I was discussing this with my writers group, and was surprised that my method was different to a lot of theirs. I figured I'd ask in here, because I'm interested in other people's processes and opinions. My first drafts tend to be incredibly incredibly rough. I find first drafting painful, because it's usually the point I have a little cry about what a bad writer I am. The second draft is when I do the bulk of technical writing, try to jazz up the prose, make it feel entertaining to read etc. Until my second draft I don't consider my work fit to be shared with other humans, even as beta reade ..read more

My main character for a novel I'm writing is a degenerate porn and gambling addict, and I was hoping around the end of the story he redeems himself, is that a cliche for a lot of novels? I believe they're called dynamic characters but still just curious. submitted by /u/Professional-Box2506 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I have a major supporting character that is playing a very complex role in this part of my story. He is: 1. brother who mysteriously disappeared from his family when they needed him most, and now he is back. His brothers and furious with him and there is a lot of negative emotions 2. A close friend to one of my protagonists. Both of them are about to be trained in the military. He has a lot of experience and is acting as her guide. A post-war celebration forces both of these identities to collide at once. He has to meet his responsibilities in his new calling in the military, assist the MC in ..read more

Hi everyone! I am writing this to ask about your experiences publishing a book through Amazon. I have recently spoken to someone from Amazon about publishing my book and received a lot of useful information, however I feel some of the info I got was a little unrealistic/ misleading. For example, they claim that more than 60% of people become best sellers in the first year. No, I am not expecting to become a best seller, nor am I doing it for the money or to “make it big.” I’m doing it because I genuinely love to write and it’s something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. They also claim they ta ..read more

My book's protagonist has always had a name throughout my drafts, but recently, I've considered omitting it entirely. It would align with his identity as an alien inhabiting human form, as he wishes to not associate with humans in any and every way possible, including by refusing to have a human name—he dreads the thought of the existence of a human noise that is tied to him, that is strictly associated to his human form, and not who he really is. But are nameless protagonists a bad idea? I know that The Ocean at the End of the Lane has a nameless protagonist, which I did not come to realize ..read more

I'm writing a protagonist who is sleeping with her friend's partner. I don't need readers to approve of what my MC is doing, but I want them to understand why she does it, and root for their relationship despite how fucked up the situation is/ how terrible both of them are for this. I hope I'm not contradicting myself. I understand much of this is how it's written, but what kind of things humanizes characters for you where you can understand acts like this/root for them despite them being the villains in someone's story? Any book recs where cheating is done "well" (for lack of a better word ..read more

Hi all, I'm currently in college to improve myself as a writer and future author. I was just curious, is "Foundations in Written Communications" a necessity to become a good author? Any good classes to focus on in school? Thanks! submitted by /u/Worried-Mail3122 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Would that give readers whiplash? Or make them mad? submitted by /u/blubennys [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I am reading a Victorian detective/mystery series. The author is fairly young. The books are at least novella length. There are dozens of them. How in the world does someone produce so many books? It feels as if they would have to be typing every waking minute. submitted by /u/starsplitter77 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

For me, I like reading science fiction, horror, and fantasy, but I don't enjoy writing in the genre from the experimentation that I've done. Same with horror. I love reading in these genres, but the genre I write in is often literary fiction, sometimes my work does have magical realism though. Particularly my short stories. I do enjoy reading those genres too. I just think literary fiction allows me to say what I want to say more effectively, but I also love Tolkien, Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Isaac Asimov for example, and I could read their works for hours. Shadowland by Peter Straub is ..read more