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xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqcqf7m | iqdhui1 | 1,664,450,353 | 1,664,463,685 | 4 | 6 | Write however it feels right for you, especially if it's your first go, the more you write the more clearly you will see what suits you. I'm also currently writing a book in first person present tense, switching 4 POVs and I love it. | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | 0 | 13,332 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqc2s5a | iqcqf7m | 1,664,430,809 | 1,664,450,353 | 1 | 4 | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | Write however it feels right for you, especially if it's your first go, the more you write the more clearly you will see what suits you. I'm also currently writing a book in first person present tense, switching 4 POVs and I love it. | 0 | 19,544 | 4 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdhui1 | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,463,685 | 1,664,463,017 | 6 | 3 | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 1 | 668 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqc2s5a | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,430,809 | 1,664,463,017 | 1 | 3 | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 0 | 32,208 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd5wq8 | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,458,609 | 1,664,463,017 | 2 | 3 | I personally love first person present. I'm working on a fantasy series set with first person present. Why? Because I want to. I think it's different than all the third person past stories. In the end, there are no hard rules for writing. Just write what you feel is right. | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 0 | 4,408 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdg7w0 | iqd6zw7 | 1,664,463,017 | 1,664,459,097 | 3 | 2 | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | Many great books and stories are written in first person. Go for it, if it's what feels natural to your story. | 1 | 3,920 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd9396 | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,460,011 | 1,664,463,017 | 2 | 3 | First Person Present can be engaging. | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 0 | 3,006 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqddi0m | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,461,892 | 1,664,463,017 | 2 | 3 | I absolutely hate it and will only read a book written in that perspective if friends whose opinions I respect tell me it's really good. If I pick up a random book in the store and see it's present tense, it already puts me off, but first person too? Wow, nope. Too jarring for me. But everyone's taste is different so some people might like it. | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 0 | 1,125 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdccen | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,461,406 | 1,664,463,017 | 1 | 3 | If you’re looking to write for the broadest possible audience and your goal is commercial success, past tense is your best bet. It’s the most common form and therefore what the most readers are the most comfortable with. | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 0 | 1,611 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdflan | iqdg7w0 | 1,664,462,762 | 1,664,463,017 | 1 | 3 | Meh I don’t like reading it, but someone else might really enjoy it. It’s up to you | I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and saw several books completely at random that were first person present. I see no problem with it. | 0 | 255 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdhui1 | iqc2s5a | 1,664,463,685 | 1,664,430,809 | 6 | 1 | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | 1 | 32,876 | 6 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdhui1 | iqd5wq8 | 1,664,463,685 | 1,664,458,609 | 6 | 2 | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | I personally love first person present. I'm working on a fantasy series set with first person present. Why? Because I want to. I think it's different than all the third person past stories. In the end, there are no hard rules for writing. Just write what you feel is right. | 1 | 5,076 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd6zw7 | iqdhui1 | 1,664,459,097 | 1,664,463,685 | 2 | 6 | Many great books and stories are written in first person. Go for it, if it's what feels natural to your story. | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | 0 | 4,588 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd9396 | iqdhui1 | 1,664,460,011 | 1,664,463,685 | 2 | 6 | First Person Present can be engaging. | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | 0 | 3,674 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqddi0m | iqdhui1 | 1,664,461,892 | 1,664,463,685 | 2 | 6 | I absolutely hate it and will only read a book written in that perspective if friends whose opinions I respect tell me it's really good. If I pick up a random book in the store and see it's present tense, it already puts me off, but first person too? Wow, nope. Too jarring for me. But everyone's taste is different so some people might like it. | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | 0 | 1,793 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdccen | iqdhui1 | 1,664,461,406 | 1,664,463,685 | 1 | 6 | If you’re looking to write for the broadest possible audience and your goal is commercial success, past tense is your best bet. It’s the most common form and therefore what the most readers are the most comfortable with. | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | 0 | 2,279 | 6 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdflan | iqdhui1 | 1,664,462,762 | 1,664,463,685 | 1 | 6 | Meh I don’t like reading it, but someone else might really enjoy it. It’s up to you | For me, it's hard to pull off and do well, but as a reader, I absolutely love first person present POV when it's well-written. Nothing grips me quite like walking through the story with the main character as it's happening. I don't have a lot of street cred for giving advice, but that's my take as a reader and small-time indie writer. | 0 | 923 | 6 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqc2s5a | iqe8ddr | 1,664,430,809 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 43,427 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqd5wq8 | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,458,609 | 3 | 2 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | I personally love first person present. I'm working on a fantasy series set with first person present. Why? Because I want to. I think it's different than all the third person past stories. In the end, there are no hard rules for writing. Just write what you feel is right. | 1 | 15,627 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd6zw7 | iqe8ddr | 1,664,459,097 | 1,664,474,236 | 2 | 3 | Many great books and stories are written in first person. Go for it, if it's what feels natural to your story. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 15,139 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd9396 | iqe8ddr | 1,664,460,011 | 1,664,474,236 | 2 | 3 | First Person Present can be engaging. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 14,225 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqddi0m | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,461,892 | 3 | 2 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | I absolutely hate it and will only read a book written in that perspective if friends whose opinions I respect tell me it's really good. If I pick up a random book in the store and see it's present tense, it already puts me off, but first person too? Wow, nope. Too jarring for me. But everyone's taste is different so some people might like it. | 1 | 12,344 | 1.5 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdccen | iqe8ddr | 1,664,461,406 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | If you’re looking to write for the broadest possible audience and your goal is commercial success, past tense is your best bet. It’s the most common form and therefore what the most readers are the most comfortable with. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 12,830 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdflan | iqe8ddr | 1,664,462,762 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | Meh I don’t like reading it, but someone else might really enjoy it. It’s up to you | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 11,474 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqdi30y | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,463,783 | 3 | 1 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | no matter what perspective i’m writing in, i cannot write in past tense. like never. it’s always present tense. you should always write in whatever perspective and tense you want, and what also makes you comfortable and what makes the the story flow better | 1 | 10,453 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqdmvw5 | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,465,741 | 3 | 1 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | I mean there is no right or wrong answer, it depends on the reader but to me first person doesn't give you as much scenario setup or sensory writing of things or places as much as third person may do. But then again that is my opinion. You can try to experiment with both perspectives and see which one may fit better | 1 | 8,495 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdn8po | iqe8ddr | 1,664,465,884 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | Why would it be? Screw what people say and write in the way the story is supposed to go. If you can’t help but go first person that is because that’s how the story wants to be told. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 8,352 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqdpht7 | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,466,784 | 3 | 1 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | The first book that jumped to mind was The Great Gatsby, and I’m fairly certain it’s considered one of the greatest American novels. At the end of the day, I say write in a way that best serves your story. Screw the haters. | 1 | 7,452 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdr73m | iqe8ddr | 1,664,467,468 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | If you think you can write it well, by all means. Just know that a standard exists for a reason. RomCom is one of those genres that typically demand a fair bit of external omniscience, since most of the time IRL we're not even truly aware of how we act and feel in romantic pursuits. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 6,768 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdrzmb | iqe8ddr | 1,664,467,789 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | It honestly depends, sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't. I feel like it easier writing in 3rd person, but 1st person can work. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 6,447 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqdwvxs | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,469,728 | 3 | 1 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | Not at all, nearly all of Bret Easton Ellis's books are first person present and they're adult and well respected. You should check out The Rules of Attraction by him. | 1 | 4,508 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqe195x | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,471,446 | 3 | 1 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | There are almost no absolutes in writing. I would still try to get used to writing in past tense to flex your writing muscles, but maybe you keep writing in present because that's what this particular story needs. If you write the whole thing and then find out it should be past tense after all it will take time to edit but it's not impossible. | 1 | 2,790 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe22py | iqe8ddr | 1,664,471,769 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | I feel like almost every book that gets hyped up on BookTok is in 1st person/present tense, even supposedly “adult” fiction authors like Colleen Hoover and Taylor Reid Jenkins. So yes, it makes for a juvenile YA sounding narrative voice more than 50% of the time but if that’s what’s calling to you, it definitely won’t get in the way of your book finding readers. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 2,467 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe8ddr | iqe30e9 | 1,664,474,236 | 1,664,472,131 | 3 | 1 | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | I hope not, I write in first person present as well. I like the immediacy of it. | 1 | 2,105 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe5y0y | iqe8ddr | 1,664,473,284 | 1,664,474,236 | 1 | 3 | Do what you want to do. Live your best life. | I wrote a novel published with Penguin Random House in 2015. Used first, third and even second person, weird as that sounds. All for good reason. The book did well, went on to garner a fair amount of acclaim, and not once did my first, second and third ever get called out. Play jazz, my friend. | 0 | 952 | 3 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd5wq8 | iqc2s5a | 1,664,458,609 | 1,664,430,809 | 2 | 1 | I personally love first person present. I'm working on a fantasy series set with first person present. Why? Because I want to. I think it's different than all the third person past stories. In the end, there are no hard rules for writing. Just write what you feel is right. | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | 1 | 27,800 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqd6zw7 | iqc2s5a | 1,664,459,097 | 1,664,430,809 | 2 | 1 | Many great books and stories are written in first person. Go for it, if it's what feels natural to your story. | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | 1 | 28,288 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqc2s5a | iqd9396 | 1,664,430,809 | 1,664,460,011 | 1 | 2 | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | First Person Present can be engaging. | 0 | 29,202 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqc2s5a | iqddi0m | 1,664,430,809 | 1,664,461,892 | 1 | 2 | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | I absolutely hate it and will only read a book written in that perspective if friends whose opinions I respect tell me it's really good. If I pick up a random book in the store and see it's present tense, it already puts me off, but first person too? Wow, nope. Too jarring for me. But everyone's taste is different so some people might like it. | 0 | 31,083 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqhb8mm | iqc2s5a | 1,664,531,988 | 1,664,430,809 | 2 | 1 | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | It's a first draft. Write it how you're comfortable writing it and worry about the technical stuff in edits. I personally think present tense is the worst, but that's my own opinion, and I've used it myself (kicking, screaming, and swearing the entire time) a few times when the story called for it. | 1 | 101,179 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqddi0m | iqdccen | 1,664,461,892 | 1,664,461,406 | 2 | 1 | I absolutely hate it and will only read a book written in that perspective if friends whose opinions I respect tell me it's really good. If I pick up a random book in the store and see it's present tense, it already puts me off, but first person too? Wow, nope. Too jarring for me. But everyone's taste is different so some people might like it. | If you’re looking to write for the broadest possible audience and your goal is commercial success, past tense is your best bet. It’s the most common form and therefore what the most readers are the most comfortable with. | 1 | 486 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdccen | iqhb8mm | 1,664,461,406 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | If you’re looking to write for the broadest possible audience and your goal is commercial success, past tense is your best bet. It’s the most common form and therefore what the most readers are the most comfortable with. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 70,582 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdflan | iqhb8mm | 1,664,462,762 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | Meh I don’t like reading it, but someone else might really enjoy it. It’s up to you | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 69,226 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdi30y | iqhb8mm | 1,664,463,783 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | no matter what perspective i’m writing in, i cannot write in past tense. like never. it’s always present tense. you should always write in whatever perspective and tense you want, and what also makes you comfortable and what makes the the story flow better | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 68,205 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdmvw5 | iqhb8mm | 1,664,465,741 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | I mean there is no right or wrong answer, it depends on the reader but to me first person doesn't give you as much scenario setup or sensory writing of things or places as much as third person may do. But then again that is my opinion. You can try to experiment with both perspectives and see which one may fit better | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 66,247 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdn8po | iqhb8mm | 1,664,465,884 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | Why would it be? Screw what people say and write in the way the story is supposed to go. If you can’t help but go first person that is because that’s how the story wants to be told. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 66,104 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdpht7 | iqhb8mm | 1,664,466,784 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | The first book that jumped to mind was The Great Gatsby, and I’m fairly certain it’s considered one of the greatest American novels. At the end of the day, I say write in a way that best serves your story. Screw the haters. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 65,204 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdr73m | iqhb8mm | 1,664,467,468 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | If you think you can write it well, by all means. Just know that a standard exists for a reason. RomCom is one of those genres that typically demand a fair bit of external omniscience, since most of the time IRL we're not even truly aware of how we act and feel in romantic pursuits. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 64,520 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdrzmb | iqhb8mm | 1,664,467,789 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | It honestly depends, sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't. I feel like it easier writing in 3rd person, but 1st person can work. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 64,199 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqdwvxs | iqhb8mm | 1,664,469,728 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | Not at all, nearly all of Bret Easton Ellis's books are first person present and they're adult and well respected. You should check out The Rules of Attraction by him. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 62,260 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe195x | iqhb8mm | 1,664,471,446 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | There are almost no absolutes in writing. I would still try to get used to writing in past tense to flex your writing muscles, but maybe you keep writing in present because that's what this particular story needs. If you write the whole thing and then find out it should be past tense after all it will take time to edit but it's not impossible. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 60,542 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe22py | iqhb8mm | 1,664,471,769 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | I feel like almost every book that gets hyped up on BookTok is in 1st person/present tense, even supposedly “adult” fiction authors like Colleen Hoover and Taylor Reid Jenkins. So yes, it makes for a juvenile YA sounding narrative voice more than 50% of the time but if that’s what’s calling to you, it definitely won’t get in the way of your book finding readers. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 60,219 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe30e9 | iqhb8mm | 1,664,472,131 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | I hope not, I write in first person present as well. I like the immediacy of it. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 59,857 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqe5y0y | iqhb8mm | 1,664,473,284 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | Do what you want to do. Live your best life. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 58,704 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqhb8mm | iqee8xr | 1,664,531,988 | 1,664,476,539 | 2 | 1 | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | The big thing is, first person present is what most people naturally try to write in, because it fits the way we naturally tell story's to each other. And because of that, there is a lot of clunky amateur 1st present out there. That doesn't mean it's BAD! But... it can be offputting for some. Also, when used write (pun intended), it has its own flavor. First person means you are being given information directly, and PRESENT means that it's happening NOW. Second is safety. The storyteller is not part of the action, is in no danger. Past has safety. It already happened. If something horrid happens, well, it ALREADY happened, nothing to do about it. First person present is DANGEROUS. You're being told the info by the principal, AS ITS HAPPENING. That danger has a POWER. Think of the finale of the Sopranos (I never watched it, but we all know the ending, right?) Just suddenly goes black. The suggestion that our POV character, in a present tense story, just got whacked. Now look how STRONGLY everyone reacted to it. THAT is what 1st present threatens. So, ignore the people that say don't do it. But just understand that while it FEELS easier, its actually harder to do WELL. | 1 | 55,449 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqegrmc | iqhb8mm | 1,664,477,513 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | The only even slightly out of bounds in modern YA seems to be omniscient in any person. And that's only because the modern (commercial) publishing world demands urgency in prose pace/readers who see themselves in books. Unless you're 4 books in, with an agent, and a career. Write whatever the fuck you like and enjoy figuring it out. P.S - I'm actually a publisher, just a really small one funded by the UK Arts Council. Laughing my head off at the comments. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 54,475 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqeh12l | iqhb8mm | 1,664,477,616 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | No. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 54,372 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqhb8mm | iqempz4 | 1,664,531,988 | 1,664,479,864 | 2 | 1 | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | I hate 1st person present with a passion. I'm currently reading Habitat by Peter Cawdron. It's absolutely horrible. Story is ok, the way it's told is pretty bad. | 1 | 52,124 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqeots2 | iqhb8mm | 1,664,480,703 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | Read the ascendance series. It's first person and done pretty well I think. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 51,285 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqhb8mm | iqew3fk | 1,664,531,988 | 1,664,483,591 | 2 | 1 | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | I can see that adding a lot of intensity to the tone. That’s about as “right there in your face” as you can possibly get. In the person’s head, at the present moment. | 1 | 48,397 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqfeu0z | iqhb8mm | 1,664,491,552 | 1,664,531,988 | 1 | 2 | Both first person and third person are common in fiction. There's a lot of classic lit written in first person (Great Expectations and Jane Eyre come to mind). Second person is the only tense I don't think I've ever seen in fiction (except for segments of fourth wall-breaking like in A Series of Unfortunate Events). That being said, if you wanted to try second person for fiction, go for it, it's unique. I think the main factor is does this pov best fit my story? If first person tells your story the best, then you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to use it. | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | 0 | 40,436 | 2 | ||
xqzk2w | writing_train | 0.84 | Is first person present absolutely a no go? This is my first real go at writing a book, and I'm struggling a bit with the tense it should be written in. I keep naturally going for first person present, but everything I've learnt has told me that unless it's YA, that's a no go. What I am writing is an adult (characters are in their 30's) rom com type book that is based around a sport. Should I persevere and try and get used to writing in past tense, or should I go with what feels natural? | iqhb8mm | iqfz24c | 1,664,531,988 | 1,664,500,971 | 2 | 1 | All advice I was ever given is that until you are more experienced, 3rd person is the way to go, as first can be massively limiting and it can sometimes be easy to slip up and put in more than what the POV char could realistically know about their situation or surrounding. Imagine it like the differences between a found footage film and a normal slasher movie. In found footage, you will never see a panning shot of the villain lurking or setting up an ambush, but you usually get a shot like that in a slasher. That’s because the cameras are in the omnipotent 3rd person in the latter, where the former focussed on whatever the character holding the camera is looking at, unless of course they are holding it away from them at the time - but that’s not relevant to writing because a first person character in a novel cannot extend their POV like someone can a camera. You are limited to what they see, hear, taste, touch, and think. They will never see the villain setting up a trap unless they are actively spying on him, so thus the reader won’t either, unlike in a 3rd person where there might be a description of someone in the trees ahead but that they were unseen by the protagonist. | It's perfectly fine - most adult novels I've read are in the first person, and most ya or middle grade books are third person omniscent. I think first person is so much more compelling because you only know what's going on in the head of the singular main character, and it really helps in developing the character as well | 1 | 31,017 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkp2m4u | hkp6i81 | 1,636,962,375 | 1,636,965,502 | 9 | 41 | I think it easier to "show" with smaller actions and word choices. "He paused." can be used so well in many situations, for example. Or "Yeah, right." | "Summary vs. drama" is a better rule of thumb than "Show don't tell". The "show don't tell" is originally from the movie biz. Where it means, don't have an actor say "there's a bomb in the building", put in an insert of the bomb ticking away in the basement. In the world of fiction writing the same advice applies to a lot of beginners, who tend to "tell" their stories rather than dramatizing them. Nothing wrong with narrative summary, but in tense scenes the reader should be kept as close to the character as possible. That means real time and reported thoughts, rather than a summary of events and feelings. Another good rule of thumb is to look at the difference in time between reading the actual words, and the time it takes for events to unfold on the page. Sometimes time on the moves extremely quick "years passed, Jane grew older", other times it's almost Matrix style bullet time. The words on the page takes a lot longer to read than the event it describes. Someone getting shot, for instance. Sometimes bullet time is the right call, sometimes it makes the reader want to tear their hair out. I guess you can refer to it as pacing. | 0 | 3,127 | 4.555556 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkp6i81 | hkp3m10 | 1,636,965,502 | 1,636,963,154 | 41 | 7 | "Summary vs. drama" is a better rule of thumb than "Show don't tell". The "show don't tell" is originally from the movie biz. Where it means, don't have an actor say "there's a bomb in the building", put in an insert of the bomb ticking away in the basement. In the world of fiction writing the same advice applies to a lot of beginners, who tend to "tell" their stories rather than dramatizing them. Nothing wrong with narrative summary, but in tense scenes the reader should be kept as close to the character as possible. That means real time and reported thoughts, rather than a summary of events and feelings. Another good rule of thumb is to look at the difference in time between reading the actual words, and the time it takes for events to unfold on the page. Sometimes time on the moves extremely quick "years passed, Jane grew older", other times it's almost Matrix style bullet time. The words on the page takes a lot longer to read than the event it describes. Someone getting shot, for instance. Sometimes bullet time is the right call, sometimes it makes the reader want to tear their hair out. I guess you can refer to it as pacing. | Showing will slow down the narrative and give more emphasis to the action described, so use that as a guide. If a character's reaction merits that much attention, then try showing it. If not, then try telling instead. It's also a balance of deciding what to leave to the reader's imagination—do you describe the reaction and let readers guess the emotion, or the other way around? | 1 | 2,348 | 5.857143 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkp6i81 | hkp3p0j | 1,636,965,502 | 1,636,963,219 | 41 | 3 | "Summary vs. drama" is a better rule of thumb than "Show don't tell". The "show don't tell" is originally from the movie biz. Where it means, don't have an actor say "there's a bomb in the building", put in an insert of the bomb ticking away in the basement. In the world of fiction writing the same advice applies to a lot of beginners, who tend to "tell" their stories rather than dramatizing them. Nothing wrong with narrative summary, but in tense scenes the reader should be kept as close to the character as possible. That means real time and reported thoughts, rather than a summary of events and feelings. Another good rule of thumb is to look at the difference in time between reading the actual words, and the time it takes for events to unfold on the page. Sometimes time on the moves extremely quick "years passed, Jane grew older", other times it's almost Matrix style bullet time. The words on the page takes a lot longer to read than the event it describes. Someone getting shot, for instance. Sometimes bullet time is the right call, sometimes it makes the reader want to tear their hair out. I guess you can refer to it as pacing. | How do you draw the line? Well, you!re the writer, so that’s a decision you have to make based on the context and tone and all the other variables at play in your book. It’s right when you say it is. | 1 | 2,283 | 13.666667 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkp6i81 | hkp65jj | 1,636,965,502 | 1,636,965,215 | 41 | 3 | "Summary vs. drama" is a better rule of thumb than "Show don't tell". The "show don't tell" is originally from the movie biz. Where it means, don't have an actor say "there's a bomb in the building", put in an insert of the bomb ticking away in the basement. In the world of fiction writing the same advice applies to a lot of beginners, who tend to "tell" their stories rather than dramatizing them. Nothing wrong with narrative summary, but in tense scenes the reader should be kept as close to the character as possible. That means real time and reported thoughts, rather than a summary of events and feelings. Another good rule of thumb is to look at the difference in time between reading the actual words, and the time it takes for events to unfold on the page. Sometimes time on the moves extremely quick "years passed, Jane grew older", other times it's almost Matrix style bullet time. The words on the page takes a lot longer to read than the event it describes. Someone getting shot, for instance. Sometimes bullet time is the right call, sometimes it makes the reader want to tear their hair out. I guess you can refer to it as pacing. | Telling and showing each have their place. Remember that you are writing a story, not some kind of elaborate riddle where people should pause after every sentence to decode what's going on. Also, you don't have to describe every detail. "He looked sad" can be perfectly OK. "His mouth twitched as if he were about to cry" can also be OK. It depends. "He looked sad" shows more empathy with the character. "His mouth twitched as if he were about to cry" is more distanced and less empathetic. In first person, you will be telling more because you are in the head of the character, and "I felt sad" is how you'd describe the emotion from the inside. | 1 | 287 | 13.666667 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkppa6w | hkp3p0j | 1,636,980,363 | 1,636,963,219 | 6 | 3 | Alongside the advice others have offered, I would definitely consider expanding your repertoire of emotional expression beyond facial expressions. Focusing solely on facial expressions will 100% lead to readers imagining your characters as glitched out videogame characters with twitchy eyebrows regardless of how you show or tell. Instead, (assuming we're talking solely about non pov characters) try incorporating things like body language, speech patterns, and what characters are actually saying. having a character say something like "Really?" serves a similar purpose to having them wear an incredulous look, for example, if you find you're overly reliant on facial expressions. Additionally, if you have a character say or do something in line with their emotional expression, there's no need to also punctuate that with a facial expression unless there's a high degree of complexity to what they're going through. Facial expressions are a bit like adverbs in that respect - they can be useful for adding depth or nuance, but if they're redundant it's ussually best to edit them out. | How do you draw the line? Well, you!re the writer, so that’s a decision you have to make based on the context and tone and all the other variables at play in your book. It’s right when you say it is. | 1 | 17,144 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkppa6w | hkp65jj | 1,636,980,363 | 1,636,965,215 | 6 | 3 | Alongside the advice others have offered, I would definitely consider expanding your repertoire of emotional expression beyond facial expressions. Focusing solely on facial expressions will 100% lead to readers imagining your characters as glitched out videogame characters with twitchy eyebrows regardless of how you show or tell. Instead, (assuming we're talking solely about non pov characters) try incorporating things like body language, speech patterns, and what characters are actually saying. having a character say something like "Really?" serves a similar purpose to having them wear an incredulous look, for example, if you find you're overly reliant on facial expressions. Additionally, if you have a character say or do something in line with their emotional expression, there's no need to also punctuate that with a facial expression unless there's a high degree of complexity to what they're going through. Facial expressions are a bit like adverbs in that respect - they can be useful for adding depth or nuance, but if they're redundant it's ussually best to edit them out. | Telling and showing each have their place. Remember that you are writing a story, not some kind of elaborate riddle where people should pause after every sentence to decode what's going on. Also, you don't have to describe every detail. "He looked sad" can be perfectly OK. "His mouth twitched as if he were about to cry" can also be OK. It depends. "He looked sad" shows more empathy with the character. "His mouth twitched as if he were about to cry" is more distanced and less empathetic. In first person, you will be telling more because you are in the head of the character, and "I felt sad" is how you'd describe the emotion from the inside. | 1 | 15,148 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkpmpim | hkppa6w | 1,636,978,743 | 1,636,980,363 | 0 | 6 | Why would you be downvoted... it's a valid question that I'm facing right now (I'm formating all the dialogues properly, 160p). I've read those advice, I try to keep them in mind, and here how I go, roughly, for my dialogues: * 10% no tag, no indication of who is speaking, when they are two and the contents makes it obvious (names in it) * 50% I stick to "say, reply, answer" verbs * 25% are actions, split: * 15% actions related to the scene * 10% fall in those kind of posture description you mention * 15% are verbs more precises like "exclaim, whisper" ^((edit: typo)) EDIT: I'm currently re-editing all the dialogues, to avoid "say,reply, answer" past the 1st lines of the dialogue. | Alongside the advice others have offered, I would definitely consider expanding your repertoire of emotional expression beyond facial expressions. Focusing solely on facial expressions will 100% lead to readers imagining your characters as glitched out videogame characters with twitchy eyebrows regardless of how you show or tell. Instead, (assuming we're talking solely about non pov characters) try incorporating things like body language, speech patterns, and what characters are actually saying. having a character say something like "Really?" serves a similar purpose to having them wear an incredulous look, for example, if you find you're overly reliant on facial expressions. Additionally, if you have a character say or do something in line with their emotional expression, there's no need to also punctuate that with a facial expression unless there's a high degree of complexity to what they're going through. Facial expressions are a bit like adverbs in that respect - they can be useful for adding depth or nuance, but if they're redundant it's ussually best to edit them out. | 0 | 1,620 | 6,000 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkpnay7 | hkppa6w | 1,636,979,128 | 1,636,980,363 | 1 | 6 | Also I try to notice if the previous text is immersive enough for the reader, who is not dumb, to figure out the mood. So, I will be more explicit at the begining of a scene or for short scenes. I always wonder "shall I write the feeling or give a clue?" each time I'm tempted and I do my best to remove this. Also I try to think as if it was a play: performers do not like too many clues, and there is many ways to play a scene. So, when there is room for different meaningful ways of playing it, valid alternatives, **I won't push my feelings in** **it** and I let the reader figure out it's own. | Alongside the advice others have offered, I would definitely consider expanding your repertoire of emotional expression beyond facial expressions. Focusing solely on facial expressions will 100% lead to readers imagining your characters as glitched out videogame characters with twitchy eyebrows regardless of how you show or tell. Instead, (assuming we're talking solely about non pov characters) try incorporating things like body language, speech patterns, and what characters are actually saying. having a character say something like "Really?" serves a similar purpose to having them wear an incredulous look, for example, if you find you're overly reliant on facial expressions. Additionally, if you have a character say or do something in line with their emotional expression, there's no need to also punctuate that with a facial expression unless there's a high degree of complexity to what they're going through. Facial expressions are a bit like adverbs in that respect - they can be useful for adding depth or nuance, but if they're redundant it's ussually best to edit them out. | 0 | 1,235 | 6 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkporu2 | hkppa6w | 1,636,980,051 | 1,636,980,363 | 1 | 6 | I’d argue that “an incredulous look” is highly overused, doesn’t communicate their expression or any nuance to me at all, and sounds lazy. I think it’s a fluff line and serves no purpose. If the narrator/POV character can’t articulate what the expression is and what the person is communicating with it, it adds nothing. If the facial expression is important and actually means anything to the POV character, they would have a more meaningful way to describe it than “incredulous”. Skip it and move on to the actual communication happening between characters. Focus on the more meaningful body language and actions. | Alongside the advice others have offered, I would definitely consider expanding your repertoire of emotional expression beyond facial expressions. Focusing solely on facial expressions will 100% lead to readers imagining your characters as glitched out videogame characters with twitchy eyebrows regardless of how you show or tell. Instead, (assuming we're talking solely about non pov characters) try incorporating things like body language, speech patterns, and what characters are actually saying. having a character say something like "Really?" serves a similar purpose to having them wear an incredulous look, for example, if you find you're overly reliant on facial expressions. Additionally, if you have a character say or do something in line with their emotional expression, there's no need to also punctuate that with a facial expression unless there's a high degree of complexity to what they're going through. Facial expressions are a bit like adverbs in that respect - they can be useful for adding depth or nuance, but if they're redundant it's ussually best to edit them out. | 0 | 312 | 6 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkpmpim | hkqgtsb | 1,636,978,743 | 1,636,993,408 | 0 | 2 | Why would you be downvoted... it's a valid question that I'm facing right now (I'm formating all the dialogues properly, 160p). I've read those advice, I try to keep them in mind, and here how I go, roughly, for my dialogues: * 10% no tag, no indication of who is speaking, when they are two and the contents makes it obvious (names in it) * 50% I stick to "say, reply, answer" verbs * 25% are actions, split: * 15% actions related to the scene * 10% fall in those kind of posture description you mention * 15% are verbs more precises like "exclaim, whisper" ^((edit: typo)) EDIT: I'm currently re-editing all the dialogues, to avoid "say,reply, answer" past the 1st lines of the dialogue. | I actually feel the worst way to get across emotions is through character actions. Every time I have done it readers feel distanced from the character. And I totally get why, because actions are making us see the character but not getting in their head. My philosophy is always say the why when you are writing. Why are they sad in that moment, why are they angry. It actually might involve a lot more telling: the narrator will tell us about their dead dog, or sick wife, or that time someone cut across them while driving. But this telling will do so much more than “he was angry” or even “he clenched his fists” | 0 | 14,665 | 2,000 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkqgtsb | hkpnay7 | 1,636,993,408 | 1,636,979,128 | 2 | 1 | I actually feel the worst way to get across emotions is through character actions. Every time I have done it readers feel distanced from the character. And I totally get why, because actions are making us see the character but not getting in their head. My philosophy is always say the why when you are writing. Why are they sad in that moment, why are they angry. It actually might involve a lot more telling: the narrator will tell us about their dead dog, or sick wife, or that time someone cut across them while driving. But this telling will do so much more than “he was angry” or even “he clenched his fists” | Also I try to notice if the previous text is immersive enough for the reader, who is not dumb, to figure out the mood. So, I will be more explicit at the begining of a scene or for short scenes. I always wonder "shall I write the feeling or give a clue?" each time I'm tempted and I do my best to remove this. Also I try to think as if it was a play: performers do not like too many clues, and there is many ways to play a scene. So, when there is room for different meaningful ways of playing it, valid alternatives, **I won't push my feelings in** **it** and I let the reader figure out it's own. | 1 | 14,280 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkporu2 | hkqgtsb | 1,636,980,051 | 1,636,993,408 | 1 | 2 | I’d argue that “an incredulous look” is highly overused, doesn’t communicate their expression or any nuance to me at all, and sounds lazy. I think it’s a fluff line and serves no purpose. If the narrator/POV character can’t articulate what the expression is and what the person is communicating with it, it adds nothing. If the facial expression is important and actually means anything to the POV character, they would have a more meaningful way to describe it than “incredulous”. Skip it and move on to the actual communication happening between characters. Focus on the more meaningful body language and actions. | I actually feel the worst way to get across emotions is through character actions. Every time I have done it readers feel distanced from the character. And I totally get why, because actions are making us see the character but not getting in their head. My philosophy is always say the why when you are writing. Why are they sad in that moment, why are they angry. It actually might involve a lot more telling: the narrator will tell us about their dead dog, or sick wife, or that time someone cut across them while driving. But this telling will do so much more than “he was angry” or even “he clenched his fists” | 0 | 13,357 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkqgtsb | hkq8bh2 | 1,636,993,408 | 1,636,989,865 | 2 | 0 | I actually feel the worst way to get across emotions is through character actions. Every time I have done it readers feel distanced from the character. And I totally get why, because actions are making us see the character but not getting in their head. My philosophy is always say the why when you are writing. Why are they sad in that moment, why are they angry. It actually might involve a lot more telling: the narrator will tell us about their dead dog, or sick wife, or that time someone cut across them while driving. But this telling will do so much more than “he was angry” or even “he clenched his fists” | I'll try to add more advice that I learnt and hope it helps with your writing. Instead of show, don't tell, let's switch the phrasing to describe, don't just explain. In the immortal words of Professor Oak: there is a time and place for eveeything. This rule applies when you want to tell/explain, to pace up your writing, have things go from A to B without it being overly realistic and chunky, or to give information for the benefit of the readers. When it comes to showing/describing, what emotion is character A feeling from what character B has said or done? Once you have that describe it through action and be concrete, give evidence that your character is surprised/shocked/horrified. "The glass eye popped out of its sockets, bouncing and skittering along the stone ground yet its owner gaped at the little girl." This is just a decent example and I'm paraphrasing advice from much more experienced writers. The goal is to be specific with what you are trying to convey, body language helps but don't be too reliant on it. If a character is clenching their fist, I could interpret it as anger or hurt or jealousy. Be with the character, thoughts become emotion become action. Readers are smart, don't give us 4, give us 2 + 2. Film and television have the advantage of actually conveying emotion, books only have the written word. Divorce yourself from your writing (it's difficult in my experience) and see if you are being told how this character feels or if you are feeling what this character feels. Here are some resources for writing that's helped immensely: https://youtu.be/YAKcbvioxFk https://youtu.be/v0CdOqgXljE https://youtu.be/RSoRzTtwgP4 | 1 | 3,543 | 2,000 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkpmpim | hkqqiry | 1,636,978,743 | 1,636,997,282 | 0 | 2 | Why would you be downvoted... it's a valid question that I'm facing right now (I'm formating all the dialogues properly, 160p). I've read those advice, I try to keep them in mind, and here how I go, roughly, for my dialogues: * 10% no tag, no indication of who is speaking, when they are two and the contents makes it obvious (names in it) * 50% I stick to "say, reply, answer" verbs * 25% are actions, split: * 15% actions related to the scene * 10% fall in those kind of posture description you mention * 15% are verbs more precises like "exclaim, whisper" ^((edit: typo)) EDIT: I'm currently re-editing all the dialogues, to avoid "say,reply, answer" past the 1st lines of the dialogue. | *Show! Show! Show!* I’m so sick of that stupid rule that I want to scream, *Tell! Tell! Tell!* To answer your question – You don’t show with facial expressions. They can be a part of it, but please, don’t ever paint a picture of someone’s frown. (I mean, I guess you could, but only if you’re really good at it.) Your character's reason to frown, or reaction to someone frowning, or opinion about it has a much better chance to make your reader experience the story. Your example: >The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest. is told. You are telling the reader that he recognized his brother and the action of jumping back is observed, not experienced. It’s a hard one for showing since it’s only a second but it will go something like: >There, on the threshold stood— He froze. It couldn’t be. > >*Brother?* > >His body propelled him backward, away from the apparition on his doorstep. It was impossible. He couldn’t breathe. It’s not great, but the point is to slow it down and experience it as the character would. *Clutching his chest* would be all right if it is accompanied by other details, or if only that action is to be shown, it will be the sense of the fabric of his clothes, nails raking it, etc. But people rarely think about the act of holding their own chest. One does it because their heart is pounding. And he would feel his racing heartbeat, but again we are moving into *told* and *cliche* category. Ideally, the reader’s heart will be pounding, so they won’t need to be told that the character’s heart is pounding as well. Body language, facial expressions, and inner sensations (naming of emotions) are all examples of told prose by that rule’s true meaning. And I cannot relate to you how many months and tears it has cost me to understand it (if I even do). And what irks me the most is that we are all natural storytellers, we wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t have it in us, but that, and other such rules of its ilk actually prevent us from developing our voices and style. I know I mainly parrot the other comments, but *Show, don’t tell* is vastly misunderstood, and it leads to worse prose, not better. My advice is to not worry about it, but instead work on your *telling*. Develop your narration, write your story, revise it, and then when you start feeling which moments need to be slowed down (dramatized), then start implementing it. | 0 | 18,539 | 2,000 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkqqiry | hkpnay7 | 1,636,997,282 | 1,636,979,128 | 2 | 1 | *Show! Show! Show!* I’m so sick of that stupid rule that I want to scream, *Tell! Tell! Tell!* To answer your question – You don’t show with facial expressions. They can be a part of it, but please, don’t ever paint a picture of someone’s frown. (I mean, I guess you could, but only if you’re really good at it.) Your character's reason to frown, or reaction to someone frowning, or opinion about it has a much better chance to make your reader experience the story. Your example: >The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest. is told. You are telling the reader that he recognized his brother and the action of jumping back is observed, not experienced. It’s a hard one for showing since it’s only a second but it will go something like: >There, on the threshold stood— He froze. It couldn’t be. > >*Brother?* > >His body propelled him backward, away from the apparition on his doorstep. It was impossible. He couldn’t breathe. It’s not great, but the point is to slow it down and experience it as the character would. *Clutching his chest* would be all right if it is accompanied by other details, or if only that action is to be shown, it will be the sense of the fabric of his clothes, nails raking it, etc. But people rarely think about the act of holding their own chest. One does it because their heart is pounding. And he would feel his racing heartbeat, but again we are moving into *told* and *cliche* category. Ideally, the reader’s heart will be pounding, so they won’t need to be told that the character’s heart is pounding as well. Body language, facial expressions, and inner sensations (naming of emotions) are all examples of told prose by that rule’s true meaning. And I cannot relate to you how many months and tears it has cost me to understand it (if I even do). And what irks me the most is that we are all natural storytellers, we wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t have it in us, but that, and other such rules of its ilk actually prevent us from developing our voices and style. I know I mainly parrot the other comments, but *Show, don’t tell* is vastly misunderstood, and it leads to worse prose, not better. My advice is to not worry about it, but instead work on your *telling*. Develop your narration, write your story, revise it, and then when you start feeling which moments need to be slowed down (dramatized), then start implementing it. | Also I try to notice if the previous text is immersive enough for the reader, who is not dumb, to figure out the mood. So, I will be more explicit at the begining of a scene or for short scenes. I always wonder "shall I write the feeling or give a clue?" each time I'm tempted and I do my best to remove this. Also I try to think as if it was a play: performers do not like too many clues, and there is many ways to play a scene. So, when there is room for different meaningful ways of playing it, valid alternatives, **I won't push my feelings in** **it** and I let the reader figure out it's own. | 1 | 18,154 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkporu2 | hkqqiry | 1,636,980,051 | 1,636,997,282 | 1 | 2 | I’d argue that “an incredulous look” is highly overused, doesn’t communicate their expression or any nuance to me at all, and sounds lazy. I think it’s a fluff line and serves no purpose. If the narrator/POV character can’t articulate what the expression is and what the person is communicating with it, it adds nothing. If the facial expression is important and actually means anything to the POV character, they would have a more meaningful way to describe it than “incredulous”. Skip it and move on to the actual communication happening between characters. Focus on the more meaningful body language and actions. | *Show! Show! Show!* I’m so sick of that stupid rule that I want to scream, *Tell! Tell! Tell!* To answer your question – You don’t show with facial expressions. They can be a part of it, but please, don’t ever paint a picture of someone’s frown. (I mean, I guess you could, but only if you’re really good at it.) Your character's reason to frown, or reaction to someone frowning, or opinion about it has a much better chance to make your reader experience the story. Your example: >The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest. is told. You are telling the reader that he recognized his brother and the action of jumping back is observed, not experienced. It’s a hard one for showing since it’s only a second but it will go something like: >There, on the threshold stood— He froze. It couldn’t be. > >*Brother?* > >His body propelled him backward, away from the apparition on his doorstep. It was impossible. He couldn’t breathe. It’s not great, but the point is to slow it down and experience it as the character would. *Clutching his chest* would be all right if it is accompanied by other details, or if only that action is to be shown, it will be the sense of the fabric of his clothes, nails raking it, etc. But people rarely think about the act of holding their own chest. One does it because their heart is pounding. And he would feel his racing heartbeat, but again we are moving into *told* and *cliche* category. Ideally, the reader’s heart will be pounding, so they won’t need to be told that the character’s heart is pounding as well. Body language, facial expressions, and inner sensations (naming of emotions) are all examples of told prose by that rule’s true meaning. And I cannot relate to you how many months and tears it has cost me to understand it (if I even do). And what irks me the most is that we are all natural storytellers, we wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t have it in us, but that, and other such rules of its ilk actually prevent us from developing our voices and style. I know I mainly parrot the other comments, but *Show, don’t tell* is vastly misunderstood, and it leads to worse prose, not better. My advice is to not worry about it, but instead work on your *telling*. Develop your narration, write your story, revise it, and then when you start feeling which moments need to be slowed down (dramatized), then start implementing it. | 0 | 17,231 | 2 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkq8bh2 | hkqqiry | 1,636,989,865 | 1,636,997,282 | 0 | 2 | I'll try to add more advice that I learnt and hope it helps with your writing. Instead of show, don't tell, let's switch the phrasing to describe, don't just explain. In the immortal words of Professor Oak: there is a time and place for eveeything. This rule applies when you want to tell/explain, to pace up your writing, have things go from A to B without it being overly realistic and chunky, or to give information for the benefit of the readers. When it comes to showing/describing, what emotion is character A feeling from what character B has said or done? Once you have that describe it through action and be concrete, give evidence that your character is surprised/shocked/horrified. "The glass eye popped out of its sockets, bouncing and skittering along the stone ground yet its owner gaped at the little girl." This is just a decent example and I'm paraphrasing advice from much more experienced writers. The goal is to be specific with what you are trying to convey, body language helps but don't be too reliant on it. If a character is clenching their fist, I could interpret it as anger or hurt or jealousy. Be with the character, thoughts become emotion become action. Readers are smart, don't give us 4, give us 2 + 2. Film and television have the advantage of actually conveying emotion, books only have the written word. Divorce yourself from your writing (it's difficult in my experience) and see if you are being told how this character feels or if you are feeling what this character feels. Here are some resources for writing that's helped immensely: https://youtu.be/YAKcbvioxFk https://youtu.be/v0CdOqgXljE https://youtu.be/RSoRzTtwgP4 | *Show! Show! Show!* I’m so sick of that stupid rule that I want to scream, *Tell! Tell! Tell!* To answer your question – You don’t show with facial expressions. They can be a part of it, but please, don’t ever paint a picture of someone’s frown. (I mean, I guess you could, but only if you’re really good at it.) Your character's reason to frown, or reaction to someone frowning, or opinion about it has a much better chance to make your reader experience the story. Your example: >The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest. is told. You are telling the reader that he recognized his brother and the action of jumping back is observed, not experienced. It’s a hard one for showing since it’s only a second but it will go something like: >There, on the threshold stood— He froze. It couldn’t be. > >*Brother?* > >His body propelled him backward, away from the apparition on his doorstep. It was impossible. He couldn’t breathe. It’s not great, but the point is to slow it down and experience it as the character would. *Clutching his chest* would be all right if it is accompanied by other details, or if only that action is to be shown, it will be the sense of the fabric of his clothes, nails raking it, etc. But people rarely think about the act of holding their own chest. One does it because their heart is pounding. And he would feel his racing heartbeat, but again we are moving into *told* and *cliche* category. Ideally, the reader’s heart will be pounding, so they won’t need to be told that the character’s heart is pounding as well. Body language, facial expressions, and inner sensations (naming of emotions) are all examples of told prose by that rule’s true meaning. And I cannot relate to you how many months and tears it has cost me to understand it (if I even do). And what irks me the most is that we are all natural storytellers, we wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t have it in us, but that, and other such rules of its ilk actually prevent us from developing our voices and style. I know I mainly parrot the other comments, but *Show, don’t tell* is vastly misunderstood, and it leads to worse prose, not better. My advice is to not worry about it, but instead work on your *telling*. Develop your narration, write your story, revise it, and then when you start feeling which moments need to be slowed down (dramatized), then start implementing it. | 0 | 7,417 | 2,000 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkpnay7 | hkpmpim | 1,636,979,128 | 1,636,978,743 | 1 | 0 | Also I try to notice if the previous text is immersive enough for the reader, who is not dumb, to figure out the mood. So, I will be more explicit at the begining of a scene or for short scenes. I always wonder "shall I write the feeling or give a clue?" each time I'm tempted and I do my best to remove this. Also I try to think as if it was a play: performers do not like too many clues, and there is many ways to play a scene. So, when there is room for different meaningful ways of playing it, valid alternatives, **I won't push my feelings in** **it** and I let the reader figure out it's own. | Why would you be downvoted... it's a valid question that I'm facing right now (I'm formating all the dialogues properly, 160p). I've read those advice, I try to keep them in mind, and here how I go, roughly, for my dialogues: * 10% no tag, no indication of who is speaking, when they are two and the contents makes it obvious (names in it) * 50% I stick to "say, reply, answer" verbs * 25% are actions, split: * 15% actions related to the scene * 10% fall in those kind of posture description you mention * 15% are verbs more precises like "exclaim, whisper" ^((edit: typo)) EDIT: I'm currently re-editing all the dialogues, to avoid "say,reply, answer" past the 1st lines of the dialogue. | 1 | 385 | 1,000 | ||
qub4fq | writing_train | 0.83 | When and how do you "show not tell" with facial expressions ? One of most regurgitated pieces of writing advice I see is to show, not tell. You shouldn't write "He was scared." you should write, "The moment he realized his brother was standing in the doorway, he jumped back and clutched his chest." You shouldn't say "They looked sad." you should paint a picture of their frown. But how do you distinguish when this is overkill? If I write "He gave her an incredulous look." I can picture exactly what face the character is making. I don't need to be told about every eyebrow raise or mouth twitch, because those aren't the types of things I notice when I'm interacting with people in the real world. So how do you draw the line between letting your reader make their own deductions and not spoonfeeding them drawn out details of every moment? | hkpmpim | hkporu2 | 1,636,978,743 | 1,636,980,051 | 0 | 1 | Why would you be downvoted... it's a valid question that I'm facing right now (I'm formating all the dialogues properly, 160p). I've read those advice, I try to keep them in mind, and here how I go, roughly, for my dialogues: * 10% no tag, no indication of who is speaking, when they are two and the contents makes it obvious (names in it) * 50% I stick to "say, reply, answer" verbs * 25% are actions, split: * 15% actions related to the scene * 10% fall in those kind of posture description you mention * 15% are verbs more precises like "exclaim, whisper" ^((edit: typo)) EDIT: I'm currently re-editing all the dialogues, to avoid "say,reply, answer" past the 1st lines of the dialogue. | I’d argue that “an incredulous look” is highly overused, doesn’t communicate their expression or any nuance to me at all, and sounds lazy. I think it’s a fluff line and serves no purpose. If the narrator/POV character can’t articulate what the expression is and what the person is communicating with it, it adds nothing. If the facial expression is important and actually means anything to the POV character, they would have a more meaningful way to describe it than “incredulous”. Skip it and move on to the actual communication happening between characters. Focus on the more meaningful body language and actions. | 0 | 1,308 | 1,000 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfhmcfa | hfgbhld | 1,633,447,772 | 1,633,417,091 | 36 | 23 | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | I worked for many years as a programmer, and in the SLDC (Software Development Lifecycle) we never actually delete *anything*. This isn't hyperbole - our editors are designed to save updates to a document, not the document itself. So we can look back at every step of development. I do almost that in writing a sci fi story - I save under new version names constantly (3-4 times per week), keep separate notes files, etc. It's just my programmer-specific OCD to do so, but it really is a help like you say. | 1 | 30,681 | 1.565217 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgap0z | hfhmcfa | 1,633,416,432 | 1,633,447,772 | 11 | 36 | I will get little scenes and interactions and quotes that pop up here and there. I try to jot them down and figure they'll find their place eventually. Ideally I should have several novels coming out out sometime around my 80's. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 31,340 | 3.272727 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgbvw6 | hfhmcfa | 1,633,417,431 | 1,633,447,772 | 10 | 36 | I thought this is no brainer. Some plot points and ideas that I made up on the fly turned out to be one of the most important marks in the stories, meanwhile there are certain things I spent a lot of time to prepare didn't even happen at all. Writing is unpredictable and you better to note down any ideas possible even if they sound silly at first. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 30,341 | 3.6 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgn9sn | hfhmcfa | 1,633,428,391 | 1,633,447,772 | 11 | 36 | Another tip: Keep a notepad and pen next to your bed. I woke up so many times in the middle of a night with great ideas, only to wake again the following morning remembering nothing aside from the fact I'd had an idea. If I quickly sit up and write it down, I remember it. Only problem is that sometimes if I don't wake up properly, I just jot down a few words that I suppose my sleep-addled brain think will jog my memory in the morning but which usually just leave me bewildered and confused. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 19,381 | 3.272727 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfg9f87 | hfhmcfa | 1,633,415,376 | 1,633,447,772 | 5 | 36 | Can’t recommend this highly enough. Get some mini moleskines and take em wherever you go. Physically writing the stuff down will help to you fully flesh out the idea and use coherent sentences instead of just spewing words forth into your device. I write down anything, cool dialogue idea I had, funny insult, great quote, story idea, chapter name / structure. Looking back over those notes is soooo helpful and often serves as a great little imagination kick starter. Great for when the dreaded ‘block’ creeps in. Larry David does this and it’s how he got most of the ideas for Seinfeld, by just writing down quirky little things he encountered throughout the day. He lost one of those books one time and said he never had any of those ideas again. This is one of the reasons why I recommend a moleskine vs relying solely on technology. I definitely keep a backed up uber note on my phone, but even then I’ve lost stuff through tech being tech. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 32,396 | 7.2 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgfv5m | hfhmcfa | 1,633,421,212 | 1,633,447,772 | 5 | 36 | >Like if me and past me were a team I love this line. Also, this is great advice! I love going back and reading old story ideas that I had forgotten about. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 26,560 | 7.2 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgocc8 | hfhmcfa | 1,633,429,330 | 1,633,447,772 | 6 | 36 | Better advice... *expand* your notes! Just the other day I came across one of my notes and all it said was 'silk stockings circle' and I can't figure out what I meant XD | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 18,442 | 6 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfhmcfa | hfh09gj | 1,633,447,772 | 1,633,437,515 | 36 | 4 | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | I have never regretted taking notes while out and about and not only has almost every single one ended up in my stories, but they've almost always been some of THE BEST parts, that hit the hardest, as well. | 1 | 10,257 | 9 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfhmcfa | hfhcbc0 | 1,633,447,772 | 1,633,443,389 | 36 | 4 | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | I have so many notes it’s ridiculous. I actually got halfway to organizing them last year but now I’ve accumulated even more. I just need to sit down and organize them. | 1 | 4,383 | 9 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfh4fp4 | hfhmcfa | 1,633,439,670 | 1,633,447,772 | 4 | 36 | Back in the day before personal electronics, my Dad (writer of books about education) always carried 3"x5" cards in his pocket. Every new idea got jotted down on its own card. Eventually he would organize the cards into an outline form, and start writing the various chapters of the next book. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 8,102 | 9 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfhmcfa | hfg920z | 1,633,447,772 | 1,633,415,071 | 36 | 2 | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | Thanks so much for the advice! It's quite difficult to grasp stories when they are merely forming concepts in our minds. Information regarding my stories tends to get scattered around whenever I try to write them. Looking back on my old writing no matter how embarrassing it may be, with a new point of view and lessons I learned along the way is a great place for inspiration indeed! | 1 | 32,701 | 18 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgfvbk | hfhmcfa | 1,633,421,217 | 1,633,447,772 | 2 | 36 | Especially true for me when I'm trying to fall asleep! I've had so many ideas lying in bed too lazy to get out and find a paper or go to the computer that I thought were so strong that it would be impossible for me to forget them. When I wake up the next day they are gone forever. I'll never know if they were really as good as I thought or if that's just the hazy about to fall asleep logic. Now I keep a pad by the bed. Better safe than sorry. | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 26,555 | 18 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgkfkk | hfhmcfa | 1,633,425,713 | 1,633,447,772 | 2 | 36 | I have notes in my phone for: 1. Story ideas 2. Character name ideas 3. Weird beautiful phrases I would like to write in my stories (archaic, neologism, self-made, proverbs, a part of dialogue etc) | Always write *detailed* notes for story ideas. I have a ton of "I had this idea in a dream, better write it down" notes that make no sense now, but did at the time. WTF does my note saying only "Paulie's War" mean??? | 0 | 22,059 | 18 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgap0z | hfgbhld | 1,633,416,432 | 1,633,417,091 | 11 | 23 | I will get little scenes and interactions and quotes that pop up here and there. I try to jot them down and figure they'll find their place eventually. Ideally I should have several novels coming out out sometime around my 80's. | I worked for many years as a programmer, and in the SLDC (Software Development Lifecycle) we never actually delete *anything*. This isn't hyperbole - our editors are designed to save updates to a document, not the document itself. So we can look back at every step of development. I do almost that in writing a sci fi story - I save under new version names constantly (3-4 times per week), keep separate notes files, etc. It's just my programmer-specific OCD to do so, but it really is a help like you say. | 0 | 659 | 2.090909 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfg9f87 | hfgbhld | 1,633,415,376 | 1,633,417,091 | 5 | 23 | Can’t recommend this highly enough. Get some mini moleskines and take em wherever you go. Physically writing the stuff down will help to you fully flesh out the idea and use coherent sentences instead of just spewing words forth into your device. I write down anything, cool dialogue idea I had, funny insult, great quote, story idea, chapter name / structure. Looking back over those notes is soooo helpful and often serves as a great little imagination kick starter. Great for when the dreaded ‘block’ creeps in. Larry David does this and it’s how he got most of the ideas for Seinfeld, by just writing down quirky little things he encountered throughout the day. He lost one of those books one time and said he never had any of those ideas again. This is one of the reasons why I recommend a moleskine vs relying solely on technology. I definitely keep a backed up uber note on my phone, but even then I’ve lost stuff through tech being tech. | I worked for many years as a programmer, and in the SLDC (Software Development Lifecycle) we never actually delete *anything*. This isn't hyperbole - our editors are designed to save updates to a document, not the document itself. So we can look back at every step of development. I do almost that in writing a sci fi story - I save under new version names constantly (3-4 times per week), keep separate notes files, etc. It's just my programmer-specific OCD to do so, but it really is a help like you say. | 0 | 1,715 | 4.6 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfg920z | hfgbhld | 1,633,415,071 | 1,633,417,091 | 2 | 23 | Thanks so much for the advice! It's quite difficult to grasp stories when they are merely forming concepts in our minds. Information regarding my stories tends to get scattered around whenever I try to write them. Looking back on my old writing no matter how embarrassing it may be, with a new point of view and lessons I learned along the way is a great place for inspiration indeed! | I worked for many years as a programmer, and in the SLDC (Software Development Lifecycle) we never actually delete *anything*. This isn't hyperbole - our editors are designed to save updates to a document, not the document itself. So we can look back at every step of development. I do almost that in writing a sci fi story - I save under new version names constantly (3-4 times per week), keep separate notes files, etc. It's just my programmer-specific OCD to do so, but it really is a help like you say. | 0 | 2,020 | 11.5 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgap0z | hfg9f87 | 1,633,416,432 | 1,633,415,376 | 11 | 5 | I will get little scenes and interactions and quotes that pop up here and there. I try to jot them down and figure they'll find their place eventually. Ideally I should have several novels coming out out sometime around my 80's. | Can’t recommend this highly enough. Get some mini moleskines and take em wherever you go. Physically writing the stuff down will help to you fully flesh out the idea and use coherent sentences instead of just spewing words forth into your device. I write down anything, cool dialogue idea I had, funny insult, great quote, story idea, chapter name / structure. Looking back over those notes is soooo helpful and often serves as a great little imagination kick starter. Great for when the dreaded ‘block’ creeps in. Larry David does this and it’s how he got most of the ideas for Seinfeld, by just writing down quirky little things he encountered throughout the day. He lost one of those books one time and said he never had any of those ideas again. This is one of the reasons why I recommend a moleskine vs relying solely on technology. I definitely keep a backed up uber note on my phone, but even then I’ve lost stuff through tech being tech. | 1 | 1,056 | 2.2 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgap0z | hfg920z | 1,633,416,432 | 1,633,415,071 | 11 | 2 | I will get little scenes and interactions and quotes that pop up here and there. I try to jot them down and figure they'll find their place eventually. Ideally I should have several novels coming out out sometime around my 80's. | Thanks so much for the advice! It's quite difficult to grasp stories when they are merely forming concepts in our minds. Information regarding my stories tends to get scattered around whenever I try to write them. Looking back on my old writing no matter how embarrassing it may be, with a new point of view and lessons I learned along the way is a great place for inspiration indeed! | 1 | 1,361 | 5.5 | ||
q1olqc | writing_train | 0.98 | Always write notes for your story ideas. Especially if you’re not writing them yet. Holy crap So I’ve been working on this book series for about a year and a half. And it’s really transformed in my headspace over all that time. Whatever vision I had from the onset is completely new and different now. Throughout that year+ I wrote notes on ideas for all the novels, as they came to me. That’s been great in itself, I have a whole notepad full When I go to write I reference these ideas when stuck. But something about reading old notes, old thinking, combined with your fresh ideas, when you’ve almost forgotten the old. It’s magic, the amount of material, boosts my creativity. Like if me and past me were a team The best breakthroughs I’ve had for this series came from looking at old notes in a new light. Character connections, plot twists. Track your thought process on paper, and you can draw on it later to come up with really cool stuff | hfgn9sn | hfgbvw6 | 1,633,428,391 | 1,633,417,431 | 11 | 10 | Another tip: Keep a notepad and pen next to your bed. I woke up so many times in the middle of a night with great ideas, only to wake again the following morning remembering nothing aside from the fact I'd had an idea. If I quickly sit up and write it down, I remember it. Only problem is that sometimes if I don't wake up properly, I just jot down a few words that I suppose my sleep-addled brain think will jog my memory in the morning but which usually just leave me bewildered and confused. | I thought this is no brainer. Some plot points and ideas that I made up on the fly turned out to be one of the most important marks in the stories, meanwhile there are certain things I spent a lot of time to prepare didn't even happen at all. Writing is unpredictable and you better to note down any ideas possible even if they sound silly at first. | 1 | 10,960 | 1.1 |
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