/wg/ - Writing General

[Anonymous No.17378232]

prev:>>17363872

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.17378262]

If anything from the original OP I wrote, I’m glad the phrase
> Suggested books on getting your fucking work done you lazy piece of shit:
Is still there.

[Anonymous No.17378312]

pls r8

Nigger. Mike loved saying it, loved typing it out. Nigger, nigger, nigger. America was so suicidally invested in niggers--nigger music and nigger movies, niggers getting themselves killed by the cops--that the word had graduated beyond simple taboo into an exercise in free will, a methodic refutation of Nigger-American mind-control. Nigger, nigger, nigger! It was maybe the greatest act of rebellion a young man could take part in. He didn't go around screaming it in public of course. If he'd the courage to do that, then the word wouldn't have the allure it did.

[Anonymous No.17378421]

How do you guys come up with a pen name?

[Anonymous No.17378483]

>>17378421
Don't know how anons usually do it but for mine I just kept my initials and came up with a "normal" sounding name with the letters
While making sure that no other person exists with that name

[Anonymous No.17378573]

What would some of you say are the characteristics of lovecraftian/surreal style creepypastas or mysterious cryptid stories?

Any random tips or cliches to avoid would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous No.17378656]

>>17378573
read "house taken over" by cortazar

[Anonymous No.17378695]

>>17378656
Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous No.17379256]

>>17378483
lol I did the same

[Anonymous No.17379306]

Can anyone point me in the right direction for finding an epub of Western Wind?

[Anonymous No.17379416]

Quick! Post your outlines.

[Anonymous No.17379429]

>>17378312

7.4/10 would definitely give you a short-lived podcast on TRS until you inevitably sperged out on Jazzhands or Moike.

[Anonymous No.17379567]

>tfw I think my prose have taken a real step up
>tfw Idk if it's just me talking out my ass

[Anonymous No.17379709]

>>17379567
>Prose as a plural
Shame.
>>tfw Idk if it's just me talking out my ass
Post a paragraph here and let the friendly folk of /wg/ clear your doubts.

[Anonymous No.17379711]

>>17378421
I picked a name from one of the families in War and Peace since their last name sounded like my own and their family was similar to mine.

[Anonymous No.17379766]

>>17378421
I just use my online handle shortened to the two initials.

>>17379416

[Anonymous No.17379773]

Think about it, Anon. You write 400 words, 500 hundred if we're feeling cheeky. That's 2.8k-3.5k words a week. That's 11k-14k words a month. Depending on what you write, that either one or two full length novels in a year, revision and everything. Just by writing for an hour or two a day.
You can do it Anon. Keep going.

[Anonymous No.17379863]

89k words in 3 days, how does one even do it?

[Anonymous No.17379885]

>>17379863
Presumably methamphetamine or something.

[Anonymous No.17379931]

I liked the cover art of this MACROSS 82-99 album quite a lot so I wrote this prose poem thing inspired by it. It's about a rocket designer watch his work shoot up into space, there is a page of exposition before it but I honestly don't think it's necessary for the poem or that great. The title is either Apogee or A Million Miles Away take your pick.
Thoughts?

Here is the album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdDRL1ralAY

[Anonymous No.17380093]

>>17379709
picked one at random

>Collin made his way to his old stump. He went there as a kid to get away from everything and everyone. He would go there and read or whittle or whatever he wanted. He felt invisible there, and would watch people walk the paths from behind the rosebushes. Until a few kids followed him in middle school. The followed him, ripped up his book, pushed him back and forth between them, and then tossed him into the thorns. It was a hot spring day, and gym shorts offer no protection against thorns. He limped home and spent an hour cleaning up and plucking thorns out of his skin. He never gave up any names, though, and he felt proud about that.

[Anonymous No.17380218]

>>17380093
>Collin
>He
>He
>He
>fragment
>The (they?)
>It
>He
>He

Honestly I don't know what your prose was like before but this barely does anything but almost follow grammar rules.

[Anonymous No.17380252]

>>17379416
But then you'll know the ending :(

[Anonymous No.17380270]

>>17380218
idk, maybe it wasn't the best paragraph for what you were looking for. I just grabbed one at random, so.

[Anonymous No.17380420]

>>17380270
I wasn't the person who asked in the first place but
>defensive
ngmi

[Anonymous No.17380482]

>>17380420
>ask person for writing example
>they give you one
>talk some shit to them
>person shrugs, admits maybe they didn't present the best example
>"lol ur defensive not gonna make it!"
Not that guy, fuck off faggot.

[Anonymous No.17380593]

>>17380482
definitely ngmi

[Anonymous No.17380655]

>>17380482
kek
You will never be a writer.

[Anonymous No.17380709]

>>17380655
If you write, you're a writer. Simple as.

[Anonymous No.17380886]

>>17380709
Descriptive terms have to impose some degree of restraint upon themselves or they'll die useless. Is someone who writes a tweet that they've just bought a new waffle iron at Costco a writer? Yes only literally, no for the purpose of any discussion in an environment like this. I would say that you're a writer whenever the people you're talking to think you're a writer. In this thread, writing unpublishable garbage and refusing to acknowledge your flaws leaves you in the same category as the person who just self-published their third book to receive fewer than three reviews in its first week on Amazon. They wrote, but they're hardly a writer if what they wrote isn't worth reading. So when we, here, tell you that you're ngmi and will never be a writer, we are saying that you're never rising above the level of the sorry author I described, and you can either take that as a challenge or a motivation to change yourself for the better but the fact is that you are not yet what you want to be. Not in our eyes and not likely in the eyes of anybody who's ever pat you on the back.

[Anonymous No.17381290]

Is 'Envoy' a good alternative name for 'Angel'?

[Anonymous No.17381421]

>>17381290
Depends on context.

>He was an envoy of the Lord
Yes

>She looked like an envoy
No

[Anonymous No.17381517]

>posting outlines
I'm stealing every idea in this thread ha-ha

[Anonymous No.17381731]

>>17380886
Holy shit anon, you killed that dude

[Anonymous No.17381749]

>>17381731
It'd be funny if he took it all too personally because that post itself is the only thing I've put any thought into writing in months.

[Anonymous No.17381751]

>>17378421
my middle name has an R as the initial so i just added another R for good luck

[Anonymous No.17381764]

>>17381751
Get back on f-chat George

[Anonymous No.17381862]

RANT INCOMING

>tfw my two greatest pains in this world come from my lack of action
>tfw girl that literally made my heart leap in my chest is dead from a brain tumor now
>tfw probably stood a chance with her but had zero self confidence back then
>tfw accidentally ghosted another girl after she said we should be together
>tfw probably would've been married to her with kids now if I wasn't such a coward
>tfw reached out a couple weeks ago and she's married to someone else
The lines "I'm never gonna know you now
But I'm gonna love you anyhow" are ringing in my head and it sums up what I'm feeling perfectly but I can't figure out a way to write a coherent and believable story to capture these emotions.

blogpost over, sorry, but you guys are the only writefags in my life

>inb4 "it's your own fault"
yes, I know, and that's why it hurts so fucking much

[Anonymous No.17382097]

can i get some more big titted, silver haired anime whores please

[Anonymous No.17382104]

>>17380886
B A S E D
A
S
E
D

[Anonymous No.17382139]

>two manuscripts have been sitting in my parents/brother's emails for the past three months
>only my dad has read one of them and that was two months ago

[Anonymous No.17382166]

>>17381862
It will be difficult anon but you can change. I know cause I did. The live if my life came out of nowhere and I took my chance. Just be ready next time. Maybe now that you know the pain if regret far exceeds any possible embarrassment, things will get better for you? that's my hope. pain is a good teacher.

[Anonymous No.17382168]

I wrote a diary entry yesterday

[Anonymous No.17382177]

>>17382139
Why would you want the people least capable of giving you objective opinions to read it at that stage anyways?

[Anonymous No.17382186]

>>17382166
>you know the pain
yeah, that's what I tell myself. I just wish I could stop caring so fucking much... It's been years. Either God has no mercy, or I'm being punished for something more than I realize.

[Anonymous No.17382213]

>>17382177
I would like my family to show some enthusiasm or interest. I don't need their casual critiques or whatever but it would've been nice for them to show some support instead of dismissal, disrespect, and sometimes downright hostility over it.
My boss asked to read them, read them in like a week, and gave me his thoughts on it. It's pretty pathetic when my boss shows more interest than my family.

[Anonymous No.17382232]

>>17382213
I don't like my family so I can't relate.

[Anonymous No.17382502]

>>17378421
First name Middle Initial Last name

example : Joseph B. Thompson

[Anonymous No.17382516]

>>17382166
>The live if my life came out of nowhere and I took my chance.
story? Not that Anon, but could use some romantic hope.

[Anonymous No.17382759]

I suddenly realized that I have a very good opportunity to kill one of my main PoV characters halfway through the book and I am tempted to take it.

[Anonymous No.17382772]

>>17382759
do it. halfway through is the best place to kill your protagonists.

[Anonymous No.17382866]

>>17382772
The only trouble is that the person killing him isn't supposed to be "the bad guy" really, and is in a way one of the other protagonists, but I feel that it would be impossible to make readers see it that way by the end of the book if he does this. Being left with only half the book, I would have to deal with the aftermath of that while setting up and executing the climax in a fairly quick pace. Maybe I'll have the killer sacrifice himself in some way as part of that and just trade down pieces into the endgame where readers only have to decide what they feel about the pieces left on the board. Or maybe I'll pull a bit of bullshit like McCarthy did in No Country and have some literal who pull the trigger instead before the other guy can.

[Anonymous No.17383889]

>>17377375
>>17379911
Thanks for the feedback. I see what you guys are saying. I'll work on it.

[Anonymous No.17384121]

>>17378232
B I G
A N I M E
T I T T I E S

[Anonymous No.17384893]

Welp, going to post my work in Royal Road. Don’t give a shit if my writing is fanfic-tier. Gotta start somewhere and it ain’t going to be traditional publishing.

[Anonymous No.17384941]

>>17384893
>Welp, going to post my work in Royal Road. Don’t give a shit if my writing is fanfic-tier. Gotta start somewhere and it ain’t going to be traditional publishing.

lol, post so others can read. I made my account not too long ago and will post some stuff there when I finish.

[Anonymous No.17385471]

I'm 75 pages done with my non fiction book

[Anonymous No.17385514]

>>17385471
What's it about?

[Anonymous No.17385554]

Bros I lost the mojo I can't keep writing what do I do

[Anonymous No.17385575]

>>17379773
Very motivating. Thank you, anon.

[Anonymous No.17385580]

>>17379773
i don't want to be done in a year, i want to be done NOW

[Anonymous No.17385617]

>>17380420
People who get defensive/make excuses for such simple writing mistakes when someone tries to help critique were the same people who got failing grades in literature class.
>ugh.. Ughhh... U dont get me. Dis is my vision.

[Anonymous No.17385654]

>>17380886
I needed to hear this today for motivation. Thank your for your quality roast. Will share with writer friends as a reminder why critique is necessary.

Also I understand being scared of rude criticism but these are the friendliest general threads I've ever seen on this site.

[Anonymous No.17385670]

>>17384893
>Gotta start somewhere
Write a thousand short stories to get the bad ones out of your system. Study your work and find mistakes. Study good and bad stories online and see what fails a story. I used to read amateur creepypastas just to get an idea what sucks.

You did a good job, anon. You started. Can't say the same for many people. Many never start.

[Anonymous No.17385864]

You're only a writer if you're doing it correctly, with only the occasional grammar mistake out of hundreds of normal sentences. A man who constantly fucks up repairing a car isn't a car mechanic.

>but that's what editors are for!!!
Editors are there to catch the one error out of hundreds, and to find ways to make good sentences great.

[Anonymous No.17385895]

>>17385864
>Editors are there to catch the one error out of hundreds, and to find ways to make good sentences great.
t. Editor
That's not what I'm paying you for you lazy bitch.

[Anonymous No.17385925]

>>17385864
Uh-huh. Smoking's bad for you though.

[Anonymous No.17385981]

>>17385895
Okay, the editor can spend all their time bringing 3/10 prose up to 5/10 instead of bringing 6/10 prose up to 8/10. If you'd just read up on some grammar, you wouldn't be making these mistakes.

[Anonymous No.17386078]

>>17384893
If you really want to throw it into a dumpster fire just put it on an amateur writing subreddit. So long as you include one (1) meme per chapter you're guaranteed good feedback.

[Anonymous No.17386091]

>>17380593
Post your writing.

[Anonymous No.17386264]

I'm writing a smut short story that I want to expand or rewrite into a full novel, ad I was going to add another love interest or two. But I was looking for a little feedback on how to avoid it turning into too much teen drama with everyone angry about who's sleeping with who. But on the other hand, if the main love interest doesn't care about the MC fucking others, then it feels like it's not real love. How do other smut writers handle the harem issue? Should I make the main love interest a cuckqueen that gets off on watching her man dominate other women?

[Anonymous No.17386383]

>>17385670
>I used to read amateur creepypastas just to get an idea what sucks.
shit, they may suck but some of those stories stuck with me. i can't remember how good the prose was, but i remember the tension and climax and stuff

[Anonymous No.17386539]

>>17385864
Wish more people had your mindset about art and creative work in general.

>bwahhh but anyone can be an artist or painter

[Anonymous No.17386869]

please r8:

A friend ship is a sacred floater. A chemo-thera-peutic bond twixt two, like beans and cream. I’ve never sucked from the meat-cup, having even one chum. But my cronylessness is about to died of lonelynessness. For today is the day I make my first real friend. Constructed fromst cat feathers and eagle mud, I do believe Sooguhluh and I will become the bosomest of brahs.
“I love you Soogy, are you my mommy?” I embrace Soogy. “Hold me mommy.” Soogy is wrenched out of my grip.
“C’mon, prude,” I say, “You know you want it, no one has to know.”
The wind took hold of Soogy and whisked him in the direction of a bikini-clad woman.
Betrayed yet again. T’weren’t Sooguhluh who blew me off. T’was my new nemesis: the wind. My enema numbero un’.
I take the fight to a gusty cliff and batter my enemy with blows. Wind, you have fume-hiliated me for the last time, always putting on airs. You’re just the rejected breath from the great cosmic yawn of consciousness. Thou win-*d*? More like thou *lose*, duh. I declarate war on thine.
I approached a man working at a turbine farm.
“Yes, enslave the wind, capturously enyolk the gutless bloke.”
“Get away from me.”
“Noble sir, you make the wind suck-umb, throwing work the wind like an ox-or-moron. You’re the enemy of my enemy: my friend.”
“Guy, you obviously have no friends.”
“With these pinwheels, you grab wind by the scruff of its neck and whip the wicked fiend into suckling at the hotdog of your bidding.”

[Anonymous No.17387039]

>>17386869
Ooh, frittata!

[Anonymous No.17387273]

>>17386264
Do you want to have it be popular or are you just writing it for yourself? People love when the females are jealous of other women that the MC is fucking. I don't, and I think it's lame as shit, but it's an anime thing and a lot of your audience is going to be into anime. Feel free to pad the runtime with the drama.

[Anonymous No.17387521]

>>17387273
Kinda both. I'm obviously writing something I enjoy, but I do also want to get people off. I like so many things that when I can't decide between two, I think what more people would like, if that makes sense. I feel like the most important part of a smut story is the characters, and those are pretty set in stone, for instance.

But more to the point,
>I don't, and I think it's lame as shit
What would your preferred alternative be? That the main lead enjoys it when the MC fucks others, she's indifferent to it (Most likely because she doesn't consider the relationship serious yet or something) or that there are no others? Or some other option I hadn't considered? I've got some ideas, but like I said, I do like hearing opinions.

[Anonymous No.17387839]

Read story. Thank you.

https://awfiction.wordpress.com/2021/01/19/protest-pussy/

[Anonymous No.17388067]

>>17378421
my pen name is Gobra G. Supra Sao B. Babu Da Mumu Gainho Gabao Jede Supra Sero Vao Voce Selo Vao Escola TaPaw Patao. I chose this name because it resonates with my Brazilian ancestry

[Anonymous No.17388150]

>>17382213
Sorry anon, that's tough. They should at least read them, though, I know it's tough looking at a family member's art sometimes

[Anonymous No.17388209]

how do i turn music that i like into plots and writing?

[Anonymous No.17388217]

Are electronic typewriters/word processors the move? I bought an old one online and I fucking love this thing. Somehow, it motivates me to write because it's generally pleasant to use, and the fact it's not a computer means I get less distracted. I've written more then I have in years.
Why aren't you IBMpilled?

[Anonymous No.17388261]

>>17388209
I like folk music and it's fairly straightforward since it's stories crammed into a song format

[Anonymous No.17388276]

>>17388209
take inspo from the lyrics. It's not that hard if you have at least the slightest bit of imagination.

[Anonymous No.17388298]

>>17378262
>If anything from the original OP I wrote

A great original OP, my friend. Thank you.

[Anonymous No.17388328]

>>17384893
I put my story on Royal Road too. It hasn't blown up or anything but I am getting feedback I can see. Instead of giving away 500 free books on amazon and getting like two reviews.

[Anonymous No.17388387]

>>17387839
captures the impotent rage and directionlessness of most left-lib protests well. prose is alright. a bit heavy handed with the implication of the "impotent" in impotent rage and comes across as bitter on your part.

>nervous white guy going up to overly aggressive black men to stand up for himself(?) for the girl(?) to make a show of denying his motivations for being there(?)
The way he approaches them is strange and so is the dialogue that follows. The dialogue and description o what goes down in the medic tent descends into a /pol/ greentext and less an unfortunate crossroads of insincere radicalism being unmasked by its own "object." (A black man implying Nathan is only at a BLM march to get pussy– which is true) Maybe it would be natural for Nathan to confront them in an attempt to keep his shot at some protest pussy, the adrenaline and the earlier mention of a feeling of masculinity driving him to make this gesture for himself and for Misty.

At the end of the day, Nathan sucks, but the way the two black guys just suddenly beat the shit out of him feels unjustified by the dialogue exchange that precedes it. While reading it, the rushing of that sequence (very significant in the story) gave me the impression that the author was trying to make me sympathize with Nathan as a victim, which based on his other actions and the internality described of him, felt incongruous.

I don't think you need to beat the fuck out of him. He's too inconsequential to deserve brutalization imo. Nathan gets sucker punched and falls backward on his head.

[Anonymous No.17388433]

>>17379931
I don't know much about poetry, so take this all with a grain of salt. I liked the first line, but you seem to contradict it in the second sentence when you say that there were "onlookers." If there are people watching the launch, it seems like there's a little grandeur.
I liked the last stanza as well, though I think the line, "reserved only for non-organic matter" sounded a little awkward. It's a neat idea, but I'd try and find a way to re-phrase it.
>>17380093
I agree with that other anon that adding some variety to your sentence structure could help a lot. It's something I have trouble with in my own writing.

[Anonymous No.17388455]

Writing my first serious story. Is it a bad idea or good to go all in and be overly passionate and perfectionist and try my hardest on it? Or should I chill out and first write some basic clithe short stories for practice? I've already written a 3 page long draft rewrite.

Also is it autistic I write a trillion notes under each draft (add more x, add more thrill, more description of how eerie the character feels, etc)?

[Anonymous No.17388459]

>>17385580
very true. low time preference is for chumps

[Anonymous No.17388504]

>>17388455
After about five years of writing 'great novels' I have to say that it really doesn't matter. When I started, I was there to please myself and frustrated at my own writing at the same time. Eventually, the excitement wears off a little I started to understand that after writing there is only more writing, so there is no need to rush. It took a lot of writing to understand that perfectionism will not grant you good writing. I suggest reading Story Genius by Lisa Crohn, and at least having a scene card so you have a reason why what is on the page is on the page. Most stories don't have an inner 'why' behind them so they meander everywhere and even the writer doesn't know where the story is going. It's a good sign if you know what is going to happen and why, not completely, enough so that you can continue writing.

[Anonymous No.17388538]

>>17388276
no, how do i get the feel of the music across? and they are insturmental

[Anonymous No.17388551]

>>17388455
why ask how to write? there as many ways of writing as there are books. writing is in itself practice, but if you feel that certain skills, like description, are lacking you could write for that specifically
It doesn't matter if you go all in, it just matters that you're improving. You will know when you write something good imo, so you will know when to really polish something and when a work can just be discarded

[Anonymous No.17388563]

>>17388538
I got a lot of ideas listening to GYBE while on long drives. I say you just let the music guide you to some scenes, then figure out how to connect them.

[Anonymous No.17388633]

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/37998/wish-mountain


こんにちはこれは私の話です。読んでいただければ幸いです。本当に一生懸命頑張りました。私は日本人ではありません。第二言語で仕事をするつもりでした。

[Anonymous No.17388702]

>>17388551
>>17388504
Thank you both, anons. Appreciate the help.

>Most stories don't have an inner 'why' behind them so they meander everywhere and even the writer doesn't know where the story is going.
Read many amateur stories like that. My stories in middle school sounded like that. Pure dread. I know exactly what you mean. Wondered off a couple times in mine already but I always erase on time or redirect it back to where it should be.

[Anonymous No.17388773]

>>17388633
>Hress Dunter
>Dress Hunter

What did he mean by this?

[Anonymous No.17388884]

should I use prompts if I don't have an idea in my mind?

[Anonymous No.17388963]

>>17388773

[Anonymous No.17388987]

>>17388884
Why not.
>>17387839
I couldn't read most of it because it honestly was a little depressing to me, but I think you did a good job at capturing the way these riots usually go down.

[Anonymous No.17389325]

>>17388773
The story of Wish Mountain is primarily a coming-of-masculinity story. Hress Dunter starts as a man insecure in his masculinity, being essentially a boy despite his masculine / handsome appearance. His growth into a real man, a hero, is the point of the series.

In a lot of stories comedy is derived from gaybaiting a character. Or degrading a man to the point he is a degenerate (often misunderstood/stupid/his own worst enemy).

Hress starts as his own worst enemy, and a bit of a degenerate, and it is about how he becomes a legimately wholesome strong masculine figure. But it wouldn't feel worthwhile if I didn't challenge his masculinity in the narrative.

Also I like the name.

[Anonymous No.17389467]

If anyone has any thoughts on my short story, I'd be grateful to hear them.

[Anonymous No.17389524]

>>17389467
too many pronouns

[Anonymous No.17389563]

>>17389467
so so terrible. barely readable. I mean, I barely had the will to read the entire thing.

There's weird diction that doesn't match the character's style: "some type of stimulant" "a less formidable user" "nearly stopped your breathing and made your pupils grow large enough to cover your eyes". also you don't mix stimulants with depressants (alcohol) and somehow get a more stimulating effect. also thick with powdered cram and sugar? what kind of badass takes his coffee like that unless you also say the coffee is black sludge shit without it.

god why do I bother

[Anonymous No.17389574]

>>17389467
His thoughts should be in italics, not in quotes, and the period should be a comma. Didn't read the rest because of this.

[Anonymous No.17389877]

>>17389467
I enjoyed it. Too many pronouns. The environment is described alright, but more detail and better detail is needed. half of it is describing what's on him, and if what's on him is not going to be relevant to the story don't mention it. I don't know if it's relevant or not though.

[Anonymous No.17390059]

>>17389524
>>17389563
>>17389574
>>17389877
Thanks for the feedback anons. It’s really helpful to hear.

[Anonymous No.17390203]

>>17390059
And thank you for taking criticism well. Always nice to see.

[Anonymous No.17390668]

All I do is write simply or I write cringey...

How do I fix this? Should I just stop and go read more or what?

[Anonymous No.17390792]

>>17390668
write simply

[Anonymous No.17390811]

>>17390792
But what if I want something more?

[Anonymous No.17391018]

>>17390811
write more simply

[Anonymous No.17391385]

>>17388633
>Hress Dunter
Is is supposed to say Dress Hunter?

[Anonymous No.17391465]

what is even the point?

[Anonymous No.17391637]

haven't been here in a while
I'd love your thoughts on my short story
I'd say it's about one or two little scenes from being done
if you do read, try to also note where you stopped reading.
https://pastebin.com/udYrw7vq

[Anonymous No.17391713]

I'm actually losing followers now
Where did it all go wrong

[Anonymous No.17391772]

>>17379306
>Western Wind
https://1lib.us/s/western%20wind

Have you tried z-lib?

[Anonymous No.17391775]

>>17391713
>caring
Why?

[Anonymous No.17391780]

>>17388217
Been wanting to get one, which would you recommend?

[Anonymous No.17391787]

>>17391775
It means my story is bad

[Anonymous No.17391825]

>>17391787
Only if you think those people's opinions matter for some reason. You shouldn't think that because the average person is alarmingly retarded. Following and unfollowing on the internet is low-intellect and low-engagement activity that everyone with a pulse can do. Unless you get money from these people there is basically no reason for you to care about their number.
It's different if they're actually writing and explaining why you've fucked up.

[Anonymous No.17391934]

>>17388217
>>17391780
thanks for prompting me to look this shit up, this thing looks pretty cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAlVBnlkK-U

[Anonymous No.17392155]

I guess I'll post this here.
I'm a big Jojo fan and after catching up with the manga and rewatching the anime I decided I needed more so I wrote my own stuff. I am not a writer by any stretch of the imagination but I just had an urge and started typing. The story is in it's own universe but takes elements from Jojo like stands, wacky tone, etc.
The basic plot is a group of highschoolers discover a plot by a south American terrorist Mayan cultist group to steal some nukes and "reset" the world because of cult reasons. It's also the 1950's

[Anonymous No.17392162]

>>17392155
Is this a Persona 2 reference?

[Anonymous No.17392201]

>>17392162
no, I've never played the Persona games.

[Anonymous No.17392268]

TL;DR recommend me sites to post my work.

Anons, so far I am still learning to do the whole writing thing, and the only question I have right now is, where do I start publishing?

It's not exactly an urgent question, I have basically just started and don't plan to publish my stuff if not to get criticism, but, I can't self publish, the editorials in my country (the decent ones) are quite prestigious, and online the only choices that there are seem to not really be focused on serious literature, usually being fanfiction.

The only site that I have been recommended by people I know is Wattpad, and while I have found decent stuff there, the site is mostly populated by horny teenage girls that generally don't really give a hoot about literature as an art form. I might use my Wattpad account to get some traction or just write stupid shit, but I don't really know if that is a good place to begin with this whole thing.

[Anonymous No.17392312]

>>17392268
royal road. i browsed a bit and it seems like a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, but i've seen some pretty cool ideas and titles. i plan to post my short story there, seems like they take plagiarism somewhat serious . Has a feedback section too.

try it?

[Anonymous No.17392341]

>>17392312
I will, fantasy has been my jam since the day I was born.

One question, though, is it exclusively about sci-fi and fantasy? Because I also like writing "realistic" short stories.

[Anonymous No.17392370]

>>17392341
No, kind of seems like it thought.

[Anonymous No.17392456]

>>17388209
Use music to stir up an emotion brewery in your mind, then perform creation on that state of mind

[Anonymous No.17392468]

>What’s this, sez the wife steeped in matters of fact. She’s preparing her favorite dish, a stinking goulash best described as treacle converging on offal and pigsfoot, then punctuated by precisely overcooked sorghum tubes arranged at right angles. It’s naught that concerns you, past swaddling, I say. I’ll fuck you later, love; we’ll fuck those tweedy farts out your lonesome ass; you’ll be blowing a whole horn section, dear. Mind the thing for me, will you? I’ve business. A slight pursing and slighter yet sideward heading she gives and turns back to her goulash. I set the squalling down upon the counter and turn heel.
Too on the nose with the Joyce thing?

[Anonymous No.17392490]

>>17392456
This. I listen to ambience from older games and try to imagine things. Listened to some resident evil 2 (the old old one) and the distant groan, crow sounds, and city ambience really gave me nice ideas and what mood to add to an atmosphere in my story.

[Anonymous No.17392500]

>>17392155
>It's also the 1950's
Please. Research what culture was like in the 1950s. I've dropped reading so many stories because it claims to be in the 1950s or 1980s yet was extremely not like that decade at all and over stereotyped everything wrong.

My friend began writing a story some years ago about a character joining gangs in the 1980s. She literally described the home place of the protagonist as "a neon city". She only knew the 80s through music videos, never looking up photos how cities actually looked back then and not asking boomers what it was like, not looking up 80s fashion magazines, etc.

[Anonymous No.17392510]

>>17392500
If your reader shares your (inaccurate) interpretation of a given era, does it really matter how accurate it is?

[Anonymous No.17392520]

>>17378232
im almost done with my first draft. my plot etc is solid as fuck but i suck at writing. how do i get better?

[Anonymous No.17392527]

>>17392520
If you don't innately have a poetic bone in your body, don't try to grow one. Trying to produce excellent prose is a risk in the current literary climate, which favors a simpler approach to language use. Publishers really just prefer a work written in such a way that your average person can pick up your book and read it cover to cover without being challenged once. To put it bluntly, it doesn't matter if your prose is good unless it's really, really good. Just make sure it's not bad. Workmanlike is good, amateurish is bad.

[Anonymous No.17392556]

How long should a short story supposed to be? I'm sitting at 1.3k words right now.

Also, is ~600 words a day okay for a beginner?

[Anonymous No.17392559]

>>17392556
is a*

[Anonymous No.17392574]

>>17386539
that bird isn't that bad

[Anonymous No.17392577]

>>17392556
Shorts are usually 1.5k to 5k or so words. 1.5k is on the low end. Don't worry about word count, just make sure you are sitting down and writing every day.

[Anonymous No.17392588]

>>17385864
>with only the occasional grammar mistake
What if I intentionally play with grammar on a consistent basis?

[Anonymous No.17392849]

What do you listen to while writing? I need something that isn't anime soundtracks.

[Anonymous No.17392862]

>>17392849
My recommendations.
https://youtu.be/bDfNcr8wHqc
https://youtu.be/RJIQdBdH4d0
https://youtu.be/I23o8cDE8Tc
https://youtu.be/pPiL5F0I5xE

[Anonymous No.17392901]

>>17386869
Very fun to read. Some of the puns (if you can call them that) feel slightly forced and a bit of a stretch (e.g fume-hiliated and the win-d lose duh). And I didn't really get the second sentence. But you have a unique style and you had me chuckling.

[Anonymous No.17392965]

>>17392849
thomas bergersen

[Anonymous No.17392984]

I'm new here. Would anyone care to elaborate on the whole "write a certain number of words a day" thing? What's the purpose of such an endeavour? Is it more of a productivity thing or is it more of a practice thing? Does it not matter what you're writing about (e.g. do you literally just write whatever comes into your head? Surely just writing a lot isn't going to improve your writing skills if you aren't aware what you're doing wrong? What's a good number of words to aim for?

[Anonymous No.17392993]

>>17392984
It creates a habit and a routine. If you don't force yourself to keep writing you'll just go ehh whatever and quit anyway, just like you quit everything else you quitter

[Anonymous No.17393387]

>I can’t face going straight home to Jake. I’m not ready to deal with this. I need to try to process it first. But how? Where do I start? I have no idea. The blankness in my mind terrifies me. I always know what to do. I always have a solution, a way of tackling something, giving it a happy spin. I’m Lexi Greenwood, the woman everyone knows of as the fixer, the smiler (some might even slightly snidely call me a do-gooder). Lexi Greenwood, wife, mother, friend.
>You think you know someone. But you don’t know anyone, not really. You never can.
>I need a drink. I drive to our local. Sod it, I’ll leave the car at the pub and walk home, pick it up in the morning. I order a glass of red wine, a large one, then I look for a seat tucked away in the corner where I can down my drink alone.

[Anonymous No.17393590]

why do you write?
what motivates you?
where did it all start?

[Anonymous No.17393646]

>>17393590
It began when I was a kid in the golden years of the 1990's. I was browsing one of those toy-commercial booklets, this one was about Playmobil. Now I never gave two shits about Playmobil, but there was a two-page spread about a bunch of magical shit happening in a forest, and the artwork there was fucking fascinating. I want to hear stories about it. But they didn't exist. So I made my mom write them from my diction (I didn't know how to write yet myself)
This was the beginning of my foray into fiction and fantasy. There was a problem though. My mom wanted Disney-esque stories of princes and princesses, which I didn't care about at all. I wanted to focus on the weird people and creatures in the woods.
So when my mom tried to turn the story into another "the prince saves the princess" type of thing I told her to write "and then a dwarf set the forest on fire".
I have been walking down the path I begun then for over 20 years now.

[Anonymous No.17393672]

What are some good writing channels besides Terrible Writing Advice? Most channels I seem to find include some ugly, annoying sounding girl putting herself in full focus of the camera.

[Anonymous No.17393684]

>>17393672
Terrible writing advice is a good channel? They seemed a little mediocre for me.

[Anonymous No.17393691]

>>17393590
>why do you write?
Always a passion of mine since I was really young but abandoned it for a long time and took it up which inevitably kept me out of bad, bad trouble and made me realize I had a passion worth dying for.
>what motivates you?
Probably the thought of progressing and getting better. Something about working on my craft and knowing i'm getting better slowly. I also, feel like I have the 'soul' for it but I also believe hardwork can surpass any man with god given talent so I try to work hard everyday. It often makes me depressed, this constant urging to NEED to get better to WRITE WRITE, but I find the things plaguing me in the present greatly exaggerated due to this devilishly urging.
>where did it all start?
Too hard to say but I can for sure say it was one sad night after reading some poetry I tried my hand at it and upon reading it I thought "I can do better, I should keep riding" and so I wrote.

[Anonymous No.17393698]

>>17393691
>writing********
autocorrect is the work of satan

[Anonymous No.17393699]

>>17393684
It's not perfect but it's alright. Sometimes it's fun to hear someone rail on cliches without shoving their sexualityheadcannons down your throat like certain other channels.

[Anonymous No.17393717]

>>17393691
you sound too picturesque to be real honestly
>>17393646
chaotic neutral energy, I enjoy this

[Anonymous No.17393802]

I've been doing some research on Royal Road. What are your thoughts on it / pros & cons? How good is it as a basis for building an audience, and how could one make the jump from that to actual publishing (KDP or traditional)?
From what I read, if I wish to publish my novel after posting it on RR, I need to leave only 10% on the site, due to KDP's guidelines. What are your thoughts on things like this? Is it a viable strategy?

[Anonymous No.17393807]

>>17393802
Also, most of the stuff on RR feels somewhat fanfiction-y. How serious is RR taken by the industry? When aiming for traditional publishing, how do they react to having some work over on RR?

[Anonymous No.17393818]

>>17393807
I don't think they will care that you published shit on Royalroad. Have you seen what kind of garbage gets published nowadays?

[Anonymous No.17393825]

>>17391465

So this is when she sees somebody get murdered, right?

[Anonymous No.17393831]

>>17393802
Wish Mountain author here.

My experience with Royal Road is that it is a good site, you can gain a following (I haven't yet). It isn't about the quality of what you're writing however. As long as you can write somewhat coherently, it is more based on the idea and how fan-servicey it is.

Like with most things, once you have an audience then things will take off. But getting that intial audience is difficult without a selling factor. The reason smut sells so well on Amazon is because it is concentrated fan-service in its entirety.

I tried publishing a book on amazon, and I found it dead in the water. Could just be my book. But I think the crux of it is you need to build a following, and royal road if you can get on trending is a great way to do it.

[Anonymous No.17393858]

>>17393831
Thanks for the answer.
>It isn't about the quality of what you're writing however. As long as you can write somewhat coherently, it is more based on the idea and how fan-servicey it is.
Damn. This is what I feared. But I guess that is the downside to a free platform.

[Anonymous No.17393939]

>>17393802

Pros: you can get readers and actual feedback for your story.
Cons: you may have to face the reality that your story is not dramatically better than the other 30,000+ out there

I can only call KDP a scam. Give them timed exclusivity--for what? There are sites out there like lulu.com, though which you can get your book published and available on every retailer out there, including Amazon, and you don't have to remove it from anywhere.

[Anonymous No.17393989]

I still can’t decide if I want two POV characters and switching perspective. I have two different stories I want to tell about a similar event, but I’m not sure how to synthesize them together. What are the chances I’d be able to pull off a discworld expanded universe thing?

[Anonymous No.17394011]

>>17393590
to get pussy
pussy
when i came out my mom's pussy

[Anonymous No.17394083]

>>17393939
That's an interesting take on it. From what I checked, most of the stuff on RR reads like light-novel and YA; very tropey, mediocre prose, and full of fan-service. I think my work doesn't quite fit that criteria, or if I want it to be labeled as such. However I still consider it as it seems like a simple way to get an audience, although perhaps it isn't the target audience for whom I've written.
Did you post your work on RR? If so, what was the experience like?

[Anonymous No.17394426]

anyone here an editor full time?
I want to into.
But I don't know how.
Can it even be a job? Helpes.

[Anonymous No.17394522]

Anyone got any ideas for less-used terms for 'nobles'?
In my story, 'noble' houses are referred to as Gens-Clans, and I'm having trouble with the idea that they would just be called 'nobles' since that term is so.. Bland, I guess?
I really like what Shadow of the Torturer did where nobles were referred to as exultants, but I can't really find any decent alternatives that have the same kind of feeling.

[Anonymous No.17394552]

>>17394083
I gave up on RR. RR is a site almost entirely dedicated to shit-tier anime stories, litRPGs, cultivation-shit, time-loops, isekai, etc. It's to the point that genuinely really well written and interesting work on there barely gets attention, because the core demographic of readers on that site are teenagers and kids who are just not interested in anything remotely resembling 'classical' genres of literature such as fantasy, science fiction, etcetera.
To make it on RR, you basically have no choice but to write these genres. People there just do not read anything else.

[Anonymous No.17394560]

>>17394522
ASOIAF uses "high born" a lot, I think.

[Anonymous No.17394580]

>>17394522
>>17394560
I'm going to try "Gensteel" I think. Genteel is already a term that refers to respectable people and is only one letter away.
I wasn't to keen on it at first, but I think it's growing on me.

[Anonymous No.17394598]

>>17392527
any authors you can think of that fit your description?

[Anonymous No.17394617]

What do you guys think of the possibility of AI writing prize-winning literature? Do you think it will make human authors redundant, and forever throw human creativity out in the streets while computers oversaturate the market with tens of thousands of novels a month that are all brilliantly if not formulaically written? Or will there always been an interest in literature that has specifically come from a human?

[Anonymous No.17394622]

>>17394552
> kids who are just not interested in anything remotely resembling 'classical' genres of literature such as fantasy, science fiction, etcetera.

What are you talking about? Many stories on the very first page of the best rated list are pretty conventional fantasy and there's shit ton of scifi on the site too. Millions of views, thousands of followers. There are a lot of older readers on RR, it's definitely not just anime kids.

[Anonymous No.17394673]

>>17394617
NPCs will always NPC. If AI gets to the point where it can write not only normalfag trash but actually good literature better than us it's probably going to surpass us at everything else so who cares? Also
>prizes
>indicative of quality
Quality of the backroom blowjobs given to the judges maybe.

[Anonymous No.17394691]

>>17394622
Okay, but let's look at the Trending list right now.
>LitRPG
>Isekai LitRPG
>Isekai Cultivation (that's somehow third on trending despite having absolute shit reviews)
>One that's actually kind of original, but still seems quite Isekai/Anime.
>Isekai
>An actually interesting, well-written, traditionally styled science-fantasy novel.
>LitRPG

There's clearly a huge bias here. Getting any kind of audience on RR without conforming to those basic isekai/litrpg tropes seems to require a pretty heft amount of luck.

[Anonymous No.17394741]

Is it normal that writing determines my value in life?

[Anonymous No.17394751]

>>17379416
Ok. Here's a fantasy novel I won't write. The death of his son would happen at about the halfway point in the book, with the first half being devoted to the man coming to think that nobly serving the king is the right way to escape his regrets about his family.

---

A man abandons his dreaming of returning to the city to see his estranged son in order to follow his king on a noble journey. His company eventually runs into another, which his son is part of - while he's thought he was moving away from him, he was moving towards him all along. However, before he can get a reunion, the king executes his son as a criminal, because the company he was with tried to ambush the king's. While plotting revenge on the king, the man comes around to thinking that what his son did was dishonorable, and that he deserved his fate. He comes to hate the child for that and for occupying his desires for so many years.

The king finds some strange magic that makes him a necromancer of sorts, able to command spirits. The man approaches the king and begs him to call his son back so he can say goodbye. But the king cannot call up individuals, and he is troubled by the dead constantly and can hardly sleep.

They reach their goal, the evil heart that is spawning the monstrosities that have beleaguered them on their journey. Their battle to reach it is aided by the frenzied storm of spirits their king summons. The spirits of the living are ripped from their corpses to continue fighting, even as their bodies fall. The man finds his son's spirit on the battlefield, tarnished from the fighting until it was nearly unrecognizable. Seeing now that his son sacrificed all, even his soul, for the king who killed him, he realizes that his son had an honorable soul after all, and also realizes that he can now never see him again, even in the land of the dead.

Feeling that even death is no longer an escape from his tragedy, he takes up his son's spirit-sword and charges though the battle is lost, hoping to die on the battlefield and then have his spirit ripped apart. But he unknowingly shares in some of the king's necromancy, and the spirits empower him - he fights his way to the heart with godlike powers and puts the sword through it. He returns to his king's throne, where the king's corpse still sits, his life drained by the magic. Numbed by the loss of his power and feeling that there's nothing left for him, he falls on the sword. The blood of the heart is still on it, and it poisons his spirit, annihilating it and granting him his wish to escape eternity. In the epilogue, we see the king's tormented spirit lamenting the cost of its quest, which he never saw finished, for eternity.

[Anonymous No.17394758]

>>17394083
>most of the stuff on RR reads like light-novel and YA; very tropey, mediocre prose, and full of fan-service.
Well, I haven't read "most of the stuff" there, only tried a few, so I can't say one way or the other.

You won't find the next David Foster Wallace there, sure, but honestly, what do you expect? I've seen no one in these threads post anything comparable to the better works on the site, so the frequent "I might be too good for RR"-comments just sound like sour grapes to me.

But a lot of users there are avid readers in general, are capable of critical thinking, and you are almost guaranteed to get comments and reviews that you can use to objectively examine the qualities of your work. For that, I do think it's a useful place.

>Did you post your work on RR? If so, what was the experience like?
I've posted several stories there since three years ago, and I've had mostly only positive experiences. Readers have been encouraging, but also eager to point out mistakes or problems, that make me think a bit deeper about my own writing. Yes, there are a lot of young and obnoxious readers too, but it's up to the author who to listen and who to ignore.

[Anonymous No.17394759]

>>17393831
>As long as you can write somewhat coherently, it is more based on the idea and how fan-servicey it is
When I read this I felt visceral disgust and had a Vietnam-style flashback of trying to read fiction from writing subreddits years ago.
>Author just can't help but include a nyan cat reference in their work
Electricity was a mistake.

[Anonymous No.17394796]

>>17394751
Sounds good.
Why won't you write it?

[Anonymous No.17394806]

>>17394691
If a shop has a sale on ginger ale, then everyone who loves ginger ale will flock there, of course. That doesn't mean nothing else sells. If you want millions of views and thousands of followers quickly, then yeah, it's kind of a gamble. But if you can be content with less, then it's well within the realm of possibility to find readers with other types of works too.

[Anonymous No.17394814]

>>17394759
Nyan cat?

[Anonymous No.17394817]

>>17394814
Get out newfag

[Anonymous No.17394820]

>>17394817
I know what nyan cat is. I'm asking what the context is.

[Anonymous No.17394832]

>>17394820
>serious story about a low-magic fantasy world
>just happens to be a magical engraved statue of nyan cat in the middle of some ancient ruins

[Anonymous No.17394833]

This shit is starting to piss me off. It keeps throwing up fucking halt signs just to tell me that some people might cry over a typed word.

[Anonymous No.17394841]

>>17394833
>literally a "don't check for this issue" button right there
I agree it's faggot shit but come on

[Anonymous No.17394851]

>>17394758
I might use the site just to get an audience and reviews/criticisms, though I'm not a big fan of the type of subgenres that seem to thrive on RR (litRPG, light-novel/anime like, cultivation/wuxia).
Thank you for your responses.

[Anonymous No.17394889]

Just finished a short story this morning. It's based on a dream I had. Very rough draft. No title if you can think of a good one let me know.

https://pastebin.com/FVEgq5Tk

[Anonymous No.17394896]

>>17394796
Tragic fantasy has its wires crossed from the start. The literary folks who can appreciate a tragedy won't read it because it's fantasy and fantasy readers won't appreciate a tragic ending. I tried for a few days to work out a better ending for that character but none of them made as much sense as a sad one, so I wrote that outline as an excuse to move on and stop thinking about it. It's all yours if you think you can sell it.

[Anonymous No.17394953]

>>17394896
The trick with a tragedy is that you have to trick the reader into reading it. You lead them so far into your story that they become invested enough to finish, and when the tragedy finally happens at the end it's all the more heartbreaking because they were not expecting it.

[Anonymous No.17395032]

>>17394953
And then they write a one-to-four-star goodreads review saying that they hated the ending or that it's well-written but not what they were looking for. I think that fantasy readers especially are largely fucking stupid, at least to the point where you have to court the stupid ones to make any money while you try to catch the attention of the decent ones.

[Anonymous No.17395189]

>>17392849
>I need something that isn't anime soundtracks.
oh

[Anonymous No.17395504]

>>17379773
Thanks. I needed this.

[Anonymous No.17395568]

>>17392500
One of my main characters is a greaser. Also in the 1950s traveling to South America was becoming popular.

[Anonymous No.17395585]

>Was uploading on royal road.
>Started to get a small but consistent following
>Life issues and depression hit hard, don't write for nine months.
>Finally started up again, released three chapters in two months
>All momentum I built up is now dead, ten views a chapter now.

I honestly don't even know if I should continue. I feel like I fucked up.

[Anonymous No.17395667]

>>17395585
Post your story coward

[Anonymous No.17395681]

>>17395585
>>17395667
Yeah, I wanna see.

[Anonymous No.17395694]

>>17395585
>>17395667
>>17395681
not him...but
>post my actual story
>no one wants to tell me what they think
>>17394889
im a girl so I get jealous

[Anonymous No.17395700]

>>17394426
You need a four year degree in English.

[Anonymous No.17395708]

>>17395667
>>17395681
Okay. It's a little rough but here you go.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/23252/epoch

[Anonymous No.17395710]

>>17394426
Give me some contact info and I might hire you.

[Anonymous No.17395719]

>>17395694
>im a girl
No you're not, shut the fuck up.

[Anonymous No.17395735]

>>17395719
Stay on topic, cunt.

[Anonymous No.17395747]

>>17395710
Not this person, but what do you need? I have work professionally in dev and as story editor in TV/Film.

[Anonymous No.17395757]

>>17395747
A way to DM you my dude

[Anonymous No.17395761]

>>17395735
I wasn't the one who went off topic you fucking troon.

[Anonymous No.17395769]

>>17395761
Let me guess you hate women?

[Anonymous No.17395784]

>>17395769
You're fucking right I do, and I hate "women" even more.

[Anonymous No.17395790]

>>17395708
It's fine, I guess. Passable. A bit reliant on sentences that begin with pronouns/names. The main reason you're not getting the views you want is probably because it doesn't really stand out. I'm probably going to forget I ever read it 5 minutes after I close the tab.

[Anonymous No.17395810]

>>17395708
>>17395790
Yeah I gotta say this dude is spot on, also part of the issue is that out of all the popular shit on Royal Road time loop is among the least popular and hardest to do properly. Try putting it on other platforms because unless you're going to get into major numbers autism or start a harem Royal Road largely isn't for you.
t. Read like 3/4 of chapter 1

[Anonymous No.17395838]

>>17395790
>>17395810
Thanks for the feedback. I've been getting that vibe that royal road probably isn't the best place, but its the only one of it's kind I'm personally aware of.

[Anonymous No.17395849]

>>17395757
boathouse9761 at gmail

[Anonymous No.17395857]

>>17395849
what kind of fucking email address.....

[Anonymous No.17395863]

>>17395857
You might say it's a fake one that I created 45 seconds ago

[Anonymous No.17395878]

>>17395863
>didn't use cock.li
ngmi
Seriously though don't use google

[Anonymous No.17395880]

>>17395863
why "boathouse" of all things?

[Anonymous No.17395895]

>>17395880
just a hopeless romantic my guy

[Anonymous No.17395979]

>Used to write originals, some fanshit every now and then for the craic
>Depression
>The only thing I have the motivation to write now is shitty fetish erotica fanfiction
fucking help me bros

[Anonymous No.17396022]

>>17395979
Same here. I just write hypnosis porn because I'm good at it and I get a few comments on it. Everything more is so daunting. I mostly don't want my primary source of feedback to come from literary agents because for the most part I respect them less than the people who jack off to stuff I write. Someone should start a "porn authors trying to get their shit together and finish something they can put on a bookshelf someday" writing group.

[Anonymous No.17396048]

>>17396022
>I'm good at it and I get a few comments on it
>wishthatwereme.png
>tfw I can't even be a successful coomer

[Anonymous No.17396058]

>>17396048
I don't know what site that is but I get most of my engagement from FA and literotica. Nobody really follows or whatever on literotica because their UI is trash but they comment pretty often at least.

[Anonymous No.17396109]

>>17395708
didnt read but your cover graphic is the ugliest thing i have ever seen in my life to be h m8 sorry

[Anonymous No.17396470]

>>17395700
I have one.
What do fren.

[Anonymous No.17397038]

>>17380093
>he would go thewh to weed and whittle owh whatevawh he wanted

[Anonymous No.17397195]

>>17396470
Get good.

[Anonymous No.17397306]

>>17396022
>hypnosis porn
care to share?

[Anonymous No.17397357]

Japanese romance literature is aimed at male audience while in the west it's primary for female audience. Is there a market for romance for male audience with female wife-worthy characters?

[Anonymous No.17397368]

>>17397195
but what do??
Is editing real job???

[Anonymous No.17397389]

>>17397357
if only lmao. I'd try it.

[Anonymous No.17397437]

>>17397357
>Is there a market for romance for male audience with female wife-worthy characters?
Yes, and it's in no short supply because LNs are being translated. Don't bother trying to fulfill it if you're a westerner, because all you'd be doing is writing cheap LN knockoffs. Also, literary agents are all yuppie millennial females and will reject your shit for being INCEL.

[Anonymous No.17397446]

>>17395708
Binge read to the latest chapter and gave it a follow and some stars. Pretty good anon. I think early on in the binge I was unsure about the chapter lengths—they felt a little long. I didn't feel the interactions between Lyra and Feathers at first but the more I read it grew on me. The commissioned art you have of Lyra is pretty cute.

>>17395694
You too. Post your story coward.

[Anonymous No.17397450]

>>17397437
LN translations are trash. I can write waifus as good as any jap. Thanks, now I just need to figure out how to market it.

[Anonymous No.17397544]

Wattpad or Royal Road?
And why?

[Anonymous No.17397596]

>>17397544
Why not both?

[Anonymous No.17397606]

>>17397544
Wattpad has literally no way to gain exposure or get any traction of any kind whatsoever. It'll require extreme networking to get noticed even marginally.

With that said though, it's the oldest and thus has far more potential audiences than RR, Quotev, Scribblehub, and maybe Webnovel. RR at least has discovery mechanics. I haven't transplanted my story over to Scribblehub or Quotev so I can't speak for either. I do know Scribblehub has an odd selection of tags though.

also like >>17397596 said you can always just try out both simultaneously. It's not rare for authors to transplant their works across platforms. As a notable example, there's a fair amount who do it from SpaceBattles to RR.


Here's a list of some of the notable ones https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dig0-gcRcZZiyJNNIJ1sbttON7kKHhKOTTAGT9S0U4k/edit#

[Anonymous No.17397671]

>>17397606
>google doc doesn't list the most important negative of reddit: User ratings have basically nothing to do with story quality and you can get 100+ upvotes with ESL-tier prose and a handful of memes/tropes
Come on now, have you seen HFY or NoSleep lately?

[Anonymous No.17397680]

>>17397671
For the record, this isn't mine. I don't go to any writer subreddits.

[Anonymous No.17397702]

>>17397680
Yeah after I hit the royalroad section and saw all the kvetching about "muh sexism muh raycism etc." I realized this was probably made by someone else.

[Roy No.17397759]

I figured I’d post this here since a lot of you are first time authors, etc. ALWAYS be careful who you are submitting to. If you’ve had you’re ear to the ground, you’d know that Violet & the bird “literary journal” was just exposed as being a scam.

The scammers stole work and would publish it in their “journal.” For about 11 bucks a pop, with the level of quality being around that of an unedited word document. They made quite a bit it seems before disappearing from the internet.

What does all this mean for you? Check and verify. Before submitting, check who you are submitting to. Do they have a website? Do they seem reputable? Do they have previously published works? Do they have established relationships with other presses? Etc etc. The same goes for buying things from smaller presses. And always be wary of those who message you first, especially if it doesn’t seem professional.

If anyone has more info on them btw, let me know. I only know the details from a handful of posts and minor digging on my part.

Remember anons, your work is yours. Protect it.

[Anonymous No.17397777]

>>17392849
https://youtu.be/yb45HZk9v8s?list=PLBA6C68161DF77CF9&t=3
https://youtu.be/6OV8f16MlKI?list=OLAK5uy_ndl_jNAnBOsRJlhuSprpFxv9oZuKJGSy4
https://youtu.be/7LZzZAiXgUc
https://youtu.be/UnW6625hw_w?list=PLE7855814AAB038FA
https://youtu.be/Lhv_yFMuwxs
https://youtu.be/Lhv_yFMuwxs
https://youtu.be/lWDYAJ2-Y1E
https://youtu.be/sHgccQQVVHo
https://youtu.be/AOv5BEN8zI8

Here's a nice mixture of music; let me know if it helps

[Anonymous No.17397809]

So, what is your niche?

[Anonymous No.17397812]

>>17386539
Aptitude is pretty important huh? Well, you can always beat those with talent if they dont really work hard enough though?

[Anonymous No.17397814]

>>17397809
As in?

[Anonymous No.17397819]

>>17397777
Hey, just came here to check your quads.

[Anonymous No.17397881]

>>17386264
Control. Thats what's necesarry. Although I cant really say much, the main heroine shouldnt be some cuckqueen. Open relationships exist. And Ive been in one. So I'm gonna give the reason and the pros and cons on why me and my ex had one. Maybe it could help you write a more authentic harem. :)

First off, both of us were more or less, just curious? I guess? So we both said. FUCK IT. Let us see other people. So we did.

(Mind you this is OUR fucked up thinking. It may not apply to other people.)
Pros:
>when we eventually break up, it's gonna be easy to not only move on, but. Find other partners as well.
>it helps with jealousy control.
>when one eventually cheats, given that we somehow make a relationship like that work in the long run. We may have possibly grow to not care at all.
>and, an open relationship gives you more options. I.E say, you know that she is simply not right for you

Cons:
Eh, couldnt find any. Maybe your perspective on it will help. My girlfriend and I ended in good terms.

Also, this may help your writing. The reason why we broke up was because I more or less prioritized her sister over her. I used to kinda stay in their house so yeah.

Tldr- dont write a cuckqueen/king. Control is necesarry.

[Anonymous No.17397915]

>>17397881
Wait, now that I think about it. It feels more like friends with benefits under the veil of a "relationship"

[Anonymous No.17397921]

Is it normal on Royal Road to lose followers after switching to a slower release schedule?

[Anonymous No.17397927]

>>17378232
I read a book on writing and it said that you should send your query to publishers and then if they show interest THEN you find an agent to represent you. Has that changed to the reverse being true?

[Anonymous No.17397936]

When is it acceptable to use a common without a conjunction? On the internet, and even in some books, I see people utilizing the comma to connect a dependent clause and an independent clause without a conjunction. Wouldn't this be grammatically incorrect? I've always been under the impression that a conjunction had to follow after a comma. Excluding of course when using them to make lists, to specify or expand upon something such as a name, or to make an introductory statement with a dependent clause. If these rules for the comma are true, then how are writers able to use a comma to connect two clauses without a conjunction?
Take this sentence for example: "The rain melted into the grass, leaving brown puddles behind." Wouldn't this be grammatically incorrect? Since the first part of the statement is a dependent clause, wouldn't the entire sentence be a comma splice? Yet, I see so many writers using similar sentences in their works. I also see people here and on other sites using the comma to do the samething. Is there some grammar rule about commas that I'm missing out on, or are all of these people simply grammatically incorrect?

[Anonymous No.17397961]

>>17397921
Who knows? Maybe they unfollow you because they didn't like how the story went. Readers can be a very finicky bunch sometimes.

[Anonymous No.17397963]

>>17397936
>Take this sentence for example: "The rain melted into the grass, leaving brown puddles behind." Wouldn't this be grammatically incorrect?
Participle phrase, fucktard.

[Anonymous No.17397967]

>>17397936
It is not a comma splice. Commas can lead into gerunds without a conjunction in almost all cases.

These would all be correct in your example sentence:
The rain melted into the grass, leaving brown puddles behind.
The rain melted into the grass and left brown puddles behind.
Leaving brown puddles behind, the rain melted into the grass.
The rain, leaving brown puddles behind, melted into the grass.

And probably a few others I'm missing.

[Anonymous No.17398009]

>>17397963
>>17397967
Thank you, I understand now

[Anonymous No.17398013]

>>17397961
Where do I see this graph?

[Anonymous No.17398014]

>>17397967
>Commas can lead into gerunds without a conjunction in almost all cases.
>this fucking faggot again
Stop confusing present participle verbs with gerund nouns, dumb cunt.

[Anonymous No.17398018]

>>17398013

[Anonymous No.17398190]

>>17397881
Actually, thanks. An open relationship sort of thing works really well with the setting. It's interspecies sci-fi, so it could easily fall under the guise of either different cultural norms or, 'it's just work' with the MC being a diplomat.

[Anonymous No.17398567]

I ordered a copy of my book for myself. Formatted it in a word document to look like an actual book, designed a shitty minimalist cover, and used a printing service to make it.

[Anonymous No.17398606]

>rewrite #3
I feel like I'm one of those people who just keeps punching a stone in the hopes that it breaks in half one day.

[Anonymous No.17398610]

>>17398606
don't worry man i restart at least once a week too. just wait, maybe you'll finally make some progress tomorrow.

[Anonymous No.17398622]

>>17398610
I'm over 500k words deep into rewrites my man.

[Anonymous No.17398628]

>>17398622
that's ok, you know what you deserve a break. let's get back to work on it tomorrow how about that.

[Anonymous No.17398634]

>>17398628
It's been a day's break for almost a year now. It must begin again.

[Anonymous No.17398645]

>>17398634
chill out for now dude, tomorrow is always the best day to begin

[Anonymous No.17398651]

>>17398645
Silence demon, it will be perfect this time.

[Anonymous No.17398758]

>>17398651
you can never have perfection man, so there's no need to rush into it. if anything, rushing will be the reason you mess it up again! that's why it's always best to wait until tomorrow.

[Anonymous No.17398983]

>>17398758
Joke's on you sloth demon I wrote 1600 words and I'm going to write 1600 tomorrow too.

[Anonymous No.17399030]

I know some of you are trying to get published, but do you guys ever just write because it feels like you're doing something good and it makes you smarter?

[Anonymous No.17399080]

>>17399030
I write because I get really cranky if I don't and it makes me feel good

[Anonymous No.17399124]

>>17382213
do you respect your boss's opinion? take what you can get. it's only pathetic if you construe it that way. if your family isn't down use that as fuel or whatever.

[Anonymous No.17399210]

Alright so here's an absolutely retarded question: What are the actual RULES for dialogue? I've seen dialogue done so many ways at this point that I have no idea. The way I write it is to always include a speaking verb somewhere in each spoken segment except in special cases like spoken paragraphs. So like
>"Dialogue," he said, "and more dialogue."
>"Some words!" Anon cried out.
>The anonymous poster pointed towards his upper left and smugly declared "Check these dubs."
The thing is though, I see it done where it's just the spoken lines one after another. Sometimes I see it written in a way where there's no pronouns used with the speaking verbs, always proper nouns. Hell, I'm pretty sure I've seen it done in a way where a character's actual line was never written and instead a description of it was written mid-sentence before.
So what the fuck is the proper way to do it? I don't care about preferred ways, what is the commonly expected standard?

[Anonymous No.17399340]

>>17398983
How many of those are useable?

[Anonymous No.17399408]

>>17395710
jmkamphouse @ gmail

[Anonymous No.17399409]

>>17399210
there is no one way to do dialogue but my way is the best way. i write the best dialogue. the best.

[Anonymous No.17399559]

>>17399210
There are the rules OF NATURE

[Anonymous No.17399569]

>>17398018
>premium cuck

[Anonymous No.17399577]

>want to change something in the story
>ripple effect is so huge and daunting I become indecisive and stop writing

anyone know this feel?

[Anonymous No.17399595]

>>17399577
Yes. Every time.

[Anonymous No.17399625]

I made $15 on Amazon KDP this month

whoohooo

[Anonymous No.17399643]

>>17399577
write all versions, edit, reduce, reuse. create something larger than you expected with the contradicting themes and clashing timelines. stop being a pussy.

[Anonymous No.17399655]

I sent my frog-story to the writing contest. The results will be revealed in May. Dear God it's going to be hell waiting for that.
Back to writing army hi-jinks I guess.

[Anonymous No.17399664]

>>17399577
>read a wikipedia page
>get inspired to shoehorn a ridiculously complicated idea into the story
>it actually ties up all the loose ends from the original version
nope sorry ive been having nothing but success.

[Anonymous No.17399671]

>>17399643
He can sell the second edition of the book with the equivalent of DVD extras, interviews, deleted scenes, etc.
> now with alternative ending
> bonus scenes with character A, B, C
> never before published chapters of alternative timeline

[Anonymous No.17399678]

>>17399655
Which writing contest

[Anonymous No.17399687]

>>17399678
Pirkanmaan kirjoituskilpailu.

https://www.tampere.fi/kulttuuri-ja-vapaa-aika/kirjastot/kirjoituskilpailut/pirkanmaan-kirjoituskilpailu.html

[Anonymous No.17399702]

>>17399687
nice.

[Anonymous No.17399733]

>>17399655
>>17399687
Good work, anon. Hope you win the contest.

[Anonymous No.17399741]

>>17399702
The general area of Pirkanmaa and especially the city of Tampere have for a century been known for producing writers, nowhere else in Finland can compete. Back in the 1950's people would travel from elsewhere to Tampere so they could mail their manuscripts to publishers with a Tampere postal address in the hopes it would give them an advantage in getting published.
This is the 70th year this contest has been held and the first time you can submit your work digitally. I hope I'll win. Winning means my story will be published and saved in an archive by the municipal library.
Bros I'm so excited but also totally nervous and I just know I'll be totally ignored.

[Anonymous No.17399751]

>>17399741
Keep faith, anon. Know this, even if you fail, you did more to advance in your writing career than anyone else here.

[Anonymous No.17399767]

A new thread is up in case people want to switch thread.

>>17399759

[Anonymous No.17399770]

>>17399733
It should be easier to win, numerically anyway, not a lot of Finns around.

What's your story about and how long is it

[Anonymous No.17399776]

>>17399733
>>17399751
Thanks bros.

[Anonymous No.17399785]

>>17399770
It's about how I helped some tadpoles in a drying pond survive last summer, 4.4k words.

[Anonymous No.17399806]

>>17399785
Aww, that's sweet. I think you'll win. I have a good feeling about it

[Anonymous No.17399819]

Good God what I wouldn't do for a lengthy and sensual paizuri session with Shirogane Noel

[Anonymous No.17399840]

>>17399819
Seethe for an oil massage.

https://youtu.be/kCK7bl0AmSI
https://youtu.be/whgPMI7Bils

[Anonymous No.17399875]

>>17399840
fucking hell I would violate any moral decree set by the most just and sympathetic of creators to just plow those fucking perfect pillowy milktanks good GOD

[Anonymous No.17399903]

>>17398606
deleting everything is rewriting now?

[Anonymous No.17399917]

>>17399770
>What's your story about
The story I'm currently working on is a post-apocalyptic-cyberpunk capepunk set in near-future Chicago. The main focus is on characters above everything. Truth be told, I have lots of the pieces done per se, but I can't seem to make them work together—I'm sort of at a loss right now. Thinking of making them their own separate novels that share the same universe.
>and how long is it
Just working on the prologue and the first chapter. Having a debate whether or not I should write the entire story in third person limited, first-person then switch to third-person limited or first person in its totality.