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I guess I’m rather late to this party but thanks to the OP for all the info. It’s a bit of a relief to read some of that, I come from an academia background and have been somewhat paralyzed about writing for fear of being shouted down for plagiarism if anything I ever write happens to resemble or somehow include any aspects of other things written previously. Seems like that’s not so much a thing with fiction. I’ve been resisting reading too widely lest I take that influence into my own work, but it sounds safe to set that aside. Now to get over the worry that this story I want to write might ever be read or even slightly enjoyed by anyone anywhere. 
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Dec 6, 2017 20:26
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 02:36 |
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sebmojo posted:Thunderdome is great for 'I just want to write some stories', people may yell you but it is well-intentioned and weirdly addictive. I may have to take a crack at it just to see how turrible I am. I have already taken some more in-depth stabs at (notes for) this larger story I’ve had in mind, I just worry about effort vs return (not monetary). With the world screaming along as it is, would all that effort garner any notice (just readers, not trying to be famous). I tend to think not. Writing in and of itself can be worthwhile but part of the reward (for me, foolish though it may be) would be the enjoyment of others. REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2017 21:53
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Phil Moscowitz posted:What I laughed. Phil the Proseshatterer?
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Jan 16, 2018 16:36
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Vulpes Vulpes posted:I've been doing this with a writing group and boy, does it ever work. Do you read each others’ writing or?
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Jan 16, 2018 22:42
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Vulpes Vulpes posted:Nah, we just meet up once a month and read the stories we've written that month aloud (and drink). Aha! That sounds like a jolly good formula. Drink before reading for courage and after for the criticism.
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Jan 17, 2018 03:43
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:Mostly so far this has been ~real lit~ people (<3 you guys) It took my brain a minute to figure out how you meant this 
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Jan 20, 2018 16:32
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Thanks for that clarification, Naerasa’s post, while useful, was kicking up a bit of anxiety over the notion that everything has already been written so why bother. I have a lot to learn but still forging ahead writing notes, etc. towards eventually jumping in whole hog. Definitely grateful for all the info here.
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Jan 20, 2018 17:58
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Just randomly saw the Apple App Store has a handful of apps for writers posted today if anyone is interested. Nothing too crazy, but maybe useful?
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Jan 21, 2018 17:55
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crabrock posted:just lol if your fantasy doesn't have 100 main characters at the start. The Malazan Book of the Fallen did it, why can’t I? Also that adult fantasy is a bad genre to try for now, my previous idea of historical fiction can’t be any better though 
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Jan 23, 2018 03:42
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Naerasa posted:I've been in a few writing groups now that have given me really great, pointed feedback that I've been able to use to improve my writing. Somehow, this feedback hasn't been mean. I don't know who told you that honesty has to be synonymous with meanness, but it's absolutely untrue. This is the internet, it’s the only way we know how to interact.
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Jan 29, 2018 16:56
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anime was right posted:write an entire extended history novel within your novel about the important events that led to the conception of the character you're describing. then throw that all away and write one to two sentences about their most distinguishing characteristics. The old “novel within a sentence” trick, eh?
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Feb 2, 2018 01:05
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sebmojo posted:In a sense video games are the new books but you dont write them: you play them. Well both the Metro and Witcher series did it this way, so might well be the way to go.
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Feb 5, 2018 22:22
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:What if they look in the mirror....and the mirror....looks back Don’t let your characters be rude, strike up a polite conversation and introduce themselves!
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Feb 7, 2018 17:01
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:Sure, about what? Don’t worry, he wants to talk after the war. You have plenty of time to prepare yourself.
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Apr 10, 2018 21:59
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showbiz_liz posted:I'm not saying he's wrong, just that I would have found it personally discouraging, for not-necessarily-rational reasons. It took me a long time to get over the feeling that if I couldn't immediately produce a flawless masterpiece, I really shouldn't bother trying to write. I only managed to start producing work once I got over the feeling that it Had To Be Perfect. This is keeping me pretty well frozen out aside from notes and occasional brainstorming.
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Apr 12, 2018 00:19
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Guiness13 posted:Not sure if this is the best place for this question, but I've got the crazy idea of applying for an MFA program. My problem is that my educational and employment history have been decidedly not fiction oriented. (Worked as a paralegal.) So, who should I be asking for letters of recommendation? My first question is what you want out of it. I’m very wary of grad degrees without realistic expectations.
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Aug 15, 2018 00:27
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Guiness13 posted:Realistically, what I'm most likely to get out of it is a rejection letter. Don't get me wrong, I'm enthusiastic about the idea, and I want it, but I've done some research into U of M's program and I'm not blind to my chances here. But, if I did get in, it would be 2-3 years of funded writing time with an adviser for guidance. And, yeah, also classes, both to take and possibly teach (god help me). I'm not looking for a silver bullet, but it would give me time and guidance, one of which I need, the other of which I want. Good on you for doing some research, but what comes after? Those 2-3 years might be nice (don’t dismiss the classes or the teaching), but the stipend won’t be grand by any stretch, so you’d have to figure out your $ situation overall. Just don’t let the excitement blind you to the work this really entails and where you go after. Is this a career path switch or just a break to do some writing with some guidance (which can vary wildly, I might add)? Apologies if this is a derail, I just want you to be honest with yourself about your motives and plan going forward. You don’t have to justify yourself to me or anyone else here, just be aware this is a bit more than a lark to do some writing, and if I had to guess, the job market (which I would think would be a consideration?) won’t be lovely. I feel like I’m seeing the “silver bullet” mentality peeking through a bit, despite your claims you’re past it. Not judging, just want to make you aware of the reality of the whole shebang as my warped brain reads it.
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Aug 15, 2018 04:10
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feedmyleg posted:i looked in the mirror and noticed my own heaving voluptuous breasts which were like big balloons but boobs instead of balloons Good ol’ boobaloons.
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Sep 29, 2018 20:13
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Krankenstyle posted:my characters stretch out boobs alarmingly, as well. That’s a different genre altogether, I think.
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Sep 30, 2018 14:37
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Krankenstyle posted:apologies, meant to post in the non-fiction thread Wait, if you post about boobs in there, does that require you either have them or have touched one?
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Sep 30, 2018 15:19
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Hubbardologist posted:i'm the "permanent" lack of sleep Be careful, someone might mistake that look for a sexual invitation. Possibly yourself.
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Oct 4, 2018 20:38
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Nae! posted:I've gotten a lot of compliments on that, mostly from people who made equally-poor undergraduate choices. I’ll add mine to that list. Well done, you passionate bill-payer, you.
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Oct 11, 2018 03:18
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You should change your picture to the “he never scored” tombstone
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Nov 5, 2018 08:11
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Fruity20 posted:that's the thing, i suck at naming things. i either have to rely on generators or mashing names together and hoping it ain't a curse word in another language or already been used. i guess i'm very conscious of being as inoffenseive as possible. Blamfgoobles?
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Dec 5, 2018 17:27
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Xotl posted:I got a story published in Ellery Queen and with this one they've used it as one of this month's issue previews, so you can read the first third of it online. It's a traditional Sherlock Holmes pastiche. OP will take an as-yet-to-be-determined percentage, TIA.
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Dec 22, 2018 19:10
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Megazver posted:I'd go with 'folk' or 'kin'. Sounds like a mighty folkin fine idea
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Jan 16, 2019 19:25
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Nae! posted:a guaranteed way to set myself up to fail. Wait, I was given to believe this is precisely what we were doing here.  Like, that could be the thread title.
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Mar 19, 2019 21:01
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feedmyleg posted:Anyone have any advice on consistency in your prose? I'm approaching the end of the third draft of my novel where I've finally got most of the story and character issues ironed out and can start looking at the book as a cohesive piece. I'm worried right now that I fluctuate a good amount in voice and style across chapters, but it's a bit hard for me to notice it because I'm so close to the thing. Seems like that would be the time to either leave it for a bit then come back or bring in outside reader(s)?
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Mar 28, 2019 17:34
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feedmyleg posted:It's a test. Write the most disgusting erotic fanfic you can to show that you understand the true spirit of theatre. Be sure to include “tasteful nudity”. Perhaps the actual phrase. Remember, pornography is in the eye of the beholder.
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Apr 1, 2019 19:05
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Fruity20 posted:I'm tasked to write a 15 page essay comparing and contrasting two works of fiction (I picked animal farm and the metamorphosis)....yet i never did 15 pages before. For many years, I've almost always wrote essays at the maximum of 2 pages, three if i'm lucky. Never had I even wrote a essay at this length. It's almost comparable to long short story too! I guess I’ve always leaned to the verbose so maybe just crank it out and don’t restrain yourself, then revise? Outline and stuff first if that helps you but there should be plenty of material to work with.
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Apr 4, 2019 15:04
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Glass of Milk posted:I posted a 3 chapter critique giveaway on Twitter and the guy who won sent me 95 pages he organized into three chapters plus a prologue. Stamp in bold red on every page “chapters too long, please revise”. Maybe across the text?
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Apr 24, 2019 18:34
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Now I get invited to fancy literary things where there's free wine and you'd better bet I wouldn't be smashing back free platters of fancy cheese if I'd given up because I sucked. I sucked for a solid 20 years and even now I'm not convinced. So there’s free cheese at the end of the tunnel? I knew it! Fate was going to make my suffering worth it!
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May 14, 2019 09:24
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I mean Dionysus was a god so...
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May 24, 2019 22:42
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crabrock posted:omg Size matters, bro
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May 31, 2019 16:36
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Doctor Zero posted:If dreams are so influential why aren’t there more short stories about people’s teeth falling out? Huh? Nobody has that dream, it’s just you.
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Jun 28, 2019 18:43
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feedmyleg posted:Juggs is a respectable publication. 
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Jul 7, 2019 04:49
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Does this qualify as the most passive aggressive thing ever?
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Jul 11, 2019 03:26
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feedmyleg posted:To put it simply: a teaser, not a spoiler. But the second one makes me laugh a lot more
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Aug 3, 2019 14:35
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I might be on board to do that for you, how long is it? Is it formatted I could read it on an iPad (not sure if I can do any markup there)?
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Nov 16, 2019 18:19
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 02:36 |
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Nae! posted:It's 109,000 words, so about the standard length of a published fantasy novel. I can export it in the iPad e-reader format and DM or email you the file. I am not sure if you can do any kind of note-taking or mark-up in there, either. himynameisdrevil@hotmail.com don’t have DMs, sorry. REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Nov 17, 2019 |
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Nov 17, 2019 00:06
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