• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Writing-GAF: Writing, Publishing, Selling |OT|

I feel like I'm approaching editing...wrongly. Since I know I'll be batting at least four drafts of this book, I'm kinda just saving my action sequences for draft three. They all need work and after an hour here and there, I end my day going, "it can wait."

Draft two is supposed to suck, just slightly less than draft one :p
 
Would this be the correct place to advertise a creatvie writing blog or is that over-stepping the sites rules on self promotion? I'd welcome new readers/more feedback, would it better to just post the entry in the thread?

Sharing the link is, I believe, okay. You'll notice the OP in this thread includes links to some of the published works of some of the members. I wouldn't overdo it, but sharing the link should be fine.

If a mod disagrees please correct me.
 
Quick question, folks.

What keyboard are you using for writing? I've got a wireless Logitech that's starting to act flaky. It also doesn't have a number pad on the right, which kind of pisses me off. So I'm looking to upgrade.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
Wrote some more a few days ago, and ended my writing session feeling like "Damn. That is good stuff." Today, I'm writing and can't help but feel like everything I'm putting down is a huge pile of crap. Kind of funny how wildly that feeling swings from one extreme to the other.

Yep. This is so normal.

True quality comes in the planning phase and in revision. If you write a great chapter during the first draft, that's just a head start.
 
Quick question, folks.

What keyboard are you using for writing? I've got a wireless Logitech that's starting to act flaky. It also doesn't have a number pad on the right, which kind of pisses me off. So I'm looking to upgrade.
I'm using an old Compaq keyboard with big, fat keys that feel amazing to push.

I wouldn't want to write on anything else D:
 

zulux21

Member
Quick question, folks.

What keyboard are you using for writing? I've got a wireless Logitech that's starting to act flaky. It also doesn't have a number pad on the right, which kind of pisses me off. So I'm looking to upgrade.

I use what ever wired keyboard with volume control that comes in at my work lol.

I went wireless for a while, but due to gaming went back to wired as they are just more dependable.

nothing sucks more than when you are in the moment and suddenly your keyboard starts to die and you don't have replacement batteries so you have to charge some rechargeable ones :p

edit: not a huge milestone but at least I am finally past 10k words in 2017 for my story.
and after 2.5 books and 34 chapters.... my main character is finally going to meet the overarching villain for the first time lol.
 

mu cephei

Member
Quick question, folks.

What keyboard are you using for writing? I've got a wireless Logitech that's starting to act flaky. It also doesn't have a number pad on the right, which kind of pisses me off. So I'm looking to upgrade.

I have a Filco mechanical keyboard (browns). Wired.

I love it.

If you're going to be spending hours a day using it - which you seem to! with how much writing you get done - it might be worth investing in something you'll enjoy using.
 

Syncytia

Member
I've been way too busy for awhile now to write. But I have two new story concepts and one of which I've started writing. Which is just 1,000 words of the very beginning.

At least I'm writing and I feel I'm more into this one than any of my previous start ups. Reading the past couple pages about promoting makes me really want to get to that point. I mean, I'm not looking forward to that but just having something to even promote.
 
Are the books mentioned in the OP still the best examples of what gaffers are capable of or are there more (recent examples) I should be aware of?

I ask because - and I know it's crazy to say this - I want to try my hand at writing. Well, writing something more than just copy.
 

Dresden

Member
Quick question, folks.

What keyboard are you using for writing? I've got a wireless Logitech that's starting to act flaky. It also doesn't have a number pad on the right, which kind of pisses me off. So I'm looking to upgrade.

A mechanical kb with cherry blue keys at home.
 
Quick question, folks.

What keyboard are you using for writing? I've got a wireless Logitech that's starting to act flaky. It also doesn't have a number pad on the right, which kind of pisses me off. So I'm looking to upgrade.
I go back-and-forth between writing on my small Acer and my PC. The Acer keyboard is small and I make a lot of errors, but my PC has a black widow mechanical keyboard...typing on the mechanical keyboard gets really annoying really quickly.
 

JaseMath

Member
A few days ago, I was flying high as I got into my second draft. Tonight, I just can't do it. My muse took the night off. :(

Wrote some more a few days ago, and ended my writing session feeling like "Damn. That is good stuff." Today, I'm writing and can't help but feel like everything I'm putting down is a huge pile of crap. Kind of funny how wildly that feeling swings from one extreme to the other.

There it is.
 

Cowlick

Banned
So, um, what's the best way to deal with jealousy?

Know of at least a couple of people personally who have gotten books published recently, and the part of me that knows it's best to be supportive is weighed down by the part that says "they've done what you haven't".

It's hard to continue writing against that.
 
So, um, what's the best way to deal with jealousy?

Know of at least a couple of people personally who have gotten books published recently, and the part of me that knows it's best to be supportive is weighed down by the part that says "they've done what you haven't".

It's hard to continue writing against that.

Continue writing.
 

zulux21

Member
So, um, what's the best way to deal with jealousy?

Know of at least a couple of people personally who have gotten books published recently, and the part of me that knows it's best to be supportive is weighed down by the part that says "they've done what you haven't".

It's hard to continue writing against that.

keep trying?
instead of being jealous perhaps see if they are willing to share with you how they managed to get published?

or just do what I do. Focus on a project you know has basically no chance of getting actually published but is a story you want to tell, and ultimately just debate in the back of your mind whether you will just post it online at some point or if you will actually try to get it published even though there is no good market for it and ultimately it is going to be 10 plus books long.

speaking of which I made some good progress in book 3, though I am debating on which one of two routes I want to take right now so instead of writing I played games. really I need to get better at playing games during the day as there are too many games to play right now and if I don't focus my days off better I am going to have to put my writing on hold to game for a while as I don't want to ignore games like horizon and zelda.

as for my debate. I can't decide if I want to merely leave my main character and readers with a lot of questions about what the hell is going on and wait a chapter or two to have the character that is creating all these questions come back and reveal what is going on or if I want to just have that reveal right now.

on one hand waiting a bit would open up a chance for my main character to have interesting interactions with the other characters and allow me to turn the story into a mystery story for a little bit as he tries to piece it together. On the other hand I have another major story event I want to cover in this book that if I extend the stuff I am on right now to much could result in forcing me to split things up into another book (which isn't a big deal, but I don't think the other story event is big enough to be its own book, and the event after that should be its own book)

I mean I will likely do what I normally do in this situation... say screw it and write the longer idea first. It's always far easier to cut ideas that didn't work then add ideas that work later :p
 

sirap

Member
So, um, what's the best way to deal with jealousy?

Know of at least a couple of people personally who have gotten books published recently, and the part of me that knows it's best to be supportive is weighed down by the part that says "they've done what you haven't".

It's hard to continue writing against that.


Self publish. Problem solved!
 

zulux21

Member
man I always have to look up the stupidest stuff when writing that I should know.

OtL4bY0.png

but alas when you go to write it you blank on whether that is actually true of if the daughter of a princess is technically something else lol.
 
keep trying?

or just do what I do. Focus on a project you know has basically no chance of getting actually published but is a story you want to tell, and ultimately just debate in the back of your mind whether you will just post it online at some point or if you will actually try to get it published even though there is no good market for it
What I'm currently doing too. It's very freeing, honestly. My last book was urban fantasy YA which I know there are major markets for, and the publication ride ain't going well for it. It's depressing.

But the stupid toy one? No one will want to read that, so who gives a shit what fucked up nonsense goes in!
 

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Anyone here recommend a pro editing service? Need one to help me with some of my English language shortcomings. I just want a good book published with my name plastered over it :)
 
Time for a challenge update. This week is a good example of why getting a little ahead is a good thing. I came down with a humdinger of a sinus bug. Started blowing my nose on Tuesday afternoon and then just blitzkrieg city of sinus congestion and pressure overnight and into Wednesday. I slept until 1pm on Wednesday. Totally zonkered.

Then the fever lifted and since I've been on the mend, but trying to catch up at work so not completely focused on writing.

Add to that a bit of a hiccup in the timeline of my current journal (I had the same event somehow happening at two different points and on two different days).

So, last night I decided to plough through a full edit on it and I just wrapped that up now. Fixed the timing thing. Had to add about 600 words to make the adjustment, but in actuality those words were very important and helped provide further character depth.

It's all good again. Sitting at 18.8K words on the 17th, so still a smidge ahead, which is good seeing as how February only has 28 blasted days in it. Cover's done for the 2nd one though, so once this puppy is written it can go straight on up!


(I think I've sold two copies of the first journal entry, to two GAFfers. Thanks! I have used awesomegang and pretty-hot to advertise but I did the freebies. No hits. I'll do a cover reveal for the 2nd entry about a week before it releases and then I'll do some sort of discount or freebie on the 1st entry to try and hook people into the series. Perhaps most importantly is that I'm writing regularly and having a blast, which wasn't the case with the sequel to Ahvarra I'd been working on. As always, I have the wonderful H.Pro to thank for these annual challenges!!!)

Sooooo... how's everyone else is doing???
 

Soulfire

Member
I'm doing horrible with the challenge. Both kids have been sick and before that my son wasn't letting me get more than three hours of sleep. I've found that I just can't write on so little sleep. I'm so close to finishing the first novella and every now and then I'm able to open it up and write a few words. One day we'll get on a routine and when that happens I'll make sure writing is apart of it.
 
So, um, what's the best way to deal with jealousy?

Know of at least a couple of people personally who have gotten books published recently, and the part of me that knows it's best to be supportive is weighed down by the part that says "they've done what you haven't".

It's hard to continue writing against that.
Use their success as inspiration. Remind yourself that if they can do it, so can you. Then keep plowing along.

I'm doing horrible with the challenge. Both kids have been sick and before that my son wasn't letting me get more than three hours of sleep. I've found that I just can't write on so little sleep. I'm so close to finishing the first novella and every now and then I'm able to open it up and write a few words. One day we'll get on a routine and when that happens I'll make sure writing is apart of it.
That's tough. I'm lucky today. My wife is at work. My son stayed the night at a friend's house. I have the place all to myself, and I even woke up early. I immediately thought to myself "I can play games on the TV with the sound cranked" but quickly realized this means I can write without being bothered. Time to make some honey tea, relax, and just the hands go to work.
 
Use their success as inspiration. Remind yourself that if they can do it, so can you. Then keep plowing along.

That's tough. I'm lucky today. My wife is at work. My son stayed the night at a friend's house. I have the place all to myself, and I even woke up early. I immediately thought to myself "I can play games on the TV with the sound cranked" but quickly realized this means I can write without being bothered. Time to make some honey tea, relax, and just the hands go to work.

Yep. I always try to remind myself that there are plenty of "meh" or even "bad" authors out there, who've received poor critical reception, and have plenty of loathing non-fans, yet can make a living with their writing and do in fact have their own die-hard, appreciative audience. If they can do it, then pretty much anyone can succeed with enough hard work and dedication.
 
Are the books mentioned in the OP still the best examples of what gaffers are capable of or are there more (recent examples) I should be aware of?

I ask because - and I know it's crazy to say this - I want to try my hand at writing. Well, writing something more than just copy.

No other recommendations?

Anyone else want to point me to something they've written? Cause I'm buying a couple of your books boys and girls :p.
 

Syncytia

Member
I'm thinking this kind of doesn't matter much but it's slightly bothering me. I basically have a part that's going over a bit of relevant history....

Initially I used "20th century" a couple times, then I had "1920s" in there once. I've changed to "twentieth century" and I feel that's better but the "1920s" still bothers me. On the other hand "nineteen twenties" seems cumbersome.

I'm not too worried about it I suppose but I'm wondering what any of ya'll think/would do.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
I fiddled around with a map making program today and came up with this map for my world. Looks amateur and cluttered, but for a rough draft it's... alright, I guess.


At least it gives a concrete idea of what "The Continent" (the setting of the story) is like.

These rough sketches were all I had previously. The names of the Republic and the Sapphire Kingdom switched because

A) Mokanor/Mordor sounds too similar

B) Toran Republic is actually in a game already (Suikoden), lol.



I think I'm gonna sit down and draw a full on map labeling towns and everything. I also spent this last week writing a synopsis for all five books in the series. I'm going all in on this project.

Here's a description of the nations I cooked up:

Aerys - Located in the center of the continent. A land of verdant plains and prosperity. A technologically advanced nation that uses its unique heat ley lines to power its inventions. Its military is very powerful, and it is one of the most influential nations in the world. Cities of entertainment and pleasure are commonplace, and it is also known for possessing some of the most prestigious academies on the continent. Has a hierarchical society that values nobility over commoners, and, at its worst, suffers from classism and xenophobia. Its national symbol is the golden phoenix, signifying power and rebirth.

Toran - Located to the far north of the world, bordered to the south by the nation of Aerys, and to the north by The Bottomless Canyon, which no man has ever ventured beyond. A land of ice and snow, it knows daylight only once a year. Once known for its immaculate beauty and prosperity, it is now a land of decay and despair. The capital city, now known as The City of Death, was home to The Dragon King, whose ambition and greed threatened the rest of the world. It symbol is the white lion, signifying elegance, beauty, and pride.

Mokanor - A developed land located to the northwest of Aerys, its terrain rocky and mountainous. The nation shares a border with Toran at its northeastern edge, and Rhodea to its north. A land of opportunity, it is a nation that values its people, and it relies on magic technology more than any other nation. Known for its skyscrapers and dense, populated cities, the citizens of Mokanor possess a strong work ethic. Almost all native Mokanorian citizens have black hair, a trait not seen in any other country. Its national symbol is the two-toed raven, a symbol of wisdom, intelligence, and self sufficiency.

Caleria – A collection of islands ruled by a single monarch, located across the sea, to the east of Aerys. The smallest of the six great nations, Caleria is also the most isolated. Its society is rustic and old fashioned, with tribes and clans serving a large role in social conventions, and its architecture remains simple and even crude compared to the standards of other modern countries. Despite this, technology is pervasive throughout Calerian society: a perfect fusion of old and new. Calerians are known for their gentleness and strength. Its symbol is the dolphin and spear, representative of peace, ease of life, and physical prowess.

Rhodea - A theocracy located to the west of Toran and to the north of Mokanor. The Bottomless Canyon borders its northern edges. Once in possession of the most beautiful architecture in the world, its white and purple spires towering above the earth like pristine crystals. The Holy Capital of Vanis was home to the center of the Granar Church, a religion practiced throughout the nation and derived from Granar Mordis, one of the six who ended the Age of Oppression. Known for its crystal mines and unique weather, tourists often visited the nation to experience its glowing snow or harmless storms of light. While relatively isolationist, Rhodea did offer its aid to other nations at times, despite never becoming involved in their wars or disputes. Ten years ago, after the death of the Dragon King, The Sun King marched into the nation's borders, destroying it in a single night. Since then, none have dared to venture into the desolated nation, as none who have done so have returned. Rumors abound as to its current state, and most of its population is now dead. It symbol is the jeweled rod, representing obedience and piety.

Zant - The most powerful nation in the world. A very advanced empire, it is bordered to the north by the white desert, an inhospitable land that is nigh impossible to traverse without modern magical technology. Its architecture is extraordinarily well constructed and imposing, its dense pyramids and obelisks firmly rooted amidst its flat, square, and metallic buildings. Developed highways run throughout the nation, and its citizens almost all possess their own vehicle, a sign of the country's prosperity. Poverty and illiteracy are very uncommon in Zant. In times long past, the empire ruled the entire continent. After a long and bloody war, Zant was pushed back beyond the desert, and now maintains a strictly isolationist policy, not allowing foreigners within its walls. The citizens of Zant all possess dark skin that is accompanied by shocking white hair, and their features are strong and refined. Its symbol is the crowned obelisk, representative of dominance and authority. Before the empire's reign, the nation was encased in an impenetrable bubble of pure ley energy, cutting it off from the outside world for the entirety of The Dread Reign. It was only once this bubble subsided that the empire began its conquest of the rest of the continent.

Edit: I also found an agent willing to look at my work via connections to a family member who has had books published through them. Cross your fingers for me.
 

Woorloog

Banned
About fantasy maps: Please avoid the patchwork map problem.
Rivers, deserts, mountain ranges, tropical forests are typical issues.

Like, why is the White Desert where it is? Is it equatorial zone like Sahara (assuming it is a planet)? Or is there some other reason for the climate being what it is there? And a desert is unlikely to border "wet" regions (seas are an exception), most likely there is a savanna-like or other semi-dry area between a desert and other places (it is a gradient!).

Obviously, in a fantasy world climates can be odd and explained with "magic", but even then there should be some reason.
In my RPG group, the world is pretty nonsensical in many ways (eg more or less line-straight coastline for thousands of kilometers). Our GM acknowledges this and has reason: gods battled on the world, shattering entire continents and magical after-effects have made many things very weird at times (and thus very adventure-friendly).

This kind of information isn't likely to be relevant for a story, not directly, but i think that making at least some basic research and thinking about things makes for a better fantasy world, and perhaps this leads to details that make it appear more real, more believable, and deeper.
Consider: Climate inevitably affects humans and how they live, what they eat. This affects their culture, and culture affects how people act, what they do, why they do, etc. And these thing may be, probably should be, visible in the story proper.

This is basically bottom-up method of world-building. You start with fundamentals, and follow them logically. This leads to pretty natural-feeling end result, i think, and may even create seeds for the story or stories.
(The other way is top-down, you figure out story stuff and then think what is needed for that story to work. Most likely one combines both methods though, consider what story needs and then think about potential ways to get there.)
 

Jintor

Member
honestly my favourite method of world building is smashing continental plates together and seeing where that leads

as long as you remember the basic principles of mountain ranges, water flowing out to sea and generally from rivulets into a grand trunk, and rain shadows, you can generate surprisingly realistic-seeming worlds
 

Woorloog

Banned
honestly my favourite method of world building is smashing continental plates together and seeing where that leads

as long as you remember the basic principles of mountain ranges, water flowing out to sea and generally from rivulets into a grand trunk, and rain shadows, you can generate surprisingly realistic-seeming worlds

Yup. But some people don't manage even that. Like TV Tropes notes, Eragon's world maps have rivers that lead to nowhere, etc.

In any case, it is arguably more important to consider environment's effects on people, as that is probably visible in a story. And it can lead to various interesting cultural quirks, which in turn can be used for characters.
Like, someone hailing from a place where resources are scarce likely pays attention to all sorts of potentially useful stuff, keeps things in good repair, and recycles everything they can. An entire people doing this... What happens if you suddenly give them a lot of stuff? Makes for a good story-seed.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
About fantasy maps: Please avoid the patchwork map problem.
Rivers, deserts, mountain ranges, tropical forests are typical issues.

Like, why is the White Desert where it is? Is it equatorial zone like Sahara (assuming it is a planet)? Or is there some other reason for the climate being what it is there? And a desert is unlikely to border "wet" regions (seas are an exception), most likely there is a savanna-like or other semi-dry area between a desert and other places (it is a gradient!).

Obviously, in a fantasy world climates can be odd and explained with "magic", but even then there should be some reason.
In my RPG group, the world is pretty nonsensical in many ways (eg more or less line-straight coastline for thousands of kilometers). Our GM acknowledges this and has reason: gods battled on the world, shattering entire continents and magical after-effects have made many things very weird at times (and thus very adventure-friendly).

This kind of information isn't likely to be relevant for a story, not directly, but i think that making at least some basic research and thinking about things makes for a better fantasy world, and perhaps this leads to details that make it appear more real, more believable, and deeper.
Consider: Climate inevitably affects humans and how they live, what they eat. This affects their culture, and culture affects how people act, what they do, why they do, etc. And these thing may be, probably should be, visible in the story proper.

This is basically bottom-up method of world-building. You start with fundamentals, and follow them logically. This leads to pretty natural-feeling end result, i think, and may even create seeds for the story or stories.
(The other way is top-down, you figure out story stuff and then think what is needed for that story to work. Most likely one combines both methods though, consider what story needs and then think about potential ways to get there.)
In this case, there's definitely a reason for all of that.

On the desert:

While The Dawn Era knew prosperity uninterrupted for hundreds of years, trouble struck when the massive dome of energy concealing the ancient nation of Zant suddenly disappeared. Having escaped the entirety of The Dread Reign by somehow sealing themselves off from the rest of the world, Zant had two millennia's worth of advancement over the other nations of the continent. Using their advanced machinery to cross the shallow sea, the imperial nation quickly – and forcefully – subjugated the now peaceful citizens of the remainder of the continent. The Zantian imperials struck decisively and forcefully, and, unlike the other nations, seamlessly integrated machinery with their natural ability to channel magic. For nearly one hundred years, the continent remained under imperial rule, with only the northwestern nation of Rhodea retaining any sort of autonomy. The empire's industrial lifestyle did not sit well with the citizens of the continent, and it was not long before the annexed nations rose up against them. The reigning monarch of The Sapphire Kingdom of Toran, Koranar Kas, conspired with the King of the Ruby Kingdom of Aerys, Joras Lordal, in order to drive the empire back across the sea. The two kingdoms invited the emperor to a lavish banquet, and bequeathed upon him one of the six great ancient treasures, The Orb of Power, Golganar. The Emperor, pleased at their show of supposed allegiance, graciously accepted the gift, and brought it with him back to the empire's homeland in the south. Little did the emperor know, however, that the engineers of Toran had picked up much from their Zantian overlords in the past century. The Orb had been rigged with a massive magical explosive, and the emperor and his entourage were obliterated en route back to the imperial capital. The Shallow Sea instantly dried up, and became an inhospitable desert rife with negative magical energy, a ground zero where none dared to tread. The bulk of the imperial forces were sequestered beyond the newly created wasteland, and the occupational imperial forces that remained on the rest of the continent were slowly quelled. The orb itself, however, mysteriously made its way back to the imperial capital after the incident, and the ill-intentioned gift became the property of the empire.

On unnatural climates:

Over 4,000 years of channeling the earth's ley lines has had a profound effect on the environment, leaving several regions of the world locked to specific patterns of reoccurring weather, or, in extreme cases, reoccurring seasons entirely. Microclimates on the continent are typically sorted into two categories: natural and irregular. Natural microclimates – while somewhat of an oxymoron, as none of them are by any means natural – encompass areas that experience otherwise normal weather or seasonal patterns in an irregular fashion. Rockmoore, while known as The City of Rain, pales in comparison to Maelim, a coastal city in the west of the republic that experiences near constant bouts of torrential rain and dangerous squalls. Zant's High Pyramid Province knows an eternal autumn, its crisp fall winds and bright red trees contrasting greatly with the naturally arid and sandy lands of its surroundings. Irregular microclimates are completely new forms of weather patterns brought on through the extended use of magic. The light storms of Rhodea are the most famous example; harmless rays of light burst forth from the sky and batter upon the ground below as if they were shards of a gigantic, well-polished mirror. Other, more dangerous forms of these irregular climates exist, such as The Ice Spires of Toran, pillars of frozen earth that jut up from the skin of the planet like the spines on a dragon's back, structures that sap the energy of the air around them and freeze any who enter their vicinity unprepared. The most extreme example would be The White Desert, which maintains searing hot temperatures and slightly toxic air year round. Microclimates have existed since early on in The Dread Reign, although the more dangerous and harmful variants only began to exist at the dawn of The Technological Revolution.

These are taken from these Encyclopedia style info dumps between chapters, like the loading screen of a game. I went back and added them all after I wrote the story proper because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff, haha. Of course it's all mentioned to some extent in the main narrative, but not in nearly this much detail.

They're also lacking the context of the rest of the story so they might come off as confusing.

But I do get what you're saying.
 
I only have a very rough map I made years ago, but I don't think that I've really made any mistakes in regards to the geography... but it helps that most of my book takes place in urban areas.
 
These are taken from these Encyclopedia style info dumps between chapters, like the loading screen of a game. I went back and added them all after I wrote the story proper because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff, haha. Of course it's all mentioned to some extent in the main narrative, but not in nearly this much detail.
Not gonna lie, this made me wince super hard. Books don't have loading screens, so to mimic that by dropping huge chunks of exposition feels wrong. I go out of my way to make sure I'm not dropping huge chunks of exposition!

Edit: On the subject of maps, I had to make a pretty extensive one for my video game, in part because it's the overworld ala Final Fantasy Tactics. I drew out a somewhat-strange plot of land and hit some geography Wiki pages to figure out where the big places should be. Since it's an RPG I knew we'd have an ice area, a desert, some mountains, a jungle, and a volcano. An RPG without those places would be strange!

Once I had them planned out, I researched what kinds of things grew in those places, from organic stuff like animals and plants to inorganic stuff like minerals. This turned into a chart of exporting/importing so I could figure out which areas hated each other and which ones went to war in the past. It also let me figure out which places prospered and which didn't. The cities were built around that.

Then the characters went in last. I had places for them to grow up, and that shaped how they felt and acted with others.

It was a lot of work, but a solid way to do things, I think.

For Toyland, the world is a toy store so basically I took a piece of paper and drew out where the big tables with shit on them were and kinda filled in the rest as I went. Was a lot easier >_>
 

Sibylus

Banned
Dry encyclopedic excerpts bookending every single chapter sound like the worst thing to trudge through in a book. Very few readers will enjoy reading it, period, despite the world-building process being fun for the author. It's borderline trying to stockholm syndrome one's readers by bombarding them with gratuitous information. Appendicize or cut altogether.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Man, I guess I'm in the minority when I say I love reading lore dumps (although they don't belong in the story itself). I put them in because I'd always wanted that sort of thing in a book. Dry is the last word I'd use to describe them. :/

Maybe I'll just shove it all to an appendix.

I can spend hours reading history texts or Wikipedia. We're in a shrinkingly small minority... and I feel our stories should aim for a more balanced approach regardless. A scrupulously detailed, documented, and researched world is all the glory of a dead husk without characters, struggles, and themes people can connect with.
Well, I agree there. All these dumps were added after I had already finished the story. They're not necessary, but knowing the info will greatly enhance the main narrative. Sort of like how reading The Silmarillion makes The Lord of the Rings a much richer experience.
 

Sibylus

Banned
Man, I guess I'm in the minority when I say I love reading info dumps. I put them in because I'd always wanted that sort of thing in a book. Dry is the last word I'd use to describe them. :/

Maybe I'll just shove it all to an appendix.

I can spend hours reading history texts or Wikipedia. We're in a shrinkingly small minority... and I feel our stories should aim for a more balanced approach regardless. A scrupulously detailed, documented, and researched world is all the glory of a dead husk without characters, struggles, and themes people can connect with.
 
Well, I agree there. All these dumps were added after I had already finished the story. They're not necessary, but knowing the info will greatly enhance the main narrative. Sort of like how reading The Silmarillion makes The Lord of the Rings a much richer experience.
If they aren't necessary, you should cut them.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
I spent 6 months writing them... :(

Oh well.
 
They're good reference material. Lots of authors have mountains of it.
Yup! Especially if you end up going back and doing a sequel.

As someone who doesn't write all that much reference material, it's a problem that I don't. I'm just too fucking lazy to do it ahead of time so then I struggle with editing and continuity errors >_>
 
I've started including reading as part of my daily writing routine. I've been so out of the loop from writing screenplays that I still feel rusty while working on my novel. I decided the best way to get the rust off is to not only write daily, but to also pick up a book and read a lot more. I think I need to triple-up and find a good writing podcast. I'd like one that focused heavily on sentence structure, word choice, putting together a paragraph. The ones I've come across talk too much about character, plot, and elements like that.
 
Man, I guess I'm in the minority when I say I love reading lore dumps (although they don't belong in the story itself). I put them in because I'd always wanted that sort of thing in a book. Dry is the last word I'd use to describe them. :/

Maybe I'll just shove it all to an appendix.


Well, I agree there. All these dumps were added after I had already finished the story. They're not necessary, but knowing the info will greatly enhance the main narrative. Sort of like how reading The Silmarillion makes The Lord of the Rings a much richer experience.

I think there is a line to be drawn though. For example reading the Silmarillion might make TLOTR a richer experience. But reading Unfinished Tales might make you never read another book ever again.
 

JaseMath

Member
In this case, there's definitely a reason for all of that.
These are taken from these Encyclopedia style info dumps between chapters, like the loading screen of a game. I went back and added them all after I wrote the story proper because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff, haha. Of course it's all mentioned to some extent in the main narrative, but not in nearly this much detail.

They're also lacking the context of the rest of the story so they might come off as confusing.

But I do get what you're saying.

So much of that can (and should) be cut. Understand that with the exception of some very rare cases (i.e. Dune, LotR, etc.), your reader isn't going care about the universe you've created enough for you to warrant that kind of granular detail. If you do think that kind of extraneous information is necessary, you need to find a better way to introduce it that doesn't come at a cost to your pacing and overall narrative.

My advice would be to piece it out and introduce what's needed when it's needed rather than showing your hand all at once because—I'm not gonna lie—my attention waned immediately. They're not poorly written or anything, and obviously we're reading this out of context, but it's just too much.
 

zulux21

Member
not amazing but I am at least at over 700 words per day on average in feb.
hoping I can get up to 1k words per day on average but at the very least it is a huge step up from my 91 words per day on average in jan.

on the plus side things are going pretty well now. I finally have a solid idea of where the middle part of the book is going and what I need to set up for the end of the book as well as future plot points.

on the minus side tomorrow night is really the only time I have left this week to write. the rest of the week is dedicated to work and family :(
 

Soulfire

Member
Well Friday after posting in this thread I finished writing the first novella. I didn't work on anything over the weekend, but today I've begun editing and started the document for the second book. I'm hoping to get 400 words written a day and edit 4 chapters a day too. We'll see if I can. I've got two doctor's appointments this week so probably not.
 
Well Friday after posting in this thread I finished writing the first novella. I didn't work on anything over the weekend, but today I've begun editing and started the document for the second book. I'm hoping to get 400 words written a day and edit 4 chapters a day too. We'll see if I can. I've got two doctor's appointments this week so probably not.

Congrats!!!! Woooooo!!!!
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Thanks for the honest input everyone. I suppose I've been in academia too long.

Well Friday after posting in this thread I finished writing the first novella. I didn't work on anything over the weekend, but today I've begun editing and started the document for the second book. I'm hoping to get 400 words written a day and edit 4 chapters a day too. We'll see if I can. I've got two doctor's appointments this week so probably not.
Congrats!!
 

zulux21

Member
ugh... I hate when things are going along well and then you hit a wall.

at least while it's a wall where I am unsure what i am doing, it's not because I am just not sure, but because I have to many ideas that I want to do. I actively know that using them all is going to be overkill, as while I enjoy setting up big reveals I am not writing a war story so I can't have so many bombs being dropped in such a short time :p

that being said, I can't figure out the best route for now, thus like usual I am just going to go with them all and figure out which turn out the best later.

at least I got 800 words today which is something. I'm unable to seriously write for the next week, so I will spend that time organizing the thoughts I have and trying to make all the bombs work decently for now. I mean I could just extend what is going on now and make all the big events I want to do the rest of the book, but most of them are book central plot bombs and not overall plot bombs.

I also need to find more time to reread my stuff. I need to make sure certain scenes are the way I remember them as I have way to many little details that are important that i need to make sure are correct. Especially since I am still leaning towards eventually self publishing this as a weekly or monthly release of chapters somewhere I want to make sure to leave plenty of things for anyone following it to guess at what the future will bring like people did when Gravity Falls was airing.

anyways... how does everyone else go about setting up future plot points? Particularly keeping track of stuff like comments that in context seem to fit properly, but after you see future events become more clear that they were foreshadowing something else.

simple example.
Character says "I would die if I met him." in regards to being excited to meet someone.
later when they meet that character that character kills them shortly after meeting them, thus making the statement true.

I am sure there is an actual term for what I am talking about and it isn't just foreshadowing, but I haven't a clue what it is lol.

anyways I am rambling which means I am tired, so I will respond when I wake up :p
 

FlowersisBritish

fleurs n'est pas britannique
Once... I wrote in present tense once and now I'm fucking up my tenses left and right. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeez, experimentation isn't worth this.
 
Top Bottom