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PoshAlligator posted:I tend to say anything goes in speech, and I'm willing to accept anything. I think No Country For Old Men does a great job of writing out the redneck inner voice.
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Jun 18, 2013 18:50
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Sitting Here posted:IMO the only real rule is "don't suck," follow that rule and you can do anything.
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Jun 18, 2013 19:31
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I have a question about publishing a story we wrote in the TD. Some editors won't touch it if it's been posted online already. Is it safe to say leave them alone, or is it worth re-writing the story and submitting it? And stop laughing. I'm asking hypothetically.
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Jun 19, 2013 19:59
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Noah posted:If you are concerned, what's stopping you from editing your story out of the post? Nobody's approached me and said "shame you published that because we want to give you a bajillion dollars."
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Jun 20, 2013 15:19
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I love this guy's blog. He writes. A lot. And writes a lot about writing. A lot. http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/06/25/50-rantypants-snidbits-of-random-writing-storytelling-advice/
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Jun 26, 2013 15:29
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He's really good at providing insight on both platforms... advantages to both and why you should't set your sights on one and flat-out ignore the other one.
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Jun 26, 2013 20:03
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Everytime I've won the TD it's been, oh. Wait. <==========================
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Jun 27, 2013 03:34
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I wanted to jump back in -- a few weeks ago Chillmatic told me to drop everything and go get a couple of specific books on writing. I responded saying I needed to finish the ones I already had first. It kind of got heated. He called me a hideous ugly little man with a tiny penis and I told him Jesus loves him no matter who he is. Or something like that. However, to prove I was smarter than him, I bought one of the books he suggested:  I've read so many books on writing. Well, I've read the first three chapters of so many books on writing. This is the third one I've read all the way through and can't stress enough how good it is. So I want to thank Chillmatic for the book suggestion. If you commute to work - GET THE AUDIOBOOK. It's 50 chapters, each chapter covers a tool, (chapter 13 covers Chillmatic because he's a tool. Get it?) The author narrates it and it's like having a front seat in a class.
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Jul 4, 2013 13:43
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http://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/turkey-city-lexicon-a-primer-for-sf-workshops/ This is an incredible collection of terms used to describe certain traits in writing. Kind of like tropes I suppose. I'm just had it sent to me by one of my writer mentors, and it's pretty goddamn good. Here's a snippet to give an example: quote:“Burly Detective” Syndrome
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Jul 24, 2013 18:36
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:I remember reading that years ago and thinking Damon Knight must be the most terrible loving writer, to have all these things named after him. Then it turns out he's friends with the guys who wrote it and it's stuff he makes fun of in crit sessions. I also like their take on relaxing some of these rules in order to tell a better story vs. hide behind all them big fancy words, (I'm totally guilty of that). magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Jul 24, 2013 |
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Jul 24, 2013 19:04
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I read your post - and, so, you write and people react WHILE you write your story? Does that suck if there's only one person following you? Or none at all? And I guess it's more like performance art than writing? Strip away the comments that happen while you're writing, and does the document make any sense at all?
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Jul 29, 2013 16:17
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DEJA VU! I absolutely second or third Writing Tools, the book recommended by Chillomatic. He recommended it to me two or three times and I replied similarly to the way you replied, and then I read the book, and now suggest that book as well. For reals. Go get the book.
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Jul 31, 2013 17:13
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Purple Prince posted:How Not To Write A Novel
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Jul 31, 2013 22:13
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I had a big head-exploding paradigm shift over the weekend. Many of the articles/books I've read break writing into categories, books and not-books: (short stories, novellas, etc). But with e-publishing now, that model is broken. Back in the day, you had to write a 50,000 word story to be considered for publication as a novel. I've been writing my story, fluffing poo poo out, sweating it to hit that 50,000 minimum and just decided gently caress that, write the story, care about word-count later. Yes. YES. I should already be thinking like that, but that 50K number has been another self-doubt hanging over my shoulder while I write. I'm glad to shake off even just one of the shackles of self-doubt.
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Aug 7, 2013 19:32
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This whole discussion is like watching the 1998 hand-wringing when Napster broke the mold for major labels and commercial radio.
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Aug 7, 2013 19:34
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I really like to hold the LP in my hands. A digital song just doesn't have the soul of a cassette. And that new fangled iPod - who wants to carry around all those songs? It's preposterous.
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Aug 7, 2013 20:53
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I'm still smacking my head over that whole, "I can highlight a word and look it up IN THE BOOK RIGHT loving THEN AND THERE". Honestly, that's a game changer that should be the end of the conversation.
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Aug 8, 2013 02:03
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Symptomless Coma posted:This crit made me shudder, as I think I'm the worst offender in TD. My favorite line from "Self-Editing For Writers" is KILL YOUR CHILDREN. I'm sure it's not from there, but it means you need to get comfortable deleting stuff from the story no matter how much you love it. If it doesn't push the story, kill it. I mistakenly got a Dean Koontz book on Audible. If you remove all the excessive descriptions, his book would be a pamphlet.
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Aug 9, 2013 16:36
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Symptomless Coma posted:I guess what I'm saying is: anyone up for killing my children and posting a video of it?
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Aug 9, 2013 17:11
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Unless of course, and I'm just being lame rear end devil's advocate, this is just a hobby/passion and you have no interest in pursuing the publishing deal. I mean, sure, if SOMEBODY came to me and said "I'll publish your stuff for a bajillion dollars" then hells yes. But short of that, I kind of enjoy the craft more than the result. And I really seriously suck at the craft.
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Aug 12, 2013 23:09
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Helsing posted:While telling somebody to stop obsessing over internet feedback and to just get writing on a daily basis is obviously good advice, I feel like its worth pointing out that not all writers aspire to be novelists. How about a bit of love for writing short stories?
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Aug 12, 2013 23:24
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Stuporstar posted:Goddamn, I wish. I want it to be like one of those 60s egg chairs, and I'd be all like, "Do not disturb the sanctity of the writing pod," and then swivel the chair so whoever is trying to bug me gets a face full of 60s motherfucking egg chair, so there.
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Aug 13, 2013 16:57
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sebmojo posted:Exactly. Who cares if you're 'a writer'? What matters are the words you write. Because they can always be better.
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Aug 14, 2013 00:43
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AngusPodgorny posted:Is there a good iPad substitute for Scrivener? Storyist looks good, but the lack of a PC version to sync with seems like it would get annoying.
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Aug 20, 2013 22:58
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I need a thesaurus for physical gestures. My characters are animated. I want them to express themselves through words but through movement as well. Unfortunately, my brain is making GBS threads the bed when finding a word to describe common activities. A person holds their hands up to the sky, palms up, and says, "I have no idea what you're talking about." - what is that? A shrug? An energetic shrug? A surrender? A person waves a hand, face down, in dismissal at something and says, "nah, gently caress that." - what is that? A wave of dismissal? A high-five of negativity? A person, exasperated at trying to find the right words, shakes their head while leaning forward and holds out their hands, palms facing each other, fingers stretching outward, in a "gently caress if I know" gesture. (the hands open as the head shakes, as if emptying pennies to the ground?) What the gently caress is that called? A surrender? A shrug of surrendering? I need a thesaurus for physical gestures. Oh, and, hello all you Thunderdome people and your baiting poor unsuspecting people to join you in the peaceful valley of the dome. I've BEEN there. I know what it's like. You go in there, you come out, changed somehow. My eyes just widened, my head stretched forward in a gesture of "I know a secret". What the gently caress is that movement called? magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Dec 19, 2013 |
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Dec 19, 2013 19:20
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:This is a real thing that exists. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. Serpentinely nodding my head like a redneck getting handed a cold bud light in the parking lot after work.
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Dec 19, 2013 21:28
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TheRamblingSoul posted:Anyone have any reviews of Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense?
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Dec 20, 2013 17:49
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A friend of mine finished his third round of revisions and asked for friends to beta-read his book. We've traded manuscripts and I'm reading his. It's an eye-opening experience to deconstruct someone else's story, pick apart grammar, character behaviors, general writing rules, etc. I can't recommend it enough for any person sitting on their own MS dreading the next round of revisions, (like me. I am doing almost anything to NOT go back and revise/re-write my book). As I pick apart their hard work, (and I mean NITPICKY poo poo like, said Nancy vs. Nancy said. I finally googled it to make a point and discovered I was totally full of poo poo on that one. I swear I thought Said Nancy was one of those big no-no's only lovely writers did) it's bringing to light a lot of problems in my MS. It's a lot easier finding flaws in somebody else's effort, I'm not emotionally attached to it. ALSO - I am absolutely going to go back through and delete probably half of my notes to him. He's a friend, and there's a difference between a mistake and a writing preference. If he wants to avoid using "said", there's no rule against it I suppose. It's just a whole lot of bedazzled rhinestones after awhile, each one popping out distracting me from the story, but hey, that's his choice. Long story short - hey new writer, are you done with your MS but don't want to start revisions? Go read somebody else's fledgling manuscript and provide feedback.
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Jan 2, 2014 19:19
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I think I'm going to approach him with it, and ask him to refer to his favorite authors, or books. It's absolutely a preference thing. If his favorite books are packed with it, then my opinion carries no weight, regardless what current writing books are saying. The concept of "show don't tell" was recently called out as old and out of date. poo poo changes. Nothing wrong with that. But drat. It's like he's got the thesaurus open to "SAID" and is going hog-wild. And no - I don't feel adamant about any of it at the end of the day unless there's just some hard, fast rule against it. But the guy is a copywriter for a living, so I'd want to believe he's pretty well-versed in The Elements of Style. (which I am clearly not). magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Jan 2, 2014 |
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Jan 2, 2014 23:34
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Echo Cian posted:As far as the bolded bit goes, where did you find that one? I found it in an article on fastcocreate.com, in reference to a book I ended up buying (Wonderbook). Wonderbook posted:Jeff Vandermeer's Wonderbook: The Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction is jammed with storytelling wisdom from some of world's top fantasy writers. Here's some of it. Also has some great illustrations that don't exactly clarify anything, but look great.  And 
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Jan 3, 2014 01:29
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The bigger problem though is that a lot of those rules get in the way of a story. People jump on a manuscript, (this goes all the way back to my original point - I was jumping on his MS regarding the aversion to the word "said"... and in the end, the problem was that it's getting in the way of his story, not helping it) is that any of the current writing advice could eventually become outdated. I think attacking every example of "show don't tell" it nit-picking. When it gets in the way of the story, THEN it's obvious that it's in the way. There was a story in the 'Dome this week that was ripped to shreds, citing a lot of the current writing no-no's, but I liked the story... the attacks on the writing were legit, I suppose, but the story didn't suffer because of it. But that's all just my opinion... I'm still trying to find that happy medium between knowing every rule and knowing when breaking those rules will add to the story, instead of getting in the way.
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Jan 3, 2014 02:39
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sebmojo posted:I think we all are, tbh. The one you critted, the cat in the tree and the dog on the ground. I read it, and then read your deconstruction of it. I get it - that's the way of the dome, but felt like you weren't seeing the forest for the trees on a lot of it. Didn't want to really debate it because that's how it goes in there; but it re-affirmed my opinion that maybe I was obsessing over guidelines, more than looking at the story I'm critting for a friend. In the end, it's a little of both. My insistence that he stick to "said/asked" is too much, but it's definitely worth pointing out that his obsession with a thesaurus takes away from the story.
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Jan 3, 2014 08:38
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sebmojo posted:Mercedes will be pleased And why the hell am I awake at 3am can't sleep thinking about writing. That's not so bad I suppose.
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Jan 3, 2014 09:17
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The Saddest Rhino posted:You could spend the rest of the night reading Marquez But what is it.
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Jan 3, 2014 10:07
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The Saddest Rhino posted:It's Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the writer of 100 Years of Solitude which you just quoted in your own post about "tell don't show" and I wrote a massive post about above.
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Jan 3, 2014 15:25
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Walamor posted:You should probably do more telling and less showing in your next submission.
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Jan 4, 2014 01:48
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:He made up publishing credits. If you still suck, your devious methods will only bite you in the rear end with a backlash.
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Jan 4, 2014 21:16
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Meinberg posted:So, the biggest problem I'm having right now with my writing is getting started. I don't know if that's your first time entering, if it is, I wouldn't go congratulating yourself on writing a lot of words in just a little time. The crit portion of the dome is a soul crusher, especially if you kind of came up with an idea, wrote it, re-read it for a couple typos, and then walked away. I'm not saying you're a bad writer. I'm just saying putting four hours into it without getting shredded is no small feat. Second, check out the app Write Or Die. You set a goal against a countdown, and the screen turns red if you don't spew out enough words. magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Jan 7, 2014 04:28
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Martello posted:I'm pretty sure he was kidding about the drugs and alcohol, but I guess with mag7 you never really know. Oh and here's an update to my sleep-killing worries about the manuscript I'd been asked to review. I sent him my notes, with a 4-page overview of the biggest things that got in the way of me reading the story, sort of a "hey, before you read all my nit-picks, here's why I picked at them, and we've been friends a long time, dear god don't hate me for punching your baby." He was very understanding about it, and expected no less than my honest frank opinion. Some of the stuff he'd heard from a few other folks who'd read it, and had a lot of questions about why I loathed his constant POV shifts, (he was writing 3rd-person-omniscient, but it got confusing in a lot of places as to who was thinking what about whom, PLUS, i'm not too familiar with 3PO narration, at least not since I started learning to write stories). In the end, I'd say probably half of my input was mis-placed. I was reading what I thought was a suspense novel, (only because that's all I've been focusing on how to write for the past two years) so I was constantly asking, "Where is your antagonist? Who is the bad guy?" Turns out it's one of those coming-of-age literature man-vs-himself kind of stories. It probably would have helped to know that going in.
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Jan 7, 2014 18:59
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Ervin K posted:I'm having a really hard time developing a good plot, specifically the middle portion. I have a great, detailed setting, and a good beginning and end, but nothing in the middle. Every time I try to bridge the gaps my mind goes blank. Anybody have ides on how to overcome this?
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Jan 19, 2014 18:39
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