"The Last Great Adventure" editionPrevious: >>23295466/wg/ AUTHORS & FLASH FICTION: https://pastebin.com/ruwQj7xQRESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS: https://pastebin.com/nFxdiQvCPlease 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=YAKcbvioxFkThread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bskD5Lddfo
Books looking like it's going to be about 80000 wordsMixed feelings.
>>23306393I have this autistic urge to 3D model every location in my novel.I'm thinking of beginning every chapter attachment with a 3/4 view and schematic of the location.I dunno if that would be too autistic.
I seemed to have written 100k words and the MC has only just gotten to the place where the story actually starts. I struggle to write but this just flowed, and I can tell this is going to be *long* story but at least I'm enjoying writing it.
>>23306406What was your intended length?>>23306588I think that's a cool idea, especially if the novel is intended to be read online.
I'm so close to finishing my ~10k word fantasy story about a sorceress who, due to time-travel shenanigans, finds herself imprisoned in the same dungeon at three different points in her life.Dis gun be good
>>23306630I was thinking like 100,000 or 110,000 ish
How do you use Ai to help with your writing?
>>23306851I ask the ai for tips on how to write my story.
>>23306638Time travel is insanely high level magic. You better know what you're doing if you're trying to incorporate time travel magic because they're not even supposed to be in the same era of lore or even fictional genre. This sorceress better be a once in a millennium generation prodigy. Like, literally verging on strongest in the universe and contending for greatest to ever exist. Time travel magic is no joke.
>>23306851I double check my science with it.I'm not a smart man, but I have read many facts.The issue is that a half remembered fact is as good as no fact at all.
>>23306406Why? 80,000 is a perfectly normal length, unless you're writing for children (shorter) or manchildren (much longer).
>>23306922> I double check my science with it.Yikes! AI notorious for getting science facts wrong. You might want to double check them elsewhere.
>>23306975AI sometimes gets obscure research data wrong, especially if it's controversial. General science facts are fine the vast majority of the time.
>>23306886She's no prodigy, the time-travel is localized to a city that's stuck in a day-long time-loop and has been for centuries. She goes to the city three times in her life to try and lift the spell, and despite arriving there in her late teens, as an adult and as an old woman, she's always there on that same day.The person who created that loop is the best there ever was, of course.
>>23306975>>23306983I am that Anon.I've been using it for a bit, and if something ever seems wrong on the surface I double check.But generally speaking it is right about stuff that I already half remember.
>>23306851I ask subject matter questions to ensure that I convey real-world details correctly. I'll also occasionally feed it a line to solicit grammatical feedback.The most I've ever let it write for me was to ask it to finish a simile for me. I prompted multiple responses, each of which was competent but essentially bad. Ultimately I decided to roll back the simile to something different, and wrote the whole thing myself. I give the AI credit here because it "did the leg work" and convinced me that there was no creative upside in pursuing that original simile. So my decision to rewrite that part entirely felt well-informed and justified.
>>23306886Or, you know, you could do whatever you want, because it's fiction, time travel magic isn't real, and it's fine to ignore the "ackshually" dweebs like you
>>23306851I prefer it to Google search because search engines have become unusable.
>3287 words todayNot bad, we'll see if I actually keep them later on.
I have the weirdest cast of writers block atm. I can write the interesting and important scenes, thousands and thousands of words, without any problems. But when I have to write a paragraph or two, or a conversation, to bridge them together I just stare at the screen and can't write anything. Any advice?
>>23307057"High level" is a stupid framing but it's nice to have an answer to "why doesn't everybody time travel all the time" or "given that everybody time travels all the time why didn't they just solve X using time travel" and so on. It's not fatal if you don't, but it's going to distract some readers. Choices have implications.I don't think you need power rankings to fix this necessarily.
>>23307265skip them entirely and just allude, in the chapters you do write, to them having happened in between. when you eventually finish your story, you will either find that it works just fine this way or you will be compelled to go back and write those other chapters to make the book you have worked so hard on and are so proud of actually complete.
>>23307290As you say, skipping them makes sense. But I know they'll be like a bad itch at the back of my mind until they are done.
>>23306851I use it to write the shit I can't, like anything that's supposed to be a song or have a rhythm to it like poetry, and blocks of text that are generic and don't need authorial intent, such as instructions.
I've got almost all the pieces in place for my story but it's missing pieces and that pisses me off.
I wrote my first draft but I'm going to have to rewrite everything again, and the back half of it is so sparse I know fleshing it out is going to add at least 25% to the overall wordcount. Why am I like this?
At what follower account do I open a patreon? And what do I offer people on my patreons? Advanced chapters, sure, but do I write them exclusive side stories or something?
Whenever it's an important day I feel like I should write something about that day. How do I get in the mood to write for that day in advance?
>>23307809I would say you should open it as soon as possible. Keep a schedule on whatever platform you are one, and then upload chapters to the Patreon as soon as they are finished and edited.For the most part I offer advance chapter, but I also offer alternative drafts. i.e I decided to change how a chapter ended up, so I posted the original ending on the Patreon.I also have a few short stories, which I don't put up on RR, but before I uploaded them on the other site I put them on Patreon 24 hours before.
Is it a bad idea to write something short for a serial and expand/continue it based on interest? Feels like a ridiculous gamble to plan out everything and invest myself for a potential flop.
>>23306393How do you feel about chapter names? Personally I think they build character.
>>23308004It's hard sometimes. Other times I get an idea for the names and I run with it across multiple chapters. The in between stuff where there isn't a single clear event to name the chapter after are harder.
>>23308037I'm not sure if I'm more shocked by your insistence on making a new doc for every chapter or fact you have 300 of them, jesus man just make a new book once you reach 100 chapters.
>>23308004I like naming them because I end up with more chapters than I initially planned so it's less of a headache to sort them and renumber everything.>>23308052That's ridiculously short anon.
>>23306588
Should I have a flashback and flashforward in rapid succession or stick to one?
>>23308052If you consider it as a book series without breaks, then it isn't as bad as it seems.Would it trouble you more if I said it is 1.1 million words and only now getting to the very end of the story? I've got one more arc left that takes place after a 10 year timeskip.Then I want to edit the first hundred chapters to improve the quality so I can perhaps get better retention so I can gain more fame and have people look forward to my next story.I have a normal length story, around 80k words, planned, but I might put it on the back burner and do another webnovel so that I can make money from the few Patreons I have.It's not like that other story won't get done, or that I don't want to do another webnovel, it would just be shifting priorities.
>>23308223>flashforwardhow's that supposed to work, exactly? if you can I'd stick to foreshadowing
>>23308037why do you make seperate docs for each chapter?>>23308004I like chapter names. It gives me a comfy feeling reading the table of contents and if done right it can give some cool foreshadowing to your readers
Finding the Pomodoro Technique to be very useful. Wrote a lot yesterday after having a 2 week rut of procrastination. It keeps me pretty focused
>>23308308I think I started doing separate docs because I began on a chromebook, which started lagging when I got over 2k words. This is also why my earlier stuff rarely passed 3k words.I've since switched to writing on a thinkpad and Firefox rather, which has had no issues even if the chapter is over 10k words. Yet I never really saw a reason to not keep each chapter as a unique document. My novel that I'm working on is a single document however.
>>23306393idk these days, I come home, get in bed, and doom scroll.what has happened to me and my life? it didn't used to be this way but it's been months of this growing worse each time.Am I depressed? feels more aimless
>>23308289You... Have never heard of a flashforward?
>>23308262Did you do a chapter a week?
>>23308342Sometimes I'd do a chapter a day or more. Recently, it's been a chapter every 2 to 3 days because I haven't been feeling well.I've only been at this for about 2 years, and this webnovel is my first project. Though I have done some short stories on the side.
>>23308312how does it work exactly, anon
>>23308596
>>23308526Tell me more about your process, how you've outlined or pantsed the development of this story. I've done a couple of short stories and novels myself and I was actually considering tackling a web novel but it seems so much bigger in scope than what I've done before.
>>23306588>>23308057I don't hate this idea, as long as you don't use it as an excuse to skimp on scene-setting in the writing itself.
>>23308599thanks, anon.
>>23306393Is the phrase "you have two ears and one mouth so listen more than you speak" too old timey sounding?
>>23309037it’s the kind of thing a parent or other adult might say to a kid.
>>2330663813300 words is where it finished. I will rest now. Rest...
if it enough for a story to raise interesting questions and show characters fumbling around with them a bit, or do i actually have to try to "answer" them by the end?
i'm writing a sci-fi spec ops story about john army man and his killer robot wolf going on a mission together
>>23309187if you ask questions but don't answer them your novel will be seen as high brow and open to interpretation
>>23306393My Royal Road stats after a day, I guess so bad nobody even bothered to leave a negative review.
Do you guys have a writing routine? Or ritual? When I'm writing it's the first thing I do before anything else. >Wake up >Write>Keep going>2 hours later it's shower time and time for foodI'm a disgusting creature when I'm writing.
>>23308673I've been thinking about a disconnected series of scenes for years before I even thought about writing. So, some of those were considered by me to be points in the story.When they happen, and if they happen as I originally thought is up in the air, but they gave me some longer term basis for events.I started on a simple premise.>What if someone was called to learn magic but didn't want to?When I think back, it isn't that uncommon for a story to have some basis in the refusal of the call to adventure. But, that leads to the second part of the premise.>What if killing people from a young age using magic was actually as traumatizing as it should be?Since I started my story out with the MC as an infant, actually spending the first few chapters more with his oldest sister, this gives me time to go over his entire life and the mental illness that stems from what he's done, by force or otherwise.I didn't intend it at first, but I quickly found the main theme of my work is free will. Once I locked in on that, it made it easier to decide which of the endings I intended was better fitting.And I think endings are important, they can anchor your story tonally and thematically.I've foreshadowed that my MC is not going to get a happy ending, but a bittersweet one.He's lived his life violently and hates that, because he is a gentle person at heart, forced into a position where he must do something or be eaten away at for being a coward who refused to help.Yet it is shown by another character that yes, he could actually give it up, the weight of the world isn't on his shoulders, that he could work from the sidelines and trust that other people can make a better world.Yet the MC is still making mass graves, conquering cities for himself, taking to the battlefield as much as he can; he's a control freak who thinks he must be the one to fix the world right now.This screenshot shows a bit of this. The other guy wanted independence from the MCs empire that he's started up, not because he couldn't take the rules forced on him, but because he knew the MC has too many screws loose and it won't end well. Most others don't see it though, and while this king was a shitty person, that let him see through the MC, and he can't accept that someone like the king would be right about him.It helps to not just think of the ending, but of each ending.Webnovels are like manga or anime, which are designed as long form stories with arcs and not with clear start and end points like a novel series.Before you start an arc, think about where it should end, and ideally, where the next one will also end. This can help you have more tonal and thematic consistency along with proper foreshadowing.
>>23309187The Gothic genre, in part, is predicated upon raising questions that aren't answered. It allows the reader to fill in the gaps with their own interpretation and imagination, and increases reader involvement.
>>23306393How would you guys improve this?>>>/int/196306856
>>23309565Holy crap. How about, by killing ourselves before we commit such a stupid atrocity. What the hell is wrong with you?! You must be awfully sure there isn't a Hell.
>>23306393Thinking my historical fantasy series is going to be 4 novellas titled:>The Endurance>With A Firm Hand>Great Days>Omens of the End
>>23309462Keep uploading chapters on a consistent schedule and you'll get followers, ratings, and maybe even comments that aren't grammatical pedantry.
>>23310048Like once a week?
>>23310059I'd recommend at least two times a week, but consistency is the main thing to focus on
>>23310039Cool. How's chapter 1 looking?
>>23310080Finished, I already posted it here
>>23309462>8 pages totala lot of people on that site won't even click on anything until there are at least 100k words. with one single 2k chapter you're lucky you got any clicks at all
>>23310112Good to know.I noticed many first chapters were below 2K words, and my chapters is over 2K words
>>23308326>Am I depressed?Yes. You need to get off this site and the internet as much as you can. I've been here for over a decade and I have nothing in my life. I hardly read anymore when it used to be something I did all day long. The culture war bullshit is fucking prevalent and it's pure poison to the soul.
>>23306393>Wanderer in a mercenary company leaves his kid with a family in a city>Gives them payment up front to take care of the kid>Family throws the kid out to the curb as soon as the dad is gone>Dad comes back and finds the kid on the streets, family refuses to pay him the money back What would be a harsh form of vigilantism the mercenary would do? I was thinking he'd just wreck their shop but I wonder if there's anything else more unique that isn't just killing or beating them.
>>23310156>Guards of the city are buddies of the merc>Merc convince them that from now on, accidents, petty thieves, and robberies that target their shops doesn't require their involvement>Words get around and the family's shop is robbed almost daily while guards twiddles their fingers nearby>They need to hire a private guard for themselves, eventually wasting more than what they were paid to take care of the kid.
>>23310121>my chapters is over 2K wordswhy are you trying to split hairs? fine, your single, approximately 2,200 word chapter is not a draw. I hope you have a bunch more already drafted
>>23310253>I hope you have a bunch more already draftedwhy? who would read them?
>>23310257People who realize you have a story to tell and are not just going to release one fly by night chapter and then just bail
This is probably the most I’ve written in a while. Edited it a little but I’m sure there’s some mistakes. Any feedback is welcomed and appreciated.
Should I lie to my readers and split up a single chapter into multiple parts while giving them different titles? Is that considered lying?
>>23310269first of all, fix your tenses. I think you literally switched between past and present tense every other sentence. >This didn't discourage him though, for what Ronnie really gave him was confidence. For once in his life, Jake believes in himself.delete the second sentence. it’s just repeating what was said in the first one. as far as plot or character it seems fine. obviously it’s so short there’s not much there but at least it has some basic structure in terms of jake going from confident to defeated. in other words, something actually happens. you’d be surprised how hard it is for some people to grasp that you have to write about something actually happening and not just describe a static situation.
>>23310318>is that considered lyingwhat kind of question is this? 1. how tf would your readers even know. 2. if you have enough words to do so and places for logical chapter breaks, why not
>>23306393I believe the way is to do short stories. I lost steam in trying to complete a novel for a challenge to write 55k words by May 5th. I made it 20k in last week but was just writing absolute slop with no connection. Partied and ended up not doing anything for awhile until this Friday. I am still gonna try but with finals coming up and projects, it will prove a challenge. Still, I learned the importance of a detailed outline and time management. Rather then trying to do everything in large batches, should have done small amounts. Live and learn. >>23306406Solid length in my opinion. Right in between novellas and shorter novels, and below longer shit. >>23308326Yeah thats how I was for awhile, and still am desu. Always try to be working towards a goal, even little steps. I would also limit tech use and work on health. Working out, eating right, sleeping enough, etc.>>23309109Congrats anon WGMI
>>23310325Thank you, that line is filler you are right. I need to be more conscious of the tenses I use when writing. That’s my worst writing habit. Thank you again
6k words this week-end. First draft, of course, but it's nice to see pages adding up. I feel like I have less difficulties at writing dialogs than description. Haven't really had the chance to tackle a real action scene so far, it'll probably come up in a chapter or two.
>>23310363The reason I brought it up was that I was reading this webnovel and I intuited a strange pause in one chapter that wasn't present in the next which led me to see a seam and realize the author had broken it up. Which wasn't a bad thing mind you.
>>23306393Ok, I finished a short story, 10445 words. What do I do now? who do I send it to? Is there a website where someone will actually read my work, or will i just be screaming into the void
>>23306393What kind of conflicts could come out of a chapter that's focused on two friends dining? A common critique of my stuff is that the plot is so subtle and that chapter to chapter, characters seem to not have any emotional turbulence that isn't me actively saying it. Although the book isn't plot heavy, I want there to still exist an interesting standalone conflict for every chapter, which makes writing ones like there where the characters sit and talk in a restaurant about a breakup the other went through a bit hard to write conflict over. It's like, I don't want her to freak out and stuff but I want there to be some tension. But I also don't want to just make up unnecessary drama.
I finally finished a draft I consider semi-decent. I wanted to finish it for my grandmother before she passed. She isn't sick or anything, but she's my #1 reader. I almost gave up on writing, but she motivated me to finish it.
>>23310591submit to literary magazines. Find local ones if you can. Rinse and repeat.
>>23310621why would you show the scene if it doesn't have a narrative reason? ask yourself, what is the goal for the chapter? presumably you want the breakup victim to feel better, or maybe you don't.how about you have the one friend trying to console the breakup victim, meanwhile she herself is currently in a great relationship, and no matter how sincere she's trying to be what she says sounds like platitudes or backhanded insults to the one that's going through the breakup. they can get in a little fight over the misunderstanding, and your breakup girl either feels better or worse as a result.but if you don't have a narrative reason for this chapter to exist, don't do it
>>23310582It's pretty common in the web serial scene, since an extremely consistent schedule and length is expected (or at least is ideal for growth and retention). >>23309462What genre? Something that actually does good there? Because web serial sites aren't for just anything. RoyalRoad has a niche audience interested in a niche set of genres. It always confuses me when people try to post their non-litrpg, non-progression, non-cultivation, non-slop stories to RoyalRoad (and expect people to read). Even generic fantasy doesn't have much of a place there>>23310066If you're really trying to grow an audience 4-5x a week is ideally the minimum. Of course there are exceptions, with some doing 1 a week or even less, but go look for yourself at the most popular stories and they trend toward 4-7 a week
>>23310663It's relevant because it introduces the new friendship between one of the girls, who is the sister of the ex-girlfriend and the main character, who had broken up with the sister. Also, the dialogue goes into detail, showing a sort of epilogue to events that occured before, her thoughts on their resolution (which, the main character finds odd that she isn't at all fussed and remarks on the relationship ending mutually, but this is important because she hides her true thoughts and represses them) Further, it introduces how the sister of the MC's ex hates her sister, and it goes into why and the event that led them to their parting ways. The suggestion you made was interesting. The way I want to take these characters is by having the MCs friend enable her drug addiction more and more, but like unconsciously. It's one of those cases where the friendship is strong but very unhealthy subliminally.
>>23310683>What genre?
>>23309462Send link or story, I'll take a peek.
>>23310722Like I figured. The good news: nobody is reading your story because you posted it somewhere it doesn't belong, not because it's necessarily bad. The bad news: your story doesn't belong on royalroad, or probably most web fiction sites. At least by that screenshot, you should be pursuing tradpubbing, or barring that, kdp.RoyalRoad is for the genres I mentioned previously. If you posted that story to Wattpad, would you expect the 15 year old girl romance audience to fawn over it? If you posted it to an erotica site would you expect the coomers to love it? So why are you posting it to the litrpg/cultivation/slop site and expecting a good reception?
This should be called word count general
>>23310644that’s really great, anon. congratulations.
>>23310741Think everyone here has already read it, I posted pastebin last threat.>>23310751I have no idea what is audience of Royal Road has.>tradpubbing, or barring that, kdp.I don't think anyone reads them either.Maybe I should just wrap it up, I had little faith in the writing project in the first place. I guess I got too hopeful, 2 people said they would read more of it.
>>23310799If it's this easy for you to quit, you might as well. You'll never make it with that attitude. Give up.
>>23310644badass anon
>>23310694you seem to be describing your scenes as things that exist to convey information to the reader, and I think that’s wrong. scenes should be events where something happens, by which I specifically mean something changes.
>>23310799You don't think anyone reads trad pubbed books, or kdp books? Wtf? Those are the two biggest markets in the worldSo, you did no research whatsoever, then gave up immediately when things don't work out on your first chapter post--yeah, I'm gonna have to say ngmi, sorry friend.
Should I give a concept-level-demon main antagonist a "shard that's good" or would be too cliche and lame?
>>23310769lol. what did you expect? its the only metric of quiality they know of
>>23310811Didn't say I was giving up, I said I was considering it. Honestly, just to spite you motivates me to continue.>>23310824>You don't think anyone reads trad pubbed books, or kdp books?No, don't think so. Why would you read anything when you can watch any tv-show or play any game?
>>23310848Because I can do both? lmao. I read, watch tv, and play video games. Most people don't only do one thing with their entire lifeReading has never been the most popular hobby of a generation. But it also isn't on some major decline, either. You can look up the stats yourself.But you're just a whiner/doomer, I'm recognizing. As I said: ngmi. Not interested in talking anymore
>>23310865"reading" isnt in a decline, but the absolute state of literature sure is
>>23310880I agree, but I also don't understand why people care so much. It's not like all the slop being pumped out is marketed as "literature". People seeking out high-brow fiction can find it just as easily. And I'm pretty certain the two audiences barely intersect, if at all, so the increasing amounts of slop isn't harming "real literature" at all. What's your issue with it? That it exists on a fundamental level? Honestly you should focus your attention toward tiktok, social media, video games, youtube, and the other far more concerning sources of brain decay. Formulaic smutty romance is far from being the lowest form on entertainment. I'd even say it's fairly high on the totem pole, compared to what's normal these days.
>>23310865>But it also isn't on some major decline, either.I thought the comic book industry was on its last legs, why wouldn't the same be true for the novels?
>>23310915I don't know anything about the comic book industry, so no clue.But people still read. Like what do you even mean? I know bunches of people irl who read across all sorts of genres, but honestly, I never knew someone who read comics, at least to the point it was a genuine hobby of theirs.You sound clueless and I'm guessing you aren't a reader yourself
>>23310923>You sound clueless and I'm guessing you aren't a reader yourselfI primarily read light novels and fiction from primary sources. Did I read stuff like ASOIAF.Regardless, the number of copies you have to sell to become New York Times' Bestseller is pretty low. Which indicates the reader base of fiction is pitiful.
>>23310836>>23310769Word count is an objective standard. Following a daily quota ensures you actually write, and if you ACTUALLY write you WILL get better.
>>23310965It's no worse than it's ever been. What point are you making?
>>23310967>and if you ACTUALLY write you WILL get better.i know thats a common reddit sentiment, but writing on its own wont make you better. of course to progress you have to do the thing, but art is not like riding a bike. You need to understand classical concepts of what makes a story good, like characterisation, consistancy (setup/reveal) character conflict and motivation.You can go your whole life writing and never learn these elements on your own, I should know I did just that myself. Im not saying you need 4 years of liberal arts college, just do the basic research or watch (good) reviewers
>>23310967>and if you ACTUALLY write you WILL get better.demonstrably false. there are plenty of million-word fanfics out there that are exactly as bad at the end as they were at the beginning.
>>23310898I am passionate about books, maniacally so. If a book revolts me, no matter how slight I will throw that shit down a well immediately. I believe people tolerating mediocre literature is what got us in this fucked up place, and I'll be damned if I let any smutty romance or book-to-movie YA novels off the hook.Believe me, Ive been looking for good modern books, but I havent found a single one. And I am perfectly willing to take any suggestion given and explain just what I mean, or admit its good.
>>23311098you sound like a huge gay narcissist. link to your writing so we can all see what being "maniacally passionate" about literature quality actually looks like
>>23311117Im not seeing any books suggestions
>>23310799>Maybe I should just wrap it up, I had little faith in the writing project in the first placeyou've released just over 2k words total. is that all you have, in total? if so, then yes, you should wrap that project up and then don't release anything until you have a least a good chunk of story drafted. you're hungry for attention and accolades but you've released essentially nothing. if you have a backlog and things are still looking grim 20, 30, or 50k words in then call it. if you have nothing else to show, what are even thinking by releasing it at the moment?
>>23311098Finally, Some Good News by Delicious Tacos
>>23311189I try vetting a book as best I can before giving them money, and already its not looking good. but i would like to be fair and actually read it. I will try to find a copy of it somewhere
>>23311185I have an outline for multiple books.Many authors release book chapter by book.
>>23311280you can read some of his short stories for free on his website. I recommend “universal basic woman,” “autopilot,” and “the gift.”
https://pomf2.lain.la/f/x86rj9yx.pdfSomeone please read at least a little
>>23311098average fucking pseudointellectual lmao
>>23311441Did you mean to change from past tense to present tense at the bottom of page 2 (which is labeled page 1)?After 2 pages, not holding my interest. Accountants aren't exactly as interesting as spies, even if you seem to be putting them into a spy-like locale, i.e. Monaco.
So I have an idea I originally envisioned as a comic, but I couldn't get the funding to get an artist to draw it for me. Right now I'm thinking of doing another novel, should I try to rework this idea as a novel? It's hard for me to see it as anything but a comic. Have any of you ever reworked a script into a novel?
>>23307263Just keep plugging away. Mine that marble slab.
How do you guys find ways to not distract yourselves on the internet and actually follow your routine?
>>23311929>reworked a script into a novelI tried this once but I realized it was only going to be novella-length so I burnt out.
>>23312075then write a novella
>>23312084You're right, gonna go do this now. Au revior.
>>2330950415 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at night at minimum. When I have the time, I write for another 2 minutes per 5 minutes that I spend scrolling on my phone, watching videos, playing video, etc. Usually in 15min chunks.
>>23310318So long as things actually happen in each part your readers will be satisfied.
>>23310575If you get stuck, just write down what happens and move on. You can always return to it in future drafts.
>>23310915That's because the comic book industry went through a speculative boom and then made a series of boneheaded decisions. The decade long run of the MCU, the Arkham series, manga, etc all prove that it is neither the characters nor the medium that people dislike.
>>23310967Not necessarily true. A person can master things that are wrong or suboptimal. There is something to be said about developing a daily writing habit though, yes.
>>23311441I read it anon, and liked it. There are some tense problems like the other anon said (I think they’re all in the first couple pages but I can’t remember now, just make sure you proofread closely for that kind of this), and I also noticed a few of these:>“Welcome to China, man!” Sansara smiled and sat down.This makes it seem like Sansara is the one speaking, but she’s not.>“Anywhere.” China Man thought for a minute. He shuffled his tiles.This makes it seem like China Man is the one speaking, but he’s not.You should put the narration in a new paragraph if you are describing the actions of a different character than the one who’s speaking. Overall I thought it was a lot of fun. The reader not really knowing anything about the plan means that it’s not really possible to introduce a complication or twist, because we don’t know what the character’s are trying to do. I thought Julius killing the guy was a good way to introduce some kind of unexpected twist, but I wish it had more consequence. Even if it’s as simple as the gunshot alerting security and the team barely making it out safely. The stealing tax documents thing was very clever, too.The descriptions of various locations also made it seem like you either are very well traveled or you did your research, which I enjoyed. Same with all the fashion stuff and the insights into Sansara’s thoughts and her past. I honestly think this is probably the best thing posted on /wg/ in quite some time, anon. Thanks for sharing.
>>23312075Most movies are about a novella's worth of story. Novelizations add a lot of filler and novels adapted to movies are chopped up and economize. Besides, novellas are underrated.
>>23311475just cuz everyone is smarter than you, doesnt mean they are psudes. it just means youre retarded
>>23311441Props to you for writing this much. I'm a little tipsy so I don't think it's a good idea for me to give any pointed criticisms yet, but there are many, many good things, and many, many problems. We would need to shave off a ton of excess but the bones are there. My general advice to you would be to simplify everything.
>>23312152This, some of the best stories ever are novellas/short stories.
How's the second draft of this scene shaping up, lit? We're biking down a mountain pass, faster than ever.
>>23312233what font
>>23312269EB Garamond
>>23312275thanks
>>23306393>Finally save backups of my two manuscripts (one finished and one WIP) to a separate flash drive>PC bricks less than 20 minutes later, hard drive (and everything on it) effectively destroyedHow lucky am I on a scale of 1-10? I don't think I've dodged a bigger bullet in YEARS.
>>23312364Everyday I save the day's writing to a Google Drive, you never know.
>>23312364>>23312384Or, better yet, draft directly into G Docs.
>>23312364does your pc's brick often?
>>23312233I think you should write in your native language. The language here is stilted and lifeless.
>>23312410Haha, ok, thanks. I think I made the language too stilted while focusing on clarity in my second draft. How's it compare to the first draft, here?
>>23312364My backup directory is automatically mirrored to the cloud. That had saved me more than once.
>>23306393I struggle with action scenes, is this at least a decent draft? Can you visualize what is happening?
Guys. I just had a small breakthrough and I wanted to share it here. I'm the anon who was having issues figuring out how to write short stories involving a private detective investigating the paranormal without making the city itself seem like a hotbed of paranormal activity. Well, he's no longer a private detective. He's an investigative journalist working for a magazine similar to the silly tabloids from the '90s, except it's more focused on things like fringe science and the paranormal instead of goofy shit like Bat Boy. This will allow him to travel all over the country and even the world, basically ensuring that it doesn't end up with all of the paranormal activity being centered in one location.
>>23312857It's become a meme at this point, but read Robert E. Howard. The dude knew how to write action, regardless of what you feel about his actual writing, that is one area he definitely excelled in.
>>23312902Sounds cool mate, godspeed
Close to the fifty page mark and almost done with part one. Just got to figure out best way I could manifest the apoclypse both externally and internally for my main character, I think a very harsh winter is a good start to show shits going down.
I'm writing some litfic right now and the considerations I have to make are almost nothing like anyone I've previously written. The process and techniques are superficially similar and yet not the same at all. It's like crafting a rhyming riddle. Anyone else run into this?
>>23313193No, we don't have the right pills for that
>>23313193LitRPG is just Microsoft Excel with extra steps
I'm not anywehre close to getting published (probably never lmao), but I still got to ask. Suppose you send your manuscript to an editor, and they like it. Do some of them ask to change a couple things in the story, or do they not bother?
I'm so fucking exhausted from work that I can't bring myself to write. What do bros?
>8k words / 2 chapters in>Chapter 1: Protagonist got up, got dressed, talked a bit with his butler, went to his office, read letters>Chapter 2: Protagonist went outside to his driver, got into a car, drove to a religious ceremony, met an old friend, sat through the whole thingDoes it feel too slow to you?
>>23313652At a glance, yes
>>23313652Depends on what he did, spoke about, saw, etc. It could be too slow but it could be well paced. It's all about the substance of the content
there're alot of bad bars on the new taylor swift album but this isnt one of them>You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate>We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist>I scratch your head, you fall asleep>Like a tattooed golden retrieverlet me know if im glazing tho
>>23313666Well, it's a fantasy story, so in these 8k words there's probably like 25% that talk about the weirdness of the setting, I'm hoping this is enough to catch an interest, but I might pepper some more in, or rewrite the beginning.
>Goal is to write as concisely as possible>Every single line has to mean something or establish a piece of world building>Reread every single sentence to see if it's fluff or should be cut>Takes me a week to write 7k words, another week to editAt least my audience likes it but damn is refining a time investment
>>23313652if there is no conflict, there is no scene.
>>23313652How do you write 8k words and two chapters and have literally nothing happen?
>>2330639325 pages of A5 front and back today. 20 pages to go. IGMI tomorrow, hopefully.
>>23313527IMHO: Creators are going to create, editors are going to edit. Don't worry.
>>23312857I read nothing wrong with this. I could visualize it, yeah.
>>23312233>>23312433The edit reads more narrowed down, vocabulary-school subject wise.
>>23313636Write as work. In the words of Underground Resistance: "Make the transistion."
>>23309523>Q1: He/She does other things until learning it is absolutely neccesarry and there are no other things to be done>Q2: It is.
>>23313865What does this mean? Is being more narrowed down, vocabulary-school subject wise, good?
>>23313844Well, thank you, I did make a few typos there.
>>23306393I feel like a baby on training wheels when I'm only able to write 300 words in a day.Stephen King would laugh at me, that fucker writes 3,000 words in an hour.
>>23313986Yeah you might want to bump those numbers up. My baseline is 1000 words a day
How are you /hackmaxxing/ bros? What thinly veiled irl opinions are you shoehorning into your writing? What trite clichés are you using? Who's ideas are you half assedly rehashing with none of the nuance? Which of your niche interests/fetishes are you allowing to overrun chapters and chapters of your work?
>>23309037For what?
>>23313986like that other anon said, 1k is a solid baseline, and doable. obviously you're gonna have off days, but averaging 1k a day is how you actually make progress
>>23314037I'm taking the heroes journey but actually he's a villain and fucks every girl he meets. And because world building is hard I'm just going to obfuscate the fuck out of it and use a bunch of ye olde' english words noone understands to sound smart.
>>23314037>Fucking retards save the worldYou know you love it
>>23314037the vampires and ratmen in my setting are extremely thinly veiled references to jews. the vampires run the bank, of course, and the cute vampire girl is called Talia. the rat prophet is called Cheshu, and his name gets spread around by the common folk as Cheeses, which annoys him to no end, but the other rat men push it because the people think it's "a cute name for a mouse", and for some unstated reason the rats have been historically sooooo persecuted - unfairly of course, they dindu nothing - and they want the good PRfetishwise the story involves the fem mc being raped by basically a stereotypical romance novel male love interest - wealthy, powerful, respected, tall, dark and handsome, and hung - and she can't help but enjoy it. and she hates herself for it. then later she swears off men and she gets in a relationship with the cute vampire girl. but naturally that goes bad and it accelerates almost immediately into lesbian bed death while she has her blood sucked every night
I want to write a story with no planning where I just pants my way through it and go in random directions. Write purely through discovery and the characters choosing to do what they want to.
>>23314232nothing is stopping you. it's not a bad idea to do that and refine it as you go.
would you fellas say you read or write more?
>>23314270i don’t write
>>23314274why are you in the writing general
>>23314270Write. I don't count reading posts or comments as reading. Whenever I start reading a new story I end up getting bored and wanting to go back to writing.
>>23314282same, sadly. hard for me to keep my interest through a whole book. writing is more engaging for me personally.
>>23314037I've got a gay teen witchcraft thing going. It's more literary in style and presentation but the engine is some classic horror and romance tropes.
>>23314270I'm convinced there are more writers than readers.Much like there are Youtube creators then viewers
>>23314378I would say the opposite when it comes to youtube
>>23314270I write more. When I read, I tend to subconsciously copy the style of what I read when I write
>>23313900The vocabulary is more in line to how they are taught in subjects in schools. There's physics, with the velocity and the surfaces, mathematics, with the geometry, et cetera. I'll carefully state that it's more STEM-vocabulary, but that might be the nature of the medium. Is it good? My opinion is that it's good as-is, as the thing-in-itself, as how you present it to the world. It's very good. Even though those were not 'my subjects', I could still visualize it and read in it the adrenaline of the described moment.
>>23314037It differs, but everything as openly and transparently as possible.
>>23314160Wew, that's a morbid fetish. I now don't feel as bad for my power trips. I still feel bad. No, that made it worse.
>>23314037>>23314352Oh yeah, I'm smitten with the blackguard bastard hillbilly boy who is just straight crustpunk trailer trash with no aspirations and is going to nohomo the protagonist after they get all sabbatic out in the woods. Can't deal with being a bottom or it adding to his already marginal status even in his own head.
>>23311424My initial reaction was "this is a stream of conscious worked into a story. cant relate to protagonist"But really the most I can say is the author has a good grasp of narrative. none of the characters are very strong and most of the time its hard to tell narration between dialogue because the dialogue isnt formatted well enough. The theme for short story Universal basic women doesnt really go anywhere and winds up where it started with a message of "the idea of government mandated GFs wouldnt change anything really" being the general idea.All in all it sounds like Tacos seems to play to his audience for the most part, and the stories seem to be simple act-out scenarios after a long night on r9k. Im not against that per se but I can do with a little stronger characters or bigger stakes. But I dont know the intention of the author, if its a satire or inspection of our society at large, few normies could stomach the kinds of things Taco dishes out to properly connect with it. Not saying mass appeal is the end goal for writing, but if you want an idea to get out there, a little finesse is necessary.
>>23312233Too much "I" in it. Try substituting "you" at times, especially in the first couple of paragraphs.
>>23312384>>23312389It's great until you get locked out of your account.
>>23314484that’s a pretty accurate description. I will say his novella Finally, Some Good News is longer and has more character development and much more at stake than his short stories, which tend to be quite short.
>>23312068>t.zoomerby having a teaspoon of self-control. never occurred to you, huh?
Do you really want to know?
>>23313986Stephen King does cocaine.
>>23314232
>>23314744Hahaha chaotic pantser here
>>23312068Remove distractions, all the usual business - phone on silent, messenger apps to Do Not Disturb, and, I find this one helpful in particular, try to listen to music without lyrics/lyrics in a language you don't know. The most I can personally stomach while writing is my Alan Watts playlist, anything else and it starts worming into my head something fierce.If all else fails, buy a notepad and do the brunt of your writing physical, and then transfer to physical. If you feel like you're way too easily distracted, look up some resources on impulse control and, final final resort, maybe see a reputable doctor to see if you have ADHD so Dr Shekelstein can prescribe you some amphetamines.>>23314705>"how do I improve my situation so I can follow my passion?">UMMMM, SILLY ZOOMER, MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN.... BORN A ZOOMER! TEEHEEE, ZOOMER! DOOMER COOMER! TEEHEEGo fuck yourself you miserable, unhelpful faggot
>>23314761sooo, having a teaspoon of self-control is a non-starter for you?
>>23314037>fetishes mind control, mind break, corruption>clichessuperhumanly strong women
>>23314781Kek.
>>23314484>its hard to tell narration between dialogue because the dialogue isnt formatted well enough.I've been following along with you and it may give me the balls to dispense with quotes entirely. I've read worse and --- euro quotes give me cancer. It's a feature sometimes and something you have to be used to more generally.
>>23314781Discipline isn't bestowed, it's earned. Saying "have self control" to someone lacking in self control is as helpful as saying "make more money" to someone on the poverty line, like it's some amazing revelation
>>23306393Writing a scene where an old woman belittles a military commander.I'm afraid, the woman will come off as sounding too masculine.
Should I be ashamed of using AI to find synonyms for me?
>>23315011Just use an online thesaurus?
>>23314996There's nothing wrong with older women in power that refuse to suffer fools, they actually tend to be more on the popular side (see Lady Olena from Game of Thrones)That aside, do your best to watch your dialogue tags, anon. Nothing wrong with using 'said' or demonstrating his emotional state in a separate sentence. It has the potential to increase the complexity of what you're trying to express in a way that's more fun to read.>"Is this how a man of your stature behaves?" she asked. It was a simple question, but the matron addressed him as she would a grandchild, chastising him as if she were ready to bend him over her knee. She'd seen the proud lord's rise to power and could name seven others who were infinitely more qualified for the position. The best of them had spent more time on the battlefield than Lord Straboc had at the bottom of a tank of mead, which was, to say, a lot. In the same way, you can use physical descriptions when the intended tone is obvious. Instead of >Deuleca mockedyou could say>"I see... And here you are. Grovelling at the feet of an old woman." Her lips curled in a display of naked amusement, and Lord Straboc's fists tightened.>>23315011as ashamed as you should be for using a thesaurus
>>23315011Yes. A search on any engine or dictionary would be faster than waiting for an AI to respond.
>>23314744Lawful Pantser + True Plantser gang
>Currently writing chapter 2>Full of fun ideas for chapter 3 and 4>Haven't had the chance to write for weeks, chapter 2 is as good as done in my head>Hard to find motivation actually put the words on paper because the ideas have gotten dull since I've thought of them so muchsuffering
>>23314885So...earn some? Make an effort? Is that a non-starter? You act like you're a helpless leaf blowing in the wind.
>>23315038>>23315042>>23315069I use brave and leo already pulls out the thesaurus for me (:
I started working on the outline for this fantasy story where this guy is trying to save his homeland in his own flawed way (fighting) but I'm starting to settle on the idea that he has to die at the story's end. It just made me start thinking that while it's fun to work on the setting and the fighting and all of the drama, it's all kind of like jangling keys to keep someone's attention. I enjoy the keys, I have fun making them, but what I really want to do is write about my own exploration about if I can change as a person, and all the characters in my story who end up dying (including the mc and several major characters) die because they're unable to, because that's what reality feels like to me.I think I got caught up in all the fun stuff, and just had the epiphany that this feeling is and always has been at the core of my writing.
>>23314885> Saying "have self control" to someone lacking in self control isIt's like telling you to tie up your shoelaces when they're open and you act like god forced this terrible condition on you. fuck, I hate zoomers
>I left her for the night and returned to the streets of Glamora. The lights weren’t as colorful and the concrete felt harder. I could not pinpoint the cause of my distress, but the itch would not subside. She should have understood my message and not revert to the conformity and repetition we both so despised. As I passed the bridge back towards Antwan’s home, I passed by the same advertisement I saw so many days ago. The beautiful woman smiled as she always had, the same perfect pearls and ruby lips curled before me. Join Me, appeared before me. It was an epiphany. Mollie wished not for individual freedom, but rather, she wished for imprisonment under her hand. Despite her sweet words and beautiful face, there was no difference between her and Warrick.>Mollie wished not for individual freedom, but rather, she wished for imprisonment under her hand. Despite her sweet words and beautiful face, there was no difference between her and Warrick.>Heat raised within. This was a betrayal. We were to be together, freed from the expectations and falsehoods plaguing our lives. Removed from the shackles of undignified mundane routines. It was a front. There was no desire to unchain herself from the world. She wanted control and I was her first victim. Yes. That was her motive—she promised freedom from our current master, but the cost was subordination to her. A lying woman with no boundaries to satiate her desire for >I could not contain my laughter. To think my escape from the clutches of routine and familiarity resulted in being entrapped in another. How this world must despise those that refuse to bend to its will. Trapped inside the Vermillion, then Glamora, and now Mollie, there was only one recourse—I must free myself from her clutches.Too preachy?
>>23315123>fantasy story where this guy is trying to save his homeland in his own flawed way (fighting)Why does every fantasyfag write the exact same thing? AI could be more creative.
>>23315508>magic system is drawing power from "spirits" via shintoism>few people have the capabilities of using magic effectively, although everyone can, most have no talent for it>those that can become "cops" and protect the world>some genius figures out how to draw magic from the spirits and makes technology out of it>revolutionizes the world>This is where the MC lives>some other genius decides to harness the spirit magic and learn how to transform into magical beasts>said cops now have to stop the evil doers>bad guy is a manifestation of a spirit MC has been tuned with all their life>spirit wants to stop all the technology uses even though said spirit is a hypocrite using said tech>tricks other cops into joining him to rule the world, maintain balance and resume the spirit/chosen one connection>needs to destroy the world, even though the genie is out of the bottle>Now MC has to stop former comrades and spirit from destroying the worldThat said, should I make the MC a male or female? Female I can make her fall in love with the spirit. Male I can make him try to rape said spirit.
1422 words today. Looks like my second chapter is going to reach the 8.5-9k length. Longer than I expected but I blame that on my increased ambition and complex action scenes.
>>23315480>not revertStopped reading there. Proofread your slop before you vomit it on here
YouTube shorts have deep-fried my brain. Not that there was much there, to begin with.I was chatting with strangers on Omegle—terrible idea, I know—when this cute chick popped on screen.Off the bat, she was like: “Yo, you ugly, bro.”So I was taken aback, like: “Ayo. What the fuck? Who says that to a stranger?” And she went absolute berserk on me.“You ug-ly. Pansy ass, white boy pussy ass—ugly. I bet you got a tiny dick, don’t you, white boy? Yeah, got that shrimp dick glued to your ugly ass, you don’t?”“Bitch, I ain’t white.”“You look white enough—got that gentrified, oak-milk-drinking look about you. I bet you spend all day playing video games and jerking off to that weird anime shit, don’t you? Yeah, I bet you beat your tiny, virgin dick to all sorts of weird shit every day.”“You’re crazy.”“Yeah?”“You’re mad crazy, girl. But ain’t gonna lie, you’re kinda bad though.”“Yeah? You like what you’re seeing, white boy?”“I told you I ain’t white. How old are you?”“What?”“How old are you?”“Twenty. No, twenty-one.”“Twen-ty-one. Alright. What’s your name?”“Guess. Guess my name.”“Samantha.”“Samantha?” She widened her mouth. “Do I look like a Samantha to you?”“Susan, then.”“Susan?” she screamed.“You’re a freak. That’s what you are.”“Yeah? You like freaky girls, white boy? You want me to slobber up that cute white ass of yours, don’t you? Lick that crusty shit clean, don’t you?”“I thought you said I was ugly.”“Nah, you cute. Ask me for my social.”“You’re just gonna give me your OnlyFans. I’m not about that. Give me something I can DM you with.”She licked her lips, thinking. “Alright, I’ll do this because you’re cute.”We traded socials and started talking for the better part of a year. When we finally met up, I whooped her dumb ass for calling me ugly and nicked her car.I still think about her every now and then.
>>23315578I got to your fourth line and I was expecting him to call her a coon ass nigger. He never did. Disappointing. She also gave him herpes, I'm betting.
What are your guy's thoughts on semi-autobiographical works? I was thinking of writing one that starts off with just two characters, the main character and a therapist, and then various other characters start popping up to tell their sides of the story as well as interact with each other. The characters debate, kill, love, create and befriend each other as the narrative progresses. They're all personifications of different feelings, thoughts or personality traits including the main character and the therapist. I mostly want to address some of my regrets, what I did and didn't learn from them and eventually reach some sort of resolution between all of these different, sometimes contrasting, characters? Essentially fix my own shit.Perhaps my internal conflicts sound more interesting than they really are in my head but execution is still half the battle. I'm not going to go over the dynamics between the different characters here, I just want your thoughts on the idea or similar works if you guys know of any.
>>23315042Those are all good suggestions.That being said, I dislike "said" because it informs absolutely nothing of the tone, so I rather omit it completely or replace it with any other 300 alternatives.I realize it's much "invisible word", and many famous authors use it, I don't just care to me it's not invisible, but a wasted potential.
>>23315683nobody knows because we're not the writer. You are. Write it out or go see a therapist.
Romance books are the type of books that I want to write but I feel like I could write a mean one if I wanted to, like, one that would definitely get picked up. Anyone else feel like this? Not specifically with romance but any genre.
>>23315730if you read a book with very little use of "said", it honestly gets exhausting. And the scene plus the words in a conversation should already indicate the tone of the speaker.You don't need "I'm going to make you eat shit!" Dickwad roared.The ! and the sentence itself already tells the readers he's screaming at someone. it's a bad example, but i hope you understand.
>>23315748>areAren't*
>>23315750There's so many different ways to deliver dialogue, you can even shout in different tones.
>>23315730I've gone a full circle and moved back to using only said and cringe every time I read somebody skipping around it like wildfire with whatever ejaculations and remonstrations.
>>23315730Rather than omitting "said" or using a synonym for it you should just show, not tell. If someone is saying something shakily or shouting there's other body language besides the mere vocalisation of the sentence. I'm not even talking about strictly showing someone talking, other actions can be used like sipping from a mug or throwing said mug, anything works really. For whatever reason people forget that the purpose of "he said, she said" is merely to denote who is talking, it's meant to supplement context or substitute it when there's a lack there of.Of course, you then have the types that use it all the time that never even stopped to think what purpose it serves and merely copy what they've read. It's a style, but not one I would put past mediocrity or lack of originality. There is a mass appeal to it simply because it's the norm but I can sympathize with the people who hate that you're using synonyms since they hate it just as much as I hate said (and the forced synonyms).
Every time I write anything I end up just writing long paragraphs about what and how my characters feel rather than showing this through their actions and interactions.On the one hand it's useful to write out exactly what I'm trying to communicate to the reader, but on the other hand I really hate that I do this for some reason.So, for example, and please forgive the cliched writing because this is totally unedited because it's destined to be discarded:>And Norton relishes in it - because how dare this child play at being a soldier and think he could get away with this ignorance - this naivety - of what it means? There’s a satisfaction - mean and cruel - of disabusing the stupid and the foolish of their stupid, foolish ideas; to rip the veil from their eyes and make them see the world they really live in - Norton's world, a world that Norton is adapted for; a world that Norton can survive in, and which they can’t.>Norton is good in a crisis. Norton is good at lots of things, actually. But people don’t always recognise his talents. In fact, if they care at all, usually all they feel is disdain, or pity. Occasionally, they hate him. But Norton is never respected. Nobody treats him like an expert. Nobody treats him like he has skills. Nobody’s ever congratulated him - nobody’s ever told him “hey, good job, it must have been hard to survive those years of torture and come out the other side still capable of human fucking speech.” And if he tells them how he did it - if he tries to explain the tools he’s got and how he used them, these few bright things that he built for himself - the ability to take pain and cause it, the willingness to kill - they only hate him more.>Norton is what he has to be, and apparently that makes him evil.>So Norton hates them back. And when he gets the chance to show them why they really shouldn’t have been so quick to judge, he relishes it.The scene is Norton torturing a guy and getting off on it, and this is the entire point and purpose of the scene in ~two paragraphs. Having written this, I in theory no longer need to write the rest of the scene. Fade to black, Norton tortures the guy off screen, the reader has already been told what they were supposed to learn. But this really isn't how I want to write the story. I want to show Norton torturing the guy and unravel the mystery of why he does it slowly. But I find it really really hard to translate this screed that I've just shat out into an actual scene. What's the missing ingredient? What are examples of where this kind of thing is done well - where an audience is shown a character doing a thing and expected to slowly draw out a lesson as to why?
>>23309504motherfucker i don't even have a sleep routine
>>23310644>I wanted to finish it for my grandmother before she passed. She isn't sick or anything, but she's my #1 reader.Inconceivably based.
>>23310817I'm not that anon but your post feels like it has unlocked some kind of key insight in my brain anon.I definitely have been treating scenes as things that exist to convey information to the reader and thinking about them differently in the way you describe feels like an infinitely better approach that would solve so many of the problems I'm experiencing.
>>23315730>>23315750>>23315798Once again, Anon A and Anon B were debating the proper styling of dialogue tags.“Dialogue tags should be invisible, utilized only to denote the speaker when necessary,” Anon A said.“Such constraints only serve to suppress a writer’s creativity,” Anon B argued. “Writing is an art form—imposing arbitrary rules in the name of good craftsmanship will only stifle the medium’s development, leading to its stagnation and eventual decline,” he elaborated.“There’s nothing that can be gained from substituting ‘said’ that can’t be achieved tenfold by improving other aspects of your prose. If the character’s voice and intent aren’t apparent from the words they speak, then you have failed as a writer.”“To dismiss a work simply because the author employs a broader vocabulary than you, is peak midwit behavior,” Anon B retorted sharply. “Colorful dialogue tags, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, passive voice, emotional tells, and more are all part of the English lexicon. They should be used or omitted based on the need of the work itself, not discarded entirely because some e-celebs told you to.”“If you think e-celebs are the reason I favor ‘said’ over ‘ejaculated,’ then you’re the moron here.”And so, their debate marched on, each time a new /wg/ thread is created.
>want to write >500 words take like 3 hours
>>23316062>Such constraints only serve to suppress a writer’s creativityI actually think not using "said" is more restrictive.
>>23316090Writing is a marathon, not a sprint, so set a more reasonable short-term goal for yourself.Failing to write 3K words a day: you’ll feel like shit even if you manage to crank out 2999 words. And you’ll likely to hit a wall eventually.Aiming for 500 words a day (or 800 in my case): you’ll get that sweet endorphin release each time you cross that very achievable threshold, and you’ll to go above and beyond to keep chasing that high.For reference, my web novel is already at 77K words and I type slow as shit.
>>23313193I have to be thorough too. My wordcount per day is not so efficient but I'm always reading, thinking and rewriting paragraphs.On a related note, I've almost saved up enough money to quit my job or at least go on extended leave for a significant amount of time. Corporate life is just not rewarding me and the stories I want to write are piling up faster than I can write them. It's still good money but I just cannot justify it with this mounting frustration.
>>23316193Yeah, thorough is the word. It has to be the kind of thing I truly like and be charged with meaning to the utmost, which goes beyond straightforward narratives and the appearance of clarity. The subtext isn't simple and has subtext. Nothing is superfluous. The closest thing I could compare it to is mystery and horror where there is a constant control of mood and things are hinted at but can't be known.
>>23311441https://youtu.be/MTPxWkBgW6U?t=58
>>23314270Write but I should read more outside of classes to experiment more with other genres. Issue is an this anon mentioned >>23314405. Remember a month ago reading Tanya the Evil, and traits of it started to corp up whenever I would write. Then said fuck it and wrote like 5-10k on my own version but then I fell off. If I consume media it needs to be a completely different genre then whatever I am writing.
Writing is easy. Stare at a blank page for six hours, then spend two hours actually writing and pass out at sunrise
>>23315957that's a lot of dashes>the reader haws been toldand that's why it's bad. this is a prime example of telling vs showing.show Norton going to his workbench and retrieving his pliers. show him choosing among the saws, and drills and dykes and awls he has on the wall. show him testing the sharpness of his xacto knife. show the person he's going to be torture squirming in the restraints and trying to beg for mercy through the gag. show norton glancing over, smirking, or grinning or whatever, and then picking out another torture tool. then if you want to fade to black do so when he goes over to the crying, begging, pleading victim and begins his work.
Thoughts on small publishing presses?Are they actually a good middle ground between trying to publish with the big publishers (which I've heard is basically impossible if you're not a celeb already) and self publishing?
>>23316732If you fit their brand and demographic, they have decent distribution in key networks, and don't mind doing most of your own promotion they aren't bad. I think it's headed the way of record labels, where you're picked up by an indie press and move on when they no longer meet your needs and the big names start calling with contracts that aren't outright insulting.
>>23314572That's what I had originally—there were 3 or 4 "yous" in the first paragraph. But this is page 288, and they would've been my first instance of the pronoun "you" to this point, so I decided to scrap it for grammatical consistency. I'm tempted to reinsert them, though. This is a climatic point toward the end, I feel permitted to introduce a new pronoun.
Just so you're not confused by some of the terminology and names, these characters aren't humans. They're these weird constructs/golems made of some weird stone-like material and fueled by magic/light>Ai's core sank as he wandered through the desolate streets of the village, horrified at the devastation lain bare before him. Homes and schools, meant to house and teach his species, torn asunder, the smooth rock that made up their forms having enormous chunks blasted off, and the spirit-stones that bought extra light reduced to nothing but shards that barely gave off faint embers of illumination. >Vegetation, burning to pure ash and filling the air with a foul stench that made him feel physically ill, even through his mask. Even worse, through the smoke and shattered spirit stones, the area was shrouded in darkness, like light refused to even touch this place>The streets were somehow worse. Construct remains scattered throughout the stone pathways, the light that filled their forms drained and leaving nothing but husks. Ai was mortified, to put it mildly. >However, he soon heard a voice. But it wasn't one that bought him any relief. No, it only added to the sickening horror coursing through his system. >"Help me">It was a Construct voice, but at the same time wasn't. It was strained, like an electronic device that wasn't working properly, as each word created a noise that was akin to a screech that broke your sense of hearing.>Ai turned to the source of the voice, only to be met with something that almost caused him to drop dead on the spot.>A Construct. One with no clothes, incredibly poor posture, and a shambling, irregular gait. But that wasn't what caused him such distress>The Construct was spilling a glowing liquid from every single opening, clearly the inner light that made up the essence of their selves. The eyes and joints, specifically.>Once again, that broken noise spewed from it.>"Help me"
>Characters go check out a crime scene of murdered person [A]>Action scene happens>Characters go meet person [B] they learnt about from stuff in [A]'s placeIt shouldn't be so hard to find logical steps.
>>23306393How did I get this pastebind warning?Is it because I used the word "cock"? I thought many anons post porn stuff there.
Why should I not open a story with a brief dream sequence?I'm not trying to be cute. I intend to give that a purpose, which is to show what torments my protagonist and what his goals are. Due to the place he's in at the start of the story, he would not be sharing his thoughts with anyone so I believe it's necessary to have something to give the reader some insight into him before putting him in trouble.
>>23317448I would say the main risk is>Woah this book is trippy, might be interesting>Nevermind, it's boring reality again
>>23317419Use knob, you knob.
>>23317419okay, it's this line:>“Perhaps you can explain it to a foolish wench like myself?”Jesus Chris, this the absolute state of censorship. I didn't realize wench had anything to do with black people, but I guess to steal too.
>>23317448make it the prologue instead of the first chapter, and keep it short and sweet
>>23317419Pastebin is filtered now? What the fuck?
>>23317467It's because "wench", black people own it now.It's retarded knave and wench are old words for male and female servants.
>>23317477And then they wonder why people who were indoctrinated to like them don't like them.
>>23317452To be absolutely honest, I think I have some leeway because it's for a fanfic. My audience knows the setting.>>23317465I'm not sure how I could fit that. The next scene right after he wakes up has him running on rooftops to evade debt collectors.
>>23317448if doing so can provide narrative context and convey who your character is to the reader, there's no reason not to do it. my current project starts with a dream sequence/flashback, but it's an entire chapter's worth of content, and every character except for the main character is never going to be active again for the rest of the story. they are mentioned later on but only when the mc is feeling sorry for herself on a very limited number of occasions. however there are later chapters that do occur in dreams, so there is actually a narrative reason for me to include it. the mc suffers from nightmares and she usually remembers them. let me know what you think.https://pastebin.com/ZR0m69Q3
>>23317477Okay, this makes no sense.I remove the word "wench"divided my story into two parts, both pass the filter, but when I put them together then the filter actives.Makes no sense
I'm struggling writing the first chapters of my story, in which the MC is a bored ambassador. Even though he stops actually doing diplomatic stuff pretty quickly (approximately through chapter 3), I can't help but think the early chapters of him just going through his day-to-day life are mundanes. To be fair this is partly the point, because the guy IS bored, but writing a boring day in the first chapter of a new book? Might as well say goodbye to any potential reader.This post isn't meant to achieve anything, I am just wrangling my own inability to tell a story.
>>23317584>Make it faster>Begin after stuff heats up and then briefly explain how things were before the inciting incident occurred>Write it anyway and then come back and fix it later when you understand what you want to do betterThere's a few options
>>23314855I mean sometimes the dialogue starts in the previous paragraph, in the middle of narration.
>>23317584You have to find the hook, whatever entertains him briefly, in the first chapter and put it there. Save the rest for when he breaks off from it entirely. Hell, make his little diversion the thing that hooks him into an international incident.
>>23317584he stops being an ambassador for no good reason? I'd figure your 1st chapter would be the event that causes him to not be an ambassador anymore, or sets up the conflict that gets his title revoked
>>23317584Don't tell it in a way that's boring
>>23317595>>Begin after stuff heats up and then briefly explain how things were before the inciting incident occurred>Yep, that's me>You're probably wondering how I got into this situation...
>>23317611I wasn't saying I would do it that way, but the euro quote ---I don't like this thing mid text anymore than I like quotes. Cutting it from the quote is the problem, but not if you're already used to indirect style. Someone's thoughts may not need to end and sometimes that's the point of it. I'm not saying Waffles did it well but it's a very cognizant and direct response to style right now that ain't entirely alien if you're up on literature in the past 30 years. It also beats italics, man I fucking hate italics.
>>23317616Technically he's an ex-cop, sent to be ambassador because it's good PR for his country, but he stumbles into a crime early on and eventually goes rogueI could of course just write him as a cop, or a detective, but the main reason I want him to be ambassador is because I want him to have a certain degree of power and influence at least early on.
>>23317637is that trainspotting? I'll stick to the movie, thanks
>>23317644As I wrote this post I had an illumination, which I will write down and check back in a few days to see if it's good. I will make him insane. I will make him a cop that stumbled into so much eldricht knowledge in his time he just wanted to stay in a quiet room with no windows forever, until he is pulled back into the light for ONE LAST JOB. This seems, at a glance, already more encouraging, and solve a few relationships problems I had in getting everyone together
>>23317654Your loss, it's a fun read.https://voca.ro/1jOjZQ4BYeQ7
I'm looking to get blasted, reamed, destroyed, etc.Low Fantasy story from multiple POVs about an ongoing civil war in an isolationist country.docs.google.com/document/d/1mxlHPlFCS7eK3H_w34wi8Mg4J69_MazPUmfUaUEWhgs/edit?usp=sharing
my slop story is popping off anons
>>23316853Looking at it again, I would switch it completely to "you" and generalize it, turning Ben into "the other guy." I think it would have greater immediacy if you kind of walk the reader through it and put them in the seat. With the "I" it just sounds very clunky throughout, especially with the present tense, which is additionally dorky unless it's in the 2nd person.
>>23317815where?
>>23317787That sounds like my type of story.22K words, that's novellaI read the first page, perhaps I will continue later.I don't have much to say, other than it was certainly easy read, but not that interesting to be honest. Some virgin scouting a forest, has potential, but it doesn't really come off so in the first pace.Other than that I found lines "Stupid, stupid, stupid" kinda juvenile, I don't adult would think like that, but then again I could be wrong on that.
>>23317637I mean its readable enough but I cant help but get the point of quotation marks is to "quote" people. Some might say its too much to ask if the reader to try relearning literary rules just for one book
>>23318009rr
>>23318012The prologue is the worst part and I've been avoiding rewriting it.
>>23318052That's the thing, it's common elsewhere and you just read it without better more than worse. Only retards get hung over thoughts in text, this is nae different m8. Virgins notice, the textually active have less little mental bumps.
>>23318069welp, that sucks cuz the beginning is where you get the reader most invested. so not fixing it is like throwing out the whole thing
>>23318053reading rainbow?
Silly question but it's been a while since I've read a book in english. How do you format thoughts for characters/inner monologue and dialogue?I've seen some examples using quotation marks followed by said for dialogue and italics for thoughts, but wouldn't the latter get lost if you fuck up the document/text's formatting?
>>23318192You could use single quotation marks for thoughts and explicitly state who is thinking.>Anon thought, 'This is a stupid idea.'I think italics only flow better, but that's just me.
Do I just swallow the imperfection of my first webnovel and write through despite the mistakes? I am obssessed with "Chekhov's gun" and appeal to average reader but I hate every page I write, scrap it and remain artless which I am getting depressed over.
>>23318209Just do it.Fix repetitive prose and grammatical issues. You can't be perfect from the start.
>>23318206Not a bad idea but it worries me that they could get confused with apostrophes.
>>23318225I may be close to finishing chapter 1, I'd want to release at least 3 at the start and spend some time to at least learn good ai images and spend some hours in photoshop to make it look as it's not from ai (I'm at least 2 years of hard work away from becoming an acceptable artfag and I'm demotivated to even live)
Amidst the bustling symphony of clinking cups, chattering patrons, and the hiss of the espresso machine, Adam found himself lost in the cacophony of memories that surged through his mind like a relentless tide. The coffee shop, once a haven for him, had transformed into a battlefield of its own.Adam sat in the corner, trying to blend into the background, his eyes darting nervously, scanning faces, assessing threats that weren't there. Every laugh, every sudden movement, sent a jolt of adrenaline coursing through his veins, triggering memories he longed to forget.As he sipped his coffee, the bitterness of the brew did little to dull the bitter taste of fear that lingered in his mouth. Each sip was a reminder of the taste of dust and blood, of the desolate landscapes he had once called home.The conversations around him blurred into a meaningless drone, yet amidst the chaos, one voice cut through the noise like a knife. A child's laughter echoed in the crowded space, innocent and carefree. It struck a chord deep within Adam, stirring emotions he had long buried beneath layers of numbness.Images flashed before his eyes – children playing in the streets, their laughter a stark contrast to the horrors of war. Guilt gnawed at him like a relentless beast, reminding him of the innocence he had lost, the lives he had taken.Desperate for reprieve, Adam clutched his coffee cup tighter, seeking solace in its warmth. But the memories refused to relent, haunting him like ghosts from a past he could never escape.In a moment of clarity, Adam realized that the battle he faced was not confined to the war-torn landscapes of distant lands. It was a battle fought within the depths of his own mind, a relentless struggle against demons that threatened to consume him whole.With a heavy heart, Adam rose from his seat, leaving behind the safety of the coffee shop and venturing out into the chaos of the world beyond. But as he stepped into the bustling street, he carried with him a glimmer of hope – a reminder that amidst the noise and turmoil, there was still beauty to be found, and healing to be sought.
>>23318347I always wonder if these posts are writers posting AI slop to troll the thread and bait (You)s, or non-writers who think AI slop isn't grotesque and immediately noticeable to anyone who actually reads.Like, my god, at least use a proper AI like claude, not just chatgpt slop. You might even get away with it. Though I guess that might not be the goal.
>>23317787I would but everytime I start typing down shit it gets so long clumsy and overly specific I realise its infinately easier to critique stuff in person.
>>23318369Your the AI slop!
>>23318382Okay, so trolling, good to know
Whenever I write I keep thinking of things, usually character interactions, that affect the story that I wish I’d thought of back in the outlining phase. It’s not throwing off the plot at all, but they result in complications either to the story of the characters’ relationships. How do I get myself to think of more of these things when I was supposed to? Should I ignore those ideas since they didn’t occur at the right time?
>>23318401How do they result in complications?I don't understand. Is this a dialogue issue?
>>23318406Well for instance during a (planned) conversation between two characters I (unplanned) had her give her shawl to the boy to help him stay warm. Later, on, during a (planned) meeting between that boy and a girl, she (planned, due to the unplanned choice earlier) notices the woman’s shawl and reacts negatively to it. Not something that will cause a change in the plot, but it can flavor the boy and girl’s interactions later on.
>Why don't you call them zombies?Genuine critique I've gotten. They're not zombies because that's a fucking stupid word. I don't care if people say otherwise, "Zombie" will always be dumb as fuck
>>23318427I don't see this as a negative unless you go completely off the rails. Her reacting negatively to the shawl gives us greater insight to her character. There must be a reason for you to write her that way. Right?
>>23317419I've seen other anons use https://pastes.io/>>23317467Has been for some time.
>>23318401you're drafting, right? this is exactly when these ideas should be happening. hell, if you have a great idea during your 5th edit you should incorporate it. outlining is the least important, least set in stone part of the whole process.
AI and the end of the human author: https://newrepublic.com/article/180395/ai-artifical-intelligence-writing-human-creativitya
>Have worldbuilding>Have writing>Struggling to fill world with characters
I want to bitch.I read some random asshole's work on r/BetaReaders and it was fucking awful.It reminded me why I refuse to read amateur writing.
>>23318760So what the fuck did you think the word amateur meant? lmao. of course it's bad
>>23318754Probably worthless advice but:>World should make characters, the characters should make the writingThat's to say, the events of your world should shape the characters to be who they are in the beginning, and their actions should be about what they do with life
>>23318760Why was it bad?I read some really bad stuff there too. It was like it was written by a tween, maybe it was. Like every line was extremely mundane.It actually inspired me to write more, because I thought maybe I can do this bit better than this guy.
>>23318784Dialogue wasn't clear. Word choice was poor. Concept was awful. Exerpt ended with fucking Nazis. Dialogue was also poor.I would have rewritten every other sentence.
>>23318773It read like something I would have written in middle school.
>>23318791I mean, it could have been worse, right?
>>23318709>Both Tenen and Baron are cautious boosters of AI, saluting its potential to relieve us of many “lesser” forms of writing. But they also predict that more literary writing—Big C writing—will resist the encroachments of the machines. “It’s simply that, however effective or powerful, a muscular artifice for the sake of artifice isn’t that intelligent or interesting to me,” Tenen says. For truly human writing, an AI needs to gain a wider sense of the world, he adds. “But it cannot, if words are all it has to go by.” A machine cannot (as yet) watch a film to review it, and it cannot (also as yet; one must cover one’s rear) interview legislators to write a political feature. Anything that it produces in these genres must be confected out of reviews and interviews that have already been written. That lack of originality, Tenen would contend, will forever keep true creativity beyond the reach of AI.Did you read that article? Their position seems to be that AI is removing pointless writing but not actual literature and anything that takes genuine creativity. They speculate briefly on whether AI will ever eventually be able to, but certainly make no claims it's inevitable (and by the quote above, ultimately think not)Besides, the end of the article effectively says even if AI gets to that point, human authors will continue being authors because writing is inherently human
>>23318793If you're an amateur, your stuff does too, probably(or even worse, it's some pseud rambling purple shit that you think sounds intelligent and deep, but isn't to anyone who reads it in the most painful manner possible)
>>23306393new bread>>23318802>>23318802>>23318802
>>23318800Nah, I gap that specific piece.It's also easily the worst of the four I've looked at today. The other three were salvageable.
>>23318803>>23318810>>23318810>>23318810
>>23318791>your whole story sucks>also fuck you naziI wonder why you panned it
>>23318791There's a big difference between critique and criticism. If all you're going to do is insult it without pointing out specifics, instead of suggestions on how it can be better, why bother? You're just being a troll and a failed crab.
