/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.23020439]

/wg/ Writing General

"Feline Anarchy" edition

Previous: >>23000816

/wg/ AUTHORS & FLASH FICTION: https://pastebin.com/ruwQj7xQ (embed)
RESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS: https://pastebin.com/nFxdiQvC (embed)

Please limit excerpts to one post.
Give advice as much as you receive it to the best of your ability.
Follow prompts made below and discuss written works for practice; contribute and you shall receive.
If you have not performed a cursory proofread, do not expect to be treated kindly. Edit your work for spelling and grammar before posting.
Violent shills, relentless shill-spammers, and grounds keeping prose, should be ignored and reported.

Simple guides on writing:
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHdzv1NfZRM
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whPnobbck9s
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAKcbvioxFk

Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HOrnz_N29U

[Anonymous No.23020445]

Everyone who posts in these threads is a faggot

[Anonymous No.23020514]

>>23020445
>total self awareness fail

[Anonymous No.23020578]

>>23020439
>GTA 3 theme
Impressive taste. Any good ideas for a story set in a GTA 3-like setting? There's nothing quite like it out there

[Anonymous No.23020743]

>>23020445
Stunning and brave.

[Anonymous No.23020813]

how do you transcribe your stories onto pastebin/notepad so that it doesn’t fuck up the formatting like shoving an entire paragraph onto a single line.

[Anonymous No.23020822]

LITRPG FOR ROYALE ROAD

Thanks for your advice in the last thread. I tried to fix it and also added a new chapter. Read it, there is the first fight of the story.

>Info-Dump
As a school, the professor needed to explain things, but I still polished it to make it smoother.

>Uncle
I polished his dialogue too, trying to see his 'info dump' dialogue like boomer ranting.

Show instead of tell
I changed almost all adjectives with descriptions without putting in my personal opinion, but I left what is actually good for the general flow, such as:
>She raised her voice to attract the attention of other freshmen."

Send your opinion.:
Here you can read without download
https://smallpdf.com/result#r=3a9e4008f77ae8dc89f82d54dbdb15bf&t=share-document

[Anonymous No.23020823]

>>23020439
Every time I see this picture it freaks me out because it looks just like my cat.

[Anonymous No.23020843]

alright anons post your lifetime writing earnings. be honest now

[Anonymous No.23020860]

>>23020843
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Anonymous No.23021044]

>>23020822
>dead link
Fucking lol

Download here
https://filebin.net/pbst0g29qr8bavzu

[Anonymous No.23021072]

Should I keep parts of my draft as reference even if I'm planning on completely changing what's in them?

[Anonymous No.23021129]

>>23021072
You probably should. That way you can refer back to earlier drafts of the story in case something is not working in later drafts.

[Anonymous No.23021310]

>mfw could write better as a 15 year-old for school assignments than now trying to write seriously

[Anonymous No.23021377]

>>23021310
This, so much this. I mostly chalk it up to being much more free and unburdened by expectations back then. Whenever I try writing now it just feels so stuffy, and then to make things worse my inner critic starts ripping into me with no remorse.

[Anonymous No.23021451]

>>23021377
Try not reading what you write until you finish your first draft. Just keep moving forward.

[Anonymous No.23021453]

>>23020813
Use Catbox and then post the links into your pastebin.

[Anonymous No.23021575]

Thinking of writing a S&S yarn. I noticed that the genre tends to be told in short stories.

[Anonymous No.23021950]

>>23021377
>>23021310
Construct an altar to Dionysus and request his blessing (do meth and masturbate for 12 hours)

[Anonymous No.23022281]

How in the world do you turn some vague concepts, aesthetics, and plot beats you know you want to write about into an actual story?

[Anonymous No.23022570]

>>23022281
Prove you won't be a faggot if someone answers your question.

[Anonymous No.23022580]

>>23021310
the shit I wrote when 15 was so fucking awful, incoherent trash, I can't understand why teachers didn't just fail everything, but even praised some of it. Guess the others were just as bad or worse

[Anonymous No.23022602]

>>23022580
>I can't understand why teachers didn't just fail everything, but even praised some of it
same, I assume my teachers were blowing smoke up my ass out of sympathy for my severe mental deficiency

[Anonymous No.23022611]

>>23022570
What do you mean by this

[Anonymous No.23022613]

>>23022281
Make an outline, and place the plot beats you have roughly where they would be. Come up with a beginning and an ending that you are happy with.

Next, jot down as many of these vague concepts as you can. Now expand upon them until you have more plot beats. Repeat this for other vague ideas as they pop into your head (I assure you, if you type out the current ones, more will come). Eventually, you'll have an outlined plot and characters.

From there, write the story.

[Anonymous No.23022855]

>>23020843
Let's see... $35 I think.

[Anonymous No.23022986]

How did you start writing? What gave you that push? Did you all just wake up one day and thought "that's it, I'm gonna be a writer"?
I'm just genuinely curious, but I do have an ulterior motive as well. I have some ideas I would like to put down on paper, but I wouldn't even know where to start. I think I'm more just enamored with the idea of writing, a kind of romanticized image in my head. Should I still try?

[Anonymous No.23023152]

Another page from the bike novel

[Anonymous No.23023164]

>>23020843
About $2,500 CAD for actually published literature, in addition to some perks like hotel and dinner stays in foreign countries as a guest resident, plus an additional $300,000 CAD for commercial copywriting I've done over the years.

[Anonymous No.23023191]

>>23022986
I have rather severe health issues and I have had them for nearly a decade at this point.
When I was younger I played games and watched anime and the like. Then I went from watching anime to reading manga, which then led to me reading actual books.
I had no income, I am living with my parents, and I decided that I might be able to at least get some money to pay them back since I feel like a parasite.
So reading became writing, and it's been 2 years.

I've often thought about creating something, but I'm a highschool drop out (dropping out due to said health issues) and coding is too hard for me but I also can't draw for shit. So writing makes sense to me since I can do it from bed (I'm writing this from bed right now) and I think that I really needed some outlet for my mind.
I used to bake, but it's become harder and harder, now being something I basically only do for family get togethers.

It wasn't a one day thing, it was something I thought about for a while, but my ability to spell was, and to an extent is, pretty bad.
Until a few years ago, I didn't even use punctuation at all, and I've forgotten more than school ever taught me about proper writing.

Since I started I feel like I've become more mentally healthy, and I don't spend nearly as much time playing video games just to alleviate my boredom and prevent my eventual suicide.
It costs nothing to try to write, so do it. Maybe you'll love it like I do, and maybe you won't, but to never even try, to never find out because of worry, that is a death in and of itself.

For where to start, this thread.
Do you have an outline? I didn't, still don't really. I started writing from an ending that I wanted and a series of disconnected scenes I've been imagining for years.
I write a middling webnovel on RR mostly for practice because it lets me try out many different ideas, and once that is done, something that I hope to do in the next year, I'll move on to either trying to rewrite it into a novel format or move on to one of my other ideas.

And a word of warning. You're first chapter, book, whatever, it is going to be bad.
I'm not saying this to discourage you, but so you can avoid getting your hopes up.
Plenty of people posted their first chapter in this thread and people shit on it, sometimes justifiably, sometimes not.
The important part is that some took the genuine advice and tried to improve, but others got assmad and refused to learn because they thought they made something good and couldn't get past their ego to look at their work in a less biased manner.
Being ignorant isn't wrong, but refusing to correct it makes you an idiot.
Finally, the thread is going to have people who just want to discourage you from writing for one reason or another, and it is up to you to look at these posts and see if they have nuggets of truth or if they are just bitter people.

[Anonymous No.23023233]

>>23023191
>You're first chapter
ive got some bad news

[Anonymous No.23023424]

>>23023191
NTA but I took a lot of criticism for the first chapter of my WIP. It was totally justified criticism. At the time I had such certainty that the early version of Chapter 1 had artistic merit, a juxtaposition that prepared the reader for disillusionment with the setting. What I didn't realize is that I was setting reader expectations for what the rest of the book would be about. In that regard, it was terrible. I have a lot of thanks to give to those critics because it helped me grasp the tone of the novel better. As a result, the other sections of the story make more sense to me.

[Anonymous No.23023573]

>>23021575
It's a fun diversion and good tool. I wrote a few I'd never share and sometimes do a little 1500 word one when I want to have fun. I tend towards Vance more than the rest but prefer to read the rest, if that makes sense.

[Anonymous No.23023632]

>>23023191
Oh, I'm fully aware that my first "chapter, book, whatever" will be shit and I would like to believe I am prepared for it. But... I don't really know how to explain it properly, but I can't even get it out in the first place. It's like whenever I'm trying to write anything I just freeze up completely. Even simple make-believe stuff feels nigh impossible. I have some ideas, but they're very vague and basically come down to "hey wouldn't it be cool if...", and whenever I'm trying to start fleshing them out I just can't help but think that it is stupid and unnatural and so weird. I'm afraid I might be on some kind of spectrum, mainly because of some other issues but also because of this too, but maybe all this is just a lame excuse for my unwillingness to engage with something new and difficult, and nothing more.

[Anonymous No.23023641]

Under a sky streaked with the fading light of dusk, a figure meandered, drawn by the soft hum and flicker of a world that seemed to hang in the balance between reality and something else, something not quite tangible.
They stumbled upon a sanctuary of light and sound, its entrance guarded by the soft buzzing of electric life. The air inside tasted of dust and magic, each breath a step further from the world they knew. The space around them warped, colors and shapes bending in ways that defied the natural order. Surfaces shimmered with a texture reminiscent of dreams half-remembered, scenes unfolding in blocks and jagged edges that seemed to dance at the periphery of vision.
Here, landscapes stretched into infinity, their horizons jagged like torn paper against a sky too bright, too vivid. Trees stood as sentinels, their leaves not fluttering, but static, as if captured in the moment before a storm. Creatures of myth moved with jerky grace, their forms simplified to the essence of motion, a suggestion of life rather than a replication.
The figure moved with cautious curiosity, each step revealing a world where the boundaries of imagination were the only limits. Platforms floated, defying gravity, inviting leaps of faith into the unknown. The air itself felt charged, alive with the potential of discovery, each breath a blend of the familiar and the utterly foreign.
In this realm, the figure found solace in the abstraction, the mind filling in the gaps where detail faded into suggestion. The beauty here was not in the mimicry of life but in the bold strokes of creation, a place where the essence of form and color spoke more deeply than the most detailed landscapes of the real world.
As the day gave way to night, the horizon melted into a kaleidoscope of impossible hues, the world softening into silhouettes against a canvas of stars not bound by the laws of physics. The figure stood at the heart of this creation, awestruck by the realization that what they witnessed was not a limitation but a liberation, a freedom found in the spaces between the pixels, in the leap from the known to the imagined.
With a lingering look at the luminous vista, the figure retraced their steps, the echo of their passage a whisper in the vast chamber. The world outside awaited, its every shadow and light now a reminder of the boundless landscapes that lie just beyond the edge of vision, a testament to the power of imagination to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

[Anonymous No.23023664]

>>23023632
No, you are experiencing something every writer has at one point. You can overcome it by approaching writing with more actionable tasks. Write about the ideas. Ask questions about why you care, where it's going, what you need, or anything you feel you need. Writing will help you channel these thoughts into things you can act on, things you can edit. Avoid ruminating and start writing. It will help you see what you really want to do.

[Anonymous No.23023665]

>>23023632
I'm reminded of the immortal adage that
>7 final draft manuscripts in the drawer for every one that goes to print
holds up extremely well. I'm on fundamentally flawed novel number 4 or 5 and pressing through just enough that I learn something useful the next time around. This one I think I can turn into something if I find what works. The first 3 were fucked from jump, 2 were unwritable and one was just boring.

[Anonymous No.23023677]

>>23023152
Any reason you use google docs?

[Anonymous No.23023682]

Should I have an action-packed intro with exposition happening later, or have an exposition-laden intro with action happening later?

[Anonymous No.23023690]

>>23023682
Necessary exposition that isn't catering to an author's mental illnesses to explain everything can usually be summed up in a paragraph. Two if it's a really dense novel with a lot of shit already going on.

[Anonymous No.23023693]

>>23023641
chatgpt slop

[Anonymous No.23023708]

>>23023690
this is a serial webnovel

[Anonymous No.23023709]

>>23023233
I've been awake since 11:30 last night, and I'm typing on a new set up.
I should really consider taking a second look at my posts to check for errors, but it's 4chan.

[Anonymous No.23023721]

>>23023682
Don't pack it. Introduce a character with a problem or a goal.

Exposition is boring. Tons of action involving people the reader doesn't care about is also boring.

[Anonymous No.23023839]

>>23023632
>wouldn't it be cool if...
Sometimes that is a good enough start.
I didn't start my story with free will and mental health as central themes, I just had an ending in mind and the idea that I hated it when people in stories overcome serious trauma with one peptalk.
Imagine if you got whisked away to a magical school but against your will.
An 11 year old isn't going to handle that well, and it's probably going to fuck him up for life, which is made worse by living in a pre-modern society that has little concept of mental health because real men just hide all of their emotions and then snap one day.
Shooting someone with a fireball is fine in a story, until you do it for the first time and realize that you've just burned a hole through a guy and now the area smells like roasting pork.
As it is now, he's almost complete desensitized to all forms of violence, and though he dislikes killing, he's got a body count in the six digits because his life has shown how might makes right and he wants to build a better world, no matter how many evil people he has to kill to get it done.

I've rewritten this post about three times, and I'm sleep deprived and in a lot of pain, so I'm going to stop and hope that this is legible and useful.

[Anonymous No.23023853]

>>23023721
How much action is too much action?

[Anonymous No.23023901]

>>23023708
Doubly so. All the best serials were and are easy to jump into at any point and go back to for more stories (less context, it's more of the same). Realistically you have between 2 pages and 20 to jarpig infodump, so to speak, given the length of a serial story, but it shouldn't define any given arc of the story, assuming one has read or read a summary of the gist. Write for the story content present and the rest fades into [rancid bitchqueen] does thing or [evil minister is evil], because that's the kind of story it becomes with that length and scope. It's a fucking soap opera, go watch a few in spanish for a week if you aren't a spic and figure out how you figure out what they're about so quickly. That's what you want in good pulp.

[Anonymous No.23023957]

>>23023682
Both aren't great in my opinion.
Start by introducing a character that you're readers should care about.
Don't misunderstand the advice to have a hook at the start. The hook is anything that can draw a reader in, not a flashy fight, not places and people who I have no context for yet.
I started with a farmer going to sell vegetables hearing a baby crying in the woods.
This sets up certain questions.
>Why is the baby there?
>Where are the parents?
>Why would the farmer even go into what could be a trap?
>Is it really that dangerous?
First two questions aren't answered immediately but I end the first chapter with something that implies something much larger is at work.
The next two are answered in that chapter.
The farmer is a father, and even if he isn't brave, he would feel too guilty to even look his daughters in the eyes if he didn't at least look.
The last question is first alluded to by his thoughts being that every bad story he heard from his own father started with something like this, and that the farmer has boxes of odd vegetables such as blue tomatoes because Fae like playing tricks. Then by the end of the chapter the farmer's brother-in-law basically calls him an idiot because the baby is clearly weird looking and could be a changeling.
I don't start with saying that 1500 years ago the gods seemingly vanished out of nowhere and that to the east lies a theocracy that still worships them and that they've been at war with the Kingdom of Ragne for almost that entire time or that people once lived in walled cities because the disappearance of these gods meant that the hordes of monsters weren't being kept in check and humanity was at risk of extinction.
Because if I did that, who gives a shit? This isn't a war story, and even if it was from the start I would want to reveal these things more naturally by the words and actions of actual people in the world which would also introduce the bias which the characters have.

[Anonymous No.23023975]

>>23023641
congratulations anon, you just wrote absolutely nothing in 426 words. your descriptions are so fucking vague that all i'm grasping is a blurry idea of trees and floating platforms and bright colors.

>inb4 it's abstract!!!
all that imagery and yet i can visualize almost nothing. abstract or not, there's no substance and no deeper meaning. if this scene is essential to your plot, please trim it as much as you can. long descriptive passages with no plot progression can already make you seem like an egoist jerkoff of a writer - much less long descriptive passages that aren't actually describing anything.

ask yourself: does this passage contribute to the greater themes, plot, or reader immersion in your novel? or are you just trying to wow the reader with your prowess at prose? if the latter is the case, at least succeed at it.

[Anonymous No.23023988]

>>23023664
>Write about the ideas. Ask questions about why you care, where it's going, what you need, or anything you feel you need.
So... Basically journaling? Just to get the ink flowing and to get more used to writing in general?
>>23023839
>I'm sleep deprived and in a lot of pain
Sorry to hear that. Hope it gets at least somewhat better soon.

[Anonymous No.23024023]

>>23023988
>So... Basically journaling? Just to get the ink flowing and to get more used to writing in general?
He's more talking about brainstorming and free writing with a focus on your story and ideas. However, if likening it to journaling gives you the mindset to do it, then by all means...

[Anonymous No.23024026]

>>23023901
we're not talking about print serials but web serials
full on royalroad slop anon

[Anonymous No.23024047]

>>23024023
Nah, I just have no idea what I'm doing. Or talking about, really. I've essentially had writer's block for over a decade and a half and I don't know how to deal with it. It used to be so easy to just write generic shitty fantasy short stories and not care about much. And now I care too much and write too little (or nothing at all, really)

[Anonymous No.23024054]

>>23024026
I'm trying to make it apply so it will be something I would potentially read by accident. Shh.

[Anonymous No.23024180]

>>23024054
It ain't working

[Anonymous No.23024188]

>>23023693
yep

[Anonymous No.23024203]

I think I'm finally ready to post online some of the shit I've been writing, but I'm unsure where. The two places I get recommended the most are Wattpad and Royalroad. There's something about Wattpad that makes me reluctant about posting my stuff there, and I'm unsure about royalroad. What do you anons suggest? Any personal experiences?

[Anonymous No.23024212]

>>23024180
axiommaxxing favors me and mine over starting from the beginning every time.

[Anonymous No.23024306]

>>23023975
you wrote seriously to an ai-generated post

[Anonymous No.23024341]

>>23022986
When I was in middle school a friend and I decided to write the worst possible fanfics possible and present them to eachother. I found it fun. So did he. We both started writing and our conversations evolved into philosophy through highschool, though only going as far as our stories.
I didn't take writing seriously until about 4 years ago though. I was going to kill myself, and found that the only thing I cared about was writing. It's in my blood now.
Last year the same thing happened to my friend.

[Anonymous No.23024415]

Do you believe in the design?

Sweat pours down his face as his legs push him forward, huffing and puffing down the sidewalk. It hurts; of course, it fucking hurts, but he can't stop. In his line of sight, a key to saving himself (an alleyway) is near. He takes a sharp right turn and bolts down like a person who has committed a crime, and the police are on his tail. A few minutes later, his body drags across the lone passage with each step until he places his back against the wall of a building. He leans on his heels to keep the weight off his raw toes and shuts his eyes, hoping they won't find him.

[Anonymous No.23024421]

>>23022986
I read some novels one of my relatives gifted me, I like some of the plots, and I wanted to write my own stories.

[Anonymous No.23024446]

>>23024415
sloppy.

[Anonymous No.23024574]

>>23024446
He's trolling.

[Anonymous No.23024723]

>>23023677

Cloud-based so I can access it anywhere on any device and never worry about losing my writing. I've used Word before and lost text, even with auto-save on. Never again. I'm also just a simp for Google's office suite.

[Anonymous No.23024773]

>>23024723
Backup your stuff though. I use Google Docs for the same reasons as you but don't rely upon it 100%.

[Anonymous No.23024819]

>>23023152
this is good, anon. good enough to turn into an actual novel, provided you work with an editor.

>I can almost feel the tendons and the pinched nerves in my back temporarily ease up, like a disease in remission
my only critique is of this weird simile. why are you comparing a medical condition to another medical condition?

[Anonymous No.23024834]

How do I make best use of scrivener? Its formatting makes it feel ill-suited for writing something then discovering it.

[Anonymous No.23024895]

>>23024819
Thanks. I will be, eventually. This is just my first round of edits after the first draft. It's a long work in progress. Thanks for the tip, I'll correct it.

[Anonymous No.23024915]

>>23023152
Ay! This is pretty gud!

[Anonymous No.23024919]

>>23024834
Anon that bought scriv yesterday, I've only been putting it off for 14 or so years with other apps.

Your question sounds retarded and may be but I think I know what exactly it points to. The power of it is you can make a note of any file and make notes attached to that file, in layers. Files are folders and folders can be made into files. l put the ounce of silver at current prices down to get a full creative writing suite. It does full writing suite things that all the cheap apps used in tandem fail to on every point worth mentioning.

Watch a video 10 years ago, then try to find a video as up to date right now.

[Anonymous No.23024925]

>>23024919
Yeah I was approaching it like chopping my novel up into chapter folders and it felt very disorienting to do so initially
I should buy it, I've only periodically reinstalled the trial

[Anonymous No.23024943]

>>23024925
There's a a discount code for thirtysome percent, I'd just take it and get cashback on your credit card for the rest. It's way too much goddamn app to explain, it does what all the free ones that one linuxfag tried to mansplain to a man tired of using linux and winishit fail to do for free, and then does some nice paid things on top of it.

[Anonymous No.23025214]

>>23022986
I wrote stories as a hobby all through gradeschool. After that I stopped, despite reading more. Eventually life caught up with me and there was so much to think about. Things made me lose sleep. I wondered where things were going and had nightmares and obsessive daydreams about it too. That kind of obsession became so normal that writing became my only outlet to complete the visions and lay them to rest.

[Anonymous No.23025221]

Meandering slice of life v. some semblance of a plot is genuinely keeping me up at night. I did not know something could be made worse by taking the furry horror vn aspects out of it.

[Anonymous No.23025230]

How do I start my book with waking up

[Anonymous No.23025234]

im really interested in the way Stephen King writes these stories that take place in these sleepy new England towns, where the characters are confronted by some evil personified by the town, and must come back years later as adults to confront this shared trauma..
The way Stephen King writes about maine is really, really interesting. Like there's just darkness hiding in there

[Anonymous No.23025297]

Is pastebin-anon still around? Or &amp anon? You need to add Justin Mohn to your 4chan author lists. Sure, he cut off his dad's head, and is now being held without bail...
https://files.catbox.moe/otqzr8.mp4
https://scallywagandvagabond.com/2024/01/justin-mohn-wrote-7-books-about-bloody-revolution-on-amazon/
...but that's like the most 4chan thing in the world! Plus, he published 9 books, most of them seething. I just read the first 4 chapters of "The Pink" and I'm enthralled! Sector Z9 makes "Eyes Wide Shut" look like "Romper Room"! Check out the existing discussion at >>23015198, then let people know his books can be downloaded from z-lib, or en masse from https://files.catbox.moe/kq003e.7z (I scanned that w/Microsoft Defender; it came out clean), and one can read his author bio, and see a list of his books, here...
https://web.archive.org/web/20240131043351/https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01ATDC9LK/about
https://web.archive.org/web/20240131072607/https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01ATDC9LK/allbooks
...since he's already been removed from Amazon and GoodReads, and generally unpersoned.
This guy is my new hero...far more interesting than the lame old groundkeeper, and way more accomplished. I hope he opens up a legal defense fund on GiveSendGo or something.

[Anonymous No.23025299]

>>23025297
Here's page 1 of his first book, "The Pink". You know you want to read the rest.

[Anonymous No.23025306]

Herbert Grapeseed was a persnickety old man who never cared much for trimming his hedges. He'd prim and trim, scrape and scalpel, all the little roses by the window sill; but never, never ever, did he ever trim his damn hedges.
His shrill shrieking beast of a ball and chain would yell: "'ERBERT! 'AVE YOU TRIMMED THE FOOKIN' 'EDGES YET, DARLIN'?"
And he would always reply, in his measured and soft baritone: "Why, no, dear; can't say that I have."
Whistling away, not a care in the world, Herbert would hop into his camaro and drive eastbound on the 405; round the corner, up the bend, all the way to the little spot he'd always walk; and head into that red neon lit bookstore. Once inside, he'd let out a sigh, as the portly Vietnamese lady would greet him with a friendly: "Ahhh, missa herbert, you want go back room?"
"Why, yes, dear; I think I shall." he'd reply.
The lights would turn on and the show would begin, his little vixen in tassels, she'd do quite the spin. 'Twas not the dancing, nor the attire, that captured old Herbert and his only desire; 'twas what lay between the legs, the tufty bulbous muff, that set his loins on fire.
Back home he drove, his thirst now quenched, as he'd pull in, he'd look at those hedges, untrimmed, and smile.

[Anonymous No.23025347]

>>23013063
Starting off February on the best note I can really expect. Coming up on 30k words, so I *am* about 3 days behind where I'd like to be. That doesn't matter; I'll keep going as long as I am able. I do worry I'm beginning to meander in the current chapter, so I'm going to try to wrap things up somewhat quickly, and move the story forward.

>>23023682
Try to have an *interesting* intro. Whether that's action-packed or not, it's best to avoid info-dumping if at all possible (and it is always possible to not frontload your exposition).

>>23023690
I've been going by similar advice to this. Very true words.

>>23021310
I feel much more stilted writing essays. Couldn't tell you why, but I'd guess it was because I didn't *want* to be writing.

>>23024203
If you're doing progression fantasy or a LitRPG, *definitely* RoyalRoad. Fantasy in general also plays decently well there.

[Anonymous No.23025375]

>>23024203
depends on your genre. some genres won't perform at all online, even if exceptional.

[Anonymous No.23025421]

>>23025299
i know you’re trolling but fuck you for making me waste my time reading this rubbish

[Anonymous No.23025744]

>>23020439

[Anonymous No.23025975]

>Was recced two books that could help my writing
>ADHD too intense to get through a couple paragraphs of their ramblings
Why are all these help books always rambling and reflections instead of simple guides? I don't care what the author thinks about the Matrix, I want to find out if beats are a better way to outline my plots than just throwing stuff down and how to do pacing correctly where there is always conflict without it being exhausting.
I can write for hours on my own ideas, but trying to read someone else's leads me to daydreaming or unable to follow their train of thought.

[Anonymous No.23025981]

>>23025347
I tried this but I got banned because my main heroine was a beautiful female child.

[Anonymous No.23026095]

The words “I've never seen anything like this” escaped by themselves from the EMT's mouth while he was busy trying to shake the confusion out of his face. Elias, a bit dazed by the lack of sleep, tried to get an answer for what had happened before him just half an hour ago. Even more confused now, the EMT replied to him with silence, more angry than reflective, which was followed by a loud, don't-bother-me sigh. Elias kept insisting, that doctor guy in front of him had to know something. The EMT, sensing that the questions weren't going to stop, stooped down to answering the kid in the politest way he could muster.

“Didn't you say that you were in front of him when he died, kid?”

“Yeah, but I don't know what happened, I just don't get it.”

To the EMT, that was the worst answer he could've given. He dropped any pretensions of professionalism and began to shout.

“Well then shut your damn mouth, kid. I can't think with you barfing stupid questions around every five seconds. If you, who were there, don't know what the hell happened, how do you expect that I will?”

The EMT stopped for a second to take a deep breath. Prime numbers were now leaving his mouth: 2, 3, 5, 7, all of them coming out as smooth as the disc of a grinder against teeth. Somehow, to Elias' confusion, this ritual seemed to calm him down because he promptly resumed speaking like a normal person.

“I believe it'd to've been some sort of really strong flame…? It's the only thing that comes to mind. The fire department is in its way to check for any kind of gas leak that could've caused this. Are you sure there was no source of fire prior to your brother's,” he struggled to find the correct word and finally settled for the obvious, “combustion?”

An “I dunno” more similar to that of a reprimanded child than that of a 20 year old mourning the death of his brother came out of Elias' mouth. The EMT just couldn't help but leave the scene filled with indignation. As he was leaving, Elias could hear more numbers, bigger numbers, that grew quieter until they simply stopped. The unexpected exit of the EMT forced him to confront what he was trying to avoid this entire time. In the midst of the kitchen, his kitchen now, basking in the timid morning sunlight, lay the remains of his brother's body. He watched as a kind sort of smoke came out of the embers seemingly trying, in vain, to give him a hug.

[Anonymous No.23026121]

I have like no joke or exaggeration 50 unique individual fights with about 100 characters to write in this next arc.
Fuck that's gonna be taxing.

[Anonymous No.23026182]

After re-reading the post I've realized that it might be a tad too long and that I'm just venting more than anything. Still going to post it anyway in hopes something good does come out of it.

What would your advice be to break through writer's block that lasted more than a decade? Granted, it's not like I have been actively trying to write this entire time, I just got so stuck on a story in middle school that I stopped writing entirely and eventually moved on to other things. Since then I haven't engaged in anything creative much and now I'm really struggling even with just getting ideas, not to mention fleshing them out and turning them into something readable. It's like my creative muscles have atrophied completely.
Also, pretentious as it may sound, I really like flowery descriptive language and abstract metaphors, but trying to write something like that feels so fake and, again, pretentious. Actually, this is a deeper problem I have with writing in general. It's all just playing pretend in my mind, coming up with stories that never happened but I wish they did. And yet I have zero issue with reading others' "fake, make-believe" stories, like they're somehow different from what I'm trying to push out.
Where do I go, what do I even do to free my creativity and take up the pen again? Is there something like a "newbie's guide to writing for creatively impaired"?

[Anonymous No.23026307]

>>23026182
Stop overthinking it and just write. You were able to post this hugeass wall of text, so clearly you have no trouble producing words. It's not any more complicated than that.

[Anonymous No.23026349]

>>23026307
But there is an undeniable difference between just spilling out whatever word salad you've got in your head without much semblance of a coherent structure and actually crafting worlds, characters, stories, etc. For some reason this divide feels unusually large and I just can't seem to cross it.

[Anonymous No.23026407]

>>23026349
Like I said, you're just overthinking it. Think less, write more. There's nothing rewriting/editing couldn't fix.

[Anonymous No.23026658]

>>23025975
What books?

[Anonymous No.23026798]

>>23025421
I'm not trolling! The posted page 1, like most books, is an example of "start with a bang" (which you would have spotted if you had any writing chops at all). Immediately after the sci-fi orgy scene, the book gets down to the nitty-gritty and is actually pretty interesting. And since he totally mogs the other /lit/ writers with his superior publicity skills, I think at a minimum he should be in the author pastebin and the &amp authors page.

[Anonymous No.23026805]

How do I make different factions of a war unique? The very rough idea was that there was this psychic war. One side lost and split into their own splinter groups with their own ideals on using their powers. The prophecy was that there was going to be a powerful psychic 7 years in the future who awakens their powers and kicks off the next war. I wanna do 3 factions with their own ideals with the war. One faction is against violence and will only use violence against other psychics and want to kill the psychic from the prophecy before the war can start. One faction wants to steal the psychic from the prophecy’s power and use it for their own good. Im genuinely confused on what a third faction could be like.

[Anonymous No.23026885]

>>23026805
The third faction is trying to hide away from the world, to not be involved in any of it, but they will be dragged into it because the chosen one is born into them.
I'd do this as a smaller population of isolationists that contains powerful people, hence them being on similar footing to the larger factions despite being small.

[Anonymous No.23026910]

>>23026885
I like that really, especially if they want to have their own island/society only for psychics.

[Anonymous No.23026958]

>>23024415
>Do you believe in the design?

This isn't too bad, but why even add this for the first sentence? If one is going to add such a sentence, at least expand upon it so we can see if it's bad or not. And no, you're not Jonathan Hickman.

[Anonymous No.23027015]

Check it check it check it: https://notters.substack.com/p/for-our-rains-shall-be-held

>>23023152
A bit of what >>23024819 said, I think this would benefit well from omitting those clauses and complements that expound on ideas in the text too explicitly
>...made worse by their ambiguity...that is the source of my own fear
can be removed, maybe in favour of highlighting the guy's anxious observation of Ben more
>...as if their choice has locked them...they didn't want.
can also be removed. You can afford to be a bit more ambiguous, you've already done so yourself — no clue if the preschoolers under June 19 are actual characters in the story, but I really liked how you inserted supplementary ideas in their paragraph without giving the reader a direct answer to how it fits in with the rest of the writing. Really good considering the main character seems to be struggling with unclear goals

>>23024415
Flows nicely, but I think you can leave out "A few minutes later" and instead describe the whole scene leading up to his rest a bit more. Would prob add more urgency to everything

>>23025306
This is really nice, the fuck. My only minuscule complaint would be to fix the punctuation before "...his little vixen..."
>turns into a poem when the chick starts to dance
Too /lit/ for this board

>>23025981
Please send a link

>>23026095
The pacing's a bit off because of the language you're using. Elias is supposed to be going on no sleep in complete confusion, the EMT's pissed off, but there are a number of words and passages here that cut into this frantic scene and reduce the effects of it all
>Even more confused now
>which was followed by a loud, don't-bother-me sigh
>sensing that the questions weren't going to stop
>dropped any pretensions of professionalism
>who were there
>because he promptly resumed speaking like a normal person
>filled with indignation
>mourning the death of his brother
can all be removed without being detrimental to the story or its characters. If Elias is perceptive enough that he's able to pick up on these little details, you balanced that trait with the overall narrative pretty well here:
>As he was leaving, Elias could hear more numbers, bigger numbers, that grew quieter until they simply stopped
It strikes the perfect tone while giving credence not only to Elias, but to the EMT as well in terms of character writing. Another example is this one:
>The unexpected exit of the EMT forced him to confront what he was trying to avoid this entire time
Not quite as strong, but it still describes both men rather well. Also, if you were to remove all reference to mourning his bro prior to this line, it would have better standing per its merits to his character.

[Anonymous No.23027069]

>>23025975
have you tried picrel? i don't remember it having that problem

[Anonymous No.23027137]

>>23025975
I like the Dent guide/formula someone posted last thread. Pretty concise and surprisingly flexible despite being very prescriptive.

[Anonymous No.23027163]

>working on a story
>magical bullshit about gravity letting a planet much larger than Earth maintaining Earthlike gravity
>remember that gravity fluctuates based on distance from surface
>end up learning that the deepest hole we ever dug was 40,000 feet which was only 0.19% to the core from sea level
Now I actually understand a lot more about why the idea of a hidden world within the world is used. We've barely scratched the surface of the planet, which does lend some level of believably to lost culture or other intelligent species existing even within obviously fantastical settings and grounds, or rather, undergrounds, them within reasonable pseudo science.
Within my own story I think that I can really use this information to do something interesting.

[Anonymous No.23027182]

>>23027137
I once turned a dippy slice of life where nothing happened into a thriller where very little happened using that formula. It's also easy to scale to a larger scope or rip down to fit in a single chapter.

[Anonymous No.23027217]

>>23027137
https://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html

[Anonymous No.23027303]

>Today have an idea
>this rough idea was in my mind for over a year, but today I finally had a clear vision about what the story is about, the climax, the end, the theme, etc
>ready to get to work
>but
>there is one problem
>the first half of the story has to be a build up to the climax in the exact middle
>unlike something like C&P the murder the MC will commit is not planned, its done in a fit of rage
>I have to somehow capture the attention of the reader for a good houndred pages before anything actually "happens"
How can I do this? Any tips on how to make what is essentially a long buildup interesting to the reader?
The latter half I have planned is very packed with stuff happening and engaging, even ironically funny, but the first half is the ordinary and frustrating life of our protagonist, which I feel could get very boring

[Anonymous No.23027313]

>>23027015
It's funny, I can't please everyone. My first draft had almost zero explicit details of my feelings or interpretation of events - it was pure dialogue and scene descriptions. And people hated it here. They wanted me to explicitly share how I felt about things, and dive into each detail. So I added a sentence or so to each paragraph in order to do that. And people have generally responded to it much more favorably. Now you're saying cut them :(

[Anonymous No.23027362]

I have officially did not make it
what now?

[Anonymous No.23027367]

>>23027362
Well you are going to make it is in the future, of course in the present you haven't made it

[Anonymous No.23027387]

>>23027367
What I mean is that any chance of me making it in the future is now gone.
I suppose I should just go back to university to do master's and then become an academic or something. I want my life to have meaning

[Anonymous No.23027497]

Fuck it. This prose is too beige, the narration too dry. I need to rewrite everything with my own voice, my actual voice, portraying the scenes as they mean to me and not just "this thing happened. Character felt emotion".

[Anonymous No.23027514]

>>23025230
He woke up and realized he was gay all along.

[Anonymous No.23027669]

Should I jump ahead in my story and write a scene I want to do even if I might end up discarding it entirely later when I catch up to it chronologically?

[Anonymous No.23027673]

>>23027669
Yes

[Anonymous No.23027678]

>>23027673
Good idea, there is fucking no way I'll be able to discover what I want to do if I'm stuck on these setup chapters that are making me want to die because I really don't want to do them right now, like it's not like I hate them but it's not fun for me and I'd get there faster if I could skip ahead and know what I'm building towards

[Anonymous No.23027709]

Should I rewrite my story to make it less graphic?

[Anonymous No.23027721]

>>23027015
You're right. I need to get rid of "A few minutes later". Though at least I know the flow is good.

[Anonymous No.23027763]

Why does everyone here write like they're just trying to flex their vocabulary?

>The black dog jumped over the fence.
To
>An obsidian colored canine lept above the picket

It doesn't make your writing better.

[Anonymous No.23027779]

>>23027763
It seems to me that one wants to show how "sophisticated" or "big brain" one is. I agree it doesn't help make the writing better. The only thing that will improve one's writing is the good ol' technique: show don't tell

[Anonymous No.23027829]

>>23027763
Words are chosen by the mood they create.
>Fuligin shuck, foul beast, vaulted o'er the ancient stile, galloped full tilt though fallow field and into the thicket of the devil's acre.
This implies a setting.
>doggy jumped over the fence. doggy was black.
Suggests a very different narrator. One a contemporary reader would better relate to.

[Anonymous No.23027898]

>>23027763
Because they're the only ones that post their writing here. I write in an extremely contemporary style informed by the WNs I voraciously read, but I would never post it here because the pseuds would tear me apart.

[Anonymous No.23027901]

>>23027763
>It doesn't make your writing better.
It does if it makes it flow better.

[Anonymous No.23027914]

>>23027901
this

[Anonymous No.23027926]

>>23027763
This Anon is right >>23027829
I don't always write in a more poetic way, but if I am trying to invoke some sense of grandeur, I do so.
I don't see any long cases of this in my last chapter or my current one, though I did use the word pallid rather than pale to hopefully show how sickly a character looked.

[Anonymous No.23027959]

>>23027313
>They wanted me to explicitly share how I felt about things
No one could possibly give such retarded advice

[Anonymous No.23027984]

>>23027313
>They wanted me to explicitly share how I felt about things, and dive into each detail

That's fucking stupid. You don't need to go into hyper detail about your feelings. It's okay to tell, just don't overdoing it.

[Anonymous No.23028001]

>>23027926
Another point is that limited, minimal prose should be intentional. I realized I was using an extremely limited vocabulary, not intentionally, and children's books possessed a grander variety of words are more careful use of specific terms that set the mood and place of a story.

[Anonymous No.23028094]

Do you plan out before writing or let inspiration guide you? I am currently making an outline of all events and what theme is to be explored in each one of them before the climax

[Anonymous No.23028149]

>>23028094
I plan it out with diagrams. Picrel of the world my story will set in.

[Anonymous No.23028179]

>>23028094
I plan it out but I still chase rabbit trails as I write. Sometimes I need to rewrite my outline as I go but it leads to a more natural feeling storyline.

[Anonymous No.23028204]

>>23027984
>>23027959

Probably. But you shouldn't be surprised at how awful some people's advice can be here

[Anonymous No.23028237]

>>23027709
Yes.

[Anonymous No.23028267]

If my novel features eight or nine n-bombs and one or two f-slurs, would it disqualify me from traditional publication? I'm a typical white dude. It's based on true events, depicting real-life exchanges I was part of where these words were used, and the point is to illustrate the social tension and racial/social dynamics at play in modern Canada. Originally, I had omitted them, but Lish's "Preparations for the Next Life" proved that it was possible to pull it off without being, hopefully, obscene.

[Anonymous No.23028274]

>>23028267
>transcanada
Uhhhh

[Anonymous No.23028281]

>>23028267
I'm finding typos here now btw

[Anonymous No.23028309]

>>23028267
Why would it disqualify you from publication? These are what one hears in real life, so I don't understand what would be an issue.

[Anonymous No.23028310]

>>23028001
What I'm writing now has my MC interacting with someone who he instantly clicked with and so both men speak in very curt terms with near complete honesty. He wouldn't speak to his friends or family exactly how he talks to this guy who should be a near complete stranger, but there is a completely hetrosexual spark between them that lets them cut through all the bullshit and act in a utilitarian manner.
It plays into how my MC changes the way he speaks often depending on his company and goes along with the way he wears many faces in a Jungian sense, leading to issues where at times he finds it hard to know who he really is.
He likes this incredibly blunt way of speaking, but he's been taught not to do so and he understands why he shouldn't, so these men will become fast friends since they can both take their masks off and speak like emotionless weirdos.
Also, apologies, but I tend to write simplified scenes then expand on them in editing, so this is even more stilted than what is intended.
Secondary apologies in that I'm sick and I can feel that I am slightly delirious, so this might be more rambly than intended.

[Anonymous No.23028315]

>>23028309
Maybe we're out of touch with the demographic who gatekeep publishing

[Anonymous No.23028316]

First time writing creative fiction aside from a few <1000 word short stories.

This is the start of the 5th chapter, I have about 20k words so far. Send some constructive criticism please

[Anonymous No.23028339]

>>23027898
>WNs
immediately converted this to "white nationalists" in my head
I need to get off twitter

[Anonymous No.23028343]

>>23028316
remove all "I replied"

[Anonymous No.23028376]

>>23028316
I personally hate fantasy that uses modern lingo and speech mannerisms. Like "alright", "yeah", "couldn't care less", etc. I like it when they have their own slang here and there instead of "No, that's alright" say

'Kassifir", I dismissed my maid with a wave of my hand.
"Lord Lucian, you may be the crown prince , but do not foul the court with the language of the masses during the coronation," my trusty maid Judith scolded.

[Anonymous No.23028391]

>>23028376
Appreciate it. I've been going back and forth on what style is better. When I first started writing I made the speech mannerisms match the setting better, but it felt stuffy and forced. I'll have to practice more to make it not sound so forced.

[Anonymous No.23028393]

>>23027678
There's no reason you can't write nonlinearly. Write whatever part of the book you feel like writing right now.

[Anonymous No.23028411]

So I've got a giant fantasy book published, my first.

I'm now pausing my other projects because I had a giant writer explosion on a new project last month which is a literary fiction war based novel around modern conflict, drone warfare, proxy wars, and the men who are used as toy soldiers by foreign governments in it all. It's basically a complete 180 from my last published work.

Overall I've got a variety of things I'm gonna be publishing, and all advice says only publish things within the same genre under your name to keep your brand consistent. Frankly though this seems like advice based on other corporate publishers wanting you to be easy to catalog. Still, I'm mulling over whether I should pseudonym for different categories of works or not. I'm feeling no because I want everything under my name and wouldn't publish anything I don't want my name attached to, and nowadays I don't think it really matters that you be a "fantasy writer" or "horror writer" or "literary writer" w hen you probably do all and even blend things anyway.

[Anonymous No.23028415]

>>23027669
Write every part of the story as it comes to you. Knowing what's coming down the line helps you write earlier parts to be consistent. Write like mold, let all the parts grow from their own little spots until they join into the full story.

[Anonymous No.23028421]

>>23028411
Could maybe using different pseudonyms, but use the same last name for each and get the name printed in the same font and style on all your books? That way its different, but also not?

[Anonymous No.23028436]

>>23028411
Post it

[Anonymous No.23028499]

>>23028421
Yeah not really sure, that could work but feels almost the same as just not bothering. It's not just different genres but also entirely different writing styles/prose forms from what's appropriate for fantasy, modern, horror, etc. I'm still leaning to just following the precedent Steven King has set now where he just publishes whatever under his name.

>you're not steven king an incredibly accomplished author
I think he did break the traditional mold and other authors can follow his lead now. Where my sales are all online anyhow I think the fact that the books are different genres and subject matter and styles by the clear descriptions with them on the store pages and author profile.

>>23028436
Naw I don't wanna become a /lit/ meme writer like the crocodile guy desu

[Anonymous No.23028547]

Shouldn't you format all the text centered since everyone just reads off their phone anyway

[Anonymous No.23028562]

>>23028547
Centered text is the devil and I will go into no details about why I hold this opinion.

[Anonymous No.23028902]

>>23028547
t. zoomer incel NEET shutin with a room-temperature IQ

[Anonymous No.23029136]

>>23028547
don't even bother writing, just start in end in audiobook format

[Anonymous No.23029150]

Aside from getting a mannequin or otherwise constructing a prop at the certain height, is there a better way of accounting for a character taller than usual when blocking and acting out scenes? I don't want my heights to be off in relation to characters.

[Anonymous No.23029197]

>>23028902
>t. zoomer incel NEET shutin with a room-temperature IQ
literally me but 131 iq

[Anonymous No.23029363]

>>23028310
I'm writing something that takes a free and indirect stylistic approach to a number of characters and the narration is rather simple and utilitarian for one character, while the mind of another yields an absolutely baroque approach. It started as a result of following a character around, but when I switched the PoV and allowed myself to move between characters, it made the disparity between two of them more apparent, without having to write it out with dialogue. It's clear how different they are, in how they think and see the world.

[Anonymous No.23029481]

>>23022613
NTA but I needed to hear this so badly; My problem is thinking I need to try and focus or expand one or two of these ideas at a time but a full dump out sounds so much more productive.

[Anonymous No.23029539]

>>23023632
Write the words
>Wouldn't it be cool if
at the top of a page and complete that sentence on the lines below as many times as you can. You'll get a nice bank to withdraw from next time you need an idea and you'll have a better idea of what to expand upon in a more detailed brainstorm.

[Anonymous No.23029565]

>>23020439
tell me if you've read this before

>horror
>lovecraftian
>guy was offered a job
>part of a 6 man team
>remote area
>analysis of something ancient recently discovered
>wacky shit happens
Is this overdone already?

[Anonymous No.23029575]

Let's write a work about the penis together. I'll start. It's tall and long and glistens like steel...

[Anonymous No.23029603]

>barbarian monsterboy prince fostered and studying in a neutral city
>older noblelady wants that sweet sweet political power
>grooms him, but no vaginal sex (oral, handjobs, etc. only)
>on his 18th birthday, lets him take her virginity
>morning after her dad "happens" to have made a surprise visit, opens the door to her chambers
>sees them in bed, takes bloodstained sheets as evidence
>pressures prince into marrying noble lady with fake outrage over "defiling" her and ruining her for any marriage prospects with human nobles
>had a priest ready the whole time to marry them pretty much right away
I'm wondering a good way for the lady could contact her father secretly since the barbarian prince would spend so much time with her

Also what would be some ways for her to explain to the prince how it was necessary when he figures out she orchestrated the whole thing to tie him to her

[Anonymous No.23029606]

>>23029575
When it gets hard it gives me good feels

[Anonymous No.23029739]

Is it possible to write a complete short story or chapter of a novel in the span of a couple hours?

[Anonymous No.23029769]

>>23029606
When I look Peter Pecker straight in the eye and give him a firm handshake, my knees buckle and begin to quake

[Anonymous No.23029814]

>>23029197
And look what you're doing with your natural intelligence. Your parents must be so proud of you.

[Anonymous No.23029828]

>>23029575
There are already plenty of movies and books about submarines.

[Anonymous No.23029830]

>>23029814
my mummy loves me and gives me big cummies every nighty
TENDIES TENDIES
BRING ME MY TENDIES
NO MORE POUND CAKE
I'LL BEAT YOU WITH MY SNAKE

[Anonymous No.23029831]

If I'm writing a serial should I figure out ALL of the details of my main characters in advance or am I allowed to discover parts of their background later?

[Anonymous No.23029896]

>look up the best selling books ever
>take the first few
>copy them
Profit?

[Anonymous No.23029900]

>>23029136
This is based though

[Anonymous No.23029903]

>>23029831
A good show bible usually includes some absolute do's and dont's regarding character traits and history but you're free to expand upon a character within those limits. I think the main points to consider is that barring drastic character changes or development, you want a character to be consistent and not subject to flanderization and power creep. I'm not fond of design by committee but the techniques screenwriters have for black boxing histories and not having to write them until much later, and doing so with consistency or the illusion of it, is pretty impressive and the result of having multiple eyes on a project. One man has to take a little more care in his initial approach or things go all webcomic really fast.

[Anonymous No.23030211]

>>23020439
I did it finally fully wrote and posted a short story. Sure its a web novel and kind of anime slop, but its complete and something achieved. Better then doing nothing all day just day dreaming. WGMI

[Anonymous No.23030235]

>>23029903
This is systemslop so power creep is a feature, not a bug

[Anonymous No.23030238]

>>23030211
Holy shit, link? I love LNs.

[Anonymous No.23030512]

>>23028415
This is a good suggestion. I really wanted to give my MC a motorcycle but I didn't know how I wanted to incorporate it into the story until after I wrote it. If I had written the scene I had in mind earlier, I'd have realized what was wrong with it and how I could adjust it instead of getting fixated on the idea of him having a cool bike.

[Anonymous No.23030920]

>>23020439
I need some help with thinking of a satisfying way to deal with my main villain. His credentials
>Monstrous abuser hidden behind a friendly, humble persona. Does whatever he wants
>Borderline untouchable martial artist and fully believes himself invincible. Not a baseless claim, he hasn't been hurt in a hand to hand fight in around 7 years. His prowess is a key factor to his ego.
>Master manipulator, preys on insecurities in order to puppeteer people to his whims. Does so by pretending to be friendly and nudging you in supportive ways into making choices that benefit him.
>Sets up the tournament our protagonists take part in because he felt like it.
>Gaslit and manipulated the "Main villain" into a monster who mutilated our MC 2 years prior.
>Did this by humiliating every fighter said villain knew in the worst ways imaginable
>His goal was to just create a plaything.
I was initially planning to have the monster he created face him and prove to be too strong for his esoteric Chinese martial arts as a form of dramatic irony, but my editor said it was a boring idea

[Anonymous No.23030934]

>>23030920
He falls in love and gets castrated by the woman as an act of revenge (he killed her lover/father/brother whatever) which costs him all of his powers since it relies on his balls

[Anonymous No.23030937]

>>23030934
Which woman?

[Anonymous No.23031107]

The laptop I normally write on is busted, this shouldn't be an issue, but my sister has asked that I house sit for a week and I don't want to drag my PC over there and hook it up to the TV in her living room so I can write, and I refuse to do so on my phone if I can help it.
Does it even matter what kind of laptop I get?
I intend to use it for nothing but writing and light web browsing, and I'm not super picky about keyboards, so I mostly want something cheap that isn't likely to break quickly.
Does anyone here write with a laptop, and do you have any suggestions?

[Anonymous No.23031108]

>>23030937
the woman who is the lover/mother/sister of the main villain

[Anonymous No.23031114]

>>23031107
Just write on your phone, like all normal people do.

[Anonymous No.23031131]

>>23031114
My hands cramp up if I go for more than an hour of typing. It's simply uncomfortable for my meat mitts since I'm a big guy.

[Anonymous No.23031142]

>>23031131
For you

[Anonymous No.23031146]

>>23029150
Make a picture of the characters face, tape it to the wall at the appropriate height.

[Anonymous No.23031149]

>>23029565
So...The Mountains of Madness?

[Anonymous No.23031222]

>>23029565
So... Arkham Horror: The Book? I'd still read another one of those.

[Anonymous No.23031392]

If you have two separate stories within the one book (an A plot and B plot I guess), is it unsatisfying to the reader if they don't interact?

Context:
I have a story that I'm writing and I have a part near the start where a native guide escapes a team of explorers. The plot follows the explorers but I'm thinking maybe once I write out the explorers story that I could go back through and write the native guide's experiences with returning home knowing what he knows about the explorers intentions. I think the stories will diverge though, I don't foresee the guide meeting the explorers again. Because of this, I'm not sure if it is even good to include.

Can anyone offer some advice?

[Anonymous No.23031476]

>>23031114
>write on your phone, like all normal people do
> write on your phone
>normal people
>normal

[Anonymous No.23031486]

>>23031107
Honestly you're overthinking it

[Anonymous No.23031500]

>>23031107
It's down to budget really. A Surface or Surface Go is ideal for light use, but if you don't want to pay much get an Acer Aspire, the Switch 10s are dirt cheap. Hell, you can always stick to pen and paper if you need to save up or will be writing on your desktop most of the time. I find writing your first draft on paper forces you to properly rewrite and edit when you transpose your work from paper to digital.

>>23031392
I reckon you should include it. It doesn't have to be a large portion of the story but if you think there's something to be shown in his journey then tell it. If it doesn't fit you can always take it out.

[Anonymous No.23031514]

>>23031114
Maybe if you've got a Galaxy Fold or a wireless/usb keyboard but otherwise what the fuck anon.

[Anonymous No.23031516]

Nope. I literally cannot do it. Finding words to just mindlessly vent online with is one thing, but trying to actually create fiction has got me completely stumped. Giving up won't be easy but it is necessary.

[Anonymous No.23031742]

Is anyone writing literature?

[Anonymous No.23031743]

>realize the plot of my book is 90% similar to a famous movie
Okay what the fuck now what do

[Anonymous No.23031750]

>>23030920
lol just let him win.

[Anonymous No.23031752]

>>23031743
Sue the movie and claim they stole your work

[Anonymous No.23031775]

>>23031743
There are many stories that are like one another.
You shouldn't worry that there are similarities, this is somewhat normal even if you've never consumed the media in question.
>>23030920
I think that a man like that should be brought low by either pride or something that no matter how much he tries to fight it he can't.
Stick him in a burning building and then have people he's wronged there, not to stop him, but to slow him enough that he can't escape.
This way he is directly paying for destroying people lives to the point where they are fully willing to kill themselves to kill him, because he already took everything they cared about.
Blow him up, letting intelligence overcome overwhelming physical might.
Does he drink or smoke? Sleeping around I assume is common.
These three things can take a toll on the body through sickness. Cancer, STIs, dulling of the mind.
I assume you're the guy who is writing that wacky tournament story, but if he is still locked to near human levels unlike the insanity of Baki then guns would work.
It might not satisfy some people, but you could actually have him grow old, and then the new generation of people who hate him for what he's done show up and beat him to death when he's too weak to actually fight back.

[Anonymous No.23031791]

>>23030920
Men like that are paranoid, every despot in history has been. Play into and feed that paranoia and they start to jump at shadows and self destruct.

[Anonymous No.23031801]

>>23031775
>even if you've never consumed the media in question
But I did, that's why I came to this realization, and I even liked it very much

[Anonymous No.23031813]

>>23031801
It's likely still fine.
Take a look at it and judge for yourself if it is inspiration or accidental plagiarism.
Then, if possible, give it to someone else and see if they also think that it is too close.
You probably shouldn't tell the other person about it, since that could poison the well before they start reading.

[Anonymous No.23032383]

>>23031750
Maybe
>>23031775
His whole thing is that he's the embodiment of webmrel. He's perfect as a fighter despite only being in his early 30s at most
>>23031791
He's not a paranoid despot.

[Anonymous No.23032403]

>>23032383
>He's not a paranoid despot.
I'm giving you a compelling narrative. Pride or paranoia are compelling. He's a villain who does bad things, he's acting from hubris and isn't some enlightened master, he's a psycho with a set of skills that don't ensure absolute clarity of mind, or else he wouldn't be an evil piece of shit. You see what I'm saying here?

[Anonymous No.23032566]

>>23032403
I know. The whole point is that he's an "Enlightened Master" who doesn't possesses the morality that usually comes with his character archetype. Have you heard this one before?
>Wise
>Lives a humble, simple lifestyle
>Friendly disposition
He's that kind of character. The kind who's super humble and enlightened and therefore can overcome any arrogance. But just because you're humble doesn't mean you're a good person.
Now that I think about it, I should probably rewrite him to be more overtly humble.

[Anonymous No.23032573]

I dont wanna read about your dumb ass magic system.
I dont wanna read about your intricately crafted cultures.
I dont wanna read about how your conlang influences the way the people speaking it think.
I dont wanna read about how the history of this culture has shaped their economy.
I dont wanna read about the exact hierarchy in your adventurer's guild/army/magic academy.
I dont wanna read bullshit about your world except how your characters live in it. Show me action and interaction, not trivia.

[Anonymous No.23032615]

>I dont wanna read about your dumb ass magic system.
>I dont wanna read about your intricately crafted cultures.
>I dont wanna read about how your conlang influences the way the people speaking it think.
>I dont wanna read about how the history of this culture has shaped their economy.
>I dont wanna read about the exact hierarchy in your adventurer's guild/army/magic academy.
>I dont wanna read bullshit about your world except how your characters live in it. Show me action and interaction, not trivia.
>ME NEED ACTION. SHOW THINGS MOVE REALLY FAST.

[Anonymous No.23032649]

Are there youtube channels for writing like there are for art?

[Anonymous No.23032654]

>>23032573
They hated him because he spoke the truth.

Worldbuilding is just the sauce on the salad. What kind of a fat fucking faggot squirts the sauce into his mouth, or dumps the entire bottle onto the salad? That's not what we meant when we said eat a salad.

[Anonymous No.23032659]

>>23032573
What about two fags in a library researching local eldritch horror? Literally nothing but two dudes talking about lore and magic systems with gaps left outside of what they may or may not be doing with it. 6000 words of thrilling, bone chilling research and synthesis. Pulp fiction for PBS kids.

[Anonymous No.23032688]

>>23032659
>no cock out in the reflection
1/10, lacks atmosphere

[Anonymous No.23032694]

>>23032615
go read an encyclopedia or some random videogames' fandom wiki if you like worldbuilding that much.

[Anonymous No.23032738]

>>23032688
getting the coke in the reflection and not my monstrous visage was difficult enough. Noted, I will make the presentation of such events more atmospheric.

[Anonymous No.23032739]

>>23030238
Course I appreciate the interest, lemme know what you think and what can be improved!

https://www.honeyfeed.fm/novels/14537

[Anonymous No.23032778]

>>23032739
Why is a full angel capable to smile with murderous intent (i.e. exhibit a complex mix of emotions), but for Iris, a half-angel, her angelic blood rids her of all emotions?

[Anonymous No.23032782]

>>23032739
Vomited blood already at the synopsis

[Anonymous No.23032788]

>>23032659
>the glass is ON THE LAPTOP
If only you knew how mad this makes me.
Yes, I'm a bit of a clean freak.

[Anonymous No.23032792]

>>23032739
>www.honeyfeed.fm
the hell is wrong with you?

[Anonymous No.23032798]

Should I describe a heroine's breasts as eclipsing her head from the start, or build up to that point?

[Anonymous No.23032809]

>>23032798
>eclipsing her head
You do realize that even with massive breasts that would only be possible from a super-low angle, right?

[Anonymous No.23032810]

>>23032739
>honeyfeed
Cool! What are your experiences with that site? I learned about it a while ago, but I've been hesitant to try it. I was undecided between that and scribblehub, or maybe even double down and post on both.

[Anonymous No.23032819]

>>23032809
Yes. Now can you answer my question?

[Anonymous No.23032822]

>>23020439
When you read Hemingway what you are reading is Stein made safe for a middlebrow audience.

[Anonymous No.23032840]

>>23032819
Fine. I don't get how you would even "build up to that point", just get it out of the way from the get-go.

[Anonymous No.23032846]

>>23032788
>the laptop is allegedly fingerprint resistant anodized alumin
>the screen picks up fingerprints from the keyboard when you close it, nevermind opening it
You are worrying about the wrong things. My thoughts on this thing as a writing instrument are pretty involved and if that scares. you, you'll probably like why I love iron gall ink.

[Anonymous No.23032898]

>>23032573
Based.
I tell things about the world because they do shape how characters interact with it, but I avoid just dumping lore that ultimately doesn't matter.
I've got tons of stuff in my head about my world, but I haven't put it in because there hasn't come a chance to do so in a satisfying and organic way that helps tell the story.
>>23032654
I've seen hamplanets actually drink straight ranch, disgusting, vile things.

[Anonymous No.23032906]

>>23031107
>Does it even matter what kind of laptop I get?

When I got serious about writing, I bought the cheapest fucking trash laptop I could find in town, and I still use it every day. As long as it boots up, it's good.

Just don't buy a chromebook or any other forced online trash like that. Those things are completely useless.

[Anonymous No.23032913]

>>23032778
the half-angel is autistic

[Anonymous No.23032933]

>>23032906
I ended up ordering a used thinkpad x1 carbon gen 3.
Cost me $180 and they are supposed to be built well with a good keyboard.
Funny that you mention booting, because part of my old laptop dying was that the windows install is busted, but the real problem is that I'm sure that the corruption is a result of the HDD dying.
The morning that it started to bluescreen loop it crashed and then it would hit 100% disk use even on the desktop.

[Anonymous No.23032980]

>>23032906
As the kind of anon who makes his own silver gelatin prints and owns a selectric typewriter with a clacky 5hp motor driving pure autism underneath the steel case: apple silicon macs and thinkpads have the best keyboards for writing, with the caveat that they're shitty compared to what they used to be or real keyboards or the selectric that all will be compared to until the end of time. The point is, they're both alright for bursts of typing and won't rot in a week like everything else I've also used because I'm all things.

>>23032933
Not a bad choice. I also run a desktop with an autism ortho keyboard so I don't snap my wrists that makes trannies and turboautists alike seethe. Thinkpads have a keyboard workflow that the mac I'm on now doesn't.

Your disk issue is why I went to greener pastures even though my current desktop build is fine for now. I've been to this rodeo before and prefer to be in stands instead of the clown/cowboy false dichotomy.

[Anonymous No.23032988]

>>23032694
I do that already thoughever. I love reading ASOIAF wiki, the lore is really interesting.
https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Night%27s_King

[Anonymous No.23033005]

>>23032933
>thinkpad x1 carbon gen 3.
>Cost me $180
Sounds like a good deal. Since it used you might end up having to replace the keyboard sooner rather than later though. Been there, done that.

[Anonymous No.23033036]

>>23032840
>"build up to that point"
ever heard of a thing called gradual breast expansion?

[Anonymous No.23033056]

>>23033036
You mean growing up?

[Anonymous No.23033059]

>>23031146
I'm going to feel like a cat dancing around with a photo on a string.

[Anonymous No.23033064]

>>23032980
>autism ortho keyboard
My keyboard is a model M from 1996 (making it three years older than me) that I had to buy an adapter for since modern MBs don't have PS2 ports anymore.
I love this thing, it feels good to type on, it's full sized, loud, and if I needed to I could kill a man with it. It will be a sad day if this thing ever dies on me, but it's working just fine without any wonky keys still.
I'm doing my writing now by shoving my bed nearer to the PC I have set up for my nieces and nephews and then rotating the screen so it faces my bed.
>>23033005
I looked over a good number of listings and the keycaps seem to have little fading on them, so I'm hoping that it lasts for a long while.
>>23033056
Don't be coy, he is clearly a fetish writer.

[Anonymous No.23033075]

>>23033064
>1996
I have a unicomp as well, yours is recent enough that you may have to deal with broken rivets or just going full orthographic like god and your fingers intended. Stick a numpad full of keys betwixt and it's a lovely beautiful experience. I'm a little jaded by everything at this point.

[Anonymous No.23033105]

>>23020578
>Any good ideas for a story set in a GTA 3-like setting? There's nothing quite like it out there
I have been interested in writing a story set in a modern-ish NYC-but-fantasy setting for some time and you made me realize I could market it as "GTA 3 but fantasy." I even plain on having the MC do odd jobs for weirdos.

[Anonymous No.23033126]

>>23033075
I'm not sure about all the models of the model M, but mine says IBM UK on it. And this is the exact one. It would take some getting used to, but maybe I should look into an ortho keyboard some day. My first thought was that it would be bad for gaming, something that I find myself doing less and less of as the years go by, I can't actually see any reason that would be the case other than it being different.

[Anonymous No.23033132]

No but seriously, is there some sort of a retard-proof guide to getting into writing for people who feel completely detached from their imagination/inventiveness? Like some exercises to literally force oneself to write? Or is it a lost cause already if I have to look for something like that?

[Anonymous No.23033138]

>>23020578
How about a person that finds a way to move between the GTA3 world and his own, who finds a lot of other real-world refugees there, all of whom enjoy life there far better than the real world. So, a sort of video-game isekai.

[Anonymous No.23033146]

>>23033132
I honestly don't know what to tell you.
Can you think up these ideas? If so, even if they aren't yet fleshed out, write them down.
Eventually, hopefully, you should start to get a feeling for it and writing should come naturally.
I started by spending a night thinking about just the setting and writing down my ideas about it, until of course I asked a question here and got a reply along the lines of
>does it matter what the name of the fucking moon is? Just write an actual story.
Now writing consumes nearly every waking thought I have.

[Anonymous No.23033161]

>>23033126
The rivets break off and the keyboard sags where it doesn't register your b's and c's and that general overused area. The oldest keyboards are more immune, the Lexapro?/Unicomp era are mostly shit because the steel plate is missing or thin. I really liked the response, I really liked building a new keyboard that wouldn't unrivet itself and kinda has the same response with box jades for half the clank and sproingle.

>>23033132
Yes. If you have some ideas, write them. Then remember who made you write and read him until you want to kill yourself instead of be inspired by him. Then set those two asses to grind corn. Then write something you want to read that is cognizant that other people like reading things people who like to write things write knowing it may be for them. Fuck with them about that arrangement, carefully, it's been tenuously built and often broken over the centuries we've been at this. Those are the rules of writing in a nutshell. Ask yourself why Cervantes wrote the introduction he did and be happy you don't have to write what he did about what he did. Write your own imperfect take on the novel. Part II comes later, even though you're personally aware of it, so was everyone else after he wrote it.

[Anonymous No.23033231]

>>23033056
If you call growing after growing up the same thing.
>>23033064
That's the thing, it isn't. It's a serious story with drama and tragedy. One of the characters killed his father in an altercation, and despite being found not guilty he's still haunted by what he did. It just happens that this girl has really, really big breasts and I was wondering if I should hit readers with it immediately or build up to it.

[Anonymous No.23033266]

>>23032778
I could be big brain and say it's to show that angels le bad but it seems I wrote it poorly. She was meant to be a rogue half-angel, being influenced by Aurora.

>>23032782
Ik very high art no need to falter me

>>23032810
Seems fine I mainly just chose it for the monthly challenge that was going on, I haven't seen other web novel sites besides Royal Road. I'll have to check out scribblehub tho.

[Anonymous No.23033282]

>>23033266
>She was meant to be a rogue half-angel, being influenced by Aurora.
That tells me nothing and doesn't answer my question in the slightest.

[Anonymous No.23033309]

>>23033282
More Angelic Blood means less emotions. So the idea was Iris had the most amount thus acting like that. All other angels are less pure, thus they have some kind of emotion present. The only one that was a toss-up was Lady Grace, as she was special, therefore the reason behind her training Iris.

[Anonymous No.23033317]

>>23033309
>half-blood is somehow more pure than full-blood
Just say she's special because she's the MC.

[Anonymous No.23033335]

>>23033317
fair

[Anonymous No.23033475]

Should I start asking for advice from playing cards instead of anons? The playing cards say one thing.

[Anonymous No.23033488]

>>23033475
Writing is a creative art, it isn't engineering with as many objective right and wrong ways to do it.
Not everyone writes the same way, one mans trash is another mans treasure.
If you keep doing these posts where you don't reply to anyone and do have anything to say then fuck off, I've dealt with enough people who come here and then want to be spoonfed some truth on how to make art, just start, start and then keep going.

[Anonymous No.23033489]

>>23033146
>Can you think up these ideas? If so, even if they aren't yet fleshed out, write them down.
>>23033161
>If you have some ideas, write them.
I guess so? But these ideas are really simple. 1-3 sentences are enough to describe them in full. It's when it comes to fleshing them out that the issues begin, mostly. There's a long, long, long road from an idea to a story and I keep getting lost along the way.
It's so weird, too. It's not like I'm not well-read or anything. Most of my free time as a kid/teen I've spent reading, even now when I've got other things to do I read quite a bit. I've read hundreds, by this point probably thousands of stories, but when it comes to making my own I'm drawing a blank for some reason.

[Anonymous No.23033506]

>>23033488
I reply regularly to anonposts and sometimes get one or two replies to my own, one may be worth it every tenth time. I'll fuck off into my own universe and post a manuscript and see what kind of response it gets. Fuckknows 3 playing cards are more interesting than anything you've ever written.

[Anonymous No.23033511]

>>23033475

[Anonymous No.23033512]

>>23032739
>anime
and for that reason, I'm out

[Anonymous No.23033515]

>stop writing novel for a while cause I couldn't figure out a believable way forward that wouldn't be full of plot holes
>sit down today and really think it through
>found a great solution that actually would make the novel a lot more interesting than any of the other ideas I had in mind
Feels good

[Anonymous No.23033542]

>>23033506
>Fuckknows 3 playing cards are more interesting than anything you've ever written
Ah, but I've written, a step you've yet to cross.

[Anonymous No.23033552]

>>23033542
I'm too busy writing to play your game. post some shit, like a complete story of any length, and I won't criticize it, or fuck off with the larp. I'll read a decent enough story and say little if you wrote it.

[Anonymous No.23033571]

>>23033552
I'm guessing you're the same mentally ill retard spamming Justin Mohn? Worst new poster. Please go back to wherever you came from.

[Anonymous No.23033580]

>>23032739
NTA, I appreciate this is probably a first draft, but you need to go back and rewrite.
The first two paragraphs of chapter one alone are mostly clothing descriptions, and they're repetitive for both characters ("dark brown, almost black, robe"). Also, three sentences in a row in the opening paragraph start with "the", which is jarring to read.
I get that the main character is emotionless so there's a degree that it's probably supposed to read matter-of-factly, but I'd still try to include less description and more thought process.

[Anonymous No.23033582]

>>23024203
>>23025347
>>23025375
I'm writing suspense/horror stuff with a bit of romance here and there. Mostly trying to stay away from YA and Fantasy stuff, which Watt and Royal seem to feature the most. I've considered just opening a blog or use Medium but people probably won't bother with these. I'd also need to pay for ads

[Anonymous No.23033584]

>>23033552
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/56518/changling-the-child-from-the-woods
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/79521/where-the-ashes-are-kept
Neither are finished, but these are two things I've written.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/56518/changling-the-child-from-the-woods/chapter/1392212/standalone-story-hallowed-night
This chapter is a short story within the larger story that can be read without any outside context and is more in line with my current writing.
My point was never even that I'm a good writer or not, but at a certain point you have to start and acknowledge that the first thing you make won't be good, so you keep on writing.

[Anonymous No.23033606]

What do you guys think of Jack Pinkhunter?
I've tried reading his shit, and it sucks so bad. He calls women's asses full moons for some reason. His dialogue feels unauthentic as fuck, too.
Anyone know this guy?

[Anonymous No.23033621]

Alright well my shit isn't done yet but I figure why not post and see what sorts of things you guys say.
My first book was absolute dogshit. This is my second attempt at a story and instead of 2k words a chapter I'm shooting for 5k to actually reach the length of a full book once I finish.
Still got loads of editing to go through and the last few chapters definitely need some work, but if you read the prologue and tell me what you think I'll appreciate that much.

>https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/80202/st-venture

[Anonymous No.23033642]

>>23033621
Won't give any guarantee on when, but I've added your story to my follow list.

[Anonymous No.23033650]

>>23033606
>He calls women's asses full moons for some reason.
Full and round.

[Anonymous No.23033673]

>>23033650
Am I retarded for not getting it right away?
When I read erotica I'd rather they just be explicit about it. I don't really feel like there's a need to call her tits melons or any other shit.

[Anonymous No.23033701]

>>23033673
I'm not going to call Trains Don't Stop for Cocksuckers subtle, but you may have trouble with the dialectical foibles, nevermind the allusions and use of metaphor.

[Anonymous No.23033705]

>>23033266
They have monthly challenges? I didn't know that.

[Anonymous No.23033708]

>>23020439
Why would I be writing when I could be reading instead?

[Anonymous No.23033710]

>>23033673
Yes to the point it sounds like you're too dumb for what you're reading. My understanding is that erotica does its job by evoking imagery in such sensual ways rather than simply tits. Not to say it couldn't work in the right context but I know tits wouldn't be how I'd describe a woman's breasts after chapters of buildup and presumably in a night scene or prior lunar allusions orbiting the woman.

[Anonymous No.23033711]

How do I get awards and accolades for my writing?

[Anonymous No.23033724]

>>23033711
Make some jew chuckle and nut.

[Anonymous No.23033747]

Short of my insufferable, neurotic protag fucking jennifer aniston, how do I make him somewhat likeable?

[Anonymous No.23033753]

>>23033621
I think you take way too long to get to the actual story. This is the case for both the prologue and the first chapter. You spend hundreds of words on exposition (none of which is actually necessary for framing the situation). For instance, in chapter 1 you don't get to the actual beginning of the scene/story (he's going to a new school) until almost a third of the way in. That line could have been the first sentence and the reader wouldn't have missed a beat. It all smacks of a lack of confidence, like you don't trust your writing enough to convey what you need to without preface or explanation. It's present at the prose level too ("like torture *at times*"). Consider pic related, notice how quickly Rowling gets to the situation (literally the second sentence), notice how little preface she needs.

I know you probably won't take this advice but you should really just practice writing scenes before attempting a longer work like this. Study scenes from books and write 100 or so of your own, trying to improve with each iteration. Fanfiction is actually great for this since you have characters premade and can focus on structure. You can post the scenes here for crit and people will actually read it because it only takes like 5-10 minutes.

[Anonymous No.23033760]

>>23033724
Basically this. Awards are only handed out to women these days and a the few male authors that do get them are few and far between, yet none of them could be considered daring or brave in any way since modern writing is essentially gate-kept by progressives.

[Anonymous No.23033765]

>>23033747
Make him experience his absolute worst nightmare in the first few pages/chapters. Something super-specific to him.

[Anonymous No.23033777]

>>23033765
The whole story is his worst nightmare. He gets his dick wet once or twice, that's still part of the nightmare. Aniston rightfully cockblocks him.

[Anonymous No.23033785]

>>23033753
>Harry potter
I just started re-reading this book to compare my writing to J.K and I think you're right.
Maybe my goal of going for 5k words a chapter kind of backfired on me.

Definitely a valuable lesson to learn. It ain't easy to balance what you want to say with what you should say. Exposition can overstay its welcome, that's for sure.

[Anonymous No.23033792]

>>23033785
Read some Diana Wynne Jones to feel really bad about what you can do with a short chapter.

[Anonymous No.23033799]

>>23033792
Fuck. I kind of feel like scrapping the whole book now that you put things into perspective like that.
"Lack of confidence".
Too real, man...

[Anonymous No.23033803]

>>23033777
>777
Nice.
In fact, I only want him to get his dick wet a second time to make a point that only gays and the extremely damaged fug like normal people hug.

>>23033799
I'm writing literary fiction and being thrown by how well a welsh children's book author does 50 chapters in 120 pages.

[Anonymous No.23033823]

>>23033753
NTA but thanks for the advice on writing scenes. I also have the issue of just wanting to start with a fully fleshed novel, instead of practice the basics before jumping into something complex

[Anonymous No.23033829]

>>23033785
>>23033799

It's absurd to write to word counts and its even more absurd to have fixed word counts for chapters. You should use word counts for a lower bound, 100-200 words every day, to maintain momentum. The whole point of it is to get you through that initial fifteen minute hump until the juices start flowing and you lose yourself in the writing. If its the kind of day where 5k words pour out, then well and good, if not, no need to pad the writing with nonsense. A chapter should be as long as it needs to be, defined by the necessities of its structure and its importance in the narrative. If you don't yet have an intuitive sense for this, you need to study and practice writing scenes.

You don't need to scrape the book, rather, you should improve your skills so you can do your ideas justice.

[Anonymous No.23033830]

>>23033823
>practice the basics before jumping into something complex
And how do you intend to do that?

[Anonymous No.23033844]

>>23033829
Wrong. Quantity is a quality all of its own. I discovered things when I pushed myself to write more that I wouldn't have if I didn't try. ESPECIALLY on days where I didn't feel like writing. That made things so much easier on the days when I did want to write.

[Anonymous No.23033846]

How do I come up with an idea for a short story or novella?

[Anonymous No.23033852]

>>23033846
Either get really inspired by something or think really hard about it until an idea pops into your head.

[Anonymous No.23033862]

>>23033829
On one hand I see what you mean but on the other I've written a hell of a lot more and formed a sense for what a scene needs in the moment.
I have a separate file in word where I keep my story's summarized structure ready to look back on constantly, but I always end up adding more things on top of the general roadmap I've decided on.

You're not wrong in saying some of it will be nonsense though, I definitely have to go back and review what serves a purpose and what doesn't.
It also depends on the genre, like for example my book is part mystery, but I can already tell I've done a poor job executing the genre to its full potential.

[Anonymous No.23033864]

>>23033852
I do that but then it turns into a novel because I get so worked up about everything!

[Anonymous No.23033871]

>>23033846
Keep it concise. If you think it can happen in a week, squeeze it into a day. You paint a scene that explodes and ends there for a short story. Novellas are tricky motherfuckers.

[Anonymous No.23033885]

>>23033846
There's a lot of methods. My favorite is one I cribbed from Palanuik's craft manual. Basically, pick one of your greatest fears, something personal and specific. Then make it literal. E.g, my current greatest fear is something terrible happening to my toddler over which I have no control, like incurable cancer or an accident that leaves him crippled. To make that literal I came up with a story about a cannibal serial killer who targets disabled children, thinking that he's doing the parents and society a favor by absolving them of a burden.

[Anonymous No.23033887]

>>23033830
Like you mentioned, studying scenes from books and then writing my own, trying to get better at each one

[Anonymous No.23033895]

>>23033846
>>23033132
Easiest way?
Take something you like, or nearly like, and rewrite it. Write out the faults, alter it to your tastes. I find that after a few chapters you look back to find whole plot has changed from whatever you based it on because of some divergence early on. Then all you need to do is figure out a substitute catalyst and rewrite the begining to be more original. All up, it's easier to write when you've got something to work with. Thinking things up out of the blue is tough.

[Anonymous No.23033912]

>>23033844
Yeah, agree to disagree. I don't subscribe to the Stephen King graphomania cult. I agree with Annie Dillard, some people can eat 62 hot dogs in a single setting or dunk a basketball standing just tip-toe. These are freaks of nature on which most people should not base their daily rituals. Hemingway wrote 500 words over six hours every day and did just fine. If you're one of the chosen who can write 5k good words after that initial warm-up time, more power to you. But it isn't "wrong" to suggest that isn't the only way (or even the common way) to go about things.

[Anonymous No.23033923]

>>23033885
>Palanuik's craft manual.
I'm afraid to read this at this point, having been groomed by it, if you know what I mean.

[Anonymous No.23033949]

crit

[Anonymous No.23033981]

>>23033949
I need some promise there will be some offhand mention of their weird rabbit junk and sex, if not between them, at some point. You can't just introduce two hares and not have them get all Updike and fag out in the first 5 seconds.

[Anonymous No.23034041]

Hello frens!
I had uploaded a prologue 2 or 3 days ago where I received valuable criticism about it. I quickly edited the chapter and now I'm back. It would be nice if you guys could read (and give feedback to) this prologue. Thanks in advance!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pR-SdDqVkfMsqyBO5AjgUu2HvhW6UaXIHJCK3r51rPI/edit?hl=nl&pli=1

Also, don't worry, I won't make the characters 2 dimensional, nor will I make the enemy just evil : )

[Anonymous No.23034074]

>>23033846
Read. Talk to people. Live life.

[Anonymous No.23034085]

>>23034074
>>23033864

[Anonymous No.23034095]

>>23033912
Hemingway didn't write serial webnovels

[Anonymous No.23034101]

>>23034085
Create a clear plot that you want to work towards with an ending in sight with only a short distance between you and that ending.

[Anonymous No.23034123]

>>23034101
I can't think of an ending

[Anonymous No.23034127]

>>23033580
Cool thanks for the advice. I think what I was thinking was too describe everything. So you think its fine then to leave out all that and only give details about major things.

Also yea I think that second issue gets taken away with the less amount of description but I will keep that in mind. Should I try and weave description for example into dialogue then?

[Anonymous No.23034131]

>>23033923
Just read the appendix at the end, it's a troubleshooting checklist that doubles as a concise summary of the whole text.

[Anonymous No.23034136]

I'm ~600 words and want to see if it's some kind of horror story yet.

[Anonymous No.23034140]

>>23034127
rather not dialogue but a more "show don't tell" type way

[Anonymous No.23034206]

>>23033949
So are they like people with rabbit heads?

[Anonymous No.23034208]

>>23034123
then think harder retard

A horror story where psycopathic shit to the family happens and its revealed that it was the boy who narrated the story all along

A depressed gamer who decides he is gonna kill himself exactly one year from now, which breaks his shackles of anxiety as he ventures into the world, meets interesting ppl and maybe finds love, the novella ends with him either still killing himself anyway out of fear that he won't be motivated without such a deadline or he gets a happy end

etc

[Anonymous No.23034215]

>>23034095
Maybe he should have.

[Anonymous No.23034230]

>>23034136
purple

[Anonymous No.23034237]

>>23034123
> I cannot think of an ending.
You don't know your conflict well enough. Flesh it out.

> I cannot think of a conflict.
You don't know your setting or characters enough. Flesh them out.

> I cannot think of a setting or characters.
You don't have a big enough idea to make a story worth telling. Flesh your ideas out.

[Anonymous No.23034243]

>>23034230
I'm intimately familiar with anne rice and the tools say otherwise. i guess 8th graders used to be able to read.

[Anonymous No.23034269]

>>23034243
I don't know how you can say that with a straight face when you pen lemons like
>What drives a boy of fourteen to spend his weekends and summers in a library was something I was no stranger to

[Anonymous No.23034271]

How do I use analogies and metaphors in fantasy if I'm not planning on it being an isekai?

[Anonymous No.23034281]

>>23034271
Use metaphors that a true in that world. If you have to, you can establish a fact before a character uses it as a metaphor. If you play it right, readers will trust you anyways.

[Anonymous No.23034313]

>>23034305

[Anonymous No.23034315]

>>23033705
Indeed figured it would be an OP way to improve while getting lit out their, otherwise I just wouldn't finish anything lmao

[Anonymous No.23034412]

>>23033582
horror/suspense probably won't perform in online spaces. Likely will have better luck publishing to Amazon if tradpub doesn't work out

[Anonymous No.23034695]

>>23034412
>horror/suspense probably won't perform in online spaces
r/nosleep and r/shortscarystories are two of the most read original-fiction subs on Reddit.

[Anonymous No.23034904]

>>23033949
Obviously without context I can't judge it too much, however I do like how little description was required to paint a fairly clear picture of how these two feel. The tension and anxiety in the briefcase hare was shown rather than told with effective brevity allowing other types of description to take place and fill out the rest of the moment. I like your style.