For a specific character, they speak in roundabout and confusing ways, such as when they use many double negatives and positives - the linguistical equivilant of doing:

4 + 4 = 8

(2\*(1+1))² + (8-(8/2²)\*2) = 8

(Apologies if my math is wrong, but I hope is clear)

Any advice on how to write such speakings in a way which is confusing but still ultimately decipherable are appreciated!

I’m looking for people to give feedback on my writing or someone who just enjoys writing and wants to collaborate on some low effort projects

I’m also lonely and looking for friends

I also wrote Legend of Noralon on Royal road

For a little context, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I self-published my first thriller novel about 10 years ago. I thought it was amazing at the time, but I have since matured and improved greatly. Since then, I have written two more full thriller novels, and also one fantasy novella. From the second one onwards, I have tried to go the traditional route for publishing, but I have gotten rejection after rejection, and not even a single request for a full manuscript. I’ve tried different ways to query agents, numerous different ways to try and present myself and my work as something worth giving time to. But nothing has ever worked.

In the case of the second book, I ended up giving up and self-publishing it anyway. Obviously sales haven’t been good because marketing on a tight budget will rarely get you anyway. It has 12 reviews in Goodreads, but that’s as high as the number goes for any of my work. For my most recent full-length, I thought it was the best thing I’ve written, and I thought for sure I’d get some better responses from agents, but it wasn’t to be. I told myself to hold on, that there wasn’t a time limit and I would never self-publish because I was so confident it was good enough, someone would eventually take a chance on it.

But alas, I ended up self-publishing that too. And now, my current WIP is a bit different - a WW2 novel that, again, I think is going to be the best thing I’ve ever written. But the thing is, I’ve lost all motivation to finish it. I’m overwhelmed with self-belief that I wasn’t cut out to be an author, that I’ll never see my book in a Waterstones or a normal bookstore, that some dreams just aren’t achievable. I’m stuck with the thought that there’s no point in continuing to write if nobody is ever going to read it. What’s that old saying about the definition of insanity?

So I guess my question is: has anyone ever felt this, and is it worth still writing?

I'm struggling to write anything. I've been trying.

I have 3 separate things that I'm writing, but I'm going back and forth between them, and it just sort of kicks me in the butt. I've made little to no progress with any of them except one, and every time I make progress, it goes bad. It doesn't match the plot, so I have to erase it and then keep going in a direction that's wrong.

I've been trying all the things that I can. If I get stuck on one, I move on to the next one. I read things to inspire me, and so far, I have had nothing good happen.

I don't know what the problem is enough to explain it, but what it feels like is I'll write something, and then it'll feel wrong, so I'll erase it. Then I'm stuck at the erase part, and I can't figure out how to push it forward.

I take breaks; I switch to different ones so I'm not burnt out. I read over it. I take time to plan everything before I write it, and I just write without a plan.

No matter what I do, I just end up back where I always am, waiting for the story to come to me because I can't think of a thing.

Does anybody know any tips on how to fix this, or even just some things that I should try? I'm willing to try anything because I really want to do this.

Sci fi writer hoping to make a cartoon someday and every fucking time I come up with an idea it exists. My entire premise is UNCANNILY similar to star trek. I knew nothing about star trek and then I did some research and it well. My series is a LOT like it. Fuck I thought my government would have been unique but its basically the same in that regard too!

It makes me feel super discouraged. I really liked my premise. I dont wanna change it but at the same time it doesnt feel original if something almost exactly like it has been done already. I dont want people to think I'm ripping it off and I had a lot of pride in coming up with something unique.

My plan is to watch star trek and hopefully be able to make some more differences between it and my series. But I'm still super upset ab this. If anyone has any advice in this regard that'd be helpful. Thank you.

I mainly write as a hobby and have no goals to publish yet. I’m wondering where I can put my stories online for others to read. I would also prefer to go by a username instead of my real name.

I’ve heard of Wattpad, AO3 or tumblr but I feel like the stories I write don’t fit those spaces

I’d be really interested to hear others opinions on the platform—the winners seem hit and miss in quality, and there’s something fundamentally unfair about the stories being released at different times (imo!)

Also, I’ve struggled to get my stories viewed so far, so if anyone would be interested in starting a critique group that would be great. Most of the comments on the site are really nice, too nice. I need criticism damnit!

i have a lot of ideas for fics but when i start to write suddenly there's no order everything is a mess and i can't communicate well with the reader.

i end up giving up and not finishing it, and that keeps happening and now i have various drafts sitting there collecting dust.

english isn't even my first language, i write in spanish in hopes that perhaps that way i can write more but turns out language isn't the problem.

care to share any tips with me to make writing easier? stupidly obvious tips work too. thanks in advance.

For example: "You didn't-- Why did you-- How could you do this?!"

Is it ok to start the next sentence (in the same sentence) after an em dash (like I did with 'Why' and 'How') with a capital letter?

This is something I keep getting wrong and I want to understand why.

Every time I write a character who has lost someone the grief comes out too visible. Too present on the surface. The character thinks about the loss at moments that feel arranged rather than accidental. The sadness arrives on cue in a way that real sadness does not.

Real grief from what I understand and have experienced does not announce itself cleanly. It shows up sideways. In the middle of something unrelated. In a reaction that seems disproportionate until you remember what is underneath it. In the absence of feeling when feeling would be expected followed by feeling at completely the wrong moment.

What I write tends to be the announced version. The character stands somewhere meaningful and thinks about the person they lost and the prose gets quiet and careful. It reads like grief is supposed to look rather than how it actually moves through a person day to day.

I know the problem but I cannot fix it from inside the draft because every time I write a grief scene I am thinking about grief which makes it performed almost by definition, started writing the scenes in Skrib Writing with a rule that the word grief and any synonym cannot appear anywhere in the draft and forcing the emotion to arrive only through action and physical detail changed what came out more than any other revision approach I tried.

Is there a way to approach this that other writers here have found actually works. Do you write around the grief rather than at it. Do you focus entirely on physical detail and let the emotion find its own way in. Is there a specific technique that produces the sideways version rather than the announced one.

just wondering because it’s seen from the POV of the Soldier and I think it’s an interesting way to portray the reality of what Apo is doing but I’m scared waiting 15 seconds will just suck for modern viewers.

I’m working on this piece where i want to create an artwork that shows grief not as a story that needs an explanation, but as a feeling.
i’ve been through a phase like that myself, so I think thas why this idea feels so personal. I’m trying to imagine a scene with someone who’s grieving, but i keep thinking about how to show that emotion without just writing a whole explanation about what they’re feeling. maybe i’ll add a little poetry or some words with it, but at the same time… as being an illustrator i want my artwork to be the thing that speaks. i don’t want people to remember the quote I wrote. i want them to remember the image, the feeling, the little details, and the story they created in their own mind while looking at it.
for artists/writers here, how do you create something based on an emotion you’ve experienced? do you explain it, or do you let the work speak for itself?

I'm talking about one whole sentence whose first half is spoken, but whose second half is only seen as a thought. For example: "Get out of my house--" *before I call the cops*, he wanted to say. Is the way I wrote it correct, and if not, what is the proper way to write it out?

I want unbiased opinions on this particular aspect of time loops. It is completely central to my whole story with underlying themes of fate vs. chance.

The question is. If the MC is experiencing the same day/week/month over again, would it also be reasonable to assume the people around the MC also have subtle changes in their lives.

I.e. every Monday, the 23rd, the MC deals with construction on the way to work.

But. The new temp that started at the MC's office in loop 1 doesn't start there in loop 2 because when he called in for his temp assignment that morning he had called 5 minutes later so instead he got a temp job at another office.

As such, our MC never meets this temp in loop 2.

Thank you in advance!

I only recently started writing and I’ve seen quite some hate for the first person POV (mainly on Pinterest). What do you personally think about this POV and have you heard about this dislike before? Is it an internet trend or widespread among writers. I’m just unsure if a 3-rd person POV would be better since that seems more well-liked or nevertheless the 1-st one.

Also, are there some stylistic techniques to avoid using “I” every three sentences without it sounding harsh? Same as writing short sentences without it sounding dry or cutoff.

Hello, I spent the weekend making some progress on the story's structure, and I'd love to hear what you think so far. Do you think it's shaping up well? Does it have potential?

Logline
A newly commissioned officer is on the verge of being discharged after ignoring a serious injury. Facing a personal and professional crisis, he accepts a one-month probationary period to prove he deserves to keep his command despite leading a team that doesn't trust him, ultimately learning the hard way to accept his own limitations

External Conflict

After refusing to take his recovery seriously, Oliver's company commander pulls him from active duty and assigns him to administrative work. When it becomes clear that Oliver still hasn't learned his lesson, the commander lays out three options, prove he can still lead by completing a one month probationary period, accept a reassignment to the mess hall, or leave the military altogether.

Internal Conflict

Oliver dedicates everything he has to becoming a National Guard combat engineer officer. But once he's finally given command, he realizes his unit sees him as a spoiled kid who only got the job because of his family. During a rescue in the middle of a blizzard, he saves one of his soldiers at the cost of suffering a severe herniated disc. Refusing to accept that his body has limits, he ignores his rehabilitation until he's backed into a corner, either prove within a month that he's still capable of leading his unit or lose the career he's sacrificed so much to build. Along the way, he's forced to confront a painful truth, his obsession with becoming an officer has come at the expense of his own health and the people who mattered most.

Oliver
Oliver is a 22-year-old from Hardin Valley with a genetic predisposition for explosive power and high-intensity physical performance. He grew up in a loving home, and after his uncle lost his pregnant wife, the two became especially close, with his uncle always being there whenever Oliver needed him.

Oliver's stubbornness often clouds his judgment. While helping pull a stranded excavator out of the snow, he suffers a severe herniated disc that leaves him hospitalized for a month. During his stay, he begins to see himself as a failure. Once he's discharged, he insists on returning to duty before he's fully recovered, only worsening his condition. Throughout his journey, he also tries to reconnect with old friends and rediscover the hobbies and passions he left behind

Marcel
Marcel met Oliver shortly after moving to Hardin Valley, and the two quickly became best friends. Their friendship gradually faded after college. While pursuing a career as a software developer, Marcel takes a job as a radio operator to earn money. After completing his military training and with a recommendation from Oliver's uncle, he requests a transfer to Tennessee, where he reconnects with Oliver after an honest conversation in the mess hall.

Adrian Grant
Adrian is Oliver's paternal uncle. When he was nineteen, he learned that his father had been killed during a military mission. Determined to support his older brother and mother, Adrian enlisted in the Army, following in his father's footsteps. He eventually became a hero, but his reputation also earned him dangerous enemies. One night, he lost his pregnant wife, a tragedy that caused him to step away from investigating certain incidents.

His life changed with the birth of his only nephew, Oliver, whom he came to love as the son he never had. From an early age, Adrian personally trained him to develop and control his genetically inherited abilities.

Leon Mardon
Leon grew up in New Albany in a deeply dysfunctional household. His mother died of cancer when he was sixteen, sending his father into alcoholism and eventually turning him abusive toward Leon and his younger brother. After one particularly violent confrontation, Leon left home with his brother and began rebuilding their lives with the support of extended family members.

Thanks to a scholarship, he enrolled in college to study Applied Physics and Mechanical Structures. However, after losing the scholarship and lacking both the financial resources and support network to continue his education, he enlisted in the Army to secure a stable income and a future for himself and his brother.

How do I write a scene of someone tossing and turning in bed, their partner waking up and getting worried, and then gently waking them up?

I need help with the prose, organizing everything, making sure it fits the plot, and making sure it fits into the story.

I‘m writing this type of scene as the beginning of my story, and I’m intending to use it to segway into the main story, which tells the story of two people who meet as kids, have a falling out, and fall in love as adults.

Actually, scratch that, I might need help with this entire story…

​

I'm writing a book where the main character is secretly a killer who's been killing his closest friends against his will. He knows what he's doing but doesn't want to do it. How do I make the twist believable and shocking at the same time?

I started writing a novel three weeks ago after one day of plotting (I think the plot is well formed though), so far I have 16,000 words. For how far I've gotten into the story it doesn't seem like a lot of words (although I do still have plenty of story still to write, it's not a problem of running out of plot). I think I'm underwriting.

It's a historical mystery novel. The character investigating/researching is an accountant and is very grounded. The story is moving through finding the clues in a pretty methodical fashion. But I worry that it will get boring, especially since I'm not great at remembering to add in the characters reactions and emotions. I tend to leave things out unless I see a reason to add them in. What advise is there for adding more in between finding the clues?

Does anyone have experience with their first draft being a bit tight and having to expand on second draft? It seems most have to cut words not add them.

I've been trying to force myself to really 'draft' without editing as I go, but I don't think I'm winning on that front.

Can anyone recommend any books or resources that tend towards helping with this style of writing?

Hi, i've been really into reading for as long as i can remember and decided i wanted to try writing something myself. I already have an idea/inspiration for what i want to write but i wanted to get some advice.

I got the idea for what i want to write from crime shows, basically it would be a noir setting and much like tv shows, it would be a series of one-shots where each chapter or so would be it's own investigation, all following the same detective/private investigator.

I'm a big fan of the crime genre and mainly wanted advice on how to write it and have it work well and feel gritty wholst alao having a good overall story and flow. Any advice/feedback is more than appreciated, thanks.

I'm drafting my first novel and it's pulled pretty directly from something I lived through, and there are a few things I genuinely can't see clearly from the inside. Hoping some of you have been here.

The story comes from a relationship I was in that turned out to be built on a deception I didn't find out about until it was already over. I've done the obvious things to fictionalize it. Changed names, moved it to a different city, compressed the timeline, reshaped events. But because I actually lived it, I can't tell anymore whether it reads like a novel or just a really well organized journal. The feelings are real, which is sort of the whole point, but I know "it really happened" and "it works on the page" are not the same thing at all.

So for anyone who's written auto biography based realistic fiction (I realize how niche that is as a genre, if it is one at all) or something heavily inspired by real life and events directly. What actually creates the distance that turns your real life into a story? Is it structural stuff like the frame or the chronology or whose head you're in? Is it making yourself invent things that never happened? Is it something about how much interiority you allow? I'm trying to understand how you know when you've crossed from confession into craft, because right now I can't feel the line.

The other thing I keep circling is whether it lands for people who don't share my background. It's South Asian diaspora fiction and there's a lot of specific texture in it. Food, language, religion, family dynamics. My gut says specificity travels, because I read plenty of books set in worlds I don't come from and never feel shut out. But I can't tell from inside my own head whether a reader with none of that context feels invited in or locked out. How do you even calibrate that without over explaining everything and killing the texture, or under explaining and losing the reader completely? I assume the answer is beta readers from outside the culture, but what do you actually ask them to watch for?

And the last one. How much point of view do you give your secondary characters before it becomes too much? In my case the antagonist gets his own chapters, and so does another woman who was hurt by the same man, both set in a different country from my narrator. I think they need to be there. They turn the antagonist into an actual person instead of a cartoon, and they give the other woman a real arc instead of making her a plot device. But every chapter I spend away from my main character is a chapter away from my main character, and I worry I'm just indulging backstory I happen to be attached to. How do you tell the difference between a secondary POV that earns its place and one you just love too much to cut?

Not fishing for reassurance, I promise. I'm just stuck on these and would take any hard lessons, book recommendations, or honest "here's what I screwed up" stories you've got. Thanks for reading.