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Read Hemingway! His style is incredibly straightforward, but his stories are much more than the sum of the words. There's a bunch of different anthologies out there, but In Our Time has a lot of his best stories in it.
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# ¿ Oct 1, 2014 03:29 |
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# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 11:55 |
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Al Cu Ad Solte posted:Just finished the 1st draft of a fantasy novel. I'm itching to get back to working on it (edit, revision, rewrite, etc), but I've heard it's best to set it aside for a time and go work on something else. What's the best time frame for this? I would guess it varies from person to person. Any experienced goons with tips? The benefits of your current enthusiasm would have to outweigh anything that sitting on it can do. I've never written a novel, but I think common sense says start it while you're keen.
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# ¿ Oct 30, 2014 22:52 |
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He shrugged, then she sighed.
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# ¿ Nov 2, 2014 21:12 |
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LaughMyselfTo posted:This post only makes sense to me if I assume you're only considering the existence of first-person narration. People who only consider the existence of first-person narration make me much less likely to use it. This isn't correct. Regardless of the perspective past tense implies that the narrator has knowledge of what is happening next, even if the narration is limited.
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# ¿ Nov 12, 2014 04:51 |
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If my friends or family read my stories, I try to lead them into giving me specific feedback, particularly specific negative feedback. If they aren't used to critiquing stuff then finding out things like where they stopped reading or wanted to stop are the best.
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# ¿ Dec 1, 2014 04:57 |
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Baby Babbeh posted:Pale Fire, motherfuckers. Yeah this is a great book.
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# ¿ Dec 9, 2014 01:13 |
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I think that brutally honest criticism, even to the point of being mean, is generally good. However is should be given in the right spirit. There's no point in telling someone at a story writing meetup they should 'give up their profession'. Presumably they're there to be a writer so the critic needs to accept that. More appropriate might have been 'I felt like this story was beating me around the head with the moral and this made me hAte it and you'
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# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 08:07 |
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Screaming Idiot posted:Say, is it preferable to post the actual text here on the forum, or in Google Docs? just post it however. It's nice to have line breaks between paragraphs if posting on the forums.
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# ¿ Dec 17, 2014 01:24 |
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Crass Casualty posted:https://docs.google.com/document/d/18axrK1i4Evd2WjAC4G7Y0vqjaS_ioSIpRb-0j30u2yk/edit?usp=sharing Hey this is not too bad. I don't think it's preachy at all. It's actually morally complicated, because he chickens out on his plan of saving her. If you want more feedback on it you should make a thread for it.
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# ¿ Dec 17, 2014 08:08 |
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The apostrophe is obnoxious and having androids and droids be different things is ridiculously confusing. If you're using common use words you pretty much need to use them as they are normally used. When writing about unfamiliar technical things you need to be especially clear.
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# ¿ Dec 25, 2014 08:19 |
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docbeard posted:The only counterpoint I'd add is, don't be so afraid of sucking that you're afraid of trying things. Thunderdome is so good for this. Because it's weekly I'm not afraid of forcing something I'm unfamiliar with.
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# ¿ Dec 27, 2014 20:10 |
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Just toxx yourself in here. Set the parameters yourself. Do it!
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# ¿ Jan 26, 2015 18:47 |
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Benny the Snake posted:Um, is it cool if I ask what everybody thought of my TD story for this week? It's not kosher to give TD feedback before judgement is in. After that it's fine.
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 02:47 |
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chthonic bell posted:Can I toxx myself even though I'm working on a comic and not prose? Or should I take that to the comic making thread. As Captain Planet would say "the power is yours!" I come to this thread for writey chitchat, not drawy chitchat, though.
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 06:41 |
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Yeah thanks for that, battuta. It's cool to see how conscious you ate of what you're words are doing.
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# ¿ Feb 28, 2015 20:45 |
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I don't see a problem with caffeine assuming you're getting enough sleep. That you decided to cut back implies you werent
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# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 05:31 |
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PoshAlligator posted:stuff Grats!
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# ¿ Mar 11, 2015 02:49 |
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Ancient Blades posted:frig frig frig i tried to ninja edit because somehow there was an extra space between one of the lines after i copy pasted it Interesting....
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# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 21:39 |
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Ancient Blades posted:ill happily accept any fallout I'd prefer you accept it by cringing miserably
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# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 22:03 |
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LOU BEGAS MUSTACHE posted:thunderdome has taught me that no one will like gimmicks or get subtle twists. And hopefully that this isn't the reader's fault?
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# ¿ Mar 24, 2015 05:49 |
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HIJK posted:So you would in fact not be retelling Beowulf at all since you're now excising the most valuable elements of Beowulf that separates the poem from other literature. You would in fact be rehashing The Legend of Zelda. Complete with wise men. I don't think this is necessarily fair. It is possible to have a retelling of a story that remains stylistically faithful to the source while significantly differing in plot. I don't think you should listen to people telling you that this is a bad idea, especially if it's a thunderdome entry. Some of my worst entries have been stories where I stepped outside my comfort zone, and while they were abysmal things I learned a huge amount from them. I have also stepped outside my comfort zone and written things I was happy with and learned from that, too. I think you should try it out, cast a harshly critical eye over it, get feedback, and consider whether it was a worthy endeavour. If anything I would be more worried about making sure your portrayal of cultures/classes you're not part of is sensitive.
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# ¿ Mar 29, 2015 20:43 |
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ravenkult posted:haha Why would you laugh at this without having read the story? Seems a bit mean spirited. Good luck, Fausty! Let us know how it goes. newtestleper fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Mar 29, 2015 |
# ¿ Mar 29, 2015 21:49 |
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This is supposed to be a comic right? Forgetting about the quality of the dialogue, which others have touched on, what about the sheer quantity? Is a good comic comprised of dozens of pages of two characters sitting in a tent talking? I feel like conversations in comics normally consist of a few pithy sentences that serve to move the action forward. The medium just isn't suited to extended dialogue. newtestleper fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Apr 9, 2015 |
# ¿ Apr 9, 2015 05:18 |
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This is a pretty good thing about how we should feel good about quitting stuff. http://freakonomics.com/2011/09/30/new-freakonomics-radio-podcast-the-upside-of-quitting/
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# ¿ Apr 22, 2015 09:27 |
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Martello posted:lol no I think that while it is possible to at least acknowledge the effort that goes into writing a story, it is neither compulsory nor particularly useful.
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# ¿ Apr 28, 2015 01:24 |
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thehomemaster posted:being a jerk People spend the time and energy to read your crappy story and write stuff about it and you have the nerve to criticize them for it? You're a loving rear end in a top hat.
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# ¿ Apr 28, 2015 02:20 |
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ravenkult posted:Everyone post your Kitchen tables
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# ¿ May 6, 2015 01:10 |
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Overwined posted:To contribute, I have tried more than a few writer applications for Chromebooks and have settled on this: http://calmlywriter.com/ This looks nice, I just bought it. Is there a way to import google docs?
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# ¿ May 6, 2015 01:41 |
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:I think the point is to not dismiss something as bad because of deviations from the norm. The thing about this is that we use these conventions when reading in the same way we use road signs when driving. So yes it is fine to break them, but you need a good enough reason to do so that you're willing to sacrifice the ease of reading that those conventions give you.
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# ¿ May 12, 2015 22:09 |
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spectres of autism posted:patriarch im sorry for ending all your plot threads in the most generic way imaginable Hopefully this week of people pissing on things other people worked hard on starts some brawls.
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# ¿ May 18, 2015 04:50 |
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Chairchucker posted:Some of Terry Pratchett's stuff is YA (Diggers, Truckers, Wings, The Carpet People, Nation, Dodger, the Tiffany Aching books, probably a bunch of others) and he's a good author that people should read IMO. The second two Johnny trilogy books are GREAT.
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# ¿ May 26, 2015 04:16 |
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ravenkult posted:a couple of Hemingway novels, Read his short stories, they're his best work. "The brief happy life of Francis Macomber" would be a good one to start with.
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# ¿ May 30, 2015 11:41 |
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I liked this article. It's good to hear short and snappy, yet practical and relevant, advice from some of my favourite authors. http://www.clickhole.com/article/we..._source=twitter
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# ¿ Jun 6, 2015 09:17 |
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spectres of autism posted:sometimes i feel my stories are such bullshit that i dont even feel like reading the crits on them. If you feel this way please do not post your story. Just fail, save the judge some time and psychological scarring, and move on to next week. No one will care. edit: because posting stories and getting eye watering crits is the whole point. newtestleper fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Jun 11, 2015 |
# ¿ Jun 11, 2015 05:41 |
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blue squares posted:If you read something that says "some writers will never be great," and that makes you want to stop writing, then you should stop writing. Seriously. I agree with this. I will never be a great writer. But if I can work hard and become a decent writer who writes stories that some people find worth their time, I will take a lot of satisfaction in that. I take that into account when I'm setting my goals.
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# ¿ Jun 19, 2015 02:20 |
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blue squares posted:Getting paid $600 to help run a creative writing summer camp, booyah That's awesome! Sounds like a lot of fun, actually.
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# ¿ Jul 2, 2015 22:33 |
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That's awesome. You are working quickly on that thing.
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# ¿ Jul 22, 2015 23:42 |
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I have a success to share. Last night I went to my second meeting as a member to the South Island Writer's Association. I had entered a story in last month's competition and I won! There are a very big range of abilities in the group, but some of the people I beat are very well established writers, including one who is a fiction editor for one of New Zealand's few literary journals. The best thing about winning was that I got to read my story in a room including some fairly respected local literary figures, including the aforementioned editor and a very well known poet who has held poetry fellowships around the world and who started the writing school I want to attend next year. Even though I am still very much developing, this felt like a pretty big moment for me.
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# ¿ Aug 14, 2015 03:35 |
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I found this cool thing: http://www.smokelong.com/2016-kathy-fish-fellowship/ It's a sort of flash fiction residency for new writers. Pays $500 across the year, along with being published in every issue and some kind of mentoring (it looks like).
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# ¿ Aug 31, 2015 22:11 |
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# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 11:55 |
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My irl writing group sent out a link to this online writing course: https://novoed.com/how-writers-write-fiction-2015 It looks pretty good- the instructors look great, although I guess there's little to no contact with them directly because it's a MOOC.
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# ¿ Sep 7, 2015 03:30 |