ITT: We discuss the writing process and share useful tips, tricks, and online resources. What inspires you to write? What is your process?
Aspiring Authors of?
ITT: We discuss the writing process and share useful tips, tricks, and online resources. What inspires you to write? What is your process?
OP here, bumping the thread. I just finished "The Writers Journey" by Christopher Voegler. I'm looking for helpful content on YouTube, but so far most of what I've come across is painfully bad
There's a channel on youtube called FILM COURAGE, it's advice for screenwriting and directing but a lot of the guests they interview for their videos give good advice on things like character development and plot and story structure
Never heard of this book. What's the main point he makes?
It condenses Joseph Campbells "Heros journey" down into its most basic elements and explains how they can be used to create solid story structure and engaging characters.
>What inspires you to write?
Always wanted to be a writer. The odds are slim but I don't wanna die without having tried at least.
>What is your process?
I usually start with something small. Could be an image, a short exchange between two characters or a character in a given situation, then I work from there.
I told myself I’d try to get some poems published in 2023 but I‘ve only come up with a handful of poems.
Post them now and I'll rate them out of 10 and give feedback
I won’t do that because then I can never publish them.
I started my novel finally and I am very happy with it so far, only like 10 pages in, but I think it’s making me extremely depressed.
>I'm very happy with it
>it's making me depressed
Same sentence...
I stole this from Hemingway and Gaiman but it's been working for me. Today marks a whole month of constant writing and honestly, I feel pretty good.
The routine is: get up early (earlier than you usually do) for me that's 5:30 AM, get some coffee brewing and start writing outside (not optional unless it's raining), for me that means writing in my yard where I set up a small table and a chair where I take my laptop, but you get extra points if you write by hand (based and Tolkien-pilled) the cold makes you more alert as you write in winter and in summer the early morning is usually the coolest point in the day so you are more productive. Then, allow yourself to do only 2 things, either write, or nothing at all, you can choose not to write but you can't do anything else, you can just stare at the grass or twiddle your thumbs or whatever, but you are only allowed to do nothing, not checking your phone, not reading anything else, nothing, at some point you get so bored that writing becomes the better alternative.
And that's it, super simple but it works for me. I also use Cold Turkey Writer and force myself to write at least 800 words daily (most times I hit the 1000+ mark while doing this) but this is optional.
How do you go about saying writing by hand is based but then use a laptop to write ? Are u moronic, a homosexual or both?
I'm not based enough to write by hand and then manually type everything back in digital format.
But feel free to do it yourself homosexual.
For me this is just about the only constant in my process, first few drafts are longhand and once I have things mostly figured out I type it out and print out a double spaced copy with generous margins for the red pen. Typing out everything you have written is the closest you can get to reading your own work as the reader would, it forces you to consider each word.
Also, I hate editing on a screen. I don't want anything to just vanish or appear in the editing/drafting process, I want a record of every edit and notes regarding why I made that edit and to do this on a screen is still a tiresome and slow process compared to by hand.
I've actually never tried to print my drafts before but it sounds like it could be worth it.
I'll try it out for my next revision phase. ty anon
When I need to channel my emotions, I prefer to write by hand because it takes time to extract my feelings from my heart. I can also tell how I'm feeling by analyzing the writing (sloppiness = emotional unrest, neatness = emotional stability)
When I'm writing a paper, or something analytical, I prefer laptops because it allows me to get everything I need to say out in a few seconds. I would never browse IQfy if I had to write all my posts out physically. The only downside I see is that whatever I write on the laptop is a lot lower quality, because it only takes a second for me to type a word, rather than the few seconds it takes to write a word out, leading to shittier writing overall.
But yeah, I see no reason not to utilize both, they both have their pros and cons.
What do you guys do to get in the right headspace to write? I've heard all these stories about authors who wake up early to go running before writing, or only writing around noon, or like Bataille, who literally does nothing but chug coffee 24/7.
Weirdly enough I've just had the first really productive couple of months I've ever had- while my life goes to absolutely relentless chaotic shit. I've been writing in 10-20 minute bursts sitting in the car waiting for other people or before appointments and stuff. All those years of finding perfect, calm writing spots for hours and I did nothing. Now I'm using it to keep myself sane in the few minutes a day I can snatch for myself and it feels easy.
Finished and published two novellas this year. Stoked for that. Lot of good writing discourse on IQfy; check out /wg/, the writing general.
Also check out https://lampbylit.com/magazine/authors/ for a comprehensive list of authors from IQfy.
>my process for writing pic related
I do all of my composition in the URL bar of my browser. This text field is ideal for creative writing. I will compose a few sentences before copypasting it to the chat dialogue of my Minecraft server and exporting that into a text file and posting it to a pastebin.
Then I will print roughly one hundred to 2000 copies of every word in the English language (according to an algorithm that I wrote that weighs the distribution of individual letters based on their value in the game of Scrabble) in six point typefont at the local library (I can use the library showers while it prints) which I’ve managed to pare down to a cost of $6200 USD.
Then I will painstakingly cut out each letter by hand before collating them and organizing them into a system that I developed using a combination of C++ and a series of physical (brand name) Rolodexes from the late seventies to the early eighties. From here I will prepare to edit my manuscript by purchasing about $14,000 USD worth of masking tape and gluegunning my individual words onto the tape according to my pastebin.
After building a very long wooden fence, I will then adhere the tape to the fence, which runs the length of my parents’ 140 acre property in rural British Columbia (and several kilometres onto their neighbours livestock easement (in Alaska)) and hire a local stableboy to check twice my work. Here I can edit and revise my work before transcribing it onto A4 via a mechanical typewriter for my agent’s sake, which then—I assume—she must subsequently scan and save to a PDF file before sending that off to any publishers.
This entire process is a very powerful method of writing and allows for more creative control than Microsoft Word or Google Docs (I might use Scrivener but it isn’t free plus Alexa Donne uses Scrivener and nobody wants to be caught with the same desktop icons as she has). I strongly recommend this system to anybody who considers themselves to be seriously dedicated to their craft, and might even suggest that employing any less technical pretence than this comprehensive approach disqualifies you as a writer and that if you don’t reply to this post your mother will die in her sleep.
inspiring
Much like another anon mentioned, I've always thought of being an author. I used to roleplay a lot back in the day, like '07-'13. I met a guy on there who taught me how to write better and its helped me ever since.
Despite having what I think is a good idea, the more I sit and write it out, the more I've come to think I don't have the capacity to write a book. I understand first drafts tend to suck ass, but I feel like this REALLY sucks ass.
Does it get any better as the first draft continues, or do I just need to barrel through it and bite the bullet till its done?
I’m 40000 words into my novel and I want to change the plot and setting for the next draft again
>I’m 40000 words into my novel and I want to change the plot and setting for the next draft again
Why?
The War on art is great on getting things done. Also advise from Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and Brandon Sanderson, all of them on you tube
I am submitting a short story to a horror podcast. Hoping to avoid the traditional magazine publishing route for a start.
>What inspires you to write?
I have always liked writing. Inspiration is not really a factor for me. I just write.
> What is your process?
My process is asking the question: “are the wife and baby asleep?” If yes, then I write as much as I can before I need to sleep.
How do you guys come up with interesting plot ideas? I want to write an adventure novel
I am not a plotgay but if I were to plotgay I would start with the main character, I would define who they are and probably write a brief biography of them, give them a history and a life, friends, all that. The I would just explore the sorts of adventures they would go on, the sorts of people they would associate with and how they would relate to those people and the adventures they go on. Then I would sit down with all that random stuff I wrote and start looking for a story I would like to tell, start drawing lines between it all trying to find how it all works together and what I need to add to make a story. The bulk of that writing would primarily be for me and not for the story to come, just a guide and something to help me better understand the character.
Okay so that validates what I am doing now. I am writing a biography for a character for my next draft and it looks like it is gonna turn my space fantasy novel into a contemporary romance.
You have to be true to your characters it is through the characters which the reader interacts with your story, if your character is incapable of relating the story than the story will fail. But they are your characters, you can change them to suit your goals, just be sure you are not forcing them into that goal unless you are building the story around a character thrust into something alien and be sure you understand that character well enough to know how they will deal with the alien.
If story comes from character then how do I justify having aliens or sci-fi or fantasy stuff in it if that isn’t real?
That's the setting, you can create any character in any setting.
Okay so let's start with a basic premise: Aliens invade Earth. Different characters will behave differently in that situation.
>A brave character might directly confront the aliens
>A timid character might run or hide in place
> Does the character have a family? If a stranger were to knock on the door seeking refuge from the alien invasion, would the character let them in?
> Does the character work at a pizza shop, or are they enlisted in the military? A pizza shop owner and a marine are going to react differently. The marine may be ordered to fight, and now the marine has the dilemma of following orders, or abandoning his position to run away and protect his family
The point is characters dictate plot. The more fleshed out and grounded and REAL your main character is, the audience will be willing to go along for the ride once the supernatural/fantastical elements are introduced. If someone picks SALEMS LOT off the shelf and decides to read it, they're already sold on the premise: Vampires take over a small town. You don't need to justify the inclusion of vampires in the story because the reader does not want or need a justification. The reader decided "I Want to go along for the ride! Vampires are juat the type of thrill I'm in the mood for!". If the reader thinks vampires and monsters and stuff are dumb, that reader isn't your audience and won't be reading your book anyway.
Tldr: putting REAL characters in UNREAL situations is always interesting to readers.
Thank you for your answer. You seem to know your stuff. So I should start with REAL characters anyway and always stay true to that no matter what happens. I ask because when I try to write sci-fi and I’m making up stuff that happens, I tend to just make up character reactions in the same vein. Like, why put in effort making the character react realistically if the whole situation they’ve found themselves in isn’t at all realistic.
It is bizarre actually that fantasy is so popular to write when really you have to make the impossible real for your characters and by extension the reader. I don’t know if I make sense
Nothing pulls a viewer out of "suspension of disbelief" faster than characters behaving in an unrealistic way. Now, it's perfectly reasonable for people to do weird things or act impulsively when they're suddenly thrust into a situation where they are overwhelmed and/or frightened.
>BOB: "When the alien burst through the door, Why did you go to the closet and use a fire extinguisher to beat the alien to death, Carl? There's literally a butchers knife right next to the sink?"
>CARL: "I don't frickin know! That frickin thing juat burst through the door with its teeth and its tentacles-- I don't know WHAT I was thinking!"
The one thing that pulls people out of suspension of disbelief in action/horror/thrillers is when a character does something that makes zero sense IN THAT SITUATION.
Watch a bad horror/sci-fi movie. Even if the premise is solid, chances are the movie sucks simply because the characters are poorly written and/or poorly acted. Carl might grab a fire extinguisher in a panic, but he would definitely not yell "oh gee whiz!" When the monster bursts into his apartment. You don't even know anything about Carl except for the one line of dialog I wrote above, but you know enough to know that NOBODY would react with "gee whiz" in a situation like that (unless we're in a comedy).
>Fantasy
Whether it's Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, or Lord of The Rings, the characters all behave realistically for the world they live in. So obviously game of thrones is brutal. Beheading, torture, and rape are all realistic behaviors in that universe. In Harry Potter, it's still a dangerous world-- there's evil forces, nefarious characters, and monsters... but you can't write a passage where Voldemort rapes a student-- Voldemort isn't a rapist, and rape is not a part of this PG13 fantasy universe. Lord of the Rings has plenty of plot holes, but the audience either doesn't notice or doesn't care because the characters all behave realistically for the world they live in (middle earth).
I like the idea of writing and making money from it more than I like writing itself, which I do enjoy somewhat but as a consequence do it less than if I truly loved it.
Momentum is huge. When I spend a lot of time not writing, I can convince myself that I don't like it at all, and that I'm not even good at it.
What dies get me excited is plotting. So I have to plot stories before I write them, which is actually normal. Part of my daily work is plotting my next story after working on the current one. It's like solving a puzzle, and motivates me to write. And if I hit a wall while writing, I go back to plotting and try to work out the problem, and alternate back and forth until the first draft is complete.
Plot is what confounds most new writers, myself included. What genre do you typically write? Do you have any tips/tricks to share about how you plot your stories?
A lot of thinking. I have to sit in front of a blank page and work it out like a journal. Broadly, the goal is to have an outline of a beginning/middle/end because I can't start until I at least have that. It's hard to get to that point without also having a vague idea of who the major characters are and a rough chapter outline as well, but while the more specific you get on those the better, they will also come out naturally when I begin writing. That's what I meant about alternating between writing and plotting, the one has to inform the other. I assume when I get more experienced my starting points will be a lot less vague before I begin writing at all, but right now it's a longer back-and-forth process.
For me I also have to answer broad thematic questions, like what is this story about and what is its purpose? Do I want it to be funny? Do I want to do first-person narration? I can imagine the same story written in different ways, for different purposes, depending on the answers to those questions. I have to decide what the point is.
When you talk about genre, by definition they have established conventions that you need to be familiar with if you aren't already. For example I'm plotting a mystery story and I realized that I actually need to plot the whole thing 'backwards' from the perspective of the murderer even though the story will only be told from the POV of the detective. Because if I don't know exactly what the murderer is doing, and why, and what decisions he makes, and how he avoids detection, I can't even begin to write a coherent plot from the perspective of the people investigating him. And because I have never read any dedicated mystery or hardboiled novels, I've started reading one so I can analyze what successful authors have done and learn from it.
How do you get your ideas for plots? Like how do you know what should happen etc