What are they about?
How long have you been working at it?
What do you think about your story stands out?
What are you finding most challenging?
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OP
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10 mos ago
What are they about?
How long have you been working at it?
What do you think about your story stands out?
What are you finding most challenging?
I've been writing several novels for many years. They're all on the first line of chapter 1.
The concepts, I suppose, would be what stand out. What's most challenging? Choosing something and then actually doing it.
But, my short stories about UK dining tables do come along splendidly. They stand out enough for my publishers to receive a nuclear reaction.
The concepts, I suppose, would be what stand out. What's most challenging? Choosing something and then actually doing it.
But, my short stories about UK dining tables do come along splendidly. They stand out enough for my publishers to receive a nuclear reaction.
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What are they about?
How long have you been working at it?
What do you think about your story stands out?
What are you finding most challenging?
I've been writing for almost two decades. Have written several novels. Just now trying to publish, but I'm extremely anti-social, so they may all end up becoming family novels. I'm just not into the whole "selling yourself" thing. Maybe I'll just sell the rights, since I've the bad habit of copyrighting them all.
Every single one is more or less about overcoming personal weaknesses, but the overarching plots differ. One is about a boy who fights for a foreign country against his corrupt homeland. Another is a series about animals gaining sentience on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Third is about a woman who was enslaved, kept naive, is freed, then promptly abandoned; has to figure out how to survive. And the current series I'm working on is about a young girl on an epic quest to discover whether or not she's the demon everyone accuses her of being. Then I have a few short stories. Those are just the ones I've written / the first book is done.
I think what stands out about my stories is that the overarching plots are, more or less, confetti. The heart and meat of the works are the characters and what they learn. I also don't pull punches, so the works evoke uncomfortable emotions, apparently. According to those who have read. I wish I had more opinions on my stories actually, but I suppose I don't care enough to get them.
I don't find anything very challenging about writing anymore. I'm always trying to improve the writing itself, although finishing a novel isn't an ordeal. My biggest challenge to date has been attempting to publish. I don't think I'm cut out for that road.
This was fun to think about! Thanks for the question. :)
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OP
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10 mos ago
@Admythaus@Spambot
How often/how much can you write?
I'm trying to get a 60,000 word book finished (1st draft)and I was wondering how quickly other writers can get things down.
How often/how much can you write?
I'm trying to get a 60,000 word book finished (1st draft)and I was wondering how quickly other writers can get things down.
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The Nexerus Sui generis
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2 yrs ago
What are they about?
I am writing a fantasy novel about a woman named 'Life', a betrayal she suffers, and her subsequent struggle to save her betrayers. It is currently titled 'Cold', but that might change.
How long have you been working at it?
November of 2018. It was originally a NaNoWriMo project that failed disastrously, only ever coming about a tenth of the way to completion. Usually, I delete old failed projects like this because I don't like being reminded of past failures. I ended up keeping this one around entirely because of the aesthetic appeal of the first chapter; I liked it too much to get rid of it. So, instead of deleting it, I've been doing a little reworking of those sections that were already written, and will then try to expand it to a full length afterwards as well.
What do you think about your story stands out?
A few things. For one, there is a mixture of genres involved: fantasy and adventure, but also tragedy and horror—the last of which without a lot of explicit gore, at least of the conventional blood and guts variety. The central story is an inversion of the classic revenge plot, with circumstances conspiring to lead the protagonist to be the one to save the people and the system that wronged them, rather than to try and defeat them. I would mention there being a lot of moral ambiguity present but I don't think that's uncommon in today's literature.
What are you finding most challenging?
My own laziness. I am, sadly, progressing at a snail's pace. I've put more work into it lately than I have for the past few months, though, so that's nice. I also have another big project commanding a lot of my word count, so I have to balance my own project and another, collaborative one. Here's hoping they both turn out, eh?
I am writing a fantasy novel about a woman named 'Life', a betrayal she suffers, and her subsequent struggle to save her betrayers. It is currently titled 'Cold', but that might change.
How long have you been working at it?
November of 2018. It was originally a NaNoWriMo project that failed disastrously, only ever coming about a tenth of the way to completion. Usually, I delete old failed projects like this because I don't like being reminded of past failures. I ended up keeping this one around entirely because of the aesthetic appeal of the first chapter; I liked it too much to get rid of it. So, instead of deleting it, I've been doing a little reworking of those sections that were already written, and will then try to expand it to a full length afterwards as well.
What do you think about your story stands out?
A few things. For one, there is a mixture of genres involved: fantasy and adventure, but also tragedy and horror—the last of which without a lot of explicit gore, at least of the conventional blood and guts variety. The central story is an inversion of the classic revenge plot, with circumstances conspiring to lead the protagonist to be the one to save the people and the system that wronged them, rather than to try and defeat them. I would mention there being a lot of moral ambiguity present but I don't think that's uncommon in today's literature.
What are you finding most challenging?
My own laziness. I am, sadly, progressing at a snail's pace. I've put more work into it lately than I have for the past few months, though, so that's nice. I also have another big project commanding a lot of my word count, so I have to balance my own project and another, collaborative one. Here's hoping they both turn out, eh?
SleepingSilence OC, Plz No Stealz.
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1 day ago
I’ve certainly written novel-length stories before. 60K is a challenge at first, and then you write something far better and nearly twice as long in half the time. Just have to get dedicated folks that want to read them, so they can tell you what you did right or failed at. But many of my projects have never started past the setup phase. And the challenge is finishing them without having some niggling esoteric problem with it that makes me stop writing. I’m disappointed you didn’t provide details yourself on what you were writing.
What are they about?
Let’s just start with the most recent one I actually attempted to make any progress on. It was called “Dr.Apparition And The Precipice Of Thorns”, it was effectively a supernatural mystery novel that was a dark satire of Sherlock Holmes. (It would’ve been a series that got progressively darker and a satirical deconstruction of the mystery genre itself.) But I’m awful at pitches, but I’ll do my best brief elaboration of the first story. (Or at least the beginning of it.)
In a world where most magic is considered long dead and humans are the predominant species, all crimes are watched over by a grim-reaper deity that instantly knows the location, identity and culprit of every dead body and swiftly punishes murderers with death. But when the deity discovers a new body hidden far below the edge of a precipice in a bottomless pit of thorny vines, he mysteriously loses the ability to instantly identify the culprit and is terrified of what chaos that could lead to. So he resorts to blackmailing the only person the world that has any magical abilities, an egotistical Plague Doctor that creates special elixirs. He’s also one of the few with the capabilities of pulling the body out, since he purposely mutated himself into anthropomorphized crow. And it only gets crazier from there...
How long have you been working at it?
Unfortunately, I only really did it for National Writing Month, last november. I got about 25,000 words in, after about two weeks of writing? Not exactly constantly typing away, since I become distracted and disinterested far too easily.
What do you think about your story stands out?
I try to do something interesting that I haven’t personally done before. I don’t usually do satire and comedy as a focus in my fiction. So it was an experiment to have fun and not take anything seriously. I’ll admit I don’t read enough ‘supernatural comedy mysteries’ to know what stands out in particular. But the first one wasn’t especially going to try doing much in terms of standing out. But it might’ve gone way out there, if I continued.
From the fiction I do read? (And most of what I do read nowadays is unpublished/online.) For at least some of it, generally more effort put into the sentences artful. I have read a lot of mysteries and many of them are written very mundanely, since many of them are very down to earth, but also with elaborate detail. I don’t think I’ve seen one be made so ironically easy for the wanna-be ‘detective’ characters for comedic effect in the way mine was going for. I also selfishly adore all of my very stupid naming puns and character interactions. (I’m always uncertain of how funny I am or not. But I take pride that I’ve had three friends nearly choke to death in laughter.)
What are you finding most challenging?
It’s always something different, but for this story specifically...
Oddly enough, it’s something I thought I’d conquer and could still reasonably overcome, the uncertainty of knowing if the mystery is too obvious or too obtuse to the reader? The whole point is that the mystery goes pretty smoothly for them, since the duo are in conflict and both aren’t detectives by any means. (But there’s also a deeper story purpose to this, that I hadn’t gotten far enough in to elaborate yet.) So even though it’s part of the point, I started getting concerned with how fast paced the story was going and I stopped to consider if I should add more to it.
Then life happened and I never really got back to it. And unlike most of my stories, I haven’t really took a deep look at it, or had anyone try to critically analyze it yet.
I’m currently considering writing something else entirely, closer to my preferred way of storytelling, but I’m sure this is long enough...
What are they about?
Let’s just start with the most recent one I actually attempted to make any progress on. It was called “Dr.Apparition And The Precipice Of Thorns”, it was effectively a supernatural mystery novel that was a dark satire of Sherlock Holmes. (It would’ve been a series that got progressively darker and a satirical deconstruction of the mystery genre itself.) But I’m awful at pitches, but I’ll do my best brief elaboration of the first story. (Or at least the beginning of it.)
In a world where most magic is considered long dead and humans are the predominant species, all crimes are watched over by a grim-reaper deity that instantly knows the location, identity and culprit of every dead body and swiftly punishes murderers with death. But when the deity discovers a new body hidden far below the edge of a precipice in a bottomless pit of thorny vines, he mysteriously loses the ability to instantly identify the culprit and is terrified of what chaos that could lead to. So he resorts to blackmailing the only person the world that has any magical abilities, an egotistical Plague Doctor that creates special elixirs. He’s also one of the few with the capabilities of pulling the body out, since he purposely mutated himself into anthropomorphized crow. And it only gets crazier from there...
How long have you been working at it?
Unfortunately, I only really did it for National Writing Month, last november. I got about 25,000 words in, after about two weeks of writing? Not exactly constantly typing away, since I become distracted and disinterested far too easily.
What do you think about your story stands out?
I try to do something interesting that I haven’t personally done before. I don’t usually do satire and comedy as a focus in my fiction. So it was an experiment to have fun and not take anything seriously. I’ll admit I don’t read enough ‘supernatural comedy mysteries’ to know what stands out in particular. But the first one wasn’t especially going to try doing much in terms of standing out. But it might’ve gone way out there, if I continued.
From the fiction I do read? (And most of what I do read nowadays is unpublished/online.) For at least some of it, generally more effort put into the sentences artful. I have read a lot of mysteries and many of them are written very mundanely, since many of them are very down to earth, but also with elaborate detail. I don’t think I’ve seen one be made so ironically easy for the wanna-be ‘detective’ characters for comedic effect in the way mine was going for. I also selfishly adore all of my very stupid naming puns and character interactions. (I’m always uncertain of how funny I am or not. But I take pride that I’ve had three friends nearly choke to death in laughter.)
What are you finding most challenging?
It’s always something different, but for this story specifically...
Oddly enough, it’s something I thought I’d conquer and could still reasonably overcome, the uncertainty of knowing if the mystery is too obvious or too obtuse to the reader? The whole point is that the mystery goes pretty smoothly for them, since the duo are in conflict and both aren’t detectives by any means. (But there’s also a deeper story purpose to this, that I hadn’t gotten far enough in to elaborate yet.) So even though it’s part of the point, I started getting concerned with how fast paced the story was going and I stopped to consider if I should add more to it.
Then life happened and I never really got back to it. And unlike most of my stories, I haven’t really took a deep look at it, or had anyone try to critically analyze it yet.
I’m currently considering writing something else entirely, closer to my preferred way of storytelling, but I’m sure this is long enough...
@Admythaus@Spambot
How often/how much can you write?
I'm trying to get a 60,000 word book finished (1st draft)and I was wondering how quickly other writers can get things down.
Can is a very different matter from do, so what I can do on a good day with inspiration and an established plan is probably a few scenes of raw material a day, subject to another day's worth of refining the dribble I made and refining it again in the future. When I do end up writing things, it is generally in stages; outline of concepts, raw bleh put on page, editing for readability, and a few passes of editing for cohesion and word choice.
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@Admythaus@Spambot
How often/how much can you write?
I'm trying to get a 60,000 word book finished (1st draft)and I was wondering how quickly other writers can get things down.
How often I write varies from once a day to once a week, sometimes once a month. Depends on what is happening in my life. I've written a 70k novel in a month (NaNoWriMo). That was a lot of work and the draft was extremely rough; however, that's the course of things. A first draft isn't ever pretty, mistakes will be abundant, so my motto is to always write what you picture in your head, as fast as you can. I say that sometimes for people who struggle putting stuff down. Just have to go for it and stop worrying about how pretty or coherent it is. That stuff is easier to figure out once we have a complete story anyway. Plus, the feeling of achievement from having finished a novel is a wonderful motivator.
Now, for my special project of 107k words, that took me a year to write, off and on. Some days I'd bust out 20k words, or more, and then I'd get 5k in a month (if that). Not sure what that averages to but, for me, writing is about the fun and the experience.
What is your novel about? :) Have you decided its word count in advance?
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POOHEAD189 The Abmin
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19 min ago
@The Nexerus
Are you still a white nationalist or have you grown out of that shit?
Let's try to not troll and stay on topic.
OP
Dolerman Chrysalis Form
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10 mos ago
What is your novel about? :) Have you decided its word count in advance?
My novel is a post apocalyptic adventure with a light harem and elements of Gamelit.
I'm aiming for around 60,000 words for my first draft and and might end up adding another 8000 words or so for the 2nd draft as this book really needs more exposition. I think it's going to be a series.
BiffleChump
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Seen
2 yrs ago
What are they about?
I'm writing several stories taking place in a fantasy setting of mine, but the one where I've gone the furthest is one where two brothers reunite after not having seen each other in years, and the story is framed through their conversation: the brothers are opposites in some ways and alike in others, and their respective journeys show how they have dealt with their difficulties, and if they have succeeded or failed in their dreams, goals, methods, and growth.
How long have you been working at it?
The brother-story, I've written on since July 2016. It is planned to be around three to five books.
What do you think about your story stands out?
I feel that I've made a richly detailed world with a well-designed cosmology and magic system, and that I've established a good theme both for the world and its characters. It is post-apocalyptic, and reflects humanity's struggle, both as individuals and as cultures, to learn from past mistakes, recognizing one's own flaws, and seek to overcome them.
What are you finding most challenging?
My stories (and roleplays) have a tendency to get bogged done by intricate plots and intrigues. Plots easily get overdone, and it is one thing to entertain a group of players and another to try and hook an audience for a book. Marketing and getting known isn't easy, editing is tough, and the more loose parts a story has, the easier it gets to either confuse or annoy the reader, or worst of all, present them a boring and predictable plot.
I'm writing several stories taking place in a fantasy setting of mine, but the one where I've gone the furthest is one where two brothers reunite after not having seen each other in years, and the story is framed through their conversation: the brothers are opposites in some ways and alike in others, and their respective journeys show how they have dealt with their difficulties, and if they have succeeded or failed in their dreams, goals, methods, and growth.
How long have you been working at it?
The brother-story, I've written on since July 2016. It is planned to be around three to five books.
What do you think about your story stands out?
I feel that I've made a richly detailed world with a well-designed cosmology and magic system, and that I've established a good theme both for the world and its characters. It is post-apocalyptic, and reflects humanity's struggle, both as individuals and as cultures, to learn from past mistakes, recognizing one's own flaws, and seek to overcome them.
What are you finding most challenging?
My stories (and roleplays) have a tendency to get bogged done by intricate plots and intrigues. Plots easily get overdone, and it is one thing to entertain a group of players and another to try and hook an audience for a book. Marketing and getting known isn't easy, editing is tough, and the more loose parts a story has, the easier it gets to either confuse or annoy the reader, or worst of all, present them a boring and predictable plot.
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