/lit/ - Literature

>>18600938
>sci-fi and fantasy are the only real genres

i don't like it but hey, it won't last forever. And i'm writing a sci-fi myself. Still, thanks for startin up the new thread.

Question: would you sacrifice your own enthusiasm for originality? As in: would you change stuff up to be more original (assuming you succeed) at the expense of not really liking the changes you've made?

>>18601063
never, just because I wouldn't be able to keep up with the writing if I hated what I was writing or felt like it was too boring for me, etc.

but it really depends on how much will you have and how far you are able to slug through something you hate. I feel like I can do that for a month maybe two but if anything requires longer then that to write I would stop writing rather then write boring shit.

>>18600938
>>fantasy/sci-fi are the only real genres edition
I think they should be respected genres but no I don't hold them superior to any other genre.

>>18601111
thanks for the reply, quad of ones-anon.

Yes, I'm done now. I was never going to become the next Faulkner, the next Nabokov or the next Joyce, but I hid behind the language barrier to avoid criticism for months, maintaining an illusion that was fun to live in while it lasted. I had thought my country's education system to be topmost in the world, but this turned out to be utter bollocks. A child of 18, a person ten years my junior, has a greater vocabulary than I, who had to look up the word “topiary”, and no one likes the expression theory of art anymore, I am likened to a long lost dinosaur.
This will be my final post on /lit/. I've been humiliated and exposed as a fraud. My writing is pretentious, infantile, banal drivel. My observations are dull, my language grade school level. My tenses are mixed up; I use colloquialisms, ellipses and onomatopoeia. I mix tired and trite idioms together to obfuscate their unoriginality with a veneer of irony; I have continued to recite ornate Jewish chimpanzee parables with diminishing returns. The parable seemed very clearly to me to be asking me whether or not the now-grown-adult can choose. I say yes, of course, but that's not my issue.
I was never cut out for writing. I began writing my "book" on January 6th. Since then I've produced 114 thousand words for it. These words are a tide of garbage without value, without insight, without form. The themes of time, space, infinity, memory and pointless duelling are not present in my work. It was never real writing, it was anime and weebshit!
Story arcs, character arcs, narrative arcs, these are all outdated terms. You say what you hear, and only the anime fandom uses the term “arc” anymore. I am a toad! Look how many words I wrote, because apparently literature is bodybuilding and just aimlessly typing will somehow improve my writing. My appetites grew as I wrote, I set a goal of a 100 thousand words when I began, only for the cancerous growth to demand a 137 thousand words soon enough to be completed, and still I don't even know what genre it is that I'm writing. Is it autofiction? A comedy? A picaresque? Am I merely shitposting edgelord-triggering diarrhea in neo-emo gothic revivalist gestalt?
Regardless, I have failed, and even in my failure I have merely imitated how people who think they write well but write poorly write, and I couldn't even do that well. "Oh I can do that anytime if I wanted to" I thought, but no. I have put down my pen. Never again will my fingers click-clack across the keyboard. No more outlines, no more characters. Goodbye. Learn from me! Learn from me!

>>18601163
well if you think about it the only thing that will bring new people into literature are fantasy/scifi nobody gets into reading because they like moby dick

>>18600938
"AIl happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." - Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Maude Translation

Am I missing something or is this a comma splice? How can one of the most famous lines in all of literature be a comma splice? Why is Tolstoy allowed to do this here?

>>18601063
/wg/ just comes up with the weirdest questions. A bad idea is a bad idea, whether original or unoriginal. Why would I do ever something I hate just to appear "original"? (protip: there is no such a thing)

I’m struggling to find my style and my voice.

>>18601493
you're making wrongful assumptions. There is a scale that goes from banal to non-understandably "innovative", and somewhere in between those points is where most ideas end up. This goes for any form of art. Most ideas end up on the closer to banal side, but a few of them start gettin up there towards innovative. Now if you try too hard you'll end up where atonalism is for music and i actually don't have an idea for what writing would be considered to be there since i don't spend time reading stuff i don't like.
So let me rephrase the question: would you sacrifice your personal enjoyment of working on a project and liking it for getting a notch up on the innovation scale? Assuming you don't equate innovation with enjoyment, that is, in which case you're blessed - you can filter anyone!

>a bad idea
I never said a bad idea, i said an idea i don't like. There's a big difference between those two. For instance this could be changing the gender or ethnicity of a character because that specific thing hasn't been done before or changing the setting to something that hasn't been shown as much as the setting you actually prefer.
I also wrote "assuming you succeed", with which i meant "let's say people actually agree it is innovative and it somehow benefits how people percieve the work".

Ok this is tldr as fuck but i'm tired so fuck backspace. I'll fix it in editing ;^)

>>18601531
write more and you will find something, how much have you written?

>>18601589
I write everyday. Sometimes it’s just free writing my thoughts about my writing so it’s not always a story but I try to make it as close to a story as I can.

>>18601435
more people read thrillers than sci fi and fantasy combined. Even more read romance. the world isn't reddit

>>18601602
how many words a day?

I wanna improve my own writing since I am writing as a hobby and started it relatively recently, I also wanna eventually develop my own writing style. Should I follow this advice >>18596888, coupled with writing and posting it everywhere or should I also read books about writing books?

>>18600938
I'm writing an outline for a story I want to write and I'm so pumped to get started. I have only really finished one or two short stories and I'm still figuring out writing, but this is the first time I've been having so much fun writing. I'm excited to see how the story pans out and I can't wait to write it.

I know I'm gushing, but I have an idea which I think is really cool and I know I'll not do it justice (read: it will be shit) but I'm genuinely excited for this one.

how do you guys decide what the central conflict will be for your story? I'm having a hard time coming up with a compelling one for mine

>>18601619
1. Consider what you like and what you think is good.
2. Consider if this style is suitable for what you want to write
3. Try to emulate it to a degree that isn't directly copying it.
4. Let it sit for a while.
5. Go back to it and evaluate it.

Over time you will develop a personal style. Everyone percieves things differently and thus you can't really not have a style of your own. What you could do is improve how well you convey what you actually are trying to convey. Do this by letting people read your stuff, then ask them what it made them think about etc. If it made them think about what you wanted them to think about i'd say you're getting there.

>>18601625
I guess when you have a good character outline it kind of springs out of that?

>>18600938
Give me a subject to write 1000 words about.

>>18601639
A farmer is stuck in his house and he keeps hearing weird noises outside

>>18601488
you do realize that Tolstoy didn't originally write in English, right?

>>18601643
I meant a subject for an essay.

>>18601651
why you dislike/like farmers

>>18601651
Write an essay about how essays are outdated in modern society because not just do people only seek out echo-chambers where their own ideas prevail but an essay is too long for anyone to concentrate on.

>>18601651
farmers who get stuck in their houses and hear weird noises outside

>>18601651
How to choose a good puppy from the pound

>>18601700
That one actually sounds interesting.

>>18598992
and that would not be a kafka story. when I was reading, I think Amerika, I had the same thought - the main character should just get a gun and/or make proactive choices. but kafka stories are about powerlessness and inability to affect the world. read The Trial, or any number of shorts he has. its all the same. which isn't to say its bad writing, its great, but all of kafka's stories take place in hell, and the characters deserve to be there

How true is the following statement for you "Writing is not the outcome of thinking; it is the medium in which thinking takes place"?

>>18601819
true in large part, but without the initial spark of an idea you wouldn't start to put words on the page in the first place

>>18601063
>Question: would you sacrifice your own enthusiasm for originality?
This seems like a really weird question indeed. No, I don't think I would sacrifice my "enthusiasm " for originality because I like what I'm writing. I'm writing what I've always wanted to read and writing for myself, and sometimes people tag along and also enjoy it too.

>>18601858
thanks for the reply. Say an editor wanted you to change something and you might get it published that way, but perhaps not if you stuck with your idea. Would you do it? Is the question more reasonable if it's put in that way?

>>18601899
No because tradpublishing is shitty. I'm lived most of my youth pirating stuff out the wazoo, why would I want to suffer at the mercy of some tranny editor who will butt heads with me creativity, and after all that hard work of getting it out still risk people pirating it anyway? Might as well just skip the problems entirely and put it on some webserial site, which is how I'm publishing it anyway.

>>18601643
>>18601677
I like farmers about strange things happening on farms. What do you think?

>>18601899
I'd talk to my editor to reach a solution everyone can be happy with, almost like we're all adult humans

>>18601586
>I never said a bad idea, i said an idea i don't like
Our ways of thinking are worlds apart. To me, an idea I don't like is a bad idea, as simple as that. And I don't think in terms of "+2 points to innovative, -2 points from enjoyability", because I'm not a robot. When I write, I want to find solutions that are BOTH fresh and enjoyable and I'll keep on grinding until I have them.

If that dream exists
I can't find it
If your heart beats
I can't feel it
If i'm blind or dead i don't know
"You" are just word without soul of your own

Caress this filthy body
Set it alight with breath
A light with sacred purpose
Bring me close to death

Maybe i'm born different
Maybe i'm born wrong
Maybe i'm all ears
To hear the dead man's song

If only this beginning
Was just another end
If only this tragedy
Could my whole life amend

(First draft, tell me what's shit and why)

Oh will i ever see that dying tree
Again, and smell the uncut grass
As sky above reflects the world below,
A pane of cosmic glass

And will i ever
See another star that fell down from it's old home
And far away from it's own kind
And will i ever feel this cold
If i close my tired eyes
I guess i won't, but that's alright
I guess i'll go to sleep tonight
I won't be back on this side of heaven
I won't be back here in forever

>>18602085
>>18601919
and all the others... it seems people are on the side of sticking with what you love rather than changing things for ulterior gain. I'm proud of you degenerates.

>>18601628
Thank you anon, furthermore, on the topic of poetry, how do you practice it, I have been lead to believe poetry is something that takes work, as in a single poem can take days to make

>>18602309
there's no right way to do anything in life as long as the result is satisfactory. I personally play with the way words sound subconsciously almost all the time. Then eventually they form sentences that inspire ideas about what that sentence could be about. And from those i work on creating something true to the idea and true to the form that those first appealing words have turned into. Sometimes it's alliteration, sometimes it's rhyming... this is actually for writing lyrics to music. but that's the closest i get to poetry

kind of like this, but not actively singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Ke99JUOmU

>read GoT
>at least 200 pages is talking about food
>quick snappy dialogue
>random settings all over the place
Have I been duped thinking it was the literary master piece?

>>18602524
yes

>>18602524
how's the food

Ok ok but if I wanted to go the trad publishing route then how gay is too gay?

>>18602694
If you're on your knees, spreading some crusty old boomer's asscheeks as you let your tongue have an utter field day—only then would I say it's too gay.

currently I'll write something like 'This morning, while walking to the train station, I passed a decomposing cat.'
Then I'll think 'no I didn't, this is stupid' then stop writing

>>18600938
>fantasy/sci-fi are the only real genres edition
I have been told I straddle the line between fantasy and sci-fi too much, is that good or bad?

Dr. Van Hassain placed his stethoscope on little Thomas’s heart. It sounded faint and slow. The child looked pale and emaciated. On his neck was a wound of two small circles, same as the other three children he had seen that morning. His impromptu assistant, Moesha, sat in a corner and took notes as the physician spoke.

“I see that scabs have formed on Thomas’s neck,” remarked Dr. Vassain.

“Yes, yesterday, I put some gota kola leaves on his neck, and the wound closed,” said Thomas’s mother, Mrs. Okocha.

“Has the child been moving around?”

“No, not at all. I’m so worried. He usually runs around all time, playing games, doing sports,” said Mrs. Okocha.

“Why you want me to be swole, ma?” asked Thomas. “It ain’t worth cops talking to me with a hand on they strap.”

Van Hassain looked at his young patient, then back at his mother.

“This disease has been very common among the children of Whitby lately. But do not worry, Mrs. Okocha, for I have a cure.”

>>18602870
what does that even mean?

>>18602870
It’s worked for a Star Wars.

>>18602664
Not that great. There's only so many ways a man can praise pig. And loving wine

Writing is very hard and I'm not sure I'm gonna make it. My prose is weak and basic. I always imagined myself as a writer but I'm not sure I'm good enough

>>18603106
atleast you have the modesty to realize your skill level
some people double down on their delusions, permanently gimping their literary development
just write and read bro

>>18603106
>Writing is very hard
Yes.

>And I'm not sure I'm gonna make it
You WILL make it.

>>18601651
>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326238389_The_virality_of_Norwegian_guilt_How_a_story_of_male_rape_from_Norway_made_international_headlines

what about that?

>>18601266
ok

>>18601488
I don't know a lick of Russian, but a Russian anon in here was once confused as to why English didn't permit comma splices.

how much should i be forced to answer in my story?
I want to leave things mysterious, ambiguous, and worth going over a second time, so naturally I figured I'd have some unanswered questions. of course, at some point unanswered questions become simply plotholes, so where does one draw the line?

>>18603300
As long as they’re answered to you so things can be kept consistent. Don’t be like the JJ Abrams faggot with his mystery box bullshit.

>>18603300
these questions never make any sense
unless I read a completed draft of your story, go over your notes and talk about it with you, there is no way I could no how it should be written
write it how it should be and if it turns out shit anyways it means you need to read/write more

>>18603404
dickhead-- obviously I'm not asking for a fucking edit, I'm asking for your general opinion. if you don't have one then just don't fucking reply, what kind of advice is "your story needs to be good and if it's not you suck" you fucking retard

>>18600938
Is there a term for a spit take without liquid? Like, a weird sound you make when someone says something ridiculous or surprising?

Huttopia Gang Battle
>Just saw Huttopia on Chronicle
>Camping facility in New Hampshire
>Permanent tents with beds, electricity and showers
>Owned by a French company
>Blows American camping out of the water
>Start thinking about it
>All I have to do is go camping and they'll take me France
>Gang battle ensues
Now that I think about most people are just living life, but there could be others who get evaluated overnight. Like they'll know which ones want to move to France then decide if they want to make a move.

>>18603456
your story needs to be good and if it's not you suck

>>18603524
>just repeats self, in my rephrasing
you gonna thank me for the edit?

>>18603554
No, why would I thank someone for a shit job?

I think of anime and manga scenes while I’m writing. This isn’t good.

>>18603456
>dickhead
not even insulting you insecure bitch, literally something no one can tell you
every story is different and should have different things

>>18603563
because you're using my words. holy fuck you actually are a god damned retard.
>>18603589
don't need you to say anything if you don't think anything, worthless faggot.

>>18603652
your insecure and need to learn to understand whats being said to you
no one's gonna write your story for you. learn to make your own judgements on what to include

>>18603502
>There's a fighter in France who worked his way up the ranks
>He wants to get more people to move to France
>Uses his earning to fund the campground
>The French woman on Chronicle is the player character
>Most people are bystanders
>So Huttopia is her bubble
>It's their job to get more player characters
>Originally she wanted to move to US
>Goes to Huttopia
>Thinks it's kind of shitty
>They need her for the campground to function
>An adventurous young woman gets her to move to US
>Fighter in France gets a report the campground was overrun.

>>18603502
>>18603725
I have no idea what any of this means.

>>18603576
Think of good anime like code geass

>>18603472
Astonish, bewildered, confused, shocked, flabbergasted

If anyone would like to read my short story here it is. I made it as cheap as possible but you can get a free trial too. It's meant for kids but I don't have an illustrator and can't draw for shit.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098FF85BP/ref=kwrp_li_stb_nodl
I would appreciate reactions, like how you felt reading it. I don't think the tone will come through as well without pictures.

>>18603652
You sound like a pseud who came here to be showered with praised. You will never be a writer

Pilot I wrote: Character study. 1980s. New York City. Wall Street. Follows several stockbrokers attempting to navigate an entanglement of sex, drugs, and greed, each trying to find their own American Dream. Anyone want to read it? It could be good; it could be shit. I'd like to know what you bros think.

How do I quit my addictions and still remain creative? I don't want to be an alcoholic anymore but I just can't get into that "flow" state sober.

>>18602704
I meant more in terms of content than how far I’d go to get published.

>>18604002
Why do you gotta quit your addictions? Alcoholic/druggie writer is a total cliche. Embrace it.

>>18603704
you need to learn to read. I explicitly asked "what does one do" not "what do i do"
sorry you're brainless.
>>18603979
and you sound like another butthurt faggot with not relevant opinion. respond to this post too and show me how upset I made you.

>>18604048
Anon, calm down. You don’t need to seethe so much. Just accept it and be at peace with yourself.

>>18603979
So the average /wg/ poster, then.

whenever some anon goes on meltdown I can never tell if there's a resident schizo or if it's a new delusional, short fused would-be writer
it's hard to tell. so many people interested in writing have personality problems and it's always the same ones
I wish I was into a hobby where my peers were well adjusted

>>18603895
you 100% need pictures if you're going to do a children's story. People want to show their kids pictures, not make them imagine things

>>18604122
you're right but hearing it makes me feel bad so please don't say such awful things

>>18604077
accept what? you're offering literally no opinion but that you are a butthurt. go ahead and respond to this one too and let me know how mad I made you

>>18604130
I wrote a kids book and I drew my own illustrations. They're very simple but simple works

>>18604122
I agree. Is Etsy a good site to hire someone? I googled it and results are mostly ad bullshit

>>18604130
This is actually one of the best things you can do. Go to the local children's hospital or some poor kids place with a bunch of cancer kids like St. Jude's. Volunteer and draw pictures with them.

Have them draw the pictures for you, then sell it with pictures of the kids drawing it, and what not. Publishers will eat that shit up

>>18604135
Anon, stop being so confrontational. It doesn’t help you. It will hinder you.

>>18604195
>stop being so confrontational
You seem to have forgotten where you are.

>>18604195
NO YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND
my ideas and writing are perfect, I'm a true artist, a master of the human condition and a communicator of the soul
when I ask for opinions all anyone is ever supposed to do is validate my unstated thoughts

>>18604195
nigger, YOU don't help.
don't over estimate yourself. no one asked you for an edit, no one thinks your opinion is particularly relevant. it was a simple query and you took the opportunity to act holier-than-thou and say absolutely nothing and act like you know anything more than anyone else here.
so again, I beseech you, say something relevant to the question or simply acknowledge that you are a buttmad faggot, faggot

>>18604002
The flow you're feeling is just lowered inhibitions and dulled critical skills. Quitting an addiction will absolutely take the wind out of your creative sails for a bit, but there's also an even chance that writing is just a method you use to exercise control over something because you've lost control of your own life, like "Pshh, I don't need to stop drinking and find a better job and start a family. I'm going to be a famous writer" and it's even more of a bitch because you can always pretend like you're Vincent Van Gogh and failure somehow vindicates your efforts.

There's been a few occasions in my life where I've used writing to justify addiction, in the sense that I believed that both were fueled by my ever-so-dark inner demons, and the quality of work I've produced in those periods has been objectively terrible.

>>18604237
no one offered an edit schizo
no one was being mean to you
no one is out to get you
breathe

>>18604237
Anon, you don't have to lie to protect your ego, I can literally just scroll up and see all the post. This denial will hinder your improvement on your writing.

>>18604195
>>18604229
holy samefag

>writing story
>chapter is only about 3000 words
>10 pages if it was converted to a book
Fuck... how do people keep droning on and on to get the magical 6000 word count per chapter? I'll never make it now.

>>18604253
What? Why would you write 6000 words for a chapter? I get antsy if I got up to 3500, there's no need for them to over 3k

>>18604248
Anon, take you meds, your schizophrenia is showing. Why don't you breathe and go outside.

>>18604253
I can never get it past 2000, after that I feel like I'm starting to move my characters through too many scene changes or writing too much about the color of the chair he was sitting on

>>18604195
>>18604229
>>18604243
>>18604246
yikes yikes yikes. this nigga is aggravated, and has a limited voacublary
>>18604262
this one too lol

>>18604150
Fiverr, deviantart

>>18604248
anon I'm here to tell you that you have to act
(((they))) are coming for you
(((they))) want to edit your work
(((they))) think they're so much better than you
now is the time. do it anon. do it. do it. do it.

any good sites to upload pdfs to?

>>18604276
lol at least your getting kind of creative now. I guess it was a good thing I made you so upset.

>>18604270
Anon you meds…..

>>18604262
>>18604276
Literally any réponse to “samefag” that is not a screencap is an admission so please duck off with you pained anus

>>18604283
anon you butthurt :,(

>>18603300
Well, it depends on what questions are left unanswered.

Like, if I write a story wherein an otherwise noble hero suddenly decides to pick up a cat and snap it's neck, the reader might be left wondering why he did that. Especially if the hero's relationship with cats had never been mentioned before and was not mentioned again later in the story. They probably wouldn't be able to come up with a meaningful answer to that question.

If I write a story where a hero has never known his father, but then meets his mentor in the form of an older stranger with whom he shares several distinctive traits, the reader might be left wondering if the mentor was really the hero's father all along. They might decide that genetics are less important than emotional/material support.

Basically what comes down to is whether or not the questions posed will provoke deeper thought about the material, or just provoke confusion.

>>18604295
oh, so it depends on the contents and intentions of the story?
huh, weird I've never thought of that before

>>18604295
>whether or not the questions posed will provoke deeper thought about the material, or just provoke confusion.

great way of looking at it.
t. person who originally postited question

I posted this yesterday, but the thread closed a hour after. I'll be thankful if any of you give me some genuine criticism and tips to get better at this. Thank you, anons.

>>18604260
300 words a page, 20 pages a chapter for a proper book. Not some Mice and Men bullshit

>>18604290
Take your meds, you schizo and stop with the victim complex.

>>18604309
you're just out to get me...
I know you used inspect element...
you just want to be my editor don't you...
one day, you're all gonna pay...

>>18604309
>unironcially getting butthurt over shit not involving him
anon, you need to end it tonight, I'm not joking. it's for your own good.

>>18604308
>Mice and Men is not a proper book
>I, anon, write proper books
Anon I'm sorry but that's just not going to fly with me.
>the captcha now requires me to move around a slider for the letters to become visible before I can type them
Oh dear.

>>18604298
Are you being sarcastic? That's real fucking nice you little twirp, I take time out of my busy schedule to type up my thoughts and you fucking mock me? I'm so fucking pissed off right now. And it's your fault. How are you going to fix this?

>>18604253
What? You don't. Just let a chapter be as long as it needs to be. I wrote a chapter that was 7k words over 3 days consecutively and it turned my brain to scrambled eggs by the end of it. I had a good stopping point at exactly the 3k word mark but decided against it for no particular reason other than I felt like it. Long-ass chapters like 6-7k will bore your reader though.

>>18604309
>>18604313
>the two device faggot
remember to thank your daddy for your cool iphone

>>18604323
Jesus, all this seething because someone didn't praise you?

>>18604320
damn, you are fucking upset
>>18604326
no it's because you WON'T OFFER AN OPINION. FOR THE LAST TIME-- READ THE FUCKING POSTS YOU DENSE SHIT.

>>18604327
His opinion was to stop being a pseud.

>>18604326
>>18604323
Yeah can both of you guys knock it off? Do you really think one of you can browbeat the other into admitting you're right?

And fuck these new captchas.

You guys don't write, this is just a social club where you come to blow off steam by arguing.

>>18604320
well first I'm going to misinterpret what I've been told, protecting my poorly formed preconceptions on writing, then I'm going to ascribe a single character to everyone who's replied to me, reinforcing my victim complex which shelters me from new ideas, then I'll witlessly auto-reply seethe posts, further cementing myself into the thread clown

>>18604332
and YOUR opinion is irrlevant ad hominem bullshit.
as I've said probably a million fucking times: if your op is irrelevant, don;' offer it. literally just stop replying. it's fucking obvious you're a samefag, just stop if you hate this discussion so much

>>18604335
>butter churning board is a social club
yes
most of us do write but procrastinating is so damn sweet
you'll come to appreciate the shit posting with time, just don't take it all to seriously

>>18604335
We used to have anons who wrote in these generals, I think they were called animefags, but the pseuds stab them in the back to protect their own ego and delusion of grandeur. It's why these threads have been getting shitter and shitter.

>>18604335
I WRITE, do i write books? NO. Do i write short stories? NO. Do i write vignettes? NO, but goddamn it I WRITE.

>>18604339
jfc dude, seethe a little less. like honestly. I worry about fucks like you. I'm irritated but more cause you're a petulant twat. you're taking this way too personal, as if this thread means anything beyond the 300th post. maybe you should go to bed?

>>18604354
You type. This is different.

>>18604355
>if I accuse him of seething no one will notice that
who asked for advice and got mad when he was told that there is no easy answer?

>>18604339
Dude. I've had it with you. I just printed up your post and wiped my ass with it. If you've ever wiped your ass with printer paper then you know I'm not fucking around anymore. Stop.

>>18604363
didn't ask for advice I asked for opinions, and you chose to offer some vague sort of 'lesson' that meant nothing instead of just offering an honest, vulnerable opinion.
I don't want chiding, I don't advice. I want to know what people who have been in my shoes think.
you're a sad fuck, mate. gnight.

>i didn't ask for advice
>you asked for advice
god I love all this writing we're accomplishing

>>18604388
respond to me, you spineless fuck.
you're on 4chan: you don't have to even admit when you've been called out, but this kind of childish shit just shows you're a fucking sad joke.

>>18604388
>/wg/
>writing anything at all
The fuck have you been? The only ones who ever wrote shit here were anime watchers and they left.

>>18604335
But I do write. I wrote just today.

>>18603472
it's called a gasp

>>18604397
I'm still writing my novel about my experiences in the army!

>>18604305
I think the quality /crit/ anons left but I can give it a shot
You're falling into 'show don't tell', which is to say, stating the results of something rather than the event that caused the state
>His concern ended when
Just state that his heart rate eased or that his tension
You have a very stiff, script-like style that's very common among new writers. You describe events in a very detached way and with an actor, action pattern
>He X
Rather than weaving actions together you state each in sequence
It gets a bit looser towards the end but overall there seems to be no acknowledgment of the prose and it's purpose

It's pretty bad anon but that's fine. You'll get there
If you have a psychotic meltdown to hide your insecurities I'm gonna be pissed so just take the crit like a champ ok?

>>18604397
I think some of us "anime watchers" are here, all of you are being silly and exaggerating.

>>18604388
>he didn't respond and crit anyone
be the change you want to see
meta whining is just shit posting with none of the fun of jerking around a mentally ill retard

>>18604431
But this general is nothing more than a social club

>>18604457
like the salons of the Enlightenment era

>>18604419
Nah, I'm thankful for the feedback. Where can I study how to relax my prose?

>>18604486
I prefer to think of it as cavemen around a fire. Our words will be forgotten as soon as the fire fades, but for now they are important to us.

I'm not done arguing. I'll fight any one of you faggots.

>>18604496
Write more, read more. It sounds like I'm fucking with you but it's genuine advice
Don't let it get to you that you're a bit rough and just keep writing. Maybe write something with excessively stylish prose? Try to find the polar opposite of the plain beginner prose to help you mediate yourself somewhere in between
But it mostly comes down to reading and writing. Giving effort crits is also good, even if you don't post them just thinking about it is a good habit. If you can find issues in other peoples writing it should help you find it in your own

>>18604518
you're not fun to shitpost with because you don't have a stance to defend and you're not clever
your whole shtick is acting smug and projecting blame. atleast have personality if you're gonna be a tantrum thrower

>>18604305

the sentence that uses 'what looked like' twice is a real winner

>>18604507
well said
I no longer feel shame over my impassioned seething but am instead empowered by my connection with my baser natures

I overuse the word "perhaps" when listing possible differing viewpoints or interpretations. What do?

>>18604614
Use "mayhap" also.

how do I have infinite willpower to write whenever i want?

>>18603300
I believe Hemingway said that what is omitted should be something the author knows what it is. As in, you must know, but you can omit it from the text to give the reader a certain experience. He followed it up by saying that if you omit things cause you don’t know, you’re a hack.

>>18604518

>>18603774
>>18604404
Thanks, but I’m looking for something more like an eye roll. Actually I think “he snorted” will do, thanks for the help though

And to think that a month ago, I was so excited about leaving /wg/ forever

> Dear Anon,

> Thank you for expressing interest in [job title]. We have reviewed your qualifications for the position, and while your background is impressive, we have other applicants that we are moving forward with at this time. We sincerely appreciate your interest in our company and wish you success in your career search.

>>18605364
You good-for-nothing! Did you think you had a life out there?

>>18605364
Is there a walmart/amazon in your area? I feel for you anon it's a tough process.

>write 100-200 words
>have a hiccup and do other things before getting back to writing
How do I fix this?

>>18605754
Try drinking water.

So, cream paper or white paper? I personally think cream looks like cheap toilet paper, but literally every novel out there uses it. Would I come across as a tryhard if I used clean white? Does it make your eyes bleed, or cause epileptic seizures, or something else that might make people burn my book without reading? As a reader, I haven't really even paid any attention to the paper color before.

>>18604349
Just cause they posted their waifu fantasies doesn’t mean it was good. Second, you’re confusing /crit/ with /wg/.
Just cause you were posting your ramblings doesn’t mean you were actually contributing. People have questions and they post them here. Then there’s the filler, which is mostly arguing. I see nothing wrong with that.

>write female character
>Feels like a waifu
How do I stop this?

https://pastebin.com/A3Apuc1a
wrote this last year. dropped it because it was going nowhere

Does 'Canterland' sounds okay for a not!England country name?

>>18605997
Sounds like an equestrian place to me

It's really hard to go from interesting-but-vague-idea to a fully fleshed out story. I'm struggling to think that the next part of my story should be about. I know the end goal, I just don't know what should happen on the way.

This might be considered a very cringey thing to ask about, but I'm a fan of Rick and Morty and think that some of the Sci-Fi concepts they use on that show are crazy inventive. How can I come up with stuff like that? I really like the idea of a book series that's kind of episodic Sci-Fi with similar types of stories.

>>18605364
sorry anon
have you written anything your proud of recently

>>18606560
>How can I come up with stuff like that?
by being creative? weird thing to ask

>>18606509
They run out of gas and have to walk to the next station. On the way they meet a wise old woman and a talking donkey, who promise them gold in exchange for tequila.

>>18606595
So you think those guys just sit in a chair and say "time to be creative" and then write an episode? It's called a creative process for a reason, I'm interested in the process to get to that kind of story.

>>18606602
You ever see that South Park episode with the manatees and the idea balls?

>>18606602
then a more coherent way to phrase your question would be
>what's your creative process?
personally ideas just hit me and I note them down whenever they do and I just build on them later

>>18606672
>>and I just build on them later.
This is what I'm asking about, how do you build on them?

>>18606597
based fairy tale writer
I wish I had that element of whimsy required for soulful fairy tales
anyone can breakdown the common components and write a fairy tale that's recognizable in style but going full Andersen and writing original fairy tales that aren't completely derivative and stil have that classic feel takes some childlike wonder I just don't have

>>18606690
Different anon. My stance on the subject is that so long as you have something to say you can write anything. If you don't have a narrative or theme you'll struggle the whole time
I'm writing fantasy shlop about skeletons. I wanted to write a story about friendship so in my notes I wrote what I wanted to explore, how characters would reflect that and a general idea on how I want to wrap things up. Now I'm just writing it and hoping I can tie things together in a second draft when I have more insight
Everyone has a different process. Just do what gets your ideas flowing. And make sure you have something to say when writing. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful or anything, but if you try to write without having anything to say you'll probably end up writing shit and burning out

>>18606770
Maybe I need to try to think of something to say with my idea. Right now I have a character whose attitude I have kind of worked out and half a plot with a big jump and then an ending.

I have a very high-concept overview that I can't seem to fill in the gaps for.

>>18606785
Absolutely you need to have something to say, the narrative is what ties everything in the story together. Don't feel like you need to communicate that narrative to the reader or anything, just it being in mind when you write is enough
It's as easy as writing your stance and opinions on friendships. I wanted to write a story about a group of friends going on adventures so my narrative is that quality friendships are really good
If your story is about a Rick clone then have it be about progressing technology and man kinds inability to keep up with it or something. It doesn't need to be so obvious, feel free to be as abstract as you want. You could use your story as a vehicle for a stance on incels or whatever
From my understanding classic sci-fi have a lot of overlapping themes and messages. Probably should read some of those

>>18606828
Yeah I think I almost want my writing to have a pulp quality to it, but with very modern takes on sci-fi stories. I'll need to find a few old pulp sci fi stories to read.

Writing is very hard though, I either don't know what to write or have an idea, start to expand upon it and then it either starts to suck or lose luster to me, or I just get stuck.

>>18606958
>then it either starts to suck or lose luster to me, or I just get stuck.
Frankly you just have to tough it out. Write shit if you have to, just see it through to the end. You'll never improve your sensibilities if you never finish anything. Writing is easy. Getting over your inhibition and shame is hard
GL anon. Don't feel like you have to write anything original or even good. Just write

>>18606979
Thank you, I'm going to brainstorm what I want to say with the story and try and use that to dictate what is going to happen next. Then I'm going to start to write what I have planned whether I get some good idea or not.

>>18606692
Don't know about fairy tales, but it's an image that's in my head for some reason and I sure don't have room for it anywhere at the moment.

>>18605997
Works as a hose based theme park. As a country, maybe not so much. Something off about 'canter' that would probably be solved by removing a letter (Anterland, Canteland, Canerland, etc.)

>>18605875
Literally cope and excuses with you people.

>>18605997
>>18607020
Just call it Ingerland

how does know if writing good

>>18607042
>1/3rd of the thread is questions, discussion and excerpts
>he doesn't reply to any of them
>instead he uses his precious (you) to seethe

>>18607064
Ask someone who isn't your relative or friend.

>>18607064
read it and ask a few someones who aren't your relatives or friends

>>18607064
If you are writing genre fiction, it's good if it has a decently sized readerbase. And it's even better if some of those readers pay you to write.
If you are writing realism/literary/etc fiction, it's the same.

>>18607129
>the american has crawled out of his hole
did you catch the scent of money or did stephen king release a new book for you to buy

>>18607160
>how do you know if your writing is good
>NOT IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT
so what creative writing masters program did you come out of?

>>18607065
>Insults writers with baseless claim to make himself feel better
No wonder /wg/ has gone to shit.

>>18607223
seethe. how can you hold your opinion on intrinsic merit unless it's the most well funded one?

>>18607242
i'd say that if people are willing to pay for smut THAT is better writing then if people would be willing to pay for a new karamazov brothers.
What the fuck is the point of "good" writing if nobody is willing to read it or, do something that would essentially hurt them more, pay for it?

>>18607267
we know what you think, or rather what your betters have cultivated the lower strata of your culture to think
the question is why would anyone want to hear your vapid americanese babble that does nothing to advance the listeners writing skill

>>18607242
Did you know that classic author made their works to make money from subscriptions? Usually rewarded paying readers with bonus material, like short stories or whatever else.

>>18604422
These two groups have battling here for months.

>>18607493
I'm fairly certain it's like 5~ actors spitting at each other and everyone else is just appreciating the soap opera
It is a compelling dynamic. The uninhibited anime writer who pounds out sheer word count and the pretentious pseud who only writes a few sentences a week and deletes it all every month to rework

>>18607533
what if I'm an anime writer who writes a few sentences a week and deletes everything? Where do I belong?

>>18607543
In the trash

>>18607533
I must say it's a curious phenomenon how certain regular posters (faggots) simply vanished at the exact same time the animetranny who hijacked OP was vanquished. I'm not saying this was samefagging of very cancerous proportions, but really makes you think huh

>>18601663
That's fucking stupid, essays are specifically designed to streamline information in an easily concentrated-upon and digestable format.
Only uneducated morons can't handle reading essays. They are even designed specifically to be efficiently skimmed; a well-written essay of any length can take 2 minutes, tops, to get the core idea across to a reader who knows how to skim.

If my alternate history where the Japanese won WW2 portrays them as still having the same fanatically xenophobic mindset they did then, will I be cancelled?

>>18607800
If anything you're just illustrating the message of such an essay. That most people can read essays, they're designed for readability, but people choose not to because of their expectations. They think of reading as a challenge, 10 pages as daunting and even the word 'essay' is foreign and intimidating

>>18601819
Pretentiously assertive, but in a good way that makes you a Chad.

>>18607813
PKD already wrote the Man in the High Castle

>>18607823
Thanks for channeling my rage into constructive thought, anon.
I'd link it back to the failings of our early school systems. I don't even remember far back enough to say definitively what was done wrong, but there's certainly a problem with how children are raised associating the word 'essay' as an intimidating chore, as you said. It probably has to do with how children are made to write essays in school about topics they aren't interested in at all.
I've found since joining university 2 years ago, after a few years out of highschool, essay are much more enjoyable to write because you're given a much greater scope to write within; the specific approach you take toward the topic can be much more self-expressive, and thus much more enjoyable to write about/research. I don't remember having anything remotely like that experience in grade school.

>>18607795
I stopped writing due to the OP pics.

>>18607893
chief representor of the average /wg/ poster

>>18607902
Merely relaying what a pseud said why he doesn't write anymore. They have excuses a dime a dozen, might as well share them.

>>18601488
You learn the rules so that you can break them intelligently and with purpose. Sidestepping the real issue here regarding the fact that this was a translation, consider that the line has a lot more impact when both sentences are explicitly joined as one by a comma. If they were "properly" divided into two standalone sentences, their intwined nature and subsequent impact would be severely diminished.
You can't just comma splice most of your writing without care or thought. It's better to follow the rules and write mediocre stuff than jump right into breaking the rules and certainly writing bad stuff.

>>18607918
>be deliberate in your usage on language
discarded, not written verbatim in King's On Writing

>>18607926
Fair, I retract my post.
I had to go through this awful captcha to say so, so you know I'm sincere.

>tfw wake up to 2 reviews for my fiction
yeah.... I'm thinking we're all going to make it bros.

>>18608169
were they good or bad?

>>18608170
I think one was fairly constructive criticism, they liked the setting and one of the protags, but mentioned the other protag and their side of characters were bland, which I think they stopped right before I gave them meaningful character development, but at least they said they would continue reading

>Some of my reviews say that characters have their own voice and develop well.
>Some say that only protag is good and others are forgettable
>Some are not getting in touch with anybody

Why is LitRPG so popular?

>>18608296
People like games, games are cool. People also like green numbers going up. Those are cool too. People like power fantasies and stuff.

I don't think the genre is THAT popular outside of webnovels in the West. On Amazon there are about 7 pages/47 entries a page with the keyword 'LitRPG', that's less than 400 fiction. No idea about tradpubbing though.

>>18608296
reading has been stigmatized as hard and for smart people
but when people think video game writing they think that it must be simple enough that even a retard like them can read it. plus they have reason to be interested since everyone plays videogames so there's interest overlap

>>18608296
its the flavor of the week in asian online writing circles and western online writing culture right now is basically fanfic or an offshoot of the asian writing culture

>>18605428
I delusionally thought I could leave neetdom. Sad! Many such cases!

>>18605730
There are a lot of ads for receptionists, administrative assistants, clerks, office assistants. I'll try the job search for my vocation for another month or two, and if that doesn't work out, I'll start applying for the wagie jobs

>>18606586
I'm currently writing this story. I'm going to write a book that is made up of a bunch of funny, cheerful stories, mainly to keep my mind off this depressing job search
>>18578721

Chapter 38 posted.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/40361/erased
Posting serially has all kinds of downsides due to timecrunch, but on the other side of that it really provides an opportunity to dedicate a great deal of time to each chapter. Its weird, its both more stressful and less stressful at the same time. Hope everyone is getting their story out.

>>18608500
I want to hypnotically call McCarthy a good girl.

>>18603895
I added illustrations to my children's book. I drew them myself so they're absolute dogshit, but I couldn't find anyone who was offering the style I wanted. I am still looking into getting an artist, but this will help show them what I want anyway.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098FF85BP
Would appreciate criticism/reviews.

>>18608682
Don't you think the tomato seed would say "I don't want to grow INTO a tomato" instead of "I don't want to grow tomatos"? He's not a farmer, he's the actual seed itself

and when you get the good illustrations for reals, make sure to email Amazon to push the new file to people who've already bought your book

>>18608714
Yeah that does make sense. I was thinking of it as someone having to do a job they don't want to do--"I don't want to be a plumber" type of thing. Your way is better grammatically, do you think it conveys the same feeling? Was the feeling I was trying to get across evident at all?

And thanks I didn't know, I'll do that.

>>18608508
there is some dialogue in a couple chapters where Macarthy is 'forced' to say that she's a good girl. and then gets rewarded for doing so. because that's what good girls get

>>18609102
Sounds utterly repulsive, but intriguing...

>>18609114
I aim to please. its immediately followed by making it more than abundantly clear the guy is intact, and that circumcision is a form of human sacrifice. then the next chapter there's a slightly more ambiguous scenario referencing abortion in the same vein

I love the idea of writing but when I try to write I always feel like it doesn't turn out like I imagined it and I lose steam. I come up with situations that would be cool to write about but I can never come up with an actual story. Any advice? Also, the captcha on this board is ass.

>>18609253
Embrace the process your idealized veiw of the story in your head will not be the final product so what. Finish what you stared also brainstorming an outline before writing will let you lay out the skeleton of the story.

>>18609284
Thank you wise anon

>>18603989
Set it in current year and I'd be enticed to read it. The 80s is played out.

>>18608782
I think it makes more sense for the tomato plant to say "I don't want to grow tomatoes" when he's a "real" plant. When he's a seed, he should be thinking about actually growing up. It's like a kid (who for some reason can only be a dentist) saying that he doesn't want to do root canal extractions. First he should worry about growing up to an adult, then becoming a licensed dentist, and when he does all that, then he can worry about the teeth surgeries

something like this
> seed plant: I don't want to grow up to be a tomato plant
> sapling mode: I don't want to grow tomatoes
> fully mature tomato plant: I wish I could grow blueberries instead of tomatoes

How do you latinize Ibn Fahm? Aviphamus? Avemphamus? Avivamus?

>>18609475
I think that was my original idea. I wanted to have repetition though. Like he knows he's fucked from the beginning, but instead of accepting it, he fights it the whole time.
I may be misreading it, but aren't
>I don't want to grow up to be a tomato plant
and
>I don't want to grow tomatoes (future-implied)
the same thing? Unless it's not obvious he's talking about the future, in which case I agree. This is how I was thinking of it, in dentist terms:
>Dad: Son, you're going to be a dentist.
>Kid: I don't want to be a dentist. I want to be a plumber. I hate teeth and I love pipes.
>Dad: No, plumbers are stupid, be a dentist.
etc.

So it's not specifically the root canals he hates, it's being a dentist in general.

Actually, I think "I don't want to be a tomato plant" makes more sense overall, so I agree, but on the other hand it doesn't make sense why a tomato plant would want to be a blueberry bush just because. What can a blueberry bush do that a tomato plant can't, really, besides grow blueberries? I guess because it's bigger? But that misses the point of the story. Neither way makes much sense now that I think of it.

What do you think of the actual concept? What do you think the intent was.
What I wanted to say was accept what you're given/too many choices is its own burden. AKA you can get fucked either way.

>>18609648
The idea of your story is clear, obviously the tomato is fighting what he is instead of coming to terms with it. I actually like it

It's standard for children's books to have repetition, but it's always a variation of repetitiveness, not literally the same thing over and over.

Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see? the repetition is "what do you see?" but it's not about a brown bear the entire book because that would be fucking boring. There's a blue whale, a red bug, a yellow bird, a green lizard, etc.
In Goodnight Moon, the bunny says "I love you this much Mom" but it's different every time. Bunny loves his mom to the kitchen, to the end of the street, to the ocean, to the forest, and eventually to the moon.

>>18609319
>wise anon
Ha I'm just of the many idiots who browses this board good luck anon.

I just started getting really excited about an idea out of nowhere and spent a couple hours working on worldbuilding and planning main story beats. Still have a ways to go in this phase of things, but how do I keep at it and not let go of the excitement for this idea I'm mulling over?

I always seem to get to this point, sit down to start on a first draft, and then write maybe a few thousand words before convincing myself I'm shit and everything I'll ever do is shit and then I delete everything and go back to telling myself I'll maybe write something, sometime, but not today.

Do any other anons struggle with this? If so, have you managed to successfully beat it?

>>18609342
I essentially wrote to sell out and make money by profiting off of boomer nostalgia for the 80s

Thoughts?

>>18609682
You make a very good point. I think I will focus more on his denial in the beginning.
>Seed: Maybe I won't actually have to grow tomatoes.
>Sprout: I hate this. Isn't there anything I can do?
>Plant: I hate this. I don't want to grow tomatoes.

Something like that. It's more interesting, for sure, but I also really want to hammer home the point that this guy is fighting an impossible battle and he's stubborn as fuck.

>>18609725
Are you me? Fuck dude. I’ve lost count of the false starts, the over analyzing. But Things aren’t done overnight, bro. You know this, and so do I. Work at it slow. A little a day. Set a small word count—whatever your goal post may be. You have to be consistent, regardless of quality. You know what you have to do. No quote or passionate frenzy is going to inspire you to write the next Moby Dick.

I want you to write because I want better books in the world. Memento mori. I’m sorry I don’t possess the cure all. If anything: Consistency. Consistent shit is fine.

(The new captcha is cancer btw)

>>18609725
there were only two times in my life that i was able to beat what you're describing. the first time i used a trick where i would begin writing by deleting the last line from the previous day's session and rewriting it. also whenever i lost steam i would ask the question "what's the worst thing that can happen right now?". invariably the first answer to come to mind would be some variation of "protag dies" but then i'd force myself to think of something even worse than that, something worse than death. doing this i wrote a 24k word novella/short story which is to this day the best thing i ever wrote (it's still pretty bad, of course, but i'm not a very good writer).

the second time i had the idea for the story pretty much fixed from the start and outlined it using something which i can only describe as a "recipe". basically i noted down things i "needed": scenes, characters, character moments, even symbols and then tried to arrange them in some order and then wrote the whole thing out over a couple of days. even though it was a very mechanical and analytic process that story is the only one i can look back on and say it came from a place of real feeling. still poorly written of course but every time i re-read it i can feel the emotions i wanted the reader to feel (and that i felt while writing it) and i'm quite proud of that.

>5 chapters in
>less than 12k words
AAAAHHHHHHHH how do I add interesting fluff?!

>>18609954
That sounds actually reasonable to me. Whats the word count for each one, like 2000? 3000? More than enough I'd say.

>>18609954
maybe you could do what dosto did just add anecdotes from real life (or from other literature) that are thematically related. if you're writing fantasy/sci-fi even better, just take those real life anecdotes and reframe them in the world of your story.

>>18609962
about 2.5k. I read online that it should be about 6k words per chapter though. But I really have no idea how to set more and more things up without being long winded and completely pointless to the pacing of the plot.

>>18608169
What book?

>>18608169
where did you publish it!?

>>18610035
I'd say 6k can be decent if it's kindle/physical. If it's not a web novel, then go for it I'd say. 6k is usually like, 10-15 pages and that also means (at least physical book-wise) readers will get bored and flip ahead briefly to see how much longer is in the chapter. There's no real clear solution because you can't do a one-size-fits-all when it comes to pleasing readers.

>>18610052
>>18610057
On royalroad

I haven't written anything in ages and want to stretch those muscles again. Please critique this short introduction to a story:

Bustling lights and plastered boards looked down on the streets. From above, they held the manoeuvring strangers and frequents shifting through the roads’ bends and alleyways in solemn content. Beaming rose-coloured bulbs blistering the outlines of seductive bars and back offices drew their victims through the mouthpieces of vocally proud, but deviliciously alluring, agents. Beckoning agents attuned their words to the curious onlookers’ desires; the satiating sirens within their blood walls conjured an oasis for worried, worn and wandering clientele. It was hard to resist their pull. Businessmen marking a milestone and broken married men sat within a talon’s reach. Their presence showcased the night’s contrasts: victories and defeats had led different people to the same hellhole. Perhaps something innate had value in both triumph and despair? However, no one had paused to ponder this. Customers drifted between destinations unaware of time, yet while perpetually in a rush to their next shot of empowering excitement or bitter cope. Similarly, the underbelly’s owners had no reason to stop and think; profits were buzzing as partygoers brought friends and desperate drunks returned frequently. Among the streets’ criss-crossing crowds and scouts, between the ambient murmurs and shouts and standing steadfast against the towering lights and banners, Sam was the least likely person to be ruminating, after all, the barrel of a pistol against one’s head brings more pressing thoughts.

>>18610093
solemn contempt**

>>18610066
300 words a page, so 6k words gives the sweet 20 page/chapter spot. At 3k it's about 10 pages. And I want to publish on amazon and kindle.

>>18603989
If you liked Mad Men, this show I wrote was inspired by it (but a lot more edgy lol).

https://pdfhost.io/v/ORDNcQcRa_Mad_Money_Pilot.pdf

I need to develop momentum again /wg/, but my spirit is so utterly broken at this point I don't know how I can manage it. I feel so utterly incapable of functioning

>>18610820
Wait a minute, I don't remember making this post...

>>18604305
Same anon from this one, I tried to write a little different than before.

He already lived like a fucking cockroach, amid mountains of garbage and spoiled food. He woke up amidst piles of dirty laundry every morning, or at least whenever his shitty sleep cycle told him to.
One would even dare to object that comparing his lifestyle to that of a cockroach was an insult to a cockroach, since at least cockroaches lived under strict hygiene towards themselves. Gregor was not like that at all, it was considered a miracle that the bastard even bathed once a month. It wasn't uncommon to see him defend his lifestyle under the typical excuses one found on all the picture boards he used to frequent, things like hair shouldn't be washed more than twice a week, that the skin benefited from the oil one secreted throughout the day and that the smell of sweat was attractive to women. It's not as if Gregor knew anything about the latter, in fact a female was the only thing he lacked to be considered a full-fledged insect, these two would procreate from sun up to sun down and, with any luck, she would rip his head off once the deed was done.
But no, he was totally inept at what he used to call "females". The anecdote he used to share to prove otherwise was of the occasion when his cousin, on her twentieth birthday, gave him a hug and said, "You've gotten handsome lately, Gregor," ending this exchange with a faint smile. He embellished this experience excessively when telling others about it, each time giving more and more incestuous airs to what had only been a simple courtesy his relative had been forced to perform, boasting
that she desired him in every way, reading between the lines between the lines between the lines. He turned an accidental slip of his hand into an attempt to grab her buttock, turned the nervous smile into an invitation to strip naked in that very spot and fuck like rabbits and, most proudly, made her kind remark a complete and bold declaration of love that would force them out of their respective homes, eloping together to a place where they would not be judged.


Any kind of critcism is welcomed and I'll be thankful for any kind of tip that you can give to help me improve.

>>18608169
Congrats! That sounds like a pretty big deal anon

To anyone who has read any of the books in the OP: did they actually help with your writing or were they just an excuse to read about writing instead of actually writing? Also, do you think they're good for absolute beginners or should you have some experience before reading them?

>>18611054
wtf how did your English get so much better in less than a day

>>18610035
I heard between 3-6k is the best length and that 6k would be starting to push it. Not that I believe in 'best' length.

>>18611054
>first using "amid" then "amidst" right after

>>18611691
Sorry, anon, I write in spanish, I try to find the best words I can find to translate it to english, but I fuck up the use of mullets way too often in the process. I'll keep that on check next time, thank you.
>>18611624
Thanks, any advice or observation that you have? I tried to vary the way I initiate sentences in general, I also tried to keep away from being stiff and decided to use intentionally swear words and the like.

What is an anime writer? Like they write in an anime style? So gay stuff?

>>18611999
Anime writers are anyone who writes things I don't like

>>18611999
Fights with multi-paragraph internal monologues between every blow about how they will defend and counter attack.

how do you guys cope if you found out your original plot concepts have already been done before?

>>18612574
you do it anyway, your idea could be very different once you spend 6 months working on it

>>18612574
doesn't happen to me ever because my writing is always original

>>18610820
It helps not to participate in /wg/ threads. This place is pretty much the same as /ic/, nothing but a bunch of crabs who want to discourage others.

I can't seem to figure out how to turn the idea into a story. And I'm not asking "how do I outline". I can figure out the story's basic premise, the main character's objective, the antagonist, maybe a scene or two, but that's about it. I can't figure out is the whole cast of secondary characters, the story beats, or literally anything that pushes the story over the initial steps really.

Every time I look at a novel with a shitload of different characters that all fit into the plot I ask myself "how?" What's the secret, /wg/?

>>18613100
still trying to figure this one out anon, i think it has something to do with black magic, but i don't know the right spells

>>18613100
U R FAGET

>>18613100
>he can't involuntarily create paracosms while doing something like mowing the lawn or taking a shower
NGMI. I can do all this shit literally without trying. A plot develops in my head whether I want it to or not.

>>18613100
Secondary characters usually come into play not because Art of Fiction says you should have them, but because you NEED them.

For example, let's take a story where the MC goes to a police station. Well, there are probably going to be officers at the police station he sees. Like Ted and Jimmy. It's not a ghost town, so let's throw in Rebecca too. Since the doors are open, there are most likely a few concerned citizens in, filing complaints, or just trying to seem important. Like Nelson and Brittany. And then there's this guy being released today, Jason "the Flash" Buchanan, who went on a drunken rampage and was taken into custody. And then a guy with a bomb vest walks in.

Wow, it suddenly got all crowded and the story hasn't even started yet. The main character and the antagonist do their own thing, the other characters react to it, each in their own way, and then you have a story. It's not rocket science.

>>18613257
this advice is fine but its anime
>just add things because
things should be in your story for a reason. it doesn't have to be a good reason but there should be a reason

>>18613262
Did you somehow skip the very first line of my post?

>>18613292
your example illustrates using side characters poorly. was this on purpose? they're just there because, not because you 'NEED' them

>tfw don't have a writing desk
>only desk is completely taken up by my PC
>always too distracted by stuff on the internet to do any writing

is this a cope, or do I need to unplug and find a space to write?

/wg/, I like to give my character punny names but this one's giving me trouble. I'm trying to give a maid a name that sounds like "dust bunny". If she was a butler, I would have called him "dustin o'hare" but I can't think of a good female version of the name. (except maybe dusti o'hare but that isn't a real name)

You wrote something today?
Hats off to you anon, keep up the good work

/wg/, would this joke be too much for this scene?

>mc gets sent to a magical orphanage that due to headmistress's death and the monsters in the woods has turned into a survival outpost
>due to a successful hunt recently they actually have enough food to throw the MC a welcome party
>after the festivities, the MC follows one of his new friends into the back yard and finds that it's full of graves
>she tell him the grave she's standing at belonged to her roommate who disappeared one night and was found at the bottom of a hill with a broken neck
>she points to another and says that one belonged to an older girl who went to get help three years ago. She got gnawed to death by rats
>another she points out has a surfboard instead of a cross (they're by the coastline) with a bite out of it. MC asks if it was sharks but she says no, they ran out of food last winter and drew lots. he tried to stave off hunger by eating his surfboard but ultimately starved

do you plan everything in advance, or do you make it up as you go along?

>>18614377
Both.

Are MacGuffins inherently detrimental to a story? If so, does assigning a real value and importance to the MacGuffin turn it from plot device to central figure of importance?

what have you lads been doing with your latest creations?

>>18614750
Actually writing it instead of asking stupid fucking questions on here, how about you?

>>18614750
Publishing it serially on Royal road. Volume/book 2 is almost done in 3 chapters. Might take a little hiatus after it concludes, haven't decided yet.

>>18614750
Filling up the outline while keeping pace of where i am in the story.
>>18614758
Rude

>>18614758
>he lurks to make snide comments to happy posts
maybe write less and pills more

Should I write in my native language or the one I actually enjoy using?

>>18614945
write in the one that has the most readers

Why don't you guys just write weight gain and stuffing erotica? You'd make a lot of money from commissions.

>>18615127
I'm not writing for money. I'm writing for myself, and sometimes it happens that people like what I'm writing, so as a byproduct I'm writing for them as well.

>>18614868
It’s not like you people deserve any more than shitposting anyway.

>>18615486
You are one of 'you people' lol, probably even one of the worse ones

>>18615510
Just keep telling yourself that, faggot.

my chapters keep dividing. One becomes two becomes three becomes four. I just want to finish this damn revision so I can move on