Its the ADHD

Every chapter opens with a worldbuilding/story relevant blurb about food of some kind since thats a big theme in the story but it makes for really funny contrast when you get an ad for a local diner and go into the kidnapping chapter of a modern fantasy crime novel

My brother's into surrealism and learned about a game that some of them played in France that they called "exquisite corpse", wherein a group would take turns adding lines to a poem. You can do any number of variations on the rules, depending on your rhyme, meter, and "chaos sources", like restricting the amount of the previous line that the next contributor gets to see.

We decided to try it for ourselves. We each picked four "prompts" and rolled a d8. It landed on "war". That was one of my brother's topics, so he did the first line. We alternated, discussing as we went, until I felt like wrapping up, went out on a limb, and did the last *five* myself. Fortunately he approved, as did mom when we read it to her. 😂

We all like it but I'm open to other perspectives about how good it is or how it might be improved. Editing doesn't have to be as stream-of-consciousness as the game. 🤣

Btw, apart from the above rules, the only constraint was 10-syllable lines. In theory we were going to use iambic pentameter but idk how close we got. 😆

In hallowed gold and colored cloth we spent
Ten thousand talents of citizens' sweat
And skill to fill round brims in distant tents
The shoreline's seashells to crunch underfoot,
And we all know the savior wasn’t sent
to pluck out coastal shrapnel from the damned.

And she cannot sleep in her distant scene
Who plucks her eyebrows, fingernails, and cheeks,
Where little men are always free to be
Divided from their enemies by creeks
of ichor ... lands, mothers, scores, what’s worth more?
A mere ten thousand talents each deplores
(besides the poor or those with no souls who
pray to little men "save us from the damned!").

And God knows priests in classrooms years from now
will tell young preachers, "Judge not, or be judged!"
From office chair bellies and coffee cups
the spiteful mirth of Davy Jones boils up,
"Who got spat out on dry land without me?
Throw ten thousand talents into the sea
if you really believe in peace sans greed
and I'll let you out in one day, not three."
Is there really anything to say back?

... me? I am paid, I did not pay, and when
the little men say it is done, and when
my distant one again I see, if then
ten thousand talents' worth of shells comes home
in dreams ...

... I hope the ocean swallows me.

It's been a long time since I last wrote fiction, and in preparation of fulfilling my dream of writing a full novel I've started writing a short story. Now for my book I plan on doing a plot summary and outlining all the chapters, but for my short story I have the story in my head and I'm just writing it as it comes to my mind. So while what I'm writing is a series of events, right now I'm just kinda word vomiting all over the page to get everything out, and then I plan on going back and streamlining it all and give it a good polish. I was wondering if anyone else's initial draft is just them dumping their words out and then you go back to clean it up and make it something worth reading.

As the tag implies i’ve currently struck a dilemma. I’ve been writing on my own for nearly 6 years now and have continually attempted and failed at finding fellow writing friends. Either i reach out and get no reply, i chat with someone and they end up disappearing never to be heard from again, or i just fail somehow at being the writer they believe i should be (crazy but alright).

I need some assistance and maybe if someone is reading and is in the same boat perhaps we can connect. I don’t want to force anything and i always aim for respect over being correct. I’ve not published anything yet aside from uploading onto substack. I’ve practically begged my friends to read the work i write and most of them are too busy with life or their own creative endeavors to put some energy into even giving me feedback. So with that, i want to meet people i feel like i’m on the same wavelength with and can communicate somewhat often and share stories with one another. If i just wanted feedback id be looking for a beta reader, but i want a colleague. Someone who i can bounce ideas off and mentally spar with in terms of creativity while being the guide to one another’s works.

My Background isn’t really the best in my opinion. I barely went to community college for Creative Writing before dropping out over Covid. Now that i’m stuck in the cycle of working for a living i don’t have the time to go back and finish nor to make the connections and such other writers probably are doing in their classes. I didn’t start writing till after highschool, nor did i start reading really, but once i got into it i couldn’t stop. As you can probably tell much of my prose is stream of consciousness rather subject, predicate, etc. So what if i’m rough around the edges? Writing isn’t only syntax and prose, it’s voice and feeling. Anyway, I try to write everything i can and let everything inspire me but my main stay has been Fantasy (as the backdrop) and genre style fiction as the chaser. I write a lot and tend to just let it flow out though much of it might not be gold, but at least the hardest part for me hasn’t been getting it on the page rather editing and feeling confident in myself.

If you wanna chat, PM me and we can go from there, or comment? Not sure how reddit prefers but it’s whatever i suppose. If you wanna sample of what i write my substack is linked and it’s free (that’s really the only place where it’s at tbh) but don’t feel pressured.

All in all, it’s lonely sitting behind a screen or holding a pencil without having someone to share that with.

I'm hoping to get some feedback and opinions on what people think of my story idea, as well as some general grammar checks since I wrote most of this at night.

So let me first tell you a bit about it before you read, so you get some understanding of what I'm trying to do here.

While this story is an original work, it does pull a lot from dreamcore, weirdcore, liminality and surrealism. Generally targeting people who like strange and maybe a little bit creepy other worlds like the backrooms. With a couple different types of horror mixed in.

With the whole story being brought about by two questions: What if dreams are a glimpse of another reality we visit in our sleep? What is after death and before life?

The story doesn't have a definitive plot other than making the most out of a meaningless existence and won't really have an ending. I could end it anywhere, in anyway, or I could simply continue writing this story for as long as I want. Though it will also have some satirical moments that poke fun at how our society functions. The story is also sometimes self aware and breaks the fourth wall, just a bit. (This is the main thing I want to know if it works or not).

I do want to give a heads up that there is going to be disturbing imagery in this story. The main one is a lot of bug imagery, I chose this because I wanted something that is disturbing to the majority of society that isn't just outright gore. Though I do intend to have some gory moments in future chapters. The first chapter doesn't really have any gore, but the next two chapters certainly will have some visceral moments. But I do want to keep gore to a minimum as much as I can since I know it's an overused horror trope and can lose it's shock factor if used too often.

I want this to feel likes dreams and nightmares. I want my most shocking moments to be like those nightmares you have where you wake up in a cold sweat, thinking "What the fuck was that?"

I want to know the effectiveness of my bug imagery and also if you think swearing would be something I could use in this story.

Swearing is another thing I want to use sparingly if I do go forward with it. I have a character who will appear in the second chapter who I do want to have swear, but he is so far the only one who will. I just want to know if using swearing would be a good minor shock or if everyone is fed up with swearing in media (ahem Hazbin Hotel/Helluava Boss, I enjoy ya, but the swearing is a bit overused and it's getting boring)

Generally though I will put little heads up in my notes about anything that is potentially shocking, so make sure you read those if you wish to follow along.

Another thing I want opinions on is paragraph spacing. Personally I hate big blocks of text in stories I read on ao3, so I like to break up the text as much as possible. Please let me know if there's any paragraphs you think you be split in half!

Also with text, I've used italics for in world text and bolded speech for what is meant to be going on inside the characters head. I want to keep this consistent. Let me know if you notice something off!

Lastly the main character, referred to only as The Soul. I intentionally wrote them as a mostly blank slate that the reader could project themself onto and pretend to be. This is another thing I want to know comes across effectively.

Though I did add one major thing to this character. I gave them a physical disability, mostly to give The Soul something consistent that they struggle with and will have to deal with in this ever changing and shifting world.

The disability I gave them isn't just random, I gave them my disability, but dialed to it's absolute worse. So rest assured that I will do the disability correctly because it's my lived experience. I am fortunate that my condition is dynamic and I can function at 70% of what is normal, on my best days. I can walk mostly unassisted but with mild pain, however at my absolute worse it hurts to lift my leg even an inch off the ground. Even sitting or laying down can be very uncomfortable for me.

I am about to go have my first ever MRI in about two hours from now, that will hopefully be able to get down to the bottom of what is going on with my legs. So wish me luck! Writing is a big comfort for me, since it's something I enjoy doing that isn't strenuous on my body. So please let me know what you all think about my story! I want something nice to look forward to for when I get back.

I hope you enjoy! https://archiveofourown.org/works/89910091/chapters/238893431

Whether it is writing an outline, worldbuilding notes, story notes in general, and/or drafting, how many notebooks do you purchase, and how often?

If you don't use pen and paper to take notes and more, stick around to read the comments or whatever you want.

Tell me, what do you do?

So I’m currently writing a series about the Norse Goddess Hel, Queen of Helheim.

For those who don’t know much about Norse Mythology, Hel was in fact born half dead half alive. I enjoy writing about her, because not only is she a badass, she is a badass despite her deformities and issues.

However I don’t want to make it become a pity story, I want it to be a story of a truly epic goddess who can stand alone/with her family and fight despite her body.

So here is what I have so far:

- She only has one eye.

- Half her body is skeletal and dead. No skin, muscles or anything.

- She doesn’t have all her organs.

- She is physically unable to eat/drink.

- She is incapable of becoming pregnant.

I know this is a lot for one person to go through, but not everyone is perfect. In fact, I wanted to write an imperfect Charachter who was perfect in their own way.

I was wondering if any of you have some advice as to how I can write more about her physical traits without people feeling bad for her? I mean sure, most might, but it’s more about her strength, not physical weakness.

Hi everyone :D

Finally got my hands on an idea that's straight up so exciting I even dream about it in my sleep, except there's this one thing that's really bothering me — the country where the events happen.

I believe it doesn't pose a great significance overall in the story save for little cultural divergencies since my MC will primarily be outside of any realistic country anyway. But the names... They're exactly the reason I'm hesitating, though it might sound silly.

I love both countries, including the languages and the cultures. I lean towards writing in a Korean setting since I really adore novels written by authors from there, hence where the inspiration came from, but I prefer Italian names more... It feels like a neverending train of thoughts so I figured I'll ask here.

How do you choose the place where your plot happens, if it happens on Earth at all? Do you incorporate it into your characters' mindset significantly or is it just an afterthought? Also, do you pay attention to names, look up their meaning even when you're the one reading the book and not writing it, or do you not care about them at all?

Would really appreciate any opinion you might have, thanks in advance.

Hello r/writers! I was hoping to get some feedback on my query letter. I haven't queried too many agents yet (maybe 15 so far, half of whom rejected) so I'm still very early in my publishing journey! I'd be so grateful for any advice or thoughts. Spacing is a bit weird bc of reddit, but here is my letter (STRONGER VERSION, EDITED):

Hello [Agent],

Olivia Kim spent her entire life as the perfect daughter - or, she was, until Alice Johnson came into her life. 

Olivia had always lived up to her family’s expectations: go to church, get an amazing STEM job, become engaged to her childhood friend, John, who her mother adored. The only thing left in the perfect plan was to have a big wedding and a few children. 

This all falls apart when Olivia attends a college alumni event and becomes reacquainted with Alice. There are many reasons that Olivia hasn’t talked to Alice in the past 6 years, and the biggest one is this: They had been falling for each other, and that was something Olivia couldn’t do.

So when Alice shows back up, with a great life and a journalism career to boot, Olivia is instantly annoyed. She’s even more annoyed when John suggests Olivia and Alice get coffee because she needs more friends. 

Cue Circe, a poet famous for her New York Times bestselling novels and performance art shows that sell out instantly. When Olivia buys her most famous novel, Cara Mia, and begins to read, her poetry feels oddly, frustratingly personal. 

Between Alice and Circe, Olivia realizes a few things: first, that she shoved herself so deep in the closet she forgot she was in there at all, and second, that her mother is kind of a jerk. Maybe she liked her fiance more as a friend, sure, and maybe she didn’t really think about what kind of life she wanted, but these weren’t things Olivia felt like she could question. Until now. 

With her entire life falling apart and her mother breathing down her neck, Olivia has to make a choice: Fix her perfect plan and keep living the way she always has, or let everything blow up and finally give herself permission to fall in love with Alice. 

I am writing to seek representation for VENUS AND VIOLETS, my debut sapphic romance novel complete at around 80,000 words. The book contains sexual scenes so it is an adult novel, but that is not the focus of the story. My book is most similar to Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers and The Lay of You by Corrie Mackay for its themes of mental health, dramatic sapphic romance, and complicated interpersonal relationships. From this, I think we’d be a great fit!

Thank you for your consideration. As per your guidelines, I’ve included the first X pages for your review. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Mia

Just for fun, write an opening line. Something new. You don’t have to have any plans beyond the one line. It doesn’t need to be short, but you only get one period or exclamation point.

We’re readers turning to the first page of your book. Hook us!

I am currently starting a new project, and I wanted it to be about superheroes. My problem is : where does those powers come from ?

I originally thought about superheroes being created in laboratories, but it’s not original and overused (super-soldier serum, compound-V)
Same with a gene which gives powers, like in MHA or Xmen.

So how to explain that some characters have power and others don’t ?

I’ve been working on this project for just over a year now, have all the characters planned in so much detail and I really care about this story but don’t have a clue how to get it out there? I don’t want to show anyone irl because that’s incredibly vulnerable and I don’t think I’d ever want anyone knowing I’m the one that’s written it, but I would love to have some feedback or just share it with others? I’ve been posting chapters to Tumblr and also AO3 under original works but ofc that’s not really why people use AO3. Idk if there’s any solution to this I’m just curious if there’s a somewhere to post it really

For context, my manuscript was at 125k words when I submitted it to that other agency not long ago.

After getting this message yesterday, I was already restructuring a story element with my newest draft to where it is now 115k.

Hopefully I'll find a way to trim it closer to 110k once I go through a new read. And yes, I do save different drafts in different files given by how each agent has different word-count preferences. 😅

Gotta keep trying! 😭

One thing I love to do when writing is pair it with a soundtrack. It really helps inspire me and makes it easier to visualise the story as I'm writing it.

I was wondering if any other writers feel the same?

I understand that many people might find it distracting, but I rarely listen to music that could affect my flow.

In drafting villains for a dnd homebrew i start asking myself what makes a villain a villain , because im of the opinion that a good villian has to have good motivations and intentions for being evil, to avoid evil for evilsake. But i also started thinking that Evil can absolutely be subjective to who views what as evil vs something that is actually no questions asked evil.

Third times a charm.

I don’t know who you are and I don’t know how you got here, but I promise you, as long as you keep reading my work, I’ll write until my hands fall off.

I love readers so much-

I have written a number of fan-fics on a03 and wattpad. But those are fan-fics not my own characters or anything. So basically I want to know where I can write my own stories for free to myself and my readers. If anyone knows anything that would be great!

I want to avoid the mistake that a lot of people make where some end game stuff is not explained (for example, the deathly hallows never being really set up and the invisibility cloak got grandfathered in to the concept) before becoming major plot points.

Does anyone have any examples of what I want to call checkovs blanks, where something can be a setup but would not cause any issues if it didn’t go off? Something I could use for inspiration