/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.4614528]

>have a story to tell
>no idea how to tell it

Writer problems thread.

[Anonymous No.4614538]

Tell it in the images of sad frogs.

[Anonymous No.4614554]

>no creativity
>no talent
>no motivation
>too stupid for non-liberal arts degree
>Peter Pan complex

[Anonymous No.4614830]

>>4614528
>my face when I hate everything I right and put down two pages at most

[Anonymous No.4614860]

>>4614830
I'd stop righting if I were you

[Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ No.4614870]

>>4614830
>My face when I love everything I write but put down two pages at most.

[Anonymous No.4614875]

>>4614860
>I'd stop righting if I were you

Not that guy but that goes double for you.

[Muck Bulligan !!ryE2gEjGbpu No.4614884]

>>4614528
i often get ideas about an event or a town or a character and the easiest exercise to get over it (for me) has been writing about the subject from the point of view of different people

so if i wanted to write about the kennedy assassination (assuming it was just an idea i came up with (which it was)), i'd pick a cast of people randomly (e.g. an old woman, a paperboy, a businessman) out of the pool of people who may be familiar with it and then write about it in retrospect from their point of view. not only does this allow you to 'flesh out' details and things, it also teaches you how to write realistic characters instead of overwritten lunatics.

[Anonymous No.4614923]

>>4614554
god damn you got it bad dude

[Anonymous No.4614931]

>>4614554
fuckn tell me about it.

[Anonymous No.4614934]

>>4614875
If it goes double for him, it has to go triple for you.

[Anonymous No.4614970]

>trying to sleep
>have idea
>too lazy to get up and jot it down
>"I'll do it tomorrow"
>fall asleep
>forget
>all I remember is that I had a good idea

[Anonymous No.4615032]

>>4614884
no points awarded this round.

>finally want to write and know i can
>end up passing out instead because been alive for 24 hours

[Anonymous No.4617571]

>>4614528
>know how to tell it
>don't have a story

[Anonymous No.4617593]

I should write.
But I should read this first.
Oh wait, here's something else to read; I'll come back to the other thing later.
Look at all this interesting data on the internet.
Doze off.

I should write.

[Anonymous No.4617612]

>New manuscript
>Not exactly sure how to bridge over to the next plot point
>Keep typing anyway
>Ignore the voice in my head saying "take a fucking break and come back later"
>produce 5k words of fluff text that I know I'm going to delete later
>still don't take a break
>spend too much time describing what a doorbell sounds like
>look at the clock on my wall
>2am
>realise I've spent hours accomplishing nothing

Also:
>Constantly having to resist the urge to check my email every five minutes to see if I've gotten a response from that batch of queries for my completed manuscript in spite of knowing full well that the communication process with prospective agents naturally takes several weeks

[Anonymous No.4617614]

>Sweet I have some hours to write
>Let me just go for a walk, coffee and music will only help
>coffee, music and social interaction then make me completely disinterested in writing

[Anonymous No.4617620]

>doing commission bullshit
>turn is something pretty good
>get notes that will turn it into shitty garbage and have no idea how to make certain plot points happen anymore

I'm just going to turn in the stupid shit and see what happens.

[Anonymous No.4617622]

It's a "wannabeawriter" problem and it is making it a damn habit. I am trying to start of with just an hour. I just sit there with sometimes an idea coming and a paragraph written then nothing.

[Anonymous No.4617627]

http://therumpus.net/2010/08/dear-sugar-the-rumpus-advice-column-48-write-like-a-motherfucker/

[Anonymous No.4617651]

>have about three long novels inside my head
>transcription is long and painful
>terrible at handling my time
>fear i'll forget things that are crucial for them
>posting on 4chan
>watching chinese cartoons
Fuck me.

[Anonymous No.4617653]

>>4617622
Personally my way to get into the habit was to require myself to write a minimum of a thousand words a day. It worked. A little too well, even, because I'd often slam out text just to meet that requirement, and the first draft of the first novel I ever finished was ~230k words. I spent about 5 months getting it down to about 100k.

I've worked on actually editing pointless crap out while I write though. I actually don't regret blowing that much time on that first draft because I still succeeded in getting into the habit of writing each day without burning myself out.

[Anonymous No.4617657]

>have a story to tell
>know exactly how to tell it
>pretty sure no one would read it
>so don't write it
>just think about it 24/7 instead

[Anonymous No.4617659]

>don't have a story to tell

[Anonymous No.4617661]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpNb5NwxX_g

I'll just leave this here again.

[Anonymous No.4617668]

>have a story to tell
>it's cliche as fuck so never bother
>still think about it often

[Anonymous No.4617721]

>>4617659
>having no story to tell
How is that even possible?

[Anonymous No.4617725]

>>4617653
I force myself to write at least 500 words a day. Often I write more, but I find that forcing yourself to write something on task is vital, even if it'll just be thrown away.

[Anonymous No.4617737]

>a story
Okay, pops.

[Anonymous No.4617740]

>>4617653
>>4617725

Maybe I should make it word count based instead of time based. I'll try that tomorrow instead of the current hour.

[Anonymous No.4617790]

can't decide what to write

my 30,000+ so far novel about lesbian sex and marxism in science fictional manchester

or something about asia because i've just been in japan for six months and it's nagging at me quite fiercely

[Anonymous No.4617795]

>>4617790
>my 30,000+ so far novel about lesbian sex and marxism in science fictional manchester
>or something about asia because i've just been in japan for six months and it's nagging at me quite fiercely
>mfw these people exist

[Anonymous No.4617797]

>>4614554
I'm like that, except sometimes I do make shit. And by "shit" I mean, godawful crap that's bad by design. They're the only things I feel confident about putting out for the world to see.

[Anonymous No.4617821]

>>4617795
^_^

[Anonymous No.4617828]

I have good ideas for stories that I don't want to write.

I also have characters and a setting but can't think of anything to do with them, even though it should be really easy.

[Anonymous No.4617852]

>>4617790

[Anonymous No.4617867]

>>4617721
I don't know
I just don't have anything

[Anonymous No.4617875]

>>4614554
>>4614830
just keep writing. eventually years of writing shit will evolve into not shit.

[Anonymous No.4617882]

>>4617668
Here's a hint: Every story ever told has already been told. We live in a divergent world where everything is based on something else and someone else's work. You're not going to create a new story, but a unique one.

[Anonymous No.4617883]

>>4617852
After watching that series a few times, I can safely say that no other television program lives up to its genius.
Too bad their other show was not as good.

[Anonymous No.4617892]

>>4617852
I should read some hunter s. thompson

[Anonymous No.4617902]

>>4617892
Fuck off Lahey.

[Anonymous No.4620846]

>>4614870
try poetry m8

[Anonymous No.4620890]

>start writing story, first paragraph
>FUCK YEAH, HERE WE GO
>get stuck 2 pages later and quit

rinse and repeat

[Anonymous No.4620904]

>>4617651
The fact that you're watching anime strongly implies you have no talent

[Anonymous No.4620911]

>>4620890
Are you saying that you're a terrible writer with no imagination? I believe you

[Anonymous No.4620916]

> mfw I'm 23 pages into my novella and I'm doing fine

[Anonymous No.4620924]

>>4617867
Then write about having nothing to write about

[Anonymous No.4620944]

>>4620924
Don't give him such terrible 19th century advice.

[Anonymous No.4620948]

>>4617659
You can write the most patrician novel of all time.

[Anonymous No.4620957]

>conception of story
>write first paragraph
>does not feel right
>rewrite first paragraph
>does not feel right
>rewrite first paragraph
>first sentence feels right but the rest doesn't fit.
>rewrite first paragraph
>this time first sentence is out of place
>read http://www.richardgoodman.org/files/The_Hermit_of_Croisset.pdf
>feel the burden of 'le mot juste' on my back but determined to carry on the struggle
>rewrite first paragraph 20 times
>recall Hemingway's struggle to end A Farewell to Arms by rewriting 37 times
>rewrite first paragraph
>proclaim to self that what needs to be done is less writing and more concepting
>lie in bed and go to sleep while telling self that Oscar Wilde spent a morning removing a comma and spent the afternoon putting it back in

Just remind yourself that your pain is a part of the grand tradition.

[Anonymous No.4620962]

>>4620911
I have an imagination. I just get bogged down right after the beginning

I'm stuck on the dialogue between the main character and a toll booth operator for Christ's sake

[Anonymous No.4620965]

>>4620962
Just let them talk about sex with dragons.

[Anonymous No.4620968]

>grow up reading and loving great writers
>invest most of my time in reading/studying
>try writing
>realize my mind is sterile and only good for trite conceptual analysis
>now overeducated and undermotivated
>thnking is now the only thing I can do
>tfw I can't even do it well
>tfw too elitist and easily bored for non-intellectual job
>tfw too dumb for real intellectual work

I feel more than slightly cornered.

[Anonymous No.4620982]

Since this is a writers problem thread i think i'd like some help if you don't mind.

How do i make a conversation between two people happen in real time, writing wise. For example i want to make five different people argue. How would i do this? Something like.

BITCH YOU CHEATED ON ME! no i swear *talking over him* SHUT THE FUCK UP I'LL KILL YOU YOU STUPID BITCH, shut the FUCK up Dad i'm trying to sleep. COME OVER HERE BOY! *talking over him* stop leave him alone hes not even your son! COME OVER HERE AND TELL YOUR MOMMA SHES A SLUT! STOP STOP STOP! Mom your a slut. GOOD BOY GET OVER HERE I'M GOING TO FUCK YOU! What the fuck is wrong with you? What no way!? Fucking fag, DON'T CALL ME A FAG!

I want to make an argument but i'm not sure how to write it.

[Anonymous No.4621006]

I have so many good ideas for books but I can't write for shit.
They're such good fucking ideas and they're practically useless and I don't know what to do

[Anonymous No.4621081]

>>4620957
i liked this

[Anonymous No.4621106]

>>4621006
>>4620968
writing is a skill that has to be developed with practice.

[Anonymous No.4621128]

>Have a story
>Have premise for ending
>No idea how it ends
There are like 6 ways I can take the story from one scenario that I haven't figured out yet, all based on the touchy subject of arguing with and forgiving someone comparable to Stalin.

[Anonymous No.4621153]

>>4620957
>does not feel right

see, I just ignore this feeling. You can always agonize over it after you've finished. Going over every little phrase is something for the editing process.As long as you have a fairly good idea where you're going, start writing, keep writing, don't stop until you need to eat/defecate. An okay book finished is still better than a perfect book that doesn't exist.

[Anonymous No.4621186]

>>4621153
Except that it does. The book is called Madame Bovary.

[Anonymous No.4621232]

>>4614528
I have a great story to tell but every time I sit to write I can't seem to start. It's a terribly imprisoning feeling.

[Anonymous No.4621265]

>>4620968
My nigga.

[Anonymous No.4621268]

>>4620968
Describe your current location now in as lyrical a prose as possible.

[Anonymous No.4621520]

>>4614931
I chuckled.

[Anonymous No.4621531]

>>4617867
Then you probably need to experience some stories first.

People don't just magically fill up with identity by looking inside themselves really hard. You have to look outward into the word in order to understand who you are and what you want to say.