|
crabrock posted:SHOULD HAVE U MORAN'S I believe it is spelled "you" but I am not sure, this was not covered in my writing classes and I do not know for a fact that it is "you", probably should have figured it out on my own but I did not
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2017 18:16
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 05:44 |
|
|
showbiz_liz posted:I start out just generally thinking about the story throughout the day and taking notes on my thoughts, which generally tend to pingpong around in my head (so sometimes structural/overall story stuff, sometimes specific character stuff or lines of dialogue, whole paragraphs of description, etc). The main place I do this is during my subway commute. Then once I have several thousand words of that, I arrange the structural stuff into an outline and the other stuff where it belongs underneath the major outline points. Then I look over it to see what's missing or what's weak or what makes no sense, and then I rinse and repeat the freeform note-taking until I feel like I have enough of a handle on the story to start actually writing out a draft. IMO, there is no right or wrong way to write (aside from the obvious stuff like being a horrible speller or being grammatically incompetent). Every person is different with regards to how much prep they do, how they organize their information, how they go about writing individual drafts, etc. and really it's all about experimenting and finding what works best for you. Some authors (like Stephen King) do basically no prep beforehand and go full throttle on the Discovery method. Others will create in-depth character profiles, fine-tuned outlines, and essentially do months of work before ever putting that first sentence on paper. It's what they've found works for them, and thus it's how they creatively operate. If your routine is working and you're having fun while doing it, then keep at it. If something's not working or you find the work tedious, try changing it up. But don't worry about "writing wrong" because ultimately there is no certified "right" way to write.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2017 19:02
|
|
|
Yeah, that's interesting. I only saw the movie, and I can't recall a point where Ben Affleck ever came off as creepy as that first paragraph makes his character seem. Sleezy, sure, but never creepy and weird
|
|
#
¿
Jun 3, 2017 13:27
|
|
|
Oh yeah, don't query an agent if the book isn't finished.* *finished in this context meaning all drafts and editing done, not just typing "The End." Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Sep 11, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Sep 11, 2017 23:42
|
|
|
fridge corn posted:wow my post has been turned into a substitution meme. im flattered really. this must be what being published feels like #blessed Good artists copy, great artists steal
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2017 18:44
|
|
|
Burkion posted:So I'm conflicted on this. You would definitely need to scrub them from these forums before getting anything actually published, should you ever reach that point. People have had to edit out TD entries once they've started shopping them around.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2017 21:40
|
|
|
What do you do for a living where you're able to write a 95k word novel in less than a month? I know a few professional authors irl and even they don't churn novels out that quick, much less revisions/rewrites. Basically I'm jealous
|
|
#
¿
Nov 2, 2017 19:48
|
|
|
The only person who reads my first drafts of anything is my wife because she's a brutal critic and can cut through a lot of my bullshit.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2018 15:07
|
|
|
I'll typically read through a first draft twice: once in either hard copy or kindle (doing much more of the latter these days, which saves boatloads of both literal and monetary paper), looking for big story problems, changes, corrections etc. and making note of them, and then I'll read it again in a word processor for a more refined line edit. I consider the end result of both these reads and edits the second draft, which is what I'll hand out to beta readers. From then on its almost exclusively word processor edits until I get near the end, when I'll start reading hard copy/kindle again to get a feel for how everything's coming together.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2018 17:17
|
|
|
Honestly, you just gotta let that go. If it’s written well and the story draws people in, no one’s going to say, “oh but this world is pretty similar to this other world I read in this other story, therefore gently caress this hack writer.”
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2018 19:39
|
|
|
Dadbod Apocalypse posted:I just want to know if there’s a way to check if something has been done before Read every story/novel ever written
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2018 23:02
|
|
|
Get savaged by TD judges until, “Thanks for giving us the chance to read X but we’re afraid it’s not right for us,” rolls off you like 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2018 02:20
|
|
|
The Sean posted:Conversely: when is using a mirror good? How else am I going to know if my fedora is askew just so?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2018 17:31
|
|
|
Naerasa posted:Don't sweat the degree. I got a creative writing undergrad degree and very little about it actually helped me. True, some of that was because I was 19 years old and thought the most important thing in my life was raiding Molten Core, but I've found over the years that there's far more to be learned from reading a lot than there is from any clasroom. Besides, most of what you learn in creative writing programs is literary short stories, anyway. If you're interested in anything long-form or anything genre, the amount of practice you're going to get there is extremely limited. Yeah, this. Look up some of your favorite authors on wiki and I think you'll be surprised by how many of them studied something other than writing and/or English.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2018 16:52
|
|
|
Finish first, then fix it in the rewrite. They don't call it a second draft for nothing!
|
|
#
¿
Feb 28, 2018 14:59
|
|
|
Honestly the only hard and fast rule of writing (imo) is experiment, experiment, experiment until you find the process that takes you to a finished product. The worst thing you can do is read a writing book and go, "okay this is the proper way to write a story," and then never deviate from that path if it fails to produce meaningful results. If a certain process outlined in a book or blog or whatever isn't getting you to the end, adjust that process until it works.
|
|
#
¿
May 2, 2018 14:36
|
|
|
I agree with the notion that bold and underline should never be used, and italics only sparingly. To that end, though, underlines should be utilized in drafts to denote lines that are meant to be italicized. Or at least that’s was Standard Manuscript Formatting suggested 15 or so years ago when I actually made writing a serious hobby. Not sure if that’s changed these days. Edit: actually, looks like that is an outdated practice and italics is generally acceptable in manuscripts now. The more you know! Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi fucked around with this message at 13:42 on Jul 30, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2023 12:37
|
|
|
I still run most of what I write through Grammarly to find any obvious grammatical or spelling errors I miss (ah, the joys of speeding through first drafts). Occasionally it'll even suggest something that makes a sentence flow better, though that's pretty rare. Still, Grammarly is not a replacement for a good set of eyes, be they a professional editor or some trusted beta readers. That's probably stating the obvious for most people in this thread, though.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2023 20:22
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 05:44 |
|
|
Yeah, I’ve never really understood the “80-110k for debut fantasy/sci fi” idea since I feel like half the debut genre novels I see in bookstores are very obviously longer than that.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 30, 2023 02:28
|
|