man? To be manly? i think everyone wants to be the Hero, the carrier of the light, the clean one who’s not clean because he’s innocent, no his cleanness is like that light, when it touches the darkness, destroys the darkness. A real man takes what he wants, possesses, his eyes look and penetrate both of the interior, trying to find the depth and bottom of ones self but also at the first of the world, and that man has to enforce his will and meaning upon the world, a real man isn’t corrupt, isn’t taken by others, he wants to look into the darkness, but not to be overwhelmed or taken by it, but to slay it, conquer it, the filth doesn’t stain it, he’s like bleach, like acid, this world devours a man because it’s built on the backs of real men but that means it has to crush the backs of real men in order to survive.

It doesn’t want you to be a man, it doesn’t want you to not be a man either. It wants you to be its man, its hero, but not for yourself, for itself, to make sure it can keep going as it wants.

It’s rotten to the core. Why should I protect and help something so ugly, so terrible? I guess

Cont

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093387]

>>17093376

Being a man is being protective, saying “because I Will and i care these things are me and mine, you can’t mess with them without messing with me.” whether it be friend, family, city, God or any thing, and because a man has put his will into it, his light, if that thing he cares about is destroyed, his will is destroyed, his manhood is destroyed. That’s why you gotta protect what you love in this world.

The core of the man is Will, Will to see himself in others, the impure is when he sees himself as lost, not shining, not clean, not reflected, the man’s soul is shattered when he sees impurity in himself because he can no longer see himself. That’s what it means to be a lost soul, that’s what those people were, they’re lost, they’ve lost or given themselves to the night, to the lowlife. They’re not even alive.

How can man a see himself not just in himself but in the world? How can you find your own light out there? Where am I outside?, except in negation and annihilation, except in violence and in conflict, except in conflict? Where is the mirror of my soul in another?

I guess the question is care, a man has to care or he isn’t a man, if he doesn’t care he doesn’t grab on to anything in this world, a measure of a man has to be how much of this world he tries to grab not to rule over but to protect, defend, make clean.

That’s what a man is, the second you stop caring your will, your light becomes dead. And if you don’t care at all your own light dies inside, you give yourself to the horrible night.

I won’t do that, I will care, I will care I will care.

So I woke myself out of my trance and remembered it’s just a shitty mural and went home but the next day I signed up for all these programs, you know, soup kitchens, charities that kind of shit, whenever I see these night walkers again I try to talk to them or help them in some way, I care and won’t let the filth get inside me, I’ll clean as much of it as I can. I’ll feed those bastards, I’ll protect them. That’s what being a man is about, making the world as clean as your consciousness.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093400]

>>17093327

Thanks a lot anon! I really wanted to experiment with that kind of prose style but wasn’t sure if it comes off good to others, I’m glad it does and will definitely continue the story.

[Anonymous No.17093461]

Say you have your character(s) moving from point A to point B and you expect to have a few chapters of "adventure stuff" in between so that they aren't just fast-traveling. Pretty basic stuff but I'm afraid it'll end up just feeling like filler. How do you avoid this? What kinds of goals do you have for these kinds of chapters to make them more important? What are you trying to communicate to the reader that has meaning beyond basic plot movement?

[Anonymous No.17093540]

>hey John I'm stuck on my novel I want to let you know what I'm stuck on and see what you think
>Sorry anon I'm busy.. maybe another time
>Hey Greg can you look at my novel, I am wondering if it's shit so far or not
>Sorry Anon maybe later.
>Hey mom can you check out my novel
>Maybe later anon but not now I am busy
>Dad?
>Fuck off anon
>Hey Anon I hear you been writing a book tell me about it
>Oh yeah it's about-
>Actually anon I have somewhere to go, maybe you can tell me another time.

[Anonymous No.17093590]

>>17093461
Might as well fast travel if nothing happens. Good excuse for dialogue if more than one character is travelling. Action doesn't leave much room for characters to come to terms with things

[Anonymous No.17093607]

>>17093387
Why did you fedl the need to drop the 'N' bomb? Is your narrator black or racist?

[Anonymous No.17093616]

>>17093607
>the 'N' bomb?
Can't you just tell it directly? Are you such a coward even on fucking 4chan?

[Anonymous No.17093683]

>>17093616
Says the guy who talks shit anonymously. You are too much of a pussy to reveal your identity and say it. So shut the fuck up.

[Anonymous No.17093690]

>>17093683
Coward nigger.

[Anonymous No.17093703]

>>17093616
I don't use that word unless writing deliberately devisive dialogue. Would it make me less of a pussy to type a racial slur, anonymously online?

[Anonymous No.17093730]

>>17092433
Gotcha bro I didn't intend to be mean, the story itself wasn't bad and I'd probably read more of it
The names are super fucking gay though

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093733]

>>17093607

It’s a pastiche of taxi driver, he’s supposed to hate anything filthy and related to the seedy parts of life even though he’s compelled to look at it, blacks being literally black would be part of this. Why do you take offense at him saying nigger and not him smashing the heads in of two random hobos ?

[Anonymous No.17093741]

>>17092896
I like it, the people squealing about the use of whore are probably legitimate bull dyke "women"

[Anonymous No.17093812]

>>17093733
The more you post the most I'm convinced that you live in a world far off from what most consider reality.

[Anonymous No.17093826]

>>17093733
I didn't take offense. You could write an antisemetic character without being antisemetic. I was discerning the point of view of your character.

[Anonymous No.17093833]

>>17093152
>>17093180
>>17093207
Read some flannery O'connor or Faulkner you pseud, the fire and brimstone religious yet hateful matriarch is a classic and very true to life in good ol boy country. My sister is a server and was called a "filthy slut" by a prim old woman with a tight bun for the length of her skirt. She then told her to get to Church. And this is in Virginia, its much worse in the hills or down in alabama, Georgia, kentucky.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093834]

>>17093812

Thank you I consider that a high compliment.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093849]

>>17093826

Eh fair enough I guess but it was specifically because it matched the scenery and grit of the character, very conversational, meant to feel like some random person you met on the street ranting about how he hates degenerates, whores, how the streets are dirty and that kind of thing. I live and grew up in Brooklyn and you meet people like this all the time who aren’t even black and will in earshot of blacks spout off about niggers. Just feels accurate to life to me, friend.

[Anonymous No.17093864]

>>17093833
Like I said. Incel feel at first glance. You didn't give prior context

[Anonymous No.17093887]

>>17093864
Im not the original anon

[Anonymous No.17093893]

>>17093849
For some reason I just pictured him as a black guy rather than a racist white guy. Like a grim sleeper type guy. You know, the serial killer. Always enjoy a bit of grit

[Anonymous No.17093897]

>>17093690
keep hiding behind your computer screen pussy

[Anonymous No.17093901]

>>17093887
And you never will be with that attitude

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17093903]

>>17093893

Eh that’s fine I didn’t really select a race for him; just wanted generic gritty street man, more of a generic and angry lower class person who lives downtown and isn’t about it, wants something more but doesn’t know what. Him going off about whores and niggers and freaks just felt natural ya know.

[Anonymous No.17093934]

>>17093901
:(

[Anonymous No.17093947]

>>17093741
Or have actually spoken to a woman.

[Anonymous No.17094029]

>>17093947
Anon made very clear his story is about a freak of a woman tho. See
>>17093833

[Anonymous No.17094223]

>>17094029
I don't think that's the same anon. And that context isn't in the writing. It didn't really seem like that was what he was going for.

[Anonymous No.17094246]

>>17092896
b8
>>>/r9k/

[Anonymous No.17094296]

>>17094223
I'm the original anon who posted. Yes, I was going for something with the character like this anon pointed out
>>17093833
And have based it partly on women I met like that in America a couple of years ago. I'm glad you picked up on that, anon.

It was probably a big mistake posting a contextless intro paragraph, but I'll definitely be changing liberal use of the word whore to make it more palatable. It's the story of a horrible, horrible woman in the deep south - think westboro baptist - whose husband cheats on her and has a baby with another woman who isn't so terrible. The woman goes to this other girl's shack. My intention was, despite her labelling her as a whore and denigrating her, you can see even through the unreliable narrator that the girl is nothing of the sort.

Anyway, just a ~1500 word play piece, but please don't think I'm an incel or hate women! Lmao.

[Anonymous No.17094314]

>>17094296
Makes more sense with context.

[Anonymous No.17094446]

>>17094296
I don't think you're an incel or hate women and I get what you're going for but it still doesn't really hit in my opinion. Still reads too male. I think calling her only whore is not realistic, giving her the title of whore is not really how women think - I never denied that a woman would call her a whore or slut, it's just using it as a name that I take issue with.

[Anonymous No.17094590]

>>17093540
>implying anyone you have ever met IRL will ever show even the remotest interest in reading something you've written
LMAO, are you new to this, anon? You might be able to get them to read a couple of pages, but nothing more than that. I was the alpha reader of my ride-or-die buddy's first novel and I still dropped it like a third in, lol. He's lucky I even got that far.
>reading something other than an object of spontaneous interest
Not happening.

[Anonymous No.17094608]

>>17089840
>muh traditional publishing
It's ok pal, you can share that with as many women and minorities as you like. I, on the other hand, will be writing isekai garbage and fleecing patreon neetbux from teenaged retards.

[Anonymous No.17094694]

>>17094608
I'd rather be traditionally published with a readership of 1k than publish online with a readership of 100k. It's not always about the money.

[Anonymous No.17094741]

>>17094694
And I'd rather be read by 500 proper people than 500k normtards. I'd also like to make enough money to not work a job, though.

[Anonymous No.17094842]

>>17092896
Redo the first two lines. It's fine after that. Good even

[Anonymous No.17094906]

>>17094590
why are you mean

[Anonymous No.17094944]

>>17093288
This is fine, but you've only applied parts of Palahniuk's advice and not others. You're copying his style rather than demonstrating an understanding of it. You should go back and read the whole thing again.
Also, don't learn from just one source, learn from everywhere, and then integrate. Not all of Palahniuk's advice will be useful, especially to an amateur.
But some advice specifically about the story: You've messed up your build up and your arc. You're giving too much up front as well.
Fix your structure and try to understand what you're actually doing.

[Anonymous No.17094974]

>>17093540
Post what you need feedback on, and I promise I'll be as detailed as possible, even if it's over 50 pages long, but I cannot promise that I won't be mean. Here's your shot at getting some real feedback.

[Anonymous No.17095085]

>>17094906
I am not mean at all. It's just the truth. No one reads my shit either. If you expect other people to read your shit, you will always be disappointed, sad and demotivated.

[Anonymous No.17095097]

Please rate this beginning part of my short story.

>“Get out of my head Satan!” I screamed, as Satan penetrated my mind with his whispering, infantile voice. I knew this feeling far too good. Multiple times a day he would torment me, trying to make me do things no human being should ever have to do. I’ve lived with Satan constantly trying to ruin me my whole life. I have gotten used to it, but this day is not going to be like all the other days. No, today I’m going to take my life back. Today I am Satan.

[Anonymous No.17095113]

>>17094974
All i need to know is one thing. I have an arc planned out, that leads into a long adventure. Should I start the story jumping straight into that arc, or should I have the story do some worldbuilding first, getting to know the characters before jumping into the meat of the story. There's a lot of unfamiliar fantasy elements in the story so I am wondering if I should let the reader get used to the world before bringing in the plot.

[Anonymous No.17095123]

Does anyone want to beta read my ~3000 word short story? Happy to critique swap.

[Anonymous No.17095150]

>>17095097
>“Get out of my head Satan!” I screamed, as Satan penetrated my mind with his whispering, infantile voice
trite. cliche. change pls.

>... far too good
far too well

>multiple times a day he would....
consider chanigng to he would torment me multiple times a day. Better yet, consider removing this completely.

Instead of saying all that, break it down. Tell us how he's ruining your life. Tell us what precisely he made you do and how. Think of yourself as a lawyer cross examining a witness, trying to paint a particular picture without being allowed to ask leading questions or outright tell the jury what you want them to feel/think/know/think they know.

Is English not your native tongue? If you are, you're doing a good job. Keep at it and you'll be better than native speakers in no time. If English is your native tongue, then what the fuck are you doing with your life?

[Anonymous No.17095185]

>>17095150
Thanks buddy. I will make some changes, and yes English is not my native language. I will definetly use that lawyer trick, sounds like a good way to go about things.

[Anonymous No.17095217]

>>17095185
>>17095150
>>17095123
>>17095097
>>17095085
>>17094974
hey you assholes answer me here >>17095113

[Anonymous No.17095233]

>>17095113
Story and world-building do not necessarily have to be orthogonal to each other. However, ill-executed stories (and even some well executed ones) often find themselves having to make trade-offs. Similarly plot and character should not be orthogonal given that ideally the characters should seem to drive the plot forward.

My advice would be to follow Tarantino's method of doing things. He often builds his own unique world within his films, but never sacrifices character or plot. All three cascade well in his work, and that is worth looking at. (Kill BIll is the easiest to break down and learn from, for his techniques are particularly exposed in those movies. Who knows why?)

If you don't like Tarantino, try Ursula le Guin's work to see how she chooses to make tradeoffs on the above three.

Really the key is to master particular basics of writing long form fiction. You can find them in the work of any great author, i just suggested two for whom where they're relatively easy to recognize and breakdown.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17095238]

How’s this short story lad?

The demon conjurer


a dream did seem to pass before my eyes, I saw the lord of the flies who said “if you are wise, gather the great grimoire of honorious, you will become notorious, your face glorious, by Morpheus you will overcome Even Orpheus in ingenuity and the praise of men.” then I awoke and I remembered what he spoke, the terrible tome I sought for much time, for ages I sought the pages all found except one, it was now mine and now was the time,

it instructed to invoke Ayperos, “draw in dirt during dusk these symbols, an angel’s ambient body and a lions large head, tail of a hare, spine of bear and foot of a goose and remember the name of the reigning royal child who is crowned and conquering, Christ the chimera of crooked man and the straight line and light of God, in the indomitable circle assemble the symbols”


I hallowed the book and followed it to the letter “fell demon or devil come by circle and its center “ the devil came and with a bellow of his stomach mocked my mighty circle and conjuration “your book lacked one symbol, you have no power my maw shall gnaw your flesh and Rend your soul the moment you walk outside the circle” I felt great fear as death drew near i was a mere mortal in his delirious sphere my mind was rendered blind before the fiery fiend and in blindness the bright innermost light ignited within the depths of my dark soul from the spark of remembrance of the crowned and conquering Christ i broke my fear


and spoke these words “your lord the prince of the birds of the air is bound and has Sworn obedience to the great God in that same name I cast you down and back into the flame, the bitter sting, return in shame to your dwelling and be bound by the bravery of the begotten Son who holds the keys to hell and death” in a moment the demon vanished by my lord it was vanquished and I thanked the Great God by whom I banished the fiend, I cleaved to God to be cleaned in my inmost self and saw a vision of the celestial host,


i gave all my focus towards an ascent just as Moses did so that I may attain theosis, slowly the Holy Spirit drew near me and like morning dew the presence was upon me, no longer do I seek fame but I cleave to the God who came to my rescue and seek to learn the mysteries of God and await the return of the redeemer who earned for me my eternal salvation.

[Anonymous No.17095246]

>>17095113
I mean, worldbuiling isnt a bad idea if you do it right. You have to make it interesting and I guess that might be the most difficult part as its not at the top of the arc. But if you manage to make it interesting and not too long then i think you should go for it, but then again you could also just jump right into the meat of the story and then introduce the background later in a smart way.

[Anonymous No.17095266]

>>17095246
>>17095233
Thanks bros I know what to do now. I been contemplating this for months.

[Anonymous No.17095507]

>>17095113
>>17095217
I am not an asshole you stupid faggot.
Your question is too general and hard to address without the details. Still, if I had to give advice anyway, I'd say start the arc and introduce the lore for the setting gradually, as it becomes necessary for the readers.

[Anonymous No.17095752]

>>17095266
Hope it works out for you.

[Anonymous No.17095765]

>>17095266
Good luck anon!

[Anonymous No.17096003]

Would you, as a reader, be interested in something that goes like this:

>Our teacher walks in. He’s grinning. He apologizes for being late and delicately brings his hands together so that only the tips of the fingers connect before the palms gradually close into each other and there’s a slight moment of tension before they finally touch like it’s a loose wire firing sparks into the air and he tells us that he wants to do something “a little bit different today.” He says we have a “special guest” he says “I hope you’ll give her the same attention you give me” and finally he rotates his neck toward the door and I follow his line of sight into the gap between the frame and the edge of it where the outside hall with the rows of lockers is visible and out of the frame steps this girl… she can’t be older than 11.. I think… she’s got a small figure and brown hair… a pastel blue t-shirt with a little teddy bear on it… and her eyes...something’s wrong…they kind of unfocus the background...you only realize it in retrospect but when she fixes her eyes on me everything else, everything… the chalkboard, the cabinet in the corner of the classroom, the clock on the wall with the second-hand that doesn’t tick but just glides around the clock, the tiles, the floor, the red sweater… everything kind of slurs together as if it’s painted on and the paint is melting under a heat lamp and I’m left with these two white almond-shaped things with black… absolutely black holes and a shimmering just-barely-there outline of cyan… time seems to slow down and I just barely notice that everyone else in the room is just as quiet as I am, nobody’s moving except for tiny expansions and contractions of their lips, some open mouths…

Did it grip you? Is it well written or poorly written? Is it an interesting topic?

[Anonymous No.17096130]

>>17096003
>Did it grip you?
No, from the third sentence onward every sentence drags on. The previous two also mesh with the third one poorly.
>Is it well written or poorly written?
It is poorly written, the description is clunky and the sentence structure flows badly. There's overuse of nonstandard punctuation. You have also written this in present tense, which while perfectly permissible is also nonstandard.
>Is it an interesting topic?
I am not sure what the topic of the excerpt actually is as the second part is too muddled for me to make out what you are presenting us with. I can't tell if you are describing quiet fascination at the introduction of a new student or some sort of paranormal shit that I can't make out.
Are you ESL and just starting? For the record, I myself am ESL and I had some of the same problems earlier on.

[Anonymous No.17096213]

>>17092698
Failed as novelists or short story writers.

[Anonymous No.17096255]

>>17096003
Basically what >>17096130 said.

[Anonymous No.17096568]

>>17089657
>Currently working on an anthology where I'm trying my hand at a bunch of different genres
>I've been writing seriously for a few months now
>I certainly try to read regularly, though I only get a few hours a week usually, if that
>I'm currently trying to get through a good majority of the /lit/ top 100
>I'm currently in the business of writing it, and plan to send a short story or two to some people later to hopefully get something published
>I want to write something I can truly say is beautiful or moving, and hopefully get it published, though that is less significant the achievement in my mind than the act of creation
>Right now some of the authors I'm reading, although I think my biggest influences are the anons here desu

[Anonymous No.17096594]

Alright /lit/, is it possible to write an entertaining story about characters going on random adventures rather than having a big overarching plot? A sort of slice of life story maybe?

[Anonymous No.17096617]

>>17096594
You've just summed up all of light novels and 90% of manga stories.

[Anonymous No.17096683]

>>17096594
It's harder to make the story interesting throughout without an overarching plot, but potentially makes for comfy stories

[Anonymous No.17096689]

My setting's supposed to be predominantly inhabited by taking animals but all the character ideas I "come up with" (by which I mean steal from /co/) are just cats and birds. I need more variety. At the very least some dogs, reptiles and vermin

Jesus christ it just hit me the furries are going to be all over this shit

[Anonymous No.17096752]

Is forcing myself worth it, in terms of habit forming? I have the desire to write, but I lack the will.

[Anonymous No.17096769]

>>17096752
Learning to force yourself is vital to habit formation. Most of the time when you think you need to force yourself you really just need a good shove to get going

[Anonymous No.17096806]

>>17096769
Do you have any tips, besides writing prompts?

[Anonymous No.17096884]

>>17096806
join a writing group or form one with some friends. one that meets at regular intervals and that you can't just shitpost on from the couch. there's required give and take but it helps remind you that you're part of a writing community and gives you structure to build a routine. This works even if said structure is self-enforced, because the collective gives an illusion of scale and institution

[Anonymous No.17096921]

>>17096884
Thanks, fren. Once we're a post covid world, I'll give it a shot.

[Anonymous No.17096950]

>>17096752
Learning to face the blank page while feeling completely creatively inert is a vital step towards improvement as an artist.

[Anonymous No.17096982]

>>17088944
>Any progress on your novels?
Put it on pause to play Cyberpunk 2077. I finally completed it today so I'll start the next chapter soon.

[Anonymous No.17096991]

>>17096921
zoom is a thing that exists.

[Anonymous No.17097157]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SV7WfllcH4

[Anonymous No.17097654]

>>17088944
>Any progress on your novels?

Been working on this book for about a year now. I've only gotten like 100 pages in and I don't' write nearly as much as I wish I did.

I'm new to this board and thread, can I share what I've gotten so far for you guys to give your thoughts on?

[Anonymous No.17097675]

>>17089657

>What genres do you primarily write?
Sci-fantasy action adventures.

>How long have you been writing?
Depends on what you define as wiring, I've uploaded comics online since I was 7 but I only started writing literal word-stories about a year ago.

>Do you read regularly?
No

>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Mostly comics.


>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?

my webcomics are hosted on my website, my book is still a work in progress yet to be seen by the outside world at large.

>What are your goals as an author?
I want my book to be popular enough to be adapted into another medium. Honestly the only reason I'm writing a book is because it's the most accessible thing to start making. If I made this story a comic or animation I wouldn't even be past chapter 2s part of the story yet.

>What are the main influences on your writing?
Durarara, Scott Pilgrim, Jojo and into the wild

[Anonymous No.17097745]

>>17097675
>Honestly the only reason I'm writing a book is because it's the most accessible thing to start making.
Don't expect your novel to be any good if you don't like novels.

[Anonymous No.17097750]

>>17097745
Didn't say I didn't like writing it. I love telling my story regardless of how I do it.

[Anonymous No.17097787]

>>17097750
You seem to misunderstand. I'm not referring to how much you enjoy writing your own novel. I'm referring to how much you enjoy the artform as a whole.

You shouldn't write novels unless you like novels. You just admitted that you're only using the medium as the best that you have available. Complete lack of respect toward what you're creating. If someone who has partaken in novels their entire life tries writing a comic, the result would be the same as your novel. There are quirks of the medium that you can only learn through in-depth consumption.

>I want my book to be popular enough to be adapted into another medium.
This will never be the case because everyone can see through your bullshit and tell how indifferent you are to novel writing.

[Anonymous No.17097890]

>>17097787
I mean, you can't really stop me can you? I see art and stories as art and stories I dont draw a solid line. if someone who's only written novels their whole life tried for a comic I'd give it a chance at least.

[Anonymous No.17097905]

>>17097890
>I mean, you can't really stop me can you?
No, but literary agents will, or a lack of readership if you selfpub.

[Anonymous No.17097986]

>>17097905
damn, u rite

[Anonymous No.17098041]

>>17093540
Get a developmental editor. You can pay people to give you good (as in detailed) feedback.

[Anonymous No.17098137]

I'm writing a "choose your own adventure" style horror book but instead you decide which of your multiple personalities is best for the task. One has anxiety, one has depression, and the 3rd only comes out when you are sleep walking and she tries to trick you into harming yourself and others. It's a daunting task tho and I have no experience in writing, anyone wanna take a peak at the first couple pages?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b1xv5dz2l1pbng9/Phobia%20Chapter%201.docx?dl=0

[Anonymous No.17098576]

>>17098137
So, it’s psychological?

[Anonymous No.17098806]

>>17098576
Well I want to add to the horror genre and the best way to do that in my opinions is to make the reader feel responsible for the suffering of the character. Let me give you an example:

The main character is having a nightmare about a dog sized hornet with a slithering cock where it's stinger would be (she has fear of insects and sexual trauma). After a bit of running around you are cornered next to a dumbwaiter with a pair of scissors. Your options are either to get into the dumbwaiter or stab the hornet.

If you chose the dumbwaiter the moment she opens it she wakes up. What she actually opens is a window with a massive hornets nest built into it. They swarm and her screams will wake everyone, branding her a lunatic.

If you chose to stab it she'll wake up in her bed. She goes to the bathroom for a piss and is shocked to find her friends pet cat in the toilet with a pair of scissors in it as it lets out a dying growl. A mess she has to figure out how to clean up without anyone finding out.

[Anonymous No.17098808]

its ok i guess

[Anonymous No.17099216]

>>17098808
What, banging your mom? I agree.

[Anonymous No.17099362]

>>17096594
i miss the good old days in /wg/ - wallpaper general. also you're better off writing an anthology.

[Anonymous No.17099390]

>>17096594
Tristram Shandy is a very funny book, so make a story where there is a great quest and then the cast just sort of forgets about it and wanders off

[Anonymous No.17099475]

Chapter 23.

https://awfiction.wordpress.com/2020/12/23/engine-zero-zero-chapter-23/

[Anonymous No.17099603]

>>17099362
/wg/ is not what it used to be

[Anonymous No.17100107]

I'm allergic to fish. I don't know how it tastes. How do I write about people who live on islands and get most of their food from the sea?

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17100160]

>>17100107

You don’t have to describe the flavor or texture of the fish and if you must there’s any abundance of prose and poetry on fish which you can read and produce a composite of for the sensation and taste.

[Anonymous No.17100180]

>>17100160
I'm just making excuses to procrastinate, really.

[Anonymous No.17100348]

any books on screenwriting do you guys recommend between save the cat, robert mckee, syd field, etc?

[Anonymous No.17100575]

So, I've got a character that I've been working on and brainstorming and thinking them through for a year or two, and I feel like I'm stuck with them.
How do you come up with a story that matches their own arc. Everything just feels too separate. The more I lean on their character, the more I feel the story suffer. The more I lean on the story, the more I feel like the character suffers.
It's a balancing act that I didn't really anticipate having to go through. I feel like if I had a unified moment, I could branch out from there and get a handle on everything and give me direction, but it just feels like I'm stuck in, "what if ____ happens" just to see if something catches.

[Anonymous No.17100753]

>>17100575
Put them in a situation where a decision has to be made and every option is sub-optimal. Then let them deal with the consequences of that decision. A series of such action-consequence-reaction structures makes a story with movement like you want. To do the aforementioned with a pre-ordained (ordained by you) plot, it turns into a sort of logic problem. You may or may not need to make tradeoffs with the character as well. The key thing is to understand that the plot and character are not separate.

[Anonymous No.17100767]

>>17100753
forgot to mention that depending on the kind of story you're trying to write, you'll want to choose one of the following ways of wiritng:
1. In media res
2. Start at the beginning and pants your way through
3. write the ending first and work your way back.

[Anonymous No.17100776]

>>17100767
in medias res not in media res i

[Anonymous No.17100968]

>>17100753
>>17100767
I guess since I've had so many different timeline moments with this character, I know where I want them to end up. Which is helpful, but I don't really know the events that get and shape him.
I keep running into a problem of meandering where the character just kind of revels in himself for a while before realizing that it's unsustainable and changes. While also making sure that those chapters don't just turn into filler padding.
I'm fine making character concessions if it allows me a more satisfying product at the end.

[Anonymous No.17101302]

Can I get an opinion on this fragment?

paralyzed and almost blind, he felt nothing but the cold water in his hair and the sputtering rain on his open eyes, above him there was no moon and in his nostrils was the foul smell of beef tallow candles, common to poor village chapels and pauper’s graveyards. “Is this the afterlife?” thought Jan, he answered this question himself, or at least something hidden in the darkest crevice of his mind did. “No, not yet.” Bright light enveloped him, and with it a sudden comfort which quickly turned to horror as he saw the lamps and candles and their caretakers moving closer to him, a crowd of men, women and children, pale and naked and oily covered and smelling of every bodily fluid that comes to mind all in equal parts, one of them pushed his way through the crowd, an old hunchbacked man, withered and with a large gut, his wide jowls drooped down, his skin almost greenish and his eyes cloudy, around his neck a necklace of many jawbones, still red with blood and with strips of gums between the teeth. The old man grabbed Jan by the armpits and with the help of the crowd lifted him up. The crippled Jan could do nothing but flex the muscles of his feet and his toes desperately trying to regain control over his body, as a new noose was thrown around the stout oak branch above him he could only shake his head away from it desperately, a futile effort, the rope tightened around his neck and the dark voice in the back of his head spoke again:
“What is your final wish?”
“Kill them.”
“That is the fate of all men. Patience will bring all the satisfaction you deserve.”

[Anonymous No.17101436]

why do some authors get away with having their first 300 pages be shit?

[Anonymous No.17101474]

>>17089657
>What genres do you primarily write?
Psychedelia
>How long have you been writing?
Since I was a boy, but I took a hiatus to do STEM shit
>Do you read regularly?
Every day I listen to 2 hours of audiobooks.
>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Audiobooks (currently Gravity's rainbow)
>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
Send it to friends
>What are your goals as an author?
To entertain a taxon of weirdos, and if one person pays, I'll feel amused and satisfied. I don't need the money it would just be fun to cross the threshold onto semipro.
>What are the main influences on your writing?
I M Banks, Pynchon, Vonnegut, trips on shrooms, my day job and non fiction and academic publications

[Anonymous No.17101573]

>>17089657
>What genres do you primarily write?
horror & sci-fi
>How long have you been writing?
6 months
>Do you read regularly?
Have read for the last 5 years, stopped due to college
>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Everything I get my hands on: Dostoevsky, Cormac McCarthy, Greg Bear, Paul Di Filippo, Gene Wolfe
>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
I'd like to try to publish it
>What are your goals as an author?
Finishing my books
>What are the main influences on your writing?
world religion and cults, video games, my own dreams and fears, historical events and anecdotes

[Anonymous No.17101989]

>>17101302
Compelling. You could talk more about the hideous crowd and set more scene though. It's not an action scene so it can afford to be slowed slightly. Good tho.

[Anonymous No.17102015]

>>17101989
Thanks. This is a fragment of the last scene of the prologue

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17102075]

>>17089657

>>What genres do you primarily write?

Vaguely religious-philosophy heavy initiatic tales which kinda fit into the fable/fantasy genre but only kinda and more really.

>>How long have you been writing?

On and off for years, been getting much more into it the past year.

>>Do you read regularly?

Couple of hours a day.

>>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)

Philosophy, theology, occult texts, mythology, epics, random assorted short poems when the urge hits me throughout the day.

>>What do you do with your fiction?

Nothing at all, I have no desire for it to be read only for it to be good.

>>What are your goals as an author?

Nothing, nothing to do with anyone else other than myself, I see writing as a form of introspection, poetics and literature are a means of recognizing and looking into my own qualities and perceptions, folding and enfolding my own ideas into themselves, by this I mean to say I see writing as a form of philosophical practice that allows me to refine my ideas and concepts.

>>What are the main influences on your writing?

Hermeticism and alchemy especially Paracelsus and odd stuff like the splendor solis, Gnosticism, Hinduism especially tantra, Vajrayana, shingon especially Kukai, Kabbalah especially David chaim Smith’s and Luria, Swinburne, verlaine, Poe, Baudelaire, blake, li-he, al-hallaj, angelus, Ovid, Petrarch, Swedenborg, Lautréamont, Horace, the Pearl poet, Edmund Spenser, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Phillip Sidney, cynewolf, aleister Crowley, Hopkins, John Keats, Mallarme, Lu-you, Dunsany, huysman, Balzac, Nerval, Thomas brown, Blackwood, Borges, Dante, kafka, Milton, Goethe, Machen, Robert Burton, Johannes Valentinus Andreae, Lucius Apuleius, Virgil, Kafka, lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Aesop, Jean de La Fontaine, Racine, Robert Herrick, Andrew chumbley, Austin Osman spare, Michael Bertiaux, Salvador Dali, Jean Delville, Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam De Sade, Lewis Carroll husserl, hegel, meinong, agrippa, boehme, John Dee, Kenneth grant, Iamblichus, Bertiaux, Abhinavagupta, Deleuze, gikatila, Linji, abulafia, merleu-ponty, Ge-Hong, Liezi, Zhangzi and above all else the Bible. There’s more influences but these are the primary ones.

[Anonymous No.17102571]

I should've listened to /wg/ when I asked you guys if majoring in Creative Writing was worth it. I used to be a passionate writer with a ton of ideas, now after I made it my "major" it turned into a job, and now, I have 0 passion for it anymore, it's just about technique and feels like I'm synthesizing good writing in a lab somewhere instead of just writing like a normal, passionate person. Do not major in Creative Writing.

[Anonymous No.17102626]

>>17102571
Instilling work ethic is hugely important if you want any success as a writer. It's about writing when you don't feel like it, and learning to channel your creativity. If you wait for the muse, flashes of inspiration or other such drivel you'll never finish a big project. The deadlines imposed by good creative writing schools mirror and prepare you for the deadlines set by publishers on the real world. If you never wanted to try and write professionally, why major in CW in the first place?

[Anonymous No.17102652]

>>17102626
I'm writing 10,000 words a week and am producing stand out work in my uni clubs, classes and papers, I just don't like doing it anymore

[Anonymous No.17102748]

>>17102652
Different anon, but I must say, this is an important step. You must search for that enjoyment once more and you will find it if you ever really loved it. You have to pursue it.

[Anonymous No.17102814]

I hope readers aren't going to have a problem with the fact that I spent the last four pages on my characters being antagonized by a crowd of homeless before a bunch of cops show up and start committing police brutality, leaving the main cast appalled at how fucked up the city is

>>17100107
focus on texture of crackling skin and flakey fillets or the flavor of the seasonings and condiments. Aside from anchovies and sardines, the only fish flavors that can easily be put into words are the bad ones

also couple tips so you don't look ignorant
>Fresh tuna and swordfish have a texture more like steak, so use steak rules for describing them
>Cod is kind of gelatinous, and is often salt cured which changes how you handle its taste and texture
>Monkfish has a savory-sweet taste like lobster, but a chewier texture. the skin is slimy and inedible and the meat's often covered with a slimy membrane that needs to come off. That said, they're a deep sea fish so some cultures might not eat them
>preserved sardines and anchovies have salty, funky taste that many don't like, but when you add a few them to a savory sauce it actually tastes fantastic
>Fish pairs well with a most ingredients, both savory and sweet, but not root vegetables or starchy fruits (grains, bread and pasta are fine though). Red wine and cheese are also a no-go. When you're eating fish you taste the seasonings far more than you taste the fish

[Anonymous No.17103462]

>Cannot come up with any ideas for fantasy that haven't been done yet.

I graduated from uni a week ago so maybe there's some burnout causing it, but I've been fucked for at least 2 months with 0 fucking new concepts to show for it.

[Anonymous No.17103472]

>>17093269
Rothfuss, is that you? Are you done bitching on Twitter and livestreaming video games? I like the style quite a bit, but I personally wouldn't read a story that acts this ethereally with nothing to ground it.

>>17093461
The progression of a story beat centers around an internal motivation, then an external action. If the characters aren't being called to action or being introspective about some plot-relevant thing while in transit, then including it tends to be a waste of time. "Filler," in your words. I would get all the bare-bones events in your story down, from beginning to end, before worrying about pacing issues and whether or not you included enough downtime between actions. If you want inspiration, Around The World In 80 Days has a fair amount of travel scenes that meaningfully affect the story (as it should, with a name like that). Hopefully that helps.

[Anonymous No.17103493]

>>17103462
Ever played Mount and Blade Warband or Bannerlord? Just create a story based on that setting.

[Anonymous No.17103509]

How to extrapolate a coherent sci-fi/fantasy plot and characters out of a lot of set pieces, locations and a list of disjointed "cool moments" that I've been working on? I also know the theme and moral argument that I wish to explore, just not sure how it should be expressed.

[Anonymous No.17103527]

How does one get better at writng essays? Any tips?

[Anonymous No.17103556]

>>17103527
Depends where you are, what purpose you're doing it for, and how you're graded. If you're doing an essay for fun, throw this advice out the window.

In Australia, have an introduction that sets the scope of the piece, followed by several paragraphs, then a conclusion that brings the whole thing together.

Each paragraph should have its own subtopic, backed up by evidence/sources/cases/references, and a concluding sentence/sentences that link it back to the overall topic. Conclude by summing up your key paragraph points, relating that to the introduction, and relating what the answer to your overall essay question is.

Remember 'TEEL'. Topic, Evidence, Explanation, Link.

[Anonymous No.17103577]

>Want to write porn
>All my favorite fetishes are banned on pretty much every site

[Anonymous No.17103620]

>>17103556
Thanks bro

[Anonymous No.17103625]

>>17103577
Even scribblehub? I'm pretty sure that one is all fair game.

[Anonymous No.17103640]

>>17103556
What are some tips for just getting better at writing in general?

[Anonymous No.17103701]

>>17103625
They don't allow lolis or zoophilia.

[Anonymous No.17103758]

How do you structure and outline your stories?

[Anonymous No.17103775]

>>17103758
I do it in Scrinever. When I'm away from my PC I might plot out stuff on spare pieces of paper. I don't always follow them closely and stray off them when needed.

[Anonymous No.17103839]

>>17103758
post it notes on 2 huge whiteboards divided by chapters

>>17103775
I wish I could do my shit virtually but im a visual person and there's a lot of drawings on my notes and I need to be able to move stuff around on the fly. I tried to look for a brainstorming program that let's you sketch and drag and drop individual notes but all I find is cloud based online shit geared towards sharing with others

[Anonymous No.17103855]

>>17103758
Gdocs. Easiest way for me to make little notes or changes when I'm away from my computer, which is often.

[Anonymous No.17103865]

>>17103855
>he gives google permission to freely spy on his precious ideas

[Anonymous No.17103882]

Redpill me on empathizing with point of view characters

[Anonymous No.17103894]

>>17103882
They don't exist so why should you care?

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17103896]

Not really a writing of fiction or the like, just an account of last night

Last night I saw a dream.

I was walking alone down some city streets and saw a bright open building with many glass windows, it was night time and I could see perfectly within the place, there were many chairs and tables. Each person in the room had funny looking and strange hats on; each table also had a foreign hat upon it, one an oversized glove, another a cowboy hat, another a sombrero, another a leather cap, many such hats, I saw a table there where all of my family were sitting and they all waved to me. They had a hat on their table also, I tried putting it on and laughed and we all laughed about the hat then I took it off. I then felt the urge to go back outside, I walked west of the building and saw under some scaffolding a lone woman who had no real defining features other than being a woman, I walked past her into a dead end then decided to walk back to the building.

I decided to run back, as I ran back I saw many dark figures, first fully formed like men jump out in front of me, but I ran through and past them, faster and faster I ran the less form they had, gradually the whole dream became a inky black-blue color, as were the men I went past, which I began to fly past in my great speed, and before me now was something like the outline of a door but its color was like ink but also upon the blackness that you see in your eyelids, it looked like the sun burns you see in your eyes when you close them except painted in a deep blue ink.

I then woke up but realized I was in a dream slightly prior, so I didn’t open my eyes and I willed myself back into the dream, which was now lucid as I had entered it by Will and knowledge, I tossed around the blue figured men a bit and played around in my dream-land just walking and enjoying the imagination/dreamscape. I then woke up and got on with my day.

It was a very enjoyable dream.

[Anonymous No.17103908]

>>17103865
I hope google just writes this shit for me just to save me the time and energy and not have to do it myself. I fucking hate writing.
I don't get why so many people are paranoid about this one particular service. You aren't the first person to bash (seriously or not) on gdocs for shitty /lit/ tier writing. Seems like a big meme to me.

[Anonymous No.17103925]

>>17103908
>I fucking hate writing.
it says a lot that this is the least cringiest thing written in your post

[Anonymous No.17103932]

How do I stop writing clearly derivative shit? I can't seem to be original

[Anonymous No.17103935]

how can you even make villainous MCs emphatizable?

[Anonymous No.17103940]

>>17103925
I just like world building and plotting and character arcing more than sitting down and writing prose. I just don't enjoy the process.
And like, I don't really care. What, is google going to read through my docs and send it off to Pajit in Bopal to write it before me to get a movie deal and cuck me out of a book publishing?

[Anonymous No.17103943]

>>17103908
>I fucking hate writing.

[Anonymous No.17104158]

Anybody want me to post the notes I've taken reading through the Art of Fiction by Gardner once I'm done with them?

Also please give me your favorite examples of sex scenes in books

[Anonymous No.17104193]

>>17104158
>Anybody want me to post the notes I've taken reading through the Art of Fiction by Gardner once I'm done with them?
please post what you already got

[Anonymous No.17104366]

>>17104158
>Also please give me your favorite examples of sex scenes in books
Nothing because I'm not a woman.

[Anonymous No.17104378]

>>17104366
eunuch

[Anonymous No.17104411]

>>17104158
I haven't read many sex scenes. Ulysses has a good one.

[Anonymous No.17104457]

>What genres do you primarily write?
Speculative fiction. Mostly fantasy, but dabbling into sci-fi.
>How long have you been writing?
About three years.
>Do you read regularly?
Not consistently.
>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Actual books, mostly ebooks.
>What do you do with your fiction?
I leave most of it unfinished and unedited. I have one web serial. I'm currently writing more to edit and then self publish in the near future
>What are your goals as an author?
Make enough money to start my own family and to be prolific in at least one genre.
>What are the main influences on your writing?
Religion, culture, history, philosophy, social issues.

[Anonymous No.17104464]

>>17104378
No, I'm just a man so I get off to visuals. There's a reason why erotica is mostly geared toward women.

[Anonymous No.17104954]

>>17102814
That's a lot of fish.

[Anonymous No.17104960]

>>17103640
Write more and read more, in general. Also get life experience, but that may be too tall an order.

>>17103932
Try lifting different ideas from 5 stories at a time? I can't remember where I heard that advice but it's worth a try.

>>17103775
Oh mannnn, I used Scrivener a ton as a teenager. Don't remember the online key for my copy, though, as I've moved computers a couple times since then. Maybe I should buy it again? My writing folder nowadays is just a scrambled collection of .txts in vanilla Notepad.

[Anonymous No.17105206]

What are your writing related nightmares? I fear I will make 0 shekels with my stories in life, but after I die and copyright expires, Hollywood snipes them and makes some shoddy movie adaptations filled with miscast characters that completely butcher the message and themes. Their calculated promotion engine ensures the movies make billions, and everyone in the world thinks I actually wrote that garbage the way it is on purpose.

[Anonymous No.17105225]

>>17105206
I'm worried people will interpret my writing and then these interpretations will take over the public discourse, thus leading to everyone thinking my stuff means things it doesn't, leading to me being turned into an icon for ideas I don't hold, which will lead to reporters questioning me on it and me spilling my spaghetti over how I don't actually have anything to do with what people are saying about me or my work, resulting in a public outrage and publishers refusing to work with me anymore

[Anonymous No.17105237]

>>17105225
Produce commentary on your own work

[Anonymous No.17105238]

>>17105237
Death of the author means anything I say is irrelevant

[Anonymous No.17105254]

>>17105206
I had a nightmare last night that I was submitting some short stories for publication, and kept fucking up my submission letters.

[Anonymous No.17105277]

>>17105238
Eh, building context to your works and creating a sort of preemptive ideological barrier will at least help. Also consider that authors are interviewed, and the mere demand for those interviews means that the environment isn't fully committed to viewing texts in a vacuum devoid of authorial intent. I recently read two short story collections (both of Ted Chiang's) that had him do a little write-up on each story at the end of the books and that was actually really good for my reading experience. Context is nice.The fact that you're worried about being questioned by reporters in itself says that you aren't entirely convinced that you will be discombobulated from your work, merely that you're worried that people will come to the wrong conclusions about you. Head them off.

[Anonymous No.17105283]

>>17105225
What's so hard about just saying, "I don't personally agree with these views, but it's a free world" etc?

[Anonymous No.17105294]

>>17105283
Fear need not be rational.

[Anonymous No.17105303]

>>17105206
That readers will misinterpret what I meant.

Currently writing a Story in which an older sister has incestuous feelings for her younger brother and forms a relationship with him, the narration is, of course, bias towards the sister's due to her being the narrator, but it's clear once you take a step back, the entire thing abusive and toxic.

[Anonymous No.17105389]

>>17102075
There's something deeply wrong about a man who lists this many "main influences" and I think I know what it is. After seeing your writing, I can say that your influences are not rubbing off.

[Anonymous No.17105400]

>>17105389
Do not respond to namefags

[Anonymous No.17105500]

>>17104960
If you paid with PayPal, it'll have sent your key to that email address.

[Anonymous No.17105546]

>>17105500
Paypal is the enron of banking apps. Everyone should delete it asap

[Anonymous No.17105660]

The half frozen dirt so warm against my face and stomach was the first thing that greeted me this new day . As i stood up the winter wind passed through my mottled clothing .
Which hanged humbly in half bleached rags from my form . Thou that which humbled me most was my success . I had thought that more would be left but there was only the work now .
And it must be finished . My body which so recently fought in sworn opposition towards me now a willing servent which heaved itself towards my goal with zeal .
I needed fire , i had to burn that place , so was foretold . It is early now , at night it shall be done i have time to prepare . The house of these barterers of men shall be there funeral pyre.
The liquid spirts which fuel vehicles was spread the locks of the doors turned against there owners . Small pieces of iron would make these locks into nails for there newfound coffins .
But how and why i had done this i would ask . I would ask why the looks of the people which looked at me as i prepared this dark ritual and most of all there thoughts as i past them by .
Some filled with disgust : " What a foul bum would let his disgusting child walk the streets in broad daylight no shame"
Some filled with worry : " The poor boy his clothes have more holes that a sieve how does he not freeze in this winter"
Some filled with sorrow : " A monster could only beat this child and what happed to tear his hair in so many spots "
Some filled with fear : " Those eyes bright and amber , no sulphur like a devil why does it insit to stare at me "
I would ask why do thy not bother me as they did before ? . I would ask if did not already know the work must be complete . The work must be complete .
The work must be complete . The work must be complete . The work must be complete . Was all i knew and all i needed and all i had .
As the fire raged and screams howled i knew i was one step closer . The one in there would live and i would one day be spent and the work would be complete .

[Anonymous No.17105672]

>>17105660
Stick to writing in your own language. English is evidently too syntactically challenging for you.

[Anonymous No.17105690]

>>17090950
Tao Lin gets away with this style. Read Shoplifting and see how he makes it work

[Anonymous No.17106332]

Sharing my story that's being updated each day on Royal Road

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/38556/off-world-a-bleak-fable/chapter/600273/page-one-includes-cover-art

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17106391]

>>17105389

Apologies anon, the influences usually show more often in my longer pieces while the shorter ones are more often pastiches of singular works or authors or even movies I’ve liked.

I’d post some of the longer ones but they’re also pretty bad in grammar, character depth and so forth, I only post here to get tips on technical refinement because I am aware how bad it comes off, I mean I would appreciate if you lads would read one of the longer works and harshly break down the positives and negatives but I won’t pretend you’re interested.

In longer works I can do all of the religious and mystical allegories I want, pastiches and reworkings of scenes and motifs, but again I know they’re subpar.

[Anonymous No.17106418]

Chapter 24.

https://awfiction.wordpress.com/2020/12/24/engine-zero-zero-chapter-24/

[Anonymous No.17106461]

How's this for a premise? I don't know anything about writing so I'm just brainstorming. It takes place in a hilariously sad alternate dimension dystopia of the future.

I got this odd email today. Usually the only emails I get are from newsletters and Amazon telling me I spent 300 dollars on a custom pocket pussy modeled after the barely fifteen year old teen wanting to make it big in the industry number 524. The email was actually from a real human, I’m not shitting you. It said:

‘You’ve been chosen to complete an urgent mission. I am with the Islamic State and we’re close to kidnapping a jumbo jet and holding everyone hostage in the demand that the US government frees our brave fighter Sam’Ah Hi’ed from prison. We will also ask for one hundred thousand dollars for each passenger, us included. Which, looking at the data, equates to 38 million dollars on the dot. Your mission is simple. Acquire a car that will seat all three of us comfortably. You are then to pick us up from the plane and drive us to a safehouse where you will receive twenty five percent of the money. That’s all! The airport in question is the Los Angeles International Airport and you have until 12.25.2048 at 8am sharp. Good luck!’

I was confused by two things. The first one being that there is no threat against me, no kidnapped relatives, no blackmail. They completely rely on my goodwill alone. Second one being that ISIS is still relevant? I thought those fuckers were all killed by Hitler like 3 years ago. Oh yeah and there’s also a third thing. It was sent by ‘[e-mail]’.

[Anonymous No.17107270]

>>17106332
I like it desu

[Anonymous No.17107323]

>>17106461
>Sam’Ah Hi’ed
I don't even care about the rest, as long as the plot actually has this getaway and shit and this isn't just some stupid spam email that isn't actually the plot then you have to write this, I would read the shit out of it

[Anonymous No.17107326]

>>17089657
>>What genres do you primarily write?
Fantasy, mostly writing down what happened in my dream and making a story out of it.
>>How long have you been writing?
about 7 years
>>Do you read regularly?
Not as much as I'd like to
>>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Books from the 2nd & Charles free book bin
>>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
Leave it in my folder, though about writing a visual novel before but never finished it
>>What are your goals as an author?
Hold a book I've written in my hands and leave them in unsuspecting places(would use Amazon self-publishing if all else fails)
>>What are the main influences on your writing?
Disney, manga, deviantart culture from the early 2010's, 4chan, the obscure titles I got from the book bin

[Anonymous No.17107384]

>>17088944
I got very inspired by this random image I came across in some forum and this place seems like the only appropriate place to get feedback on it. Like should I keep it in first(?)-person, or should I change it to third-person? Is it an okay storytelling to explain things to the audience in this vague way? If I make a complete short story out of this, what the fuck should I do with it?
------------------
You’re in the club, clinging to the wall. Waiting. Despite your assets and the tight dress, you know no one with any sense would talk to someone like yourself. If they know any better that is.
Two handsome strangers come up to you, a calm princely man and a more panicked looking stone-faced man slightly behind him. The prince takes a deep breath, flashes a dazzling smile and asks, “Will you allow us to use your plunger?”
You fight your gut instinct. It’s clear these men have never heard of you, no one would be that bold. With a look of well-calculated bewilderment, you ask him, “ And why would I have a plunger in a place like this?”
You could see the two start to sweat just a little bit. Despite the noise of the club booming in your ears, you could hear the stone-faced man mutter , “This is ridiculous…”
The prince sighed, “I have excellent intuition. Of all the patrons in this club, you’re the only one who can help us with our issue.”
The stone-faced man piped in, “And’ we’re pressed for time so either help us now or send us away so we can end this ridiculous business.”
With a charming smirk and a roll of your eyes, you reach under the back of your dress and pull the short-handled plunger out of your ass and present it to the horrified men without a beat. They could almost instinctively tell where you were hiding it, but clearly didn’t expect it. They must not have heard the rumors.

[Anonymous No.17107469]

>>17090950
Combine sentences and shift the grammatical subject around.
>Th room was characteristically cluttered when he entered, yet a little red ball immediately caught his eye. Dog's favorite. But despite flying past dog in plain view, it effected no response. Must not be in the mood. Good dog.

[Anonymous No.17107475]

>>17107270
Thanks, want to give some feedback or general thoughts beyond that?

[Anonymous No.17107494]

>>17107384
that's second person

[Anonymous No.17107577]

>>17107494
ah well don't I feel foolish

[Anonymous No.17107992]

>>17089657
>>What genres do you primarily write?
Surreal dry humor literary adventure
>>How long have you been writing?
Five years
>>Do you read regularly?
Yes
>>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Non-fiction essays and books
>>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
Self-publish and indie publisher so far
>>What are your goals as an author?
Traditionally published respectable idiosyncratic books that flow from the demiurge
>>What are the main influences on your writing?
Ideas stick in my mind like irritating grains of sand until I force them onto the page like an enraged rapist

[Anonymous No.17108015]

>>17092789
did another 50 pages of preliminary research this morning, current reference is exactly the kind of autistic reasoning that I needed. I have nothing to do in the next 4 days, so i'll just go ham on it. i want to conclude all the necessary background research in no more than 2 weeks. it must be easy to write when you don't need to conduct phd level research just to begin.

[Anonymous No.17108064]

Unironically asking, how do I write "post-modernism"? Do I have to have a solid grasping on normal writing first?

[Anonymous No.17108155]

>Reading makes you a better writer

What if you read bad writing?
Do you become a better bad writer?

[Anonymous No.17108179]

>>17108155
You learn what you should not do. If you recognise it as bad writing, that is

[Anonymous No.17108640]

>>17108155
yes. it happens to every college girl still reading fantasy

[Anonymous No.17109087]

>>17089657
>What genres do you primarily write?
Fantasy over a wide range of tones and subject matter.
>How long have you been writing?
Meany years but I have little to show for it.
>Do you read regularly?
Not as often as I want. I'm surrounded by literal Boomers and have to listen to a lot of tv.
>What do you primarily read? (actual books, web fiction, etc.)
Mostly non-fiction and monga
>What do you do with your fiction? Leave it unpublished and sitting in a folder, query agents with it, publish it online, or something else?
I'm unsure how to go about publishing my work but I want it to be read by non normies.
>What are your goals as an author?
Be the western equivalent of ZUN
>What are the main influences on your writing?
Philosophy, real world myth, 4chan/memes culture, videa and weeb shit (especially Touhou)

[Anonymous No.17109142]

>>17108155
I'm not even sure if this is true, a-lot of people read 4 fiction novels a week and can't write above a freshman level. I think reading helps you understand pacing/beats, but that's about it.

[Anonymous No.17109153]

>want to read something spicy for christmas
>see book with tons of reviews saying that its hot and scandalous
>read book
>get to this line
>""Woo hoo!" I screamed myh own excitement, I'd worked hard to get my degree. I was proud of myself too. I slammed the shot back, enjoying the burn as it lined my throat and spread through my veins. "Goddamn, that's nice!"
>go to kindle page
>it has 5 stars and a shit ton of reviews
how does this happen

[Anonymous No.17109158]

>>17105206
I fear I'll write one book, which will receive a tepid and attenuated reaction. I'll then fade into obscurity totally demoralized and embittered.

[Anonymous No.17109166]

>>17105206
That I've reached my peak and I can't possibly get any better.

[Anonymous No.17109177]

>>17093368
Did you lift this from the Taxi Driver screenplay?

[Anonymous No.17109332]

>>17109142
So the old adage: "Writer write, readers read" is true?

[Anonymous No.17109353]

>>17109332
>>17109332
I definitely think it's truer than not, I think someone who is predisposed to becoming an "enjoyed/published" author can get something from reading, but reading is only a supplement. I've just met too many people who are "aspiring writers" and read all fucking day and cannot write above a high-school creative writing level. I think CW is largely genetic, to be honest.

[Anonymous No.17109493]

>>17108155
Yes, this is why people who post on sites like RR never improve, because all they read are poorly written WNs, poorly translated LNs, and fanfiction.

[Anonymous No.17109579]

>>17109493
Is it even that? You can be the best at something shit, like the best low-grade YA fantasy writer, and still be very successful. Within every 'bad" thing, is someone who is the best at being bad, and that person can be celebrated by their large fan-base. I think it's just that the vast majority of people who want to be professional writers, will never be professional writers, because they're simply not cut out for it.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17109605]

>>17109177

Nah, friend wanted me to do a writing prompt and the location had to be down town and require A mural, figured if I’m writing out of my element I might as well copy something I really like so I specifically tried to write it like taxi driver. Thanks for saying I hit the same notes even if it’s of a shittier quality! I know it’s riddled with spelling errors and other such.

[Anonymous No.17109646]

>>17109493
I post on RR but don't read on it. What's the psychoanalysis on me?

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.17109656]

>>17109646

I’ve literally never heard of RR before entering this thread, what do you think about your readers? I feel like most people would better spend time with authors who are more trusted right? And I think if you’re looking for cutting edge a avant garde stuff yeah you might check out some odd sites but I don’t know if RR would be it.

What do you think of your readers?

[Anonymous No.17109736]

>>17109656
I find that my readers can be split into two.
Entirely useless because they want me to do what they expect and to be far more cliche without reading into the rather obvious themes I have explicitly written into the text that they somehow miss.
Those that understand some of my influences and give me hope. I'll write without them, but it certainly does help that one other person understands what I'm going for.

[Anonymous No.17109768]

>>17109656
My readers are obviously incredibly gorgeous and very awesome at everything they do.

[Anonymous No.17109807]

>>17109656
Also a note. I only posted on RR because I wanted to write consistently in a public way to keep myself accountable. I was going through a rough time and decided to take writing seriously. I have about 150 chapters which were posted daily and have about 225K words.
It's a first draft but I'm already learning a lot about myself. I'm also trying to build a following so when I eventually launch and actual series I'll have an extra chance of succeeding.
So they can read something for free that's unedited, or they can pay for something that I've curated with much more care and attention.
I also hope I'll manage to find someone that will be able to inform me of something more substantial than just that they didn't like how my character doesn't act like every single other main character out there.

[Anonymous No.17109888]

>Finally publish my book after 11 years of writing
>First review says it's one of the worst books they ever read
>Close my browser

[Anonymous No.17109901]

>>17109736
Even though I say some of the readers are useless, they do inform me of what is expected in my genre. Many people have come with similar critiques to my character so it could just be that I haven't made it extremely obvious from the get go his they are like because I chose to slowly reveal it over the course of the story which may not work in this genre. Some have also criticized certain scenes I've written due to their hard to read nature.
In which case they aren't exactly useless. I'm thankful for every single one, even those that don't really understand or just decide to say they don't like it without telling me why and then leave because getting comments usually boosts the chapter's views.

[Anonymous No.17109910]

>>17109888
What did they say about it?

[Anonymous No.17109925]

>>17109888
What is it called? I'll give it a 5

[Anonymous No.17110011]

How do you write arguments between characters? I try to escalate normal discussions towards arguments but it always seems fake and forced

[Anonymous No.17110036]

>>17110011
It depends on what you are trying to achieve from the scene.
Do you want one character to seem more sympathetic or stubborn?
Are they arguing about information both are aware of, or something kept secret?
What is the result of the argument meant to achieve?

[Anonymous No.17110071]

>>17110011
maybe you simply have no real conflict.

[Anonymous No.17110084]

>>17110011
Depends on what the point of the argument is. If it's about criticizing the flaws of a character, justifying the actions of another character, pointing out how unjustified the actions that someone else is doing or if it's to make a point on a topic.

You pick one, then revolve it around those things.

[Anonymous No.17110092]

>>17110011
It sounds like you don't understand your characters enough, if you know who they are, know what makes them tick, etc, you'll know when to start the conversations, what works and what doesn't. I could see your predicament if you came into a half-finished work as a writer meant to clean things up, but I don't get it if it was yours from the start.

[Anonymous No.17110117]

>>17110092
It's a novel I write with a friend, one chapter each, but the character are still very young and not very developed

[Anonymous No.17110301]

How do you avoid over editing? Making things too robotic, so your work loses its personality/soul.

[Anonymous No.17110325]

>>17110301
By not editing at all. Look at Worm web novel, all his work are first takes now.

[Anonymous No.17110331]

>>17103758
i make greentexts in google docs and forget them

[Anonymous No.17110372]

>>17109888
let me read it baby

[Anonymous No.17110418]

>>17107475
I quite like the beginning and the ways you set up the world, not a huge exposition dump but you get the focus on the right thing and give enough subtle details here and there, I haven't read through everything but I got through the first few pages. I'd probably have to read more before understanding everything though, I don't see any glaring errors in anything though so you're good for that.

[Anonymous No.17110742]

What book/books can I read to learn to write made up homophones?
for example, Mairzy Doats, which properly spelled is mares eat oats

[Anonymous No.17110885]

Alright which one of you guys is responsible for all these book ads?

[Anonymous No.17110892]

>>17110885
Rumor has it the notorious Sam Hyde is defaming certain individuals. Better watch out for him.

[Anonymous No.17110936]

>>17110885
You can't talk about these books on /lit/ because everyone there is a elitist who only cares about reading "fancy" novels by dead people to show off to their internet friends because they have no real friends.
I read all these books and yes there are some spelling issues, but so what? The story is compelling. It's a fun light read. The perfect christmas gift. I bought copies for all my friends and family. I already gave my dad his.
"Wow that was really good" says Dad Joseph.
"Yeah and there only 99 cents on your Kindle reading device" I retorted.
Dad's eyes blinked.
"Wow I don't believe it" he replied in disbelief. "That's less than, the same price you would pay for a cheeseburger, except you can't enjoy a cheeseburger more times than once like you can with these books"
My mouth laughed at dad's joke and his arms did a hug on me. This series of interconnected books which can be read in any order have the power to make people, laugh and bring families together. Can Shakespeare do that? No.
Like many other people I am eagerly waiting for the movie adaptation which will ensue inevitably. Hey here's a fun thought, what if all of us anons here at the 4chan website did like a fun online twitter campaign to get these books made into a film or a Netflix miniseries lol? Just a fun thought.

[Anonymous No.17111461]

>>17110325
i dont get how people can do that without changing their mind or creating massive plot holes.

araki is starting to feel like the only relatable writer

[Anonymous No.17111470]

What's the secret of good plot?

[Anonymous No.17111795]

>>17111461
Araki retcons all the time. Remember when golden experience was supposed to deflect attacks and slow peoples cognitive? Araki changes his mind all the time and creates plot holes.

Also I am guessing you haven't read a manga/anime before, vast majority of them have shitty endings because they don't plan it out.

[Anonymous No.17111844]

>>17111461
>araki is starting to feel like the only relatable writer
Remember that time Josuke had a flashback about someone who looked like him got him and his mom's car working again?

[Anonymous No.17111893]

>>17111795
>>17111844

i think you two of horribly missed the point of that post. i said araki is the most relatable writer BECAUSE his work is a clusterfuck of plot holes that could easily have been ironed out if the medium allowed him to edit

i dont understand how the fuck every other serial writer does it

[Anonymous No.17111931]

/wg/, inspiration struck and i had the perfect idea for a new antagonist to include in my next book, but the problem is the most entertaining mannerisms I can think of for him make him a painfully obvious ripoff of Stolas from Hazbin Hotel.

what do i do?

[Anonymous No.17112038]

>>17106418
why would I be interested in reading your fiction?

[Anonymous No.17112261]

>>17111931
Just run with it and hope people don't notice, and if they do just ignore it

[Anonymous No.17112526]

>>17112496