What are your general writing hot takes?

[ElijahRyne]

Most stories here on SH would benefit massively from having a minimum of 5-10 pages of world and character development/introduction before the inciting incident(s), and if it has multiple pov’s this will have to be repeated. Otherwise, like it does to some extent now, it will feel like most characters/worlds in most stories are unimportant, and different stories will feel like they use the same unresponsive/cliche characters/worlds just with different names in different plots.

The argument that then the pacing would be too slow, is moot and missing the point. You can have character and world interactions that are interesting. Of course a 10 page exposition dump is boring and a mistake, but that is not what I am saying. Take some time and show, through the interactions between the characters and the world that they inhabit, who and what those characters and the world is. And if you think that is too much of a risk tease some action in a prologue.

What are yours?

 

[Sylver]

I agree but at the same time there needs to be a balance or structure behind it.
The first act in my story consisting of 64 chapters focuses mostly on the main characters and their development before the central plot moves forward, which is fine because it's a character driven story. But I can see the argument that the pacing suffers because many readers want to see what they're in for sooner rather than later. Patience is a virtue and is not for everyone, and some would find it upsetting to see that the story they've been waiting for went a different direction than they anticipated.

 

[ElijahRyne]

I agree but at the same time there needs to be a balance or structure behind it.
The first act in my story consisting of 64 chapters focuses mostly on the main characters and their development before the central plot moves forward, which is fine because it's a character driven story. But I can see the argument that the pacing suffers because many readers want to see what they're in for sooner rather than later. Patience is a virtue and is not for everyone, and some would find it upsetting to see that the story they've been waiting for went a different direction than they anticipated.

I agree, but you can have the plot move forward without the inciting incident. Think of it like setting up a chess board, if the board is empty of pieces then you have no game to play, but at the same time if all 64 squares are full, then you have little to no room to move. That is a way you can see on how to move the plot forwards before the inciting incident. You are placing and setting up the board for the story that will happen, and the first move is the inciting incident. If that makes any sense.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Most stories here on SH would benefit massively from having a minimum of 5-10 pages of world and character development/introduction before the inciting incident(s), and if it has multiple pov’s this will have to be repeated. Otherwise, like it does to some extent now, it will feel like most characters/worlds in most stories are unimportant, and different stories will feel like they use the same unresponsive/cliche characters/worlds just with different names in different plots.

The argument that then the pacing would be too slow, is moot and missing the point. You can have character and world interactions that are interesting. Of course a 10 page exposition dump is boring and a mistake, but that is not what I am saying. Take some time and show, through the interactions between the characters and the world that they inhabit, who and what those characters and the world is. And if you think that is too much of a risk tease some action in a prologue.

What are yours?

Agreed. These are failing points of so, so, sooo many stories. There is simply not enough to the foundations, and so they are lackluster. This is why... *looks both ways*... @SailusGebel 's thread on Worldbuilding is super wrong!

My writing hot take:
The words employed for a scene actually matter. The context and delivery are important for a story, but your choice of words matters...
In so many, nigh uncountable, ways, your choice of words matter so incredibly much. If you rely on your readers to fill in the blanks with their imagination, completely ignoring that prompting and shaping that imagination with your choice of words is actually important, well then...

You are using your readers' imagination as a crutch.

If your context is not effective because you chose the wrong words, then you cannot communicate the true depths of the emotion they feel. Your readers' imaginations must grind their gears, burn their fuel, just to create a good image. And that is not what a good author should do. They should work with the imagination. Nay, augment it!

This is the reason authors are called wordsmiths, and the reason why some other aspect of writing is not inserted in place of "word".

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Most people don’t care about world building.

Writing bigger, longer, or more elegant words doesn’t make you smarter. It doesn’t even make you look smarter either.

 

[ElijahRyne]

Agreed. These are failing points of so, so, sooo many stories. There is simply not enough to the foundations, and so they are lackluster. This is why... *looks both ways*... @SailusGebel 's thread on Worldbuilding is super wrong!

My writing hot take:
The words employed for a scene actually matter. The context and delivery are important for a story, but your choice of words matters...
In so many, nigh uncountable, ways, your choice of words matter so incredibly much. If you rely on your readers to fill in the blanks with their imagination, completely ignoring that prompting and shaping that imagination with your choice of words is actually important, well then...

You are using your readers' imagination as a crutch.

If your context is not effective because you chose the wrong words, then you cannot communicate the true depths of the emotion they feel. Your readers' imaginations must grind their gears, burn their fuel, just to create a good image. And that is not what a good author should do. They should work with the imagination. Nay, augment it!

This is the reason authors are called wordsmiths, and the reason why some other aspect of writing is not inserted in place of "word".

Not just words, but syntax, grammar, sentence length, etc. All of them are important to making a scene feel right. You can add so much more to a scene if every letter is used to its best in that context.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

In a web novel there is always a good chance an author will drop a story, so slogging through world building with potentially no payoff is dumb.

 

[ElijahRyne]

Most people don’t care about world building.

But they will also notice if every scene takes place in a blank void, that is sometimes said to look different. World building is more than the history, the languages, the peoples, and the maps. It is more fundamentally the setting. It is hard to write a story without a setting, and if your setting makes no sense then your readers will notice, at least to some extent. You don’t need to be Tolkien, you just need to establish the world/setting or else the people reading will be lost.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Most stories here on SH would benefit massively from having a minimum of 5-10 pages of world and character development/introduction before the inciting incident(s), and if it has multiple pov’s this will have to be repeated. Otherwise, like it does to some extent now, it will feel like most characters/worlds in most stories are unimportant, and different stories will feel like they use the same unresponsive/cliche characters/worlds just with different names in different plots.

The argument that then the pacing would be too slow, is moot and missing the point. You can have character and world interactions that are interesting. Of course a 10 page exposition dump is boring and a mistake, but that is not what I am saying. Take some time and show, through the interactions between the characters and the world that they inhabit, who and what those characters and the world is. And if you think that is too much of a risk tease some action in a prologue.

What are yours?

The "show dont tell" line is mostly bullshit used by pseudo-intellectuals who want to sound smart.

Theres a time to be descriptive and maybe flowery, but its a novel not a movie. Dont overly focus on trying to be deep and meaningful with every sentence.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

But they will also notice if every scene takes place in a blank void, that is sometimes said to look different. World building is more than the history, the languages, the peoples, and the maps. It is more fundamentally the setting. It is hard to write a story without a setting, and if your setting makes no sense then your readers will notice, at least to some extent. You don’t need to be Tolkien, you just need to establish the world/setting or else the people reading will be lost.

I am hyperbolizing. I am talking about intricate worlds mostly anyway. Hence I agree with Sailus that even a generic fantasy world is better. That’s why it’s a “hot” take. Take something I believe and make it more intense.

 

[ElijahRyne]

The "show dont tell" line is mostly bullshit used by pseudo-intellectuals who want to sound smart.

Theres a time to be descriptive and maybe flowery, but its a novel not a movie. Dont overly focus on trying to be deep and meaningful with every sentence.

Agreed, you want to save the effort for scenes that matter.

 

[Glitched]

In a web novel there is always a good chance an author will drop a story, so slogging through world building with potentially no payoff is dumb.

I think it's ok to world build but not make it a priority. So no slogging. But that doesn't mean it should be absent from the story.

In Eli's case, I think he means that stories are too rushed and we never understand stuff about the author's world to an extent that it becomes unique in our mind. At this point in time, there are so many stories that I just dub Tolkien themed when I see the exact same monsters or races. Same thing with isekai cliches like summoning circles and kingdom's plotting to use their summons. It becomes repetitive and boring if there's nothing to differentiate the beginning of story a vs story b aside from the long run goal. Some people are cool woth that, others may find it boring like I do. At some point(if you aren't looking for a chill read), I would think that most people would want something unique once you've read enough.

That being said, to each their own. Not every reader wants to read a slog of worldbuilding. I personally just put option blurbs at the end of every chapter.

 

[2wordsperminute]

Dont overly focus on trying to be deep and meaningful with every sentence.

Every line has a meaning, but often the meaning is literal.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Most people don’t care about world building.

Writing bigger, longer, or more elegant words doesn’t make you smarter. It doesn’t even make you look smarter either.

It aint about looking smart. Its about having style

Within reason at least.

I dont need a 7 syllable word for calling someone useless. Calling them a worthless cunt is enough

 

[ElijahRyne]

I am hyperbolizing. I am talking about intricate worlds mostly anyway. Hence I agree with Sailus that even a generic fantasy world is better. That’s why it’s a “hot” take. Take something I believe and make it more intense.

Generic worlds are fine as long as you flesh (flush?) them out. They might be boring, but that is fine as long as they feel real, at least to the characters.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

I think it's ok to world build but not make it a priority. So no slogging. But that doesn't mean it should be absent from the story.

In Eli's case, I think he means that stories are too rushed and we never understand stuff about the author's world to an extent that it becomes unique in our mind. At this point in time, there are so many stories that I just dub Tolkien themed when I see the exact same monsters or races. Same thing with isekai cliches like summoning circles and kingdom's plotting to use their summons. It becomes repetitive and boring if there's nothing to differentiate the beginning of story a vs story b aside from the long run goal. Some people are cool woth that, others may find it boring like I do. At some point(if you aren't looking for a chill read), I would think that most people would want something unique once you've read enough.

That being said, to each their own. Not every reader wants to read a slog of worldbuilding. I personally just put option blurbs at the end of every chapter.

I never said people shouldn’t worldbuild. If they are going to finish the story then go ham. But I am not gonna slog through a crazy in depth world unless the story is finished or I’m certain it will be

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Every line has a meaning, but often the meaning is literal.

Yep. Sometimes a red door is just a red door.

 

[Glitched]

I never said people shouldn’t worldbuild. If they are going to finish the story then go ham. But I am not gonna slog through a crazy in depth world unless the story is finished or I’m certain it will be

Prob just a me thing. I would never leave a story hanging for the sake of my readers. At the very least I'd give it a bad axe to solidify an ending.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

It aint about looking smart. Its about having style

Within reason at least.

I dont need a 7 syllable word for calling someone useless. Calling them a worthless cunt is enough

I am hyperbolizing.

If it can make it more concise I’d use big words but not rare words often.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

I never said people shouldn’t worldbuild. If they are going to finish the story then go ham. But I am not gonna slog through a crazy in depth world unless the story is finished or I’m certain it will be

There is also a "proper" way. I mean, Brandon Sanderson does a fantastic job of worldbuilding, but he doesnt always hold your hand and bog you down with info dumps. A lot of stuff relies on context, and any deeper lore is conveniently found at the back.