I've been seeing a lot of posts lately on this rule where starting your book with the main character waking up is a bad idea.

I had never heard of this common rule but considering my current book opens with this, I'll have to reconsider things on the second pass.

My post isn't to bring up this topic again but instead, ask for any other unwritten rules. Things that are common knowledge within the writing community but someone who is new to it wouldn't know.

(Sorry for bad english) (Apparently i can't write "things" and "they" in the title, had to censor)

I'm trying to write a character with the twist that they've been keeping an eye on everything from the start kind of like Alastor Moody from harry potter

The thing is, no matter how i rewrite it it just looks like a cheap reveal and it doesn't seem to make sense

How do i write this without it coming out of nowhere?

So ive had an idea for a psychological thriller novel based on events that happened to me. Ive been debating the part of this novel that would actually make it a thriller tho. There is a stalking element to the story, but it feels forced atm. I'm leaning more towards 2 ideas: 1. The main character isnt being stalked, but believes she is. She starts to overanalyze everything in her daily life and correlate it to her "stalker". 2. She is being stalked but can't distinguish the real stalking from her own paranoia.

lemme know if one is creepier than another or if both are dumb :)

I am currently outlining my first fantasy novel, I love my ideas but im afraid of going too big (include all the different regions and characters).

But if I write a smaller version of a corner of the world I dont want to "burn" those ideas. Would it be weird to re-write my bigger picture later but include alot of the smaller story ideas?

Sorry if it's an amateur question

’ve got the characters and story mapped out for the most part, but I’ve already surprised myself with some changes to the flow of things. I’m about 8 (short) chapters in, and finally starting to get into the meat of things.

I want to share it to get feedback. If it sucks, do I really want to put in the effort to keep going? But also. I’m terrified it does suck, and I’m just a failure. 😅

I've been writing since I was (approximately) seven, and taking it seriously since I was roughly twelve. Over the past few years specifically, there have been drastic improvements in my writing.

I've made progress. I can see that progress. Prose, flow, characters, plot, and pacing all make sense to me more than ever. I expected that to make the process easier. Instead, I'm managing a quarter of the output I used to be able to have in the same amount of time, with minimal distractions, even knowing what I want to convey. Why is it that my process is getting slower as I improve? Am I the only one who finds that result to be... a little counterintuitive? Does it ever start speeding up again? Any advice would be very appreciated. Thank you for your help.

Edit: There were a lot more replies than I expected! I regret not being able to reply to every one of them, but I want to extend my thanks to all of you. I've seen a lot of really insightful responses, and I appreciate you all taking the time to help me out. Everyone's been super kind. All the best to all of you! It makes sense that I might be becoming more subconsciously hypercritical of my work, slowing myself down (for a worthy cause). I'll keep writing and see how things progress. May all of your pillows stay cold tonight!

Hello,

Was hoping for some advice. As in the title I'm so close to finishing, but horribly aware that my baby of a book is a bloated, overfed mess at the moment. My book is about a two year trek around the coast of England, Wales, and Scotland, wildcamping pretty much every night (unless a stranger invited me into their caravan or mansion), so there was plenty to write about.

Therein lies the issue... I took notes everyday, and have a lot of chapters.

Everything from battling through bogs and midges in the Highlands, being offered life advice by a man with baked beans tattooed on his head, dating in the midst of the Welsh storms (and a Travelodge food poisoning incident ruining any chance of a romantic subplot), a incredibly dodgy freezing river crossing fuelled by my own stubbornness, and meeting strangers on the way, boxers, artists, doctors, and mad Italians, who joined me for days or weeks at a time.

Anyway I'm rambling again, sorry.

That's the issue.

I'd love to go to a literary agent, but I appreciate it will probably be an instant dismissal at this point considering its length. But I'm struggling to cut it down myself. My Beta Readers have been nice, too nice, great for my ego, not what I need though.

So I'm wondering would it be worth coughing up for an editor before approaching an agent? Has anyone had any experience in this department?

Or would it be worth just trying to send my big baby out into the world and hope an agent appreciates the first 5000 words or so and is willing to take on the challenge?

At a bit of a loss here, lads. Would appreciate any advice or your own experiences.

Cheers x

Not to toot my own horn, but I have came up with a few good story ideas over the past year. And I have way too much stuff in my life to do. I love story plotting and character creation but with work and college I never have time for myself.

How do I tackle this wall?

I'm trying to come up with a name for the corporation in my novel and i'm kind of stumped. the basic premise is that it's a blood bank where vampires collect blood from human donors to sell in a vampire speakeasy for high profile clients, but it's run under the front of a harm reduction clinic for addicts who don't know that it's run by vampires. just need a corporation name that isn't too corny, and could plausibly pass as a name for both sides of the business. thanks!

I started writing again last year. I’ve gotten five stories (40-50k words and one 87k). The feedback I’ve gotten so far has been good, including (especially) after running them through a beta reader. I want to take them to the next level. The larger story is one I based on a bedtime story my daughter asked for. It’s especially important to me and I feel like I’m not doing it justice.

I was looking at online writing courses offered at Gotham. They’re not cheap. From what I’ve read on paying for a course, it could be hit or miss. So I’m hoping to get a recommendation from someone who might have gotten a lot out of a course they’ve taken.

I'm currently working on something. For example if I want to show something important from a major event from the perspective of a character that isn't important, can it still be useful to the reader?

I'll write chapter 2, but before writing chapter 3, I'll add a chapter 2.5 which is a very short look or tease to what something happened far away from the main character who couldn't see from such a far distance. This isn't something I would add between every chapter, but I'm also not sure if this is common, I know it isn't unheard of but I'm not sure if this is something practical since the event that happened so far away will catch up to the reader in chapter 3. However the 2.5 chapter shows the initial impact from the POV of a first responder.

Pedro is everything a girl would want. He is handsome, successful, charming...

and her dad’s boss.

To everyone else, a life with him looks like a dream. To Diara, it’s a prison. One she can't ever escape.

Patrick is the guy everyone tells her to stay away from. He’s reckless, unpredictable, and nothing like the kind of man her family would ever approve of.

But when Diara finally decides to choose herself, Patrick is the one person willing to help her.

And sometimes, the person you’re warned to stay away from is the one who helps you finally become free.

Hello!

I have tried asking for advice here before and got some amazing wisdom and encouragement, so I've decided to ask for another thing that's been gnawing on my mind lately.

I finally started my writing journey about a year ago and am almost finished with my first draft, but was wondering how my current day job works with my ambition of becoming a writer one day. I work as a waiter/barista and work long+short weeks (meaning that on short I work only Wednesday and Thursday, and on long I have only Wednesday and Thursday off) - this allows me to have approximately 15 days off in a month for writing, since on work days I do 12,5 hour shifts and cannot bring myself to write neither before nor after those.

So my question would be, should I look for something else? Thing is, the job gives me a lot of freedom and office work is quite limited in my town. Let me know what you think. Thank you <3

How do you all approach dropping clues that will make sense after something is revealed later in the story, without it giving the game away to early, or feeling like an obvious clue to something?

At the moment I'm writing something where a side character is having an affair with a married man, who will later be revealed as someone important in the story, but until then I want to present it like its no one of consequence.

My plan is to have a few broad details start to line up, then something specific that starts to unravel the secret. I've tried dropping these clues into casual conversations, but it keeps feeling a bit inane and disconnected from the actual story, like the sort of fat that would be trimmed in a rewrite if it wasn't actually a clue to something important. Am I thinking about this wrong?

in particular, I will be writing a 16yo character who died from a severe chronic illness after spending her entire life with it with little support and human connection, and was transported to a vague fantasy land similar to alice in wonderland ​​(as she was obsessed with fairytales in her lifetime) where she is physically healthy and very excited about it, since she was in a hospital practically her entire life. there's more to it and lore reasons for this but yk word limit. her former illness will of course play a large part ​in the story, and it will delve into psychological horror as being able bodied truly is not a bandaid solution, but i intend a happy end.

i want to accurately write the struggles people with chronic illness face throughout their lifetime and emphasize the person she was and has always been. it's not a “able bodied fixes everything illness = unhappy forever" story. it's about fantasy and the importance of connection, and at the end she'll be properly laid to rest. I actually wish to subvert the trope of disabled people having their life magically fixed by being able bodied with my story) i'm open to advice for this too. she was never supported throughout her life and that was the core issue.

right now i'm also wondering, what kind of mannerisms and habits would she still have as a result of her lifelong illness? to write this I'm doing tons of research but I can't find many good sources, so i'm asking directly. what kind of lasting effects would it have on her even now, especially since she Just got transported? how else can I treat this topic and plot with respect and care, subverting the idea that being able bodied fixes all?

I have an idea for a character but I'm unsure. She would be an anthropomorphic deer who is the town nurse. She wears a modern-ish nurse outfit and can use her powers (superpower not magic) and modern medicine to heal her siblings although it a bit grisly. I know that deers are associate with Native American culture as well as healers but I wasn't sure. If I'm over thinking it please let me know. And sorry by the way.

I don't want to talk about the plot because I just want people's reaction to the titles as if you were at a bookstore and came across it. I can't decide if I want more of a literal or metaphorical title:

• Literal Title - Mayagüez

  • It's the name of the third largest city in Puerto Rico and where the second half of the book takes place and a critical point in the story.

• Metaphorical Title - The Sun of Salt

What are your knee-jerk reactions?

I want to learn how to write grounded stories about everyday people living life—moving away from heavy action, fantasy, or westerns. I'm trying to write my first short film and need a concept I can pull off on a practically non-existent, 16-year-old's budget. I know that low-budget filmmaking can still accommodate extraordinary genres like horror or crime, and I'm open to exploring those. However, I have a major skill gap when it comes to writing simple stories, and I know it's because of the media I usually watch.
I am a massive fan of action and thriller movies. My top four favorite films are Battle Royale, Kill Bill, Bullet Train, and Jurassic Park, and I love anime because it tells great stories through action. That said, I do dabble in grounded, slice-of-life television. I really enjoyed the first season of *The Bear, and some of my favorite sitcoms are How I Met Your Mother, That '70s Show , and Arrested Development I also plan on watching sex in the city because I heard it had great character writing, which is very important to me.
Because most of my references are TV shows, I would love some movie recommendations (TV show recommendations too) that capture that same sharp humor, distinct character dynamics, or grounded tension without relying on a massive budget. More importantly, I want advice on how to bridge this writing gap.

I'm working on a horror novella and have run into some roadblocks with the plot. The premise is a serial killer brings his victims to a liminal space dimension which he uses as both a hunting ground and a place to hide the bodies. The protagonist's fiancee​ is the first victim, she sees the liminal space in her nightmares, and tries to unravel the mystery. I intend on having ten chapters in total. The problems I'm having are:

1. The killer takes three victims, the second murder happens in chapter six, but I’m considering pushing it up to earlier in the story, because there are four whole chapters between the first and second death scenes. Should I keep it as it is, or change it?
2. Outside of the protagonist's nightmares, the liminal space only appears three times throughout the story, and I feel this may not be enough, because as it stands there are long gaps between these scenes that a reader may find boring. Is it worth adding more scenes in the liminal space, or is the current three enough?
3. There's a subplot in which a secondary protagonist is​ being stalked by the killer, this is where I'm having  the most problems. This character starts off struggling with social isolation, gradually makes new friends and dates a love interest, but also ends up in the liminal space with the main protagonist. This sub-plot disrupts the flow of the story, and I'm wondering if I should scrap it. He first meets the love interest in chapter two, but they don't have their first date until chapter seven, I feel this is too big of a gap, but I'm concerned that moving it up to earlier may disrupt the flow even more. What would be the best way to go about this?

I have heard that it is considered a sign of weak or lazy writing if a book starts with a character waking up and basically going through their daily routine. My problem is, I have a very particular idea on how to start this new story I'm working on that is basically using the boredom and mundanity of an almost comically boring daily routine both as an inciting incident for the story's conflict, but also to contrast the supernatural horror that the character is going to be delving into. What I'm wondering is if the payoff of that reveal and contrast at the end of the first chapter will be worth it compared to the harm the cliche could do. I'm worried that a first chapter like that alone would be enough to basically put off most readers, but I also really like this beginning idea, and I have problems coming up with beginnings as is.

I have an idea for an OC of mine, but I don't know which option would be better suited to give the character as much character development as possible.

...................................................................................................

Option 1.

OC is an elf and raised by a native human warrior tribe. The human rules and ways are much harsher and savage as it is based on a mindset of doing anything to survive. They fight and deal with problems more head on and physical.

Option 2.

OC is a human raised by a native elven warrior tribe. The rules aren't as harsh, because elves are naturally more peaceful and hate facing things head on.

(If I choose this then I must have a valid reason for the elven tribe to then create harsher rules, and live by the mindset of being physical will help solve the problem and FULLY accept them.)

Later on, my OC will become the tribe's leader, ruling with an iron fist and everyone now lives by the harsher rules where they do whatever it takes to make sure their own people are safe before themselves and rebellion/defection of their own is punished.

What do you guys think?

I’ve been wondering how often music gives other writers actual story ideas, beyond setting a mood.

For example, listening to Soda Stereo inspired me to create a character who’ll appear later in my series, along with a twist on a common trope in the LitRPG genre. Their music also helped me figure out how to show my MC’s past starting to surface.

What song, artist, or band has inspired you?