EverTruth727
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What should I look for before doing anything else?
Like, even before breathing the second in.
Like, even before breathing the second in.
Any advice for newbies in writing a novel?
- Thread starter EverTruth727
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Pixytokisaki14
Half Kitsune Half Succubus
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Establish the main premise and basic points of your novel, write a synopsis that would get the readers' attention, and name your main character etc.
TheEldritchGod
A Cloud Of Pure Spite And Eyes
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I would start by using the search function to see if anyone asked this question before and then READ THOSE THREADS FIRST before making a new one and THEN I would ask specific questions, if you needed clarification.
While Reading, Put this on a loop:
How long to write a chapter?
I spend up to twelve hours thinking about a chapter, then slam it out in an hour. There are many steps to writing. Planning is part of writing.
Editing is the part that takes the most time. Learn how to be your own editor.
-----------------------------------------------------
What About the first chapter?
1) The first sentence is what grabs my attention to read the first paragraph.
2) The first paragraph is what sells the first chapter.
3) The first chapter gives me a question that the reader should be curious about and your book should be the only way to answer that question.
I have a pattern.
Single Line at the start of the chapter to be a zinger.
Then I have a little exposition at the start of most chapters.
A paragraph explaining the setup.
Paragraphs are broken up by topic.
Occasionally a one-liner where I hit the reader with a single idea.
I will sometimes put something all by itself after many carriage returns to make it ESPECIALLY stand out.
"When having a conversation I have words inside quotations and get rid of the word 'said' whenever possible." Eldritch had discovered that people are smart enough to figure it out for themselves, "You just need a comma and some quotes to get people to know who is talking. The important part is to start a new chapter whenever the speaking subject changes.
My imagination interrupted, "This would be an example of that." It looked around and wiggled its tendrils, "Actions can be done by anyone and rolled into the paragraph." Eldritch nodded as my Imagination continued, "As long as who is talking inside the quotes remains the same."
"So Expositions should be all at the start of the chapter, with maybe a small wrap-up at the end, but if you get in the habit of having conversations like this, you can group things up in a way that is easier on the reader's eyes. It knows where one speaker ends and another begins. In fact, if you keep up the pattern, you won't even need to point out who is talking, the reader will figure it out by style of speech, or the fact only two people are talking."
Then, finally, I try to have a final zinger line to end the chapter on.
It's cheap psychological manipulation, but it works.
How about an example?
Now, compare these two What is the QUESTION?
The original: What is this guy going to do?
My Rewrite: Is this guy going to make good on turning over a new leaf?
Which question is more compelling? Which one is more likely to get you to read to the end of the book to find out?
People like a question that goes somewhere and isn't open-ended. Keep that in mind.
------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN EDITOR
1. Write the chapter yourself.
2. Run it through a simple spell checker like Word.
3. Go to ChatGPT and type "Rephrase The Following Paragraph" Take one paragraph of at least 3 sentences and save it in a separate file. Feed that paragraph to ChatGPT. Copy the resulting paragraph to a separate file. Make a hybrid paragraph of the best of both.
4. Repeat step 3 until you have done every paragraph.
5. Turn on Grammerly. Just use the spell-checking feature. Screw the suggestions.
6. Go through your chapter to search for the following words:
Suddenly
Very/really
Started
Just
Somewhat/slightly
Somehow
Seem(s)
Definitely
If you see any of these words, reconsider them. Usually, these words are misused. If someone is speaking, no problem, but outside of the conversation, they usually are a bad sign.
7. If any sections don't feel right use the following at random:
prowritingaid.com/rephrase
sudowrite.com/app
writesonic.com/
But they do not allow unlimited use, so just use these occasionally to get a different perspective on how you phrased something.
8. Put it through Text Edit and turn on the text-to-speech feature. Listen to the chapter and fix it as it reads it out loud to you.
9. Go through and check for words that you keep using over and over. Using the same word too often will stand out. Try to have at least three different ways of referring to any main character. Avoid using the same word more than once in any given paragraph, or at least no more than once a page (pronouns/conjunctions not included, obviously). The English language is incredibly diverse, so the more you force yourself to get creative using alternatives, the more interesting your work is.
10. Turn on Grammerly one last time for spell-checking.
-----------------
START AT THE END.
You need to know what the ending of a plotline is, At least the final gut punch you plan for the reader to have. You can have an epilogue afterward, but you need that final scene in your head at least. Just writing because "I have a cool idea." Doesn't work. You need to know the ending.
Most books are three acts.
You need a plot that starts then finishes in Act/Act, in order of importance:
1/3
1/1
3/3
2/2
1/2
2/3
What I mean is you introduce a plot in Act 1, then it ends in Act 3, followed by Act 1 ends in Act 1.
The overall plot, that goes from plot 1 to plot 3 is the most important, but 1/1 is the second most important because it KEEPS THE READER READING.
That means, before you start the story, you need to have 6 endings. I don't care how much you write it out, but you need 6 plots and 6 plot endings. ANYTHING ELSE IS BOTH UNNEEDED AND DANGEROUS. You also need to know how the plot STARTS. So you need 6 beginnings and 6 endings. However, if you work those out ahead of time, everything else is just filler to get the story to move from one key scene to the next.
For example:
1/3: Joe is summoned and he has to defeat the demon lord
1/1: Joe is dropped into a strange situation and needs to adjust.
3/3: Joe will have a setback he needs to overcome
2/2: Joe will go on a training montage.
1/2: Joe will encounter the miniboss and have to overcome them.
2/3: Joe will have a romance subplot where he meets a girl and they fall in love by the end.
So three things begin in the first act, 2 starts in the second, 1 in the last.
There is one conclusion in the first, 2 in the second, then 3 in the ending
(and if you do it well, it all comes together in one scene.)
It's simple, it's formulaic, IT WORKS.
If you do this, you won't "write in the wrong direction" because you know where the ending is. Once you work out those 6 starts and 6 ends, everything else in the book is just connective tissue.
--------------------
If you are having problems making a character Here's my cheat sheet
Name
Race
Apparent Age
Actual Age
Sex
Gender
Height
Weight
Eye Color
Hair Color
Parents (How many, Sex, general Relations)
Place of birth
Current mental Age group: (Childhood/teen Age/Young Adult/Older Adult/Elder)
Where PC/NPC spent their (Childhood/teen Age/Young Adult/Older Adult/Elder)
Note Worthy Events of (Childhood/teen Age/Young Adult/Older Adult/Elder)
Current Socio-Economic Standing (Poor/Lower Class/Middle Class/Upper Class/SuperRich)
Stats: 1-5
Physical: Strength/Dexterity/Stamina
Social: Charisma/Manipulation/Appearance
Mental: Intelligence/Wisdom/Perception
Morality (scale of 1-5)
Good-Evil (Objective Morality)
Right-Wrong (Subjective Morality)
Legal-Crime (Social Morality)
Positive-Negative (Outcome Morality)
I go with the 1-5 scale with occasionally 0 or 5+
Nobody lives in a vacuum. However, everyone rhymes. get in your head the above groups and some stereotypical traits for each.
A guy whose morality is Objective 1, Subjective 1, Social 5, Outcome 1 is the kind of guy who believes in "Good" Outside himself and seeks to internalize it. he thinks society is corrupt, and willing to commit crimes if the outcome is positive.
ie Batman.
Charisma is personality, Manipulation is how controlling you can be, and appearance is how you look.
So your typical otome Villainess is a Chr 1, Manip 4, App 4.
When you get good at it, you can "shorthand" a character with ease
--------------------------
How to self-motivate:
Tell yourself, "NO ONE LOVES YOU! YOU ARE A WASTE OF SKIN! YOU ARE ONLY WORTH SOMETHING WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING! IF YOU AREN'T DOING SOMETHING, WHAT GOOD ARE YOU? EVERY MOMENT YOU WASTE NOT DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, A BABY KITTEN DIES! IF YOU ONLY TRIED HARDER, THERE WOULD BE LESS DEAD LOVED ONES IN YOUR LIFE! EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED THAT DIED IS YOUR FAULT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WORK HARD ENOUGH!"
Then I get back to writing.
---------------------------
On units of measurement:
If you wanna use metrics in your story, go ahead. It's your story
But I always use "We put a flag on the fuckin' moon" units.
--------------------------
On How Much You Write:
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Something pounded into my head was, "WHAT CAN YOU CUT OUT OF YOUR STORY?"
Every word you include is a fraction of a second to read. Every fraction adds up. Time is the currency of exchange between an author and a reader. I am asking you for time. I am asking you to SPEND TIME ON ME. So, I go through and I pare it down. Carefully and deliberately ask myself, "What Does This Bring To The Story? Is it redundant? Have I already told this to the reader? Does repeating it serve a purpose? If not, how do I cut it? If it is new, then how can I make it serve a second purpose? Is there a way to have this information have a second meaning? A third meaning? Can I combine it with something else? Will It change when the reader knows the ending and will it be BETTER? Is there a better plot point I can use instead? Can I subvert their expectations and give them something BETTER than they expected and if so, how much can I keep hidden from the reader so they truly can't see it coming, yet will think it was obvious in retrospect?"
Smaller. Tighter. More concentrated. BIG is the enemy. Flowery fluffy filler is a sign of weakness. Hit him hard, let the reader breathe, then hit him again, but short rabbit punches.
I know that quality is what matters, but in the back of my head, I have this Big Is Evil, hang-up. 500k Well Written Words is fine. the 500k isn't the problem.
Except it's a problem.
Part of me wonders, like it or not, is it too much? Then I say, "If it's quality, then it doesn't matter. You can have large quantities of quality. It does happen."
Then I say, "No it doesn't. You arrogant FOOL!"
------------
BEST TIME TO POST CHAPTERS
The best time is subjective, just be consistent.
HOWEVER...
I have anecdotal evidence that the best time is 12:01 am local time so you have the maximum amount of exposure to the algorithm. To get the most amount of "hits", post once every three days for maximum return. But that's just my own systematic testing of the system. Take it with a boulder of salt.
How long to write a chapter?
I spend up to twelve hours thinking about a chapter, then slam it out in an hour. There are many steps to writing. Planning is part of writing.
Editing is the part that takes the most time. Learn how to be your own editor.
-----------------------------------------------------
What About the first chapter?
1) The first sentence is what grabs my attention to read the first paragraph.
2) The first paragraph is what sells the first chapter.
3) The first chapter gives me a question that the reader should be curious about and your book should be the only way to answer that question.
I have a pattern.
Single Line at the start of the chapter to be a zinger.
Then I have a little exposition at the start of most chapters.
A paragraph explaining the setup.
Paragraphs are broken up by topic.
Occasionally a one-liner where I hit the reader with a single idea.
I will sometimes put something all by itself after many carriage returns to make it ESPECIALLY stand out.
"When having a conversation I have words inside quotations and get rid of the word 'said' whenever possible." Eldritch had discovered that people are smart enough to figure it out for themselves, "You just need a comma and some quotes to get people to know who is talking. The important part is to start a new chapter whenever the speaking subject changes.
My imagination interrupted, "This would be an example of that." It looked around and wiggled its tendrils, "Actions can be done by anyone and rolled into the paragraph." Eldritch nodded as my Imagination continued, "As long as who is talking inside the quotes remains the same."
"So Expositions should be all at the start of the chapter, with maybe a small wrap-up at the end, but if you get in the habit of having conversations like this, you can group things up in a way that is easier on the reader's eyes. It knows where one speaker ends and another begins. In fact, if you keep up the pattern, you won't even need to point out who is talking, the reader will figure it out by style of speech, or the fact only two people are talking."
Then, finally, I try to have a final zinger line to end the chapter on.
It's cheap psychological manipulation, but it works.
How about an example?
Author Note: This is my first time writing a novel, so bear with me now.
"Keugh... is this.. how I leave this world?" He coughs blood, and after a slight pause he laughs and smiles. "Oh well, whatever all I can do now is hope."
My life was full of stupid shit honestly, I never spent my time well.. if I could I wish I could go to a different world like Murim with some system, man, I should've stopped reading those weird novels, but whatever honestly, in the end, it's the survival of the fittest, even in this so-called "comfortable" world. All I hope now is that I at least don't go to hell, or get reborn, since me going to Heaven is the equivalent of letting a crazy murderer not go to jail while being caught.
"G-goodbye you shitty world." he tries to yell out loud while on the concrete ground, but only to output a barely audible voice with a lot of people looking down at him in worry, with sirens in the background.
Suddenly, he wakes up on a bunch of leaves and some grass, with rays of sun on his face. Still not comprehending what has happened, he looks around to see many tall trees with lots of leaves on them. He then feels a different type of clothing on his body, he sees himself wearing a red and black Hanfu. (I believe a Hanfu is the things people wear in wuxia or murim please tell me what the name is of what they wear.) When he tries to look around he notices his long hair going all the way down to his upper back. Upon noticing all of these details, he begins to check if he still has his manhood.
"Oh... thank god, I'm still a man." He redirects his attention back to his surroundings. "So where am I? By the looks of it it seems like I'm in a different universe?" He begins to remember the life he's lived giving him a irritated expression on his face. "AGH! Whatever, I just need to be better then last time, this time I will try to actually do something with my life."
And then out of nowhere a blue square appears right in front of him, not bounded by gravity or the laws of physics.
[Initializing...]
After looking in confusion for a little bit, a light begins to pop up in his head, causing him to grin a little bit at the realization of what has just appeared right in front him.
"My god, haha... is that a fucking system!? Please let it be a system and not just me being crazy." At those words the blue square begins to show numbers indicating the percentage of something.
[Initializing... 4% 7% 13% 25% 43% 77% 99%]
"What the hell, I'm not hallucinating? It really is a system!"
[Initializing... 100% Congratulations, Thank You For Playing Our Game!"
"Keugh... is this.. how I leave this world?" He coughs blood, and after a slight pause he laughs and smiles. "Oh well, whatever all I can do now is hope."
My life was full of stupid shit honestly, I never spent my time well.. if I could I wish I could go to a different world like Murim with some system, man, I should've stopped reading those weird novels, but whatever honestly, in the end, it's the survival of the fittest, even in this so-called "comfortable" world. All I hope now is that I at least don't go to hell, or get reborn, since me going to Heaven is the equivalent of letting a crazy murderer not go to jail while being caught.
"G-goodbye you shitty world." he tries to yell out loud while on the concrete ground, but only to output a barely audible voice with a lot of people looking down at him in worry, with sirens in the background.
Suddenly, he wakes up on a bunch of leaves and some grass, with rays of sun on his face. Still not comprehending what has happened, he looks around to see many tall trees with lots of leaves on them. He then feels a different type of clothing on his body, he sees himself wearing a red and black Hanfu. (I believe a Hanfu is the things people wear in wuxia or murim please tell me what the name is of what they wear.) When he tries to look around he notices his long hair going all the way down to his upper back. Upon noticing all of these details, he begins to check if he still has his manhood.
"Oh... thank god, I'm still a man." He redirects his attention back to his surroundings. "So where am I? By the looks of it it seems like I'm in a different universe?" He begins to remember the life he's lived giving him a irritated expression on his face. "AGH! Whatever, I just need to be better then last time, this time I will try to actually do something with my life."
And then out of nowhere a blue square appears right in front of him, not bounded by gravity or the laws of physics.
[Initializing...]
After looking in confusion for a little bit, a light begins to pop up in his head, causing him to grin a little bit at the realization of what has just appeared right in front him.
"My god, haha... is that a fucking system!? Please let it be a system and not just me being crazy." At those words the blue square begins to show numbers indicating the percentage of something.
[Initializing... 4% 7% 13% 25% 43% 77% 99%]
"What the hell, I'm not hallucinating? It really is a system!"
[Initializing... 100% Congratulations, Thank You For Playing Our Game!"
"Keugh... is this.. how I leave this world?"
Melvin was dying. he held his hand to his mouth as he coughed and pulled his cupped hand away to look at it. The odd mix of blood and mucus actually distracted him from the sucking chest wound for a few seconds. For just a moment, he forgot there was a small bullet hole in his back and the frickin Holand Tunnel out the front.
He fell to his knees, not quite sure who shot him in the back. Given the time of day, it was most likely anyone who knew his schedule. That meant this assassination was a betrayal, "Oh well, whatever all I can do now is hope."
The funny thing was, he had just realized he was doing things wrong. His whole life he'd be a bastard. He'd only thought about number one. He justified it with how life had treated him. His father was a working stiff who never got anywhere. Mom always bitched at dad and only thought about how much happier she could have been if she had only married Jack back in college.
Melvin spent most of his childhood getting the crap beat out of him, so as soon as he had his chance to get ahead, he took it. He had learned nobody cares, so he cared about no one. He was a very good liar and got ahead by backstabbing, betraying, and never ever showing mercy.
One day, that changed.
He realized everything he did was to get back at the people who beat the crap out of him. Everyone he hurt, was just an attempt to make things "right" to make things fair. But one day he realized something. He was just evil.
It started small. he couldn't do his job. He couldn't focus. he started trying to stop, get out. Nothing made him happy anymore so he just stopped doing drugs, stopped having sex, and stopped doing everything. He finally made up his mind. He was going to quit.
Unfortunately, his partners figured it out first.
Now he was face first on the sidewalk, people screaming, people running. He doubted anyone would catch the bastard who killed him, nor would anyone care. He just stared at the growing pool of blood under himself as he thought, ~Honestly, I really was going to try and fix things.~ He closed his eyes, ~Ah well, at least there's a special place in Hell for someone like me.~
Melvin was dying. he held his hand to his mouth as he coughed and pulled his cupped hand away to look at it. The odd mix of blood and mucus actually distracted him from the sucking chest wound for a few seconds. For just a moment, he forgot there was a small bullet hole in his back and the frickin Holand Tunnel out the front.
He fell to his knees, not quite sure who shot him in the back. Given the time of day, it was most likely anyone who knew his schedule. That meant this assassination was a betrayal, "Oh well, whatever all I can do now is hope."
The funny thing was, he had just realized he was doing things wrong. His whole life he'd be a bastard. He'd only thought about number one. He justified it with how life had treated him. His father was a working stiff who never got anywhere. Mom always bitched at dad and only thought about how much happier she could have been if she had only married Jack back in college.
Melvin spent most of his childhood getting the crap beat out of him, so as soon as he had his chance to get ahead, he took it. He had learned nobody cares, so he cared about no one. He was a very good liar and got ahead by backstabbing, betraying, and never ever showing mercy.
One day, that changed.
He realized everything he did was to get back at the people who beat the crap out of him. Everyone he hurt, was just an attempt to make things "right" to make things fair. But one day he realized something. He was just evil.
It started small. he couldn't do his job. He couldn't focus. he started trying to stop, get out. Nothing made him happy anymore so he just stopped doing drugs, stopped having sex, and stopped doing everything. He finally made up his mind. He was going to quit.
Unfortunately, his partners figured it out first.
Now he was face first on the sidewalk, people screaming, people running. He doubted anyone would catch the bastard who killed him, nor would anyone care. He just stared at the growing pool of blood under himself as he thought, ~Honestly, I really was going to try and fix things.~ He closed his eyes, ~Ah well, at least there's a special place in Hell for someone like me.~
Now, compare these two What is the QUESTION?
The original: What is this guy going to do?
My Rewrite: Is this guy going to make good on turning over a new leaf?
Which question is more compelling? Which one is more likely to get you to read to the end of the book to find out?
People like a question that goes somewhere and isn't open-ended. Keep that in mind.
------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN EDITOR
1. Write the chapter yourself.
2. Run it through a simple spell checker like Word.
3. Go to ChatGPT and type "Rephrase The Following Paragraph" Take one paragraph of at least 3 sentences and save it in a separate file. Feed that paragraph to ChatGPT. Copy the resulting paragraph to a separate file. Make a hybrid paragraph of the best of both.
4. Repeat step 3 until you have done every paragraph.
5. Turn on Grammerly. Just use the spell-checking feature. Screw the suggestions.
6. Go through your chapter to search for the following words:
Suddenly
Very/really
Started
Just
Somewhat/slightly
Somehow
Seem(s)
Definitely
If you see any of these words, reconsider them. Usually, these words are misused. If someone is speaking, no problem, but outside of the conversation, they usually are a bad sign.
7. If any sections don't feel right use the following at random:
prowritingaid.com/rephrase
sudowrite.com/app
writesonic.com/
But they do not allow unlimited use, so just use these occasionally to get a different perspective on how you phrased something.
8. Put it through Text Edit and turn on the text-to-speech feature. Listen to the chapter and fix it as it reads it out loud to you.
9. Go through and check for words that you keep using over and over. Using the same word too often will stand out. Try to have at least three different ways of referring to any main character. Avoid using the same word more than once in any given paragraph, or at least no more than once a page (pronouns/conjunctions not included, obviously). The English language is incredibly diverse, so the more you force yourself to get creative using alternatives, the more interesting your work is.
10. Turn on Grammerly one last time for spell-checking.
-----------------
START AT THE END.
You need to know what the ending of a plotline is, At least the final gut punch you plan for the reader to have. You can have an epilogue afterward, but you need that final scene in your head at least. Just writing because "I have a cool idea." Doesn't work. You need to know the ending.
Most books are three acts.
You need a plot that starts then finishes in Act/Act, in order of importance:
1/3
1/1
3/3
2/2
1/2
2/3
What I mean is you introduce a plot in Act 1, then it ends in Act 3, followed by Act 1 ends in Act 1.
The overall plot, that goes from plot 1 to plot 3 is the most important, but 1/1 is the second most important because it KEEPS THE READER READING.
That means, before you start the story, you need to have 6 endings. I don't care how much you write it out, but you need 6 plots and 6 plot endings. ANYTHING ELSE IS BOTH UNNEEDED AND DANGEROUS. You also need to know how the plot STARTS. So you need 6 beginnings and 6 endings. However, if you work those out ahead of time, everything else is just filler to get the story to move from one key scene to the next.
For example:
1/3: Joe is summoned and he has to defeat the demon lord
1/1: Joe is dropped into a strange situation and needs to adjust.
3/3: Joe will have a setback he needs to overcome
2/2: Joe will go on a training montage.
1/2: Joe will encounter the miniboss and have to overcome them.
2/3: Joe will have a romance subplot where he meets a girl and they fall in love by the end.
So three things begin in the first act, 2 starts in the second, 1 in the last.
There is one conclusion in the first, 2 in the second, then 3 in the ending
(and if you do it well, it all comes together in one scene.)
It's simple, it's formulaic, IT WORKS.
If you do this, you won't "write in the wrong direction" because you know where the ending is. Once you work out those 6 starts and 6 ends, everything else in the book is just connective tissue.
--------------------
If you are having problems making a character Here's my cheat sheet
Name
Race
Apparent Age
Actual Age
Sex
Gender
Height
Weight
Eye Color
Hair Color
Parents (How many, Sex, general Relations)
Place of birth
Current mental Age group: (Childhood/teen Age/Young Adult/Older Adult/Elder)
Where PC/NPC spent their (Childhood/teen Age/Young Adult/Older Adult/Elder)
Note Worthy Events of (Childhood/teen Age/Young Adult/Older Adult/Elder)
Current Socio-Economic Standing (Poor/Lower Class/Middle Class/Upper Class/SuperRich)
Stats: 1-5
Physical: Strength/Dexterity/Stamina
Social: Charisma/Manipulation/Appearance
Mental: Intelligence/Wisdom/Perception
Morality (scale of 1-5)
Good-Evil (Objective Morality)
Right-Wrong (Subjective Morality)
Legal-Crime (Social Morality)
Positive-Negative (Outcome Morality)
I go with the 1-5 scale with occasionally 0 or 5+
Nobody lives in a vacuum. However, everyone rhymes. get in your head the above groups and some stereotypical traits for each.
A guy whose morality is Objective 1, Subjective 1, Social 5, Outcome 1 is the kind of guy who believes in "Good" Outside himself and seeks to internalize it. he thinks society is corrupt, and willing to commit crimes if the outcome is positive.
ie Batman.
Charisma is personality, Manipulation is how controlling you can be, and appearance is how you look.
So your typical otome Villainess is a Chr 1, Manip 4, App 4.
When you get good at it, you can "shorthand" a character with ease
--------------------------
How to self-motivate:
Tell yourself, "NO ONE LOVES YOU! YOU ARE A WASTE OF SKIN! YOU ARE ONLY WORTH SOMETHING WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING! IF YOU AREN'T DOING SOMETHING, WHAT GOOD ARE YOU? EVERY MOMENT YOU WASTE NOT DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, A BABY KITTEN DIES! IF YOU ONLY TRIED HARDER, THERE WOULD BE LESS DEAD LOVED ONES IN YOUR LIFE! EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED THAT DIED IS YOUR FAULT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WORK HARD ENOUGH!"
Then I get back to writing.
---------------------------
On units of measurement:
If you wanna use metrics in your story, go ahead. It's your story
But I always use "We put a flag on the fuckin' moon" units.
--------------------------
On How Much You Write:
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Something pounded into my head was, "WHAT CAN YOU CUT OUT OF YOUR STORY?"
Every word you include is a fraction of a second to read. Every fraction adds up. Time is the currency of exchange between an author and a reader. I am asking you for time. I am asking you to SPEND TIME ON ME. So, I go through and I pare it down. Carefully and deliberately ask myself, "What Does This Bring To The Story? Is it redundant? Have I already told this to the reader? Does repeating it serve a purpose? If not, how do I cut it? If it is new, then how can I make it serve a second purpose? Is there a way to have this information have a second meaning? A third meaning? Can I combine it with something else? Will It change when the reader knows the ending and will it be BETTER? Is there a better plot point I can use instead? Can I subvert their expectations and give them something BETTER than they expected and if so, how much can I keep hidden from the reader so they truly can't see it coming, yet will think it was obvious in retrospect?"
Smaller. Tighter. More concentrated. BIG is the enemy. Flowery fluffy filler is a sign of weakness. Hit him hard, let the reader breathe, then hit him again, but short rabbit punches.
I know that quality is what matters, but in the back of my head, I have this Big Is Evil, hang-up. 500k Well Written Words is fine. the 500k isn't the problem.
Except it's a problem.
Part of me wonders, like it or not, is it too much? Then I say, "If it's quality, then it doesn't matter. You can have large quantities of quality. It does happen."
Then I say, "No it doesn't. You arrogant FOOL!"
------------
BEST TIME TO POST CHAPTERS
The best time is subjective, just be consistent.
HOWEVER...
I have anecdotal evidence that the best time is 12:01 am local time so you have the maximum amount of exposure to the algorithm. To get the most amount of "hits", post once every three days for maximum return. But that's just my own systematic testing of the system. Take it with a boulder of salt.
prognastat
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The best advice is to just start writing in my opinion. Sure you can read tips and even tutorials and lessons and other stories to learn. However in the end the most important thing is to write. As long as you write conscientiously you will grow as a writer. Sure not everything will be good at the start, but you will learn and improve then down the line your work or next work will be better.
Sylver
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- Oct 11, 2023
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Hmm 
Pick a premise you're confident in, it doesn't need to be original, just something you personally are invested in.
Write consistently, make a public schedule for publishing chapters.
And keep writing, over time, writing gets better and so will you.
Pick a premise you're confident in, it doesn't need to be original, just something you personally are invested in.
Write consistently, make a public schedule for publishing chapters.
And keep writing, over time, writing gets better and so will you.
RepresentingEnvy
En-Chan Queen Vampy!
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Just dew it! Most importantly have fun
SalivaSpittingWorm
Active member
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Just write what you enjoy and not what you think others would enjoy. If you don't enjoy what you're writing, it'll hurt the story.
fluffypie374
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Well, first set a goal for your novel. Whether you are trying to make money or simply writing as a hobby, or a mix of both.
If you're trying to make money, you should look for a target audience... basically do research.
The suggestion is to not bank on making money unless you are confident in your writing skills or have multiple books under your name. The audience will naturally come in due time...
Which leads to the point of writing as a hobby, where you simply want to get an idea off your mind to feel satisfied... In this case, you probably want to look for a good, handy notes app/program to jot down your ideas. That way, you can wait until you have time to write before getting them off your chest.
Well, this isn't financial advice. It's just my personal opinion... In the end, it still depends on your personal preferences...
If you're trying to make money, you should look for a target audience... basically do research.
The suggestion is to not bank on making money unless you are confident in your writing skills or have multiple books under your name. The audience will naturally come in due time...
Which leads to the point of writing as a hobby, where you simply want to get an idea off your mind to feel satisfied... In this case, you probably want to look for a good, handy notes app/program to jot down your ideas. That way, you can wait until you have time to write before getting them off your chest.
Well, this isn't financial advice. It's just my personal opinion... In the end, it still depends on your personal preferences...
ChocolateLover030
Devourer of the Cocoa
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Imagine the general setting and premise for your story. No need to be elaborate. Just ask yourself what is your story like/about? Who are the main characters? What are their general personalities like? Etc. Then think of an ending and work your way towards that ending.
And remember to have fun while you write and not to treat it like a job. Because once you do, ot gets pretty tiring.
And remember to have fun while you write and not to treat it like a job. Because once you do, ot gets pretty tiring.
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Sometimes advice don't work.
DaisukeHanashi
Once a horny writer, now a happy writer
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Just think of something horny, then start writing a smut. Thank me later, if you have three-digit reader counts in 3 days.
HypnoticNovels
Well-known member
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I'm a very new writer too, but my biggest advice would be to stock up on as many chapters as possible before you start posting. Writing a ton will let you feel out your work and gives you the chance to make changes to earlier chapters if necessary. I caught myself on a few critical plot holes by reading back at my earlier chapters before I posted.
For me, writing a lot of chapters gave me extremely important buffer room for the times that I couldn't write. I could still put out one chapter a week while being swamped with school and work because of it. My own personal suggestion would be to go for 20 chapters before you start posting, but that's extremely personalized for my own writing time and responsibilities.
The most important thing is to keep writing! When you're first starting, you can't overly stress about the quality of the work. You're new- it's not gonna be on the level as someone who has written 8 novels. Just keep writing and you'll naturally improve over time. I couldn't believe how much my writing changed just within my first 20 chapters.
Anyway, good luck! :D
For me, writing a lot of chapters gave me extremely important buffer room for the times that I couldn't write. I could still put out one chapter a week while being swamped with school and work because of it. My own personal suggestion would be to go for 20 chapters before you start posting, but that's extremely personalized for my own writing time and responsibilities.
The most important thing is to keep writing! When you're first starting, you can't overly stress about the quality of the work. You're new- it's not gonna be on the level as someone who has written 8 novels. Just keep writing and you'll naturally improve over time. I couldn't believe how much my writing changed just within my first 20 chapters.
Anyway, good luck! :D
K5Rakitan
Level 34 👪 💍 Pronouns: she/whore ♀
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condoms
EverTruth727
New member
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- Sep 29, 2023
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I want to write as a hobby, it's super fun. And since some of the people here told me to go for it, I posted over 16 chapters yesterday on Scribble Hub.Well, first set a goal for your novel. Whether you are trying to make money or simply writing as a hobby or a mix of both.
If you're trying to make money, you should look for a target audience... do research.
The suggestion is to not bank on making money unless you are confident in your writing skills or have multiple books under your name. The audience will naturally come in due time...
This leads to the point of writing as a hobby, where you simply want to get an idea off your mind to feel satisfied... In this case, you probably want to look for a good, handy note app/program to jot down your ideas. That way, you can wait until you have time to write before getting them off your chest.
Well, this isn't financial advice. It's just my personal opinion... In the end, it still depends on your personal preferences...
I already wrote it last night. I remembered a quote saying "I would rather be happy trying than regret the choice of not to" I posted 16 chapters in one single go after researching for a while. Since most people are either going for reincarnation or transmigration, I am going for one of them. The setting is the world of a game, I copied the basic setting of Lord Empire, the mechanic of Clash of Kings, the plot progression of The Lord of the Dessert, and also the Lord of the Plant.
Is everyone here really down bad for that?
I now have over 30 chapters in savings. 16 posted, with an average of 1800 words each. Thank you for giving me the courage to start writing.
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Assurbanipal_II
Empress of the Four Corners of the World
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Make a separate list for world building stuff with characters, locations and names. You will forget them otherwise eventually.