Can we have a help thread?
Tell us what issues you're facing while writting your work, what can you do to make it better or any other concern you have regarding your own literature.
My problem: in my novel, the main character is supposed to read a notebook left by his art mentor that comitted suicide to him. This notebook is supposed to have writings that will have a major impact in the main character's life and behavior. It talks about what is art itself, what is an artist, what is the purpose of art, etc. That gives the main character a new view on his own art and his own life.
How can I write this? Obviously I can't write two books in one. How can I express how important the writings left by the deceased teacher are?
Excerpts
Why do hipsters insist on using typewriters?
>>7491656
I just googled "frustrated writer" and this showed up... would you answer my question pls?
>>7491638
Sounds like a dumb idea. I would just skip it, honestly.
Maybe, if you did it convincingly enough, you could just have the character react to the text but not actually show it to the audience. That could either work or completely ruin the book. I don't know.
How do you guys deal with knowing that even if you publish, you will never make a living writing?
>>7491638
>typewriter
First or third person for a whole bildungsroman-type novel?
>>7491678
>relation by manner
>relation by thing
>relation by process
>intensity by proximity (relation of relation to thing)
>intensity by proximity (relation of thing to thing)
>intensity by proximity (relation of thing to person)
>>7491695
Depends on the formulation of your novel, how do you play to account for your audience?
I feel like if you have to ask random online strangers questions then you've already failed permanently.
But how do I stop all my sentences from seeming forced, wooden, bored, immobile, impure, insincere, inauthentic, and unsatisfying?
Not only my short sentences are afflicted by this deficit—it's even worse in long form. Sentences seem not to follow one another; they seem completely unaware of the world in which they live or of the people all around them—to say nothing of the time in which they were written.
That's not even the worst part. I feel like I'm incapable of creating any characters of any kind. I can't even make wooden ones. I could write about something insane and autistic like ghosts for at least a page but I can't even think of a single line of dialogue that isn't automatic, old-testament tier direct language with zero psychological or characteristic depth or personality to it.
It hurts because nothing makes me happier than seeing true created beauty in the world; The feeling that I'm incapable of making things like that is unbearable.
>>7491638
>posting a typewriter
Sure is Reddit in here.
>>7491704
not really sure what that means the differences seem obscure. have a link
>>7491727
I like the character you created, in fact I liked just about your entire post! It was a pleasant read and a wonderful display of emotion. The long, almost tangential, lines fit well with what you are going with.
I didn't like the start, overall the worst part about your post for would have to be your ability to transit.
If you are actually having a problem, formalize it.
>>7491741
You'll have to think about it yourself, tools work best when you understand them.
>Can't write unless I have an assignment due
>can't think of plot or characters (getting better, but it's hard as fuck)
>Endings feel tacked o
How do I plan a short story?
Should I do it like I do essays and figure everything out first (main argument, points, evidence, rough paragraph order) then write it?
My prose is alright, and I can make people laugh if I'm really enjoying what I write, but fuck me I feel empty unless I'm doing something for marks. Which is completely retarded.
>>7491787
What do you want your short story to be like? What genre? Fantasy? Fiction? Philosophical? etc...
>>7491787
>what do I expect my story to be
>where do I expect my story to go
>what does my audience expect my story to be
>where does my audience expect my story to go
>how do my changes occur
>when will my changes occur
>will my changes occur in an appropriate manner to both my plot and in accordance to my audience
Plenty of ways to look at, don't just think of a story as exposition>rising action>climax think of it in terms of how it flows.
Depends on the kind of thinker you are.
>>7491727
Read more, I suppose. It sounds like you haven't found your voice yet.
And for god's sake, don't worry. Worrying is what creates stiffness. Write what you want to write, say what you need to say, and don't care about who might be reading it in the end. Don't be afraid to use humor. Don't be afraid to be serious.
Actually, I suppose a good way to sum up my thoughts on the matter would be: lighten the fuck up, Charlotte.
>44 year old falls and crashes into rock,
>goes potato but might un-potato in some years.
>17 year old has exactly the same accident. >Dies.
What a faggot
What a pussy.
>>7491826
Thanks
>>7491638
Excerpts would be just fine. Otherwise you could publish all of the writings wholesale at the end of the book and make references to it as necessary.
The issue I take with the idea is that you're forcing the "artist/master/guru dies and found the Necessary Information for the protagonist to continue and grow to be the only remnant purpose in his life and the only thing worth leaving behind" meme. It's as bad as people imposing some post-irony statement onto DFW's suicide. Lame and pretty vacuous given that people generally live their own full lives.
>A
>FUCKING
>TYPEWRITER
>>7491912
Decided against including the notebook thing. The mentor only appears on the first chapter an tells the main character a few important things that will motivate the character to do what he does in the whole plot.
How do you know your ideas for plots/worldbuilding are actually any good?
How do you know they don't just sound good because you're dumb?
I don't want to share them with 4chan in case some cunt steals them and gets published before me
>>7491996
Seems a little egotistical of you there m8. I understand, but it's far too easy to call you egotistical.
Keep in mind: In literature, there is NO SUCH THING as a bad idea. All the things you think are 'bad ideas' are really bad execution.
The Star Wars prequels were not a bad idea, their execution was abysmal.
Some things are harder to execute properly than others, and some are not worth it, but there are no bad ideas so long as it fits in with your narrative and how you engineer the story.
>>7492639
Ok, let me rephrase the question
How do i know I'm executing things the right way?
Also, what in my comment made you think of me as egotistical?
>>7491996
Honestly ideas are cheap af. Execution is what matters. I would take bets that anyone with a "good" idea doesn't have the discipline to follow through to completion and have something worthy of publication.
>>7491638
end the endless regress friend - do one or two setpieces from the notebook or make the art mentor a living character
I'm writing about a man that has several episodes dealing with depression. How can I describe all that (I know how it is, I've had depression myself)? Everything I can think of when describing it takes only one page, and becomes kinda repetitive when I have to talk about it again.
>the state of total desperation, not being able to feel anything, not even sadness. Being completely lonely, hurr durr
I have planned that the bad guys won't communicate by sound
but at the end i want one of them to have an understanding with the main characters
What do i do? Only option i can think of as of now is either cut the no-sound gimmick, or cut the ending i had in mind
>>7491638
>write two books in one
Do that.
>>7494264
How about explaining it through actions that show real apathy
Maybe something like him not bothering to clean any dishes, and then just finds a dirty plate to eat from
Another idea is just a long metaphor. a Movie i saw had some guy walk the streets of the city, get hit by a car, he gets up, crawls down to the train tunnel and gets hit by a train
the moment the train hit him the scene changed to him standing in his livingroom, gf asking "did you hear what i said? I'm breaking up with you"
>>7491654
start each chapter with excerpts from the notebook and then have the reader gradually find out what the excerpts are from
its a bit stealing-from-everyone-ever but it's chill
>>7491727
Write stiffly, like this post. I would read.
>>7494582
That's genius, thank you anon :)
Life gets in the way.
Socializing, drinking, watching, reading, driving, working, shitposting. So many verbs that need to be done throughout the day and not a single one is writing.
The people I'm basing my script on don't much care for it, it needs to be rewritten. Stripped down. More meta humor. It should be a fine buzz of humor throughout, not some gagging drivel with a punchline. I will create the most surreal of humorous conversational pieces.
But when will I find the fucking time to do it?
>>7495653
You don't.
Change up your schedule in a small way every day. Try new things: physical diversity is healthy for an individual. After awhile you'll leave a more apt passion to follow or the means the follow your current apt passion.
thanks anons
My book will be divided in 4 parts. It's a single book, just with 4 divisions. The thing is that I'm thinking about making part 1 and 4 in third person and parts 2 and 3 in first person. Do you think it's a good idea? Don't you think it might be kinda annoying for whoever is reading?
>>7491638
>How can I write this?
A piece of writing inside your piece of writing fucks shit up. It being any worse than your writing makes the impact it has on characters disingenuous. It being better makes any writing that comes afterward look shit. It being the same makes it feel insignificant and pointless.
>>7491727
Yeah, I've got the same problems, I just roll with them. I just structure the world and events that my stories take place in so the grandiose manner of speaking or unnatural character interactions don't stand out. My sentences are disjointed but I make them dense enough so they can't help but connect somehow.
If you have a unique way of writing then use that to make your writing unique.
how to write text messages in a book?
i.e. main character receives a message in his phone
should i use quotation marks, or just italics or what?
>>7495653
>socializing
>working
well there's your problem
>>7496245
Is there any sort of explanation for the change? Does it provide any benefit?
>>7496266
> I was walking down the street when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and unlocked it, trusting the people around me not to trip me as my attention was diverted.
> "Howdy faggot" sent from a friend who I labeled as 'Dicknose' in my contacts list.
> "What do you want now you smarmy cunt?" I responded. I decided not to add the smiley faced pile of shit emoticon, although I considered it for a good thirty feet.
> "I need your help with something" He shot back almost instantly.
> "Did you try turning it off and back on again?"
> "What? Shut up, not that."
> "Then what is it? Get your dick stuck in a soda bottle again?"
> "No, look, I'm writing something and I was wondering what's the proper way of writing a text conversation in a story."
> "Why would it be any different from a normal conversation?"
> "Because it's not one, probably. I was thinking of italics or some shit."
> "Just do whatever looks best to you. Artistic integrity and all that."
> He sent me one more text back, but I didn't get a chance to read it as I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going and neither had the driver of the oncoming car. It was as I was bleeding on the concrete that I truly realized how fucking annoying my text tone was.
>>7496284
I don't follow. So is it going third, first, first, third? For what purpose?
>>7491727
If your prose is anything like this post, just kill urself m8
>>7491727
I think you're over thinking it. Writers like Hemingway were pretty wooden, writers like Heller were very animated. Just roll with your natural instincts. Use active verbs and think, "It's only a rough draft." Put your thoughts into cohesive ideas then go through and fix the vernacular It will be rewarding and if you're having too much self doubt, drink.
How would you guys describe a naive young man (not retarded) that has hunger for knowledge but knows little to nothing about real life outside his parent's protection? How do you think he would react to his first real and hard issues in life?
>>7496382
Kasper Hauser.
I want to write erotic fiction but I keep jerking off and then losing motivation when I do.
>>7496460
god are you a fucking animal? Just don't fap retard.
>>7491638
>in my novel, the main character is supposed to read a notebook left by his art mentor that comitted suicide to him.
stopped reading there. the best help I can suggest for you is to scrap the whole idea and try to come up with something that isn't stupid.
>>7496460
I wrote one yesterday. I couldn't stop slicking
http://pastebin.com/N0ACNWVE
>>7493337
>How do i know I'm executing things the right way?
Know the theme of your story. What it says? It'll guide you.
>>7491667
Simple denial
>>7491695
Whichever one you want
>>7491727
What are your interests outside of literature?
>>7491787
Do it and feel empty
>>7491996
Write something you like, anon. You're not unique or special, and the advantage there is that you have insight into your audience.
>>7494264
Something like the first anon said. Analyze your idea, consider parallels in behavior, metaphors, events, etc. Analyze some literature and try to focus on parallels. It's all about consistency in parody. Do research, too. Great that you have first hand experience, now read about others' experiences. They may bot teach you anything new, but they can give you a different perspective or maybe put words to what you have not been able to put words to.
>>7494563
Body language?
>>7495653
Make the time. Effort and discipline. Don't do something for a while and replace it with writing. Then another thing. And so on and so on.
>>7491654
Read The Gum Thief. Copeland just writes two books with wildly different tones and mashes them together to create... something. Might help you.
>>7497873
>god are you a fucking animal?
Yes.
>Just don't fap retard.
Easier said than done.
>>7491667
>How do you guys deal with knowing that even if you publish, you will never make a living writing?
By working a day job. It's not a complicated issue to solve.
Try it. If you're still unhappy, just start drinking more. Eventually you'll find some happy-ish medium where you have enough money to eat, enough time to dabble in writing, and enough depressants in your system to take some measure of pain away from the loathsome crushing weight of life.
>>7498687
>Body language?
I guess, but the understanding i want them to have is a little too complex for body language, unless sign language counts
would it be dumb if the inaudible fella starts writing a letter to the main character that are standing right in front of him?
I think it sounds dumb, but i can't think of anything else
What do you guys think about a third person ominiscient narrator that talks with common language and usually uses words like "shit", "fuck" or "asshole"?
ITT: Dramaqueens
>>7499724
If a third person narrator says those words, its plebeian af.
>>7499724
Unless it has some sort of interesting tie in like a character from the past who has died and is now narrator as a spectre or something.
But a totally disembodied narrator who swears is fucking retarded pleb tier.
