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angel opportunity posted:Open a blank document and start typing random sentences that are just story ideas. Just type any idea that comes into your mind, line break, and type more. It can help once you have a page full of ideas even if most of them are lovely Yeah, I've got a few of those/not fleshed out so I guess I used literally wrong (surprise) - I'll probably mull over some of those and try and beat one into some sort of vague story shape, if nothing else. Thanks again.
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Jun 3, 2016 18:42
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Once you have some just bold all of them and then start typing random ideas for the story beneath each one until you have some good ideas
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Jun 3, 2016 18:57
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C7ty1 posted:So okay, this is pretty unashamedly about TD, so yeah yeah, whatever. I read. I go for a drive on the freeway (somewhere I don't have to do turning or anything) and turn the radio off. I listen to some podcasts on writing. I hit up this thread. If none of that works, I just don't worry about it and go play a video game. Writing is creative work and not all of us are proficient word machines. I feel like sometimes I need a few hours, a few days, or even a few weeks to "recharge" before I'm ready to put words to paper. Try to take your mind off it and see if something worms its way up from your subconscious.
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Jun 3, 2016 19:02
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i type whatever comes into my head. even if it's cliche dumb poo poo. the beginning almost always sucks/gets edited down anyway. like a lot of times i'll just start with something like: "there was this kid, a real piece of poo poo that was like, ugly and stuff, and nobody loved them. god i hate that kid. anyway he was doing some things one day i guess and then blam a truck comes out of nowhere and smashes his loving face in. but cause he was all ugly before it knocked everything into the right spot i guess and now he's pretty." like obviously that's not something i'd ever consider a story, but i can go back later and change that into better prose, if i stick with it. it's like a mix of brainstorm and writing. i don't bother worrying about particulars, just the skeleton of a story, and then go back later and fill it in. But once i do that for long enough holy poo poo i almost have a story written, and i wasn't even really trying. it removes the anxiety barrier for me and allows me to move past that temporary short block. edit: you can actually see some if left in some of my stories. like the beginning of this: http://writocracy.com/thunderdome/?story=2629&title=Novalust I've worked on that a bit, and the revised version isn't that blatant, but for TD it was working for me in my limited space. crabrock fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Jun 3, 2016 |
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Jun 3, 2016 19:28
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C7ty1 posted:So okay, this is pretty unashamedly about TD, so yeah yeah, whatever. i usually just type first lines and continue them for a bit. if by like the third or fourth paragraph doesnt have me like writing it, i usually just hit ctrl-a and delete it all and start over. then i do a couple more lines, see if anything takes me, but just writing out a couple lines gets the brain flowing and soon enough your actually gonna get somewhere somehow. if i dont get what i want just yet, i usually take a break, take a shower, go play some video games, w/e, but i come back and try again and i almost always gets somewhere. that somewhere might not always be great but w/e words are words. once i got the first couple of paragraphs done, i usually have figured out what im trying to do. im one of those exploratory writers or w/e the gently caress you want to call them where they just write and as they write theyre figuring out what needs to be done. i dont brainstorm or do any of that other crap but if that works for you, that works. the only writing method that's bad is one that doesn't make words imho. also a cool idea is to just write whatever without a filter. and i mean, sincerely, write without a filter. it doesnt have to be a narrative or a poem, it could be a loving rant if you want, but just write. it will be poo poo, i promise you that, but it gets the brain going. then once youve reached the point where your like "gently caress this is so terrible i dont want to free write anymore," delete it all and start a new story (i know sebmojo has a similar method where they write the most obvious, boring interpretation of the prompt and then go back and add things in to make it more interesting. i like starting from scratch but if your adverse to deleting your words, that method might be better). that new story will be 100% better than that first thing you wrote. i like to think of it like the brain comes up first with an obvious solution to a problem but w/ writing the obvious solution will p much always be boring and uninteresting. so once you get that out of the way your brain is a lot more open and more willing to try different (and more interesting) things. you have to get your brain engaged in writing and the only way really to do that is to write. flerp fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Jun 3, 2016 |
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Jun 3, 2016 19:37
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ExtraNoise posted:I listen to some podcasts on writing. Which podcasts on writing are worth listening to?
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Jun 3, 2016 20:00
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C7ty1 posted:So okay, this is pretty unashamedly about TD, so yeah yeah, whatever. Are we talking about not being able to progress in an existing story or not being able to start one? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter- if I'm starting something, I usually have an idea of what in general it's about, but when it comes to breaking into a scene, I usually just start with something mundane. I used to have a really bad habit of starting scenes with character introspection, which is fine once in a while, but not in every goddamn scene. Now, I've made it a habit to have someone be doing or saying something, especially something mundane, which works really well when you want to draw extra gravity to something serious or weird or horrible. You want to instantly identify your Hard-Boiled Private Detective (cue music and lingering cigarette smoke) as being so emotionally damaged after all these years gently caress having him introspect or go on at some poor faceless bartender about his gritty past- have him cook eggs while he informs his latest client that the local precinct is taking over the case because her husband isn't missing, he's dead, and it was no accident. Have him meticulously place them just so on his perfectly-browned toast while she sobs in his ear. As he relays the captain's speech about access to local grief therapists to family members of the deceased, have him pepper his eggs and idly wonder if he wants them with a little salt today. I started that entire train of thought just with "making eggs." Everything else evolved based on that visual. It's amazing what you can do with a mundane action or a boring conversation. On the flipside to the "making eggs while talking about something terrible" thing, you have the "talking about the weather while doing something terrible" thing. The "dismembering a body while assuring your wife you won't forget to pick up eggs" thing. They're not new tropes, but they're attention-getting, it's easy to implement them in much subtler ways, they can really establish aspects of a character's personality very quickly, and sometimes they just really help get the ball rolling.
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Jun 3, 2016 20:12
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Thanks, all - some really good stuff. Thing I think I'm gonna seize most is Just loving Write and sign up for baby's first long walk when this month's topic opens up. Got to get those words down, got to start somewhere.
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Jun 3, 2016 20:41
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Yeah, opening up a word document or getting out a notebook and just putting down whatever comes into your head, even if it's a diary entry, can really help and gets your juices going. You can also look back on what you wrote and get ideas from that. I like looking at news stories though. Headlines are really catchy and writing about current events, or your own spin on current events, is a nice exercise.
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Jun 3, 2016 22:11
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I just signed up for another TD. The blank page, the prompt with no loving clue, those are always the boner killers for me. SO I decided this time to almost literally paint by numbers for this story, following the SAVE THE CAT! Beat Sheet. My first step was to just re-type the beat sheet layout, without thinking about forcing a story into it. As I copied all this poo poo, (mental equivalent to wax-on, wax-off) an idea started to form, and sure enough, by the time I'd finished typing this poo poo, I had an idea for a story that could actually hit almost all of these lovely, cliche, worn-out, tried-but-true beats. While I much prefer to reinvent the wheel and redefine the way modern literature will be discussed once my goddamn genius is discovered, sometimes it's not such a bad idea to color inside the lines. So here's what I wrote, (literally COPIED). Literally. Because literally is a great word to use, literally. You gotta start somewhere. posted:SYNOPSIS TITLE: Quick notes: the numbers are pages, and the pages are actually SCRIPT page numbers, but it's still a great way to visualize how much space to commit to each part. Obviously these aren't hard fast rules unless you're Adam Sandler, but blah blah I'll stop apologizing now. Just use it or don't. magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Jun 4, 2016 |
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Jun 4, 2016 00:34
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When an agent asks to read your manuscript, what's the best way to send it to them? A .zip file with all the chapters? The whole thing pasted in the body of the email, or a chapter per email? I don't want to come off as amateurish by asking them 
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Jun 4, 2016 01:37
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Maple Leaf posted:When an agent asks to read your manuscript, what's the best way to send it to them? A .zip file with all the chapters? The whole thing pasted in the body of the email, or a chapter per email? I don't want to come off as amateurish by asking them Your MS embroidered onto a quilt. gently caress agents is what I'm saying.
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Jun 4, 2016 01:46
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magnificent7 posted:Your MS embroidered onto a quilt. gently caress agents is what I'm saying. Agents will make you tons of money and steer you away from predatory publishers/career traps. Maple Leaf posted:When an agent asks to read your manuscript, what's the best way to send it to them? A .zip file with all the chapters? The whole thing pasted in the body of the email, or a chapter per email? I don't want to come off as amateurish by asking them Put the whole thing in a single .doc file.
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Jun 4, 2016 02:07
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Quick thing about joining critique circles. I like the idea of being helpful and critiquing someone's work but haven't yet gotten past that point of feeling like an unqualified rear end in a top hat. I've been saying I love writing for years but have been apathetic to the extreme, haven't gotten anything published and haven't even finished anything longer than a piece of flash fiction or two. Does this factor in to how I should consider other peoples' work at all?
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Jun 4, 2016 02:56
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Nah, if someone thinks you're full of poo poo they won't listen to you.
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Jun 4, 2016 03:15
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Tirranek posted:Quick thing about joining critique circles. I like the idea of being helpful and critiquing someone's work but haven't yet gotten past that point of feeling like an unqualified rear end in a top hat. I've been saying I love writing for years but have been apathetic to the extreme, haven't gotten anything published and haven't even finished anything longer than a piece of flash fiction or two. Does this factor in to how I should consider other peoples' work at all? Thunderdomeeeee It's not a panacea but it's just what you're looking for. Head over to the thread and type"in".
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Jun 4, 2016 03:48
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sebmojo posted:Thunderdomeeeee Might do that actually. A boomerang in the head could be just what I need.
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Jun 4, 2016 05:11
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Jitzu_the_Monk posted:Which podcasts on writing are worth listening to? I'm not a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, but I really really enjoy the Writing Excuses podcast. I could re-listen to episodes a bunch of times and glean something new from them each time. I'd suggest starting with season one: http://www.writingexcuses.com/season001/ Maple Leaf posted:When an agent asks to read your manuscript, what's the best way to send it to them? A .zip file with all the chapters? The whole thing pasted in the body of the email, or a chapter per email? I don't want to come off as amateurish by asking them Most agents I've queried have wanted the the first 30-50 pages pasted into the body of the email. If you're past the querying phase and they're requesting the manuscript, then they probably want the entire thing in .doc format.
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Jun 4, 2016 05:20
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Tirranek posted:Quick thing about joining critique circles. I like the idea of being helpful and critiquing someone's work but haven't yet gotten past that point of feeling like an unqualified rear end in a top hat. I've been saying I love writing for years but have been apathetic to the extreme, haven't gotten anything published and haven't even finished anything longer than a piece of flash fiction or two. Does this factor in to how I should consider other peoples' work at all? A critique is a response to someone else's writing. It's fine if you're not some great writer yourself, because you don't need to solve all their problems. The most important part of it is the response, and that comes directly from your experience, not from knowledge.
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Jun 4, 2016 05:29
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Djeser posted:A critique is a response to someone else's writing. It's fine if you're not some great writer yourself, because you don't need to solve all their problems. The most important part of it is the response, and that comes directly from your experience, not from knowledge. Flerp, aka Broenheim, has more Dishonorable Mentions in Tdome then p much anyone, bless him, but I don't recall ever disagreeing with one of his crits.
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Jun 4, 2016 06:35
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Hey all, what was that short story publication requirement subscription website? Is that still a legitimate source? I haven't seen it mentioned in quite a while.
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Jun 4, 2016 07:02
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Brock Broner posted:Hey all, what was that short story publication requirement subscription website? Is that still a legitimate source? I haven't seen it mentioned in quite a while. I think you are referring to https://duotrope.com. It is still good. There is also the submission grinder (http://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com), which is free. I'm not sure if duotrope offers more functionality or data to justify the subscription cost.
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Jun 4, 2016 12:00
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:I think you are referring to https://duotrope.com. It is still good. There is also the submission grinder (http://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com), which is free. I'm not sure if duotrope offers more functionality or data to justify the subscription cost. Anecdotal data from when I had a magazine: Grinder submission reports were 1% of actual submissions. Duotrope was closer to 15%.
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Jun 4, 2016 13:36
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C7ty1 posted:So okay, this is pretty unashamedly about TD, so yeah yeah, whatever. My absolute favorite thing about writing a story is the first line, and to a lesser extent the final line. Sometimes I'll sit down and write out like 20 or 30 "good opening lines" and then when I am out of ideas I come back to them and see what kind of story I can write out of each opening line. Other times I will find inspiration for a story I'm currently in the middle of just from looking them over or freewriting new ones.
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Jun 4, 2016 13:38
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Thank you Dr. Kloctopussy and ravenkult! Duotrope was exactly what I was looking for, but The Grinder looks useful as well.
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Jun 4, 2016 19:10
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Ziji posted:My absolute favorite thing about writing a story is the first line, and to a lesser extent the final line. Sometimes I'll sit down and write out like 20 or 30 "good opening lines" and then when I am out of ideas I come back to them and see what kind of story I can write out of each opening line. Other times I will find inspiration for a story I'm currently in the middle of just from looking them over or freewriting new ones. Start with some kind of vigorous mental or physical action, even if you aren't sure where it's leading exactly. E: lol vv sebmojo fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Jun 5, 2016 |
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Jun 4, 2016 21:52
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sebmojo posted:Start with some kind of vigorous mental or physical action, even if you aren't sure where it's leading exactly.
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Jun 5, 2016 01:37
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I decided to bang together a fun trashy adventure novella for Tor.com, since they are hungry for material and the market is eating their stuff up. A month later it's almost 70,000 words  They'll probably still buy an accidental novel but god drat. I gotta lean up. I read - basically every other writer on Earth and it's all flowing and functional! And I've got all this blocking nonsense and weird poo poo. General Battuta fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Jun 5, 2016 |
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Jun 5, 2016 01:49
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General Battuta posted:I decided to bang together a fun trashy adventure novella for Tor.com, since they are hungry for material and the market is eating their stuff up. A month later it's almost 70,000 words As someone who's friends with a guy who used to man the Tor slush pile, I can tell you that they probably won't buy something that isn't well thought out. Edit: oops, Tor the website and Tor the imprint have totally different submission standards. But this is still a good place to drop that a lot of publishers get a lot of unsolicited crazy "god told me to write this!" books on the regular.
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Jun 7, 2016 03:03
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change my name posted:As someone who's friends with a guy who used to man the Tor slush pile, I can tell you that they probably won't buy something that isn't well thought out. Battuta has a novel published by them so he's probably in the clear lol
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Jun 7, 2016 03:26
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change my name posted:As someone who's friends with a guy who used to man the Tor slush pile, I can tell you that they probably won't buy something that isn't well thought out. I am lucky enough to have a guy on the inside — once you do one book with a Tor editor they're cool and keep working with you, or at least my main dude did! But — as much as 'i accidentally wrote a book' sounds like humblebraggadocio, it sucks when poo poo bloats up like this. It really does feel like bloat. Scenes full of slack, runny dialogue, fetid disintegrating character arcs that ooze when you poke them, plot structures that have decoupled from each other and now thump wetly as their loose cartilage unravels.  Unsolicited submissions in general are a pretty bad way to sell books to publishers. Agents are worth it.
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Jun 7, 2016 04:06
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I know it's torture on the people reading them, but I really love awful books in a "this is what not to do" way. It'd probably wear on my sanity to have to consistently take all of that in, though. And yeah, not to mention that even if you do submit unsolicited and get picked up, you're probably going to have to wait twice as long for a worse deal.
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Jun 7, 2016 04:23
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On agent chat, I guess I've got the dumbest question possible: how do you find one, and then actually get them to represent you? I've seen big long lists of agents in places but I don't have the foggiest clue how to sift the wheat from the chaff. e: or how to approach one without sounding like a nutcase Obliterati fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 07:21
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Obliterati posted:On agent chat, I guess I've got the dumbest question possible: how do you find one, and then actually get them to represent you? I've seen big long lists of agents in places but I don't have the foggiest clue how to sift the wheat from the chaff. Edit: rather than empty quoting myself, here's a more substantial description I put together for the next thread: How do you get this sweet sweet publishing deal?? Most of the time, you have to get an agent. Every now and then, you can submit a manuscript directly to the publisher. Some of the romance imprints take unsolicited manuscripts all the time, and I know Tor accepted them for a brief period at least once. Not sure if that’s something they open on a regular basis. You can look up the imprints in your genre, then look at the internet to see what they accept. For example, here is what Penguin Random House has to say: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/faqs/#manuscripts-how-do-i-submit-my-manuscript-or-abstract-to-penguin-random-house-for-publication-2. DAW, one their sci-fi/fantasy imprints accepts unsolicited submissions. But it’s not the imprint that publishes Terry Brooks, Jim Butcher, Laurel K. Hamilton, or China Mieville. It is the one that publishes Patrick Rothfuss though! Anyway, generally speaking you have to get an agent. How do you get an agent? VERY CAREFULLY. http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/agents/ It’s actually not terribly difficult to find a legit agent. Basically, avoid anyone who charges. For anything. Including referring you to paid services such as editors. Agents make money by selling books to publishers, not by charging authors. They get a percentage of the royalties. Finding an agent you want (and who wants you) is harder. You must find an agent who represents the kind of book you have written. You must have already finished your book and made it as good as you possibly can. Only then can you start looking for an agent. Do NOT query agents if you haven’t finished a manuscript or if you only have a first (or even second) draft. Make that poo poo good poo poo. There are a few ways of finding appropriate agents to submit to: 1) look in the acknowledgments section of books in your genre. Authors generally thank their agent. 2) Directories such as Agent Query (http://www.agentquery.com) also have listings. You can try looking in your local library for copies of their yearly books instead of paying for their online services or buying the books yourself!! 3) There are occasionally events on twitter where agents post what they are looking for. Always check the agents website and look at: 1) recent clients and sales 2) whether they are accepting new clients 3) their querying guidelines (make sure you follow these to the letter!) The next step is querying the agents you’ve found. You can query more than one agent at once, and you probably should because turn-around times aren’t great. Queries are typically very short emails intended to tempt the agent into reading a few sample chapters of your book, but see above regarding always reading specific querying guidelines and following them to the absolute letter. A good guide to querying is http://queryshark.blogspot.com. It’s run by a literary agent and has hundreds of examples of query letters critiqued and improved. After you get an agent, they sell your book to a publishing house. Hopefully. Frankly, I don’t know much about that. Also, you write a second novel and they try to sell that to publishers, too. Once your book is bought by a publisher, the editing/revising process starts. You get a bunch of notes and have to make a bunch of changes and it totally freaks you out. That’s what I’ve heard. Also: General Battuta posted:
Dr. Kloctopussy fucked around with this message at 07:52 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 07:47
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but also it's true, when you are trying to sell your novel most agents will expect to reject you after the first three paragraphs of your query letter. They won't even look at your manuscript.
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Jun 7, 2016 08:28
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C7ty1 posted:So okay, this is pretty unashamedly about TD, so yeah yeah, whatever. Too late for this round of Thunderdome, but I made a pretty comprehensive post about my idea process earlier in the thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3495955&pagenumber=160&perpage=40#post450873749 (good posts by other people around this one, too) Not exactly the same, but I also made this (big) post about how I take those ramblings and make them into a coherent story (and I think someone earlier was asking about plotting without outlining, which is how I do it): http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3495955&pagenumber=96&perpage=40#post432690326
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Jun 7, 2016 09:05
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General Battuta posted:
Oh to have your problems. No, really. Give them.
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Jun 7, 2016 11:59
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whats some good advice for someone who wants to write fiction?
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Jun 7, 2016 18:35
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write good words e: dont use bad words
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Jun 7, 2016 18:36
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Get ready for acid reflux
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Jun 7, 2016 18:37
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