Writing goals

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Same! My husband hypes up anything I write, so it was a shock when I gave a draft to someone else and they were like, "I don't get it." So now I mostly just write with him as my audience. You can't please everybody.

Sometimes you have to remember that even ourselves as readers have our own preferences, so no, not everyone who reads our writing is going to like it

 

[notabitail]

I think it was Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga that introduced me to the idea that footnotes in fictional literature as a method of world building was an option

Like this is a piece from my WIP that could easily be footnoted and it wouldn’t be sitting there interrupting the flow of the scene
View attachment 4307543

That would be an excellent footnote.

I still remember the one about Torroboro's emperor being kitten-obsessed.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

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!

Well, that's one good thing for worrying.

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!

I haven't seen enough info-dumping, so I haven't quite stumbled upon a scene like that. Yet. Definitely though, those backstory pieces are better sprinkled throughout the book and making people question what happened than straight out telling.

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.

Ok! That sounds like a good plan. (One thing to note: You make more profit if you sell your stuff directly, though with Kindle, you probably need them for sales anyway.)

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!

I'm putting it in a series because I KNOW I can't fit it all in one book. And then on some of those books I sometimes question if what I have planned for them will all fit in the book they're supposed to be in.

Real quick, have you seen this thread yet: Daily Writing Prompt Thread Thingy It'll Be Fun

It has a lot of us on there. There's an untouched prompt (which I've been meaning to write a piece to) there if you want to write a piece too.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

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.

Also, if you really think about it, describing how the POV character looks is a bit odd. How many times do you touch your face and think, "I touched my white cheeks." You don't. You're more likely to describe temperature than anything, and that might only be if there's a noticeable change, particularly if you touch your face a lot.

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

Also, if you really think about it, describing how the POV character looks is a bit odd. How many times do you touch your face and think, "I touched my white cheeks." You don't. You're more likely to describe temperature than anything, and that might only be if there's a noticeable change, particularly if you touch your face a lot.

Thankfully I’ve given up trying to write 1st person for a lot of my stuff

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

Thankfully I’ve given up trying to write 1st person for a lot of my stuff

I mean I guess what you’re saying can be applicable to 3rd person

However I’ve been thinking I want to write the narration more…distant? If that makes sense? For plot twist reasons

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Same! My husband hypes up anything I write, so it was a shock when I gave a draft to someone else and they were like, "I don't get it." So now I mostly just write with him as my audience. You can't please everybody.

You know, this is where Betas come in. You hand your writing off to 5-10 Betas, let them read it, and wait for their feedback. If one or two people don't like a scene or are confused, then it's just them. If several or over half are having issues, then you know you did something wrong and need to fix it.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I mean I guess what you’re saying can be applicable to 3rd person

However I’ve been thinking I want to write the narration more…distant? If that makes sense? For plot twist reasons

I had limited third person in mind, but yes, it applies to first as well. Distance if fine as long as your not doing omniscent. (Omniscent is more of an issue because nobody wants to read it anymore, though if you have a good voice, it does sound a little fun.)
So far, your distance has been great. It's more of the head-hopping that's been an issue, but that could be a somewhat easy fix.

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

I had limited third person in mind, but yes, it applies to first as well. Distance if fine as long as your not doing omniscent. (Omniscent is more of an issue because nobody wants to read it anymore, though if you have a good voice, it does sound a little fun.)
So far, your distance has been great. It's more of the head-hopping that's been an issue, but that could be a somewhat easy fix.

I’m not thinking omniscient I’m thinking more JRR Tolkien

Like if you look at how he writes it’s like he’s telling a story and I adore it sm

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'm putting it in a series because I KNOW I can't fit it all in one book. And then on some of those books I sometimes question if what I have planned for them will all fit in the book they're supposed to be in.

Real quick, have you seen this thread yet: Daily Writing Prompt Thread Thingy It'll Be Fun

It has a lot of us on there. There's an untouched prompt (which I've been meaning to write a piece to) there if you want to write a piece too.

I'm jealous! It's hard for me to even hit the 40K minimum for a novel. I might just be more of a novelette writer, or (more likely) I need to practice fleshing things out.

I do Shelby's writing prompt from time to time, but I'll pop into this one as well!

You know, this is where Betas come in. You hand your writing off to 5-10 Betas, let them read it, and wait for their feedback. If one or two people don't like a scene or are confused, then it's just them. If several or over half are having issues, then you know you did something wrong and need to fix it.

100%. Anything going to publish, I'll have beta readers.

However I’ve been thinking I want to write the narration more…distant? If that makes sense? For plot twist reasons

I sometimes do this hybrid 3rd person limited that reads more like 1st person. It's kind of a cheat? You can get better glimpses into your POV's head, but not too much (for plot twist purposes).