Young Writers discussion

For you to post any writing tips you think are absolutely must-knows, and to discuss writing in general in a way that doesn't quite fit in with any of the other topics.

If you're stuck, try coming back here! There's probably someone who has posted something useful.

This is an awesome thing I just found out about: http://www.archetypewriting.com/muse/...

http://www.cassandraclare.com/writing... There are all sorts of tips and advice here.

I have advice, do not listen to anyone who tells you your writing is bad.

I disagree. If someone tells you your writing is bad, take it to someone else. If they too say your writing is bad, maybe there is something to the statement.

-take constructive criticism
-take constructive criticism
- take constructive criticism

This^

colby, i think i'm sensing a trend. ;)

Amity wrote: "I have advice, do not listen to anyone who tells you your writing is bad."

Well, that depends. If they have nothing useful to say then sure, disregard what they say. But as Colby said, it's important to take criticism as long as it's constructive in some way.

I kind of agree on the taking constructive criticism thing. (Ramble time!) I remember being super excited about this new story I had several years ago, and I asked my friend to read it. After getting to Chapter 2, I noticed my friend hadn't really "liked" or commented on any of it, and I asked why. She said, "Well, I'm just not interested. It doesn't really have much of a plot."

At the time, I was truly offended. Your friends are supposed to like your writing, right? But I looked at the story a few weeks later and I realized that, you know what, this story didn't have a plot. And I don't regret dropping it to this day.

But I think even rude criticism that isn't constructive can be good for you. Some people have said really stupid things about my writing. One girl commented and just said "This isn't very good" (on the tiny prologue--didn't even give the rest of the story a chance), and all her reasoning made very little sense. It upset me quite a bit, but that comment did help me learn to take harsh criticism, and it turned out later that this story was also crap.

Maxy wrote: "I kind of agree on the taking constructive criticism thing. (Ramble time!) I remember being super excited about this new story I had several years ago, and I asked my friend to read it. After getti..."

Oh, I didn't mean that you can't learn from rude (or maybe "blunt" would be a better word) criticism. "Constructive" doesn't always mean it's polite and sugar-coated. But yes, you can learn from that as well. It may sting at first, but it can be useful in the long-run. In fact, it might be even better than polite criticism in some ways, because it's a real slap in the face.

For example, one time I got a partial request from an agent, and then received a very short rejection letter from her that simply said something like, "You do too much telling instead of showing, and your sentence structure needs help." I mean ... ouch, that hurts. But on the other hand, I never forgot it ... and that one sentence of harsh criticism caused me to have a huge crisis over my writing and make me look at it a different way. And I realized I did need to work on showing instead of telling, structuring my sentences correctly, etc. The agent may have said it in a somewhat rude way, but at least it was straightforward.

When I say "not constructive" I mean more like, the person doesn't give you any feedback at all. They might just say "This sucks" without giving a reason as to why, or say something like "I don't like this because I hate this genre" or something along those lines, which can't really be helped.

But anyway ... what I mean to say is, I agree. XD

Ah. Yeah, that makes sense.

I can't even take comments like "This sucks" or "You suck" seriously. Like, someone posted it on a review I wrote and I just started laughing really hard.

Maxy wrote: "Ah. Yeah, that makes sense.

I can't even take comments like "This sucks" or "You suck" seriously. Like, someone posted it on a review I wrote and I just started laughing really hard."

Ah hahaha yeah, gotta love them review trolls. :P One time someone was trolling on one of my reviews pretending to be three different people ... It was quite a party. Sometimes I read through all those comments just for the lulz.

Oh my gosh, I remember that! Oi. Some people... *facepalm*

Haha yeah ... It's strange how worked up some people get just because you criticize a book they like. Eesh. O_o

Yeah…I don't post stuff online much anymore because of trolls. I've had reviews that were funny until they said it was "fucking horseshit."

That was not lolful, unfortunately.

That's not to say he wasn't right, of course, but it still wasn't nice. :D

I think that Paperrater is a good site to check out your writing and stuff like that...
And DailyWritingTips is a good site for writing tips!
And that's all I've got.

Taylor [Relationship status: In love] wrote: "Yeah…I don't post stuff online much anymore because of trolls. I've had reviews that were funny until they said it was "fucking horseshit."

That was not lolful, unfortunately."

Aww, well you see, what I do is literally troll them right back. Not a great idea, but I enjoy it very much.

Lia wrote: "Several links that I've found helpful

Defeating Writer's Block
http://lunaescence.com/fics/viewstory...

A Guide to Writing Speculative Fiction
http://lunaescence.com/fics/viewstory......"


This really helped me! Thanks!

As writers, we get very emotionally attached to our writing. I mean if someone said "This isn't very good" (without any suggestions for improvement) to something I wrote I'd feel like they just insulted my child. It's important to swallow your pride.

Also it's important to learn how to give criticism. Because I'm a terrible person, I think I said stuff like "I don't like it" to one story. Once. And I felt very bad after. I looked at my own writing and I realized that I had no right to talk, because the stuff I wrote was total crap next to hers. In fact, it was total crap next to the list of ingredients on the back of a cereal box.

Person, writer, I don't remember who you were and I'm too embarrassed to go dig that up, but if you're out there (and come on WWaC is where all the writers are) I'm very sorry and I have learned my lesson.

Anyway sorry for involving you in that emotional soul-baring, if you're still reading this.

Samantha Anne wrote: "As writers, we get very emotionally attached to our writing. I mean if someone said "This isn't very good" (without any suggestions for improvement) to something I wrote I'd feel like they just ins..."
I know what you mean, Samantha! *high five*

Wait no I'm not done. View the spoiler for more grovelling.

(view spoiler)[It was completely unfair of me to say that at all, even if I thought it. I mean, that was something that person put a lot of effort into. It's no easy thing to write a story, it takes commitment and hard work and many sleepless nights. The least I could have done, out of respect for the writer, would have been: "It could be better, you can do this and that and some other stuff. Good job. etc." (hide spoiler)]

Nour wrote: "Samantha Anne wrote: "As writers, we get very emotionally attached to our writing. I mean if someone said "This isn't very good" (without any suggestions for improvement) to something I wrote I'd f..."

*high five back* I'm glad you get it!

Samantha Anne wrote: "Nour wrote: "Samantha Anne wrote: "As writers, we get very emotionally attached to our writing. I mean if someone said "This isn't very good" (without any suggestions for improvement) to something ..."

You know, I was feeeling bad about a book review I wrote yesterday =( and now I feel worse =P

I've bashed professionals before. :/ Not smart. Only one of them deserved it, because it was the general consensus that his book sucked. Yay self-publishing. But…don't do it, because they will come back and haunt you.

Quick story time:

I wrote to an author (who is now a good friend of mine) and told him his book was only suitable for an audience consisting of the devil and Sadam Hussein.

Well, he thought that was funny and shared that story at a signing a few months later. I was there.

He wrote me once and told me he shared the story. To this day, he doesn't know I was there.

Taylor [Relationship status: In love] wrote: "I've bashed professionals before. :/ Not smart. Only one of them deserved it, because it was the general consensus that his book sucked. Yay self-publishing. But…don't do it, because they will come..."

hhaahahahahaahah =P
Cruel but funny =P

I have no problem bashing professional non self-published writers, because their ego grows so much that they deserve it. But I really feel bad about bashing the books of new authors and self-published because they worked harder than anyone.
I know I did. I had a hard time finding a publisher and that's why I am going to online publish it.
So that's why I feel bad because the tables will turn one day and I will be the one whose book is criticized coldly.

Uhhhhh…of all authors I've met, only two have been truly big-headed: this self-published one and Orson Scott Card. The rest just do their job and they are very polite because politeness gets more books sold. And with my two exceptions, one won't sell any books regardless of how he acts and the other will sell hundreds of thousands of books independent of his attitude.

Just…don't do it. You may have to call in a favor one day. I mean, I organize author presentations, and I can only do that with authors I've been friendly with. There are even perks to being nice -- I went to lunch with James Dashner about a year ago.

Taylor [Relationship status: In love] wrote: "Uhhhhh…of all authors I've met, only two have been truly big-headed: this self-published one and Orson Scott Card. The rest just do their job and they are very polite because politeness gets more b..."

Hahah, well good!
But I just... I can't lie. I am not a person who lies. I ALWAYS say everything truthfully.
I swear I once bashed a book so thoroughly, and I thought the writer would be sad, but he actually laughed. (Ok! I wrote it in a funny way) and he said I have a way with words. Another author said that he likes my reviews a lot because they seem very honest and that's what authors want. He said my reviews are more honest than most of the reviews he read, and that was the best way to review a book. Lying won't get the author anywhere. It will just grow his ego. Like this Arabic author called Ahlam. Everybody ADORES her books, and I only read the last one she wrote and I bashed it so thoroughly! I thought she deserved it because she was becoming very egoistic, even if a lot told me that she's very modest. But if that was her latest works which I hated a lot , then she has crashed down very much and still making the highest sales.

Oh, you're talking about reviews given to the general public? Then you can be a little rude, I guess. But when you send personal e-mails like I did, you will piss them off.

Taylor [Relationship status: In love] wrote: "Oh, you're talking about reviews given to the general public? Then you can be a little rude, I guess. But when you send personal e-mails like I did, you will piss them off."


Ohhhhhh! I never was asked to send reviews via emails.

hahahahahahahaa =P

For writers block, or if you're just bored, this site picks random challenges for you to write about. Me and my friends have been fiddling around with it, so it might be useful:
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generat...

I had a friend who had to incorporate an octopus into a story because of this site, and she ended up writing this really deep short story.
Make sure to put the end product here so we can read it too!

Taylor [Relationship status: In love] wrote: "Uhhhhh…of all authors I've met, only two have been truly big-headed: this self-published one and Orson Scott Card. The rest just do their job and they are very polite because politeness gets more b..."

wait. there is an author with the same level of big-headed-ness as OSC? seriously?
i had no idea such a person could exist. ;)

@Sam

It's difficult to imagine, but he's real. His name is Phillip Jones. He is so sure of himself that he created fake Amazon.com accounts to make fake reviews of his book. I have met one person who liked his books, and that person liked Twilight. >.>

Taylor [Relationship status: In love] wrote: "@Sam

It's difficult to imagine, but he's real. His name is Phillip Jones. He is so sure of himself that he created fake Amazon.com accounts to make fake reviews of his book. I have met one person ..."

*headdesk*

My inner writer just peed his pants laughing.

http://click.writers-community.com/?q...

well, never give up when you write.when I write I put a little bit of myself in my stories. write about anything. you can also put in a twist. I think that writing books can release your inner self.

Taylor [Relationship status: Ever inspired] wrote: "My inner writer just peed his pants laughing.

http://click.writers-community.com/?q..."

That's pretty funny!

lol.

Oh, I have some tips!
Try to get into your character's head. The way I see it, if you try to be in their shoes, writing about their reactions and actions will be more realistic and maybe even easier?

And also, play with your words (ok, I'm stealing this one from Markus Zusak). Make your sentences unique, or unpredictable. For example, instead of saying:

"Viola, that was just... wonderful" you could say "Viola, you are a wonder."

^not the best examples.

Lol.

hey taylor, please don't take this the wrong way, but since this is kind of one of the most serious topics for the group, try not to post things that aren't that meaningful or help other people with their writing. thanks. :)

Jeez, I need to change my name or something because that freaked me out a tad. :P

Taylor [Pardon me while I fanboy over you] wrote: "Jeez, I need to change my name or something because that freaked me out a tad. :P"

XD well, you tend not to post spam-ish things on this thread, so you're pretty safe.

is it okay to post here if i need writing tips, or do i do that in another thread? my problem is i can only write short stories. whenever i try to write an actual novel, i end up getting really bored in the middle, and i don't know why. *headdesk* what am i doing wrong?

I've done that…several times. The plus side is, I write awesome beginnings. XD

What I recommend, once you hit that novelist wall, is to begin planning and writing future scenes that you want to write. Skip to the stuff you love, basically. As you do that, figure out how your charries get from where you left off to that scene. I did that with my first novel a couple times, and I seemed to figure out that in-between stuff pretty quickly.

Sam~ on sleepless roads the sleepless go~ wrote: "Taylor [Pardon me while I fanboy over you] wrote: "Jeez, I need to change my name or something because that freaked me out a tad. :P"

XD well, you tend not to post spam-ish things on this thread, ..."

You're allowed to ask. And I can't answer because I have the same problem. XP

Never take your first draft too seriously. I did that with my first Nanowrimo because I wanted it to be perfect, but it wasn't. Then I read Stephen King's book On Writing, and something else about writing and that told me to just write, write, write no matter what because the first draft is always gonna be crap.

Do, use spell check
Don't , not use spell check

Never settle
Be original
Never let bad criticism get to you.
Always believe Taylor. He's always right.

@Kat

Aw, thanks. Actually, use your best judgment with my comments…but I hope you'll come to agree with me, because I am always right. :P

Lol. You're the first person that I think of when I need help, which I just wrote a poem.