Questions from an aspiring writer

[phoruni]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?
•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?
•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?
•how much detail is too much or too less?
•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

 

[Sleds]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?

Depend, sometime I can write 10k words in few hours and other time I write 300 words in 4 hours. Generally I write faster when I have make a story planning for the arc/scene I'm going to write about.

•how are you able to better flesh out you character and the world?

By adding detail through your chapter that reveal your character personality, past, aspiration and how the world work, it's rule, it's pro and con, it's lore, if you want to add myth in it or not.

•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?

Starting a story that might be too long for a new writer like me, publishing 39 chapters straight at the beginning instead of publishing them one by one while delaying them by a few hours to get more apparition in the last update page.

•how much detail is too much or too less?

It's hard to tell cause anybody are different in that sense, some will find it boring if you write 5k words and there literally four actions in your chapter. having bland detail can be a loss too since the readers can't imagine well what you want to describe. It's hard to balance and to perfect.

•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

Bold of you to assume I'm able to do such thing. My naming sense such and for important characters I take hours before coming with a name that are passable and for other second character, I mostly use random name or fantasy name generator/ Name generator. Depending on what you write the naming sense can be easier, for exemple if you write with the earth as base, you have a lot of database for each names country that you can come with.

 

[Tsuru]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?
•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?
•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?
•how much detail is too much or too less?
•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

1) Live long, type a lot.
2) Like movie actors to act better their characters, imagine his whole life/past. Imagine he is alive.
3) I am not an author so can't answ (teehee)
4) Hmmmm. That is why its important to keep the mentality of a reader even if becoming a writer. Its like dev are shit if they can't understand gamer mentality anymore (indie>>>>AAA).
5) Because there are mostly few main worlds among WNs. Wuxia - xianxia - fantasy - urban - fanfix of whatever - ??? - futuristic - etc . And well, its basically taking a look at how their own specific things are.
I recommend you to read the works of Andur on royalroad.
5.5) Depends of the vibe of the series.
Do you want to write a serious urban english WN? Then go full english names.
If you want a JP style comedy style ? Then go JP names.
The jp series is in a medieval isekai ? Choose : or jp or realistic western-names like JOHN David etc
brain can't think more bye

 

[Corty]

• 1 chapter per day with 2kish avarage words
• Experience. Just write, write, write and you will improve.
• Planning too big and wanting to include everything. Take it in small steps and just write something simple.
• Depends on the readers. There are no answers to that. But if one chapter is nothing but descriptions than its probably too much.
• Yes. I make my names up all the time. Just make it easy to pronounce and you are good to go.

 

[Terrate]

I'll just answer the naming part.
I usually base the names depending on the continent where the character came from, which is also using the real world as a reference. Character born in a medieval europe fantasy? Search names on most used names on old europe. Character has some east culture flair? Search names from the east. Then at some point, I'll be used to how each country makes names that I just make-up my own that would fit, the problem with that however is not having any deeper meaning to the name.

Then again, not every character needs to have a deep name to be relevant. Sometimes ol' trusty Joe works and he'll play his piece and be done with his role. You never know which character your readers will be obsessed with, it can even be just a worm named jim that a character named for the fun of it.

 

[doravg]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?
•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?
•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?
•how much detail is too much or too less?
•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

As a Pantser I don't know the answer to these questions. I can do the things mentioned, yes, but I don't know how. I do want to give you the secret to writing your chapters without feeling tired, though:
Cycling.
Cycling is when you write fast for 500 words, and then go back to the beginning of the chapter. Then you can easily set up everything to match with the words you have just written, which will make people think you have outlined when you have not done it. (But if you outline it can be useful too! To each his or her own.)
With this method, I am able to write a 1,5k chapter in three sprints with a small break to read the previous 500 words, and put in the foreshadowing.
As for the mistakes I have made, there is one major one. In English, this is a correct form of making a dialogue:
"I am a BL author and proud," said the BL Witch.
See where the comma is? I used to put a period there... XD
In German, however, this is a correct dialogue:
"Ich bin eine BL-Autorin und stolz darüber", sagte die BL-Hexe.
Fortunately for my readers, I had ChatGPT at the start of my German writing journey. As well as not one, but 2 grammar checkers. So, I picked up this rule quickly.
As for Grammar checkers, for English you have an abundance of choices, but in German not so much. But if the Microsoft Grammar checker, which you can use for free as a chrome app, is as good as the German version, then I can't recommend it enough.

 

[phoruni]

I

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?
•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?
•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?
•how much detail is too much or too less?
•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

I am looking for some tribalistic name from a unique language

 

[MajorKerina]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?
•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?
•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?
•how much detail is too much or too less?
•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

Anywhere from not at all to entirely. The complexity of a writing can often dictate how long it takes. I tend to shoot for about 200 to 300 words an hour if not 500 if I'm rushing but it can spike closer to 1000 if it's very simple. I've actually found dictation is really good for speed but especially with certain programs they can be really bad at understanding names and unique descriptions and other oddities you might use.

The best way to flush out a character and the world is if it has meaningful elements to you. Like I might create a Japanese like world which is either in the past or the future so if I'm really interested in Japan as a region or culture, I bring to bear certain information. particular characters also need a touchstone that I can hook into and elaborate upon.

Stuff I did really early on was creating super bland descriptions. Writing comes from lots of practice and coming to intuitive realizations about what a particular scene means and needs so far as the feeling of the characters, the weird connections you make with imagery to express feeling. Just popped into my head was the description "the sky spread out over the ocean like a lazy tortoise" and then I might elaborate on that analogy or link it in with other tortoise imagery if I want to get a certain point across or I can contrast that with different animals evoked by the sky. Writing is often about making really strange associations that wind up being insightful while coherent and interesting to read. Making these connections are important because otherwise you're just basically describing a scene and that doesn't really engage anyone unless you have a very focused method of being beige with your prose.

The amount of detail is hard to judge because it varies by scene. Basically any scene that calls for heavy action, you drop the detail. If a scene is quiet and there's a lot of focus and you want to fixate on something in particular that's when you turn it up kind of like a dial on a radio.

baby name websites. There's a lot of them. Also looking up the etymology of different name words and deciding which one sounds cool.

 

[Terrate]

I am looking for some tribalistic name from a unique language

Since it's tribal, people would usually base their names on the surroundings, places, animals, or their own language.

But if you want to be extra cool, You could try naming them using the scientific names of plants and/or animals and derive an Anagram out of it.

 

[Agentt]

Are there ways you are able to write faster?

Practice, but get a good posture. You don't want to break your wrists. Yes, it happens.

how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?

Write about that seperately as a reference. Take inspiration from other media.

what are some early mistakes you did as an author?

I was fucking cringe and arrogant mate, felt like I had to make everything perfect.

how much detail is too much or too less?

Depends on scene to scene. You don't want to make an action scene too detailed cuz that would slow down the pace. You don't want a walking scene being too detailed. You don't want a talking scene being too detailed. You don't want a talking scene being so less detailed that I can't tell who is talking.


Usually, less detail is the way to go as a beginner, keeping just enough details that every important character is memorable and identifiable
.

how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

Random name generator ~~

 

[Bluebery]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?

Mine is ~1.5k word a day. To write faster and better, sleep early. That way I won't have brain fog the following day.

•how are you able to better flesh out you character and the world?

I don't know. I just write what I want to write.

•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?

Not writing enough. Too much going back and editing. Rewriting is a really big trap. I fell for it and it killed my motivation to write so many times.
Honestly, just write.

•how much detail is too much or too less?

It depends on your style, really.

•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

Chatgpt. I also get names influenced by mythologies.

 

[J_Chemist]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?

No idea, but I know my pace is determined by how into the music I am and how zoned in I am.

•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?

• Use your imagination. Visualize what you see and practice describing it.
• Expand your vocabulary. The more verbose you are, the better you'll be at describing things.
• Use references and then change them to apply them to your world. Everything has been done before. Just find a way to make it yours.

•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?

Probably my 20k prologue but oh well. I also didn't flesh out the story really well the first go 'round.

I've also failed on a lot of books that are unpublished because I went into them without the proper mindset/motivation and they just flopped.

•how much detail is too much or too less?

Yes.

•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

Name generator and the Random Bullshit Machine.

 

[Tyranomaster]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?

I can write up to 5000 words in a day. Realistically I write about 1700 words a day though. I write the fastest when I'm handling dialogue, or writing something that isn't as plot relevant. The things that slow writing down for me is thinking about how what I'm writing is going to affect the direction I'm trying to take the story. That sometimes slows me down to like 500 words a day depending on how difficult of a plot issue I'm dealing with.

•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?

In my current story, character development is by far the weakest aspect (many commenters have pointed that out, and given the premise of the story and where I'm taking it, that will likely remain an issue).
In other short stories I've dabbled in, it's a matter of knowing what flaws and strengths a character has, and how they as an individual feel about their flaws (and/or strengths), as well as how the author wants to portray it.
EX: A character is indecisive. They themself believe they aren't indecisive, but instead are just cautious, and like to evaluate all their options. If the author wants to portray this as a good trait, their cautious nature should be rewarded. If they are to grow out of the indecision, the should be narratively punished for taking too long to make a choice. Thus they either reinforce the trait, or grow out of it.

•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?

There are too many to count. Lots and lots. They'll just happen. You can't really avoid it with advice from other people, as there will always be something you learn. My advice is to try not to cringe too much at your early writing after you gain more practice, and to not get caught in the "Everything has to be perfect before I show anyone anything" trap. I set out with the intent that my writing would get better, and once I finish my story, I'll consider doing an entire rewrite at that point. I'm 3 novels in, and I cringe reading my first and second volume. I already really want to re-write it, but I also understand that by the time the series is done, I'll feel the same way about even more novels along the way, so I should just keep moving forward.

•how much detail is too much or too less?

It just depends on the situation. It sets tone. You'll get the hang of it the more you write. If someone leaves a comment saying, "Not enough detail" or "Way too much detail", don't just brush it off. Think about it first before evaluating if it is or isn't what you were going for.

•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

I cringe at my names every time I write them. I think most authors do. Readers generally don't pay as much attention. I do find some names cringe worthy in stories I read though. What makes a name cringeworthy? If it's out of the norm for other names in the setting. (Not to drag Elon Musk, but his latest child is named Techno Mechanicus, which is not a normal name in American Culture). Generally main characters can get away with slightly more abnormal names, but be careful not to make it too abnormal.
EX: In my current story, the demon language has a lot of guttural sounds and hard consonants with a slight Latin influence. Names tend to follow that principle. In a different story I've dabbled in, names are centered around old kings and royalty of Europe because they are an off-reference to the fact that it's a deckbuilding game (not normal cards), but decks of cards have kings/queens/jacks etc etc, so I thought it would be fun to just name characters around that idea.

 

[K5Rakitan]

what are some early mistakes you did as an author?

I procreated.

 

[John_Owl]

•what's your average writing is speed ? Are there ways you are able to write faster?
•how are you able to better flesh out you charector and the world?
•what are some early mistakes you did as an author?
•how much detail is too much or too less?
•how are you able to create new names which fit the world perfectly?

1, it really depends. I listen to music through sound cancelling headphones. when I get into a groove i can write 2-3 chapters per day (i don't measure in words per minute, as the story takes priority over how long each chapter is), but i'd guess it's somewhere around 50-60 wpm last time i actually used a measuring software.
2, keep a character and world list separate from the story and reference it often. have everything relevant listed there. if your character's father was absent and it won't have any effect on the story, don't include it on the list. focus solely on things that'll matter. furthermore, don't flat out say "he's impatient". show it by making him unwilling to sit through long dialogue patiently.
3, inconsistent posting times. try to always post within half an hour of the same time. and if you can, try to pay attention to when people interact. if people interact 2-3 hours after it's posted, try posting it about 10-20 minutes before their usual interaction times. most readers won't come back to interact later, and having it higher on the "recent updates" list during the heights of your interaction times is the most ideal. that said, if you can't post later, then keep consistent times. if people know WHEN your story will be posted, it'll make it easier for them to find the time to read it.
3.1, inconsistent chapter lengths. this may be contrary to what i said earlier about the story taking priority, but this is important. try to keep your story within about 500 words each chapter. if one chapter is 1500 words, and the next is 750 or 2500, it'll make it harder for your readers to gauge how long it'll take to read. this will make it harder for them to set aside the proper time to devote to your new chapter. in this regard, if you MUST change the length, i'd recommend splitting a long chapter into 2 shorter chapters. it's easier for them to keep track of where they are if they have a clear stopping point.
4, detailing is entirely up to you. think of it like art, some of the best doesn't explicitly show ANYTHING, and merely hints at it (think of japanese ink paintings or modern day watercolor paintings. other masterpieces show a little too much detail, and THAT'S the appeal (van gogh and picasso do this). in terms of novels, i'd shoot for somewhere between a 3rd grader's report, where they glaze over detail and late robert jordan, where he spent 2-3 pages describing the most mundane, intricate details. just enough to paint the picture, but not so much that you rob the reader of their autonomy. people read so THEY can imagine the characters their way. you could try a few different styles and post a poll in a one shots book asking for what your specific readers prefer.
5, naming schemes and name generators/AI suggestions. specifically, i use naming schemes for demi-humans. foxgirls are always named after alcohol, and their personalities match the alcohol in question. wolfgirls are named after precious stones and metals. things like that. name generators, i use Fantasy Name Generator for humans and non-humanoids (or related), depending on what style of culture i want the character to be based on. most of mine are fairly viking related, though I've also used others, like normans, jewish, egyptian, etc. When I hit a real roadblock, i have an AI app on my phone i use to run ideas by or to ask suggestions. that's how i came up with using stones and metals for wolfgirls, though the foxgirl/alcohol thing is entirely my own, and started with a one shot i did with a foxgirl named Bailey. Key here would be to not worry too much about names "fitting" the world. If you say the character's name is XYZ, then it's XYZ. it'll fit, unless the lore of your world says XYZ is evil for whatever reason.

*I want to note that these are my own experiences, and i'm far from a big name author, so i may or may not be doing things wrong.

 

[Lloyd]

Send me your first chapter and I'll look at it if you want.

 

[John_Owl]

There are too many to count. Lots and lots. They'll just happen. You can't really avoid it with advice from other people, as there will always be something you learn. My advice is to try not to cringe too much at your early writing after you gain more practice, and to not get caught in the "Everything has to be perfect before I show anyone anything" trap. I set out with the intent that my writing would get better, and once I finish my story, I'll consider doing an entire rewrite at that point. I'm 3 novels in, and I cringe reading my first and second volume. I already really want to re-write it, but I also understand that by the time the series is done, I'll feel the same way about even more novels along the way, so I should just keep moving forward.

very much agreed. My first webnovel on here is sooooo cringe, i can't even reread it, and it makes me all the more eternally grateful for the readers who stuck with me through it. that said, I will be doing a rewrite in the future. and cameos i've used of the characters are written from the perspective of the planned rewrite, rather than the existing cringtopia. and i'm well aware that i'll feel this same way about both my current and my (now on hiatus) story. but the secret, from professional authors (Rowling, Tolkien, grissom, etc) isn't to plan on EVER writing the perfect piece. it's about knowing when it's merely "good enough". when you can sit down and reread it and not focus on every little thing you did wrong.

 

[phoruni]

Send me your first chapter and I'll look at it if you want.

@Lloyd thanks but I'm rewriting it right now.

 

[Lloyd]

@Lloyd thanks but I'm rewriting it right now.

Just finish it already.

 

[phoruni]

Just finish it already.

Will try do do it by tomorrow morning I have school and stuff