WritersEra |OT| Publish before you die, writing writer writes

[Shoeless]

I have dozens of bits and pieces of different things I've written up over the years saved up. my own laziness and trepidation are hindering me. I just can't seem to get motivated to sit down and just try to write for an extended period of time. ugh

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Short stories are definitely less intimidating in the beginning. And they're small, short and doable enough that you can try lots of different things.

But also keep in mind, if you're just starting out, it's like learning to play the piano, or draw. Go easy on yourself and don't expect masterpieces right from the start. You're building up your experience and getting comfortable with the fundamentals.

 

[Book One]

Short stories are definitely less intimidating in the beginning. And they're small, short and doable enough that you can try lots of different things.

But also keep in mind, if you're just starting out, it's like learning to play the piano, or draw. Go easy on yourself and don't expect masterpieces right from the start. You're building up your experience and getting comfortable with the fundamentals.

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thanks for that. maybe best to try and commit to something like that.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

In my continued journey of world-building, I've decided to start making a fantasy map. I found this video about how to do some interesting stuff in photoshop (I use Gimp myself) and figured I'd share.

 

[Hawkster]

The current story involves a series of chapters where the protagonist recounts some of her past events in first-person perspective

I'd heavily appreciate any tips on writing a story from a first-person perspective

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Another month another camp nano.

Pace is slightly off from May, but I'm slowly doing more and more each day, 3K yesterday., 8K total thus far.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

The current story involves a series of chapters where the protagonist recounts some of her past events in first-person perspective

I'd heavily appreciate any tips on writing a story from a first-person perspective

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There's not really much technically different from writing in third person. Just keep in mind by being in first person, it is by its nature a lot more intimate. It's good for emphasizing the character's emotional reactions, their thought processes, and own outlooks on events. Try and avoid simply just doing third-person narration but in first person.

One of my favorite first person stories is Escape from Spiderhead by George Saunders. It plays with its first-person style a lot and its just a really fantastic story. Some other great examples of that emotional intimacy and ability to really get inside the head of someone are The Tell-Tale Heart by Poe and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

 

[Shoeless]

The current story involves a series of chapters where the protagonist recounts some of her past events in first-person perspective

I'd heavily appreciate any tips on writing a story from a first-person perspective

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FlowersisBritish gave good advice. If you're making the choice to write in first-person, that means you're making the choice to be much more limited in your POV, in terms of what the narrator can know beyond personal awareness, but you're also choosing to allow the reader a much closer, more intimate view of that character. So you want to play to the strengths of first-person, which is all about the personal experience, exploring emotions and physical sensations with more intimacy. You can definitely play things more distant, even in first person POV, but then you rob yourself of one of the big, easy strengths of that narrative choice.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I started writing this book over a year ago, and I just finished a rough draft of my fantasy coming of age novel The Necromancer's Troupe. Feeling pretty good right now. This is probably the fifth full book I've written. BUT this is the first book I've written that has near nothing to do with NaNoWriMo and that was a big point of this. I have really bad stamina with longer works and I tend to just drop off of projects, especially my novels. Except for nano, but I've noticed when I write things during nano they take on a very specific structure, and I always end up limiting them to near that 50k. That's why with this book, I really wanted to write something outside of that one month time period. I wanted to see if I could write a book under a more casual schedule where it gets however many words it needed and however much time I needed to finish it.

And now a year later, it's done at 116553 words. I've learned so much over the course of writing this I'm half afraid I might forget some stuff. I think this might be the first book I really try and edit and get published. Which in and of itself is a scary proposition... But these are things I can think about a few months later when I try and read this book again and see what sticks out more: the droll of words when I was pushing through, or the moments I really did love writing. Really hoping its the latter.

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[Conkersbadfurday]

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Hey! You got yourself a nice brick there! Congrats dude!

I didn't realize you had finished so many other novels via Nano. You kept saying this was your first one, but here you are at number five. Ya bastard :P

As to forgetting things, I don't think you will. You will, however, learn that there are totally new ways to fuck up, get stuck, and otherwise become extremely frustrated. I'm not sure books are supposed to be easy to write :X

 

[Shoeless]

And now a year later, it's done at 116553 words. I've learned so much over the course of writing this I'm half afraid I might forget some stuff. I think this might be the first book I really try and edit and get published.

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Congrats! For an adult SFF novel, 116K is about the "sweet spot" in terms of size. Agents and editors only really get nervous when it starts going over 120K.

I wouldn't worry too much about forgetting useful writing techniques. The stuff you really like will embed, and stick with you. And anyway, every book is a different book, so applying one specific technique to every story isn't going to apply.

 

[Shoeless]

For people who are interested, my novel now has a one-shot comic book prequel, courtesy of my publishers, who also happen to put out Judge Dredd:

The Chimera Code - new comic book tie-in lands with Megazine #422 | 2000 AD

Everything’s for hire – even magic! The Judge Dredd Megazine has teamed up with Rebellion Publishing to present a brand new and exclusive tie-in comic book to the new SF novel – The Chimera Code! With art by Sygnin, the comic book ties into the debut novel by Wayne Santos and comes in a separate […]

2000ad.com

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I was chatting with DTL and he asked when does one graduate from being a new writer? I thought it would be a fun thing to ask the thread; what in your mind differentiates someone youre reading you're pretty sure is just starting out versus someone you suspect has been writing for awhile?

For people who are interested, my novel now has a one-shot comic book prequel, courtesy of my publishers, who also happen to put out Judge Dredd:

The Chimera Code - new comic book tie-in lands with Megazine #422 | 2000 AD

Everything’s for hire – even magic! The Judge Dredd Megazine has teamed up with Rebellion Publishing to present a brand new and exclusive tie-in comic book to the new SF novel – The Chimera Code! With art by Sygnin, the comic book ties into the debut novel by Wayne Santos and comes in a separate […]

2000ad.com

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I'm sorry..... Your book has gotten a prequel comic???? Holy shit thats amazing!!! Thats so cool!!!

 

[zulux21]

I was chatting with DTL and he asked when does one graduate from being a new writer? I thought it would be a fun thing to ask the thread; what in your mind differentiates someone youre reading you're pretty sure is just starting out versus someone you suspect has been writing for awhile?

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If the book is the final book of a trilogy I know they have been writing for a while. if it's the first then maybe not so much.

but alas I consider myself a perpetual new writer and have been working on my stories for way too long :P

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

I was chatting with DTL and he asked when does one graduate from being a new writer? I thought it would be a fun thing to ask the thread; what in your mind differentiates someone youre reading you're pretty sure is just starting out versus someone you suspect has been writing for awhile?

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I'm not entirely sure, honestly. I've been rereading some old old stuff--stuff I thought was AMAZING when I wrote it--and most of it's pretty rough in one area or another. Typically the prose. I've become much more lean in how I describe and approach things.

I think the switch was pretty gradual, but it also came from a stronger desire to edit edit edit edit edit edit! My first novel really forced me into some different habits because it was so damn big that I simply couldn't treat it like anything else I had ever written. And even then, when I went back to that in 2018, I wound up chopping like 4k more words out of it because it was overwritten in parts.

If the book is the final book of a trilogy I know they have been writing for a while. if it's the first then maybe not so much.

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That's honestly pretty accurate based on all the new writers I've met who want to write the next LOTR.

 

[Shoeless]

I'm sorry..... Your book has gotten a prequel comic???? Holy shit thats amazing!!! Thats so cool!!!

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Thanks! To be completely fair though, it is a bit of a cheat. My wife is an artist, and she took the short story the novel was based on and turned it into a comic years ago, just for fun. So when I mentioned this to the publishers, they asked to look at it, and since it was "free comic," and they had the print/distribution apparatus already in place, they decided, "Sure, why not?"

I was chatting with DTL and he asked when does one graduate from being a new writer? I thought it would be a fun thing to ask the thread; what in your mind differentiates someone youre reading you're pretty sure is just starting out versus someone you suspect has been writing for awhile?

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If we're talking beta reading, not actual published authors where you're trying to differentiate a debut from an Old Hand, then I would say the biggest indicator for me is that all the fundamentals are largely in place, and there are no components of the vehicle that are falling off.

No one is perfect, and seasoned writers will have weak spots too. But with experienced writers, even if the writing isn't to my personal taste or preferences, there will still be a "flow," to it. Grammar is sorted out, characterization is there, pacing has established itself, the voice is well defined, whether that's playing on the strengths of dialog, or lyrical description.

With someone who is still on the learning curve, the deficiencies may be more fundamental and visible. Basic grammar mistakes are a big red flag, but other stuff, like structure that's not all there yet, or a narrative voice that's still obviously "trying on different hats" from one chapter to the next, or even one paragraph to the next are signs this is a writer still figuring things out.

With an experienced writer, you may find things you feel can be improved. With a far less experienced writer, you may find things that are flat out broken and need to be fixed before you can move on to whether the story meets your personal sensibilities.

 

[aidan]

Time for my semi-annual update because I have some real news!

I've written previously about my two fiction projects, which are both in various stages of completion. You can read more about them on my blog, but here's the gist:

• The Rose and Honey Soul is a complete novel (~65K words) that fuses gothic fantasy, funguspunk, and post-apocalyptic SF into a weird epic fantasy pastiche. It's... an unusual book, and current in the hands of an editor at Tor.com Publishing.
• The Thousand Shattered Gods is my main fiction WIP right now. It's a full-length epic fantasy (est. 130k words) that takes a lot of inspiration from retro Japanese RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy, and also other favourites of mine like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm about 50K words into the first draft right now, though work on it slowed down a lot in 2020 due to *gestures wildly at the world* and...

I've been writing a lot of paid non-fiction covering Japanese RPGs and other geeky stuff. Here's a rundown of some of my bigger pieces since last year:

• How Japanese RPGs Inspired A New Generation Of Fantasy Authors (Kotaku)
• Why Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Remains One of the Best JRPGs Ever (EGM)
• Magic: The Gathering's digital history, from first build to end step (VentureBeat)

I've also started a new blog called Insert Cartridge that covers retro games, Japanese RPGs, and gaming as a parent. One of the big road blocks I've been running into while pitching freelance articles (especially during Covid-19, when freelance budgets are plummeting) is that I'd get a LOT of responses that said, "This is a cool idea, but we have staff writers for this sort of thing.) Fair enough. But I still want to write them, and think I can bring an interesting perspective to some of the topics. So Insert Cartridge is a home for my ideas and pitches that cover those more niche topics, or fall more on the side of personal anecdote and opinion, rather than researched and reported feature.

So far on Insert Cartridge, I've covered:

• How FF7 Remake weaponizes nostalgia
• Crazy JRPG fan theories
• The dearth of idyllic Lord of the Rings games

Working on all this non-fiction has obviously eaten into a lot of my time to work on my fiction, but placing them on sites like Kotaku, VentureBeat, etc. have opened a lot of doors lately that will benefit me and my work in a lot of ways, including my fiction, because...

I got an agent!



Quite quickly over the last week, I connected with Eric Smith of P.S. Literary Agency about a non-fiction book pitch I've been working on. He loved it, and, well... now he's my agent! I'm super excited to work with Eric, who I've known and admired for several years, as we have a lot of similar interests, and his experience representing both fiction and non-fiction authors means I can continue to work in both disciplines. Our first project will be to further develop my non-fiction pitch before we start pitching publishers to find a home, and I'll continue to draft The Thousand Shattered Gods in the meantime.

I've written a bit more about it on my blog. I'm obviously thrilled, and look forward to collaborating with Eric on a ton of different projects.

 

[Shoeless]

I got an agent!

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Congrats on getting Eric as your agent! He seems like a pretty good guy, and PS Literary itself has been a solid agency for years, so you'll be fine.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Time for my semi-annual update because I have some real news!

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Sorry if I sound like a jackass, but I thought you were farther along with The Thousand Shattered Gods? I feel like I remember you mentioned working on it a lot last year on twitter? Excited The Rose and Honey Soul is going to hopefully be somewhere I can read it. I always really dug your general description of it.

Also congrats on the agent! Super jealous!

 

[aidan]

Congrats on getting Eric as your agent! He seems like a pretty good guy, and PS Literary itself has been a solid agency for years, so you'll be fine.

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Thanks! I've admired Eric for a long time, so I'm tickled to get to work with him finally.

Sorry if I sound like a jackass, but I thought you were farther along with The Thousand Shattered Gods? I feel like I remember you mentioned working on it a lot last year on twitter? Excited The Rose and Honey Soul is going to hopefully be somewhere I can read it. I always really dug your general description of it.

Also congrats on the agent! Super jealous!

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No worries! I was rolling along nicely with the 1KSG manuscript until the pandemic, and then progress on it pretty much halted for a few months. As I mentioned, I've been working on a ton of non-fiction instead, including my book pitch. I also ended up rewriting the first 25k. So, lots of work happening, but it's a big, complex novel!

And, thanks! Looking forward to getting to share tR&HS whenever it finds a home. I stuck my nose back in the manuscript a couple of days ago and think it's a really cool book.

 

[Xagarath]

Time for my semi-annual update because I have some real news!

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Congratulations on the Agent! And the Tor novel - I'll have to keep an eye on it.

 

[aidan]

Congratulations on the Agent! And the Tor novel - I'll have to keep an eye on it.

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Thanks! And no guarantees on the book with Tor. I don't even know if the editor has read it, let alone shown interest. Fingers crossed!

 

[Deleted member 4532]

So I want my next story to have an Egyptian setting. Any good books I should read to prep myself?

 

[FlowersisBritish]

So I want my next story to have an Egyptian setting. Any good books I should read to prep myself?

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My roommate read Cleopatra a life by Stacy Schiff and from what she told me it was nuts!

 

[Deleted member 4532]

My roommate read Cleopatra a life by Stacy Schiff and from what she told me it was nuts!

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Cool! I'll check it out when I get some time later today.

 

[Kyougar]

I have to rant a little about Authors overstaying their welcome with writing out accents and dialects.
It is fine to mention that a character has an accent or dialect that is different from the MC and other people. It is ok to mention several times that said character is speaking in the accent or is difficult to understand.

What is not OK, is to write out every sentence that the character speaks in the accent. It is derogatory, it can come off as an implication that the character is less intelligent than other characters, it is racist when used repeatedly on a foreigner, etc.

Also: Having an accent is not a character trait! Most often, characters with heavy accents have the accent as the only characteristic that sets them apart from others. And Authors use this as a cheap way to characterize their cast.

What the most infuriating thing about this is: English is not a phonetic consistent language in the first place! Vowels and letters are spoken differently with no rules to govern the pronunciation except for remembering how it is pronounced in your local region. An Accent or dialect is just the different pronunciation of the same word. All the accents and dialects use the same words with the same letters and vowels when they write it out, the author doesn't need to invent a completely new language based on how a character pronounces a word. Mentioning a different accent usage should be the end of it.

 

[weemadarthur]

You forgot the part of the rant where it gets to be impossible to read.

 

[Coriander]

What is not OK, is to write out every sentence that the character speaks in the accent. It is derogatory, it can come off as an implication that the character is less intelligent than other characters, it is racist when used repeatedly on a foreigner, etc.

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I guess you told Toni Morrison.

All kinds of writers use dialect. I don't think it's okay to declare what's not okay.

 

[Kyougar]

You forgot the part of the rant where it gets to be impossible to read.

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Yeah, that's where it all boils down to. Especially as a non-native reader it is sometimes very difficult to understand it.
Or the complete butchering of any semblance of readability or structuring in what the author intends the character to say, where the words are completely unreadable with the letters provided.
Just recently read a novel where German characters spoke English with the infamous "th" to "z" switch. The author just exchanged every "th" letter with a "z" regardless of the actual sound a "th" would make in different words. And there were some words who had "z's" in them who didn't even had a "th" in it in the first place! Not only was it grating to read, it didn't make any sense phonetically on how a foreigner with rudimentary English skills would pronounce words. it made me question the English language skills of the author.

 

[zulux21]

Yeah, that's where it all boils down to. Especially as a non-native reader it is sometimes very difficult to understand it.
Or the complete butchering of any semblance of readability or structuring in what the author intends the character to say, where the words are completely unreadable with the letters provided.
Just recently read a novel where German characters spoke English with the infamous "th" to "z" switch. The author just exchanged every "th" letter with a "z" regardless of the actual sound a "th" would make in different words. And there were some words who had "z's" in them who didn't even had a "th" in it in the first place! Not only was it grating to read, it didn't make any sense phonetically on how a foreigner with rudimentary English skills would pronounce words. it made me question the English language skills of the author.

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yeah that's bad. Dragon quest 11 has an area that goes so crazy with stuff like that, that it made me had to look up a guide to how to do some of the area's quests because I couldn't figure out what they were asking (and I'm a native speaker). looking it up it was a ton of replacing th and h with z :P

Most I do is some shortening of words. "How ya doing?" or "What cha doing?" ect. and even that only comes out every once in a while as the main character I do that with only shortens words like that when she is overly excited. But those changes have nothing to do with a foreign language accent and is instead based on a regional accent.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

My novel for the quarter million word challenge is helping me get better at Write Now - Edit later once its done.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I have to rant a little about Authors overstaying their welcome with writing out accents and dialects.
It is fine to mention that a character has an accent or dialect that is different from the MC and other people. It is ok to mention several times that said character is speaking in the accent or is difficult to understand.

What is not OK, is to write out every sentence that the character speaks in the accent. It is derogatory, it can come off as an implication that the character is less intelligent than other characters, it is racist when used repeatedly on a foreigner, etc.

Also: Having an accent is not a character trait! Most often, characters with heavy accents have the accent as the only characteristic that sets them apart from others. And Authors use this as a cheap way to characterize their cast.

What the most infuriating thing about this is: English is not a phonetic consistent language in the first place! Vowels and letters are spoken differently with no rules to govern the pronunciation except for remembering how it is pronounced in your local region. An Accent or dialect is just the different pronunciation of the same word. All the accents and dialects use the same words with the same letters and vowels when they write it out, the author doesn't need to invent a completely new language based on how a character pronounces a word. Mentioning a different accent usage should be the end of it.

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This is definitely the place to write it. I remember one character in Wuthering Heights having the worst of this problem and everything he said being near impenetrable. I love victorian era prose for a lot of reasons, but god am I glad their overuse of phonetically spelled accents has died off. I personally don't mind some phonetic spellings (a sentence with like "ah Lady Marissa, g'morning!" is a bit more fun to me) but I always think of it like adding a spice to a meal. Its very easy to overspice and ruin your story with phonetic spellings.

All kinds of writers use dialect. I don't think it's okay to declare what's not okay.

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Dialects have been a point of debate for quite some time with the more modern understandings coming to an agreement that an overuse of them is pretty bad for a lot of different reasons. In the best case, a lot of readers get pulled out of the story because they're spending too much time trying to decipher what the character is saying. in the worst cases, (like Kyougar mentioned) it can come off as pretty racist/problematic depending on the character and situation. That's not to say you cant use dialects (no one can really stop you from doing anything) but it's still important to be aware of the conversation around them and why they make people (like potential readers) uncomfortable.

 

[Xagarath]

Most modern dialect-based writing I've read or can think of was based on regional accents, which is something that does require phonetic spelling - it creates an authentic effect you can't replicate just by mentioning the accent. It's often done by writers from that same region using their own accents as well.
If you want an older example, look at Stephenson's Kidnapped - the book would lose its identity and atmosphere if you stripped out all of the Scots patois and rewrote it in 'proper' English.
Obviously that doesn't apply in all cases.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Racing towards the camp nano july 2020 finish line

 

[Kyougar]

Most modern dialect-based writing I've read or can think of was based on regional accents, which is something that does require phonetic spelling - it creates an authentic effect you can't replicate just by mentioning the accent. It's often done by writers from that same region using their own accents as well.
If you want an older example, look at Stephenson's Kidnapped - the book would lose its identity and atmosphere if you stripped out all of the Scots patois and rewrote it in 'proper' English.
Obviously that doesn't apply in all cases.

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Disagree.
First of all, Scottish is "proper English" They use the same words when writing. Second, using non-existing spelling to characterize your setting and characters is cheaping out on trying to pull in your readers in the world you are creating or describing.
Third, just because a native writer does this, doesn't make it less controversial, problematic, or outright racist.

 

[Xagarath]

Disagree.
First of all, Scottish is "proper English" They use the same words when writing. Second, using non-existing spelling to characterize your setting and characters is cheaping out on trying to pull in your readers in the world you are creating or describing.
Third, just because a native writer does this, doesn't make it less controversial, problematic, or outright racist.

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Someone choosing to use spelling that better reflects how they believe their own dialect sounds might be harder for other people to read, but I'm finding it difficult to see how it's racist.
Surely claiming there's such a thing as 'proper English' - and insisting on what you believe to be correct spelling - risks excluding a whole range of cultures and traditions from writing about themselves?

 

[Kyougar]

Someone choosing to use spelling that better reflects how they believe their own dialect sounds might be harder for other people to read, but it's not racist by any definition of the word.
Surely claiming there's such a thing as 'proper English' - and insisting on what you believe to be correct spelling - risks excluding a whole range of cultures and traditions from writing about themselves?

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This can be quickly answered, when an author uses an Asian character and heavily plays into the accent-use like Mick Rooney's character on Breakfast at Tiffany's, do you consider this racist?

On "proper English" (the term you used first) The Scottish dialect is not a written language (I am no expert on the Scottish dialect though, so if there is an official Scottish dialect that has a different language dictionary, please educate me) The old Scottish LANGUAGE is a part of the Celtic Language and has nothing in common with English, there is also a minority in Scotland who speak Gaelic, which again is not part of the English language.

Just think about it: Are Scottish schoolbooks written in the phonetic sound of Scottish English or in Oxford/Standard English? (or whatever the English dictionary is called)
Writing a book completely in a Scottish dialect relies heavily on the stereotype of Scottish people and does not magically make the reader understand Scottish people and the land. That should be the task of the writer through his writing skills and not through the transformation of a dialect into a made-up language.

Another point: Reading a dialect is as difficult for the native dialect speaker as it is for the reader of a different dialect.
I can't stress it enough: A dialect is not a (written) Language!
When the sentence "Six fish cocktails and a pack of hot chicken wings." is written out as "sex fush cockies and sucks pack of hot weens." (example from a Novel I am currently reading, it is supposed to be a Kiwi dialect) even native dialect speakers will have problems deciphering that. Why? because they still write and read in Standard English and have to think twice what the alien words on display mean.

 

[Xagarath]

This can be quickly answered, when an author uses an Asian character and heavily plays into the accent-use like Mick Rooney's character on Breakfast at Tiffany's, do you consider this racist?

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I'm talking about people choosing to reflect the way they themselves speak, not people writing about stereotypes from outside their own culture. Surely you can see there's a difference?

 

[Kyougar]

I'm talking about people choosing to reflect the way they themselves speak, not people writing about stereotypes from outside their own culture. Surely you can see there's a difference?

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I would have to read that type of book to give an informed opinion. But if it is only written out Scottish dialect for a different UK or American Dialect than that it's still playing into stereotypes, regardless if the author is part of the group. The author is writing in a made-up Language on his own interpretation on how a word sounds to people of another Dialect. When Scottish authors or government-mandated writers write Novels, Textbooks, Manuals, etc. for the Scottish market they DON'T write it on how the Scottish dialect sounds to other English Dialects, they write it in Standard English.
If you want to describe to a non-Scottish audience the intricacies of the Scottish Dialect, then DESCRIBE it, use the International Phonetic Alphabet to make the reader aware of how a spoken word sounds. Don't use made-up written words. Or use another medium if that's easier.

Spoiler Alert: An author's made-up written Dialect Language will sound completely different in the multitude of different dialects! Because a Dialect is the interpretation of the written word/letter in the first place! So when an author writes out his interpretation of the Scottish Dialect it will sound completely different based on the own Dialect that the reader speaks. And it will most likely have nothing in common with how the Scottish Dialect sounds in real life.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

If you want to describe to a non-Scottish audience the intricacies of the Scottish Dialect, then DESCRIBE it, use the International Phonetic Alphabet to make the reader aware of how a spoken word sounds. Don't use made-up written words. Or use another medium if that's easier.

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Sorry I just need a bit of clarification because I'm confused. What do you mean made-up words? Whenever I see the problematic use of dialects, its because they're already written out phonetically. In fact most times I see any dialect it's in the phonetic which is the problem because it sounds out said racist accents and whatnot.

 

[Kyougar]

Sorry I just need a bit of clarification because I'm confused. What do you mean made-up words? Whenever I see the problematic use of dialects, its because they're already written out phonetically. In fact most times I see any dialect it's in the phonetic which is the problem because it sounds out said racist accents and whatnot.

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Most authors use non-existent words when writing out a dialect. Like "Fush" for "Fish" or "W(h)ut" for "What" etc. Because that is how they interpret the spoken word from another Dialect.
I don't find many novels who use the International phonetic language to write out dialects.

 

[Deleted member 6056]

Gonna lurk this for awhile. Try and get a foldup keyboard for my phone for when I'm at work to maybe get back into writing. I'm stuck at work so much and there's only so much art I can do with a phone. Maybe writing while here will workout better for my breaks.

 

[gazoinks]

Recently started writing again after several months and just found this thread soooo here I am. I've participated in NaNoWriMo a bunch but I'm primarily a shorter-form writer these days. Got a couple different short stories running and also am working towards completing a Twine game, which is more work than I anticipated lol.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Recently started writing again after several months and just found this thread soooo here I am. I've participated in NaNoWriMo a bunch but I'm primarily a shorter-form writer these days. Got a couple different short stories running and also am working towards completing a Twine game, which is more work than I anticipated lol.

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Welcome aboard. Since you're interested in short stories, you might want to check out the biweekly short story challenges we've got going on. Similarly, we've got a Nano thread for when November comes along.

 

[Deleted member 4532]

Recently started writing again after several months and just found this thread soooo here I am. I've participated in NaNoWriMo a bunch but I'm primarily a shorter-form writer these days. Got a couple different short stories running and also am working towards completing a Twine game, which is more work than I anticipated lol.

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Welcome!

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I've been doing some editing of old short stories I'm planning to do the whole magazine submission thing. As a result, I am once again gonna venture back to Critique Circle for a bit and see if that works out better for me this time...

Last time I tried it I got one particularly insulting critique where a guy completely rewrote my entire story to show me how its done, so hopefully that doesn't happen again. I will admit, I do like beta reading though, there is something fun about seeing WIP and having a helping hand to hopefully making them a little better.

 

[Comrade Grogu]

From a previous post of mine:

I'm trying to write a short story collection.

Where should I start?

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I'm doing this for the first time, mind you. Been brainstorming some ideas on Google Docs. Maybe I should also get a writing software as well?

 

[Deleted member 60185]

Oh wow did not know this thread exists.
I have been writing on and off on many different projects and do have a finished first draft of a novel (only took me like 9 years).
But editing this monstrosity is something I am still avoiding to this day.

 

[Hawkster]

I've been ruminating over whether I should rewrite my old stories considering their flaws and how far I went into writing

I know its good to keep the old work intact to see how far I went. But at the same time, It'd feel like a disservice to not give my old stories the rewrite they deserve?

What do you guys think?

 

[weemadarthur]

I've been doing some editing of old short stories I'm planning to do the whole magazine submission thing. As a result, I am once again gonna venture back to Critique Circle for a bit and see if that works out better for me this time...

Last time I tried it I got one particularly insulting critique where a guy completely rewrote my entire story to show me how its done, so hopefully that doesn't happen again. I will admit, I do like beta reading though, there is something fun about seeing WIP and having a helping hand to hopefully making them a little better.

Click to shrink...

Was all his advice bad?
I think your writing is nice so I doubt it needed that treatment, but even jerks can in theory be a source of good ideas.

Hawkster Rewriting is good exercise; what project are you working on right now, apart from that?

 

[Hawkster]

Was all his advice bad?
I think your writing is nice so I doubt it needed that treatment, but even jerks can in theory be a source of good ideas.

Hawkster Rewriting is good exercise; what project are you working on right now, apart from that?

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weemadarthur I'm writing a fifth short story related to my own setting.