How is that book coming along /tg/?

Which one, there's quite a few

>pc with all material got fried
>replacement pc is 2 months late

It's not.

It doesn't sell, which hopefully is only because I'm not doing any marketing. Though it did land me some commissional work, which will hopefully sell, at least I don't have to make this happen, just need to write it. Also want to start several other projects right now, but I'm stuck in some kind of creative bottleneck.

havn't worked on it in 12 years

I'm not sure how to depict dialog.
Should I separate with a line and trace like I was taught in schol or just insert with the text like Yathzee does in mogworld?

>>53129849
Separate lines unless you're pulling some highbrow artsy shit like ignoring the complex punctuation rules like in The Road, in which case just save everyone the trouble and burn your manuscript because you wouldn't be asking if you were good enough to pull something like that off.

Already printed and in stores, thanks!

>>53129462
>Book
You're doing it wrong. The benefit of /tg/ games is that the players have as much power over the story as the GM. Books railroad the reader, you want to make a Vidya.

I got stuck on plot so I'm going to spend some time world building and reading to see if I can find a path forward

>>53130288
This, or even just a setting for existing ttrpgs.

>>53129462
Trying to finish school first

I really want to write a book just so i can get criticism, and get better

>>53129462
How the fuck am I supposed to books?

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>>53130288
Speak for yourself.

Best FF book, fite me irl

Pretty good, I'm almost done writing the second story for the collection I'm doing and have one local store that's shown interest in stocking it. Better than nothin'.

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>>53129462
I've started on numerous books and trashed them subsequently. One day I'll find the concept I want to go all the way with.

My problem is that I worldbuild too much and get to thinking more about the world than the characters. I'm too autistic NOT to explain how the theoretical hyperdrive works or who the entire court of planet X's rulers are. Then it turns out my pseudoscience isn't that clever and I'm just writing things that have no bearing on the plot. I get disheartened and scrap the story.

Currently working on it right now. A shared project with my friend where we took the best parts from our old 3.5e campaign and made it into a book(s?). It's coming along fine. I really liked the plotline when I was running it and the PCs were great in telling the story as well.

As for my own cyberpunk pleasure project, I'm really liking how its coming along. Just need a more concrete overarching end-game to work towards.

Other than that though I have a couple smaller projects but those two are the big ones.
>>53131469
Take English classes senpai and go to workshops.

>>53131613
You have to like the characters to get the reader interested in the world. Don't worry anon, I'm the same. Story>World>Characters in my book but people simply won't read/buy if the characters aren't compelling. Just write characters you like and it should work out.

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>>53130078
AHAHAHAHHAHA

pics or fake

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>>53131730
http://viralgamespublishing.com/stores.html

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it's fun

Really well, thanks for asking.

>>53130288
Howabout a choose-your-own-adventure?

>>53129462
Well I drawfag and recently I got an extremely pushy nigger on deviantart telling me to look up shit for his art request that's basically a combination of Luke Cage and Trayvon Martin with angel wings so suffice to say I'm not making a book of requests anymore.

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Wrote this baby from start to finish in three months, then took a bit of a break, about to dive right in for draft three.

It's a sword & sorcery story of a zero-level little shithead picking up the mantle of a recently-dead high-level ranger and trying his best to not die on a great quest. I doubt it'll sell but hey.

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>>53129462
I CAN'T WRITE FOR SHIT!
WHY CAN'T I GET ALL THESE IDEAS OUT OF MY HEAD!

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>>53132439
>selling your writing

>>53132684
In the unlikely scenario that someone's willing to pay actual money for it, I wouldn't be noble or selfless enough to not take up on that offer.

>>53129462
Not good, I keep on destracking myself with work.

Also the last couple of times I wrote stuff for small writing contests I always get third place to non-fiction self bio depress feats stories. I've met the authors who legitly have depressing childhoods, which they use to make wonderful stories that people eat right up. It made me realize that I'm pretty fucking content as a hobby writer.

>>53129462
I'm almost done with the first draft, actually! I think it's too niche to really sell but considering my writing talents/experience aren't really book-oriented that doesn't bother me.

>>53131795
I take it you're a better writer than photographer.

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>>53132605
I would strongly, strongly, strongly recommend that you write non-fiction stuff until you're comfortable with it. Don't worry about making up a story or characters or anything, just take something that actually happened to you and write it out.

Then grab a red pen and read through it as though it was written by the person in this world you most despise. If you can get some friends to read it, don't. If it's the first thing you're writing it's going to be terrible. Don't subject the people you love to it.

Some writers tear up their first drafts. Even if you don't go that far, just remember: the first draft only exists to be written, not to be read.

Then write it again. I promise you, the next draft will be better. Whenever you get frustrated while writing, thinking "oh my god this is horrible I can't even stand to look at it", drown out those thoughts with "the next draft will be better," because it will.

Rinse and repeat until you have something half-decent. Then move on to a different experience. These are practice exercises, don't worry about getting them perfect, just worry about getting them good.

I started seriously writing in middle school. The first stuff of mine that I don't think is terrible is from a writing class I took when I was 21. Obviously it's not gonna be that long of a wait if you're not also dealing with being a pretentious teenager but the point is that it's not gonna happen overnight.

"Inspiration" is stupid. Don't wait until you feel like writing, slog through. Sometimes the best stuff comes when you think you're tapped out, but even if it's garbage, keep writing. The next draft will be better.

>I [CAN'T] GET ALL THESE IDEAS OUT OF MY HEAD
Ideas are as necessary to writing as a cherry is to a sundae. Execution is the rest of the sundae. And the only way to get good execution is by writing and refining, writing and refining.

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>>53133414
By the way, while you're turning your experiences into writing, be self-critical. Don't make a story explaining why you were actually the good guy in some situation or another. While some details here and there will be sanded away in the editing process, be truthful about what you did and what you were thinking. If you can't make a character feel real by documenting your own actual feelings, thoughts, and actions, then, yeah, that's a little pathetic. But the next draft will be better.

It can take a while to figure out the right balance of too much versus too little detail. Err on the side of too much, then pare it down from there.

I'd also recommend you practice writing poetry on the side. It might not be for you but it forces you to pay close attention to your word choice and how you express yourself.

Finally, once you're comfortable with the basic exercises of reading (and no sooner), you can dive into original fiction. The biggest trap I've seen there is relying on an outline. Remember what I said: ideas are nice but not what you really need. Make an outline for the first couple of chapters, but from there just write and see what you can make happen with the pieces you've put in motion. Once you've done that, go through and figure out what the story should be. Clean it up in the next draft.

The "risk" here, so to speak, is that you'll wind up with a lot of characters standing around not doing much. That's fine. It's easier to get rid of that bulk than it is to try to cram the story through the hoops you pre-determined without it seeming forced.

As you get better, writing will come more naturally. You'll gain more of a sense of how things will work and what will sound good, but it will never stop being a process of producing raw material, revising, editing, and re-writing. Those are the skills you need to learn.

Anyone else got anything to add?

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>>53132387
>>53129462

Doing okay, I guess.

Good, good. Sitting with an agent at the moment. Next novel is in progress, ~20,000 words so far.

>>53131696
Look at any number of publisher's websites, and see how many of them say "We don't want you and your group's D&D story".

>>53133961
[citation needed]

Just because you are a shit writer doesn't mean other people are ;^)

>>53133414
>actually writing on paper
It's the 21st century, pal.

Got too many ideas and too lazy to write them down. So pretty shitty.

I don't write books but I do write screenplays

>>53134703
Ayyy, mon ami(e). I'm working on a book right now but screenplays are my main deal.

>>53131795
VIRAL!
I AM A LIBRARIAN IN NEED OF A PHYSICAL BOOK SO WE CAN HOLD HEARTWARMING GAMES OF ROBOT FUN.

I've been highly burned out for the last five months due to work, but I quit my shit job, and I already feel less horrible.

Now I just need to do more research on french folk music.

>>53134749
I like writing them even though the chance they ever make me money is so minuscule I may as well just play the lottery.

That's why I let people pay me to rip into their screenplays instead.

>>53134799
No way, same here! It's not like I make anywhere near enough to support myself that way, but it also enables me to feel smugly superior to other people in a similar situation to my own, despite the fact that I have no right to.

>>53134891
It's a good high. Plus, it's fun to see where decent/great ideas go wrong and see how you (who you'd consider a greater writer) would fix them.

>>53134786
You're writing about french folk music?

Please do tell.

I've written three novels and hate them all. I tried to get them published back when I was a kid now I see them for the garbage they are. Writing now disgusts me, but I try anyway.

>>53134934
I enjoy working within limitations, so I just really like taking something terrible and making it into something good while not fundamentally changing the creator's vision. (Which admittedly often makes it harder to make it good.)

>>53135001
I'm writing about a setting/nation that combines the best of the French Enlightenment and the First French Republic, but with psychic powers.
Fantasy Not France battles Fantasy Not China in Fantasy Not Australia while a Demon Worshiping, Isolationist Not Ottoman Empire and a resurgent Not Ashanti Empire, coming back around from a failed attempt to start a world war with Not France and Not Turkey, both look on and wonder if they should try and make powergrabs.
With the focus of Not China shifting to Not Australia, the provinces and satraps begin to buck under the weight of 'enlightened' rule, and around Not France, there are mutters among the client states and trading partners that perhaps they should be the ones to rule their own affairs.

Tech levels are roughly that of the Napoleonic Wars, 90% of the population has magic, determined by where they were born (If you were born area A, you get magic A, if you are born in area B, you get magic B), monstrous spirit things occasionally arise and cause havoc, and in the distant prehistory a race of giants fought with the demons that Not Turkey now worships.

Pretty fuckin' well.

>>53129462
Dead in a ditch. I realized I'm a pretty good GM, pretty good at world building and ok at short stories but anything longer than 3 pages turns to shit. I gave up trying to write anything other than RPG campaigns years ago.

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I've written more than a quarter-million words. Gave up cause I realized I would never finish it. It's autistic as fuck anyway, I was never planning to publish it. Maybe I'll get back on it tonight, there's a part I've been itching to work on. I've been considering writing some post-apocalyptic fiction in a world I've been working on but it will probably suck.

>>53135486

>overuse of adjectives
>all that unnecessary consonance and alliteration

Have you thought about just deleting that dumpster fire? Just being able to see 15 words tells me that it is trash.

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>>53129462
I finished my first book a while back
since then it's just been a few pages of half baked ideas here and there that I end up discarding for the next thing
I'm trying to focus on one actually thought out plot now though. So maybe I'll be done with my 2nd in a few months.
But I wish I could actually get a response to my query letters for the first.
Maybe this one will work out better. If not,
you improve and try again

>>53129462
It's about magical girls.

I lol every time I see someone on here mention a book they're writing about a campaign they ran. Like how delusional do you have to be to think that anyone cares about your retarded railroad through your oh so original world?

>>53129462
Workin on some Age of Sigmar fan fiction; its in the concept phase at the moment, along with a few seperate scenes I've written up, but its on its way

>>53135564
>Have you thought about just deleting that dumpster fire?

I spent too much time on it to get rid of it. It only takes up a couple of megabytes anyways. Really, the run-on sentences are more of my problem. I started deleted the adjectives and adverbs as much as I could, getting rid of habit words, et cetera. Ended up deleting huge swathes of writing, literally 10,000 words worth, and rewriting them.

>>53135656

Malazan, Stormlight, and a few other larger books are based on campaign worlds. It's retarded but people will buy shit.

>>53135656
>Like how delusional do you have to be to think that anyone cares about your retarded railroad through your oh so original world?

I feel like that's a bit of a strawman. I might actually read a story about a bunch of murderhobos crawling their way through an insane deadly dungeon.

It all depends on the campaign.

>>53135693

>you see I didn't keep the whole pile of shit, I carved out less than 1% and then jizzed into the holes

Just delete it. It's as worthless as you are.

What's a good cheap laptop to write on?

>>53135656
You sound like a twat, but you are mostly right.

>>53135706
should I kill myself, too, reddit-spacer?

>>53135755

No. Just destroy your shitty attempt at writing. Why wallow in being useless in a skill that a 10 year old could do better than whine like a little cunt when proven wrong?

>le reddit spacing meme

And a fucking cancerous newfag.

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>>53135693
>It only takes up a couple of megabytes anyways.

Yes, and the Ring is just a tiny piece of jewelry.

>>53135897
Hey, you're that asshole that puts a line after his quotes
Everyone knows who you are, and we all think you're a dick

>>53135693
There's no point in deleting your writing
You can always learn from it or go back and laugh out how bad you where and how much you have changed

>>53136077
maybe try fixing it?

>>53136095
Fix a quarter-million-word garbage? It'd be far more productive if you learned from your mistakes and started a whole new, almost certainly better story.

>>53136039

>that artisanal autism

Sure thing sperg.

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>>53129462
I'm really enjoying it, the guy that wrote it did a good job.

>>53136135
what if that's the story i want to write and I have no motivation to write otherwise?

>>53136192
Then, sorry to say and trying to be as nice about it as possible, you're not much of a writer. Writers are a font of ideas, and starting to put them down on paper will only open the floodgates of inspiration.

I get far too many ideas to ever write anywhere near all of them, even though I'd love to write every single one.

>>53136289
i have a dozen other pieces that i've started, some probably with much better premises than that one. yet after a few pages i no longer feel any motivation to write them

>>53133879
Yes.
Thank you, anon-kun

>>53136323
Well, keep trying. Jot down every single idea. Write them as far as you can go without the motivation dying out. Make a game out of it: try and write each a few words more than the last.

Eventually, probably, one actually picks up and you'll get it all the way to the end. It happened to me, after all. It was unreadable shit.

>>53133995
http://www.booksofm.com/2009/11/why-your-dd-game-doesnt-make-a-great-novel.html

>>53136526
Thank you for making your own, well thought out response. Really appreciate it.

>>53129772
What's it about?

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>>53133033
>I take it you're a better writer than photographer.
I didn't take the picture; somebody just saw it at that store in Canada and emailed me the pic. I did take the picture of the robutt on the cover though.

>>53134751
>VIRAL!
>I AM A LIBRARIAN IN NEED OF A PHYSICAL BOOK SO WE CAN HOLD HEARTWARMING GAMES OF ROBOT FUN.
Okay, email me and I'll get you some copies.

>>53136526
What if, as it has happened before, I decided to DM the story I had for a book? Railroading aside.

>>53129795
And now it's time!

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Well, the rulebook (attached) is coming along. Need to add shotguns and finish some of the fluff. Then move on to more Equipment and go over the mechanics again to ensure that it all makes sense.

The novel is shitty and never getting finished.

>>53129462

I'm almost finished with the prologue.

>>53137381
oh and I am gonna go over and finish up the species and environment bonuses.

Also, I have got to actually write down the android components instead of just have them as post-its and mental notes

>>53129462
About to get published next month

>>53137675
Congratulations!

>>53137381
Androids/cyborgs seem to be OP?

>>53139456
they are powerful out of the box, one of the reasons i am redoing the races/region thing

's good.

sci-fi western noir about a space cop and his pink gf pilot who meet God.

going much better since i started ripping off Stephen King.

Got about 75k words into a fantasy novel.
Mostly just a coming of age story so have struggled with coming up with some kind of overarching villain or adversity.
I also have countless other beginnings written - from 80s style no noire, to modern military about a Chinese invasion of the pacific.
Loads of stuff but I end up feeling like each idea lacks something.
I have decent characters as far as I can tell, but the drive to tell a longer story than perhaps is necessary kicks in and I feel like they wear thin.
Ah well, it's a fun way to pass the time on my hour long train rides to and from work!

>>53136776
A young guy and his obsession with a god of war who is actually a pretty nice guy, a world-spanning cult that of course does some evil rituals deep down under the earth and fantasy-Greeks taking Archimedes too far and inventing togate steam-punk.

Writing a novel is the white man's equivalent of waiting for your mixtape to drop.

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>>53129462
>Friend makes his own rulebook
>won't shut up about it
>brings it up at every opportunity
>no one even cares

>>53133414
>>53133879

>"Inspiration" is stupid. Don't wait until you feel like writing, slog through

Seconded. No seriously, just think up a sentence or two and start typing. You're fingers should start moving on their own, at least for a bit.

>I'd also recommend you practice writing poetry on the side. It might not be for you but it forces you to pay close attention to your word choice and how you express yourself.

Or any kind of game that limits you in some way. Try and tell a story with only 100 words. I promise your thesaurus will be laying a puddle of it's own tears before you're done.

>Anyone else got anything to add?
Show, don't tell. Example

He stood up, angrily.

He stood up abruptly, knocking his chair back. He stared at the man, nostrils flaring and eybrows drawn down.

Notice in the second example I never declared his mood, but you'd know right away. Once you've shown, THEN you can tell, especial if the narrator is also a char in the scene. For example:

He stood up abruptly, knocking his chair back. He stared at the man, nostrils flaring and eybrows drawn down. I felt my pulse quicken as I realized there was a good possibility he was going to start throwing punches.

>>53140213

Why not try your hand at short stories rather than novels? Might help if you feel the stories drag on too long.

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Already published.

I'm two pages in!

>>53141097
... the fuck.

Any good?

>>53141753
Ganbatte!

>>53129462
470 Pages. 150000 words.
It's ok; first draft, but I've loved every second of writing it despite how frustrating it can be. Just keep going at it till I'm done, then I'll worry about what I'm going to do with the fucking thing.

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>>53129462
about as well as the question implies, which is to say not at all.

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>>53140878
I am that friend. The only difference is that it's a novel rather than a rulebook.

Want to read it?

>>53141097

That's just a joke shop,right? Please tell me this book doesn't actually exist.

>>53139858
Post when you are done!

>>53140367
Except white people aren't fucking degenerates like negroes.

Wrote the first few chapters and sent them off to any agent or publisher to see if it was worth pursuing. Got two "This isn't my cup of tea but keep at it" responses. Not sure who the audience would be anyway, it's a book about dwarves surviving an ice age apocalypse. I just wanted to see if it was worth continuing.

>>53129462
Been on hiatus for about...10 years. I'll get back to it eventually.

>>53144380
Publish it yourself my dude
I don't even know if that's remotely feasible to do in any situation, but it sounds like a good idea

>>53144380
>>53144458
Or otherwise throw in a relatable human character that the audience can connect to
Then kill him off at the end of the book and continue the saga 100% dwarf

>>53141037
>You're fingers should start moving on their own
M-my fingers... they're moving on their own!

>>53141779
Revise it. The next draft will be better.

>>53142445
You underestimate how weird professional smut can get. There are only so many women with heaving bosoms falling for handsome Fabio strangers with troubled pasts. Eventually you'll hit a point where you've written about every single human being who could have ever existed in or near Victorian England. Then you've gotta branch out.

>>53144756
Nice stale meme you autistic heap of human trash

>>53144852
>That was a very funny and harmless joke, I commend you on it.
Oh, thank you, thank you. You're too kind.

>>53144852
Different anon, but it's funny to see someone giving writing advice but writing "you are fingers" and "a puddle of it is own tears"

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>>53132684

> keeping your masterful prose all to yourself

>>53145871
You should only be ashamed to sell your writing if it's terrible but you keep making obscene amounts of money off of it. And since I doubt Frank Miller or Rob Liefeld post on /tg/ that's probably not you.

>>53145891
Quality is fairly subjective, anyway. I for instance personally find some of Frank Miller's work pretty good.

If you make so much money out of it, then clearly a lot of people don't think it's terrible.

>>53145925
People purposely buy bad things anon.

>>53145955
Probably not that many people, though.

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>>53145970
Showgirls did a re-release DVD that including drinking games you could play. Tommy Wiseau has more or less made his living from The Room screenings for years now. But it's true that's the exception more than the rule.

>>53145925
He sure has produced some fascinating character studies about prostitutes, hookers, women who have sex for money, women who use sex appeal to advance their career for money, strippers, sex workers, cat burglars who used to be prostitutes, strippers who are also prostitutes, and prostitutes who are also strippers.

Nothing against sex workers, but I can't help but feel that there's more to femininity than that.

Though he did give Wonder Woman what I believe to be the greatest single line put to page since the invention of written language.

>>53146227
>He sure has produced some fascinating character studies about prostitutes, hookers, women who have sex for money, women who use sex appeal to advance their career for money, strippers, sex workers, cat burglars who used to be prostitutes, strippers who are also prostitutes, and prostitutes who are also strippers.
>Nothing against sex workers, but I can't help but feel that there's more to femininity than that.

Batman: Year One is a pretty good read in spite of Catwoman's origins, and Nancy Callahan has a lot more going to her than being a stripper.

But in a general sense... yeah...

>>53129462
Pretty good
Wanna read it?

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Slowly, but at least it's progressing...

Hoping like hell I can get this second to last chapter finished before Summer proper starts.

>>53129462
Froze the idea last autumn. Didn't feel like gambling a decade away on taking the chance to break in with the professional stuff and mediocre stuff isn't what I'd like to do. Moreso, there really wasn't lots of time spent on this particular hobby in the past. So… using some of the work in new 5e campaign, at least friends will have fun I hope. They seem to like the evocative shades and accents I didn't let slip into my speech before.

>>53129462
Just starting it, which is going to be a cyber/bio punk adventure based in 'Not' India based mostly from my interactions during the time I spend travelling

>>53146554
>cap_for_ants.png

I'm just not sure if medieval fantasy sells. Or if anyone is interested in a "animal eared" oriented setting that hates full furries. It may have an interesting approach on gods, but people might see the whole picture as a magical realm, which is not the case.

>>53148276
Medieval fantasy always sells.

>people might see the whole picture as a magical realm, which is not the case

Then make it the case. It'll sell better that way.

>>53129462
as of last night I'm a page and 1/4 in on the 19th draft

>>53131613
If all else fails publish it as a campaign setting

I'm not sure if I want it to be a book.

>>53129462
It's going nowhere. I've established it as a goal/prize that I can get back to once I solve the problem of getting a decent job.

>>53146554
This isn't seriously how you're saving your work right? Even at full res that would be completely unreadable.

>>53141037
>No seriously, just think up a sentence or two and start typing. You're fingers should start moving on their own, at least for a bit.

That is bad advice. Starting a book with no idea of what themes you want to convey or where your plot will end all but guarantees that it will be a mess.

Heller supposedly began writing Catch-22 in that way. Catch-22 also took eight years to finish.

>>53152109
>Starting a book with no idea of what themes you want to convey or where your plot will end all but guarantees that it will be a mess.

Stephen King does it, I hear.

>>53152109
Themes come after the story. If you start writing thinking about themes and subtext it's gonna come off as pretentious and uninteresting.

Make the story. Then figure out the themes. It's one of the steps of the "cleaning up" process.

Your worldview suffuses whatever your write by virtue of it being your worldview. There will be themes whether or not you try to include them.

>>53152209

That's true. He also writes a LOT and churns out some real stinkers sometimes.

I fly by the seat of my pants as well sometimes, but I think it only really works for short stories.

Is anyone else having trouble posting in this thread or is it just me?

>>53153538
No, but 4chan's been being a bit troublesome about posting this last week, so if you're seeing problems it might just be an extension of that.

>>53153590
Well bollocks.

I wrote 3k pages 6-8 years ago. About 2k of those were one story (the rest was a fuckload of short stories of varying quality, and the starts of a few novels) but I realised it wasn't going anywhere and after 2k pages that meant I needed to start over because nobody is going to read 2k pages of exposition. I kinda gave up after that and have barely written anything in a narrative format since.

I don't really give up easily but when I do I give up totally. Don't do nothin' half assed.

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Good but I have three I'm trying to write at the same time because I have ADD.

They are actually going to be comics because I am a windbag and I can accidentally go on and on when I describe things with my writing. So "Aw forget it just look at the pretty pictures so I can get back to the speech bubbles!" Seems like the best plan.

I am going to release them through the Kindle book store. Gonna give away one for free to hook people of course.

>Story 1
Follows a minion in a world of people with super powers. The villain will kill him if he doesn't fight, the hero will snap him like a toothpick if he doesn't fight smart. He wants to stop both because no one stands up for the bystanders who suffer when supers clash. Tasteful humor and action.

>Story 2
Follows two robots after a massive disaster kills almost all of humanity. Both had a "glitch" before it and gained sentience and we're going to be dismantled. Neither understand humans because they only interacted with them though work. A bank teller only ever saw a bank setting. A robot that stacked boxes in a ship yard saw only a far off window. Just philosophical questions of ones purpose with robots.

>Story 3
This one is the strangest.
Magic spells are secretly sentient. Sentient races only see magic as forces and elements. But from a spells perspective, they have emotions and personality. It follows a curse that is stuck in a magic sword. He just wants to be released. Then one day a scrawny goblin girl finds him, who can hear him and see him.
Explores how a villain isn't always a villain.

Incase you haven't guessed yet, I love underdog heroes.

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>>53129462

Just waiting to hear back from the publisher, why do you ask?

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wrote a few pages, mostly interesting action scenes but since i'm an artist (about to get my degree within 4 days) i might turn it into a comic book instead

the gist is lich superpowered skeleton pulls off end of evangelion to restart the earth and universe. gonna make this character suffer a whole bunch because i hear that makes better characters (semi autobiographical as well)

>>53156381
godspeed, the world needs more skeletons

I was doing quite well, then I accidently deleted the whole damn thing with big plot points, worldbuilding,characters listed out etc without backing it up online.

So I transferred to a real physical handwritten thing instead. Now the plot is quite different and there is a new main character who's much more well-written imo.

>>53157469
You overused "quite" just in this short post which is the calling card of the stereotypical pretentious twat, so I'm not about to take you at your word that it's well-written.

I'm confused, what does writing books have to do with playing traditional games?

>>53158059
>overused

...twice?

>>53158086

I don't think we have any janitors or mods. I reported this thread a day ago and it's still up.

I get the commander keen rule, but come on.

>>53158106
Both times were completely unnecessary and felt "quite" forced, and the post was like four words, so yes, twice.

>>53158059
I meant well written for me.
I'm not gonna publish or anything, lay off.

>>53129462
I'm still waiting for life experience, or getting involved in tabletop, or just SOMETHING to magically fix whatever is wrong with my creative muscle. Considering a first grader has a very good chance of having better taste than me.

That, and everything I write somehow ends up incoherent to anyone I share it with so it's not like they would be able to read it in the first place.

>>53129462
I've written it, so now I'm going to put it away for a few months and let it sit, then look at it again for a rewrite.

In case anyone's curious, genre is "art deco sci fi". Basically your average military science fiction novel but with 1920s-inspired technology. Airships, death rays, the works.

I don't know. The lead developer says he needs to assign someone, and editorial is being slow as usual...I think the guy in charge of this shitshow of a project before me was right when he said it wouldn't be out until sixth edition was in development.

>>53129462

Have been stalling and rewriting the world over the years.
Doesn't feel like I can write a story in a world that just.. doesn't work.
I blame my raging autism and general spinelessness for this

>>53158413
Unless you were raised in a vat, you have SOME life experiences. And if you were raised in a vat you probably have some interesting vat-related stories.

The trick is to practice until you can make something that's boring on the surface seem interesting.

>Two stoners try to eat burgers but fail.
>My weird friend and I eat.
>Two people wait for a third person.
>Five toys awake somehow trapped in a charity toy drive bin.

>>53131516
>that book cover

So am I the monster or the guy about to be raped violently by the monster right then and there?

>>53142445
Oh it absolutely exists. Just check out the ebook erotica on amazon.

>>53158594
fuck you I cried

>>53158731
Wait, what?

>>53158741
toy story

>>53158747
Oh. No, it was Five Characters in Search of an Exit. Why would I spoiler it for Toy Story? The fact that they're toys isn't a secret.

>>53158594
I'm not saying I don't have life experience, I'm just saying nothing has stopped me from having shit taste you normally grow out.

The second part is since I'm so completely detached from any intended audience I could possibly care to have (aside from myself), I just confuse people when I write.

Of course, I could just be surrounded by idiots.

>>53158777
>Of course, I could just be surrounded by idiots.
I wouldn't bet on it. If "everyone else" is the problem, it's probably not actually "everyone else".

But still, if nothing else, practice until your little thing is the best dang little thing you can make it.

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>>53146307
It's female characters in general, among other problems.

>And why exactly is it we call him a man of steel? That does bring certain thoughts to mind.
No it does not. It brings no thoughts to the mind of anyone except maybe a porn producer in the 90s trying to make a lazy parody about--and this is just off the top of my head--Lois Lay-Me getting spitroasted by Sex Luthor and Superhung.

By the way, imagine if every single male character Frank Miller wrote was a plumber or a former plumber or someone with a plumbing-related profession. You might really start to wonder how Frank Miller spends his time, wouldn't you? You'd wonder about his eating habits (vis-a-vis his pooping habits), wouldn't you?

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I might on page 120+ and counting and about to start phase two of in-house testing before I flesh out a version of it ready for the magical world of retail pdfs. Been testing it for about 7 months now and it's only getting more refined and streamlined, while also deeper and more intelligent with each iteration. I am very excited.

>>53158852

A man that likes his female characters as primal sex engines.

kek'd at those Frank notes.

>>53158852
>Sex Luthor
yo that's pretty good

>>53158810
Well I only said that last part because on further reflection. Aside from the folks who just didn't actually read and moved on to blind praise, most people either get hung up on something silly or just constantly ask "But why?", both types never being satisfied with the answers I provide.

It's got politics, nonsexualized lesbians, swordfights, explosions, and all the waifubait your heart could desire. I don't see what more you'd want in a book.

>>53158852

Metal-Ho (female metallo with kryptonite strap-on) would ram Superhung from behind in public, no doubt.

>>53158948
Hey, I'm writing some niche stuff, too. Even if you're just doing it for you, keep at it.

4chan keeps giving me trouble whenever I try to post Frank Miller Being Terrible.

>>53158959
That seems like too much research for this lazily-produced porn parody, but I like your style nonetheless.

>>53158949
gripping prose

>>53158852
"I'm a high-profile journalist living in a terrifyingly corrupt and crime-ridden city whose ability to fight crime I am literally in the process of belittling, in a lavish apartment with massive windows fairly close to the ground. I should walk around in a high-end matched lingerie set, further conveying my relative affluence, with the lights turned on so you can see from outside, and I'll just do that for a while, unarmed, exposed, and a little drunk," she presumably said at some point, off-panel. "I'm very good at this. Perhaps later I'll put on some expensive jewelry and find a way to advertise the fact that my door's unlocked."

I mean meanwhile I had to stop wearing skirts when I go to the city 'cause I keep getting catcalled but HEY, this is Frank Miller's Vicki Vale.

I very much do not care for Miller, you see.

I publish it online. It's pretty bad, but I'm sticking with it.
http://agrestthethief.tumblr.com/

I'm having trouble fleshing out the world. Unsure of where to place a plot-critical culture. Hell, I haven't even named most of the maim characters yet. But I've been writing short snaps of dialogue and I like the feel, so I guess it could be worse.

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>>53159030
And of course the unstated subtext of "I'm going on a date with Bruce Wayne" is "Bruce Wayne has money. By having sex with him I will get that money."

>especially because she's got one fine ass
Great note there, Frankie. "Draw her ass the way every ass in the DC Universe is drawn." Really flesh out her character.

>Trust me, it'll drive 'em crazy.
MISSION FUCKING ACCOMPLISHED.

>>53159043
>I'm sticking with it.
Good. That part is so, so much more important than
>It's pretty bad
And maybe over time it'll be less bad and then even less bad than that.

Unlike some people, you didn't peak in 1986 with something that's still massively overrated.

>>53159065
Egh, I should go to bed. I'm getting sloppy.

>>53159061
>>53158586
Worldbuilding is really not as critical as people think. It can make a story more fun, sure, but compare/contrast, say:

>Star Wars
Compelling story; the setting is pretty sparse on details, but because people were interested it got fleshed out more (not necessarily in a good way)

>Push
"Oh, wait, I think I might remember that? With the psychic people? The world was pretty cool but I just couldn't get into it."

Story first, world second.

>>53159043
Is that a porc? I like porcs!

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>>53159133
Yeah, I make them boar-like here. But they're orcs, because it's a good enough name.

>>53159209

Gonna check your comic out when I'm done with all these damn spreadsheets anon.

Porcs got lovely boar faces, love em.

I am currently not working on a book. I am working on a fanfiction instead.

Why? Because I am a horrible human being and do horrible things in my free time.

>>53160274
Fanfiction is vilified far more than it should. Fanfiction actually makes for a great way to learn writing.

See, you've already got the world and the characters all planned out for you - half the work's done! All you need to do is to put them in new situations, devise new plots for them, something entertaining that makes a certain amount of sense. You just need to move on eventually: there are a lot of sad cases out there that keep on going with their million-word pony epic.

It's like training wheels in your bicycle. It helps you stay up for a while but you'll want to take them off eventually so that you can go even faster and go to places you never would've believed.

>>53158949
Do you have catgirls (male)?

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>>53129462
don't know how to start the story off?

do I start off with narrative telling what happen to earth and why mars was colony's
or
do I just start off with the introduction of the heroine

>>53161646
Info-dumping at the start is rarely a good idea, it should be told through the narrative.

>>53161646
Is the story about the colony on Mars with the heroine as the main point of view, or is it about the heroine who just happens to be on a Mars colony?

>>53159126
I'm not going to write 5000 years of history. Most of the world is gonna be either wilderness and random nations. I'm not even drawing a map.

Really, the big problem is I have a few events I want to write about, but only have a vague idea of how to get the characters where they need to be.

>>53129462
I've got the opening scene...

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>>53161702
it's about the heroine who just happens to be on a Mars colony, after 45 years of colonising, newcomers to mars just's stops, as well as contact from earth.

>>53162051
Then start with her, describe what she's currently going through, and paint the colony around her bit by bit.

>>53162083
thinks I will

>>53161695
told through narrative.

>>53161695
Yep. Info-dumps are for the lazy. Giving information through a human lens via dialogue and storytelling is not only more natural, but it tends to be more memorable.

E.g. "Earth was a nice planet, wasn't it? Protagonist stared at the foul tuber in front of her. It always made her nauseous but since she couldn't afford supplements, she had to choke it down once a day. Always after work, so it wouldn't mess up her mojo too bad."

And boom, you've established:
>she doesn't live on Earth but she's probably been there before, so there was direct contact until fairly recently
>food isn't abundant and food grown here is unpleasant
>she's on the poor side
>social stratification limits resources available to her
>the rich doesn't really care about how the poor are treated
and all while developing the book's emotional core and without insulting your readers.

>>53159020
I hope I have that, but it's too much opinion to judge.
>>53160505
...no. You got me?

Hey, /tg/, I'm curious, what's your protagonists' gender?

https://strawpoll.com/859xy84

>>53164975
I'm not very good at writing men. I mean, I'm all right if it's just one guy but I have trouble writing conversations between male characters. It comes out sounding a little like Ping Pong Girl.

>>53165005
Err, I say that to explain why my protagonists are disproportionately women, I mean.

>>53164975
I've got two more or less complete works. One has a male protagonist, the other female.

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This is probably the best place to ask: Imagine generic fantasy, female heroine spends some time with some dwarves in their dwarven hold. At some point she remarks that she hasn't seen any dwarven girls there, and then the dwarves start their advances. Violent advances. She's able to fend them off somehow. I know that rape is already somewhat problematic, but my question is rather if this makes it look like I want to shit on this fantasy-race and all people that like them by inventing dwarf-rapists.
Or has this been already done? Everything has been done already, right?

>>53165582
>At some point she remarks that she hasn't seen any dwarven girls there, and then the dwarves start their advances

All problems in rape aside, this seems to escalate really quickly and clumsily. Like,
>"Hey, where are all the dwarven girls?"
>"Yeah, we don't have any girls here... wait a minute, you're a girl, aren't you? I'mma fuck you."

>>53165656
I don't think that you can criticize the pacing of a scene that hasn't been written yet.

>>53129462
Good.

I have 127 pages done and on top of that I have 187 pages containing the entirety of the story plot

>>53136925
Not a fan of the cover, sorry mate, looks amateur as fuck desu senpai

>>53165827
Yeah, but you kind of made it sound pretty bad - like her remark was the reason they decided to immediately try smash her.

>>53165981
It's decided before, her remark is the reason for them to take action, as she herself realizes in what situation she might be in. If this all plays out like this. As I said, it's not written yet and I might do it in some other way if it doesn't work.

So, am I an asshole for possibly writing this scene or not?

>>53166203
>So, am I an asshole for possibly writing this scene or not?

I never said that. You're getting pretty defensive.

>>53166220
For writing this scene, anon. Let's try to come back to my initial question before filling this thread with useless drivel.

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imagine NYC/Detroit the planet. It would be 2 books. 1 is set entirely on the planet, 2 is set partially somewhere else but everyone ends up back there. I guess you could call it an "urban space holocaust."

basically space 9/11 happens and this info carrier (who is a member of a particular race) was framed in the bombing. Book 1 culminates into her arrest and the social and political shitshow leading up to that. it's gonna be open ended and won't imply there's a sequel

book 2 is the space CIA and the space KGB operating mostly on the planet, and end up begrudgingly cooperating to stop a massive intergalactic war. planetary government on space NYC/Detroit go full duerte, too

it ends with the arrest of a high profile guy and the space federal government absorbing a supermassive corporation

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>>53165582

>>53165582
Quick question: how common is it for her to spend time with groups that are almost devoid of women?

In the real world that's something you pick up on very quickly. It wouldn't take her very long to notice that they're all men. BUT this being a fantasy setting that doesn't much apply if she's used to being around groups that are so overwhelmingly male that she can go a long time without seeing another woman.

Just... reeeeeeally be careful when you're talking about rape. I'm not saying this to be mean, but if you're asking for help on a Nepalese yak-milking image board, you're probably gonna bungle it, unless you have some kind of first-hand or close second-hand experience.

But if you ignore that, then I'd say just don't make it ALL the dwarves. Just make it like five or ten.

Is there a reason there are only men there?

>>53166484
>how common is it for her to spend time with groups that are almost devoid of women?
Pretty common, she's not an ordinary woman.
>It wouldn't take her very long to notice that they're all men
Have to add that she knows that there is a skewed male to female ratio for dwarves. So she might think that she will surely meet some female dwarves at some point.
>Just... reeeeeeally be careful when you're talking about rape
Don't worry, I read enough doujins. Her hips will be moving on her own in no time.
>Is there a reason there are only men there?
Kinda the losers of dwarven society that couldn't get a girl forming a small community.

>>53166652
>Have to add that she knows that there is a skewed male to female ratio for dwarves.
Okay, that's fair.

>Her hips will be moving on her own in no time.
I know you're joking but you're not exactly inspiring my confidence.

>the losers of dwarven society
Wait, so then why is she there?

>>53166652
And why would the dwarves find her remotely attractive? Isn't it kind of like a human deciding to fuck a monkey?

>>53166693
>I know you're joking but you're not exactly inspiring my confidence.
I said before that she will fend them off. I won't write any rape.
>Wait, so then why is she there?
Crashed her ship while hunting a sea-monster she's kinda obsessed with on some rocks. The dwarves stopped by on a small boat and fished her out of the ice-cold water. Could be a good explanation why she doesn't suspects anything, she sees them as her saviors, which they kinda are.
>>53166697
Is that such a problem? It's still the closest they can get to a female dwarf. At least it's not one of these twiggy elves.

>>53166697
I think maybe a better comparison might be "the way white people viewed slaves" (i.e. "human-but-not-human-human"). You saw how that worked out.