/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.21010944]

What makes me a bad writer?
>>21010621
>>21005649
I just want to be vidya Lynch, nothing I post is a serious attempt at my own actual ideas, merely practice that I keep failing.
/lit/ and /wg/ laughed at me

[Anonymous No.21010959]

>>21010944
I already answered that.

[Anonymous No.21010965]

>>21010959
Am I still trying too hard in the second one?

[Anonymous No.21010967]

>>21010944
not just doing more and more “serious attempts” will keep you bad. trying to save an idea for when you’re “ready” is retard. realize you are capable of much more than whatever you consider your best idea to be today. start trying to see the bigger picture anon

[Anonymous No.21010979]

>>21010967
I've got the find the style first then I can develop stuff. I need the formula.

[Anonymous No.21011005]

GENERIC GAME TEXT ATTEMPT

It's a small plastic box, mostly transparent save for the top, a multitude of tiny long scratches all over it. Cards rattle on the inside.

>Open it
>Put it away

>Open it
>The cards organized in three different sets, bright orange, patterned grey and neon yellow sleeves. Unlike anything else in this room,

>Inspect the orange set
>Inspect the grey set
>Inspect the yellow set
>Close the box

>Inspect the grey set
>There is slight fading on the see-through front face of the sleeves. On the back, save for barely noticeable peeling on the cover on some, the pattern remains mostly intact. A circle orbited by three others, thin black lines expand from the center into the rest. On the edges, a dotted frame.

[Anonymous No.21011383]

>>21010944
>nothing I post is a serious attempt at my own actual ideas

this is why you are laughed at
you will always fail if you don't try in earnest

[Anonymous No.21011386]

>>21010944
you don't read. Your prose is all cliches and face value dictation.

[Anonymous No.21012028]

>>21010944
I assure you anon. The guy who wrote for Disco Elysium didn't write because he was inspired by a video game. He wrote because he simply liked stories like that, and he only wanted to make stories like that himself.

>>21011386
This pretty much. Read more books, or we'll still be here, laughing at you. I recommend the dystopia trinity first, as it was this that made me fall in love with books. Start with 1984, then Fahrenheit 451, followed by Brave New World

[Anonymous No.21012207]

>>21011386
That's the style I want to adopt after /wg/ laughed at me when I tried something else.
>>21012028
Already read it. You have any useful info for me or what?

[Anonymous No.21012221]

>>21012207
oh my god you are such an annoying CUNT you attention WHORE stop looking for attention on a BASKET WEAVING FORUM and start WRITING.

[Anonymous No.21012249]

>>21012221
Then let's adress the issue here. I want steady and fast improvement, how to get it?
I have no love for writing, if an AI would refine my drafts for me that'd be the best thing.
>>21012028
>that made me fall in love with books
Only relevant information, please.

[Anonymous No.21012342]

You read someone, Pynchon is my guess, who has a certain stylistic tendency that stuck out to you. Clauses upon clauses strung together with commas, subjectless/verbless clauses instead of complete sentences. Stuff like that. The only problem is good writer’s know when, where, and why to write stylishly and do so only when appropriate. Whereas you’ve amped it up to 11 and only write in that manner. It starts to sound trite after awhile.

[Anonymous No.21012362]

>>21012342
You'd be correct, it's Pynchon.
What should I do anon? For ny videogame writing aspirations, should I dial it back and go the opposite way, course correct.
I've thought about the solution to this overwriting problem, Hemingway even if I don't fully get it now, I will get used to it.
Limit myself to a certain mathematical standard, well defined.
No sentences longer than X amount and ao on.

[Anonymous No.21012389]

>>21012362
Read and write more. Analyze what you read and write with a critical eye.

Imitating someone is fine. Eventually you’ll want to imitate a different author. Do that enough you’ll have your own voice.

[Anonymous No.21012391]

>>21012342
I mostly read non fiction. Philosophy, memoirs, essays and religious texts.
What if I format my writing like what I am familiar with?

[Anonymous No.21012570]

>>21010944
If anything you're trying to hard. You're either over-elaborating the protagonist's sensorial confusion or, in the first example, using enumeration to, what, give the piece rhythm and intrigue at the expense of sense? You're over-writing, it's tedious, and masturbatory. It's evident that you're not confident in the material because you're trying to foreground aesthetics; granted the aesthetics are meant to convey the confusion of the protagonist, which is good (your stylistic approach should dovetail with the themes, ) but find a way to convey these things concisely and coherently--that's the trick you haven't learned. You said you like David Lynch? His movies often begin with either strong graphic elements rather than outright visual confusion--he estranges the audience slowly even if the initial events aren't entirely comprehensible at first.

We forget that overly-stylised 'genius' writers like Joyce, Pound, DFW or even Henry James built up the goodwill of their following through rather straightforward writing in their early work. (Certain authors like Jean Genet, say, can start with somewhat elaborate prose, but they aren't writing to simply distort coherence.) Don't be afraid to NOT appear genius.

I don't think you're a hopeless writer by any means, it's just not worth putting in the effort to read your work at this point. Write directly. As an excercise,
try writing in an extremely limited third person perspective (no access to a any character's thought or perception) and build from there--develop your craft before focusing on the 'art'.

[Anonymous No.21012682]

>>21012570
Yeah, Lynch is an inspiration in my storyboard concepts.
I'm kind of drifting towards Pynchon, want it or not, when I write. It's distracting. I even thought I kept it under control on what I wrote and well the feedback, it's obvious that I didn't.

There's the other failed attempts like pic related. I'm just lost on what to do.
I mean' considering the project is a branching game, either I reconsider this or find a way to make it work.

[Anonymous No.21012875]

>>21012682
I wouldn't overwhelm myself with trying to learn how to write like Pynchon before you can write a game. Maybe pattern your writing on games you like if you're trying to write a game, or write stories or novels without a gaming spect if you're more drawn to that.

In any case, you're trying to skip too many steps required to practice and perfect writing in a rush to complete a game. Keep in mind most game writing is trash, so don't sweat it. In any narrrative, however, each sentence should have relevance to what comes next in the scene, each scene to the next scene, and and so on. You constantly reiterate and circle endlessly the same 'idea' or sensation you want to convey. If you're dead set on that style reference this graphic novel if you're able: https://heatherveley.medium.com/a-comic-review-the-extended-dream-of-mr-d-451a3a05c22f

It's a lot like your current stuff, not much more coherent, but I suppose the illustrations help to keep it together somewhat---perhaps the game play will unite your work better than we can determine.

Please bear in mind you'll almost certainly fail if your only goal is to create something groundbreaking and genius in your first work without paying your dues. Do it for the love of the craft rather than some idea of how groundbreaking and genius you'll seem. The craft comes from ground up mechanics and years of practice and experiment not merely 'inspired' flights of fancy. Talented and undisciplined people fail where untalented but disciplined people succeed. The myth of the genius artist springing from nowhere is bullshit.

[Anonymous No.21012984]

>>21012875
>>21012875
>Maybe pattern your writing on games you like if you're trying to write a game, or write stories or novels without a gaming spect if you're more drawn to that.
I've done this, compiled a list of games, and studied their writing styles and how it serves the gameplay
>LSD Dream Emulator (Because of this one I need brief imagery inducing text)
>Night in the Woods
>KRZ
>Vampire Bloodlines
>For better or worse, some Disco Elysium skills.
It's a vertical slice of a hopefully better, bigger project. The test run.

The idea has been refined I'd say, did the Lynch thing to slowly get it over a year, constantly going over the design. Get 70 scenes and elaborate on them, link them. It was originally a comic book but that didn't pan out.

>I wouldn't overwhelm myself with trying to learn how to write like Pynchon before you can write a game.
Curiously, it seems to be an involuntary thing. I lean towards shitty Pynchon no matter what, it's the natural state at the time. I guess I'm trying to overcorrect my other natural inclination, a more casual one. If not this I can be extremely laconic to the point of being robotic.

>Please bear in mind you'll almost certainly fail if your only goal is to create something groundbreaking and genius in your first work without paying your dues.
I'm just trying to make a game I'd like to play in a setting I'd like to share. Inspired by the movies, comics and games I like.

[Anonymous No.21013034]

>>21012875
Very fitting review on that comic.
Here's LSD Dream Emulator, the strongest influence (epilepsy warning) https://youtu.be/DDji5zhu1nc
There's Enter the Void, Hard to be a god (with the cryptic plot and dialogue) Inland Empire and Lynch's adverts, Kenneth Anger.
I'm too focused on style, I should go back to the basics.

[Anonymous No.21013167]

I think you'll figure it out. Don't rush yourself.

[Anonymous No.21013462]

Bump

[Anonymous No.21013520]

>>21010944
Do you really care, or are you just spamming this for shits and giggles?

[Anonymous No.21013536]

>>21013520
It's all I care about.

[Anonymous No.21013588]

Do you want to write specifically for games? Then the kind of writing you’re doing in your posts is useless.

I worked at a AAA studio before it sucked my soul out, and every writer in the narrative department either made their own game first (this was most common I think), wrote modules for tabletop rpg’s that got picked up by the big companies like WotC, or came from a comicbook background.

Prose heavy stuff like you’re writing is pretty useless. Either make a game yourself, with some people, or break into something like comic books.

But I was just a coder and this is just my observation of the people who wrote for our games.

[Anonymous No.21013738]

>>21013588
I've played around with my own comics before.

This is not the first time I've been told or considered on my own that this style might be something else. I know I must focus on dialogue that fits the gameplay, genre and plot.

It's just that I wanted to describe pretty out there imagery instead of show it (budget)

[Anonymous No.21014031]

Were you the same anon schizo posting like 5 pynchon threads a day a few months ago?

[Anonymous No.21014045]

>>21014031
yes

[Anonymous No.21014072]

>>21014031
Not really.

[Anonymous No.21014089]

>>21014072
So it was you? You’d post like 1 actual question and then a bunch of random stuff, like changing pynchon’s photo until it looked like abraham lincoln. Does anyone else remember that?

[Anonymous No.21014107]

>>21014089
Hahaha, no it wasn't me but I'm stealing that. Morphing a photo? Madman.

[Anonymous No.21014123]

>>21014107
Ah, that’s too bad. I miss all the pynchon posting.

[Anonymous No.21014193]

>>21014123
Got any advice for me?

[Anonymous No.21014815]

Bumping

[Anonymous No.21015123]

>>21010944
I know what the problem is, hard to explain, sort of but not really, more brevity less purple and less uncertainty in the description unless that's a question then make it a question.

[Anonymous No.21015132]

>>21015123
Brevity? So just reign in everything...

[Anonymous No.21015613]

Bumping