Writing general

>>9589725

Are you me? THANK YOU for this post, I hope you (we) get some good advice on how to unleash the "extra" words.

>>9589728
I mean we're probably plebs who should read more, but I read my fair share of books and when it's me on the writing end I still can't fathom how you can fill hundreds of pages.
Actually, what baffles me the most is being able to write a whole chapter, so a dozen of pages, on the same topic.
>Have to write about a guy waking up and going to the kitchen
>most I've managed to do is one page
Granted, it sounds really nice and I think it's good writing but shouldn't it be way more? I can't add anything to it

Aye, all I can manage are short stories, the longest I've managed in less than 10,000 words. I write horror, which tends to be better off in short form anyway, but I'm hoping as I gain experience I manage to write longer pieces. I imagine it's my plots that's the issue, as the usual feedback I get at my writer's group is to trim stuff down rather than extend it.

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>>9589725
I've been writing short stories for years (and have been lucky enough to have a few published), but I've yet to realize a novel.

I have two in progress...where they've been for years. However, I'm reworking one of them and I think I'm making progress.

Basically, I've written down the basic arc - where I want to start and where I want to finish. From there, I'm breaking it down into smaller increments. For example, I take a piece of the arc say, here's chapter one. Then I start writing to get that section (chapter) on paper.

One thing to keep in mind - and it took me a while to realize it - is that length doesn't matter (no pun intended). Some novels are 2,000 pages. Some are 120 pages. What matters is: Did you tell a coherent story?

Don't overthink it, anon. Break it down into smaller pieces, then string those pieces together.

Good luck...

>>9589725
>I have a beautiful prose in my own language
I enjoy your English. I have no idea what language you write in, and I have no idea why you can't get good feedback on any attempted novel in your native tongue.
Perhaps your prose is too complicated? Remember that poetic embellishment and alliterations are usually only loved by their creator. (Unless it comes natural with the text.)
It's because you already understand everything that's happening. The reader doesn't and is busy trying to understand it while you dance around in with beautiful(?) prose.

It's not a problem per se that paragraphs resemble each other. Some may even find it comforting, as your book, just like a rocking chair, slowly sways them back and forth.
Recognition is just as important as surprise. Some sitcom writers rely 100% on recognition and repetition. Like those TV-Simpsons that repeats a shitload of "Duh" every week for 30 years while the plot always stays the same.

Repetition may not be boring to a writer, but there is an audience for it. Just try and stretch your story and see how it works out. Hopefully you can get professional feedback and not just random scribbling from Anons like myself.

>>9589907
>[some errors included]
Removing extra words, inverting wrong ones and fixing grammar is left as an exercise to th reader. (I was in a hurry, ok?)

>>9589855
Thank you anon for your input, it's really useful.
>Break it down into smaller pieces, then string those pieces together.
That's what I've been trying to do, but doesn't that mean that I have to change "scene" (for ignorance of a better term) rather often?
Take what I said here >>9589767
Is a page in Times New Roman 12 enough to tell about a guy waking up and going to the kitchen? I know it's close to impossible to judge without reading it, but I don't think I can add anything more to what I've written without talking about something else.
>my character wakes up next to his fiancée (4 lines)
>goes to the kitchen, looks at a picture of them on the fridge (3 lines)
>thinks about his relationship so far (11 lines)
>suddenly he is struck by the realization that for some reason he doesn't feel anything for the girl anymore (7 lines)
>goes back to the bedroom to look at his sleeping girlfriend and conclusion (7 lines)
It's the start of my novel about how everybody wakes up an homosexual (with an ensuing extinction threat)
Could it be eviscerated any further?

>>9589907
>I enjoy your English. I have no idea what language you write in, and I have no idea why you can't get good feedback on any attempted novel in your native tongue.
Thanks for the compliment, I'm Italian and it's not like I don't get good feedback-- I've only recently tried my hand at writing something on my own, but in high school my teachers always spoke highly of my essays (not that it necessarily means much.)
What I was trying to say is that it's not that I lack words, just that I feel "full" too early, like I've already said everything I needed to say. and I can't force myself to add anything.
>Repetition may not be boring to a writer, but there is an audience for it. Just try and stretch your story and see how it works out.
Thank you for that. Perhaps I should just write out a full story, as long or short as it'll turn out to be, and get feedback on that.

you don't write to fill in words or to artificially lengthen what you want to say. your problem is not that you can't find the right words, you simply have nothing to say. i don't want to read doorstoppers with filler words. i want to read a book where every words needs to be in it and has a purpose.
either write poems or short short stories or find something engaging to say. that way you'll never lack words again. i also agree with the anon above. a good book doesn't need to be long. infact, i find it more impressive if someone manages to create a good character and a cohesive plot with a short book.

>>9589725
Firstly, this: >>9590017

Second, how much do you write? If you make it a daily habit to write for an hour or more and read for an hour or more, you'll develop a more natural way of writing. For me, it comes easy since I constantly write about both my life and imagined stuff, but it takes a shit ton of writing to get a feel for it I think.

>>9589725
I've had a very similar problem which i solved (i think) by learning how to inmerse myself mentally into the world and the characters i'm writing about. Learn how to tell a story like it is based on reality and your own experiences and your prose will come much easier. Do you daydream at all? Think about writing a story as a daydream transfered to paper.

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>>9589918
You're over-analyzing, anon.
Don't worry about font size, how many lines it takes to do something, etc. You're telling a tale. Just tell it.

The thing is, your first draft is going to be shit. You'll go off on a tangent in one scene, then be light on detail in another. That's fine. The point of the first draft is to just get the story on the page.

Rewriting is where you fix everything. Pare down the exposition, beef up the description.

As far as "changing scene rather often"...well, so what? It's your story to tell in the way you see fit. There's no right way or wrong way, just your way.

Don't overthink it. Don't over-analyze. All you need to think about is what it is you're trying to say.