/wg/ Writing General

[Anonymous No.22215456]

"Meat clown" edition

Previous: >>22209304
/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=M9X1t47MxPY

[Anonymous No.22215463]

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
-Calvin Coolidge

[Anonymous No.22215465]

Is there any point in publishing short stories on their own (if so, where?) or would it be better to publish them as a collection instead?

[Anonymous No.22215466]

My prose sucks

Help :(

[Anonymous No.22215468]

Worth paying for grammarly premium?

[Anonymous No.22215470]

>>22215468
Can't you just torrent it?

[Anonymous No.22215476]

>>22215470
No idea I thought it was an online program

[Anonymous No.22215483]

I've just completed a very rough first draft of my story's prologue, it's around 4.8k words long. It's the very first piece I've wrote apart from articles, essays etc. I'd appreciate any feedback, especially when it comes to prose, dialogue, charactery dynamics and plot.

(I posted this last thread too, but it was near the end, this is the last time I do it, I swear)

>Genre
Low fantasy/drama

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L6ALt7w6wSM1OoNbvzLK-RTsb_RDUhdQqIn_GPTVs7U/edit?usp=sharing

[Anonymous No.22215490]

>>22215476
I don't use it, but I know there's a desktop executable so I figured you could just crack it. Do they not off a trial? I'd give that a go before paying anything.

[Anonymous No.22215508]

>>22215490
I'm just hoping someone here has tried it. I know the basic version catches a lot of things Google docs does not. But it also makes me question some word choices and rhythm. It shortens sentences but loses out on how humans speak with additional syllables for rhythm. Good for research papers and 3rd person but terrible for first. So I was wondering if premium changes that

[Anonymous No.22215532]

>>22215445
my idea was a young boy from a race of angelic beings is sent to foster with a noble human family as part of their custom

He's younger than the daughter of the family, but falls in love with her. But he's also a bit autismo and immature so she turns him down. He is determined and keeps trying until she snaps at him and insults him.

Then the older woman sees this and, knowing the angelic boy has access to great wealth, comforts him. He falls in love with her, she's mostly using him for her own ends at first but grows to care for him over time.

I'm wondering how toxic the relationship should be and how much her influence drives him to act more maliciously however, to the point where his friends from childhood all remark how he used to be such a sweet little boy

[Anonymous No.22215575]

>>22215532
Who cares. I'm writing a fantasy novel about a woman being a drug lord and the cop trying to catch her falls in love with her. Only in the end for her to kill the cop because women are incapable of love.

[Anonymous No.22215577]

>>22215532
You can't push this to the wide public without portraying it as evil and wrong. If you make the romance play out without showing the guilt or tragic consequences it will look like something you write for yourself. Of course you can still do it, but not many would see such a romance as an attractive part of the story in itself.

[Anonymous No.22215684]

How do I get better at describing mannerisms? I feel like I'm being too verbose for simple, subtle actions.

[Anonymous No.22215831]

>>22215465
Depends on genre AFAIK but there are magazines that publish short stories

[Anonymous No.22215868]

>>22215468
worthless. After awhile, they'll stop checking your shit and change your script

[Anonymous No.22215907]

I don't think i'll go big on royalroad as an ESL, i searched my language and there is like literally 5 books in [language/country] put before the name all of them are shitty litrpg's. i'll share it there anyway but i don't ever think i'll go big bros. The fantasy as a genre literally has no value here, should i just axe my desire to write on fantasy and just write shitty romances or chinese wannabe novels on wattpad? The reason why i am trying to make big on these sites is basically if i can make big in these shit holes, i could get attention of an agency otherwise literally no way i see any possibility. And it's even more obscure genre of fantasy, flintlock fantasy which even westerners don't care about.

[Anonymous No.22215959]

Human on Robot sex where the machine is barren down here.
What is your wisdom, /wg/? Your likes, dislikes, Do's and Don'ts.

[Anonymous No.22215961]

>>22215577
What would be some good tragic consequences for such an accursed relationship?

I was thinking the older woman would not be able to sire her young husband a son, and is cursed with numerous miscarriages, and they only have one surviving daughter together.

[Anonymous No.22215993]

>>22215959
Like this, or something else?

[Anonymous No.22216001]

/wg/, does this make the MC a chosen one? if so I might need to seriously refactor a major part of my novel

>MC was the last living human in the otherworld but got no special powers
>MC's mother was the first isekai protag to escape the otheworld alive, but the only ability she passed down was non-magical wilderness survival skills
>MC did find a magic artifact of great power as a child, but threw it away because he thought magic was fake
>He did get it back later and it did technically choose him, but the artifact would have chosen literally any human who wasn't evil, he just happened to be there

[Anonymous No.22216008]

>>22215959
Seems fine, but know who you're pandering to. Seems like you'd want people with a fetish either for robots or for a lack of genitals (both thankfully exist)

[Anonymous No.22216152]

>Word
>Scrivener
>Plottr
What software do you guys use?
There's screenwriting softwares (Final Draft, Fade In, WriterDuet, etc) and all sorts of whiteboard and note-taking apps, as well. Name everything you use. I want to see if I can up my game anywhere.

[Anonymous No.22216187]

Do you guys have any exercises / ways to improve focus? I recently took a long break from writing and have returned to absolutely dogshit concentration. Manged to force myself to shit out 11k words of first draft over the last 3-4 days but I've been picking and re-writing the last 10 sentences of that chunk ever since and am seriously struggling to put my thoughts into words. Not that I don't know what to write, I have it all charted out in a way that makes perfect sense to me, I'm just moving at a glacial pace for some reason. Re-reading some of my older stuff seems to help but not much.

[Anonymous No.22216203]

>>22216152
Wordpad.

[Anonymous No.22216214]

>>22216187
Write early.
Write often.
Remove distractions.
Clarify your goals for the writing session.

[Anonymous No.22216215]

>>22216187
drugs

[Anonymous No.22216295]

>>22213357
Thanks a lot for the feedback anon. My biggest worry was that the dialogue/characters would be too plain and without any flair to them. I'm going to keep on writing and see where it gets me. Cheers

[Anonymous No.22216357]

>>22215831
NTA but I just finished a short story today. This is probably the first one I've written I'm confident enough to submit to magazines. Thankfully there are some local ones around here which are into this kind of story so I think I might have a good shot.
It's a frame story about a disgruntled dump truck driver who feels that he must get revenge to restore his honor. His revenge plot is successful, but he does not get his honor back because he doesn't get in trouble for it.

[Anonymous No.22216438]

>>22216001
kys

[Anonymous No.22216452]

>read
>read
>read
>vocal is still shit

Help me.

[Anonymous No.22216458]

>>22216452
*vocabulary

[Anonymous No.22216471]

you think you can be mean to me just because i'm different? i stopped counting r*pes at 6. SIX.

[Anonymous No.22216474]

>>22216001
Can you tell us more about the setting? I'm a bit confused about some of the things you're talking about.

[Anonymous No.22216488]

How do you guys get yourself in the mood to write? Usually only around midnight I really feel the need to write but by then I need to be in bed so I can wagecuck in the morning.

[Anonymous No.22216531]

I'm 29 years old. I have a wife and newborn son. Some time ago, I attempted to do a PhD in a STEM subject at a relatively prestigious research university. I got 5 years into the program and then quit without obtaining a degree. I couldn't even get a Master's out of it. It was 5 years down the drain, most of that spent masturbating, watching movies, and playing blitz chess.

I make 70 thousand dollars a year before taxes working a job for which I'm probably overqualifed. Once in a while I'll write something, a short story or a poem or an attempt at a novel. I almost never finish anything. I've posted some of my stuff on here with mixed results. I've critiqued some of you guys too; I don't know if I've helped anyone.

Recently, I've been feeling really guilty about writing. I'm a slow writer, it takes me about an hour to write 300 words, and I feel like I can no longer justify spending that time on something that isn't giving me a tangible return. To be clear, this wasn't a problem when I was alone, but now that I have a family, I feel like that time should be used to advance my career or start a side business or learn a marketable skill. Along with this, I don't feel I'll ever be good enough to get traditionally published. Likewise, I don't think my work is very commercial. If I were to self-publish, I doubt I would be able to justify the time spent for the money earned. There'd be no glory in it either since I quite literally don't know anyone irl that reads literature.

Part of me refuses to quit. I read something that one of you guys posted a few threads back, called "dogfucker". It was vulgar and dark and subversive and probably unpublishable but also somehow incredibly beautiful and poignant. It really inspired me. But it also forced me to reexamine my own work and to realize that not a single piece I've ever written has anywhere near that level of imagination or authenticity. Everything I've ever written has just been a way to cope with having no real friends or hobbies, an escape not very different from video games or pornography.

I'm not sure what to do. Literature has been a part of my life for so long that I don't know how I would quit it. And I would have to quit it if I wanted to stop writing, because the one drives the other. I don't know how to quit this place either. I don't have anywhere else to talk about writing or literature.

Anyway, I know /wg/ hates blogposts. Sorry for that. I just wanted to put what I've been thinking into words and vent a little bit.

[Anonymous No.22216548]

>>22216531
I don't want you to quit, especially if you want to write literature.

Tell me what you care about the most, as in themes, issues, ideas. You don't have to tell me everything, but if you really provoke yourself there might stories and insight that you will be surprised that you have.
Also remember, it's not just the story itself, it's how you tell it that makes you unique.

[Anonymous No.22216647]

>>22216548
>Tell me what you care about the most, as in themes, issues, ideas.
I can tell you what gives me most pleasure to read: the rags to riches story, especially when it concerns spiritual development or transformation; stories of great pathos, almost to the point of sentimentality; stories about forgiveness, particularly between father and son, or between estranged friends or brothers; the self-sacrifice; the return of evil with kindness or mercy; the suffering in secret or in silence; the uncommon or esoteric trade; the macabre and grotesque.

[Anonymous No.22216649]

>>22216531
Hey, I dont really care if something is blogposty as long as it doesnt devolve into "boo hoo look how pathetic i am"
you clearly demonstrate a desire to keep going and a real interest in what you do when you can, but as a 23 year college student with next to no obligations, its not for me to tell you how to square that with your responsibilities.

All I can say is that when i have to work and study during certain weeks, i try to get as much done ass possible and try to get a certain word count every sunday. If youre writing that slowly, youre probably 1. writing very good words that are worth more than the 1-2k many could write in that time 2.too burdened by doubt or 3. just need to get back into the groove of things.

If talking about what you plan to write and further elaborating on whats going on would make you feel better im all ears.

[Anonymous No.22216656]

>>22216531
>But it also forced me to reexamine my own work and to realize that not a single piece I've ever written has anywhere near that level of imagination or authenticity.
I read every word you wrote, but that was what stood out to me. That statement, crystalline, explains the heart of the matter--though I understand why you wanted to get the rest of that off of your chest.

I should think, given your self-reflection, that the choice should be clear: you write something authentic and find that you have something to say, or you either write as a purely recreational outlet, or stop altogether. You will be torturing yourself otherwise.

I didn't read "Dogfucker"--it didn't grip me at all to start, and I skimmed by scrolling to see if I could catch a scene that grabbed my attention. Nothing did. I will try going back to it. I am now interested, though because my own work is occasionally subversive, and my mind is a mixed landscape of beauty and filth as it is, I'm hesitant that it will have a strong effect on me.

I suppose I can also share something about myself, briefly, and maybe it might do something for you. Maybe not. I don't see any harm in it other than someone thinking unkind things about me, though that hardly matters.

I taught myself how to "read" at a precocious age. I grew up reading. Depending on how you look at it, one might say I was forced into reading--it allowed me escape from a world that was oppressive, a world that the overly-curious and thoughtful mind of a child had no business probing, and for other reasons not worth writing. Stories and story-telling began as a joy, then an escape, then an obsession. I quickly turned to inventing my own. It was a safe way to explore the thoughts I was having in a way that a child can attempt to make sense of them. The relentless pursuit of thinking and thoughts has been a chronic condition throughout my life, of which I have no further interest to describe.

[Anonymous No.22216657]

>>22216656
I write all of that only to describe the partial origin of someone who is the inverse of the statement I quoted above. I am quite nearly incapable of writing something inauthentic. I am completely incapable of writing something without meaning, moral, or question. Stories and storytelling are so innately married to the observation and discussion of humanity in my mind that I cannot separate the concepts. My imagination is such that I can stare at a wall and conjure anything I please--dramatic, erotic, violent, whatever--in as much or as little sensory detail, for as long as I am not starving or exhausted or physically in pain.

Did that make me a writer by default? No. My work inherently good? Nope. I had to learn many harsh lessons, and have yet many ahead of me. The capacity to write something good? Unequivocally, yes.

I will tell you plainly, given my life, that knowing what I know, if I was stripped of the qualities I explained previously, if such capacities were know to me, only to be lost, or not possessed in the first place, then I would cease writing forever. Writing is one of the few ways I can fully engage with the world by manifesting my thoughts in the most robust of ways.

For me, Writing is Hell, softened only by the occasional vigor of a beautiful idea or the encouragement of a momentary triumph of elegant symbolic construction.

I write this to qualify my previous suggestion:

You must write authentically, or perhaps not at all.

If you are one who received great joy and stimulation from the mere act of writing, then I would not offer this advice. If you were not overly critical of your writing--or otherwise arrogant, or uncaring--I would not offer this advice. If you had an internal thought, an honest, educated, analyzed thought, that you could be a great writer, and you could write something worth reading--I would not offer this advice.

There was clearly a mishap with the PhD program, though that could be some share of your mishap and the institution's mishap, and it would be dishonest not to attempt a connection, but I lack information, and therefore any thoughts I have are probably wasted and not worth saying, other than there are clearly other realms of life that provoke dissatisfaction (as if that is some kind of relevatory statement).

But this writing---this cannot tear you down any further. You can embrace your authentic voice and find what you have to say, if you have anything to say (what do you think about this?). If you are unwilling to do that, out of pride or fear or sloth, then you should, based on what you've written interpreted honestly, stop.

I hope you do not stop.

[Anonymous No.22216765]

>>22216474
basically the place I'm calling the "otherworld" is fantasy world whose original humans largely went extinct, leaving their cities to be reclaimed by magical creatures. However, over the past decade or so, children from our world have falling through portals into this one, only to quickly discover this world is absurdly hostile to human life. The few who've managed to survive have banded together into a tribe of hunter-gatherers, but any attempts to get home have proved futile, and the last scouting mission into an undead warlord's territory to find a portal home ended disastrously with the group's leader missing and presumed dead

however, little do the survivors know that their leader – the MC's mother – had discovered the way home in the depths of the warlord's stronghold. However, along with it she'd also discovered the warlord failed attempts to breed the world's last remaining humans in captivity, with only survivor being a single infant: the MC. Seperated from her team and with no other way to escape she used the way home to return to our world to prepare the child, as she had a very good reason to believe he'd end up end up there again. however the adventure had taken a toll on her body and years later she died, leaving the MC with a magical artifact he thought was a cheap piece of jewelery. Less than an hour before he too fell through a portal into the other world he had laid the artifact to rest at his mother's gravesite, concluding that "expecting some bullshit magical journey to fall in your lap is a delusion for slow children who need to stop drooling over harry potter and get their heads out of their asses"

[Anonymous No.22216781]

I'm writing my crime novel right now. I do think I may have gone a bit overboard with the crime. I wonder, is an over the top killing okay, if I treat the situation with the proper gravity?

[Anonymous No.22216795]

>>22216781
Worked for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

[Anonymous No.22216803]

>>22216781
I'm glad you decided to write this and have a clearer idea now of what you want to do.

>is an over the top killing okay
Yes.
>if I treat the situation with the proper gravity?
Only important if it's actually important.
>and
Stop holding yourself to your interpreted standards of other people when you write. Stop thinking about such nonsense. Write your story the way it needs to be written. You can decide if anything is "too much" or "not enough" when you edit. Obviously take care to write what it is you think you should write the first time around--stop thinking about "But what will others think?" If an over-the-top scene of violence is authentic to what you're writing, then put it in there and sort it out later if it becomes a problem.

[Anonymous No.22216804]

>>22216656
>>22216657
I'm grateful this thoughtful response. In many ways I think I'm probably the opposite of you, as a writer. I can't write anything that is without meaning or moral either, but it's always top down, outside in. And for that reason it always feels constructed rather than organic. I don't have such a capacity for imagination as you do. I can barely visualize faces or the contents of a room; I go mostly by ear, the sound of the words. I get depressed when something sounds off and I can't fix it. Flaubert describes the condition as: "like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within."

But I think it does come down to whether I have anything to say. I don't know that I do. Everything I could say has already been said by other, better, authors. The only novelty I can offer is recombination. In a way, I feel like an authentic expression, for me, would be to write only for myself, to remind myself of the kind of man I wanted to be when I was a little kid, the kind of man I could still become, or else the kind of man I fear I might become (or have already become). Or to write for my son.

But is that really the right decision? It would take me around 300 hours to write a novel and probably another 300 for the revision. I can't help but feel its selfish to spend 600 hours on something that has no tangible benefit for my family, and with merely the chance of benefit for myself. I didn't always think in such mercenary terms but I feel forced to now. And thats not even to mention that much of the pleasure of this comes from sharing my work with people, even if only the people in these threads, and getting their reaction. Writing my tombstone just doesn't have the same appeal.

Anyway, I appreciate your sharing your story with me and listening to mine.

[Anonymous No.22216806]

>>22215993

[Anonymous No.22216807]

>>22216647
What kind of project did you stop on, was it a novel or something long?
If so, maybe you should try your hand at short stories so you can get more comfortable with the process of starting and finishing a project, and focusing on a single theme.

If I can share my own experience on this, I have written plenty of genre stories. Scifi, weird fiction, horror and fantasy. But I always got rid of them and I never liked them. I loved to read stories like that but they just didn't resonate with me when I wanted to tell my own. And I think it was because I've had a lot of experiences that I simply cannot express through genre. That is why I started reading more literature.
I am really religious. As in read the Bible as much as someone in a choir to the point that it is is not just a story but a profoundly personal experience. I also have strong feelings about contemporary government, history and epistemology about nationality/community. I am also a fucking autistic retard thanks to being on this corner of the internet almost two decades. But I'm not a preacher or a politician or want to remain here. I want to explore these feelings through fiction and stories, and I try to find a story that can relay these ideas and really try them. Look at all the sides and not take others for granted.
Try to take some of those things you care about and crystallize the ideas and explore potential stories that might best relate them. Some of that comes with becoming more familiar with the creative process. Try just writing down your feelings sometimes and eventually you can sort it out. In quickness is truth.

[Anonymous No.22216842]

>>22216531
>Recently, I've been feeling really guilty about writing. I'm a slow writer, it takes me about an hour to write 300 words, and I feel like I can no longer justify spending that time on something that isn't giving me a tangible return. To be clear, this wasn't a problem when I was alone, but now that I have a family, I feel like that time should be used to advance my career or start a side business or learn a marketable skill.
Nigger, you admit yourself to earning 70k a year. That's something most people would consider "good".

Stop being a little bitch and write a little if you enjoy doing it. Everyone knows reading is a niche and writers cater to a niche. Nearly everyone here is aware that writing is a black hole of time and money and yet people keep doing it, because every now and then, your work might skirt the event horizon, might take a glimpse of the singularity that sucked in all that time and money from everyone else.

Basically, do you have something to write about? Do you have some stories you want to share? Are you writing to just get something out? It doesn't matter how slow it comes, the question is whether you do.

If you do, keep writing. If you don't, yeah it's probably a waste of time and a little hobby, doesn't mean it's bad.

[Anonymous No.22216844]

>>22216803
I decided to stick with my story, and I decided that I will stay true to my original goal. I don't want to write a whodunit novel, because there area million of those, by some of the greatest writers out there. The contest I am writing for, literally only have one guideline, and that is "Crime novel". They didn't ask for mystery of detective novels. Hence I am making the daring decision not to have a mystery or a detective in it. There is however a crime. A gruesome crime. Committed by young men, in a panicked state. The crime weighs heavily on them, and the consequences of it, force them to develop.
Also, I will test the readers patience with how the characters make decisions. It's by no means a farce or a comedy, but the lead characters are not geniuses, who make perfect decisions. They make very human mistakes, snap under pressure, make illogical choices based on emotions like guilt, fear or loyalty. I have seen many plots get called out like
>Why didn't the main character make the obvious smart choice in that situation? >It's so unrealistic.
And the answer is that the main character is incompetent, and can't think straight because of the pressure. At best my leads get carried through most of the story by their audacity and a small bit of luck.
What I really want to do, is capture the humanity of a bad situation. I want my leads to be imperfect, from the way they speak, to the decisions they make.

And yes, I have decided to ignore that nagging voice in my head, that wonders what the judges and the readers will think. If it works, it works.

[Anonymous No.22216851]

>>22216647
>stories of great pathos, almost to the point of sentimentality; stories about forgiveness
>the self-sacrifice; the return of evil with kindness or mercy; the suffering in secret or in silence
Oh boy I really ought to finish my thing.

[Anonymous No.22216878]

Would there be value in writing middlegrade novels to get more boys to read?

[Anonymous No.22216903]

/wg/, I didn't realize until I was writing my second draft that my MC is a chosen one which completely contradicts the entire point of my story. I'm not sure what I can do to fix it without scrapping all 200k words and starting over. what do I do?

[Anonymous No.22216909]

>>22216471
why were you counting ropes?

[Anonymous No.22216922]

>>22216531
you should enjoy life
supreme desire only leads to supreme suffering
your hunt for optimal progression through career, wages, etc make up a supreme desire
don't teach your child to be a wageslave in a perpetual cycle

[Anonymous No.22216929]

>>22216903
find new meaning in this story

[Anonymous No.22216938]

>>22216903
Try to back up to the point where that conclusion is inevitable and rewrite from there. Any other thematic support for that early in the book you can remove in an edit.
Be honest with the manuscript and fix what is necessary. Do be careful next time. Even a simple outline or review of a scene can stop you from getting off track. I recently had to rewrite my last four chapters multiple times because I couldnt get them to do what I wanted. It took more care to complete the end.

[Anonymous No.22216944]

Have any philosophical concept, unrelated to writing, ever managed to change the way you see writing, maybe to even change the way you do write?

[Anonymous No.22216965]

>>22216944
I write absurdities because I read Kierkegaard. It is frustrating to do without making it look like a mistake or sarcasm. Effectively, I sometimes will describe an action not what it literally is, but what is going on spiritually.

[Anonymous No.22216967]

[Anonymous No.22216971]

>>22216967

[Anonymous No.22216975]

>>22216903
Have someone else show up as the REAL guy only to get stomped making your guy the runner up.

[Anonymous No.22216990]

Let me try posting my short story a 2nd time

[Anonymous No.22216993]

>>22216990

[Anonymous No.22217018]

>>22215456
That's literally just smiley fritz which is something we have here in South Australia, it's just processed bullshit that you put on your kid's sandwiches for school, tastes good though, the deli lady will even give you a free slice if you ask.

[Anonymous No.22217022]

>>22215466
Post an excerpt so we can pick it apart.

[Anonymous No.22217025]

Im not even in the drafting phase yet and im stuck on what i even want my plot to be. My basic premise is I have an alchemist girl in a fantasy world go on an adventute after being coddled at home learning about the biology of the world. The two plot ideas i had so far was one, the grandma of the girl gets terminally sick, and thus she must go out to gather ingredients to make a potion to cure them, only to find that the grandma is ready to leave this world depsite all her efforts. My other idea would be that her parents want her to take up the profession of being a merchant, which she doesn't like and leaves to find her own life after too much pushing. I like the second one better but im not sure where to go with it. The girl crawling back to her parents after finding the world is a dangerous place seems unsatifying, but abandoning your parents and home over a disagreement seems equally bad.

[Anonymous No.22217027]

>>22215684
Post an excerpt and we'll tell you if you're doing fine or not.

[Anonymous No.22217028]

>>22216804
>Everything I could say has already been said by other, better, authors.
Banish this thought from your soul.
>The only novelty I can offer is recombination.
Along with your own personal experiences and observations. If this kind of postmodernist thinking was true--it isn't--then all of the works of art and prose and film and video games would be the same thing, iterated forever--you've experienced one, you've experienced them all. It is true that we recombine. The connections you make yourself, from your experience, are what birth novelty. You have a STEM background. What have the mathematicians and physicists and chemists and biologists been doing all of this time? Recombining? And they have had to obey the strict rules of scientific inquiry and proof and consistency, framed by the limitations of our physical existence--the artist's boundary conditions are far less narrow.
>It would take me around 300 hours to write a novel and probably another 300 for the revision.
Fair--but that's part of the process for most of us writers. 10k words on a day of furious outpouring and skipped meals; shuffling around several dozen words and commas and rewrite after rewrite for hours on others. Surely Dad can find some time every so often to write; his wife happy and supportive of a productive hobby; his son thrilled to hear about his father's sanitized ideas when he can share then, bragging to his friends that his Dad *writes,* and how cool that is.
>to remind myself of the kind of man I wanted to be when I was a little kid, the kind of man I could still become, or else the kind of man I fear I might become (or have already become)
This is the essence of what and why humans make art (with the addition of "what I want and what I do not want from other humans"). Some are able to camouflage it better than others.
>Or to write for my son.
Like Tolkien.
>And thats not even to mention that much of the pleasure of this comes from sharing my work with people, even if only the people in these threads, and getting their reaction.
So you do have something to say, after all. Or you like the attention or feeling of connection?

[Anonymous No.22217031]

>>22216214
This is all shit that King says to do in On Writing, he also says to put your desk in the corner but I can't remember why.

[Anonymous No.22217033]

>>22217028
You are struggling with rationalizing writing as a productive activity, especially considering the other responsibilities of your life. With that, I can offer no advice--it is your life, your career, your family--other than to know for yourself what it means to be a good citizen, a productive human, a good father, a good man.Lastly, I found the mega link--along with, presumably, your own comment--and read about 15 pages of "Dog Fucker." It was clearly written by a man who has spent too much of his existence on this site, for whom high school is still somewhat of a recent memory, unapologetically written, dripping with bitterness and obsessively concerned with constructions that overstate the characters. It is exhausting to read, but I am nagged by the hope that this author might do something with the story to make it worthwhile.

It is, however, unabashedly authentic, and competent far more often than not, though that is not to say it is exactly readable, or good. It is very obviously something overwhelmingly personal for the author. I derived more enjoyment imaging the author himself--what is his state of mind? What is he doing with his life? If this was a narrative-in-a-narrative about the author himself *writing* "Dog Fucker," that could be something absolutely amazing--a potential book of a generation. As it is, though, it's just what it is.

You don't need to write something like that.

You mentioned feeling as if you could not write something authentic like that and I responded with thinking about what it is you might have to say. I've given it more thought--enough now, in my estimation--and while this is something I have never consciously considered before, it seems clear to me that all we do when we write authentically is nothing more than what we have to say about what we think about. Dostoevsky, Dan Brown, Brontës, King. All simply writing about what they think about, what thoughts they have, what imagined scenarios excite them or scare them or frustrate them or arouse them. Of course there is craft, the fuss-and-muss about all of that, and yes, it is quite important and critical and if you can't do it properly, all of the effort in the world will be in vain. However, a lesson I had to learn a long time ago was that all of the craft and care and sweat in the world will save an idea that an audience is not going to have any particular interest in reading. All the craft in the world cannot elevate a mediocre idea beyond a certain threshold. But I don't think your problem is craft.

I think the problem is that you haven't yet found that idea that expresses what you have to say about what it is that you think about. I think if you found that idea, you would not be so concerned about rationalizing the value of writing in your life, or its priority. It would naturally find its place.

So while I hate to be prescriptive, especially to someone I do not know personally, I think is it okay in this case.

Find that idea.

[Anonymous No.22217040]

>>22216844
Awesome, to all of this. I want to read some of it if or when you feel like posting it here.

>>22216990
I'll read it again in a little bit. Is there anything you want me to look for in particular?

[Anonymous No.22217051]

>>22217040
I want to see if the message of the story actually resonates or not. If you can tell me what I wrote about without help I would have succeeded.

[Anonymous No.22217054]

>>22217051
I didn't even read all of it the first time and I got the point loud and clear. Do you still want me to read it?

[Anonymous No.22217061]

>>22217054
Sure why not. Feedback is always important.

[Anonymous No.22217163]

>>22217025
Sounds like an Atelier game

[Anonymous No.22217188]

>>22217061
So I guess my main point of critique is that I would have liked the subject matter treated with a little more nuance and a less absurd premise, with a less absurd ending, and a treatment of the means of exchange vs. collectivization that isn't a gigantic strawman. As it stands, it reads like a parody of itself, like maybe what a collectivist might think of how a non-collectivist views collectivism that doesn't have a firm grasp of either. I doubt this is your intention.

I offer the notion that the idea of a tribe exchanging currency and constantly bickering and fighting about each exchange is silly. Would a tribe really have this much downtime to haggle in such a way? I understand that this is meant to be a parody and a satire of some kind. Largebrain reads like a strawman of collectivism, specifically Marxism. I like the idea that the collectivization immediately breaks down into simply bartering--you should let the collectivization work for a little bit before it starts to break down, though--furtive exchanges here and there, an escalation. Additionally, Largebrain needs to have some value to give other than the altruism of the tribe, unless you are really trying to proffer the idea that altruism is somehow a natural extension of community and exchange, which needs to be explained better (that's a rather bold statement, as it stands), especially in the context of furiously haggling over single shinies in light of allowing Largebrain to just laze about like a waste of skin.

Also, consider that, for whatever it's worth to you:
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_who_does_not_work%2C_neither_shall_he_eat

I would also like to submit to you the idea that small communities in survival or survival-adjacent scenarios are often collectivist and happily so; city-states perhaps functionally so; kingdoms and nations problematically so. This has been demonstrable to a significant degree through human history, though of course exceptions exist either way (to an extent).

The issue with satire and parody is that is has to have good control concerning what it is attempting to skewer. It is at its most compelling, in my view, when you either:
>explain an absurd premise with grave seriousness (A Modest Proposal)
or
>explain a premise in seemingly good faith until you pull out the rug
The only example of the latter that comes to mind--because it is difficult to do without really pissing off your audience--is Borat, in that the character presents himself to his victims "in good faith," while we, the audience, recognize "the rug pull" by viewing it. The other example is a massive spoiler for one of my favorite art/philosophical films; I refuse to spoil such a wonderful artist work for a cheap example.

[Anonymous No.22217191]

>>22217188
So I think the idea of a tribe of primitives that try and then reject collectivism, and the arrogant Largebrain that acts selfishly throughout, ultimately at some expense to himself, is fine for what it is. It was readable. The dialogue is a little tiresome past a certain point, but not overly so. I wondered how the tribesman could understand the big words of Largebrain. I wondered where the shinies came from and who makes them. I wondered why they didn't just use a physical commodity (food?) instead. I really wondered why Largebrain didn't just become a Stalin.

So anyways, that's what I thought.

[Anonymous No.22217206]

>>22217163
never played those games but thanks fellow /v/ermin

[Anonymous No.22217238]

Like, getting raped is a good way to figure out you're a girl, it's like "yeah, you see it, too."

[Anonymous No.22217271]

Thoughts on set-ups and pacing? I recently took a step back and decided to invest my first ~10 chapters purely into world-building, setting up the main cast and each of their motivations before delving into the story proper. Of course, everything that happens there has a good reason for being in the story but it takes a while before the action kicks in. TLDR the main PoV and three of his friends are going to participate in this coming of age ritual that's supposed to happen right on new year's eve. I'm trying to hinge my bets on drawing readers in with super immersive and detailed descriptions of all the traditions and events happening around the protag mixed with a bunch of shenanigans since he's supposed to be this adrenaline junkie who keeps getting into trouble for the sheer excitement of it. I really want to sell the whole cheery adventure vibe in the first bit, only to give readers one hell of a sucker punch when everything turns to shit about ~15 chapters in. Only issue is I think I might be leaning a liiitle bit too much into the worldbuilding bit. Think of it like the set-up for Bel Tine in Wheel of Time but with more moving parts.


>>22217025
Maybe have something happen to where going back home is impossible? Conflict drives the plot forward, after all. For instance just off the top of my head, you can maybe start with option B and once the girl decides to go out adventuring, have her spend all her money to buy like a ship ride to some far off frontier land where her parents can't reach her. Then, once she realizes that the outside world is dangerous and scary and tries to go back but is unable, thus forcing her to stay and learn to adapt and overcome this new environment. You can even have her fall in with a bigger group of adventurers that want to make use of her alchemy skills, and have a sort of moral conflict thing going where she both wants to keep adventuring and explore this new frontier, but at the same time she feels guilty and wants to go back to her parents, or something like that. I got a weirdly similar plotline as well, lol.

> but abandoning your parents and home over a disagreement seems equally bad

Its petty, childish and immature, which works well if your protag is on the younger side. Once she gets a reality check it can be the basis for some pretty good character growth imo.

>>22216903
Contradictory characters aren't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe have your prophecy or whatever inexplicably fail when push comes to shove or do something like what >>22216975 said.

[Anonymous No.22217280]

>>22217271
>invest my first ~10 chapters purely into world-building, setting up the main cast and each of their motivations before delving into the story proper
Are you serious? Is this actually acceptable in anyone's mind? Unless I have ulterior reasons for reading something, if I'm not interested after two or three pages, I stop reading. You're going to try to test your audience's attention span for ~10 chapters before you make shit happen?

[Anonymous No.22217291]

>>22217025
I prefer the first option if you add another motivation after the grandma dies. Like if she needs to continue learning medicine and struggles because she's put in a responsibility to achive some impossible medical feats with the dangerous world in her way. The world being too scary for her and needing to return home does seem unsatisfying. If you want something like this theme you can insert it without resorting to such a plot point. She is in conflict with that idea and turning 180 is not exactly the best resolution while the girl could learn something new she didn't know she needed. A healer is also a good archetipical start for a character that is very moral but naive with the ability to learn from whatever secondary characters you are going to introduce. Or to teach good will to the same characters. But of course it's your story, I'm just giving my perspective as someone who prefers fairy tale style fantasy rather than the anti-fantasy spin on it.

[Anonymous No.22217297]

>>22217238
I will rather accept a nasty degenerate pseudo romance with rape than another edgy cliche villain rapist.

[Anonymous No.22217307]

>>22217031
>You need fingers to write
>Yeah, that's what King says!

[Anonymous No.22217349]

>>22217307
You wanna try not being a schizo for a second?

[Anonymous No.22217350]

>>22215456
Hey can you guys review my prose and writing style I'm working on a new SCP that will be published soon and I aldo have other writing projects I'm working on that would be cool thanks Constructive criticism would be nice thanks.

[Anonymous No.22217353]

>>22217350
Also how hard would it be to adapt my works into an animat8red series I'm working on it

[Anonymous No.22217354]

>>22217350
perfect 10 outta 10 dont change a thing can i get your autograph

[Anonymous No.22217356]

>>22217350
Woah..

[Anonymous No.22217403]

>>22215483
ESL? It's not terrrible exactly, but the dialogue feels very plain and lifeless and there a few incorrect turns of phrase that scream ESL:
>Out of a sudden
>tears lingering from his eyes
that sort of thing. It felt ike reading a transcipt of an anime or Visual Novel, so the writing is passable and gets the job done, but is too plain. I don't really get a feel for who the characters are through their dialogue and the character dynamics aren't really there as a result. Nothing really drew me in, but I think it's so bland that it's really hard to say exacly what needs changing without going through it sentence by sentence. Read and write more then come back to it and see if you feel the same way when you read it again.

[Anonymous No.22217422]

>>22217350
Is that a joke or an attempt at strange writing style? SCP wiki is pretty rigorous in it's format and people will most likely don't read it past a few missed punctuation marks. Maybe if you want something strange you should put it after you hooked the reader. Also the structure in the description is pretty off, you should put discovery in discovery section or add it in the end of the description. It's hard to read so I can't really give any feedback on the idea.

[Anonymous No.22217462]

>>22215907
So, i'd like to ask again is flintlock fantasy a relatively dead genre? Should i change it into something different?

[Anonymous No.22217480]

>>22217462
Who cares? Just write what you want, otherwise you are doing it wrong.

[Anonymous No.22217490]

>>22217350
Masterclass writing

[Anonymous No.22217526]

>>22217349
I don't know, what does Stephen King have to say about it?

[Anonymous No.22217532]

>>22217480
This.

Either accept the slop route or grind away in hopes of finally being noticed.

[Anonymous No.22217534]

>>22217526
So you can't, good to know.

[Anonymous No.22217535]

>>22217490
Is that Ma Niggo Mortensen?

[Anonymous No.22217550]

>>22217031
I got that advice from Ray Bradbury, slightly paraphrased. I grew up reading scifi like his.
King's It is just Bradury's Something Wicked This Way Comes but more graphic. Literally direct inspiration. King probably saw Bradbury as a role model and shares some of the insight in his own way.

[Anonymous No.22217556]

>>22217550
Everyone is inspired by someone so that doesn't surprise me.

[Anonymous No.22217563]

>>22217350
Try to write more professionally and medically. Work on the flow and use punctuation. Read classic SCP entries or related literature such as SOP, psychological or criminal records. You could also describe the acid better by watching videos with different kinds of acids. Sulfuric acid often organic matter into black goo, by the way. So understanding the properties of such an acid and how to describe what is resistant to it would help.

[Anonymous No.22217640]

Is it hard to come up with new ideas these days? I swear I came up with one the other night when I thought to myself "Imagine if there was a gun that shot teeth instead of bullets" fast forward to tonight and I watch Existenz and it turns out they did that exact idea 20 years ago.

[Anonymous No.22217658]

My prose FUCKING SUCKS

[Anonymous No.22217669]

>>22217658
Post an excerpt.

[Anonymous No.22217673]

>>22217669
No because it FUCKING SUCKS

[Anonymous No.22217678]

>>22217640
whatever you thought ever, one person thought the exact same thing as you. give it exactly same or close one so just write it

[Anonymous No.22217685]

How do I get into writing poems?

[Anonymous No.22217717]

>>22217685
Try memorizing or copying your favorite poems (you can copy anything from the words, to the meter to the rhyme scheme). You can also read Poe's dissertation on how he wrote The Raven (though some people believe it was intended to be satirical).

[Anonymous No.22217776]

I need to write the origin of magic on my story but i have literally no idea what to write and i don't want to use god or goddesses. I was thinking a dimensional drifter caused something like the effect of invention of fire and humans learned the idea of magic and developed with that but something happened on timeline and suddenly all humans are against magic and the ones that use magic are hunted by religious cults that have magic users on their ranks. Where should i look for a magic origin idea?

[Anonymous No.22217781]

>>22217673
If you don't want any advice or help then stop complaining.

[Anonymous No.22217792]

>>22217685
just write poems

[Anonymous No.22217820]

What do you do when you realize you have nothing to say

[Anonymous No.22217828]

>>22217820
Nothing to say about what? The chapter you are working on, or in general?
If it's just what you are doing, then move on to a chapter where you do have something to write about. Take some time to read and analyze what you are doing in the place where you are stuck and try to understand if there's anything more you wanted or what might be missing.

Even if you have nothing to say, try to empathize with what others may say about it. Maybe it will lead somewhere for you.

[Anonymous No.22217832]

>>22217828
In general
I have no stories to tell; nothing I think would be insightful for others

[Anonymous No.22217849]

>>22217820
I gave up any ambition to write when I realized that. Probably not a good answer, but I don't know what else to do.

[Anonymous No.22217851]

>>22217832
Maybe you should reflect on life or have some deep discussions with others about what they care about. I've a social butterfly irl, I go around to lots of different people and listen to what they have to say and hear all kinds of perspectives and stories that way. Also I think that "write what's on your mind" /lit/ thread is cool, you will see anons write about things that drive them crazy.
Take examples from stories in real life and then try to outline it as an exercise. See if there is something insightful about it, no matter how insignificant. You can also do that by paying attention to what people care about. Go to other boards here and you will discover things that matter to people. As you pursue that, you can vicariously live out those stories that people need to hear.

[anali-shi-allisoN !MZgZR0q1GY No.22217859]

Journal posting but w/e feedback appreciated?

I think people should but fuc and rap their president with criti bare bed sheetsu beca it's been going on since at least Bush was president? (I was a chp)

A nation should support it's president and love them?

OK. Non- NPC

only in America

selecto teamum individus configurorum

mnkey boi
domestic ZlooPan
Derpsherdslo (14 min!)
????Biden FooK

Dnd u se? all tb, head thy crooked tilt
incline it along the -bicycle- bist
to go, rowe against the port, tear
Now quaddy and fully, dips the fine for


byte coins?

[Anonymous No.22217861]

>>22217859
My feedback is stop posting.

[Anonymous No.22217864]

>>22217820
Grow as a person.

Usually that means a lot of suffering so it's up to you whether you actually want to be a good writer. Just have half your family die, get rejected, live with regrets and bottled up hate, that kind of stuff.

[anali-shi-allisoN !MZgZR0q1GY No.22217869]

>>22217861
You have good one, desho.

How long did I wait to post this most desired offshot postiori? (at least a long time)
I do not like to challenge critics (so I'll take a break)
Is mine waiting useful, is my CNS fatigued enough! [?]
Let me know what you actually think about rhetorical interchange and stuff

[Anonymous No.22217939]

>>22217188
Thanks anon. I was afraid it was getting too long. Largebrain is supposed to be a champagne liberal, who offers little but makes value by being around and being likable.

Thank you, I'll expand it a bit more to clarify and make things far more nuanced

[Anonymous No.22217946]

Is there any point to writing fantasy if it's not about battles of epic proportions, slaying dragons, magic fights, etc etc? I'm not even talking about the underlying themes and messages, just the surface stuff.

Like, why would someone write a story about an alcoholic doctor that moves into a foreign town and facing an existential crisis if it's set in a fictional world? Wouldn't it better for that specific story to be set in the real world? (historical fiction/fantasy)

[Anonymous No.22217950]

>>22217776
Depends greatly on a number of factors, like what sort of role magic plays in your story, how common magic users are, what the magic is like and how it works, etc.
Magic that works on a concept of sacrificing your own blood would likely have a different origin from magic that uses crystals as a power source, for example. Same with how magic users are treated, if they're a powerful minority that rules everyone else, a weak minority that's hunted and feared, a majority but skill level varies greatly between them, etc

[Anonymous No.22217953]

>>22217946
>Wouldn't it better for that specific story to be set in the real world?
No, fantasy will always be more entertaining than real life.

[Anonymous No.22217954]

>>22217946
Isekai today are all about the mundane lives of fantasy characters l.

[Anonymous No.22217956]

>>22217820
Steal and pretend it's yours

[Anonymous No.22217958]

>>22217946
It's pretty normal to write in alternate world/fantasy without even infodumping lore.

[Anonymous No.22217972]

>>22215483
For what it is, it's alright. The prose is fairly plain but not bad really there are some mistakes here and there. The plot is basic but I guess it does hit the typical story beats for this kind of novel. The biggest flaws here is gonna have to be the characterization and dialogue. It's kinda hard to tell Sarlesh and Leonard apart aside from their names, there seems to be almost no characterization to be honest, at least none to distinguish one from the other. Given that this seems to be one of those type of stories, I would say to really flesh out the characters a bit and I'm not talking about just giving them cool backstories. Make them feel alive is the best way I can put it in. I think this could be much better with some interesting characters.

[Anonymous No.22217993]

>>22217946
>>22217958
Perhaps I didn't express myself correctly (being half drunk in the middle of the night doesn't help).

A story like ASOIAF's wouldn't function if set in a historical setting, even with shoehorned fantasy elements like dragons. People would rather read about political bickering and wars between interesting fictional characters in a fictional world than the same between a historical French and English king, and that's not to mention the fantastical elements of the story.

In other words, I've wanted for a long time to write a story about a fisherman/dockworker that's working in a foreign, fictional town in the far northern corner of the (fictional) world. There, he feels alienated from his surroundings (as it's a town that has bloomed due to the ever growing whaling oil industry), feels homesick and succumbs to alcoholism and other vices. This is based off my personal experience as a young European guy that had to study/work in a Chinese port city, a completely different country than mine and with no friends, relatives or girlfriend near me to provide me with some sense of comfort or familiarity.

My two questions are simple:

>why would I, as a writer, write the story about the fictional northern town that's set in a fictional world, instead of, let's say, a similar story about a Basque fisherman in the 18th century moving to Newfoundland or some shit? Apart from the fact that the first kind of story allows me to shoehorn in fantastical elements easier, and that it requires way less research to pull off

>Why would a reader be interested in the first rather than the second story?

[Anonymous No.22218001]

>>22217403
Τhanks for the feedback. Since you replied, I've combed over the text and fixed (hopefully) every grammatical and spelling error.

My biggest problems, as >>22217972 also pointed out, is that the characters are too plain, or indistinguishable from each other. Perhaps I ought to improve this by making each character's "talking" more distinct (either by toning their language, or making Sarlesh less logic oriented).

I'll continue writing and see where it leads me.

[Anonymous No.22218022]

looking for feedback on a fairy tale I wrote. Its about 2,000 words. I would really like feedback on enhancing the humor, especially the second half, which just doesn't seem very funny to me. Comments on prosaic style are also desired.

https://files.catbox.moe/ulgnai.pdf

[Anonymous No.22218033]

>>22216804
>Everything I could say has already been said by other, better, authors.
>The only novelty I can offer is recombination.
Then you need to stop getting your ideas from other people's writing, and go live your own life.
Ian Fleming and Jack London based their fiction on events in their own lives, not existing fiction about spies and frontier life.

[Anonymous No.22218052]

>>22217776
>the ones that use magic are hunted by religious cults that have magic users on their ranks
So, "The Wheel Of Time" by Robert Jordan?

[Anonymous No.22218097]

Are there any tips on how to make characters sound different during dialogue?
I have a story that revolves around a fairly large cast. Essentially half of them are soldiers, and half are politicians. There are a few others here and there, but I'm not worried about them.
Politicians should be a little easier because one is just opposing the other a lot of the time, but the soldiers have me stumped. Especially because maybe half of the dialogue so far takes place during battle scenes so it's little more than shouting orders and soldiers doing their specific jobs.
Any specific tips on how to do those?

[Anonymous No.22218176]

>>22218097
Make them have different personalities, no matter what scenario you're writing if there is a large group of characters talking then none of them should be the same.

[Anonymous No.22218187]

>>22218033
You're a moran.

[Anonymous No.22218201]

>>22218097
the opening of war and peace has roughly ten distinct characters all in the same class, if you look there you will see the charactarizations. Tolstoy put much care in the subtle sychology of the characters he wrote and their mind would dictate their speech. basically, think about the traits they have and ask whether what they are saying fits those traits. 'what would this person say, if they really existed?'

[Anonymous No.22218204]

>>22218201
>sychology
i should commit suicide.

[Anonymous No.22218213]

>want to not write men writing women

>writes only men and makes everyone gay

Am I winning anons?

[Anonymous No.22218214]

>>22217993
Anon, you're really mixing it up. Historical fiction is a very complicated genre in which you need to study for months for your bookto get any recognition as historical. On the other hand you can invent fantasy as you go. You can make a fictional town in the real world like Lovecraft though.

[Anonymous No.22218220]

>>22218187
Tough talk from someone who's spelling-challenged.
Also, can you name an alternative to real-life experience, for someone that can't find the novelty in their own work?
Or do you just seethe?

[Anonymous No.22218221]

Should I just call it "the main room of the church" or should I get specific and call it "the nave" and hope people know what I'm talking about?

[Anonymous No.22218226]

>>22218213
You're loosing by the virtue of being an impressionable normie who believes in shit like that. Consider going back to redit.

[Anonymous No.22218227]

>>22218097
At the core of every character is a set of values.
Those values lead to a larger set of priorities.
Conflict is derived from the differences in those priorities.
Character growth involves a character changing priorities, and even values, as time goes on.

[Anonymous No.22218244]

>>22218213
>gender can be learned
>except men cant learn how women think
just write extremely faggy women. write parody tier men writing women. make every woman in your work a reflection of the most misogynistic caricature you can imagine.

[Anonymous No.22218248]

>>22218213
You can learn enough about women to attempt to write them.

[Anonymous No.22218250]

>>22218221
you can be as technical with terms as you want. "the main bit" sounds juvenile. is your target audience teens? these days its ridiculously easy to find information about things you dont understand, so you can refer to very obscure things. if you are concerned, google the term and make sure what you are talking about is easy to find.

[Anonymous No.22218258]

>>22218250
>"the main bit" sounds juvenile.
Good thing this isn't what I wrote.

[Anonymous No.22218263]

>>22218221
You can give definitions to your readers in plain text. It's barely noticeable.
>"... in the middle room of the church, the nave,..."

[Anonymous No.22218336]

Now that Pride Month is over, how did you succeed in integrating LGBTQ+ voices to your writing?

[Anonymous No.22218353]

>>22218336
I write lesbian war fiction

[Anonymous No.22218363]

>>22218336
Lesdom fanfiction will always be kino

[Anonymous No.22218367]

>>22218258
You certainly missed my point

[Anonymous No.22218376]

>>22218336
I didn't. I wanted to be different, for my writing to have shock value.

[Anonymous No.22218380]

Is there any point to writing if you write genreshit?

[Anonymous No.22218417]

>>22218380
Write good genreshit

[Anonymous No.22218419]

>>22218380
No.

[Anonymous No.22218432]

>>22218419
Well, this text is definitely discouraging for anyone who writes for own well being and artistic expression

[Anonymous No.22218456]

>>22218419
What pretentious, unhelpful advice.

[Anonymous No.22218468]

>>22218432
>>22218456
He forgot the rest of it:
>This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose. Describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty - describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember. If your everyday life seems poor, don’t blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place. And even if you found yourself in some prison, whose walls let in none of the world’s sounds – wouldn’t you still have your childhood, that jewel beyond all price, that treasure house of memories? Turn your attentions to it. Try to raise up the sunken feelings of this enormous past; your personality will grow stronger, your solitude will expand and become a place where you can live in the twilight, where the noise of other people passes by, far in the distance. - And if out of this turning-within, out of this immersion in your own world, poems come, then you will not think of asking anyone whether they are good or not. Nor will you try to interest magazines in these works: for you will see them as your dear natural possession, a piece of your life, a voice from it. A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it.

[Anonymous No.22218489]

Work has been somewhat steady but slow.
Here's a small comparative pic, showing my small editorial progress.

[Anonymous No.22218524]

>>22218380
Other people can enjoy your work and you get to enjoy it too
The rest is commentary, go forth and write

[Anonymous No.22218559]

>>22218380
No. You should probably KYS. Only retards and children read about space elf chosen ones wielding laser swords.
Adults read nonfiction and the occasional erotic literature.

[Anonymous No.22218562]

>>22218489
Isn't this Tolkien? Is this LOTR/Silmaril fanfiction?

[Anonymous No.22218579]

>>22218456
That passage is why I write. I asked myself that and decided I'd rather die than stop writing.

>>22218432
In what way does it discourage. It says to write if you must. If writing doesn't matter to you, find an art that does. If you don't *have* to write, don't. If you do though, then never stop.
——
The reason I gave the passage is because the question was about whether one should write, it was not about the form of writing.

[Anonymous No.22218604]

>>22218562
>Isn't this Tolkien?
It is
>Is this LOTR/Silmaril fanfiction?
Not technically, since almost every word was taken from Tolkien's different source texts.
It's been a year since I began this editorial composition on my own; something akin to what Christopher Tolkien did while editing together The Silmarilion or The Children of Húrin.

[Anonymous No.22218616]

>>22218604
And why are you doing this? Just for fun? And the obligatory question: do you have permission to compile this work?

[Anonymous No.22218621]

>>22218559
>Adults read erotic literature
Jump out of the window

[Anonymous No.22218686]

>>22218621
You think the under-18s are reading it? Get real. How would they get past the birthdate popup?

[Anonymous No.22218691]

>>22218616
>And why are you doing this? Just for fun?
Mainly, yes. As well as due to a great desire to complete the story, to the best of my abilities, in a homogeneous and more developed fashion; rather than as a grief mention, which is seen in the Silmarilion.
>And the obligatory question: do you have permission to compile this work?
I do not, though after I'm done (or at least sufficiently satisfied with my labour) I'd be happy to present it to the family State.

[Anonymous No.22218710]

>>22218691
>grief
brief* Though I do agree with Christopher, in it being grievous.

[Anonymous No.22218775]

>>22218336
One of the characters in the short story I'm editing today is based off of a lesbian I know. But I don't point out that she's gay because it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous No.22218783]

What font do you use when writing your draft?

[Anonymous No.22218788]

>>22218783
google docs

[Anonymous No.22218790]

>>22218783
Garamond.

[Anonymous No.22218829]

>>22218783
comic sans

[Anonymous No.22218835]

>>22218336
Honstly as a gay person all my characters are gay anyway there may be a straight one here and there but I have no idea why writers who are posting on like AO3 or something should care even if they do get published.

Let us gays write our gays you really don't have to give a shit about us because we're writing it for you and for other gays by gays

[Anonymous No.22218860]

>>22217462
it's probably ok but you need to immerse yourself in the time period, like a teabag in boiling water, for it to become something else than a barren chinese steampunk fantasy
and i'm not talking only about history but furniture, clothing etc.
also you don't want it to be stiff and boring, so you have to find ways to alter everything in order to make it more to your liking... so you'll need to be a carpenter, hair stylist, cop, robber, architect, chimneysweep etc.
and that's not even touching the motivations, vices, virtues, sins, prevailing currents of thought, what a priest or another would preach etc.
tl;dr sure people care about it, if it's good enough :)

good luck!

[Anonymous No.22218872]

>>22218783
Centaur

[Anonymous No.22218875]

>>22218214
I know that historical fiction is much harder to pull off than fantasy, but which one would you, as a reader, indulge into?

[Anonymous No.22218914]

>>22218783
Consolas

[Anonymous No.22218955]

>>22218875
Fantasy duh. Fantasy is more popular than historical fiction in the first place. Unless you're writing historical romance, and using bridgerton style. Which means you can generally make shit up

[Anonymous No.22219208]

>>22218380
What even is genreshit? Can you define it? Not trying to be obtuse, I legit have no fucking idea what genreshit means but I see the term thrown around here from time to time

[Anonymous No.22219278]

>>22219208
It is writing that tends to be bound by the narrative expectations of its target audience. Fantasy or horror or romance have a certain way of doing something. There is also a degree of clarity that is expected for accessibility.
With literary fiction, the reader expectations are different. The structure, style and narrative could be more experimental, often challenging the expectations and beliefs of the readers. The standards of prose tend to be higher but not necessarily.
There's not always a clear distinction between the two as now you see more upmarket and genreblending.

[Anonymous No.22219388]

>>22219278
what about fantasy horror romance

[Anonymous No.22219442]

>>22218213
>Men writing women
Who cares about those shecrabs? Just write

[Anonymous No.22219640]

I just realized why this >>22216781 bothered me. In a narrative sense, a gruesome crime makes my job harder. I feel like my lead characters would be very somber and bothered by what happened. That means that about 3/4 of the book would be very serious, without much humor or levity. I feel like that would be an issue. If the story is too bleak, it would get tiresome. But I also don't see much room for humor, after what happens. All I know is that I would have to be extra careful when writing a somber story, because it can easily become a tiresome melodrama. Or it taking itself way too seriously, could come off as goofy or self important. I feel like it's a balancing act, but I don't know what would balance out the seriousness.

[Anonymousn No.22219659]

>>22219640
Grim weary humour is a classic cime-fiction mode. Check out a Raymond Chandler book for instance. Misery and greed and murder everywhere but he never loses his light step.

[Anonymous No.22219708]

>>22217350
>Scottish-British hybrid

[Anonymous No.22219940]

Fuck yea, my spyware tells me my vocabulary is better than 90% of people.

[Anonymous No.22220003]

>>22215483
Just wanted to add to the other commentary for your revision--you need to make your audience care about these characters and care about the setting. There's some cool stuff in here but I can't be bothered to care about it--let alone read all of it beyond skimming through--because I don't feel any connection to these characters or to what is happening. There need to be stakes for the audience to understand and digest; I need to be given a reason to care about what these characters are talking about and doing, because as it stands, it's two men plotting about things that are completely irrelevant to me because I have no idea why they are important--framed differently, I don't even know if Sarlesh and Leonard are villains, anti-heroes, or even if they are indeed the protagonists.

Other Anons have mentioned characterization--that's one way to do it. More effective exposition is needed, regardless. Don't just dump it in, though--that's lazy--*work* it in instead. I wrote some ideas about this for a different Anon last thread.

This is solid for your first piece and you have decent control over the language you're using. Descriptions are straightforward. I would like to see a little more vibrancy here and there, though I really do appreciate direct, simple descriptive prose. The concept of restraint is something almost universal in good artistic work (with the only exceptions being those artists who have mastered a style that throws restraint out of the window--rare); knowing when to pull back and when to just fucking go for it is a critical skill if you want to write something "good."

Best wishes; I hope to see a second draft if you take these things into consideration.

>>22217640
>Existenz
What a great and underrated movie.
>Is it hard to come up with new ideas these days?
Define "new idea." Did you come up with the concept of a gun? Naw. Teeth? Nope. Teeth-shooting gun? It was a new idea to you before you realized it had been done before. I am assuming you are referring to "new" in the sense of "an original thought"--you most certainly cannot imagine something truly alien. But assuming this definition, then the answer is "yes," in the sense that you can invent something new using the available pieces currently laying about. See my post >>22217028.

>>22215907
>flintlock fantasy
Sounds fucking awesome if it is done well. That's the trick, though, isn't it?
>i could get attention of an agency otherwise literally no way i see any possibility
You know that a well-written novel birthed from a worthy idea with a well-written cover letter sent to an agent that specializes in the genre or type of work is an option, right? If you really want to participate in those rat-races held in their trash-heap arenas, though, no one should stop you.

[Anonymous No.22220010]

>>22220003
>>22216152
Notepad and Notepad++ unless formatting control is critical from the outset.

>>22216452
Unironically, start reading the dictionary, or better yet, something like
>https://www.etymonline.com

>>22217820
Just want to echo this >>22217851 and this >>22217864 and then add: Observe the world around you. All of it, or any part of it. If you have nothing to say about the world, at all, then yeah, you really don't have thoughts in your head, and therefore nothing to write about, and maybe consider you'd be better off writing during--or in lieu of--masturbation.

>>22217939
Awesome. Post it again when you're done.

>>22218022
Two major problems, in order of importance:
>there is no moral play at work here
>this is two stories smeared into one, unnecessarily connected; the first just sets up that the king doesn't want his princess daughter marrying a tailor--that's its only relevance.

The second half was quite funny; the first half, aside from the pipe-organ joke, was not. In fact, unless there is something I'm missing about the tailor's joke, it's not exactly funny at all--maybe rework it so that it seems more charming or romantic?

I liked some of your wordplay and rhyming. Use restraint, and please don't go overboard, but:
>being a kind kind of king
is pleasing enough so that the stumbling of words is not irritating
>...to pay for a night at the inn?" he asked the princess (while ?granting) a grin.
more of these would be appreciated though subtly would be preferable.

The alliteration works when it's spread out thinly:
>he would fart, that all his friends would keep clips clamped
or when you open the throttle
>try their best bits on the bride-to-be

It feels forced the rest of the time.

That should be enough to get you going should you want to work on it more. Again, without the moral, it's definitionally not a fairy tale. So you really should work that one out.

>>22217993
>Why would a reader be interested in the first rather than the second story?
Because if you're capturing a moment in history that is worth capturing and you are saying something about that history that is worth saying, then it's awesome to audience that finds your premise compelling and engaging. If you're going to do something like, say the Dishonored setting, that's better for just telling a story in a stylish, what-if, and well-defined universe with well-defined rules. If you want to take a historical setting and then make magical stuff start happening, you have to decide if the magical stuff is the focus, or the history stuff. I wouldn't recommend historical fiction unless you are both a huge history nerd AND you are deeply passionate about the period you are writing. Otherwise, co-opt from history and just do magical realism or horror or whatever.
Or you could just write about or adapt
>my personal experience as a young European guy that had to study/work in a Chinese port city

[Anonymous No.22220011]

>>22220010
>>22217993
>Why would a reader be interested
Because you've written something engaging? If you make something engaging you can basically do whatever you want inside the limits of the tastes of your audience.

>>22218456
Letters to a Young Poet is some of the best advice regarding writing (and artistic expression in general) available. If you want to write just for recreation, then write for recreation--you're doing it for funsies, why trouble yourself with worry about anything else? If you want to write with an audience in mind and you're thinking about the quality of your writing or if you can be a good writer or whatever, then Letters to a Young Poet is the absolute first thing you should read. It's famous and continually cited by sleazy self-help material for a reason.

>>22218783
Any sharp, monospaced font is usually adequate for me when drafting. Lucida Console and Courier New are my favorites. If I want capital letters and Arabic numerals to align or have a strict need for slashed zeroes, I use >>22218914. Editing, depending on what I'm doing, I use the same or how I intend for it to be printed--that varies.

>>22219640
Internalized emotions vs. expressed emotions, Anon.

>>22219940
>90% of people (who use fucking Grammarly)

[Anonymous No.22220018]

>>22215466
Just write better prose then

[Anonymous No.22220029]

>>22215684
I thought that was a cringe meme until I realized it's an actual quote. I watched it recently but I was too drunk to remember that part. Great movie nonetheless.

[Anonymous No.22220043]

>>22216452
then stop reading and start taking singing lessons

[Anonymous No.22220062]

>>22217820
write commercial fantasy and erotica

[Anonymous No.22220065]

>>22220003
Thanks a lot. I was planning on writing my "exposition dumps" during the second and maybe third chapter, where we explore more about the motives of the characters and the conflict they (as well as the group they represent) are embroiled in.

[Anonymous No.22220125]

>>22215466
no better advice than to read more. One trick I do is have multiple tabs of random books that help me get ideas while writing, without copying or plagiarizing

[Anonymous No.22220155]

How do I write

[Anonymous No.22220165]

Does the sentence "Anon stood silent in solemn agreement, choosing the solace of drink instead." make sense or "sound right"?

[Anonymous No.22220195]

>>22220165
Seriously stupid saying such stuff.

[Anonymous No.22220210]

>>22220165
>solemn agreement
that should be used as such only if referring to a group
>choosing the solace
if it's chosen, it's not really solace... unless the protagonist is mentally ill in which case it's debatable if he/she can perceive either "choice" or "solace"

[Anonymous No.22220214]

>>22220210
>that should be used as such only if referring to a group
It refers to two people. Anon, in this case, is sitting silently while his father is berrating him
>solace
would "company" be better?

[Anonymous No.22220231]

Does anyone else procrastinate a lot out of fear? I know what I want to write, but I'm terrified of being critiqued and judged. Not just that my work is bad, but it's cringeworthy/stupid/worthless and I'm an idiot for thinking it might enjoyable.

[Anonymous No.22220235]

>>22220231
I'm not terrified of being critiqued and judged, I'm just worried that if I write something bad or average, it'll be more trouble than worth trying to salvage it later on lol

[Anonymous No.22220257]

>>22218783
jokerman

[Anonymous No.22220271]

What's your rule with sex scenes? Refrain completely from them? Detail them in a very vague and non explicit way? Or go full on detail like a degen?

[Anonymous No.22220291]

>>22220231
>Does anyone else procrastinate a lot out of fear?
Yes. This so much.

[Anonymous No.22220311]

>>22218783
wingdings 3

[Anonymous No.22220316]

>>22220231
Not out of fear, but of despair.
I've written so much, and nearly all of it is met with apathy.
I can only "write, publish, repeat", like the title of the book, but when my latest idea for writing something I think people will actually read instead falls flat on its face, it takes the steam out of me.
Then I go watch TV/ movies/etc., and can't believe someone actually paid to produce this garbage, and try to make sense of why they succeed vs. why I don't.

[Anonymous No.22220366]

Any advice for writing semi-historical fiction?

[Anonymous No.22220374]

>>22220366
wrong place to ask, not a single one of us has ever written historical fiction

[Anonymous No.22220378]

>>22220374
Really? Not a single one?

[Anonymous No.22220463]

>>22220378
>>22220374
I tried writing one. It was harder than expected, and I decided that I need to mature a bit as a writer, before I give it another go.

[Anonymous No.22220474]

>>22220378
Wing wrote the Beautiful Kingdom. Check the pastebin. Maybe he can give you tips.
I plan for my third novel to be Historic Fiction but I have nothing more than an outline so I don't know if I can give you much advice.

[Anonymous No.22220492]

>>22220474
I just checked it out. Not sure that's the same sort of thing that I'm talking about. I'm talking about something more like Julius Caesar, from Shakespeare; something tackling real people and events

[Anonymous No.22220500]

>>22220492
oh you want a biographical telling of a person

[Anonymous No.22220504]

>>22220492
I am going to be doing something exactly like that set in ancient Persia based on mostly real historic figures. I have plenty of source materials to collect and it's actually kind of daunting what might be relevant to the story.

[Anonymous No.22220517]

>>22220463
What did you write about?

[Anonymous No.22220520]

>>22220504
>>22220500
My biggest question: Will "historians" and the like get pissed if I add character/personality to figures who didn't have much of that?

[Anonymous No.22220534]

>>22220520
No. They'll just it's historically inaccurate and call it a day

[Anonymous No.22220542]

>>22220366
One trick I found useful (which is also hard to balance) is to write as much as you can first and then research only the parts you need. At the same time, when you get stuck, you read wide and deep about and from the time period. Another trick, stolen from the author of Wolf Hall, is to create timelines for each character through the course of your novel, so you know where each character is at all times.

[Anonymous No.22220553]

>>22220520
My approach to it is to base character personality on a combination of oral tradition and beliefs of the time, analysis of character's actions, and parallels with well documented historic figures.
As a writer, it is totally fair to take liberties in presenting a historic figure. Do the best that you can, and if you're really worried then include a historian as a beta reader.

[Anonymous No.22220603]

>>22220517
Vlad Dracula.

[Anonymous No.22220615]

>>22220271
There are usually no reason to include sex in fiction, if it's needed you just describe it lightly and briefly. You can be a complete degenerate about it even without explicit descriptions though, like Clive Barker. If you don't focus on sexual aspects and don't write erotic fiction you should manage to include it as just a plot point instead of a particularly arousing scene.

[Anonymous No.22220654]

>>22218419

Thing is he was writing in the 19th century when there were relatively few options for how you could spend your time, so in that environment "write or die" was a fairly easy choice to make.

Today, every writer is confronted with a million options and writing--even for someone who is a born writer, has to compete with youtube or social media, or computer games and everything else, literally a million options.

So the idea of "must write or die" is no longer a valid litmus test. Nobody is going to die because they didn't write today. Most likely they are laughing their ass off watchign videos, or jerking off or playing games.

[Anonymous No.22220659]

>>22220271
>Or go full on detail like a degen?

Please don't. Novels are not supposed to be erotic fiction (unless that's what you're writing). Of course there are exceptions to this rule if the sex is somehow significant thematically or plot-wise.

[Anonymous No.22220666]

>>22220654
Those people should probably not write. If your little tik toks and reels distract you from self expression so much you can go on without writing then by all means, don't write. If the answer to the question isn't I must, then you don't have to die, you just shouldn't try to write.

[Anonymous No.22220667]

>>22220165
>make sense or "sound right"?

It's a confusing sentence with the second phrase feeling like a non-sequitur. "Instead" of what? Instead of solace with something/somebody else? Or "instead" of "choosing" to argue/disagree?

[Anonymous No.22220673]

>>22216152
Notepad. Freeball it bro.

[Anonymous No.22220674]

>>22220654
there's more readers today than there has ever been.

[Anonymous No.22220677]

i like to use comma splices because it adds flow and character to my writing. I also enjoy using fragments and run-on sentences. Grammar be damned.

[Anonymous No.22220688]

>>22216152
Don't use Notepad. Use a good text editor like vim or emacs so you can use shortcuts.

[Anonymous No.22220735]

>>22215456
I wrote this treatment, could use some constructive criticism

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zWm0eDWN49u_0gAdsnuvIC4jME-S27uRBL6DdAm-PmM/edit?usp=drivesdk

[Anonymous No.22220807]

>>22215456
I used the same picture in "start with the Greeks" a few days ago, glad its getting more love.

Anyway I'm writing a novel that I'm still having trouble getting off the ground. What started out as "detective and two shut-ins" has evolved into more of a Nero Wolfe knockoff.

This makes for a better, cohesive story but it means that almost everything had to be scrapped, the plotline hasn't kicked off yet, and still needs some work as to become its own distinctive work.

[Anonymous No.22220843]

>>22220011
Does Letters to a Young Poet only apply to poetry though?

[Anonymous No.22220856]

>>22216152
LibreOffice.

[Anonymous No.22220909]

What do you call something longer than a short story but shorter than a novel

[Anonymous No.22220922]

>>22220909
Novella

[Anonymous No.22220936]

>>22220843
Read it and then you tell me.

[Anonymous No.22220943]

I have spent the better part of three years stewing over what to do with this big story of mine.

Of course, I've also been writing it. It's grown to three books and one short story, and I'm working on a fourth book right now. I've submitted the first book to lots of agents and a few independent small presses. I've received favorable feedback from pretty much everyone who's bothered to GIVE feedback, but no one has been willing to pull the trigger.

I've gradually been leaning more and more towards self-publishing the first book. The thing is, I don't want to just punt it into the ether and have it get lost in the shuffle. I don't want to just put it on Royal Road or Kindle Vella because I'm worried it will just vanish in the churn of everything else out there.

I do own the .com domain of my pen name. I have thought about setting up a Wordpress-type site and putting the first book up there, maybe serializing it sections at a time and releasing it over several months.

I have a decent social media presence and maybe I can build a readership that way.

I am agonizing over this because this story is my baby. I've been plotting it out in some form or fashion since I was an undergrad in college. And the people who read it all tell me it's pretty good. One buddy of mine is convinced I'm a genius. I know that if I can get some momentum going on the story, if I can kick up a genuine readerbase, then the end result could be really good. I'm just paralyzed by the inability to figure out HOW to get that momentum going.

Ultimately some part of it is going to be left to chance, the whims of fate, and that's what makes my stomach turn the most of all. I hate things I can't control. That's part of why I write fiction in the first place.

[Anonymous No.22220944]

>>22220922
This, I accidentally novella'd when trying to write a short story.

[Anonymous No.22220951]

>>22220944
I did that once with a fanfic. Only meant to write a short one, wound up banging out more than 45,000 words. It went by at lightning speed, too. I wrote the vast majority of it in just three days, including 15,000 words on the first day alone. It was exhilerating, I've rarely had so much fun writing something.

[Anonymous No.22220959]

>>22220951
In my case I literally realized the buildup to the ending was already a short story itself. And I had to conclude it in a satisfying manner.
>mfw something I planned to be 10-12k words turned into 22.3k

[Anonymous No.22220964]

>>22220936
Or just don't be a prick.

[Anonymous No.22221048]

>>22220964
I am happy to be a prick if it gets you to read it.

But, if you must have the question answered--yes, of course it applies.

[Anonymous No.22221110]

>>22215456
Does anyone know who wrote Mademoiselle, the story about the DVD of a cat's memories that appeared in &amp a few issues back?

If this was you, please drop your contact details in the thread, would love to get in touch.

[Anonymous No.22221119]

>>22217685
Start caring about something first.

[Anonymous No.22221121]

>>22220951
>>22220959
The curse of a pantser

[Anonymous No.22221139]

>>22221121
I literally had an outline of my short story, the problem was actually condensing it to what I wanted it to be. I had 2 options: either cut out the buildup, which was important, or just let it be and try to keep it brief.

In the end I think missing my word mark was the lesser evil. The ending relies on buildup.

[Anonymous No.22221140]

>>22218221
Do the middle encyclopedic section like in Moby Dick.

[Anonymous No.22221155]

>>22218263
This. It's redundant, but some people eat that shit up.

And also keep your target audience in mind.

[Anonymous No.22221181]

>>22220214
Not him, but there was nothing wrong with your sentence in the first place, as long as you make the rest of your work fit. Not everything needs to be written in the common vernacular and aimed at the lowest common denominator.

[Anonymous No.22221184]

>>22220231
>Does anyone else procrastinate a lot out of fear?
No. I have my own fire pit.

[Anonymous No.22221196]

>>22220520
>if I add character/personality to figures who didn't have much of that?
Step beyond. Find the personality that the historians failed to find.

[Anonymous No.22221199]

>best
James Krake

>worst
F Gardner

[Anonymous No.22221200]

>>22221181
>Not everything needs to be written in the common vernacular and aimed at the lowest common denominator.
This is an advice everyone needs to take to heart but with a grain of salt. Don't make your shit unreadable, but don't worry too much that the words you used aren't "right" or dictionary usage correct. As long as it fits, conveys what you intend and you know what you are doing, it's fine.

[Anonymous No.22221201]

>>22220667
>It's a confusing sentence
Nah, it's just not your style.

[Anonymous No.22221203]

Are there any modern writers better than James Krake, he is our generations Michael Crichton and also more handsome.

[Anonymous No.22221207]

https://pastes.io/xyatysouj8
pls rate
is my first complete short story

[Anonymous No.22221216]

>>22221048
I wasn't gonna waste my time reading it if it only applied to poetry, I have no interest in writing poetry.

[Anonymous No.22221218]

James Krake is the best

[Anonymous No.22221231]

I love James Krake

[Anonymous No.22221237]

>>22221218
>>22221231
y don't you suck his James Kaake then

[Anonymous No.22221240]

>>22221237
I'd love to but he must have a girlfriend he's so handsome and smart

[Anonymous No.22221255]

>>22221200
>don't worry too much that the words you used aren't "right" or dictionary usage correct
I am just not seeing the conflict in the usage of the words that he chose. I do not see precisely where he is headed but the character apparently chose solace over some other, presumably less comfortable, option.

[Anonymous No.22221268]

>>22220165
>Anon stood silent in solemn agreement, choosing to find solace in the harsh taste of drink rather than the frightening exchange of words
but idk the context so im just grasping at straws :(

[Anonymous No.22221328]

Working on a story about a guy who kills his wife, then buy some land on the cheap from a friend on the frontier. As it turns out his friend gypped him, and the land is lived on by a tribe of natives, so he enlists the help of a local gang to try and clear them out

Not sure if it has enough legs for anything more than a short story

[Anonymous No.22221391]

>>22218604
>>22218691
Your additions aren't very good. Either rewrite it as a proper story and post it online as fanfiction, or don't even bother. 5% longer outline is still just an outline and not a story.

[Anonymous No.22221460]

>>22221328
Anything can be sufficiently milked. It just depends how/if you can build it.

[Anonymous No.22221474]

>>22221460
>milked
I don't want to milk it though. If it's destined to be short, then I won't force it

[Anonymous No.22221529]

>>22221391
>Your additions aren't very good.
Thanks for the honest feedback, I'll keep tweaking until it's good.
>Either rewrite it as a proper story and post it online as fanfiction, or don't even bother.
I will not be entertaining either option, since I've already bothered too much and for too long.
>5% longer outline is still just an outline and not a story.
And that would be fair to say, if it was just 5%. Yet if the latest texts were to be combined and properly arranged into the original tale, it would end up doubling in length.

[Anonymous No.22221567]

>>22221110
Also, if anyone has any leads on the author for "The Only Computer Crime for Which Theologians are Consulted", please drop a line in the thread

[Anonymous No.22221670]

>>22221207
I hope you kill yourself

[Anonymous No.22221727]

>>22221529
>I've already bothered too much and for too long.
If that's how you feel, I'd strongly recommend cutting your losses and stopping, because there is no conceivable way for the effort to be rewarded. Christopher Tolkien's mix and match works weren't very good either and what you're doing is just twice that. But without the benefit of having "Tolkien" in your name, or knowing what the guy really even wanted. It's absolute madness.

[Anonymous No.22221918]

>>22221670
what the fuck
why

[Anonymous No.22221945]

I uploaded my book to IngramSpark today. I'll let y'all know when the meta data updates and there's a sale page.

[Anonymous No.22222053]

>>22218097
Look up my short story on RR I posted last thread, I tried my best to make each character sound different despite being "the same" almost to the core. Maybe you can extract some value out of it.
>>22221474
>I don't want to milk it though
Sounds like you're decided on that anon. Don't worry about length in that case.

[Anonymous No.22222057]

>>22221918
Not that anon but stop paying attention to one-liner shitposters.

[Anonymous No.22222077]

>>22221199
>>22221203
>>22221218
>>22221231
>>22221240
Report and ignore.

[Anonymous No.22222086]

>>22222057
i just wanted attention bc nobody read my story

[Anonymous No.22222101]

>>22222057
Kill yourself too, pedo defender

[Anonymous No.22222105]

>>22222101
>fantasize about getting raped by a king
>pedo

[Anonymous No.22222352]

Do you have an ideal reader that you show your work after your first draft? Do you listen to music or anything while you write or do you do it silently? I personally don't have anyone to show it to and get too distracted if there's any music playing.

[Anonymous No.22222357]

>>22222352
>Do you have an ideal reader that you show your work after your first draft?
Myself, three months into the future.

[Anonymous No.22222359]

>>22222352
>Do you have an ideal reader that you show your work after your first draft?
Myself and one particular anon.
>Do you listen to music or anything while you write
Of course not.

[Anonymous No.22222363]

>>22222352
I show it to my gf first and once I apply her feedback I usually show it to the dead dicksucks I sit in for like, 1 person to read.

I generally listen to some music to start with but let it end because yeah, I get distracted too. In fact, I should be writing right now. Fuck.

[Anonymous No.22222365]

>>22222363
>I should be writing right now.
Yeah, you should, open up the document and get writing, anon, I believe you'll produce lots of good work today.

[Anonymous No.22222370]

>>22222357
How much would you say this helps?

[Anonymous No.22222377]

>>22222370
It reflects past experience. I can always remind myself that what sounds like crap now or sounds amazing, usually has a different tune three months from now and that allows me to bat aside the mosquitoes of the moment.

[Anonymous No.22222381]

>>22222377
Have you ever read a book in that three month break that has made you look upon your writing differently? Also, do you write other shit within those three months or do you just stop writing in general.

[Anonymous No.22222396]

>>22222381
Sure. Pretty much anything new and good (or even old and good) will make me reevaluate my work and give me fresh ideas. All creation needs an incubation period.

I'll usually work on something else in the interim, sometimes stopping the other thing halfway when I get blocked, trusting that me in three months will know how to pick it back up (past experience says he usually does).

[Anonymous No.22222405]

>>22222396
That's awesome, man, how long have you been writing for? Ever had any luck with publishing?

[Anonymous No.22222408]

There was an anon a couple of threads ago that was asking what to do after they finished writing, I told them to get an agent, anon, if you're here, how's your agent search going?

[Anonymous No.22222425]

>>22222352
I have an incredibly jaded friend that is hypersenstive to cliche and I run my drafts past him to see if it bothers him. Makes sure I write something that feels sincere.

[Anonymous No.22222434]

>>22222425
Nice, does he write too?

[Anonymous No.22222442]

>>22221207
yeah why not lets give it a sho- oh.....................never mind

[Anonymous No.22222450]

An anon came up with an awesome ending for my story the other night when I said what my premise was and it's so good that I want to use it but if I do I'll feel like a hack, this sucks because I know I won't be able to come up with anything better than what he did,

[Anonymous No.22222472]

>>22221918
Gee, I dunno...gay incest rape maybe?
Is this the sort of stuff you read?

[Anonymous No.22222524]

>>22222434
No. I think he could be a good one but he doesn't want to create.

[Anonymous No.22222534]

>>22222524
Fair enough, maybe he'll come around one day.

[Anonymous No.22222576]

>>22222472
yes

[Anonymous No.22222745]

>>22222576
You may get a better response on >>>/trash/

[Anonymous No.22222755]

>>22222576

[Anonymous No.22222763]

>>22222755
Aids isn't real

[Anonymous No.22222806]

>>22215456
My writing is reddit.

How do I make my writing less reddit?

Preferably even based, or likeable by 4chan standards.

[Anonymous No.22222830]

>>22222806
Before your writing session, say out loud "Karma does not exist."
Go my child, and be based.

[Anonymous No.22222851]

>>22220735
Pls respond ;_;

[Anonymous No.22222853]

I wrote today and I plan to write more as I'm not done.

Reminder to take frequent breaks even if you are doing good - prevents burnout. Don't force yourself to continue writing; forcing yourself to start is sometimes necessary.

[Anonymous No.22222870]

>>22221328
>anything more than a short story

That's a storyline fora whole novel. You would have a very hard ttime fitting all that into a short story

[Anonymous No.22222900]

>>22222851
>Dr. Fuchs-Welle

[Anonymous No.22222904]

My protagonist, a girl, has a crush on a boy that's somewhere between Lex Luthor and Comic book Thanos on the "dangerous genius" scale. She wants him because he's compassionate and helps her out with her family problems, but still wants to stop him from taking over the world and enslaving the human race.

It's a rather ridiculous dilemma. How can I make it feel more serious?

[Anonymous No.22222913]

>>22220615
Is "fat pink mast" degen or not?

[Anonymous No.22222921]

>>22222904
literally
>I CAN FIX HIM
reminder that no one can fix another person ever
it all must come from within themself
there is your serious conflict for the story

[Anonymous No.22222935]

>>22222904
what are you writing, like what kind of story?

[Anonymous No.22222941]

>>22222913
Martin's sex scenes are mild and have narrative significance. It can't really be called degeneracy for the sake of author's satisfaction.
>>22222904
It's an anime premise. Take inspiration in something else if you're aware of how ridiculous it sounds.

[Anonymous No.22222943]

>>22222921
She CAN fix him. All she needs to do is get him to fall for her, at which point he will decide he would rather have dozens of babies with her than to conquer the world.

I just think the scope makes it feel too weird. How can I ground it?

[Anonymous No.22222945]

>>22222904
All supervillains are inherently comedic. They’re an unreal invention. Real life criminals are either psychopaths or dangerously stupid, and it is impossible to design a sympathetic character that is either.
So, yes, your dilemma is ridiculous, but that’s simply what it is. The main thing is to treat it seriously. Having something silly is fine and does not detract from a story. Having something be a joke is not.
Simple terms: don’t do marvel quips and you’ll be fine.

[Anonymous No.22222951]

>>22222943
>anon writes self insert wish fulfillment
>but I can’t tell if anon is the boy or the girl

[Anonymous No.22222983]

>>22222806
Post example. I'd also like to see a reddit expert break down why the writing is reddit.

[Anonymous No.22222986]

I want it to be a dramatic love story. It starts with tragedy, starts getting sweeter as both help each other out of their dark spots, and then drama strikes! But it eventually gets resolved and the story ends happily.

I just don't want to make it too long, or to not make it emotional enough.

[Anonymous No.22222990]

>>22222900
pic reminded me of this
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K7K1UUIzXG0

[Anonymous No.22222991]

>>22222806
Be sincere.

[Anonymous No.22223006]

Read Ship of Fuls

>>22222077
Bumping for James Krake he's really the best

[Anonymous No.22223045]

>>22222900
>implying that's not the best name since Holly Goodhead and Pussy Galore

[Anonymous No.22223119]

>>22223006
Anyone who has been here a while knows that the only thing this kind of spam achieves is annoyance, disdain, then hatred.

[Anonymous No.22223155]

>>22221727
>there is no conceivable way for the effort to be rewarded
You may very likely be correct in that assessment. And although it may be foolhardy, I'd nevertheless continue with the work. Nonetheless, I do appreciate the concern.
>Christopher Tolkien's mix and match works weren't very good either
Oh, I do have nitpicks of my own (particularly in the later chapters of the Silmarillion); however, as I have delved into this work, I have gained a great appreciation for Christopher, due to the herculean task he'd set himself to (which I doubt few could have done better). In terms of these types of work, I'd say Christopher did much better than Brian Herbert or Brandon Sanderson. I admit of not being at the same level of literary proficiency as any of them, but I can try.
>But without the benefit of having "Tolkien" in your name
Which hasn't stopped other people from pumping out Tolkien books; the latest being The Fall of Númenor and The Battle of Maldon.
>or knowing what the guy really even wanted
Maybe so; I can only discern his intentions through what he left written(of which has eventually been published). I do know how the story would immediately follow, looking at the Professor's jottings; and moreover he did make updates on how the events (and in what year) would occur, throughout his secondary world.

[Anonymous No.22223374]

>>22222991
This. A hallmark of reddit writing is insincerity, insecurity, verbal cowardice, because you're afraid to be judged for what you've written. Observe how anon asks for advice, yet doesn't post his work. "Do not look upon me" for he conflates criticism of his work as criticism of his character.

[Anonymous No.22223458]

>>22223374
this behavior is equally common on 4chan

[Anonymous No.22223558]

>>22223006
Give it up, Frank.
Your attempt at slander is pathetic.

[Anonymous No.22223579]

>>22223574
>>22223574
>>22223574
Hopefully with less shill-spamming...

[Anonymous No.22223662]

>>22223458
reddit and 4chan has become almost indistinguishable

[Anonymous No.22223791]

>>22223662
Words of wisdom, fellow Redditor. Huh, where did the like button go?

[Anonymous No.22224133]

>>22222222