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T

timetokill

Banned
I'm having trouble thinking of a way to write a "one-sentence summary" for my story. It's about a variety of non-necessarily-connected characters each trying to improve their lives by leaving a dying Earth, but they're blocked from doing so by various sociopolitical forces. I guess you could call that sentence something like a one-sentence summary but it doesn't seem to stick for me. I'm wondering if it means I should focus on one character more, or what.
 
L

Laughing Black

Banned
timetokill said:
I'm having trouble thinking of a way to write a "one-sentence summary" for my story. It's about a variety of non-necessarily-connected characters each trying to improve their lives by leaving a dying Earth, but they're blocked from doing so by various sociopolitical forces. I guess you could call that sentence something like a one-sentence summary but it doesn't seem to stick for me. I'm wondering if it means I should focus on one character more, or what.
Click to expand...

earth life: tldr.
 
B

Brashnir

Member
timetokill said:
I'm having trouble thinking of a way to write a "one-sentence summary" for my story. It's about a variety of non-necessarily-connected characters each trying to improve their lives by leaving a dying Earth, but they're blocked from doing so by various sociopolitical forces. I guess you could call that sentence something like a one-sentence summary but it doesn't seem to stick for me. I'm wondering if it means I should focus on one character more, or what.
Click to expand...

It sounds like the two connected themes are the politics and the exodus; I'd focus the on those. The sentence you have there isn't a bad start, really.

Is there a central (to the story) political organization that opposes them?
 
T

timetokill

Banned
Brashnir said:
It sounds like the two connected themes are the politics and the exodus; I'd focus the on those. The sentence you have there isn't a bad start, really.

Is there a central (to the story) political organization that opposes them?
Click to expand...

A quick summary:

Basically, Earth is in its twilight era for human life, due to whatever catastrophe. It's extremely hot, overpopulated, tides have risen, etc.

Previous Earth had sent teams to Mars to start colonizing, and now the wealthy and powerful are taking the last ships to Mars.

Generally, my story follows a variety of characters as they try and make their way to Mars and break free of the social order/establish a better society on Mars. Some make it; others have to figure out what to do with a bleak future.


It's probably not a bad idea to centralize the political opposition into a single "group" or political entity, to help narrow the plot down. That said, the scale is pretty huge right now. I'm trying to think if there's a more pressing/immediate situation that I can put everyone in, with a more tangible goal than "societal change."

I guess as I write this, I'm wondering if the story was broken into parts, if each part should have its own more immediate plot (i.e, Book 1's objective for everyone is "get off of earth"), and that way the overall social commentary can be a general, overarching theme as opposed to a strict goal.

Anyway as you guys can probably see I'm all over the place on this right now and I'm trying to avoid flailing :p
 
B

Brashnir

Member
timetokill said:
A quick summary:

Basically, Earth is in its twilight era for human life, due to whatever catastrophe. It's extremely hot, overpopulated, tides have risen, etc.

Previous Earth had sent teams to Mars to start colonizing, and now the wealthy and powerful are taking the last ships to Mars.

Generally, my story follows a variety of characters as they try and make their way to Mars and break free of the social order/establish a better society on Mars. Some make it; others have to figure out what to do with a bleak future.


It's probably not a bad idea to centralize the political opposition into a single "group" or political entity, to help narrow the plot down. That said, the scale is pretty huge right now. I'm trying to think if there's a more pressing/immediate situation that I can put everyone in, with a more tangible goal than "societal change."

I guess as I write this, I'm wondering if the story was broken into parts, if each part should have its own more immediate plot (i.e, Book 1's objective for everyone is "get off of earth"), and that way the overall social commentary can be a general, overarching theme as opposed to a strict goal.

Anyway as you guys can probably see I'm all over the place on this right now and I'm trying to avoid flailing :p
Click to expand...

I only asked if there was a central authority, as naming it in your one-sentence description could be helpful. I don't know if there's any storytelling reason to combine them if they're not already (though if that triggers your creative juices, by all means go for it).

Any story with big spread of characters is always going to be tough to distill into a sentence, but that doesn't make it a story not worth telling. Hell, the story I'm working on now is relatively tiny, and even it is difficult to put into a sentence without spoiling it, since the antagonist doesn't even exist for the first act of the story.
 
A

Ashes

Banned
timetokill said:
A quick summary:

Basically, Earth is in its twilight era for human life, due to whatever catastrophe. It's extremely hot, overpopulated, tides have risen, etc.

Previous Earth had sent teams to Mars to start colonizing, and now the wealthy and powerful are taking the last ships to Mars.

Generally, my story follows a variety of characters as they try and make their way to Mars and break free of the social order/establish a better society on Mars. Some make it; others have to figure out what to do with a bleak future.


It's probably not a bad idea to centralize the political opposition into a single "group" or political entity, to help narrow the plot down. That said, the scale is pretty huge right now. I'm trying to think if there's a more pressing/immediate situation that I can put everyone in, with a more tangible goal than "societal change."

I guess as I write this, I'm wondering if the story was broken into parts, if each part should have its own more immediate plot (i.e, Book 1's objective for everyone is "get off of earth"), and that way the overall social commentary can be a general, overarching theme as opposed to a strict goal.

Anyway as you guys can probably see I'm all over the place on this right now and I'm trying to avoid flailing :p
Click to expand...

A group of people try to populate Mars and face opposition.

But that feels like straw-manning your book. Maybe it is better to go the 'trying to answer a question' route.
 
T

Tim the Wiz

Banned
Ashes said:
A group of people try to populate Mars and face opposition.

But that feels like straw-manning your book. Maybe it is better to go the 'trying to answer a question' route.
Click to expand...

?

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy begins with the colonization of Mars by scientists and their conflict with the way corporations and governments want to shape this society over the span of decades.

I suppose he's been accused of being didactic, in the same way Orwell was, but I don't think that precludes narrative from working on an artistic level. For instance, I don't particularly see eye-to-eye with the ideas of Heinlein, but it doesn't stop his novels from being excellent science fiction; and the reason, say, Goodkind's novels are ridiculous isn't because his ideas are Rand-lite for fantasy kids--it's in the way those ideas are staged.
 
T

timetokill

Banned
Tim the Wiz said:
?

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy begins with the colonization of Mars by scientists and their conflict with the way corporations and governments want to shape this society over the span of decades.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention it, this trilogy is actually a big inspiration for me!
 
A

AngmarsKing701

Member
Elfforkusu said:
Hey writing GAF, do you know what time it is?

That's right, BILLBOARDING TIME!!!

Wrath of Flight is up in the kindle store!
zepAKNv.png



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS9FOQK/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's Fantasy! It's short! It's good! You should totally read it!
Click to expand...

Congrats!! Added to my wish list!
 
H

H.Protagonist

[-_-]/
Elfforkusu said:
Hey writing GAF, do you know what time it is?

That's right, BILLBOARDING TIME!!!

Wrath of Flight is up in the kindle store!
zepAKNv.png



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS9FOQK/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's Fantasy! It's short! It's good! You should totally read it!
Click to expand...

Congrats on getting it finished and up~

I've got Kindle Unlimited right now, so I had a look. I'm about 1/5 of the way through so far, and I like what I'm reading. It has a very clean, simple feel to it. It also flows very nicely and is an easily digestible story. If it wasn't almost 1 A.M., I'd just burn right through it tonight.

I like the setting, and you've done well to craft an atmosphere with writing that really compliments it. The village and people remind me of Alma Kinan from Suikoden 3 (in style of the area/what I think they would wear). The imagery of the the snow clover also particularly appeals to me because I'm so fond of silver and green. Just my personal taste, but it's a nice centerpiece to this story/world. It pleases me to imagine it gathered into glittering bunches. ^_^

I'll probably wrap it up quickly this week and see where it goes. I can't say I'm super hooked on what's happening story-wise (I'm not feeling any sense of urgency or real curiosity yet myself)(even the main character seems a bit blasé about it all at this point), but like I said, it's a pleasant read, so I'll keep going.

One thing I would recommend, though, is another sweep for typos if you can update the text (can you do that and swap out text with ebooks on Amazon...?). Nothing really glaring, but I've noticed a lot of direct address comma issues and some other small stuff.
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
theWB27 said:
Why am I not here more. Hello writing-Gaf. I love to write....but never read. I have no idea how to fix it.
Click to expand...

If you're serious about writing but don't like to read, you could always do it for research rather than pleasure. Find some books in genres you want to write and see how stuff is structured. Sentence flow, story beats, pacing, etc. Get an idea of a bunch of different styles, and who knows, you may even find something you like.

And hey, it's not like there aren't best selling authors that don't like to read.
 
E

Elfforkusu

Member
H.Protagonist said:
Congrats on getting it finished and up~

I've got Kindle Unlimited right now, so I had a look. I'm about 1/5 of the way through so far, and I like what I'm reading. It has a very clean, simple feel to it. It also flows very nicely and is an easily digestible story. If it wasn't almost 1 A.M., I'd just burn right through it tonight.

I like the setting, and you've done well to craft an atmosphere with writing that really compliments it. The village and people remind me of Alma Kinan from Suikoden 3 (in style of the area/what I think they would wear). The imagery of the the snow clover also particularly appeals to me because I'm so fond of silver and green. Just my personal taste, but it's a nice centerpiece to this story/world. It pleases me to imagine it gathered into glittering bunches. ^_^

I'll probably wrap it up quickly this week and see where it goes. I can't say I'm super hooked on what's happening story-wise (I'm not feeling any sense of urgency or real curiosity yet myself)(even the main character seems a bit blasé about it all at this point), but like I said, it's a pleasant read, so I'll keep going.

One thing I would recommend, though, is another sweep for typos if you can update the text (can you do that and swap out text with ebooks on Amazon...?). Nothing really glaring, but I've noticed a lot of direct address comma issues and some other small stuff.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Both for the well wishes and the feedback. I can indeed update the text -- and just did to correct some of the stuff you mentioned. Not sure if it propagates down to people's Kindles, I'd assume not. (meaning people would have to redownload the book to enjoy their 5 shiny new commas!)
 
C

Cowlick

Banned
Does anyone have any examples of famous works compared to their earlier drafts? The best I can find is Orwell's original manuscript of 1984, but the drafting process -- the stage I'm slogging through -- seems to be one largely hidden behind the cloak of a finished work. I'm just interested to see how the big names work to turn that first draft into a finished, polished novel.
 
T

The Artful Dodger

Member
I think the newest version of A Farewell to Arms has portions of some of the drafts Hemingway wrote before he finished. He also famously wrote 47 endings to the book, I have the copy at my folks...it's pretty cool to read his notes
 
V

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
Cowlick said:
Does anyone have any examples of famous works compared to their earlier drafts? The best I can find is Orwell's original manuscript of 1984, but the drafting process -- the stage I'm slogging through -- seems to be one largely hidden behind the cloak of a finished work. I'm just interested to see how the big names work to turn that first draft into a finished, polished novel.
Click to expand...

Not exactly a famous work, but Brandon Sanderson has one of his books available to download with a comparison between from his first draft to nearly the final version: http://brandonsanderson.com/books/warbreaker/warbreaker/warbreaker-rights-and-downloads/

Don't know of any other author who has done something like this so extensively, so even if you don't like him it might be worth taking a look at.
 
F

Freeza Under The Shower

Member
cosmicblizzard said:
And hey, it's not like there aren't best selling authors that don't like to read.
Click to expand...

your link says nothing to your claim though. I can imagine saying "I don't like to read fiction" myself, yet having little impact on my (academic) writing ability.

I also think it's really, really hard to have "no such ability" after writing multiple novels. People learn from experience, even if they don't go out of their way to practise (read) their technique. Not everyone has to be an expert.
 
D

Dresden

Member
Actually, the more I think about that "you can't write without reading" claim, the dumber it looks. But some people cling to it like some religious belief. It just isn't true, you see. I could just as easily tell you that you have to watch a lot of movies to be a good writer, because that's what worked for me.
Click to expand...

The assumption here being that she's a 'good writer.' Hue.
 
T

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Dresden said:
The assumption here being that she's a 'good writer.' Hue.
Click to expand...

To be fair, she isn't necessarily wrong. Writing is "practice." You can write and write and write and write... and improve over time. Provided, of course, that you have an editor/teacher (if in class) there to correct your mistakes and show you where your mistakes are.

The whole "want to be a good writer? read lots of books!" claim is dubious at best. If you have a plot idea and the words are coming, I seriously doubt reading Joyce, Dante, Twain, and others/et. al. classics or non-classics would do anything but improve your vocabulary/description.

Many writers don't read, in fact, usually because of time constraints and the fear of absorbing influences subconsciously, but they learn not to say so because of the illogical fury this seems to provoke in some readers and colleagues.
Click to expand...

I kinda doubt that. "Oh, I have this deadline in two months. BETTER NOT READ! *throws novel in the trash bin and takka-takka-takka!*" The claim of influences happening subconsciously is dubious at best as well. Everyone has some influences happening with them. There is rarely original ideas out in the world so claiming "CAN'T READ. ORIGINAL IDEAS WON'T COME" is kinda... stupid. You know? I dunno how to word that, but I'm sure you get where I'm coming from.

Ironically (NSFW language probably if your work doesn't like cursing or PG-15 sexual langauge): I was reading the converse opinion/advice ("Always Be Reading") by Chuck Wendig just today. (Which also brings up This and This <---Totally should be in the OP, BTW)
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
TheSeks said:
I kinda doubt that. "Oh, I have this deadline in two months. BETTER NOT READ! *throws novel in the trash bin and takka-takka-takka!*" The claim of influences happening subconsciously is dubious at best as well. Everyone has some influences happening with them. There is rarely original ideas out in the world so claiming "CAN'T READ. ORIGINAL IDEAS WON'T COME" is kinda... stupid. You know? I dunno how to word that, but I'm sure you get where I'm coming from.
Click to expand...

Not disagreeing with it being a dubious claim, but it's definitely something I've heard from authors in regards to not wanting to be influenced. For some it's the whole medium (which is a bit silly) and for some it's specific works/genres (like how Suzanne Collins' editor didn't want her reading Battle Royale).
 
V

Valhelm

contribute something
I'm working to turn my fantasy concept into a Crusader Kings 2 mod at the moment, and it's actually doing wonders for the development of my setting. Having to name every county, temple, and barony forces me to think of what would fit and how it would belong in the historical canon.
 
T

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
cosmicblizzard said:
Not disagreeing with it being a dubious claim, but it's definitely something I've heard from authors in regards to not wanting to be influenced. For some it's the whole medium (which is a bit silly) and for some it's specific works/genres (like how Suzanne Collins' editor didn't want her reading Battle Royale).
Click to expand...

The thing is, you'll always be influenced in some way. Your kid/significant other says something that sounds really good to you? You may not know it, but you may be writing that down in a story/piece two days from now and not realize it. It's the same with story ideas.

The Hunger Games basically takes post-apocalyptic tropes, puts them in North America and splashes... as you said... Battle Royale themes in with it. I seriously doubt there's an author out there that thought "hmmm... that's original tropes/ideas" for either of them. The idea has been done before. What you do with it is the original bit. Sitting here trying to avoid influences is a "fools errand" at best.

Of course, it's late and maybe I'm not getting my point across. But basically what I'm getting at is: Trying to avoid influences is "noble" but not really true. You'll be influenced in some way, somehow. It happens.
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
TheSeks said:
The thing is, you'll always be influenced in some way. Your kid/significant other says something that sounds really good to you? You may not know it, but you may be writing that down in a story/piece two days from now and not realize it. It's the same with story ideas.

The Hunger Games basically takes post-apocalyptic tropes, puts them in North America and splashes... as you said... Battle Royale themes in with it. I seriously doubt there's an author out there that thought "hmmm... that's original tropes/ideas" for either of them. The idea has been done before. What you do with it is the original bit. Sitting here trying to avoid influences is a "fools errand" at best.

Of course, it's late and maybe I'm not getting my point across. But basically what I'm getting at is: Trying to avoid influences is "noble" but not really true. You'll be influenced in some way, somehow. It happens.
Click to expand...

Again, I agree with everything you said. Was just giving some anecdotal evidence based on what I've heard from friends and a few interviews. Hell, what I'm working on now is influenced by a bunch of things (though only 1 of those is an actual novel). As I take influence from every medium, I'd pretty much have to give up on all forms of entertainment if I wanted to adopt that mindset.
 
A

Ashes

Banned
Lean on the shoulders of giants. Read short stories if novels are too taxing.

I too think anybody can be a writer. You can be a successful writer too.

If you write, you will know the joys literature can provide. Why miss out?

A life's unlived if you haven't read what will have been your favourite stories by the time you are gone.
 
S

show me your skeleton

Member
so coming up the 10,000 word milestone. it's all very sketchy right now but it seems like i should get ideas down and then create structure and solidity in the expansive editing stage. enjoying it all though!
 
J

Jintor

Member
even as I gear up for Nanowrimo (while holding down a full time job for the first time oh god what am I doing), I find myself having idle thoughts about writing some kind of visual novel...
 
H

H.Protagonist

[-_-]/
It's finally my time to billboard. \[-_-]/

It's been almost two years since I did NaNoWriMo, but the questionable fruits of that run are now cleaned up, complete, and have been launched into the market by people who seem to know what they're doing.

Dead Endings: A modern ghost story set in New York with murder, mystery, and hints of dark comedy.

EbJPbce.jpg


In the city that never sleeps, spirits are equally restless and vie for the attentions of those who can sense them. Cailen Delaney, grad student and long-suffering ghost magnet, would rather spend her break getting reacquainted with Mr. Merlot, but is instead dragged into the aftermath of a strange series of murders by Everett Jung - a fellow sensitive with an...usual ability. Armed with nothing but coffee and alcohol-fueled cynicism, Cailen reluctantly joins him on a search that seems to end in death at every turn.
Click to expand...

Characters:

gjsw7oTl.jpg


Art from the book:

pofb9If.jpg
tF0BJ61.jpg
AOdvVeT.jpg



The complete e-book (.pdf, .mobi, and .epub formats available) with all the illustrations and two bonus stories can now be purchased here: http://sparklermonthly.com/shop/ebooks/dead-endings-digital-edition/

It'll be up on Amazon as well in a bit, but straight from the pub's site is better, of course.

Dead Endings was rated 16+ due to violence, crude language, and sensitive topics by people who drink less than me.


Wahey~
 
H

H.Protagonist

[-_-]/
Sober said:
Congrats HP!
Click to expand...

Thank ya~

I can't believe how long it's been since that NaNoWriMo. This shit takes ages. *_* But totally worth it. I hope more people give it a go. At the very least it's satisfying, and sometimes it can go further. :D

At any rate, it's getting a nice response on twitter right now, but who knows if that'll equate to sales. Fingers crossed.
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
Congrats Hiro! You must be so damn happy to get something like that out there. Way ahead of a lot of the self-pubbed peasants like us I'd say :D.


In other news, just passed the 10,000 word mark for the third novel. I'm starting to get a bit worried. This is by far the most fucked up thing I've ever written and my first two books (and the six+ game scenario/screenplays before it) weren't exactly happy walks through the park. It was my plan from the beginning, but now that I'm actually getting to those parts, I'm starting to think people won't look at me too fondly after reading it provided it actually gets some visibility (and not just from a "he's a shitty writer" standpoint). Hell, my grandma already thinks I belong in a psyche ward after reading a few chapters of my first book, so I don't think I'll let her read this one. Still planning on staying the course, but even I'm wondering if I'll have trouble writing some of the horrible things I plan to do to these characters. Also hoping people don't see it as there for shock value, because that's definitely not my intention.


In other other news, looks like I got a Book Gorilla promotion for November. Hopefully it gets results.
 
H

H.Protagonist

[-_-]/
timetokill said:
Wow, congrats HPro :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! Would be really great to do this kind of thing full time. Know it's unlikely to catch on enough for that, but I will push and see where it can go. :D


cosmicblizzard said:
Congrats Hiro! You must be so damn happy to get something like that out there. Way ahead of a lot of the self-pubbed peasants like us I'd say :D.


In other news, just passed the 10,000 word mark for the third novel. I'm starting to get a bit worried. This is by far the most fucked up thing I've ever written and my first two books (and the six+ game scenario/screenplays before it) weren't exactly happy walks through the park. It was my plan from the beginning, but now that I'm actually getting to those parts, I'm starting to think people won't look at me too fondly after reading it provided it actually gets some visibility (and not just from a "he's a shitty writer" standpoint). Hell, my grandma already thinks I belong in a psyche ward after reading a few chapters of my first book, so I don't think I'll let her read this one. Still planning on staying the course, but even I'm wondering if I'll have trouble writing some of the horrible things I plan to do to these characters. Also hoping people don't see it as there for shock value, because that's definitely not my intention.


In other other news, looks like I got a Book Gorilla promotion for November. Hopefully it gets results.
Click to expand...

Cheers, cosmic! I'm super... satisfied? Haha. It's kind of hard to believe it's all done now after all the work this past year, so maybe it'll hit me when I've had time to just appreciate that it's there. I don't know if it'll go anywhere, pub or no, so I think we're all still in this boat together, and you've made such strides in your writing (3rd book already!) that I'm not sure I'll ever catch up.

I applaud your output and I wouldn't worry about taking things too far. As long as there's a purpose to it and not just say, torture porn, I doubt you'll get any weird looks. Except from maybe your grandmother... :p

Good luck with the Book Gorilla promotion! Let us know how it works out!


Delio said:
Congrats Hpro!
Click to expand...

Thanks, D~! Hoping for good results!

How's yours coming along?


Ashes said:
Congrats! Art work looks pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Thanks, man. I got to pick between two artists when they signed me and boooooy am I glad I got Irene. She's amazing, seriously. Her style is really unique and she lets me drop in little details if I ask.

VJ9Wi50.jpg


A little nod to nerdery and the working title of my NaNoWriMo attempt ("Grim," if you remember) where it all started. Love her.


The Artful Dodger said:
Amazing. Congrats!
Click to expand...

Thank ya~

May the book gods be generous and send an audience my way. :D
 
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