post_id
stringlengths 5
7
| domain
stringclasses 69
values | upvote_ratio
float64 0.5
1
| history
stringlengths 11
39.7k
| c_root_id_A
stringlengths 7
7
| c_root_id_B
stringlengths 7
7
| created_at_utc_A
int64 1.27B
1.68B
| created_at_utc_B
int64 1.27B
1.68B
| score_A
int64 -644
43.5k
| score_B
int64 -2,846
43.5k
| human_ref_A
stringlengths 0
18k
| human_ref_B
stringlengths 0
13.6k
| labels
int64 0
1
| seconds_difference
float64 0
346M
| score_ratio
float64 -2,292
2.5M
| metadata_A
stringclasses 1
value | metadata_B
stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0pkn1w | j0oj44l | 1,671,371,152 | 1,671,342,805 | 2 | 1 | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | Always been scared of this. I have my story’s shared with all of my other accounts, and even friends accounts just in case something like that were to ever happen. | 1 | 28,347 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0otvfq | j0pkn1w | 1,671,350,725 | 1,671,371,152 | 1 | 2 | I'm so sorry to hear this. It must have been such shock to find out you cannot access your stories anymore. There have been some good suggestions already. Contact Google for sure. I want to add: did you participate in any writing contest or did you otherwise share stories with other people? So trying to solve the problem is definitely important. Yet, I think that there is another aspect that needs to be done for you to recover your writing, and that is mourning. You have experienced a great loss, and it takes time to get over this. Give yourself a break. Be kind to yourself. You might want to start with some journaling about what happened. Or journal about what you experience in this moment: what do you feel, and how welcome are those feelings for you? Take care! | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | 0 | 20,427 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0pkn1w | j0oz8dv | 1,671,371,152 | 1,671,355,076 | 2 | 1 | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | The smart device can retype so as avoid dumb word of no importance ???plagiarism ??? | 1 | 16,076 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0p0a4e | j0pkn1w | 1,671,355,958 | 1,671,371,152 | 1 | 2 | I think you can trust writing in the cloud in future, if you don't repeat the same mistake twice. Freak accidents happen, but this is a good time as any to consult the muse of beginnings. The poet Gregory David Roberts wrote in novel Shantaram from jail, and a blood soaked finished manuscript was taken away by guards, and so he had to write the whole thing again. It's a thousand page critically acclaimed novel now with a brand new tv show. His novel became better for it. Maybe it's an opportunity? I hope you are not too old to start over. Dwelling does not seem like the right course of action. We are all just making it up as we go along. Maybe writing your stories that you know again now that you know the stories and your characters could make them even better. You may find some silver linings. | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | 0 | 15,194 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0p64n7 | j0pkn1w | 1,671,360,887 | 1,671,371,152 | 1 | 2 | Try fan fiction. What happened to me wasn’t nearly as bad but I lost access to an account I had for years. I became very distraught so I started with my old default of writing light and easy fan fictions and it got me writing nearly every day again. Eventually I got my account back by some miracle | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | 0 | 10,265 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0p6dn7 | j0pkn1w | 1,671,361,088 | 1,671,371,152 | 1 | 2 | Friendly reminder to MAKE LOCAL COPIES!! I find it baffling how the younger generation blindly trusts in online services to keep their work safe, just because Google is too big to fail and internet access is everywhere today. Doesn't matter. You still need to make local copies on your own hard drives. Preferably more than one hard drive. A local copy will be there for as long as the drive lives. You don't need a password to access it, you don't even need internet. Local copies are always there for you. Things stored on a cloud seem safe, until you lose access for some reason, and then they're not. Make local copies. Don't trust a big web company to keep your most precious files safe. | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | 0 | 10,064 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0pkn1w | j0pfiji | 1,671,371,152 | 1,671,368,102 | 2 | 1 | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | This happened to Hemingway. He lost at least a novel and lots of short stories. His ex-wife/gf at the time was supposed to mail them and somehow lost them all. They were the only physical copies. He knew he couldn’t rewrite them the same exact way so, despite being gutted, he accepted the loss and continued writing new works. | 1 | 3,050 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0pfnbn | j0pkn1w | 1,671,368,191 | 1,671,371,152 | 1 | 2 | In case you cant recover. Your desire will come back when its the right. Meanwhile, read the short stoty "last mohican" by Bernard Malamud, if you haven't already. | Yes, this sucks, but you're looking at it the wrong way. First of all, no story you wrote between the ages of 13 and 18 was good. I'm sorry, but this is probably true. Second, writing is rewriting. Again, none of the stories you wrote were going to get published in that state. All you did was write the first drafts to them. So now you have the idea, know what worked and didn't work, and can get to the rewrites. The passion wouldn't just disappear like the files did at the click of a button. You are probably feeling sorry for yourself and bummed by what happened -- completely understandable. But if you reframe your thinking, you'll get back into it. | 0 | 2,961 | 2 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0ohnss | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,341,868 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | ❤ | 0 | 7,860 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0oj44l | j0o3emm | 1,671,342,805 | 1,671,334,008 | 1 | 0 | Always been scared of this. I have my story’s shared with all of my other accounts, and even friends accounts just in case something like that were to ever happen. | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | 1 | 8,797 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0otvfq | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,350,725 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | I'm so sorry to hear this. It must have been such shock to find out you cannot access your stories anymore. There have been some good suggestions already. Contact Google for sure. I want to add: did you participate in any writing contest or did you otherwise share stories with other people? So trying to solve the problem is definitely important. Yet, I think that there is another aspect that needs to be done for you to recover your writing, and that is mourning. You have experienced a great loss, and it takes time to get over this. Give yourself a break. Be kind to yourself. You might want to start with some journaling about what happened. Or journal about what you experience in this moment: what do you feel, and how welcome are those feelings for you? Take care! | 0 | 16,717 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0oz8dv | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,355,076 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | The smart device can retype so as avoid dumb word of no importance ???plagiarism ??? | 0 | 21,068 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0p0a4e | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,355,958 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | I think you can trust writing in the cloud in future, if you don't repeat the same mistake twice. Freak accidents happen, but this is a good time as any to consult the muse of beginnings. The poet Gregory David Roberts wrote in novel Shantaram from jail, and a blood soaked finished manuscript was taken away by guards, and so he had to write the whole thing again. It's a thousand page critically acclaimed novel now with a brand new tv show. His novel became better for it. Maybe it's an opportunity? I hope you are not too old to start over. Dwelling does not seem like the right course of action. We are all just making it up as we go along. Maybe writing your stories that you know again now that you know the stories and your characters could make them even better. You may find some silver linings. | 0 | 21,950 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0p64n7 | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,360,887 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | Try fan fiction. What happened to me wasn’t nearly as bad but I lost access to an account I had for years. I became very distraught so I started with my old default of writing light and easy fan fictions and it got me writing nearly every day again. Eventually I got my account back by some miracle | 0 | 26,879 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0p6dn7 | j0o3emm | 1,671,361,088 | 1,671,334,008 | 1 | 0 | Friendly reminder to MAKE LOCAL COPIES!! I find it baffling how the younger generation blindly trusts in online services to keep their work safe, just because Google is too big to fail and internet access is everywhere today. Doesn't matter. You still need to make local copies on your own hard drives. Preferably more than one hard drive. A local copy will be there for as long as the drive lives. You don't need a password to access it, you don't even need internet. Local copies are always there for you. Things stored on a cloud seem safe, until you lose access for some reason, and then they're not. Make local copies. Don't trust a big web company to keep your most precious files safe. | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | 1 | 27,080 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0pfiji | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,368,102 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | This happened to Hemingway. He lost at least a novel and lots of short stories. His ex-wife/gf at the time was supposed to mail them and somehow lost them all. They were the only physical copies. He knew he couldn’t rewrite them the same exact way so, despite being gutted, he accepted the loss and continued writing new works. | 0 | 34,094 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0pfnbn | j0o3emm | 1,671,368,191 | 1,671,334,008 | 1 | 0 | In case you cant recover. Your desire will come back when its the right. Meanwhile, read the short stoty "last mohican" by Bernard Malamud, if you haven't already. | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | 1 | 34,183 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0pmi5g | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,372,181 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | Have you tried reading? This sounds stupid bc you probably read but if not find books you love and try rewriting them in your own style, happened to me and this is how I got back into iy | 0 | 38,173 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0q5b0f | j0o3emm | 1,671,380,724 | 1,671,334,008 | 1 | 0 | I got lucky. Many years ago I used an IOmega Zip drive for backup. Something happene to the stuff on my HD, so I tried to restore. The zip drive restored over half my files, then made a flatulent noise and said "corrupted file". I never got the rest of my stuff back, but I got most of the important stuff. | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | 1 | 46,716 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0qm64j | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,387,165 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | I’ve lost my old work multiple times, but it’s never really bothered me because it wasn’t good enough anyway. Maybe look at it from the mentality of being able to have a fresh start to make your body of work collectively better | 0 | 53,157 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0qr4ry | j0o3emm | 1,671,388,935 | 1,671,334,008 | 1 | 0 | Back when I was using microsoft in the 90s it took me Two times to have my computer hard drives destroyed by malware - AND I ALSO HAD NO BACK UPS, to finally learn to make back ups. It sucks starting over, but it's also liberating because you are no longer dragging all that around. Always back up your work. Do it on a separate hard drive that you remove from your computer. This applies most especially to those people who haven't discovered Linux and are still using Microsoft products. | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | 1 | 54,927 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0qurny | j0o3emm | 1,671,390,232 | 1,671,334,008 | 1 | 0 | It really is grieving a loss, but then you realize you have to move on. Honestly, I think this is happened to all writers at one point or another, either with a journal or on the computer. It devastated me and took over a year to write again. Like the magic was gone, but I tried new writing techniques and took a creative writing class to help me out of my slump. Good luck and hope you find that magic again. | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | 1 | 56,224 | 1,000 | ||
zohhnb | writing_train | 0.95 | Lost seven years worth of writing and now struggling to write again Hi. I lost seven years worth of writing because I never attached a phone number or email to my gmail account and I lost the password. There's nothing I can do to regain access to the account so I lost all the stories I had written since I was 13; I think I've come to terms with this. I'm just trying to write again but the passion is completely gone. I listen to music, written in the same spots I used to, tried different spots, I've tried writing online and on paper. Nothing works. My passion has been completely snuffed out, I used to write in my head as I shopped or went about my day, now it's just silence. I don't even imagine scenarios anymore. I wish I could say it was unbearable but I don't even feel the desire to write again so it doesn't even bother me. The other day I forced myself to write 500ish words, it's some of the worst writing I've ever created and it pains me to even look at, knowing that before I lost my account I had finally found the writing style I loved. That place feels so distant now and I don't think I can ever get back to it, but I'd like to. Has anyone been in this position before? Any advice to get back into writing? (btw you guys should back up your writing and secure your accounts so you don't make the same mistake I did) | j0o3emm | j0r6el4 | 1,671,334,008 | 1,671,394,738 | 0 | 1 | That sucks. Sorry man or woman. I had my belongings stolen when I was traveling in Argentina and lost several unfinished novels that I had been working on, but hadn't backed up because this was long ago and internet storage didn't really exist back then. I was basically bummed from writing again for the rest of the year. However, then I got back into doing NaNoWriMo and my flow returned. If this just happened, it's going to feel insurmountable, but time heals all wounds, even this. It will always suck that this happened to you, but you will write new things if you open yourself back up to your passion. | Try a different creative outlet. When I was experiencing writer's block, I took up painting for a bit. I sucked at painting, but it gave my brain a break and eventually sparked the writing again. | 0 | 60,730 | 1,000 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipg4r44 | ipgy2b8 | 1,663,839,452 | 1,663,855,877 | 8 | 20 | Adventures can be fun, but also, if the world & characters are really developed, it seems like a conflict should arise organically from that. For example, let's say I'm making a high fantasy story, & let's say I've decided there's three major nations. They're all kingdoms along the same river, but I've decided that A is mountainous cities occupied by dwarves while B & C share a border along River X. B & C are both human kingdoms, with C's king being married to B's sister, a princess, for political reasons. C also has better access to the ocean because, while both are along the river, B's side is plagued by a bunch of swamplands that are difficult to navigate. Now, I've laid out a lot of details about these kingdoms, & nothing yet about the conflicts, but here's where the magic happens: * There are two different races here, so maybe this is a story about the evils of bigotry & xenophobia. Maybe there's a literal race war. * Maybe that happened because the human kingdoms wanted to mine the mountains for materials & gemstones, but the dwarves weren't having it. * Alternatively, maybe they leave the dwarves alone & their problem is with each other. Maybe C needs trees that B has while A wants better access to the ocean, so they're always at war over territory. They COULD make a trade, but maybe their ideology prevents it or they have bad blood from previous wars. * Maybe the wars are over personal reasons. Maybe B's sister resents her family for relegating her to a bargaining chip, so that plan backfired, & she actually influences King C to act against them. * Or maybe the previous King B drowned in an accident, but King B Jr. blamed King C & this is all actually an elaborate ruse to plant a spy deep in enemy territory. My point is that there are a lot of conflicts you can build from the basic lore you established. Most conflicts arise out of society; they'll be fights over resources, different ideologies or religions, social prejudices, personal vendettas, or something like that. Now, I say "most" because fiction, perhaps especially the fantasy genre, also likes to have antagonists that are otherworldly in nature. The Dark Lord that rose from the pits of hell specifically to do an evil, or whatever. This is trickier to advise, but it seems to me like these types of characters generally work best when they represent some kind of concept. Like in cosmic horror, the idea of the Old Ones is to represent humanity's insignificance on a cosmic scale. So, if you wanted to go that route, you might start by taking what the heroes value, or at least what you want them to value, & create a monster or demon being that represents the opposing force. Personally, I think these characters tend to be kind of bland, so I would also add some kind of personality or angle, like if their goal is to destroy reality, maybe that's because they want to replace it with a new reality that's more hospitable to beings like them. But that's arguably getting into the weeds, so hopefully some of this was helpful. | Don’t try to weave conflict into your world building. Weave world building into your conflict. In other words, put away all that world building for a minute and think about the kind of conflict that would interest you. I don’t mean a huge battle between nations. I mean something very personal; a son reconciling with his father. Two childhood friends turned enemies. Lovers on opposite sides of a war. Whatever it is, what is a personal conflict that gets *you* hooked, that you’d want to read about? Then you can figure out how that conflict could be enhanced by setting it in your world. | 0 | 16,425 | 2.5 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipgy2b8 | ipg60ce | 1,663,855,877 | 1,663,840,481 | 20 | 7 | Don’t try to weave conflict into your world building. Weave world building into your conflict. In other words, put away all that world building for a minute and think about the kind of conflict that would interest you. I don’t mean a huge battle between nations. I mean something very personal; a son reconciling with his father. Two childhood friends turned enemies. Lovers on opposite sides of a war. Whatever it is, what is a personal conflict that gets *you* hooked, that you’d want to read about? Then you can figure out how that conflict could be enhanced by setting it in your world. | It's funny how everyone is world building as if his life depended on it, but only few actually have a story in mind. | 1 | 15,396 | 2.857143 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipgiei5 | ipgy2b8 | 1,663,848,654 | 1,663,855,877 | 5 | 20 | I feel like most writers you think conflict has to be this big thing, like villains or battles and quests, but really it doesn't/ The basic building block of conflict in my view is a question that is hard to answer. So you need to figure out what questions your character and story is trying to ask, and then you need to figure out ways why those questions would be hard to answer. You might not need big bads, villians, or battles if you think in this way | Don’t try to weave conflict into your world building. Weave world building into your conflict. In other words, put away all that world building for a minute and think about the kind of conflict that would interest you. I don’t mean a huge battle between nations. I mean something very personal; a son reconciling with his father. Two childhood friends turned enemies. Lovers on opposite sides of a war. Whatever it is, what is a personal conflict that gets *you* hooked, that you’d want to read about? Then you can figure out how that conflict could be enhanced by setting it in your world. | 0 | 7,223 | 4 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipgy2b8 | ipg4t0p | 1,663,855,877 | 1,663,839,498 | 20 | 2 | Don’t try to weave conflict into your world building. Weave world building into your conflict. In other words, put away all that world building for a minute and think about the kind of conflict that would interest you. I don’t mean a huge battle between nations. I mean something very personal; a son reconciling with his father. Two childhood friends turned enemies. Lovers on opposite sides of a war. Whatever it is, what is a personal conflict that gets *you* hooked, that you’d want to read about? Then you can figure out how that conflict could be enhanced by setting it in your world. | Write a story with lower stakes or write slice-of-life where there basically isn't any. Not every story needs to have major conflicts or "big bads" to drive them. | 1 | 16,379 | 10 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipgajam | ipgy2b8 | 1,663,843,909 | 1,663,855,877 | 1 | 20 | >Then the major conflict? Conflict comes from characters wanting opposing things or striving for different goals. It's all well and good to have a scenery, but without characters wanting something it won't be much of a story. > The big bad? I can't come up with anything. There doesn't need to be a defined big bad. | Don’t try to weave conflict into your world building. Weave world building into your conflict. In other words, put away all that world building for a minute and think about the kind of conflict that would interest you. I don’t mean a huge battle between nations. I mean something very personal; a son reconciling with his father. Two childhood friends turned enemies. Lovers on opposite sides of a war. Whatever it is, what is a personal conflict that gets *you* hooked, that you’d want to read about? Then you can figure out how that conflict could be enhanced by setting it in your world. | 0 | 11,968 | 20 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipg4r44 | iphld74 | 1,663,839,452 | 1,663,864,847 | 8 | 9 | Adventures can be fun, but also, if the world & characters are really developed, it seems like a conflict should arise organically from that. For example, let's say I'm making a high fantasy story, & let's say I've decided there's three major nations. They're all kingdoms along the same river, but I've decided that A is mountainous cities occupied by dwarves while B & C share a border along River X. B & C are both human kingdoms, with C's king being married to B's sister, a princess, for political reasons. C also has better access to the ocean because, while both are along the river, B's side is plagued by a bunch of swamplands that are difficult to navigate. Now, I've laid out a lot of details about these kingdoms, & nothing yet about the conflicts, but here's where the magic happens: * There are two different races here, so maybe this is a story about the evils of bigotry & xenophobia. Maybe there's a literal race war. * Maybe that happened because the human kingdoms wanted to mine the mountains for materials & gemstones, but the dwarves weren't having it. * Alternatively, maybe they leave the dwarves alone & their problem is with each other. Maybe C needs trees that B has while A wants better access to the ocean, so they're always at war over territory. They COULD make a trade, but maybe their ideology prevents it or they have bad blood from previous wars. * Maybe the wars are over personal reasons. Maybe B's sister resents her family for relegating her to a bargaining chip, so that plan backfired, & she actually influences King C to act against them. * Or maybe the previous King B drowned in an accident, but King B Jr. blamed King C & this is all actually an elaborate ruse to plant a spy deep in enemy territory. My point is that there are a lot of conflicts you can build from the basic lore you established. Most conflicts arise out of society; they'll be fights over resources, different ideologies or religions, social prejudices, personal vendettas, or something like that. Now, I say "most" because fiction, perhaps especially the fantasy genre, also likes to have antagonists that are otherworldly in nature. The Dark Lord that rose from the pits of hell specifically to do an evil, or whatever. This is trickier to advise, but it seems to me like these types of characters generally work best when they represent some kind of concept. Like in cosmic horror, the idea of the Old Ones is to represent humanity's insignificance on a cosmic scale. So, if you wanted to go that route, you might start by taking what the heroes value, or at least what you want them to value, & create a monster or demon being that represents the opposing force. Personally, I think these characters tend to be kind of bland, so I would also add some kind of personality or angle, like if their goal is to destroy reality, maybe that's because they want to replace it with a new reality that's more hospitable to beings like them. But that's arguably getting into the weeds, so hopefully some of this was helpful. | What do your characters want? Great. Now you play keep away. You dangle it in front of them. You almost give it to them, then you jerk it out of reach again. Want even higher stakes? Make sure that if they can't get what they want, something bad will happen. | 0 | 25,395 | 1.125 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipg60ce | iphld74 | 1,663,840,481 | 1,663,864,847 | 7 | 9 | It's funny how everyone is world building as if his life depended on it, but only few actually have a story in mind. | What do your characters want? Great. Now you play keep away. You dangle it in front of them. You almost give it to them, then you jerk it out of reach again. Want even higher stakes? Make sure that if they can't get what they want, something bad will happen. | 0 | 24,366 | 1.285714 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | iphld74 | ipgiei5 | 1,663,864,847 | 1,663,848,654 | 9 | 5 | What do your characters want? Great. Now you play keep away. You dangle it in front of them. You almost give it to them, then you jerk it out of reach again. Want even higher stakes? Make sure that if they can't get what they want, something bad will happen. | I feel like most writers you think conflict has to be this big thing, like villains or battles and quests, but really it doesn't/ The basic building block of conflict in my view is a question that is hard to answer. So you need to figure out what questions your character and story is trying to ask, and then you need to figure out ways why those questions would be hard to answer. You might not need big bads, villians, or battles if you think in this way | 1 | 16,193 | 1.8 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipg4t0p | iphld74 | 1,663,839,498 | 1,663,864,847 | 2 | 9 | Write a story with lower stakes or write slice-of-life where there basically isn't any. Not every story needs to have major conflicts or "big bads" to drive them. | What do your characters want? Great. Now you play keep away. You dangle it in front of them. You almost give it to them, then you jerk it out of reach again. Want even higher stakes? Make sure that if they can't get what they want, something bad will happen. | 0 | 25,349 | 4.5 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | iphld74 | ipgajam | 1,663,864,847 | 1,663,843,909 | 9 | 1 | What do your characters want? Great. Now you play keep away. You dangle it in front of them. You almost give it to them, then you jerk it out of reach again. Want even higher stakes? Make sure that if they can't get what they want, something bad will happen. | >Then the major conflict? Conflict comes from characters wanting opposing things or striving for different goals. It's all well and good to have a scenery, but without characters wanting something it won't be much of a story. > The big bad? I can't come up with anything. There doesn't need to be a defined big bad. | 1 | 20,938 | 9 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | iph2w05 | iphld74 | 1,663,857,801 | 1,663,864,847 | 1 | 9 | One thing that I try to keep in mind is that the impact of a conflict doesn't come from its objective stakes but from its impact on your characters. That's why threatening the end of the world doesn't automatically make a thriller exciting and why threatening something as simple as a teenage romance falling apart can bring some readers to tears and propel a romance novel into the spotlight. That's not to say you can't write a novel with gargantuan stakes, but for the reader the stakes that matter most are usually the ones that are important to their lens into the world, your characters. This is true in recent classics like The Martian and in true classics like Hamlet. I know that's not really advice so I guess I'd say to look for conflict and drama in the lives of your characters and work from there while asking the age old question "Can this situation get worse?" | What do your characters want? Great. Now you play keep away. You dangle it in front of them. You almost give it to them, then you jerk it out of reach again. Want even higher stakes? Make sure that if they can't get what they want, something bad will happen. | 0 | 7,046 | 9 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipg4t0p | ipg60ce | 1,663,839,498 | 1,663,840,481 | 2 | 7 | Write a story with lower stakes or write slice-of-life where there basically isn't any. Not every story needs to have major conflicts or "big bads" to drive them. | It's funny how everyone is world building as if his life depended on it, but only few actually have a story in mind. | 0 | 983 | 3.5 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipgiei5 | ipg4t0p | 1,663,848,654 | 1,663,839,498 | 5 | 2 | I feel like most writers you think conflict has to be this big thing, like villains or battles and quests, but really it doesn't/ The basic building block of conflict in my view is a question that is hard to answer. So you need to figure out what questions your character and story is trying to ask, and then you need to figure out ways why those questions would be hard to answer. You might not need big bads, villians, or battles if you think in this way | Write a story with lower stakes or write slice-of-life where there basically isn't any. Not every story needs to have major conflicts or "big bads" to drive them. | 1 | 9,156 | 2.5 | ||
xkw94b | writing_train | 0.92 | Struggling with writing conflict I have been working on a few ideas recently. I write a setting I absolutely fall in love with. Write characters who I see living in that setting. Then the major conflict? The big bad? I can't come up with anything. I feel like I focus so much on the world's I am writing that when i try to weave in conflict it all falls flat. Guys what do I do? I could always make it an 'adventure' but I feel that's a cop out. | ipgajam | ipgiei5 | 1,663,843,909 | 1,663,848,654 | 1 | 5 | >Then the major conflict? Conflict comes from characters wanting opposing things or striving for different goals. It's all well and good to have a scenery, but without characters wanting something it won't be much of a story. > The big bad? I can't come up with anything. There doesn't need to be a defined big bad. | I feel like most writers you think conflict has to be this big thing, like villains or battles and quests, but really it doesn't/ The basic building block of conflict in my view is a question that is hard to answer. So you need to figure out what questions your character and story is trying to ask, and then you need to figure out ways why those questions would be hard to answer. You might not need big bads, villians, or battles if you think in this way | 0 | 4,745 | 5 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iumezcc | iumdz1l | 1,667,309,167 | 1,667,308,693 | 6 | 3 | Ideas are cheap. Daydreaming is easy. Writing (and rewriting and editing) is hard work. If you want to write stories, you have to put in the hard work. Make time every day to write and do it. Doesn't matter if you're bored or not in the mood or want to work on a new, 'better' idea (because that would be easier). If you want to write, write. There is no shortcut. This is all there is to it. Be disciplined and write. | For me, what moves me along every step of the way is that I enjoy the ideas I'm playing with and I enjoy the process of writing (not just having something finished.) What ideas excite your as a reader? Maybe start there. | 1 | 474 | 2 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iumdvox | iumezcc | 1,667,308,649 | 1,667,309,167 | 2 | 6 | > How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? The process of getting there. The narration. The character. A story is more interesting than just the direct beginning and end. > Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? That's more of a question for you, why do you think this is happening? > Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Overall, it could be overthinking. But also it seems like you should study up on more story telling technique. Read and analyze some short stories and see how they function. How simple their ideas are in concept. | Ideas are cheap. Daydreaming is easy. Writing (and rewriting and editing) is hard work. If you want to write stories, you have to put in the hard work. Make time every day to write and do it. Doesn't matter if you're bored or not in the mood or want to work on a new, 'better' idea (because that would be easier). If you want to write, write. There is no shortcut. This is all there is to it. Be disciplined and write. | 0 | 518 | 3 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iumdz1l | iumdvox | 1,667,308,693 | 1,667,308,649 | 3 | 2 | For me, what moves me along every step of the way is that I enjoy the ideas I'm playing with and I enjoy the process of writing (not just having something finished.) What ideas excite your as a reader? Maybe start there. | > How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? The process of getting there. The narration. The character. A story is more interesting than just the direct beginning and end. > Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? That's more of a question for you, why do you think this is happening? > Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Overall, it could be overthinking. But also it seems like you should study up on more story telling technique. Read and analyze some short stories and see how they function. How simple their ideas are in concept. | 1 | 44 | 1.5 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iummfn9 | iumdvox | 1,667,312,450 | 1,667,308,649 | 3 | 2 | No one told me when I started, but writing is *hard.* You will never finish a story if you just expect it to be easy. It's like distance running- you have to sit down and push through it- if you quit every time you start to feel a little winded you will never finish a race. At the end of the day, you either want to write or you don't. If you do, then sit down and put some words on the page. If you don't, then there's nothing wrong with that- not everyone is cut out for it. There are a lot of other hobbies. | > How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? The process of getting there. The narration. The character. A story is more interesting than just the direct beginning and end. > Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? That's more of a question for you, why do you think this is happening? > Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Overall, it could be overthinking. But also it seems like you should study up on more story telling technique. Read and analyze some short stories and see how they function. How simple their ideas are in concept. | 1 | 3,801 | 1.5 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iummfn9 | iumi6tc | 1,667,312,450 | 1,667,310,625 | 3 | 2 | No one told me when I started, but writing is *hard.* You will never finish a story if you just expect it to be easy. It's like distance running- you have to sit down and push through it- if you quit every time you start to feel a little winded you will never finish a race. At the end of the day, you either want to write or you don't. If you do, then sit down and put some words on the page. If you don't, then there's nothing wrong with that- not everyone is cut out for it. There are a lot of other hobbies. | You keep your enthusiasm by making it interesting to you to write. One of the ways, one of the things I'm enjoying most, is that writing is a journey of discovery. Sure, you may know the hero wins, or dies, at the end... but it's how they get there, the moments of your story that make it worth reading. If you let yourself get bored on the way because you know that Frodo and Sam will get the ring to Mt Doom, then your readers wouldn't enjoy the story either. If however you treat each page each paragraph as a path of discovery and joy, enjoying the process of getting there, then you can make the journey and bring a reader with you. | 1 | 1,825 | 1.5 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iun15cx | iun3r2s | 1,667,318,446 | 1,667,319,468 | 1 | 2 | I think some of the hard hitting advice is true but I have a slightly different take. I have just started writing fiction, but have always been creative. I've been a published poet and visual artist and still do that work between bouts of writing fiction. Also, the fiction I write is short and cheesy and fun. I wouldn't get hung up on a "novel or nothing" attitude, or over focus on pristine finished products. Write micro fiction, poems, blurbs, reviews etc! Make art! Journal! Play music! Sew! When (if) you're ready to write a polished novel, go for it! But don't stress hard on not feeling it. | If you have never written much before, your ideas might be great with bad execution. It is not because you don’t have the means to become a good or great writer; it is simply a different skill set from, say, telling a story to a friend. You need to do the poorly executed stories to get to the well-executed stories. There’s simply no way around that, and I would argue stuff like “On Writing” can help. But they do not replace simple practice. Every time this general topic comes up, I like to give a short clip from a well-loved American radio host Ira Glass. I hope you enjoy it: https://youtu.be/GHrmKL2XKcE | 0 | 1,022 | 2 | ||
yj85di | writing_train | 0.63 | Writing motivation: Hello guys, I've been trying to write something for years now, but I can't seem to finish anything… In my life I've only managed to finish one micro story, one I didn't like, and it was for school too, so I was forced to. Although I only started taking writing seriously very recently, I still really like fiction, writing, worldbuilding and creating stories, but the problem is I just lose all my enthusiasm for the story really early on, so much I usually can’t even finish the first chapter. I've tried to write many different kinds of stories, plot driven, character driven, micro stories, big projects, real life experiences, random bs… It’s not like I get stuck or that I don't know how to solve a difficult sentence or scene, I just get bored of writing my own story! So the question is (I guess) ¿How do you keep yourself engaged in your own story and writing when you already know where and how it's gonna end? ¿Why do I get bored or cringed by my own ideas, ideas that I thought were price worthy hours ago? Am i just overthinking the process or is there something i can do to make my writing more exiting? Just looking to find some food for thought, thanks! | iundtw6 | iun15cx | 1,667,323,331 | 1,667,318,446 | 2 | 1 | I used to have a problem like this; once I figured out how the story ended in my head, I was done with it. I have some longer stories that might be good just collecting dust as a result, lol. I've found I have better luck with shorter fiction. It takes less time to write, so I can finish more quickly, even when I make myself sit down and just finish the damn thing. That's allowed me to get better at finishing, and get back into the longer stories, because I've started just training myself to just get it done. Doesn't always work, and sometimes I put stories away for a while, but I'm finishing more stories than not these days, so that counts as improvement! | I think some of the hard hitting advice is true but I have a slightly different take. I have just started writing fiction, but have always been creative. I've been a published poet and visual artist and still do that work between bouts of writing fiction. Also, the fiction I write is short and cheesy and fun. I wouldn't get hung up on a "novel or nothing" attitude, or over focus on pristine finished products. Write micro fiction, poems, blurbs, reviews etc! Make art! Journal! Play music! Sew! When (if) you're ready to write a polished novel, go for it! But don't stress hard on not feeling it. | 1 | 4,885 | 2 | ||
k8o2a1 | writing_train | 1 | I’m writing my first ever long(ish) story and would really appreciate some advice or tips. I was bored and decided to try and write a semi-long story on Wattpad. I have some character profiles laid out and a basic idea of where I want the plot to go, but if anyone has any tips to make it easier it would be appreciated. Also in your opinion what POV is it easiest to write from as a new writer? | gezl0ol | gezilmi | 1,607,377,559 | 1,607,376,292 | 3 | 2 | That's fantastic! Honestly writing is a very personal process so everyone will tell you different things. When writing longer works, I know that I do best with taking breaks to do things I enjoy that give me some ideas. For example, I might take a walk at the park or watch a movie. Inevitably once you get started, you will start observing more around you and realizing you have ideas you want to write about. It's easiest to keep track of these ideas in a notes app on your phone, of potential ideas that can be explored in your work. It's also a good idea to get really used to your characters before hashing out a long story with them. For example, since you have some details about them in mind already, perhaps you could try to start off by making sure you write can write a backstory for them. This is a great exercise in getting to know your character while also practicing writing techniques, and also forming ideas for your character's motives moving forward. I think that the POV is relative to different people. If you feel very in tune with your character and want to be able to express his/her thoughts, I would use 1st person! Otherwise I would just try different ones like third person and see how you feel with it. You don't have to have everything planned out either! A lot of people, including myself, write segments of their stories out of order. It's up to you to figure out what works for you stylistically, and how your flow works. Good luck!!! | If you haven't written much fiction, I think first person is easier to start out with. It can help you write more naturally, because it lines up more neatly with real life experience and you have to do less translation. I think I find third person easier overall, but if I'm trying to get into something new I still find that first person stories are helpful for drawing me in. The writing strategy that works the best for me (in terms of completing things) is actually to come up with two or three ideas, and try all of them with the goal of finishing at least one. I'm not sure that's a strategy that's like... widely useful? But I find that if I just pick one idea, it might end up being not really realistic to write in practice. And if I don't *pick* anything, and just jump around to see what works, I never end up settling on an idea long enough to finish it. So, for me, picking three ideas and trying to finish at once sort of helps me split the difference and keep going even if I've lost momentum in a story, without treading water forever with a story that might not be finishable. So that strategy might be worth trying, if you really don't have anything specific you want to write yet. | 1 | 1,267 | 1.5 | ||
k8o2a1 | writing_train | 1 | I’m writing my first ever long(ish) story and would really appreciate some advice or tips. I was bored and decided to try and write a semi-long story on Wattpad. I have some character profiles laid out and a basic idea of where I want the plot to go, but if anyone has any tips to make it easier it would be appreciated. Also in your opinion what POV is it easiest to write from as a new writer? | gf05xim | gezilmi | 1,607,388,604 | 1,607,376,292 | 3 | 2 | I'm not sure what specific aspects of the process you want advice on - motivation, inspiration, the technical aspects of writing, etc. - but I've written several articles on writing tips. I have them collected in a Twitter thread here, so if you want you can check those out and see if any of them interest you. Hope this helps! And best of luck! | If you haven't written much fiction, I think first person is easier to start out with. It can help you write more naturally, because it lines up more neatly with real life experience and you have to do less translation. I think I find third person easier overall, but if I'm trying to get into something new I still find that first person stories are helpful for drawing me in. The writing strategy that works the best for me (in terms of completing things) is actually to come up with two or three ideas, and try all of them with the goal of finishing at least one. I'm not sure that's a strategy that's like... widely useful? But I find that if I just pick one idea, it might end up being not really realistic to write in practice. And if I don't *pick* anything, and just jump around to see what works, I never end up settling on an idea long enough to finish it. So, for me, picking three ideas and trying to finish at once sort of helps me split the difference and keep going even if I've lost momentum in a story, without treading water forever with a story that might not be finishable. So that strategy might be worth trying, if you really don't have anything specific you want to write yet. | 1 | 12,312 | 1.5 | ||
k8o2a1 | writing_train | 1 | I’m writing my first ever long(ish) story and would really appreciate some advice or tips. I was bored and decided to try and write a semi-long story on Wattpad. I have some character profiles laid out and a basic idea of where I want the plot to go, but if anyone has any tips to make it easier it would be appreciated. Also in your opinion what POV is it easiest to write from as a new writer? | gezilmi | gf0t8rw | 1,607,376,292 | 1,607,401,394 | 2 | 3 | If you haven't written much fiction, I think first person is easier to start out with. It can help you write more naturally, because it lines up more neatly with real life experience and you have to do less translation. I think I find third person easier overall, but if I'm trying to get into something new I still find that first person stories are helpful for drawing me in. The writing strategy that works the best for me (in terms of completing things) is actually to come up with two or three ideas, and try all of them with the goal of finishing at least one. I'm not sure that's a strategy that's like... widely useful? But I find that if I just pick one idea, it might end up being not really realistic to write in practice. And if I don't *pick* anything, and just jump around to see what works, I never end up settling on an idea long enough to finish it. So, for me, picking three ideas and trying to finish at once sort of helps me split the difference and keep going even if I've lost momentum in a story, without treading water forever with a story that might not be finishable. So that strategy might be worth trying, if you really don't have anything specific you want to write yet. | The easiest pov to start with and to master is the third person. When you start feeling like you're losing touch with your characters or the story it's good to go back and reread older chapters. That also helps to keep the plot consistent and avoid holes. One last thing. Don't be afraid to mess up. | 0 | 25,102 | 1.5 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2st4u5 | i2ss942 | 1,648,694,512 | 1,648,694,094 | 13 | 9 | I would never encourage anyone to write about something you don't care about. That sounds like courting mediocrity. But it REALLY sounds like trying to protect yourself from being vulnerable as a writer. And if you don't feel vulnerable, especially at the beginning of your writing journey, you're probably playing it too safe. Be vulnerable. Experiment with things you think might work, but you're not sure. Get involved with a group of writers - - a writing workshop-- hopefully writers with more experience so you can get critiques. Don't be afraid of criticism. How else will you learn. But only seek out advice and criticism from experienced and successful writers. Look for highly rated/credentialled workshops. Short stories have similar structures to movies. But your idea to write a series of short stories that become your novel--or at least develop its world and characters--is a great idea. They can be stories or chapters or just plotlines that pop into your head. A novel is an ambitious undertaking. So really you are starting now, from ground zero. It's your passion, so go ahead and do it. It will go through many changes as you learn and grow. That's great! At least, because it is your real passion, you'll mostly enjoy the journey. | Oh, no. You should always write about things you deeply care about because writing a novel is like climbing a long and strenuous mountain. If you don’t care about it, you will give up as soon as you start. That being said, you should accept that your first novel is for practice, meaning don’t set the expectation too high. Don’t expect to get published and make millions. As for short stories, I write them for two reasons. The first is if I struggle to write a 6k word story, then I’ll sure struggle to write a 60k word novel. There’s no point of starting. Second, if people don’t want to read my 6k word story, they sure won’t read my 60k word novel. There’s no point of writing. So use short stories to gauge interests, to evaluate your writing ability. Your short stories can be about anything you want, but my suggestion is that it should be something anyone can read it and understand it without knowing anything else. IMO, the one thing you should focus on is the ability to tell a story. It’s much harder than you think. Clarity should be the key. Good luck. | 1 | 418 | 1.444444 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t3o26 | i2stmuh | 1,648,700,038 | 1,648,694,748 | 6 | 3 | If you're writing fantasy, you could write these short stories as legends and folklore in your main story. It could also be a great way to give your world more depth depending on what you put into these short stories. I'm currently doing a similar thing where I'm writing a series of short stories that serve as a prophecy to the main conflict of the novel that will follow. So basically these short stories serve as a sort of prologue in a way. There's a lot you could do here and I don't think it's a bad idea at all. You'll essentially be improving your skills as a writer and world building at the same time. | I write short stories to burn off plot bunnies that might detail the main story idea I have going at the time. Write a chapter, write a short, write another chapter. It's fun practice with scenes, dialogue, or characters, and it can help add a lot of life to your world, seeing these little side stories happening around your main adventure. | 1 | 5,290 | 2 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2su9zj | i2t3o26 | 1,648,695,052 | 1,648,700,038 | 3 | 6 | This is a great idea! It reminds me of Adam Neville the author of the ritual. His other books all link in the same world where the ritual takes place, whether it be a small detail or not. I think it’s a very cool concept. Practicing doesn’t have to have a set standard. Everyone starts somewhere. You could try practicing organization of your story, with details and characters. You could just start writing as well, although sometimes it’s easier to get a feel if you write short descriptions of what’s happening. This is what I usually do when I’m just practicing; 1. Get a set genre or theme 2. Figure out the plot, setting and characters 3. Ask questions. What’s the problem in this story? Is there a common villain? If so, is there a hero? Is the villain a real person or a creature? 4. Start writing. If you plan out the gist of the beginning, and the ending, you can do almost whatever you want in the middle. Sometimes it helps to write an idea for a climax or suspense in the story. Is there a point where you want your Novel to take a sharp turn? In all honesty, short stories are extremely fun. They help you explore different genres and styles of writing. I spent an entire day just looking up different descriptive words in a dictionary, and piecing together sentences with them. Practice researching things as well, it makes life so much easier when you have more information. I did a short story where my character felt extreme fear, so I researched what a panic attack felt like, and what others feared. I made a list of what I found and incorporated it into my story. For characters, I usually don’t describe the main character, unless from a third person view. I advise not to info dump, it will leave the reader unable to process what you wrote, but don’t drag out the info either. You could start by practicing how to put out information, such as describing a place, or character. Slowly give details and make them seem more mysterious, or lay it all out. It’s up to the author (you) to make that decision! Writing short stories is a very good way to practice as well. Don’t be afraid to have others read over your work. Leave it for a few days and come back to read it with a clear mind, most of the time you’ll see mistakes or changes you need to make. I also recommend looking at books and seeing what other authors did to introduce their characters to get a feel of how you need to, some authors include a shit ton of information on characters, and it easily lost the reader when reading. It’s a very fine line of too much and too little information. A key thing to a book is probably research, and dedication. If you don’t put your all into the Nobel it will definitely not turn out the way you expect Although, even if you do have info about your world in your short stories, I would advise not to go into the novel like your reader knows everything about the world. Make sure to include key information about the world, but they can read more if they want to get more into depth about it. You don’t have to necessarily write a “practice novel,” unless you really want to. Although, a practice novel may seem nice, it can also get you caught up with it and hinder your progress on the novel you want to write. Not saying it’s a bad thing, because practicing is always good! Not everyone’s first novel has come out perfect or the way that they want. That’s why you just need to proofread, edit and adjust to your liking. A novel takes a lot of time and effort. I look forwards to seeing your progress! Definitely post questions and you can also ask for line by line editing from others on this subreddit. Good luck! | If you're writing fantasy, you could write these short stories as legends and folklore in your main story. It could also be a great way to give your world more depth depending on what you put into these short stories. I'm currently doing a similar thing where I'm writing a series of short stories that serve as a prophecy to the main conflict of the novel that will follow. So basically these short stories serve as a sort of prologue in a way. There's a lot you could do here and I don't think it's a bad idea at all. You'll essentially be improving your skills as a writer and world building at the same time. | 0 | 4,986 | 2 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t3o26 | i2t2ggt | 1,648,700,038 | 1,648,699,335 | 6 | 2 | If you're writing fantasy, you could write these short stories as legends and folklore in your main story. It could also be a great way to give your world more depth depending on what you put into these short stories. I'm currently doing a similar thing where I'm writing a series of short stories that serve as a prophecy to the main conflict of the novel that will follow. So basically these short stories serve as a sort of prologue in a way. There's a lot you could do here and I don't think it's a bad idea at all. You'll essentially be improving your skills as a writer and world building at the same time. | Absolutely. Doing a writing course which recommends doing fragments and playing around with different ideas in the setting for your novel. Then when you have loads of them, you can form them together or at least see what worked and what didn't, plus it's all practice. The course runner says regular writing strengthens the 'writing' muscle. So keep going with short stories and then eventually form it into something grander if you'd like! | 1 | 703 | 3 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2tc7qx | i2stmuh | 1,648,705,436 | 1,648,694,748 | 5 | 3 | Well, writing much like drawing feels like a monolith, but ut's got so many different skills within. I'd say the first thing you need to do is establish what you want to practice. Targeting the skill makes for quicker and more stable improvements. I've started writing fanfiction to improve my character voice, since they already existed in a way I could reference and it was harder to deviate from who they are. I have friends who forced themselves to write as long as they could about a single background, because they were underwriters and wanted to let themselves loose for their first drafts. There's a lot you can do with a single text, so target your practice. Besides, you're worldbuilding. That's an endless and amazing work and I hope you fall in love with it, but worldbuilding involves the past before your story and the future after it. Write short stories in the same world, but in different points in time. You'll gain a deeper understanding of your own world, and it'll be easier for you to gauge how you got to the point of your story, who the people are and how the culture reacts to some things. Just because ut's the same planet doesn't mean it's the same world. | I write short stories to burn off plot bunnies that might detail the main story idea I have going at the time. Write a chapter, write a short, write another chapter. It's fun practice with scenes, dialogue, or characters, and it can help add a lot of life to your world, seeing these little side stories happening around your main adventure. | 1 | 10,688 | 1.666667 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2tc7qx | i2su9zj | 1,648,705,436 | 1,648,695,052 | 5 | 3 | Well, writing much like drawing feels like a monolith, but ut's got so many different skills within. I'd say the first thing you need to do is establish what you want to practice. Targeting the skill makes for quicker and more stable improvements. I've started writing fanfiction to improve my character voice, since they already existed in a way I could reference and it was harder to deviate from who they are. I have friends who forced themselves to write as long as they could about a single background, because they were underwriters and wanted to let themselves loose for their first drafts. There's a lot you can do with a single text, so target your practice. Besides, you're worldbuilding. That's an endless and amazing work and I hope you fall in love with it, but worldbuilding involves the past before your story and the future after it. Write short stories in the same world, but in different points in time. You'll gain a deeper understanding of your own world, and it'll be easier for you to gauge how you got to the point of your story, who the people are and how the culture reacts to some things. Just because ut's the same planet doesn't mean it's the same world. | This is a great idea! It reminds me of Adam Neville the author of the ritual. His other books all link in the same world where the ritual takes place, whether it be a small detail or not. I think it’s a very cool concept. Practicing doesn’t have to have a set standard. Everyone starts somewhere. You could try practicing organization of your story, with details and characters. You could just start writing as well, although sometimes it’s easier to get a feel if you write short descriptions of what’s happening. This is what I usually do when I’m just practicing; 1. Get a set genre or theme 2. Figure out the plot, setting and characters 3. Ask questions. What’s the problem in this story? Is there a common villain? If so, is there a hero? Is the villain a real person or a creature? 4. Start writing. If you plan out the gist of the beginning, and the ending, you can do almost whatever you want in the middle. Sometimes it helps to write an idea for a climax or suspense in the story. Is there a point where you want your Novel to take a sharp turn? In all honesty, short stories are extremely fun. They help you explore different genres and styles of writing. I spent an entire day just looking up different descriptive words in a dictionary, and piecing together sentences with them. Practice researching things as well, it makes life so much easier when you have more information. I did a short story where my character felt extreme fear, so I researched what a panic attack felt like, and what others feared. I made a list of what I found and incorporated it into my story. For characters, I usually don’t describe the main character, unless from a third person view. I advise not to info dump, it will leave the reader unable to process what you wrote, but don’t drag out the info either. You could start by practicing how to put out information, such as describing a place, or character. Slowly give details and make them seem more mysterious, or lay it all out. It’s up to the author (you) to make that decision! Writing short stories is a very good way to practice as well. Don’t be afraid to have others read over your work. Leave it for a few days and come back to read it with a clear mind, most of the time you’ll see mistakes or changes you need to make. I also recommend looking at books and seeing what other authors did to introduce their characters to get a feel of how you need to, some authors include a shit ton of information on characters, and it easily lost the reader when reading. It’s a very fine line of too much and too little information. A key thing to a book is probably research, and dedication. If you don’t put your all into the Nobel it will definitely not turn out the way you expect Although, even if you do have info about your world in your short stories, I would advise not to go into the novel like your reader knows everything about the world. Make sure to include key information about the world, but they can read more if they want to get more into depth about it. You don’t have to necessarily write a “practice novel,” unless you really want to. Although, a practice novel may seem nice, it can also get you caught up with it and hinder your progress on the novel you want to write. Not saying it’s a bad thing, because practicing is always good! Not everyone’s first novel has come out perfect or the way that they want. That’s why you just need to proofread, edit and adjust to your liking. A novel takes a lot of time and effort. I look forwards to seeing your progress! Definitely post questions and you can also ask for line by line editing from others on this subreddit. Good luck! | 1 | 10,384 | 1.666667 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t3wst | i2tc7qx | 1,648,700,180 | 1,648,705,436 | 3 | 5 | Is there a place you can post short stories and get feedback? | Well, writing much like drawing feels like a monolith, but ut's got so many different skills within. I'd say the first thing you need to do is establish what you want to practice. Targeting the skill makes for quicker and more stable improvements. I've started writing fanfiction to improve my character voice, since they already existed in a way I could reference and it was harder to deviate from who they are. I have friends who forced themselves to write as long as they could about a single background, because they were underwriters and wanted to let themselves loose for their first drafts. There's a lot you can do with a single text, so target your practice. Besides, you're worldbuilding. That's an endless and amazing work and I hope you fall in love with it, but worldbuilding involves the past before your story and the future after it. Write short stories in the same world, but in different points in time. You'll gain a deeper understanding of your own world, and it'll be easier for you to gauge how you got to the point of your story, who the people are and how the culture reacts to some things. Just because ut's the same planet doesn't mean it's the same world. | 0 | 5,256 | 1.666667 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t2ggt | i2tc7qx | 1,648,699,335 | 1,648,705,436 | 2 | 5 | Absolutely. Doing a writing course which recommends doing fragments and playing around with different ideas in the setting for your novel. Then when you have loads of them, you can form them together or at least see what worked and what didn't, plus it's all practice. The course runner says regular writing strengthens the 'writing' muscle. So keep going with short stories and then eventually form it into something grander if you'd like! | Well, writing much like drawing feels like a monolith, but ut's got so many different skills within. I'd say the first thing you need to do is establish what you want to practice. Targeting the skill makes for quicker and more stable improvements. I've started writing fanfiction to improve my character voice, since they already existed in a way I could reference and it was harder to deviate from who they are. I have friends who forced themselves to write as long as they could about a single background, because they were underwriters and wanted to let themselves loose for their first drafts. There's a lot you can do with a single text, so target your practice. Besides, you're worldbuilding. That's an endless and amazing work and I hope you fall in love with it, but worldbuilding involves the past before your story and the future after it. Write short stories in the same world, but in different points in time. You'll gain a deeper understanding of your own world, and it'll be easier for you to gauge how you got to the point of your story, who the people are and how the culture reacts to some things. Just because ut's the same planet doesn't mean it's the same world. | 0 | 6,101 | 2.5 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t3wst | i2t2ggt | 1,648,700,180 | 1,648,699,335 | 3 | 2 | Is there a place you can post short stories and get feedback? | Absolutely. Doing a writing course which recommends doing fragments and playing around with different ideas in the setting for your novel. Then when you have loads of them, you can form them together or at least see what worked and what didn't, plus it's all practice. The course runner says regular writing strengthens the 'writing' muscle. So keep going with short stories and then eventually form it into something grander if you'd like! | 1 | 845 | 1.5 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t2ggt | i2tjkk9 | 1,648,699,335 | 1,648,711,089 | 2 | 3 | Absolutely. Doing a writing course which recommends doing fragments and playing around with different ideas in the setting for your novel. Then when you have loads of them, you can form them together or at least see what worked and what didn't, plus it's all practice. The course runner says regular writing strengthens the 'writing' muscle. So keep going with short stories and then eventually form it into something grander if you'd like! | Hey there! I am doing exactly the same thing at the moment! One advice I got from a friend was to use the short stories and snippets two ways - first one you have already covered, the second is to explore characters and plot by thinking "What would have happened if this character did X instead of Y thing? What was this character thinking when this happened?" And other stuff like that. I pretty much wrote my main characters and several secondary that way and obtained a slight idea about my general plot that way, along with the worldbuild of course! | 0 | 11,754 | 1.5 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2t2ggt | i2tkcil | 1,648,699,335 | 1,648,711,739 | 2 | 3 | Absolutely. Doing a writing course which recommends doing fragments and playing around with different ideas in the setting for your novel. Then when you have loads of them, you can form them together or at least see what worked and what didn't, plus it's all practice. The course runner says regular writing strengthens the 'writing' muscle. So keep going with short stories and then eventually form it into something grander if you'd like! | I literally can't write without doing this. My muse just wants to hard derail into fun slice of life moments that have zero plot relevance. They are fun, interesting, and nice for what they are..... But they are going to be the first things cut on second draft. If I fight it? All creativity dries up near instantly. If I indulge it? I not only get a fun side story, I get a massive surge in creativity, motivation, and just generally a better time writing the main story again. I've found it to be a really fun way to explore character and world interactions as well and I've seen some very interesting results come of it. Not to mention the potential for spin off side stories to be released as a companion to the main book (or just a fun collection of shorts that take place in the same world). Tolkien had a lot of that kind of stuff that never made it into the final books but was released as side stories and such even though they tried directly in to The Hobbit and LotR. As far as HOW to write it, other than the generic "just do it" I really liked the Book Architecture series by Stuart Horwitz which feels, to me at least, like a nice free flow but structured approach giving a tool kit to build and edit with rather than a template to fill out. | 0 | 12,404 | 1.5 | ||
tspf0w | writing_train | 0.9 | Is writing short stories in a world im currently building good practice? I have rarely written anything outside of writing things for school and want to start practicing before writing something I really care about (for context the thing I really care about will be the length of a novel). Ive heard that one of the ways to practice is to first write a book that you don't really care about, which I do get because I also do something like that when I'm drawing, as im currently still a beginner in that as well and it helps lessen my anxiety when i draw. I don't think I'll be able to come up with something I dont really care about that I can write something as long as a novel about. I've heard that writing a bunch of short stories is good practice too, but im not sure how to approach this. For one, it has the same problem as me trying to write a "practice novel". Two, I'm not sure if there should be specific things I focus on in the practice short stories or if i should just write whatever. Which brings me to my question; can i write short stories set in the world of the novel I plan to write? These short stories would mainly focus on worldbuilding, and have alot less focus on whatever character im writing in the pov of. Of course, im not going to just info dump explanations on things in the world and im going to show as much as I can, and the characters will have some substance (mainly just a few surface level personality traits, a few sentences worth of backstory, and a conflict ill think of on the fly) but im wondering if this is okay? As in, is writing short stories like this going to be good enough practice for the novel I'll later write? Or should I be writing a "practice novel" i dont really care about? Or should I be writing short stories that have more of a focus on characters? | i2tk4qg | i2tkcil | 1,648,711,558 | 1,648,711,739 | 2 | 3 | It's not going to have a huge market, if that's what you're asking. If it's solely for practice, this is considered the essential baby step to take. We all have been there, I'm still there myself (I kinda abandoned writing in the general sense and more looking into RPG Books myself now!), it's just a good idea. You gain nothing doing something the wrong way dragged out with hundreds of pages, you'll gain the same lessons with a ten page short story, so why not speed it up? If you want to make a bunch of short stories, even shorter like a single paragraph, go for it. Create your little universes and expand them, then ponder what the most interesting parts are for the reader and 100% focus on that in a digestible fashion. This will be a flawless habit that will, in the long term, evolve into something more "professional". | I literally can't write without doing this. My muse just wants to hard derail into fun slice of life moments that have zero plot relevance. They are fun, interesting, and nice for what they are..... But they are going to be the first things cut on second draft. If I fight it? All creativity dries up near instantly. If I indulge it? I not only get a fun side story, I get a massive surge in creativity, motivation, and just generally a better time writing the main story again. I've found it to be a really fun way to explore character and world interactions as well and I've seen some very interesting results come of it. Not to mention the potential for spin off side stories to be released as a companion to the main book (or just a fun collection of shorts that take place in the same world). Tolkien had a lot of that kind of stuff that never made it into the final books but was released as side stories and such even though they tried directly in to The Hobbit and LotR. As far as HOW to write it, other than the generic "just do it" I really liked the Book Architecture series by Stuart Horwitz which feels, to me at least, like a nice free flow but structured approach giving a tool kit to build and edit with rather than a template to fill out. | 0 | 181 | 1.5 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmjp9v | gjmpzjz | 1,610,906,467 | 1,610,908,101 | 27 | 56 | > Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? nope That's because most of the hard work is still to be done. Ideas are the simple part of writing. Sorry, you did the fun part, now either do the rest or... well, don't. It's up to you. You can pay other people to write your story, of course. Depending on the experience of the writer this will set you back a few thousand if not tens of thousand Dollars. | I don't think the right approach is to categorize this as a motivation issue. You sound pretty motivated. You've invested a ton of time into brainstorming and you clearly *want* to write. It's not a motivation issue. If I had to guess, it would be that you're feeling overwhelmed. (1) This project is much larger than anything you've attempted before. (2) You've invested a lot of time and care into your ideas, so you want to do them justice. It's not some huge mystery why so many people can come up with a bunch of ideas and then get stumped with the writing part. The actual writing is the hard part. The idea part is easy. So the first thing you need to do is set aside the idea that just because the ideas came easily that the rest will come easily. I take a three part approach when I'm feeling stuck on something: 1) Find inspiration. Gather the books that make you want to write and read them. Remind yourself of why you love books so much and what you are trying to achieve. 2) Empower yourself with education. Read a book on structure, watch writing youtube videos, do a writing exercise, listen to a writing podcast. When I'm stuck, I like to read about the craft of writing because it reminds me of the tools I have available and it makes me feel like it will be possible to succeed. 3) Set reasonable goals for yourself. Try setting a timer for 20 minutes a day and you have to write steam of consciousness about your book. Set a one sentence per day goal. Set a one scene per week goal. The point is just to get yourself started and to make incremental progress. | 0 | 1,634 | 2.074074 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmh5jt | gjmpzjz | 1,610,905,698 | 1,610,908,101 | 11 | 56 | > My phone app is filled with so many [notes] that I’m running out of storage. Sounds like you have been writing. Give yourself some credit. Even if 2020 hadn’t been a shit show creating anything is hard and you did what you could. Worrying about not having done more in the past won’t produce more pages in the future. Secondly set some smaller goals. Seems like you like the little details so stick to that for a bit. Try to create x little details a week. Then once you’re doing that, turn it into a scene or two a week to connect the details or some dialog that fleshes out a character even. Keep building on that steam and don’t fret if you lose a little. Sorry I don’t have info on ghost writing or selling IP. | I don't think the right approach is to categorize this as a motivation issue. You sound pretty motivated. You've invested a ton of time into brainstorming and you clearly *want* to write. It's not a motivation issue. If I had to guess, it would be that you're feeling overwhelmed. (1) This project is much larger than anything you've attempted before. (2) You've invested a lot of time and care into your ideas, so you want to do them justice. It's not some huge mystery why so many people can come up with a bunch of ideas and then get stumped with the writing part. The actual writing is the hard part. The idea part is easy. So the first thing you need to do is set aside the idea that just because the ideas came easily that the rest will come easily. I take a three part approach when I'm feeling stuck on something: 1) Find inspiration. Gather the books that make you want to write and read them. Remind yourself of why you love books so much and what you are trying to achieve. 2) Empower yourself with education. Read a book on structure, watch writing youtube videos, do a writing exercise, listen to a writing podcast. When I'm stuck, I like to read about the craft of writing because it reminds me of the tools I have available and it makes me feel like it will be possible to succeed. 3) Set reasonable goals for yourself. Try setting a timer for 20 minutes a day and you have to write steam of consciousness about your book. Set a one sentence per day goal. Set a one scene per week goal. The point is just to get yourself started and to make incremental progress. | 0 | 2,403 | 5.090909 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmpzjz | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,908,101 | 1,610,905,845 | 56 | -1 | I don't think the right approach is to categorize this as a motivation issue. You sound pretty motivated. You've invested a ton of time into brainstorming and you clearly *want* to write. It's not a motivation issue. If I had to guess, it would be that you're feeling overwhelmed. (1) This project is much larger than anything you've attempted before. (2) You've invested a lot of time and care into your ideas, so you want to do them justice. It's not some huge mystery why so many people can come up with a bunch of ideas and then get stumped with the writing part. The actual writing is the hard part. The idea part is easy. So the first thing you need to do is set aside the idea that just because the ideas came easily that the rest will come easily. I take a three part approach when I'm feeling stuck on something: 1) Find inspiration. Gather the books that make you want to write and read them. Remind yourself of why you love books so much and what you are trying to achieve. 2) Empower yourself with education. Read a book on structure, watch writing youtube videos, do a writing exercise, listen to a writing podcast. When I'm stuck, I like to read about the craft of writing because it reminds me of the tools I have available and it makes me feel like it will be possible to succeed. 3) Set reasonable goals for yourself. Try setting a timer for 20 minutes a day and you have to write steam of consciousness about your book. Set a one sentence per day goal. Set a one scene per week goal. The point is just to get yourself started and to make incremental progress. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 2,256 | -56 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmjp9v | gjmh5jt | 1,610,906,467 | 1,610,905,698 | 27 | 11 | > Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? nope That's because most of the hard work is still to be done. Ideas are the simple part of writing. Sorry, you did the fun part, now either do the rest or... well, don't. It's up to you. You can pay other people to write your story, of course. Depending on the experience of the writer this will set you back a few thousand if not tens of thousand Dollars. | > My phone app is filled with so many [notes] that I’m running out of storage. Sounds like you have been writing. Give yourself some credit. Even if 2020 hadn’t been a shit show creating anything is hard and you did what you could. Worrying about not having done more in the past won’t produce more pages in the future. Secondly set some smaller goals. Seems like you like the little details so stick to that for a bit. Try to create x little details a week. Then once you’re doing that, turn it into a scene or two a week to connect the details or some dialog that fleshes out a character even. Keep building on that steam and don’t fret if you lose a little. Sorry I don’t have info on ghost writing or selling IP. | 1 | 769 | 2.454545 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjmjp9v | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,906,467 | -1 | 27 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | > Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? nope That's because most of the hard work is still to be done. Ideas are the simple part of writing. Sorry, you did the fun part, now either do the rest or... well, don't. It's up to you. You can pay other people to write your story, of course. Depending on the experience of the writer this will set you back a few thousand if not tens of thousand Dollars. | 0 | 622 | -27 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmsa36 | gjn0j32 | 1,610,908,705 | 1,610,911,950 | 5 | 11 | Could it be that the novel has become a Big Important Thing in your mind? That's a certain way to get blocked. If so, try Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Either that, or put everything on hold with the Big Novel, and just allow yourself to write a small, crappy novel that no one will see. Consider it practice, and see if that breaks through your block. | worldbuilding is not the same as writing. focus on becoming a better writer. the color of your protagonist's shirt is not important. brainstorming is not the same as writing. sit down and write a scene instead of "dreaming" interactions. | 0 | 3,245 | 2.2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmzba4 | gjn0j32 | 1,610,911,512 | 1,610,911,950 | 2 | 11 | I won't say to delete the story you thought up until now but my piece of advice would be to build a habit of writing and disregard your ideas, that blocking your progress, for now. It can be your magnum opus in the future who knows. Anyway, start fresh on a blank piece of paper (or word or whatever) and just write. I know you already did contests and such so I won't recommend that. Just start writing a whole new story. Maybe pick a writing prompt you would never write on your own time. So you can finish the story without thinking it is the best idea in the world. Because the funny thing with ideas is that they are an infinite resource. | worldbuilding is not the same as writing. focus on becoming a better writer. the color of your protagonist's shirt is not important. brainstorming is not the same as writing. sit down and write a scene instead of "dreaming" interactions. | 0 | 438 | 5.5 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjn0j32 | gjmqkl4 | 1,610,911,950 | 1,610,908,253 | 11 | 1 | worldbuilding is not the same as writing. focus on becoming a better writer. the color of your protagonist's shirt is not important. brainstorming is not the same as writing. sit down and write a scene instead of "dreaming" interactions. | Speech to text? | 1 | 3,697 | 11 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjn0j32 | gjmw4q8 | 1,610,911,950 | 1,610,910,262 | 11 | 1 | worldbuilding is not the same as writing. focus on becoming a better writer. the color of your protagonist's shirt is not important. brainstorming is not the same as writing. sit down and write a scene instead of "dreaming" interactions. | Some good advice throughout the thread. Something else that might help is to break up the work into smaller pieces: 1) do some day-in-life scenes with your characters - short stories that focus on the environment each character lives in. Explore context, motivation, emotions, reactions to everyday events, etc 2) explore the interaction two of your characters have with each other. Maybe while they’re shopping or hanging out at the local bar. Just a conversation they have about current events in each other’s lives. 3) take a look at some popular scenarios on reddit, say from entitled parents, I don’t work here, malicious compliance. Consider ONLY the setup, then write what your characters would do in that situation. Finally, don’t try to force these scenes into your narrative - they’re just exercises to help you get to know your characters. Later on if one fits feel free to use it - otherwise, pick one chapter from your story (doesn’t have to be at the beginning) and just start writing. Then pick another, and another. When you have enough chapters written, start to weave them together into your story. If you haven’t already, write the big climax or conclusion so you know where all the characters will end up, so you have a good understanding of the paths each of them must follow. Before you know it you’ll have your completed first draft. | 1 | 1,688 | 11 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjn0j32 | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,911,950 | 1,610,905,845 | 11 | -1 | worldbuilding is not the same as writing. focus on becoming a better writer. the color of your protagonist's shirt is not important. brainstorming is not the same as writing. sit down and write a scene instead of "dreaming" interactions. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 6,105 | -11 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmqkl4 | gjmsa36 | 1,610,908,253 | 1,610,908,705 | 1 | 5 | Speech to text? | Could it be that the novel has become a Big Important Thing in your mind? That's a certain way to get blocked. If so, try Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Either that, or put everything on hold with the Big Novel, and just allow yourself to write a small, crappy novel that no one will see. Consider it practice, and see if that breaks through your block. | 0 | 452 | 5 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmsa36 | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,908,705 | 1,610,905,845 | 5 | -1 | Could it be that the novel has become a Big Important Thing in your mind? That's a certain way to get blocked. If so, try Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Either that, or put everything on hold with the Big Novel, and just allow yourself to write a small, crappy novel that no one will see. Consider it practice, and see if that breaks through your block. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 2,860 | -5 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmzba4 | gjmqkl4 | 1,610,911,512 | 1,610,908,253 | 2 | 1 | I won't say to delete the story you thought up until now but my piece of advice would be to build a habit of writing and disregard your ideas, that blocking your progress, for now. It can be your magnum opus in the future who knows. Anyway, start fresh on a blank piece of paper (or word or whatever) and just write. I know you already did contests and such so I won't recommend that. Just start writing a whole new story. Maybe pick a writing prompt you would never write on your own time. So you can finish the story without thinking it is the best idea in the world. Because the funny thing with ideas is that they are an infinite resource. | Speech to text? | 1 | 3,259 | 2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmzba4 | gjmw4q8 | 1,610,911,512 | 1,610,910,262 | 2 | 1 | I won't say to delete the story you thought up until now but my piece of advice would be to build a habit of writing and disregard your ideas, that blocking your progress, for now. It can be your magnum opus in the future who knows. Anyway, start fresh on a blank piece of paper (or word or whatever) and just write. I know you already did contests and such so I won't recommend that. Just start writing a whole new story. Maybe pick a writing prompt you would never write on your own time. So you can finish the story without thinking it is the best idea in the world. Because the funny thing with ideas is that they are an infinite resource. | Some good advice throughout the thread. Something else that might help is to break up the work into smaller pieces: 1) do some day-in-life scenes with your characters - short stories that focus on the environment each character lives in. Explore context, motivation, emotions, reactions to everyday events, etc 2) explore the interaction two of your characters have with each other. Maybe while they’re shopping or hanging out at the local bar. Just a conversation they have about current events in each other’s lives. 3) take a look at some popular scenarios on reddit, say from entitled parents, I don’t work here, malicious compliance. Consider ONLY the setup, then write what your characters would do in that situation. Finally, don’t try to force these scenes into your narrative - they’re just exercises to help you get to know your characters. Later on if one fits feel free to use it - otherwise, pick one chapter from your story (doesn’t have to be at the beginning) and just start writing. Then pick another, and another. When you have enough chapters written, start to weave them together into your story. If you haven’t already, write the big climax or conclusion so you know where all the characters will end up, so you have a good understanding of the paths each of them must follow. Before you know it you’ll have your completed first draft. | 1 | 1,250 | 2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmzba4 | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,911,512 | 1,610,905,845 | 2 | -1 | I won't say to delete the story you thought up until now but my piece of advice would be to build a habit of writing and disregard your ideas, that blocking your progress, for now. It can be your magnum opus in the future who knows. Anyway, start fresh on a blank piece of paper (or word or whatever) and just write. I know you already did contests and such so I won't recommend that. Just start writing a whole new story. Maybe pick a writing prompt you would never write on your own time. So you can finish the story without thinking it is the best idea in the world. Because the funny thing with ideas is that they are an infinite resource. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 5,667 | -2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmqkl4 | gjnngia | 1,610,908,253 | 1,610,922,324 | 1 | 2 | Speech to text? | Get your head right then write that novel my dude!! Your writing history along with mental health struggles are super relatable. I was prolific at iNote writing before starting my battle with mental health as well. Fast forward to after I’ve put in the work to get my head right and now I’m working on my first novel with a 70,000 word head start. If you can find a way to keep them organized, my method is the program Scrivener, you can come back when you’re ready. You don’t have to give up on the dream because you’re in a rough place! | 0 | 14,071 | 2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmw4q8 | gjnngia | 1,610,910,262 | 1,610,922,324 | 1 | 2 | Some good advice throughout the thread. Something else that might help is to break up the work into smaller pieces: 1) do some day-in-life scenes with your characters - short stories that focus on the environment each character lives in. Explore context, motivation, emotions, reactions to everyday events, etc 2) explore the interaction two of your characters have with each other. Maybe while they’re shopping or hanging out at the local bar. Just a conversation they have about current events in each other’s lives. 3) take a look at some popular scenarios on reddit, say from entitled parents, I don’t work here, malicious compliance. Consider ONLY the setup, then write what your characters would do in that situation. Finally, don’t try to force these scenes into your narrative - they’re just exercises to help you get to know your characters. Later on if one fits feel free to use it - otherwise, pick one chapter from your story (doesn’t have to be at the beginning) and just start writing. Then pick another, and another. When you have enough chapters written, start to weave them together into your story. If you haven’t already, write the big climax or conclusion so you know where all the characters will end up, so you have a good understanding of the paths each of them must follow. Before you know it you’ll have your completed first draft. | Get your head right then write that novel my dude!! Your writing history along with mental health struggles are super relatable. I was prolific at iNote writing before starting my battle with mental health as well. Fast forward to after I’ve put in the work to get my head right and now I’m working on my first novel with a 70,000 word head start. If you can find a way to keep them organized, my method is the program Scrivener, you can come back when you’re ready. You don’t have to give up on the dream because you’re in a rough place! | 0 | 12,062 | 2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjnngia | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,922,324 | 1,610,905,845 | 2 | -1 | Get your head right then write that novel my dude!! Your writing history along with mental health struggles are super relatable. I was prolific at iNote writing before starting my battle with mental health as well. Fast forward to after I’ve put in the work to get my head right and now I’m working on my first novel with a 70,000 word head start. If you can find a way to keep them organized, my method is the program Scrivener, you can come back when you’re ready. You don’t have to give up on the dream because you’re in a rough place! | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 16,479 | -2 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjmqkl4 | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,908,253 | -1 | 1 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | Speech to text? | 0 | 2,408 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjmw4q8 | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,910,262 | -1 | 1 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | Some good advice throughout the thread. Something else that might help is to break up the work into smaller pieces: 1) do some day-in-life scenes with your characters - short stories that focus on the environment each character lives in. Explore context, motivation, emotions, reactions to everyday events, etc 2) explore the interaction two of your characters have with each other. Maybe while they’re shopping or hanging out at the local bar. Just a conversation they have about current events in each other’s lives. 3) take a look at some popular scenarios on reddit, say from entitled parents, I don’t work here, malicious compliance. Consider ONLY the setup, then write what your characters would do in that situation. Finally, don’t try to force these scenes into your narrative - they’re just exercises to help you get to know your characters. Later on if one fits feel free to use it - otherwise, pick one chapter from your story (doesn’t have to be at the beginning) and just start writing. Then pick another, and another. When you have enough chapters written, start to weave them together into your story. If you haven’t already, write the big climax or conclusion so you know where all the characters will end up, so you have a good understanding of the paths each of them must follow. Before you know it you’ll have your completed first draft. | 0 | 4,417 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjnqk2b | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,923,711 | -1 | 1 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | My advice is to write something else, pick an idea that you don't really care about and don't think is that great, something you haven't developed. Then, instead of spending hours worldbuilding, sit down and write it. Expect it to be bad and worthless and put no expectations on yourself. See what happens. | 0 | 17,866 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjnwhwr | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,926,613 | -1 | 1 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | Meh, just continue worldbuilding until geopolitics start to manifest. Then the story line is just "World News Tonight", with Authur Righting. | 0 | 20,768 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjnx2u8 | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,926,916 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | If your mental health is really the main obstacle, you're probably going to have to find a way to address that before anything changes. If it's not the primary factor, though...maybe try not putting your ideas down in notes? I see a lot of people on forums and the like who seem to spend all of their time writing worldbuilding notes and wiki pages and character bios, but never actually write the story itself, and I think in many cases that's because they're using the notes as their primary creative outlet. I personally never write anything down outside of the actual novel itself, partially because I don't want to fall into that trap. I have limited energy for creative work (much more limited than many, due to chronic illness), why would I waste any of it writing down notes? | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 21,071 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjo1r8v | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,929,373 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | If I can be so blunt with you man, as I think this is what you actually need to hear: *Just fucking write.* Sit down, force yourself to write 'chap 1' and 'blondechar1' and then write in blondechar1's voice/mind. The rest will pan out by itself once your flow kicks in. You can change the placeholder names later with 'Replace All.' Just get going. You can't wait for your muse to come to you. No such thing exists. I write three publications per day. Two if I'm busy. One if I'm really busy. But I always write something to publish per day. Do I feel motivated before I do it? Hell no. But it's routine. So, I do it. Sometimes I don't even know what to write, but I do it anyway. This might also inspire you: I'm currently using a 10,000 word outline to write a 50,000 word novel. I know another author who recently did the same. It's very easily achievable, because realistically, everything you need to help you along the way is there; all you have to do is put the time in to add all those juicy verbs and nouns. Finally, until you start writing, *you will never get better.* Prep is just prep. It is not the real thing. There's a point where it becomes procrastination, because actually, while you're doing 'prep,' you're not gaining any skill in the actual act of writing. That's bad. Writing improves over time by outlining stories on the fly, each and every day, whilst depending on your subconscious to do the work. Every day you don't put the pen to pad, your quality is slipping. But it can only improve the more you write, so just *write.* Very soon you'll be dead, and if you've wrote 100 shit pieces by the time you're 70, then your 101st will be the best of the best of the best; and if that's the one you publish, that will be the one that breaks tall ground and sells like a motherf\*\*cker... and it will all be worth it. Though I highly recommend you publish everything you write, whether it sells or not is just good data. Do it man. Stop with the prep. Write something real. I believe in you, jiayou! **P.S:** I am not unsympathetic to your situation. I had 'depression' for 7 years. I no longer believe in 'depression.' I think depression is a pretty depressing term. You can easily get over depression, like I did, if you simply change your mindset towards it. Doctors and shrinks make it sound like the be-all and end-all of bullshit. A head-stopper, thought-killer, body-drainer; I don't think so. It's just an emotion, like any other. Everything resets after a good night's sleep and then the rest is choice. Are you choosing to remain depressed? I bet you are, because I was. Sorry, but true. Our patterns make us depressed. So, change your patterns. Including new routines in your day is proven to cure depression. Grounding yourself (walking in the woods with no shoes on) is proven to reduce inflammation. Meditating, exercise, drinking more water. Activities that force you to do new things '*cure*' depression. But they only cure it because you're not thinking about it anymore, because it's only a state of mind. (Sorry to anyone who thinks otherwise, because you're in the trap you've set yourself.) Rumination is a writer's death. It's any artists death. Rumination is resistance. Do not succumb to it. You're in now. I can see it in your post. You have to ignore it. You have to identify it. And you have to shove it away. Do not let rumination kill your muse, my guy. You can start writing now, today, right this second. But I'm afraid it takes guts. You need to open your pad, think, 'I'm going to do this,' and set yourself a 500 word quota. If you don't hit 500 words, *you don't eat.* You don't get to play video games. You don't get to \[do that thing you use for escapism, *which I know you do, so stop lying!*\] Take away your decadence, make yourself **hungry,** and you will want to write. The hunger to write is essential. Make it physical if you have to. If this is your dream, and you mean it, then do it. Otherwise, you might as well stick to a 9-5 and get stuck in a dead-end job like everybody else if you're not serious, because until you start considering yourself as a professional, you are not knocking out 9,000 words per day (which I do, so it *is* achievable.) It's all up here man. All up here. Message me if you need advice, but depend on **no one** to solve your mental health for you. It takes willpower and courage. I prayed to Buddha, and he helped; so, have a think, then **act** and the **effect** you desire will follow. Good luck. If your mind feels attack by anything in this post, reader, that's resistance fucking with you. It doesn't want you to be happy. Push past it. This' the hard truth, and something I think a lot of people need to hear. Feel blessed, feel loved, writing's gold; the best of the best of the best. Feel happy and wholesome, you deserve it. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 23,528 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjo6kar | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,931,851 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | Just start writing. Pick one story, and stick with it. Don’t bounce around. Force yourself to finish the roughest crappiest draft you can, and I promise it will all change at that point. If you can’t write, the at least make a skeleton of your plot, either with a timeline or something like that. Just do it. Don’t talk about it, be about it. You’re afraid it’ll suck. It will. Then it’ll get better. But you have to start. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 26,006 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjo8w2r | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,933,085 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | Quick fix: sit down at your PC. Write something, ignore any inclinations to the contrary. Edit it. Repeat until you have a complete novel. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 27,240 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjoelpr | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,936,145 | -1 | 1 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | You wanna give me one of them? | 0 | 30,300 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjofy76 | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,936,860 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | I've been doing the same thing it's quite angering as well. However I suggest using Dan Harmons story circle. It's real quick and easy to do but it helps keep you on track. Now if that doesn't work I suggest doing Screen Plays for a bit. They're very fun to write but aren't as long writing as a full novel. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 31,015 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjowobn | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,946,710 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | If you feel like you're going to burst if you don't write it all down in a cool story, I feel you. If you find life too stressful now, you can either do something else that helps you feel better, or you can commit to do something which you've wanted to do for a long time. I can tell you that the latter lifted my spirits way more than I thought it would. Seeing the characters and concepts I've had in my head for so long come to life felt extremely satisfying. This is not to say the other option is invalid. Take as much time as you need to get into the right frame of mind. If you're frustrated with the amount of time you have, and you want to get started as soon as possible, prepare to sacrifice your time reserved for sleep, or work, or Netflix. If you don't know where to start, throw chronology out the window and start writing whatever you already have concrete in your notes, doesn't matter if that comes in the 2nd act, or during the final showdown, or what have you. Start writing without context. Just bring those dreams and visions into more solid terms. Your human brain with its need for patterns and closure will immediately start working on what happened before and after the events you're describing. This will mean a lot of rewriting later, yes, but it'll result in a better product. If you have problems with motivation, have small goals for every day, and then scale it up as you find the time. As soon as you start achieving those "50 words a day" targets you'll be raring to get to 100, then 200, and so on. On days where you're "just not feeling it" give yourself a break and casually read whatever you've written. More often than not you'll find mistakes so hard to ignore that you'll end up writing anyway. (_continues in low voice_ If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...) | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 40,865 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjoxndo | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,947,367 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | Seems pretty basic. You've got the details of a story, but no story. Make a story. Might not be easy to think of something, but it's what you have to do. Also, if you are just starting with the actual story aspect, it might be a little too daunting to try and tie in all the the ideas you thought up all at once. Start small. Do a perspective-write of just one character. This will walk you into your own story and from there you can begin to fill in the wider world and orient how you want things to go. A tried and true is to just begin writing something. Write it and read it and then you can see what you are going for and what you need to change. You might never use all the ideas you came up with, and that's okay. | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 41,522 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjmhmn9 | gjpfzk5 | 1,610,905,845 | 1,610,962,766 | -1 | 1 | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | Curious you mention dreams. Writing a story from ideas is like trying to explain a dream, in that you can see it all perfect and clear in your head, but as soon as you try to say it out loud it seems to lose all notions of coherence and meaning. This is why unless you accept that what you write won't ever hold a candle to all you planned to create in your mind and notes, you'll never be satisfied with what you produce. Bridging that gap is the life long skill a writer learns to master, so be humble. You'll end up being grateful for everything you wrote, even the worst stuff, but you need to finish it and get better first. It's also not a good idea to pass the blame to mental health. It is a serious matter and I believe you when you say that's impairing you, but it's still unwise to focus on that. You'll always find an excuse for your hesitation, no matter what condition you're in. You have to be writing in spite of the obstacles that hold you back. Everybody does, since otherwise nobody would ever get anything done. | 0 | 56,921 | -1 | ||
kzarh4 | writing_train | 0.88 | I have dozens of novel concepts, plots, dialogue and characters fully hammered out - down to the color of my protagonists shirt. But I can’t write anything.... It’s very disheartening for me knowing I have so many ideas but I can’t find the motivation to write. My phone notes app is filled with so many that I’m running out of storage on my phone. Most of the original ideas come through my dreams and I build on them. I don’t know maybe it’s writers block, maybe it’s the lack of motivation due to my crap mental health, maybe it’s just that 2020 was insanely difficult on my family. I just want to write. I’ve been writing since I was a kid (mostly poetry and short stories) I won a few awards, got selected for a few writers conferences, had 1 poem published.. and then I quit writing. It’s always been a passion of mine to one day finish a novel and be published.. and so far I can barely get myself to write anymore. I feel like I’m wasting several good ideas that I worked on and spent time crafting, building plots, etc and I’m unable to use them. Is there a way to sell my plot and characters to someone else to write? Or has anyone else ever helped ghost write a novel in this way? I want to use my ideas or skills, but I’m finding it very difficult due to - I’m assuming my mental health. Any advice helps. Thank you. | gjqv3ju | gjmhmn9 | 1,610,995,961 | 1,610,905,845 | 1 | -1 | I don't know what 2020 looked like for you, but I wouldn't be too hard on myself for not abounding in motivation or inspiration after the rollercoaster that has been the past year. If this has been an ongoing struggle, however, perhaps reflect where this friction is coming from by identifying what you like and dislike about each step of the writing process. Do you actually enjoy the process of putting words on paper, or do you find more joy in the creative aspect of plot/world/character building? For example, if you dislike typing or find the act of sitting in front of a computer for hours only slightly more pleasant than grating your forehead against a cheese grater, of course you are going to find other things to do instead of writing. Maybe a speech-to-text program will help you get words on a page. Maybe you need to commit to writing in 10-minute mini-sessions, or even to writing in one sentence increments, instead of telling yourself you should try a multi-hour marathon. Maybe you need to give yourself time and space to take care of your mental health and fall in love with life again so that you have the mental space to embrace even the difficult aspects of the writing process. I have no idea what is adding friction in your circumstances, but identifying it is the first step to finding a way around it. I have the opposite issue; I love writing, but the most difficult part for me is figuring out what the heck I am writing about. Plots and characters do not come easily to me, and while I love finding just the right words for something, most of what I write just seems to end up being a lame imitation of another plot. Every writer has different strengths and weaknesses, so maybe what would be helpful for you is finding another writer whose strengths will complement your weaknesses. I'm sure that I am not the only person who is looking for another writer who loves character-building and creating plots to collaborate with! | You can't sell just your ideas unless you copyright them. It's not a hard process, or even a lengthy one, iirc. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Here is the FAQ for the US copyright page. If you can get your IP copyrighted you could potentially sell it to someone to write it out. However, I would never buy someone else's IP just to write THEIR idea. I would accept money to write for them, but not the other way around. It would be more likely that you can sell it to a company that has writers, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Why buy your untested one, when they can come up with their own for free. On to your other issue. Writing is as much of a discipline as it is an art. Any writer and potential writer can relate to a lack of motivation. You have to find a way to MAKE yourself do it. What comes out doesn't have to be good. It's better to put terrible writing on paper than to never write anything good at all. Make a schedule, block out distractions, do whatever you have to. Just write. | 1 | 90,116 | -1 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4bvw2 | dd4cl4j | 1,485,818,869 | 1,485,819,715 | 14 | 56 | You're not writing a man, or a woman, or a whatever. You're writing a person. Write them like a *person*. They're not defined by something specific, they're defined by being a person. There is no "secret trick" for a man to write female characters; mystical stuff the man has to go study and learn. There is no equally subtle trick for a woman to write male characters. You just write a character. Their genitals, color, whatever, is secondary to the fact that they're a person. Characters are individuals. Unique. You're you, they're them. Write them. | I am a white chick, and I just wrote a story with a black male lead and white female lead. Not because I set out to write an interracial couple, but because he just 'felt' black. I haven't gone out of my way to be all like, "HE'S BLACK, EVERYONE!!" I just wrote his story. He's a workaholic, he can't cook, he likes terrible art, and dumb jokes. He's a person. Plain and simple. I really dislike the notion that you have to write a character any different because they aren't "your" type. I've written characters of all kinds, and never even thought twice about changing how I wrote them because of how *different* they are. I make them human and fallible and interesting because of WHO they are, plain and simple. Looks and gender really don't matter in that quest. | 0 | 846 | 4 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4cl4j | dd4atb9 | 1,485,819,715 | 1,485,817,590 | 56 | 5 | I am a white chick, and I just wrote a story with a black male lead and white female lead. Not because I set out to write an interracial couple, but because he just 'felt' black. I haven't gone out of my way to be all like, "HE'S BLACK, EVERYONE!!" I just wrote his story. He's a workaholic, he can't cook, he likes terrible art, and dumb jokes. He's a person. Plain and simple. I really dislike the notion that you have to write a character any different because they aren't "your" type. I've written characters of all kinds, and never even thought twice about changing how I wrote them because of how *different* they are. I make them human and fallible and interesting because of WHO they are, plain and simple. Looks and gender really don't matter in that quest. | Write a few scenes and then ask a woman of color to critique them. As a white, hetero, middle-aged male myself, I'm afraid that's the best I can suggest. | 1 | 2,125 | 11.2 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4cl4j | dd4baim | 1,485,819,715 | 1,485,818,160 | 56 | 1 | I am a white chick, and I just wrote a story with a black male lead and white female lead. Not because I set out to write an interracial couple, but because he just 'felt' black. I haven't gone out of my way to be all like, "HE'S BLACK, EVERYONE!!" I just wrote his story. He's a workaholic, he can't cook, he likes terrible art, and dumb jokes. He's a person. Plain and simple. I really dislike the notion that you have to write a character any different because they aren't "your" type. I've written characters of all kinds, and never even thought twice about changing how I wrote them because of how *different* they are. I make them human and fallible and interesting because of WHO they are, plain and simple. Looks and gender really don't matter in that quest. | >I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” GRRM had a pretty great quote about how he accomplishes this that I think is relevant and absolutely a repost I believe the same can be applied to every race and gender. Some more practical advice just in general as far as being a writer is concerned would be to talk to the kind of people you want to inhabit your world. If you wanted to write a story about what its like to be a person of color, talk to some people of color. Don't interrogate them! Just talk to them like you would any of your friends or acquaintances. Get to know them. Understand their fears, wants and desires as character motivations are far more important than the color of their skin or what is between their legs and character motivations are what we, as readers, identify with above and beyond the physical traits of a given character. The same would apply if you wanted to write a story about train conductors or astronauts... I don't identify with Florention Ariza from Love in the Time of Cholera because I am of Latin descent (I am not latino) but because of what motivates him to act the way he does, in this case, his love for Fermina. | 1 | 1,555 | 56 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4bvw2 | dd4atb9 | 1,485,818,869 | 1,485,817,590 | 14 | 5 | You're not writing a man, or a woman, or a whatever. You're writing a person. Write them like a *person*. They're not defined by something specific, they're defined by being a person. There is no "secret trick" for a man to write female characters; mystical stuff the man has to go study and learn. There is no equally subtle trick for a woman to write male characters. You just write a character. Their genitals, color, whatever, is secondary to the fact that they're a person. Characters are individuals. Unique. You're you, they're them. Write them. | Write a few scenes and then ask a woman of color to critique them. As a white, hetero, middle-aged male myself, I'm afraid that's the best I can suggest. | 1 | 1,279 | 2.8 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4bvw2 | dd4baim | 1,485,818,869 | 1,485,818,160 | 14 | 1 | You're not writing a man, or a woman, or a whatever. You're writing a person. Write them like a *person*. They're not defined by something specific, they're defined by being a person. There is no "secret trick" for a man to write female characters; mystical stuff the man has to go study and learn. There is no equally subtle trick for a woman to write male characters. You just write a character. Their genitals, color, whatever, is secondary to the fact that they're a person. Characters are individuals. Unique. You're you, they're them. Write them. | >I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” GRRM had a pretty great quote about how he accomplishes this that I think is relevant and absolutely a repost I believe the same can be applied to every race and gender. Some more practical advice just in general as far as being a writer is concerned would be to talk to the kind of people you want to inhabit your world. If you wanted to write a story about what its like to be a person of color, talk to some people of color. Don't interrogate them! Just talk to them like you would any of your friends or acquaintances. Get to know them. Understand their fears, wants and desires as character motivations are far more important than the color of their skin or what is between their legs and character motivations are what we, as readers, identify with above and beyond the physical traits of a given character. The same would apply if you wanted to write a story about train conductors or astronauts... I don't identify with Florention Ariza from Love in the Time of Cholera because I am of Latin descent (I am not latino) but because of what motivates him to act the way he does, in this case, his love for Fermina. | 1 | 709 | 14 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4en3a | dd4f7p2 | 1,485,822,262 | 1,485,822,978 | 9 | 12 | Just write the story. Let it come from your gut (or wherever your words come from) and finish it. When you're done, and it's time to edit, then, in my opinion, I think you should worry about whether or not your bias/privilege is showing. Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina. (Toni) Morrison wrote white and black men. Etc.,etc., ad infinitum. This is fiction. Our imaginations are boundless. Our imaginations are capable. I'm a black man and I write *all* races and *all* genders. I write *characters* that best suit the story. If I don't know something, I research. If I'm stumped, I ask someone who knows, or I let it alone. I don't quite know how to explain it, but there's something about your question that is slightly uncomfortable. I think it's well-intentioned, but I wonder about the person who needs to make a spectacle about asking such a thing. (Btw, if you're not making a spectacle, I apologize. I'm not here to insult.) In my opinion, you should just write it from your gut/heart/head/or wherever and finish it. When it's done, if you're still concerned, hire a woman editor...who is of the particular race that you're writing about. Good luck either way. More writing in the world is always a good thing. | Is there anything preventing you from just writing the story as you would if the protagonist looked like you and then casually mentioning that it's a woman and non-white? I think you're already starting to go down the wrong path by thinking that someone from another race or gender is so foreign to you that you don't know how to write them. Unless your story will be detailing all the fun and glory that is menstruation and child birth, I'm curious as to what leads you to believe you'd run into any issues writing a character that wasn't male. Something else to consider is that there is no singular experience for any group of people. My life experiences as a intra-GenX/Gen Y black woman from the suburbs is going to be entirely different from another black woman born ten years earlier or later from some small town in the deep south. The odds are the more you attempt to research other genders/cultures/whatever in hopes of doing them justice, the more likely you are to incorporate stereotypes into your writing. Just write the character you wish to write. | 0 | 716 | 1.333333 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4ea2z | dd4en3a | 1,485,821,811 | 1,485,822,262 | 6 | 9 | Good luck. No matter what you do, somebody won't like it. :) | Just write the story. Let it come from your gut (or wherever your words come from) and finish it. When you're done, and it's time to edit, then, in my opinion, I think you should worry about whether or not your bias/privilege is showing. Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina. (Toni) Morrison wrote white and black men. Etc.,etc., ad infinitum. This is fiction. Our imaginations are boundless. Our imaginations are capable. I'm a black man and I write *all* races and *all* genders. I write *characters* that best suit the story. If I don't know something, I research. If I'm stumped, I ask someone who knows, or I let it alone. I don't quite know how to explain it, but there's something about your question that is slightly uncomfortable. I think it's well-intentioned, but I wonder about the person who needs to make a spectacle about asking such a thing. (Btw, if you're not making a spectacle, I apologize. I'm not here to insult.) In my opinion, you should just write it from your gut/heart/head/or wherever and finish it. When it's done, if you're still concerned, hire a woman editor...who is of the particular race that you're writing about. Good luck either way. More writing in the world is always a good thing. | 0 | 451 | 1.5 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4en3a | dd4atb9 | 1,485,822,262 | 1,485,817,590 | 9 | 5 | Just write the story. Let it come from your gut (or wherever your words come from) and finish it. When you're done, and it's time to edit, then, in my opinion, I think you should worry about whether or not your bias/privilege is showing. Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina. (Toni) Morrison wrote white and black men. Etc.,etc., ad infinitum. This is fiction. Our imaginations are boundless. Our imaginations are capable. I'm a black man and I write *all* races and *all* genders. I write *characters* that best suit the story. If I don't know something, I research. If I'm stumped, I ask someone who knows, or I let it alone. I don't quite know how to explain it, but there's something about your question that is slightly uncomfortable. I think it's well-intentioned, but I wonder about the person who needs to make a spectacle about asking such a thing. (Btw, if you're not making a spectacle, I apologize. I'm not here to insult.) In my opinion, you should just write it from your gut/heart/head/or wherever and finish it. When it's done, if you're still concerned, hire a woman editor...who is of the particular race that you're writing about. Good luck either way. More writing in the world is always a good thing. | Write a few scenes and then ask a woman of color to critique them. As a white, hetero, middle-aged male myself, I'm afraid that's the best I can suggest. | 1 | 4,672 | 1.8 | ||
5r492p | writing_train | 0.65 | I'm a white dude that is tired of writing about white dudes... What do I need to be mindful of as I start a new project with a non-white woman as my protagonist? Lately, I’ve been growing more aware of the fact that I naturally gravitate towards writing stories with a white male as the protagonist. I’m not a really seasoned writer, but I’m actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is so hard for me to actually write anything other than a guy (who is usually white in my mind’s eye) as the main character in my stories. I finally decided that enough is enough… I’m going to write a spec screenplay with a non-white girl as the main protagonist. The only issue with this is that I honestly don’t know what to expect, how to start, or, most importantly, what to watch out for as I write. I’ll be careful as I write a character that is different from myself, of course, but I just feel very under-educated when it comes to moving my writing forward while being socially conscious. I’ve heard about the Bechdel Test, but I’m not really sure that that’s the problem I’ll be facing… I understand that writing a woman in a story is different from writing a man, and I certainly wouldn’t write a woman as a sex object or someone that can only accomplish anything if they have the help of a dude. I’m more worried about the less obvious forms of sexism and stereotyping that I might unknowingly use during the writing process. I know that lots of people credit George Martin for writing “great female characters,” but most of the girls I’ve talked to aren’t usually aware of the way their nipples feel against their blouses… It’s easy to write what we know, but I’m of the opinion that writing what we don’t know is difficult, but much more important sometimes. Has anyone else come across this problem? Am I the only white dude that wants to write a good character that isn’t a stereotype or unknowingly sexist? Surely I can’t be the only guy that wants to tackle this problem instead of settling into an ethnocentric, male gaze for the rest of my days. Hopefully my question and situation is clear from that block of text… | dd4en3a | dd4egeq | 1,485,822,262 | 1,485,822,032 | 9 | 4 | Just write the story. Let it come from your gut (or wherever your words come from) and finish it. When you're done, and it's time to edit, then, in my opinion, I think you should worry about whether or not your bias/privilege is showing. Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina. (Toni) Morrison wrote white and black men. Etc.,etc., ad infinitum. This is fiction. Our imaginations are boundless. Our imaginations are capable. I'm a black man and I write *all* races and *all* genders. I write *characters* that best suit the story. If I don't know something, I research. If I'm stumped, I ask someone who knows, or I let it alone. I don't quite know how to explain it, but there's something about your question that is slightly uncomfortable. I think it's well-intentioned, but I wonder about the person who needs to make a spectacle about asking such a thing. (Btw, if you're not making a spectacle, I apologize. I'm not here to insult.) In my opinion, you should just write it from your gut/heart/head/or wherever and finish it. When it's done, if you're still concerned, hire a woman editor...who is of the particular race that you're writing about. Good luck either way. More writing in the world is always a good thing. | You shouldn't run into any problems unless you're addressing specific issues or circumstances in which that person may have a different perspective based on their gender or race. For example, a woman at a bar cannot take it for granted that she can just get up and go to the restroom and leave her drink unattended. This is something that would not occur to me as a man. I would write your character as a person obviously, and then have it critiqued by a female of that race to see if any red flags jump out. Memoirs of a Geisha was written by a white man, so it can be done successfully. | 1 | 230 | 2.25 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.