|
Naerasa posted:I'd argue it reads even better as Yeah, I'm a lovely writer, but in reading the original post I thought that this version was more effective (given that there is no other context anyway). Similar to the thing about "he said" "she said" being invisible phrases I feel like that structure already sets up that Hawklad is the one saying gtfo since it's adjacent to the action piece.
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2017 17:59
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 04:49 |
|
|
Better Fred Than Dead posted:Present and past is even more minor when I tend to write past as "present, but 10 seconds ago," which feels even more noticeable since I work a lot on discover. I currently do not understand this ten seconds ago.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2017 04:46
|
|
|
Better Fred Than Dead posted:Yeah there isn't a tense confusion s I was pretty tired when I posted that and it doesn't really make a ton of sense or matter very much either. To be honest, i think the thread gave you the benefit of the doubt but the wording was too awesome to pass up.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2017 15:06
|
|
|
Give an origin story after you've made me give a gently caress about your character. Don't say "this is why the guy is cool or how he ended up as he is" make me wonder "how is this guy so cool? give me some info." Seconding starting as close to the action as possible. It's been a bit since I've read it, but Snow Crash comes to mind. Before I know anything about the world or the protagonist he's trying to deliver his pizza asap at the risk of pissing of the mafia and he has that girl try to hitch a ride on his car and so on and so forth. I because I didn't know the "why" behind any of the characters I was enjoying the action scene while wondering what was even going on and left me curious.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 24, 2017 19:18
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:Are there any worthwhile online courses for novel writing, paid or otherwise? I've never had anything like a writing class, outside of the standard ones required as part of education curriculum, and I wouldn't mind having a class that maybe results in me stumbling around blindly a little less. I'm not sure about online courses for this but the Elements of Fiction Writing book series came as close to textbooks for me--not that I'm accomplished or anything, but they seemed very genuine and well-rooted.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 6, 2017 00:10
|
|
|
The biggest roadblock that I have is "oh, god, this is dumb." I'll really give a poo poo about a concept but putting it into action makes it real but makes it feel dumb--which it should since it's a first draft--but it demotivates me. It's the same way for visual art that I make, which comes comparatively easier to me. I make a painting and I know people legitimately like it but all I can see are flaws. Nonetheless, I've been in a few small art shows and have made a nice amount of cash from my art, but I don't believe in myself for whatever dumb reason. Still, and I can't fully realize this despite being cognizant of it: when I see flaws in other people's art/stories I'm fine with them and even easily appreciate them. In relation to the post above, I want to be pantsy but feel that it isn't enough planning and I want to be outliney but feel that it's too formal. The Sean fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Aug 8, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Aug 8, 2017 01:54
|
|
|
crabrock posted:here are some fantasy titles i came up with for you: I am legitimately interested in reading most of these. "The Owner of a Variable Amount of Things" is great but I want to learn more about this whole Growing Diary.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2017 00:39
|
|
|
the old ceremony posted:you all write like shitass balls and one day your novels will float out to sea and be lost In that case I will lend you my "shift," "spacebar," and "period" keys since they'll be wasted on me and surely you are in need of them.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2017 14:18
|
|
|
neongrey posted:so what you're saying is that I'm going to finish several novels ...and have a very creative marketing team.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2017 20:45
|
|
|
How many of you include romance subplots in your novels? They're usually things I find boring in books and movies if the genre is not romance (which I don't like, either); for me romance subplots often feel analogous to plot armor in application. For instance, a general action movie with one male and one female protagonist often results in them hooking up and there's no tension that it won't really happen in spite of how it's initially presented.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 2, 2017 22:25
|
|
|
Ironic Twist posted:was it written in a clipped tone of voice It's fair to say. The style first appears to be a dyed in the wool approach--and it's true to its roots, to be honest--but when you really start to split hairs the approach is a tangled mess. If the author just trimmed it down, or cut it entirely, the final volume's twist ending would have paid off. My opinion might be coarse, but I might not be the mane audience for this genre. As for actual content, characterization in The Hunger Games: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/28/hunger-games-cast-racist-imagined quote:And as several people have pointed out, author Suzanne Collins made it very clear indeed that Rue was dark-skinned (black, as opposed to the more ambiguous description of Katniss as "olive-skinned"), as was her co-tribute from District 11, Thresh. So it comes to this: if the casting of Rue, Thresh and Cinna has left you bewildered and upset, consider two things. One: you may be a racist – congrats! Two: you definitely lack basic reading comprehension. I haven't read the books and barely watched the movies, but a lot of dumb racist people were upset that characters were non-white. The books (apparently) established their skin tone but since it wasn't put as "[main character's] black friend enters the room" every time she enters a scene people just made their own vision of the character(s). In that way, less detail can be good for an author to engage the reader; in another way, maybe be specific about race only just to piss assholes off. The Sean fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Feb 3, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Feb 3, 2018 04:58
|
|
|
sunken fleet posted:Is a character using a mirror bad? I thought everyone had mirrors. Conversely: when is using a mirror good?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2018 17:18
|
|
|
poo poo, I meant that to be more rhetorical but I wasn't clear. It's "good" when it's actually furthering the plot, is the answer. A character examining wounds or a new blemish works, too.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2018 19:18
|
|
|
anime was right posted:hmm, thats actually a fun experiment, what are the most common cold opens? First/last day/week of school. Bonus points for principle on intercom or protag hosting a morning school-wide news show.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2018 19:50
|
|
|
I don't have anything real significant to post, but I just got back from a short vacation and saw some amazing artwork at a world-class museum and tried to get my brain going for the missing pieces of my story. I took down short, jilted notes on my phone throughout the day. Last night, now that I'm back, I was able to pound out a ton of words (just planning words, no actual composition) and figured out some missing pieces of the story I want to make. I'm a big planner, so I needed this. I don't know if it will work for everyone, but give solitary museum meditation a try. Where does everyone write usually? I like sitting on my mid-rise porch or going to a local park for some piece and nature, but sometimes I'm energized by writing at a bar since there are so many people around living their lives.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2018 15:39
|
|
|
Mirage posted:Anyone ever try writing with Office 365? I gave it a shot a few months ago and it was ... okay. Bit clunky, little slow, sort of complicated, kind of like killing a fly with a sledgehammer. I'm a lovely unaccomplished writer but I like using Onenote. What I like is that you can layer things pretty well for organization. For instance I have a "writing" "Notebook" that keeps all of my thoughts, etc. (but you could just make a different Notebook for each topic). From there you can add multiple tabs by category, ex.: "zombie story," "aging novel," writing principles," "inspiration." Then within those tabs s you can write or draw wherever you want on the screen, you can insert photos, you can copy paste from a website and it will rope in the url. Further, you can add "Pages" to the side for different topics and make a hierarchy with them to collapse a whole category. For instance, Writing (notebook) -> Aging Novel (tab) -> Characters (page) -> Protag's Mother (subpage) whereas "plot & scenes" is a diff category, and so is "themes and conflicts"
|
|
#
¿
Jul 24, 2018 21:55
|
|
|
Fruity20 posted:I just now realized that a lot of ideas i've written down tend to have male protags. only a few them have a female character as the lead. the funny thing is I'm a girl yet i barely write people of my own gender ( or even). maybe i just like writing out of my comfort zone sometimes. is this even normal to do? Same here except opposite genders. Maybe just a personality thing. My partner and I both prefer friends of the opposite gender. I like socializing with women and she with men. I was even in a fraternity but I don't like making friends with most guys.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2018 14:20
|
|
|
Screaming Idiot posted:
The big promotion was within his grasp. As long as he didn't stutter during his presentation or trip over his abnormally-sized balls this was in the bag. He walked up to the podium, all three legs in unison, ready to impress the big boss. Withstanding the gravitational pressure of his generous package, he stood confidently, remembering his pre-interview pep-talk in the restroom mirror: The phrase "come to bed eyes" slipped into his head. He gave a bitter laugh; it had been a while. Seriously, though, I've been making strides in writing my novel. Like, so many strides it's a sprint or marathon or whatever. Except I loving hate myself and all of my logic. I've tried to stay positive in wondering "is this really believable" by concentrating on those youtube videos about movies I like that are "33.5 minutes of why Deadpool 2 is written poorly" and still liking Deadpool anyways. Like, my novels going to have some poo poo wrong but that's how writing works. The Sean fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Oct 9, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2018 01:21
|
|
but for my balls
|
Nae! posted:I may have mentioned this a while ago in the thread, but last year I signed with a small press to release my debut novel, a paranormal thriller called Listener's Remains. Excitingly enough, it came out this week! If anyone wants to take a look, it's on Amazon in both print and kindle and you can find it right here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949340902 I enjoyed this part of your bio: As a way of pursuing her passion for fiction, she earned a bachelors in English Writing from UPitt. She also earned an MBA at DePaul, as a way of pursuing her passion for paying the bills.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 10, 2018 19:24
|
|
|
ketchup vs catsup posted:I rewrote it the way I would given the content of yours: Holy poo poo. This. I had no idea what you were really going for (as has been said) but this poster's summary of your story (that I haven't read, of course) tells me much more of what to expect.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 6, 2019 04:00
|
|
|
I am a massive planner in all things (versus being a "pantser"). I've been setting up my novel for so long and have most of it figured out. I finally started writing around new years (before new years! gently caress resolutions). I've got one chapter down at about 2200 words and it feels good (not so good to share, esp. without editing). It's really weird, though, because I know it's not really perfect but I'm resisting the urge to just spend so much time making everything perfect. I'm trying to just take this as a sketch and just put words on page, but drat it feels stupid sometimes.anatomi posted:Is there a word for when you drop your smartphone on your face? Phaced.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2019 17:59
|
|
|
Im sorry that this is nonfiction but this is the closest thread that i could find. I want to write a book about a tv show, shark tank, but im not sure on the legalities of referring to the show, hosts, and hopeful entrepreneurs. Can I just refer to this all since it aired on tv? Would I have to anonymize anyone? edit: vvvvv Thank you very much! vvvvvv The Sean fucked around with this message at 20:25 on May 1, 2019 |
|
#
¿
May 1, 2019 19:05
|
|
|
Fruity20 posted:whelp, i made my decision. the writer i choose is gonna write one episode. then after that, i go on hiatus and practice my writing skills until people say..hey this sounds pretty decent...that's if the person is chill with that... Please keep us updated when this person writes inevitably disturbing things. edit: vvvvv They said that they were looking for writers for their webcomin vvvvv The Sean fucked around with this message at 21:22 on May 8, 2019 |
|
#
¿
May 8, 2019 19:40
|
|
|
I thought of an interesting body swap plot concept but I'm not sure how to effectively and efficiently convey it in-story. Like if there was Kayla, Khamal, and Mike and they swapped bodies unintentionally I'm struggling to figure out who to convey to the reader, basically, "Khamal (as Mike's body) did whatever action and Mike (as Kayla's body) reacted by _____." It almost feels like this may have to be visual or a script format but I'm scratching my head to find a way for this to be strictly prose. I don't feel that constantly clarifying who is in who's body, especially if it inadvertently changes again, will keep the reader in the story. Any ideas? edit: googling brings up results that are completely not where I am going with this.... The Sean fucked around with this message at 06:38 on May 10, 2019 |
|
#
¿
May 10, 2019 05:50
|
|
|
Doctor Zero posted:Kayla-Mike? Kayla/Mike? Ka-Mi? Ehn, kind of. In short: people stuck in a void and they wake up every day in a new body among the group and for politics/intrigue sake it does matter who is who. Maybe like a roll call at the start of each day/chapter to state it and then move on. It may be unfeasible.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2019 13:42
|
|
|
Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate your responses. I don't really like scriptwriting and I was worried about how to convey it otherwise and couldn't think of examples but I didn't realize that Altered Carbon was a book previous to the show (that I only watched some of).
|
|
#
¿
May 11, 2019 04:44
|
|
|
Anomalous Blowout posted:Slugged myself past the 44k mark on current novel. I always have a motivation crap-out at 40,000 words or so, so it’s good to be past that. Only problem is I think my second act needs some reworking and isn’t exciting enough–buuuut for now I’m forcing myself to stick to the outline with the mantra of We’ll Fix It In Post. Congrats! Looking at this from a positive POV just getting past your first draft is a perfect time to re-examine if your second act, or whole book, works well. Don't view it as a negative but instead as an opportunity.
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2019 01:49
|
|
|
I'm backseat modding but can the earliest point for Fruity be Sunday at ~11pm or something? Writing something and then posting without drafting, editing, stepping away, etc. will be a bad habit to start with. I farted out that date and time bc that's close to the deadline for Thunderdome if they enter.
|
|
#
¿
May 17, 2019 21:26
|
|
|
I've put off posting this for a while but: I want my characters to do a medical heist--like a reverse heist--to stop a certain medicine from being used on people anymore*. I can't figure out a general mechanism to do so and I don't work in healthcare so I don't know this space at all. Like, where would the master medicinal source be stored or anything like that. I'm sorry for being vague. Any help is appreciated. *I'm not anti-vaxx or anything like that. The Sean fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Apr 12, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Apr 12, 2023 21:06
|
|
|
Thank you all. This was way more response than I expected. Responding broadly: it's a medicine that's good in theory but socially harmful--like unintended consequences. In my broad idea there's a high level worker at the company with decent badge access, a hacker, a muscle, and a wealthy backer. High level worker got hosed over in a specific way and is convinced to just nuke the project. I know that nobody is going to take my story--and even if they did it wouldn't be the same as what I'm doing--but I want to keep it as vague as I've put it. Thanks, again!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2023 20:15
|
|
|
sebmojo posted:its a technology, like a word processor or a camera. use it if it's useful, don't if it's not. A word processor, and the related technology often referred to as "pen and paper," doesn't write a story for you. The significant factor is that it is a medium more than that it is a technology. A camera also is a vehicle for a medium, traditionally film. Artful camera work is not automatic and relies on the artist in various ways such as composition, exposure, f-stop, etc. Tbc use generative text if you want. Whatever. This just doesn't track. The Sean fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Aug 17, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2023 00:06
|
|
|
Does anyone have recs for fiction writing youtubes? I like to listen while I do chores etc but I can really only find screenplay-writing videos.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2023 17:56
|
|
|
Captain Log posted:I shouldn't have brought it up, and apologize to the thread collectively bringing up personal circumstances that are not yet relevant to the conversation. I thought sharing it was fine. I just took it as an (unfortunately) interesting detail with the hobby we all share. It got muddled when people tried giving you solutions that you didn't ask for.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2023 15:58
|
|
|
My workplace had some hodgepodge of trainings by random workers on random topics today (unrelated to what we actually do as a company). I went to one about creative writing and it was hosted by a fanfic writer who adamantly would not describe anything further than that but really likes "self-insertion." I mean I didn't expect much but, whoa. I don't care about what other people write but I can only imagine what her stuff is.
The Sean fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Nov 7, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2023 22:32
|
|
|
Wungus posted:I'd love to read more books that take extreme liberties with their chronology. Like hell yeah, who said a book has to go from the first event to the last event. Go wild--just like, make it cool. Cloud Atlas has a matroyoshka doll format with six individual stories. The book ends and starts with the first and proceeds with the others until the 6th book finishes in one sitting and you conclude the other books in the opposite order that they started. One of the best books I've ever read. It also plays with language changing between the decades of the stories which characterizes their time period.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2023 00:03
|
|
|
BigFactory posted:He’s an employee of a school but he has to steal to get materials to use for his job? It's a magic school in the US, obviously.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 2, 2024 01:52
|
|
|
a friendly penguin posted:We had prologue discourse, so let's switch to epilogues. I'm sorry to be vague but if it's necessary depends on the story. There are good times to wrap things up completely and there are good times to add an Animal Party-esque "where are they now." For instance, in a novel that I am writing currently, my plan is for the ending to have a specific resolution (some kind of crises averted or being let to happen) and the fallout will not be shown. The audience will have enough questions answered and unanswered about the overall problem that affects society that there is extra drama the audience can imagine and that imagination (in my case) is better than saying "this is exactly how it works out." edit: I think a good example is the film Fight Club. The ending wraps up the main plot. The last that we see is buildings crumbling and we as the audience can only imagine the impact that has on everyone else. I do wonder, yes, what happens next? But it's unimportant for me to be shown what happens next. It's cool to think about but it's not necessary for the story itself.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2024 18:49
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 04:49 |
|
|
Mirage posted:Homer's Odyssey and Lucian's Voyage to the Moon are technically "isekai" stories, it's not a new concept. Don't feel like you have to hate on the "stranger in a strange land" concept just 'cause it's popular now. Alice in Wonderland, too. Nonetheless I think they're mostly lazy. I also think that about plenty of genres that have great versions showing what the genre can accomplish.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 18, 2024 18:26
|
|