Writing goals

[thecatumbrella]

Keep your scenes interesting, add some conflict even if it's small, and avoid info-dumping as much as possible.

Since I'm a natural pessimist and worrier, this plays perfectly into writing. What's the worst thing that could happen in any given scenario? I've got you covered!

Info-dumping is a huge pet peeve of mine and seems to be trendy at the moment. Nothing shuts a book faster for me than starting out with, "I gazed onto the horizon, still haunted by the twelve years I spent in an orphanage after my father was killed in the war of Analondo, having given his last coins to purchase my Minkpapa, or Moon Stone, which channels my innate energies into prismatic rainbows that lure the Enchipis, or fairy pupae, to my side for battle against the Gwarks of Rivenwarp."

Like, please! Just let me get into it before slapping me across the face with all this nonsense. Once I get attached, then I'm all about Moon Stones and Gwarks and whatever else you want to add!

Are you doing self publishing or traditional? (I don't want to be a downer, but getting a start this year is a easier plan. Publishing takes time, depending on which route you take. )

Self. It will go on Kindle Unlimited, priced at $1. My mother seems to think I'll become famous writing books about a sarcastic cat detective, but you know, stranger things have happened. I'll make the 2nd book $5, in that case.

I have to go back through this thread and find everyone's writing samples. A series is very ambitious, but that means you have a good idea!

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

I gazed onto the horizon, still haunted by the twelve years I spent in an orphanage after my father was killed in the war of Analondo, having given his last coins to purchase my Minkpapa, or Moon Stone, which channels my innate energies into prismatic rainbows that lure the Enchipis, or fairy pupae, to my side for battle against the Gwarks of Rivenwarp.

What about

*clears throat*

“I gazed at my foot. It was stuck in a tree. A sticky tree…this is one hundred percent my fault.”

Like, please! Just let me get into it before slapping me across the face with all this nonsense. Once I get attached, then I'm all about Moon Stones and Gwarks and whatever else you want to add!

Okay but as a chronic info dumper—KNOWING that it is lowkey sloppy writing—I do enjoy a few splatters of info dumpings here and there.

Then there’s the complete opposite where I throw a term in my story, do zero explanation, and then forget about it until I get bored and read through and wonder what it means.
(I did remember what it meant eventually)

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

This is how I feel listening to all the technical talk about writing:

Cause that's me and how I write I just write for "fun"

 

[notabitail]

Meanwhile, with my writing aids, I have the pleasure of clicking a beloved button: Add to Dictionary.

I always use that button if I'm feeling un-lazy.

 

[notabitail]

This is how I feel listening to all the technical talk about writing:

Cause that's me and how I write I just write for "fun"

I write half for fun and half serious. My blog posts are usually about a topic I know something about, but I try and keep them fun for me to write.

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

This is how I feel listening to all the technical talk about writing:

Cause that's me and how I write I just write for "fun"

Same
But I do know there’s thing I really do gotta work on

Like character descriptions
Cuz if I read my writing and pretend I don’t know anything prior to the reading, I don’t even know what color Arne’s skin is…and there’s no description of his face unless it’s the obvious pieces of him like eyes and feathers
And he’s literally my main character

Stuff like that

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Same
But I do know there’s thing I really do gotta work on

Like character descriptions
Cuz if I read my writing and pretend I don’t know anything prior to the reading, I don’t even know what color Arne’s skin is…and there’s no description of his face unless it’s the obvious pieces of him like eyes and feathers
And he’s literally my main character

Stuff like that

I'm so bad for that
Why do you think I never have info for you, sometimes they're only a smudge of a human in my own brain...

 

[thecatumbrella]

Okay but as a chronic info dumper—KNOWING that it is lowkey sloppy writing—I do enjoy a few splatters of info dumpings here and there.

I mean, you have to give the information sometime, right? I have my info-dump sections, for sure. I try to disguise them the best I can to look natural, but they are there!

This is how I feel listening to all the technical talk about writing:

Cause that's me and how I write I just write for "fun"

Oh no! I'm sorry if you felt targeted by anything I said!
Writing should be fun, and you can suck the joy out of it by getting too technical and worrying about too many "rules" and whatnot.

And my info dump rant is literally page 1, chapter 1 stuff. I don't know if anyone's read Sarah J Mass' Crescent City, but that book is notoriously difficult to get into for the reasons I mentioned.

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

I'm so bad for that
Why do you think I never have info for you, sometimes they're only a smudge of a human in my own brain...

Well I actually have all his info I just never put it in the book

 

[NC_Quail]

Same
But I do know there’s thing I really do gotta work on

Like character descriptions
Cuz if I read my writing and pretend I don’t know anything prior to the reading, I don’t even know what color Arne’s skin is…and there’s no description of his face unless it’s the obvious pieces of him like eyes and feathers
And he’s literally my main character

Stuff like that

To be fair, I’ve read a lot of books where the main character is never specifically described. Most of the time you can probably leave it up to the reader, unless the character’s physical appearance is particularly important.