/lit/ - Literature

How does this read?

Forced at all? Unnatural sounding? Uninteresting?

>>22597552
Typos right off the bat that I somehow missed. What a mess.

Reposting from last-last thread; implemented some of the notes people gave me. Pls rate, it's for a writing contest

>only rule is all stories MUST start with the line "It was the farthest north they had ever been."

>>22597540
I don’t think she’s that hot. Sharp features don’t gel with me. I like babyfaces.

>>22597552
this is great,
maybe "You know that," to "You know," or "You know, that"
i'm just waking up so that's it from me

Does anyone here ever write comedy? Never seen it. Everybody here sucks in general, so I am not surprised. Comedy requires a lot of talent and wit.

>>22597605
be the change you want to see

>>22597552
Punctuation and dialogue tags are all fucked and the prose very esl.

>>22597581
I've been staring at this for ten minutes trying to find a way to get into the narrative but don't know how. A short story has to be direct and punchy, especially if it's for a contest. This is just a cluttered rambling.

>>22597605
My stories involve a lot of humor, but I never post anything here, because telling people, "this is comedy" is the most certain way to kill any fun to be had.

>>22597587
pedo

Okay I'm going big shop, does anyone want anything? Answer in prose only

>>22597639
>>22597597
Thanks. Worth mentioning I am fairly new to this, and this is a first draft with no rewriting done at all. Just wanted to see if it can be read through without a distinct sense of violent disgust.

Definitely seems worth working on my control of English. I am a first-language English speaker, but that doesn't mean I'm a master of it.

>>22597587
>hurr durr she's not that pretty

https://pastebin.com/cETHdfWA
I think this is it boys, the final final version (minus some more editing before I post it)
critque, rate, and comments appreciated

My horror novella is up on RR and Wattpad but you can read it here if you don't want to boost my stats
https://docdro.id/MPuf7De

How would I go about writing lore around a race that is trying to rebuild their lost culture However at the same time how do I write their culture that devloped due to slavery,

how do I mix those togeter?

has nanowrimo ever really helped anyone here?

>>22597743
https://www.amazon.ca/Penguin-History-Modern-China-Present/dp/0141975156

>>22597743
Well, first of all, you would write it.

>rebuild their lost culture
Well the question has to be who and why? How lost is it really? If it is essentially dead, in language and customs, but still remembered, then who remembers it and why do they want to rebuild it? Is it a group of aristocrats from an offshoot culture that want to legitimise their rule, maybe? Or is it truly lost, so lost that it is only returning from men who have literally come back from the dead and seek to rebuild the empire/s now lost to time?

Real question you've not answered is what you actually mean by "lost."

>how do I write their culture that developed due to slavery
Again, you write it. Slave societies generally have three strata.

Lineal elites of some martial, mercantile, or landowning persuasion(or, implausibly, all three).
Freemen born to said elites, but outside of any lines of succession, for example perhaps born to slave mothers and elite/free fathers. Or, even, just peoples who entered the elite Empire through treaty rather than conquest.
Slaves. Of course this goes without saying, but even among them, there will be hierarchy. Were they bought? Conquered? Legally bound?

Also worth asking why the Elites believed themselves to be above slavery. Be it for religious or philosophical reasons. Answer all that and I think it should be a pretty comprehensive bit of lore.

>>22597728
I don't have much time before work, and I didn't read it all, however I'll give you my 2 cents.

I like the first paragraph, I like the setting of the scene and tone, I feel like this has potential.

However, you need to clean up your prose, it feels pretty jank and esl.

'It was fitting that a beautiful woman stood next to him. He said some things to introduce me to her, really I only picked up that she was my leading lady, my co-star, my soon-to-be wife. Her eyes and happiness were to bright for her not to be my co-star. '

I'm sorry to say this passage sucks, use a thesaurus or a usage dictionary to add nuance and improve your prose and sentence structure.

You seem creative, but which is a great foundation, but your use of language seems limited and robotic.

>>22597796
Thank you for the feedback!

>>22597796
My dialogue and word usage is one of the things I'm always trying to improve t b h

Hot cop? More like gross nigger.

>>22597751
writing and actually completing stories is unfuckwithable. doubt the context matters that much

>>22597859
yea but how does having a forced deadline change anything other than having a deadline

>>22597902
the deadline is important, as well as the community/event aspect.

I'm going to make a book and find a girlfriend this winter

>>22597540
I have a question. So I wrote a review for a magazine. I went after 3 crime novels, that I thought were especially bad. For the most part they liked my review. But they want me to take out a paragraph about ethics and morality. Let me make my case clear. Those were first time novels, that won a crime novel contest. The lack of skill shows, in that all 3 novels feature strong amoral points. For example.
>One novel has a school girl suffer at the hands of criminals, and she wrestles with the idea of coming clean to someone. And at the end she finally decides to trust an adult, and that trustworthy adult turns out to be a bad guy, and kills her.
>Other novel has a woman kill herself because her eyesight is getting bad, and the lead (who is a clear author self insert) says that it was the right thing to do, and that he would kill himself too if he was sick.
>And the third one has an old lady become a drug dealer, because her son died of drugs. She suffered from it, and that gives her a moral right to deal drugs. And the author self insert agrees that she may be justified.
Basically these authors didn't think things through, and just slapped their amoral thoughts on paper and called it a day. I called out not just the ethical side of these, but also the lack of skill at display. And I was told that I am a moralist, and asked whether and which ethical requirements fiction must (or must not) meet at all?

>>22598016
And your question is?

>>22598016
John Gardner wrote an entire book on this called "On Moral Fiction"

>>22598032
Yeah I'll track it down.
>>22598027
Well, I wanna hear some thoughts about morality in fiction. As a critic, I do have the right to criticize poorly thought out amorality in my review right?

>>22598042
There's also Tolstoy's "What is Art?" which was surely an inspiration for Gardner.

>>22598042
as a critic you have no rights and should be stripped and tarred to death

>>22598042
>As a critic, I do have the right to criticize poorly thought out amorality in my review right?
Of course, you should be free to say anything. But I do wonder if it really matters that much because it's fiction. I obviously haven't read those novels you reviewed, but maybe the amorality of those novels aren't really trying to get a "point" across as much as just depicting something? You get what I mean?
But really if you feel like they were trying to "say" something with their work and it didn't come across right to you then yeah go ahead. Now, whether there should be some sort of morality in fiction is another thing.

>>22598016
you dont want to go outside your scope. would you be alienating your audience? why? anyway keep it to how the author handles said ethics or morality, or something like that-- not the content itself. maybe do so if it's central to the theme or purpose or whatever, but dont be a fag about it. i dont know what im talking about

>>22598042
I like the view that a story should be moral but not moralizing. That is, it should present all viewpoints on the issue unflatteringly and by taking them to limit arrive at some kind of stable answer. The thing to avoid is strawmanning. But its perfectly fine to advocate an "amoral" or "immoral" viewpoint so long as its opposition is presented fairly and equitably. Otherwise you are writing propaganda rather than artistically striving for some eternal truth.

>>22597605
I’m writing satire, but it’s not laugh out loud funny

>>22597666
>>22597722
Filtered

>finished my sci-fi horror novella
>it seems, to me at least, to be fun, horny, politically savvy, scary, and satirical ... all by intention, and in all the ways I personally enjoy
>I find myself currently lacking the balls to share it with anybody

>>22598450
do it brother, pastebin sections of it or just release the entire thing
chances is their is some stuff you never noticed

>>22598454
I'm not looking for criticism exactly. More just. Feedback.
Maybe even just positive reinforcement.
...if people enjoy it, or things about it...
I feel kicked in the nuts without even having shared anything yet.
For the record I am legit a bit high functioning autistic, and as far as I can tell I have the basics exactly as I want them. I play fast and loose with grammar, for one thing, and it would really bother me to get a bunch of "critique" on my grammar, when I consider it to be functioning as intended. The last thing I want is idiots telling me I'm doing it wrong when I know why I did it, youknowwhatimean?

>>22598477
yea, just ignore most of the feedback you get here if it doesn't fit what you want
some people here have a problem with providing feedback that isn't surface level or completely unnecessary, being an author is being able to separate the chaff from the wheat and you will always have chaff and always have wheat

>>22598450

>>22598450
If you release a chapter, I will read it. And you will have birthed something into existence through sheer creative will, which will never have existed if you weren't born. Be proud of your novella, even if its dogshit. Because most folks don't have the inspiration or the willpower to ever pick up a pen.

I'm going to connect with an agent this winter

>>22598481
>>22598501
4chan is honestly probably a silly place to think about sharing it to at this stage, for a few reasons. Maybe at some point soon.

but I guess I think I need to see how people feel about a few central issues in the story.
I've got subplot about a prince who is kidnapped by a cartoonishly evil transhumanist cult. He's castrated, and brainwashed to believe he's genderless, as all male members of the cult are (women are also sterilized and have their breasts removed, etc. etc. "gender neutrality" is an ideal of the cult). Obviously this has parallels with current year social realities, and could draw ire from transgender activist types.
But on the other hand, there are two characters, two 10-year-old boys, who are innocently affectionate with each other. This is a direct confrontation of the popular anti-gay idea that "gays reproduce by abusing children", with the reality that there are some children that figure out they might like people of their own gender, without prompting.
And then I also have an alien who is, for all intents and purposes, a classic trap. She's actually a bit of a mindflayer in the sense that people perceive her as their brain wants them to see her: as something like their ideal partner. It may not even be possible to see her "real form", but one character sees her as a woman, then as a very convincing crossdresser instead. Then he has a dream about her being ultimately genderless.

The responses to these sorts of topics are predictable, given that people already talk about these issues a lot, but I think I need to gauge some actual reactions.

start some bullshit/story, write 1-2k words, delete
done writing for the day

>>22597540
When crafting a long story do you guys prefer to separate it into parts or just push on through and keep going with how it is?

>>22598596
parts as in chapters and acts? Or parts as in separate books? It depends on how it's being published, I guess

i don't know how to interpret a lack of reaction to the topics presented >>22598559
suppose it's better than negative reactions...

>>22598767
I don't know man. Seems pretty weird but gotta have it in context first I guess. Like how does this fit in the text? What does it look like, as in how is it written? If you're asking about the issues themselves then what I can say is there's nothing inherently wrong with them it's how it's used I guess.

>>22598798
Well I suppose I can answer those questions confidently.

First of all those are all subplots or plot points involving side characters, though they tie into the central themes.
The real focus of the story is on this young assassin character. He's genetically engineered, something like a Bladerunner replicant, to be this perfect warrior, but he's totally naive to sexuality and normal human relationships.
A few people who care about him among his team of handlers are defying authority, risking their necks to try to get him to develop some ... needed dimension to his personal life.

So you have action, drama, a threat of monstrous creatures, sci-fi concepts, there's a much much bigger story at play than those three plot elements I mentioned, and as focus you have this assassin growing to understand himself as a person, his own sexuality: becoming a more complete personality than a mere weapon.
He's probably straight, btw, if you're worried. I left room open for reader interpretation, you can kind of project what you'd like for this character onto him, but he encounters some sexy women, including the trap, and some hot men, and by the end of it the reader can hopefully conclude he's figured out what he likes.

The castration is, I think, probably one of the most shocking elements of the story, but nothing is ever directly described until towards the end. The prince gets rescued from the cult, and his rescuers discover what's been done to him, but by that point it's over. The poor prince kind of has to deal with the psychological weight of this when his brainwash programming breaks and he returns, mentally, to his old self, and his rescuers have to debate whether they can return him to his mother, an Empress, in his state, or whether they're at risk of being punished in some way for failing to return him unharmed. So they debate whether to defect. This all ties into the larger story, and ties directly to the story of the main character, who might specifically be punished in a way that would undo all of his personal growth up to that point.
There is also, because this is sci-fi, an avenue to undoing all the harm done to the prince (and other victims of this cult): by literally resetting the universe Evangelion style, but this is presented as having its own drawbacks (like potentially creating a hellish loop of eternal recurrence, which the assassin may currently be stuck in).

On top of all of this, it is intended to be a horror story.
It's not supposed to be comfortable, the reader is *meant* to be unnerved.
Not just classic horror monsters and horror scenes, but there's supposed to be an existential dread to the whole thing, and, with this genetically engineered main character, a bit of a Clockwork Orange thing going on. He's naive, but in developing some humanity, he develops a devilish side.

I hope, of course, this makes for good reading. I enjoy the story, but I have no idea how to present it to anybody.

https://pastebin.com/8ZHGcmXg
My story. I just submitted it to the new lit magazine. Lmk if you think it's good enough?

>>22598978
You've gotten the voice of the narrator down pat but structurally it's a mess. My recommendation would be to study Chekov's The Darling (especially the ending) which has the kind of structure you seem to be going for.

>>22599010
Thanks. I'll read that story then revise. Here's a more diaristic one I wrote. Think this is worth submitting too/instead?
https://pastebin.com/C4wAtU3s

>>22599035
This reads much worse to me.

>>22599047
Got it. Will probably trash it. Last of the day now, I promise. This one I like. I like the south if you can't tlel lol
https://pastebin.com/qXqdASvP

https://pastebin.com/d8ZGA0fC
Maybe some of you might remember me, i wrote back in 3 or 4 threads ago. I've come with another scene again. I would like some opinions in this kind of action scene.

>>22599174

It’s taken me a long time to get to this. But Gardner’s latest turned out to be the best book. Add to the pastebin. It’s better than Call of the Crocodile. He’s grown a lot and managed to pull off a complex and fascinating story. As someone who has spent probably the most time reading books in the pastebin I can confirm Horror’s Call Adventure is probably the best.

>>22599194
For me, it’s Kabbalah of the Crocodile. I still kek to this day when I remember that F Gardner actually published a horror book about the JQ.

>>22599255
He continuously finds ways to outdo himself. He’s a genius.

Frank truly transcends this board. A visionary that so few recognize, it's nearly criminal.

>>22599194
>>22599255
>>22599261
>>22599267
For a board about creative writing you guys have the most unoriginal and boring shitposts on the site.

>>22598559
Probably think your fag even if it's satirical

>>22599194
>>22599255
>>22599261
>>22599267
The ban must me over. FYI, literally no one mentioned your name all week. Your samefagging is obvious and pathetic. All of your lame attempts at engagement should be reported and ignored.

>>22598956
Yeah, I think the best way to see what people will think of it is to have some test readers.

>>22599368
Actually it’s the opposite. People like you who don’t support writers from here should be banned. I support F Gardner and all others who actually have the guts to get their books out there. Jannies have gotten wise to your samefaggotry. You don’t even try to rephrase your schizo babble anti-Gardner spam. It’s the same crap every time and you’re clearly ban evading.
>>22599267
What’s remarkable is Gardner’s ability to capitalize on 4chan. I’ve never seen anybody else do it like he has.

>>22599405
Gardner's cacas librorum doesn't rise to the level of "writing", I support plenty of /lit/ authors, just not Frank and his illiterate gibberish. Complaining about anti-Gardner "spam", when he's the biggest spammer here, is hilariously pathetic. And I can't be ban-evading if I've never been banned, so your argument is stupid.
Give it up, Frank. You're too stupid to samefag successfully. The backhanded good news is, since you've learned nothing (as always), you'll hopefully get banned again soon, and then we won't have to put up with your seething schizo nonsense for another week. Go ask your rich daddy to buy you more views/likes/subscribes on YouTube or something.

>>22597639
Thanks, I wonder if I added too much. Last one was about 700 words and people said it felt rushed so I added about 300 more.

>>22599422
Every post against Call of the Crocodile is some rando writer who is jealous of Gardner.
Unless you’re new here you know these posts will never end. Call of the Crocodile was published three years ago. You need to get a hobby outside of spamming about Gardner or get laid.

>>22599448
Holy based. Been ages since I’ve seen someone BTFO like this.

Sinner's Descent is now down on all platforms.
Bad luck!

>>22599366
The issue raised in the story that "some people are just gay, without external influences in childhood" is not satirical. It's meant with complete sincerity.
I described the main character a bit here >>22598956 and part of his arc is in encountering people, men and women, who find him attractive, and realizing that he is attractive to people/gaining the confidence to pursue the people that he finds attractive. He outright says towards the end of the story that he's primarily interested in women, and is implied in the ending to have several women to choose from (and the mindflayer beyond gender).

I think I've alluded to the satirical elements, but I haven't exactly described them in any posts here.

I'll be able to tolerate a bit of ribbing about the story being "a bit gay", because it *is* a story about sexuality, with some gay elements, as part of the main character's journey from an inhuman existence as a killing tool towards friendships and love of his own will, but I have very much done my best to write a story that handles sexual issues with maturity. I hope readers would appreciate that, and would be mature enough to enjoy the story with understanding....

>>22599448
You wish. I'm sick of Frank's shill-spamming, same-fagging, and total lack of self-awareness. All you have to offer is midwit deflection.

Repostin from tg
Trying to come up with a decent curse/power. Already have all the components surrounding it (who, why, does it spread, do they know, etc.) but still trying to piece what exactly it should be
>Can make anyone believe something at the cost of developing face blindness for the target
>Every place you sleep at becomes your home and trying to leave it triggers severe agoraphobia
>Necromancer who must raise at least one servant lest they turn into one
>Knife that gives invisibility only if you speak the targets true name/fear
>Toxin that gives supreme strength but too little or too much puts you a stupor

Obviously it should feed into my theme but it's a chicken-egg scenario because I'm keeping the theme open for a good curse

I watched Dune 2021 while on shrooms for my birthday a few weeks ago and felt enlightened. I've been so enamored and thunderstruck by Dune, I bought the trilogy physically and been reading the first book since then. I'm only some 140 pages in and completely captivated by the writing already. It spurred me to get into a writing regimen again and I did complete a whole chapter after half a year.. Dune has such an impact on me that no other has, except maybe LOTGH. I will stop at Chapterhouse because I can't trust his son to finish the series.

>>22599527
I threw out my copy of Dune when they circumcised Leto II.

>>22599505
But it’s true. There used to be an anon who would make weekly /lit/ Top 10 selling books posts. He stopped doing them because he became so demoralized when there were times it was nothing but Gardner books. The amount of seethe was hilarious and he said he stopped because he hated F Gardner and had difficulty coping with the fact that Gardner consistently sells.

But you’re probably that anon aren’t you?

>>>/vg/450068460
Artificial Academy 2 General /aa2g/ #1295
Sweater Puppies Edition

Welcome, this general is for the discussion of ILLUSION's Artificial Academy 2.

COPY ERROR MESSAGES WITH CTRL+C, PASTE THEM WITH CTRL+V INTO GOOGLE TRANSLATE. JUST CLICK THE WINDOW AND PRESS CTRL + C, IT WORKS.

>Downloads:
/aa2g/ Pre-Installed Game, AA2Mini: https://tsukiyo.me/AAA/AA2MiniPPX.xml
AAUnlimited updates: https://github.com/aa2g/AA2Unlimited/releases

>Information:
AA2Mini Install Guide:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS8Ap6CrmSNXRsKG9jsIMqHYuHM3Cfs5qE5nX6iIgfzLlcWnmiwzmOrp27ytEMX03lFNRR7U5UXJalA/pub
General FAQ:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200216045726/https://pastebin.com/bhrA6iGx
AAU Guide and Resources (Modules, Tans, Props, Poses, and More):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17qb1X0oOdMKU4OIDp8AfFdLtl5y_4jeOOQfPQ2F-PKQ/edit#gid=0

>Character Cards [Database], now with a list of every NonOC in the megas:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1niC6g-Xd2a2yaY98NBFdAXnURi4ly2-lKty69rkQbJ0/edit#gid=2085826690
https://db.bepis.moe/aa2/

>Mods & More:
Mods for AAU/AA2Mini (ppx format, the mediafire has everything):
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/vwrmdohus4vhh/Mods
/aa2g/ Modding Reference Guide (Slot lists for Hair/Clothes/Faces, List Guides, and More):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gwmoVpKuSuF0PtEPLEB17eK_dexPaKU106ShZEpBLhg/edit#gid=1751233129
Booru: https://aau.booru.org

>HELP! I have a Nvidia card and my game crashes on startup!
Try the dgVoodoo option in the new win10fix settings.
Alternative: Update your AAU and see if it happens again. If so, disable win10fix, enable wined3d and software vertex processing.
>HELP! Required Windows 11 update broke things!
winkey+R -> ms-settings:developers -> Terminal=Windows Console Host

Previous Thread:
>>>/vg/449160740

>>22599583
I remember these. The guy even tried to claim Harassment Architecture came from /lit/ to prevent Call of the Crocodile from always being number 1. It was so transparent.

>>22599583
No, that wasn't me, and I really thought that anon should have counted only e-books, since it was really easy for Frank to just buy copies of his own physical books to boost his ranking. Frank was busted a long time ago for fake reviews on Amazon and GoodReads, so he's totally capable of pulling something that low.
And since you have such a great memory, Frank, you must also remember that you get banned from here constantly for this behavior, that your books are unedited gibberish, and that everyone here is totally sick of you. Or is your memory selective?

>>>/vg/450068460
Artificial Academy 2 General /aa2g/ #1295
Sweater Puppies Edition

Welcome, this general is for the discussion of ILLUSION's Artificial Academy 2.

COPY ERROR MESSAGES WITH CTRL+C, PASTE THEM WITH CTRL+V INTO GOOGLE TRANSLATE. JUST CLICK THE WINDOW AND PRESS CTRL + C, IT WORKS.

>Downloads:
/aa2g/ Pre-Installed Game, AA2Mini: https://tsukiyo.me/AAA/AA2MiniPPX.xml
AAUnlimited updates: https://github.com/aa2g/AA2Unlimited/releases

>Information:
AA2Mini Install Guide:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS8Ap6CrmSNXRsKG9jsIMqHYuHM3Cfs5qE5nX6iIgfzLlcWnmiwzmOrp27ytEMX03lFNRR7U5UXJalA/pub
General FAQ:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200216045726/https://pastebin.com/bhrA6iGx
AAU Guide and Resources (Modules, Tans, Props, Poses, and More):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17qb1X0oOdMKU4OIDp8AfFdLtl5y_4jeOOQfPQ2F-PKQ/edit#gid=0

>Character Cards [Database], now with a list of every NonOC in the megas:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1niC6g-Xd2a2yaY98NBFdAXnURi4ly2-lKty69rkQbJ0/edit#gid=2085826690
https://db.bepis.moe/aa2/

>Mods & More:
Mods for AAU/AA2Mini (ppx format, the mediafire has everything):
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/vwrmdohus4vhh/Mods
/aa2g/ Modding Reference Guide (Slot lists for Hair/Clothes/Faces, List Guides, and More):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gwmoVpKuSuF0PtEPLEB17eK_dexPaKU106ShZEpBLhg/edit#gid=1751233129
Booru: https://aau.booru.org

>HELP! I have a Nvidia card and my game crashes on startup!
Try the dgVoodoo option in the new win10fix settings.
Alternative: Update your AAU and see if it happens again. If so, disable win10fix, enable wined3d and software vertex processing.
>HELP! Required Windows 11 update broke things!
winkey+R -> ms-settings:developers -> Terminal=Windows Console Host

Previous Thread:
>>>/vg/449160740.

>>22599640
Oh, I am laughin. This is your cope? That Gardner himself was purchasing copious copies of his own books every week? To impress the few people who even saw those lists?
>>22599640
Are you spamming this to drown out mentions of Gardner? Get off the internet. Reminder to report spam.

>>22598559
>He's castrated, and brainwashed to believe he's genderless
No man wants to read something like that. Everyone else will be offended by your politics. You've effectively alienated all possible readers.

guess I won't be able to use /wg/ for a few months
I'll be back when the schizos have taken their meds

>>22599688
Maybe. Maybe there are some people mature enough to handle it.
It is meant as a direct comment on the modern reality of some "transgender rights" obsessed parents effectively grooming their own children into transgenderism, forcing them to take medications that interfere with their hormone balance, and undergo "gender affirmation surgeries" at young age.
This is a baffling modern reality.
If readers are disturbed by it in a fictional context, they should be disturbed by it in reality.

>>22599731
That's the point anon. I see enough of that twisted nightmarish shit in reality in all it's hellish glory. I don't want to read about it and develop brain rot. Not that other anon by the way

You know you've made it when you have so many random haters. F Gardner is the best author this board will ever see and anyone who can't accept that is desperately coping. Maybe his prose isn't the best, but he's a visionary and a poet. If you can't see that, start with the Greeks.

>>22599699
I stopped posting almost a year ago when this was happening and came back to this today.. Sad to see not much will ever change.

>>22599657
I totally believe Frank is that insecure, plus he's already been caught buying positive reviews on Amazon and GoodReads. His BSRs are generally in the toilet, so yeah, he has no organic fan base, despite his desperate public self-stroking. It gives me a headache to ponder that level of insecurity.
But, by all means, Frank, keep blabbering. It'll just get you banned faster, and then we won't have to put up with you for about a week. You're literally incapable of learning from experience.

>>22599753
the 4chan general for writing isn't filled with meaningful discourse? or successful writers???
no
that can't be right
something's wrong here

Been using Dalle-3 to help give some inspiration to the novel I am writing. There is something satisfying about seeing your characters you have written, and it helps me better visualize the atmosphere I am trying to create. My only complaint is that the characters look a little too nice, almost like they are actors in a movie or something.

>picrel

>>22599757
As if BSR is the mark of an artist. Disgusting consumerist. Real authors don't sell, they make art

>>22599742
>hurr durr people hate my shill-spamming and same-fagging therefore I've made it
I'll bet you think inspiring a mean-spirited satire means you've made it too, right? The good news is, everyone can download it for free! https://files.catbox.moe/aw9gz2.pdf
And until Frank decides, once again, to commit abusive lawfare, you can buy a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKB7QZ3B

>>22599766
Frank does neither. What does that make him?

>>22599775
It makes him an artist, and you a brainlet. Imagine telling on yourself like this.

>>22599771
Eh, derivative and uninteresting. Like I said, start with the Greeks

>>22598559

I'm a transgender girl with non-left non-right ideals, but even I'm having a tough time understanding the *point* of your story. Essentially, are you trying to make a political point or critique of society, or are you building a world upon which to write a character/plot based story?

For me as a transgender girl, it really does seem like a cult sometimes, but with what you said about "innocent love," and how I live my life, I think that has authenticity too.

In the same sense, I've met both atheists and theists who seem to both walk the path of benevolence, truth, and love, and even if their end conclusion is different in terms of the exact nature of reality, there is still a black line separating them from the dogmatic, rude, hateful types of people, who no matter if they're atheistic or not, fail to respect their opponents, and act with hate, falsity, and malice.

So I can imagine that certain people in the cult, no matter if they secretly oppose it or not, might be good, and other people within the cult might be aware of the wicked nature of the cult, and instead of opposing it, seek to enhance its control and gain power or something.

As for the beautiful mindflayer, I think that's the key to your story. But I think that the mindflayer's mind should be flawed, not in the sense of evil or stupidity, but instead, this mindflayer should have the mind of a "mortal person," and thus have character flaws, a sense of humor even, a desire to love and be loved, and things like that. This prevents this character from appearing to be the centerpoint, and humanizes the entire story, so it doesn't appear to be just a vehicle for your personal ideology.

I believe in you as a writer, so I think you'll do just fine with it all. Good luck!

>>22599733
I can sympathize with the desire to look away from those sorts of things.
But having had some personal ... encounters ... with that level of hell horror, I needed to confront it in the story. I guess it is a political work.
There is a sense that we're dealing with these issues in modern times because of the failings of the previous generations: and if we don't rise above those failures, we'll be stuck with those mistakes.
I'll refer back to here for a more complete sense of the story >>22598956
If the reader interprets the main character as having grown enough as a person, he is left with an opportunity to remake the hellish world he's living in into something better, undo all the damage done, make it so none of this horrible shit ever happened (in a full-on "rewrite the laws of the universe" reset); but I think I achieved a subtext that suggests the quality, the relative goodness of the new universe the protagonist might make with this opportunity to do so, is dependent on his growth as a person.
These modern realities don't go away when we stop looking at them.
Hopefully it comes across that the story is about the protagonist, and the reader, figuring out what is the right thing to do.

>Frank destroys another thread
Wew

>>22599788
>I'm a transgender girl with non-left non-right ideals
No one cares you stupid tranny. You're not part of the le ebin 4chan club if such a thing even exists

>>22599788
>This prevents this character from appearing to be the centerpoint
I think the centerpoint of the story is the assassin character. I keep having to refer to this other post which explains the story a bit more haha >>22598956
The young mindflayer woman is definitely important to the themes, and she is, relatively speaking, mortal. At least she behaves that way.
There are definitely some good people in the cult, and there are different levels to the cult itself. I think I mentioned that they're cartoonishly evil: the highest echelons of the cult are actually intent on infecting all their followers with (what for simplicity's sake I will call) a zombie virus: while framing it as a kind of ecstatic religious immortality. Obviously a farce.
As to the point of the story, whether it's to make a political point/critique, or build a world: it's both.
Mainly I'm trying to write good fiction, and I've succeeded in writing the kind of story I personally wanted to read.
I think it just sort of happened naturally that these political elements made it in to the story ... I think the issue of children being put on a path that they wouldn't necessarily choose for themselves, ending in their parents forcing them to gender transition is an upsetting modern reality. It's so disquieting it's difficult to even think clearly about. There's a historical precedent for it, all decadent empires seemed to end up with castrated slaves in their populations at some point, to the point where I've wondered if it's just some natural human impulse to cull the population; around about the time when an Empire starts being unable to support its worker castes.
So I tried to make sense of my thoughts about it with fiction.
Both worldbuilding and parallels to/commentary on reality.

Thanks for the kind words.

>>22598956

I think your attempt to mix the issue du jour into a genre story will only spell disaster. People who read genre aren't going to tolerate the inevitable slow pace of a story that includes this "character arc" and people who are interested in the gender issues aren't looking for that story via genre fiction.

You guys are getting sidetracked; this thread is about F Gardner.

>>22599867
The novella is very short, 29,000 words, and moves at what I consider to be a very fast pace. There are also some twists on the way these issues are presented that I think will be unexpected and solve some of the issues one might expect with pacing. Ideas presented very fast.
I personally find it readable, but maybe my audience should be more the people who are already thinking about gender and social issues, with some degree of nuance, than readers who are seeking mindless genre fiction.

>>22599879
Literally no one wants to talk about you, Frank. And this is a perfect example of why we're totally sick of you. PLEASE get some real-life friends so you don't have to act out in public like this.

>>22599926
And yet you can't stop talking about me

>>22599860
Ah, sorry. I had written my post before I saw your other 956 post.

As for it being genre fiction, I actually much prefer short-stories, such that it doesn't feel like such a heavy investment into what could be a loooong drawn out "generic genre fiction" which builds up more lore and world than is necessary to make the point and illustrate the plot and characters.

In effect, I'd happily read it no matter if I "agree" or not. I think it sounds like a cool idea.

>>22599934

>The deliciously hot teacher looks at Frank coldly. "No, they're right. We've had enough of you."

>She shakes her head sadly, knowing full well that this meme would be a lot more amusing if there wasn't an element of an ulterior motive present. Marketing, sales, and profit. "I'm sorry, but unless you remove the paywall from your books and host them so people can read them without buying them, you are completely unwanted here."

>>22599879
THIS so much.
F Gardner is what makes /lit/ “/lit/“

>>22599775
He sold consistently at the top of those lists. People apparently still buy CotC despite that having been out for several years. When his more recent books came out the guy making those lists almost seethed himself to death and that was why he stopped with the /lit/ Top 10.

>>22599788
>I'm a transgender girl
You mean a man with XY chromosomes?

You fags are tempting me to do a Horror’s Call special for Halloween on my channel.

>>22598360
>it’s not laugh out loud funny
That's just an excuse for people that can't be funny.

>>22599935
No need to apologize.
I think I am interested in sending you an excerpt.
I'm not on much social media, do you have a preferred way of contacting each other, so I can send it? Maybe steam, or something like that?

>>22600037
There's different kinds of humor anon. I don't find myself laughing out loud at Dr. Strangelove, but it is definitely very funny.

>>22600040
Then it is either not so funny or you are joyless. Your pick.

>>22599879
Press F if you like F Gardner

F

>>22600047
>Joker.jpg

>>22600050
F

>>22600038

My XMPP is mathkun@jabber.sk

>>22599520
Does it have to be a macguffin? A curse can just be a curse, untouchable, spiritual, not an object.
I like brands as a signifier for the curse instead of items, but that’s just a preference.

>>22599784
I've read the fucking greeks you double nigger everyone with half a brain read the fucking greeks as a child
I

I bet some of you didn't feel like committing politically motivated violence today
so let's fix that
here's the real preference sheet for a real literary agent
1/6

>>22600171
2/6

>>22600171
>>22600173
3/6

>>22600171
>>22600173
>>22600174
Nobody cares or is surprised. Stop trying to derail the thread.

>>22600171
>>22600173
>>22600174
So fucking what? All agents have a target audience. They select based on those criteria.

I'm writing a scifi novel and would like to get it published eventually. How should I go about it? Should I finish the whole story and send to a publisher, or just send a few chapters first?
What companies should I try sending it to? Do I have to be worried they will just steal my idea?
I'm European but currently live in Asia. How much do international laws and such complicate matters?

>>22600171
>>22600173
>>22600174
4/6

>>22600171
>>22600173
>>22600174
>>22600196
5/6

>>22600171
>>22600173
>>22600174
>>22600196
>>22600199
6/6

>>22600185
From what? The cealess cycle of circlejerking about fucking Gardner and "muh chinkshit muh litrpg boohoohoo I wrote a shitass 80% filler-by-volume litfic novel and nobody bought it"?

I can leave for months and come back as if I had never closed the tab because you fucking mongoloids just walk in circles feeling sorry for yourselves

>>22600193
> Should I finish the whole story and send to a publisher, or just send a few chapters first?
Depends on the publisher. You'd have to read their submission page to see what they prefer / accept.
> What companies should I try sending it to?
Find who publish books in the markets you want to sell in and make a list.
> Do I have to be worried they will just steal my idea?
No. I can't even remember that ever happening.
> How much do international laws and such complicate matters?
It should make no difference at all.

>>22600208
So your justification for posting low-quality bait is because everyone else does it too?

Brilliant.

>>22600210
Thanks.

>>22599427
It's not a matter of quantity. You put your attention to the wrong things. There are too many lines that don't actually say anything, are disconnected from the rest, and don't take things forward. You should think again what this piece is about and how you're conveying that idea to the reader.

The third week of web novel posting is over. Steady increase in view count but no breakthrough. Two more 5-star ratings. But only two new followers. Readers seem reluctant to comment. I expected a lot worse reviews and more active engagement, but I guess the story wasn't as provocative as I thought. It didn't become a total flop, but reaching the trending lists seems improbable now. The first part will run for 6 more weeks, after which I'll see if the remaining two parts are still worth the titanic editorial effort and time investment, or if I'll just axe this project and go do something more fun.

The summer in the northwestern provinces of the Empire of Sorres could generally be called 'uncomfortably warm' on a good day, and 'sweltering curse' on any other.
Fortunately for two men working in a spacious cavern, the temperature inside was much lower, and thus, much more bearable. They were kneeling in the soft dirt, busily dusting the floor with small brushes. They could be mistaken for some bizarre cleaners, if not for a selection of other tools, such as shovels in several sizes, pickaxes and small chisels which were scattered around the area. The entire site was illuminated by a dim, cool light coming off several crystals, which hung from the rough cavern ceiling on thin chains, making them look like they were floating mid-air.

...

Chapter 1
https://pastebin.com/YyHVpNuF
Have fun

Any screenwriters here?
How do you know you're ready to jump from your outline to your first draft? I guess it's an open question.

I am beyond demoralized that the state of search engines in the current year.

Anyone have a source for templates that I can use in Scribus?

>>22600246
Which lines or things are examples of that?

>>22597540

Hi Writing General, first post here.

I don't have a lot of experience writing, but are there any super simple sites where you can write and share your own articles? I don't want to be pigeonholed into any one topics, whatever comes to mind I'd like to write about

>>22600565
When I'm done outlining? The last thing I usually do is map out the scenes on index cards so once I'm done with that the first draft comes out smoothly.

I hate the concept of plot holes. The story should be logically plausible but 'plot holes' are for people who don't know how to properly critique a narrative. Thank you for reading.

>>22600110
Doesn't have to be a macguffin, but was trying to make them be one of the drivers of conflict
Problem is if I can't find a silver lining for it, I keep defaulting to these horribly debilitating conditions that devolve into misery porn (largely in part from looking up too many fairytales)
I'm a sucker for brands too and honestly, I've been thinking about just yanking the curse from FF13 of all things - get branded with a vague vision of what you must do in a vaguer sense of a time, success or failure just determines how miserable your death is
Always thought it was such a macabre concept that didn't get its do justice

>>22600678
Substack is what I've seen people here using

How's this? Is it interesting to read? Emotionally gripping? Readable at all?

>>22600717
Something can be valid without being logically sound. Most people bitch and moan because the writers set up an artificial predicament and fail to realize their it could resolved by even simpler means, most often by the writer's own tools.
So long as the writer provides enough justification, or even simple awareness, to why the characters don't do it, most people don't care.
>Eagles could have taken Frodo because they're big birds that can carry small people, but simply saying Mordor has magic anti-air would be enough to satisfy most people
Honestly the bigger problem is like you imply, the "critics" who assume overlooking a hole means everything else is illogical or unsound.

>>22600806
It makes little sense to me. For two pages, the characters just repeat the same things in slightly different words and talk past each other, but in the end it's unclear who wants what, exactly, and why, and what does that baby thing have to do with any of it.

Now this isn't me asking "please explain everything to me in a huge wall of text", I don't actually care. I'm just suggesting you should think about what's really the point of importance in this scene and how to best convey it.

>>22601021
>>22600806

>in the end it's unclear who wants what, exactly, and why, and what does that baby thing have to do with any of it.
I think all those things are pretty clear. The character is deciding between being a mother and being a ruler and making some kind of Faustian bargain with an otherworldly entity. The baby is a concrete representation of motherhood. I assume this is some kind of vision or dream. She chooses being a ruler because she wants to save Fymach (whatever that might be, I assume the name of her kingdom) and because she's ambitious. Because this is in medias res (I assume literally, as in the middle of the book) I guess these things were explained earlier.

There are several problems though. The main one is the directness of the dialogue. Because characters are so direct, the dialogue is boring to read. Some of the dialogue should have been relegated to internal thought, some to action. E.g when she decides to choose the sword, instead of saying so explicitly, she could have wringed the baby's neck--a far more dramatic manifestation of her choice. The dialogue here is a poor and lazy substitute for concrete detail. Another example: instead of the demon directly stating what she wants, he could have, like the devil on the mount, or the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, shown her through fantastical visions.

The characters also shouldn't just repeat what the other one said. This is also boring to read.

>>>/vg/450068460
Artificial Academy 2 General /aa2g/ #1295
Sweater Puppies Edition

Welcome, this general is for the discussion of ILLUSION's Artificial Academy 2.

COPY ERROR MESSAGES WITH CTRL+C, PASTE THEM WITH CTRL+V INTO GOOGLE TRANSLATE. JUST CLICK THE WINDOW AND PRESS CTRL + C, IT WORKS.

>Downloads:
/aa2g/ Pre-Installed Game, AA2Mini: https://tsukiyo.me/AAA/AA2MiniPPX.xml
AAUnlimited updates: https://github.com/aa2g/AA2Unlimited/releases

>Information:
AA2Mini Install Guide:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS8Ap6CrmSNXRsKG9jsIMqHYuHM3Cfs5qE5nX6iIgfzLlcWnmiwzmOrp27ytEMX03lFNRR7U5UXJalA/pub
General FAQ:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200216045726/https://pastebin.com/bhrA6iGx
AAU Guide and Resources (Modules, Tans, Props, Poses, and More):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17qb1X0oOdMKU4OIDp8AfFdLtl5y_4jeOOQfPQ2F-PKQ/edit#gid=0

>Character Cards [Database], now with a list of every NonOC in the megas:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1niC6g-Xd2a2yaY98NBFdAXnURi4ly2-lKty69rkQbJ0/edit#gid=2085826690
https://db.bepis.moe/aa2/

>Mods & More:
Mods for AAU/AA2Mini (ppx format, the mediafire has everything):
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/vwrmdohus4vhh/Mods
/aa2g/ Modding Reference Guide (Slot lists for Hair/Clothes/Faces, List Guides, and More):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gwmoVpKuSuF0PtEPLEB17eK_dexPaKU106ShZEpBLhg/edit#gid=1751233129
Booru: https://aau.booru.org

>HELP! I have a Nvidia card and my game crashes on startup!
Try the dgVoodoo option in the new win10fix settings.
Alternative: Update your AAU and see if it happens again. If so, disable win10fix, enable wined3d and software vertex processing.
>HELP! Required Windows 11 update broke things!
winkey+R -> ms-settings:developers -> Terminal=Windows Console Host

Previous Thread:
<a href="//boards.4channel.org/vg/thread/449160740#p449160740" class="quotelink">>>>/vg/449160740,</a>

The stadium was packed, the lights were bright, and the announcer was walking to the microphone. "Now, please welcome the dancing bear!"

Billy, my five-year-old son, stood up and stared at the exit for the performers. A black bear, wearing a red apron and carrying a basket in its right front paw, walked out upright, swaying from side to side. The audience laughed at its clumsy antics.

"Mom, bear!" Billy shouted, pushing me hard.

"Yes, it's a bear," I said.

"Mom," Billy continued to shout loudly, "if this bear dies, won't there be bear fur?"

The people around me turned to look.

"Billy!" I whispered. "You're not allowed to shout when you're watching a show!"

"Mom!" Billy whined, shaking my arm. "With the bear fur, can't we make bear skin gloves for Grandma?"

I hugged him tightly. Tears spilled onto my cheeks.

(1/2)

>>22601178

Grandma lay quietly in her hospital bed. For three days, her brain, which had been struck by a stroke, had remained in a coma. Only her right hand, which had not been paralyzed, kept reaching out to touch something. It was a hand that had never been idle. She had spent her life as a nanny and housekeeper, and her calloused hands had changed countless diapers, washed countless children's feet, and cooked countless delicious dishes. What did this hand want to do now? Did it want to touch a child's cheek? Did it want to straighten a child's clothes? Or did it want to pick up her shopping basket again?

She lay there, quietly, quietly.

Suddenly, a child ran into the hospital room. His noisy footsteps disturbed the peace of the room. He ran to Grandma's bedside and stroked her wrinkled face with his chubby little hands, calling out, "Grandma, Grandma!"

"Ah!" Grandma sighed heavily, her interrupted thoughts awakened by the childish voice. Who was that? Oh, it was her last child, the 19th. Billy was innocent, lively, and loved Grandma the most. When Grandma picked vegetables, Billy would busy himself with bringing a stool, and he would often put sugar in Grandma's mouth out of the blue. Grandma felt sweet from the inside out. So she opened her mouth with all her strength and said, "Billy," the first word she had spoken in three days. Then, she struggled to reach out and grab Billy's small hand.

"Grandma, Grandma!" Billy's voice rang out even louder, shaking Grandma's eardrums. "You rest well, don't be afraid of the shots, be brave..." Billy suddenly stopped. He saw Grandma's red and swollen hands. They were frostbitten. His mother had told him when she was applying ointment to Grandma. Grandma didn't usually get frostbite. Once, three-year-old Billy had snuck into the kitchen and was curious to pick up a pot of boiling water. As the pot was about to fall off the stool, Grandma grabbed it with one hand. The boiling water spilled out, and Grandma's hand was covered in large blisters. She wrapped it in bandages and still helped her mother cook and hold Billy. From then on, Grandma's burned hands would get frostbite in the winter. Billy's mouth came close to Grandma's ear again. "Grandma, when I grow up, I'll definitely buy you a pair of bear skin gloves. You won't get frostbite anymore." Grandma's hand held Billy's small hand tightly...

Grandma lay there, quietly, quietly. Was she looking back on the past? Was she looking forward to the future? It was as if she was waiting for Billy to put on the warm bear skin gloves for her. Then the bear walked in.

>>22601113
Thank you so much, I appreciate the in-depth critique. I guess that my dialogue isn’t working properly here. I had a hard time making sure I conveyed the main character’s tension and indecisiveness making the decision, but I guess I failed. Your insight was very helpful though, I’ll remove the repetitive lines and make sure to have a more interesting dialogue. If you have any examples I could look at to achieve it it’d be very appreciated. If you have any more advice, I’d love to hear it.

>>22601200
I wouldn't say you failed in conveying it. The indecision is pretty clear. I would say the failure is in presentation and arrangement.

As for interesting dialogue, the closest thing I can think of is The Once and Future King. Particularly conversations that happen in the 2nd and 3rd books. E.g the conversation between Lancelot and Guinevere. The thing to pay attention to there is everything that isn't dialogue, i.e to notice how much is communicated through action, internal thought, description, narration etc. and how the dialogue plays off of that and isn't merely a simple repetition.

The other issue I didn't mention is POV. I'm not sure there's a unique enough voice here to justify a first person POV. Unless this is a one off chapter with that POV, I would reconsider either first-person entirely or switch the perspective to a more interesting one (e.g the demon's perspective). Notice that even though White uses third-person, his narrator has a distinct voice as well.

Before doing all that though, I do agree with the other anon that you need to first figure out your "line in the sand". I.e what this scene is all about what you are trying to communicate. Once you know that, you'll know which advice to take and which to discard.

>>22601113
>The character is deciding between being a mother and being a ruler and making some kind of Faustian bargain with an otherworldly entity
Yeah, no shit sherlock, but that doesn't really say anything in practical terms. We've seen this scenario many times before, it's not significant enough to hold interest by itself anymore. The things I actually care about are, what will the character get from the deal, like for real. Power? What the hell is power, anyway? It could mean anything, the word is empty. What does it take to rule? Why does Luden want it so much, enough to give up motherhood to a magic doggo? I'm not getting anything here. You give these kinds of details in the prologue, not halfway through the book. If the author takes this long to establish basic information, it's going to be one long slog. Then again, it's fantasy, so that's a given. And this is why I hate reading fantasy.

>>22601391
Point is that if this is a scene that happens halfway through the book, there is no need to reiterate the themes once again, the reader should already know the whys.

>>22601420
>if this is a scene that happens
You're making awfully lot of assumptions to the writer's benefit. Nice guys do that but I'm not a nice guy.

tfw all the elements are there to make a good scene and you just need to arrange them properly and invoke them more subtly but you don't know how to do that

>>22601451
I’m glad there’s a least a decent base, working on it I hope I’ll make it better

>>22597540
I have ten days off (starting yesterday) so I decided to write 350 words a day for each of the six stories I'm working on. I have just finished today's batch, and have thus completed 1/5 of my grand experiment.
You may congratulate me now.

>he doesn’t handwrite his first drafts

Anon…

>>22601679
I write a lot in notebooks when I'm away from home but my handwriting is so bad I sometimes have trouble reading it afterwards...

>>22601697
I used to have that problem. It just takes a lot of sustained practice to improve it

>>22601679
Is this a meme? Why would anyone do this

Fcuk you faggors you’re writing all sux.

>>22601767
Why wouldn’t you? Writing on a computer is terrible, impermanent, not tactile at all. There’s no weight to it. It’s just ephemeral pixels on a screen. The great writers of history wrote extensively by hand and it was good enough for them.

Premise: 1800's wild west cowboys hunting down werewolves, but the lastest hunt is him hunting a woman he loves.

Does he give her the bullet or the knot?

brandon sanderson uses microsoft word

>>22601817
>Brando Sando

Anon…please read a real book by a real author

please write an actual book

stephen king uses microsoft word

>>22601830
>Stevo Kingo

Anon…

>>22601784
The "great writers of history" did their work before modern word processors. You really are a brainlet.

>>22601878
>the "great writers of history" did their work before modern word processors

Yes, and?

>>22601883
I think his point that great writers of course wrote by hand because they had no other choice, so the method was no more than a means to an end

>>22601908
But it’s still a superior method. Even after typewriters many great authors preferred to write by hand.

mark twain used microsoft word (would dictate to a type-girl)

>>22601767
Some people care more about the image and aesthetics of being an author than the actual work. Poseurs.

>>22601978
No wonder Twain was so good. He wrote the way he spoke, then went off and promoted his work by doing book talks that were basically stand up comedy. It's similar to how I try to write.

Also, writing by hand is dumb. Typing lowers the barrier between thinking and recording, making everything flow more naturally. That's why most of the clowns on this board write like dictionaries.

>>22602081
>That's why most of the clowns on this board write like dictionaries.
What does this even mean?

>>22602080
>Some people care more about the image and aesthetics of being an author than the actual work.

Not everything can be boiled down to your onions utilitarian ideal of just producing as much garbage as possible as efficiently as possible. Go back to R*ddit.

>>22602114
Pissy* not onions. My bad.

>>22601679
I do.

>>22602080
I think it's easier to edit a draft when you have to rewrite (type) the whole thing. Not only are you reading it all, in order and with complete focus, but you end up reading a lot of it out aloud which helps with flow. Obviously, I find editing easier on my computer however I also find it to be detrimental to the construction of any initial draft. I've written a couple of things by keyboard alone and I'd always be stopping to change things as, or just after I wrote them. It held me up so much that I went back to handwriting. Granted, I probably don't write as quick as I type, but handwriting has always brought with it a consistent pace which perhaps the flexibilty and unrestricted nature of a word processor hinders.

>>22602088
Are you an idiot?

>he doesn’t hand write his drafts by candlelight

Anon…

>>22601697

Try writing in all caps. That should help a lot.

>>22601928

Typewriters were loud as fuck, so I'm not surprised if people preferred to write by hand back then.

>>22602259
It’s also just superior to any other method of writing. You’re pretty obviously a Gen Z, so I don’t expect you to understand the value of beauty and aesthetics. Your generation are vile and produce nothing.

Out of curiosity, people who really write here.
How many books did you read before you started to write? Also do all of you read since childhood?

I mean I got into reading in my early twenties, I read around 80 books (mostly classics from lit charts) and when I tried to write it just seems extremely stupid and without any sense.

Did you guys read many theory of writing before to start write?

English is not my first language, sorry for my mistakes.

>>22602382
sadly, 80 books total is probably more than average; however, many authors, or bookish people read 30, 40, 50+ books a year. some read over 100 or even 200. in a year.
writing is like anything else. spend time on it. it might take you a few thousand hours before you're any good, especially if you don't read much.

>>22601567
Don't get too fucking cocky anon. I'll congratulate when you finish your work

>>22602382
I agree with Welles that overconsumption is a deadly disease when it comes to creative endeavors. There are maybe a hundred good books, maybe two hundred if we account for personal taste. Once they've been studied what remains is to trust in your own vision and experience. Novel and engaging material usually arises as a result of unique combination of the classical with the personal. I think the more you read beyond those 100-200 books the more your own visions get diluted by the imagination of others.

>>22602750
Is it really possible to write good fantasy if you don't read all the fantasy out there? Seems like you would just repeat out the same stuff since you didn't know any better.

>tfw fantastic writer
>can't think of any premise for a story so I can become rich and famous
FUCK

Sum up your protagonist's arc with as few words as you can
>Gets traumatized within days of birth
>Heals by forming close bonds with the people in his life in multiple ways
>Eventually becomes a bad enough dude to really face his fears head-on

Holy shit every sample I've skimmed in this thread is truly and astonishingly bad. You people hadn't any talent. Here I was mourning the faults in my own writing when there's heaps of holocaustic crap spanning across god knows how many generals. Thanks /lit/ you've encouraged me to keep going that I might sooner you leave behind.

>>22603113
Talent is such a weird cope. You don't just give someone a scalpel and tell them to perform surgery with no training, then cry about them having no talent for surgery when they don't know what to do.
There's no such thing as talent, only skill gained through practice.

>>22603129
If you give a hundred someone's a scalpel with a hundred humans to carve you can bet 1 of them will have hands that shake least and produce the best cadaver.

>>22603133
A little vibration in the blade will keep the tumors guessing

>tfw thought of a conceit
>tfw thought of a title
>tfw it's all even maybe good
>but it's a spit narrative that meets in the middle
Is this cliche? Overdone? Insufferable plebeian shit? Please someone convince me to pursue this. Have any reputable works done this sort of thing?

>>22603175
It's about the execution, not the idea

>write in third person perspective
>story is mostly neat, i can keep unnecessary details mostly in check
>write in first person
>proceed to immediately write several back to back tangents
>barely describe any story

Any tips for maintaining a narrative, prosewise and storywise, while writing in first person and not having it derail into a stream of consciousness slop?

>>22603199
focus on dialogue as your main means of exposition

Third draft, and I'm probably gonna send it off. It's for a writing contest where the only rule is all short stories must begin with the same line: "It was the farthest north they had ever been."

>does it feel rushed?
>is it actually possible to write a short story about war that isn't hackneyed to death?

>>22603113
Wtf we out here bloom posting

>>22603539
Can't say I've read the thread because there's nothing there to read

>>22603552
I dare say that gave me an extraordinary kek.

>>22603056
and shakespeare copy+pasted his plots, whats your point?

>>22603129
Didn't you know anyone in school who just seemed to "get" everything without effort, or even ever doing any of the classwork? I'm sure everyone has at least been around someone like this in their lives. That's talent. It's not a """"cope"""". It's just a raw talent or aptitude for whatever the material is.

>>22603677
>Didn't you know anyone in school who just seemed to "get" everything without effort, or even ever doing any of the classwork?
This is false. The people who are better at something have lived lives different from yours and in that time have been exposed to any number of things that help them solve a particular problem better than you.
There's no human on earth who can just play Bach on a piano without ever having been exposed to either a piano or Bach before. There's no human on earth who can program a computer to do something without ever having been exposed to computers and how to write code.
Talent doesn't exist. God doesn't just give people the ability to do something. Everything has to be learned. Everything CAN be learned. Stop coping about others just having magical powers to be able to write and start practicing.

>>22603713
>Stop coping about others just having magical powers to be able to write and start practicing.
I'm not "coping" at all. I'm a talented person. I go further than most on less effort over a broader set of activities. I'm not sucking my own dick here; just stating facts. That's not to say I'm good at everything. I've never been good at sports, for example. Some people just have an intrinsically better intuitive comprehension of physics. Could I practice enough to put the sports ball in the sports hoop? Absolutely. But for my lack of talent with sports, I've got other talents that others don't. I've always been good with languages, for example. I was reading at two years old and learned some French almost by mistake and without any special effort. Talent exists. If you don't think it does, you're probably not talented.

That's okay. You don't NEED to be talented. Hell, the people who succeed the most in this world seem to be those who lack special talent but are willing to work hard and practice. That doesn't mean talent doesn't exist. It also doesn't imply that talent isn't what separates two people of equal skill.

You're taking a really absolute stance and getting mired in word games. I'm going to give you the opportunity to admit that talent exists but doesn't matter as much as some people think it does and we can go our separate ways. I'm not going to get sucked into a pointless argument.

>>22603713
Talent doesn't mean some magic power to be perfect at something with no experience, retard. It's the ability to use what experience there is more effectively than standard.

>be me
>share a few beginning chapters of a work with a stranger
>reader seems to like it
>begins making some forward requests about content despite only reading the very beginning of the story
>specifically: begins requesting sex scenes in the first chapters, and seems annoyed by the concept of sexual tension for narrative purposes
:|

>>22603779
nothing wrong with selling bonus extended chapters of popular characters having sex for $1

the same people insisting on talent probably overlaps with those who say brandon sanderson is talentless

Downloaded both of John Truby's books the other day, I think I'm gonna crack into The Anatomy of Genre first.

>>22604003
>He has served as a consultant on over 1,000 film scripts over the past three decades
>4 credits on imdb spanning 30 years
yea, hard pass

>>22604045
I don't like Truby's books either but if I understand correctly, consultants usually don't get screen credits, just fat paycheks.

>>22604106
you know who also doesn't get credit? People who don't write

>>22604106
This is the second time I've seen someone say they don't like Truby's books, hmmm, maybe I'll like them and maybe I won't, there'll probably be some useful information in there regardless.

>critique, does this create an image in your head?
In a gym, loud with the noise of punches hitting sandbags, I see your brown hair in the corner. Both your fists are raised up in front of your face. Sweat comes down your temple. My eyes can’t help but follow its trajectory as you jab the man in front of you. Down your stick-like arms, your plank of a chest, and the six pack you’re very proud of until I blush with the realization that I’m oogling you and force myself back up to your face. Angry? Determined? Your eyes focus on the task at hand while your angled jaw adds roughness to what should be just another beautiful face.

>>22602533
I did it again today and even faster than yesterday

>>22603399
You were missing a quotation mark :)

>>22603062
Most people who want to be writers do so because they have something to say. Are you telling us you have nothing to say?

>>22604246
I just want to live the literary lifestyle and talk to cute girls about what it's like to be a tortured writer

>>22603399
Seems fine to me honestly.

>>22604246
This is a common misconception. The thing that divides most writers from would be writers is simply the willingness to write, a sufficiently self-aware person would never deign to succeed.

>>22604246
>Most people who want to be writers do so because they have something to say
yea what this anon said, like I want to say how cool it would be if I had a harem of 5 sex slaves and also had magic powers

>>22604251
Then you're into writing for the wrong reasons, and your ability to write will suffer proportionally to your degree of phoniness.

>>22604298
pretty dumb take

>>22603765
>>22603740
Stop crying about other people being better than you and just work at getting better you fucking retards

>>22604306
If you have to get better then that means you suck and you shouldn’t even bother. If you need more than one draft and one revision you’re wasting your time.

>>22604310
This but unironically.
t. Zero edits Vollmann

How do I write like I enjoy writing?

>>22604321
nobody enjoys excavating through dirt, but everybody loves the gold they find

>>22604324
Kids dig around in the dirt all the time, ergo write like a kid, with zero self awareness

>>22604327
yea but you are not a kid, grow the fuck up

>>22604330
That's the inner critic talking. Silence it.

>>22601679
Kriechen.

>>22604300
It's easy to criticize without providing any substance. So what's your take, then?

>>22604370
>I will say this thing and YOU have to prove me wrong
not how it works idiot

>>22604246
Most people want to be writers because they're infatuated with the idea of being writers

>>22604375
>poor and berated by all of society for being useless
I think its less with the idea of being a writer and more with the idea of creating good stories

>>22604382
Stories are for loosers not good enough for real life.

>>22604386
what do you think you're doing when you're writing?

>>22604374
>brainlet deflection
Never mind...you have literally nothing to contribute to this conversation.
>>22604375
>projection
I write because I enjoy writing. Outside of that, what exactly is "being a writer"?

>>22604388
I don’t write, faggot.

>>22604421
thank god

>>22604386
>loosers
illiterate
opinion discarded
>>22604421
Then why are you in a writing thread?

>>22604431
Too laugh at you faggots and your space elfs

>>22604423
Whatever bitch I bet if I write it’s better than you culd do.

>>22604447
no you could not you idiot

>>22604382
>poor and berated by all of society for being useless
Where do you live? Writers are treated like heroes. Artistic visionaries who get women, alcohol and new cars, and don't need to trouble themselves with menial labor like plebs like you and me. Their works are turned to movies and TV-shows and their names will live forever. That's what people want to be.

Writers that sell, that is. Those that don't aren't even visible, no need to think about those parasites.

>>22604456
I live in reality
Go tell your parents you want to be a writer and see what they say.
Go tell your friends and lets see if they start sucking your dick like you think society does.
Somehow writing has been lumped in with being an influencer and "I want to be a youtube star"
And this isn't a new thing.
>Artistic visionaries who get women, alcohol and new cars
I don't know who you are taking this from, just look at most writers bios and you see them either offing themselves or dying poor and unknown for their writings, lol "Treated like heroes"

>>22604471
I see you're too dumb to read or understand what you read. There's therefore no meaning in continuing this conversation. Have a pleasant day.

>>22604479
>rich people are praised
yea dummy, but 99% of writers aren't rich

>>22604439
And to do so as illiterately as possible, apparently. Maybe you should learn how to spell before you try to give anyone else crap.
>>22604447
It looks easy until you try it. But hey, blabbering here is probably better than other things you could be doing with your time. If trolling here prevents one small animal from getting tortured, or one little girl from getting eyed up, I'm fine with the sacrifice.

>>22604456
Wow...what a surface-level understanding. Almost as if you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
"Moby Dick" was a complete failure while Herman Melville was alive; it didn't get attention until the 100th anniversary of his birth (by which time he was long dead).
Frank Kafka was so unsuccessful in his time, he directed the executor of his will to burn all his works. He didn't, and that's the only reason we know of his writing.
Marcel Proust couldn't find a publisher for volume 1 of "In Search Of Lost Time", so he paid to have it published himself...no small feat in his time.
Philip K. Dick struggled during his lifetime, despite writing 125 short stories and 44 novels, and only saw real money when the rights to one of his novel was sold to make the movie "Blade Runner". Unfortunately, he passed away before it was released.
I could go on.

>>22604456
If you think writers are treated like heroes, maybe you can join them on the picket line, where they're protesting big Hollywood media companies for treating them like complete shit.

>>22604520
>for treating them like complete shit.
They should be lined up and shot. The slop they write doesn't deserve a broken fucking cent and they're being paid upward of 70k a year and are bitching about it too.

Just (self)published my first novel, wrote four prior but never tried for publishing. Already working on sequel. Im not sure if my next highest priority is to just hammer out some more content, or to fuck around with marketing and start setting up an authors site.

So far Ive just been telling all my friends and family about it and getting copies for them, which I think is probably the best thing you could do if youre like me and completely new to the game and have no reasonable way to get any reviews.

>write something
>love it
>share it
>everyone hates it
>write something
>hate it
>share it
>everyone loves it

>>22604668
>write something
>love it
>share it
>everyone hates it
>write something
>hate it
>share it
>everyone hates it

>>22604561
Most aren't getting paid at all; they get stuck providing free work for studios, then after months of effort, are told the studio doesn't want it & they get nothing for all that work.
And "upwards of 70k" isn't squat in Hollywood; you can't even pay rent for that.
>lined up and shot
At least you admit to being a totalitarian bully.

>>22604674
>write something
>hate it
>everyone hates it
>hate myself

>>22604561
Perhaps you should actually look into the subject before spouting off a bunch of bullshit.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90918934/my-story-highlights-the-importance-of-the-writers-strike
The experienced screenwriter that wrote this article is also on welfare.
https://time.com/6306278/friends-patty-lin-end-credits
Her story highlights just how fragile a writing job is.
There are more examples, if you just get off your dead ass and look for them.

Write a better reality.
A story is a soul.

Each person writes reality in what each person thinks.
There’s infinite equally true truths.

https://pastebin.com/Dx8QFDaT
critique and rating much appreciated

>>22604689
me 2

>>22603845
No.

>>22605001
this is capitalism baby, get with it

>>22604835
>Irrelevant lust provoking image
Don't care

>>22604704
Interesting

>>22603669
Shakespeare wrote for the poor, so that's different. They take what they can get. We're talking higher brow fantasy here.

writing can't replicate anything in real life, fuck bros, TV and porn has us outgunned

>>22603779
Some people are technically adults but still approach sexuality like horny schoolboys.
It is actually immature to ask for sex where it’s not needed or wanted.
If it hurts the narrative to include sex scenes in the first two chapters, don’t include it.
You know what you’re writing better than anyone else.

>>22605006
I have other intentions.

>>22604306
OK, Frank

>>22604310
>If you need more than one draft and one revision you’re wasting your time
I don't understand how people can get stuck in revision. My work is flawed, sure, but it's all just a snapshot of who I was as a person and who I was as a writer at that point in time. I'm not really worried about creating picturesque, perfect little theme park rides. I want to write things that breathe and teem with passion and humanity in all the flaws thereby entailed.

>>22605089
>I want to write things that breathe and teem with passion and humanity in all the flaws thereby entailed.
Example of this?

>>22605083
Frank is currently banned for a week, on account of his shill-spamming same-fagging sperg-out earlier in this thread. Of course, there are other seething schizo brainlets here...

>>22605123
Ok, Frank.

>>22597540
My story is coming along quite nicely now. Hope i'm able to get it done in time for Halloween.

>What is your book about?
how do i respond to this without looking retarded

>>22605176
reference recently published or well known books or movies that give the gist of the plot and no, your book shouldn't be unique enough for this to be difficult

>>22605176
you already sound like an idiot
i don't even know if you're writing non-fiction

>>22605179
yeah fair enough

>>22605188
thanks you too

>>22605089
perfection is the enemy of good

>>22605019
if it was so irrelevant you wouldn't mention it

>>22605235
Explain your logic

>>22605233
An aphorism that is subjective to be honest.

>>22605241
if something is irrelevant than you wouldn't even notice it, but by the act of you mentioning it means that was what grabbed your eyes first and possibly then to the link

>>22604246
>something to say
I just write the stories I'd want to read that don't exist.

>>22605246
You'll notice you get reducing returns the more time you spend pouring over and attempting to perfect something, is that better?

>>22605259
This, why is it so wrong to want to do that? Why do you have to be some cocky person who has something to say?

>>22605254
>if something is irrelevant than you wouldn't even notice it
Not necessarily, it's irrelevant in the sense that it has nothing to do with your post or your writing, and since you purposefully added it to your post to draw attention to it, I will do the opposite and intentionally ignore you

>>22605277
oh no!

>>22604689
>write something
>love it
>don't share it
>no one can hate it

>>22605331
Yeah. I only recently just bit the bullet and started putting my stuff out there, I know enough that my writing will at the very least be enjoyed by some people, and is at worst extremely niche. But it took me three novels to get to a point where I thought what I was doing could be interpreted as 'good' at all.

https://pastebin.com/pTEUQ6QG

>>22605331
>write something
>love it
>share it
>nobody say says anything, not even a 'thanks for the chapter

>>22605721
its the fate of people who write middling things
unless people love your thing or absolutely hate it they won't respond, sometimes you get a constructive comment though

>read something
>think it's shit
>write something
>think it's great
>mfw the guy who wrote the thing I read probably felt the same way about their shit
What do

ill read your book/series

>>22605795
Why should I want you to read my masterpiece? Post other books you've read.

>>22605795
my novel is wholesale anime in the eyes of wg. sorry anon...

>>22605801
>>22605800
ive read every book / feed me your slop

>>22605616
seem like you need to follow this agent's advice >>22600171
>No novelizations of your tabletop campaign

>>22605806
If you've read every book then it's clear to me that you have no sense of taste. Request denied.

you are not a real writer unless you are willing to let your book be shat on by a bunch of 4chan retards

>>22605819
You're not a real writer unless you've shat on enough books written by 4chan retards

>>22605819
Okay but my story has a female protagonist. Are you guys still willing to read an excerpt if I post it?

>>22605826
no, don't post it then

>>22605832
That's what I thought

>>22605819
My problem is my book only exists in my head and I can't bring myself to put words to paper.

>>22605826
https://youtu.be/lA47wDINua8?si=2jWfhzMBglyTr_XH&t=4

>>22605836
keep it in your head—you can only ruin it by trying to realize it

>>22605841
TRUE.

I only write little snippets to personally enjoy them and for lore-building reasons and then I delete them immediately after.

>>22605235
>>22605254
>>22605284
>>22604835
dumbest writer ITT

>>22605852
man why do you have to single me out :(

How the FUCK do I stand out at writer's conferences?

>>22605837
It's not like i'm doing it for woke reasons (like I ever fucking would) and I don't blame you guys for immediately shooting it down.

>>22605857
Where a clown nose and jingle bells.

>>22605855
Someone has to be the dumbest and ITT it's you

>>22605862
wtf, why

>>22605817
there is no light without dark

>>22605862
say i'm a good writer and I'll link my feet erotica i've been brewing up

>>22605863
Maybe it's genetic? Maybe you didn't study enough in school? Who knows? All I know is u dum

>>22605868

The sun is down, the PJs are on, and comfiness has been achieved. It's time to write

>>22605882
Best of luck to you, Anon.

what are you writing before writemonth? you arent cheating are you?

>>22605892
its not like you can't dedicate a month at any point in your life btw

>>22605901
i will be writing 3 books in the next 3 months

>>22605907
:o, good luck! I don't have that type of dedication

I'm gonna be writing the sad/emotional scenes of my book in my head and then get sad about them but never write them down.

>>22605914
Is it because you care about the characters or something else?

>>22605921
I've legit cried plural times in real life because of something bad/good happening to my characters in story.

Like. I'm just imagining these things happening for plot reasons and actually leaking tears over them.

A year or so ago I was out with my friend and his wife and I mentioned I was "sort of but not really working on a book" and she asked me what it was about, as as I was telling her, I had to pause multiple times to gather myself because I was breaking up.

So basically I'm retarded.

>>22605931
Heh, if I had that much emotion for the characters I create, I don't think I would be able to write horror stories. Good thing I don't

>>22605813
But it’s not. So are you just some retard or what?

>>22605947
I just want everyone to be happy but sacrifices have to be made for character development.

>>22605977
>but sacrifices have to be made for character development.
Indeed

>>22605931
I have the same disease. A lot of the time it isn't even bad things happening but just touching moments, usually of self-sacrifice or forgiveness.

>>22603076
>Haha let's fucking goooo!
>It's so over....
>We're so back

>>22605882
I have my nuggies and I've hit word count for the first time in 3 months
It's a good day brother

>>22606080
My most recent night-terror is at the conclusion of a prequel story.

Dude's wife and mother of their first child(a boy) is pregnant again and the ultrasound reveals a suspicious mass in her uterine lining that's not supposed to be there. It gets biopsied and two weeks later they get called back to the hospital where it's revealed that she has uterine cancer and she's advised to terminate to undergo chemo, but she adamantly refuses because her own mother terminated four pregnancies before getting "stuck" with her because the doctor refused to do any more. (They're Korean and they wanted a boy.)

Anyway she opts for less intrusive treatment while staying pregnant and ends up going into early labor around the 7th month mark. The baby is unable to be delivered vaginally due to tumor growth blockage so she's taken into the OR for an emergency c-section.

Baby is delivered fine but premature, and the mother is awake and alert but very, very tired.

Husband goes to see her and tells her that the baby is a girl and she's fine. Wife's last words are "I'm so happy and I can't wait... to meet..."

>>22606114
ow

>>22606102
Fuck you just summed up mine better

New

>>22606175
>>22606175
>>22606175