Writing Thread

Less than original bump?

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>>36124643
Uhm some depressed college student kills an old lady pawnshop owner but botches the whole thing and barely gets away. Soon after a drunk aquitance of his ends up dying and he falls in love with the 18yr old daughter and finds a reason to live again. But investigators are starting to zero in on him and he'll have to somehow reconcile the morality of killing an old lady for the sake of providing for his new life, or something like that

>>36125199

Sounds like Crime and Punishment with some elements of The Goldfinch. Any idea of how the plot would extend beyond that - a reconciliation with his fate and his guilt, perhaps, or any motive? Seems like with the proper backstory and reason for the killing, the protagonist could become a complex character.

>>36125287
Yeah that was literally just crime and punishment , reading it right now, main character seems pretty r9k so I'm diggin it

>>36124643
I'm trying to write this sci-fi adventure about a wandering warlord. It's retarded I know. I got like, 89,000 words in it already.

>>36125404

It's a legendary book - really gets into the nitty-gritty of the emotional aftermath of killing, an act that often is trivialized in books today (see any book where the protagonist carves a bloody swath through faceless hordes.) It's a good example of how to build a complex and conflicted protagonist that isn't necessarily likable by many measures.

Also a good read for non-writing or reading purposes - down to the nitty gritty philosophy, it's a must-read.

I'm writing a TV show about a black slave in the Confederate White House who becomes a spy for the union. I wrote the pilot episode this week actually.

>>36125459

Have you read a lot of SFF? Far dumber ideas have been written and have sold well (see: Mistborn). What sort of adventure are we talking?

The fact that you've written 89,000 words is itself an achievement. Many aspiring writers never get close.

>>36125404
Crime and punishment is GOAT, dostoyevski was such a baller. Read The Demons, a bit more underrated and not as popular but god DAMN, it's my favorite book.

>>36125509
Actually a pretty solid idea, although my knowledge of TV writing is admittedly pretty thin. Although as a historical fiction writer, I'm somewhat intrigued - sounds like The Americans or Turn in a way, just based on synopsis. Drama, or spy thriller, or otherwise?

>>36125519
>Have you read a lot of SFF?
The last couple of books that I read was Dune and Battlefield Earth. (Don't read Battlefield Earth).
>What sort of adventure are we talking?
Well, the first part is about him getting sent away to a far away planet and being forced to help a inspiring leader overthrow the government, so he goes to one of the space cities which is this massive ship and does a coup, and basically becomes MSF.
>The fact that you've written 89,000 words is itself an achievement
It took me a year just to get to that number.

Today, I'm letting myself be distracted from my main project by writing up quick little outlines for sketches from notes I've written down.
Some of them aren't very good but there's a few I'm really digging.

I also watched a behind the scenes special of the making of W/ Bob and David and now I'm feeling a little bit sad because I really don't know anyone to write and create stuff with and I'm not a part of some writing team locked in a back room and trying to make each other laugh.
It's an awfully specific and terrible feeling.

Don't share your ideas on the internet, idiots. Software can detect plagiarism, so if you post anything here you can never have it published.

>>36124643
I wrote an intro to a story for a uni course that I would like to continue one day. The premise is that 2 brothers are out on an annual hunting trip in honor of their dead father (who taught them everything about the outdoors.) However on this trip they experience something horrible; I'm not sure what this is yet. I want to incorporate a twist into it, for example that the brothers actually hunt people (specifically women) and kill them for sport. I wouldn't want to create an entire novel, but perhaps a long-ish short story. I have some ideas on how to continue, but I don't know if it sounds like a stupid idea or not

>>36125608

A year's nothing to fret about for the length of many full-length novels. See some of the most popular writers today - many take years and years to get books in series published. There's editing, motivation, creativity, imagination, discipline, so many little things that go into writing a draft you're happy with, and that's on top of anything beyond, such as the publishing process.

I'd celebrate getting that far before I'd criticize the time taken. That time is valuable practice, and every bit of writing helps one improve.

>>36125645

Not a stupid idea - it's the foundation of an idea, but it really sounds like it's the bond of the brothers and their take on their father's passing that could drive this story. A character play, or a tragedy, a look at death and its long-lasting effects on those hit the hardest. Plenty to work on, especially when you already have the beginnings of a plot. Hell, the plot is a mobile thing. The character drama is already bursting with potential.

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>tfw spend more time thinking about my story's universe and designing the characters than actually writing it by far

I like to have a visualization for my characters so I design them in K-Kisekae 2. I've been toying around in it all day, giving them different outfits that they would wear throughout the plot.

I haven't worked on my story in ages.

>>36125619
Every story goes through editing - no one (should) publish their first draft or submit that to agents. Blurbs or excerpts looking for feedback are perfectly fine. The point is to improve, after all.

Ideas are even more okay to post. No idea is perfectly, 100% original. It's execution that determines quality by and large.

>>36125867
I know the struggle involved in sitting down and doing the dirty work of writing, anon, believe me - I'm currently re-writing a first chapter for a historical fiction novel that's been re-written four times already, because I keep thinking bits of it suck and disrupt the rest of the chapter. Ultimately, though, it's that execution, that dedication that requires us to persevere and keep pushing.

Have you considered just throwing down and writing until the end of your story, no editing, no looking back until you're done? As much of a pain as editing is, it's at least a second phase, a later stage - the initial writing complete, the composite picture intact. Getting that done is such a huge step. It's just about stopping the over-thinking and self-criticism that comes with it.

I know how hard that is. It's a plague that hits beyond writing, but is especially tough here - the perfectionism, the doubt, the comparisons. It's something we have to trudge through and overcome.

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>>36124643
Has anyone else been so depressed lately that they can't even enjoy reading anymore? I used to write all sorts of self-indulgent stories, but now I can't even read my favourite books anymore. I'll try to get past the first few pages and it's like I don't even understand what's happening.

>>36125951
I tried reading my favorite book again, but it just doesn't feel right. You know?

>>36126087
I tried doing that, too. My mind begins to wander after a few pages. What's your favourite book?

>>36126124
American Psycho. I love the prose and I actually like first person present tense.

>>36126178
I've never read it, anon. Maybe I'll give it a try, it's really different from the stuff I usually read.

East of Eden is my favourite. I just loved Cal's story so much.

>>36126213
The book is more graphic, but it has a slow start.

>>36125287
god damnit why do pseuds have to kill the joke so quickly

>>36126213

East of Eden is almost biblical - and Steinbeck really knows how to hit a theme home. The way he illustrates early 20th-century America through his works, the little trials and tribulations that trouble man and family, the struggles that plague ordinary life, are a monumental feat of writing. Along with Hemingway, he hits home the human experience among modernist writers.

I'm writing this story about a girl who becomes a journalist and follows this rock band around.

Shitty thing is, the premise alone is very similar to Almost Famous, and it thematically deals with some of the same ideas ( authenticity).

Other than that, though, the story has a totally different plot and point. It's more about how this girl
> is romantically obsessed with the guitarist, this super cool Richey Edwards / Syd Barrett fusion
> realises he's a person
> both in the positive sense in that his best attributes ( his capacity to forgive his abusive mother) have nothing to do with him being a Music Chad
> and in that he has many bad attributes she's too infactuated to notice ( the fact that a 28 yr old married schizo is using his lead singer's 14 year old sister as an emotional tampon, he masturbates to her teddy bear ala Shinji Ikari)

And her brother, the band's bassist/lead singer who
> is the main characters brother
> takes out his anxiety and insecurities on guitarist dude
> kicks him out of the band when his cyborg qualitied sabotage their career
> feels guilty because guitar bro saved his ass when the keyboardist tried to oust him

Tldr its Almost Famous if Penny Lane got called a cumbucket in the first act and everyone autistically screeched

>>36126263
The first time I read it, I was really surprised by how so many scenes felt like they could have taken place today.

Does writing songs count?

I can post some

>>36125933
Different anon but This is an amazing suggestion and I want you to know that when exams are over I'm taking this advice wholesale.

So my story is:
>" written" in 1st person by an english professor
> writing story about growing up in his abusive aunts home with his sister and cousins
> aunt favours him, pits him against siblings/cousins
> eventually aunt murders his sister

The whole story is this weird sort of commentary on how murder and cruelty is entertainment in our society. I'm trying to pull a Nabokov ( in my own pathetic way) and have the narrator be crazy... Maybe.

Like the narrator could be some poor guy forced to hurt his family as a child by an awful predator and trying to atone for what happened by giving his sister a proper burial and acknowledging what happened publicly.

OR he could be some crazy fuck who was always in on the abuse with his aunt writing down what he did to his sister so he can brag about his crimes and get away with it in typical serial killer fashion.

I think the """ truth""" will lean towards the former, but the whole point is that society constantly retruamtizes victims by poring over every detail of the crime.

The main trouble is that the main character is supossed ti be this super talented writer and I'm a retard.

>>36126452
Glad to hear your feedback. It's a good idea you're working with, a family drama/commentary that could go some interesting places, especially if seen in the light of modern society's value of individualism and personality over the thoughts of family (in particular with the idea of the aunt having the protagonist square off against his relatives).

As for the intricacies of the story, it's really what kind of commentary you want to pursue and where you want to go with it. On first glance, a protagonist as a childhood victim of a superior figure's terror is a powerful motivator - it also creates a sympathetic protagonist that feels powerless in the light of an authority figure bearing down upon him.

Regardless, the idea of society's perceptions outweighing the protagonist's experience is a strong motivator for a plot, or even a dual-plot structure that could take place both in the past (the protagonist's retelling of his horror-filled childhood) and present (the protagonist's struggles to come to terms as his trauma is tossed aside by a story-craving culture that just wants titillation). It's well-placed for the times.

I'm a big character guy, so I'd say it's what you can do with the characters that can go a long way. It's a real good launching point, regardless.

And don't worry about your own writing skill - that comes with practice, it's not innate. I was a shitty ass writer back in 2005 when I started writing fiction shit for fun. Now I can pump out novel-length stuff regularly, though I still criticize myself. We all do. Look at George RR Martin, Pat Rothfuss, etc, writers who struggle getting through just the act of writing. We can never write well enough to please our interior critics.

>>36124643
I'm about 5000 words into this project i started a bit ago.
Alright so it's long after a societal collapse, and takes place in a society formed after the collapse, so it's post post apocalyptic.
Anyway with a nation having just taken a large number of provinces, and agreements fucking over old local leaders, the people in the newly acquired territories are generally unhappy. This (combined with other things sparks revolt)>
Most of the book is about the constant infighting and competition for power following the revolution.
Also it's told as a series of documents from various perspectives instead of a single narrative

>>36127017
theres more detail to it than i'm giving but a full fledged summary (even a quick one of whats planned so far) would take a while and I don't think people here care enough for a more detailed summary.

>>36127053

I'd be interested in hearing what you want to offer. The power struggle between factions is a tried-and-true plot mechanic that can underpin many strong stories in a book - character arcs, themes, and takes on modern problems, such as is.

It definitely seems like a story idea where detail counts, and where the perspective of people on multiple sides of conflict could show differing views on strife and intrigue. Like all stories, it's about execution.

>>36124643
I'm writing about this mage guy, who has this magic drug that's basically amphetamines but the more you do the more ability you have to warp reality in addition to being able to stay up for days on end and not feel fatigue. I just got entertained by the idea of the demigod/junkie.

>>36127157
Yeah, I'm going through now, and there are even some gaps that I still want to fill, but I'm trying to get the bones there first and then refining.

Anyway each section of the book has one character in a bit more of a central focus.
Between the start of the book and fall of Annapolis, its some middle aged bureaucrat who at some point ended up changing allegiances
Between the fall of Annapolis and the end reign of the reign of the radicals (which begins after Annapolis falls)
It's an assembly member juggling a shitloads of competing interests
Between the collapse of the radicals and the reform into the Chesapeake republic it focuses on a working class person going through everything from their end which stands in sharp contrast to the political mess.
All of these are string together by this group of people who end up in contact with all three of these protagonists throughout their journeys.

I'm also trying to look at structures of power and how people act. The revolt doesn't starrt because "muh freedom". While that is part of it it starts as mainly a power grab by some has been local leader making an attempt to boost his own influence.

>Have mildly interesting experiences in my life
>Write greentext stories based on them
>The truth is not a very good story so I embellish and exaggerate them to make it more dramatic or funny
>Get (you)s when I post them on /r9k/
>(you)s feel good so I make more and post them
>tfw I might be addicted to (you)s

>>36126433
Posts some original songs

>>36127925
basementvacation.bandcamp.com

Original comment 12345

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>>36124643
>Story takes place in the far future, and the world's mostly a wasteland, peppered with domed green cities where the elite Jew overlords live.
>Story about a robot
>The robot comes to life as his creator collapses and dies on top of him
>They lock eyes for an instant as the old man dies
>The robot tries to find his purpose, learning more about his creator and why he died
>Robots aren't supposed to be sentient, and he has to pretend to be stiff and vacant like them, while he sneaks around unraveling the mystery of his life and his creator's death
>It turns out his creator didn't create him for any noble purpose
>Robot was simply meant as a vessel for his creator to cheat death, but something went wrong with the transfer process and it gave the robot sentience, and some of his creators memories, but not his full consciousness
The story continues where the robot fights the elite Jews and unites the wasteland goyim, human and robot alike.

>>36128768
Interesting concept.
Would be neat as a Twilight Zone episode.

>>36124643
I want to write a science fiction novel just for the fun of doing it, but I don't want to half ass it. I'm stuck on the idea of how to write some of the aliens. I want to write about their experiences away from humans but they speak an alien language obviously. I would of course need to write their dialogue in english but wouldn't this kill off a lot of the realism and immersion?

>>36124643
I've realized that I can't write without music, and I have to be in a very particular groove to actually write.

I'm a screenwriter, and as such I kinda need to write juuuuust enough for the director to get a feel for what I'm getting at, and literally nothing else. My big issue is that I want everything to be so fucking specific.

Currently working on a cyberpunk story (link below), but I'm out of the groove on that so I'm thinking of writing something smaller so that I can film it on a budget of fuck-all.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6uwaxNQt5HRSDJBMXB4clloSHM

>>36130063
Just mention when the first one starts speaking that it's in their language (e.g. "Grathalzur Buttfuucker barked orders at his second-in-command, the guttural screeches of his language echoing in the hangar bay") and then write all the dialogue in the alien language in italics.
That should be enough to indicate that anything written in italics is an alien language. You could use different typefaces as well.
Or you could go the Stargate route and just imply there's a very good explanation for all the aliens speaking english but never explain why.

I wrote a joke.

A man goes to the pub in a shitty mood to meet with his mate. His mate asks what the matter is.
He says, "Man, I've been in the doghouse all day."
His friend gives him a smug grin. "In trouble with your missus, eh?"
The man gives one back. "Nah, I've just been visiting yours."

Please give me a Netflix comedy special.