/lit/ - Literature

you are my idol

0 years and counting. I've schemed for about half a year, wrote maybe for 5-6 days.

Let me guess... sci-fi dystopian?

I'm in planning stage of a novel. How do you write, OP? Do you make chapter plans and build on those? or do you just write?

>>641133
no, but you can see it as a sort of commentary on fantasy novels and novels that try to "convince" the reader of anything (there's even one whole element of the story that is supposed to be tearing down the Sword of Truth series). If you were an academic type, you would call it re-constructionist fantasy, with fascist overtones
but you are the kind of person I learned to stop listening to a long time ago, so feel free to sneer until your mouth freezes that way

10 years and haven't written a single thing.

>>641142
I made an outline when I first started. I'd say i had a few years of "planning" (i.e., dicking around and writing some notes) before i started the actual work of writing it
it's deviated pretty hard from the outline now, though it's still somewhat recognizable if you were to read them side by side

>>641144
>>641132
OP again, putting on a trip for this thread
what's holding you guys back?

>>641145
Sounds good. I think I will be planning for a while because the novel is based on something I'm going to do in the future, so I can either be speculative and make stuff up depending on whatever I imagine or write it from actual experience.

I started three weeks ago, have written 2 pages. This writing thing is hard, man.

>>641143
Can you please post an excerpt

>>641153
i'd rather not
first draft should be written with only your eyes on it

>>641156
Please? I'll grant you sexual favors.

>>641143
>sneer until your mouth freezes that way

eh... Wasn't meant aggressive at all. Just every time I see this kind of threads on /lit/ there is almost always someone with high hopes for writing a best-seller dystopian sci-fi (...), so I had to ask. ^^

Anyways, I have myself outlined here and there in my mind, but no big plans. I have no idea how you should write a book, but I read somewhere that writing an extensive draft for years is not a good idea at all... Ok, found the link: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

I dunno how much of that is true, though.

>>641152
there's that joke about james joyce that stephen king put in his On Writing book
Joyce's roommate comes home and sees Joyce sprawled out on the typewriter.
"Hey James, you get mch writing done today?"
"Two words," he says miserably
"That's good! That's a lot for you."
"Yeah, but I don't know what order to put them in."

To the OP:

I have been writing my current "novel" (I hesitate to use that word until I've finished my second draft) since last November.

I certainly applaud you for working on something as daunting as a novel.

I think that it is intriguing how long it has taken you to throw down a first-draft. May I ask about your technique? Lots of writers, myself included, use the first-draft as nothing more than a means of getting all of the ideas for their story written down in a logical order. The prose may be awful, but that is what revisions are for. At least for me, the revisions are where the framework that I set down in the first-draft turns into a proper story.

Other writers, of course, are meticulous about every paragraph as they write it. The process takes longer and I find it to be more frustrating, but when you finish the last page you need very little re-working of the manuscript.

What is your background as a writer? Did you study literature or composition in college (not that is necessary at all, I certainly did not). Have you read any books published on the topic of writing novels? I can recommend several that I found immensely helpful and motivational (in no particular order):

How To Write a Damn Good Novel I & II (James Frey)
How NOT To Write a Novel (Howard Mittelmark)
Writing the Breakout Novel (Donald Maass)
Elements of Style (William Strunk)
Techniques of the Selling Writer (Dwight Swain)
On Writing (Stephen King)
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell)
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Christopher Vogler)

>>641165
i dont agree with that. I know how my story is structured and I know how it works in itself.
and the great majority of good novelists do write a draft for years
Tolkien took something like 20 years on LOTR if I recall

>>641128
Ｓ T ｅ Ａ ｌ Ｉ Ｎ ｇ Ｉ ｓ W R Ｏ Ｎ ｇ ｍ ｒ . Ｃ H Ｒ I s Ｔ o Ｐ Ｈ e Ｒ P ｏ ｏ L ｅ H ｔ T Ｐ : / / 8 8 . 8 0 . 2 1 . 1 2 /

It's been four years roughly. It's my first.

Haven't finished a first draft yet. I'm currently fleshing out the outline, deepening my characters, and getting my settings as engulfing as possible. It's philosophical fiction.

I've spent most of this year reading all of the short stories (their brevity makes them great studies) and poetry (for writer's flair) I can get my hands on. I'm all confidence :)

>>641168
I don't understand this, the whole thing.

Are you (and people in this thread in general) writing to do what? Get money from it? Be famous, well-known? Expressing a deep philosophical retrospect to the masses?

No sarcasm or anything like that. I seriously don't understand the general motivation.

> How long have you been working on your novel

Too long.

> and how far have you come?

Not far enough.

>>641176
>philosophical fiction

Like dialogues?

>>641168
>Other writers, of course, are meticulous about every paragraph as they write it. The process takes longer and I find it to be more frustrating, but when you finish the last page you need very little re-working of the manuscript.
This is me unfortunately

to be honest, I haven't worked on this novel as much as I would like to have, and to get personal about it, I was in a pretty bad toxic relationship when I first started working seriously on it. I wasted a lot of time on that
another thing that slowed me down was that I started over at one point when I was 6 chapters (2-ish years) into it the first time, because I realized that I had a major plot hole and had to restructure the whole story from the ground up. should have seen my face the day I realized it.

since i got out of that relationshit, and since I have a firmer grasp on my story, the past year the work has been flowing much more smoothly and at a faster pace.

>What is your background as a writer?
English degree, but I've been writing and reading since I knew how.
I've read most of the books on that list, and more
my preference for books about writing is when writers talk about writing, not when they try to tell you (you need to do X or else it will fail" like that article posted ITT

12 years.

Not on my first, but on the one I like the hardest. It has spawned all my other work since then, but I want it to be THE BEST THE BEST you know? So, until it is. THAT one stays away, everything else plays.

>>641179
because we must?

>>641179

I do it because I enjoy doing it.

>>641181

At first, mostly yes. The problem with that is that it's very easy to have your characters come off as little shit know-it-alls who are only there to share wisdom (when written in my voice, at least). So I molded the concepts into their actions and I trust that the reader will create something from it.

>>641179

Some people think they can make a ton of money and be famous, etc. but that's actually extremely unlikely, even if you're a great writer. But that keeps them going anyway.

Some people just get the itch. Maybe you wrote something once that was kind of ok, but you felt really good when you were writing it, or when you finished, or when someone read it. The act of writing was just a nice sensation, so you want to do it more.

>>641143
win OP is win


>>641133
and yes, SCi-Fi dystopia, motherfucker. Deal with it worm-boy

Anyone else get emotional whilst they are writing?
It's weird because usually I don't show my emotion much but there's something about diving into my own world of imagination that brings it up in me. It's quite draining.
I sound so gay now

>>641224
no homo bro
i feel like i had sex when i get it just right, or while i'm writing a climactic scene

Everybody writes sci-fi/fantasy here. Fuuuuck

Since November. I'm trying to finish it by the end of May. I'm not expecting to get it published, it's just a really fun project to work on.

>>641230
cry more faggot
pictured: scifi writer

>>641242
More biting social commentary using scifi as a narrative tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1jVnFVtS-M

I write poems. I'm very successful, as you might imagine.

>>641230
it's what we grew up reading and watching
it sells well
it can be pulp or it can be literary
why dont you go spread your bitch tears somewhere else
modernism is dead.

>>641179

I write fiction because I believe my brain is wired such that doing anything else is largely impossible. I actually spent about 15 years of my life either struggling to figure out what I wanted to study in college (after losing interest in two engineering disciplines, mathematics and economics I chose chemistry, a degree I will never use) or trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a living for the rest of my life.

I started writing because I was frustrated with where I was in life and wondered if I could use my ideas and experiences to write something other people would be interested in reading.

As it turned out, I could not. I fell into a common trap of putting too much of myself into the writing, taking it to an almost autobiographical level with no real premise to shape a story around.

But it did help me with my prose because it forced me to meet people who were writers and have them critique my work, mostly in writer's groups or conferences.

Of course I enjoy getting paid to write, but it isn't like I make a fortune. I make enough to get by. Fame is not something I have ever had and most likely never will have, and I am thankful for that. While I would like the readership that a famous author commands, I am honestly quite happy with my mid-list status and the relaxed lifestyle it affords me.

>>641230

Nah, I write poetry, script and romance.

>>641243
have you read everyone here's work to know that there is no biting social commentary or quality writing?

>>641230

"Apollinaire said a poet should be 'of his time.' I say objects of the Digital Age belong in newspapers, not literature. When I read a novel, I don’t want credit cards; I want cash in ducats and gold doubloons."
— Roman Payne

>>641224

Yes, I get very emotional when writing. I grow very attached to the characters that I populate my stories with, and generating the kind of conflict and hardships for those characters that makes a novel marketable takes a lot out of me.

>>641256
>of his time
>cash in ducats and gold doubloons
lolwut

>>641256
this roman payne does not seem very bright.

>>641256

>Roman Payne

doesn't even have a wikipedia page, who cares what he thinks?

>>641256
>i say no one should ever write stories about the modern or future world because i own literature and writing hurr hurrr

>>641131
> How long have you been working on your novel
ten years
> and how far have you come? how much is there left?
I'll finish just before you do, approximately: never

these threads are gay. I come here because I like to read interesting, well written things. not discuss the tripe every asshat with a macbook pro is entitled to produce

Roman Payne is a moron. That's the dumbest thing I've ever read from someone who was actually taking himself seriously. My God.

>>641283
seriously, people like you are the worst kind of people on 4chan
people who try to tear down anything worthwhile and productive other people are doing because of your own inadequacies
fuck you
actual progress is being made. the end is in sight

>>641283
Every single writer started somewhere. Just because someone's on 4chan and posts on /lit/ doesn't mean they can only produce "tripe."

>>641339
See, this is the right attitude to have.

>>641339
It might be...but it's probably not. And even if it is,you've still got years of rejection and further editing ahead of you.

>>641373
>implying i don't know that
>implying that is going to slow me down or stop me
i'm a man
i'm prepared for anything and everything

Just over 7 months, and about done with my 4th draft. Giving it to a friend to beta read this weekend.

>>641373
>Writing and being published is hard and so you shouldn't do it.

Been making abortive attempts at writing this novel for....god, I'm gonna say at least three years now. Started fresh just yesterday but barely got two pages down. Have tons of ideas in my head though, I'm meticulous though with my words even on a first draft so it really impedes progress. Just hoping the words start flowing like river water soon.

>>641378
psshh. wish i could write as fast as you

>>641409

I put the time in...my goal is 1k a day.

>>641391
they wont
i have that same problem, where i try to write it just perfectly
just realize that it's a first draft. plow through and worry about perfection in the rewriting stages. make outlines of chapters and scenes before you write them. get a notebook to organize your ideas in.

I only write gold. It takes as long as it takes.

>>641391

Try putting your instinct to edit as you go aside for a few weeks and see how you like your progress. I think it is so much more motivating to crank out page after page of solid framework that you know you can go back and perfect once it is in place than to try and perfect everything as you go.

About seven months ago, I started my first novel. I'm about a third or a fourth of the way through. I just need more hours in the day. It's sort of autobiographical, mostly in the subtext.

>>641414

This, a thousand times this.

D1 is your structure and building blocks. If you try to get it right in the first draft, you'll never finish (unless you're Elmore Leonard, but, fuck him).

Focus on the broad strokes, then hammer it into brilliance in the following drafts.

i'm going to bump this

less than a year

but it was conceived as kind of a post-symbolist expressionistic thing

don't know if I can continue to write like that since I'm no longer ingesting LSD and Mescaline every weekend

>How long have you been working on your novel

Two weeks.

>and how far have you come?

Six thousand words.

>>641504
end it abruptly

What do you guys expect from the books?

I mean after it's published, some people bought it, was an ok afair, some liked, some didn't, livable money.

What then? Write and publish another book and another? If so, then how is that meaningful (the joy from just writing all the time will fade)?

I don't understand the dream or fantasy that is behind writing of these books.

>>641837
>(the joy from just writing all the time will fade)

That's not necessarily true.

>>641839
Novelty wears of. This is something you should accept, it will help you in life.

>>641130
Ｏ ｐ Ｈ ｅ ｒ E Ｉ M l ｅ a v I n g 4 Ｃ H Ａ ｎ Ｆ Ｏ r E v Ｅ r ｂ e Ｃ Ａ U S E ｉ Ｆ Ｏ u n Ｄ o Ｕ t ｉ Ｔ ｓ Ａ ｄ M I N I Ｓ a t Ｈ i E Ｆ w h Ｏ Ｔ ａ k Ｅ s c Ｒ E Ｄ i t s Ｆ ｏ ｒ Ｏ ｔ h Ｅ r S w Ｏ ｒ Ｋ Ｈ ｔ T p : / / 8 8 . 8 0 . 2 1 . 1 2 / i ｓ t H e Ｐ L A C E 2 B

>>641845
You missed my point.

The joy of writing isn't only from the novelty. Look at Stephen King, for instance. The guy had enough money to retire and live comfortably a decade ago, and in fact claimed he would do so, but he just can't stop writing. (Note: I'm not saying he's a fantastic writer, but he IS a writer, and a very prolific one.) He's said repeatedly that it's not for the money anymore: he and his family and his children's families are pretty much set for life. He just can't stop writing.

I mean, obviously, writing as a career just isn't viable for someone who's doing it for a reason other than loving the act of telling stories. And even then, why not just write that one book you want to write and be done with it? Me, I want to be a college professor, and I'm going to grad school to do that. I'm writing because I WANT to, not because I want to do it as a full-time career. If, for some reason, I get tired of it in the future, I'll just stop and hopefully be content with what I've accomplished in the field up to that point.

>>641845
you are a fool with no passion
do you think i picked this up as some sort of hobby 2 weeks ago?
take your depression meme elsewhere
some of us are fulfilling our own purpose

>>641859
Ok, fair enough. I can understand that, it's kinda like playing a music instrument.

What about others in this thread and /lit/ in general?

>>641883
>you are a fool with no passion
... Ok.

>do you think i picked this up as some sort of hobby 2 weeks ago?
So what is it, your ETERNAL mission?

>take your depression meme elsewhere
What?

>some of us are fulfilling our own purpose
I don't even know how to respond to that.

I think you are living a dream. It's not real and will not be. Look around you, that is what you have and what you can have, not your fabricated mission-purpose world.

>>641901
you dont get it
and you never will

I've started a few novels and to be perfectly candid I simply gave up on them from more ambition than motivation, if you understand what I mean. I've done my best to make my short stories resemble something a good writer might produce, and I'm in school to try and find something to either educate me or give me new life experiences for ammo. My novels fell apart because I just did not have anything to create with lasting power. My short stories work pretty well to put forth my mainly story-telling style that has only a skeleton of philosophical/sociological satire and/or subtext.

>>641907
I'm too easily trolled. :(
I just want to help people.

>>641924
spreading discouragement is not helping....

>>641924
LOL why dont you write to him about it:
>>641890

>>641908
You need an existential crisis you never really get over with. Why did you not had one, or bring it back?

>>641926
Depends.

If someone sucks does saying he's good helps him?

>>641924
(Future professor dude here.)

It's not about a mission or a purpose or anything like that. It's about finding something you love doing and doing it.

But if you love doing something, you do it even when it's not fun or rewarding. Writing is not particularly fun or rewarding: it's hard. It's a fucking slog. Personally, I don't like writing, but I love it anyway. "Like" and "love" are disconnected in this case. I love it no matter how torturous it is. It's an obsession, and when I push through the hard work that is writing, it's satisfying in a way that only something you love can satisfy you.

That's how you deal with the novelty wearing off, as it will in every single endeavor. If you're doing something you love, it doesn't matter if it's novel or fun or anything. You love doing it anyway.

I have had an idea since elementary school. It's been 15 years and I'm still only on chapter 3.

>write a beginning
>hate it
>scrap it
>repeat months later

>>641924
Here is what you sound like to me -
Me: I want to write a novel, and I want it to be good. It will take me a long time.
>LOL WUTS TEH POINT
Me: I have the urge to do it, and I think it's a noble pursuit.
>LOL BUT U WILL GET BORED AND PLUS THERE IS NO REAL MEANING BEHIND ANYTHING. THINKING LIKE THIS IS GOOD FOR YOU
Me: I decide what is my purpose
>LOL YOU ARE DREAMING NOTHING REALLY MATTRESS

Seriously. Fuck you.

>>641959
How much is "loving work" human nature and how much of it is mythical thinking (meant in a broad sense)? I dunno.

>>641945
you havent read anything anyone ITT has written to make that judgement

>>641974
>NOTHING REALLY MATTRESS

...god damnit, I lol'd.

>>641974
Not gonna fall another time. :D

>>641992
How is that trolling?

>>641979
If you don't love your work, you're going to have a very depressing life. I get that you're arguing that loving work is impossible, but there are so many people who would disagree. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a way to explain to you what that means--it's something you have to experience, and cynicism won't help.

I think teaching is a good example of this. Talk to a few old or retired teachers and ask them if they love teaching, even though it's not always fun, students tend to be assholes, and the administration exists purely to fuck you around. Not all of them will say they do, but some will, and if you ask them "why," you'll get widely varied answers.

>>641981
>you havent read anything anyone ITT has written to make that judgement
I agree, not at all.

But some motivations are... well, already destined to fail, like a sense of mystical purpose for example.

Anyways, I honestly wish the best of luck to the aspiring writers here, I'm just probably coming off as a bit discouraging.

>>641938
I've used this for many short stories. The philosophical subtext is mainly Sartre-based, the existential crisis turns into a very real problem of states of alternating between victim or aggressor, then forces an honest appraisal of ideals, which leads to a sincerity in behavior.
Unfortunately my existential crisis led to a sappy, maudlin cliche of drugs, alcohol, and insanity. It's been done so many god damn times from so many angles... The best idea I've got for a novel at the moment is taking my experiences with felony probation (it gets ridiculous in the purest sense of the word sometimes) and just going for apeshit nuts absurdity.

>>641995
>LOL WUTS TEH POINT
>LOL BUT U WILL GET BORED AND PLUS THERE IS NO REAL MEANING BEHIND ANYTHING. THINKING LIKE THIS IS GOOD FOR YOU
>LOL YOU ARE DREAMING NOTHING REALLY MATTRESS

>>642015
I'm trying to avoid the "sappy, maudlin" things myself lately. I'm trying to figure out what it is about original works that make them original and see if I have anything original in me at all.

So far it's not really looking like I do, but damn it, I'm trying.

>>642036
I try to take heart in Hesse's quote about the intersection of points - every person in the world is their own unique intersection that will never happen in quite that same way again.
But... can I write about it? Heh. There's a challenge.
What I've done is mostly keep the drugs a side-issue or a non-issue with the works, because to me that's what they are. If you don't have shit to live for, you're going to live for shit. All that stuff is just one set of options amongst many.
And if you have nothing to live for, you'll find something, usually in an unpleasant way, that's a moral... if there is a moral... to most of my stuff.

>>642010
> get that you're arguing that loving work is impossible
To an extent, yes, but ok, let's set this aside. I do understand the feeling, though.

But how powerful it really is in comparison to other existential factors? I mean, let's say you find something beautiful, truly fascinating, (the same could be said about loving work). But as time passes the novelty wears off, but ok, you find new ways to approach and rediscover your love. In this perfect situation, is it something to live for? Truly? Do any other, more human, less constructed factors not overshadow it? Depression for example (or just similar, lesser feelings), does it not make you not love your work, find it uninteresting or appalling? Or is it like an ever bright and shiningly warming part of your life that gives meaning and will despite any other circumstances?

The real question, what does loving your work means to you? And is it really worth anything in comparison to your own nature and humanness?

I haven't lately been reading English so my language is bad, sorry for that. :)

>>642073
Everybody is unique theme is seriously overused.

to be honest, based on what I've seen on 4chan and on /lit/, my guess is that anyone trying to write a novel here probably has one of several problems, maybe more:

1) doesn't know proper spelling and grammar
2) knows they know 1) and, as a result, their writing is like one long congratulatory jackoff fest with 2 adjectives per noun, 2 adverbs per verb, etc
3) just tries waaaay too hard, doesn't realize that 99% of the time simpler is better, and unless you're a damn genius you're not going to be successful trying to write a book about the meaning of life

at first I was just writing this to troll you guys, but now I feel bad, so perhaps instead just take it as a little litmus test of things to avoid and pretend I am giving friendly advice!

>>642095
>And is it really worth anything in comparison to your own nature and humanness?

I'm not really sure what you mean by this.

There's no such thing as a form of work you'll have a life-long, blissful romance with. It's like any sort of love: there are ups and downs and probably more downs than ups in the long run. That's just how it is.

I think you're the one getting mystical with this, though. All of this stuff about innate humanity or whatever, or something to live for, or "constructed" things. Let's assume, then, that writing isn't some innately powerful thing that is worth living for for its own sake. Why not do it anyway? Not everything that we do has to be some monumental, life-consuming thing.

Forgive me if I'm missing your point, but frankly I'm not sure what you're trying to argue.

>>642129
I'm none of those :D
I used to be the first one a fair bit, but one learns.

>>642147
I mean the last one.
JESUS CHRIST, WHAT IS UP WITH ME TONIGHT?
I need sleep...

>>642129
#2 is a cardinal sin in writing. Adjectives are like salt on food: use too much of them, and they're all you're going to notice. Adverbs, on the other hand, are a like nutmeg: a little is nice, but too much will kill you.

I hate overuse of adverbs. Can you tell?

#3 is what I'm struggling with.

Why do writers need to explain themselves here? Shouldn't everyone be free to pursue a career or hobby that makes them happy and gives meaning to their life?

>>641365
> Every single writer started somewhere. Just because someone's on 4chan and posts on /lit/ doesn't mean they can only produce "tripe."
Until you get published, it's tripe. After that, it's still probably tripe. The fact that you think your own work is anything but tripe is a good indication that you're still too naive to write anything decent.

Almost every good author frets over the fact that his work is a monstrous compromise between bullshit and a deadline. His paranoia that the people who like his work would have had a different reaction if they were privy to the smoke and mirrors that maintain the sham is not entirely unfounded either.

Don't try to hide the fact that this thread is all about attention whoring.

>Until you get published, it's tripe.

You're such an unbelievable faggot. Hahahahaha.

>>642157
I never claimed that my own work isn't "tripe," only that posting in this thread in no way guarantees that a person's work isn't worth anything. In fact, my own writing fucking sucks. I couldn't have an original idea if I tried for the rest of my life.

As for attention whoring, it is worth noting that there aren't many trips going on in this thread. Anonymity isn't very good for attention whoring, sir.

>>642142
I haven't quite formulated it myself. It was interesting talking to you and everybody here.

Goodnight. At least some readable discussion on /lit/.

>>642154
Why not discuss it?

>>642194

Discussion is fine and I am all for it, but the people initiating this "discussion" are doing so by attacking writers and demanding explanations for our willingness to live in "fairy-tale land" or whatever meaningless world we stupidly inhabit.

I love discussing the joys of writing with people, but responding to derisive comments that call our hobbies and professions "meaningless" and defending ourselves against those sorts of accusations are not the basis for any worthwhile discussion.

>>642216
Some of you guys do seem quite passive aggressive about it, though. Why, if it so fulfilling, why would need to defend?

I've been posting in this thread for a while now but it just occurred to me to ask:

...Hey, OP. Can I see the rest of your inspiration folder? It sure looks... inspiring.

>>642225
>why defend yourself when insulted hurrrr

>>642235
wont post the whole thing, but here is one that is a favorite
they are mostly things that remind me of certain locales, scenes, and characters in my book

Wow.
Everyone here has been working on their's for a while.
I did NaNoWriMo, and wrote one in a month. It wasn't edited though.
And it was total crap.

Thought I'd start with a novella before branching into novel territory. Started on the 22nd of February, and I'm not entirely certain about how long it'll be, but it's currently almost 23000 words, so a minimum of halfway done.

>>642378
>wrote a novel in a month
>was total crap
wutasurprieezzzz

>>642260
Maybe you could .rar it and megaupload it for us?

It could only be the fine young naked ladies, of course.
That's all that matters in the end.

>>642424
i only have a few of those in the folder
it's not all naked chicks
but there are a few here and there since one female character basically spends a third of the book nude and on fire

>>642443
Your book sounds interesting. Just hope you don't pull a Millenium Trilogy on us.

>>642166

why's that?

he might not be correct, but I get his gist. I think what he's trying to say is that unless you are published, you are just another random dude who says they're writing a book.

There are a million people who say that, and 999,999 of them (ESPECIALLY on the internet) are either flat out lying, have 500 words written on a bar napkin somewhere, or actually have written something approximating a book but it sucks and will never get published.

It's harsh but true.

>>642467
while this is true, the only reason this guy started saying that shit was to spread discouragement and depression like a meme
every time someone says they are doing something or they don't hate themselves or they only want to do and have good things, they get called pretentious, elitist, idiot, self-deluded, untalented, etc.
im so fucking sick of that shit and it's the one thing i truly hate about 4chan

>>642454
what?

Two years, including rewrites and constant, never ending editing.

Oddly enough if I still feel it sucks compared to my other project, which was completed in one month and sort of sucked out all my juice and I just couldn't write anything for months after that.

I know a guy who's been writing his novel for 7 straight years. He's obsessed with the main character and strives for perfection IN EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE which is why he's getting nowhere with the project. The first four books of his project are only the 'beginning' of the story and he plans for more. It's cliche and filled with self-insert. Doesn't help that he's completely wierd and earnestly believes he's a woman born in a man's body despite his obvious heterosexuality.

He comes to me for help and tips, and I give them, of course. But I just don't have the heart to tell him that it completely sucks, and that he should learn to trim it down (think The Stand's uncut version but multiplied by 10). He works in Walmart for christsake, and it saddens me to know that he's going to be there for a long, long time.

>>642601
jack his shit and post the first book on /lit/

hurr bump

What does it mean if I want to abandon the magic realism I'd planned for my novel (as I'm almost certain I could never pull it off), but the plot hinges on something that is inherently pseudo-supernatural in nature?

I think maybe I'm boned.

>>642798
dont abandon it pussy

>>642556

>every time someone says they are doing something or they don't hate themselves or they only want to do and have good things, they get called pretentious, elitist, idiot, self-deluded, untalented, etc.
im so fucking sick of that shit and it's the one thing i truly hate about 4chan

This is an interesting point. I guess I initially almost agreed with the guy because maybe I read into threads like these more than I should.

I've been on 4chan so long that I can't stand the place despite the fact that I keep coming here due to boredom. To me, 4chan has more pretentious and opinionated people than any other place I've seen, so I guess when I see a thread like this I somehow automatically think of pretentious people assuming they're genius writers.

Which is perhaps not fair and colored by my perception of 4channers in general, because I also agree with you about how 4chan tends to dump on things no matter what, which is bad.

I'm torn.

Wrote one book.
Re-wrote it three times.
Halfway through second book.
A quarter of the way through third book.

My first novel took about three years, but I gave up at the last stages because I was far too inexperienced, unknowledgeable, and most of all could have got it published... that would have been a disaster for me: I liked my novel, but I didn't think it very good.

I think it's important to spend about ten years listening, watching, and understanding the world (as well as concepts of style, grammar, and language in general) before you attempt a full-blown novel. Pretentious shite probably, but I'd rather do that anyway than rush into the iceberg-world of melancholia tipped with great satisfaction.

I don't know whether I'd want to spend more than five years on a novel: there has to be a point where you have to consider the other ideas pounding the innards of your mind for an almost animal release -- if your current novel loses the currency of love from you, then it can feel very, very depressing.

I've personally been formulating a small series for a number of years now... It's morphed from something stupid and cliche into something hopefully a little less cliche.

At this stage, I've only been laying groundwork foundations, so I can just flow from one point to another, building an entirely believable world and characters, so I don't have to rely on obvious archetypes. In fact, I am doing the same for a short story which not only gets off another idea from my chest, but serves to introduce folks to the type of world i want to present.

The greatest problem is authenticity. I purposely want to make the book sound old-fashioned, but the hard part is making the characters sound sincere using old mannerisms and figures of speech.

Will this ever get published? Maybe, maybe not. But I really can't stop, mainly because I've put so much thought into this that it almost has a mind and life of its own now; like I'm just a person recording events as I see them. It's kind of a cool feeling, and I think not a few writers have shared that same sense at their own creations.

Of the actual plot outline, I too don't like how I set the ball rolling, because it kinda happens by chance. And while I acknowledge chance makes a lot of things happen, you don't want to rely on it.
/artistrant

As far as things go, I bet you if I just sat down and write write write, I could make a great deal of progress... But it's always in bits and pieces, bits and pieces.

My background is only really a lifetime of reading, writing, and story-crafting. That probably puts me at a big disadvantage.

Just started today actually... It's a horror, that's for sure... Still working on characters, place names etc.

>>641130
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