Stuporstar posted:

Read. Read more. Read inside your favorite genre, and broaden your tastes outside your genre. Read character driven fiction. Read novels and short stories instead of devouring nothing but comics, games, and movies. You’ll develop a better eye for writing stories as you read them.

Killer-of-Lawyers posted:

brawl them

Dr. Kloctopussy posted:

1) For the time spent, you're going to get a lot more out of reading well written literature than reading poorly written literature. Reading poorly written literature is going to give you way more fodder for stroking your own ego though!

2) Assuming you mean Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, I am not surprised that it got published, or that it won multiple awards (which it did), or that it sold well (which it also did). A lot of my lack-of-surprise is based on my own enjoyment of it. I read a lot of YA speculative fiction. On a recent vacation, I set out to read only YA books that featured a girl disguising herself as a boy so she could join the army. It wasn't hard to find several. I added the Leviathan audiobook because I enjoyed reading it enough to listen to it, too. This was after a failed endeavor to only read books in which teenagers could turn into dragons....

Anyway, the setting and set-up of Leviathan was not particularly cliched, even for a book relying on the girl-disguised-as-boy trope (haha, Shakespeare destroyed that one 400 years ago, losers) or a book set on a zeppelin. I mean, the Zeppelin is a loving giant whale, after all. I'm not sure what aspects of the book you found obtuse, either. The characters and conflicts are set out pretty clearly. It's a very straightforward story.

EDIT:


lol


call them out in this thread and have a multi-page passionate argument about it. (tell everyone to read more/write more/join thunderdome)

magnificent7 posted:

David Wong kills it at descriptions. "I loving hate healthy food. Just look at my fat gut." Stuff like that.

magnificent7 posted:

Yes, but more importantly of the "This Book Is Full Of Spiders" and "John Dies In The End".

Spiders has got to be one of my favorite books where the author breaks so many rules about writing. drat near every dialog tag is in front:
I said, "gently caress you."
She said, "No, gently caress you."

I really want to write him an email and ask how many times he told editors to leave it like that.

ravenkult posted:

Man, I really wouldn't use Wong as an example of good writing. I liked John Dies at the End, but he's really not a good writer. He's a fun writer though.

General Battuta posted:

I agree with Wendig but at the same time it's frustrating to try to explain that no, your prose is Actually Bad, it's not that I've misunderstood your stylistic decisions. I do feel there's...something, even if it's hard to pin down, a clear sense of prose that works and prose that doesn't.

Screaming Idiot posted:

When I drive on the highway, I do it naked, my body covered in fat, glistening leeches, and there is a clown in my back seat who honks a bicycle horn in my ear every time a stop sign comes near. When I stop, I vigorously scream along to a fifteen second loop of Gregorian chanting from my 1990's-era MP3 player. Meanwhile, there is a Venezuelan man huddled in the trunk of my car, feverishly protecting an aged slab of beef he is convinced will grant him seven wishes.

This shows in my writing. I am not a good writer. I also do not have my license.

Stuporstar posted:

You will know when it's time to break the rules, because you will know the rule and why you're breaking it.

But you will only know if you did so successfully if people read your work and they tell you—or if you make tons of money on it, whatevs.

Megazver posted:

secret griffin sex cult

ravenkult posted:

I know ya'll are going ''I don't want to read the classics'' and everything, but just find something that you think might appeal to you and read it. You'll learn a lot. If you're writing fantasy epics and all you read is fantasy epics that's all well and good, but if you can stomach to read a couple of Hemingway novels, maybe some Kafka, or just some Elroy, I guarantee you they will put tools in your toolbox you will never get from fantasy books, even if you read five thousand of them.

Screaming Idiot posted:

Doesn't Anne Macaffrey have a situation where one character's riding-dragon mates another character's riding dragon, so now the first character can claim the other character as his own without her approval?


Write the scenes you want, put off the ones that don't, and find a way to connect them as time goes on. That's the advice I've read in this in thread, and it works for a lot of people for what that's worth. And add as much detail as you like in the first draft, then add or preferably remove some as you go through later drafts.

A first draft is like carving a hunk of rock from a wall, with subsequent drafts cutting away the dross and chiseling in the features and adding polish until you have your ideal carving.

HopperUK posted:

I think there's actually an argument to be made that Ice and Fire gives a lot of attention to the damage the world's misogyny is doing to Westerosi culture in general and the characters in it, men and women both, in particular. There are male characters who don't fit the patriarchal norm who are ruined by it. There are women who don't fit the norm who are variously corrupted and destroyed by it. I don't think I'd go so far as to call it feminist, but at least Martin seems to appreciate the idea that pseudo-historical misogyny was completely hosed up.

General Battuta posted:

When you log line/elevator pitch your story, tell me who the protagonist is, what they want, and why they can't get it. Or something else that gets at the conflict of the story.

quote:

The Menelik twins — beautiful, bewitching Anzu and his wry, one-eyed sister Siris — arrive in Wurmwald amid this tumult. They flee a brutal hunter who wants more than just their lives. The twins are changelings, descendants of a powerful, immortal being and there are many uses for a changeling’s Flesh and Spirit. The hunter is relentless, merciless and almost mythic in reputation. What hope do the twins have against him?

quote:

More than the hunter knows. With the reluctant help of Xomael Kagan, a writer of pulp horror, and Mogila Molotova, a novice witch, the twins plot to face their pursuer and turn the tables on him. But will this fragile alliance survive after the truth of the twins’ past comes to light? After all, one does not attract the attention of a hunter without an interesting life …

General Battuta posted:

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.

You need to win them over in those three paragraphs. It's an art. I recommend reading a lot of QueryShark.

Elevator Pitch posted:

Two former death cultists and necromancers arrive in a city languishing under a colonial regime, fleeing a brutal bounty hunter who wants more than just their lives. The Menelik twins beautiful, bewitching Anzu and his wry, one-eyed sister Siris -- are changelings, descendants of a mortal man and an immortal shoggot. There are many uses for such a creature's Flesh and Spirit. The twins' dark past has marked them out as undesirables, beyond the protection of the law and unlikely to be missed should they be harvested. The bounty hunter is merciless, relentless and almost mythic in reputation. Amid the political tumult of the sweltering city, what hope do they have against him?

More than the hunter counts on. With the help of Xomael Kagan, a sickly writer of pulp horror and homoerotic bodice-rippers, and Mogila Molotova a novice witch who (does something) at a (steam dildo/changeling leather/bondage gear)Factory, the twins plot to face their adversary and turn the tables on him. But will this fragile alliance and Xomael's growing affection for the foppish Anzu survive when the truth of the twins' past deeds comes to light?

crabrock posted:

you are trolling this thread, and there's no way I will ever not believe that.

angel opportunity posted:

my new sig:

LOU BEGAS MUSTACHE posted:

im going to take advice from the guy who is actually accomplished itt

crabrock posted:

I'm Ska making a forums post:

angel opportunity posted:

that blurb is really good and makes me want to read it, but i see a dash instead of an em dash...

General Battuta posted:

I will teach you the three secret words: Buy My Book http://www.amazon.com/Traitor-Baru-Cormorant-Seth-Dickinson/dp/0765380722

Omi no Kami posted:

I'm pretty sure the answer is "Just write," but are there any specific drills/practices that help you guys work on making character voices sound distinct and easily distinguishable? I find that my dialogue is all super-generic, or heavily accented/specialized to the point of absurdity.

Omi no Kami posted:

This is actually more writing short stories for fun- weirdly enough, I find it way easier to write for games than I do to write in a purely prosaic setting.

Edit: Thank you for the recommendations! Studying is fun when it involves spies and spaceships.

quote:

"Herp derp deflurgigoop." Said The Dude

"Fleurgigerp burp flurp bobidoo fladap." Ladydude replied.

"Hurgagrupap flargiggidytop schmurgalraf divgopfter schloms." Dude said smiling.

crabrock posted:

watch Buffy for a good example of dialogue.

Bobby Deluxe posted:

I've started just replacing characters when I get stuck with dialogue, seeing what happens. Usually it's just for my own amusement but I quite often get ideas from it, even if it's just in terms of what not to do.

ravenkult posted:

Good dialogue: Scrubs and Buffy.

Chairchucker posted:

The Gilmore Girls is/are (both the show and the characters) cool and good you jive turkey.

Sitting Here posted:

have you tried lsd

Screaming Idiot posted:

Whenever I have writer's block I usually eat a lot of fiber.

General Battuta posted:

Walks are pro, so is noise.

blue squares posted:

Thought on not waiting to begin editing after finishing the draft? My novel manuscript is in a drawer waiting for me to take it out on August 1st. But that gives me only a month before school and work begin again. I really want to start working on it now. I already know many things I want to add and improve, and I don't think I am "too close" the work to be able to spot the flaws.

Martello posted:

I always listen to music when writing. Depends on my mood and what I'm writing but it could be anything from viking metal to Shadowrun Returns soundtrack to Armenian string music.

blue squares posted:

Daily walks come through again! I read my novel this morning, and I discovered that The middle was really boring. One hour into my downtown walk and I found my huge middle kaboom incident! Seriously, it is a HUGE relief. If you are ever stuck, get off your rear end and loving walk around!!

Broenheim posted:

I think if you have five PoV characters it'll confuse your reader. There's no hard rule on how many PoVs you can have, but I'd keep it as low as possible unless you have a good reason to move PoVs around. I don't know the length of what your writing, but I feel like switching between five different PoVs will start to become annoying for the reader no matter the length. PoV switches need to be heavily justified but if your story really does call for 5 PoVs and you think that's right, then try it out and see how it works. To me (based on no information on what your writing about), unless you are writing an extremely lengthy novel, five will get confusing and annoying to read. That's just me though and you should be open to experiment and see if it works.

sebmojo posted:

this is a great idea: pm crabrock he is a glorious techmonster

blue squares posted:

No, no no. See, people, this is why schizophrenics give bad writing advice (I kid). Seriously though, just because things are good separately doesn't mean they are good in combination. Please do not go for a walk while reading your book on your phone, it's dangerous; you'll get hit by car/fall down. Also, walks are for thinking, not reading. You read, figure out what you need to fix, then walk WITHOUT music and let your mind work.

anime was right posted:

do mechanical keyboards make a difference when typing words? does it increase my WPM (words per minute, thats like Actions Per minute)

Broenheim posted:

22 Eargesplitten posted:

Lately I have been feeling the melancholy that comes with not doing enough with my time. I want to start writing again, but I am the opposite of an idea guy. I have two ideas for novels, but I want to start with shorter works. Does anyone have a recommendation for a book or website of writing prompts? I tried that seventh whatever site in the resources thread, but I really didn't like its style. I know that's a useless criticism, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. Maybe too Mad Libs?

22 Eargesplitten posted:

I thought about that after I posted. I'm honestly a little scared because I am a tremendous baby, but I guess if I wanted to avoid abrasive responses, I shouldn't have registered.

I'm going to miss this avatar.

Djeser posted:

I generally don't care about twist endings in published works but goons please stop writing twist endings in Thunderdome flash fiction thank you.

Bobby Deluxe posted:

My method, please do not steal:

1) Think of a good opening line. If you don't, you will lose about half of all potential agents.

2) obsess for weeks over the opening line,

3) don't write anything

4) poverty

Overwined posted:

For me the an opening line that draws people in is the easy part. It's all those words (so many words) afterwards that are my downfall.

Here's my tried and true method:

1.) Get a good one-dimensional idea usually expressed in a good, yet shallow opening line.
2.) Wallow in mediocrity.
3.) Brag about how I'm an author to some non-caring fellow bar patron. Tell them how much work it is. God, so much work. People just don't realize, ya know?

Broenheim posted:

heres my sure fire method to writing words

1) turn on computer/tablet/phone or take a piece(s) of paper or even a typewriter
2) open up a word app like google docs or word. if using paper, pick up a pencil or do whatever the gently caress you do with a typewriter
3) write words by hitting the keys. If using a pencil, use your hand to move the pencil to make words, or do typewriter poo poo

and there you go! you figured out the trick to writing!

Sitting Here posted:

step 1.5: ahahaahaha I'm going to watch star trek and play video games! no one can stop me or judge me for this because I've already deduced that I'm terrible and my writing is terrible and life is suffering! writing is just another way to pass the time before death! I never really got into anime....UNTIL NOW! that's right, creative drive, you're stuck inside an anime fan. how does it feel.

change my name posted:

Mapping story beats to your word count seems counter-intuitive. I was obsessing over whether it would be long enough, or too long, but the best advice I've ever received is to just write and not care about the word count. Act structure and sections of the book sure, but not the word count. That's what editing's for, and I ended up at a square 100k words anyways.