fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2789 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2789 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Captain America]

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[The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Beyond Belief]

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05. [SPOILERS for Walking Dead]

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06. [SPOILERS for Fangirl]

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07. [SPOILERS for Orange is the New Black]

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08. [SPOILERS for TWDG]

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09. [WARNING for suicide]

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10. [WARNING for abuse, (possibly?) rape]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #398.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - stock photo ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Young writer here...I'm sort of unsure about writing my book because I'm seeing all the things that could be cliche after a harsh critique. Anybody else have second thoughts sometimes.

Man I probably suck as a writer.

*hugs OP* Don't worry,OP everyone has moments like that, and sometimes we all doubt our writing. A great writing advice blog told me- things are "cliche" when they have no meaning or reason to be there.

Although I have to admit lately...I am a little nervous about something in my own story. A big part of it is about a rivalry between two very dysfunctional characters...and even the protagonists parents have some dysfunctional family issues. I kinda worry that someone is going to brush off the characters with past issues as 'cheap cliches' because some of them have these backgrounds. Like a big point is that the villain of the story is a tyrant over her family and mistreats everybody. But part of me is worried that the characters in her family will be brushed off as Mary Sues because of their position of being one of her victims.

But...then I just tell myself that as long as you write , research and try to make your story the best it can be, the voice of one person tearing into it isn't really important.

Don't lost faith in your idea.

Thanks.

Eh, you write the bad books to get to the good ones, right?

I guess.

hey

http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Past-Dark-Distraction-Dilemmas/dp/0060922001/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408762760&sr=8-1&keywords=Writing+Past+Dark

read this book

it'll help

seriously all writers feel that way

you won't improve if you don't write

Thanks. I'll remember that book

Second thoughts are common - so are third and fourths. :) Write what speaks to you, don't try to write for someone else, or a particular audience. Write what you like to read, what comes natural. Who cares if it's clichéd? clichés abound in fiction, it's what you do with it, how you approach and write it, that matter.

It's only a cliche if it's not done well. It doesn't matter if it's been done before as long as it's compelling. I think people worry too much about originality. I think it's better to just try to make the story as interesting as you can.

It's a hard mindset to break out of though. I've had people call my ideas original and it made me happy, so I'm kind of a hypocrite here.

Something that opened my eyes - it's the idea that you only ever see the finished product that other writers present to you.

You only ever see the fully-edited, realised thing. You never see the mistakes and the missteps and the countless drafts and the moments of doubt it took to get there. You never see the mess and failure.

It's okay to be messy. It's okay to fail. That crude matter is what you use to create what you always wanted. But you have to start with SOMETHING. You can't create a masterpiece from nothing.

Write your book, anon. Yes, there's a chance some things will be clichéd, but don't sweat it too much. Just keep writing, and think about ways to make old clichés fresh. When it comes to writing, it's not so much the ideas that count as the execution. Good writing makes even old, families tropes worth reading.

This is some advice I found really helpful:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2006/04/27/10-things-teenage-writers-should-know-about-writing/

Nobody's really mentioned it yet, but anon...there's nothing wrong with writing cliches. People like cliches, and what makes a story interesting is making cliches work when they show up, not cutting them entirely. You don't need to be 100% original, especially in your first book.

I'm not going to tell you "don't listen to the critic, they're not important" because they may very well have said something important and valuable for you to learn. But remember that you're a beginning writer: your writing is allowed to suck. Writers are not gymnasts, who have to succeed before they're sixteen or they're nothing. Fail boldly and learn what you can from it.

Good luck!

[ SECRET POST #2789 ]

I'm unsure about writing my work

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