/wg/ Writing general

[Anonymous No.19909716]

You saw nothing edition
Previous thread >>19898310

For Prose:
>The Art of Fiction, Gardner
>The Anatomy of Story, Truby
>Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)
>On Becoming A Novelist
>The First Five Pages
>Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
>How Fiction Works
>The Rhetoric of Fiction
>Steering the Craft
>On Writing, Borges

For Poetry:
>The Poetry Home Repair Manual
>Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry
>This Craft of Verse, Borges

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

Traditional publishing
> Formatting manuscript
https://blog.reedsy.com/manuscript-form

list of /wg/ authors pastebin and anonymous flash fiction anthology
https://pastebin.com/ruwQj7xQ

[Anonymous No.19909737]

75k into second book that will be the salvation of its genre!

[Anonymous No.19909742]

>>19909737
What's the blurb?

[Anonymous No.19909825]

Bit over 1500 words in a single sitting, but it was a bit tiring after. How much do you anons shoot for per bout?

[Anonymous No.19909879]

>>19909825
Depends. More is obviously better. I had a little snippet of a scene come to mind earlier so i got that down but it was only like 300 words. Going to add to it later.

[Anonymous No.19909931]

You will open your document.
You will write in it.
You will improve your writing.
You will engage with people here, for better or for worse, and contribute to writing discussion.
You will make it.

[Anonymous No.19909999]

Post writing music.
I recently discovered synth covers of classical music are kinda good.

[Anonymous No.19910038]

I hate anons who post their daily word count and think they're contributing to the discussion. We get it you write.

[Anonymous No.19910043]

>>19909999
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IJOb1AlWlA&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW_tg3tr3ak&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj6OidMy-70

[Anonymous No.19910051]

>>19909999
It's been a while since I got one this big, I'll post one to celebrate
https://youtu.be/wPpL5brbIFM

[Anonymous No.19910265]

Is the Orson Scott Card book on writing fantasy/sci fi decent? I've read through part of it and so far the advice seems good but sort of self evident.

[Anonymous No.19910278]

>>19910038
t. wordcountlet

[Anonymous No.19910310]

>>19910038
At least the anime avatarfag stopped. For three weeks straight he would just post his daily word count update and nothing else.

[Anonymous No.19910312]

>>19910310
It's always the animefags.

[Anonymous No.19910373]

>>19910265
>the advice seems good but sort of self evident
that's true for most books on writing advice. here's my list for writing.
1. come up with an idea(s)
2. put in the time writing about it (very important)
3. the reader identifies with characters so make characters the vehicles for your idea(s)
4. try and have fun doing this

[Anonymous No.19910393]

>>19910310
>>19910312
To make it worse he was writing historical non-fiction.

[Anonymous No.19910507]

>>19901104

Anon speaking about Phoenicians got me interested and I think it might be relevant to my story. Anywhere I can learn more?

[Anonymous No.19910538]

I originally started off writing a script to outline ideas for a comic I'd never find time to draw. I shared it with a friend and he really liked the prose and thought it'd be shame to lose them in poorly drawn comic form. It's turning into something I really enjoy doing, just trying to also find time to draw too. drawing prolly ngmi but novel writing could.

Any anons struggle balancing or choosing between writing and another form of expressing ideas i.e. music, painting?

[Anonymous No.19910581]

>>19910538
absolutely. the project I'm working on now lends itself to something like a short film, I always write from a visual imagination and sometimes I think I'd be better off just making a youtube video or something. any little play of language just comes off as clever instead of actually meaningful, so I usually just write action and dialogue with no frills, but I imagine filming it would be the same.

for you I'd say just keep practicing drawing. the same as I'd probably recommend for me to practice filmmaking, but I can't say I practice what I preach here

[Anonymous No.19910709]

>>19909999
>le digits
How can you guys listen to music while you write? Maybe modern meme culture raped my attention span but any background sound puts me off and makes it hard to think

[Anonymous No.19910754]

>>19909742
I can't share that here friendino, but rest assured its short and succinct. Both books are, still not published so i can edit both for consistency before release.
what is your blurb like?

[Anonymous No.19910875]

Have you guys been advertising lately?
What kind of ads have you purchased today for your already published books?

[Anonymous No.19910904]

I spent my night monitoring a poor guy from work who drank too much. I hope someone on here wrote themselves silly instead. Let this be a lesson: when you're drinking, stop early. Or if you're writing, don't drink at all.

[Anonymous No.19910910]

>>19910709
I mostly stick to classical. It defocuses me from outside stimuli, which is a big problem for me. If there's only silence, I can get easily pulled away to my phone or YouTube surfing. I'm getting better at it though. Sometimes I can do music with lyrics but only if the lyrics are blended such that they sound like another instrument. Electric President is usually good at this.

[Anonymous No.19910918]

How many POV's is too many POV's ?
How many characters is too many ?

[Anonymous No.19910959]

>>19910918
You should be ashamed for asking questions like that.
The answer is of course "it depends". It depends on the book and genre, and the length of the book. There is no equation that will give you the right number for anything, since this is (despite what many of you seem to believe) not a science but rather art. Thus, the deviation from the expected is what makes it hit or miss the mark. Deviate too much and you're just being weird, deviate too little and you're a cliché.

THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTE ANSWERS. Stop asking questions about word count, words per day, numbers of characters etc etc.

[Anonymous No.19911330]

>>19909825
I don't do word counts anymore. It burns me out. I shoot for a total four hours' focused, present work done on my writing per day. This can amount to 500 or so words on a good day, but commonly less.

[Anonymous No.19911448]

I am a wordcountlet ama

[Anonymous No.19911460]

>me: I don't do any marketing, I just want to write stories I enjoy
>everyone else: you fucking retard
>cute girl on Twitter: I don't do any marketing, I just want to write stories I enjoy
>everyone else: whoa... so powerful
>2K retweets, 8K likes
Just fucking kill me

[Anonymous No.19911499]

>>19910959
>Deviate too much and you're just being weird
If ever there was a place to be weird, it's in your writing.

[Anonymous No.19911504]

>>19911460
>using twitter
I will not do you the honour, you must neck yourself

[Anonymous No.19911535]

Anyone here writing in a classical language? If so, which one, and hard do you find it?

[Anonymous No.19911676]

Do you have to read a whole lot in order to write well? I love writing, and have been told throughout my life that I'm very good at it, but I generally don't like reading, or at least can't find anything that interests me.

[Anonymous No.19911684]

>>19911676
When I start writing, I usually stop reading. But before that I read a lot.

[Anonymous No.19911719]

>>19910904
I've experimented with wine, some advantages but overall a negative when it comes to saving time or being focused.

[Anonymous No.19911727]

>>19911448
how many words are there?

[Anonymous No.19911732]

I'm going to die.

[Anonymous No.19911756]

>>19910709
If I just listened to what I normally listen to and blast power metal I wouldn't be able to write shit. The trick's in finding mild music that is pleasant but not thrilling

[Anonymous No.19911762]

>>19910709
When I'm planning a chapter, I plan a soundtrack for it and change the background music to suit the scene.

[Anonymous No.19911826]

How do you usually go about making an outline for your story? Do you even do that for writing? I usually don't, but I'm thinking about doing so for my novel so that I can get all my ideas more concretely sorted out.

[Anonymous No.19911876]

>>19911826
Like layers of paint:
>Pokemon but I won't get sued
>...
>...
>.... In this world there's big amoebas and microorganisms and they're important to society...
>....
>...
>...So Jimmy lived alone in his mom until he finds a Amomaw and sets out to become a champ
>...
>...
>...And in chapter 12 I put in the bathtub scene. Chapter 13 is for...

[Anonymous No.19911892]

>>19911826
I don't. I like to just keep a general idea of what I'm writing in my head, and just wing it. This is, for example, the outline of Ulysses. If it was good enough for Joyce, it's good enough for me.

I do, however, write a summary of each chapter I write for my own benefit.

[Anonymous No.19911905]

>>19911727
Probably haven't cracked 200 yet

[Anonymous No.19911907]

>>19911535
English, it's not so hard

[Anonymous No.19911922]

>>19911907
ESL?

[Anonymous No.19911924]

>>19911922
Native

[Anonymous No.19911952]

>>19911924
How much have you written so far?

[Anonymous No.19911966]

>>19911952
520k in finished books, 81k in a working book, some other amount (another 50k maybe) in miscellaneous writings like flash fiction and half finished novels.

[Anonymous No.19911969]

>>19910918
Anything can work, but for traditionally structured stories the rule of thumb I've heard is 1 POV for short stories and ~4 for 80-100k novel length. Each additional character adds word count to establish them/keep us updated on their state of mind/recent doings and risks of reader confusion.

>>19911676
I don't think you have to read a ton necessarily, but you should be reading if for nothing else learning good examples through osmosis.

[Anonymous No.19911983]

>>19911966
What genres do you main?

[Anonymous No.19912002]

>>19911966
Any tips for your output?

[Anonymous No.19912042]

>>19911983
Action/Adventure, fantasy, and comedy are my go-tos. I just finished Treasure Island an hour ago so I'm thinking about a strict adventure novel, but I need a setting and an impulse and neither are coming right now.
>>19912002
It takes time and dedication, that's all. I've been writing seriously for 8ish years now and it took 6 just to finish my first series (440k). This year I wanted to make writing my main and major priority, so I spend a little every day writing or planning, even if it's just a sentence or a new idea for the plot I'm stuck on. I've had days where I dump out 4k+, I've gone weeks with writing nothing at all. But staying consistent with my work, loving every second I get to spend writing, really enhanced my enjoyment of the craft. For a while I used it as a catharsis medium, and now that I'm out of that phase, I use it as a way to express my ideas and feelings smartly rather than just venting them. So I rarely get the build up of soul junk I used to, where I'd need to hit the page and write until the junk was cleaned out and I was exhausted. Now it's a constant etching at the marble block because I can see inside the statue waiting to come out.

[Anonymous No.19912126]

>>19911535
Latin, I’m erect.

[Anonymous No.19912209]

>>19912126
Not such, the premise of my question was, hrrm.

[Anonymous No.19912398]

What are some good books on creative writing or writing in general that I can get for free online?

[Anonymous No.19912424]

wanted some general taste advice:

I'm writing a short story, where the gist for the set-up is it takes place in a near future where a new pill has been released that eliminates the need for sleep.
all I'm wondering is, if my story opens with a script for an advertisement for the pill, is that too on-the-nose? too corny? should I tease the set-up a litt?
I've got nothing written yet so obviously I don't want a thorough response, but what are your initial thoughts when I say I'm going to open my story with this?

[Anonymous No.19912452]

>>19912424
Sounds like a nice idea, open with one of your characters reading/watching the ad

[Anonymous No.19912462]

>>19912424
>is that too on-the-nose? too corny?
Yes, and that's a good thing

[Anonymous No.19912479]

Is it true that if you have to revise then you shouldn’t have written it in the first place or is that an unrealistic standard? How many revisions does it take to prove you shouldn’t have written?

[Anonymous No.19912516]

>>19912479

[Anonymous No.19912539]

If you’re a minority does your writing have to reflect that? I may be a transgendered person but even I think it seems a little silly for everything I write to be about trans issues but my friends keep telling me my rollicking sci action adventure should feature “my truth” which sounds fucking gay. I just want to write about blasting robot aliens.

[Anonymous No.19912552]

>>19912516
What? I’m talking about writing, not music.

[Anonymous No.19912587]

so whats the minimum age i can get away with characters having a rape scene? not talking about in detail, but more of an abortive snapshot of one?

[Anonymous No.19912600]

>>19912587
I mean, IRL babies have been raped so you can do whatever you want.

[Anonymous No.19912604]

>>19912552
Your post reads like bait, anon. You WANT to do revisions on your text to polish it

[Anonymous No.19912609]

>>19912539
We need more people like you. Write about blasting robot aliens.
sad truth is your chances of ”making it” increase massively if you come out as openly trans

[Anonymous No.19912626]

>>19912604
But I was on the Royal Road forums and they were talking about how revising takes out the spontaneity. As does outlining. I don’t think I’ll ever be good enough to write without planning or revising.

[Anonymous No.19912630]

>>19912539
In short, no. But if you WANTED to express your truths, make them more general truths. Feeling dysphoric about your body isn't necessarily exclusive to trannies. In a sci-fi story, a character who has cybernetic implants, for example, could have similar issues about being stuck in a body that isn't theirs. As a tranny, you could channel your real-life feelings into this situation, but apply them to a different issue. I find the current zeitgeist where every minority needs to beat everyone over the head with the superficials of the issues extremely tiresome. It's artless, and it makes everything about the trannyism instead of the real, human, emotive, and most crucially EMPATHETIC issues which go along with it. This isn't specific to trannies, or anything really. It's an issue that authors have in general, and it's symptomatic of Having Something To Say. It should always be about the experience itself, and if you'd prefer to just write as you have been, please feel free. Don't let yourself be guilted by some self-serving Other into compromising what YOU want to do.

[Anonymous No.19912636]

Do any of you write philosophy, or am I surrounded by fiction writers?

[Anonymous No.19912645]

>>19912539
FtM or MtF? Please say the based bussy one

[Anonymous No.19912666]

>>19912539
The aliens engage in ritual suicide. Metaphor so deep.

[Anonymous No.19912675]

>>19912539
You're writing will automatically reflect it. There's nothing you can do about it.

[Anonymous No.19912694]

>>19912539
Bost bussy

[Anonymous No.19912710]

What if nobody ever reads your work?
What if they read it but say it’s shit?
How do you know if you even have anything to say?

[Anonymous No.19912717]

>>19912710
These are questions only homosexuals worry about.
Good writers with good marketing will reach tens of thousands at least.

[Anonymous No.19912719]

>>19912636
we actually want people to read our writing. you should package your philosophy into a story if you want yours to be read, too

[Anonymous No.19912720]

Rain is poring
Dogo snoring
Anons posts extremely boring
Trannies clutter up the thread
Artistic meaning theirs to shred

[Anonymous No.19912728]

>>19912710
Life is about nothing but crying, kicking and screaming until you're swallowed by the void. The only thing that changes is how you want to scream and kick

[Anonymous No.19912740]

>Idea for a setting that ties directly into the theme and setting of my story
>It's implicitly retarded and requires a huge amount of justification
Shit.

[Anonymous No.19912769]

>>19912728
>crying kicking and screaming
tell me you’re a woman without telling me you’re a woman

[Anonymous No.19912775]

>>19912740
what is it anon it can't be that bad

[Anonymous No.19912806]

>>19912710
>What if nobody ever reads your work?
There's really no way to know for sure nobody ever read your work. Sometimes readers just don't feel like interacting. I never leave a trace after I'm done reading something because I just don't feel like it.

[Anonymous No.19912877]

>>19912769
>he doesn't ree

[Anonymous No.19913022]

This is manufacturing consent. In 10 years the kids reading THIS MG book will want more.

I hope you aren't writing NORMAL fiction for NORMAL people anon.

[Anonymous No.19913107]

I've written more than 50k words but now I'm stagnating. I don't know how to get myself back into the groove.

[Anonymous No.19913148]

35,000 words into an experimental literary fiction novel. No one likes me in real life. Why would they like my writing?

[Anonymous No.19913225]

>>19912775
The idea ties into humans existing at the end of the universe. The two main ways I've considered to facilitate this involve the effects of time dilation, or humanity previously going extinct and being forcibly reborn through another mechanism at a later date. Either is the most plausable notion I've come up with but both also inherently undermine some of the theming with the passage of time and the unchanging nature of life.

[Anonymous No.19913263]

>>19909999
I mostly listen to old school jangly indie stuff when i write.
One of my personal favorites is The Sundays "Reading, Writing and Arithmatic" album.
When i was doing the "author would like to thank" bit for my second book (pic related) i gave them a shoutout because i'd listened to them so much while writing.

[Anonymous No.19913282]

Advice on writing characters different from yourself?
I’ve had trouble with writing characters that are completely different from myself (side-characters mainly). The only thing I’ve got is to base them off of friends I have or people of notoriety I can bend around. Most of the time they tend to feel super boring or npc like which I hate.

[Anonymous No.19913293]

>>19912626
>But I was on the Royal Road forums
Don't take advice from those brainless mongs. If Cormac McCarthy rewrites his books for decades to get them right, so should do.

[Anonymous No.19913296]

>>19913282
Learn to hate yourself.

[Anonymous No.19913369]

>>19912539
Just write about blasting those aliens

[Anonymous No.19913386]

>>19913148
Maybe you're more interesting to other people than you think. Maybe you haven't met the right people.

[Anonymous No.19913412]

>>19913296
Any good examples of this in lit? You have a good point, ill try writing a character i detest tonight. Thx

[Anonymous No.19913484]

>>19912636
I read philosophy, but I'm still in my early 30s and not a philosopher by profession. If I ever decide the problem I'm addressing in my story needs some kind of new philosophical work or analysis I will do that but at my age and experience I don't want to dive too deep and sure on what I'm presenting. For now it's mainly intertextuality as various old and contemporary ideas collide in stories.
Right now trying to put various theologies, transhumanism and pessimism in a box. Next I really want to explore traditionalism (to say nothing on how robust a view of history and mankind it is, I know it's been argued about on /lit/ for a while) because Ive been meeting more people in person that ascribe to it making me think it's worth addressing as a common sentiment.

[Anonymous No.19913497]

>>19913484
>ascribe
subscribe

[Anonymous No.19913535]

>>19912600
i just don't want to get cancelled before i have a chance to finish spouting my vitriol is all.

[Anonymous No.19913540]

>>19913497
I thought I did something wrong. I think it's time for me to get off the internet and read.

[Anonymous No.19913602]

Wish me luck bros, I'm switching to daily uploads now that I'm at chapter 20 of my webnovel.

[Anonymous No.19913632]

>>19913602
how can you shit out so many words and not hate writing ?

[Anonymous No.19913660]

>>19913632
Because I enjoy writing. It's not a chore to do. Word count is like exercise. You acclimate to a higher amount the more you try and the more time you dedicate.

Now, marketing, that's sould crushing garbage.

[Anonymous No.19913795]

How do you get accepted into a short story magazine? Every single issue they release all the authors are well-known retards with a name for themselves. Their stories aren't bad but analytically no different than an experienced amateur. It's like one big circlejerk

[Anonymous No.19913926]

>>19912710
I still get what I consider a good number of page views lately. I barely get feedback good or bad on it but it feels good getting some regardless.

[Anonymous No.19913934]

>>19913795
well, the short answer would be that if you don't want to spend the time getting all the gay labels and credentials, you could try writing better than they do. it's not impossible. ask me how i know. when i was asked what my credentials are, i took great pleasure in telling them i got a GED in 2005

[Anonymous No.19913978]

>>19911460
Pretend to be a cute girl then, if you want the validation.

[Anonymous No.19914047]

Need your help, anons. I'm describing a flag here, and I've been wondering how a reader would imagine it. Would really appreciate some MsPaint renderings, just to see if they match up with how I've thought it up.
>“Check it out. Didn’t turn out half bad, right?”
>With a proud smirk, she evened out the rectangular piece of cloth. In places, its black color had faded to grey, and its edges were frizzled-out and uneven. A broad, neon green “V” was sewn on in the middle, with an elongated golden diamond shape rising from its center. A white, five-pointed star in the upper right corner completed the assembly.
>Looks bad, I thought. Looks great, I said.

[Anonymous No.19914068]

>>19912424
>up is it takes place in a near future where a new pill has been released that eliminates the need for sleep.
>all I'm wondering is, if my story opens with a script

You have the order wrong if you do it like that. First you have to have a character for whom it would make sense to take that pill

[Anonymous No.19914081]

>>19911676
you're not nearly as good as you think you are. yes you have to read. that's the only way and if you dont' like reading you shouldnt' be writing

[Anonymous No.19914191]

>>19909716
>>19909716
I want to write a story about someone that gains superman like powers like strength, flight, invincibility and immortality. Yet instead of focussing on superhero genre cliches, like saving people's lives, I want to talk about the sheer existentialism of such an event. Not only for the character but for the entire world. The complete bafflement, and confusion of earth's population. The recipient of these powers, some dead-ass-normal nobody from Belgium, a complete blip. Print hobbyist, library worker in his late 20's realising that everything he knew up until now is a lie. Living a confused, despondent, and turbulent early life through his superherodom. Spending his time frivolously as one might expect from someone suddenly gaining such powers. He lives it up, has a superhero faze, a hedonic period, tries to settle down, fails, retires, comes back, cooperates with experts on his condition, etc. Turned into a human battery. Free energy. Globalists complain, whenever the operation shuts down, he simply goes to a new buyer. Free energy becomes inevitable. Physics has finally caught up with his condition (story will contain a detailed descriptive science-lingo explanation of findings.) He's grown wise in his old age, having watched and guided his family line for 17 generations. Installing them as a semi-ruling class and guiding them personally, like pupils. Brutal, honest, distant, ruthless, justified. Had one son in early life, but he turned out to simply die like the rest. Never had a son again. Had a wife, whom he loved dearly. Died like the rest of them. Never had a wife again. Earth's population has dropped due to rapid industrialisation. Education levels are at an all-time high. The world seems to prosper thanks to the lack of mouths to feed. This combined with energy-efficient technology skyrockets humanity into a new age of reduced crowding, food/energy shortage, pollution and scarcity. More energy is focused on fewer people. Humanity is able to focus on its own betterment, survival is over. In his final judgement. Having lived a human life, he's filled with sadness. He cries a pitiful tear for humanity. Sweet like motherly love. And on his death rattle, he gives back to earth which was provided to him. Gratitude. Leaving his mind floating, scattered unto the stars, a Darwinian game of who's who.

[Anonymous No.19914271]

>>19914191
This began as a soulless subversion of superhero tropes into a speculative sci-fi about a melodramatic utopia.

[Anonymous No.19914287]

>>19911676
Yes learn from others before you find what you like .

[Anonymous No.19914297]

>>19912710
>What if nobody ever reads your work?
That will probably happen oh well that hasn't stopped me.

[Anonymous No.19914394]

>>19914271
It may suck, but there's only one way to find out. At least I'll learn something from it. The human-transcendence trope is a bit cliche I admit. I'm trying to make it into a counterpart to "I have no mouth and I must scream". But maybe I could end the story somewhere earlier instead of riding it out so far into the future. That way it won't seem like I'm trying to make a point as much. I don't want to come over as surface level.

[Anonymous No.19914500]

Squeeze’em titties while they´re the squeeziest. That’s what my ex girlfriend used to tell me. You know what i mean? You take the squeeziest breast and you squeeze it. Steady firm strokes. You breathe in and you squeeze.. You exhale and try not to cum while you’re saying saying to her you’re my best girlfriend and at the same time looking into your soon to be ex-girlfriend’s eyes as if you’re talking towards them, the eyes. Instead of her eyes your attention is on her titties where her whalloping globes dive into deep crests of her jacket opening. You keep staring at her titties and say just do it we live here and now.

[Anonymous No.19914525]

Tips for writing dialogue?

[Anonymous No.19914542]

I have this very same problem of not finding interesting and captivating reading. Lord of the rings has done it. Captivating my attention that is. Many books do it but eventually they fail. In my mind i know that i can fathom much better plot than this but when i sit to write, no clever outcome comes. All my projects are like vehicles spinning wheels but stuck in the mud.

[Anonymous No.19914637]

>>19914047
this is what I imagined, I didn't include the grey faded bits or frizzed edges. I think it looks ugly as fuck

[Anonymous No.19914808]

>>19914525
Talk it aloud, either draft or for the final
Listen to conversations other people have around you
Wax poetic when it counts, not when it's expected

[Anonymous No.19914862]

>>19909931
that shot is going to miss over my right shoulder.

[Anonymous No.19914901]

Where is our friend Burgerpunk anon? He was feeling down. You are gonna make it, Burger man

[Anonymous No.19914910]

>>19910043
FUCK ed*lgard dumb tyrant was the weakest character of the three house leaders

[Anonymous No.19914920]

>>19914910
never actually played it or any of the games. Love the music from the franchise though. this one also gets me hyped when writing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3msSeE7VtM

[Anonymous No.19915113]

>>19914862
The second one won't miss

[Anonymous No.19915161]

Some say they know me better
others try to forget I exist
Dont bost if you are the former
dont apologies if you are the latter
Either way we will meet
Dont feel guilty you didnt hold me close
dont shy from my embrace
you may not have seen by presence often
but when we meet you will know it did not matter
it did not matter how many times
zero or ten million. ten or two
I dont smile or frown at the sight
whether you forced me to meet others
or if out meeting was forced upon you
I am Death and I walk with you always
I am Death and you in time will be me
and together we will walk together
shoulder and shoulder our parade
the infinate line ever longer
until the walk is done

[Anonymous No.19915182]

>>19915113
I'm bored of the Hindenburg, anon. Post a different airship disaster. there's plenty to choose from

[Anonymous No.19915275]

I hate starting sentences with a conjunction. I know it's kosher, but it just looks like a fragment to me because of how it was raised. When I see a conjunction, I instinctively think it needs to be preceded by a clause and a comma.
Anyone else feel the same way?

[Anonymous No.19915295]

>story introduces a tranny
>instantly drop it
>rate 0.5 stars
>no further explanation
Knowing how sensitive RR writers are, I can only imagine that every time I do this I cause at least a whole week of mental anguish for them.

[Anonymous No.19915301]

>>19915295
Didn't ask

[Anonymous No.19915303]

>>19915301
You'll never be a woman

[Anonymous No.19915308]

>>19915303
You will never be a gigachad

[Anonymous No.19915312]

>>19915308
And yet, knowing that doesn't upset me at all, whereas you are seething and coping.

[Anonymous No.19915316]

>>19915301
>t. Just got a 0.5 star rating

[Anonymous No.19915318]

>>19915312
>All that projection
Didn't ask. Go on, keep on wasting your time on banal shit. I don't care.

[Anonymous No.19915326]

>>19915318
You care so little that you won't stop replying.

[Anonymous No.19915335]

>>19915326
Yes, yes. Taking 5 seconds to reply is me "caring". I simply don't care about your pathological obsession and fear of trannies. You're inane and obnoxious, also off topic to the discussion at hand: the betterment of one's prose

[Anonymous No.19915337]

>>19915335
>still replying and thinking I'm going to read all that shit
copeseethedilate

[Anonymous No.19915353]

>>19915335
>fear of trannies
trannies are tragic figures twisted by talmudvision and jew "science" into sexless abominations that kill themselves. its horrible

[Anonymous No.19915358]

>>19915335
>y-you're just afraid of tr-ACK

[Anonymous No.19915439]

>>19914525
Think of every character having an individual melody (what is melody and how does language convey it?) that is the result of their individual mindstyle. (what are the schemas and metaphors that your character uses to grasp the world (and which are the confusions they have in their minds)? what does the character value and which goals and motivations do they have? What does your character now? How does your character see the world? What is the structure of the character's understanding of the world?)

Also, more often than not, when humans communicate, they not only explain things, or speak about their needs or listen to others, or try to guess at others intentions, but most of the time, they're actually making humour, and there are well distinctive ways of making humour, which differentiates, the particular human being.

[Anonymous No.19915540]

He offered you some peanuts you politely declined. The corrugated peanut bag shined its internal aluminium -colored silver glisten once or twice when in direct contact of a stray sunshine in the gloomy overcast day, an amalgamam of heathered, burdened clouds loomed above, one or another rickety, starved slender vestige of what a clean portion of the blue sky could become, almost capable to align itself perfectly for the sun to shine its aureate halcyon ray, and in a godly generosity paint color into this day. Rob didn't bother speaking unless absolutely necessary, filling the air with the crinkles of a creased stream of sound waves, sporadic cacophonies and litanies of his fingers shifting for a saltened pellet that hid from him in that bag. It was the kind of frigid day that blistered the skin, sharpened its fangs around your muscles and encroached through their fibers like a form of paralyzing radiation, an all-encompassing energy that burrowed itself into your flesh.

"My mother loves the cold." he mentions suddenly, breaking a reticence that held time away in some alternate world, as you have no idea how long you spent in silence "She always wanted to live somewhere in the bone-chewing-cold..." he chews and thinks a bit, as if reminiscing "Colder than the devil's heart. With snow and what not."

You smile to him and think of saying you don't like the cold much yourself, but overtaken by bubbling shyness, you say nothing, and thankfully he continues.

"Gon' be honest, I do too." he nods to himself, holding a peanut against his lips "I've always thought of this huge, cozy and warm luxury chalet just for me and my wife to snuggled up to." He immediately cuts his tone to an clarifying one and shows you his left hand in a split-second wavering of it "I mean, I'm not married but you get the idea." a chuckle and a sigh and a bit of a pause allows him to think "You see, when I was younger I dreamed of luxury and excess, fucking whores and popping champagne. But even in my fantasies I felt unfulfilled. Those cravings, they satisfy the cock..." He throws a peanut into his maw and chews it "They doesn't satisfy the heart. They don't fulfill."

"Those mega-mansions never look comfortable." you say, and notice your voice came out cleaner that expected, and loaded with tranquil self-confidence. You enjoy the sound of it and continue: "All that lifestyle looks tiresome." A tad of a smirk on your mouth, arm hanging on the back of the bench.

"Nailed right to the head." he gestures with the now empty bag of peanuts towards you as if it were a bottle "That is all we need... Some comfoooort..." he groans, almost a baritone shivering purr of a cat-man, and throws his head back on the bench, a white neck exposed to the skies.

[Anonymous No.19915602]

>>19910709
LDnB is a good genre to listen to; not too loud, soft vocals, it's pretty rad.
>>19909999
https://youtu.be/kuC9Jjg05aY

[Anonymous No.19915640]

>>19911460
>Didn't post on ROYALROAD
Ngmi
>>19914525
Go outside to a mall and listen to people talk. That or watch some YT vids of concert/social events.

>>19912710
>What if no one reads your work
Royalroad

[Anonymous No.19915695]

Im writing something and am fleshing out the characters and the world. I’ve done some pretty good worldvuilding and I got a good cast of characters but I don’t really know what the main conflict is. Not a book btw.

[Anonymous No.19915716]

>>19915695
>Main conflict
NGMI
P.s. think in character goals

[Anonymous No.19915754]

>>19915716
That’s basically how I’m going about it. Main conflict might not be the right term. I guess just how it can end? It’s a very nihilistic story so maybe it not having a definitive conclusions is the point.

[Anonymous No.19915894]

I've been forced to go back and edit stuff earlier in the book to maintain consistency. You know how sometimes you forget the specifics of what you've written? So I was rereading some of it as I was looking for the relevant part and I laughed out loud at fining the humor I had forgotten was my creation.

>I think I'm gonna make it bro's.

[Anonymous No.19915962]

Heres my short story idea, ive written a rough draft so far. Its set in the near future, everyone lives in tiny, shitty apartments and gets paid directly by a big tech company to harvest data via their brain chip. There are no jobs. The company then uses the data to market shit to you directly, so everyone wastes all of their money on consoomer crap and vidya etc because its so well targeted. Main character wants to wake up from this nightmare and starts having fake thoughts and emotions to trick the algorithm into being less effective. He meets a girl in the apartment block and they plan an escape to live innawoods, but it turns out she is just a brainwashed mindless consoomer too and they end up just buying a load of shit to 'prepare' for the escape and he sadly realises its never gonna happen and gives up. The end. Thoughts?

[Anonymous No.19916011]

My second novel is going to be set during the European novel, and the main character is an alcoholic opera librettist. I want opinions based on these two facts and nothing else about the novel.

[Anonymous No.19916013]

>>19916011
>set during the European novel
Set during the European Carnival, fuck

[Anonymous No.19916021]

could someone explain what the thread and the previous editions of this thread are for? (aside from the literature resources posted by OP)

[Anonymous No.19916038]

>>19909716
anyone here made any coin off writing including substack or patreon or whatever.

[Anonymous No.19916095]

>come up with an unconventional structure for my novel
>been working on it for half a year
>read new book reviews on the day's paper
>some published cunt has done the EXACT SAME THING before me
>I can't submit my work now without looking like a total hack
FFFUUUUUUUU

[Anonymous No.19916405]

>>19914047
What I imagined

[Anonymous No.19916416]

Short story idea:
Joe, 29-year-old man called by God. Gains supernatural powers when he stops fapping and watching porn. Involves a battle between spiritual forces.

What do you guys think?

[Anonymous No.19916511]

>>19914081
This. It's like saying you're a painter without having seen that many paintings or works of art. It's like being a musician who never listens to music.

[Anonymous No.19916523]

I'm procrastinating. Everything I write just feels like filler today. Maybe my writing needs a little filler at this point and that's why I'm writing it.

[Anonymous No.19916537]

>>19916038
I make about $50/month on Patreon. I lost half my patrons when a popular character died and the readers were fucking pissed lol

[Anonymous No.19916552]

>>19916537
Have you tried trad publishing? If you have that kind of audience, you might be able to persuade some publisher to take you up.

[Anonymous No.19916665]

>>19916523
I ended up writing a 400 word sentence about my narrator walking into a room in which everything is shaped like a penis. That got the juices flowing.

[Anonymous No.19916770]

>>19915275
I have the exact same false instinct... logically it is kind of a fragment even though it's grammatically acceptable. But I never am bothered by it in other people's writing.

[Anonymous No.19916781]

>>19916665
That sounds fucking awesome.

[Anonymous No.19916785]

If you want to write YA, is it necessary to have a twitter? YA twitter is notoriously toxic ugh

[Anonymous No.19916804]

>>19916781
It really jelqed my vocabulary. I haven't reached for the thesaurus yet, but I'm running out of ways to describe the shape of a penis. I think I'll stop once my balls are fully empty.

[Anonymous No.19916817]

>>19916804
Post some excerpts pls

[Anonymous No.19916824]

>>19916817
After I've edited, sure. My editing day is tomorrow, so hopefully I'll remember.

[Anonymous No.19916858]

>>19916785
Just go the Worm route and have your shitty YA become popular online

[Anonymous No.19916884]

>>19912424
I don't like it. I think it's too lazy.
>>19914068
This. If the pill is so widespread how about you tell in horror as for the first time in years he feels his cognition leave him, he begins to feel lethargic and finally finds for several hours he loses consciousness entirely: he sleeps and this isn't usual.

Here's >>19915335 a great example of the essence of dramatic conflict for you. If the characters stop conversing or walk away, then you don't have enough conflict. Just as in real life if someone keeps talking to you even after the conversation is supposed to be over, you have something they want.

[Anonymous No.19916901]

>>19916824
If you don't want to share your writing: just say so. It's okay.

[Anonymous No.19916920]

>>19916901
Feels better to make an excuse, honestly. But I know I don't have to. I just tend to keep the good stuff to myself, you know? I know it meets my own personal standard of "good," and that's enough for me.

[Anonymous No.19917057]

>>19916552
At first I didn't because I thought it was next to impossible and now that it might be possible, I no longer care

[Anonymous No.19917223]

>>19909716
Am I limiting my potential reader base by making all my characters female?

I always found it more tragic when a cute girl dies in movies or other forms of media. And it's easier to feel sympathy for women, especially when you're a man. Men evolved to have the desire to protect women, it's a primal instinct to protect the weak. And I thought I can capitalise on that by making 8 out of the 11 participants of my deadly game female

[Anonymous No.19917227]

>>19917223
>I thought I can capitalise
Go away, bugman!

[Anonymous No.19917496]

>>19916095
There is literally nothing new under the sun. Every idea has been done before. Analyze his flaws and do it better than him.

[Anonymous No.19917510]

Is warming up necessary for writing?

[Anonymous No.19917554]

Why is it so popular to insist you don’t outline or plan these days? Have writers always been like this? It seems counter-intuitive to me, like saying you’d build a house without a blueprint.

[Anonymous No.19917558]

>>19917554
They see spontaneity as a sign of high intelligence

[Anonymous No.19917593]

>>19917558
I see lack of planning as misguided hubris.

[Anonymous No.19917647]

>>19917554
>I had no conscious notion of what the Necromancer stood for (except ever-recurrent evil) in The Hobbit, nor of his connexion with the Ring. But if you wanted to go on from the end of The Hobbit I think the ring would be your inevitable choice as the link. If then you wanted a large tale, the Ring would at once acquire a capital letter; and the Dark Lord would immediately appear. As he did, unasked, on the hearth at Bag End as soon as I came to that point. So the essential Quest started at once. But I met a lot of things on the way that astonished me. Tom Bombadil I knew already; but I had never been to Bree. Strider sitting in the comer at the inn was a shock, and I had no more idea who he was than had Frodo. The Mines of Moria had been a mere name; and of Lothlórien no word had reached my mortal ears till I came there. Far away I knew there were the Horse-lords on the confines of an ancient Kingdom of Men, but Fangorn Forest was an unforeseen adventure. I had never heard of the House of Eorl nor of the Stewards of Gondor. Most disquieting of all, Saruman had never been revealed to me, and I was as mystified as Frodo at Gandalf's failure to appear on September 22.I knew nothing of the Palantíri, though the moment the Orthanc-stone was cast from the window, I recognized it, and knew the meaning of the 'rhyme of lore' that had been running in my mind: seven stars and seven stones and one white tree. These rhymes and names will crop up; but they do not always explain themselves. I have yet to discover anything about the cats of Queen Berúthiel. But I did know more or less all about Gollum and his pan, and Sam, and I knew that the way was guarded by a Spider.

[Anonymous No.19917664]

Has your writing been influenced by non-literature media like television and film?

[Anonymous No.19917666]

>>19917664
i think you'll find that my writing is the dark souls of literature

[Anonymous No.19917669]

>>19917554
>It seems counter-intuitive to me, like saying you’d build a house without a blueprint.
It's not my fault you can't conceive a floorplan and hold it in your head. It's not my fault you can't intuitively create joists that'll last a hundred years on the fly, or that you haven't sufficiently studied and admired and whose concepts you've interacted enough to know by heart. Neither is it my fault you lack an exhaustive knowledge of materials, both specifically of the ones that really matter, or with passing familiarity where more tangential knowledge will suffice.

It's not my fault you can't look at a half-built brick house and imagine where the next goes.

[Anonymous No.19917673]

>>19917664
Absolutely. I've learned as much from Lynch and Bergman as I have from Pynch and Faulkner.

[Anonymous No.19917676]

>>19917666
I never played Dark Souls so you’ll have to be more specific. Do you mean that your writing has been influenced by Dark Souls or that there’s a specific characteristic of Dark Souls which is also characteristic of your writing?

[Anonymous No.19917692]

>>19917664
It was influenced by anime. Most notable is Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Saga of Tanya the Evil also inspired me to write.

[Anonymous No.19917733]

>>19917692
How do you think it influenced you exactly? The relationship between movies and television and literature, I think, is pretty clear, but less clear between manga and anime and literature.

[Anonymous No.19917839]

>>19917692
Saga bro?

[Anonymous No.19917879]

>>19917554
I like to write small things. Like 2k words tops. I'm too stupid to plan.

[Anonymous No.19917909]

>>19909931
>
I need to learn proper English grammar before I write anything worthwhile.

[Anonymous No.19917913]

>>19917669
You sound pretty threatened bro. Maybe you should just admit you dun goofed. You'll feel better after

[Anonymous No.19917926]

>>19917664
>like television and film
Are you implying scriptwriting is not literary?

[Anonymous No.19918015]

>>19917913
>t. shack-dwelling peasant shouting up the castle walls

[Anonymous No.19918069]

>>19914525
Read plays.

[Anonymous No.19918178]

>>19914525
What I personally want to see is authors trying to make dialogues more ''messy''. As if actual people are talking in there, not somebody reading a text.

[Anonymous No.19918195]

>>19918178
Like Smiling Friends?

[Anonymous No.19918199]

>>19918195
I don't know what that is.

[Anonymous No.19918205]

>>19918178
So you want more awkward tumblr crap? Got it

[Anonymous No.19918209]

>>19918199
A mediocre contemporary TV show.

[Anonymous No.19918228]

>>19918205
No. But if you have two normal human beings in your story then I would like to see them talk like actual humans, not actors.
But this doesn't apply to everything.

[Anonymous No.19918247]

>>19917926
No.

[Anonymous No.19918487]

Name him.

[Anonymous No.19918501]

>>19918487
Joe Mama

[Anonymous No.19918563]

describe anal sex as poetically as you can

[Anonymous No.19918573]

Do you ever try to write outside of your comfort form?
I've realized that my style is very long winded, very "grand", and quite slow. I enjoy writing like that and it's what feels most natural, but I think I need to be more concise to keep the reader engaged by simplifying it.
I really admire writers who can say a lot with very few words; that precision is something worth aspiring to.

[Anonymous No.19918589]

>>19911676
Unless you want to write screenplays I wouldn't trust you with anything else, and that is provided that you watch a lot of movies.

[Anonymous No.19918609]

>>19918487
Majima, the stickman

[Anonymous No.19918614]

>>19918563
The demons of the bottle flitter like gunfire in my head
Tiredness consumes us both as I twist his body heavy like lead
Uncharted territory of sweat and affection no other dared go
Hold on tight, I love you bro

[Anonymous No.19918627]

>>19918487
Lil Odin

[Anonymous No.19918703]

>>19918487
Timmy

[Anonymous No.19918736]

>>19909716
If I can add something to the sticky:
George Saunders' "A swim I the pond in the rain" is NOT a worthwhile read. The stories in it are, but the writing advice is so basic.

[Anonymous No.19918741]

>>19918736
I dunno if the anon that usually makes the OPs is around, but if I don't forget I'll add it

[Anonymous No.19918760]

>>19918563
Vicelike, the ancestors' grasp of the pure path holds me steady as I veer from the womanly midden to the golden path. Like a steed, my partner ripples with muscle and champs at the bit, I arch my back, opisthotonic with the fever of ancient symposia, of the glory of the subjugator. Thumbs forcing into the dough like masts into soft grassy soil, the seam stretched taut, the rhythm overcomes me.

[Anonymous No.19918845]

>>19918563
It's exit only
Defiance brings great pleasure
White cream filled donuts

[Anonymous No.19918912]

>>19918573
I was reading some turn of the century literature and it's extremely dense. They use words and sentences so well that I wanted to try writing like that. It is a difficult and conscious effort to make it work and I have never been successful with it

[Anonymous No.19919010]

>>19918563
It's fucking gay

[Anonymous No.19919086]

>>19918563
My member struck his honeyed anus with serpent like speed. Red stained my length, the running juice of a forbidden fruit.

[Anonymous No.19919255]

>Write out the big important pivotal scenes
>Start connecting them and writing the parts in between to tie it into a coherent story
>Turns out it doesn't make any fucking sense
fuck

[Anonymous No.19919264]

>>19919255
that's what happens when you take other people's advice without being other people. you need to find what works for you, my man.

[Anonymous No.19919283]

>>19919264
I didn't do it because of anybody's advice, those were just the parts that stuck in my mind that I needed to get down first. They turned out really well, they just don't have any coherent way to connect into a whole.
Characters kind of jump around into different scenes together in confusing ways and the hypnosis/mind-reading a few characters are capable of isn't consistent enough.

[Anonymous No.19919341]

>>19919283
that's why, even though I have ideas about certain scenes, I start on page 1 and write from there. some stuff gets dropped entirely, the whole story arc may get wonky, but during the edit some of that stuff may find its way back in

[Anonymous No.19919361]

>>19919283
Is it big important pivotal hypnosis/mind-reading some characters have? Because you might want to write out how it works in your story as a reference.

[Anonymous No.19919382]

>>19918736
I think it is. The advice may be basic, but I found that his method of teaching elevates it from banal principles to keep in mind, to something that's actually applicable. As an example, he states the obvious "everything must contribute to story," which most people take as "if this scene or element doesn't move the plot forward, it's useless" but he shows how seemingly superfluous description or digressions can specify and strengthen the story's themes
Plus, it's silly to single out a book as not worthwhile when a good deal of the books in the sticky also offer the same general advice. Something that may not resonate with you might resonate for others

[Anonymous No.19919447]

>>19919361
No, it's not some big world-building fantasy story. It's in the present day and everything else that takes place is realistic, there are just three characters who have these bizarre abilities.
Two are in competing terrorist organizations, one able to convince anyone of nearly anything and the other able to dig around in people's memories. The last one is a private investigator who can see the people that somebody is "connected" to - he can't read the mind of a person sitting in front of him but will be able to tell exactly where that guy's mom is and how she feels about him, for example.
I'm intentionally leaving the extent and origin of all of it vague, I don't like fantasy infodumps and want it to have an air of mystery. The trouble is keeping it internally consistent despite that and not having the climax (the first hypnotist dies to fake the protagonist's death) come off as an asspull.

[Anonymous No.19919514]

I just did 2000 words in 1 hour, but it was mainly dialogue... I feel drained and I wanna eat but I gotta wait for proper breakfast time.

[Anonymous No.19919548]

>>19917733
Hard to say. It was more or less something like, "I enjoyed this a lot and would read the source material, and once I done so I want to read more of what I watched/read, failing that I will write what I would want to read."

>>19917839
bit late but yes hello

[Anonymous No.19919590]

>>19919447
I didn't mean it as something you put in your story, more like a checklist/set of bullet points/whatever you can compare with what you've written to keep things consistent.

For example:
-How far back in people's memories can other terrorist dig?
-Does this digging degrade the memories? Can it?
-If the target wasn't focused on someone's face, is it blurred in the memory or can other terrorist see that face clearly?
-If the face is blurred, can they 'depixelate' it?
Etcetera, etcetera.

Then if what you wrote contradicts the reference, either change the story, change the reference or add a scene to show how the power changed.

[Anonymous No.19919675]

Why do I struggle to write full-length screenplays and novels? Feel like a brainlet because I don't have that much to say I guess

[Anonymous No.19919761]

>>19919675
You're probably trying to tell the wrong stories

[Anonymous No.19919855]

>>19919761
explain

[Anonymous No.19919950]

prose check

[Anonymous No.19919959]

>>19919950
FUUUUUUUUUU there's a grammar mistake in the first sentence

[Anonymous No.19919983]

>>19919950
>pointless description
>pointless description
>pointless description
Great work anon!

[Anonymous No.19920006]

>>19919983
>pointless description
lol..its called characterization you twit

[Anonymous No.19920015]

>>19919959
The absolute state

>>19919950
On the first few sentences I would've done it like "Roger halted as if he crossed the finish line and waited for his wife's eyes to meet his; she..."

Not for legal reasons, but I usually omit brands and replace them with general descriptions; Fast food cups instead of McDonalds

It's passable, but there are a few things that I would've written differently. Give that text a couple more reads and see if you like how it sounds.

I'm guessing these are the introductions for these characters so descriptions are due, Just make sure that the descriptions mean something and aren't just facade ornamentation (like the meme about describing the floor tiles for 2 paragraphs without purpose)

[Anonymous No.19920021]

>>19920006
Wow another great story about an unhappy suburban man

[Anonymous No.19920023]

>>19919950
The things you've described are very boring. Make me laugh or surprise me, otherwise why tell me?

[Anonymous No.19920028]

>>19920023
To add to this, there doesn't seem to be an overarching theme or idea just random anecdotes

[Anonymous No.19920040]

>>19920015
>>19919950
Oh, and one more thing: Unless you're trying to avoid sentences sounding weird or repeating too many sounds, I don't see why you'd use Garments instead of just Clothes when you describe the state of her room. This is a modern setting after all, not Middle earth

[Anonymous No.19920051]

>>19920023
>>19920028
yeah I suppose it is pretty bland in terms of humor...I think I'm relying on the weak strain of irony to carry it a bit

[Anonymous No.19920067]

>>19920051
Writing clever is fun to do but not to read. Write like noone will ever read it. Make yourself laugh. It's easy to write smart, it takes courage to write dumb.

Like this anon said >>19920040
Why "garments"?

What if you had a character ask that?
"Why did you call them garments?"
Suddenly you have an odd conflict, now i'm engaged.

[Anonymous No.19920081]

>>19920021
If I can depict an unhappy suburban man in a psychologically accurate way....what happened in his past, how he experiences things, how is relationship is with those close to him, then maybe people will be given insight into these issues, and with some consideration, possibly do things a little differently and find themselves a little happier for it

[Anonymous No.19920111]

>>19919855
You may just be trying to write things you don't have a foot in, like war if you've never been on the front lines. Having a personal stake in something will instantly open the gates. I got my heart broken by two people two years ago and now I'm writing a huge series exploring the relationship I had and still do have with them today and how it changed, but framed as a historical fiction story.

[Anonymous No.19920112]

>>19920081
True, but I would advise thinking about what makes your perspective unique and emphasizing that. I write similar things but I try to hone in on the existential dread with being average. I'm sure you got something inside

[Anonymous No.19920366]

Google docs fans, how comfortable is the mobile version?

[Anonymous No.19920395]

>>19919675
Do you outline before hand? Writing a full length screenplay is relatively easy when you have an outline. Observe the rules of thumb, so you need 45 scenes to write even a 90 page screenplay.
I write out a table of 45 scenes.
I print it out and having next to my computer while writing.
After I finish writing 2 pages, I cross out the relevant scene. I don't necessarily go in linear order. But obviously I keep crossing out the completed scenes until the whole screenplay is finished.
>But doesn't that hinder the creative process
Why are you complaining, you can't finish a whole novel or screenplay right now
>What do I do if I change my mind?
You can either: persist until you write 90+ pages, make a note of your change of mind and save it for draft 2, go back and edit it. Probably better you choose one of the first two if you're struggling to finish things.

[Anonymous No.19920412]

>>19920366
It works, not sure what else to tell you.

[Anonymous No.19920686]

>>19920366
its simple and works well but if your story is really long then the doc will start to lag

[Anonymous No.19920784]

Am I a bad writer, if I use a comma in almost every single sentence within my prose? I've noticed that people here don't use commas nearly as often as I do, so I was wondering if I should cut back on my comma usage.
To give a frame of reference, I use a comma whenever I:
>Connect two independent clauses with a conjunction (I've noticed some people here don't do this)
>Connect an independent clause and a dependent clause with a conjunction
>Whenever I connect a dependent clause and an independent clause
>Whenever I use a parenthetical expression
I've had my writing styled mocked on other boards, because they say I use too much punctuation. Would you say that this is true in your opinion?

[Anonymous No.19920793]

>>19920784
>Am I a bad writer, if I use a comma in almost every single sentence within my prose
>I've had my writing styled mocked on other boards, because they say I use too much punctuation
Yes.

[Anonymous No.19920801]

If there was one adult who backed me up growing up, it was my dad. He always wanted the best for me and acted thusly, but when I talk to him about my passion for writing, he never seems very supportive. Why is this? I'm not a starving writer, I have enough money and good prospects in life that already have a decent future secured for myself, and I don't even care about making money with my writing. I want to be one of the greats, I only want to influence the field, I don't care about personal gain.
Anyone else in a situation like this with someone they love, be it friend or family?

[Anonymous No.19920803]

Evening everyone. I always pick up writing once a year and then abruptly quit after a few weeks. Getting the itch again. If someone wouldn't mind reading a largely boring and pointless blurb I did today and rip me a new asshole I would appreciate it. Just trying to get back into the swing of things.

https://textbin.net/d12ijfqbto

[Anonymous No.19920819]

>>19920793
But I'm grammatically correct, and pacing-wise, my prose reads fine in my head, so what's the issue with it? Please enlighten me so that I can get a new mindset on my prose

[Anonymous No.19920823]

>>19920801
because talking about writing (future tense) is nothing more than masturbation.

>I don't even care about making money with my writing. I want to be one of the greats, I only want to influence the field, I don't care about personal gain
You see this here? Masturbation.

talking about things you've written, on the other hand, completely different story. how about you get to putting those words on the page and asking him to be a beta reader.

[Anonymous No.19920837]

>>19920819
Your writing needs more variety in sentence structure. You'd be better served with 90% of all your sentences not having a comma than the opposite. They'd be simple and declarative and direct and your reader will love reading them. The story will flow.

[Anonymous No.19920851]

>>19920823
I should've specified, I do send him my writing. I sent him the most recent thing I've worked on last night and he never talked to me about what he thought of it. And when we were talking yesterday the subject kinda died out pretty quick.
I ask other people to read my writing and they either correct me on things or they give me the greenlight, and I'm close enough with these people to be brutally honest with each other. There have been points where we have strongly critiqued each others' writings and I have no reason to believe the critiques would stop now.

[Anonymous No.19920862]

>>19920851
Most older men don't read. It'd possible he just got bored not because of the story but because it's something to read at all.

[Anonymous No.19920864]

>>19920803
Now, lad, your first paragraph is long and uninteresting with a few exceptions - Braintree made me curious and the very last sentence made me interested in reading the rest of your blurb. It seems like this is the beginning of something but it didn't made me interested in what that something is.
What >>19920837 said also applies to you.

[Anonymous No.19920875]

>>19920862
He mostly just reads GoT and Warhammer Fantasy books (based) but I guess a story about the death of teenage naivete isn't something he's interested in.

[Anonymous No.19920887]

The voice input for MS Word is pretty good for when you need to just act out impromptu dialogue when you're stuck

[Anonymous No.19920891]

>>19920819
You would really need to post a sample to get good advice, but just from your post:
>Am I a bad writer, if I use a comma in almost every single sentence within my prose
>I've had my writing styled mocked on other boards, because they say I use too much punctuation
Since "if" and "because" are subordinating conjunctions the commas aren't really essential to meaning of each sentence. It just looks clunky
>and pacing-wise, my prose reads fine in my head
I have no idea why you would put one here

[Anonymous No.19920892]

>>19920875
>a story about the death of teenage naivete
He's probably worried his son's a fag. I kid. But no, that topic wouldn't interest most everyone over the age of 30. Your story is interesting, right? Its telling a story first to get that message across instead of having the message and then clubbing the reader over the head with it, I hope.

[Anonymous No.19920942]

>>19920892
>wouldn't interest most everyone over the age of 30
Unfortunately the truth. I'm trying so hard not for this to be a young adult novel. The subject matter is inherently childish but there's a euphoria to that time, and I'm trying to capture it.
>Your story is interesting, right?
Most definitely. It's all about teenage love, and at that point when does that end and require maturity, and the feeling of friendship that you can only really get with people when you're in school for 8 hours a day with them. Then when you go home, you spend the rest of the day with them on your bikes or at your house, etc. It's like convicts who meet each other in prison and stay close when they're released.
From what I hear this is a pretty universal feeling for most people who don't dwell in places like /lit/

[Anonymous No.19920973]

>>19920942
>I'm trying so hard not for this to be a young adult novel
Sounds like you've failed, from the age of the characters, to the setting, to the themes you've chosen. You should embrace that fact: there's nothing wrong with writing a YA novel As a bonus there's a huge existing readership base of women who read them. If you're interested in that demographic you should make the male lead somewhat mysterious and brooding.

[Anonymous No.19920991]

>>19917223
>Am I limiting my potential reader base by making all my characters female?
yes
>it's a primal instinct to protect the weak
yes
>And it's easier to feel sympathy for women, especially when you're a man.
no

imo it's a bad idea unless you have some specific audience you can cater to. personally a female as the main character will put me off reading a book even if it has an interesting premise. for some reason people think they can write bad shit and pass it at genre fiction as long as the main character is female, black or both. it's playing on my subconscious and I won't even skim the book knowing people will gave it good reviews just because it ticks a few boxes.

if I were you I'd try making the main character male with a few other males and have females for the drama, I'd most probably make some of them act like bastards and karens in order to deliver a satisfying death to the readers too

[Anonymous No.19921033]

>>19915962
it's quite nice, I'd read it as long as it's written with clean prose

[Anonymous No.19921068]

>>19917223
>Am I limiting my potential reader base by making all my characters female?
yeah but just about every trait of every story limits potential readership

[Anonymous No.19921089]

>>19917223
>Am I limiting my potential reader base by making all my characters female?
Not intrinsically. Arguably any sort of non-mainstream writing is invariably about deciding which audiences you will strategically alienate so that you will generate more interest or loyalty in others.
>Men evolved to have the desire to protect women, it's a primal instinct to protect the weak.
See this will only appeal to a certain subset of men who see the world this way.
I ascribe to the belief that the overwhelming majority of readers want someone they "identify" with. This should not be confused for aesthetic ideals, I'm not saying "the best book is the one the reader can identify with", I'm saying the most marketable book generally is that which the audience can identify with.
Obviously having overwhelmingly female cast of characters but expressing a theme and premise that of "men as protectors" is probably going to be more popular with men, but only men for whom the thematic is more attractive than self-identification, which will always be a minority.
tl;dr - who do you expect to read this?

[Anonymous No.19921111]

>>19920973
In what ways specifically did you think I failed?
I want to remind the reader of how they felt when they were that age. It's such an underfocused part of literature, people will write about the greatness of youth, but not in the way of recapturing the realities of it. It's painted in a fantasy of everything being blissful, but teenage life isn't rose tinted.

[Anonymous No.19921118]

post em

[Anonymous No.19921122]

79k in today, about 60% done.
How was your writing today anons?

[Anonymous No.19921132]

>>19915962
>the only job on the entire planet is to be advertised to
>no one to produce “consoomer” goods
>despite this you are given all of these “consoomer” goods for essentially free
>this is evil because reasons
You may want to rethink this part.
Also, I understand that the subversion with the ending is the main point here but the setup comes across a little hamfisted. Reads like a boomer web comic about kids these days.

[Anonymous No.19921148]

>>19921118
>novel has 769,977 characters
H-h-how? How does he keep track? Are they all unique and have their own respective arcs? I kneel.

[Anonymous No.19921149]

>>19921111
You literally described it as 80's teen drama/comedy.
>characters are under the age of 18
>setting is school or shooting the shit after school
>teenage love/relationships
>loss of innocence

>people will write about the greatness of youth, but not in the way of recapturing the realities of it. It's painted in a fantasy of everything being blissful, but teenage life isn't rose tinted.
There are these two movies you should watch. Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club. They may have more comedy than you want. In that case watch American Beauty.

[Anonymous No.19921371]

>>19921149
>Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club.
What I'm writing is the opposite of a coming of age story. It's about the tragedy of a teenage life going nothing like how it does in the movies. It's not gonna be a bombastic ending where everything goes well, nor is it like everything withers away and everyone is grown up, it's about the absolute downfall of any prospects that would give the main character his perfect end goal.

[Anonymous No.19921376]

>>19921149
>>19921371
Also I hope this isn't coming off as defensive or ungrateful, I actually really appreciate this. The whole subject matter is hard to explain to people so I'm liking putting it down in text.

[Anonymous No.19921390]

>>19920819
>But, I'm grammatically correct, and, pacing-wise, my prose reads fine in my head, so, what's the issue with it? Please, enlighten me, so that I, can get, a new mindset, on my prose

[Anonymous No.19921406]

>>19921371
>>19921376
Fine. Its still textbook YA. And there's nothing wrong with that.
>it's about the absolute downfall of any prospects that would give the main character his perfect end goal
unless he ends up crippled for life or something equally definitively life ending, nothing that you do would do that. it may mean the death of his teenaged starry eyed dream in favor of something more realistic, but that's life. Watch American Beauty if the other two were too upbeat.
>The whole subject matter is hard to explain to people
I disagree entirely. The subject matter is well know and well worn. But there's still plenty of room for more stories exploring it.

[Anonymous No.19921421]

>>19917223
I don't read shit with more than a 1:3 female:male character ratio

[Anonymous No.19921437]

>>19921118
This is from failed draft #5 of a novel I had planned out since ~2018. Every draft was between 170k and 300k. Eventually I threw in the towel and made a new story, and volume 1 of that story (a webnovel) is about 220k words. Since I actually finished it, I consider it way more of a success than this draft.

[Anonymous No.19921443]

>>19921437
Also why the fuck is libreoffice's word counter so bad?

[Anonymous No.19921447]

will you be my valentine, /wg/?

[Anonymous No.19921462]

What are some lesser known books about dystopias? 1984 and BNW are the obvious ones, I need to see if my ideas for a dystopia in a larger setting I'm working on make sense.

[Anonymous No.19921473]

>>19921462
Make Room! Make Room! is another somewhat famous one. It's the book Onions Green is based on

[Anonymous No.19921477]

>>19921462
Efremov's Hour of the Bull, I guess.

[Anonymous No.19921515]

>>19921447
Yes

[Anonymous No.19921521]

>>19921462
The Glass Bees predicted cults of personality around tech moguls like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk and the dehumanizing future we find ourselves in and did it in fucking 1957.

[Anonymous No.19921580]

>>19921118

[Anonymous No.19922265]

>>19921118

[Anonymous No.19922288]

>>19909999
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4aK-YsPeU

[Anonymous No.19922293]

>>19920864
>>19920864
Fair enough. Thank you. I'm not in love with the first paragraph. I thought it started to read like a weather report. I'll keep variety in mind.

[Anonymous No.19922297]

how do you guys get people connected to your characters aside from using humor? It seems like humor is the only thing that makes people connect fast.

[Anonymous No.19922311]

>>19918487
>It's not my fault you can't conceive a floorplan and hold it in your head. It's not my fault you can't intuitively create joists that'll last a hundred years on the fly, or that you haven't sufficiently studied and admired and whose concepts you've interacted enough to know by heart. Neither is it my fault you lack an exhaustive knowledge of materials, both specifically of the ones that really matter, or with passing familiarity where more tangential knowledge will suffice.


Texas House representative Dan Crenshaw

[Anonymous No.19922341]

>>19921132
Thanks for the feedback. I suppose it would make more sense if it werent the only job available, and if people were doing really menial, min wage jobs so they couldnt survive on their wages alone, need to supplement with the ad money. I suppose the bad/evil im trying to get at is that people are selling their ability to form their own thoughts and desires. I was wondering how much these are actually influenceable and how 'bad' it is inherently to have your desires shaped by an algorithm selling stuff to you vs say your social circle telling you what music to listen to, clothes to wear or what to buy etc. Might need a bit more work to get to the ultimate point of what im trying to say, and maybe the story is too simple and needs more layers - memories or such which are not in the first scribble draft at all. I dunno

[Anonymous No.19922379]

>>19918573
I'm constantly uncomfortable when writing. If I'm too comfortable with the quality of what's coming out of me, I'm seized almost immediately by a fucking terror that what I'm writing is garbage.

[Anonymous No.19922382]

>>19922379
exactly, I wonder if its just imposter syndrome or if what i'm actually writing is worth writing.
really fucks up my motivation

[Anonymous No.19922432]

>>19918573
All the time. I recently tried to write reflective essays not in my stream of consciousness but as short staccato, topic heavy sentences.
As such something like
>the implications remind me of somewhat of the use of alibi advertising by tobacco companies in Formula One racing. There always has to be a creative solution. Think outside the box. or the Keynes quote about if you owe the bank a grand, you have a problem but if you owe them a million they have a problem
becomes
>possible result: workarounds like Marlboro barcode. Reframing problems creatively: Keynes if you owe the bank 1000, your problem. If you owe them a million, theirs
This is less about an attempt to change style and more an attempt to test if writing influences thinking.

[Anonymous No.19922443]

Theres a date with your name on it.
Accumulate yourself because there will be no waiting at the gates.
Theres breast milk at any given moment and parse illuminatory.
Tending to the fields of chalk. Raking them until theyre just the right consistency. Mumble a few words clearly. Resusitite something that didnt want to be alive and then murder a steak knife.

Pt.2
It was already afternoon by the time that hed decided to start his morning. The thin reedy light cast shadow puppet tinctures in stilletto migrations. Cum-feelings were all that was left, so now he had self-compromised to offer a reflex. Outside inflatable tanks with balloon artillery drifted
by in soft droves. The parades distant cacophony brimming in euphonium furls.
Dull pleather bandaid hatchback cars. Arranged by housing number but not address.

[Anonymous No.19922557]

>want to discuss resrarch topic with someone as I organize thoughts for next novel
>anon says he hopes my story fails unless i subtly agree with his world view
bro

[Anonymous No.19922622]

>>19922557
And these are the same people who will turn around and in the same breath bemoan the influence of politics in literature. To them, it's less the growing subservience of art to political whim, but to whose whim art becomes subservient. They're different flavors of the exact same retard.

[Anonymous No.19922697]

>>19920366
It's very convenient on my phone, but I always prefer to copy it back to Word for the "real" copy (and for backup save purposes)

>>19922379
>>19922382
Learn to have fun writing, it's something I had to teach myself too. It's such an odd thing that culture teaches us that writing must be somber work immediately ready for the intense scrutiny. Reminds me of this John Clease speech on creativity as the "play" state where mistakes are acceptable:
https://youtu.be/Pb5oIIPO62g

[Anonymous No.19922929]

>>19922622
It really is painful. Its difficult enough to work up courage to write on two topics that are death by association. But if I want any literary merit I have to tackle it and be dark about it instead of some pompous editorial attitude.

[Anonymous No.19922952]

>>19922929
Well, what are the topics?

[Anonymous No.19923059]

>>19922557
Stop being such a soft little pussy. If you belonged on this website, things like that wouldn't bother you.

[Anonymous No.19923068]

>>19909716
should i be worried that i feel no stress writing.

with every other creative medium it feels like a challenge, a problem solving excercise.

it makes me worried i'm doing it wrong.

[Anonymous No.19923247]

>>19922952
I wanted to read more about traditionalism (Evola) because I keep hearing things I know attributed to him from people of all ages irl. I wanted to explore those feelings couched in a historical setting with Samaritans, Jews, and Persians. The conflict comes between a kind of Samaritan traditionalism that seeks to quell corruption that collapsed their civilzation centuries ago among others, while Persians want the Jews to have another chance. You can see how some people might get uppity for even writing about it.
The Jews of Ezra's time believed they were made free from doing the right thing, and to their horror the priest/historian Ezra reveals this isnt so. I think it's topical because I think there's some gray area when you get down to it but I am still parsing it. I dont want to put a crown on either idea but I dont want any character to come out innocent.

[Anonymous No.19923259]

im writein bok

[Anonymous No.19923273]

>>19923259
Hello Writein. That's an interesting name, is that german?

[Anonymous No.19923281]

>>19923273
bok you fuk

[Anonymous No.19923322]

How the hell do I embed an image into a RoyalRoad chapter?

[Anonymous No.19923323]

>>19923068
Nah. That means your brain knows instinctively where it wants to go and your art is destined to flow out of you easiest there. Though there is some argument that writing is the easiest art to get started in since we are required to write from a very early age.

[Anonymous No.19923355]

I was writing smut but turned it into horror halfway through and now it reads like the diary of some scared shitless but very horny guy. I fucked up.

[Anonymous No.19923418]

>>19923247
Heheh, interesting. Have fun

[Anonymous No.19923456]

>>19923322
If you're so dumb that you can't tell why the box asks for url when you click insert image, it means you have to host the image elsewhere before you can link it to the page.

[Anonymous No.19923457]

>>19923322
Its a bit of a pain to get it to work. I only did it via the html editor. This is the text that's there now is:

<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://i.imgur.com/xxxxxxxxx.png" alt="" width="169" height="155" />

I used imgur to host the file and referenced it.

[Anonymous No.19923468]

>>19920366
I'm considering using it. How reliable is Google Docs?

[Anonymous No.19923478]

>>19923468
It autosaves regularly and it's saved on the cloud, so fairly

[Anonymous No.19923479]

>>19921148
kek

[Anonymous No.19923489]

>>19922297
Tragedy

[Anonymous No.19923515]

I can't decide the appropriate intensity level for the conflict in my story. What sounds best?

>Level 1
There's a timed sale for eggs in the local grocery store until 6, but the MC has to stay for overwork until 5.30.
>Level 2
Strange stuff happens at MC's relative's school and detective novelist MC autistically deduces the truth each time based only on secondhand reports.
>Level 3
Gangsters plot kidnapping the daughter of a super rich family and the hardboiled ex-police MC has to stop them.
>Level 4
There's a war going on and veteran MC has to fend off foreign agents who seek to sabotage vital industries, while tackling PTSD on the side.
>Level 5
Monsters from other dimension randomly invade Earth in hordes to eat people and tech wizard MC develops magic weapons to repel them and protect the Earth.

[Anonymous No.19923527]

>>19923515
level 2

[Anonymous No.19923549]

>>19923527
I was afraid you would say that. It's probably the most difficult one

[Anonymous No.19923634]

>>19923515
2, then 3 for the climax. Sequel should be 3-4 if planned.

[Anonymous No.19923683]

>>19923456
It wasn't taking the imgur link I provided, but did take a fucking discord link.

>>19923457
Is it because I wasn't using the embed link?

[Anonymous No.19923695]

>>19923683
If you want to embed a link, you should probably use the embed link

[Anonymous No.19923876]

>>19923515
Level 1 is extremely comfy for children's fiction

[Anonymous No.19923883]

>>19918563
>lizard
that's an ayy

[Anonymous No.19924489]

>come up with idea about a poor teenager winning a lottery that involves a series of death games to win the cash prize
>find out about Squid Games
fuck

[Anonymous No.19924513]

>>19924489
And... y'know... Hunger Games, and every other derivative YA battle royale story made in the last 20 years.

[Anonymous No.19924536]

Any anons here ever queried their work to agents/publishers? How did that work out? I'm thinking about it but self-publishing sounds so much better. The only bad part is just the marketing shit. I can't find any other negatives.

[Anonymous No.19924652]

I feel like an impostor coming here since I haven't wrote a single word in the last few weeks. Reminds of my journey into /fit/ as I lifted for three months but used it as my main board for years.

[Anonymous No.19924705]

>write gf poetry all the time
>been quite busy so I havent written her shit
>she asks if she can have a poem for Valentine's
>cant find a single word to write

Fuck... How can I come up with something good and quick? The creative juices aint running, lads.

[Anonymous No.19924731]

>>19924705
Go through some of your old stuff and rewrite parts from different ones and stitch them together.

[Anonymous No.19924792]

>>19924790

>>19924790

>>19924790