Corty
Sneaking in, stealing your socks.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2022
- Messages
- 2,393
- Points
- 128
Think of this thread as a continuation of my [Tutorial] For new users of Scribble Hub! So, if you need basic help navigating the site, setting up your story, or an explanation of what the different genres mean, go check that out first!
Now, to get some major things out of the way, I will take this as a place where I put my tips and ideas when they strike me. After reading the usual questions, the repeating offenders, so to speak, I decided to start this thread where I will add my two cents to it every now and then. There will be no order; I will rant or write about what I am thinking at the moment. Or just post a 'question' and give it my answer. The "table of contents" titles are links to specific posts, so you can click on them to take you to the message where I talked about that specific thing.
Oh, and I'm using dark mode activated, so if the colors are hard to read on bright mode... then join the Dark Side. Aaaaand, if you are on mobile, browse this thread in landscape mode as I formatted it on PC. In portrait mode, it gets all wonky and bad to read.
Table of Contents:
Okay. You decided to pick up apen keyboard and start your journey as a writer! Great! Welcome! It won't be easy, but hopefully, you can stick to it. It will be hard. It will be tiring and not be what you thought it would be. Still with me? Good. Many of you may think hard about how to start it. What should I write about? How do we get that sweet, sweet validation of readers via likes and 5-star ratings?!
Come closer... here is my answer:
You don't.
I don't really care what others tell you:
You are still a newbie, and only one thing is certain:
Your story will be sub-par.
Now, if you are still with me and didn't click away to comment that I'm a bastard, wrong, stub my toe into a desk or something, then let me explain. Everyone starts out with stories that are bad. You don't have the experience, only the drive to write something that, in your head, looks awesome. You can imagine the cool scenery, the fight scenes, the badass MC, whatever there is in your brainbox; it just oozes coolness.
But you won't be able to translate that onto digital paper. Not at first. Nobody is like that. If they say they did it, they lie.
Then what should I do?
Write it. Write it. And... Write it. Take all those creative juices in your head, squeeze them out through your fingers onto a chapter, and publish it. Don't be afraid of doing so; don't go looking up a bazillion tricks and tips videos, how to play the system, or whatever.
Just. Write. It.
Now, to clarify it a little. I'm not saying you should go and ignore all the great guides that are also present on this site. Or else... why am I even writing this? What I want to iterate for you here is to don't get lost in them. Looking at the millions of tips and opinions will just confuse you and discourage you at first. As a beginner, don't stress about it. Go and write your story, and you will improve. Learn. Adapt.
When your experience rises, and you at least get into the groove of writing and learn how to express and put those awesome thoughts into words, then you can go and look at the tips and tricks threads! Then you will understand them! Without knowing that writing is hard, all those pieces of advice will either mean nothing, or you won't really remember them while doing the deed. I can listen to a tutorial on how to paint a miniature, but even then, my first attempt will be a total mess. This is the natural progression of things, and you can't skip it!
So... I just... write?
Exactly. Your only goal should be right now, as a beginner, to get your story out, get experience on how to transform the images in your mind into words and let the readers decode it. If the awesomeness in your head manifests itself in theirs too, you have already made great progress! Here are some tips or goals you should set for your first story:
I think that is it for starters and as an introduction to what to expect here.
See you all the next time.
Now, to get some major things out of the way, I will take this as a place where I put my tips and ideas when they strike me. After reading the usual questions, the repeating offenders, so to speak, I decided to start this thread where I will add my two cents to it every now and then. There will be no order; I will rant or write about what I am thinking at the moment. Or just post a 'question' and give it my answer. The "table of contents" titles are links to specific posts, so you can click on them to take you to the message where I talked about that specific thing.
Oh, and I'm using dark mode activated, so if the colors are hard to read on bright mode... then join the Dark Side. Aaaaand, if you are on mobile, browse this thread in landscape mode as I formatted it on PC. In portrait mode, it gets all wonky and bad to read.
Last Update: 2024, January 15.
Table of Contents:
- My Advice for Beginners
- Publishing
- Word Count
- Naming Things
- About Growing Your Story (My History)
- Your First Story (A Mentality Tip)
- Prologues
- The Importance of Rest
- About ChatGPT
- MFGA (System rant)
My Advice for Beginners
Okay. You decided to pick up a
Come closer... here is my answer:
You don't.
I don't really care what others tell you:
- Oooh, you just have to write a good story!
- Just follow the trend!
- Write a harem!
- Do a
flipsmut! - If you write something popular, it will be an instant winner, money starts falling from the sky, and people will slide into your DMs with cat pictures.
You are still a newbie, and only one thing is certain:
Your story will be sub-par.
Now, if you are still with me and didn't click away to comment that I'm a bastard, wrong, stub my toe into a desk or something, then let me explain. Everyone starts out with stories that are bad. You don't have the experience, only the drive to write something that, in your head, looks awesome. You can imagine the cool scenery, the fight scenes, the badass MC, whatever there is in your brainbox; it just oozes coolness.
But you won't be able to translate that onto digital paper. Not at first. Nobody is like that. If they say they did it, they lie.
Then what should I do?
Write it. Write it. And... Write it. Take all those creative juices in your head, squeeze them out through your fingers onto a chapter, and publish it. Don't be afraid of doing so; don't go looking up a bazillion tricks and tips videos, how to play the system, or whatever.
Just. Write. It.
Now, to clarify it a little. I'm not saying you should go and ignore all the great guides that are also present on this site. Or else... why am I even writing this? What I want to iterate for you here is to don't get lost in them. Looking at the millions of tips and opinions will just confuse you and discourage you at first. As a beginner, don't stress about it. Go and write your story, and you will improve. Learn. Adapt.
When your experience rises, and you at least get into the groove of writing and learn how to express and put those awesome thoughts into words, then you can go and look at the tips and tricks threads! Then you will understand them! Without knowing that writing is hard, all those pieces of advice will either mean nothing, or you won't really remember them while doing the deed. I can listen to a tutorial on how to paint a miniature, but even then, my first attempt will be a total mess. This is the natural progression of things, and you can't skip it!
So... I just... write?
Exactly. Your only goal should be right now, as a beginner, to get your story out, get experience on how to transform the images in your mind into words and let the readers decode it. If the awesomeness in your head manifests itself in theirs too, you have already made great progress! Here are some tips or goals you should set for your first story:
- Get a realistic amount of readers by the end of it.
- Have the following down in your story:
- A clear goal for your MC
- Your plot, if not fully planned, at least has 2, 3, or more major plot points you want to hit while writing.
- Set an ending for your story. It makes it so much easier. You know what you want to achieve, and you work towards that.
- A fixed set of characters. It's your first story, don't go overboard, keep it simple!
- Set yourself a word count per chapter that you CAN achieve. I see dozens of threads asking what is a good one. Differs from person to person, work to work. I will have a more detailed discussion about this later. For now, try 1000 words per chapter. Make it a goal, but don't stress about it! You only got out 600? No problem... make the next chapter 800! Then 1000!
- Chapter count is important. Many people only pick up a story if you already have 20+ chapters! So don't expect readers to flow in after having up three chapters! Writing is all about work, work, work & consistency!
- IMPORTANT: Scribble Hub has a system in place to prevent spam posts! Don't post chapters one after another, or your story will be marked as spam and won't show up on the front page! Space it out if you are posting multiple chapters a day! Leave 1 or 2 hours between them!
- Chapter count is important. Many people only pick up a story if you already have 20+ chapters! So don't expect readers to flow in after having up three chapters! Writing is all about work, work, work & consistency!
- Set regular intervals when you post!
- People love to know when to expect a chapter. Two a week? Three a week? On every Friday? Whatever it is, make sure you make it consistent! Post that chapter on the same day and at the same time!
- Don't give up! Ignore the ratings for now. 3-star? 4-star? 5-star? You are an all-star in the making!
- We will talk about the rating system later on, but honestly, for the start, ignore it. Don't let it drag you down; I know it's hard, especially when you are passionate about your story. That is why I never rate lower than 3-stars. I get it.
- Interact with your future readers, even if it's just a cookie blob. Believe me, it can go far. You won't get much at the start. So it is best to thank them for commenting, even if it's nothing more but a "tftc"!
- Criticism is not bad. They are not attacking you. It's good. If you receive one, check it. If it has points that talk about the cohesion of your story, the logic behind character decisions, how XYZ acts in your story, etc. Don't go and immediately dismiss them as haters!
- Go back and check those parts. It is very much possible you couldn't translate your thoughts to paper. That is why experience is needed, so next time you succeed!
- Clearly, troll critics with the comments of: "worst things since ham sandwich without ham," and the others can go lick a salt-brick. Ignore them.
I think that is it for starters and as an introduction to what to expect here.
See you all the next time.
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