[ SECRET POST #5216 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5216 ⌋

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


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 48 secrets from Secret Submission Post #747.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Original fiction advice

[(Anonymous)]

(Cozy werewolf Anon)

Write what you want to read. Write a lot. Write when you can, as you feel up to it. Writing includes making notes/doing research/watching documentaries. (Oh dear God, so many episodes of Ganglands when I was researching Heathens.)

Take the technical bits ONE thing at a time. Like, if you want to write great dialog. Focus on writing dialog. Watch/Read analyze media with dialog you LIKE. (stay away from daffy question answer exchanges unless it's a police procedural. Law & Order has some great situation dialog though.) When you feel comfy with your dialog skills. You've leveled up. Then work on the next bit you want to work on. (Descriptions, Characterizations, Showing vs. Telling, Conflicts, Stakes, etc. Choose ONE.)

Read. Whatever genre you want to write, whether it's a single genre or a mixed genre. Read in it. Read everything. This is the ONLY way you're going to know the tropes and the conventions typical to that genre. That way you can lampshade/subvert/break at will. If you want to write like scifi thrillers, you're going to have to read science fiction AND thrillers. (Sorry.) The more genres you want to mix, the more you are going to have to read. Analyze what you read and what works/doesn't work for YOU.

Learn to love the word BROWN. If you want to write diverse characters of different races and ethnicities, learn to love the word BROWN. Just. SIGH. Tan is good. So is Olive. White and Ivory. All good words. Red and Yellow are bad. Pale, mixed feelings. Black can be neutral but I'd stay away from it. Food words are out.

Stay away from prologues. And kidnappings first thing. Most readers will skip your prologue and no one is invested enough in your character they're going to care they've been kidnapped.

When in doubt, remember K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid.) If you feel like you're reaching for a thesaurus or right clicking for another word, stop. Keep your descriptions/wordage SIMPLE. (This is how eyeballs end up ORBS.) A line editor will tell you about repeated words and phrases. And they can give you alternatives that mean what you want to say. So, you can fix it later.

Get that first draft out. The first draft's purpose is to get the story in your head out on the page. I don't care if it's an outline, a paragraph outline, an actual narrative story, just get it out. It's word vomit. It's only purpose is to exist. That's all it has to do. Exist. If you have TROUBLE with this, try the NANO method.

Everything, and I do mean everything can be salvaged in editing. Look, I know, editing is hard and painful. It's part of a process. No one writes a perfect first draft.

Remember writing is work. Find ways to make yourself comfy and get the ambience you need to concentrate. It's okay if you write 100 words at a time. You'll get more words out the longer you write. No one starts at 10000 words a day (and most never reach that, at 8K I get tired and I've been writing close to 20 years.) Sometimes, some days, writing a single sentence is progress.

Lastly, Find a writing buddy who you can share your ideas/goals/visions for your writing with in a safe space. Love your writing buddy. Listen to your writing buddy's ideas/goals/visions for their writing. Your writing buddy will be honest with you b/c they love you and your work. So, look for a writing buddy that will lift you up, instead of tearing you down. (No writing buddies that insult you or your ideas in a personal uncalled for manner!)

Hope this helps. Happy writing!