/lit/ - Literature

>>12004351

I'm doubling down. Need to finish my first draft of a 65K novel I've been at since September. NaNo is an attempt to up the pace. Buying in some new tea and mixed nuts - Thursday should be brutal.

>>12004402
godspeed anon

what’s the most productive/useful way to outline a story?

>>12004522
I do short chapter summaries to start. i.e. fiveish sentences of core events described. Then, chapter by chapter, after the completion of the previous, I flesh out the forthcoming.

My foreshadowing mostly comes in retrospectively, edited into finished chapters when I see the chance in the one I'm writing now.

i'm participating for the first time, and i'm pretty excited. i mostly write lewd fics that max out at about 5k words, but i'm stepping out into writing something original. the thought of 50k words is daunting, but also exciting as the ideas for my story are all clicking into place and i think i'll be able to make something really cool.

>>12005369
Sweet. Porn still makes good practise, I hope. At the very least, if you push through the month and fail, you've got a completed failure under your belt.

I genuinely wonder how many (talented or otherwise) writers of this generation are going to have cut their teeth writing bad teenage fanfics and comparing their shit to other bad fanfic. There must be left over traces in their work.

>>12005369
Good luck. You definitely have the right attitude.

Ugh. I will hate myself before, during and after, but I need the practice, and if I won't do it I'll get brutal FOMO until the next time. Sort of like losing my virginity now that I think of it.

>>12005388
yeah, it's nice to write stuff again, even if it was fueled by lust, and it lets me stretch my legs after not writing anything creative since high school. this one, however, is fueled by creativity, and a want to further my own skills while also creating something that i can call my own.
and i'd say that it's probably quite a few of them. it's easy enough to see something you like, think "hey, i'd like some more of that," and go on to find where people have done just that. then, you'll realize you also have the power to create such works, and you'll try your damnedest to bring what you want into the world.
>>12005401
thank you for the kind words!
>>12005428
it does seem like a lot of work, but the practice will help us greatly, my friend. we'll push through and make something we can be proud of, either through it being really good, or it being a stepping stone towards greater works! good luck, buddy.

>>12005388
I still moonlight kink commission work for pocket change online, despite having published sfw works. giving back to the community as they say kek

>>12005444
>it does seem like a lot of work, but the practice will help us greatly, my friend. we'll push through and make something we can be proud of, either through it being really good, or it being a stepping stone towards greater works! good luck, buddy
right back at you, keep on keeping on mate. but, in my case it's not the workload itself, I piss out 60-ish k during a manic phase on the reg. it's actually putting myself out there as a writer, for all the world to see (well, >implying), instead of just hiding away in my humble abode getting blitzed and doing it for fun and arguably cathartic effect.

>want to take part
>have absolutely no idea what to write
>just have a shit load of random ideas like a deer getting hit by a car and a mansion with two front doors on each side

Should I compete? Is it a competition? I may want to do try it even if it's not.

>>12005536
how the f*** is a mansion with two front doors a plot?

>>12005569
I didn't say it was a plot, did I?
Also
>plot

I'm interested in it as well, I guess- but I don't know enough about it.

>>12005576
well, yeah I guess not.
also
>what

>>12005468
>published sfw works

What level of published? Genuinely curious what your "in" was.

I can't stop fucking around with my environment, to such a degree that I've typed countless "test" pages of rambling about testing the program to test the program.

>>12005727
won a couple local competitions with random stuff I sent in for jejs and was thus printed prominently in their anthologies, one of them got me the attention of a small publisher who printed and sold 10k copies of the most recent story of the above. so nothing major, I just love how they got a notorious lewdster usually concerned with ripping orifices to make people cry about made up childhood trauma.

>>12004587
thank you

might take the time to rewrite a draft I finished at the beginning of the year.

>>12004587
I do something similar

>>12005781
Cool. When you make it to the top, please gloat about your inglorious background

>>12005934
I shall! my autobiography will include graphic examples

So, I typically write in schizo free verse. It's fun, I like it, but I know it's not marketable or great for networking
>"Hey, anon. How's that book you're writing coming along?"
>"Oh, you know."
>continues to shit out rambling nonsense with no end in sight that only makes sense to myself.
However, if I step out of my comfort zone, and commit to writing this SF idea I've been mulling over for awhile. I might have something to represent myself. Then, if it all goes well, I can troll the world with my schizo free verse; and the fans will keep paying me, hoping I put out something like my NaNoWriMo novel from long ago.
My issue: I'm not sure how I feel about committing to one thing. I know it's only a month; and my main goal is for the discipline, and the feeling of finishing something, but I like my methods. Even if I can't complete anything. I just feel kinda weird; like, I have to change who I am in order to get where I think I want to be. It's confusing.

>>12006115
honestly i love outside of the box and abstract work. there’s a market for it

So I'm going to attempt this. I've got a setting and a protagonist, but absolutely no idea where I'm going with the story, except that gratuitous violence may ensue for lack of something better to write each day.

>>12006115
Post an excerpt, i want to see what it's like to just write like a maniac

>>12006169
Thanks for the encouragement. I just think it'd be a good exercise to figure out how to finish a damn book; no matter the content.

>>12006191
You know I can't do that. Luciferian ears listen with fused over eyes, scanning for an intermediate lethargic for psychic satiety. That's all you get for free. The birth is reversed in pleasurable contractions. I recede to my pit of docile serpents. "There's Tapirs around here...They're known for taking what ain't rightfully theirs." the voice warns; I rarely listen.

I haven't written anything in a few years but I'll join in anyway.

>>12006305
I like it
The prose is pretty purple though so unless the schizo is an academic then i would stick to more laymen terms.

>>12006430
Thank you, I appreciate the criticism and confidence boost. That was just off the dome piece.
And, you're right! I am a layman with purple prose. I'm working on making things more cohesive and digestible. It's a process.

I've been working sporadically for four months and I have roughly twelve thousand words.

here are a few nice ideas i saved from the nanowrimo forums a couple of years ago to give you guys some inspiration.

>My current idea to to completely trash this story, a futuristic sci-fi about the Loch Ness monster, and start something new about the zombie apocalypse, a topic I love.

>A disaster (ebola/zombies/aliens) have wiped out most of humanity. And the main MC characters fight for survival. They team up. They find this top secret military building that is safe

>Losing perspective. Help me understand my plot please! I am weirdly tempted to use books of the old testament as chapter titles

>it's about a 20-something woman frustrated with her job, relationship etc. who, through traveling and giving herself freedom to make her own choices in life, slowly becomes stronger and more independent.

>what the heck happens to these babies? maybe a stray dog starts chasing them? Or a lot of dogs? Or there is a stray and then a puppy class and they are being chased by them all at once? That could be fun. :D

>A horror story set on the Titanic that features a couple and is narrated by the killer. Ends with a death.

>Twenty-something. Miserable after her fiance (also her first boyfriend) dumps her. Next morning, a goblin appears at the foot of her bed, looking curious and playful. He's her distraction

>It's the equivalent of the ’60s in Urban Fantasy World. The race issues are mainly between werewolves and vampires (and humans?) rather than blacks and whites.

>MC is an immortal being who seeks out suicide victims, then tells their stories within newspaper articles

>This falcon is your MC.

>The world is the same the same as our reality. Earth, moon, Men, women, children, there's religion and stuff like that. But there is a major difference to it all. Instead of the majority of the population being heterosexual, what if the accepted relationships were homosexual?

>Somebody in the future realizes that all the 'colors' they see are just illusions. The government has actually stolen all the color from the world. So MC has to get it back.

>Your characters are fighting over badly made coffee and a Tooth Fairy intervenes, the Christmas Budding has taken over Santa's household and Easter Bunny becomes Goth over night.

>Your characters plan to steal 100k from their boss and leave for some exotic land, where they will offer the large sum of money to stop a wedding.

>Ashlyn Adams is perfect. She's a rich, uptown girl who's part-time job is an actress. Her home life is perfect - she has loving, supportive parents and a beautiful older sister. Surprisingly, she's also really nice and sweet. She's Ms. Popular. Everyone loves her. Right? Arsen Hunter is the school's rebel.

>Vikings versus Vampires

>The twist? The aliens are us.

>>12007648
>MC is the Grim Reaper. On a random day, he meets a girl who he doesn't know how or when she will die and he becomes intrigued. She is actually an angel sent down to earth because it seems that a demon or some other villain seeks to stop death and thus destroying the natural order.

>My nightmare from last night : a fairy godmother and a healer who can see the hidden vitality or lack there of in anything alive, try to survive the zombie apocalypse.

>A deranged serial killer hunts down the cast of Survivor, but they each think it's a part of the new season.

>Everyone has a number over their heads. It can be either given to them or maybe they're born with it. This number indicates the number of insect kills they've done (not specifically insects, bugs in general like spiders, mosquitoes, flies, and other types of pests).

>The queen's daughter, Angel, was done being controlled, and finally ran away with her best friend (Raven) when she found out she was betrothed to him. The two ran away to train as Assassins left Angel's brother as the next ruler. Ten years later, the two return with new names as the new personal guards to the King and Queen. Angel is now Micaiah and is a stone-cold killer.

>MC is not white. MC is not cis-gendered. MC is not heterosexual. MC is not skinny/doesn't have curves 'in all the right places'/is not pretty/does not meet the beauty ideals of today's society.

>A benevolent ghost who moves objects and shuts and locks doors and such to protect their surviving family members from zombies.

>Sheryl was an ordinary teenage girl, who didn't really fit in anywhere and was lost in life. One day, she valiantly saved a young girl from being run over with a car, pushing him away and being ran over instead. Due to being an atheist, she was sent to hell. But since she was good, she was sent to the coolest part of hell, with non-stop disco parties, shopping malls

>MC's cousin comes for a visit after years and resurrects the MC's suppressed mind reading capabilities. With a villain on the loose trying to control all the mind readers' minds, it's up to the MC and his/her quirky, crazy best friend to stop it.

>A domestic comedy as witnessed by a cat who lives in a particularly zany household. Include hijinks and shenanigans. Perhaps the cat is secretly controlling everything behind the scenes?

>an office romance witnessed by a moose

>Houdini becomes a dangerous criminal but is impossible to keep locked up or restrained because of his skills as an escape artist

>In a world with love at first sight, two true loves see each other on passing trains. Now the mc goes on a search for his partner in a big city with only knowing what he/she looks like.

>MC and his wife are missionaries who have just arrived in a third-world country. They invite the local tribal chief and some other locals to visit their hut that evening for dinner and to bring big appetites. What Mr. and Ms. MC don't realize is the guests are cannibals.

I didn't realize the nanowrimo forums were actually my teenage sister's wattpad lmao

>>12005753
There's only one thing to use for NaNo.

Am I retarded for wanting to do Nanowrimo on pen and paper

>>12008716
Not "retarded," but doing 1,667 words a day on paper with a pen is really going to be a feat.

lul I found a similar thing in my area going on but they forbid (some officially, some between the lines):
>explicit sexual content
>graphic violence
>drug use that is not portrayed negatively in the context of severe addiction (e.g. a junkie sleeping in his own piss is fine, MC doing a line of coke for jejs after work is not)
>common taboos such as incest, super huge age differences between love interests even if no pedo, rape
>too over the top magical realism even if well executed
the actual frick am I gonna write about then

>>12004587
I am astounded that I have not thought of this yet. This will help me tremendously.

>>12008321
Yeah that's why we have our own thread. Do not venture beyond lest ye cringe hard.

https://nanowrimo.org/forums/writing-groups-and-clubs/threads/445906

>>12009097
I see, I see. /lit/ autism being a drop of water in an ocean of piss, and people still wonder why we're a bunch of elitist cunts.

>>12005536
Maybe write a Twilight Zone style collection of short stories? Maybe you could tie it together through a common throughline, like a road trip or something.

Bump. Love these threads, and I'm gonna need it. I'm going for it, bros. gonna prep my outline today and tomorrow, and shit somethin out the following 30 days to gain the feeling of completion.

I wrote a book as fast as I could and it was terrible. Then I read pic related, and I could churn out a decent book in a month if I wanted. That previous book took years to fix, and it still is shit.

I just got laid off from work and will be unemployeed for the next 3-4 months. Ive never wrote anything before but I have an ambition to try this. Why would be your advice for an absolute newb?

>>12009955

cringe

>>12008993
You don't have to join in their own gay circlejerk and just do it privately.

>>12006501
>And, you're right! I am a layman with purple prose. I'm working on making things more cohesive and digestible. It's a process.
Well said anon

>>12011378
Marathon my creative writing lecture series on youtube tomorrow to prepare yourself.

>>12013054
well I'd like the comfy sum of money and attention from local bigbrains, although yeah, I can't corrupt myself that far, I'd essentially write a dollar store disney movie. I'll write it for myself and title it "Contest XY can suck my fat balls", then self-publish.

>>12012980
what did he mean by this?

>>12013072
Thanks, bud. I've decided I'm gonna buckle down for the month, and commit to finishing a piece in disciplinary fashion. Then, return to the schizo free verse I'm familiar with. Your kind words are appreciated, best of luck.

>>12009955
> So Moshfegh “went out and bought a book called The 90-Day Novel, by Alan Watt. It’s ridiculous, claiming that anybody can write a great book, and quickly too. And I thought if I were to do this, what would happen, would my head explode? So I followed it for 60 days – it was so boring.

Even published writers do this shit

Alright boys let's get this bread

Who /still no plan/ here?

>>12014533
I bet there was an entire movie made in the 10s/20s that was just people smashing things on film. I could see people wanting to go see it and feeling a tinge of guilt for enjoying it, but relief that only one thing had to be destroyed and its fate was simply being replayed. Train wrecks and car crashes and flying gyros from complex automatons being destroyed for your amusement. Weird how cyclical things are.

>>12014557
I just need to come up with a detailed plot summary by tonight and I'm ready

>>12014557
I have the skeletal foundations of a plan, that's about it. I'm trying to stay in the frame of mind that I'm participating to gain the necessary discipline of finishing something, and not get bogged down with the perfectionism I'm usually plagued with.

>>12014557
Anon, I was noplan until a few hours ago, then did one of those circle diagram plot layouts, changed my mind a few times, and now at least know the first half of the thing for sure.

>>12014569
Breaking stuff never went away

Hell, I might use it as pretence to translate my 5th draft into English. It's around 100k words and pretty dialog heavy, and it actually sounds pretty easy to do it in that period of time. (Did some previous test run where it took me like two or three days for 10k+ words)

Am I overestimating myself and doing something seriously wrong? Asked Google, and the average translation time seems to be 2 months for 50k words for professional translators but given how I know my source material perfectly and did the most notes in English either way, double speed is somewhat realistic, no?

>>12008716
what
>>12008745
said. You're gonna find you don't have nearly as many words as you thought given all the effort you put into writing them.

>write for an hour
>get 500 words
>"hey this might be easy"
>write for another hour
> 600
this is going to be a long months

>>12014557
i've got pretty much my whole story laid out, i'm just needing names for shit.

>>12014922
bob loblaw

Today's the last day before we begin, boys. What have you done / are you doing to prepare?

I'm waking up at 5AM tomorrow and just going for it.

>>12015059
I've got the faintest outline ready, and I'm just gonna go for it as soon as I wake up.

>>12015059
method acting my sleepless, drunk MC
I mean I was going to anyway but it does help

>>12015169
>The 24 Year Old Doomer: A Novel

>>12015215
haha joke's on you, we're both boomers (him a wee bit older even)
not that it makes it any better

I've been interested in Nanowrimo for over 10 years, but I've never actually attempted it. I don't read novels and I haven't done any creative writing since I was a little kid. Maybe I'll at least try this time.

I'd like to write something kind of like Thundarr the Barbarian. A dark fantasy filled with savagery, sorcery, and super science.

>>12015677
do it mane

>>12015677
>I don't read novels
>browses /lit/

WTF man? What do you get out of this?

>>12016146
I like the idea of readings books but not actually reading them, so I come here when I'm bored. I get a lot of Jeopardy answers just from browsing occasionally.

>>12016245
>someone who browses the 4chan board for books but also watches jeopardy
I don't think anyone like you exists, has existed or will exist in the future

I just saw this thread: https://nanowrimo.org/forums/reaching-50-000/threads/448586

What you guys think? It might be a good way to beat the end-of-month grind.

>>12016644
>You must be logged in to access this page

>>12016616
I would think a lot of /lit/ posters watch Jeopardy.

>>12016660
I used to be able to browse the forums without an account. I wonder when they changed it.

How do I even start writing a novel?

>>12017175
Chapter 1

Instead of writing one story, as I am unable to choose one idea, I am going to flesh out as many as my current ideas as I can. Hopefully I will end up with some solid foundation for Don't Stop December and Just Write January.

>>12017429
So long as flesh out means 50k worth of new words anon. I think it's more fun if you have a finished product at the end though.

350 words in

>>12017472
>I think it's more fun if you have a finished product at the end though.
Perhaps I'll commit to a idea but I struggle choosing.

Good luck on your journey friends

I want to do it this year but I have absolutely no idea. I guess I have a personal science fiction setting like the good autist that I am, and I should set my shit in there that way I already have the technology and landmarks and even a few boring factions, but there's no story or struggle anywhere.

Best I could do right now is rip off firefly and describe at lengh an interplanetary spaceship and its crew of privateers and then have a boring space dogfight against rogue machine drones but then where do I go from there?

I don't know anon.

>>12017818
>rip off firefly
I've always wanted to novellise the show and the film

>>12017175
Sit in the chair.

Starting my NaNo. Some smelly sci-fi I've redone a hundred times. B-but this time will be different!
Good luck, anons.

>>12016245
You could go the audiobook route. It's comfy.

>>12018119
>Some smelly sci-fi I've redone a hundred times.
What's it about? You must have really worked out the concept by now.

>>12018535
It's about a bounty hunter with a harem of qt aliens

>>12018717
Mass Effect novels already existed like 10 years ago, bub.

>>12018535
Other anon wasn't me.
Basically a humanity's last stand scenario against ayy lmaos. The protagonist had already fought and helped win the war once, but his family had been killed. He was working with one of the ayy lmaos that had defected to the human side, who promised him he would revive his family if he helped take down the alien's hold on their planet, and also modified his body to be more like the aliens, and hence better at fighting.
Long story short, once he finished the task, the ayy "revived" his family by sending him into an alternative universe where, once again, a war is raging on. His family nor anyone he used to know recognizes his new alien form and he has to gain the human's side trust, ultimately being roped into fighting the war once again.
It's basically a sequel to something I haven't even written so making it stand on its own merit will be difficult.

>16 hours in
>only two words written down
>"Chapter One"

>>12019327
>not using names for chapters

>>12019327
same desu

>>12019327
>numbering your chapters

>>12005536
>a mansion with two front doors on each side

>>12018742
>It's basically a sequel to something I haven't even written so making it stand on its own merit will be difficult.
I can relate to this. I wanted to write a SF ending but realise that it would be at the end of a trilogy, with a prequel of three stories elaborating on important historical events.
I like the idea of your story. I thought it might end up as a cycle, though.

>>12019327
>20 hours in
>No words typed
>Except on 4chan

I started writing a fantasy novel, because it seemed easy enough and it's something I've been wanting to do, but I don't feel good about it. I can't help but cringe for whatever reason.

NaNoWriMo is just an urban legend. It doesn't actually help improve your life or meet women. Don't believe this bullshit.

>>12018119
I'm redoing my own sci-fi that I started once on my own, but of course now I've completely changed the context and am spending time making up words. Anyway, I'm at 1,681 words, so I'm ahead of the curve by just a bit.

>>12019457
>I can't help but cringe for whatever reason.
Our own writing is embarrassing as it doesn't accurately represent our imagined ideals. You just have to push through it.

>>12019518
Lot of SF in this thread... what is yours about?

>>12019327
>spent 3 days making a chronology and MC backstories
>cheated and wrote out 200 words yesterday
>spent the entire morning today on another 200
Holy shit this is hard. Should I just go with the Hemingway approach just fuck my liver up writing?

>>12019532
Yes
there's a reason stephen king railed drugs in the first part of his career

>>12019532
don't be stupid

first for gay werewolf romance novel with no plot outline and no character bios and no setting

>Just recently finished a 50,000 word fanfic
>Post-completion burnout sets in just before NaNoWriMo
Well shit

>>12020134
read a shitty novella in one day, start saturday, you'll only have lost 48 hours or so by then

This is harder than I imagined

1230 words and I wrote from 1pm till 9pm.

>dude sprint it and don't look back to your work

Fuck off, i'm already editing and my first chapter is brillant.

>>12020326
Good work anon.
I've been fiddling on and off and got 1400 words done. Listened to the meme nano yt stream which actually got me 700 words. going to camp on the sprint function now and enjoy this means of progress

>>12020326
>chapter under 2.5k words
Absolutely haram.

>>12020346

Do you even Bulgákov and Machado de Assis?

Short Story master do this all the time. Get off, Proust.

>>12020242
Yeah, that's not a bad decision. Maybe I'll try that.

>>12020342

Good luck anon. We will get it.

plot outline: done
character bios: in progress
setting: in progress

the challenge of outlining the major plot points was a lot more fun than I thought

Glad there is someone else in here writing porn. I used to care about philosophy and other high minded virtues, but now I'm writing a story where a female character has to ID her rapist at the police station by being raped by a random assortment of people and the suspect.

>>12020434

Show your feet.

>>12020434
holy shit thats hot. Please link once you're done

>>12013233
Genuinely who is this

I did it bros, 1676 words down for day 1

>>12020563
just 29/30ths left

You dumbfucks realize a novel isn't strictly 50k right? Anywhere in the ballpark of 30-40k should be fins lol

>>12017818
That's where you come in, create the struggle. Your MC got mauled by a dog and lost his leg, or maybe his son got cancer and now he needs money, which is forcing him to do morally gray things that he usually wouldn't do. Be cruel, go all out.

>>12020535
Brandon Sanderson (look at the filename you moron)

>>12020563
I believe in you, anon

>>12019327
>>12019347
>>12019532
You can certainly do better than that, boys. Just put the pencil on the paper. All that matters is you write words.

>>12020434
W-well, whatever gets you writing.

>>12020588
>40k novel
Kek. Sure, we're talking about first draft but if you want even slight hopes of publishing, it's usually in the 70-90k ballpark.

today i wrote 1962 words : )

I wrote 34 pages (6760 words) today and i'm still trying to go.

>>12020326
You won't be able to complete it if you decide to go that route. Your first draft will be ugly and have typos, deal with it, editing will only take time away from actual writing. Maybe you can do it if you're a useless piece of shit that doesn't study or work tho

>>12020326
>Fuck off, i'm already editing and my first chapter is brillant.
>editing before a work has unfolded before you, completed
>editing while taking the time away from writing

shiggy

The majority of you have never even finished a short story and yet you are attempting this. Do you even have a novel-sized idea in mind or are you just making it up as you go?

>>12020620

What about read a book or get a walk or go to work or work on something else?

>>12020626

>implying this is my first draft

I didn't say that, In fact I already have 24 pages explaining what I should do.

>maybe you can do it if you're a useless piece of shit that doesn't study or work tho

I study, unfortunately.

>>12020641
How do I know if my idea is novel sized

>>12020641
>he thinks most people here haven't even written a short story

not even I am that stupid

>>12020641
I have half an idea and I'm halfway making it up as I go. Much more of a creative process this way.

>>12020588
novel is 100k words lad

>>12020434
I've written stuff like this, although not as clever. I'm terrified that I forgot to delete one of the stories and it's sitting in a folder somewhere waiting to be attached to an email by accident.

>>12020653
do you get a boner thinking about IT?
when you bake a cake do you end up with a frittata no matter what you try?
is there currently a man hiding in the closet under your stairs?

>>12020434
This sounds like a really bad book but a great hentai

>>12020653
Personal matter. I try to sketch out the broad outlines of the story and estimate from there. Never got more than a novella out of a concept.

>>12020654
If you have I sincerely believe you are in the 1% of posters here

>>12020655
Sure, just don't be disappointed if you run out of runway halfway through. You can usually assemble the fragment into something decent though.

Or at least that's what's happened to me each time I try to write like that, maybe I'm just projecting my own insecurities.

>>12020676
>maybe I'm just projecting my own insecurities

Anonymous projecting? On MY board?

Remember we've got a thread over on the NaNo site if you'd like to communicate in a more tangible way.

https://nanowrimo.org/forums/writing-groups-and-clubs/threads/445906?page=3&per_page=20

>>12020676
>I'm part of the 1%
you really can make it if you can write and I'm proof bros, never give up on your dreams

>>12020643
I worked on it between classes and such, so i am burned out right now (i probably wont get too far, but i'd like to keep up momentum)

>>12020620
Based. It's better to stop before you're totally out of things to write and keep something for the start of the next day.

>>12020641
>Do you even have a novel-sized idea in mind
Every idea has the potential to be novel-sized. Some will just need more thought and expanding.

>>12020720
I've already had an outline prepared before hand that i didn't bother to work with until now. Reads like an overlong wikipedia plot summary, but i've still got plenty of ideas.

>>12020662
50k, in 12pt TNR, is something like 205 pages. How is that not novel length?

I don't know if I should write in my native language or in English from the get go. My plan is to self publish it eventually (I don't care if it sells two copies, it's a personal milestone) but the thought of having to translate the whole thing is depressing.

Opinions?

>>12020737
If the stuff is any good, you'll probably gets tons of more ideas during writing alone.

I planned my first draft to be 70k but the shit expanded to 120k without really trying, although maybe 20k of it was just bantz with unnecessary info drops and "world building stuff" that was probably unnecessary too.

>>12020743
That's a damn short novel. And way below average for traditionally published stuff.

>>12020752
Translation can be an extra level of editing and you'll need to go through a few edits either way if you at least minimally respect the poor souls who bought it by accident.

>>12019529
I hate thinking up loglines, but best I can summarize is, “Young woman with nigh-omniscience fulfills sense of worth and justice by hurtling headlong into police work with injurious results.”

Bros, I did it. For the longest time I want to be an author. Work is a fucking bitch. I'm an inside sales rep, and it's more miserable than I thought it'd be. Surprisingly, there's not a lot of selling in sales. I also think the employers I'm with are tricking me into taking a customer service role.

I wake up at 7, get to work at 8:30 with my commute, work my ass of at an anal job, get paid about $1000 bimonthly. It's wagecuck depression. I get back home at 6:30 at best. To my daily exercises, cook my food, read the news. I only have a small stretch of time for free time, but nonetheless I focused myself enough to dish out 1692 words. This is a very rough draft, and no doubt I'll have to revise this shit if I seriously want to publish, but I'm very happy to finally have some sense of self control over my destiny.

How the fuck do you do this, bros?
I've been going for 3 hours and I've only got half my daily word count.
And this is on the first day when I KNOW where I'm going.
Who the fuck has the free time for this?

>>12021176
congrats bro, i always struggle when i start writing, but the feeling after reaching your daily goal is better than any nut

>>12021302
You're overthinking your writing. This is a rough draft, not a final, just get the words on the page. A friend of mine actually removed his backspace key, try that for a while and see how much you can write.

>>12021302
Tell the story to yourself like a friend telling something funny to another friend. Keep it flowing, if you get stuck or the words escape you, just put a note to come back to it later, like "insert emotional conversation about x topic", "insert quick fight scene in which the villain injures the hero".

>>12021176
I'm happy that you're happy, anon. This is your chance to find happiness in what you do.

I'm not an outliner, and I went into this project not knowing where my MC is going to be by the end. I figure it would come organically through the process of writing it.
I realized today that the only way for them to have a fulfilling, completed arc is to have them suicidally sacrifice themselves at the climax.
Really bummed me out desu.
I only hope that any one who reads this thing feel something other than annoyed when it happens.

>>12021618
>I realized today that the only way for them to have a fulfilling, completed arc is to have them suicidally sacrifice themselves at the climax.
Why is that bad?

>>12021653
I was planning on having only one POV character, and while this would complete the MC's character arc it neglects to finish off the plot.
I'd been playing with the idea of having a few POVs, but that seems daunting for a first novel. It's not really avoidable now, and I have to rethink how I was going to structure this now.

Plus it feels really tropey to have a main character death while GRRM's habit for killing characters is still in the Zeitgeist.

>>12021732
I wouldn't worry about whatever it is GGRM is doing (or, more accurately, NOT doing). Just focus on what you want to write. My SF story is much the same - the MC dies at the end sacrificing himself to save others - and I intend to swap PoV to his love interest. If Veronica Roth can get away with it, so can you.

How do I stop praying to the filler gods? 16k in and maybe 4k of it is substantial story. At this rate I'ma hit 40k before MC meets nemesis for the first time ffs

>>12020434
11/10 would hide under seven layers of work-related folders and hang myself once someone finds it

>>12020664
I've attached an essay about why eating ass without reciprocation is the prime embodiment of selfless galantry to a work e-mail before. Client told me off through official channels but complimented me in private kek

major plot points: done
major character bios: done
setting: done

first 5k words: in progress


>>12021869
________git gud______________

>>12021869
>filler

Guess it depends what style of book. If it's a thriller, you're deep in shit. If it's literary you're doing god's work. If it comedy I hope the filler is funny. If it's sci-fi/fantasy I pray to God you're not just text dumping descriptions of locations.

>>12022389
>

>>12022417
scifi thriller-ish and yes most of it is excessive worldbuilding so yup, I'm fucking it up horrendously. oh well.

>>12022474

>>12022474
I reckon a lot of worldbuilding can covertly be done via a character giving an anecdote about some adventure they had, or trying to explain to someone else how much peril they're in or even two of them arguing about known facts. Far better than saying, by the way the planet Cromulon...

>>12022509
A throwaway line from Doctor Who does this perfectly:

The Doctor: [identifying Jack's weapon] Sonic Blaster. Fifty-first century. Weapons factory at Villengard?
Captain Jack Harkness: You've been to the factories?
The Doctor: Once.
Captain Jack Harkness: Well, they're gone now, destroyed. Main reactor went critical, vaporized the lot.
The Doctor: Like I said. Once.
[looking over at Rose; matter-of-factly]
The Doctor: There's a banana grove there now.
[looks at Jack; smiling]
The Doctor: I like bananas. Bananas are good.

>>12022509
>>12022570
kek'd at the dialogue, fond memories. anyway, no, it's worldbuilding in the sense of backstory, not "once upon a time" bullshit but most of it isn't relevant to two chars at the same time so they could 'ave a giggle over it. but yeah I'll see how I could cut it down and/or spread it into conversations and quick narrator tidbits

>>12022814
Less is usually more either way, Papa explained the power of subtext in the Iceberg theory; but it's not something to worry about at this time.

>>12022860
yeah. writing too much for a given task is an issue people most would kill to have, but if it's just trite bullshit it's nothing to be proud of

>>12022932
If it's not completely trite it will be at least decent enough to help you to understand the world/characters better, which will make it easier to write a more compact version later.

I think I have a general concept I could roll with. How's everyone else coming along?

>>12023143
I'm rolling in the same barrel as you, friend. I did start, though; I was hesitant and began doubting why I'd even attempt. Then, I told myself to stop being a bitch, and just do it. Figure, whatever I end up with is more than I started with. That's a success to me. Now that I've actually started and committed to an idea, everything is beginning to cling and clang in the noggin; it's all actually coming together.

If you have doubts: park your ass in a seat and just start. You'll feel great even if you hate what you wrote..The beautiful thing is you can go back and fix it later. Or, throw the whole manuscript in a burning pyre when you're done; that's also a good time.

>>12023166
Part if it is impatience for me. I just came up with my idea/outline today but I dont know where to go with the plot. It's only the first day, I don't need everything figured out yet, but I'm hesitating to commit to an idea that isn't fully formed.

On an unrelated note, I'm surprised how nice everyone is in this thread. Very pleasant.

>>12023218
I was hesitant committing to a single idea, as well. That's not how I usually do things; but the familiar isn't necessarily panning out well for me, either. I'm just gonna crank out what I can, crashing and burning if I must.

Day 2 is a wrap bros

Gonna go fap and watch hentai now

>>12023339
Enjoy, you earned it.
>Day 2 is a wrap
Day 1 was more successful for me than I even intended; but I work weird shifts, and can really only get things done every other day. Gonna have to make those days count.
Does anyone else have experience balancing their passions with their weird schedules? Just looking for some good routines.

>>12023369
I have half an entire day to write twice a week, but that's essentially it (save for a cheeky three sentences here and there whenever I manage to but that's rare). I just go full autismo during these 2x8ish hours and write like my meek life depends on it, down the line I get the same amount in that I would with a daily schedule. mentally taxing as feck but doable

>>12023452
That's reassuring. I pretty much only get two days of the week for extended writing sessions. Otherwise, I'm just jotting random things until that blessed free time comes around. I'm using Nano to push these self prescribed limitations to the way side, and see how much I can accomplish; I'm not letting work bog down what's actually important to me, but I do like eating.

>>12023485
couldn't have said it better. both my sleep and social life tend to suffer from this approach but idk who am I kidding, they suffer from me being me to begin with

>>12023499
I feel ya there, brev.

>have plenty of ideas for worldbuilding; interesting cultures, nuanced places, etc.
>can't for the life of me think of a plot to put in that world.

I put so much thought into settings but I've never had that feeling of "there's a specific story I want to tell". Anyone relate/have suggestions for this? Obviously I'm too late for nanowrimo this year but I want to do next year for sure.

>>12024962
It's only November 2nd you're not too late. Maybe try a story about what happens when opposing cultures within your world meet. It doesn't have to be "this is the end of the world" type thing, but two opposing forces trying to assert their culture upon each other. Heck just create a character and follow him/her through life.

>>12024962
>interesting cultures, nuanced places
What makes them interesting? How did they develop? What were some crucial events from their history? What challenges?

There are billions of stories lurking in every detail.

>>12024962
Just go for a generic plot to start with. It will allow you to explore your world a bit more and think about how people move and act within it.

>have plenty ideas for short stories in a setting that I've been working on
>no ideas for anything novel-length
fuuuuark

>>12025305
Just write them all and awkwardly link them together at the end

STOP SHITPOSTING

GO WRITE

>>12025311
but I remembered that I owned a copy Project CARS 2 and the season pass and now I'm too angry to do anything but seethe

>>12004351
I'm doing NaNoNofap

To any anons having trouble starting: I just finished Day 2, WAY EASIER THAN DAY 1. The hardest part is starting, get your fingers moving and you will start flowing in no time.

>>12025515
I disagree. On day 1, I had an idea already of what I wanted to write down. I wrote all that on day 1. On day 2 I have to actually figure out where the story's going, and I have no clue.

>>12024962
That's entirely the wrong way to think. By next year you will no longer be interested in this setting, so seize the moment and write some short stories about your world: Brainstorm one-sentence ideas, then flesh them out into single paragraphs, then write the best of them starting with one you care less about so you don't get performance anxiety.
You should easily be able to get to at least 40.000 words if you start now and go at the same pace as everyone else - that's 4-8 decent-sized short stories.

>>12025515
chuu chuu!

>>12025419
Same, I don't recommend it though. It has only been three days but I think by the end my story will just be full on erotica.

Good morning, lads. Hope everyone is doing well. If you're not, it's never too late to catch up. You're capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.

Remember to join us on the NaNo site if you haven't done so already: https://nanowrimo.org/forums/writing-groups-and-clubs/threads/445906

>>12026128
>You're capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.
Genuinely encouraging, anon. Can I ask what you're writing? I am still struggling to choose one of several ideas i.e. it seems I lack the personal experience to write about certain subjects

Ugh I'm trying to pull off a horror whodunnit where good guy and bad guy are the same person but the separate parts not aware of the other until muh dramatic climax, but it's turning into millenial dollar store jekyll&hyde as soon as I don't pay attention for a minute. how the fuck do I manage this

>>12026405
Fight Club? Are you writing from their POVs or other characters?

>>12026413
not fight club, entirely wrong setting, also fuk u. good guy and pretty much anything else of relevance is 3rd person narrator, bad guy is in-the-moment stream of consciousness of him doing bad guy shit and rambling about how he's evil incarnate and such faggotry. climax is a fast mix of both until it finally hits him and shit hits the fan (which I am yet to decide how to write).
feck this is cringier than I remembered

behind on that first 5 k words, but if I can write 1k more words today than I did yesterday I'll be just over 1/10th, or exactly where you should be on day three!

>>12026438
I referred to fight club as an example.

>>12026468
You can do it anon, I believe in you, we all do.

>>12005670
You have to go back.

I'm writing about 200 words per hour. I can't do this at all.

>>12026827
You can do it friend, just turn off your inner editor

>>12026846
I don't know how. And barely even have ideas to edit. I can't even shitpost quickly.

>>12026769
yeah no hard feelings, just everybody I explain the idea to says fight club lul. but no, bad guy is not coherent enough to be durden-like in origin, he's all murder and bloodlust for the topjej of it, and good guy is actually a pretty happy lad (as opposed to depressed, pissed off fightclub MC).

>>12026867
>I can't even shitpost quickly.
Same. I generally put a good bit of effort into polishing the rhythm of my posts, and that style of writing is pretty much incompatible with writing longer texts.

I still haven't written anything. I have an exam on monday and I've been too busy studying. Hopefully I can make up for the days I've missed once it's done with. I have a concept with no concrete plot, but I've always been better at writing spontaneously than planning things out at length.

>tfw the section your writing has produced double your estimated word count for itself
Good Saturday writing feels?

>>12026912
Why do your split personalities act the way they do?

>>12026970
I used to plan a lot but would always get bogged down in the middle sections. I would have a great opening, superb ending but the middle would just kind of meander from predetermined plot point to predetermined plot point. Now that I've switch to free flowing writing with just a general knowledge of where my points A B and C are it seems to be going smoother.

>>12026982
Can you walk me through how you're doing this free form? Because I really want to do nanowrimo but I cannot for the life of me think of a plot.

>>12027001
I thought of the themes I wanted to tackle. I thought of a setting and character archetypes that could support all of those themes together. Then I figured where I wanted to end up so that I could tie them together and just needed a starting point which I made up but that would let me walk down the street to get to the end. Now I just write basically without thinking and let the action and characters dictate how they get from the start to the end. Each time I start a section I think, what needs to happen now to keep this on the path and I just start typing. Then the characters find their way within a couple hundred words to the goal I set for them. How they get there is largely irrelevant to me.

>>12026867
you're mom

Your boy Zizek2020 checking in. About to get lunch and then head down to Virginia to visit with some friends. Had one section that I pegged at 300 words end up at over 1,000. Now just a hair over 6,000 total.

>>12026979
good guy is a standard educated older gentleman, if ever a bit shy and weird/quirky, bad guy is basically every immoral or hurtful thought he ever had, bastardized x10000, triggered in his sleep by [irrelevant long-ass backstory] which happens more and more often because of stress and burnout. naturally due to being oot and aboot at night as bad guy, and preexisting stress because of the whodunnit efforts, he takes sleep meds, which facilitate bad guy's appearance. repeat ad infinitum until shit hits the fan at mach 3.
kek sorry for hamfisted synopsis, am somewhat boozy

>>12027018
this sounds whack as fuck at first but some chars do write themselves. I've often taken a step back from writing an antagonist's thoughts and muttered "you need jesus"

>>12027229
"write themselves" may be a silly way to put it. But I wouldn't call it full on stream on consciousness either. Just put the character into the situation at hand with the goal I gave them and freewheel think about how they get the goal

>>12027265
yeah that's what I meant. but they sometimes do for me. I'm literally finding ways to reach said goal ad hoc that I would never have come up with in a logically constructed rough draft, and then going wtf

>>12027222
Interesting. With the assumed abuse of sleeping pills, I can imagine a scenario where the good personality is falling in and out of sleep, allowing the bad personality to take over, intermittently. As with Jekyll and Hyde, this sounds like a good metaphor for substance abuse.
If only I was this invested in my own writing.

I just moved the 1st draft of 52k words sci fi novel from the google doc that I have been working on it in, to the word doc, going to spend the month formatting and polishing to get am shareable manuscript done. wish me luck boys.

>>12027415
>52k words
Isn't that about 100 pages?

>>12027435
120 single spaced, i like it short, a bit of autismal worldbuilding, a study of a protagonist's motivations, some set pieces, climax and detente

>>12027451
It sounds closer to a novella then, maybe even a novelette after you trim the fat.

>>12027472
yeah I will probably have to add some more, to do it seriously and publish it, but right now i just want to finish this story. dont care about definitions a novel is anything from 40-100k depending on who you ask

>tfw can't write my world changing screenplay novel documentary that's going to be the next harry potter+infinite jest+twilight crossover this month because I procrastinated on a 20,000 word essay that's due in two weeks.

Guys, it's already day 3 and I've fallen behind. Work is a bitch, I work from 7am to 7pm, due to commute. Day one I started on the right foot, got about 1700 words in. Day 2, it was Friday and I drank alchocol, thinking that being buzzed would spread the creative juices, turns out it just made me sleepy so I got nothing done. Day 3, I'm back to writing, I now have 2700 words, but I'm supposed to have 5,000, and only today I have a full day to work with. I think during the week imma squirt a bukkake of words, then save the weekends for editing so I still feel good about this project. Wish me luck.

>>12027493
I wouldn't add filler to a short story to make it novel length

>>12027540
>Day 2, it was Friday and I drank alchocol, thinking that being buzzed would spread the creative juices, turns out it just made me sleepy so I got nothing done.
Alcohol only works if you are mixing it with cocaine - learned that from On Writing.
>save the weekends for editing
Do that, and you'll slow down.

>>12027415
I like your cover, but I'm not so sure about the name. Hope it comes out good regardless.

>>12027472
Yeah, agencies look for 80-100K for starter novels so NaNo is weirdly based on a medium only established authors get away with publishing.

>>12027567
thanks ill keep all that in mind

>off to a bad start
>have to spend the week with family so will have little free time
>coursework will only pile up through the month

why did i have to start on Very Hard

>>12027115
'Sup Zizek. Have you planned out approx word counts per section then? Sounds like you planned properly at least.

>>12027403
that's actually a good pointer for the latter part of the climax, and idk he'll eventually wake up while still in the bad one and go cuckoo, thanks lad.
and yes substance abuse is minor subtext, not the main driver of why I write it (I just really like the idea for horror and the pills are a means to a goal) but definitely a polite nod to J&H.
>If only I was this invested in my own writing
iktfb, I've coached anons through entire novellas between one shitpost and another, but take 3 weeks to come up with a chapter title for my own.

The last two days went really well, I made a little over 1900 the first and over 1600 the second. Now I only made 800, maybe not even that. What happened?

I haven't written anything because I forgot I signed up for the Lawyer ethics exam in a week. Fuck.

chapter a day or ur a bitch fucken gay

I find it really difficult to work on a longer project. I can write 3000 words and then move on to something else and write another 3000 words no problem, but I can't write 6000 words for a single piece.
I don't have any long form ideas, and it's quite agitating.

>>12028218
>only one chapter

I can only write about 600 words in a day. I think I'm very behind. FUCK

Don't worry everybody we get an extra hour tonight.

>>12028547
That's about where I am
I just don't know what HAPPENS
Fuck me

>spent entire day shitposting and watching YT videos
>it's 1am
>still 4-5h left before feeling totally exhausted
I am going to catch up now, r-right?

Day 3 is a wrap friends. I'm just aiming for 1667 words a day.

It's getting harder and harder to write, I thought it would get easier desu

>>12004351
I wrote an awesome excerpt (IMO) and now I've hit a wall like 500 words into starting the damn book. I keep writing more nonsense then scrapping it. I don't want to have perfectionist procrastination going on, but I also don't want vastly inconsistent quality of writing throughout the work. Send vodka. Any similar tales of misery?

>>12004351
done day 3 cos im from ireland. its midnight now, tired as shit --- i couldnt hit the daily goal yesterday bc a friend stayed over but im still on 7k. if i hit 10k tomorrow ill be supreme but i also have to write 10 pages of shitty school essays due for the day after kms

>>12028665
are you chubby? this is very important in how I respond to "fuck me"

>>12028844
Sadly no

today's final word count is 5085, tomorrow's goal is an additional 2500.

>>12028950
well don't come back asking to get fucked until you're like 320lbs and have a wide ass that needs more than 3 men to coat with their bukake cream

>>12028844
>>12028950
anons pls stop thinking with your dicks and write

>>12028733
Well, fuck me. Actually managed 3.4k words. You can do it too, anons!

>lost all of my mental story outlines since after going on a holiday
>have manuscript deadlines by Friday
>currently have no story inspirations
>only thing driving me is self-imposed pressure
Will I still be able to make it?

>didn't write for first 2 days
>went to a write in at a bookstore for day 3
>wrote 1300 words
>bought a bad book i kinda want to read
>wrote another 400 before midnight
>it's ok

i'm going to a long write in today, i should be able to catch up a little. might write some more before going

>wrote 700 words in about 3 hours today
>4.3k words total
>tfw already over 2k words behind after 4 days
How do you guys do it? I'm a neet and I still don't have enough time.

>>12028218
the fuck am I gonna do with 30 chapters when the original draft calls for 12ish

btw
>"chapter" as an arbitrary measure of word count

>7K words behind
Man school really asks for alot of paper writing. I might have to just leave this novel on the back burner if this work load keeps up

>>12030107
>7k words behind on day 4

Anon I...

>>12030107
did you delete stuff you had written in october and count it retroactively

>>12030080
I'm on a similar boat. I think a good part of the problem stems from not having a clear enough vision of what we want a given scene to be, and how it should relate to the story as a whole. I can write 2000 words for a paper in just 1 or 2 hours if I know the material well, whereas with things I'm uneducated on I struggle to even break 1000.

>>12030080
That's not that bad anon. I'm at 3k and I started in September.

>>12030208
I think lacking a plan/vision is a big problem for me too. Takes me bout an hour to get the first 250 words down and then the pace quickly picks up when I'm in the right headspace. But it's not easy to get more time than that between family obligations, work and sleep.

Also doesn't help that I effectively stopped using my native language five years ago, but never really got proficient enough with English to write in it.

Lots of love to you NaNoWriMoers out there.

The first draft of everything is shit, but the next first draft you write might not be as shit. Push through the voice.

Will join you next year - dissertation and filmmaking is taking the priority for now.

What're you waiting for? Get off of 4chan and get back to writing.

>>12028300
Just do 20 short stories, lmao

>>12030538
>effectively stopped using my native language five years ago, but never really got proficient enough with English to write in it.
Mein Afro-Amerikaner!

>>12030564
Tbqh my second draft was worse than the first, which while being a mess, had some genuine, unique vibes about it, that were hard to recapture. Only picked up again after 3-4th.

>>12030538
>>12030208
You guys sound like plotters. Have you tried creating an outline for your story?

>>12031993
It's far more well planned-out than anything I've attempted before, but I generally only write short stories, so I'm a bit out of my depth. It often feels like I don't have enough material to write a scene as vividly as I'd like to because there's too many elements that I don't plan on introducing until much later.

hand egg is popular
so is getting drunk at 3 in the afternoon and shouting at a bunch of nonsense

>>12031993
Sort of. I have a decent overview of the greater events that concern the world and what's happening directly to the characters, but I'm still having problems connecting those parts because I don't know my characters that well/keep changing them.

I think I'll try doing some shitty drawings for them. I noticed I can get into obsessively elaborated plots for random anime/manga stuff I see posted on 4chan just because I like imagining cool looking scenes.

>>12031084
Incidentally German is my native language.

>>12032531
>German /lit/fag who draws shitty anime
buchstäblich ich
Are you writing a visual novel by any chance?

>>12032678
Worse, [Spoiler]MMO Isekai[/Spoiler].

>>12032531
> I'm still having problems connecting those parts because I don't know my characters that well/keep changing them.
For me, multiple attempts did wonders. Basically finding out what the character is about bit by bit during rewrites. And thinking back, writing the characters I didn''t get so well at start, was quite fun. (Got multiple POVs)

>I think I'll try doing some shitty drawings for them.
Did that too, although I can't say it helped a lot. Still, visual aid never hurts.

>Incidentally German is my native language.
Same here, Hans. More or less. Grew up with Russian and Ukrainian but moved to Germany when I was 8-9, and lately most of my interactions in Germans were with Arabs who molest it most of the times.

>>12032692
Der absolute Wahnsinnige

Any tips for dealing with that sinking feeling you get when you reread some of your favorite non-literary YA novels and realize that you can't even compete with the likes of Martin, Pratchett, Gaiman, Strout or Jacques?

Even these second-rate writers who will all be forgotten in 50 years are still leagues above anything I could hope to put out in terms of rhythm, wit, creativity and pure joy.

>>12032789
read a Kyell Gold novel
realize that guy writes full time
either sink or swim, whatever you do just WRITE.

>>12030118
2K words a day anon

>>12032789
Read a bad novel about a topic or in a genre you like. Then write a good version of it out of spite.

>>12030954
>A la Steven king

>>12032820
You're probably right. I'm trying to emulate people I admire but do not really understand instead of reacting against people I understand and despise.
Time to write the /lit/ way!

>>12032918
Nothing wrong stealing from the great while doing so. Just keep in mind that good writers/artists nake mosaics while bad ones make photocopies(of photocopies of photocopies of photocopies etc.).

Anyway, one of the best points to start this tecnique is Sword Art Online. I've yet to see a writer who isn't sent into angry ramblings that produce a halfway decent script when met with "The first draft is always shit: the Multimedia Franchise".

>>12032789
>reread Suttree
>realize it will be years, possibly a decade or more, before I can write that well
>still writing my stupid navel-gazing novel anyway

I'm on the precipice of failing already, bros
I've got a main character and a vague setting, but just zero plot momentum
Now I'm sitting here, thousands of words behind, going "...now what? What happens?"
How do I figure out what happens, bros?

>>12033515
Just fucking write. There is a story within you. Even if you have to use magic plot leprechaun to move it along, just move it along.

>>12033515
I started a day late, but used my first day to do the following
>looked up a 3-act-structure info graphic on google
>started at the end with the falling action plot point and moved back up to the 3rd act climax and so on
>created characters to fit the plot I had developed

I'll probably be near or over 8k words by the end of my current chapter, and still not that close to the first act climax which will probably take more than 10k words to reach. I know where everything is going, who is falling in love with who, who dies and who lives. so, maybe plotting things out will help you? that is, if you are the plotting ahead type.

>coming up on 30k words

am i finally going to write this thing? It's been like 8 years that i've fantasized about writing a complete novel. i started this around Sept 5 or 6, so i'm taking it slow, but i'm hoping the NaNo group here can help spark a fire under my feet

>>12033629
That's it, man. If I had any ideas for plot, I could plot it all out and go crazy like you are. But I've got nothing.

I'll check out the info graphics though. I feel like they'll all be something I've already heard, but it can't hurt to try.

>>12033667
well, plot comes from the kind of story you want to tell, it's a lot easier after you've picked a genre and a target audience.

Gents, I was worried for the second about falling severely behind. But by working hard today, I've almost caught back up. Currently at about 6000, need 6666 by the end of today. I really feel good about participating in this, even if my novel is shit, I have a sense of forward momentum in life.
>>12033667
>>12033605
>>12033515
I'm having this problem too bros. My story so far is not compelling at all. Sure, I sort of have an inciting incident so far, but it's not exciting. I think my story is "unique" at best so far, but lacks so much structure, nor is the prose good at all. Nothing to make some read it. But I feel good about it. I'm still gonna continue writing forward. Hopefully I reach some enticing plot that makes sense, then I'll rewriting the beginning to be more foreboding.

BTW, anyone have tips for writing sci fi novels? Not sure if I want to follow the cyberpunk style though, even though I like cyberpunk. My future is "dystopian" but in a disappointing way. How do I make it exciting XD?

It's basically our modern day, set in 2151, but with very minor improvements. Like self driving cars, and thinner tablets. Taller skyscrapers, to a ridiculous point. Like over 300 floors basically. I took that aspect from cyberpunk. But everyone is basically what you'd expect of from today, and basically wear what we wear.

>>12033799

you got this. eliminate distractions, dude. once you're caught up it'll be a matter of riding momentum.

>>12033888
Totally, I've alright gotten to 6686 words now. I'm completely caught up. During the week will be very hard though. Working from 7am to 7pm.

that was unexpected.

>>12033987
consider that a pretty massive accomplishment. It's been two months of writing over here and I just cracked 29K today. Don't let this slip away from you

>>12032789
this gif gave me vivid ptsd holy shit

I've got about 11k down, shooting for 110k (not by the end of the month, obviously), just using November as added motivation to force myself to write every day without any excuses.

I'm usually the type who writes once or twice a week, whenever I get the urge, and I usually write about 4k words in one sitting (though sometimes, when I'm nearing the end of a story, I can get to about 8k before my mind just stops and I'm basically comatose for a few hours). Trying to see if I can get myself steady with writing each day instead, in shorter quantities, maybe 1k. It feels odd getting up and moving on with life when the chapter I'm writing isn't finished, but it does motivate me to want to come back the next day. Definitely a technique to try if you're struggling to sit down each day.

Haven't started yet because of work commitments. How are the employed among us balancing work/life/writing?

>>12036359
110k is a bit much if you plan to get an agent as a nobody.

>>12036462
Writing in sprints helps, I work 10 hours a day so I just try to write 1.67k words a day

But I have to write 2400 words tonight

>>12033666
This is a mile better than most of what I see here. Check the repetition of weep and the comma after "From the driver's seat" and you are gold and making me jelly.

>>12036589
i'm successful enough being self-published, traditional publishing is for geeks

>>12037218
>implying that guy isn't an agent or someone related to a publishing agency

I don't feel like writing today

>>12037564
then just write 1k words

>>12037564
Do it anyway, if you stop now I doubt you'll be here tomorrow

Guys, the Word Sprint tool is so goddamn good, but the quality of my writing zips straight into the shitter.
All my non-Sprint chapters are noticeably more readable.
Is there a way to balance this? I'm worried I'll churn out nothing but word-vomit at this rate.

>>12038183
finish the novel FIRST
then edit
literally who cares about what your first draft looks like.

>>12038262

If only you knew how bad things really are, anon... ;_;

>>12038183
>>12038280

Man Korea is weird. I would get fired so fast for taking photos of my students, never mind the whole posting them online thing.

>>12038313
They really are! But at least theyre pretty lax about lols. Some of the photos in this set would have been drawn-and-quartered for "hate speech" if they were made today.

scrotum polish and armpit butter

>>12038183
for me it's the other way around, if I write freely I procrastinate, edit a bit, think for two hours about which word to use, if I'm timed I gotta bust 'em out and in 85% of cases what I chose in that artificial hurry, so idk 'at gunpoint', is indeed what fits best.

I've concluded there's just something about my writing style that promises I run out of steam around 750 words a day.
What do

Did 12.5k in the last 4 hours, will now collapse and be braindead for a couple days then do it again four more times. we /unmedicatedmanicepisodeforproductivity/ now bois

>>12039702
Teach me your secrets.

I got like 1k done at work between classes but now I`m at home I`m just listening to music and browsing /lit/

>>12039712
being severely cuckoo, using it with weaponized autism and strategic omitting and megadosing of meds to churn out words until I mentally implode
it's essentially cheating cause every other chapter is stream of consciousness of a deranged antagonist, but editing the "normal" parts will be a cunt later so it does even out