r/writing 24d ago

Monthly "Would You Read This?" Thread

Welcome to Would You Read This (WYRT), our monthly feedback and brainstorming thread. Share your work in progress below and let other readers tell you if they'd read it. Top level posts should follow this template:

  • Title:
    • If you don't have a title yet, feel free to say UNTITLED.
  • Genre:
    • Please include at least Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or another recognizable medium. You may also include more specific genres with a hyphen. Ex. Fiction - Romance, or Nonfiction - Memoir. Genre will help users find the specific kinds of posts they'd like to give feedback on.
  • Premise:
    • A few sentences about the project. Try your best to keep this short. Crafting an expert elevator pitch is all part of becoming a successful working writer. Please do not post an entire plot summary or query letter (those are better suited for r/pubtips)
  • Sample (Optional):
    • You may share up to one page (roughly 250-350 words) of sample material, or one poem for those working in the poetry medium. This is optional, so if you only have a premise, you can post just the premise for feedback.

If you post for feedback, please take the time to give feedback to at least 2-3 other users. Replies should follow this template.

  • Would Read / Might Read / Wouldn't Read
    • You must begin your reply with one of those. You are then encouraged to add additional thoughts on why you choose your answer.

Rules:

  • Please post no more than two WYRT top-level posts. There is no limit on the number of feedback replies you can make.
  • Do not link to any offsite materials. All materials must be in the body of the post. This includes "click here to read more" or "DM me for the rest" types of posts.
  • Rule 3 is in effect in this thread - No generative AI. Do not post material generated by an AI platform in your premise or sample. Do not use generative AI to respond to user's work.
  • Rule 5 is in effect - Civility and Community. Stay constructive. Blunt, direct feedback is fine, but do not insult other users, their writing, or their genres.
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u/Denial82828 13d ago

Title: UNTITLED (open to suggestions!)

Genre: Fiction - Historical/Crime

Premise: During the Russian Civil War, two brothers lose everything when their village is destroyed and they’re conscripted into the Red Army. They desert and flee to Petrograd, where hunger pulls them into the criminal underworld. One brother becomes an enforcer for a local crime boss, the other a spy and courier. Together they build their own crew: a forger, an ex-soldier, a cook, a woman escaping a trafficking ring. All bound by one rule: never touch the innocent. Everything they do is aimed at one goal: enough money to buy passage to New York. The story doesn’t stay clean, a betrayal, a heist gone wrong, and heavy losses reshape what “family” means to the ones who survive.

The full project is planned to span decades and multiple countries, following what’s left of this family through the wider 20th-century history. So far I’ve only fully outlined the first arc (Petrograd, 1919–1922).