/wg/ Writing General (TNE)

[Anonymous No.20274859]

This is the TOTALLY NORMAL Edition (TNE) of the Writing General. Discussion of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genre work is FORBIDDEN. This is a thread for serious discussion of drama, historical fiction, political thrillers, and nonfiction. REAL stuff for mature adults.

Previous thread (if you're a fan of filthy pablum): >>20267047

Links (some may be off topic.)

For General Writing
>The Rhetoric of Fiction, Booth
>Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, Burroway
>Steering the Craft, Le Guin
>The Anatomy of Story, Truby
>How Fiction Works, Wood

YouTube Playlists for Writing
>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTCv6n1whoI23GmdBZienRW0Q0nFCU_ay Robert Butler
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc Brandon Sanderson

Technical Aspects of Writing
>Garner's Modern English Usage, Garner
>What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing, Ginna
>Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style, Tufte

Books Analyzing Literature
>Poetics, Aristotle
>Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell
>The Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives, Egri
>The Weekend Novelist, Ray

Traditional Publishing
>https://blog.reedsy.com/manuscript-form
>https://www.submittable.com/
>https://querytracker.net/
>https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/

Self Publishing Options
>https://archiveofourown.org/
>https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/
>https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/writinglife
>https://www.royalroad.com/
>https://www.scribblehub.com/
>https://www.wattpad.com/

Self Publishing How-To
>https://selfpublishingwithdale.com/

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

Anime Writing (^･o･^)
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4on26mKakgs
>https://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Anime-Story

/wg/ Authors and Flash Fiction Pastebin
>https://pastebin.com/ruwQj7xQ

[Anonymous No.20274875]

Thread question:
Jamie is dating Carly but cheating on her with Alley but Alley is in love with Sylvia and they're all being courted by the rising socialist regime which will oppress an ethnic minority in a totally believable way which will really put current political trends in a totally new light!
What should Alley wear to the prom and how should Carly address the fact that she's a secret minority who might suffer under the regime her friends are supporting?

[Anonymous No.20274899]

So my horror book's gotten four ratings so far, Two five, a three and a four. I guess I'm pleased with that.

[Anonymous No.20274917]

>>20274849
Is this anime?

>>20274885
We will write what we will write.
Don't impose your rules on us.

[Anonymous No.20274919]

>>20274899
Is it spooky?

[Anonymous No.20274924]

>>20274875
what kind of smartass started this thread?
first no sci-fi/fantasy, then this teen-lit crap?

[Anonymous No.20274929]

>>20274919
I hope so.

[Anonymous No.20274997]

>>20274859
>Discussion of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genre work is FORBIDDEN
>Steering the Craft, Le Guin

ur a bit of dum cunt, arnt u

[Anonymous No.20275006]

So I'm writing a book about niggers and the nigger experience. I was going around interviewing some of them - trying to get a feel for their world - and apparently I'm not allowed to call them niggers anymore. When did that happen? What made it more surprising is they call themselves niggers. Hey nigger, shouted one. What's up, my nigger, the other one replied. Really its made me question the premise of my book entirely and I'm thinking about alternative projects. I wanted to write a book about niggers because they're fascinating hominids with incredible stories to tell, but I guess I'm not allowed to. Would it be racist if I wrote a book that explicitly didn't have niggers in it?

[Anonymous No.20275013]

>>20274372
This series is a masterclass in writing a good twist.

[Anonymous No.20275023]

>>20274899
Post it and I'll give you an honest review

[Anonymous No.20275043]

>>20275006
Instead of interviewing them in person (which could get really dangerous), consider reading a book such as "Please Stop Helping Us" by Jason L. Riley.
It may supply the necessary background for your project.

[Anonymous No.20275151]

>>20274875
Chad should rape all of them into submission so those stupid women know their place

[Anonymous No.20275162]

>writing historical fiction
>completely fuck up and forgot to write down my bibliography and footnotes
Oh fuck

[Anonymous No.20275173]

>>20275013
Yeah, but I was worried about the process of outlining a twist. Is it okay to want to include a twist before you know what that twist is?

[Anonymous No.20275181]

>>20275162
>writing historical fiction
>eschew any references to history books or texts, will claim they're wrong if I'm challenged on it later

[Anonymous No.20275251]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_MKyWcWEkfpVZwFDrkaAajQErS8O-4j3QI6vEOF6MRY/edit?usp=sharing

Historical Fiction: Copper Age Europe
3700 words
I just posted it in in that anon's fancy new discord but as it's unproven I'll putting it here too in case nobody actually ends up going on there (I'm not getting burned by discordites again).

[Anonymous No.20275310]

>Be stuck on one chapter for a month
>Finally finished it last night
>Reread it this morning
>It's fucking kino
May the day smile upon you my friends.

[Anonymous No.20275331]

>>20275006

[Anonymous No.20275430]

>1590 words tonight
>MC is like 100 words away from meeting the main girl
If only he knew how much this little lady is about to completely fucking change his life.

[Anonymous No.20275539]

What is the best way to introduce harem members? Childhood friends or classmates?

[Anonymous No.20275589]

>>20275539
it's a harem, so both. Include a transfer student, student from a club, girl from a restaurant or store, an alien girl, childhood friend, random incest girl, next door neighbor, girl from another school, teacher, doctor, and hell, toss in a homosexual as well.

[Anonymous No.20275601]

>works 2 years on a book
>don’t research market at all
>don’t build audience
>don’t advertise
>throw book into void thinking smugly how much better I am than George R.R. Martin
>Cry self to sleep when it sells 5 copies over 9 months, wondering why a publisher hasn’t approached me yet
Many such cases.

[Anonymous No.20275609]

>>20275043
Or check out their culture on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtJauZnp3xY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fax-kXMCbtA

[Anonymous No.20275622]

>>20275601
I'm not sure how to market a book since I don't think an ad has ever convinced me to read what it's peddling.
Just make it look good on a shelf, I suppose.

[Anonymous No.20275633]

>>20275622
Don't respond to the meerkating pseud.

[Anonymous No.20275647]

>>20275633
I don't know what that means

[Anonymous No.20275651]

>>20275622
Actually covers are huge and I recommend getting like 3-4 concepts sketched out yourself and getting a professional to draw out your favorite one.

[Anonymous No.20275655]

>>20275589
It's not a "harem story" but it will have a harem. I just want to know the best way to have him be at a bar, have 7 girls appear and introduce them as his childhood friends/classmates and leave it at that.

[Anonymous No.20275657]

>>20275633
>Don't respond to the meerkating pseud.

[Anonymous No.20275661]

>>20275647
Furry stuff.

[Anonymous No.20275664]

>>20275647
Basedjack treats marketing of books as unholy and thinks books should be able to draw in millions without spending even a cent.

[Anonymous No.20275683]

>>20275310
Yer DAMN RIGHT!

I finished my first draft...
>>20272636
...and have been reading it over for most of the day. Just finished.
89,200 words now.
I was afraid I had a lot to rewrite.
But it all sounds good to me!
I'm just fixing typos, awkward phrasing, stuff like that.
I will show it to other people a lot sooner than I expected!

[Anonymous No.20275729]

>>20275651
>pay professional $300 to draw a cover
>make only $10 back

[Anonymous No.20275742]

>>20275661
Oh, so like the erotica I'm working on.

[Anonymous No.20275747]

>>20275647
Retard in this thread famous for spamming his get-rich-quick scheme that amounts almost entirely to Twitter follow4follow scams and showing phishing bots his email.

[Anonymous No.20275803]

>>20275729
I never understood this. How do starving authors justify paying a starving artist $2000 to draw a cover where the odds of the author making their money back is slim to none.

I rather just go around and take a picture of something in nature or go with a Catch-22 Joseph Heller minimalist design.

[Anonymous No.20275889]

>>20275251
Not bad. Not bad at all. It's interesting, quick start, and action is happening. I would like more set up of the setting instead of a woman on the mud shitting out a baby. Which made no sense since the God's speech in the beginning is about midwives. So is there a midwife or is she just shitting out a kid in the middle of the road?

[Anonymous No.20275968]

Has there been even a semi decent book written from anons in this general besides Gardner?

[Anonymous No.20276002]

>>20275655
>It's not a "harem story" but it will have a harem
>all the harem members will show up at once
I dunno what level of cope this is, but the only way it works would be like in my japanese cartoons where your mc becomes the manager of the girl's softball team and he has to sex all the team members so they stay motivated to win all the big games.

[Anonymous No.20276004]

>>20275968
Has there been? No.
Will there be? Yes.

[Anonymous No.20276008]

>>20275622
>I don't think an ad has ever convinced me to read what it's peddling
this is most likely completely wrong. ads exist to let you know the product exists. that's it. putting it in front of your eyeballs changes you from someone who doesn't even know the product exists to a potential sale. you are not immune to propaganda.

[Anonymous No.20276013]

>>20275683
you are going to want to let it rest before doing a serious edit. no harm in pushing it on others for feedback in the meantime, though
congrats.

[Anonymous No.20276047]

>>20275601
How come people who say they're only just working on their debut novel are typically more popular on twitter than those who have actually already written stories? Like, why the fuck would you follow somebody who has yet to produce anything at all and just spams writer lifts 24/7? I don't understand humans

[Anonymous No.20276057]

>>20276047
Because then you don't know that they're bad yet

[Anonymous No.20276066]

>>20276057
I guess, but how could somebody possibly be good if he's writing a book for the first time in his life?

[Anonymous No.20276089]

>Another 1.2k down
>Only a couple of chapters to go
>Full of so many ideas
>I'm probably going to start on the third book before i get to editing 1 & 2
Is this why nobody writes ?

[Anonymous No.20276354]

>>20275968
My Finnish army novel is exquisite.

[Anonymous No.20276458]

>>20276354
Prove it.

[Anonymous No.20276463]

>>20276458
My mom liked it.

[Anonymous No.20276491]

>>20275430
feels good, man
>>20275601
building an audience might be the toughest part
>>20275803
it's about demand and quality. try doing a minimalist cover and see how it turns out.

[Anonymous No.20276530]

>>20276463
Oh, yeah, she had it on the nightstand during our appointment and I flicked through the first couple of chapters while she was smoking outside afterwards. I really liked your characters, anon!

[Anonymous No.20276532]

>>20276530
I'm very proud of those boys. We went through a lot together.

[Anonymous No.20276657]

Hmmmmmmm
Can someone tell me why every famous author in the last 20 years has some form of social media presence but every hissing anon in this thread vehemently hates audience building, email lists, and advertising?
Why such the hate anons? You know he’s right.

[Anonymous No.20276669]

>>20276657
Social media? Son, whatever you's a selling, I ain't a-buying

[Anonymous No.20276674]

>>20276669
Ah, you mean like every major author of the last 20 years?
Good justification.
Guess you don’t buy books at all.

[Anonymous No.20276684]

>>20276674
You will never be a writer. All you'll ever amount to is an attentionwhore on social media.
Where is the fire in your heart? Why do you talk about marketing in the WRITING general? How's your prose, how're your themes? Is your work something you can be proud of, is it honest and true?
Or are you just typing instead of writing? Typing something, anything, to have a product you can sell?

[Anonymous No.20276686]

>>20276047
pure simulacrum. plus, they don't have to read to be in the scene with an aSpIrInG wRiTeR

[Anonymous No.20276701]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DRlv01MC7xhMr06IDZ-Y1BBDQkuc7cdsb34GJe5JFwU/edit?usp=sharing

Hell-Anon reporting for duty. Just finished a fun chapter.

[Anonymous No.20276770]

I can't stop feeling stupid about writing my fantasy fiction novel.

If you write psychology, philosophy, history or even something like historical fiction, you provide the reader with informative writings or at the very least, your own perspective on a particular subject.

Fantasy fiction is like "here's this fantasy world I created in my head, it won't provide you with any interesting ideas on philosophy, human nature, etc but it may be entertaining I guess"

[Anonymous No.20276771]

There is no such thing as writer's block. You just have no imagination.

[Anonymous No.20276775]

>>20276770
Why can't the fantasy world in your head provide the reader with interesting ideas on philosophy or human nature?
What's stopping it? What's stopping you?
That's how you ascend SFF.

[Anonymous No.20276783]

>>20276657
Followers =/= sales

[Anonymous No.20276832]

>>20276770
>it won't provide you with any interesting ideas on philosophy, human nature, etc

But that's the fucking best part of fantasy. You can tackle these themes in situations and environments that aren't possible in real life and might actually give your reader something new

[Anonymous No.20276835]

Why is there a lack of sympathy for the devil? There's a Retarddit thread going on right now about people dropping book series for different reasons. Most common answers amount to "I hate the main character, they're mean and do evil things.". Do readers really dislike tales about evil protagonists or are they being over dramatic?

[Anonymous No.20276990]

>>20276832
what was the philosophical theme behind that dumbledore scene

[Anonymous No.20277014]

>>20275889
The exerpt is based on an ancient sumerian creation myth but altered for
brevity and to better fit the themes of the story. The midwife is a mother-figure in the myth. My goal there is to introduce some of the mindset/language conventions of ancient people (as best we can tell since everyone in my story is pre-writing) while also touching the same themes.

It's interesting you wanted more before on setting. Would it help if I framed it as a prologue? The next scene is a ~3 year time skip as the story follows the life of the boy and his sister.

[Anonymous No.20277024]

>>20276990
Are there situations where it's okay to put your name in the goddamn goblet of fire, or is it categorically wrong, the modern retelling of Crime & Punishment.

[Anonymous No.20277035]

>>20276770
Sometimes you need to escape.

[Anonymous No.20277048]

>>20276770
There are only a few types of formalized writing: informative writing, entertainment writing, and art. If you feel dumb for writing dumb entertainment, maybe try either shoehorning in more information or focusing on the artistic medium itself. The lattermost is completely ignored by writers these days, for some reason. It's like thinking you can draw because you know how to manipulate a pencil and acting confused why the elaborate, intricate images you envision end up looking like shit. It's because you can't draw. Most authors can't write.

No matter what you do, you'll feel less stupid about it if you master the art of writing. Not plotting or characterization, but of writing itself.

[Anonymous No.20277159]

>>20276657
Those things are all fine, you're just terrible at them and provide annoying and wrong advice.

[Anonymous No.20277206]

>>20275968
I personally enjoyed "Son Of The Sun" and "Salvation On Peril Island".

>>20276657
Are you ever going to reveal any details behind your "build an audience" statements?
You said OnlyFans. That's for exhibitionist young women.
What are you posting on there that you think will translate to literary success?
Answer the question already.

>>20276835
Ugh. So many people have a comic-book-level understanding of good and evil.
The subject is MUCH more nuanced.
But try to show them that, and it makes them cry and pout.
Such babies.

[Anonymous No.20277212]

>>20276657
Since you're so enamored with the economics of writing, we could easily call this the first-mover advantage. Summary successes will be finding much smaller and minor niches in the already-developed ecosystem. In an era where there's a growing rejection of social media, it doesn't seem like a sound business strategy to exploit what's no longer a nascent and emerging market. In this context, it seems better to eschew the old news for what's obviously a growing movement. Try to have a little bit of vision for what the actual trends are in the market, rather than blindly reacting to what's already happened!

[Anonymous No.20277249]

>>20276835
I want to make a redditor read Child of God or Crime & Punishment and see how they feel

[Anonymous No.20277271]

>>20277212
I've got it. I'll make each page of my book a NFT and sell them piecemeal on the blockchain.

[Anonymous No.20277280]

>>20276835
A lot of readers bitched and whined when a side character in my story indirectly (and mostly accidentally) caused the deaths of a bunch of people and wasn't legally punished and condemned by the other characters afterwards. I still get love letters about that years later. Like nigga, who feels that strongly about a bunch of nameless background characters?

[Anonymous No.20277371]

I bought this book recently. It's a collection of interviews with Dave Sim, one of the most successful self-published creators of all time, and a man whose belief in creative freedom was so absolute he ultimately alienated himself from polite society.
If you're not looking to be tradpub then you could stand to learn some lessons from Dave Sim, both in what to do and what not to do.
What about you, anons? Who do you look up to? Who inspires you?

[Anonymous No.20277390]

>>20276835
I wrote a book about a character that's a complete piece of shit. One girl couldn't even read beyond the first paragraph because it establishes he owns a brothel. "Is the author a misogynist or something!?" It baffles me how fiction can upset people so greatly. I give the character an arc and even have his leg sawed off, but goodness, can't have anything problematic or interesting about the protagonist.

[Anonymous No.20277432]

>>20276770
>I can't stop feeling stupid about writing my fantasy fiction novel.
You should. Fantasy is for retards. That's why the writing general is actively discouraging such tripe.

[Anonymous No.20277457]

>>20277432
This. Write something worthwhile like magical realism.

[Anonymous No.20277465]

>>20277390
You people have been triggered by a NAME. You're not any better, just a different flavor of retard.

[Anonymous No.20277471]

>>20277465
Which name? Gary?

[Anonymous No.20277558]

>>20277465
What are you talking about?

[Anonymous No.20277562]

>>20277280
> who feels that strongly about a bunch of nameless background characters?
What? I was with you until this point. If somebody kills someone that affects my opinion of them, even if I don't know the victim.
You can have your characters do horrible things with no comeuppance, that's fine by me. It's just words. But "this doesn't meaningfully affect the character lineup" is an incredibly strange defense.

[Anonymous No.20277572]

Reminder: Join the new server for writing and getting constructive feedback on your fiction/creative work! we will be holding weekly writing challenges, listening to playlists while we work, and generally trying to create a community where we can help each other improve w /feedback!

[Anonymous No.20277575]

Server link: https://discord.gg/kzRtHXv2

[Anonymous No.20277616]

When you think about the ending to a story, what part do you actually imagine? The climax, epilogue, or a different part?

[Anonymous No.20277617]

>>20277572
>weekly writing challenges
gay. how about people work on their existing projects.
>discord
oh, right, nm. I guess continue with your faggotry

[Anonymous No.20277633]

>>20277432
>Fantasy is for retards.
I guess Tolkien is a retard

[Anonymous No.20277647]

>>20277633
Tolkien didn't write fantasy. He wrote the book the fantasy genre is based on. There is obviously a chicken-and-egg problem there, because how can an author write in a genre that came about after he'd written the book? No, the only logical conclusion is that Tolkien simply wrote a generational work of mythological fiction. There is very little connecting Tolkien to the fantasy genre. Therefore, it's completely possible that everyone who writes fantasy is a retard without including Tolkien in the gaggle of retarded fantasy shitters

[Anonymous No.20277648]

>>20277432
seethe

[Anonymous No.20277651]

>>20277647
>Tolkien invented fantasy
No he didn't. He codified much of what fantasy has been for the past several decades, but other fantastical works predate him.

[Anonymous No.20277652]

>>20277647
ok then
I guess George R. R. Martin is retard

[Anonymous No.20277654]

>>20277647
>He wrote the book the fantasy genre is based on.
What an absolute retard you are. What are the Bronte sisters' Tales of Glass Town, Angria and Gondal? What is The King of Elfland's Daughter?
STOP TALKING OUT OF YOUR ASS YOU MORON

[Anonymous No.20277665]

>>20277651
No, he didn't codify anything. It was the people who came after who did that. That is, in fact, my entire point. Fantasy as a genre, with books still being written under its umbrella, is something strictly post-Tolkien. Regardless of the lineage (which I alluded to when I said "mythological fiction"), the genre of fantasy is exclusively terrible.

[Anonymous No.20277666]

You can't really draw a clear line where the historical legends end and modern fantasy begins. It's all part of the same literary evolution. Fantasy as a genre is older than time.

[Anonymous No.20277673]

>>20277371
His interviews about Cerebus are really kino. I don't look up to any author in particular and no author really inspires me. I value their command of language, but I don't want to BE like any of them. I want to be better than them.

[Anonymous No.20277675]

>>20277673
Yes but there must be someone specific you want to be better than.

[Anonymous No.20277686]

>>20277616
I imagine the emotional catharsis of the final few sentences.
>>20277675
Anyone whose prose I read and feel impressed by. Right now I'm on Joyce. Before that it was Melville. I think my next author is Tolstoy. Getting impressed fires me up. Activates the competition centers of my brain. Now I have something I want to beat, and it makes me strive to write better.

[Anonymous No.20277704]

no, it's not. fantasy AS A GENRE is categorically not an old discipline. it's the highly-commercialized, poorly written catch-all for books that wouldn't make it if they didn't have elfs and dwarfs. this is the singular hallmark of modern fantasy as a genre. however much you want to pretend that it's part of some grand lineage, in which there definitely are great writers, the modern incarnation is an orphan. it's a red-headed stepchild of tolkien, whose mother was his cousin and survived five or six attempts at abortion. it somehow survived, and grew up, mastered the absolute basics of walking and talking and called it a day.

[Anonymous No.20277719]

>>20277647
>Tolkien didn't write fantasy. He wrote the book the fantasy genre is based on
There were many fantasy authors that were Tolkien's predecessors and contemporaries. Try, try again, anon.

[Anonymous No.20277733]

>>20277704
Oh so you're a fantasy writer too

[Anonymous No.20277765]

>>20277371
>Who do you look up to? Who inspires you?
Translations of Asian webnovels.

[Anonymous No.20277777]

Ugh. We have ALL of /lit/ to discuss who/what is/isn't fantasy.
Take that discussion there.
This thread is for WRITING.

[Anonymous No.20277809]

>>20277704
fantasy provides a safe avenue for discussions about race and the immutability of racial characteristics. it's no surprise that it has become more popular as candid discussion on that issue has become verboten

[Anonymous No.20277813]

>>20277704
In my mind, a good story is a good story. Characters with depth and compelling motivations are what make something great. Those are what keep the pages turning. Sometimes fantasy or sci-fi can be ways to express the stakes in a situation, or to explore themes about the human condition. If your story needs elves or dwarves from some stylistic standpoint odds are it's just shit. If the elves or dwarves are written well and offer something interesting beyond being just elves or dwarves, then it shouldn't matter either way.

[Anonymous No.20277825]

>>20277813
But what if the elf or dwarf's character is influenced by some trait of an elf or dwarf, such as a longer lifespan and racial discrimination for an elf? Are they "just elves or dwarves" then?

[Anonymous No.20277890]

>>20275968
>semi decent
>Gardner
Yeah. no.

[Anonymous No.20277922]

>>20277825
That's an example of offering something interesting, yeah. But you should make sure it offers sufficient enhancement, that it pays its rent—racism and old people also exist in real life.

[Anonymous No.20277931]

>>20276835
yes people are that retarded
i remember watching a review of a book, i think it was shadiversity's book, i can't remember i was drunk and the time and i am drunk now too. i just watched this video is what im saying.
but anyways the point of the story was that the main character was really evil and trying to put off the consequences of his actions by becoming a good guy. and the dumb little silly boy reviewing the book said that he was uncormfortable with how the protoganist protogonist protogist protagonist was not a very good person

[Anonymous No.20277941]

>>20277617
it's optional. anyone who wants to participate can

[Anonymous No.20277964]

>>20277931
>if the protagonist is not... le GOOD GUY... then I don't want to read it!
What a boring take on literature. These are the kind of people who unironically enjoy self inserts. The fix really is as simple as changing your perspective. Perhaps the narrator isn't reliable. Maybe he thinks he's bad but he's actually good, or vice versa. I just see this shit sometimes and it makes me so confused.

[Anonymous No.20278041]

>>20276835
Fuck you for making me read reddit. That being said, the first complaint about "muh bad protagonist" book I read was Thomas Covenant, and half of them were complaining about him being a whiny bitch more than his actual rape, which is right on the money.

[Anonymous No.20278042]

>>20277825
Those are interesting themes, and they can drive a character's motivations but in my mind only so far. Like how many times can you retell the whole "Elvish Maiden falls for human Male" thing and make that dynamic/choice/anxiety seem interesting? It feels even more egregious when the Elf/Dwarf/Human/Orc thing is always more or less the same. Someone could at least switch things up. Maybe make the dwarves be regal highbrow assholes and have the elves be boisterous savage drunkards who live in the woods. I honestly don't understand how anybody is still interested in stories with all of those same high-fantasy races.

[Anonymous No.20278188]

>>20277562
>But "this doesn't meaningfully affect the character lineup" is an incredibly strange defense
Yeah, it sure is. But what does that have to do with my post?

[Anonymous No.20278568]

I love how I always get people to read unfinished drafts/outlines

Will I ever learn my lesson that they shouldn't be shared? maybe. who knows

[Anonymous No.20278606]

>>20275968
K.D. Walter wrote an excellent and very /lit/erary novel.

[Anonymous No.20278642]

>>20277371
>Among the various theories expounded upon in the piece, Sim's alter-ego Viktor Davis categorizes humanity into metaphorical lights, which tended to reside in biological men, and voids, which tended to be in biological women. He characterized Voids as "without a glimmer of understanding of intellectual processes" and declared that "Light does not Breed".

[Anonymous No.20278723]

>>20278642
>challenged Smith to a boxing match, which Smith declined
What a legend. As an aside, Sim actually does have nice ideas about the value of art in a person's life.

[Anonymous No.20278730]

I wanna read some horror stories maybe review them.

You guys got any?

(Esp those around religion/satanism)

[Anonymous No.20278757]

>>20277777
But what’s the point of writing if you’re just producing shit about elves and fairies prancing around like faggots?

[Anonymous No.20278869]

>>20278757
i'll have you know that my main character is about to invade an elfin planet and destroy a sizeable chunk of it. But first he has to defeat the Indian's!

[Anonymous No.20278918]

Hi! Here's the opening of my story about foxes. It's translated by google from Polish, but I am pretty sure I corrected all the mistakes. Hopefully it's as nice as I see it. :)

I am a fox. I have a foxy fur, a foxy face and a foxy tail. I live in a foxy, dark but cozy burrow. Outside, beyond the entrance to my little house, there is a huge, deciduous forest, the borders of which I have never managed to reach, even though I have tried more than once. For a long time, however, I have not been going on such escapades, because it got very cold outside. Not more than a month ago, small snow stars began to fall from the sky, which in just one night formed a fairly thick, white cover on the ground. This cover closed the gates of my burrow and I was forced to dig to get to the surface. I was very cold back then, I remember that my bones were aching for a few more days and I couldn't stop sneezing. Obtaining food in such conditions turned out to be a bit more difficult than I thought. When the forest was beautifully green in spring, summer and autumn, I managed to hunt a few field mice or find some fruits almost every day, but when this winter time came, I was forced to go on a diet. Sometimes, the food would not appear before my eyes for several days. My palette of flavors, which, I must admit, was quite sophisticated when there was an abundance of food, have recently started to take on less and less importance.

[Anonymous No.20279040]

>>20278918
Great for kids, This is perfect writing for something aimed at kids.

If you don't want this then try reading some other stuff

But if you wanna keep it this way focus on kids content, You got a good style for it

[Anonymous No.20279043]

>>20279040
Thanks! It's actually meant to be for my younger cousins. I hope they'll like it.

[Anonymous No.20279085]

>tfw realize you don't have to waste time writing about characters feelings with show don't tell
writing lifehack

[Anonymous No.20279097]

Ait you assorted niggers and faggots, time for your font checkup. You better not be using fr*nklin g*thic or t*mes n*w r*man.
>Merriweather Normal
>Double Space
>9.5

[Anonymous No.20279100]

>>20279097
>Double Space
This nigga still doing his homework

[Anonymous No.20279175]

>>20279097
Perpetua
Size 11
0.2" paragraph indents
Single spacing, no additional spacing at the end of paragraphs
6x9 page size
1x0.75x1x0.75" margins, sometimes all 1" I haven't found a happy zone

[Anonymous No.20279202]

>>20279097
Calibri
Double space
Paragraph indent because I heard editors hate it if it's done manually

Most importantly I always have my page color set to a dark shade of gray or blue. Some of you guys are murdering your eyes

[Anonymous No.20279297]

>>20279097
Times New Roman
12 Point Font
Single Spaced
0.79'' Margins All the Way Around

aka the default settings. if it worked for our ancestors it'll work for me. simple as

[Anonymous No.20279330]

It's finals week, but I have no motivation to study. All I want to do is write. Suggestions?

[Anonymous No.20279359]

>>20279330
jack daniels

[Anonymous No.20279400]

>>20274859
i don't know if this is off topic (and i apologize if it is) but does anyone know good resources for screenwriting and how that form of story works? i've been watching movies and taking notes but i want to make sure i'm not missing anything.
should i just look at general story books like Truby's instead and apply those ideas?

[Anonymous No.20279409]

>>20279400
https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/best-screenplays-to-read/
Here's a link to screenplays, read a few.

So is all Isakei and litrpg sandbox RPGs and jrpgs? No other game genres?

[Anonymous No.20279424]

>>20279409
i mean, i know the actual form of it, i just want to check my understanding of the bones underneath.
stuff like:
>begin with day in life of protag
>inciting event
>ups and downs
>do or die moment
>climax
>end
all of which can be extended or condensed as desired for artistic purpose
should i look at hero's journey stuff?

[Anonymous No.20279425]

>>20276089
Sounds to me like you're writing up a storm!

>>20276771
Still, one can save all their random ideas, organize them in an outline or whatever, then write as soon as related ideas hit a critical mass. Works for me.

>>20278757
Still, it'd be writing, not reading.

>>20279330
I take it your major isn't writing-related?

[Anonymous No.20279436]

>>20279409
the vast majority. those really lend themselves to the genre because of acquiring items and a sort of built in power progression. not that you couldn't make a spaceship isekai - but really why would you? easier to have that kind of story happen in real life and have the mc scooped up by a spaceship and sent far away rather than being reborn in a different world for that kind of thing.

Then again, stories like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court are both isekai.

[Anonymous No.20279471]

>>20279400
Truby's book is pretty scattered and I found it useless for actually writing a screenplay. I would recommend three relatively short, focused books that give you a clear process and a coherent theory for writing dramatic work.

Science of screenwriting by Paul Gulino. The most important parts are about the idea of schemas and schema violations. Even though the rest of the book is skippable, its worth it just for that one concept.

The Sequence Method by Paul Gulino. Again the first chapter, about the four ways to maintain audience attention and the titular method, is most important. The case studies are useful too.

Writing a great screenplay by Jeff Kitchen. Longwinded and repetitive but maybe the only book which actually shows how you use their process to build a real screenplay. The reverse causation technique is extremely useful. The other tools are also pretty interesting and not something anyone else talks about.

From there I recommend studying the structure of real scenes in terms of the theory presented in Gulino's books. Then try writing a few scenes yourself, get feedback and iterate. One mistake I think a lot of people make is spending months writing a full 90 minute screenplay when they barely even understand how to write a single good scene. The goal is to work your way up to writing different kinds of sequences (as defined in Gulino's book) that are engaging by themselves. Only then are you ready to write a full length screenplay.

[Anonymous No.20279509]

>>20279471
thank you so much!

[Anonymous No.20279543]

>>20279471
purely curious, am i on the right track with this ?>>20279424

[Anonymous No.20279555]

>>20279425
I'm a CS major because I want to make money. But I'm an author because I want to make money doing what I love. I'm good at CS but it's fucking boring unless I'm making a video game. I'm only doing it because I don't want to live in poverty for my twenties.

[Anonymous No.20279589]

Finally, free at last to tell you all that men who so obviously give you bad advice want to see you fail as they have.
Crabs in a bucket I’m afraid.
If you wish to succeed it’s really quite simple.
>write a good book
>know the audience that the book is intended for
>gain the awareness of said audience through social media, newsletters, etc
>launch a book, mentioning to your now loyal fans that the things you create that they love are now available in a book
>leverage a good start into a great run by running the proper ads in the proper places
I’ve literally just told you how to become a famous author. Details are flexible because the path is multiplicative in nature and no one can tell you how to be interesting.
Now watch in amazement as they recoil in fear, clutching their small hats and stroking their curved noses as they label me a meerkatter.

[Anonymous No.20279627]

>>20279589
Are you ever going to reveal any details behind your "build an audience" statements?
You said OnlyFans. That's for exhibitionist young women.
What are you posting on there that you think will translate to literary success?
Answer the question already.

[Anonymous No.20279642]

>>20279627
My balls clearly.
I spread my asshole too.
People who watch the veins dance on the back of my scrotum typically enjoy my MLP fanfiction.
I’d say I’ll have 40 million in my bank account by next month.

[Anonymous No.20279650]

>>20279642
Thank you for answering the question.
You'll understand if I'm no longer interested in taking advice from you.
Such a disappointment...I was genuinely hoping to learn something.

[Anonymous No.20279654]

>>20279650
The moment you took seriously my only fans account was the moment I knew you were retarded, beyond all help, even if someone did all the work for you you’d still find a way to make it burn to the ground.

[Anonymous No.20279662]

>>20279654
So you're an admitted liar too?
Then answer the original question, the one about how you're building an audience.
Did you come here to educate and inspire, or to troll?

[Anonymous No.20279668]

>>20279662
When an athlete comes to inspire new young athletes he doesn’t try to take the piss out of a quadriplegic.
I wasn’t joking when I called you beyond help.
I believe you to be quite literally borderline retarded or so heavy on the autism spectrum (not the good kind either) that you can’t even recognize basic sarcasm.
I’ll assist anyone with actual questions.

[Anonymous No.20279674]

I made up my mind to finally start writing even if I suck. I’m writing for myself though and don’t mind if I have a ton of room to improve

[Anonymous No.20279681]

>>20279668
So "how did you build an audience" isn't an actual question?
Instead you resort to projection and ad hominem attacks?
I'm still willing to believe I can learn something from you, but you're steadily eroding that belief.

[Anonymous No.20279704]

>>20279681
I’ve told you little goldfish. I go on instagram and spread my ballsack so thinly you could shine a dim single christmas tree light through the skin for old men.
Or obviously, I did what I said, and I post content that attracts the audience which I know finds attractive, namely groups I’m already apart of and know well.

[Anonymous No.20279709]

>>20279704
And I was asking what sort of content, specifically, you post, that's apparently non-literary in nature, that you think will translate to literary success.

[Anonymous No.20279712]

>>20279709
Yes, I realize you’re asking me to identify myself.
I’m not as retarded as the anons before me, nor as you.

[Anonymous No.20279724]

>>20279712
You don't have to tell us in a way that identifies yourself.
Describe what sort of content in general.
Maybe describe the nature of your literary work in general, too.
I'm sure you're clever enough to figure out how to do that without identifying yourself.

[Anonymous No.20279740]

>>20279724
>feed me your province not your country
>I just want the last 5 digits of your national ID number, not all 12 digits
>tell me how thin you stretch your balls for elderly men on onlyfans, not how wide
Nice try.
Just know that whatever I post obviously gets a lot of engagement.
I can NEVER tell you, the retarded welp, how to be interesting.

[Anonymous No.20279745]

>>20279674
Good on you mate. Creation of art for its own sake is still art.

[Anonymous No.20279747]

>>20279740
I was just looking for an example.
And I never asked for any PII. You're being paranoid at this point.
I was more interested in the relationship between what you post and what you're writing.
But if you're not interested in educating us...then why are you even here? Unverifiable bragging?

[Anonymous No.20279751]

>>20279747
To assist the non retarded.
Clearly I’m still searching.

[Anonymous No.20279766]

>>20279751
Then do it for the benefit of the silent lurkers on here.

[Anonymous No.20279780]

>>20279766
The silent lurkers can grow some chest hairs and ask.
Until then, 99% of people understand these clear if open ended instructions.
>>20279589

[Anonymous No.20279792]

>>20279780
hi im totally not the anon thats replying 2 u
can u tell me how 2 build an audience

[Anonymous No.20279817]

>>20279780
>>20279751
>>20279740
fucking meerkating skum! BEGONE!

[Anonymous No.20279826]

>>20279792
Yes, post content that attracts the people you know will enjoy your book.
I post philosophy and ecology related stories because my books are philosophically related and contain a lot of ecology.
It helps tremendously that I’m deeply invested in both groups, so what I enjoy, most others in those spheres naturally also enjoy.
Know yourself and you’ll know your audience if you’re being truthful, in other words.

[Anonymous No.20279841]

>>20279436
Most of them seem set in standard fantasy with some rpg/video game elements thrown on-top. Wondering if any fans of the genre would read a survival horror or RTS version?

[Anonymous No.20279843]

>>20279826
do ppl who like philosophy and ecology, and unabombers, pay $ for stuff, or just want it all 4 free?
have u tried testing their willingness 2 pay $?

[Anonymous No.20279855]

>>20279555
I hear ya, man.
I've been in the software industry for 30+ years.
The video game industry was the worst.
Fair warning: making games on your own has nothing to do with the godawful realities of the industry.
But you need that CS degree so you can afford to write without the pressure to perform, so get studying!

[Anonymous No.20279856]

>>20279543
It depends where you're at. I think there's too much emphasis on macrostructure these days, stuff like Save The Cat, Heroes Journey etc. They're either presented so generally as to be useless or so are so specific that the stories become repetitive or rigid. Macrostructure is really late game stuff, and it's mostly intuitive anyway. It only becomes useful when the ability to write good scenes has become automatic, when you know how to write multiple kinds of good scenes from any situation or premise. Take Tarantino. I don't like his films, but I can say the words "part eggplant" and if you've seen the movie I'm referencing, you'll know immediately which scene I'm talking about. Coen brothers are another example (e.g "Call it"). Whatever their faults, they know how to write memorable scenes. Scenes are what we remember when we try to recall a movie or talk about it with someone else. They are the vehicle by which we can relive the movie over and over without having to watch it again. They are also seemingly the most neglected part of screenwriting.

I would reiterate my recommendation: study scenes, write scenes, get feedback, and iterate. Once you can consistently write scenes that keep people engaged (where they want to know what happens next), move on to sequences. This is where it gets tough. You have understand and utilize contrast (one of the other important things Gulino talks about in his books), which means learning how to write many different kinds of scenes. That Gang Weed screenplay that one anon keeps posting suffers from this. He knows how to write a good scene, but only one kind. He keeps writing the same scene over and over again and it gets old pretty quick. At this point you can study adjacent scenes and try to note all the contrasts. Obvious stuff like loud and quiet, light and dark, day and night, tense and relaxed, visual and audial, interior and exterior, happy and sad, and not so obvious stuff like character behavior, situation, dialogue texture, type of obstacle/conflict, type of resolution. Consider that very rarely do you see the same two characters interact in adjacent scenes, or a character solve a problem in the same way, or even encounter the same kind of problem.

If you can do three scenes in a row, you can write a full sequence. If you can write three full sequences, you can write a movie. I would actually recommend studying TV sitcoms first since they adhere to the sequence structure more rigidly and the sequences are shorter and easier to identify (because of commercial breaks). House MD is a good one to study. Fraiser goes so far as to have title cards delineating the sequences. Although both of those have some scenes as memorable as those found in film, and unless you want to write for TV, you should start studying movies as soon you can delineate sequence structure.

[Anonymous No.20279868]

>>20279855
Great question.
That’s the next phase.
I’ll roll out a product before my book also related to the same topic.
Less effort, a test, more in line with the community.

[Anonymous No.20279883]

Finished writing my book! 630 pages. Now begins the long, long process of edits, rewrites, and touch-ups but hurrah! The hill has been climbed and it feels great!

[Anonymous No.20279887]

>>20276701
Just finished the new section.
Huh...that's the direction you're taking?
She reveals her supernatural nature immediately?
I was expecting a forced meet-cute in public somewhere, followed by a long, drawn out, subtle grinding into dust.
Oh well...I guess I'll find out soon why you've taken this route.
Don't take this as second-guessing; do your thing.

[Anonymous No.20279892]

>>20276701
unlike the other guy, i am second guessing you

[Anonymous No.20279895]

>>20279868
mebbe a kickstarter thing where pre-orders get a discount.
turning free fans into $ fans is the trick.
lemme know how u do.

[Anonymous No.20279901]

>>20279883
Congrats! How many words?
What's your subject?

[Anonymous No.20279965]

it said historical fiction, so here's the first chapter of a historical fiction novel i'm writing loosely based on Harald Hardrada

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lzYKhkIa5SHgu64oJUtn1WOndBDVbkU_/view?usp=sharing

lmk if it's got any potential, still a rough draft so it needs editing, re-writing parts, punching up dialogue, emphasizing character traits, etc.

thank you anon

[Anonymous No.20280002]

>>20279901
More words than I ever imagined. While this isn't about swords and dragons, I think it's easiest to call it a fantasy epic. Plenty of the chapters work as their own stories.

[Anonymous No.20280013]

>>20278918
this is very sweet

[Anonymous No.20280057]

>>20280002
Holy crap! Some judicious partitioning, and you've got a ready-made multi-volume epic!
I wish you all the fortune in the world!

[Anonymous No.20280119]

>>20280002
What title
What about

[Anonymous No.20280275]

>>20280002
What the fuck are you even writing?

[Anonymous No.20280288]

>>20279965
You have an incredibly weak paragraph for a historical fiction. There's too much going on without any set up for the setting. Where are we? Besides "evergreens" there's no other indication of the location. What if we're in Canada's evergreen? There's also too many characters to keep track of right away. Introduce the main character and describe him. In this case, I would probably start a scene with a war Tribunal between all the important characters.

[Anonymous No.20280291]

With Elon Musk set to destroy Twitter and democracy how will you change your marketing methods?

[Anonymous No.20280366]

>>20279965
Felt too telly to me like maybe we aren't starting at the right point. We're told who is the king, who still worships the Old Gods, that people were up all night making plans, etc. without seeing any of it - made the scene they were planted within feel like an afterthought.

It may help to slow us down and just let us see our main character being a viking dude and learn organically who worships what by seeing it and how others treat him as he gathers paper for the planners. I remember the first Saxon Chronicle book was like 1/4th Uhtred being a slave gathering shit wipe moss.

Also I'm not sure about them calling tents "yurts" isn't that a steppe thing?

[Anonymous No.20280401]

>>20280291
What % of the population uses twitter again?

[Anonymous No.20280411]

What's the best way to tackle royalroad? If you want to write something short, is there a market for it? Or should you work on novels that are only short relatively speaking?

[Anonymous No.20280413]

How much should one keep wordcounts in mind? Does it lead to filler?

[Anonymous No.20280416]

>>20278568
I feel you deeply. I'm such an exhibitionist I feel bad if nobody reads it even when I know it's a really bad idea and they're going to bombard me with questions I have the answers to.

[Anonymous No.20280522]

>>20279841
There's sort of variants of RTS stuff, a sub-genre if you will of ones with a focus on base-building. Survival horror seems like it'd be tricky to do, because gamifying it diegetically takes away a lot of the horror. See the fact that many survival horrors these days have minimal-to-no UI.

[Anonymous No.20280591]

I had an idea for a bunch of short stories, but after getting my seemingly limitless ideas down on paper, there were like...3. And I need more, since I hate pointless fluffery and this piece of shit needs to be longer.

[Anonymous No.20280622]

>>20280411
Well, it's a site for web serials, so the users generally expect longer web serials. There are no rules against short stories, but those tend to be lost in the void because of how the page works.

[Anonymous No.20280623]

>>20280291
I laugh at people thinking Twitter could somehow get worse than it is

[Anonymous No.20280629]

Whoever recommended Edith Wharton's The Writing of Fiction a couple of threads ago - thank you.
https://www.26reads.com/library/75919-the-writing-of-fiction
I've also been reading The Age of Innocence from the same platform and I really enjoy it.

[Anonymous No.20280664]

>I was going to join Musk's public sewer today
>Then i was going to engage with some robots to meerkat
>Instead I wrote another 1k words
>I would have written more but i also had to make lasagna and cranberry and pistachio cookies.

[Anonymous No.20280715]

>>20280629
>Bought Dumas for 20 dollars
>Its free on this site.
>>20280664

[Anonymous No.20280740]

>>20280664
Me I just wrote a 1900 word fic in an hour, feels pretty nice.

[Anonymous No.20281006]

>>20280291
>destroy twitter
You must be a liberal faggot if you dislike Eon buying twitter

[Anonymous No.20281015]

>>20274859
I fear that my writing reads like a YA novel

[Anonymous No.20281027]

>>20281006
>>20280623
>people leaving twitter post elon purchase
>shaun king aka talcom x
>bots that are getting banned left and right
>trannies pictured here in this tweet
So which one are you?>>20280291
A wanna be nigger?
A nigger?
A bot?
Or a tranny?

[Anonymous No.20281029]

>>20281015
who cares?

[Anonymous No.20281030]

>>20281006
>dislike Eon buying twitter
Never said that
Personally I hope he ends up running it into the ground

[Anonymous No.20281036]

You know I've come to the realization that one of the reason I like writing fiction so much is because it enables and outright encourages me to create characters and then make them suffer in the most creative ways possible.
Is this a sign that I'm a psychopath.

[Anonymous No.20281037]

>>20281015
That's terrible! I hope you get over your insecurities.

[Anonymous No.20281038]

>>20281030
Because you’re a tranny, a nigger, or a wanna be nigger?

[Anonymous No.20281051]

Only those living in an insane bubble can think that the richest person in the world buying twitter is somehow going to cause fascism to rise anew, or that it'll defeat "the woke."

[Anonymous No.20281056]

>>20281029
Me hehe

[Anonymous No.20281057]

>>20281051
Who said any of that? You’re boxing shadows mate, and on top of that you’re aligning directly with niggers, wiggers, and trannies.
You should reevaluate your rather sub 90 takes.

[Anonymous No.20281061]

>>20281038
Because it's designed for people to post catastrophically condensed and unnuanced opinions under their real name. Twitter is brain poison.

[Anonymous No.20281062]

>>20281057
See twitter for both takes on the first and last. Both the left and right seem to think this is some grand battle that has been either lost or won, while in fact it isn't going to change much at all.

[Anonymous No.20281067]

>>20281061
>under their real name
LMAO
You must have never used twitter, only blue checks use real names, and most people dislike them.
Opinion discarded.

[Anonymous No.20281117]

>>20279887
>>20279892
I have things in mind for Luci learning to really hone in on her craft, and these things will be touched on as she learns how to manipulate the "sabermetrics" behind ruining someone's soul.

For example, "gaslighting" her clients/victims by pretending to be just another cute human girl and working them for a week or two at a time before revealing her true nature. Reminding them that she never actually spoke to anybody else when they were together. That she never touched or interacted with anything or anybody... etc.

[Anonymous No.20281149]

[Anonymous No.20281150]

>>20280622
What's the shortest serial you can get away with, then?

[Anonymous No.20281158]

>>20281149
Awful as always.

[Anonymous No.20281181]

>>20281027
>people leaving twitter post elon purchase
And twitter yards said they would leave America if Trump won in 2016.
>>20281150
Not quantifiable. Longer is prefered but having an audience from a different story could bring them in.

[Anonymous No.20281190]

>>20280291
Elon Musk destroys democracy by increasing the amount of free speech?
I can't even imagine the pretzel that serves for your brain.

>>20280664
Cooking is based.
What scares me are people that can't cook who get fat.
Did they do that on FAST FOOD? Ew.

>>20281015
Then cash in! YA is very popular.

>>20281036
No, but you may be using fiction to work out your issues.
You're not alone.

[Anonymous No.20281203]

Wooooo! I am the ghost of Harold Bloom, here doomed to walk the Earth for a time! As a lazy fat fuck I've decided to dwell in this thread instead, wooo! I am haunting you, you would be writers, woooo!
How are you planning to earn your place in the hallowed halls of the western canon? Woooo!

[Anonymous No.20281206]

>>20280591
Write those 3.
It'll get your creative muscles pumped, and you'll come up with ideas for more.

[Anonymous No.20281212]

>>20281203
"Woooo". How derivative.
You've certainly become banal in your afterlife.

Captcha: 4WHAN...aw, so close to 4CHAN, and yet so far away!

[Anonymous No.20281228]

>>20280119
>>20280275
It's the story of two characters traveling across a post-war fallen empire, now occupied by two different superpowers. On their journey they visit several natural wonders and see how either industrialization or the occupiers have ruined or corrupted the once holy site. One character is a veteran of the wars that have ravaged his homeland and has been made all the more bitter for it. The other character is young and wealthy--from one of the occupying powers. Their chemistry was fun to write for. Oh and one might be escorting the other back to their home to face justice for killing four women.

[Anonymous No.20281254]

>>20276835
I absolutely cannot wait until I start getting feedback like this about the web serial that I'm writing right now. No joke the conclusion to the first volume involves the protagonist committing a simultaneous gas and arson attack against a building full of criminals, several of whom are later revealed to have been either innocent, deep cover agents for people who were trying to destroy the group of people that he kills, or people who were legally children. He stands outside watching as they all die screaming. Also, this is after he commits a very similar attack against the main villain's home, killing his wife and son. Technically in all of this he only really had one target, the rest are just collateral damage.

[Anonymous No.20281271]

>>20281203
>How are you planning to earn your place in the hallowed halls of the western canon? Woooo!
By being brilliant and talented. I'll supplant that with an intense amount of hard work and with an unbending refusal to cow to the winds of the literary zeitgeist. I have my own vision for what constitutes literary excellence. It's a view that happens to oppose what's conventionally successful. I'm just not going to compromise on my vision. If the winds change, maybe I'll gain some small degree of notoriety before I die, and fat fucks like you will write about me. If not, well, at least I tried. I'll be happier on my deathbed knowing that, even if I didn't have the raw talent to match my ambition, I worked hard at it and tried anyway. In that sense, if I do end up falling, it's due to circumstances beyond my control. I just didn't happen to end up being a Pynchon or a Faulkner or a Nabokov, and that'll be alright too. It may be that, at the end of my life, I was just never quite brilliant or talented enough. I like to think that I'll die with a smile on my face because I worked hard my whole life on things I cared about.

[Anonymous No.20281277]

>>20281271
I'm proud of you, boy.

[Anonymous No.20281296]

>>20281277
Thanks Harry. Rest in peace, now.

[Anonymous No.20281299]

>>20280275
>>20280288
>>20280291
>>20281027
>>20281038
>>20281057
seethe

[Anonymous No.20281304]

>Your work gets popular
>But only after your death

[Anonymous No.20281305]

>>20276835
Can't self insert.

[Anonymous No.20281317]

>>20281304
Additionally:
>die childless

[Anonymous No.20281346]

>>20281304
I plan to leave in my will directions for a museum to be made in the event I become famous after death. If I look pompous or arrogant, what do I care? I'm dead anyways.

[Anonymous No.20281365]

>>20281304
You want to be famous, not a writer

[Anonymous No.20281578]

>>20281304
>Your work gets popular
>But only after your death
>some company makes billions with the movie adaptation while you died penniless
>the movie reverses the message and themes
>fans say it's the superior product
>documentarists speculate you were a transvestite who wanted to fuck his mother

[Anonymous No.20281588]

>>20276770
Don't feel bad anon. At least it's not a romance novel like mine. I feel so embarrassed about it.

[Anonymous No.20281676]

>>20281578
>you died penniless
Why should I care? If I don't die before my wife, my net worth should be precisely zero at the time of my death. Neither of us want kids. Dying penniless only means something if you have people who will continue to financially depend on you even after you're dead. Lack of money is not a sickness, and money is not a cure to anything.

[Anonymous No.20281821]

>>20281676
Did you post that spiel just to brag about your wife? Rest assured, your net worth was zero from cradle to grave

[Anonymous No.20281837]

>>20281676
>Neither of us want kids.
I'm sorry about that.

[Anonymous No.20282299]

>>20277014
I think it all flows nicely. The prose is really high quality and the setting is interesting, I'm jealous

[Anonymous No.20282310]

>go on vacation
>write every day, 1.5k+ without any fatigue
>get back to work this week
>haven't written in 2 days
Wage slaving is such a meme. Just give me a Research Institute grant and let me live off $40k a year and write, I'll handle it I promise

[Anonymous No.20282382]

>>20281578
>mfw this happened to me.
truth is stranger than fiction, anons. be careful what you go looking for out there, you just might find it.

[Anonymous No.20282407]

>>20282310
>let me live off $40k
the way you phrase makes it sound like this isn't even a lot of money

[Anonymous No.20282420]

>>20282407
It isn't. $40k a year is about $1350 every paycheck. That's straight up poverty level.

[Anonymous No.20282427]

>haven't written in 25 days

[Anonymous No.20282816]

>>20280629
>>20280715
>For convenience of division it may be said that the novel of psychology was born in France, the novel of manners in England, and that out of their union in the glorious brain of Balzac sprang that strange chameleon-creature, the modern novel, which changes its shape and colour with every subject on which it rests.
https://www.26reads.com/library/75919-the-writing-of-fiction/3
wtf I'm not even remotely ready to write a novel i guess

[Anonymous No.20282823]

>>20282420
Depends what your spending requirements are. I.E. do you rent or have a mortgage, any dependents, cook or eat out, car rego+fuel+tolls or pubic transport. gambling, drinking or drug addiction?
If your conditions permit, you can live quite comfortably off 15k a year.
>>20282427
Just write Fanfiction if you are desperate.

[Anonymous No.20282877]

>>20281181
>Not quantifiable. Longer is prefered
Well, what qualifies as long and what qualifies as short on that platform?
I assumed a "short" would be a 150k word novel with 2k word chapters released daily, so you'd be done with the whole thing in a little over two months.

[Anonymous No.20282905]

>>20282877
>Short is 80k - 110k
>Average is 300k - 500k
>Long is 1.5 mil +

Bear in mind that all the medium to longer ones are about 40% + of trash/filler/padding words/arcs.

[Anonymous No.20282926]

Do you use pictures as a reference while you describe an area characters are going through? Is that cheating?

[Anonymous No.20282945]

I had an idea for an interesting romance.

It's about a man who, him and his family were pacifist, is forced to kill several people for the greater good. One of those people is a girl's older brother.

She finds him and tries to kill him, but is unable to. Instead, he tells her that, he is bound by duty to finish his mission, but when he is done, he swears to atone for what he's done by taking his own life. She is shocked, but decides to accept his terms. They work together to stop the big threat he is bound to destroy, but over the course of the story she starts to fall in love with him, but she also watches him be forced to kill lots of people, even people he cares about, as it tears him apart.

[Anonymous No.20282956]

>>20282945
Why would she stick around at all. That sounds like a person nobody would like.

[Anonymous No.20282960]

>>20282956
It's not hard to come up with a reason. Maybe it's an existential threat that they both were planning on stopping, but decided it's more beneficial to work together.

[Anonymous No.20282973]

>>20282926
>Is that cheating?
Artists use references, don't see why a writer can't?

[Anonymous No.20283036]

>>20282956
If you mean, why would any girl like a guy who sounds so pathetic, the reason he will kill himself to atone, is out of a sense of honor and duty. And because he hates the things he has to do.

[Anonymous No.20283038]

>>20282945
>I had an idea for an interesting romance.
I have seen many, many female-oriented romances with this general premise. You'll be a hit with them.

[Anonymous No.20283075]

>>20283038
Why would it be female oriented?
There are plenty of guy oriented stories with extreme self suffering heroes.

[Anonymous No.20283080]

>>20283075
The setup you're talking about is big in the female market.

[Anonymous No.20283087]

>>20274899
Did you market it somewhere?

[Anonymous No.20283096]

>>20283080
Hmmm, I'm not familiar with this. What part of the set up is popular with women?

[Anonymous No.20283101]

>>20283096
Dangerous man but also masculine, i assume. Twilight and Gundam wing.

[Anonymous No.20283104]

>>20283096
Are you familiar with the words "I can fix him"? That's exactly what you have.

[Anonymous No.20283131]

I dunno if it really would be popular with women tho, I was going to enter the realm of capeshit although not literal superheroes, but someone who owes a Goddess a debt and must repay her with blood (A life for many lives) with fights.

[Anonymous No.20283139]

>action of narrator in present tense
>narrator goes off on thought tangents, mostly about past events so in past tense
>all in the same chapter and scene
Is this fucking retarded? I get the impression it would stop the narrative flow.

[Anonymous No.20283171]

>>20283139
Post the chapter. This is too vague to tell

[Anonymous No.20283174]

>>20283139
It depends, is the narrator's headspace part of the experience, or is it just awkward? A narrator that goes off on tangents and rambles can work if it serves the story in some way, but if it's just there to be neat it's pointless.

[Anonymous No.20283433]

Its almost nothing to go off, I know, but can anyone give me a word of feedback on this? Its just the first paragraph and I've never really written before.

I am mainly wondering if the scene makes sense in itself - does the setting seem logical as a space?

Anything would be helpful

[Anonymous No.20283520]

I can't put myself out there. It's just too risky and my ego is too fragile.

[Anonymous No.20283525]

>>20283433
sentences too long and strung out, for example you use too many comas and you use 'when' consecutively, when starting a train of thought and linking it together, when it should really be separate.

[Anonymous No.20283552]

>>20283433
I have the story in my head, and I am just struggling to find a starting place.

The story is largely a frame for another little occurrence which happens at the end, but basically: a valley is suffering a drought which has brought all its farms to destruction, except for one where the farmer found a hidden spring, and is able to sustain a small number of sheep. That farmer (Doolan) happens to be having an affair with the wife of another farmer (Warren), which is not revealed until the end (paragraph posted). At one point something (which I'm not sure of yet - but it isn't jealousy) causes Warren to poison that last spring of Doolan's, and perhaps is what causes Mary to die. So Doolan has lost his entire flock and his lover. Being a just man, but not a hateful one, he feels obliged to exact retribution. He is also not a crafty man, so he decides to use the same weapon that was taken against him, and poisons the local pub where the men including Warren drink. This is the end of the frame story.

Can someone help me refine this? it feels stale. Again, it's just the frame story, but I feel it should be very strong in order to weave the real story into it.

[Anonymous No.20283560]

Do you guys like Inio Asano? Ik he is a mangaka but I really like his works. I want my writing to evoke that feel, how do?

[Anonymous No.20283562]

>>20283433
This is terrible.
First and foremost
>that long ass run-on first sentence complete with a semi colon. when... when
So Mary is the name of a boat, I'm assuming, from that last line.
I would change it to
>The love affair between Mary and Mr. Doolan ended at the maw of Jonah's Valley as the wind snapped off the stone shore. His sweet nothings to her proving as such and his final, solemn kiss sent her to the beyond. Three men stood on a rise looking down at the scene and they watched Mr. Doolan set her free into the tug of the brown, effluent river. She eddied for a moment and then sank.

[Anonymous No.20283580]

>>20283562
Thanks, that's useful to know. I'll definitely rearrange that sentence.

It is actually a woman, so thanks - I will make it less ambiguous. Although perhaps it should be?

I think your one is much worse! but thanks I appreciate that feedback.

[Anonymous No.20283583]

>>20283580
>I think your one is much worse!
I think your first sentence is an atrocity.

[Anonymous No.20283586]

>>20283560
Get molested so bad that you seriously consider becoming a tranny.

[Anonymous No.20283587]

Are these good writing commandments

[Anonymous No.20283600]

>>20283520
It will remain fragile if you don't.

[Anonymous No.20283601]

>>20283587
both four and five contradict eight. eight should be stricken.

[Anonymous No.20283612]

>>20283560
Tap into your worst experiences.

[Anonymous No.20283613]

>>20283583
Can you tell me why perhaps? It isn't particularly helpful to know without knowing why.

Apart from the sloppy syntax - too many unclear images? If I resolved the construction would it then be passable?

[Anonymous No.20283639]

>>20282299
Thank you for the kind words anon, I'm generally happy with it so it means a lot to know I'm not completely in my own little bubble.

[Anonymous No.20283658]

>>20283613
Your descriptions are contradictory. Something is not both a mire and an estuary. Estuary is the correct term to what you are describing.
You are bogging (no pun intended) down what should be action with unnecessary description - unnecessary because the description is not directly related to the action. Put the action. Then put the terrain description.
You have the men of the valley watching. You forget about them for a bit. Then you go back to them. Why are they even there in the scene, shouldn't this be an intimate moment between Mary and Mr. Doolan?
Then you have the grasses and carnage and collapsed banks and so forth. How is this description related to what is happening between Mary and Mr. Doolan? Aren't they the focus of the scene, not the sun and wind and whatnot?

[Anonymous No.20283686]

>>20283658
Ok that's great. All of the elements are in fact necessary to the story, but yea I have no focus whatsoever here. I think when I try to visualise the scene I get stuck trying to arbitrarily construct the geographical setting. I am so stupid.

Thanks again

[Anonymous No.20283717]

This is me to all my characters i've ever written:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb-fuN6GFTs

[Anonymous No.20283759]

When I set out to work on a scene, I have almost no notion of the specifics of that scene, only the end and why purpose it serves overall, and so I end up filling it in with sort of stream of consciousness description and dialogue and then going back to rework it so it ties in to the greater purpose of the scene later. Is this a bad way to write? I can’t help but feel like it is unfocused

[Anonymous No.20283764]

>>20282427
>haven't worked on my 2nd draft in over a year

[Anonymous No.20283789]

Have any of you shoehorned CURRENT YEAR politics to be more marketable?

[Anonymous No.20283794]

>>20283789
Camus already wrote La Peste

[Anonymous No.20284062]

Today I remebered why I enjoy writing. When a character whines about life it's me whining about life and I can see how silly that actually is. I discover a lot about myself writing and that feeling is great.

[Anonymous No.20284070]

>>20283759
Is it fun to read or makes you think? That's what I keep in mind when editing.

[Anonymous No.20284077]

>>20281305
Says you.

>>20281346
Be sure to label it "humbly tendered as a gift to mankind". That'll demonstrate your humility.

>>20281821
He misspelled "waifu".

>>20282926
Of course it's not cheating!

>>20283587
No way. I write whatever I feel like, regardless of current "focus".
I never get in the way of my muse.
Otherwise, I might lose an idea and never get it back.
Also, #7 and #11 contradict each other.

>>20283759
Do whatever works for you.

[Anonymous No.20284086]

>>20283587
One is too vague. If it’s talking about books or stories, sure. But if it’s talking about sections or chapters, I disagree. I think it’s fine to jump ahead to a section if you’re stuck on one. You might figure something out and be able to return to it later.

[Anonymous No.20284137]

Writing is for losers and faggots real men slay puss.

[Anonymous No.20284145]

>>20284137
And somehow you had time to come here and tell us that.

[Anonymous No.20284191]

How do I pace myself and avoid burnout when writing a novel? What about editing a novel?

[Anonymous No.20284285]

>>20284191
>burnout
drafting I didn't really hit burnout. yeah there were slowdowns on some days but I forced myself to write. I always had midway goals that I was writing towards so I didn't really suffer much from, well what happens next - granted certainly not evry scene or idea that I drafted ended up staying even in the first draft, and certainly more is cut/changed/revised beyond recognition in the 2nd and so on.
Basically burnout doesn't exist. Build habits and stick to those habits. You'll have days where less will come out but something should still end up coming out.

[Anonymous No.20284300]

>>20277575
>discord
down 2 join if a new link is posted

[Anonymous No.20284304]

>>20284137
Hehe... think again dweeb... because how did you post this? I bet you had to write it... not so tough now, are you?

[Anonymous No.20284416]

>>20283759
I believe this is how most authors write. They have a general idea of the intent of a scene and they allow their subconscious to fill in the details. Then they revise for flow and coherence. The important thing is to make sure you contextualize the intent in terms of whatever will engage the reader and most of the craft really revolves around using the technique to handle what might otherwise lose reader interest (e.g exposition).

[Anonymous No.20284422]

>>20283686
One tip I've found helpful is to consider the setting as a character or as part of a character (not different from their clothing or behavior). This ensures you keep description of setting relevant and interesting at all times.

[Anonymous No.20284440]

It's me again, Father... it's been 2 days since my last writing session... over a week since I posted on my blog

[Anonymous No.20284446]

>>20284440
Whats ur blog?
Why do u blog?

[Anonymous No.20284461]

>>20284446
I do a flash fiction every weekend to keep my writing skills sharp even if I have a busy week at work. At the end of the year, I have a free book I can put together and offer as a collection. But it is primarily about keeping engagement.

[Anonymous No.20284478]

>>20284461
Curious about unique monthly visitors.
Got any metrics you’d share?

[Anonymous No.20284697]

Does having a female protag and antag automatically make your shit YA tier?

[Anonymous No.20284703]

>>20284697
Do they dyke out for each other?

[Anonymous No.20284711]

>>20284703
In my story? No.

[Anonymous No.20284725]

Bros I made my MC gay without even thinking about it.

Does that mean I’m gay or what

[Anonymous No.20284774]

>>20284725
Is the MC a thinly veiled author self insert?

[Anonymous No.20284789]

>>20283587
I stopped reading at 1. because it SUCKS

[Anonymous No.20284810]

>>20284774
No

[Anonymous No.20284825]

I can't seem to write. I'm stuck on how to transition to the next scene. How the hell do I write about a bunch of Irish fucks chasing away a bunch of Chinese fucks from the coal mines?

I can't just go
>y'u bloody chinks, we' gun' git you o'tta hee' wit yo'r pis'r
>AY YA!!!!

[Anonymous No.20284827]

>>20284825
The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthur-
nuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later
on life down through all christian minstrelsy.

[Anonymous No.20284905]

Quick grammar question. I almost never use semi colons but I think in this instance the semi colon is actually the correct way to go but I want another opinion.

[statement made]
[asked if there's anything else]
[No.]
>If that's all, then; Nancy, please strike that from the record.

A period seems like too much of a separation between the clauses, a comma seems like not enough.

[Anonymous No.20284910]

>>20284905
I'd use a ? instead of ;

[Anonymous No.20285213]

>>20284905
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/

[Anonymous No.20285249]

>>20284725
Yeah you're gay

[Anonymous No.20285268]

>>20284825
>Drinking in bar
>Complaining about filthy chinks

[Anonymous No.20285400]

>>20284725
Would you have sex with a man?

[Anonymous No.20285519]

>>20284725
Yeah, pretty subconsciously gay

[Anonymous No.20285544]

>>20284725
Let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if you liked sucking cock.

Faggot.

[Anonymous No.20285621]

>>20284478
Nothing all that impressive. Probably 40 site visitors a month. There are things I need to do to drive visitation up. Namely by shilling the three books I have done already and working harder at being a salesman.

[Anonymous No.20286164]

Somebody should make a new /wg/. A non-shitty one.

[Anonymous No.20286177]

>>20284725
Based if reads like this: https://josephsciambra.com/surviving-gaybarely/

If "he's just gay because he is lmao" then you're either a closeted cock sucker yourself or even more disgustingly you've prostrated your mind, soul, and art before Moloch and the Semitic Demon-Kings of GLOBOHOMO in a pathetic attempt to propitiate a microscopic speck of fame and wealth from their table.

[Anonymous No.20286233]

>>20286164
You do it then

[Anonymous No.20286469]

>>20284810
Then probably not.

[Anonymous No.20286538]

>>20286534
>>20286534