What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

edutton · Jun 14, 2017

Simpson17866 said:
I did not know there was a word for that but I love it!

I know, right? I'm starting to wonder if I should start a thread where people share excerpts about their stories passing the test, just to show how stupidly easy it is.

A big chunk of mine is a love story between two girls, so quite a large percentage of the conversations are non-man-related... and the MC's and LI's arcs are definitely not in support of a male character!

RLGreenleaf · Jun 14, 2017

Simpson17866:

In reference to your comment about sharing excerpts from stories:

I suppose that one of my novels passes both the Bechdel Test and the Furiosa Test.

My heroine is out for revenge. She is out to get revenge against the three people who murdered her father, stole all her property, and are now after her.

But she quiclky turns the tables on them.

I always hated movies where the main characters are on the run from the bad guys, and doing all sorts of stoopid things in the process. I always wanted them to turn the tables on the evil guy, and have THEM on the run instead.

Speaking of which...another scene that I hate in movies, is where the bad guy has his two hands around the girl's neck, choking her, and she is struggling. There is a VERY simple solution for this...

just grab their tiny finger (on the hand choking you) and break it off!

But they never do that in movies.

My character would do that without a second thought.

Simpson17866 · Jun 14, 2017

RLGreenleaf said:
Speaking of which...another scene that I hate in movies, is where the bad guy has his two hands around the girl's neck, choking her, and she is struggling. There is a VERY simple solution for this...

just grab their tiny finger (on the hand choking you) and break it off!

... I never thought of that.

RLGreenleaf · Jun 14, 2017

Simpson17866:

That is a move I learned a long time ago, in a self-defense class...among many other very simple, but effective, moves.

I taught both my kids (daughter and son) how to protect themselves, using similar techniques.

I suppose fictional characters never use simple moves like that because...it might not be as dramatic as someone struggling helplessly against a bad guy.

But I guess this takes us more into the topic of martial arts and self defense, rather than writing.

Most of my female characters know how to take care of themselves.

Simpson17866 · Jun 14, 2017

RLGreenleaf said:
I suppose fictional characters never use simple moves like that because...it might not be as dramatic as someone struggling helplessly against a bad guy.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Seriously, I always think that more realism is more interesting than less. Even in SFF

heykatydid · Jun 14, 2017

I hit the 40,000 word mark in my novel WIP today, and even though I feel these past few chapters have been unbearably weak (the dreaded middle blues), at least I'm making headway and can get to the rest of the plot. Perhaps my alpha readers will have some ideas on how to make them more exciting - and relevant.

Punk28 · Jun 14, 2017

Finding myself as rewriting 25-50% of what I've written. I'm seeing a light shining through the mist, but it's still murky outside so more work is needed for these chapters.

WriteMinded · Jun 15, 2017

I think reading your book aloud is a good idea. One very helpful beta, instead of telling me what he thought was wrong, would say, "Read that sentence out loud." 'Nuff said.

RLGreenleaf · Jun 15, 2017

Reading your work out loud is an interesting idea, but be aware:

some prose reads well when read out loud, and some does not.

Some prose is "aural", meant to be read out loud, and some is "visual", meant to be read to one's self.

Mark Twain wrote about this. He mentioned that he had written some pages that he really liked ("The prince and the Pauper"), and he read them out loud to a group of people -- but he was very disappointed at how it sounded.

But when he read it again, without speaking the words, it read beautifully.

This is a topic that I presented at our writers group a while ago, and we discussed it at length.

Just be aware that, even if the prose does not read well out loud, it does not necessarily mean that it's bad.

Cindyt · Jun 15, 2017

Reading your work out loud is great if you can hear.

Slapped all 17 articles on the webpages. I'll start editing tomorrow and when that's done I'll add images.

Currently editing Chapter 35, draft 8, of the historical, which is a long one. When I finish I'll work on the picnic scene.

Taylor Harbin · Jun 15, 2017

I have been brainstorming ways to expand a short story of mine into a novel. I have been very excited by this idea and these characters, but I am a little disheartened at the moment. I have been looking at the word counts of some contemporary fantasy books like Fablehaven and realize that they are very long. 100,000 words or longer! I know that book length is often determined by the age group that is targeted, but for some reason it has put a wrench in my mind now I am wondering if I can really expand this 8000 word story into a 40,000+ word book that people will sell.

rwm4768 · Jun 15, 2017

Taylor Harbin said:
I have been brainstorming ways to expand a short story of mine into a novel. I have been very excited by this idea and these characters, but I am a little disheartened at the moment. I have been looking at the word counts of some contemporary fantasy books like Fablehaven and realize that they are very long. 100,000 words or longer! I know that book length is often determined by the age group that is targeted, but for some reason it has put a wrench in my mind now I am wondering if I can really expand this 8000 word story into a 40,000+ word book that people will sell.

What audience are you writing for? If it's middle grade, 40,000 words isn't too short.

RLGreenleaf · Jun 15, 2017

Taylor Harbin:

I was in a similar situation with a novella that I have been wanting to expand into a novel.

The novella is complete in itself, and I was afraid of breaking it if I expanded it, but lately, I have been realizing that there are possible ways.

One thing I did, is that I took two fairly-major characters and delved into their history. One character is an old wise woman, and the new chapters will explain how she became so wise, and how she overcame many difficult obstacles to arrive at the place where she currently is. A second character is a cruel man, and head of the guards at the palace -- I want to explore why he became so vicious.

So in a nutshell, that is the direction I decided to take: explore the history of these characters, to explain why they became the way the are, and how they happen to be where they are; their impetus, if you please.

I also wanted to add a short, but powerful, chapter, all by itself, that explains why the Emperor became the way he is -- just a single chapter where he has an epiphany that changes the course of his life, the course of his kingdom, and the course of my novel.

My other novel is 150,000 words, after shaving it down from 160,000 words -- so I have no problem writing longer pieces. It's shaving it down, that is the issue for me.

Anyway, consider the idea of extra chapters to explain secondary characters.

Perhaps that might help.

Best of luck to you!

Taylor Harbin · Jun 15, 2017

rwm4768 said:
What audience are you writing for? If it's middle grade, 40,000 words isn't too short.

Yeah, MG is probably what I'd market it as, seeing as it's a fantasy with talking animals and such.

Taylor Harbin · Jun 15, 2017

RLGreenleaf said:
Taylor Harbin:

I was in a similar situation with a novella that I have been wanting to expand into a novel.

The novella is complete in itself, and I was afraid of breaking it if I expanded it, but lately, I have been realizing that there are possible ways.

One thing I did, is that I took two fairly-major characters and delved into their history. One character is an old wise woman, and the new chapters will explain how she became so wise, and how she overcame many difficult obstacles to arrive at the place where she currently is. A second character is a cruel man, and head of the guards at the palace -- I want to explore why he became so vicious.

So in a nutshell, that is the direction I decided to take: explore the history of these characters, to explain why they became the way the are, and how they happen to be where they are; their impetus, if you please.

I also wanted to add a short, but powerful, chapter, all by itself, that explains why the Emperor became the way he is -- just a single chapter where he has an epiphany that changes the course of his life, the course of his kingdom, and the course of my novel.

My other novel is 150,000 words, after shaving it down from 160,000 words -- so I have no problem writing longer pieces. It's shaving it down, that is the issue for me.

Anyway, consider the idea of extra chapters to explain secondary characters.

Perhaps that might help.

Best of luck to you!

I think you might be on to something. I've got an opening chapter in mind and conflicts that I can expand upon. I guess I spent so much time on the short story that my brain is signaling what you described: don't expand or you'll break it. I've got some world-building done and most of the character backstories fleshed out, but I could find ways to spend more time with them. Just haven't figured out the best way yet...

Thanks for the suggestion!

RaiscaraAvalon · Jun 15, 2017

Thinking about taking my writing the trad route instead of just self-pubbing. Though that means a longer wait and extra work (querying and such, not on the project itself) but could very well be worth it in the end...never thought I'd say this!

Punk28 · Jun 15, 2017

Decided to read through what I did over the last three days and found that it's utter rubbish. The original reads and feels better, despite needing some changes done to it. Now trying to salvage what I did wrong, plus not to worry about pissing people off too much over my story being science fiction-related and having some religious elements in it.

heykatydid · Jun 15, 2017

I finally got through the difficult chapters of 9 and 10 in my WIP, which hit over 41,000 words today. I've got the next chapter mapped out, at least, so I'm feeling somewhat better prepared going into chapter 11 than I was with the previous two. I wish I could go home and not have to be at work today when my motivation is this high - even if I get that high motivation at work, I can rarely sustain it enough to make it last through the afternoon classes and the train commute home. Exhaustion is generally more powerful.

Cindyt · Jun 16, 2017

My goal for today: finish the blasted picnic chapter FCOL. And edit a couple three chapters.

Punk28 · Jun 16, 2017

I *think* I fixed the issues in chapter 14. Still working on the next one, which is so out there it's crazy. Most of my issues lie in me deciding to make the presence of the mobs not be so demanding/concerning -- the plague's just started, so the crazy stuff with mob activity shouldn't be happening now.

rwm4768 · Jun 18, 2017

I've written close to 9000 words over the last three days. I probably could have written even more. I'm in the middle of the climax, and that's when the words just flow from my fingertips. I'm trying to pace myself, though. I don't want to rush things.

debergerac · Jun 18, 2017

There's like termites or possibly annoying bees...story termites and bees that have taken up residence in my brain. I'm writing prose for the first time in eons because these terbees won't go until it's done. That's our agreement, at least tentatively. I'm not sure I trust them. Anyway, thank goodness it's a short story.

Lakey · Jun 19, 2017

I wrote and edited many dense pages over the weekend ... of technical content. Work has eaten my life and will continue this way for the next month or so. My novel languishes. I was stuck with it anyway, before work reached this 7-days-a-week urgency, on a weak middle, a problem I haven't yet solved.

remister · Jun 19, 2017

Hopeful. I'd been sitting on some R and R notes for weeks and finally it clicked on what I have to do (hopefully it's the right click lol).

Reservoir Angel · Jun 19, 2017

Working out background hitches that if unresolved will cause me headaches for yonks.

For example, if two cultures of humanity have lived entirely isolated from one another without any genetic overlap, to the point that one of them has visually diversified into not looking quite entirely human anymore (same basic features but some visual specifics are different) then would a potential romance between members of the opposing societies be considered as some kind of bestiality.

These are the things that keep me up at night, folks.

What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

Ni. Peng. Neee-Wom.

Ummm, just one more chapter...

Ummm, just one more chapter...

Business Lumberjack

Derailed

Ummm, just one more chapter...

Gettin wiggy wit it

Power to the pen!

practical experience, FTW

Ummm, just one more chapter...

Power to the pen!

Power to the pen!

Lost In The Realms

Business Lumberjack

Gettin wiggy wit it

practical experience, FTW

professional dilettante

Angelic by name, fiendish by nature